Friday, November 27, 2015

ARC Review: Need by Joelle Charbonneau

Need
by: Joelle Charbonneau
Now Available!!!
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: ARC from publisher
Synopsis (and cover image) courtesy of goodreads:
"No one gets something for nothing. We all should know better."

Teenagers at Wisconsin's Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises. In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature.

My Thoughts:

Wow, this is a read that really makes you think.

I would label Need as a psychological thriller/mystery, it's narrated from many points of view. However, priority is given to the character Kaylee and her view is told in first person point of view, whereas the rest are given third point of view. 

I really enjoyed the multiple points of view, because it gives the readers a sense of the choices we make based on the opportunity to receive something we want. Some are willing to do just about anything, while others know that nothing is ever free.

The pacing moves quite quickly, so the reader never gets bored. There's action in this read but I think Need is very much a character driven plot.

While I really enjoyed this read, I did find myself wishing there was more resolution in the end. Everything kind of felt left up in the air. Especially with Nate and Kaylee. I would actually love a sequel to Need! Please give us a sequel! 

Happy Reading!!!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Until We Meet Again 
By Renee Collins
Release date: November 3, 2015  
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Synopsis:
They exist in two different centuries, but their love defies time
Country clubs and garden parties. The last thing Cassandra wants is to spend the summer before her senior year marooned in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. Cass craves drama and adventure, which is hard when she just feels stuck.

But when a dreamy stranger shows up on her family’s private beach, claiming that it is his property—and that the year is 1925—Cass is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making. As she searches for answers in the present, Cass discovers a truth that thrusts Lawrence’s life into jeopardy. It won’t matter which century he is from if he won’t live to see tomorrow.

Desperate to save the boy who’s come to mean everything to her, Cassandra must find a way to change history…or risk losing Lawrence forever.

Giveaway  Time!!!
3 copies of Until We Meet Again 
Open 11/3 – 11/24 


Special thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to participate in this Blog Tour

Friday, October 30, 2015

Review: The Drafter by Kim Harrison

The Drafter
By: Kim Harrison
Now Available!!!
Publisher: Gallery Books
Source: ARC received from Publisher
Synopsis (and cover image) courtesy of Goodreads:
Detroit 2030. Double-crossed by the person she loved and betrayed by the covert government organization that trained her to use her body as a weapon, Peri Reed is a renegade on the run.

Don’t forgive and never forget has always been Peri’s creed. But her day job makes it difficult: she is a drafter, possessed of a rare, invaluable skill for altering time, yet destined to forget both the history she changed and the history she rewrote.

When Peri discovers her name on a list of corrupt operatives, she realizes that her own life has been manipulated by the agency. She joins forces with a mysterious rogue soldier in a deadly race to piece together the truth about her final task, unable to trust even herself.
 


My Thoughts:
Amazing start to a brand new series!

Even though this book is set only fifteen years in the future, there have been so many advancements and people are able to erase pasts or even go back in time to change an outcome. And it's Peri whom has this gift. 

A majority of the book is narrated from Peri's perspective, but unfortunately Peri's mind has been erased, making her not the most reliable narrator.

I must admit I was a little confused at first because there were so many twists and turns in the plot, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because this book was AMAZING!!! Warning, you cannot just skim through this book, if you miss even one page you could be missing vital information. 

The reader, along with Peri must piece together information in order to figure out whom she can trust. 

A portion of the book is told from Silas' point of view and I enjoyed reading from his point of view because it was refreshing to get some reliable information, but I must admit I'm a Jack fan all the way! 

People may disagree with me on this but I have faith in him and I LOVED the way Harrison ended things, it was perfect and I can't wait to read the next instalment of this series.

I haven't read much by Harrison, but from what I have read, I'd say The Drafter is completely different from any of her other work.

I completely recommend this read but be assured this read will require your full attention, you won't be sorry!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Spotlight & Giveaway Announcement: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

This is Where it Ends
by: Marieke Nijkamp
Release date: Jan. 6/16,
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Synopsis (and cover image) courtesy of Goodreads:


10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Want more? Click here to go to Sourcebooks Fire's Tumblr page where they're hosting a giveaway for an early advance copies of THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS!

Giveaway ends November 4th!

Good Luck!!


Happy Reading!!!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Blog Tour: The Big Girl's Guide to Buying Lingerie: Review & Giveaway


I'm happy to be one of today's tour stops to celebrate Amie Stuart's latest release, The Big Girl's Guide to Buying Lingerie!

The Big Girl's Guide to Buying Lingerie
by: Amie Stuart
Now Available!!!
Purchase your copy: Amazon | B & N 
On Goodreads here.
Attention: Due to adult content, this title is recommended for ages 18+
Synopsis:
My name is JADE BALLARD, and this is the story of how a freak accident with a cookie changed the life of a semi-reformed people-pleaser (that’s me!).
After a disastrous marital near-miss Jade Ballard retreats to San Antonio, cutting herself off from the world in general and more specifically her family’s country club lifestyle, which she no longer wants any part of. She takes comfort in food and the safety of an internet love affair.
Rowdy Yates is a semi-reformed womanizer who’s leery of long-term entanglements. Until Jade, he never seriously considered anything beyond a “Wife-For-A-Night.”
After months of flirting on the internet the couple meets, only to discover they already know one another. Rowdy has always mistaken Jade’s shy reserved nature for snobbishness, and Jade has always viewed the woman-loving Rowdy as a Redneck Casanova. But the seven months they spent getting to know one another formed an attraction neither can fight.

My Thoughts:
Fun, light read!

The story is told from Rowdy and Jade's dual perspectives, both do a great job of narrating the story, but of course I'm a fan of just reading from her perspective. I was reminded of Pride and Prejudice a bit with this story, in the sense that, Jade and Rowdy seem to both let their pride and prejudices get in the way of their feelings for each other. The plot moved swiftly and the pacing of the relationship between the two was well-timed.

While I believe this is the fourth book in the series, and each book can be read as a standalone, I would recommend starting from book #1, as I got lost with the current and past relationships of Rowdy's family, so I had some trouble understanding certain personalities.

Both main characters are flawed, and these flaws make each of them vulnerable hense the pride and prejudices getting in the way. I enjoyed seeing the change in Jade and how she grew more confident and comfortable with herself. I also enjoyed the alpha male mentality of Rowdy. These two seem to bring out the best and worst in each other, so needless to say, they have a very passionate relationship.

If you enjoy fun romance than definitely give The Big Girl's Guide to Buying Lingerie a try!

Happy Reading!!!

About Amie
Amie Stuart is the last of a dying breed, a native Texan, and still makes her home there, where cowboys and music (her other two loves) abound. Growing up, she wanted to be a lawyer and a psychologist. No doubt the shrinks would have a field day with her head, but she’s seen the error of her ways and considers all those other jobs ‘research’ for the writing gig.

She’s a multiple contest finalist as well as a trained contest judge and is affectionately know as The Terminator by her critique partners. She’s written as CELIA STUART for Black Lace Books, & Liquid Silver Books, and as AMIE STUART for Kensington Aphrodisia, she has a short story (PEACHES ‘N CREAM) in Zane’s CARMEL FLAVA 2, and launched Cobblestone Press’s new short erotica line, Wicked.
Connect with Amie: 

Giveaway Time!!!
Tour-wide giveaway (US/CANADA)

2 PRIZE PACKS!!!


PRIZE PACK ONE


RT Bag stuffed with assorted books from 2015 RT Convention 
Kate Spade Travel Mug
Signed print copy of TBGG by Amie Stuart
T. Sue VerSteeg – Ebook: Killer Closet Case
Jodi Redford – Ebook: Dylan (Sons of Dusty Walker)
Rachelle Chase – Ebook: Hot Dreams
Holley Trent – Ebook: Teaching the Cowboy
Dayna Hart – 2 Box Sets: Vikings Unleashed and Vikings Untamed
PRIZE PACK TWO:
Signed print copy of TBGG by Amie Stuart
Kate Spade Travel Mug
Lissa Matthews – Ecopies of the Lone Star Sweets series and a 5.00 Amazon gift card
Linda Winfree – Uncovered signed print copy and their choice of Ebook from her backlist
Jennifer Reynolds – Ebook: Shifter
Mychal Daniels – ebook Rescued by Tordin  
Melissa Blue – ebook Kilt Tease
Ani Gonzalez – Ebooks – Must Love Ghosts and Ghost of a Chance ( first two books in the Banshee Creek series)
Kathryn Lively – Falling in Love box set and Sexy to Go Vol 6 box set
Alisa Mullen – Ebook: Plastic Confidence


Huge thanks to Amie and Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to participate in this tour!!!

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

My Secret To Tell Blog Tour: Spotlight, Q&A, Excerpt and Giveaway!

My Secret to Tell
By: Natalie D. Richards
Release date: October 6th, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pre-order your copy!  
Amazon | B&N | Chapters
Synopsis:

His smile is a crime.

Emerson May is “the good girl.” She’s the perfect daughter, the caring friend, the animal shelter volunteer. But when her best friend’s brother breaks into her room, his hands covered in blood, she doesn’t scream or call the cops. Because when Deacon smiles at her, Emmie doesn’t want to be good…

The whole town believes notorious troublemaker Deacon is guilty of assaulting his father. Only Emmie knows a secret that could set him free. But if she follows her heart, she could be trusting a killer…

You can’t always trust the boy next door.

About the Author:

After years as a professional paper-pusher, NATALIE D. RICHARDS decided to trade in reality for a life writing YA fiction. She lives in Ohio (Go Bucks!) with her husband, three children, and a ridiculously furry dog named Yeti. This is her second novel. Visit her on Twitter @natdrichards or at nataliedrichards.com.

***

This October Natalie D. Richards releases her latest YA thriller, MY SECRET TO TELL. To celebrate, Natalie is here for a quick Q&A and has brought an excerpt to share!

What character do you relate to the most in MY SECRET TO TELL?

Oooh….man.  That’s tricky.  I’d like to say Emmie, because I can definitely relate to her anxiety and some of her more compulsive behaviors, but then I remember that Emmie would take one look at my messy desk and faint dead away.  LOL.  She’s a neat freak and I’m…well, I was neat once.  It happened.  It was a beautiful Tuesday in 2010, I think.  ;-)

But if we look at situations more than strict personalities, I think I’d have to admit I related to Chelsea.  Before I lost my father, I had more than a few Very Scary Trips to various ICU wards in various hospitals.  My father had lots of health troubles, so the reasons were different, but I understand very well how terrifying it is to sit at a hospital bedside with your parent—both familiar and heart-breaking.


An Excerpt:
                  “Emmie?”
                  My name lands somewhere between a hiccup and a sob, and my feet stall out on the sidewalk in front of my house. I adjust my grip on the phone, hoping I misheard her tone. This doesn’t sound like Chelsea. This voice is breathless.
                  Frightened.
                  “I’m here,” I say. “What’s up? You don’t sound right.”
                   “I’m not.” She takes a shuddery breath.
                  My shirt’s sticking to my back and cicadas are click-buzzing the end of another blistering day, but I go cold. Something’s wrong.
                  Wrong, wrong, wrong.
                  “It’s my dad, Emmie,” she says. I can tell she’s crying.
                  I grab my chest. It’s too tight. Burning. “What happened?”
                  Her words all tumble out on top of one another, interrupted by shaky breaths. I try to pick out pieces that make sense. “He’s hurt—bleeding—we’re behind the ambulance and I can’t—he’s not—someone attacked him.”
                  I start climbing the porch steps, because she’ll need me. I’m her best friend, so I should be there. I need to change clothes and go. “You’re on the way to the hospital, right? They’ll help him there.”
                  Another sharp breath. “I don’t know if they can. He’s so bad. So bad.”
                  My heart clenches. “Where are you?”
                  “We’re almost there. Joel’s with me.”
                  “Okay, good. I’m coming,” I say, crossing my porch and hauling my front door open. “Let me just call Mom. I’ll borrow the car.”
                  Chelsea’s still crying when I storm down the hallway toward my bedroom.
                  “Emmie, I can’t find Deacon…”
                  “Your brother never answers his phone,” I say, pushing open my door. “I’ll run by the docks first and—”
                  “No. No, he was there. He was at the house.”
                  Chelsea makes a strangled sound, and I notice the liquid-thick heat in my bedroom. The kind of heat that tells me the air conditioner is broken. Or my window is open.
                  My gaze drags to my fluttering white curtains, to the dark smudge on the windowsill.
                  Chelsea’s voice goes low and raspy. “He ran, Emmie. God, he was there with Dad. He was in the house, but he ran.”
                  I swivel with an invisible fist lodged in my throat. My bathroom door is open, a red-black smudge beneath the knob.
                  My mouth goes dry, my pulse thumping slower than it should. Then I see the blood on the floor by my sink, and my heart tumbles end over end.
                  “We’re here. I’ll call soon,” Chelsea says and hangs up.
                  I see him, his back to my tub and his dark head bowed on one bent knee. Oh God.
                  He’s covered in blood. It’s on his legs, his hands. Dripping onto my white tile floor. He looks up, and my heart goes strangely steady.

                  I take a breath that tastes like purpose. “Deacon?”


Don't forget to enter the giveaway hosted by the Awesome Sourcebooks!


Special thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to participate in this tour!

Happy Reading!!!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Leading Lines Blog Tour: Kickoff, Review and Giveaway!!!


Hey Everyone!!! I'm so excited to be kicking off the Leading Lines Blog Tour in celebration of the third novel, Leading Lines, in the Pippa Greene series. And I think we can all agree, this series just gets better with each book! Share your love for Pippa on Twitter! #PippaGreene

Leading Lines
by: Chantel Guertin
Now Available!!!
Publisher: ECW Press
Source: ARC received from publisher
Order your copy here.
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
After two drama-filled weeks in Manhattan, Pippa Greene is back. Despite a romantic reunion with boyfriend Dylan, she can’t seem to shake the emotional aftermath of New York. As she navigates parental drama at home and her charged dynamic with Ben Baxter at school, Pippa finds that Dylan is more wrapped up in his post-high-school life of bands, shows, and new friends than in their relationship. Will it survive?

Written with the same humour and heart that made Chantel Guertin’s first two Pippa Greene novels instant favourites, Leading Lines offers a fresh and charming perspective on friendships, family, and first love.

My Thoughts:


This series gets better with each instalment!

I loved Leading Lines and firmly believe that fans of contemporary YA will love this series, just put aside everything for one afternoon and binge on the wonderful world of Pippa Greene.

There is a lot of growth and maturity in Pippa's voice in Leading Lines. She's faced with many personal problems and is forced to grow up and stand up for what she believes is right.  I think there is also tremendous growth with the relationship she shares with her mom after discovering a major secret in Depth of Field, although she spends a good portion of the book refusing to open up to her mother.

It's a good thing she has such a solid friendship with her bestie. It is so refreshing to read a YA book where there's no drama between the protagonist and her friends.

Fans of Dylan will have to take some deep breaths before diving into this one. Pippa and Dylan are starting to grow apart as is the case with many high school relationships, and I really liked that Pippa refused to compromise herself for a relationship, it was very mature and a great model for young adult girls experiencing the same circumstances.

I am growing to like Ben with each instalment, but I must admit I'm still rooting for Dylan to shine through. He's been through a lot in his young life, and I think he's just feeling a little lost in figuring out his own identity. Although I don't think that that's an excuse for the way he treats Pippa in a few scenes, there's a maturity he needs to reach himself still but still PIPPA+DYLANForTheWin :).

The ending has left me wanting more. I can't wait for book 4 and to see where Pippa goes next and whom she decides will be her partner on that journey!

Happy Reading!!!
About Chantel:

Chantel Guertin is an author, beauty expert and magazine editor. Her first novel (written as Chantel Simmons), Stuck in Downward Dog, came out in 2007, and was a Winnipeg Free Press bestseller, a Chatelaine Best Beach Book and Book of the Month, and a Vancouver Sun Editor’s Choice. Her second novel, Love Struck, came out in 2010, and was also a bestseller in Canada.
Chantel is currently the Editor-at-Large of TheKit.ca, a monthly digital fashion & beauty magazine & weekly print feature in the Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette & Vancouver Sun, a beauty expert on  The Marilyn Denis Show and faculty at Centennial College in the Book & Magazine publishing program, where she teaches magazine writing and editing courses.
Bio courtesy of Guertin's website.
Connect with Chantel: Author Website | Twitter | FacebookGoodreads
Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter below to win your very own copy of Leading Lines (U.S./Canada residents only)
Good luck!!!

Don't forget to check out the other amazing blog stops on the blog tour for more giveaways, reviews, excerpts and more!

September 5: Tour kickoff, Review, and Giveaway, Booking it with Hayley Ghttp://www.bookingitwithhayleyg.blogspot.ca/
September 6: Giveaway, Chapter by Chapterhttp://www.chapter-by-chapter.com/ 
September 7: Review, Books Etchttp://booksandstuff-kstar.blogspot.ca/
September 8: Review, Read my Breath Awayhttp://readmybreathaway.blogspot.ca/
September 9: Review, One More Page Reviewshttps://kmn04books.wordpress.com/
September 10: Review, Sukasa Readshttp://sukasareads.blogspot.ca/
September 11: Guest Post, Dear Teen Mehttp://dearteenme.com/
September 12: Review and Excerpt, Brains Books and Brawnhttps://brainsbooksandbrawn.wordpress.com/
September 13: Review, Musings of a Writerhttp://musingsofawriter.com/
September 14: Review, Ramblings of a Daydreamerhttp://sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca/
September 15: Review and Giveaway, The Book Bratzhttp://thebookbratz.blogspot.ca

Huge thanks to Chantel and ECW Press for allowing me to participate, and kick-off, this blog tour!

Happy Reading!!!