Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday # 49

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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

My pick this week is:


Title: Crossing the Line
Series: Pushing the Limits, Book 1.5
Author: Katie McGarry
Release date: April 1st, 2013, by Harlequin Teen

Summary:

Katie McGarry captivated readers with her “riveting, emotional”* Young Adult debut, Pushing the Limits. In this gripping novella, she tells the story of Lila and Lincoln, who discover that sometimes it’s worth crossing the line for love…

Lila McCormick, Echo's best friend from Pushing the Limits, first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives. But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters—or that she’d fall for the boy she’s only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he’s never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila’s forgiveness—and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.


 Why I want to read it:

1) This is Katie McGarry we're talking about, so obviously I'd want to read it;
2) It's a contemporary story, so ... it's a definite one
3) I'm in love with letter stories!!! :)))

So how about you? What amazing book are you waiting on this week?  

Monday, January 28, 2013

Book review: Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy, #1)

This is one of those books with a huge fan club, which I end up being disappointed with. Seriously, I can't understand what all the commotion is about.

Firstly, the main character being a gypsy sort of bothered me. That's because everyone has this incredibly romantic understanding of gypsies, which is soooo untrue. Maybe it was true in the middle ages or something. But today... let me say that it's as far from the truth as the Earth is from the Sun. Perhaps that's fine because this is a work of fiction and you know, it's written so it would be likeable. But I just couldn't like it.

To see full review, please click here.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Book review: The Future We Left Behind by Mike A. Lancaster

The Future We Left Behind (Point 4, #2)
NOTE: This is a book I requested from Netgalley.

Well, this book was definitely different from the ones I usually read. It had a LOT of sci-fi elements in it, along with dystopia. I hadn't read the prequel, but it didn't really matter. I breezed through it, because it was really good. But, I was kind of confused of the ending - it raised more questions than it answered, which sometimes is annoying. Like in this case. I'd definitely be on the lookout for the next installment though.

So, here we have a story about a different - should I say generation - of humans. Ones that have actual software operating system. Yeah, it's weird I know. What's more weird though is that that operating system gets upgrades. And some people seem to be immune to those upgrades so they are left behind. Thus the title.

To read full review, please click here.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Book rant: Uses for Boys

Hi everyone! I have barely logged on in the past couple of weeks. Those who stick around know the reason - my baby girl needs to be taken care of. :)

Anyway, even if I don't blog regularly, I still read books, hoping that I'd get the time to write their reviews. I've got a bunch that need reviewing, but instead of doing that, I'm about to rant about a book I just couldn't finish. And it was a book I'd really anticipated! It's this one:


and I really really wanted it to be just a good ol' contemp YA romance story. But it wasn't. It was a huge disappointment. And not only that, it made me feel disgusted.

"Seriously?" You may ask, because, perhaps you were really waiting for it too. Cuz just... look at the cover!

Yeah, the cover is fabulous, but the inside... the pages... well, they're not.

I actually liked the beginning, and thought that it would be a good story with a moral or something. So I read on, till I reached about page 40. That's when my eyes bugged out, and I turned off the kindle, wondering what I had just read. You know, perhaps I'd not seen right, not read right.

I turned on the kindle later, but nope, those paragraphs were still there. And I felt dirty, like perhaps I'd feel if I were to watch pedo porn. Yeah. You read my words right.

And check this out! I deleted the book from the kindle, but a few days later decided to give it another go. You know, perhaps out of curiosity ( a little) and also because I'd requested the book and didn't want to end up not giving feedback. So, I downloaded it again on my phone. I skipped those particular disturbing scenes, and went on ahead to perhaps page 60 or something. And I had to once again delete the book and just decide to forget about it.

SPOILER

Goodness gracious! A fourteen-year old having sex, and us being given the details of it as if this was an ADULT book is not only gross, it's wrong. And then said girl being raped... and her thinking that the guy had been in love with her.... it's just mental. I think there's something wrong with the author. I'm sorry. It's my own opinion.

END OF SPOILER

So, the story may get absolutely fantastic in the end, and the girl may end up living her happily ever after, but like every story, this one also had a beginning and a middle. And honestly, if the middle grosses me out and makes me want to puke and just delete it from my device, then what good is a good ending?

To be honest, I don't recommend this book. At all. To anyone. And most of all teenage girls. It's just disgusting. At least you'd find it so if you are like me. If you're really hard core, then go ahead and try it. Perhaps you'd feel there was a point to it all.

Anyway, this is definitely NOT A REVIEW.  It's just my own rant. So yeah.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Blog tour: All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen

I've been waiting for today for so long! I can finally do some promo for this awesome book! All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen was phenomenal! I totally recommend it to all readers who love a beautiful contemporary mystery mixed with nice elements of romance!

Summary:

What if your life wasn’t your own?

Liv comes out of a coma with no memory of her past and two distinct, warring voices inside her head. Nothing, not even her reflection, seems familiar. As she stumbles through her junior year, the voices get louder, insisting she please the popular group while simultaneously despising them. But when Liv starts hanging around with Spencer, whose own mysterious past also has him on the fringe, life feels complete for the first time in, well, as long as she can remember.

Liv knows the details of the car accident that put her in the coma, but as the voices invade her dreams, and her dreams start feeling like memories, she and Spencer seek out answers. Yet the deeper they dig, the less things make sense. Can Liv rebuild the pieces of her broken past, when it means questioning not just who she is, but what she is?


My review:

OMG! OMG! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! This book was so incredibly awesome!!!!! It took me several days to finish it only because I had a major exam to study for, otherwise I would've devoured it for one day!

All The Broken Pieces, in my opinion, is where Pushing The Limits meets One Moment. But it's also so much more! It's got a unique plot where most of the story revolves around this extremely humongous secret that just made me want to keep going so I could see if my theories would come out to be true. The rest of the story had all the romantic moments a teen girl would want to read about. Heck, it had all the cute stuff any girl/woman would want to read about.

So, I guess what I want to say is that the book was just perfect for my taste. I loved every bit of it: the plot, the world building, the characters, the writing style... it was so brilliant that I'm definitely putting it on my to-reread list.

Now about the characters, let me give my humble two cents.

*Olivia, a.k.a. Liv, is the lead female, who's mind consists of a plethora of jumbled up thoughts and feelings, none of which seem to be her own. She wakes up one day from a coma, unable to remember even her own name. Her parents are the only secure thing in her life- her rock and shelter. Until memories start to come back to her, and they aren't anything to be proud with. even so, Liv turns out to have this really awesome personality. She's a good friend, doesn't keep a grudge, loves with all her heart and doesn't care to conform to the popular group. I can say that she's my type of girl.

*Spencer starts off as a complete jerk. He doesn't care to talk to anyone, to think of anyone. And he has a pretty good reason for it. But when Liv steps into his line of sight, he's unable to hold his own. He's mesmerized and completely thrown out of his comfort zone. It's great that Liv turned out to be to building block he needed in order to re-enter life. Also, the fact that Spencer turned out to be the one person Liv could rely on was really adorable.

*Mr. and Mrs. Stein, Liv's parents were full of secrets, but they were also amazing as characters and parents.

*Keira was a friend everyone would love to have in high school.

So, in conclusion I can only say thanks to Entangled Publishing for letting me read this wonderful book.  And thanks to Cindi for writing it!



In my opinion, Cindi has a lot to give to the reader community. I love her imagination and her writing style. I will definitely be looking out for more books from her. 
Here's some info about Cindi:


Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.

Cindi's website: http://cindimadsen.com
Cindi's blog: http://cindimadsen.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @CindiMadsen

Friday, January 11, 2013

Follow Friday #36

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Follow Me Friday is a book meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. #FF is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. In order to join in the fun, all you need is well . . . A book blog :)


The question this week is:


If you could choose one supernatural being/creature to really exist what would it be and why?

 
My answer:

Definitely no vamps, weres, zombies or the likes in my world. 

The only one I can think of are angels. But I know they're real so, does that count?


Well, what's your answer?

Please leave links to your FF's, so I can stop by!! Oh, and if you're a new follower, let me know so I could return the favor!

If you're interested in acquiring a copy of All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen, which by the way is an AWESOME book, please enter this giveaway! Good luck and happy holidays!!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Book Review: Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin

Yesterday
NOTE: I received this title from Netgalley.

Ummmmm... sadly, reading this book was a torture. And I truly hate saying this, but it's the truth. I don't even know why I stuck to the end, perhaps because there were moments of "Oh, I hope this turns out good after all". But it didn't. It was a complete waste of time.

So here how it goes:

The first chapter got me hooked. I loved the mystery of it and how it developed. I liked Freya's character, and her fighting spirit. But then, everything changed. It was confusing, to say the least. It was slow and boring and for the first 30-40% of the book nothing really happened. A bunch of inconsequential characters were introduced, and honestly I don't think they had any place in the story. Perhaps the author wanted to make a point (though I can't tell what it might be), but it just didn't work.

To see full review, please click here.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday #48

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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

My pick this week is:



Title: Dare You To
Series: Pushing the Limits, Book 2
Author: Katie McGarry
Release date: May 28th, by Harlequin Teen

Summary:

"I dare you..."

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....


 Why I want to read it:

Ohmigosh! Omigosh! OMIGOSH! I can't wait for this book to come out! I've been waiting for it ever since I read PtL!!!!! I want to read another Katie McGarry book so bad!!!

So how about you? What amazing book are you waiting on this week?  

FYI: I have a giveaway going on of an e-copy of All the Broken Pieces by Cindy Madsen. If you're interested, visit my Current Giveaways page. Thanks and good luck!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Follow Friday #35

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Follow Me Friday is a book meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. #FF is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. In order to join in the fun, all you need is well . . . A book blog :)


The question this week is:


What New Years Blogging or Writing resolution have you placed on yourself?

 
My answer:

Blogging:
Well, I have been planning my blog's makeover for a while now. I hope I could finally accomplish that!

Writing:
Ummm... I have started on several MS, but I seriously need to sit down on my behind and just write. I honestly don't know how that's going to happen, but I'll make sure to try. *sigh*


Well, what's your answer?

Please leave links to your FF's, so I can stop by!! Oh, and if you're a new follower, let me know so I could return the favor!

If you're interested in acquiring a copy of All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen, which by the way is an AWESOME book, please enter this giveaway! Good luck and happy holidays!!