Every Body Talks

Published: October 17th, 2012 (first published 1999)
Body Bags (Body of Evidence #1)
By: Christopher Golden
Daring Greatly Corporation
ASIN:  B009SLYJ4A

When Jenna Blake starts her freshman year at Somerset University, she's not only living on her own for the first time, she's moving closer to the father she never really knew.  It's an exciting time, filled with new faces and new challenges, not mention parties and boys and...corpses?

Jenna is torn about her future.  She'd like to be a doctor like her mother, but she can't stand the sight of blood.  Her father, a criminology professor, thinks he has the answer -- and sends her to interview for a job with the Medical Examiner -- an interview that takes place in the middle of an autopsy!

When a congressional aide goes violently insane, and then drops dead, the pathology team at Somerset Medical Center discover that his brain was ravaged with disease -- and loaded with insect larvae.  When Jenna takes on her new job, she is drawn into a web of terrifying disease, dangerous politics, and intriguing mystery.  And when one of her professors ends up dead, she starts making connections even the police haven't seen...which will bring her face to face with a pair of killers, one medical, and one all too human.

Review

       I didn't feel disappointed after reading this, like so many of the other reviewers here on Goodreads.  You want to know my secret?  Extremely low expectations, and the prior knowledge that Golden tends to be the master of the pulpy, Alloy-series type of book.  It was a story centered around Jenna Blake, an incumbent college freshman, who is unsure what she wants to do with the rest of her life.  All she knows is that her mother would love for her to be a doctor like her, but Jenna can't stand the sight of blood.  Her Dad gets her an interview with the local Medical Examiner, who hires Jenna as a pathology assistant.  The first big case is a man who was infected with a mysterious illness, of unknown origin and it becomes a priority to find out exactly what happened, when a teacher on campus dies of the same sickness.  Coincidence or murder?  That's what Jenna will have to find out, especially once her and her dad's lives are endangered.  Can she survive her first week at college?
       This book is extremely short and I didn't really expect too much, since it is the first in a ten-book series.  Also, it's original publication was sixteen years ago, in 1999.  Some of the language, situations, etc. are kind of culturally dated (not as bad as most though, surprisingly).  This type of book is the kind that people who are unfamiliar with YA, and it's ever-widening, reach like to cite when they malign it as all being unmitigated "trash."  It's pulp fiction, pure and simple.  I will say that it reminds me of Nancy Drew, in the sense that Jenna is pretty much just a cardboard cut-out, meant to move along the plot.  Hopefully she and her friends (roommate Yoshiko & southern-boy Hunter) will be better characeterized/fleshed-out in later books.  I do wish that the mystery had been more murder/crime and less of a politically driven, thriller type.  I liked it enough to continue and see if the next couple are any good, but overall I wouldn't recommend it unless you like the type of book that's pure, time-wasting cotton candy.  If you want a really great, plot and character-rich series by Golden, try his Hollow series, co-written with Ford Lytle Gilmore.  Now THAT is an awesome series! :D

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.*

It's a Love Story, Baby Just Say Yes

Published: 1970
Love Story (Love Story #1)
By: Erich Segal
Signet
ISBN-13:  9781441044140

Lose your heart to the novel that defined a generation then.....and now.

He is Oliver Barrett IV, a rich jock from a stuffy wasp family on his way to a Harvard degree and a career in law.  She is Jenny Cavilleri, a wisecracking, working-class beauty studying music at Radcliffe.  Opposites in nearly every way, Oliver and Jenny immediately attract, sharing a love that defies everything...yet will end too soon.  A love that will linger in your heart now and forever.

Review

     This book is a yesteryear classic for people that love romance, especially after being turned into a wildly popular movie of the same name, released in 1970 (44 years ago)!  I have read this book before, but I've been revisiting the paperbacks on my bookshelves at home, due to the need for short and quick reads.  This is the story of Oliver Barrett IV, a young Harvard student, who is disillusioned with his family, his social status and just wants to stop feeling like such a disappointment to his father (Oliver Barrett III, otherwise referred to as the Sonofabitch).  Jenny Cavilleri is a student at nearby Radcliffe, and she's everything Oliver is not - sharp-tongued, brilliant beyond measure, close to her father, and truly poor.  Of course the two clash heads the first time they meet, but the underlying attraction between them is too strong to deny.  Pretty soon Oliver and Jenny are falling in love, getting married and planning the rest of their lives.  But when Jenny gets sick, can Ollie still find a way to go on without her?  And does love really mean never having to say you're sorry?

     I did enjoy this book on a base level.  I truly loved the fact that Jenny didn't make it easy for Oliver to win her over, and wasn't afraid to tell him to fuck off.  Jenny is the perfect example of a smart, capable woman who can make her own decisions and doesn't just bow down to what Oliver wants.  He has to work to get her, and as a rich, priveleged, Ivy League brat he definitely isn't used to that!  Oliver himself is also a complex guy, with a strained relationship with his father.  He thinks that his Dad is disappointed in him and Ollie feels like a piece of furniture, ignored 99% of the time and used when convenient.  But when push comes to shove, Ollie marries Jenny against his father's wishes and allows himself to be cut off from the family money.  Oliver and Jenny spend the four years of his law school pinching pennies and struggling along.  I have serious respect for that.  

     The part of the story where Jenny gets sick is handled less well.  I know this book is almost 50 years old, but when Jenny's doctor tells Ollie about her cancer and leaves the decision on whether or not to tell Jenny UP TO HIM!  WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK???!!!  I am sure any doctor that did that nowadays would have his license revoked so fast his head would spin!  And they basically find out Jenny is sick and then 15 pages later she's dead.  It kind of dimmed the emotional impact for me as a reader.  But I suppose that's the disadvantage when a book is under 150 pages long.  It definitely has less time, and space to tell a story or flesh out characters, so some things just get lost in translation.  Overall, I really did enjoy reading this book and would recommend it as a view at classic romance, if nothing else.  It's the precursor to Nicholas Sparks, particularly A Walk to Remember.

VERDICT:  3/5  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.**

Expecting Something More

Expected Publication: July 1st, 2014

Expecting

By: Ann Lewis Hamilton

Sourcebooks Landmark

ISBN-13:  9781402295058

A mom, a dad, a baby...and another dad.

Laurie and Alan are expecting, again.  After two miscarriage, Laurie was afraid they'd never be able to have a child.  Now she's cautiously optimistic -- the fertility treatment worked, and things seem to be different this time around.  But she doesn't know yet how different.

Jack can't seem to catch a break -- his parents are on his case about graduating from college, he's somehow dating two girls at once, and he has to find a way to pay back the money he borrowed from his fraternity's party fund.  The only jobs he is qualified for barely pay enough to keep him in beer money, but an ad for the local sperm back gives Jack an idea.

Laurie and Alan's joy is shattered when their doctor reveals that Laurie was accidentally impregnated by sperm from a donor rather than her husband.  Who is Donor 296?  And how will their family change now that Donor 296 is inarguably part of it?

Review

     So, this is definitely NOT my normal kind of read.  I tend to avoid what is termed "chick-lit" just because I never seem to jive with the overall messages, or endings that the characters receive.  And lots of times, the characters turn out to be 20, 30, or 40-something pretentious, upper-middle class assholes.  This is basically a book that alternates between an aimless and slightly douchey college student, Jack, and a suburban married couple named Laurie and Alan.  The couple are going through a problem with infertility and have already suffered two miscarriages.  The college student sold some sperm to make extra money.  Due to a disgruntled employee at the clinic, the college student is now the biological father of the married couple's baby!  After that, Laurie and Alan's marriage starts to break apart and all Hell unleashes.  By the end of the book, they still haven't told their families, the grip they have on their marriage is tenuous at best and Jack is firmly established as a factor in everything.

     At its root, this is a book about difficult decsions.  I can understand things from all three sides of this triangle.  Laurie and Alan BOTH went through those miscarriages together, and lost their children.  And now that Laurie is pregnant, they're both excited.  Enter the shocking news and Alan feels like he's lost another child.  Laurie feels disconnected from her husband, because the baby is still biologically hers.  She can't stand the thought of abortion, because in the end its still her baby.  Then there's Jack, who is brought in by Laurie's curiosity, when he thought he'd have 18 years before having to deal with this (if ever).  Alan is already struggling with not being biologically related to the baby, wondering if it will look like him, how it will affect their relationship, etc.  Then he is told by Laurie she wants to meet the donor.  He is upset, angry and hurt.  But none of these people act like adult human beings, which is what made this book the most difficult for me.  

     My biggest gripe was that instead of telling Laurie how he felt, or in any way trying to deal with the situation, Alan falls headlong into an online relationship with an old girlfriend.  He almost turns it into a real-life cheating situation.  Then there's Laurie, who feels the need to know where her baby comes from and who the other half of its DNA belongs to.  Understandable, but she seems unable to draw the line between "Father" and biological parent.  She keeps bringing Jack further and further into their lives, until he's practically a third party in their marriage.  It's really a hurtful thing.  But it doesn't excuse Alan's blind jealousy of a kid (almost young enough to be his son), who technically has NO legal rights to the baby.  That is something Laurie seems to forget, that Jack willingly signed away his sperm and that her and Alan are the ones in emotional pain.  Also, why the FUCK would you not sue the pants off of that place???!!!  Not a quite normal reaction.  The other issue was why did they not even tell any of their parents or friends what had happened?  Especially once they realized the sperm came from someone of a different nationality?  Did they really think they could say nothing and that no one would notice when the baby looked nothing like Alan, and possibly of a different ethnicity?  The situation with Jack's parents and sister was a bit much as well.  NO RIGHTS, PEOPLE.  NONE.  And yet here is Laurie, edging out her own husband in favor of the sperm donor.  Not that Alan wasn't a complete jackass, but still.  I honestly couldn't stand any of these people.  Understand them yes, think they were smart enough to live, NO.  Not recommended to read, unless you want to see red with complete rage.

VERDICT:  1.5/5 Stars

*I received this book from Sourcebooks Landmark, on NetGalley.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is July 1st, 2014.*

Canon or Non-Canon?

Published:  September 10th, 2013

Fangirl

By: Rainbow Rowell

St. Martin's Press

ISBN-13:  9781250030955

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan... But for Cath, being a fan is her life -- and she's really good at it.  She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading.  Rereading.  Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from the fandom, but Cath can't let go.  She doesn't want to.

Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates.  Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone.  She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who believes fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can't stop worrying about her Dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?  Can she make it without Wren holding her hand?  Is she ready to start living her own life?  And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Review

     Cath is a difficult character to read about.  If there's one thing that Rainbow Rowell does more memorably than anything else, it's writing characters who are beyond everything else, realistic.  Cath, for example is awkward, antisocial, set in her ways and would rather live in her fandoms on the internet than in real life.  Cath isn't ready for anything to change and panics when her twin sister Wren doesn't want to be college roommates.  Cath just wants to stay in her room, avoid the cafeteria by existing on granola/protein bars, and not make any new friends.  Slowly though, her abrasive and stubborn roommate Reagan takes Cath under her wing, refusing to let her fade into the background.  Cath loves her fiction class as well, but the professor doesn't believe in the validity of fan fiction, which is a major part of who Cath happens to be.  Can Cath let go of the comfort of Simon Snow, boy wizard, and find a place for herself in the real world?  And how can she bring Wren and Dad into this new life she's building, without destroying everything?

     Like I said before Cath is difficult to read about.  She's sarcastic, yet shy and insecure to the point of almost being a hermit.  I understand wanting to shut yourself away from the world and I'm as guilty of it as anyone else.  Only, my hiding place of choice was the library instead of my bedroom.  I can empathize with Cath's inability to know what to say, or do in a social situation.  Also, coming from a home life that is less than perfect, in which problems are largely ignored instead of being dealt with.  But Cath begins to come into her own with the help of Reagan and her strange, but charming friend Levi.  We also get to see just how far Wren has distanced herself from the situation in the other direction - doing things to draw attention to herself that are potentially harmful to herself and people around her (but mostly just herself).  She wants to be the life of the party, but what price will she pay for it?  Plus, there's Cath's writing "partner" Nick, who isn't what he first appears to be.  I was highly impressed with the so-called secondary characters, who all add something important to the plot and move the story along.  The relationship with her Dad is especially hilarious, touching and truthful.  I love the interactions between them when Cath brings her boy home and also when Cath and her Dad stage an intervention on her sister.

      A really big part of this book is about being geeky, letting your freak flag fly and still knowing how to get back to reality at the end of the day.  Cath's big obsession is Simon Snow, who is her world's equivalent of Harry Potter (Except the book awkwardly mentions Potter as if they coexist.  I choose to ignore this!).  Cath is still waiting for the eighth book to come out, but has basically begun writing her own AU (alternate universe) version of it online, in her fan fiction community.  "Carry On Simon" has become such a huge thing in the fandom that people are wearing t-shirts and Cath is getting thousands of views a day!  I love the respect with which Rainbow treats fan fiction in this book.  I feel like she gets that there's nothing wrong with sharing your imagination with others for fun (and free) even if it involves someone else's worlds.  But she also knows that there's a fine line between having some geeky fun, and being unheathily obsessed.  We also see a glimpse of the idea that fan fiction might be squelching Cath's desire to write original stuff, or even her ability to do it.  My biggest disappointment in this was Cath not even attempting to make up her assignment for her fiction Professor.  It felt like she just completely gave up.  Also, I wanted to know what happened to Simon and Baz!  But mostly, this is a novel that is a tale of self discovery, a family's journey to something better (if not perfect) and a story of first love in all it's unpredictability and tenderness.  If you've read Rainbow Rowell before, her first and last name are the only two word of this review even necessary to you.  If not, seek her out.  Fangirl is wonderful, and just wait until you discover Eleanor and Park!

VERDICT:  4.5/5 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.**

Strangers Searching In the Night

Published:  July 30th, 2013

The Boy on the Bridge

By: Natalie Standiford

Scholastic Press

ISBN-13:  9780545334815

Laura Reid goes to Leningrad for a semester abroad as Cold War paranoia is peaking in 1982.  She meets a young Russian artists named Alexei and soon, with Alexei as her guide, Laura immerses herself in the real Russia -- a crazy world of wild parties, black-market books and music, and smuggled letters to dissidents.  She must keep the relationship secret; associating with Americans is dangerous for Alexei, and if caught, Laura could be sent home and Alexei be put under surveillance or worse.  At the same time, she's been warned that Soviets often latch onto Americans in hopes of marrying them and thus escaping to the United States.  But she knows Alexei loves her.  Right?

As June approaches -- when Laura must return to the United States -- Alexei asks Laura to marry him.  She's only nineteen and doesn't think she's ready to settle down.  But what if Alexei is the love of her life?  If she has a chance to change his life, to rescue him from misery, shouldn't she take it?

Review

     Probably the biggest pitfalls of this book were its short length - a mere 256 pages - and it's very underdeveloped characters (which it probably owes in huge part to the short length of time to tell the story).  Laura Reid is just an average college student, except for the fact that she is a major in Russian studies in a time when relations between the U.S. and Russia are very tense.  Laura is not really wanting to do anything other than maybe make a couple of new friends, learn to speak Russian better and go home with a little more culture.  What she gets instead is rescued by a poor, young Russian artists named Alyosha.  She is immediately drawn to him and pretty soon they're falling in love.  Against the advice of her fellow students, and her own better judgement Laura plans to marry Alyosha and move him to America when she goes home.  But is he really in love with Laura, or is she just Alyosha's ticket to a new life in America?

     The main character in this novel with the most development isn't Laura or Alyosha - it's communist Russia.  We get an insider's look into what it really meant to be in Russia as an American student in the early 1980s.  Us readers are treated to the stark class differences, the government's encroachment into personal privacy (i.e. their constant spying on their citizens), grocery stores with nothing in stock to feed the people, and an intense desire for any hint of the "rich" American culture/consumerism.  We also get some of Russia's actual history, with Standiford managing to give us all this and not have it become an obnoxiously boring textbook.  This is basically my favorite aspect of this book.

     My least favorite aspect was the "romance" between Alyosha and Laura.  They start out with what seems like an intense connection to each other.  But after Laura's conversations with her fellow students and advisors about Russians marrying U.S. citizens for a ticket to America, Alyosha's actions started to read a little differently to me.  Was he actually proposing to her because he loved Laura?  Was he just slightly too pushy with their romance and it's desired outcome?  The answer is both yes and no.  Laura spends the majority of the book sinking deeper into obsession/love with Alyosha and even going as far as to practically flunk the program she's in and start to plan a secret wedding.  Her head seemed like it was stuck in the freaking sand.  She never even considered the possibility that Alyosha was using her.  They barely know each other, yet she's ready to marry him and take him home as a college sophmore (freshman? can't recall), with no means of support.  He can barely speak the language.  Laura has the reasoning of a nine year old: it'll work out because she says it will and they want it too.  Okay, sure; cause that's totally how real life works!       The ending is pretty ambiguous and it leaves the reader to make up their own mind about Alyosha's true intentions.  Well written and it made me truly uncomfortable, but the characters felt so flat I just can't give it any more stars than 3 (just not enough meat to it for my satisfaction).    An interesting snapshot of communist Russia (verging on it's change of goverment) from an American perspective.  But not a good romance by any means at all.

VERDICT:  3/5 Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, Scholastic Press, via NetGalley.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book was published July 30th, 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


Hopeless For You - Release Blitz and Giveaway!!!

Release Date:  September 19th, 2013

Purchase: Amazon

Goodreads Page

Synopsis

"If I am more alive because love burns and chars me, as a fire, given wood or wind, feels new elation, it's that he who lays me low is my salvation, and invigorates the more, the more he scars me."
― Michelangelo

Ash Jensen, a squeaky-clean sophomore at the University of Tennessee, has a trail of baggage a mile long―she buried her fiancé only a year and a half ago. She swore she'd never love again but when she finds herself interned to a yummy Canadian conservation officer that promise is tested big-time. Kade Gyllenhahl sports wild tattoos, a rebellious attitude and a fohawk to die for. He's definitely the wrong man for her and she knows it.

Kade doesn't have time for a girl like her. She's a pretentious, unreadable princess who lives her life by her parents' rules. Kade knows nothing about her past and he'd prefer to keep it that way. Besides, he'll lose his job if he sleeps with Ash. Now if only he could get his mind off her.

When the two of them end up alone and isolated on a routine field trip in the woods, things get a little complicated...

One man afraid of commitment.
One woman afraid to love again.
Two lives.
Two hearts.
One life-changing journey.

Excerpt

"You like vodka?" Kade said.

"What?" I glanced at him uncertainly. "That's kind of an odd question. From way out in left field."

"You're half Russian." He was staring at me intensely. "You must like vodka."

"Oh, no." I returned his gaze with equal intensity. Had he felt that tingle when our hands touched, too? Our conversation was all innocent on the outside but I could sense the sexual tension seething on the inside. Neither of us broke eye contact. He wasn't sitting all that far from me. It wouldn't take much to close the gap and wrap my lips around his. "I had vodka once when I was in tenth grade. Almost threw up. Scotch is more my thing."

"Scotch? That's a man's drink."

I shrugged, but didn't break eye contact. "Not really."

"Any preferred brands?" His voice sounded deeper, more sexual. I was starting to lose myself in those eyes.

"I don't know." My voice sounded strange, too. A little breathy. "All kinds of brands. I don't like Jack Daniels, though."

"That's not even scotch. That's whiskey."

"Same thing."

Kade stood up now and edged a little closer. His eyes never left mine. "How can you not like Jack Daniels? That's, like, a Tennessee institution. They make it there, don't they?"

"They do." My heart was beating fast. "But Collier and McKeel is more my thing."

"How do you know so much about all these drinks, anyway?" he said in that deep, slow voice. "The legal age is twenty-one in Tennessee."

I knew my eyes were broadcasting sheer want. He felt it. I'm sure he did, because his eyes fed that want right back at me. "I'm a delinquent."

"You are." He took another step closer. I could hear his breathing now. Deeper. Faster. "Collier and McKeel... remind me to let you try Seagram's 83 sometime. Canadians make the best whiskey. Perfect for a delinquent like you."

"I'm actually more of a wine person. At least I used to be." We were so close now, barely a hand-span away. Those green eyes never left mine, and consumed me.

"Wine? I can see that. I'd peg you as a fan of white. You speak Sauvignon Blanc?" The way he said those French words sounded so sexy.

"I speak champagne," I said huskily. "Dom Perignon makes the most amazing Cristal. White Gold is--" I choked off the words, feeling suddenly like I was drowning, and I turned away from Kade. I couldn't hold back the sudden tears.

After all this time, something so simple as the name of a drink still affected me. I almost hoped Kade would wrap his arms around me and carry me away from the horrors of the past and save me from the guilt, but when I looked at him I saw he'd retreated to the shade again. He was sitting on the log with his arms crossed, facing away from me, staring at the river.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hayden Hill is a New Adult Romance author. Her debut novel, Hopeless for You will be released in September 2013.

Writing HOPELESS FOR YOU was an emotional rollercoaster for Hayden. It started out as a rosebud of an idea which grew into this all-consuming tree. She poured everything into the book, heart and soul. It was a labor of love that’s for sure. They say that great art comes from pain. Well then Hopeless For You is her greatest work yet.

Thanks for giving the book a chance!

Official links: haydenhillbooks.com | twitter.com/haydenhillbooks

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Never Getting Back Together...My Brain Would Explode

Expected Publication:  May 21st, 2013
All I Need
By: Susane Colasanti
Viking Juvenile
ISBN-13:  9780670014231

The last night of summer is only the beginning.

Skye wants to meet the boy who will change her life forever. Seth feels their instant connection the second he sees her. When Seth starts talking to Skye at the last beach party of the summer, it’s obvious to both of them that this is something real. But when Seth leaves for college before they exchange contact info, Skye wonders if he felt the same way she did—and if she will ever see him again. Even if they find their way back to each other, can they make a long-distance relationship work despite trust issues, ex drama, and some serious background differences?

Review

 

     Skye just wants to meet the boy of her dreams, but the bonfire is the same every year - no one interesting ever comes to it.  Seth wants to get over his ex-girlfriend and meet a girl he can learn to give his heart to again.  When they meet each other at the bonfire, it's love at first sight.  Spending the next 24 hours together, they make plans to meet the next morning and exchange contact information.  But then something comes up and Seth is unable to make it.  He heads off to college and Skye heads home from the beach, both wondering about the other and longing for them over the course of the year - even while dating other people.  The next summer when they both return to the beach, Skye and Seth begin a romance for the ages, but can it survive ex-drama, school issues, friendship problems and each of them holding back one last part of themselves from the other?  Can they let go and be transformed by love and begin a brave new future together?

     This book made me nauseated within the first 10 pages.  That is a very unfortunate record to hold and I was highly disappointed.  I should have known from the summary that it was going to be a completely NOT my kind of romance book.  I expected for it to be starry-eyed in the beginning, but also that the main characters would develop and mature over the course of the book.  Instead Skye spends the whole book fixating on how perfect Seth is and how much she loves him, how they're meant to be together.  Until they have a big fight (because he's keeping things from her) and she acts like a spoiled brat, and Seth acts like a complete dick.  They both get into relationships with other people, but spend their time comparing them to their supposed 'soulmate' and basically just using them.  The better parts of the book are during Seth's first year of college, when he's not yet with Skye.  She is just as immature before the relationship as during it, honestly speaking.  When things begin to sour in their relationship Seth applies for an art internship and Skye applies to good colleges, not necessarily really close to Seth.  She's accepted to NYU and really considers going.  But then she and Seth make up from their fight and Skye goes to the not so great college really close to his.  And of course he gives her a promise ring, promising to love her forever.  Gag me now please!  No seriously, GAG ME.

     Not much really happens through the course of this book, other than a really superficial and unhealthily obsessed relationship between two very selfish teenagers.  Never once does Seth really acknowledged that he's keeping things from Skye to 'protect' her, but in the process is enacting a parent-child type of relationship rather than an equal, romantic one.  Oh yeah, and there's some sex and they talk about how great that is a lot for the middle third of the book.  Except when Skye starts acting like a princess, expecting hotel rooms every time (even though Seth is painfully poor and she is a privileged girl, who takes it for granted) and being disgusted by his dorm room.  I did like the depiction of Seth's parents and their fight to have a real relationship and stay together, even in the face of his Mom's illness and his Dad's business failing (an 80s themed roller rink that he started in honor of his romance with his wife).  It was painful, beautiful and true - everything Skye and Seth's 'romance' was not.  Sometimes their friends are amusing, but mostly Skye's BFFs Jocelyn and Kara who are just as shallow as her, are more annoying than anything else.  Seth's roommate Grant is just a self-righteous douchebag most of the book.  And when he does change it doesn't really matter.  Overall, this is a book that reads like it's for twelve year olds.  But the subject matter is inappropriate for anyone under 15 or 16 (unless they don't mind sex and college talk that they won't relate to at all).  This book was a disappointing mess, with a message to girls that seemed to be that it's okay to give up everything for a guy as long as it's 'true lurrrvvveee."  Spare me, please.  Not recommended to anyone who has a brain not made of bubbles, and any sense of feminine romantic equality/pride.

 

VERDICT:  0.75/5  Stars (For Seth's awesome parents and their roller rink only)

 

*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 May 21st, 2013.*

Stay On The Other Side of the Mirror

Expected Publication:  May 14th, 2013
Parallel
By: Lauren Miller
HarperTeen
ISBN-13:  9780062199799

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice—taking a drama class her senior year of high school—changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten.

With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach.

Review

 

     Abby Barnes had a pretty great life until she was thrown a curveball - she has to take either drama or astronomy her senior year because her chosen elective was cancelled.  So she takes drama, which instead of leading her to Northwestern for journalism like she's planned on forever, threw her into the lead of the school play.  Then she was discovered and cast in an action movie.  Now Abby is feeling like her life is going in a direction that she never approved of and so she wishes for a do-over.  The next morning she wakes up in a dorm room at Yale with no idea how she got there.  Someone out there must have been listening, because Abby's wish has been granted.  But after the collision that put her in this parallel world happened, Abby is year behind in her memories.  And with her parallel making new decisions daily, every time she wakes up things are different.  With the help of her friend Caitlin and each new set of memories, Abby is able to piece together some semblance of a life.  But when the decisions of her parallel (who is still trying to live by the rules) begin to get in the way of what Abby really wants, will she find a way to forge her own path and take control of her destiny?

     The premise of this book is one of my favorites - surviving when time travel/parallel universes/alternate realities throw things out of whack.  I don't necessarily even require a well-drawn scientific explanation (although that's definitely a bonus factor).  What I do require is a coherent plot, interesting and relatable characters, and a satisfying ending that makes me feel like I didn't completely waste my time as a reader.  This book started out with the first two requirements being met, but things degraded as the plot progressed.  I'm still trying to decide if it met the last requirement in any capacity whatsoever.  Abby, the displaced and disillusioned girl who finds herself in a parallel life was like an alien lifeform to me.  She treated everything that didn't fit into her life plan with complete disdain, was a jerk to almost everyone she came into contact with and don't even get me started on the Josh/Michael debate.  The little plot twist about their connection to each other had me gagging and seeing red alternately.  Her best friend Caitlin, on the other hand, is the best kind of character.  One with faults, but who doesn't let bumps in the road completely derail her.  The evolution of her character was my favorite part of the book.  Well, besides crazy Dr. Mann's lectures and odd little mannerisms/actions.  I felt like most of the side characters were very underdeveloped, with the most cardboard ones being Ilana (the stock slut character), Tyler (the 'sensitive' jock/popular guy), and Michael (the mysterious/perfect boyfriend).  It made the interactions with the secondaries very bland and kind of annoying to me.  When the book was focusing on the disparity between realities and the affect on Abby and Caitlin, it had my attention and interest.  But when it became completely centered around 'soulmates' (Bish PLEASE!) and who was in love with who, it really took a nosedive.  By the time it ended I was completely disgusted and mad that I hadn't quit reading it earlier on.  The full circle idea for the ending was a good one, but the destiny concept pissed me off so bad I couldn't see past my anger/disdain.  Such an easy out for an author!  Overall, if you like romance and EXTREMELY light sci-fi, this might be the book for you,  Especially if you believe in using people like your own personal toys, without remorse and in predestination.

 

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is May 14th, 2013.*

That Girl Is A Drama Queen

Expected Publication: July 10th, 2012
Diva (Flappers #3)
By: Jillian Larkin
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780385740418

Parties, bad boys, speakeasies—life in Manhattan has become a woozy blur for Clara Knowles. If Marcus Eastman truly loved her, how could he have fallen for another girl so quickly? Their romance mustn't have been as magical as Clara thought. And if she has to be unhappy, she's going to drag everyone else down to the depths of despair right along with her.

Being a Barnard girl is the stuff of Lorraine Dyer's dreams. Finding out that Marcus is marrying a gold digger who may or may not be named Anastasia? A nightmare. The old Lorraine would have sat by and let the chips fall where they may, but she's grown up a lot these past few months. She can't bear to see Marcus lose a chance for true love. But will anyone listen to her?

Now that the charges against her have been dropped, Gloria Carmody is spending the last dizzying days of summer on Long Island, yachting on the sound and palling around with socialites at Forrest Hamilton's swanky villa. Beneath her smile, though, Gloria's keeping a secret. One that could have deadly consequences . . .

Review

   Gloria Carmody has been released from prison by the FBI - but only on the condition that she spies on wealthy playboy Forrest Hamilton.  They think that he's involved in illegal activities, but they need Gloria to gain proof for them.  And the only way to do that is by becoming part of Forrest's crowd.  Is Forrest really the bad guy, or is there more to this mystery than what's on the surface?   How are famous Broadway star Ruby and shady henchman Pembrooke involved?  Clara is still heartbroken over her split with Marcus, especially when she finds out that he's already engaged to another woman.  Still writing for The Manhattanite and partying the flapper way, Clara should be having the time of her life.  But it's empty without Marcus in her life.  Marcus's new fiance may not be as innocent as she seems and when Clara finds out that she's a gold-digging grifter, she needs to come up with a plan to save Marcus and stop the wedding - FAST.  Lorraine Dyer is living out her dream of being a Barnard girl, but she has no friends and is ostracized.  All because of her part in the plot to put Gloria in jail.  The only people who will even talk to her at all are Melvi, a really nerdy guy and her roomate Becky.  Lorraine still thinks she might be in love with Marcus, so when she finds out that his fiance is a con artist, she is desperate to get back into Clara's good graces and put a stop to the wedding before it's too late.  Along the way Lorraine finds out that looks aren't everything and that sometimes love is where you least expect it.  Will the girls be able to forgive and forget the past, to work together and stop Marcus from making a huge mistake?  Will Gloria be able to have her happily ever after with Jerome, or will they be kept apart for good?  This was a pretty awesome ending to a really action-packed series.  I adored the first book and liked the sub-plots in the second.  Surprisingly, I really didn't care much about Gloria or Jerome in this installment.  I just wanted to know whether or not Clara and Marcus would get back together.  I was really ecstatic to see Lorraine grow up and realize that she could be happy without popularity or wealth.  As always, there was a mystery that needed to be solved.  Where was Forrest getting his money?  Boy, I did not see THAT one coming!  I also liked Anastasia being a grifter, even if it was somewhat cliched.  I liked this book a lot and thought it sent off the series with a bang.  I can't wait to see what Jillian Larking writes next! :)

VERDICT:  4.85/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is July 2nd, 2012.*