Review: Boomerang by Noelle August

Title: Boomerang (Boomerang #1)
Author: Noelle August (Veronica Rossi, Lorin Oberweger)
Published: July 8th 2014
Read: July 23rd to 26th, 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

The first book in a sensational New Adult trilogy from Noelle August

Welcome to Boomerang.com, the dating site for the millennial gen with its no-fuss, no-commitments matchups, and where work is steamier than any random hook-up
Mia Galliano is an aspiring filmmaker. Ethan Vance has just played his last game as a collegiate soccer star. They’re sharp, hungry for success, and they share a secret.

Last night, Ethan and Mia met at a bar, and, well . . . one thing led to another, which led to them waking up the next morning—together. Things turned awkward in a hurry when they found themselves sharing a post hookup taxi . . . to the same place: Boomerang headquarters.

What began as a powerful connection between them is treated to a cold shower courtesy of two major complications. First, Boomerang has a strict policy against co-worker dating. And second, they’re now competitors for only one job at the end of summer.
As their internships come to an end, will they manage to keep their eyes on the future and their hands off each other, or will the pull of attraction put them right back where they started?

Noelle August is a hot new name on the New Adult landscape. I knew I’d love Boomerang’s humor and chemistry even before I opened the book because Veronica Rossi is a queen and I adore her books. I had, must admit, never heard of Lorin Oberweger before, but turns out that she has starred Kirkus reviews and everything as a ghostwriter so should speak volume about her talent as well. So yes, Boomerang was a must after I read the synopsis and I may as well tell you all about my thoughts on this fun, chemistry-filled and humorous read.

Review: Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Title: Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky #3)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Published: January 28th 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do--and they are just as determined to stay together.
Within the confines of a cave they're using as a makeshift refuge, they struggle to reconcile their people, Dwellers and Outsiders, who are united only in their hatred of their desperate situation. Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. Then Roar arrives in a grief-stricken fury, endangering all with his need for revenge.
Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble an unlikely team for an impossible rescue mission. Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival--he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

This series is like a futuristic, youthful version of the Game of Thrones what with its tribes, traditions, power hungry rulers, betrayals, alliances, family, love and, most of all, fighting for survival. It has quickly become one of my favorite series and I will recommend it to everyone who takes a minute to listen. Into the Still Blue was basically everything I hoped for and in some ways even more.

Mini-reviews: Roar & Liv; Brooke by Veronica Rossi

Title: Liv and Roar (Under the Never Sky #0.5)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Published: October 30th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Before Perry and Aria, there was Roar and Liv. After a childhood spent wandering the borderlands, Roar finally feels like he has a home with the Tides. His best friend Perry is like a brother to him, and Perry's sister, Liv, is the love of his life. But Perry and Liv's unpredictable older brother, Vale, is the Blood Lord of the Tides, and he has never looked kindly on Roar and Liv's union. Normally, Roar couldn't care less about Vale's opinion. But with food running low and conditions worsening every day, Vale's leadership is more vital—and more brutal—than ever. Desperate to protect his tribe, Vale makes a decision that will shatter the life Roar knew and change the fate of the Tides forever.

They say that your heart is the size of your fist. I have very small hands. My thoughts after finishing Roar and Liv’s novella were something along like this: “I think I [just] broke my already tiny heart into a million, even smaller pieces. What kind of a cruel joke is this???” I loved being inside Roar’s head and seeing his POV on things. His relationship with Perry got a whole new meaning and this one quote made me smile while at the same time want to sob like crazy:

Review: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Title: Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Published: January 8th 2013
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death.
Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.
Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at first.
Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?
Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

When I first read Under the Never Sky, I wasn’t blown away. Yeah, it was original, had pretty cool characters, the romance was good, but it was just good, nothing amazing. Then, as time passed, I became to realize that I was head-over-heels in love with this world and the characters. They didn’t let their grip on me go and even held on stronger than ever before. As the release date for Into the Still Blue came closer, I finally decided to read Through the Ever Night and binge read the series in two days. Hellllllls yeah! UtNS was better than ever and TtEN was just as amazing if not better.

January Wrap Up

For the past year I've watched people among blogosphere and booktube wrap up their previous months when it comes to reading, set goals for the next and just talk and gush about all things bookish. I always love reading two of them especially: Amber's [Books of Amber] and Rachel & Jasprit's [The Reader's Den]. Edit: since I forgot to add the giveaway and poll, then these will be added in the next month's wrap up post with double amount of books to choose from. 

January reviews (click on the covers for the links)

Books read in total? The total amount of books I read in January is 20. A LOT, I know. For me it is, at least. I just kind of had the month off except for work, because I managed to do so well last semester that I had zero exams. Plus, three of the books I read were novellas which read extremely fast. February will be a lot more laid back for me.

Lowest and highest ratings were 4.9 and DNF. I gave 5.0 to Under the Never Sky when I re-read it, because I realized that I love absolutely everything about it (even though I gave 3.5 when I first read it.. yep, I don't know how that happened...), but since it's a re-read then it doesn't count in my eyes, so 4.9 it is.

Book boyfriend of the month is a tie between Perry and Roar. I just love them both equally and you cannot make me choose to save my life. The runner-up is Braden Carmichael which Aman totally approves of, I'm sure ;)

Love triangles? There was only one book that had a decent love triangle and that is Hallowed by Cynthia Hand where Christian Prescott *scowls* and Tucker Avery *beams* fight for Clara's heart. Other than that, there were books that held some love-triangely tension, but I wouldn't call them love triangles because the choice is very, very obvious.

What I'm planning on reading... I'm so bad with tbr-s, you have no idea. If I make a tbr, you can be certain that I won't read anything from the list. Though, since Nick is reading The Bone Season this month, I'm planning on reading it with her. Perhaps I'll join the Angelfall readalong with Aman and Janhvi. Perhaps I'll read Cress right away depending on how bad I need it after Scarlet. What's for certain though is that I will read Into the Still Blue BECAUSE. Because!!! I need it more than my next breath basically. So I'm definitely reading this pretty thing:

That's it for me on January. I think I'll take it slow this month, because it's the beginning of spring semester and my final one (hopefully) before I get my BA degree. I need to work on my thesis, finish the semester, graduate, go to work (hopefully more often than last fall), hopefully read some awesome books and hopefully blog without taking huge breaks. Anyhow, I have some questions for you, because I'm nosy like that and want to know :) ...

What were your favorite books last month? Any new book boyfriends I should know about? (Or any old crushes returning to the pages you were reading?) ;) How many books did you read? What are you planning on reading this month?

Book Haul #22

Haven't done one in a while again. I think it's been a month if not more. I haven't received any paperbacks throughout this time other than The Sea of Tranquility--love that book--which I loaned to my mom and she took it to her vacation with her so I can't show it to you this week. The rest of the paperbacks/hard covers I've received before, but haven't showcased yet. If you've read any of these, let me know and I'll push them up on my tbr list. Be sure to leave me your links so I can visit all of you lovelies back:)

Physical copies

Sweet Peril (Sweet Evil #2) by Wendy Higgins

Dreamless (Starcrossed #2) by Josephine Angelini

Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi

Apollyon (Covenant #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare (read, review will be up soon)

E-books

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu (arc, currently reading)

Elite by Rachel van Dyken (review copy, already read)

The Lies We Tell by Elizabeth Dunk (arc, already read)

I also received a little bit of swag throughout that time. A huge thanks to Jennifer Jacopelli for these gorgeous bookmarks. Moreover, the always wonderful Trisha Wolfe, who is just one of the best human beings, sent me signed bookmarks which she designed herself, by the way, and a very lovely letter. Thanks so so so much you guys! *hugs*

A HUGE thanks to Edelweiss, Netgalley, Simon Pulse, Forever, Harlequin Australia, Jennifer Jacopelli and Trisha Wolfe.

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Mod Podge Bookshelf and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Title: Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Published: January 3rd 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

I recently watched the first two seasons of Game of Thrones and it’s funny, because Under the Never Sky is a dystopian book where two worlds collide: the one with all those extremely advanced gadgets and technology items and the other with that Game of Thrones feeling, but without the constant nudity. This interesting world is compelling enough to draw a reader in, but the complex relationships, betrayals and unexpected allies are what really color the story.

"They called the world beyond the walls of the Pod 'the Death Shop.' A million ways to die out there. Aria never thought she'd get so close."

Quoting what’s on the back cover of my paperback: “Worlds kept them apart. Destiny brought them together.” I really think it’s the most accurate statement for this book. Aria and Perry *sigh* are the complete opposites starting from their background and upbringing to their personalities. They take on this journey together and born enemies soon become forced allies to reach the ones they love the most.

It’s safe to assume that I enjoyed this novel, but even though I was extremely fascinated, I found it hard to pick it up from the corner of my table the next day. On the other hand, once I was in this world again, it was almost impossible to put it away. The flow of the story is a cliché, of course, à la enemies become friends, then lovers etc, but there are some unique twists as well and the creatures that Perry and Aria meet in the Wilds are beyond interesting.

I don’t think I can write this review without at least mentioning the amazingness that is Roar so let’s just put it that way: I’m freaking excited to read Roar and Liv’s novella. I think he is an awesome supporting character that brings out if not the best in both, Aria and Perry, then at least their potential to be extraordinary. It’s safe to say that I like him a lot.

She looked up. “A world of nevers under a never sky.”
She fit in well then, he thought. A girl who never shut up.

In the end, it wasn’t exactly perfecto, but it was really good and I will definitely follow Aria and Perry till the very end of this series. I’m happy that I don’t have to wait forever to read the sequel, because the ending made my hands really itchy for Through the Ever Night to see how the story enrolls from here. I give this book a decent thumbs up and if you haven’t read it yet, at least check it out. Oh, and it's over 50% on sale on The Book Depoitory so get it while you can. (I'm not sure if it is now, when this review is published, though. If it isn't, then hopefully they'll put it on discount again. It's been that way two times already.)

PS. I like the UK cover more than the US one. I’m usually all about the US covers, but this time UK’s beats it by a mile. It doesn’t seem as pretty on a picture though, I discovered that myself once I received my copy of the UK version. It’s gorgeous!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Teaser Tuesday #24

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

Aria raked her nails into his skin. He lost his footing, nearly bringing them both down.
"Hurt me again, I hurt you back harder," he said through clenched teeth.

~ p. 102 of "Under the Never Sky" by Veronica Rossi

IMM/StS #6

Hey, so here's a showcase of what I got this week. Leave me a comment if you've read any of these and tell me whether or not you liked it so I know which books to pick up next. Also, make sure to leave your StS/IMM links in the comments so I can visit you back. Thanks!

Physical Books

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi *finallyyyyy!! yay!*

Guardian of the Gate (Prophecy of the Sisters #2) by Michelle Zink

A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2) by Beth Revis

Nightshade (Nightshade #1) by Andrea Cremer

Wolfspane (Nightshade #2) by Andrea Cremer

Ebooks

 

Roar and Liv (Under the Never Sky #0.5) by Veronica Rossi 

Rockoholic by C. J. Skuse

Brightest Kind of Darkness (Brightest Kind of Darkness #1) by P. T. Michelle

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Story Siren and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted @ Tynga's Reviews.

IMM/StS #3

Here are the goodies I got this week. If you have read any of them, let me know what you thought, because my TBR pile is huge and this way I know which books to move up on my list. P.S. I've already read Sweet Evil (I own an ecopy) and I absolutely loved it! I won a giveaway about a month ago and received a signed bookplate in addition to Sweet Evil bookmarks so I came to conclusion that needed a physical copy as well. Also, since it's now sure that the second book (Sweet Peril) is coming, I definitely needed to purchase a paperback copy, because it's boud to be an awesome and absolutely fantastic series, so, yeah, couldn't be any happier! =)

The best book-related thing this week!

 

Young Adult / Mature YA

Physical Books

 

 

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins (my review)

If I Die by Amy Plum

Ebooks

 

Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz, Ron Bass

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Poison Princess by Kresly Cole

Adult Contemporary

Ebooks

 

 

Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Story Siren and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted @ Tynga's Reviews.