Saturday, May 5, 2012

Review: Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger & ARC giveaway!

Title: Midsummer's Nightmare
Author: Kody Keplinger
ISBN: 9780316084222
Publisher: Poppy

Pages: 304
Rating: 4
Synopsis: Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorced dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great. Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.



Hello! This is one of the wonderful books I snagged at TXLA. I had wonderful time at TXLA and met so many great bloggers and authors. I have wanted this book for so long. I was estatic when I picked up the ARC.

I love Kody's writing. I love, love, love it! Her character's voices are incredibly real and genuine. I liked Whitely from the first line. Kody's dialogue is original, funny, and real. It never feels forced. I never think "people wouldn't actually say that." She has such a good grip on reality. She always shows the truth. I can't get enough of it. I adored The Duff. Shut Out was a tiny bit disappointing to me. I didn't fall in love with it like I did The Duff, but A Midsummer's Nightmare- I fell in love with her writing all over again. 

Whitley is a little rough around the edges, but she's so likeable. She tries her hardest not to be liked, but really you can't help but want to be her friend. She's strong, sensitive, and a little lost. I cheered for her through every step of her journey. My heart broke for hers when she tried not to feel her emotions. I loved how caring she was even though she tried not to be. Whitley continually made me smirk throughout the novel with her actions and words. She's so familiar to me. I know people just like her in real life.

Nathan. Nate. Oh my, you gorgeous boy. I have a delictable image of him in my mind. He's kind, sweet, and surprising. I didn't expect some of the things he would say. Sometimes his emotions surprised me- but all in good ways. He's a fabulous love interest to lust after.

All of the surrounding characters are brilliant. Whitley's best friend is HILARIOUS. Her new stepsister has to be the sweetest girl. I want to slap and shake her dad until he woke up. Her stepmom's words melted me and made me pull for her.

This is an excellent novel and will be a fun summer read.

As for the giveaway....

I happen to have TWO ARCS. I will be giving ONE of them away! This book comes out on my birthday (June 5th) which is a month from today. I originally planned to leave to contest open until then, but I want one of you to have it before the release date. So, the contest will end on SUNDAY MAY 20 at MIDNIGHT.

What do you have to do? It's simple!
1) Leave a comment recommending a YA book. (I'm in need of something delicously good.)
2) This is not required, but if you would like extra entries- follow my blog. (leave your name please & a link to your blog- if you have one.)
3) Also, not required, but gets you extra entries- tweet about this contest. (leave me a link the comments. You can do this as many times as you desire. Each one will count as an entry.)
4) LEAVE YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDY so I can contact you if you are the winner!

I will select the winner at random. Good luck! Thank you so much for stopping by!