Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Title: Unraveling Isobel
Author: Eileen Cook
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Source: Bought
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Summary: Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.
But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.


Review: If nothing else, Unraveling Isobel is funny. But it has so many other things going for it. It's creepy and the romance will melt your heart.


Isobel is literally one of the funniest characters that I've read about it a long time. She always had the best comebacks and snark. It definitely feel like it was scripted because that's a major turn off in books for me. Another thing that I just loved about Isobel was her lists! She made the best lists, and if you know me I love lists. The book even starts off with a list. In a way, it was what made me pick up Unraveling Isobel so easily.


Another plus to Unraveling Isobel was the romance. It was so sweet and steamy at the same time. It takes awhile for the romance between Isobel and Nate to actually start but once it does you won't be able to put the book down. The other supporting characters aren't as great but Nate and Isobel, as characters, make up for that.


Unraveling Isobel also has a paranormal element but it's very undefined and not developed. I liked it but I just wanted a bit more information about it. But it did add an awesome amount of creepiness to the book. And that was just fantastic!


Even though Unraveling Isobel has quite a few mixed reviews, I'd still recommend it for its funny factor and its characters. The ghosts and paranormal elements are just an added bonus.


Rating:

The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook

Title: The Education of Hailey Kendrick
Author: Eileen Cook
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: January 4, 2011
Source: Library

Summary: Hailey Kendrick always does exactly what's expected of her. She has the right friends, dates the perfect boy, gets good grades, and follows all the rules. But one night, Hailey risks everything by breaking a very big rule in a very public way...and with a very unexpected partner in crime. Hailey gets caught, but her accomplice does not, and Hailey takes the fall for both of them.

Suddenly, Hailey's perfect life--and her reputation--are blowing up in her face. Her friends are all avoiding her. Her teachers don't trust her. Her boyfriend won't even speak to her for long enough to tell her that she's been dumped.

They say honesty is the best policy--but some secrets are worth keeping, no matter the cost. Or are they?

Review: The Education of Hailey Kendrick was a quick, yet super fun, book that had some surprising depth to it.

I identified with Hailey right away. She is very determined, hard working, smart. I immediately admire that about characters in books, plus Hailey isn't too far from being me. Except I'm a little bit more laid back, I think. Hailey was a character that I liked from the start and as I saw her develop as a character she definitely had an impact on my reading experience.

The rule-breaking Hailey did was so clever! I'm so glad it wasn't mentioned in the summary, that would have ruined it all. Seriously, read this book just to see what trouble Hailey got herself into and what she does to get herself out of it.

It was hilarious. I LOVE funny books. Of course, not all of the book was funny. There was some serious problems broached in Hailey's life. Nothing too serious but enough to be mentioned.

Overall, The Education of Hailey Kendrick was a sweet book with such the right amount of everything: romance, family problems, and pranks. Especially that last one.

Rating: 4.5 stars