Monday, September 30, 2013

September Top Five

Can't believe September is over. I just moved into a new apartment with a new awesome roommate. It's a little bittersweet to leave Jackie and my first New York apartment, but I'm on to new things! I've also started back up in grad school again, so between class and work my schedule is a little crazy. And looking back at what I read this month, it was mostly NA. Thankfully, I read a lot of good NA so I'd definitely recommend these reads. 

1. A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers
This book shocked me and totally made me fall in love. This is a fresh and awesome story that I just totally freaked out over. Read this one! You can read my full review here

2. Finding It by Cora Carmack
I love Cora Carmack. She just makes me happy. And while I'll be Team Garrick forever, but Jackson Hunt is a close second. Plus, I can't help but love Kelsey. I'll have my review up soon!  

3. Perfect Regret by A. Meredith Walters
I'm also a little obsessed with A. Meredith Walters. And while I liked Bad Rep better, Perfect Regret was still an awesome companion. Read her books! My full review is here

4. The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe
I didn't really know what to expect with this one, but it completely tugged all my emotions and held a lot of intense secrets. If you want awesome New Adult that combines grief, ghosts, roadtrips and secret pasts, this is a great one. Read my review here

5. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
Jackie says : This book blew my mind. It was smart, authentic, and so heartfelt. This might have been my favorite book of the year. It was so amazingly realistic when it came to depicting small towns and the consequences of living in them while being different. LOVE it. My review will be up soon!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Double Cover Reveal: Soul Oath & Cup of Life by Juliana Haygert

Soul Oath (Everlast #2)
Expected pub date: Nov/25/2013
Length: ~80,000 words

Summary from Goodreads:
It’s been three months since Nadine last heard from Victor, Micah or Ceris, allowing her to concentrate on her own life. But until Victor and Micah find the scepters that will restore them as true gods, their human bodies will require her healing touch and it’s only a matter of time until they wreak havoc on her life again.

As if to prove that, Victor shows up at the hospital dragging along with him a swarm of demons. Nadine is forced to flee to safety. Despite her attempts to keep her loved ones protected, the demons find her, and they bring her to Imha, the goddess of Chaos.


Now, confronted by her greatest fear, Nadine finds a new motivation. Vengeance. And when seeking revenge, no risk is too great, including her own life.


**New Adult Fantasy Novel**


***
Cup of Life (Everlast, #2.5)
Expected pub date: Nov/25/2013
Lenght: ~15,000 words

Summary from Goodreads:
His existence would mean nothing without her.

Book One:
(linked to Goodreads)

About the Author:
New  Adult author and contributor at NA Alley blog.
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.

Author Links:
    photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps64a79d4a.png  photo iconpinterest_zps6fcf02a7.png

Cover Reveal Organized by:

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Ruining - Anna Collomore

::Post by Jackie Lindert::

Synopsis: Annie Phillips is thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby, the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door. All too soon cracks appear in Annie's seemingly perfect world. She's blamed for mistakes she doesn't remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she's always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie's fear gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness, or is something sinister at play? "The Ruining "is a complex ride through first love, chilling manipulation, and the terrifying depths of insanity.

I was a little all over the place about this book. I was lukewarm in the beginning, and then out of nowhere, I was starting to really get into it. The psychological manipulation and the crazy games Libby plays had me totally freaked out (in a good way!). Anna Collomore does an amazing job at writing these characters. I honestly started wondering whether it was Annie, Libby, or even me that was going completely crazy.

My favorite character in this book was Zoe, the Cohen's little adorable daughter who Annie cares for. She is truly the most trustworthy person throughout the whole book. I also really loved the tie in with The Yellow Wallpaper, which fit so well into this book.

I really like Owen, too. But I started to lose a little faith in him toward the end. He's a little too "knight in shining armor" for me. The damsel in distress scenario was a little overplayed here. I know Annie was probably not mentally stable enough to save herself sometimes, but I just wanted to shake her! I mean she was taking a feminism class for crying out loud. She should have taken the reins into her own hands a few times.

 The last part of this book was actually a bit of a let down for me considering how into it I was up to that point. It became very rushed, and it all tied up a little too neatly with some unanswered questions. I guess I wanted a more believable, paced-out ending that really concluded everything.

I would recommend this book despite my hesitations. It really gets into your head, and the writing is great. It wasn't like anything else I've read lately. I'm not overly excited about it, but it's worth a read. I hope you enjoy it! 

Cover Reveal: Never Let Go by Scarlett Edwards

I'm so excited to be participating in the cover reveal for Scarlett Edward's new adult novel Never Let Go, releasing on October 15th. 



Title:  Never Let Go
Author:  Scarlett Edwards
Genre:  New Adult Romance
Publication Date:  October 15, 2013
Event Organized by:  Literati Author Services, Inc.

------------------------------
About the Book:

The start of college heralds new beginnings and new friendships.  It gives every girl a chance to reinvent herself.

I go and screw mine up by meeting the most gorgeous guy I've laid eyes on in five years while talking to my cat outside my dorm.

But Andrew Crowner is far from judgmental.  After helping me move my things to my room, he has me smitten by his easy manners and kind smile.  And from the way his eyes linger on me before he leaves, I start to think that maybe I've caught his attention, too.
I let myself believe that luck might finally be on my side until I stumble upon my roommate... and her overnight guest.

Spencer Ashford.

Lean and tattooed, sexy as sin and dangerous, Spencer is exactly the type I want to avoid.  I would have no trouble with that... were it not for his swift and inexplicable interest in me.
In the span of a week, I go from a girl with next-to-no experience with boys to one caught in the cross hairs of two totally different men.  

Andrew's interest is wholesome and sweet.  Spencer's is edgy and raw.  The  choice should be easy.  But there are always complications, and sometimes, matters of the heart take the least expected turns.
------------------------------
About the Author:
I’m Scarlett Edwards.  I wrote my first book as a college sophomore.  After six months of edits, it made its debut as Yours to Savor.

That was at the start of 2013.  I've written more books since then.  You can find them all here.

It's funny how quickly life changes.  I used to think I'd need a degree to get a "Real Job."  Then I wrote a few books, they got somewhat popular, and now I'm living the life as a full-time romance author.

Thanks to all my readers for making my dream come true.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Perfect Regret - A. Meredith Walters

Synopsis: Riley Walker makes all the right decisions and knows exactly where her life is headed.
Riley Walker does not make mistakes.
Riley Walker certainly doesn’t make spontaneous decisions.
But then Riley Walker gets dumped.
Spectacularly, gut-wrenching, stomp all over her heart dumped. And she is feeling more than a little angry. And a whole lot bitter. And suddenly the girl who has always done everything right feels like doing something completely wrong.
Garrett Bellows, lead guitarist for the local band, Generation Rejects, is going through life without a plan. Trying not to think past the next gig or the next party, he has worked hard to not become too attached to anyone or anything. So he is shocked to find himself drawn to the snarky girl with a chip on her shoulder. She pisses him off and puts him down. He knows she’s nothing more than a self-entitled college brat who thinks she’s better than the townie boy without a future.
Alcohol and a hefty dose of lust leads to a night both Riley and Garrett immediately regret. Her embarrassment, his pride and the weight of rumors and misconceptions convince Riley and Garrett that their one-time indiscretion will never be repeated. Particularly when their harshest critics are each other.
But how do you reconcile a head that wants to let go with a heart that keeps holding on?
And what happens when your biggest regret begins to seem almost perfect?


I have a handful of indie authors that I’ll support unconditionally, and A. Meredith Walters is one of them. Her writing style seems so effortless and is just completely emotional. Her characters always seem to exist somewhere else in full 3-D glory and somehow they’re channeled into the pages of Walters’s books for a brief period of their lives. Perfect Regret has all the elements of a great A. Meredith Walter’s book: intensity, high emotions, depth, a tough-but-scared heroine, and a hot boy with some issues. 

To be totally honest, with both Bad Rep and Perfect Regret, I’ve started them out thinking – this is the same as any other New Adult book. But I keep reading because I’ve come to trust this writing. And somewhere along the way, I find I’ve been totally sucked in and a switch has flipped and I’m not in typical NA land anymore. These stories are really their own world and it was amazing to pop back in on the Bad Rep world and check in on Maysie and Jordan because they are still so dear to me. 

Riley’s story was admittedly tougher for me to connect to, but once I did I was hooked. Riley’s a little bit more aggressive, misguided, and jaded when the book opens. But it really is amazing to see how she grows as her story progresses and she really softens and starts to let people in. She not only lets Garrett in, but she manages to actually let her friends in and connect to them. Her family was also an important part of this story – yeah, I sobbed when she went back home to her parents and some things went down. That was a terrifying and emotional part of the book, but it was amazing as a turning point in Riley’s life. 

So on to Garrett – I have some issues with finding long hair on dudes attractive. My imagination just can’t go there for some reason. But then Riley talks about how she’s angry chick music and he’s hard rock (or something like that) and all of a sudden I’m picturing Garrett as Heath Leger from 10 Things I Hate About You and Riley as Kat. And then I totally fell for Garrett. He has some damage from his past, but he really straightened things out, too. His chemistry with Riley was just fabulous. It was actually amusing watching them dance around each other. But sometimes I wanted to smack Riley because she would say things and I’d feel completely protective of Garret. Which, now that I think about it is genius because it’s all from Riley’s point of view. I don’t know how all these emotions and connections are put into the book because they’re there and it’s awesome. 

I can’t recommend the Bad Rep series, or any A. Meredith Walters book enough. While Maysie and Jordan are still my favorite, Perfect Regret is a great companion to Bad Rep.  I’ve come to feel like I’m a part of their group of friends and I’m totally invested on where they go from here.  If you want a great New Adult book that will go straight to your heart, frustrate you a bit, but bring all your emotions to the surface then Perfect Regret is your book.

Monday, September 23, 2013

The Darkest Part Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway



Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe hosted by YA Bound Book Tours! Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule! 

--------------------------
Review:
I have to say that this book totally captured my heart in the most painful and frustrating way. But it was totally worth it. This is a great contemporary NA book that has an aspect of  magical realism (that's the best way I can explain it) to it which makes it something I haven't quite read before. My emotions were all over the place, because part of me was screaming "Too soon!' and the other part was saying "What are you waiting for?!" I was all over the place because this story was so great and well told, with pieces of the past coming out bit by bit at the perfect moment.

So the grieving MC thing tends to get me down and I tend to stay away, but I've heard awesome things about Trisha Wolfe and I love road-trip books. And I actually really loved the part of the plot where Sam is trying to get over the death of her fiance. She can still see Tyler and she has conversations with him that are really heartbreaking. And it actually took a long time for me to figure out if he was real ghost or a manifestation of her subconscious.

But the best part of this book was the way the story between Sam and Holden unfolded. Their history is so entwined and it just made me change all of my allegiances. Holden was amazing - he's strong and honorable in a very silent way. Actually, I take back what I said before. The best part was learning about Holden's relationship with Tyler. They have a dark family history, Tyler had a dark history and Holden was such an amazing brother to him. All of which just makes it so wonderful when Sam and Holden are finally able to put Tyler to rest.

The road-trip part was great. I just have this feeling that road trips can save or change anything and that's definitely what it does in this case. There's forward movement and new experiences that can heal you in ways that time and other people can't. There are a few rocky moments, but the fact that Sam and Holden are so electric together just made it all wonderful.

This is a New Adult book that I highly recommend, especially if you're a fan of star-crossed lovers and road trips. There's something a little different happening here too and it doesn't shy away from some of the darker parts of life. I got so sucked into this book I was up way too late reading and sneaking in chapters every chance I got. If you want an intense story with secrets boiling under the surface and relationships that will keep your emotions on high then this is definitely a book you should check out.
--------------------------
About the Book:
The Darkest Part (Living Heartwood)
by Trisha Wolfe
Release Date: 08/06/13

Summary from Goodreads: Pressuring the boundaries of both the psyche and the heart, Sam and Holden embark on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of love. 

Sam Wintry's life used to be almost perfect. She was engaged to her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart. Tyler Marks, planning an amazing cross-country honeymoon during her college break. But after a hit-and-run leaves her in ruin, she begins seeing Tyler's fractured, ghostly presence, and her family believes she's losing her mind. Not until she completes their journey, stopping along the way to scatter Tyler's remains, will Tyler be able to cross over. Only...is Sam ready for him to leave her?

When the black sheep of the Marks' family, Holden Marks, returns to check on Tyler's case, Sam convinces him to give her his brother's ashes. despite their shaky history, she needs him...plus, he owes it to Sam and his brother. What she doesn't count on is Holden's relentlessness to go on the trip.

On the road, Holden realizes just how unhinged Sam has become. Dealing with her psychosis forces him to confront his dark past, making it harder to keep secrets hidden that should remain buried. Expecially from Sam, the only woman he's ever loved. And as Sam starts to unravel the truth, she begins to question if the brother she's unwillingly falling for again is in an even darker place than her. 

New Adult contemporary coming this year. 

Buy Links: Amazon :: B&N :: Kobo :: iTunes
--------------------------
About the Author:

I’m the author of the YA Steampunk DESTINY'S FIRE (Omnific Publishing), ASTARTE'S WRATH NA Historical/Supernatural, and the upcoming YA Utopian FIREBLOOD from Spencer Hill Press, October 2013. My NA Dark Fantasy OF SILVER AND BEASTS available May 2013.
I’m the creator of YA Bound, a promotional site for the Young Adult genre. Also a member of SCWW and The Apocalypsies.
A proud business owner, I'm partnered with my partner, my husband. When I’m not busy doing all of the above, I’m a wife and the mother of a gorgeous teen boy who's the sounding board for my male characters.

Website :: Goodreads :: Twitter :: Facebook :: Tumblr :: YouTube :: Pinterest
--------------------------
Giveaway:

1- $25 Gift Card to Amazon, B&N, Paypal or iTunes (INT)

Monday, September 30, 2013

September Top Five

Can't believe September is over. I just moved into a new apartment with a new awesome roommate. It's a little bittersweet to leave Jackie and my first New York apartment, but I'm on to new things! I've also started back up in grad school again, so between class and work my schedule is a little crazy. And looking back at what I read this month, it was mostly NA. Thankfully, I read a lot of good NA so I'd definitely recommend these reads. 

1. A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers
This book shocked me and totally made me fall in love. This is a fresh and awesome story that I just totally freaked out over. Read this one! You can read my full review here

2. Finding It by Cora Carmack
I love Cora Carmack. She just makes me happy. And while I'll be Team Garrick forever, but Jackson Hunt is a close second. Plus, I can't help but love Kelsey. I'll have my review up soon!  

3. Perfect Regret by A. Meredith Walters
I'm also a little obsessed with A. Meredith Walters. And while I liked Bad Rep better, Perfect Regret was still an awesome companion. Read her books! My full review is here

4. The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe
I didn't really know what to expect with this one, but it completely tugged all my emotions and held a lot of intense secrets. If you want awesome New Adult that combines grief, ghosts, roadtrips and secret pasts, this is a great one. Read my review here

5. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
Jackie says : This book blew my mind. It was smart, authentic, and so heartfelt. This might have been my favorite book of the year. It was so amazingly realistic when it came to depicting small towns and the consequences of living in them while being different. LOVE it. My review will be up soon!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Double Cover Reveal: Soul Oath & Cup of Life by Juliana Haygert

Soul Oath (Everlast #2)
Expected pub date: Nov/25/2013
Length: ~80,000 words

Summary from Goodreads:
It’s been three months since Nadine last heard from Victor, Micah or Ceris, allowing her to concentrate on her own life. But until Victor and Micah find the scepters that will restore them as true gods, their human bodies will require her healing touch and it’s only a matter of time until they wreak havoc on her life again.

As if to prove that, Victor shows up at the hospital dragging along with him a swarm of demons. Nadine is forced to flee to safety. Despite her attempts to keep her loved ones protected, the demons find her, and they bring her to Imha, the goddess of Chaos.


Now, confronted by her greatest fear, Nadine finds a new motivation. Vengeance. And when seeking revenge, no risk is too great, including her own life.


**New Adult Fantasy Novel**


***
Cup of Life (Everlast, #2.5)
Expected pub date: Nov/25/2013
Lenght: ~15,000 words

Summary from Goodreads:
His existence would mean nothing without her.

Book One:
(linked to Goodreads)

About the Author:
New  Adult author and contributor at NA Alley blog.
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.

Author Links:
    photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps64a79d4a.png  photo iconpinterest_zps6fcf02a7.png

Cover Reveal Organized by:

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Ruining - Anna Collomore

::Post by Jackie Lindert::

Synopsis: Annie Phillips is thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby, the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door. All too soon cracks appear in Annie's seemingly perfect world. She's blamed for mistakes she doesn't remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she's always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie's fear gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness, or is something sinister at play? "The Ruining "is a complex ride through first love, chilling manipulation, and the terrifying depths of insanity.

I was a little all over the place about this book. I was lukewarm in the beginning, and then out of nowhere, I was starting to really get into it. The psychological manipulation and the crazy games Libby plays had me totally freaked out (in a good way!). Anna Collomore does an amazing job at writing these characters. I honestly started wondering whether it was Annie, Libby, or even me that was going completely crazy.

My favorite character in this book was Zoe, the Cohen's little adorable daughter who Annie cares for. She is truly the most trustworthy person throughout the whole book. I also really loved the tie in with The Yellow Wallpaper, which fit so well into this book.

I really like Owen, too. But I started to lose a little faith in him toward the end. He's a little too "knight in shining armor" for me. The damsel in distress scenario was a little overplayed here. I know Annie was probably not mentally stable enough to save herself sometimes, but I just wanted to shake her! I mean she was taking a feminism class for crying out loud. She should have taken the reins into her own hands a few times.

 The last part of this book was actually a bit of a let down for me considering how into it I was up to that point. It became very rushed, and it all tied up a little too neatly with some unanswered questions. I guess I wanted a more believable, paced-out ending that really concluded everything.

I would recommend this book despite my hesitations. It really gets into your head, and the writing is great. It wasn't like anything else I've read lately. I'm not overly excited about it, but it's worth a read. I hope you enjoy it! 

Cover Reveal: Never Let Go by Scarlett Edwards

I'm so excited to be participating in the cover reveal for Scarlett Edward's new adult novel Never Let Go, releasing on October 15th. 



Title:  Never Let Go
Author:  Scarlett Edwards
Genre:  New Adult Romance
Publication Date:  October 15, 2013
Event Organized by:  Literati Author Services, Inc.

------------------------------
About the Book:

The start of college heralds new beginnings and new friendships.  It gives every girl a chance to reinvent herself.

I go and screw mine up by meeting the most gorgeous guy I've laid eyes on in five years while talking to my cat outside my dorm.

But Andrew Crowner is far from judgmental.  After helping me move my things to my room, he has me smitten by his easy manners and kind smile.  And from the way his eyes linger on me before he leaves, I start to think that maybe I've caught his attention, too.
I let myself believe that luck might finally be on my side until I stumble upon my roommate... and her overnight guest.

Spencer Ashford.

Lean and tattooed, sexy as sin and dangerous, Spencer is exactly the type I want to avoid.  I would have no trouble with that... were it not for his swift and inexplicable interest in me.
In the span of a week, I go from a girl with next-to-no experience with boys to one caught in the cross hairs of two totally different men.  

Andrew's interest is wholesome and sweet.  Spencer's is edgy and raw.  The  choice should be easy.  But there are always complications, and sometimes, matters of the heart take the least expected turns.
------------------------------
About the Author:
I’m Scarlett Edwards.  I wrote my first book as a college sophomore.  After six months of edits, it made its debut as Yours to Savor.

That was at the start of 2013.  I've written more books since then.  You can find them all here.

It's funny how quickly life changes.  I used to think I'd need a degree to get a "Real Job."  Then I wrote a few books, they got somewhat popular, and now I'm living the life as a full-time romance author.

Thanks to all my readers for making my dream come true.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Perfect Regret - A. Meredith Walters

Synopsis: Riley Walker makes all the right decisions and knows exactly where her life is headed.
Riley Walker does not make mistakes.
Riley Walker certainly doesn’t make spontaneous decisions.
But then Riley Walker gets dumped.
Spectacularly, gut-wrenching, stomp all over her heart dumped. And she is feeling more than a little angry. And a whole lot bitter. And suddenly the girl who has always done everything right feels like doing something completely wrong.
Garrett Bellows, lead guitarist for the local band, Generation Rejects, is going through life without a plan. Trying not to think past the next gig or the next party, he has worked hard to not become too attached to anyone or anything. So he is shocked to find himself drawn to the snarky girl with a chip on her shoulder. She pisses him off and puts him down. He knows she’s nothing more than a self-entitled college brat who thinks she’s better than the townie boy without a future.
Alcohol and a hefty dose of lust leads to a night both Riley and Garrett immediately regret. Her embarrassment, his pride and the weight of rumors and misconceptions convince Riley and Garrett that their one-time indiscretion will never be repeated. Particularly when their harshest critics are each other.
But how do you reconcile a head that wants to let go with a heart that keeps holding on?
And what happens when your biggest regret begins to seem almost perfect?


I have a handful of indie authors that I’ll support unconditionally, and A. Meredith Walters is one of them. Her writing style seems so effortless and is just completely emotional. Her characters always seem to exist somewhere else in full 3-D glory and somehow they’re channeled into the pages of Walters’s books for a brief period of their lives. Perfect Regret has all the elements of a great A. Meredith Walter’s book: intensity, high emotions, depth, a tough-but-scared heroine, and a hot boy with some issues. 

To be totally honest, with both Bad Rep and Perfect Regret, I’ve started them out thinking – this is the same as any other New Adult book. But I keep reading because I’ve come to trust this writing. And somewhere along the way, I find I’ve been totally sucked in and a switch has flipped and I’m not in typical NA land anymore. These stories are really their own world and it was amazing to pop back in on the Bad Rep world and check in on Maysie and Jordan because they are still so dear to me. 

Riley’s story was admittedly tougher for me to connect to, but once I did I was hooked. Riley’s a little bit more aggressive, misguided, and jaded when the book opens. But it really is amazing to see how she grows as her story progresses and she really softens and starts to let people in. She not only lets Garrett in, but she manages to actually let her friends in and connect to them. Her family was also an important part of this story – yeah, I sobbed when she went back home to her parents and some things went down. That was a terrifying and emotional part of the book, but it was amazing as a turning point in Riley’s life. 

So on to Garrett – I have some issues with finding long hair on dudes attractive. My imagination just can’t go there for some reason. But then Riley talks about how she’s angry chick music and he’s hard rock (or something like that) and all of a sudden I’m picturing Garrett as Heath Leger from 10 Things I Hate About You and Riley as Kat. And then I totally fell for Garrett. He has some damage from his past, but he really straightened things out, too. His chemistry with Riley was just fabulous. It was actually amusing watching them dance around each other. But sometimes I wanted to smack Riley because she would say things and I’d feel completely protective of Garret. Which, now that I think about it is genius because it’s all from Riley’s point of view. I don’t know how all these emotions and connections are put into the book because they’re there and it’s awesome. 

I can’t recommend the Bad Rep series, or any A. Meredith Walters book enough. While Maysie and Jordan are still my favorite, Perfect Regret is a great companion to Bad Rep.  I’ve come to feel like I’m a part of their group of friends and I’m totally invested on where they go from here.  If you want a great New Adult book that will go straight to your heart, frustrate you a bit, but bring all your emotions to the surface then Perfect Regret is your book.

Monday, September 23, 2013

The Darkest Part Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway



Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe hosted by YA Bound Book Tours! Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule! 

--------------------------
Review:
I have to say that this book totally captured my heart in the most painful and frustrating way. But it was totally worth it. This is a great contemporary NA book that has an aspect of  magical realism (that's the best way I can explain it) to it which makes it something I haven't quite read before. My emotions were all over the place, because part of me was screaming "Too soon!' and the other part was saying "What are you waiting for?!" I was all over the place because this story was so great and well told, with pieces of the past coming out bit by bit at the perfect moment.

So the grieving MC thing tends to get me down and I tend to stay away, but I've heard awesome things about Trisha Wolfe and I love road-trip books. And I actually really loved the part of the plot where Sam is trying to get over the death of her fiance. She can still see Tyler and she has conversations with him that are really heartbreaking. And it actually took a long time for me to figure out if he was real ghost or a manifestation of her subconscious.

But the best part of this book was the way the story between Sam and Holden unfolded. Their history is so entwined and it just made me change all of my allegiances. Holden was amazing - he's strong and honorable in a very silent way. Actually, I take back what I said before. The best part was learning about Holden's relationship with Tyler. They have a dark family history, Tyler had a dark history and Holden was such an amazing brother to him. All of which just makes it so wonderful when Sam and Holden are finally able to put Tyler to rest.

The road-trip part was great. I just have this feeling that road trips can save or change anything and that's definitely what it does in this case. There's forward movement and new experiences that can heal you in ways that time and other people can't. There are a few rocky moments, but the fact that Sam and Holden are so electric together just made it all wonderful.

This is a New Adult book that I highly recommend, especially if you're a fan of star-crossed lovers and road trips. There's something a little different happening here too and it doesn't shy away from some of the darker parts of life. I got so sucked into this book I was up way too late reading and sneaking in chapters every chance I got. If you want an intense story with secrets boiling under the surface and relationships that will keep your emotions on high then this is definitely a book you should check out.
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About the Book:
The Darkest Part (Living Heartwood)
by Trisha Wolfe
Release Date: 08/06/13

Summary from Goodreads: Pressuring the boundaries of both the psyche and the heart, Sam and Holden embark on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of love. 

Sam Wintry's life used to be almost perfect. She was engaged to her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart. Tyler Marks, planning an amazing cross-country honeymoon during her college break. But after a hit-and-run leaves her in ruin, she begins seeing Tyler's fractured, ghostly presence, and her family believes she's losing her mind. Not until she completes their journey, stopping along the way to scatter Tyler's remains, will Tyler be able to cross over. Only...is Sam ready for him to leave her?

When the black sheep of the Marks' family, Holden Marks, returns to check on Tyler's case, Sam convinces him to give her his brother's ashes. despite their shaky history, she needs him...plus, he owes it to Sam and his brother. What she doesn't count on is Holden's relentlessness to go on the trip.

On the road, Holden realizes just how unhinged Sam has become. Dealing with her psychosis forces him to confront his dark past, making it harder to keep secrets hidden that should remain buried. Expecially from Sam, the only woman he's ever loved. And as Sam starts to unravel the truth, she begins to question if the brother she's unwillingly falling for again is in an even darker place than her. 

New Adult contemporary coming this year. 

Buy Links: Amazon :: B&N :: Kobo :: iTunes
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About the Author:

I’m the author of the YA Steampunk DESTINY'S FIRE (Omnific Publishing), ASTARTE'S WRATH NA Historical/Supernatural, and the upcoming YA Utopian FIREBLOOD from Spencer Hill Press, October 2013. My NA Dark Fantasy OF SILVER AND BEASTS available May 2013.
I’m the creator of YA Bound, a promotional site for the Young Adult genre. Also a member of SCWW and The Apocalypsies.
A proud business owner, I'm partnered with my partner, my husband. When I’m not busy doing all of the above, I’m a wife and the mother of a gorgeous teen boy who's the sounding board for my male characters.

Website :: Goodreads :: Twitter :: Facebook :: Tumblr :: YouTube :: Pinterest
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Giveaway:

1- $25 Gift Card to Amazon, B&N, Paypal or iTunes (INT)