Diamond&Coal Book Reviews: November 2013

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Wish Not, Want Not

Published: March 21st, 2013

The Art of Wishing (The Art of Wishing #1)

By: Lindsey Ribar

Dial Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780803738270

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

Margo McKenna has a plan for just about everything, from landing the lead in her high school play to getting into a good college. So when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the chance to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Why should she put her life into someone else's hands?

But Oliver is more than just a genie -- he's also a sophomore at Margo's high school, and he's on the run from a murderer. As he and Margo grow closer, she discovers that it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more.

Review

This is a book dealing with a normal teenage girl who gets the dream that everyone fantasizes about at least once or twice in life - a genie who is going to grant her three wishes! Of course, everything had consequences, even things that seem perfect in theory. So when Margo McKenna starts to know Oliver, her genie, for himself and not just his powers, it's not especially surprising that all Hell breaks loose. Oh yeah, and there's a murderous madman after Oliver. A fellow genie who wants to get rid of every other genie. So there's that! I really went into this one liking the way it kicked off. A heroine who knows what she wants - to have a career in music. She's got some family problems and is kind of awkward, so she isn't a Mary Sue (which I am eternally grateful for as a reader who detests them). But Margo's entire life changes when she finds out that Vicki, the girl who gets the role of Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd instead of her, used magic to get people to like her and be in the musical! This seriously pisses off Margo. I totally understood that reaction.

But once Margo comes upon Oliver's genie ring in the girl's bathroom and becomes his new 'master' things started to devolve. I thought that the gradual development of a friendship between Oliver and Margo was very sweet. She's feeling ignored by her Mom now that her parents have re-married, after so many years of it just being the two of them. He's never had someone really take the time to get to know him. Plus, Margo is taking her time and being extremely careful about her wishes. She doesn't want to make any serious mistakes the way that Vicki did when she wished that more people would like her. I understood the slow build and I liked the reality of Oliver's old mentor genie being a dangerous threat, who wanted to kill Oliver. The dark edge to the book was interesting and fresh. The focus on Margo's relationships with her Mom, best friend Naomi and her new one with Oliver made things stay interesting.

Once the romance started to take over though, I lost interest. It wasn't quite insta-love, but it wasn't too far off when you figure that Margo and Oliver had known each other less than an entire week! So when things start to go down with the aforementioned villain, it felt like everyone else completely disappeared from the book and Oliver was the only one left - especially in Margo's view of things. She basically tanks her future music career, her part in the musical, her friendship with Naomi AND her relationship with her Mom, just to save Oliver. And as I saw mentioned in someone else's review, she could have just wished for him to become mortal instead of becoming a genie herself!!! Not to mention the whole thing with her Mom struck me as vaguely weird, especially how jealous and resentful she was of her Dad. She didn't even try talking to her Mom about things and hated that they got back together because it took her out of all the decision making processes. I don't know about you, but it was kind a "duh" moment! I thought Margo was kind of stupid honestly to expect her Mom to still treat her like another adult in charge of things once she remarried (never should have in the first place, honestly speaking). The romance derailed the interesting part of it for me, which was the magic and the resolution of the parental/musical issues. A cute book, but overall not what I was expecting from the synopsis. I probably won't be reading the next one, cause I don't really care what happens next.

VERDICT: 2.5/5 Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Monday, November 25, 2013

What Does Summer Even Have to Do With This?

Expected Publication: March 1st, 2014

The Summer I Found You

By: Jolene Perry

Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN-13: 9780807583692

All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction.

Kate's dream boyfriend just broke up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life. When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all?

Review

I have never read a book by Jolene Perry before and the cover on this one was absolutely gorgeous. As such I should have known better, but it's not the first time I've been falsely drawn in by beautiful cover art (I'm sure it won't be the last either). Plus, the synopsis sounded like it would be along the lines of one of my fave teen novels of the last couple years, Something Like Normal by Trish Doller. Yeah, I didn't get that lucky AT ALL. I didn't really mind it so much when Perry was in Aidan's POV, because as much as he was being an asshole with major issues, he was still trying to deal with his issues. Kate's solution to everything is to ignore it and hope it goes away. Whereas Aidan is learning to adjust to life without his arm, Kate is learning how to eat as unsafely as possible without passing out, or being sent to the hospital. And also how to hide her disease from the rest of the world, even when it puts her in danger.

Don't get me wrong, even with the questionable continuity errors in the spelling of Aidan/Aiden's name, the truly horrible lack of punctuation (my senior year, high school English teacher Mrs. Martin would be at turns amused and horrified by it - want a great example, look at the synopsis i.e. disaster) or the fact that both Aidan and Kate come across as smug, generic assholes who only care about themselves, there was something that redeemed it for me slightly. That something was the interactions between Kate and Aidan, in their snarky, teenage glory. Probably some of the best parts of the book. At least until Kate ruined that too, by hiding her diabetes from Aidan and almost dying because she went into insulin shock and Aidan had no clue what was happening!!! Also, she spends her time afterwards pouting and trying to manipulate him into not being mad at her/breaking up with her, by utilizing her "poor me" shtick. It threw any redeeming facet of her character down the toilet for me. The fact that Aidan took her back, even with how atrociously she treated him, made me pity his lack of self-respect. Kate does a 180 at the end of the book. Not because she doesn't want to DIE OR SOMETHING, but (mostly) because she doesn't want to lose her new boyfriend! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK???!!! Oh and on another unrelated note, what does summer have to do with this book? NOTHING. It all happens during the school year, Kate and her best friend Jen's (Aidan's cousin) senior year to be precise.

Due to the fact that Kate's immature behavior was probably somewhat realistic, I liked the development of Aidan's character, and the humorous bits I give this a two star rating. She spends the entire book pining after some utter douchebag who at the end she still considers a 'good friend' - even though he treats Kate like complete shit. Overall though, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a fan of books where you spend the whole time you're reading wishing you could reach in and bitch-slap the main characters! Not the book for me quite obviously. Which is unfortunate, as I really went in wanting to enjoy it.

VERDICT: 2/5 Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, Albert Whitman & Company, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is March 1st, 2014.*

Friday, November 22, 2013

Stars of Bethlehem Book Blitz

Book Description:

Jack and Lily have found each other. In this short holiday novella, Jack finally meets Lily's family and friends. And she tries to merge her life and her past with his.

On New Year's Eve, Jack and Lily look forward to the new year ahead of them. Join them as they start to grow together.

This is a part of the Flowering series and directly follows the events of Forget Me Not/Lily of the Valley. Another full length novel will come later as well.

About the Author:

Sarah Daltry writes erotica and romance that ranges from sweet to steamy. She moves around a lot and has trouble committing to things. Lily of the Valley is her third full length novel, although she also has several story collections and two novellas available. Her other novels are Forget Me Not, the story that tells Lily’s version of events, and Bitter Fruits, which was available shortly, but is now in the contract phase with a major publisher. When Sarah isn’t writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.

Excerpt:

“I have a present for you,” she says.

“I told you. I want nothing but you.”

“I know, but I’m excited. First, though…”

“Yeah.”

This is terrifying. If I screw this up, it could ruin everything. We haven’t been together that long and although I am trying to trust in us, I wonder if Lily could stay with me if her parents hate me. What if they hate me?

She kisses me quickly on the lips and then on the tip of my nose. I somehow feel both ten and hungry for her. She’s still so amazing to me.

“They are going to love you,” she says.

“Then why are you so nervous?”

“What if you hate them?”

I hug her and breathe in her hair. “I could never hate anything that you are. We might come from totally different worlds, princess, but every part of you is beautiful.”

Author Social Media Links:

Website: http://sarahdaltry.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahDaltryErotica?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahDaltry

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sarahdaltry/boards/

Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/sarahdaltry

To Learn more about Jack and Lily’s story check out ‘Forget Me Not’ and ‘Lily of the Valley,’ by Sarah Daltry

Forget Me Not Purchase Links:

Available at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DXM4YBI?force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forget-Me-Not-Flowering-ebook/dp/B00DXM4YBI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375085336&sr=8-1&keywords=sarah+daltry+forget+me+not

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/336336

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forget-me-not-sarah-daltry/1116049899?ean=2940148433125

Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4271499

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/forget-me-not/id673673228?mt=11

Sony: https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/sarah-daltry/forget-me-not/_/R-400000000000001091006

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/forget-me-not-flowering-1

Lily of the Valley Purchase Links:

Purchase Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F5MN7H6?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lily-Valley-Flowering-1-5-ebook/dp/B00F5MN7H6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1379211642&sr=8-3&keywords=lily+of+the+valley+sarah

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/342349

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lily-of-the-valley-sarah-daltry/1116282455?ean=9781492216698&isbn=2940045177917

Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4411185

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lily-of-the-valley-flowering-1-5-2

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lily-valley-flowering-1.5/id702447714?mt=11

Sony: https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/sarah-daltry/lily-of-the-valley-flowering-1-5/_/R-400000000000001119706

Feature and Follow #31

So, Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and AlisonCanRead. It's where you answer the weekly question and then link yourself and you go and check out other blogs of your interest, helping to support out endeavors as a community. Also, do it just because it's fun! :)

Q: You are it! We are playing #FF tag this week. Comment on as many blogs as you can, even if they aren't participating in #FF. Just say Happy #FF! at the end of your comment. Keep a running total if you want and update your post with it. The bigger the number, the more impressed we will be!

A: Challenge accepted! And if you stop by and want to follow us, we prefer Facebook, Bloglovin' and Twitter follows (please and thank you)! :) Happy visiting everyone!

Current Count of Visits: 21 :)

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Racing Savannah

Expected Publication: December 3rd, 2013

Racing Savannah (Hundred Oaks #4)

By: Miranda Kenneally

Sourcebooks Fire

ISBN-13: 9781402284762

They’re from two different worlds.

He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries.

With her dream of becoming a horse jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack…

Review

Savannah has just moved to a new town with her Dad and his pregnant girlfriend, so that he can train horses for the rich Goodwin family. It's a good opportunity for them to no longer worry about money quite as much, especially with her Dad still trying to pay off the hospital bills left from her Mom's illness. All Savannah wants is to become an exercise 'boy' for the Goodwins and work with the horses, who she loves. But when she strikes on unexpected chemistry with Jack Goodwin, her classmate and heir to the Goodwins' business, Savannah will have to decide whether or not it's worth it to try making it work. Or will Savannah and Jack decide to do what is expected of each of them instead, staying far away from each other?

I will tell you all a secret: as a little girl I was absolutely horse-crazy! My family was pretty poor, so I never would have been able to afford riding lessons. But my best friend rode seriously (competitions, her own horse and all) and I would go with her to the barn. She would get me up on the horse, and give me 'lessons.' Also, I went to Girl Scout camp and rode horses there. So I was genetically predisposed to enjoy this book, just for the fact that it had horses in it as a focal point. I was wary though, considering how wishy-washy my feelings on Kenneally's other books happen to be. I enjoyed the stubborn and determined nature of Savannah, who was doing what she felt was best to try and protect her family. She only wanted to make enough money to help out her Dad. Savannah didn't have any plans other than working with horses for the rest of her life. Jack was spoiled and slightly thoughtless, but his heart was in the right place. He always wanted to help Savannah and protect her, even if he was a bit of a jerk at times.

The romance in this book is very modern, American South, Romeo and Juliet type romance. Neither of their families want them together but Savannah and Jack are drawn together like magnets. Their friendship and bonding over Star, an impossible horse was absolutely adorable. My only complaint would be that the angst got slightly out of control and Jack wanting to be secret "friends" really made me kind of hate him a little bit. Also, Savannah's loyalty to her family was something I can personally identify with in a painful way, but she got seriously weird about Rory and Vanessa's possible relationship. Just because Rory's family had less money than Vanessa's, she seemed to think that it meant Vanessa could never view him as equal or a romantic prospect. Basically, she calls her holier-than-thou by social status alone, even when she realizes Vanessa is nothing like this. She also kind of judges Rory for not wanting to work on his parents' failing dairy farm for the rest of his life. Savannah basically thinks she knows everything for a good portion of this book.

I still managed to like her anyway though, believe it or not! I will say that even as someone who liked the other novels but didn't LOVE them, I enjoyed the cameos by past characters like Parker, Will, Sam and who I assumed was Jordan. I liked the fact that Rory was Will's cousin and we get to see Will and Parker's wedding. This book was sweetly written, the ending was cute and I liked that Savannah & Will both learned to go past the class barriers their families had set up - that judging people based on social status and bank accounts is a stupid thing to do. I liked this the best out of the series so far, which has gotten progressively better in my opinion as it's gone along. I will definitely be reading the next one! :)

VERDICT: 4/5 Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is December 3rd, 2013.*

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Warrior Beautiful (Riders of Paradesos) Blog Tour - Review, Top Ten Quotes and Giveaway!!!

Warrior Beautiful (Riders of Paradesos, #1)

Author: Wendy Knight

Check out on Goodreads!

Purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

Synopsis:

Working with the ex you secretly love to save the souls of the innocent is almost as bad as working with a mighty battle unicorn who would be thrilled to watch you plummet to your death.

Scout is used to pain. Her body has been broken, her heart has been broken, and the only thing keeping her together is her relationship with her younger sister. Lil Bit be-lieves in unicorns and terrifying monsters she calls soul stealers. But unicorns and monsters aren’t real…are they?

When Lil Bit falls prey to the mysterious disease sweeping the country, Scout has two options – believe the doctors who say it’s a pandemic or believe Lil Bit, who says it’s the soul stealers. She chooses her sister and goes looking for the unicorns who are supposed to save them. What she finds aren’t the cute pastel mythical creatures she expects. Battle unicorns are big and tough and full of attitude. Who knew?

Unicorns are real and so are the monsters. Soul stealers are reaping the souls of the innocent, and the unicorns are fighting to stop them. But to save the world, they need the help of humans – the enemy they’re dying to protect. And first to sign up for the fight is the ex-boyfriend Scout’s heart won’t stop loving, no matter how determined she is to hate him.

About the Author

Wendy Knight was born and raised in Utah by a wonderful family who spoiled her rotten because she was the baby. Now she spends her time driving her husband crazy with her many eccentricities (no water after five, terror when faced with a live phone call, etcetera, etcetera). She also enjoys chasing her three adorable kids, playing tennis, watching football, reading, and hiking. Camping is also big: her family is slowly working toward a goal of seeing all the National Parks in the U.S.

You can usually find her with at least one Pepsi nearby, wearing ridiculously high heel for whatever the occasion may be. And if everything works out just right, she will also be writing.

Where to Stalk Wendy

Website/Goodreads/Amazon Author Page/Twitter/Facebook

My Thoughts

I have read very few young adult books about unicorns. I feel like they are hard to come by, especially ones in a contemporary setting like this novel. So when I was approached about doing this blog tour and writing a review, I jumped headfirst into it with the hopeful assumption that I would really enjoy it. Thankfully I was right and absolutely loved it! The main character and heroine of the novel, Scout, is still recovering from a car accident that almost took away her ability to walk a year ago. The only person she feels truly understands her is Lil Bit, her truly special younger sister, who everyone else is busy telling she needs to change and she's crazy. Because Lil Bit believes wholeheartedly in unicorns and their nemeses, soul stealers. Scout believes that Lil Bit is telling the truth as she sees it, not intentionally lying. But she's not sure whether or not to believe that either phenomenon is real, even though she might've seen a unicorn in the hospital after the accident. Scout is full of hurt and anger, but her family loyalty was something fierce to behold that I truly admired. I understand the feeling that you would walk through fire to get back your sibling from danger.

Trey is the other side of the coin, Scout's ex-boyfriend who abandoned her after the accident they were in together and now regrets his awful decision. He's wrestling with guilt over Scout's injuries and he's still in love with her, even though he's in a relationship with a girl named Kylin. But when the soul stealers attack the entire town, including Trey's family, he and Scout are taken to Paradesos to train with the battle unicorns to attack and kill the evil beings. He immediately bonds with a unicorn named Torz, while Scout has a tenative understanding with a sarcastic unicorn named Astra who has also suffered great pain in her life. A huge chunk of this book was set in Paradesos, while both teens were training to become warriors with their respective unicorns, and it was definitely some interesting world-building that I enjoyed reading. I really enjoyed the in-depth characterizations and the fact that this book was in third-person omniscient. It really let me get an inside look at both Trey AND Scout's feelings, so I never ended up hating Trey for his mistakes with Scout, or vice versa. Probably the most beautiful part of the book for me was the sister-to-sister relationship between Lil Bit and Scout. I also appreciated the fact that this book was clean. It was nice to read a book where the romance was key, but it didn't become the entire novel and the author didn't use it as an excuse to get nasty.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this one. I had a hard time putting it down to go to bed, desperately wanting to know what happened next! There is a REALLY big cliffhanger at the end, and I cannot wait to read the next book. Exactly the right balance of action and everything else, probably my only complaint would be how heavy the angst between Scout and Trey got. I am not a fan of angst and it became a focus point for me a little too long. Otherwise, I could find no real faults with this one! I highly recommend it to anyone in search of a good book involving some unicorns (be warned, these ones are rather fierce) and some interesting worldbuilding!

VERDICT: 4.5/5 Stars

*I received an ARC from the author. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published October 15th, 2013.*

Top Ten Quotes

"Scout smiled fondly at her across the table. Lil Bit didn't hold a grudge. She rarely got angry even. If only we were all like you, Scout thought, and Lil Bit met her eyes across the table, breaking into a smile. Somehow she had heard Scout. Somehow she had always been able to."

"You don't think I can take a soul stealer?" Trey gave her a lopsided grin and her heart melted, but she ignored it. "No. Lil Bit says the only thing that can take a soul stealer is a unicorn."

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't hear our thoughts. Those are ours. You can hear what we want you to hear." Ashra scoffed, throwing her majestic head.

"Hey! They're not monsters!" Scout yelled before she even realized she had opened her mouth. She advanced on Kylin, wishing she had a horn of her own to shoot sparks with. "They're beautiful! They fight the monsters, you idiot!"

"Oh good grief. Are you always so helpless?" Ashra muttered as her horn sparked again and flames spread, forming steps from her back to the ground.

"Kylin jumped away from the keys and they fell into the thick grass at her feet. Her mouth opened and closed but she only made infuriated little squeaking sounds."

"The unicorns hate humans. Basically, you wander away from me and they'll probably kill you." Ashra sounded distinctly cheerful about the prospect."

"If I want to kick you, it doesn't matter where you stand," Ashra said. She unfurled her wing from her side and knocked Scout away from her. Scout heard Ashra's snicker in her mind, and if horses could grin, Ashra was definitely doing it. "Watch it you overgrown bird." Scout eyed, her thinking about shoving her back, but Ashra was huge. It would be like trying to shove a barn over. "Yeah, that's what i though." Ashra whinnied..."

"But then Kylin's eyes landed on Scout and she scowled. Yeah, cute as a vampire bunny, Scout thought. Across the valley, Ashra tossed her head and stomped her feet, chuffing."

"Ashra twisted her long neck to study Kylin. Scout could swear there was suspicion in her eyes. My horsey doesn't like her either. Ashra snorted and tried to whip Scout with her tail."

GIVEAWAY

**Must be 13 or older**

**Opened to U.S. Only**

**Winner has 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be chosen**

**Winner will win: an ecopy of Warrior International, a Warrior Beautiful keychain & a signed bookmark**

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TOUR SCHEDULE

NOV 18

Brooke's Blog (Book Spotlight + Book Soundtrack + Dream Cast)

Deal Sharing Aunt (Book Spotlight + Sneak Peek + Top Ten)

Mom With A Kindle (Book Spotlight + Sneak Peek)

Always Jo Art (Book Spotlight + Book Soundtrack + Dream Cast)