Review: Fighting Silence by Aly Martinez

SYNOPSIS:

Sound is an abstract concept for most people. We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it's the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to?

I've always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn't a single night that I didn’t hear her voice.

You see, meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one.

They both happened anyway.

Now, I'm on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting for my career.
Fighting the impending silence.
Fighting for her.

Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her.

I think that's the sound I'll miss the most.

Each book in this series can be read as a standalone.

MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

I first became a fan of this author with her Wrecked and Ruined series and when I saw the sign ups for this book, I jumped on the chance to read it.  The books I have read (and reviewed) were all 5 star reads.  I loved the plots, the characters, the way the story flowed off the pages.  I had no doubt that I would enjoy Fighting Silence, but I had no idea that "enjoy" would be a total understatement.

Y'all...my love for this book knows no limits.

Let me put it to you this way...after I finished reading Fighting Silence, I proposed to Aly Martinez.  

She said yes.  And I have the tweets to prove it.

I'm not even sure where to start when it comes to Fighting Silence.   As I've said from the very beginning of my blogging days, I am an emotionally driven reader.  Aly has never let me down in that department, but what I got from Fighting Silence was so much more than I was expecting.  The vulnerability in her characters...it added a depth to this story that knocked my socks off.

Till and Eliza.  Maybe it was that their story starts when they are thirteen.  Maybe it is their "apartment".  Maybe it was the fact that they were friends first and foremost.  I don't know how to describe it, but I absolutely fell in love with them as individuals and as a couple.  They make sense, they complement each other, they just work in a way that I celebrated and cried and laughed and fist pumped and unf'd and felt all the feels for them.

I made a comment to another blogger today about how I wasn't sure how to write this review.  How to translate "puffy heart eyes and stupid grins" into coherent thoughts and reasons.  What I should have done was take live actions shots of my face as I read and posted them in chronological order because there were so many cheesy grins and flails and tears...and all of them were integral to the story.  There wasn't a single part of the story that didn't make sense.  It all worked.  It all fit together like this perfect emotional puzzle.

I cannot wait to see where she takes this series.  Till and Eliza...their story ends where it should and I'm content.  But Flint and Quarry - Till's brothers -- they have so much to give and I know Aly will do wonderful things.

I've struggled recently with this blog, not really wanting to read or write reviews and I have seriously considered riding off into the bookish sunset -- but Fighting Silence has reminded me just how much fun it is to get excited about a book and how much fun it is to talk about it.

Thank you, Aly.  I look forward to starting our life together :)
    

EXCERPT:

"That wasn't yours to take away," he exploded into the otherwise silent night. His words echoed off the surrounding buildings, each wave slicing me to the quick all over again. "That was our place. Not yours." His voice cracked right alongside my heart.

"Yeah, well, there was a lot of stuff that wasn't yours to take either." I held his gaze, desperately trying to be strong, but as his eyes grew wide, I whimpered.

His long legs strode forward, stopping only inches away from me. He was crowding me, but he still leaned in closer to my face. "There is nothing in this world that was ever more mine than you," he stated. Though it was the absolute truth, I wished with all my heart that it were a lie.

"Till," I cried, swiping the tears from my eyes.

"Why!" he shouted, causing his muscles to tense under the force. "Goddamn it! I needed that place."

Porch lights flashed on from the surrounding apartments, illuminating not only the dark but also my rage.

I shoved my hands into his chest. "What about what I needed? You left! I waited in that fucking apartment for weeks."

He didn't budge, but my bare feet slipped, sending me toward the ground. Impossibly fast, Till's hand snaked out and caught my arm. I didn't let his chivalrous gesture douse my fire. I had six months’ worth of words to say to the man I was irrevocably in love with.

"You took what you wanted. Then you left me."

"Doodle," he whispered.

I had been perilously close to the edge of insanity, and with one single word, he’d pushed me over.

I lost it completely.

Pounding my fists against his chest, I screamed at the top of my lungs, "It's Eliza! My name is fucking Eliza! Not Doodle!" I spun to march away, but Till's arms folded around me, lifting me off my feet to restrain me.

I was miniscule compared to him. There was no use in fighting, but I still kicked my legs, irrationally desperate to get away from him—but only because I knew I couldn't keep him for forever.

"Stop it!" he growled into my ear. "I know your Goddamn name—probably better than I know my own."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.  
After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Review: Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

SYNOPSIS:

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

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

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

MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

23ish years ago, I sat in my 10th grade English class and listened to a friend read a story she had written for some assignment that I don't remember.  

Two thoughts ran through my mind that day.  First, that her story was really really good.  And second, that crap, I was going to go have to rewrite mine because my story really really wasn't.

Today, I'm reviewing her first book on my blog.  A concept that excites me now just as much as it terrified me at first -- because what if things didn't end well?  I mean, what if it wasn't good?  What if I didn't like it?  That might make things a bit awkward.  Keep in mind too, that there is a LOT of math in this book and I consider math to be the academic equivalent of Voldemort.  WHO WRITES A BOOK ABOUT MATH???

Still, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read her words and from the first page, it was quite obvious that I had made the right decision.   

I absolutely fell in love with this story.  


Charlie Hanson is my book soul mate.  Quirky and nerdy and obsessed with plans and rules...holy crow, I adore him.  I want him to be my best friend.  And Charlotte...she is who I want to be when I grow up.  Brave and ballsy and knowing exactly who she is.   Opposites on paper, together they make total sense and make my heart want to dance with happiness.  And laughter.  Y'all these characters are witty and snarky and so very funny.

Until.  And you know there is always an "until."

Yup, there I was floating along on a bliss cloud and BAM.  Things started to happen and though you probably know what they are, you also know I don't do spoilers -- you'll just have to be content with "things happen".  I emailed Shannon in tears and said "YOU DIDN'T WARN ME!"  Because I totally did cry.  

 A lot.

 
All that being said, you should know by now that I crave books that evoke intense feelings, so I didn't consider this to be a bad thing.  Not at all.  In fact, as a reader who reads for the emotional journey,  I quite often consider those books to be the best books.  

Here's the thing, though.  Yes, there were tears.  Lots of tears, actually.  But while sadness was definitely the obvious "in your face" emotion, it wasn't what stayed with me after I finished the book.  It was the light, the hope, that Charlotte brought to Charlie's life that still resonates with me today.  

Months after my first reading, weeks after the second...there are three words that stick with me.  Three words that I have highlighted on page 304 that Charlie says to Charlotte that go on the very top of my "if I ever get a tattoo" list.  I've wrapped them up so very tight and keep them close to me and think of them every day.  

Three words. 

So, yeah.   

I've been sitting here for a while now trying to figure out how to finish writing my review.  Do I pretend that I have some sort of well though out critical analysis of writing style and character development when that is not at all what I do? Ever.  Do I gush about how so very proud I am of my friend and how thankful I am that this book has brought us back together?  Do I talk about how I've been in a YA slump lately and how this book reminded me how much I love the genre?  Do I link you all to the picture she just put in a blog post of us from when we were 13?

Or do I just admit that nothing I can say about Love and Other Unknown Variables will sum up my thoughts in the way that I want to express them.  Just take my advice and let Charlie tell his story. 



**I have to confess that I had my original review ending with the words "absolute zero"...and I was all kinds of proud of myself.  Until I googled it just for confirmation and realized that it was a chemistry term and not a math term.  You can lead an English major to water, but you can't make her like math.  I'll leave the numbers to Charlie.     



 



 

Review: Had to Be You by Juliet Chatham

SYNOPSIS:

After college, Rory Finn left behind the familiarity of her quiet, picturesque hometown to pursue a professional career in the city. With her sights firmly on the future, Rory pressed on in hopes of forgetting the past until a jarring bit of unwelcome news forces her to confront it.

Her first love, the one she'd tried so hard to forget, is about to marry someone else. That pang Rory feels isn't envy, it's not even regret. It's love. But Rory can't be that girl. She won't. But if she doesn't, she'll never know what could have been. She'll never have another chance to tell him how she feels.

As she embarks on an impulsive, desperate bid to win him back, her mission turns into an unexpected and emotional journey of rediscovery. HAD TO BE YOU explores a history of love from its tentative beginnings to what may just turn out to be its final bittersweet end, as Rory ignores her head and follows her heart.synopsis:

MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

The best way to start this review is to put it all out there.  This book rocked my socks off.  Seriously.  I loved it.  LOVED IT.  LOVED IT.  LOVED IT.

It doesn't help that I am a sucker for a good "first love" story.  I mean, who doesn't love the chance to remember the way it feels, the flutters, the swoons...and for some, the heartbreak. 

The emotional reader in me gets giddy just THINKING about it and Had to Be You was everything I had hoped it would be and more.    

Rory and Matt.  Matt and Rory.  The best of friends, you rarely found one without the other.  Their relationship was a slow burn that was nurtured through years of pig-tail pulling and affectionate insults.  It happened over the years, before they even realized what was happening and when the spark ignited, resistance was futile.

True. Love. Forever.

Except for when they break up.  And get back together.  And break up.  And get back together.  And break up.  

Surely the next "back together" will happen...until it doesn't.

From the very beginning, when Rory learns about Matt's impending wedding, I found myself totally relating to pretty much every. little. thing.  The gut-punch of seeing the invitation...gah, I can still feel it and it hurts.  It hurts a lot.  And of course, the questions and what-ifs begin to fly...and the wine begins to flow...and ideas get tossed around.  Throw in some flashbacks to happier times and BAM...bring on the feels. 

The flashbacks made this book for me.  The parallels and connection to "real time" moments provided a depth to Rory and Matt's relationship that only knowing their history could do -- but in a way that didn't make me feel like I was being inundated with back story.  

This book has everything I look for.  I laughed, I cried, I fetal-rocked and found myself thinking about...well, thinking about people and places I hadn't thought about in a long time.  You know how a certain song can take you back in an instant to a very specific place or time in your life...yeah, this book did that for me more than a few times.  I wanted to wrap myself up in Rory and Matt's story and never ever let go.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A lifelong New Englander, I divide my time between the North Shore and Cape Cod. My favorite things are beaches, boats, books, bars, the Boston Red Sox and boys, but not necessarily in that order. Consequently, you’ll probably find that these are the things I write about, too.

Author Links:
http://sunnybeachday.wordpress.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7778778.Juliet_Chatham
https://twitter.com/JulietChatham

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Blog Tour Organized by:
YA Bound Book Tours

Gone by Anna Bloom - Review and Giveaway

SYNOPSIS:

Title: Gone
Author: Anna Bloom
Genre: Mature YA (intended for readers ages 16-19)
Publication: July 28th, 2014

Rebecca Walters harbours a dark secret, and as the fifty-three bangles she wears on her wrists as a self-imposed sentence of guilt remind her, she can’t even begin to consider moving on. Not after what happened on that night six months ago… a night which she can’t remember and yet managed to change her life forever.

When Rebecca comes across Joshua Adams, man equally haunted by past tragedies, on a moonlit beach, both of their lives are destined to change forever, and when the girl made out of the sun meets the boy made out of the moon and sea, anything can happen… but will the knowledge of their murky pasts bring them together or drive them apart?

Will Rebecca finally be able to claim her freedom? Will she stay and fight to be the girl she found on the sandy beaches of Cornwall or is she destined to keep running and hiding from a past that won’t stay Gone? One thing’s for certain: either way, nothing will ever be the same again.

Amazon                  Barnes and Noble

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MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

Gah.  This summer has been a bit different for me in that I've been on a bit of a rereading kick and have sort of put the blog on "vacation mode" to let my batteries recharge and maybe figure out a few things.  I definitely cut back on the number of book tours on my schedule.  

But this book - it has called to me from the very first time I saw it mentioned in a book blast sign up.  I love good angst and there was something about it that called to me and even though I really did intend to stay away from scheduled reviews, I knew I had to read it.

Y'all, when the book heart knows, the book heart knows.

Gone absolutely owns me right now.  I want to gush about it and quote pretty words and talk about how the angst was just the perfect amount without being over the top and how much I enjoyed the characters and how I wanted to make everything better and how Joshua is now my new book boyfriend.

Joshua.

Dreadlocked surfer painter boy with a heart and a car named Daisy.  For real.  My inner 20 year old is in love (and maybe my 39 year old self is a little bit as well).

He makes me grinny.

There was so much emotion in this story...I felt a little bit of everything, but not too much of anything if that makes sense.  The darkness felt by Rebecca and by Joshua was balanced with hope and swoons, the anger and sadness with happiness.  The angst...it was so so so good.

I'm sitting here writing my thoughts and wishing that I could just gush endlessly about Gone.  I want to reread it already.  I want to read it for the first time all over again.  I want to gather all my bookish friends and watch them read it and then talk about all our favorite parts.  As an emotional reader, I connected with this book in a way that doesn't always happen and I can't recommend this book enough.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Anna Bloom is a contemporary romance writer who writes about life as it happens. Combining a busy schedule of looking after two small children whilst working in a local school and completing The Uni Files series she also spends a lot of time imagining kissing hot guys – all in the name of her art.

                  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads  

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Review: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You 

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.

One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.

Annnnnd she does it again.

I've made no secret of my love of all things written by Jojo Moyes.  She is at the very top of my must-read-author list and I recommend her books every chance I get.  Her stories are well-written, her characters are magnetic, but I think one of my favorite things about Jojo Moyes is that all of her books are different.  Me Before You is nothing like The Girl You Left Behind which is different from The Last Letter From Your Lover which is different from One Plus One.

I had the opportunity to hear her speak at an author event back in September where she read from what was then her latest project, One Plus One.  Now, keep in mind that I had recently finished reading Me Before You and still reeling from that incredibly emotional ride, so I wasn't sure how I felt when she said that her newest title was going to be different.  Why mess with a good thing, right?  I think she had managed to read three or four paragraphs before I fell in love.  BOOM.  That fast.

Three or four paragraphs.  That was all it took for me to connect with Jess.  Now, Jess and I have very very few things in common.  I'm a happily married, college-educated, Volvo-driving SAHM living in NC.  Jess barely finished high school, has a deadbeat  absentee husband, works 2 low-paying jobs, and lives in a tiny coastal village in England.  But Jojo Moyes knew what she was doing when she was standing behind that podium reading...the passage she read took those differences and obliterated them and all I knew was that Jess and I were both mothers who would do anything for our children.  Even if the choice before us is a bit sketchy.

 I absolutely loved this book.  Loved it.  This book has everything I look for in a good read.  I laughed.  I got angry.  I sympathized.  I smiled.  I wanted go junk-punch Jess's husband and I wanted to hug Ed.  I wanted to take care of her two kids like they belonged to me.  I wanted to tell Jess that everything was going to be okay.  I wanted these characters to be real and when I turned the last page, I wanted more.  Not because I felt like the ending was missing something, but because I was just THAT connected.

Definitely add One Plus One to your to-read list if you haven't already.  You won't be disappointed.   

**Many many thanks to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for providing the arc of One Plus One in exchange for an honest review**

 
  

Stolen Course (Wrecked and Ruined #2) by Aly Martinez - Review and Giveaway

Title: Stolen Course (Wrecked and Ruined #2)
Author: Aly Martinez
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 19, 2014

SYNOPSIS:

I fell in love with Manda Baker eight years ago, and I loved her to the core of her soul. We were supposed to have that elusive happily ever after and spend a lifetime together. But that was all before she was STOLEN from me.

Her best friend, Sarah Erickson, killed her. It wasn’t intentional. It was far worse. Everyone claims it was just an accident, but I can see through the lies. Even if it’s with my dying breath, I will make her pay for what she did.

Fate hates me. It robbed me of my first love and left me to navigate through this world emotionless and numb. Then, one day, spiteful fate gave me a woman to fill my shattered soul and make me feel again. It gave me Emma Jane Erickson. Now I spend my days searching for the answers that will ruin Sarah and my nights falling in love with her sister—the one person who is bound and determined to save her.

But what happens when everything you know to be true explodes around you? Who will be left to pick up the pieces, and who will need to be saved from the wreckage?

**Each book in this series can be read as a stand alone.**

PURCHASE LINKS:

Stolen Course (Wrecked and Ruined #2)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N

Changing Course (Wrecked and Ruined #1)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N
 

MY THOUGHTS:

5 out of 5 stars

Can I just tell you how much I loved this book?  The whole Wrecked and Ruined series?  I mean, I am in forever debt to Celeste over at The Book Hookup for telling me about the signups for this tour because I consumed every last word.

(Due to a scheduling conflict, I am posting this review before I post my review of  the first book in the series, Changing Course, and it may SLIGHTLY be messing with my bookish-OCD tendencies.  I keep telling myself that this is a good opportunity for me to grow as a blogger.)

Stolen Course picks up shortly after Changing Course ends.  Leaving Brett and Jesse's story behind, it is now time to learn more about Caleb and Emma.**

Right from the start, from the very first interaction, their relationship seemed doomed.  Emma's sister is responsible for Caleb's fiancee's death...I mean, not exactly a simple issue to overcome.  In fact, the more I think about it, their situation is probably one of the toughest scenarios I have read in all my romantical perusings.

But as we all know, emotions and attraction aren't always in sync and from the moment Caleb sees Emma in the hospital, he can't get her out of his mind and it frustrates him.  They can not happen.  Can. Not.  Nope.

Until he decides that maybe he just needs to act on it, make her one of his passing encounters, since those are the only type of relationships he has managed to have since the accident.  Since Manda.  Surely that will be enough.

Yeah, right.

There are so many unanswered questions that come into play and need to be addressed, not to mention the issues of forgiveness, letting go, guilt, family responsibility, healing...all the things that make Stolen Course so much more than a simple romance book. 

Y'all...Caleb and Emma's story blew me away.  Up and down and over and under and around and up and down again.  Knowing what I know from the first book, I had no idea where Aly Martinez was going to take this book.  I mean, the visceral thoughts I had about Emma's sister...I haven't loathed a character like that in a ridiculously long time...and while admittedly unfair, I had some serious preconceived notions about Emma.

And some serious flutters about Caleb.  

The good thing about books though, is that they tell a story.  And that maybe just when we think we know everything there is to know about a situation, we realize that we don't.  Because, yeah...because.  #nospoilers 

I absolutely loved Caleb and Emma together.  And while they definitely had their ups and downs, and while Caleb, in true form, had moments where he was a bit of an ass, their chemistry was undeniable.  They made total sense and their personalities absolutely worked together.  When the book ended, I was sad to let them go.  Yay for strong characters!

So, here is what needs to happen.  You need to go and read this book, this series and then we can talk about Brett and Caleb all the bookish things.  Yeah.  That.  I need something to do while I wait for the next book in the Wrecked and Ruined series -- is it September yet?!?!?


**One thing I do feel like I need to mention is while this book can technically be read as a stand alone, I HIGHLY recommend reading Changing Course first.  Not because the plot depends on the first book, but simply because it will allow you to have a deeper understanding of the dynamic and connection between characters.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in Chicago, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side. After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.
Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

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Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

SYNOPSIS:

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

MY THOUGHTS

4.5 out of 5 stars

Gah, I love dark and gothic stories.  And when those elements are blended into a unique retelling of my favorite fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast???  I don't know why I wasn't all over this book the very second I heard about it.

Nyx is the chosen one.  Stemming from a selfish promise made by her father, the time comes when she must leave her family and marry Ignifex, the demon responsible for the death of her mother and the ruler of Arcadia.

What I like most about Nyx though, is that she doesn't wake up and live every day with an "I'm going to save the world and I'm going to do it with a smile" mentality.  She HATES her destiny, despises her father for getting her into this situation, and resents her sister for being able to live a carefree life.  In other words, she is hardly a Disney Princess.  Still, deep down inside she does truly loves her sister and the country she is pledged to save.  As such the battle between such conflicting emotions starts to festers in her heart until she begins to maybe even loathe herself a little bit.

Still, she does what she must and life as she knows it changes forever.

She is thrust into a world of shadows and demons.  Ignifex lives in a house that changes at will and a life filled with secrets -- secrets that tease and taunt with hints revealed at almost every turn.  As the days and nights pass and with every moment she spends with Ignifex and with his shadow, Shade, she learns that maybe things aren't always what they seem.  Maybe SHE isn't what she seems.  Maybe the entire world isn't what it seems.

Did I mention this story is dark and twisted?   And that is is so so so good?

I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the relationship between Nyx and Ignifex.  From the moment Nyx walks into his house, she is determined to kill him - not exactly the recipe for a healthy marriage.  What she finds, however, is that even with the knowledge that he indirectly killed her mother, there is something there that pulls her to him.  Neither is what the other expected and the banter between the two characters is spectacular.  I love good snark almost as much as I love good swoon. 

Rosamund Hodge takes you on an emotional journey through a deliciously dark and thrilling world that I am already dying to reread.  Cruel Beauty is solidly in my top reads of the year - I'm calling it now.   

Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for allowing me to read Cruel Beauty in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

So if you haven't heard, I've been in a bit of a book rut.  It has been ugly and lasted over a month.  I mean, WHY IS LIFE SO CRUEL???   I won't go into the whys or what I speculate are the contributing factors of why it happened, but join me in the epic happy dance that it is over.  Seriously.  Join me.

Golden has been on my to-read list for a while now and I have had it reserved at my local library since the 2nd week in August.  However...it makes it kind of difficult to read a book when the person that checks it out before you decides to not return it.  Ever.

Still, things have a way of working out and once I got tired of waiting, I decided to go ahead and buy the book.  Best. Decision. Ever.

This book blew my mind.

As a person who has lived her life a bit on the shy side, every now and then I find myself on a serious binge of the "what ifs".  And trust me, I'm old enough to have plenty of them.  Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love where I am in my life, but sometimes I think maybe I should have been a bit more adventurous.  A bit more risky.  A bit more confident.

"I've got this tiny pang of regret when I think of how much I have probably missed out on in the last few years because I was too scared to take a risk, or too shy to speak up, or too worried to be bold.  It is my one wild and precious life, after all."

I mean, was Jessi Kirby in my head or what???

Parker Frost is a seventeen-year-old high school senior with her whole life in front of her.  She has done everything she was supposed to do in life -- good girl with good grades and acceptance at a good college.  But as graduation nears, questions arise.  What if things were different.  What if her choices were different.  Were her choices even choices?  Or were they a reflection of something else?

Enter her friends Kat and Trevor.

Trevor.   Talk about serious heart-flutters <3

And Kat.  We all need a friend like her.  Even at my age (which we won't discuss).

And a road trip. 

And a 10 year old journal.

I don't want to write a book report.  What I do want to do is convince you to read this book.  I loved the way the story, the romantical parts, the a-ha moments evolve.  I didn't feel like anything about ths book was forced and every page had me nodding in agreement or smiling with the swoons or taking my little pink post-it-note flags and marking places I want to go back and reread because they made that much of an impression.  And looking at it right now, the number of flags is pretty impressive.

And well, then there is the time when Trevor said "I'd take my time with you."  I mean...

Oh yeah, and there is a bit of a mystery.  But I'm going to let you find out about that part on your own when you read it.  Because you need to read it.  Trust me.

Review: Covet by Tracey Garvis Graves

If you follow me on Goodreads, you would have seen that I finished this book last week and gave it "ALL THE STARS I CAN GIVE".  I wasn't kidding.

I've been sitting on this review for a week now because I was convinced that anything I could possibly put in this space would only lead to massive embarrassment because of my inability to convert my thoughts about this book into words.  I mean, how in the world am I supposed to do it justice?

It is no secret that I loved the two other works I've read by this author - On the Island and the follow up novella, Uncharted, so Covet has been on my radar since I first heard that it was in the works.  Then came the magical day when I saw it on Netgalley and when I got the email saying I was approved...let me just put it this way:

Covet is Claire's story.  And Chris's story.  And Daniel's.  It is the story of how appearances aren't always what they seem.  We pick up after Claire and Chris have been married for several years, have two children, and after Chris has recently been hired after being unemployed for a year.

"We're the Cantons.  Sun-kissed, all-American, picture-perfect.  By all appearances, we're the ideal suburban family.  As long as you don't look too closely."

On the outside, things look great.  But with Chris's new job that requires traveling five days a week, not to mention the stress of being unemployed for a year and all the stresses that come along with that, life in the Canton household is far from perfect.

Claire does everything she can to keep the hopes and emotions of her family buoyed - but that comes at a cost.  With her husband gone so often, she gets the leftovers - the scraps - of what little is left of his time after the ridiculous demands of his boss and after he spends time with his his kids.  "As he should" she says.  But after all that - simply put - Claire is lonely.

Enter Daniel. 

Now, this story is not what you think.  It is not a story of adultery or betrayal.  It is a story of loneliness and devotion and vulnerability and faith.  It is a story of friendship and love and connections between people.  It is a story of clinging to whatever you have to to cope and survive.

Covet is written from three different points of view - Claire, Chris and Daniel.  We get glimpses into their past, into their present, and not only into their lives, but the lives of their friends and neighbors.  Glimpses that go beyond the outer layers until you see just how vulnerable these characters are, no matter how things appear from a distance.  I was pulling for Claire and Chris.  I loved the friendship between Claire and Daniel - is it even possible for a man and a woman to be just friends?

And when tough decisions had to be made, I felt the heartbreak.  But beyond that heartbreak, I also found hope.  And faith.  And my heart was completely full of FEELS! 

This book blew me away.  From the very first page until the very last word, I couldn't put it down and Tracey Garvis Graves secured her spot at the very top of my "I'll read anything and everything they ever write" list.  I didn't eat.  I stayed up way too late.  I even went ahead and pre-ordered it because just having it on my Kindle isn't enough.  I need to hold it and love it and read it over and over and over again.

Simply put, books like this one are why I read.  

.  
 Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Covet.
 

Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

From Goodreads:

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.


You know those moments when the stars align and you read the perfect book at the perfect time?  Yeah, that happened to me last weekend.  I was in a meh mood and life was just one kick in the ass moment after another...until I started reading this book.

THIS BOOK.

I can already tell that this post is going to be a bunch of different rambles all with the same message.  That being, you need to read this one.  My emotional response to this book just stomps all over my ability to form coherent thoughts.  I don't even know...the writing, the words, the characters...they just marched into my heart and decided to take up permanent residence. 

Ezra.  Gah, what can I say about him?  I loved him from the very beginning.  His struggles...I have been there.  Obviously not in the same way, but the parallels...yeah, they were absolutely there.

That everyone's life, no matter how unremarkable, has a moment when it will become extraordinary-a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen.

I know my moment.  The very single instance when I figured out who I was and what was truly important in life.  Maybe that was my connection to this book - that having had my moment, I found myself pulling for Ezra and rooting for him as he searched for his path.

And Cassidy...I both loved her and hated her.  And maybe felt a little bit jealous of her until I wanted to hug her.  This vibrant tornado that appears everyday and uproots everything Ezra thought he needed to hold on to.

I loved the two of them together.  The back and forth between them, the emotional connection, the cuteness and awkwardness of early relationships...perfect.  And real.  

There was a true balance in the writing.  There were moments that were completely poetic and there were moments that were so completely high school that I found myself alternating between giggling and swooning over pretty words.  Ezra and Cassidy...their life experiences have unfortunately propelled them to this level of philosophic maturity where they shouldn't have to be at 17, and then they would say something or laugh at something that would remind you that oh yeah, they were definitely still in high school.

And even when it all comes crashing down around them, it results in an ending that works. 

I told you my thoughts were all over the place...

  
But like I said in the beginning, sometimes the book gods smile down and you read the right book a the right time.  With its blend of happy and sad and funny and reality, The Beginning of Everything has a permanent place on my list of favorites and will be one I recommend forever.



       

Review: The Mistress by Tiffany Reisz

I've been staring at this screen for almost an hour now, trying to find adequate words to convey what I feel about this book, this whole series.

I'm pretty sure nothing I say on this page will be enough.

The Mistress is the final book in The Original Sinners Series - The Red Years. 

Let me first let you know that I hate goodbyes.  And while this really isn't a goodbye because there is another quartet of books to come from Ms. Reisz, this is the end of this particular chapter.


I'm not even sure you can describe the feelings I had while reading this book.  It was a little bit of this:

and this

and this

But that's about all you're going to get re: the storyline.  Since I was lucky enough to get an ARC from Netgalley, I am not even going to go near what might be construed as a spoiler.  Nope.  Spoilers are bad.   

But I will say this.  I am just as in love with the characters as I was in the first 3 books...maybe even a little more if that is even possible.  As I said in my review of the first three books, these books are so much more than what their BDSM and erotica tags immediately imply.  These books are smart.  They are emotional.  They are mind blowing and enlightening and so well-written.  These books are not the stereotypical bodice-ripper that you want to read on your Kindle/Nook/E-reader so nobody knows what you're really reading.    

I love that this story is about love and acceptance.  Love and acceptance in all forms.  All the classic (see that, Ms. Reisz **winks**) elements are there, but the story is told in a way that consumes you until you just...I don't even know...you just FEEL it.  You feel it so hard that your tummy hurts and you have tears, but yet you find yourself smiling at the same time.  Feelings so intense that you might say they inspired the name of my blog.         

Now...about the ending.  Loved it.  It made sense, it wasn't contrived and simply put, it left me with a sense of completion that makes knowing this is the end a little bit easier to accept. 

That being said...BRING ON THE PRIEST!

Geoducks Are For Lovers - Daisy Prescott

I'll be the first to admit that I read a disproportionate amount of YA and New Adult books -- mostly because books are my escape from real life and why would I want to read about the same problems that I have on a daily basis?  But every now and then a book about those of us in the "not so new Adult" age range catches my eye and that is what happened with Geoducks Are For Lovers.


I had seen a few tweets about it while author stalking doing some blog promoting on Twitter and I was intrigued...especially when the blurb on Goodreads asked "What happens when the generation from The Breakfast Club and Reality Bites meets The Big Chill?" 

It was like it was speaking directly to me.  

Once I started reading Geoducks (which is pronounced Gooey-ducks -- who knew?!?!), I couldn't put it down.  Her characters are so real and...normal.  I mean, Maggie blogs in her pajamas -- guess what I'm doing RIGHT NOW!  I could so relate to her - not because our lives have taken the same paths, but because her story is believable.  And maybe because a little part of me is jealous of where and how she lives.  

This is a story of second chances.  Love and heart-flutters aren't limited to the YA crowd.  Just because we are closer to 40 than 20 doesn't mean that our boys can't still be swoony.  Because Gil...hello!  It is also a story lauding the bonds of true friendship.  Maggie and her group all live in different places and lead different lives -- but once they get together, none of that matters.  All the pieces come together like a jigsaw puzzle...or a game of scrabble. 

I stayed up until almost 1:00 AM reading this book because I couldn't go to bed without knowing how it ended.  And while I had to take a nap the next day, I have no regrets.  It was a super sweet, super real, super enjoyable read and I recommend it to everybody who likes reading about second chances and self-discovery.