Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Teaser Tuesday #12


This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
  • (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers

"Yes, and has anyone ever told you that you are a terrible liar? Horrid. The Worst"

~ p. 75 "Anna and the French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

Monday, August 27, 2012

Promo for Dark Promise, Giveaway: Dark Promise/Mesmerized

Hi, there! I'm so excited since I haven't done any giveaways and this is my first time everrr!!! So, please, be patient, I'm still learning. All right, so, today I have a giveaway for you. And a little something extra. Oh, and the giveaway is international. Hope you like it and feel free to participate by filling out the rafflecopter below :)



Title: Dark Promise
Author: Julia Crane & Talia Jager
Release date: July 28th 2012
Age Group/Genre: YA fantasy/paranormal 

Rylie has it all - great friends, dream boy, loving family. But on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, her perfect little world shatters. A stranger claiming to be her real mother appears with a secret: Rylie is a faery whose powers will be unleashed on her birthday. Captured and forced into a new life, Rylie struggles to keep everything she loves and discovers a terrifying truth: some promises cannot be broken.



Also, I've got an excerpt for you. What do you guys think of it? Feel free to sound off in the comments.


Dark Promise

Excerpt

My mother led her into the living room. The lady’s piercing green eyes rested on me, sending a chill down my back. My father followed her gaze. “Rylie, do you know this woman?” Dad asked.
“No.” I shook my head slowly. “I’ve never seen her before.”
“Rylie, maybe you should go to your room,” Dad suggested, his gaze demanding I do as he said.
“No. If this has something to do with me, I want to hear it.” I crossed my arms and sank against the back of the couch.
Mom and Dad exchanged a worried glance, but turned back to the lady on the couch. “Please, go on.”
Without taking her eyes from me, the lady calmly stated, “My name is Azura, and I am Rylie’s birth mother.”
My father, who was always a level-headed man, was on his feet in seconds, his face hard. “What are you talking about?”
I felt like I had fallen into some kind of parallel universe. Did this woman just say she was my birth mother? How could she be my birth mother? That would mean I was adopted, but wouldn’t my parents have told me something like that?
My mother shook her head. “Birth mother? Rylie isn’t adopted.” She reached over and took my hand. “Believe me, I’ll never forget the eleven hours of labor.”
The woman sat perfectly still in the blue armchair across from us, with her hands clasped on her lap. “I know it’s hard to accept, but it’s true. Your daughter died shortly after she was born. I switched the infants. Rylie is mine.”
The wind left me as if I had been punched in the stomach. I couldn’t breathe, and the room spun. I gripped the pillow next to me with my other hand as I clung to my mother.
Silence filled the room for a moment, and then my father exploded. “You need to leave now!” He pointed to the door. “Get out of this house and don’t come back without a court order.”
The lady smiled sincerely, her face still as calm as it had been when she walked in the door. “Please, hear me out. I realize this is a lot to take in.”
“No! This is preposterous! Nobody died. Rylie is ours.” Dad’s voice was like thunder.
I studied the lady. She seemed so honest and soft-spoken. Why would she pretend something like this? Why would she ruin our family if it weren’t true? And if was true, why was she coming clean now? Something in me believed her even though I didn’t want to. I swallowed hard and rubbed my sweaty palms on my shirt.
“Let her talk,” I said hoarsely.
“Rylie, you can’t believe her.” Dad looked stricken.
“I’m curious as to why she thinks I’m her daughter. Let’s hear her out.” I crossed my arms and scooted closer to my mother, comforted when she wrapped an arm around me.
Dad turned back to the woman called Azura, and his frown deepened. “Fine.” He sat back down in his seat and glared. “Talk.”
“Thank you. I’m going to tell you something not many humans know, and I have to trust you to keep it secret for Rylie’s sake.” She addressed the statement to my parents.
Humans? Who talks like that?


In addition, there's a chance to win Mesmerized if you prefer this book as the prize instead of Dark Promise 

Title: Mesmerized
Author: Julia Crane & Talia Jager
Release Date: November 28th 2011
Age Group/Genre: mature YA fantasy/paranormal 
Seventeen-year-old succubus Lily Anderson can’t have a normal life: She isn't allowed a boyfriend, she has no friends, and school is just one mess-up after another.
Lily’s parents send her away to the prestigious Emerson Academy. It doesn’t appear to be any different from the others. That is, until she meets her roommate, Hannah, and a blue-eyed boy named Jake.
Lily makes an almost deadly mistake, and Jake has a mysterious past that has come back to haunt him. Together, they must go on the run from things neither of them understand in order to save the people they love—and each other. But, Jake’s foe is more dangerous than they realized, and it will take the help of friends and family to save the man Lily loves.
She must learn to use her powers for good before it’s too late.

This is a mature YA. Due to sexual content and some language it is not recommended for younger teens.

Meet the authors





So off to the giveaway. Fill out the rafflecopter below and cross your fingers! I wish you the best of luck and hope the odds are ever in your favor!


Giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, August 24, 2012

Interview: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Remember I said I have some exciting news for you? Well, here's one of them. From time to time (starting now) I'll be posting interviews with authors and bloggers I admire and love. In honor of the release of Onyx (my review), the second novel of the bestselling paranormal YA series Lux, I interviewed the creator of this as well as the Covenant series. Her books are some of the best I've read and I wholeheartedly recommend all of them. Ladies and gents, I give you Jennifer L. Armentrout. (Ha, this sounds pretty formal, but hey! It was an honor to do this interview, really, so no judging ;))

Q: What is the most bizarre place you’ve ever gotten an idea for one of your books? How did you remember that idea? (I’ve heard that some authors call themselves and leave a message on their answering machines..)
A: This place isn't so much bizarre, just the situation. Recently, we've been getting a lot of bad storms where I live and one night it was thundering and lightning like crazy and I checked the weather on my iPhone. Well, my zip code kept coming up not found. I was pretty much like meh, whatever, and went to bed. In the morning, I had this crazy idea centering around that. I just wrote it down. 
I wonder if we ever get to see that particular idea in a book and if so, I wonder which books will contain this storm scene.. Hmm..


Q: Do you have a(ny) critique partner(s) whom you share your work with, get any ideas from and go to ask advice from? If so, why that person in particular and not somebody else?
A: Yes. I have beta readers who read like a normal reader would and crit partners who actually crit the work. I couldn't live without them. Crit partners are hard to find, especially good ones. So when you find one, you don't want to let them go.  

Q: While reading a book do you usually root for bad boys like Seth, sarcastic but nonetheless sweet guys like Daemon or are you easily swooned by strong, handsome and honorable men like Aiden? Why do you fancy this type of characters?
A: I'm more entertained by characters like Seth and Daemon that are jerky, snarky, and funny, but they probably don't make good boyfriends in real life. I'd go for the Aiden. 
Same here, although, Daemon Black has no competition whatsoever in my eyes when it comes to love interests in the Lux series.


Q: Could you please name the top three books you’ve read this year that have blown your mind and you’d recommend in a heartbeat? (Considering you actually have time to read since you’re like a writing machine..)
A: Sweet Evil, Before I wake (latest book in the Soul Screamers Series), Lover Reborn
Haven't read the Soul Screamer series nor have I gotten my hands on Lover Reborn, but I wholeheartedly recommend Sweet Evil, too!


Q: If money would not be an issue, which would be the three places you’d like to visit while traveling all around the world?
A: Italy, Greece, and Australia. That was easy. =)
Eeeep! These are some of the places I'd like to visit, too :)


Tango or salsa? Tango
Cats or dogs? Both
Original or retelling? Depends
Black or white? Color
The Earth or Lux? Lux
Descendants of gods or aliens? Descendants of gods 


Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity and taking time off from your busy schedule to answer these questions. Wish you all the best in the future! :)
Thank you for having me!

Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true. When she's not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories....which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn. 

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

 

Under the cut you can see all of Jen's books with direct links to goodreads.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Review: Onyx


Author: Jennifer L. Armentrour
Release Date: August 14th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…
Obsidian was the reason I discovered Jennifer’s work and I couldn’t be happier. I loved this book so maybe that's the reason I practically devoured Onyx. It was thrilling, sweet, hilarious, fun, sad – it had everything.

“Not in this lifetime, buddy,” I said finally. 
“Resistance is futile, Kitten.” 
“So is your charm.” 
“We’ll see.”

Plot. So.. Katy likes Daemon. Daemon likes Katy. However, there’s a catch: Katy doesn’t believe that Daemon’s feelings are true. They’ve got this weird connection thing going on and Kat thinks that’s the reason why he has suddenly done a 180 and wants to be with her after months of humiliation and attempts to push her away. I know I’d wonder, too, so can’t really blame this fabulous girl for not rushing things and trying to figure it all out. On top of that, there’s a new mysterious guy in town – Blake – and somehow he knows things he shouldn’t know. The DOD is a huge threat to Katy and the Luxen. Oh, and her Mom is dating again and it’s hard for Katy to accept a new guy in her Mother’s life after her the death of her Father even if she wants her Mom to be happy.

There were parts in this book that were somewhat predictable, but there were so many parts that left me wanting more and even though I guessed the outcome, I didn’t guess all the twists and turns it took for Daemon and Katy to find themselves at the very end of this book. This reminds me that I wanted Kat to give in to her temptation so bad when it comes to Daemon, but I was glad that she stood on her ground even if it led her to making some foolish decisions. It’s great to see a heroine who doesn’t back down on her words every time the male lead flashes a sexy grin and throws a sweet pick-up line on the table.

Characters. What’s so great about this series is the growth of the characters. They’re all so different from the first time we met them and yet they’re still the same. For instance, Daemon is still the same jerky, sarcastic, sexy, full of himself kind of a guy, but he is more vulnerable, stronger, sweeter and more protective than ever. Katy is still the book loving, feisty, fun and selfless girl, but she’s stronger, too. She’s on the verge of finding herself as a person and doing everything in her power to protect her Mom, Daemon and Dee. The only complaint regarding the characters is that I wish there would have been more scenes with Dee. I absolutely adore this girl and it bugs me that she and Katy didn’t spend that much time together and although I can easily understand why, it still made me sad.

Romance. Holy milky way that contains our planet! This book was hawwwttt!!! I felt my pulse rising every single time Daemon said Kitten and every time he touched Katy and his hands were wandering all over her. Quoting the lovely and wonderful Wendy Higgins: “This is the stuff swoons are made of“. Romance wise this book was everything I hoped it would be and even more. I wasn’t a fan of the love triangle and Blake in general, but I was glad he pulled out the jealous side of Daemon whom I fell in love with all over again and if it wasn’t for Katy, I’d ask him to be my bookvalentine (is that even a word?) this February.

Daemon shifted his head just enough that our lips brushed once…and then twice before he increased the pressure. This kiss…it was nothing like the other times, which seemed to be angry and challenging. As if we’d kissed to punish each other. But this was gentle and soft, feather light. In finitely tender. Like the kiss we’d shared in the clearing the night he’d healed me. Light swept through me as we kissed, but soon the kisses, they weren’t enough. Not when a slow fire was burning under my skin—and under his.

Onyx  was amazing! I loved it and this is a must read! If you haven’t read this series yet, give it a try, you won’t regret it. Oh, and I love the headings in this series. I wonder what the final two books are going to be called. Moreover, I’m dying to see the real Opal cover. Actually, I’m ready for Opal in general right now. December 11th couldn’t come any sooner as far as I’m concerned.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

"Waiting on" Wednesday




"Waiting on" Wednesday is hosted at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. Even though it's a weekly event, I post my entries biweekly.

This week we have:
  1. Inbetween by Tara A. Fuller
  2. The Dark Light by Sara Walsh

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday #5

 

Top Ten Favorite books I have read during the lifespan of my blog

It's my first year as a blogger and I have read so many great books during this year that I can't really compare them or choose one instead of another. Therefore, I put them in random order and at the very end you can find a few books I'd like to mention which did not make it to this so called top ten but I'd recommend them in a heartbeat if asked. I picked all of the books randomly out of a hat, because I just couldn't choose. 

Let me know in the comments if any of these books is in your TTT list this week and what did you think of them. Would you add any to my list? Leave a link to your TTT and I'll stop by and check out yours :)
  1. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (my review)
  2. The Mortal Instruments (& TID) series by Cassandra Clare (my review)
  3. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins (my review)
  4. The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa (my review)
  5. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire (my review)
  6. Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover (my review)
  7. Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout (my review)
  8. Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout (my review)
  9. Everneath by Brodi Ashton (my review)
  10. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (my review)
The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher (my review)
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (my review)
What a Boy Needs by Nyrae Dawn (my review)
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (my review)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted @ The Broke and the Bookish 

Teaser Tuesday #11


This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
  • (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers

"If he had yelled, I might not have felt like everything inside my stomach was about to come out of it. If he had yelled, I would have known that the yelling was the worst he planned to do. But his voice is quiet and his words precise."

~ p. 99-100 of "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Monday, August 20, 2012

Review: Lengths

Title: Lengths
Author: Liz Reinhardt, Steph Campbell
Release Date: August 9th 2012
Add it: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Nineteen-year-old Whit Conrad leaves her conservative Pennsylvania home for sunny California, looking for independence, a fresh start, and a place to stash her grief. She promptly finds a job at a tattoo parlor, a craptastic first apartment, and one friend—Ryan—who is a little less friend, a little more benefits.

Deo Beckett is a soulful surfer with a passion for tattoos and beautiful women. On the eve of his twenty-second birthday, he finds himself living with his grandfather, recently unemployed, and seriously adrift. He doesn’t know much about what he wants out of life, but he does know his current situation isn't cutting it.

When Deo meets Whit, she’s all sexy makeup and fierce, smart-ass fun. It doesn’t take him long to see past her tough shell. And when he gets a good look at what's under all the superficial stuff that usually gets his attention, it leaves Deo wondering if there might be more to life than living fast and free.

Too bad Whit has a past she doesn't plan on sharing—no matter how hot Deo is. She might want him, but she knows better than to let her guard down.

Deo falls for Whit, and falls hard. But everything about her, down to that mysterious tattoo and the way she thrashes in her sleep, tells him that the girl he loves is hiding something. And the more he pushes for answers, the more Whit pulls away.

Having your guard up is one thing, but are the lengths Whit goes to to protect her secret worth throwing away the second chance she has at happiness with Deo? Contains mature themes, sexual situations and language.
All right, so what can I say. It was a light read and I pretty much enjoyed it the whole way through. I thought the flirty behaviour between Deo and Whit was sizzling and the way they first got together was both sweet and exciting.

“Seriously, Whit? I’m considering growing out my toenails so I can get a better grip on the edge of the mattress. I have, like, six inches top. You sleep like a bus wreck.”

Characters. Whit is trying to figure out her life since it took a very wrong turn at one point and now she's trying her hardest to fix things for herself. She blames herself for something terrible and cannot seem to be able to forget it. So she travels all the way to California to set up a new life. Whit has left her parents, is in a 'no strings attached' relationship and attends college without having a major. She's all about living the life to the fullest because she learned her lesson that life is freaking short and it can end at any minute.

Deo is a free spirit. The book begins with his 22 birthday. He doesn't work nor does he study. What Deo does is surf, smoke weed and casual dates with different girls. He kind of has this 'I know I can't make it, so why bother' attitude. Oh, and he's got the coolest Mom (Marigold - what an awesome name that is). She's like a hippie or something. A true nature's child. She gives some of the best advice and I love her caring, free, fun personality. Rocko - Whit's boss (at a tattoo shop where Deo and Whit first meet) and Marigold's boyfriend is also pretty darn awesome and I enjoyed his scenes very much.

There were two characters that caught my eye in addition to the already mentioned ones - Cohen and Deo's Grandfather. Ha. His Grandpa made me smile on so many occasions, he was a cool dude and I think anyone would be delighted to have him as a Granddad. Cohen (brings back memories of Seth freaking Cohen, ugh, loved his character on the O.C.) is Deo's best friend and I gathered that they've been through some of the crazyest things together and it's fun to see such bromance. I'm all about #teambromance. Cohen cracked me up so many times. Like literally he made me laugh for minutes. And it warmed my heart how supportive he was with his words and still managed to be a man through it all. That dude has got some skills, I tell ya.

“If I were Deo Beckett, what would I do?” He studies the bottle in his hand. “Well, I wouldn’t be a fucking bum, first of all. I’d crawl under my bed and pull out all those gold coins I’d been hoarding like Gollum—”
“Is this another Lord of the Rings reference?” I groan.
“If you’d read Tolkien, like I did, maybe you wouldn’t be the unmotivated loser you are today,” Cohen observes.
“Dude, you run your parents’ furniture store,” I point out.

Plot. So I liked the characters. That much I can say. I even liked the plot. It was intriguing, thrilling, sweet, sad, very emotional and yeah, I enjoyed it. Mostly. What I didn't enjoy was the progress of Deo and Whit's relationship. They like each other. They go out. They fight. They're friends. They flirt. They start seeing each other (for two weeks). They have a huge fight over nothing (or sometimes over the secrets Whit's hiding). They break up. They ignore each other. They make up. They break up. They make up. They break up. Repeat cycle. It was like a neverending catastrophe. However, even if it did bother me a little, there were still some of the sweetest, sexiest, most amazing and devastating scenes and it was great to live out my emotions through this book.

Do I recommend? Heck yeah! It's not something original nor is it a master piece, but it was entertaining and the characters sucked me in with their everyday problems, grief, future plans, hilarious oneliners and the make up scenes were 100°C hot. It's a light read suitable for a day at the beach or after an exhausting day at work, for instance. Yeah, it was good.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Meet the authors

Liz Reinhardt

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

Steph Campbell

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Review: What a Boy Needs

Title: What a Boy Needs
Author: Nyrae Dawn
Release Date: June 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Jaden Sinclair knows he'll never amount to anything...so why would he deserve a girl like Priscilla Mendoza? Since last summer, things have been screwed up between Jaden and Pris. He knows it's his fault, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to go a few rounds with her new boyfriend. He also knows he’s the loser his dad calls him, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting her. After getting a huge bomb dropped on him, Jaden lashes out and lands himself in jail. Everything in his chaotic life is turned upside down and to make it worse, his mom kicks him out in order to side with his dad. Yeah, he’s totally a prize for a girl like Pris.

Sebastian, Aspen, and Pris are all going places in their lives...and he knows he can't keep tagging along for the ride. The group has one last chance for The Epic Adventure they've been looking for: a road trip to New York, where Jaden's friends will be going to college. Unfortunately, the more time Jaden hangs around Pris, the harder it is to keep the carefully constructed walls between them so she doesn't find out what a train wreck he really is. When the trip ends, Jaden has to decide if he's ready to say goodbye to his friends, and the girl he loves. He knows what he needs, but will he be man enough to go for it?
Contains mature themes. Some sexual situations and language.
I fell in love with Bastian and Jaden in What a Boy Wants and I was not left disappointed with them in this book. I liked this novel even more.

A few minutes later, we're in our room while the others are next door. It's one of those rooms with a connecting door and our room has two beds. If this had been a movie, they would have been full so we would have had to share a bed. Why doesn't stuff like that happen in real life?

I found Pris to be cool, easygoing, full of life and one of the best friends one could wish for. Jaden, even though somewhat an opposite, has a strong, determined mind and one of the biggest hearts, too. Actually, all four of them, including Aspen and Sebastian, are like people I have surrounded myself with: protective, fun and trustworthy. I knew something was going on with Jaden's life at home while I was reading the first book, but I had no idea it was that bad. I felt compassionate and just wanted to crawl into the book and give the boy a hug. It was sad.

So.. About the relationship. Jaden is worth more than every boy Pris has ever liked combined and even more! I can easily understand why he didn't realize that at first, because he'd been talked down on every single day of his life. If you're constantly put down by the people who're supposed to love you the most, it's no wonder you can't believe in yourself and have doubts in every step of the way. Pris, however, saw the best in him. She saw through the facade, how broken he was. I just wished he'd open himself up sooner.

There were parts in this book that made me cry uncontrollably and LOL like a person who's lost her mind (like the 'sexy and I know it' scene - oh, boy, that was hilarious!). There were parts where I wanted to smack Jaden against the head instead of letting Bastian do it and there were parts I wanted to console him and tell him everythig's going to be fine and you don't need that crappy family of yours when the real family you have is here, right by your side, no matter what.

I loved the road trip to NYC and wished it could have lasted even longer. I really, really liked the first book and thought this was even better. So if you like guy POVs and you've read the first book, you'll definitely devour this one! A must read!

Rating: 4/5 

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Friday, August 17, 2012

You Against Me Review

Title: You Against Me
Author: Jenny Downham
Release Date: December 2nd 2010
Add It: Goodreads
If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do?

When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.

Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another.
You Against Me is a story about rumors, doubt, lies, games and assumptions. Two families go head to head in a court case where one party claims to be the victim of a rape and the other claims to be innocent. Who's right and who's lying? What really went down on that night? 

I liked Ellie for her innocence and for believing in good things. However, I felt like she was a bit naive. She's from a wealthy family. Ellie is smart, pretty and tries her hardest to please her parents. She looks up to her brother Tom, therefore, it's hard to believe that he might do such a horrible thing to a girl her age. She saw Karyn drooling over her brother and definitely someone like her couldn't be telling the truth, right? Ellie's brother is the best brother in the world. How could he ever hurt someone? There's no way, is there? Well.. It's Tom's word against Karyn's. One must stand by your family, no matter what. After all, Ellie is the prime witness, but she can't say something happened when it actually didn't. Or did it? Ellie doesn't remember. So the best thing to do is to protect her family and the brother she loves.

I liked Mikey. He saw how this whole thing affected his family and he wanted to make Tom pay. He must pay for what he did to Mikey's sister. Mikey can't look at the devastating picture of his broken sister and family any longer and decides to take matters into his own hands. He's got a plan: to seduce Tom's sister and get her to spill the beans about him. How could anything go wrong? It's a piece of cake!

Well, as you can guess, something does go wrong: they fall in love. They're both trying to manipulate this relationship to their own advantage, but they're falling fast. And hard. How can you trust someone with your heart and soul if you know they're lying to you and you're lying to them? How can you even want to be with someone if she's the sister of the boy who raped your little sister or he's the brother of the girl who claimes to be raped by your big brother?

Ugh, in five words: it was complicating and sweet. Loved Ellie and Mike, but there were so many secrets and, honestly, I didn't even know who to believe, so how could these two know when they were emotionally attached to Karyn and Tom? I wanted to believe Karyn who was incredibly vulnerable and devastated. I also wanted to believe Tom who was so good to his sister and loved her with his whole heart. Well.. You never know with these stories. I didn't. But my gut instinct was right. I knew who was lying.

This story had its ups and downs, but in the end I thought it was okay and I liked the ending. Oh, and I'm glad that even though it was YA, the author didn't black the reader out during the sex scene, it was done beautifully and it was one of my favorites from YA genre.

Rating: 2.5/5

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Teaser Tuesday

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
  • (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers

“I don’t care about that,” he says, lower. Another pause, and then: “I just don’t want you to hate me.”

~ p. 291 of "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver

Painted Blind Review

Title: Painted Blind
Author: Michelle A. Hansen
Release Date: May 3rd 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Seventeen years old and agoraphobic, Psyche Middleton vows her dad will never see the risquĆ© photos she took during a summer modeling stint abroad, but one of them ends up on a billboard in her Montana hometown. Now everyone—especially her dad—can see it.  And yet, somehow, those are the mundane things in her life because she is about to fall unexpectedly, head-over-heels in love with Erik, a mysterious young man who rescues her from a crowd of admirers, and who she’s never actually seen because…he can make himself invisible. 

As strange as this may seem, it’s about to get even stranger. Erik takes her to his palace in an idyllic kingdom, and she is swept into the beauty and culture of his world, but his affection has one condition:  she may not see him.  Overtaken, intrigued, and still not wholeheartedly believing he’s real, Psyche is going to have to decide if she can love him blindly; because if she can’t, she may lose him forever.
This books was given to me via Netgalley by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you, Createspace.


 I felt the breath slipping out of me. My chest constricted. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. Strong arms grabbed me from behind. I fought hard. I was not going to be dragged into some frat house.
“Don’t be afraid,“ a voice murmured in my ear. “I’ll get you out of here.”
I saw the sleeves of black leather jacket and a hand that bore a single gold band around the first finger.
Then we disappeared.

This book had its pros and cons, but all in all I liked it. It's definitely directed to a younger audience, but if you like myths, fairy tales and re-tellings like I do, "Painted Blind" is probably something you'd enjoy as an adult as well.

It's based on the myth of Eros and Psyche. There are some twists and turns to the story and it has a contemporary touch too. Erik was probably the number one character I liked, I also enjoyed Aseas, Titus and Psyche's Dad. They were all a delight to read about. I, quite honestly, hated Samatha, Psyche's best friend, from the very start and I cannot say I was suprised by her little betrayal. Got to say 'I told you so!' to the book while grinning. Heh.. I like when I can guess some elements, but not the whole story. That sucks. Well, with re-tellings you probably know the general idea, but it's nice to see some suprising twists in the plot.

All right, so it had some very cool fantasy elements and I absolutely fell in love with Erik's kingdom. It was stunning! There are two worlds combined in this book - our modern mortal world and an ancient immortal world. I liked that the immortals I read about stuck to their rules, but adopted things and behavior manners from our era as well. They're all very educated and a bit michevious, may I add. Which I loved! Always great to have some tricks up your sleeve.

I loved the romance - it was sweetly delicious: layed back but passionate. It was beautiful! However, one thing I didn't enjoy was that, in my opinion, the romance took off too quickly. I can't imagine how could Psyche trust Erik that easily and how come she fell in love with him within only matter of days. Well, one can't even claim that it was love at first sight since she couldn't even see him, but eh.. what the heck?! It was still enjoyable and cute, so all's forgiven I guess.

One thing I fancied as well was that Erik and Psyche were both passionate about art. I think it's important to have some common interests in a relationship. Yeah, yeah, opposites attrack etc, but there's got to be something to talk about, right? I mean.. Why would someone want to disagree on everything with the love of one's life? Anyway, some of my favorite parts in this book were the scenes where they were drawing. My absolute favorite was when Erik drew the caricatures and made Psyche laugh. It was adorable!

However, I didn't like that Psyche made so many foolish decisions and assumptions. But I can forgive her that since she was a mortal and in this case, we got to see that even the gods aren't perfect, so how come we expect so much from simple mortals? *That, by the way, is a rhetorical question*

In the end, I thought it was a cute contemporary rendition of a quite famous myth and even though I think its target grop is young teens, I stay true to my opinion and say that it is something that adults with wild imaginations would enjoy, too. There were lots of moral aspects in this story that I liked and I think we all need to be reminded from time to time about the wrongs and rights, moral and immoral, actions we take in the feel of the moment and their unthinkable consequences.

Rating: 3/5.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Pushing the Limits Review

Title: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Release Date: July 31st 2012
Add It: Goodreads
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.
Before reading this book I had only come across great reviews so that also meant great expectations. Now that I’ve read it, I can tell you that I was not left disappointed. Echo and Noah are desperately trying to find normal. Well, they’re going to have to re-define normal, because life is constantly flowing. Moving on. One cannot freeze time nor it be rewinded. One has to cope, get one’s act together and try to make the best out of the future that’s waiting ahead. When (and if) these two realise it, they’ll be okay but there’s a long, long way to go. One that may not have a finish line. The book itself is written in both perspectives Echo's and Noah's.

“It doesn't get better," I said. "The pain. The wounds scab over and you don't always feel like a knife is slashing through you. But when you least expect it, the pain flashes to remind you you'll never be the same.” 

Echo. Love her name, by the way. This girl has been to hell and back. I can’t even understand how the heck can she have any positive thoughts left in her head or how come she’s still such a sweet, friendly and sassy girl. She’s got so much life and light in her, even if it’s all buried up underneath that small frame. The saying  ’beauty is skin deep’ is the perfect phrase to describe her. She’s oh, so strong and it broke my heart to read about what happened to her. I wanted to console her, hug her. She doesn’t remember how she got those horrible scars and she’s desperately trying to find out the answer to that question.

Noah. He’s the kid from foster care. He’s an orphan who has lost his brothers due to the system and now lives in a foster home with a bunch of kinds. Noah is notorious for his one night stands and rough attitude. He’s the handsome bad boy who has a few secrets to hide. Those secrets eat him up and he doesn’t have a clue that Echo is the catalyst that’s about to turn his life for the better. Can he be the decent guy she deserves?

The plot. McGarry doesn’t let you get comfortable for long and just when you think it’s perfect, all  comes crashing down. Then you get your hopes up, but somehow everything ends up worse than it was to begin with. You’re left thinking ’How does it end? How can there be so much heartache? Is it even possible to heal from it all?’. I found the story very emotional. It’s a tough journey from start to finish, filled with understanding, healing, surpassing expectations and obstacles that seem completely insurmountable.

Noah an Echo needed each other like one needs air. They’re like puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly. They found out so many new things about themselves thanks to one another, tested their limits, sanity, hearts, strength. If you’re looking for a sweet romance, tons of heartache, tears, dealing with insecurities, parental issues and surpassing one’s biggest fears, this is definitely the book for you. I advise everyone to give this book a chance. Oh, and I’m so, so happy that there’ll be another book of Beth. Loved her in this one.

Rating: 4.5/5

Excerpts:

Her eyes met mine again. “So what does this mean for us?”
I lowered my forehead to hers. “It means you’re mine.” 


"I may not always understand, but damn, baby, I’ll try."

“Because growing up means making tough choices, and doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean doing the thing that feels good.” 

Reading order:
  1. “Pushing the Limits“
  2. “Dare You To“

Burn for Burn Review


Title: Burn for Burn (Untitled Trilogy #1)
Author: Jenny Han, Siobhan Vivian
Release Date: September 18th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

This book was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you, Simon & Schuster.

"No one can ever know what we're up to. What we do together lives and dies with us. And if we're really going to do this, no one can bail halfway through. If you're in, you need to be in until the very end. Until we all get what we want. If not, well... consider yourself fair game. It'll be open season and we'll have hell of a lot ammo to use against you. If you can't swear on that, we might as well just pretend like tonight never happened."

Kat. I liked her the best in the very beginning. She was sassy, sarcastic, hurt, different and the most interesting out of all of them. However, when the story progressed, she became too agressive and vengeful for my taste. I still liked her, but she wasn’t at the top of my list anymore. Kat has been wronged by Rennie –  her former best friend, she has lost her Mom and gone through a lot. She’s tired of Rennie playing games and doesn’t want to sit by and wait for karma to step it up and get back on Rennie for being such an ignorant bitch. Kat wants to do it herself.

Lillia. I found her to be a bit of a snob. She’s a popular, gorgeus cheerleader from a wealthy family. She’s got everything. Until something bad happens to her. She told no, but that didn’t stop things from happening. She tries to forget. To move on. To act normal. Things don’t go exactly as she hopes, because someone from her circle of friends has set his eyes on her little sister Nadia and Lillia decides to protect her at every cost. What happened to her cannot ever happen to her sister. Throughout the book she grew on me the most since she had the most to lose and I felt like her conscience made this story seem more real.

Mary. She’s the quiet one. The new girl. Or is she? She’s a beautiful girl who wasn’t so pretty back in the day. Someone she thought she knew, someone she trusted hurt her in the most crucial way and that's the reason she has spent four years away from this place. But now she’s back. And she wants that person to feel at least a little amount of that pain that broke her. Will she get her revenge?

The plot. Interesting and intriguing. I liked the dynamic between the girls and that it was written from three points of views, therefore, we got glimpses of all of the three girls’ thoughts on both – the past and the present. I found their stories captivating and full of so much hurt, despair, emotion that it was hard to imagine them not doing anything vengeful, although, even considering how much they were hurt, I still think that revenge should never be the way to go.

What suprised me were some of the fantasy elements which definitely came out of the blue. I thought it was just contemporary YA fiction, but there turned out to be a twist – something witchy is going on with one of the girls. I’m so looking forward to exploring that in the next two books. I was so not expecting that, but it was pretty darn cool.

One thing I know for sure is that Rennie is the queen of the kingdom of bitches. She’s so two-faced and full of herself. She thinks she’s the ultimate goddess and everyone actually follows her every move, sentence, thought. I think she’s just an inscure clown, though. She's the character you love to hate. Reeve – he did some pretty terrible things, but on some level, I felt sorry for him. I think deep down he wishes he hadn’t done what he did on that notorious night. Well, one can never be sure though, but I still think there’s some good in him and I really hope I’m right. I feel bad for liking him. Is that weird? After knowing everything he has done? I don’t know.. I liked Alex. I really did, but he confused me with his actions. I wonder how his story will end and whom he'll end up with.

The ending was so, so unexpected! I’m definitely going to read the sequel and I thought this was a very decent start to the series. It was headspinning, funny, exciting, consuming, mysterious, a little bit romantic, emotional and sometimes, yes, a bit scary. It’s hard to think that there are people out there who’ve been wronged the same way and I can only wish that karma will do it’s job, not the ones who’ve been hurt by the bullies. I’d prefer to read about this kind of stuff in a fictional world, not from newspapers or any other media channel for that matter.

Rating: 4/5

Friday, August 10, 2012

Random rambling vol. 3, Onyx trailer, #TeamDaemonFTW

Holy.. !! There are three things I'd like to tell you that include the name 'Jennifer L. Armentrout':
  1. You know that YA Crush Tourney is wraping up at the moment and Adrian & Will are facing each other in the finale as we speak. Some of you probably know that Daemon from Jennifer's Lux series did a darn good job since he beat so many great characters and was beaten by Dimitri Belikov in the quarterfinals. Which, considering who beat him, isn't that bad at all. Anyway, Valerie from Stuck in Books was his advocate and did the most amazing job! She also held different competitions throughout Daemon's battles and I was lucky enough to be one of the winners of one of her bookmark giveaways. So guess what I dug out form my mailbox like two seconds ago? *squeels* I LOVE THEM! They're absolutely gorgeous! And I was thinking about re-reading Obsidian this weekend since I'll get to read Onyx soon and there is no better reason to start re-reading this fabulous book now, is there? Thank you so much, Valerie! Be sure to check out her blog and participate in her giveaways, she's got lots of them going on all the time. Also, her reviews are totally awesome and helpful. She's fantastic and I can only hope that next year she'll get to advocate for him again and I bet Daemon will make it even further then.
  2. Onyx trailer is finally out! And it's Hotttttttttt.. (yes, you're not seeing it wrong, hot with a capital H and as many t-s as you can count in your head). I like it even better then the trailer for Obsidian and I can't wait to read Onyx. Which leads me to my third point..
  3. My copy of Onyx was dispatched on Monday and I'll probably receive it by Wednesday next week (TBD ships max 10 days inside the borders of Europe). I'm so, so, so uberly excited. I've heard only great things about it and haven't seen a rating under 4 yet. Urgh, I want next week to come faster already!
Aren't they gorgeous? They're so pretty. Plus, purple's my favorite color ;)
I have a few more suprises on my sleeve, but I'm not going to state them now, because I want to be sure everything's going as planned. Oh, okay, I'm just too excited to keep this all to myself, so I'll give you a clue: I may have a little something for you to read pretty soon and I can't wait to find out myself :) Oh, and there was another thing that made me do a happy dance yesterday (omg, the end of this week just feels like heaven right now), but I'm not going to speak about it yet. I'll tell you when it's a done deal.

Oh, and finally, I'm hope to finish all the books (Delirium, Burn for Burn, Pushing Limits) I'm currently reading throughout this weekend and hopefully I'll be able to catch up with my reviews because as you can see I'm somewhat behind on writing them. Okay, if you've made it here, then thank you for reading this out-of-the-blue-rambling and I hope your weekend will be as fabulous as the end of this week has been for me! Love you, xx