This awesome survey was created by the lovely Jasmine at Flip that Page, and after reading Jasprit's over at The Reader's Den, I felt like it was the perfect way to round up my favourite (and least favourite) books. For those of you that know me, you also know that I love Harry Potter, so I figure this is a win-win.

If you want to play along, too, it's simple enough! Take the spells from Harry Potter and answer the prompts about books you've read...Today's part one of the survey involves books I, personally, would like to cast some serious spells on. So, without further ado, here we go.

Stupefy

Puts victims in an unconscious state

A book with a chapter you couldn't seem to get over: Allegiant by Veronica Roth. There's a part of me that loved and appreciated how it ended, but there's another part of me that's just mad.

Confundo

Causes befuddlement and forgetfulness

A book that generally confused you: Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst. There was a lot going on in this book, but so very little of it actually made much sense to me.

Crucio

Inflicts unbearable pain

A book that was a pain to read: Fault Line by Christa Desir. This book was so very ehhhhhh to me. So much of it just made me feel gross and awkward.

Episkey

Heals relatively minor injuries

A feel-good book that you enjoyed: Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was certainly enjoyable.

Expelliarmus

Temporarily disarms the opponent

A book with a swoon-worthy character: Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars. He was flawed and broken but oh-so beautiful.

Impedimenta

Impedes an object's progress

A book that kept you up all night reading: Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis. THIS is how you do dystopian properly. I'm completely serious.

Silencio

Immediate silencing

A book that left you speechless after reading it: Hate List by Jennifer Brown. It's rare that I read a book so very profound that I actually struggle to review it, but this was one of those.

Legilimens

Allows you to delve into someone's mind

A book with well-developed characters: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd. This book was so well-developed, and the characters are phenomenal. All of them.

Levicorpus

A spell that turns you upside down

A book that changed your mind about a character from its prequel: We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han. I was always torn between Jeremiah and Conrad, and Conrad took the cake for me like he's never done so before.

Obliviate

Used to hide memories

A book with a story that you can't remember: Vixen by Jillian Larkin. Despite the fact that I was so excited to read this book, I can't for the life of me tell you what sets it apart from the rest.

Reducto

Breaks through solid objects

A book that convinced you to reconsider a genre: Pawn by Aimee Carter. I've honestly had my fill of dystopian in the past two years, but this book really stands out from the crowd this year.

Rictumsempra

The tickling spell

A book that made you laugh: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. I swear this series never failed to make me smile and giggle and laugh uncontrollably.

Tarantellegra

Makes you dance uncontrollably

A series finale that made you giddy: The Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead. I never thought I'd get on this journey with everyone else, but I did, and I loved it.

Bombarda Maxima

Causes an explosion that breaks through obstacles

A book that made you explode with the feels: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. This is a dark, emotional, powerful and highly underrated read. It's incredible.

Finite Incantatem

Nullifies other spells

A book you thought you'd dislike but ended up loving: Find Me by Romily Bernard. Honestly, I didn't see this being anything I'd really enjoy, but it was, and I did. It's fantastic.

Title: Racing Savannah
Author: Miranda Kenneally (Twitter)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publish Date: December 3, 2013
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher

They’re from two different worlds.

He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries.

With her dream of becoming a horse jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack…

It's no secret that Miranda Kenneally's stories are a bit more like guilty pleasure reads for me, if only because I know I can expect fun, sweet, light-hearted romance. The beautiful thing about Racing Savannah though, is that while, yes, it is all of the above, it is also so much more. It's funny. It's sarcastic. It's relevant. And, just when I'm certain we're going to get a story that offers more sweet than substance, the novel surprises me and offers true character growth and development. It's something I've come to expect from Ms. Kenneally's books. While on the one hand, we get plenty of sweetness and flirty romance, on the other hand, we also get a surprising amount of depth. Racing Savannah is no exception, and as we truly get to know Savannah and Jack, it's a pleasure to catch glimpses of our former favourite characters who have since grown up and moved on with their lives.

Savannah was, perhaps, the most lovable heroine I've read about in a good while. She's one of the lone women in a man's world of horse jockeying, yet she takes the sidelong glances, the whispers and the snark in stride. She had this infectious personality that brims over and reels us into her story in a way that makes it impossible not to fall in love with her and her big dreams. Jack surprised me, as well. From the premise, I worried that we would fall into the trap in which we're stuck with a "poor little rich boy," but he surprised me with his depth and the amount of complexity within him. He was the perfect counterbalance for Savannah, and watching their two characters meet, mingle and begin to grow in a similar direction was truly fun and, at times, so sweet it hurt.

I think that the true strength of Racing Savannah though, is the painstaking amount of care that the author put into crafting such a story. A lesser author might have rested on the laurels of the age-old "star-crossed lovers from different sides of the track," but Ms. Kenneally gives us far more than that. We're given Savannah, who has far less than Jack, but lives a comfortable, empowered and happy day-to-day life. Then we Jack, who has been given everything - wealth, privilege, responsibility - but he has an earnest inner yearning for more that was actually quite tangible. He'd been given everything he'd ever wanted in life, and this is the first time that he actually had to stand up and fight for something he really wanted, all the while still balancing his responsibilities and desire to please his father.

Overall, Racing Savannah pleasantly surprised me. While yes, at times, the novel is a bit more saccharine than I might hope for, there is also a beautiful, powerful amount of depth to this love story. I can't help it - I'm just in love with these books. I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction and sweet romance.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.