Review: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Title: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)

Author: Victoria Schwab
Published: July 5th, 2016 by Greenwillow Books
Read: June 27th to July 7th, 2016
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review*

There’s no such thing as safe.

Kate Harker wants to be as ruthless as her father. After five years and six boarding schools, she’s finally going home to prove that she can be.

August Flynn wants to be human. But he isn’t. He’s a monster, one that can steal souls with a song. He’s one of the three most powerful monsters in a city overrun with them. His own father’s secret weapon.

Their city is divided. Their city is crumbling.

Kate and August are the only two who see both sides, the only two who could do something. But how do you decide to be a hero or a villain when it’s hard to tell which is which?

Mini Reviews: The Conspiracy of Us & A Darker Shade of Magic

Hey, loves! Since two sequels for some of my most anticipated books of the year are coming out this month and early next month, I thought I'd publish my [revamped] reviews from last year and tell you why I loved them so much. Can't wait to see whether we agree or not on these particular reads if some of you have already read them! ♥ (ˆ‿ˆԅ)✨

Dual Review: Every Last Word & For the Record

Hi, my loves! Long time no talk, eh? As you know, for the past year, I've been struggling with a huge, huge blogging slump + work and uni have been keeping me hella busy, but lately I've been feeling the urge to blog and I especially felt that as I was filling out answers to a tag that my friend Lisa tagged me to do. Can't wait to share it soon! Next week I'll be back with a blog tour for my favorite series in this entire universe, but today I have a dual review for you and I can't wait to see if we share any common thoughts（✿＾▿＾）

Dual Review: Most Likely to Succeed and This Is One Moment

Hey, lovelies! As you've noticed, this blog is being updated very randomly these days. After I got all my exams done at the beginning f June, I had to do an internship and, after that was over, I have been working almost every day since July. Now that I have a small break before uni starts back up next week, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about the two ARCs I've read this summer and very much enjoyed as well (◡‿◡✿)

Mini Reviews: Perfect Couple, Finding It, Trial by Fire, Sinner

Hey, guys! It's been so long since my last review. I'm all done with exams, yay! Now I have a week long break before spring semester starts. Going to re-energize and hopefully get some commenting done. I hope you've all been wonderful! *hugs* I was going to write full reviews for all of these, but I decided to write a post with multiple mini reviews instead. Let me know what you thought of these books :)


Title: Perfect Couple (Superlatives #2)
Author: Jennifer Echols
Published: January 15th 2015
Read: Nov 29th, 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review*

Can your heart be put to a popular vote?

As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for capturing those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents' bitter divorce has left her wondering what a loving relationship would look like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody the “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been on her case to ask Brody out.

Brody doesn’t lack in female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He seems confused about why they were matched together, too. They’re total opposites—the last people in the world who would ever be compatible, let alone the “perfect couple.” Yet ever since the class paired the two of them, they've found themselves drawn together--first by curiosity, then by an undeniable bond.

The trouble is, though they're very attracted to each other and both of them admit this, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating clearly. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But after they walk away, both of them feel so changed from making the effort that they can’t forget each other. What if that means this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?

It's more like 3.5, I think. Loved the main ship a whole bunch and they are ridiculously cute together. Plus swoony kissing, you guys!!! I didn't connect with the MC, to be honest, and the book was often over dramatic, but regardless, still enjoyable. Echols doesn't shy away from sex talk and sexier themes which is good seeing as it's YA and teenagers aren't oblivious to these things after all. It also has different races when it comes to characters and LGBT themes which is very appreciated. [Highlight to see a slight (?) spoiler] I'm so glad that it didn't have any L-bombs because the book takes place within a week or so and expressing love would have been just too much. DID I SAY SWOONY KISSING ALREADY???

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5.0
Stars: ★★★

Meet the author

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Thank you to Simon Pulse and Edelweiss for providing an arc. My thoughts are my own 

and in no way did the review copy affect my opinion on the book.

Review: Amour Amour by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Title: Amour Amour
Author: Krista and Becca Ritchie
Published: December 12th 2014
Read: December 13 to 16, 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Love is a circus

"Every day,” he says lowly, “I hold a person’s life in my hands. The circus is based one-hundred percent off trust. I give it all to someone, and they give it all to me.”

The best aerial technique won’t land 21-year-old Thora James her dream role in Amour—a sexy new acrobatic show on the Vegas strip. Thora knows she’s out of her element the second she meets Amour’s leading performer. Confident, charming and devilishly captivating, 26-year-old Nikolai Kotova lives up to his nickname as the “God of Russia.”

When Thora unknowingly walks into the crosshairs of Nikolai’s after-show, her audition process begins way too soon. Unprofessional. That’s what Nik calls their “non-existent” relationship. It’s not like Thora can avoid him. For one, they may be partners in the future--acrobatic partners, that is. But getting closer to Nik means diving deeper into sin city and into his dizzying world.

Thora wants to perform with him, but when someone like Nikolai attracts the spotlight wherever he goes—Thora fears that she’s destined to be just background to his spellbinding show.

This sexy and exhilarating New Adult Romance can best be described as Cirque du Soleil meets the steamy, athletic romance of Center Stage.

Oh, the two wizards that are Krista and Becca Ritchie! Their books have moved and touched the deepest parts of my soul and I will forever hold them dear and close to my heart. After finishing their first stand-alone novel, I can tell you that I found Amour Amour to be exciting, and the circus setting most definitely added to the otherwise fun, humorous and sensuous story.

Review: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Title: Open Road Summer
Author: Emery Lord
Published: April 15th, 2014
Read: August 3rd to 5th, 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

I read Open Road Summer after most of my friends had raved about it and said how much they enjoyed this inspirational story about best friends, a swoony romance, a road trip and always welcomed character growth. Plus, a story with a pretty cover and gorgeous writing is always a must-read if you ask me.

Review: Come Back to Me by Mila Gray

Title: Come Back to Me
Author: Mila Grey (aka Sarah Alderson)
Published: June 19th 2014 Pan Macmillan
Read: July 20th to 22nd, 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

Home on leave in sunny California, Marine and local lothario Kit Ryan finds himself dangerously drawn to his best friend's sister, Jessa - the one girl he can't have.

But Kit's not about to let a few obstacles stand in his way and soon Jessa's falling for his irresistible charms.
What starts out as a summer romance of secret hook-ups and magical first times quickly develops into a passionate love affair that turns both their worlds upside down.

When summer's over and it's time for Kit to redeploy, neither Kit nor Jessa are ready to say goodbye. Jessa's finally following her dreams and Kit's discovered there's someone he'd sacrifice everything for.

Jessa's prepared to wait for Kit no matter what. But when something more than distance and time rips them apart they're forced to decide whether what they have is really worth fighting for.

A breathtaking, scorchingly hot story about love, friendship, family and finding your way back from the edge of heartbreak.

So you should all know by now that my lovely Jazzy is obsessed with all things Sarah Alderson. I’ve been meaning to read something by her for the longest time since Jasprit can’t shut up about the magic that is Sarah Alderson. And for a good reason too, let me tell you! When Sarah published Come Back to Me under her pseudonym Mila Gray, all of my friends’ blogs blew up with praise and that was honestly where I lost my patience (in a good way). Reading it almost right after Thrive (which I knew would create the biggest bookish hangover) was a risky move, but I just knew that Come Back to Me was something I couldn’t simply ignore.

Review: All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

Title: All Lined Up
Author: Cora Carmack
Published: May 13th 2014
Read: June 23 to 26, 2014
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Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.

In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.

Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.

But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.

Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated.

Dallas doesn't know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter.

Started this on a random morning while taking the bus to work. Figured it wouldn't hurt to try a New Adult novel since Cora is amazing! Her writing suits me so well and I missed some steam and smexy from the YA reads I had going on lately. Truly glad I started it since already during the first 20%, I couldn't wipe this silly grin off my face. One could say that I fell hard for Carson and Dallas, their adorable chemistry and intense attraction. And you know what? They're absolutely right!

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Title: We Were Liars
Author: Emily Lockhart
Published: May 13th 2014
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Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

I have not stumbled upon a negative review for this one yet. Yeah, a few DNF mentions among my GR friends, but mostly just “mind-blown”, “so good”, “loved it”, “brilliant”—these are the words and phrases come to mind from the reviews and thoughts that I have seen. After reading Tanja’s review and wanting to get out of a huge slump, I really wanted to give it a try.

Review: Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Peril (Sweet Evil #2)
Author: Wendy Higgins
Published: April 30th 2013
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Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.
When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

Buddy-read this gorgous thing with Rashika and had so much fun discussing it. Sweet Evil was one of the first YA books that I just about died while reading, because I was too busy swooning over the love interest. Yes, I’m fully team Kaidan and proud of it! While I adore Wendy Higgins to pieces, loved the first book a lot and know that the fans were satisfied with Peril, I was hesitant. Why? Well, I knew that Kai wouldn’t be in the first half that much, so I honestly didn’t know if Anna and her own adventures would be captivating enough to keep me hooked. Were they?

Review: Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Title: Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3)
Author: Katie McGarry
Published: November 26th 2013
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Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life—that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Katie McGarry is one of the best at writing swoony, adorable, yet heart-wrenching and emotional contemporary books. I have enjoyed all that in Pushing the Limits and Dare You To. Now we have my favorite character Isaiah on his way towards happiness and I couldn’t have been happier to crack his book open and devour every single word of it. Let’s just say that it wasn’t what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed what we got.

Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Title: The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1)
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Published: December 18th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.
When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.
When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

With dystopians becoming sort of a joke around blogosphere, this book has managed something that very few accomplish—raving reviews and fans everywhere you turn. I was hesitant, to say the least. I was all: “Why did I purchase The Darkest Minds and pre-order the sequel on top of that? Dystopians seem to be not my thing lately.. Why did I follow the hype yet again? It’s going to be bad, I know it.” Fortunately, I had to eat my words, because this book was anything but bad.

“The Darkest Minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces.”

Let’s start with the characters. We get to know Ruby—the protagonist—in a pretty intimate way before we jump into big action scenes and get to know her companions for the rest of the book. With dystopians, we usually have main characters who are strong, independent, selfless and pretty kick-a from the start. While Ruby became all of these, she wasn’t heroine-material throughout the first 100 pages and even after that. She was scared to great lengths and who wouldn’t?! The world she lives in is absolutely crazy. We watch her go through immense character growth though and it made me believe in her abilities to become the heart of the story and perhaps even pull off a revolution of sorts.

My favorite  character by far was Zu. Oh, gawd. This little girl with the cutest personality was so humbling and adorable to watch. While Chubs and Liam were great and brought smile after smile on my face, Zu was the real ray of sunshine in this story. The scenes where Zu and Ruby were sharing the stage were really cute to read and I will remember their shopping spree for quite a while. The last thing Zu said wrote to Ruby still haunts my mind and I hope that we will get to the bottom of it soon.

Good news to insta-love haters—no insta-love in sight whatsoever. The relationship between Ruby and her love interest is the very definition of slow-build and had me dying of swoon by the end of the book and, of course, sharing crocodile tears for obvious reasons. *tries not to sob*

The dialogue is written very well and brings fits of giggles and big smiles to this otherwise quite dark tale. With dystopians, we often see books follow this sort of unwritten guideline. While I can’t say that The Darkest Minds didn’t have dystopian characteristics, it was most definitely an original, creative and unique world with a character-driven plot. Not only does Ruby evolve from a scared little duck to a beautiful, brave and strong swan so to speak, we also get to see progress in the secondary characters and it was probably one of my favorite aspects of this book. I also loved the aspect of super powers. BIIIIIIIG superheroes fan here so yes, me approves!

Perhaps I wasn’t as invested in Ruby’s emotional state as I could have been at the beginning. I didn’t cry nor get teary-eyed, but there wasn’t much of a chance either. The first quarter of the book excluded, the rest of it was packed with fast-paced plot and didn’t really slow down with building the world and the characters. While I wasn’t taken aback by all of the revelations, I did find myself turning page after page, eager to find out more.

All in all, I’ll say what almost every other person has been saying since this book came out: READ THIS. I don’t regret for a second that I purchased The Darkest Minds and Never Fade in hardcover and get to read them time and time again. I have marked so many places that made me either swoon, laugh or think. This is most certainly a book, and author, not to be missed and I’m eagerly anticipating what’s next to come.

Overall rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 
Stars: ★★★★

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Review: In the Stillness by Andrea Randall

Title: In the Stillness
Author: Andrea Randall
Published: April 9th 2013
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Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Natalie is a wife.
Natalie is a mother.
Natalie is a cutter.

Clawing at walls built by resentment, regret, and guilt, Natalie cuts as an escape from a life she never planned.

Staying present is only possible when you let go of the past. But, what if the past won't let go?

I know that cutting is a big issue and it's, unfortunately, one of the most common ways to ease the emotional pain. I have read one book which dealt with cutting and I didn't end up enjoying it at all. Perhaps it was due to the paranormal elements of the book which kept me from investing myself in the story, maybe it was thanks to the rushed plot. As you can imagine, I was reluctant to try In the Stillness. Am I glad to have read it? Yes, yes I am.

“But, the thing about guilt is, no one can take away for you; you have to unpack it yourself.”

The story. Natalie is a cutter. She's also a wife and a mom. And practically a widow since she mourns the loss of a relationship she lost thanks to the war between USA and Iraq. 10 years ago she was in a relationship with the love of her life. When he went to war, everything came crashing down. Now, being married to another man, her hopes and dreams are gone. Her twin sons are her day job since she quit college to took care of them and be a stay-at-home-mom while her young husband continued his studies. Her life makes her miserable and the only way to relive some of her pain is to cut.

My thoughts. You know these deals where you pay for one thing, but get two? This is exactly what you get when you purchase Natalie's story. The story starts with her cutting in the present. She's so emotionally drained that she almost comes across like an angry, depressed robot programmed to get through the day. She has trouble enjoying motherhood and all she dreams about is getting out. Her past haunts her like a ghost with a vengeance. It pained me to watch her on a road to self-destruction. She was just so depressed that it truly, truly hurt. I kept rooting for her to pick herself up and start living her life and loving the people around her, but her heart is in the past and in the lost chances of what could have been.

So what's this 2 in 1 deal I was talking about? You see, she lives in the past because she lost the love of her life to war. Not physically, but emotionally. Ryke suffered from PTSD and their relationship couldn't survive that. We get glimpses of their relationship, them falling in love and losing themselves in it. At the same time, Nat tries to survive in the present and I kept wanting for her to fix things with Eric, her husband, whom she clearly didn't love anymore. As for Eric, he seemed like the perfect husband. I was rooting for him, for crying out loud! I can't believe he did that.

Watching Nat pull herself together and seeing her starting to love, respect and enjoy herself was beautiful. I'm glad she grew to enjoy being a mother and started to realize how much she loves her sons. When tragedy hits one of them, she womans up and does everything in her power to make her son feel better. (Boy, do I want to start bawling when I think back to it.) I found her to be a hard character to connect with at the beginning because she's so far gone and only the memories of her past offered me relief from her dark story. However, when she finally made the decision to get better for her sons, it was truly, truly beautiful and enjoyable to read.

If you're in need of an emotional story, pick this up! I wasn't expecting what I found in In the Stillness and ugly-crying was also part of my experience with this one. I can tell you that it has a happily ever after as much as there could be. It's a dark, emotional, broken piece of work and gives the reader lots to think about. I found myself thinking for a long time after finishing Natalie's story and that is something I'm very grateful to Ms. Randall. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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