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.

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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: 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.



       

This Girl (Slammed #3) - Colleen Hoover

A few days ago, I did a quick Facebook status on my F&F page that mentioned Colleen Hoover.  I had just finished reading This Girl and was so overcome by, well...flails :) that I had to do something.  That was the whole point of me starting this blog and social media outreach -- TO DO SOMETHING WITH MY FEELS!  Because lets face it, I can tell my poor dog about all the books I love, but she's not going to do anything with it.

So...back to the point.  Normally, I am a big believer in less is more.  In a world where seemingly every book written is a part of a trilogy or series and books are divided into two movies (WHY???), when I heard that there was going to be a 3rd installment in the Slammed series and that it was going to be a retelling of Will and Lake's story from Will's point of view, I was honestly a little meh.  BUT...I also loved Slammed and Point of Retreat so much I knew that I'd end up reading it.

I ended up loving it. 

His perspective on their story, their relationship added just the right amount of...finish.  I didn't feel like this book was just a regurgitation of the previous two.  I didn't feel like it was excessive or unnecessary or over the top.  It felt right. 

“If I took every romantic poem, every book, every song, and every movie I've ever read, heard or seen and extracted the breathtaking moments, somehow bottling them up, they would pale in comparison to this moment.

This moment is incomparable.” 

And they lived happily ever after. 

How To Kill A Rock Star - Tiffanie DeBartolo

I just spent a good half hour trying to find my favorite quote, favorite passage, favorite anything from this book.  I'm pretty sure it is impossible.

We all have that something...a song, a poem, a book (raises hand) that just takes everything you've always wanted to say and presents it in this way that makes you just want to nod your head and say "yes" - I affectionately refer to it as "book church".  I learned a long time ago that I don't have what it takes to write a book - but if I could, if I had that way with words that I so greatly admire, I would want it to be like this one. 

“I am of the theory that all of our transcendental connections, anything we're drawn to, be it a person, a song, a painting on a wall--they're magnetic. The art is the alloy, so to speak. And our souls are equipped with whatever properties are required to attract that alloy. I'm no scientist so I don't really know what the hell these properties are, but my point is we're drawn to stuff we've already got a connection to. Part of the thing is already inside of us.”

I mean, COME ON.  The way the words flow and the story unfolds...I'm not even making any sense.  

I've read this book more than once, and even though I know what happens, I still find myself feeling all the visceral feels.  I swoon, and roll my eyes, and mutter under my breath, and cry and swoon and want to throw things and swoon and shake people until they come to their senses.

“Eliza has the sky in her eyes and I’ve always wanted to touch the goddamn sky.” 

And swoon more. 

The story is told from three perspectives -- Eliza, Paul and Loring.  You'd think the changing POVs would be an issue, but it really isn't.  Each character gives their unique spin on the story and they weave together until you just want to wrap yourself in it and let it keep you warm.  I have more passages highlighted than any other book I've ever read and going back and rereading them to write this nonsensical ramble makes me want to read  it again for the kazillionth time.  And to be honest, I'll probably find more things to highlight.

“See that?” Paul said. “Ten goddamn seconds.”

“I don't get it.”

“You didn't even have to hear the whole song, just a few lines, and you still got chills and that swirly, happy-sad feeling in your gut, didn't you?”

“So?”

“So?” he huffed. “That's the difference between the real stuff and the crap. I know which one you are and you know which one I am.”

And you can probably guess which one I think this book is.  So yeah, I think you should read it.   

You can learn more about this amazing book here.