The Royal We, Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

I have been in love with this book for so many years that it simply feels natural for me to talk about it. My love for this novel is so deep that I can still remember the time that I first saw it at the Grove's Barnes and Nobles in California. Honestly, this book is much more than you think, when I was first reading it, I thought that this would be a simple romance novel, yet as I continued I discovered that this novel talked about so much more, which I will be talking about later on in this review. Also, I have been so obsessed with this novel that I have tried so hard to find similar novels, which have led me to novels like Romancing the Throne by Nadine Jolie Courtney and The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright, which have only made me realize that this novel is such a precious gem.
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan tells the story of Rebecca Porter or simply "Bex," who is just starting the school year at Oxford, yes, England, after she decided to take a year abroad from Cornell, where her twin sister, Lacy is still at. On her first day, she meets a rather handsome young man that goes by the name of Nicholas, simply known as Nick or AKA Steve as his friends call him when they are in public. Both bond over a conversation about monarchs with syphilis before Bex realizes that Nick is the future heir of the country. In the place where she is staying, she meets the people that will end up becoming her best friends. There's Cilla, Gaz, Joss, and Clive, who also happen to be Nick's best friends. On the other hand, it is almost inevitable for Bex and Nick to fall in love with each other, I mean, they binge-watch a series together almost every night, yet their love is simply not meant to be because Nick's already dating India and of course, Bex has been snogging Clive, literally Nick's best friend. The group goes through so many adventures and creates so many memories that as the story goes, you will feel like you are part of the group as well. 
I want to start by talking about the characters because I simply loved them so much! I love how Bex is someone that really doesn't care about gossip or royalty because it creates funnier scenes, like the syphilis scene. Although I did hate whenever she was being impulsive. I loved Nick because he portrayed vulnerability in certain scenes, while he was also seen as a prize by girls and simply as a friend by the other main characters. I really liked how the authors really emphasized on Nick's background and lifestyle, even though he was seen as a normal person by the group of friends because they gave us so much more of the character, which made me love him even more! As much as I love Bex and Nick, my favorite characters were Cilla and Gaz because they were SO funny that I cried due to the laughter. I loved Cilla's stories and Gaz' comments. 
On the other hand, I absolutely loved how this is basically royalty. I loved how they truly portray the lifestyles and the people, like Nick's family, including his father and his brother, Freddie, who I also love very much! I adored how the authors touched a lot on the things that you would expect in a royal family, like the pressure and the useless things that people can do for show or drama. 
I truly think that this book has made me become obsessed with the royals as much as they are! (FYI: the authors run a site called Go Fug Yourself, which I am obsessed with now as well). In the beginning, I truly didn't care at all about royals, yet now I am simply fascinated by their lifestyle. 
Also, I believe that Nick, Bex, and Freddie being inspired by William, Kate, and Harry is just a plus!
Something that I was not expecting from this novel was the many topics that it covers. I loved how they really emphasize on family, enemies, dreams, friends, love, jealousy, expectations and the unexpected. Although the novel is really long, you will feel like the novel is so short because of the so many different stories that are included. 
From the first page all the way to the last one, I was hooked, so much that I became obsessed with the audiobook and I still listen to it all the time, although I will admit that I only replay the scenes that I like, like the karaoke scene and the one that they talk about seeing Cats! If you're going to read the novel, be on the lookout for those!
Lastly, I want to congratulate the authors because they did an exceptional job with this novel. They were able to take such a complex world and narrate it in an incredible and not only heart-warming, but inspiring because this novel really made me want to try the unexpected and new things, just like Bex did when she moved to the other side of the world, to be something that her sister wasn't and to find herself in the world. Also, this novel has really made me wish that college is as fun as they describe it here, although I believe that it depends on the friendships that accompany me. 
I truly recommend The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan because it is witty, smart, fun and includes charming characters that will enter your heart from the very first time that they appear on paper! 

5 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua 

Beautiful Disaster, Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Abby Abernathy starts her college life at Eastern University with her best friend America, and one of the first things she´s dragged to is a fight, where Shepley´s, America´s boyfriend, cousin will be fighting. A guy that goes by the name of Travis Maddox. That´s the first time Abby meets Travis, a hot and swoony guy known as Eastern University´s Walking One-Night Stand. Then, Abby meets Travis again Monday morning at the cafeteria, where she´s trying to have lunch with America and Shepley, and Travis decided to follow Abby until she finally accepts being around him because he has NEVER been rejected. So, a fun "game" begins between the two of them. After a little bit of knowing each other, yet still bothering, they become friends and extremely close. But both of them decide to make a bet, if Travis wins the fight, Abby will have to stay at Travis´ apartment, yet if Abby wins, Travis will have to remain abstinent for a month. Although it is really predictable what will happen, the two characters become really close and soon they fall in love, yet they cannot believe it themselves, so they start telling themselves that they don´t like each other. But before they can know it, they are deeply in love with each other and there´s nothing that can hold them back anymore.
The first time I read this book I was just SO in love with it! It was like I was getting to know this new type of characters because this novel was one of the first books that I read, therefore, I had only been exposed to characters like Patch, Daniel Grigori, Cam Briel or Maxon. So, reading about a character that was way more realistic in the sense of not having powers or a title, made me realize that even though, it felt weird for me to read New Adult books being only like 12 years old, I could really enjoy it and I was soon in love with way more mature characters instead of teenagers. Also, I loved the characters so much! I loved the way Abby was because although she was a little stressful with the whole Parker thing, it was still logical why she would act the way she did because whenever you are put in her shoes, you don´t have much of a choice, especially because personally at first glance, I would go with Parker instead of Travis. I mean, Parker seemed more like my type of guy, he was going to study at Harvard Med School, he drove this fancy car, he was sweet, his family had an Italian restaurant and he would treat Abby "right." So, even though, as a reader I loved Travis and I wanted to punch Abby in the face, I still understood her. 
Yet, Mare was my favorite female character because she was the type of friend you just need. She is understanding, loved Abby and always protects her because she knows her the best. Also, seeing the relationship she had with Shepley was beautiful. 
Shepley is that character in many novels, where you end up loving a male character almost as much as you love the main one because they are caring, sweet and just lovely, and in this case, it was Shepley. He fits the typical Maddox style, yet he´s super sweet and nice, which really makes you naturally love him!
On the other hand, Travis Maddox is just AMAZING! He´s charming, arrogant, has a killer smile, has a dimple, everyone wants to sleep with him, has several tattoos, smart and wins EVERY fight. In other words, he´s like the type of guy every girl needs by her side. But, that´s not it, he gets really jealous and he´s extremely caring and sweet when it comes to his pigeon. Also, he´s very protective of the ones he loved, something that is normal for the Maddox family.
Aside from the characters being amazing, I loved the way the story was written, it was very fun and clever. The story would have been great without the brothers, but they made it so special, they made me love the story more because they are so amazing! You just have to read all of their stories. 
A thing that I absolutely loved about the writing was how much the author thought about Abby because she totally skipped a chapter because Abby hates that number! So, it was very refreshing to see an author that really tried writing with the main character´s personality.
I really recommend this book to anyone that is not very picky in the sense of mature content because it did make me feel shocked to read certain parts being only 12, but if you are willing to read amazing characters and a beautiful story about love, friendship and family with mature content, this book is right for you! And I guarantee that you will end up falling in love with the Maddox Brothers!

5 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua

In Twenty Years, Allison Winn Scotch

In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

Six students from Penn lived together in a small apartment almost twenty years ago, and before they left, they all made a promise to stay friends and to meet again in twenty years. So, when five of them gets a package from Bea, a friend that has passed away and that was always so happy to keep the group together, saying that she has purchased the apartment and that she wants them to gather for her 40th, the five of them decide to visit, even when their own lives are falling apart.
Catherine, the CEO of a domestic empire, who is struggling to keep her company; Owen, a stay at home dad, who is married to Catherine after they were the cutest couple in college; Colin, a plastic surgeon that is trying to keep Bea´s secret; Annie, a stay at home mom that tries to show an ideal life in social media to cover her loneliness; Lindy, a famous rock star who is struggling to find herself and the music she loves; and Bea, the brightest and the most passionate person anyone has ever met.
They all gather these fourth of July trying to celebrate Bea, one of their best friends, some of them may not be in the best terms with each other, but one thing is clear: Bea is the missing link that they all need, what they need in order to become a family again because that´s how family works, when one person starts disliking someone, there will always be someone else that will bring them back together. And Bea is exactly what they need and they are what Bea needs.
This is the type of novel that you would expect to read when you love novels that narrate stories about a group of people in college, in my case, I have only read one in Spanish, which I absolutely loved, and I am not saying that the characters are similar or the plot, but it follows a group of people that were once inseparable in college, where many dreams start and many ends. It was interesting to read a story that narrated the beginnings and the endings of relationships.
I really liked the different characters because they brought different aspects of adult life, for example, we could see how sometimes your dreams don´t work out and you find an alternative like Owen, or how sometimes those dreams change like Annie´s, or how those you dream of when you are younger can actually come true like Lindy´s. Also, seeing how characters with different traits and dreams could be connected by a friendship that was shared years before, was beautiful because it showed that people change and that is almost inevitable, but small moments and things that become meaningful to us will always stay like that because they will be saved in a special place inside us that may change the way the moment was truly.
I enjoyed the way the characters were created because you were able to see the good and bad sides of each character, they felt very human-like since some of them struggled with things that others didn´t and they all had their different points of view.
I liked how every character was struggling on their own and was afraid to show others about it because it happens in real life too, people are always afraid to show others what they are struggling with because we have evolved into a society that is supposed to not show others what makes us seem weak. Also, this side of the characters really adds to the story itself and the experience because every character has a secret of their own that you start discovering while reading the novel.
On the other hand, I loved the different themes and topics In Twenty Years included, it shows how we tend to act around others and how we change throughout the time and how our lives only change because we decide to make that turn.
I enjoyed learning about their journey from college till their forties because it is a part of life that no one really talks about, especially at my age because we are so eager to go to college that we don´t usually think about what happens next, so reading about it kind of gave me an idea of what could happen and it definitely made me start thinking about my own future because not everything may work out for me. 
Another theme that I liked reading about was how sometimes life is so easy but we decide to take the difficult route to the things that we want or the route that consumes too much time that sometimes makes us wonder and formulate all these what-ifs. 
Moving on, I loved the writing because it was so beautiful and it taught me a lot of meaningful things that really added a nice touch to the novel that already taught you a lot about friendships, dreams and growing up.
I liked how each chapter was about a different character, although the characters didn´t really narrate the novel, they still got their minds read by a third point of view. 
As much as I liked the novel, there were several things that I didn´t enjoy too. I didn´t really like the pace of the novel because it was too slow for me. I mean, there were too many times that scenes were lived again by a different character and it was kind of tiring at some point, but nothing too extreme. Also, I feel like there were many characters that I didn´t get to know too well, like Colin, who was a character that I really wanted to read about since he was the closest to Bea.
On the brighter side, I liked the way that Bea was still present in the story because her being there was like the linking part of the group and it was beautiful to see how a person´s heart can still be there if there are people that want her to be there. 
In general, this was a very pleasant reading, you will be crying and laughing with the characters because they are full of life and they have different personalities and comments that will keep you going for a long time! 

4 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua