Penny Reid

Review: Beard with Me by Penny Reid

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Title: Beard with Me (Winston Brothers #6)

Author: Penny Reid

Publication Date: 16 Sept 2019

Genres: Contemporary, Humor, Romance

Author's links: Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

My rating: 4.5 Stars

Blurb

‘Beard With Me’ is the origin story of Billy Winston and Scarlet St. Claire (aka Claire McClure) and is just the beginning of their epic love story.

No one is better at surviving than Scarlet St. Claire and making the best out of circumstances beyond her control is Scarlet’s specialty. In an apocalyptic situation, she’d be the last person on earth, hermitting like a pro, singing along to her CD Walkman, and dancing like no one is watching.

Scarlet is clever, Scarlet is careful, and Scarlet is smart . . . except when it comes to Billy Winston.

No one is better at fighting than Billy Winston and raging against his circumstances—because nothing is beyond his control—is Billy’s specialty. In an apocalyptic situation, he’d be the first person on earth to lead others to safety, overcome catastrophe, or die trying.

Billy is fearless, Billy is disciplined, and Billy is honorable . . . except when it comes to Scarlet St. Claire.

Review

It’s the start of Claire (here Scarlet) and Billy’s epic love story. This takes us back in time when they were teenagers and their love did not have a happy ending then.

I loved it, even though I had some issues with it. It’s moving, angsty, with the final 10% being particularly intense and making me cry the whole time I was reading them.

It’s told from dual POV and paints a very dark picture of their teen years - we see them both working hard on making the best of a very difficult situation. All that happens in this book explains who they have become as adults.

I loved seeing more of Cletus too and his own growth and change. Billy was amazing despite the mistakes he made. It was all done following a deep desire to care for everyone, to help, to support, to keep the people he loved safe from harm.

Claire is really young here, only 14 years of age. She has been through so much in life already and that’s has made her distrustful and cautious. I liked her voice and I felt deeply for everything she was going through.

As regards the romance, it was all about the magic of first love - the confusion,the thrill and anticipation coupled with doubts and trepidation at facing something for the first time. I liked how they worked out through their feelings for each other, starting for distrust, going through friendship and care to love and desire to be together.

At the same time despite it being kisses only and there was nothing graphic, I was disturbed by the way others sexualised Scarlet and the very descriptions of her desires/reactions made me uncomfortable. It’s likely a me thing but it was there and I didn’t like it. I was particularly bothered by Ben’s behaviour though I believe I was meant to feel that way about him and I am not hopeful about his actions towards Scarlet in the future.

Another thing that bothered me and I want to draw specific attention to it is the author’s casual attitude towards CWs expressed in the beginning of the book. I have been a fan of Penny Reid’s since she published her first book but I can’t overlook how dismissive she was about CWs. This book deals with some very heavy subject matter and I believe readers deserve information about that before starting the book. I will list my CWs in the end of my review.

This is somewhat spoilerish but it's important for me to mention it: the pregnancy and miscarriage plot didn’t quite work for me. It felt just a plot device and didn’t fit seamlessly in the story.

The ending was very emotionally heavy, not only because the MCs don’t get together but rather because we leave them when their lives are in complete shambles. I love the insight this story gives into why the Winston brothers and their sister end up the way they are when we met them in their own books.

CW: child abuse, cutting, violence, severe beating, accidental pregnancy and miscarriage, parental neglect, underage drinking

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Bikers

Review: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

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Title: Walk the Edge (Thunder Road #2)

Author: Katie McGarry

Date of publication: 29 March 2016

Genre: YA/NA romance, bikers

Author's links:

Facebook / Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Add to Goodreads

My rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds.

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.

Review

This is the second book in Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road series of YA/NA motorcycle club stories. I haven’t been reading much YA lately but I love Ms McGarry’s books and though the first one in this series was not a big hit with me, I was excited to try the next one.

I can honestly say I loved this one. It was so real and emotional, nothing light-hearted and easy about it. Its depth and seriousness were convincingly presented and the author made me care deeply about the characters.

I loved both Breanna and Razor and their romance was such a pleasure to follow. They seem complete opposites and two people who have nothing in common, yet they turned out to be just what the other needed.

I liked how the story explored serious issues they both face – her difficult family situation, the isolation even from her siblings and parents, all her hopes and dreams crushed because of family obligations, her parents' lack of care or proper concern about Breanna’s feelings. Her family were not downright bad, just complicated, well-meaning but also oblivious and missing a lot of what was going on with their kids.

Razor’s troubles and issues were much heavier in a way – troubles with the motorcycle club, his distrust of those closest to him (and it was well deserved because they were all keeping secrets from him, which was the least pleasant element of the story for me and one I really disliked), problems at school, the unresolved issue of his mother's death and the public opinion of him as crazty, unstable, dangereous bad boy biker.

Ultimately, what brought Breanna and Razor together was a mix of their own issues and just a little help of a truly nasty classmate. The whole blackmail situation was very interesting and highlighted a problem common for many young people, online harassment/bullying. I think the author handled the issues really well drawing attention to its importance in present day and how difficult it is for young people to fight it.

I also really loved the romance in the story – tender and tentative, first-time love, some naivete, some misunderstandings, but so much heart-warming love and desire to be together despite everybody’s disapproval. Things didn’t magically work out for Razor and Breanna. They issues they had were serious and needed time and interference from all the adults around them to be properly solved by the end.

It’s a story of personal growth, of first love, of (re)building family relationships and building your way into the future.

Depth and profoundness, a YA romance that deals with real issues many young people face. It’s tender and sweet but doesn’t shy away from the rougher edges of life, especially keeping in mind that Razor is a member of a (legitimate) motorcycle club.

It explores ideas of image and appearances, how the other see and judge you and how you see yourself and finding your way into adulthood.

Ms McGarry is my to-go author for YA romance and heartily recommend all her books for her realistic and compassionate treatment of the many of the issues young people face today. There will be more books in this series and I can’t wait to see what she has prepared in store for us with them.

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N | ibooks | Indie | Kobo

Katie McGarry

Release Day Blitz for Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

07:19

One moment...

That’s all it takes to change your life.

What happens when your entire future is on the line because of one reckless moment? This is what Breanna Miller and Thomas “Razor” Turner have to face in Katie McGarry’s WALK THE EDGE. Blackmail, family secrets, future plans on the verge of collapsing, two people who aren’t supposed to be together fall in love, and the power of social media in defining who you are when you’re not even sure who that person is yet…Join the Club and and immerse yourself in the world of the Reign of Terror. Pick up WALK THE EDGE today!

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyberbully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life.

Amazon * iBooks * Barnes and Noble * Kobo * Indiebound

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And don’t miss the first book in the Thunder Road Series,

NOWHERE BUT HERE!

DON’T MISS THIS AWESOME INCENTIVE OFFER FOR AN EXCLUSIVE ECHO AND NOAH SHORT STORY!

Order WALK THE EDGE, Register your Order by April 1st and receive an exclusive Echo and Noah short story and a chance to be in the next Thunder Road novel! Register at https://offerpop.com/campaign/796530.

Author Bio and links

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT.

Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

EXCERPT

“I’m here about your mother.” The asshole knows he has me when my eyes snap to his.

“She’s dead.” Like the other times I say the words, a part of me dies along with her.

This guy has green eyes and they soften like he’s apologetic. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve received some new evidence that may help us discover what caused her death.”

Anger curls within my muscles and my jaw twitches. This overwhelming sense of insanity is what I fight daily. For years, I’ve heard the whispers from the gossips in town, felt the stares of the kids in class, and I’ve sensed the pity of the men in the Reign of Terror I claim as brothers. It’s all accumulated to a black, hissing doubt in my soul.

Suicide.

It’s what everyone in town says happened. It’s in every hushed conversation people have the moment I turn my back. It’s not just from the people I couldn’t give two shits about, but the people who I consider family.

I shove away those thoughts and focus on what my father and the club have told me—what I have chosen to believe. “My mother’s death was an accident.”

He’s shaking his head and I’m fresh out of patience. I’m not doing this. Not with him. Not with anyone. “I’m not interested.”

I push off the railing and I did out the keys to my motorcycle as I bound down the steps. The detective’s behind me. He has a slow steady stride and it irritates me that he follows across the yard and doesn’t stop coming as I swing my leg over my bike.

“What if I told you I don’t think it was an accident,” he says.

Odds are it wasn’t. Odds are every whispered taunt in my direction is true. That my father and the club drove Mom crazy, and I wasn’t enough of a reason for her to choose life.

To drown him out, I start the engine. This guy must be as suicidal as people say Mom was because he eases in front of my bike assuming I won’t run him down.

“Thomas,” he says.

I twist the handle to rev the engine in warning. He raises his chin like he’s finally pissed and his eyes narrow on me. “Razor.”

I let the bike idle. If he’s going to respect me by using my road name, I’ll respect him for a few seconds. “Leave me the fuck alone.”

Damn if the man doesn’t possess balls the size of Montana. He steps closer to me and drops a bomb. “I have reason to believe your mom was murdered.”

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Megan Erickson

Waiting on Wednesday: Focus on Me by Megan Erickson

21:30

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: Focus on Me (In Focus #2)
Author: Megan Erickson
Genre/Themes: New Adult, M/M, road trip, mental illness
Release Date: 21 July 2015

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Pre-order: Amazon

Synopsis

Colin Hartman can now add college to his list of failures. On the coast-to-coast trek home from California, Colin stops at a gas station in the Nevada desert, and can’t help noticing the guy in tight jeans looking like he just stepped off a catwalk. When he realizes Catwalk is stranded, Colin offers a ride.

Riley only intended to take a short ride in Colin’s Jeep to the Grand Canyon. But one detour leads to another until they finally find themselves tumbling into bed together. However there are shadows in Riley’s eyes that hide a troubled past. And when those shadows threaten to bury the man whom Colin has fallen in love with, he vows to get Riley the help he needs. For once in his life, quitting isn’t an option.

Review

Why am I waiting for this? - I quite enjoyed book 1, Trust the Focus, though I had some issues with it. This one promises to be a bit darker and the reviews I read point out how powerful and emotional this story it. Plus it deals with mental issues and I have a soft spot for non-neurotypical characters.

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Bikers

Review: Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry

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Title: Nowhere but Here (Thunder Road #1)
Author: Katie McGarry
Date of publication: 26 May 2015
Genre: YA/NA romance, bikers

Author's links:
Facebook / Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Add to Goodreads

My rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

Review

I really like Ms McGarry Pushing the Limits series and I think they are some of the best realistic YA/NA stories out there. She creates truly memorable young people fighting for their place in life, figuring out who they are and what they want to be which I greatly enjoy.

This book is similar, yet different. It's book 1 in her new YA/NA series, Thunder Road, and the blurb describes it as a mixture of Sons of Anarchy and Westside Story. Now, I have to admit that SOA is one of my favourite TV series of all times though or may be because of that, most biker romances I've read don;t really work well for me.

I was curious to see a biker's club from a teenager's perspective (OZ's family is part of the club) and I have to say that this book didn't live up to my expectations, maybe they were too high, but still.

The story is told from dual POV, Emily and Oz, it's fast paced with some elements of suspense, but tame overall as far as Motorcycle clubs go. The storyline itself is quite complex and initially it was difficult to keep track of who is who and why things were happening the way they were.

The focus was on the bikers' world, the club business. It was all well developed and detailed but got repetitive and boring since it was all everybody was talking/doing. It read like cliche after cliche, just witht he insistence of their club and its business being legal. Things were rather tame, this being a YA/NA story the focus definitely was not on sex and violence (they were implied but not graphically presented).

Most of the characters really confused me and I didn't understand their actions or motivation. The heroine, Emily was not very likable. I understand the difficult situation she found herself in, but she came off naive and immature, further more everybody treated her like a small child all the time. The main conflict was based on this big secret everybody knew (or at least parts of it) kept from her. I really struggled to understand why everybody was so insistent on not telling her anything and I couldn't the logic behind their decisions. Why not just tell her? It's not something that can stay hidden forever. And Emily is 17 years old, your daughter, granddaughter, friend, lover, someone you care about. After all honesty is the basic element in any relationship, at least I think so.

I liked the hero, Oz, better than Emily, but still he didn't completely win me over. He was too focused on the becoming member of Reign of Terror, at least initially he was ready to do anything to get this, including hurt Emily. I liked his character development and felt there was real depth and growth. Emily was supposed to overcome her fear but she remained detached and somewhat bland for me till the end.

I was frustrated with the way the parents acted in this story - both Emily's biological family and her adoptive father, even Oz's parents seemed rather dysfunctional.

The romance was sweet, teenage, first-time of everything love and I liked it. I enjoyed the other teenagers (Oz's friends), Rachel was a particular favourite of mine, together with Razor and Chevy and I'm curious about their stories.

Overall, not a bad NA biker story, though I expected more.

Purchase links: Amazon * Kobo * BAM * B&N * iBooks * IndieBound

My reviews of previous books by Katie McGarry:
Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) - 3.5 Stars
Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3) - 5 Stars
Red At Night - 4 Stars

Bikers

Release Day Blitz for Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry

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We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Release Day Launch for Katie McGarry's NOWHERE BUT HERE!I It is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance and is a part of Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road Series, published by Harlequin Teen.

Amazon * Kobo * BAM * B&N * iBooks * IndieBound Add it to your Goodreads!

Synopsis

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

About the author

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Katie is the author of full length YA novels, Pushing the Limits, Dare You To, Crash Into You, Take Me On, Breaking the Rules, and Nowhere But Here and the e-novellas, Crossing the Line and Red at Night. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

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Dystopia

Review: Champion by Marie Lu

02:31

I'm joining another challenge this week. TBR Challenge 2015 hosted by Wendy at Misadventures of Superlibrarian. The topic for March was catching up with series we have neglected.

Title: Champion (Legend #3)
Author: Marie Lu
Date of publication: 5 November 2013
Genre/Themes: Young adults, Dystopia

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Add to Goodreads

My rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis

He is a Legend.

She is a Prodigy.

Who will be Champion?

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position.

But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything.

With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion.

Review

I used to read a lot of YA, including Dystopian back in 2011-2012 and Marie Lu's Legend series definitely stood out among the rest. I loved books 1 and 2, they had all the element I enjoy in dystopian stories - great world building, captivating story, character development, complex plot. One of my all-time secondary characters comes from this series, June's brother, Metias, was a formidable presence in this series, even just as a memory.

Gradually, I started reading more romance and less YA, so by the time the final book was released, I got it and kind of left it on my Kindle. I've been meaning to read it for a long, I even have a wonderful board on Pinterest about it which reminds that I don't know what happened with June and Day but other books kept popping up and stealing my attention. Honestly, I don't know how I've avoided reading any major spoilers so far.

Recently, I came across the TBR Challenge on Elisabeth Lane's blog and the topic for March was reading a book in a series we need to catch up and I knew right away that now was my chance to complete this series.

I'm glad to say that Marie Lu didn't disappointment and this book was the perfect ending to a great series. The story was very dynamic, full of action and plot twists that kept me on the edge till the very end. We have alternating chapters told from dual POV and we get to see the complexity of emotions of both Day and June.
I loved their romance, their getting back together was slow and real, fraught with tension and whispered confessions. It was not overly sappy or melodramatic but just right - first time, once in a lifetime, true soulmates kind of love.

I very much enjoyed all the other characters - Anden, Eden, Tess, Pascao. Even the bad guys had a powerful presence, I particularlt appreciate the complexity of Thomas' storyline.

This was not just a romance but also coming-of-age story where we see June and Day (and Anden) slowly growing up, becoming adults amid war and chaos. I loved the mixture of painful, raw and beautiful. The decisions the characters were forced to make, all the moral dilemmas they faces resonated deeply with me.

I'm not very happy with a particular episode involving Day's mother but I understand why it was there, yet it felt too sentimental and cliched for me. It's a matter of personal preference rather than a weakness of the story.

The epilogue was brilliant. And the ending was just beautiful! (it's no spoiler that things end on a happy note with the possibility/certainty for HEA to come).

Ms Lu has a great writing style, imaginative, yet real and she manages to give her characters normal human emotions in a bleak dystopian world. It's an engaging story which involves some politics, some action, some sweet romance, overall a recommended series for fans of dystopian YA!

Purchase links: Barnes & Noble | Amazon

New Adult

Review: The Weight of Destiny by Nyrae Dawn

13:27

Title: The Weight of Destiny (The Misfits #1)
Author: Nyrae Dawn
Genre: YA/NA Romance, Realistic fiction
Release Date: 18 Nov 2014

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 3 Stars
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Synopsis

When “crazy” runs in your family and your namesake is known for walking into a river with a pocket full of rocks, a girl kind of wants to avoid tempting fate at all costs. For Virginia Nichols, the only way to dodge that bullet is to be perfect at everything: school, student council, life. Too bad it’s all a lie, and underneath the perfection...Virginia is lost.

Ryder Blackstock knows a thing or two about being born into fate. The talents passed down from his father aren't exactly normal; instead of learning how to throw a fastball, he was taught to hot-wire a car like a pro and pick any pocket in sight. He’s got criminal blood, just like his old man. And as soon as he turns eighteen, he’ll be living life on the run with his dad.

When Ryder and Virginia meet on the beach, it seems they couldn't be more different. Soon they discover they’re both trapped in their lives—Virginia denying her fate, Ryder embracing his. Like the rocks in Virginia Woolf’s pockets, the weight of their destinies will pull them under. But being together brings out pieces of themselves they didn't know existed—pieces that make them want to take fate into their own hands and rewrite their destinies...if it’s not too late.

Review

I loved her Games series and was intrigued by the blurb of this one but in the end I liked it but expected more. It was not as good as I hoped it would be. It's YA/NA realistic fiction/romance a and I liked the idea of exploring what it's like for a child of a parent with a personality disorder but I felt the story lacked depth and was rather casual.

I found Virginia/Lulu an interesting character - her struggles with her mother's illness and her fears for her own mental health all felt real and easy to understand. This lead to an unhealthy need for control which also seemed realistic. I felt deeply for her struggles between what's right and should be done and her desire to be free, to find who she is, to explore the world - just like any other teenager at the cusp of adulthood.

Her romance with Ryder was sweet and tender but it didn't strike me as outstanding in any way. It was an opposites-attract kind of story and bore the marks of first (teenage) love.

My main issue with the story was Ryder. He was a typical bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks, convinced that he is destined to be a thief just like his father. I found his certainty in his criminal fate confusing and unrealistic. He was dreaming of becoming a criminal because he thought that was the only thing he was good at. It felt forced and unconvincing. He had a caring older brother, a tight group of friends whom he could rely on, so I really didn't see him as doom or desperate.

It was his relationship with Virginia that helped him believe more in himself and ultimately act right and recognize the chance he had of being something more than a small-time criminal. Graduating high school and preparing for college and being adult can be scary and confusing, still I felt Ryder was acting rather childishly most of the story.

On the plus side, I did like a lot his friends and the way Ms Dawn explores the complex relations between them - love and hurt and betrayal and loyalty. I really enjoyed this aspect of the story.

This is the first book in a new YA/NA series by Nyrae Down and even though I didn't like it as much as I hoped, I'm curious about the rest of the books and very much willing to give them a try.

Purchase links: Amazon

Meme

Waiting on Wednesday: Breaking the Rules

21:30

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits #1.5)
Author: Katie McGarry
Genre: Romance, Young Adult
Release Date: 8 Dec 2014

Pre-order links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks

Add on Goodreads

A summer road trip changes everything in this unforgettable new tale from acclaimed author Katie McGarry

For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes her so... different. It means seeing cool sights while selling her art at galleries along the way. And most of all, it means almost three months alone with Noah Hutchins, the hot, smart, soul-battered guy who’s never judged her. Echo and Noah share everything — except the one thing Echo’s just not ready for.

But when the source of Echo’s constant nightmares comes back into her life, she has to make some tough decisions about what she really wants — even as foster kid Noah’s search for his last remaining relatives forces them both to confront some serious truths about life, love, and themselves.

Now, with one week left before college orientation, jobs and real life, Echo must decide if Noah's more than the bad-boy fling everyone warned her he'd be. And the last leg of an amazing road trip will turn... seriously epic.

*** *** ***

Why am I waiting for this? - I like Ms MsGarry's writing and how realistically she presents her characters with all their insecurites, flaws and best features. I'm a big fan this series and Noah and Echo are one of my favourite couples. I'm excited to see them along the road literally (I love stories involving a road trip) and figuratively, as they get together as a couple.

Cristina Moracho

Waiting on Wednesday: Althea and Oliver by Christina Moracho

21:30

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: Althea & Oliver
Author: Cristina Moracho
Genre: YA realistic fiction

Release Date: 9 Oct 2014

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Pre-order: Amazon

Synopsis

What if you live for the moment when life goes off the rails—and then one day there’s no one left to help you get it back on track?

Althea Carter and Oliver McKinley have been best friends since they were six; she’s the fist-fighting instigator to his peacemaker, the artist whose vision balances his scientific bent. Now, as their junior year of high school comes to a close, Althea has begun to want something more than just best-friendship. Oliver, for his part, simply wants life to go back to normal, but when he wakes up one morning with no memory of the past three weeks, he can’t deny any longer that something is seriously wrong with him. And then Althea makes the worst bad decision ever, and her relationship with Oliver is shattered. He leaves town for a clinical study in New York, resolving to repair whatever is broken in his brain, while she gets into her battered Camry and drives up the coast after him, determined to make up for what she’s done.

Their journey will take them from the rooftops, keg parties, and all-ages shows of their North Carolina hometown to the pool halls, punk houses, and hospitals of New York City before they once more stand together and face their chances. Set in the DIY, mix tape, and zine culture of the mid-1990s, Cristina Moracho’s whip-smart debut is an achingly real story about identity, illness, and love—and why bad decisions sometimes feel so good.

Why am I waiting for this? - I generally read adult books but I'm always willing to spice things up with a different genre. This YA realistic story sounds very interesting and I have great memories of the 1990s, so I expect it to be a good and entertaining read.

Feature

Waiting on Wednesday #16: Love and Other Unknown Variables

21:30

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: Love and Other Unknown Variables
Author: Shannon Lee Alexander
Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Release Date: 7 Oct 2014

Add on Goodreads

Pre-order: Amazon

Synopsis

Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck.

The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy.

By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).

Why am I waiting for this? I generally adult romances but I also love YA/NA stories of coming-of-age and first love. The blurb for this one got me intrigued and I requested an ARC on NetGalley which I'm happy to say I received and will be reading it soon.

Feature

Waiting on Wednesday #12: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

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Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: A Little Something Different
Author: Sandy Hall

Genre: Romance, YA/NA
Add on Goodreads
Release Date: 26 Aug 2014

Synopsis

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, somethingis happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

Why am I waiting for this book? - I came across this book by chance and I was intrigued by the idea of telling the love story of the main characters through the eyes of the people around them. I'm always on the look out for romances outside the box and this sounds like a cute, fun read which I'll enjoy.

Meme

Waiting on Wednesday 09

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Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: Sway

Author: Kat Spears
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: 16 September 2014

Pre-order: iTunes / B&N / Amazon

Synopsis

In Kat Spears’s hilarious and often poignant debut, high school senior Jesse Alderman, or "Sway," as he’s known, could sell hell to a bishop. He also specializes in getting things people want---term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs. He has few close friends and he never EVER lets emotions get in the way. For Jesse, life is simply a series of business transactions.

But when Ken Foster, captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming king, and all-around jerk, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things. While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her life, he falls helplessly in love for the very first time. He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget’s belligerent and self-pitying younger brother who has cerebral palsy. Suddenly, Jesse is visiting old folks at a nursing home in order to run into Bridget, and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolizes him. Could the tin man really have a heart after all?

A Cyrano de Bergerac story with a modern twist, Sway is told from Jesse’s point of view with unapologetic truth and biting humor, his observations about the world around him untempered by empathy or compassion---until Bridget’s presence in his life forces him to confront his quiet devastation over a life-changing event a year earlier and maybe, just maybe, feel something again.

What am I waiting for this? - I don't read that much YA but this one sounds intriguing. A coming-of-age story with strong romantic elements and touch of humour, told from a male POV - it's right up my alley :) I didn't get approved for a review copy on Netgalley, so I'll be waiting to read it when it comes out in September.

Dystopia

Waiting on Wednesday 06

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I joined a new book meme last week. Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: The Young Elites

Author:Marie Lu

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia

Release Date: 7 October 2014

Synopsis

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Why am I waiting for this? - Simply because I loved the Legend Trilogy and the blurb for this new series sounds sooo good :) Can't wait to read what ms Lu has in store for us this time. You can read the first three chapters online here -
http://www.nerdist.com/2014/05/exclusive-the-first-chapter-of-marie-lus-the-young-elites/

Favourites

Mini Review: Red at Night by Katie McGarry

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Title: Red at Night

Author: Katie McGarry

Date of publication: 01 April 2014

Genre/Themes: Young adult, Romance, Realistic fiction, Novella

Author's links: Facebook / Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Purchase links: It's free - Amazon / B&N / Kobo

My rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis

In Red at Night, Stella and Jonah are total opposites. She's the girl with purple hair from the wrong part of town. He's a high school senior who hangs with the cool crowd. Until a car accident leaves him haunted by guilt, and Jonah starts spending time at Stella's favorite refuge…the local cemetery.

Stella knows she should keep her distance—after all, she spent her girlhood being bullied by Jonah's friends. Once he's sorted out his tangled emotions, Jonah won't have time for her anymore. Too bad she's already fallen for him.

It's a cute realistic YA romance written in the superb style of Ms McGarry's books. It's a tender story of first love between two teenagers facing difficult circumstances in life. They have to make a choice that will turn them into the people who they want to be.

Mini Review

The character development is rich and detailed. With just a few words Ms McGarry creates memorable and very likable heroes and heroines. Jonah and Stella have unique voices and their life situations are engagingly and convincingly presented. The story is told from a dual POV focusing on the inner struggles of the characters who are trying to find their place in life.

I liked how Jonah was not this super villain who turned into a good guy overnight. He kept silent in the face of injustice and that made him guilty, yet he was a basically just an ordinary teenager, unwilling to go against the his group of friends, afraid to disrupt his nice, peaceful life. He was a good guy who just needed a push to show his goodness to the world. An unfortunate accident served as this push which led him to Stella. It was their friendship-turned-to-love that brought the change in him to fruition.

Stella was a great character - really unique, enduring a tough family situation. She struggled between hope and dreams on the one hand, and the harsh reality of being on your on with no family to support you. I liked how strong and confident she was, yet at the same time, vulnerable and scared.

Both Jonah and Stella felt very real and easy to relate to. Ms McGarry is a master at creating realistic and intriguing characters with just a few words and making the reader care deeply about them. Despite the short length of the book I felt involved in Jonah and Stella's story and wanted for them to overcome all the difficulties life threw at them.

I just have one minor quibble with the story and it has to do with the volunteering episode. Jonah suddenly realized that there were many poor children and that Stella was one of them and he was outraged by that fact. His reaction didn't feel natural to me, the message against poverty came off as forced.

It's a recommended read for fans of Ms McGarry's books and for anyone who likes a realistic YA story with good plot and great characters.

Note: This novella is part of Harlequin More Than Words and it celebrates the work of Goodie Two Shoes Foundation. You can check the harlequin site for similar novella offered for free.

My reviews of other books by Katie McGarry:

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2)

Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3)

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Comedy

Review: Life in Outer Space

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Title: Life in Outer Space
Author: Melissa Keil
Date of publication: 1 Feb 2013
Genre: YA / Comedy / Realistic fiction

Author's links:
Website / Goodreads
My rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Blurb

Life in Outer Space is a romantic comedy about a movie geek & the dream girl he refuses to fall in love with. Sam Kinnison is a geek, and he’s totally fine with that. He has his horror movies, his nerdy friends, World of Warcraft – and until Princess Leia turns up in his bedroom, worry about girls he won't. Then Camilla Carter arrives on the scene. She’s beautiful, friendly and completely irrelevant to his plan. Sam is determined to ignore her, except that Camilla has a plan of her own – and he seems to be a part of it! Sam believes that everything he needs to know he can learn from the movies. But perhaps he’s been watching the wrong ones.

My Review

It was sometimes hilarious, sometimes death serious and all of the time quirky and unusual YA book. It tells a story of first love and coming of age of a group of lovable misfits who struggle to find themselves and their place in the world.

The movie quotes and reference at times came as too much me as someone who is not a fan of horrors and the Star wars saga. Still, it's a very well written story, funny and engaging, taking the reader on a journey in the the world of a group of very lovable 16/17 year-old misfits.

Th story is told from Sam's POV and I enjoyed voice a lot. He made sense of the world around him through the movies he was obsessed with and he was borderline OCD about his routine. So, when the new girl in school, Camilla, entered his life, she sent his whole world completely off axis and made him see himself and world in a completely different light.

Camilla was just wonderful. I was worried that she came off as too good to be true at some point - she seemed perfect, well-adjusted, coping with life with a remarkable ease. Fortunately her perfection was gradually revealed to be just in the eyes of others, and Sam in particular. He saw her, as his complete opposite - someone who, unlike him, knew how to fit in school and in life. Their friendship which turned into love, showed that she was just as lost and insecure as Sam and his friends.

Sam's inner musings on life reflected perfectly the confusion of being a teenager. With a dry sense of humour the author made an adequate presentation of the sense of being at a loss, not understanding life, not knowing anything about yourself, and the others, which is a phase most/all teenagers go through.

The author has managed to create a very engaging story, realistic and funny at the same time with no excessive drama or dark secrets. All the characters were unique and unusual, yet I found it easy to relate to them and to understand their anxieties.

I greatly recommend this book. It's funny and up-beat without being cheesy. It put a permanent smile on my face while reading it and it definitely made me feel optimistic and happy about my own life :)

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Feature

Teaser Tuesday 36

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Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• Be careful not the include spoilers!

• Share the title & author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

I have modified them slightly for my Teasers. It will not be two sentences from a random page but two, usually more, sentences from the pages I have read so far that have struck me as most interesting, original or that I just happen to like a lot.

Over the past week I have been reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (I have finished the first four book and I am taking a break right now) but I am loving it so far. However, I have decided not the use any of these book for my Teaser Tuesday post.

Instead, my teaser will be from a book a finished two weeks ago and I haven't featured it on the blog, although I have posted my review. The book is Sempre (Forever Series #1) by J. M. Darhower. It is YA/NA romantic suspense in Mafia setting. It mixes a tender love story with series issues of violence and slave exploitation. I greatly enjoyed it despite some minor quibbles I had here and there in the story. The second and final book in the series, Sempre: Redemption, comes out on 16 December.

Here is the teaser:

"Colpo di fulmine. The thunderbolt, as the Italians call it. When love strikes someone like lightning. so powerful and intense it can't be denied. It's beautiful and messy, cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see. It turns a person inside out, and there's no going back from it. Once the thunderbolt hits you, your life is irrevocably changed."

Sempre (Forever Series #1) - J. M. Darhower

Goodreads Blurb

A sexy novel about two seventeen-year-olds—one a victim of human trafficking; the other the son of the man who enslaved her—who fall in love and question everything they ever believed…

Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco grew up under vastly different circumstances. Haven, a second-generation slave, was isolated in the middle of the desert, her days full of hard work and terrifying abuse. Carmine, born into a wealthy Mafia family, lived a life of privilege and excess.

Now, a twist of fate causes their worlds to collide. Entangled in a web of secrets and lies, they learn that while different on the surface, they have more in common than anyone would think.

In a world full of chaos, where money and power rule, Haven and Carmine yearn to break free, but a string of events that began before either of them were born threatens to destroy them instead. Murder and betrayal are a way of life, and nothing comes without a price—especially not freedom. But how much will they have to sacrifice? Can they escape their pasts? And, most of all, what does it mean to be free?

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