Miniviews # 6: White Hot Kiss & My Life Next Door

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication Date: February 1st, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 400

Series: The Dark Elements

Source: Purchased

Rating: 5/5

And once again JLA has managed to make me fall in love as she continues to feed my addiction. This book doesn't mess around. It has all the things! In normal JLA Paranormal style, it's a sexy action-packed book with snarky and hot characters. Our MC Layla is half gargoyle half demon, so that makes her one of a kind and pretty lonely. A few years ago she is "adopted" by a powerful gargoyle family. Where she finds her first friend in Zayne. He's pretty protective of Layla and is constantly telling her she's good. That she's a gargoyle. But her demon side is constantly reminding her that it's there too. So as much as Layla tries, she's still confused and pretty much on her own. She knows her gargoyle "family" hasn't told her anywhere close to enough about her past. So when Roth, a demon, suddenly comes into her life secrets start to be revealed about just how powerful Layla is. Now Roth, well he's just hot. JLA definitely knows how to write the hot jerky bad boy that make you swoon. Hard. And so far Roth takes the cake for the most swoon-worthy of them. You just gotta meet him to get the full effect. He's just snarky and indifferent. And he made me mark the hell out of my book with his one-liners(I'll post a picture below). I'll give you a little something, he has a few tattoos, one of them being a snake that comes alive and eats people. The snakes name is Bambi. And it just gets better from there. Layla's and Roth's chemistry is fantastic! And sure there might have been a smidge of instant-love(never said, but implied). But who the hell cares? Their relationship is solid!
That ending yo, it was a shocker. And like all the mean authors these days, I was left hanging and have to wait months for the sequel. This is definitely my fave JLA YA book. But it's in good competition.

Those aren't all just Roth, but 75% of them are his.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Publication Date: June 14th, 2012

Publisher: Dial Books

Pages: 394

Source: Purchased

Rating: 4.5/5

This one I've been wanting to read forever. But for some reason or another, it just kept getting pushed back. There's so much love for My Life Next Door that I just needed to know why. So finally I just picked it up and said screw everything else. And God, I loved it! It's definitely a summer romance read. There's an extremely cute romance. That unlike a lot of YA contemporary books happens almost right away. And reading along I thought that's all the book was going to be BUT I was wrong. There's definitely hints at some darker themes coming my way. And man was I shocked when that plot twist happens in the last third of the book.
So Samantha seems to have it all, private school, rich princess on the outside but that's of course far from the truth. Her sister and she have been raised by their mom. And well their mom is a piece of work. She is all about appearances. And Sam must fit that perfect persona. Sam definitely doesn't come across as a princess. She's a little quirky. But really she's obviously a confused teenager. She wants to please her mom but it's also her life. And she does not want the things her mom expects of her. I do wish she would have stuck up for herself with her mom. Her mom just walks all over her for most of the book.
Sam does spend a lot of her time watching her next door neighbors, the Garrett's. The Garrett's have a lot of kids(think Cheaper by the Dozen-ish). And when they moved in beside Sam's family years ago her mom was disgusted. But Sam finds them fascinating. They're a wonderful, loving family. One night when she's sitting on her roof watching the older kids goofing around, she suddenly gets a surprise when, Jase, one the boys the same age as her makes his way up to sit with her. It's the first contact she's really had with the family, and well it just progresses from there. Sam and Jase become a couple(a very cute couple) and she starts to spend all her free time with him and the rest of the family. She even helps by babysitting the younger ones.
And Jase. Jase. God, he's adorable. I just wanted to eat him right up. He's so good to and for Sam.
So the last half of the book did turn me into The Hulk. I was angry at a lot of characters. Just seeing red angry. First off, Sam's BFF Nan is a bitch. And says some very nasty things to her. There's also this guy Clay, who is Sam's mom's boyfriend(that's the short version of who he is to the story). And as soon as we meet him near the beginning of the book he was giving me bad vibes. And when that awful plot twist happens he just does some shitty things. As well as influencing Sam's mom to do these shitty things. So prepare for anger.
I also want to mention Tim, Nan's twin brother. He's messed up. Into drugs and alcohol. Can't keep a job. But with some help from Sam, Jase, and his Jase's dad, he really starts to get on the right path. And becomes the voice of reason towards a lot of situations. There's no doubt he's a very intelligent guy. And the fact that he's getting his own book makes me beyond excited.
I'm so happy to finally have experienced this book. I definitely understand why it gets the love it does. And I will definitely pick up anything else Fitzpatrick publishes.

Happy reading!

Brittany