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...

Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss - Kasie West

Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

See the source imageBlurb (on back of book): Fan favorite author Kasie West delivers an effervescent story about chasing your dreams and following your heart, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Huntley Fitzpatrick. 
Lacey Barnes has dreamed of being an actress for as long as she can remember. So when she gets the opportunity to star in a movie alongside one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, she doesn’t hesitate to accept the part.
But Lacey quickly learns that life in the spotlight isn’t as picture perfect as she imagined. She’s having trouble bonding with her costars, her father has hired the definition of a choir boy, Donavan Lake, to tutor her, and somewhere along the way she’s lost her acting mojo. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get any worse, it looks like someone on set is deliberately trying to sabotage her.
As Lacey’s world spins out of control, it feels like the only person she can count on—whether it’s helping her try to unravel the mystery of who is out to get her or snap her out of her acting funk—is Donavan. But what she doesn’t count on is this straight-laced boy becoming another distraction.
With her entire future riding on this movie, Lacey knows she can’t afford to get sidetracked by a crush. But for the first time in her life Lacey wonders if it’s true that the best stories really do happen when you go off script.

MY OPINION: ***

*short-ish review*

This is my second or third Kasie West book I've read this year, I believe. I thought from the start that I was outgrowing her and I find that it's very possible that I truly have. This book did not have the same spark that her writing used to have for me. Maybe it's just this specific book or maybe it's just that I've outgrown her writing style.

I'm planning on going back and rereading some of her better books that I loved to truly get the final say but as of now, I wasn't the largest fan of this book as I used to be.

It's very cute. Not romantic, not hot, but cute. Fluffy, even. This book mixed in a bit of mystery and drama into it which I liked, mainly because I never read mystery so I had zero clue of the final answer.

Lacey is a character from one of West's books featuring Abby and Cooper. Lacey is an aspiring movie star who is also a senior in high school. She's just gotten her first large-ish movie role starring alongside Hollywood dreamboat Grant James, who seemed like an ass to me. She's doing independent studying but she doesn't do the best job with keeping up with her homework so her overbearing dad hires a tutor for her that goes to the school where her independent study teacher is.

Donavan is a complete straightlacer. He's a good boy, he wears all the proper clothes, he never seems to do anything wrong, and he's really charming. I quite liked him even though his personality does not fit my romantic interest quota in the slightest. I thought that he was cute and quirky and I loved how he was so willing to help.

The romance between Donavan and Lacey was not my favorite. I honestly didn't ship them. But I guess if they're happy, I'm happy.

The whole drama aspect of this book added something to the plot instead of it just being a typical cliche young adult romance novel, and I enjoyed trying to figure out who it was who was supposedly "sabotaging" Lacey in the movie.

The writing was simplistic and flew by quickly. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a fun, cutesy, fluffy romance novel with a hint of mystery sprinkled in on the side.

Main Character: Lacey
Sidekick(s): Donavan, Grant, Amanda, Abby, Cooper, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, sabotage person, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: Everything in this book could have happened in real life.

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