The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m
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Maybe This Time - Kasie West

Maybe This Time by Kasie West
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Image result for maybe this time bookBlurb (on back of book): One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?
Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year's Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.
Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn't so bad after all . . .
Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West shows how love can blossom in unexpected places. 

 MY OPINION: ***

~I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review~

So I actually just finished a REALLY long and detailed review but it just got deleted so...

ALSO I'm not entirely sure what I'm allowed to say or not to say so I'm marking everything as a spoiler just in case. SORRY FOR THE LINES THROUGH THE WORDS BECAUSE BLOGGER DOESN'T HAVE ANY OTHER WAY TO MARK THINGS AS SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY

SUMMARY OF WHAT THE ORIGINAL REVIEW SAID:

 1. Thank you for this ARC. I love Kasie West and her romance novels are to DIE for. She makes them so easy and fun to read and I love that about her writing. I was happy to be reading one of her books in advance especially because I've had previous positive experiences with her writing.

 2. IMPORTANT DETAILS TO KNOW: This book is told over one whole year through nine different "events." I thought that was very unique but I didn't get the sense that a year had gone by. Maybe because I read it so fast, but whatever the reason, I didn't feel like it had been an entire year by the end. In these nine events, Sophie and Andrew just happen to end up at each and every one. 

 3. PROTAGONIST: Sophie. She's been living in a small middle-of-nowhere town for her whole life with her mother and brother and best friend, Micah. Her dad left her to go pursue his dreams and she's on a similar path: she wants to leave her town to go to New York and study fashion. She's an aspiring fashion designer but she's forced to work at a flower shop when the dress alterations shop won't hire her. I felt like she grew a lot throughout this book from beginning to end. I liked how she started out rather self-centered but then grew to realize that her friends and family are more important than leaving her life behind. I also like how she patched things up with Andrew.

 4. LOVE INTEREST: Andrew. Aww, he was cute. My main problem with him was that I couldn't get a clear mental image of him. There were no concrete details about him. Instead, he seemed very generic. I didn't get a taste of any unique qualities about him. I would have liked something about him that made him different from every other rich-annoying-teenage-boy out there. Andrew starts out standoffish and vaguely insulted by Sophie's comments about his father but throughout the book, we really start to see how truly nice he is. I loved him and he and Sophie are the cutest couple!

 5. BEST FRIEND: Micah. AWW I WAS SO ANGRY THAT NOTHING REALLY HAPPENED WITH LANCE. We're supposed to think something happened but nothing really was set in stone so I was a little irritated by that fact. I would have liked some closure with her and everything that she had going on, but overall, I didn't like her. She brought up personal family details of Sophie's to try to hurt her which really made me angry. Best friends don't do that. 

 6. THE ENDING: Not gonna say much but it was so cute and got me all up in my feels about it haha

Overall, this book is cute and fun and so perfect for its summer release. I would highly recommend reading this if you like cute contemporary novels!

Main Character: Sophie
Sidekick(s): Andrew, Micah, Gunnar, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, leaving, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.

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