Thursday, May 30, 2013

White Lines - Jennifer Banash

::Post by Jackie Lindert::

Synopsis: 
A gritty, atmospheric coming of age tale set in 1980s New York City.
Seventeen-year-old Cat is living every teenager’s dream: she has her own apartment on the Lower East Side and at night she’s club kid royalty, guarding the velvet rope at some of the hottest clubs in the city. The night with its crazy, frenetic, high-inducing energy—the pulsing beat of the music, the radiant, joyful people and those seductive white lines that can ease all pain—is when Cat truly lives. But her daytime, when real life occurs, is more nightmare than dream. Having spent years suffering her mother’s emotional and physical abuse, and abandoned by her father, Cat is terrified and alone—unable to connect to anyone or anything. But when someone comes along who makes her want to truly live, she’ll need to summon the courage to confront her demons and take control of a life already spinning dangerously out of control.
Both poignant and raw, White Lines is a gripping tale and the reader won’t want to look away.


After reading that this book takes place in the drug-induced, 1980s NYC, I knew I had to give it a chance. I was nervous, though. I have been told numerous times by a few trusted friends to avoid books that take place in the '80s. I am a HUGE fan of the that decade. I was born at the end of it, the music rocks, and the styles were amazing. So, I wanted to give this book an opportunity to prove everyone wrong. I'm pretty glad I did, too, because this book touched my soul a little bit.

Cat is amazing. I love how she changes so much not only from night to day, but throughout the whole book. I can't even express how badly I just wanted to hug her and tell her how awesome she was. When I finished the book, I literally held it to my chest and cuddled it a little bit. Hannah saw it happen. It might seem strange that I wanted to snuggle a book about a girl who does a bunch of cocaine and totally badass things, but it was just perfect. I think it reached me because I've been a little emo the past few weeks, and this book is a little emo (in an awesome way), so we just clicked.

Another thing I really liked, besides the amazing characters who you will adore, was the writing. Jennifer Banash is spectacular! The descriptiveness and the detail that she wrote with were out of the box and totally captivating. I swear, she could find a way to redescribe a clogged drain pipe and make it sound fantastic in a way you never knew possible. 
The relationships in this book were what absolutely made it great for me. Cat and her parents, Cat and each of her friends (who are all SO different), and a certain boy, obviously. It just all really spoke to me as being true and interesting.

Lastly, I felt like this book wasn't trying to be in your face with, "I take place in the 1980s!" It just talked about the clubs, the drugs, and the music, which made it accurate, but not over the top. Plus, I like a book that leaves out cell phones and internet life. Let's stick to reality. But really, this book is awesome, and if you're hesitant to read it, don't be! It's been my favorite among the last few books I've read, and I'll definitely be checking out Banash's other books ASAP.



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Stung - Bethany Wiggins (Guest Review)

Review by Emily Ritter

Synopsis: There is no cure for being stung.
Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.
Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.
Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

Fiona wakes up in an abandoned house with a tattoo on her right hand. She can’t remember how she got there or why she has the mark. What’s stranger is that it’s her old house, but it’s been destroyed, and she is no longer the thirteen year old she last remembers being. Fiona is thrust into a violent world where those bearing the mark have turned into senseless beasts, and the rest of humanity stays huddled inside a wall, venturing out only to hunt the beasts down. In this dystopian re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, Fiona finds herself marked for dead on the wrong side of the wall with little hope of survival.

What first drew me to this book is that Fiona wakes up on the wrong side of the dystopia. It’s not a long drawn-out choice to be there. Instead, she’s thrown into the action and must figure out who she is at the same time she’s figuring out how to survive. And woah is the world violent! I’m willing to go so far as to call this a dystopian/horror mash-up because of the disastrous state of the world in this book.

Stung was a very compelling read. The danger and action are non-stop, and I was glued to the page to find out if Fiona had a chance. And of course I wanted more of the handsome anti-hero helping Fiona survive. Who wouldn’t!? (Don’t worry, you get plenty of handsome anti-hero action!)

If you’re into dystopians, loose fairy tale-retellings, or survival stories, Stung is for you. 

Friday, May 24, 2013

Dare You To - Katie McGarry

Synopsis: If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....
Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.
But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....


I fell in love with Katie McGarry's writing and storytelling in Pushing the Limits. I had very high expectations going in to Dare You To and McGarry definitely met all of them. She has the power and skill to create such well-rounded characters that feel as though they are really off living their lives somewhere. Even after I finished Pushing the Limits, I would find myself, days later, thinking about Echo and Noah and what they were up to now. I felt the same way after finishing Dare You To - Ryan and Beth don't disappear when you close the book.

Ryan stole my heart in the first page of this book. He is the ultimate. I love baseball, I love writing, and I don't know why I didn't realize before - but OF COURSE the most perfect boy on the planet is an extraordinary pitcher and an eloquent writer. Plus, he's daring and sweet. He knows exactly what he wants and he's not afraid to fight for it. I could write poetry about this boy. If I could sing, I would definitely sing songs about him. I love him, I love him, I love him.

Overkill? Nah. He really is all kinds of amazing.

Beth was frustrating in so many ways, but you can't help but totally be on her side. It's hard because sometimes she seems so determined to keep doing things that make her miserable or to help the people who hurt her, and she seems completely blind to the good things in her life. But the flip side of that is that she's wonderfully stubborn, determined and fiercely loyal. And she balances Ryan out so nicely. She makes him step up and fight for what he wants and she makes him fight for her. Where she teaches him to fight, he shows her that her life doesn't have to be a constant struggle.

I love the way they come together. Their relationship happens organically, it starts out slowly and then it just happens all of a sudden. I like the way the dares play into their story as well. It's a way for Ryan and his friends to just be boys - to be competitive and to liven up a small town. But Ryan meets Beth because of one of those dares, but where it matters, he's totally up front about it. Even where they both seem to self-sabotage, they still manage to turn it around to make their relationship strong and real.

One more thing I love about Katie McGarry's books is the way that adults come in to play. She writes really strong adults that come in and do their best to help out the teens in their lives. In Dare You To, it's Beth's uncle who is just amazing and he puts up with so much just to make sure Beth's life will improve.

This was another amazing book from Katie and I can't wait to meet the other characters she has waiting in her brain for a chance to spring to life. The same way I still occasionally think about what Echo and Noah are up to, I know I'll be thinking of Beth and Ryan and wishing they're happy. I have a feeling that as Katie keeps writing, I'm going to have a group of friends that I'll have to keep reminding myself are fictional. 

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Requiem - Lauren Oliver

::Post by Jackie Lindert::
Synopsis: They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
But we are still here.
And there are more of us every day.
Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.
After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancĂ©e of the young mayor.
Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.


I've got to be honest and admit that I wasn't as smitten with this series as everyone else seems to be. I loved the premise of love being considered a contagious disease. It got me really excited to read Delirium. I think I just had a classic case of extremely high hopes, and they just weren't met. I won't go into detail about the particular things that rubbed me the wrong way, though, since I don't want to turn anyone off from reading these because Lauren Oliver is SO cool. She is awesome on Twitter, and I went to an author panel she was a part of, and she was by far my favorite. She just rocks. I wish I would have liked the Delirium series more.

Due to my loving Lauren Oliver and all the hype surrounding these books, I continued reading even after Delirium didn't rock my socks off. I also love all things dystopia, so I was rooting for Pandemonium to improve my feelings toward the series, which it definitely did. I've heard mixed reactions about book 2, but I liked it a lot. Lena finally grew a pair in my eyes. I liked her a lot more, so I enjoyed reading about her more--plus I have a major crush on Julian. Sorry! 

Requiem started out as my favorite of the trilogy. I'm a sucker for sticking it to "the man," and government vs. the people. Characters who want their freedom are automatically cooler than your average protagonist. I also enjoyed the varying points of view in this one, which was done SO well. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave you with what fell flat for me, just so you are warned. The ending of the book--and the series--leaves a lot open. I feel like I don't know what happened to several characters I was interested in. But by all means, please enjoy these books more than I did.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Author Interview: Juliana Haygert


        I'm stoked to have Juliana Haygert on the blog today answering my questions! Juliana is the lovely New Adult author of Destiny Gift and the upcoming Breaking the Reins. If you want to check out my review of Destiny Gift you can check it out HERE.
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   In the Best Worlds: What are three things about yourself that not many people know?

Julianna Haygert: Wow, what a start!
Okay, let’s see.
1) I have a moon shaped scar on my right knee (just like Victor does).
2) I’m obsessed with my weight – I exercise like crazy, and I cry whenever I gain a pound.
3) I hate it when my husband travels for work (which thankfully doesn’t happen much anymore) because I don’t feel like I’m “safe” when he’s gone. I’m dead serious.

   ITBW: New Adult consists largely of contemporary fiction, so what made you decide to write a paranormal NA novel?

JH: Though I’ve been on a contemporary phase lately, Paranormal and UF are my favorite genres, and most of my ideas always come to me with something supernatural about them. When I first started writing with publication purposes (around 2009), I wrote three UF manuscripts before attempting contemporary, simply because that was the order the ideas came to me.

ITBW: Destiny Gift is set 30 years in the future. What made you decide to write during that time? Did you have any challenges in picturing our world in the near future?

JH: I wanted a different world, and, after a lot of thought, I figured it would be easier to change the future than to change the past. Though, I had to delete several pop culture references on the book, like at one point I mentioned Lady Gaga and her fame, and then I thought, hm, Lady Gaga would be almost 60 years old during DG’s period so I had to take those out.

ITBW: There’s a unique mythological story line in Destiny Gift. What inspired you to write outside of traditional Greek and Roman mythology?

JH: I LOVE mythologies. Always have, always will love.
At first, I thought about using Egyptian mythology (my favorite – I will write a book involving it someday!) or Greek and Roman, which are the most common – but, in the end, I wanted something different. There are so many books out there that deal with Greek and Roman mythology, I didn’t want DG to be compared to them. Besides, it was fun creating my own gods and creatures and legends.

ITBW: What is your favorite thing about writing in the NA field?

JH: The freedom to write the heck I want. Seriously. I mean, if you write YA and there are sex scenes in your books, people are gonna talk (bad) about it. If you write adult but the tone of your protagonist is a little immature or if that’s not enough sex (gasp!), people are gonna talk (bad) about it. With NA, you have the immature + mature, the new + old, the sex or no sex at all, the responsibility + the stupidity that comes with thinking you’re responsible.
Well, people still talk a lot about NA, band AND good stuff LOL

      ITBW: Are there any NA books you’d recommend?

JH: There are sooooo many. Easy by Tammara Webber, Broken at Love by Lyla Payne, The Wild Ones by M. Leighton. I have a “new adult” and a “favorites” list on goodreads – there you’ll find all the books I recommend ;)


 ITBW: What are you working on now?

JH: I’m finishing revisions on Breaking the Reins, my upcoming NA Contemp, and soon I’ll be drafting the sequel of Destiny Gift! And then I think I’m gonna pick up a forgotten NA contemp and rework it ;)

    ITBW: Finish these sentences…

::We could be best friends if...you were Jennifer Lawrence lol Seriously, the girl is so awkward         and so crazy. Love her.
            ::When I was 20 (or a new adult) I…got married.
            ::You should read my book because…it’s a crazy, unexpected ride!


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More about Juliana: While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting - but equally gratifying - life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.
Find Juliana Online: Website :: Blog :: NA Alley :: Facebook :: Twitter 


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This week's topic is: Top Ten Favorite Covers of Books I've Read


1. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson - The colors and the movement and the font just capture the wildness, the freedom, the whimsy, and somehow just looking at it still breaks my heart. 

2. Hourglass by Myra McEntire - Don't know what it is about this cover, but I swear it actually beckons. I had no intentions of reading this book but it sat on my desk and stared at me until I read it. Now I still see it as a powerful cover. 

3. The Diviners by Libba Bray - I love what's going on in the background of this cover. So beautiful. There's nothing lit city lights. 

4. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma - SO beautiful. And so appropriate for the story it tells. 

5. Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - I don't know what it is about this cover, but I just adore it. 

6. Dreamelss by Josephine Angelini - The colors are so gorgeous and the cover is so much better in real life. 


7. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - It's just perfect. 

8. Clockwork Princess by Clockwork Princess - I love the Infernal Devices cover, but this one is just really fabulous. The silver and golds are just beautiful. And so shiny. 


9. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - I didn't read Cinder for a year because I hated the cover. Well, not hate...it just didn't seem like my thing. But I read it and it blew me away. And I was SO excited to go on to Scarlet, which is also incredible, and the cover is perfect. The lettering is awesome and I love the Little Red Riding Hood cape. 

10. Just One Day by Gayle Forman - I don't even know where to start with what I love about this cover. It evokes memories of my own time in Europe, it's exotic and familiar at the same time, the girl is  interesting, and I know this is weird - but I really want that watch. Also, it's such an amazing book that looking at that cover just brings back all the things I love about it. 

Monday, May 20, 2013

Destiny Gift - Juliana Haygert

Synopsis: Thirty years in the future, a sinister New York City exists in permanent darkness.
A student at the secured NYU, nineteen-year-old Nadine has visions of Victor Gianni, an imaginary guy she has real feelings for. Afraid of being truly insane, she explains the visions away as simple daydreams, but she can no longer deny them when she bumps into Victor in real life. But this Victor doesn’t know her, and turns her away. After the encounter, Nadine’s visions change to those of eerie fates, gods she’s never heard of, demons with sharp claws they are not too timid to use … and instructions.
To discover if she’s losing her mind, Nadine follows the vague directions—with the real, rude and reluctant Victor—leading to a man who knows it all: Nadine can restore an ancient creed by unveiling the clues on her visions, and bring sunlight and peace to the world again. But that’s only if the demons and the other evil forces behind the darkness don’t stop her first.


For as obsessed as I've been about New Adult, I hadn't ventured beyond the contemporary genre until I read Destiny Gift. This book is really great for breaking apart all the labels people have taken to placing on NA lit. It combines mythology and urban fantasy, throws in a dark futuristic setting and it has a love interest that doesn't take precedence over the story at hand. Even with all these things, Nadine is still at college and dealing with the type of independence, decisions, and friends that come along with being that age. Destiny Gift really is a unique story that kept me on my toes, totally surprised me, and left me needing more.

Juliana creates her own mythology for this story. I kept trying to figure out what mythology the gods and goddesses in this story were based of of, but once I realized they were totally new I got really excited. They're very well written, so it's hard to tell that they haven't been around for a long time. I also loved that there's a nod to Greek and Roman mythologies, where she acknowledges their existence and kind of sets this structure up as the true one, even if it's fairly unknown. The gods and goddesses have their own fascinating feuds, there are scholars of the religion, and of course you have humans who are pawns in their schemes.

And of course when things blow up between gods, the whole world suffers. Which brings us to the world Nadine lives in. It's much darker and bleaker than the world we live in now, yet it's set just 30 years in the future. Natural disasters hit all the time and it's dangerous to walk unguarded in New York. Nadine attends NYU, which is heavily guarded. She's a relatively normal girl who's studying pre-med and has friends who worry she doesn't get out of the apartment enough. She's normal, except that she has visions and has fallen in love with the guy in her visions. All of these aspects come together in a really interesting way - because the visions and the mythology are really enhanced by the background of this potential future.

Then there's this guy that Nadine is in love with in her visions, who doesn't seem like the same guy when she meets him in real life and then there's Micah who swoops into her life from out of no where and it's hard to figure out why he's there. It seems for a bit that there's a love triangle setting up, but honestly the romantic storyline takes a back seat to all the action going on, so it's hard to really decide if there's enough feeling on the part of both guys to really set up a proper triangle.

I love where the story was heading, especially after it turned into a kind of avoid-the-apocalypse type of road trip. But there was a moment where I was truly stunned at the way the story took a turn and I got really excited. A lot that didn't quite fit all suddenly fit into place, but there are still a lot of things that I need answers to. I'm still really curious how Nadine fits into the larger picture, where pieces are beginning to become more clear.

I'm really happy with my first non-contemporary foray into NA and if you're looking for something different in NA lit, definitely give this book a shot. It might change your ideas of what NA is all about. Plus, it's just a great and enjoyable story. And for the next couple weeks it's only 0.99 cents. So really, why not give it a shot?

Friday, May 17, 2013

Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo

Synopsis: Darkness never dies.
Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can't outrun her past or her destiny for long.The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling's game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm. (From Goodreads)

Ladies and gentlemen, this is how a second book should be written. It's another thrilling and richly told story set in the same vibrant world we saw in Shadow and Bone. There are no fillers in this book. Alina faces real challenges and along with characters new and old, she stretches and grows. The new characters are so wonderful and I had some surprising reactions to the way some relationships affected me. I loved the new places Alina and Mal went, I loved that it starts out on the True Sea, and the new mythological creature is awesome. With every page, Alina's story gets more complex and this world just springs to life right in front of you.

Siege and Storm starts off with Mal and Alina on the run. We're taken to the high seas where there are sea-worthy men and a mythological monster. It's just incredible how Leigh Bardugo has created this world that breathes and it expands so effortlessly. You can start to imagine that this story just takes us to a small part of this world that just has to exist somewhere. I like that there are familiar places that resurface, but the time they spend on the run and at sea is really an awesome expansion to Alina's world.

Meeting Sturmhond is the one of my favorite things from this book. He's charming and dangerous and completely unpredictable. Most surprises came from him and he just totally captured my attention and my heart. I'm not saying I think he should be with Alina, I'm just saying he's a wonderful, wonderful character. I also like that we saw a lot more of him and not as much of the Darkling. I'm still a little bitter at the Darkling for making me trust him.

By the end of this book, I actually felt like Mal and Alina should not be together. When I realized I was feeling this way I had to step back and try to figure out how that happened. Because Mal is perfect and he and Alina are perfect in Shadow and Bone. I think Alina just grows so much - into her power and into herself - that she becomes this incredible force and beautiful character, while Mal kind of moves in the opposite direction. He deteriorates as she gets stronger, and I really hate to say it, but he's holding her back. I already know that other people won't agree with this and I'm all for rooting for two people really meant to be together to get through a rough patch. But, I can't help but think this isn't just a rough patch, but two people legitimately growing apart. I guess we'll see.

I'm so happy the second book holds up to the high bar set by Shadow and Bone. It continued to weave an intricate story line that just seems to get bigger and bolder with every page. And it definitely kept me on my toes. I have no idea where it's going to go from here and I've stopped trying to guess. I whole-heartedly put my imagination in the hands of Leigh Bardugo and I know she'll do amazing things with it.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

New Adult Discussion: Why NA is a Relevant Genre

::Post by Jackie Lindert::

I'm going to start this post by saying that I love New Adult (NA). I think it is more than just a marketing strategy, and it deserves to be recognized as separate, important genre.It's not YA. It's not adult fiction. It's NA, and it is awesome.


I think it goes without being said (despite the fact that I'm saying it anyway) that I am a big fan of YA. I read about it, blog about it, and love it. I see people all over the map about YA, both authors and readers. Some think NA is just sexier YA, some think it's straight up erotica (I hate when people generalize all NA as erotica!), and some think it isn't even a real classification--most books falling into either YA or romance/fiction for adults. Well I am here to say that it is about time there is a new, not a revived or pre-existing, genre for these books.

I will say that I believe NA did morph out of the YA genre. I say that having studied sociology and psychology and other fancy -ologies that make me feel qualified to give the following opinion:

It takes longer for "kids" today to grow up. We are the generation that is coddled, over-protected, and get prizes just for participating. I'm not saying whether that is good or bad, but just hear me out. There is an actual term for the parents of our time: Helicopter parents. They hover! College students have their parents scheduling their classes and graduates have moms going with them on interviews (horrifying!). My Dad told me that when he was 18 and moved to college, he phoned his parents once a month and saw them on holidays. Going to college was goodbye parents; hello independence. Blame it on cell phones or parents compensating for the naughty lives they led as teens and young 20-somethings, but times are different.

The point of all that is this: NA for post-high school kids is what YA was for teens of past generations. Think of all the soul searching and self finding that happens in all the classic YA novels:

The Catcher in the RyeThe Perks of Being a WallflowerThe Outsiders

All these coming-of-age books were helping people deal with serious issues and getting ready for them to become an adult (as in a YOUNG adult! It all makes sense!). But, thanks to society and helicopter parents, it takes people longer to come of age and be independent. NA helps those of us who graduated high school and/or college, and are just now getting our life sorted and figured out. Here are some great examples of NA books where the character comes into their own for the first time even though they are older than 17:

Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)Slammed (Slammed, #1)Trish Dollar Something Like Normal

Just like YA, NA is amazing and important to everyone looking to read about someone going through the same things that they are. It's just at a different point in life, and answers different questions. It surprises me how many authors don't want their books affiliated with the NA label. I say to them: Be trailblazers in this great emergence of a new genre! What do you think about this controversial topic?

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Unraveling and Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris

Unraveling Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.
And that was before she died...and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.

I'm going to talk about both Unraveling and Unbreakable in this post because I read them back to back. I kicked myself for awhile for taking so long to read the first book, but I have to admit that it was awesome to go straight from the end of Unraveling right into Unbreakable. I got to spend a good amount of uninterrupted time in Janelle's world which was pretty spectacular. Unraveling has such an intricate world and story that's so well written you'd hardly believe that it's just a story.

The science fiction aspect is so awesome. I've been really into the sci-fi stuff lately, and this is hands down one of the best of the genre. Multiple worlds and complex ideas are threaded together so flawlessly creating a vibrant basis and background for this thrilling story. Somehow, the science was explained so well, without making me feel like Elizabeth Norris was dumbing it down for people like me who suck so bad at science. I'm really liking this genre, but sometimes it's harder for me to grasp scientific concepts, so when I understand the theories and rules that go into creating something I get really excited.

Janelle is one of my new favorite heroines. She's strong and likeable - she's the kind of girl you could be friends with - and you totally want her on your side if the world is about to end. Like, if this actually happens, I'm clinging to the first person who gives me a Janelle vibe. She's a little impulsive sometimes, but she has the intelligence and strength to make up for that. I also love her relationship with her family, even though it's a little broken. Her mom's role is minimal and a little heartbreaking, and her father is in the FBI and not around much. But she's so connected with them it's amazing. She's taken on a mothering role to her little brother and the way she takes care of him is awesome. Then there's Ben, who's dreamy and interesting. Their relationship is just as intense as the countdown to the apocalypse.

-------------------------------------------------


Unbreakable Synopsis: Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.

And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed.


So on to the second book, which is just as awesome. After the heartbreak at the end of the first book, I was really looking forward to healing all those wounds. I really should have known better because Elizabeth Norris managed to give me other emotional jabs to the soul. All in all, this is a solid sequel that tells it's own story where we get to follow Janelle across multiple universes. 

Seriously, I love the parallel universe thing. And getting these snapshots of what the world might be like if history took different courses was so awesome. Learning more about the Intraverse Agency was great as well. The FBI involvement in the first book was great, but I think I definitely like seeing the IA a little bit more. 

There were a few things that surprised me while reading, and the biggest surprise was Barclay. I was totally shocked at how I really came to love him in this book, because I definitely didn't love him in book one. He just melted my heart, totally. The other was the way Janelle struggled with her relationship with Ben. Because of the multiple universes, they have a unique issue of dealing with other versions of their selves that added a really interesting aspect to this story. It also brings up the question of what makes you who you are and what is it that causes another person to love you.

There's a lot I want to say about about both of these books but at some point I'd either be spoiling or writing a short story. I just completely love both of these books. It was a little hard to let Ben and Janelle, and the rest of these amazing characters go at the end of Unbreakable

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Invisibility - Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Synopsis: Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life - because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen's mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen's NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don't go as planned, especially when Stephen's grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they're willing to make for Stephen to become visible - because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.  

When I heard about this collaboration I was so freaking excited. I've fangirled over both of these authors, a few times, and then to hear they were coming together to write a book about an invisible boy pretty much gave me something to anticipate highly. Andrea Cremer and David Levithan have very different writing styles and typical story structures, so I was curious to see how they'd blend their talents. Unfortunately, it just didn't quite work for me, and I'm a little devastated to say that I didn't really like this one.  

Andrea Cremer is fantastic at writing paranormal and fantasy and David Levithan is extraordinary with contemporary and magical realism. But I feel like there was a bit of a miss where these two different styles should have met. The set-up was really great, when nobody really knows why Stephen is invisible, but once they start explaining why he's this way and Elizabeth finds out how she might save him I started to disconnect. I found the backstory unbelievable and a little undeveloped. 

That said, both Andrea and David, are fantastic at character development and Stephen was definitely interesting to read about. I couldn't quite figure Elizabeth out and she isn't my favorite heroine, but I feel like there are definitely things within her character that you can easily connect with - like her fierce loyalty and her humor. Laurie, though, was the reason I kept reading this book. His character was fabulous. He has a history for being violently bullied for being gay, yet he's the most hopeful and light person in this story. He's always there to say what needs to be said and to support everyone. I almost wish this story had been more about him. 

I'm really sad about this one, but I got my hopes up too high and it just didn't meet them. I wanted this collaboration to work so much, because how awesome would that be? I hope other people like this book, though, and I'm just crazy or was in a weird mood when I read it. Because I really do root for these authors and the idea for this story is so cool.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Blog Tour: The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

About the Book: 
On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.
Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Book Links: Goodreads :: Amazon :: Barnes & Noble :: The Book Depository
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Review:
This book is so freaking adorable I can hardly stand it. I think I grinned through the whole book and I exited Maddie's head feeling so light and happy. This is a book about nerds for nerds of all fandoms and mediums, and it's just so empowering and freeing. Be who you are. Let your freak flag fly. Own the things that excite you. 

 Maddie and Logan are comic book people, but nerdisms are definitely translatable across nerdoms. I definitely identified with Logan who has no shame in loving the things that made him happy and indulging in all the advantages of being a full out nerd. I love how confidently he went about his life complete with hanging out in a comic book store and participating in live role playing games. But I also identify with Maddie, who loves all these things but keep it under wraps as much as possible. There are still some people I wouldn't really speak openly about my reading choices, even though I've embraced the fact that I am definitely a nerd.

Maddie is just so precious, I kind of wish she was my younger sister. She's popular, but she's not mean and she's a little blind when it comes to certain things, but she admits when she's wrong about something. I mainly just completely connected with her giddiness, her vibrancy, and the way she's just so full of life. She just had a lot of fun, and in that way I had a lot of fun reading this book. Even some of the more tense situations, she manages to turn around pretty well and turn them into something amazing. And there's this scene toward the end that involves ping-pong balls and a girl who causes her some grieft that might be the best revenge scene I've ever come across. It's fabulous.

This is the kind of book that you read either when you need cheering up, you're already pretty dang happy and you want to bask in it, or the sun is shining and you don't want anything to bring you down. It's thoughtful, it's empowering, and it's a good time. Maddie learns a lot about herself and about the understanding of other people. It's not worth it to hide who you really are. That's a good thing to remind ourselves of every now and then. And this book does a fabulous job of doing that while making you want to bask in the glow of your own nerdiness. 
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Mother, wife, and YA author living on a windy hill in Natchitoches, Louisiana. I love fuzzy socks, comic books, cherry coke, and brand new office supplies. THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD coming Summer 2013 from Entangled Teen. Stay cool!

Where you can find her: Website :: Blog :: Twitter :: Facebook :: Pinterest :: Goodreads
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Giveaway: 
There are 3 e-book copies of The Summer I Became a Nerd up for grabs! Giveaway is international. 


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Tour Schedule:
                                                     5/6/2013              Nose Graze                                 
                                                     5/6/2013              Rainy Day Ramblings               
                                                     5/7/2013              Jenuine Cupcakes                       
                                                     5/7/2013              Blackplume                                 
                                                     5/8/2013              The Book Belles                       
                                                     5/8/2013              A Backwards Story                     
                                                     5/9/2013              Kate's Tales of Books and Bands
                                                     5/9/2013              The Starry Eyed Revue 
                                                     5/10/2013           Jenna Does Books         
                                                     5/10/2013           Book Haven Extraordanire         
                                                     5/13/2013           In The Best Worlds     
                                                     5/13/2013           Ashley Loves Books       
                                                     5/14/2013           The Hopeful Heroine     
                                                     5/14/2013           Books of Amber                
                                                     5/15/2013           A Dream Within a Dream           
                                                     5/15/2013           My Reading Room           
                                                     5/16/2013           Obsession With Books 
                                                     5/16/2013           Stuck in YA Books           
                                                     5/17/2013           Chocolate Coated Reviews         
                                                     5/17/2013           JennReneeRead                

Thursday, May 30, 2013

White Lines - Jennifer Banash

::Post by Jackie Lindert::

Synopsis: 
A gritty, atmospheric coming of age tale set in 1980s New York City.
Seventeen-year-old Cat is living every teenager’s dream: she has her own apartment on the Lower East Side and at night she’s club kid royalty, guarding the velvet rope at some of the hottest clubs in the city. The night with its crazy, frenetic, high-inducing energy—the pulsing beat of the music, the radiant, joyful people and those seductive white lines that can ease all pain—is when Cat truly lives. But her daytime, when real life occurs, is more nightmare than dream. Having spent years suffering her mother’s emotional and physical abuse, and abandoned by her father, Cat is terrified and alone—unable to connect to anyone or anything. But when someone comes along who makes her want to truly live, she’ll need to summon the courage to confront her demons and take control of a life already spinning dangerously out of control.
Both poignant and raw, White Lines is a gripping tale and the reader won’t want to look away.


After reading that this book takes place in the drug-induced, 1980s NYC, I knew I had to give it a chance. I was nervous, though. I have been told numerous times by a few trusted friends to avoid books that take place in the '80s. I am a HUGE fan of the that decade. I was born at the end of it, the music rocks, and the styles were amazing. So, I wanted to give this book an opportunity to prove everyone wrong. I'm pretty glad I did, too, because this book touched my soul a little bit.

Cat is amazing. I love how she changes so much not only from night to day, but throughout the whole book. I can't even express how badly I just wanted to hug her and tell her how awesome she was. When I finished the book, I literally held it to my chest and cuddled it a little bit. Hannah saw it happen. It might seem strange that I wanted to snuggle a book about a girl who does a bunch of cocaine and totally badass things, but it was just perfect. I think it reached me because I've been a little emo the past few weeks, and this book is a little emo (in an awesome way), so we just clicked.

Another thing I really liked, besides the amazing characters who you will adore, was the writing. Jennifer Banash is spectacular! The descriptiveness and the detail that she wrote with were out of the box and totally captivating. I swear, she could find a way to redescribe a clogged drain pipe and make it sound fantastic in a way you never knew possible. 
The relationships in this book were what absolutely made it great for me. Cat and her parents, Cat and each of her friends (who are all SO different), and a certain boy, obviously. It just all really spoke to me as being true and interesting.

Lastly, I felt like this book wasn't trying to be in your face with, "I take place in the 1980s!" It just talked about the clubs, the drugs, and the music, which made it accurate, but not over the top. Plus, I like a book that leaves out cell phones and internet life. Let's stick to reality. But really, this book is awesome, and if you're hesitant to read it, don't be! It's been my favorite among the last few books I've read, and I'll definitely be checking out Banash's other books ASAP.



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Stung - Bethany Wiggins (Guest Review)

Review by Emily Ritter

Synopsis: There is no cure for being stung.
Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.
Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.
Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

Fiona wakes up in an abandoned house with a tattoo on her right hand. She can’t remember how she got there or why she has the mark. What’s stranger is that it’s her old house, but it’s been destroyed, and she is no longer the thirteen year old she last remembers being. Fiona is thrust into a violent world where those bearing the mark have turned into senseless beasts, and the rest of humanity stays huddled inside a wall, venturing out only to hunt the beasts down. In this dystopian re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, Fiona finds herself marked for dead on the wrong side of the wall with little hope of survival.

What first drew me to this book is that Fiona wakes up on the wrong side of the dystopia. It’s not a long drawn-out choice to be there. Instead, she’s thrown into the action and must figure out who she is at the same time she’s figuring out how to survive. And woah is the world violent! I’m willing to go so far as to call this a dystopian/horror mash-up because of the disastrous state of the world in this book.

Stung was a very compelling read. The danger and action are non-stop, and I was glued to the page to find out if Fiona had a chance. And of course I wanted more of the handsome anti-hero helping Fiona survive. Who wouldn’t!? (Don’t worry, you get plenty of handsome anti-hero action!)

If you’re into dystopians, loose fairy tale-retellings, or survival stories, Stung is for you. 

Friday, May 24, 2013

Dare You To - Katie McGarry

Synopsis: If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....
Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.
But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....


I fell in love with Katie McGarry's writing and storytelling in Pushing the Limits. I had very high expectations going in to Dare You To and McGarry definitely met all of them. She has the power and skill to create such well-rounded characters that feel as though they are really off living their lives somewhere. Even after I finished Pushing the Limits, I would find myself, days later, thinking about Echo and Noah and what they were up to now. I felt the same way after finishing Dare You To - Ryan and Beth don't disappear when you close the book.

Ryan stole my heart in the first page of this book. He is the ultimate. I love baseball, I love writing, and I don't know why I didn't realize before - but OF COURSE the most perfect boy on the planet is an extraordinary pitcher and an eloquent writer. Plus, he's daring and sweet. He knows exactly what he wants and he's not afraid to fight for it. I could write poetry about this boy. If I could sing, I would definitely sing songs about him. I love him, I love him, I love him.

Overkill? Nah. He really is all kinds of amazing.

Beth was frustrating in so many ways, but you can't help but totally be on her side. It's hard because sometimes she seems so determined to keep doing things that make her miserable or to help the people who hurt her, and she seems completely blind to the good things in her life. But the flip side of that is that she's wonderfully stubborn, determined and fiercely loyal. And she balances Ryan out so nicely. She makes him step up and fight for what he wants and she makes him fight for her. Where she teaches him to fight, he shows her that her life doesn't have to be a constant struggle.

I love the way they come together. Their relationship happens organically, it starts out slowly and then it just happens all of a sudden. I like the way the dares play into their story as well. It's a way for Ryan and his friends to just be boys - to be competitive and to liven up a small town. But Ryan meets Beth because of one of those dares, but where it matters, he's totally up front about it. Even where they both seem to self-sabotage, they still manage to turn it around to make their relationship strong and real.

One more thing I love about Katie McGarry's books is the way that adults come in to play. She writes really strong adults that come in and do their best to help out the teens in their lives. In Dare You To, it's Beth's uncle who is just amazing and he puts up with so much just to make sure Beth's life will improve.

This was another amazing book from Katie and I can't wait to meet the other characters she has waiting in her brain for a chance to spring to life. The same way I still occasionally think about what Echo and Noah are up to, I know I'll be thinking of Beth and Ryan and wishing they're happy. I have a feeling that as Katie keeps writing, I'm going to have a group of friends that I'll have to keep reminding myself are fictional. 

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Requiem - Lauren Oliver

::Post by Jackie Lindert::
Synopsis: They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
But we are still here.
And there are more of us every day.
Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.
After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancĂ©e of the young mayor.
Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.


I've got to be honest and admit that I wasn't as smitten with this series as everyone else seems to be. I loved the premise of love being considered a contagious disease. It got me really excited to read Delirium. I think I just had a classic case of extremely high hopes, and they just weren't met. I won't go into detail about the particular things that rubbed me the wrong way, though, since I don't want to turn anyone off from reading these because Lauren Oliver is SO cool. She is awesome on Twitter, and I went to an author panel she was a part of, and she was by far my favorite. She just rocks. I wish I would have liked the Delirium series more.

Due to my loving Lauren Oliver and all the hype surrounding these books, I continued reading even after Delirium didn't rock my socks off. I also love all things dystopia, so I was rooting for Pandemonium to improve my feelings toward the series, which it definitely did. I've heard mixed reactions about book 2, but I liked it a lot. Lena finally grew a pair in my eyes. I liked her a lot more, so I enjoyed reading about her more--plus I have a major crush on Julian. Sorry! 

Requiem started out as my favorite of the trilogy. I'm a sucker for sticking it to "the man," and government vs. the people. Characters who want their freedom are automatically cooler than your average protagonist. I also enjoyed the varying points of view in this one, which was done SO well. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave you with what fell flat for me, just so you are warned. The ending of the book--and the series--leaves a lot open. I feel like I don't know what happened to several characters I was interested in. But by all means, please enjoy these books more than I did.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Author Interview: Juliana Haygert


        I'm stoked to have Juliana Haygert on the blog today answering my questions! Juliana is the lovely New Adult author of Destiny Gift and the upcoming Breaking the Reins. If you want to check out my review of Destiny Gift you can check it out HERE.
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   In the Best Worlds: What are three things about yourself that not many people know?

Julianna Haygert: Wow, what a start!
Okay, let’s see.
1) I have a moon shaped scar on my right knee (just like Victor does).
2) I’m obsessed with my weight – I exercise like crazy, and I cry whenever I gain a pound.
3) I hate it when my husband travels for work (which thankfully doesn’t happen much anymore) because I don’t feel like I’m “safe” when he’s gone. I’m dead serious.

   ITBW: New Adult consists largely of contemporary fiction, so what made you decide to write a paranormal NA novel?

JH: Though I’ve been on a contemporary phase lately, Paranormal and UF are my favorite genres, and most of my ideas always come to me with something supernatural about them. When I first started writing with publication purposes (around 2009), I wrote three UF manuscripts before attempting contemporary, simply because that was the order the ideas came to me.

ITBW: Destiny Gift is set 30 years in the future. What made you decide to write during that time? Did you have any challenges in picturing our world in the near future?

JH: I wanted a different world, and, after a lot of thought, I figured it would be easier to change the future than to change the past. Though, I had to delete several pop culture references on the book, like at one point I mentioned Lady Gaga and her fame, and then I thought, hm, Lady Gaga would be almost 60 years old during DG’s period so I had to take those out.

ITBW: There’s a unique mythological story line in Destiny Gift. What inspired you to write outside of traditional Greek and Roman mythology?

JH: I LOVE mythologies. Always have, always will love.
At first, I thought about using Egyptian mythology (my favorite – I will write a book involving it someday!) or Greek and Roman, which are the most common – but, in the end, I wanted something different. There are so many books out there that deal with Greek and Roman mythology, I didn’t want DG to be compared to them. Besides, it was fun creating my own gods and creatures and legends.

ITBW: What is your favorite thing about writing in the NA field?

JH: The freedom to write the heck I want. Seriously. I mean, if you write YA and there are sex scenes in your books, people are gonna talk (bad) about it. If you write adult but the tone of your protagonist is a little immature or if that’s not enough sex (gasp!), people are gonna talk (bad) about it. With NA, you have the immature + mature, the new + old, the sex or no sex at all, the responsibility + the stupidity that comes with thinking you’re responsible.
Well, people still talk a lot about NA, band AND good stuff LOL

      ITBW: Are there any NA books you’d recommend?

JH: There are sooooo many. Easy by Tammara Webber, Broken at Love by Lyla Payne, The Wild Ones by M. Leighton. I have a “new adult” and a “favorites” list on goodreads – there you’ll find all the books I recommend ;)


 ITBW: What are you working on now?

JH: I’m finishing revisions on Breaking the Reins, my upcoming NA Contemp, and soon I’ll be drafting the sequel of Destiny Gift! And then I think I’m gonna pick up a forgotten NA contemp and rework it ;)

    ITBW: Finish these sentences…

::We could be best friends if...you were Jennifer Lawrence lol Seriously, the girl is so awkward         and so crazy. Love her.
            ::When I was 20 (or a new adult) I…got married.
            ::You should read my book because…it’s a crazy, unexpected ride!


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More about Juliana: While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting - but equally gratifying - life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.
Find Juliana Online: Website :: Blog :: NA Alley :: Facebook :: Twitter 


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This week's topic is: Top Ten Favorite Covers of Books I've Read


1. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson - The colors and the movement and the font just capture the wildness, the freedom, the whimsy, and somehow just looking at it still breaks my heart. 

2. Hourglass by Myra McEntire - Don't know what it is about this cover, but I swear it actually beckons. I had no intentions of reading this book but it sat on my desk and stared at me until I read it. Now I still see it as a powerful cover. 

3. The Diviners by Libba Bray - I love what's going on in the background of this cover. So beautiful. There's nothing lit city lights. 

4. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma - SO beautiful. And so appropriate for the story it tells. 

5. Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - I don't know what it is about this cover, but I just adore it. 

6. Dreamelss by Josephine Angelini - The colors are so gorgeous and the cover is so much better in real life. 


7. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - It's just perfect. 

8. Clockwork Princess by Clockwork Princess - I love the Infernal Devices cover, but this one is just really fabulous. The silver and golds are just beautiful. And so shiny. 


9. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - I didn't read Cinder for a year because I hated the cover. Well, not hate...it just didn't seem like my thing. But I read it and it blew me away. And I was SO excited to go on to Scarlet, which is also incredible, and the cover is perfect. The lettering is awesome and I love the Little Red Riding Hood cape. 

10. Just One Day by Gayle Forman - I don't even know where to start with what I love about this cover. It evokes memories of my own time in Europe, it's exotic and familiar at the same time, the girl is  interesting, and I know this is weird - but I really want that watch. Also, it's such an amazing book that looking at that cover just brings back all the things I love about it. 

Monday, May 20, 2013

Destiny Gift - Juliana Haygert

Synopsis: Thirty years in the future, a sinister New York City exists in permanent darkness.
A student at the secured NYU, nineteen-year-old Nadine has visions of Victor Gianni, an imaginary guy she has real feelings for. Afraid of being truly insane, she explains the visions away as simple daydreams, but she can no longer deny them when she bumps into Victor in real life. But this Victor doesn’t know her, and turns her away. After the encounter, Nadine’s visions change to those of eerie fates, gods she’s never heard of, demons with sharp claws they are not too timid to use … and instructions.
To discover if she’s losing her mind, Nadine follows the vague directions—with the real, rude and reluctant Victor—leading to a man who knows it all: Nadine can restore an ancient creed by unveiling the clues on her visions, and bring sunlight and peace to the world again. But that’s only if the demons and the other evil forces behind the darkness don’t stop her first.


For as obsessed as I've been about New Adult, I hadn't ventured beyond the contemporary genre until I read Destiny Gift. This book is really great for breaking apart all the labels people have taken to placing on NA lit. It combines mythology and urban fantasy, throws in a dark futuristic setting and it has a love interest that doesn't take precedence over the story at hand. Even with all these things, Nadine is still at college and dealing with the type of independence, decisions, and friends that come along with being that age. Destiny Gift really is a unique story that kept me on my toes, totally surprised me, and left me needing more.

Juliana creates her own mythology for this story. I kept trying to figure out what mythology the gods and goddesses in this story were based of of, but once I realized they were totally new I got really excited. They're very well written, so it's hard to tell that they haven't been around for a long time. I also loved that there's a nod to Greek and Roman mythologies, where she acknowledges their existence and kind of sets this structure up as the true one, even if it's fairly unknown. The gods and goddesses have their own fascinating feuds, there are scholars of the religion, and of course you have humans who are pawns in their schemes.

And of course when things blow up between gods, the whole world suffers. Which brings us to the world Nadine lives in. It's much darker and bleaker than the world we live in now, yet it's set just 30 years in the future. Natural disasters hit all the time and it's dangerous to walk unguarded in New York. Nadine attends NYU, which is heavily guarded. She's a relatively normal girl who's studying pre-med and has friends who worry she doesn't get out of the apartment enough. She's normal, except that she has visions and has fallen in love with the guy in her visions. All of these aspects come together in a really interesting way - because the visions and the mythology are really enhanced by the background of this potential future.

Then there's this guy that Nadine is in love with in her visions, who doesn't seem like the same guy when she meets him in real life and then there's Micah who swoops into her life from out of no where and it's hard to figure out why he's there. It seems for a bit that there's a love triangle setting up, but honestly the romantic storyline takes a back seat to all the action going on, so it's hard to really decide if there's enough feeling on the part of both guys to really set up a proper triangle.

I love where the story was heading, especially after it turned into a kind of avoid-the-apocalypse type of road trip. But there was a moment where I was truly stunned at the way the story took a turn and I got really excited. A lot that didn't quite fit all suddenly fit into place, but there are still a lot of things that I need answers to. I'm still really curious how Nadine fits into the larger picture, where pieces are beginning to become more clear.

I'm really happy with my first non-contemporary foray into NA and if you're looking for something different in NA lit, definitely give this book a shot. It might change your ideas of what NA is all about. Plus, it's just a great and enjoyable story. And for the next couple weeks it's only 0.99 cents. So really, why not give it a shot?

Friday, May 17, 2013

Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo

Synopsis: Darkness never dies.
Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can't outrun her past or her destiny for long.The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling's game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm. (From Goodreads)

Ladies and gentlemen, this is how a second book should be written. It's another thrilling and richly told story set in the same vibrant world we saw in Shadow and Bone. There are no fillers in this book. Alina faces real challenges and along with characters new and old, she stretches and grows. The new characters are so wonderful and I had some surprising reactions to the way some relationships affected me. I loved the new places Alina and Mal went, I loved that it starts out on the True Sea, and the new mythological creature is awesome. With every page, Alina's story gets more complex and this world just springs to life right in front of you.

Siege and Storm starts off with Mal and Alina on the run. We're taken to the high seas where there are sea-worthy men and a mythological monster. It's just incredible how Leigh Bardugo has created this world that breathes and it expands so effortlessly. You can start to imagine that this story just takes us to a small part of this world that just has to exist somewhere. I like that there are familiar places that resurface, but the time they spend on the run and at sea is really an awesome expansion to Alina's world.

Meeting Sturmhond is the one of my favorite things from this book. He's charming and dangerous and completely unpredictable. Most surprises came from him and he just totally captured my attention and my heart. I'm not saying I think he should be with Alina, I'm just saying he's a wonderful, wonderful character. I also like that we saw a lot more of him and not as much of the Darkling. I'm still a little bitter at the Darkling for making me trust him.

By the end of this book, I actually felt like Mal and Alina should not be together. When I realized I was feeling this way I had to step back and try to figure out how that happened. Because Mal is perfect and he and Alina are perfect in Shadow and Bone. I think Alina just grows so much - into her power and into herself - that she becomes this incredible force and beautiful character, while Mal kind of moves in the opposite direction. He deteriorates as she gets stronger, and I really hate to say it, but he's holding her back. I already know that other people won't agree with this and I'm all for rooting for two people really meant to be together to get through a rough patch. But, I can't help but think this isn't just a rough patch, but two people legitimately growing apart. I guess we'll see.

I'm so happy the second book holds up to the high bar set by Shadow and Bone. It continued to weave an intricate story line that just seems to get bigger and bolder with every page. And it definitely kept me on my toes. I have no idea where it's going to go from here and I've stopped trying to guess. I whole-heartedly put my imagination in the hands of Leigh Bardugo and I know she'll do amazing things with it.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

New Adult Discussion: Why NA is a Relevant Genre

::Post by Jackie Lindert::

I'm going to start this post by saying that I love New Adult (NA). I think it is more than just a marketing strategy, and it deserves to be recognized as separate, important genre.It's not YA. It's not adult fiction. It's NA, and it is awesome.


I think it goes without being said (despite the fact that I'm saying it anyway) that I am a big fan of YA. I read about it, blog about it, and love it. I see people all over the map about YA, both authors and readers. Some think NA is just sexier YA, some think it's straight up erotica (I hate when people generalize all NA as erotica!), and some think it isn't even a real classification--most books falling into either YA or romance/fiction for adults. Well I am here to say that it is about time there is a new, not a revived or pre-existing, genre for these books.

I will say that I believe NA did morph out of the YA genre. I say that having studied sociology and psychology and other fancy -ologies that make me feel qualified to give the following opinion:

It takes longer for "kids" today to grow up. We are the generation that is coddled, over-protected, and get prizes just for participating. I'm not saying whether that is good or bad, but just hear me out. There is an actual term for the parents of our time: Helicopter parents. They hover! College students have their parents scheduling their classes and graduates have moms going with them on interviews (horrifying!). My Dad told me that when he was 18 and moved to college, he phoned his parents once a month and saw them on holidays. Going to college was goodbye parents; hello independence. Blame it on cell phones or parents compensating for the naughty lives they led as teens and young 20-somethings, but times are different.

The point of all that is this: NA for post-high school kids is what YA was for teens of past generations. Think of all the soul searching and self finding that happens in all the classic YA novels:

The Catcher in the RyeThe Perks of Being a WallflowerThe Outsiders

All these coming-of-age books were helping people deal with serious issues and getting ready for them to become an adult (as in a YOUNG adult! It all makes sense!). But, thanks to society and helicopter parents, it takes people longer to come of age and be independent. NA helps those of us who graduated high school and/or college, and are just now getting our life sorted and figured out. Here are some great examples of NA books where the character comes into their own for the first time even though they are older than 17:

Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)Slammed (Slammed, #1)Trish Dollar Something Like Normal

Just like YA, NA is amazing and important to everyone looking to read about someone going through the same things that they are. It's just at a different point in life, and answers different questions. It surprises me how many authors don't want their books affiliated with the NA label. I say to them: Be trailblazers in this great emergence of a new genre! What do you think about this controversial topic?

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Unraveling and Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris

Unraveling Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.
And that was before she died...and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.

I'm going to talk about both Unraveling and Unbreakable in this post because I read them back to back. I kicked myself for awhile for taking so long to read the first book, but I have to admit that it was awesome to go straight from the end of Unraveling right into Unbreakable. I got to spend a good amount of uninterrupted time in Janelle's world which was pretty spectacular. Unraveling has such an intricate world and story that's so well written you'd hardly believe that it's just a story.

The science fiction aspect is so awesome. I've been really into the sci-fi stuff lately, and this is hands down one of the best of the genre. Multiple worlds and complex ideas are threaded together so flawlessly creating a vibrant basis and background for this thrilling story. Somehow, the science was explained so well, without making me feel like Elizabeth Norris was dumbing it down for people like me who suck so bad at science. I'm really liking this genre, but sometimes it's harder for me to grasp scientific concepts, so when I understand the theories and rules that go into creating something I get really excited.

Janelle is one of my new favorite heroines. She's strong and likeable - she's the kind of girl you could be friends with - and you totally want her on your side if the world is about to end. Like, if this actually happens, I'm clinging to the first person who gives me a Janelle vibe. She's a little impulsive sometimes, but she has the intelligence and strength to make up for that. I also love her relationship with her family, even though it's a little broken. Her mom's role is minimal and a little heartbreaking, and her father is in the FBI and not around much. But she's so connected with them it's amazing. She's taken on a mothering role to her little brother and the way she takes care of him is awesome. Then there's Ben, who's dreamy and interesting. Their relationship is just as intense as the countdown to the apocalypse.

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Unbreakable Synopsis: Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.

And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed.


So on to the second book, which is just as awesome. After the heartbreak at the end of the first book, I was really looking forward to healing all those wounds. I really should have known better because Elizabeth Norris managed to give me other emotional jabs to the soul. All in all, this is a solid sequel that tells it's own story where we get to follow Janelle across multiple universes. 

Seriously, I love the parallel universe thing. And getting these snapshots of what the world might be like if history took different courses was so awesome. Learning more about the Intraverse Agency was great as well. The FBI involvement in the first book was great, but I think I definitely like seeing the IA a little bit more. 

There were a few things that surprised me while reading, and the biggest surprise was Barclay. I was totally shocked at how I really came to love him in this book, because I definitely didn't love him in book one. He just melted my heart, totally. The other was the way Janelle struggled with her relationship with Ben. Because of the multiple universes, they have a unique issue of dealing with other versions of their selves that added a really interesting aspect to this story. It also brings up the question of what makes you who you are and what is it that causes another person to love you.

There's a lot I want to say about about both of these books but at some point I'd either be spoiling or writing a short story. I just completely love both of these books. It was a little hard to let Ben and Janelle, and the rest of these amazing characters go at the end of Unbreakable

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Invisibility - Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Synopsis: Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life - because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen's mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen's NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don't go as planned, especially when Stephen's grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they're willing to make for Stephen to become visible - because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.  

When I heard about this collaboration I was so freaking excited. I've fangirled over both of these authors, a few times, and then to hear they were coming together to write a book about an invisible boy pretty much gave me something to anticipate highly. Andrea Cremer and David Levithan have very different writing styles and typical story structures, so I was curious to see how they'd blend their talents. Unfortunately, it just didn't quite work for me, and I'm a little devastated to say that I didn't really like this one.  

Andrea Cremer is fantastic at writing paranormal and fantasy and David Levithan is extraordinary with contemporary and magical realism. But I feel like there was a bit of a miss where these two different styles should have met. The set-up was really great, when nobody really knows why Stephen is invisible, but once they start explaining why he's this way and Elizabeth finds out how she might save him I started to disconnect. I found the backstory unbelievable and a little undeveloped. 

That said, both Andrea and David, are fantastic at character development and Stephen was definitely interesting to read about. I couldn't quite figure Elizabeth out and she isn't my favorite heroine, but I feel like there are definitely things within her character that you can easily connect with - like her fierce loyalty and her humor. Laurie, though, was the reason I kept reading this book. His character was fabulous. He has a history for being violently bullied for being gay, yet he's the most hopeful and light person in this story. He's always there to say what needs to be said and to support everyone. I almost wish this story had been more about him. 

I'm really sad about this one, but I got my hopes up too high and it just didn't meet them. I wanted this collaboration to work so much, because how awesome would that be? I hope other people like this book, though, and I'm just crazy or was in a weird mood when I read it. Because I really do root for these authors and the idea for this story is so cool.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Blog Tour: The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

About the Book: 
On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.
Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Book Links: Goodreads :: Amazon :: Barnes & Noble :: The Book Depository
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Review:
This book is so freaking adorable I can hardly stand it. I think I grinned through the whole book and I exited Maddie's head feeling so light and happy. This is a book about nerds for nerds of all fandoms and mediums, and it's just so empowering and freeing. Be who you are. Let your freak flag fly. Own the things that excite you. 

 Maddie and Logan are comic book people, but nerdisms are definitely translatable across nerdoms. I definitely identified with Logan who has no shame in loving the things that made him happy and indulging in all the advantages of being a full out nerd. I love how confidently he went about his life complete with hanging out in a comic book store and participating in live role playing games. But I also identify with Maddie, who loves all these things but keep it under wraps as much as possible. There are still some people I wouldn't really speak openly about my reading choices, even though I've embraced the fact that I am definitely a nerd.

Maddie is just so precious, I kind of wish she was my younger sister. She's popular, but she's not mean and she's a little blind when it comes to certain things, but she admits when she's wrong about something. I mainly just completely connected with her giddiness, her vibrancy, and the way she's just so full of life. She just had a lot of fun, and in that way I had a lot of fun reading this book. Even some of the more tense situations, she manages to turn around pretty well and turn them into something amazing. And there's this scene toward the end that involves ping-pong balls and a girl who causes her some grieft that might be the best revenge scene I've ever come across. It's fabulous.

This is the kind of book that you read either when you need cheering up, you're already pretty dang happy and you want to bask in it, or the sun is shining and you don't want anything to bring you down. It's thoughtful, it's empowering, and it's a good time. Maddie learns a lot about herself and about the understanding of other people. It's not worth it to hide who you really are. That's a good thing to remind ourselves of every now and then. And this book does a fabulous job of doing that while making you want to bask in the glow of your own nerdiness. 
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Mother, wife, and YA author living on a windy hill in Natchitoches, Louisiana. I love fuzzy socks, comic books, cherry coke, and brand new office supplies. THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD coming Summer 2013 from Entangled Teen. Stay cool!

Where you can find her: Website :: Blog :: Twitter :: Facebook :: Pinterest :: Goodreads
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Giveaway: 
There are 3 e-book copies of The Summer I Became a Nerd up for grabs! Giveaway is international. 


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Tour Schedule:
                                                     5/6/2013              Nose Graze                                 
                                                     5/6/2013              Rainy Day Ramblings               
                                                     5/7/2013              Jenuine Cupcakes                       
                                                     5/7/2013              Blackplume                                 
                                                     5/8/2013              The Book Belles                       
                                                     5/8/2013              A Backwards Story                     
                                                     5/9/2013              Kate's Tales of Books and Bands
                                                     5/9/2013              The Starry Eyed Revue 
                                                     5/10/2013           Jenna Does Books         
                                                     5/10/2013           Book Haven Extraordanire         
                                                     5/13/2013           In The Best Worlds     
                                                     5/13/2013           Ashley Loves Books       
                                                     5/14/2013           The Hopeful Heroine     
                                                     5/14/2013           Books of Amber                
                                                     5/15/2013           A Dream Within a Dream           
                                                     5/15/2013           My Reading Room           
                                                     5/16/2013           Obsession With Books 
                                                     5/16/2013           Stuck in YA Books           
                                                     5/17/2013           Chocolate Coated Reviews         
                                                     5/17/2013           JennReneeRead