aliterarymess's review
3.0
I got this Book as an ARC from Netgalley for an honest Review.\
3 OUT OF 5 STARS
“Somehow I’d gone through my life not realizing what I've been missing.Existing but not really…living.”
Casey Loved her job as a DJ. It is the only thing keeping her connected to people who other wise she would avoid. She forces herself to believe that everything is okay, she made herself not think about the past, about what and who she lost because she knows that when she faces that truth, her reality. She looses herself. But when she get the chance of living a happy life with someone who makes her look forward to things she would have never imagine. Casey knows she has to evaluate her decisions and weight her options, because if she tell the truth she think she might lose something important again.
“Life Isn't going to be perfect or safe or peaceful, so you have to grab hold of those things that give you pleasure when they’re here”
I liked this book but I didn't love it. At moments I coughed myself sighing of how sweet it was but at the end of the day it was missing something. The idea of the book was great,I was really looking forward to it and the cover was amazing. But the relationships where so superficial to me. There was never a reason of why Casey and Daniel liked each other than they found each other attractive.
“…But honey your life already has started. You've been living this whole time without really owning it.”
I liked Casey and lot and I can’t imagine what she when through, she was a very strong character and I can say i liked he more that Daniel. He was sweet and I have liked my fair share of Daniel in life (The opinionated smart guy in class with the green eyes) But he got on my nerves so bad. He claimed he liked Casey and understood said he wouldn't pressure her and on the next page he would flip at her because she didn't trust him with her past. It was usually so abrupt and so unconsidered to her , especially after she finally told him of her scars and how she explained she wasn't ready to talk yet. On the bright side, I liked Megan and Grandma oh and Justin, They made for a really nice group of support for Casey even when she pushed some of most away, they where there and showed their support.
I would recommend this book to people who like an intense back story and cute endings. If you don;t like abrupt changes of pace not. But over all it was a good book, short and it made for a nice
3 OUT OF 5 STARS
“Somehow I’d gone through my life not realizing what I've been missing.Existing but not really…living.”
Casey Loved her job as a DJ. It is the only thing keeping her connected to people who other wise she would avoid. She forces herself to believe that everything is okay, she made herself not think about the past, about what and who she lost because she knows that when she faces that truth, her reality. She looses herself. But when she get the chance of living a happy life with someone who makes her look forward to things she would have never imagine. Casey knows she has to evaluate her decisions and weight her options, because if she tell the truth she think she might lose something important again.
“Life Isn't going to be perfect or safe or peaceful, so you have to grab hold of those things that give you pleasure when they’re here”
I liked this book but I didn't love it. At moments I coughed myself sighing of how sweet it was but at the end of the day it was missing something. The idea of the book was great,I was really looking forward to it and the cover was amazing. But the relationships where so superficial to me. There was never a reason of why Casey and Daniel liked each other than they found each other attractive.
“…But honey your life already has started. You've been living this whole time without really owning it.”
I liked Casey and lot and I can’t imagine what she when through, she was a very strong character and I can say i liked he more that Daniel. He was sweet and I have liked my fair share of Daniel in life (The opinionated smart guy in class with the green eyes) But he got on my nerves so bad. He claimed he liked Casey and understood said he wouldn't pressure her and on the next page he would flip at her because she didn't trust him with her past. It was usually so abrupt and so unconsidered to her , especially after she finally told him of her scars and how she explained she wasn't ready to talk yet. On the bright side, I liked Megan and Grandma oh and Justin, They made for a really nice group of support for Casey even when she pushed some of most away, they where there and showed their support.
I would recommend this book to people who like an intense back story and cute endings. If you don;t like abrupt changes of pace not. But over all it was a good book, short and it made for a nice
hoots222's review
3.0
I received this book from Goodreads First Reads Giveaways.
Overall this was an okay book. The story line was unique and well written. Casey and Daniel had good chemistry and I could really feel how much Daniel cares about Casey. This is my first Rhonda Helms book and I interested to read what else she comes up with.
Overall this was an okay book. The story line was unique and well written. Casey and Daniel had good chemistry and I could really feel how much Daniel cares about Casey. This is my first Rhonda Helms book and I interested to read what else she comes up with.
berls's review
4.0
This review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun.
I like New Adult, but I’m also cautious about picking a NA book. They can be MORE angsty than YA, thanks to broken heroes and heroines “saving” each other. But Scratch looked like it could be one of the good ones. And it was.
I think the number one indicator that Scratch wouldn’t be weighed down with melodrama came when I met the guy – Daniel. He’s smart, personable, respectful, doing well in school. He’s got his shit together. I think I was giddy when I realized Daniel would not need saving in Scratch. And so I proceeded to fall for him.
As does our main character – Casey. Now life can’t be perfect, or where would the story be, right? So yeah, Casey has some issues. But there were two things I loved about how Rhonda Helms wrote Casey’s issues:
1They are freaking REAL problems (and not of her own making). I don’t want to spoil anything for you – because learning all the details of how she ended up so incredibly scarred (not just emotionally, but physically) is part of the story – but her problems felt seriously legitimate to me.
2Casey is as far as it gets from a cry baby. She’s had a freaking hard hand dealt to her, but she’s living her life as best as she can. She’s working hard at work at school. She’s got something she loves in her music. She has a great relationship with her grandparents who’ve raised her. She’s just very withdrawn – she doesn’t trust easily or much (understandably). Even that, though, is something she’s trying to work on.
So Daniel comes along and Casey starts pushing herself outside of her comfort zones. Thanks to some pushes from him and her roommate, she makes real strides. But Rhonda didn’t write Casey as a girl who needs or wants saving.
And that’s the final reason I really enjoyed Scratch – Daniel’s a great guy, and he’d like nothing more than to save Casey. But that’s not how it works in life – people don’t save you, because it can’t work that way. You have to save yourself – and so does Casey.
Scratch wasn’t perfect – there was some really stupid melodrama with the roommate that just didn’t work for me. In fact, the roommate often didn’t quite fit. But as a whole, Scratch was a really satisfying New Adult romance and I wouldn’t hesitate picking up another book by Rhonda Helms.
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I like New Adult, but I’m also cautious about picking a NA book. They can be MORE angsty than YA, thanks to broken heroes and heroines “saving” each other. But Scratch looked like it could be one of the good ones. And it was.
I think the number one indicator that Scratch wouldn’t be weighed down with melodrama came when I met the guy – Daniel. He’s smart, personable, respectful, doing well in school. He’s got his shit together. I think I was giddy when I realized Daniel would not need saving in Scratch. And so I proceeded to fall for him.
As does our main character – Casey. Now life can’t be perfect, or where would the story be, right? So yeah, Casey has some issues. But there were two things I loved about how Rhonda Helms wrote Casey’s issues:
1They are freaking REAL problems (and not of her own making). I don’t want to spoil anything for you – because learning all the details of how she ended up so incredibly scarred (not just emotionally, but physically) is part of the story – but her problems felt seriously legitimate to me.
2Casey is as far as it gets from a cry baby. She’s had a freaking hard hand dealt to her, but she’s living her life as best as she can. She’s working hard at work at school. She’s got something she loves in her music. She has a great relationship with her grandparents who’ve raised her. She’s just very withdrawn – she doesn’t trust easily or much (understandably). Even that, though, is something she’s trying to work on.
So Daniel comes along and Casey starts pushing herself outside of her comfort zones. Thanks to some pushes from him and her roommate, she makes real strides. But Rhonda didn’t write Casey as a girl who needs or wants saving.
And that’s the final reason I really enjoyed Scratch – Daniel’s a great guy, and he’d like nothing more than to save Casey. But that’s not how it works in life – people don’t save you, because it can’t work that way. You have to save yourself – and so does Casey.
Scratch wasn’t perfect – there was some really stupid melodrama with the roommate that just didn’t work for me. In fact, the roommate often didn’t quite fit. But as a whole, Scratch was a really satisfying New Adult romance and I wouldn’t hesitate picking up another book by Rhonda Helms.
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
booklovinmamas's review
3.0
Full Review posted at Book Lovin' Mamas
Scratch is full of all the usual elements of the New Adult genre, but instead, it has a very determined boy (who isn't broken) continue to push at the female character, Casey's buttons. Casey is what you would consider very broken because of the scars she hides inside her and outside of her. She has every right to protect the truth of what happened, but she does it in a way that is going to test the people around her who want to get closer. She feels she'll be judged by the past she had no control over. Readers will be in shock what Casey went through. I was one of those readers from the minute the past came forward; I felt sympathy for poor Casey. The poor girl needed some closure, and she needed someone to show her actual love.
The one thing that bothered me was how quick the ending came. I felt there was no real closure or complete happiness for Casey. It was rushed, and I expected a little more to the conclusion. There was the issue of Casey driving me crazy with her constant back and forth attitude with Daniel. The poor boy just wanted to learn more about her and every time he came close to her; she pushed back harder than anything.
Overall Scratch was an enjoyable book that brought forth issues that I've never read before. I give it 3.5 moons and recommend it to readers looking for something different to read in the New Adult genre that has become highly popular in recent years.
Scratch is full of all the usual elements of the New Adult genre, but instead, it has a very determined boy (who isn't broken) continue to push at the female character, Casey's buttons. Casey is what you would consider very broken because of the scars she hides inside her and outside of her. She has every right to protect the truth of what happened, but she does it in a way that is going to test the people around her who want to get closer. She feels she'll be judged by the past she had no control over. Readers will be in shock what Casey went through. I was one of those readers from the minute the past came forward; I felt sympathy for poor Casey. The poor girl needed some closure, and she needed someone to show her actual love.
The one thing that bothered me was how quick the ending came. I felt there was no real closure or complete happiness for Casey. It was rushed, and I expected a little more to the conclusion. There was the issue of Casey driving me crazy with her constant back and forth attitude with Daniel. The poor boy just wanted to learn more about her and every time he came close to her; she pushed back harder than anything.
Overall Scratch was an enjoyable book that brought forth issues that I've never read before. I give it 3.5 moons and recommend it to readers looking for something different to read in the New Adult genre that has become highly popular in recent years.
reading_addict_lemon's review
4.0
Original post on http://readingadd.blogspot.ro/
I haven't read from this author before and I didn't knew what to expect. Sometimes I try not to have huge expectations because it happened to me that even the cover is pretty and the synopsis is good the book sucked.
This novel was very good, not intense but there were some deep parts, a lot of emotions and feelings, the characters seemed real and I could sympathize with them. I liked that it was written simple, naturaly, but it had a lot of emotions, different types, and some were so raw. Not so many books discuss serious stuff and in a serious way, and this one did this, kind of. It wasn't perfect and I can't say that I'm in love with it but I really enjoyed it and compared with my low expectations it was amazing.
I won't talk about the plot or what's going on - if you want to find out that pick up the book and read it. But I can say that I like that everything that was brought in the book was discussed, used and thought. Nothing is left behind, each action and character has a role and near the end you can see the things mixing and completting each other. In the last period I had and I'm still having a problem with NA novels because they seem fake and written stereotypicaly. Well, this wasn't, kind of. It had some typical cliches, but the 'deep' part saved it. The huge package of emotions, the good and needed dialogue and the characters saved this book and took it out from the crowd.
If I'll talk about the characters I'll say that I liked them both. Daniel had good and bad parts and Casey too. Daniel did a thing that bothered Casey and me a little bit but I understood why he done it. But... no one is perfect. They are both nice people, I liked how they talked and what they talked, how their relathionship grew, and how they changed throughout the story.
What bothered me a little about this book was the ending. Maybe if it was a little bit longer, like a chapter more. I mean, after the huge 'discussion' and problem resolved the book ended. Meh...I'm not a huge fan of this endings.
So, if you want a New Adult based more on feelings, emotions, deep stuff, than sex and parties then you can try this. I recommend this to everyone.
!Recieved through NetGalley!
I haven't read from this author before and I didn't knew what to expect. Sometimes I try not to have huge expectations because it happened to me that even the cover is pretty and the synopsis is good the book sucked.
This novel was very good, not intense but there were some deep parts, a lot of emotions and feelings, the characters seemed real and I could sympathize with them. I liked that it was written simple, naturaly, but it had a lot of emotions, different types, and some were so raw. Not so many books discuss serious stuff and in a serious way, and this one did this, kind of. It wasn't perfect and I can't say that I'm in love with it but I really enjoyed it and compared with my low expectations it was amazing.
I won't talk about the plot or what's going on - if you want to find out that pick up the book and read it. But I can say that I like that everything that was brought in the book was discussed, used and thought. Nothing is left behind, each action and character has a role and near the end you can see the things mixing and completting each other. In the last period I had and I'm still having a problem with NA novels because they seem fake and written stereotypicaly. Well, this wasn't, kind of. It had some typical cliches, but the 'deep' part saved it. The huge package of emotions, the good and needed dialogue and the characters saved this book and took it out from the crowd.
If I'll talk about the characters I'll say that I liked them both. Daniel had good and bad parts and Casey too. Daniel did a thing that bothered Casey and me a little bit but I understood why he done it. But... no one is perfect. They are both nice people, I liked how they talked and what they talked, how their relathionship grew, and how they changed throughout the story.
What bothered me a little about this book was the ending. Maybe if it was a little bit longer, like a chapter more. I mean, after the huge 'discussion' and problem resolved the book ended. Meh...I'm not a huge fan of this endings.
So, if you want a New Adult based more on feelings, emotions, deep stuff, than sex and parties then you can try this. I recommend this to everyone.
!Recieved through NetGalley!
alexandraflorence's review
I was so overcome with boredom while reading Scratch that I'm sorry to say I couldn't finish reading it. I thought I was going to enjoy it, on the outside it seems like your normal New Adult novel, with the heroine having to overcome some sort of tragedy. But for me this one just didn't match up to all of the others that I've read (and there's been a lot!)
Why, I hear you ask. Well, for me there was no mystery in Scratch, Casey pretty much tells us everything within the first few chapters. That meant that I felt the 'big reveal' wouldn't be so big after all.
Secondly, the whole thing focussed way too much on her and Daniel. I get it, they're falling in love and it's a first for her, but EVERY paragraph was about their relationship. Talk about boring! At the beginning I really enjoyed seeing her as a DJ. Well that didn't happen again. I got so bored reading Scratch that sadly I stopped reading it.
Why, I hear you ask. Well, for me there was no mystery in Scratch, Casey pretty much tells us everything within the first few chapters. That meant that I felt the 'big reveal' wouldn't be so big after all.
Secondly, the whole thing focussed way too much on her and Daniel. I get it, they're falling in love and it's a first for her, but EVERY paragraph was about their relationship. Talk about boring! At the beginning I really enjoyed seeing her as a DJ. Well that didn't happen again. I got so bored reading Scratch that sadly I stopped reading it.
rebecca_isreading's review
2.0
Review copy provided by NetGalley. Another new adult novel, another damaged girl and another hot guy to save her. Scratch checks all of the expected boxes for a new adult, contemporary romance without having much that is unique to its own story or furthers the genre. While there was promise in the idea of a female DJ, that element of the story was mostly dropped early in the story for more of the "romance." Unlike some new adult novels, I'm not expecting to see a retelling from the male perspective anytime soon as this novel's main male character was fairly uninspiring. For those who just can't get enough new adult, this one might work, but those looking for something more unique should continue the quest.
rosepetals1984's review
1.0
Quick review for a fairly quick read. I think the only thing I can say that was good about "Scratch" was that it was a mercifully quick read. Oddly enough, that was also the major problem with it. This first read I've perused by Rhonda Helms has an ironic name attached to it, because reading this felt like the narrative only barely skimmed the surface of all the themes it chose to touch upon for the story. The idea for the premise actually isn't bad at all - a girl passionate about music DJing at a club has to grapple with events of her past while finding love at the same time. It's formulaic, but I thought I'd be in for a better read than what was handed to me. And that cover, man. It's a good cover, I love the colors and the thematic/promise of a music theme.
But that's all it was: an empty promise.
The writing in this was terrible. I kid you not. Besides the paint by numbers adaptation of New Adult thematics, I think the writing was the thing that ruined this narrative for me the most. It was far too shallow with its presentation of everything - from the heroine's problems, to the instalust between Casey and Daniel, to just...everything. It's not the plot itself that's the problem, because a better writer could've made that formula work. Here? Dude, no. I've never read a heroine whose nipples pebbled so much at the mere touch or just for standing in the vicinity of the hero. Or the way she kept saying over and over again that she "never felt anything like *insert experience here* before". It beats you over the head and the emotion feels forced and false.
And I still can't get over how one can "fluff" their boobs.
Yeah, I can't recommend this one, sadly. There are much better narratives that actually take the time and energy to develop their characters, scenarios, and tragic circumstances with much more maturity and value than this did, and it was to its own disservice that the presentation did not work for it.
Overall score: 0.5/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
But that's all it was: an empty promise.
The writing in this was terrible. I kid you not. Besides the paint by numbers adaptation of New Adult thematics, I think the writing was the thing that ruined this narrative for me the most. It was far too shallow with its presentation of everything - from the heroine's problems, to the instalust between Casey and Daniel, to just...everything. It's not the plot itself that's the problem, because a better writer could've made that formula work. Here? Dude, no. I've never read a heroine whose nipples pebbled so much at the mere touch or just for standing in the vicinity of the hero. Or the way she kept saying over and over again that she "never felt anything like *insert experience here* before". It beats you over the head and the emotion feels forced and false.
And I still can't get over how one can "fluff" their boobs.
Yeah, I can't recommend this one, sadly. There are much better narratives that actually take the time and energy to develop their characters, scenarios, and tragic circumstances with much more maturity and value than this did, and it was to its own disservice that the presentation did not work for it.
Overall score: 0.5/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
kathleenverhetsel's review
3.0
3.5/5
Na mijn eerste kennismaking met New Adult waren mijn verwachtingen voor dit boek niet al te hoog. Beetje romantiek, beetje sexy times, beetje emotionele rollercoaster,... The works. En ja, al die dingen zitten ook in dit boek, maar er zit nog een extra laag in dit verhaal die me een paar keer een serieuze krop in mijn keel bezorgde. Niet het beste boek, dat zeker niet, maar ik was er aangenaam door verrast.
Na mijn eerste kennismaking met New Adult waren mijn verwachtingen voor dit boek niet al te hoog. Beetje romantiek, beetje sexy times, beetje emotionele rollercoaster,... The works. En ja, al die dingen zitten ook in dit boek, maar er zit nog een extra laag in dit verhaal die me een paar keer een serieuze krop in mijn keel bezorgde. Niet het beste boek, dat zeker niet, maar ik was er aangenaam door verrast.