On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishist: September 20, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: September 13, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: September 6, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: August 30, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: August 23, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: August 16, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
Review: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
295 pages
Hardcover
Synopsis from Goodreads:
An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.
An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.
Don Tillman, professor of genetics,
has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on
the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has
convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance
informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is
shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone
for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly,
evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find
the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a
barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.
Yet Rosie Jarman is all these
things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own.
She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert
might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the
Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically
minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the
realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.
The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever
tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.
Being completely enthralled by a book is a very
rare experience for me. I like a lot of books, but I absolutely adore very few.
From the unforgettable protagonist, to the melding of uproarious humour and a
lot of heart, I adored everything about Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie
Project.
Simsion hooked me from the very first line - “I may
have found a solution to the Wife Problem”. Without knowing how similar the two
characters actually are, I heard The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon
Cooper speaking Geneticist Don Tillman's line in my head. Empirically
motivated, Don can memorize and master the production of each cocktail in a
bartender's how-to guide, but knows he struggles with emotional relationships,
capable of counting the number of people he considers a friend on one hand. Don
has Asperger’s, he just doesn't know it.
To minimize the amount of
wasted time dating elicits in a quest to find a suitable wife, Don creates a
survey, with questions related to BMI levels, alcohol consumption, and
perceived intelligence. Don believes finding a life partner will be as easy as
knowing what he wants, and finding someone who matches those characteristics on
paper. While the reader may not be shocked, Don is quite surprised to learn
just how wrong this particular bit of logic can be. There are definitely
moments where Don’s way of thinking is funny, but I very much appreciate that
his Asperger’s wasn't treated as a source of humour, or ‘problem’ to overcome.
Just like the rest of us, Don is who he is, and he is loved for it.
Full
of heart-warming moments, funny revelations and the most abnormal courting
methods known to man, readers will easily connect with Don’s search to find
another person whose personal brand of weird meshes with his. I highly
recommend this novel.
Rating 5/5
ARC Review: Lead Me Not by A. Meredith Walters
Pub. Date: August 5th, 2014
Publisher: Gallery Books
288 pages
Paperback/ebook/audio
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Aubrey Duncan understands loss. She
knows what rock bottom looks like, and she is determined to crawl back up to
the top after the sudden death of her younger sister. She blames herself for
her part in the tragedy, convinced that she could have done something, anything,
to help her.
In her effort to gain redemption,
Aubrey starts fresh at Longwood University and facilitates an addiction support
group, hoping she can support someone else in the way she failed her sister.
But what she doesn’t count on is an all-consuming fascination with group member
Maxx Demelo, a gorgeous, blond, blue-eyed enigma who hides dark secrets behind
a carefully constructed mask. He only reveals what he wants others to see. But
Aubrey glimpses another Maxx hidden below the surface—a Maxx who is drowning in
his own personal hell.
As Aubrey and Maxx develop an
attraction too intense to ignore, he pulls her into the dark underbelly of the
city club scene, where she is torn by her desire to save him and an
inexplicable urge to join him in his downward spiral. Worst of all, she is
beginning to love everything she should run away from—a man who threatens to
ignite in her a fire that could burn her alive…
Whenever I read a book with characters I feel are
intentionally imperfect and not entirely likeable, I want to give the author
kudos for bravery. So, A. Meredith Walters, kudos. I don’t think I’m alone when
I say that as a reader I want to root for characters. I want to connect with
them. I want to like them. I don’t like not liking the characters I invest my
time learning about. But, this was one of those rare books where I disliked the
characters and disagreed with just about every choice the they made, but I was kept
enthralled by the story, desperate to know how it was all going to end.
What I really liked about the novel was it shows everyone is
fallible. Aubrey knows how quickly
addiction can take over, and take, a person’s life. She saw it first hand when
her sister overdosed. Yet initially Aubrey is pretty judgmental towards people
with addictions, especially her roommate Renee’s addiction to her abusive
boyfriend.
On My Wishlist: August 9, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: August 2, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: July 26, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: July 19, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
A Quickie: Don't Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Heasley
Pub. Date: April 22nd, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publisher: HarperTeen
Paperback
304 pages
304 pages
Synopsis from Goodreads:
All her life, Imogene has been known as the girl on THAT blog.
Don't Call Me Baby was a good, light, quick read. It didn't blow me away, but it definitely kept my interest. I felt the characters were wise beyond there years, which gave an unrealistic/ disingenuous feel at time, but the emotions and the character motivations
All her life, Imogene has been known as the girl on THAT blog.
Imogene's mother has been writing
an incredibly embarrassing, and incredibly popular, blog about her since before
she was born. Hundreds of thousands of perfect strangers knew when Imogene had
her first period. Imogene's crush saw her "before and after"
orthodontia photos. But Imogene is fifteen now, and her mother is still
blogging about her, in gruesome detail, against her will.
When a mandatory school project
compels Imogene to start her own blog, Imogene is reluctant to expose even more
of her life online...until she realizes that the project is the opportunity
she's been waiting for to tell the truth about her life under the virtual
microscope and to define herself for the first time.
Don't Call Me Baby is a sharply observed and irrepressibly charming story about
mothers and daughters, best friends and first crushes, and the surface-level
identities we show the world online and the truth you can see only in real
life.
Don't Call Me Baby was a good, light, quick read. It didn't blow me away, but it definitely kept my interest. I felt the characters were wise beyond there years, which gave an unrealistic/ disingenuous feel at time, but the emotions and the character motivations
ARC Review: The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Paperback
382 pages
382 pages
Synopsis from Goodreads:
I tried so hard to read this book. I picked it up more than once, but I just could not finish this novel. I found the lead characters to be entirely indistinguishable voice-wise from each other. They weren’t unique at all, and within the first half of the novel, there was virtually no character development. To make matters worse, for the most part the lead characters were vapid and annoying. I kept hoping that the story would pick up and intrigue me in a way that the characters weren’t, but that didn’t happen. The premise of girls gone wild in Vegas took over the mystery element, and when the mystery element was in play, the reveals were flat, predictable, and not enough to keep me interested.
Savannah. Courtney. Peyton.
The
three sisters grew up not knowing their father and not quite catching a break.
But it looks like their luck is about to change when they find out the secret
identity of their long-lost dad—a billionaire Las Vegas hotel owner who wants
them to come live in a gorgeous penthouse hotel suite. Suddenly the Strip's
most exclusive clubs are all-access, and with an unlimited credit card each, it
should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and
illusion, fitting in is nothing compared to finding out the truth about their
past.
I tried so hard to read this book. I picked it up more than once, but I just could not finish this novel. I found the lead characters to be entirely indistinguishable voice-wise from each other. They weren’t unique at all, and within the first half of the novel, there was virtually no character development. To make matters worse, for the most part the lead characters were vapid and annoying. I kept hoping that the story would pick up and intrigue me in a way that the characters weren’t, but that didn’t happen. The premise of girls gone wild in Vegas took over the mystery element, and when the mystery element was in play, the reveals were flat, predictable, and not enough to keep me interested.
On My Wishlist: July 12, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
Cover Reveal: All Broke Down (Rusk University #2) by Cora Carmac
I love Cora Carmack's books and I love spreading the love by talking excessively about them. So, clearly if I have the chance to be part of a cover reveal I'm going to. Without further ado, enjoy the cover for All Broke Down, book 2 in the Rusk University series. (And, in case you're interested, here is my review of book 1, All Lined Up!) Enjoy!
We are so excited to get to share the cover for Cora Carmack's ALL BROKE DOWN today! A New Adult Contemporary Romance, and published by William Morrow-an imprint of HarperCollins, this is the second book in her Rusk University Series, and it is set to be released on October 28, 2014! But you can pre-order it NOW! Check out what it's about and then fall in love with this gorgeous cover!
ABOUT ALL BROKE DOWN:
On My Wishlist: July 5, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
I'm Very Behind!
I know it, you know it, we all know it! Life has gotten in the way of my reading and reviewing lately, but it's about to get better. I have at least six reviews that I'm gearing up to post, I just need some edit time. Thanks for sticking with me, even though I've been so inconsistent lately.
On My Wishlist: June 28, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: June 21, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: June 15, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: June 7, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
ARC Review: I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain by Courtney Robertson
Pub. Date: June 24th,
2014
Publisher: IT Books
Hardcover
272 pages
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Courtney Robertson joined season 16 of The Bachelor looking for love. A working model and newly single, Courtney fit the casting call: She was young, beautiful, and a natural in front of the cameras. Although she may have been there for all the right reasons, as the season unfolded and sparks began to fly something else was clear: She was not there to make friends.
Courtney Robertson joined season 16 of The Bachelor looking for love. A working model and newly single, Courtney fit the casting call: She was young, beautiful, and a natural in front of the cameras. Although she may have been there for all the right reasons, as the season unfolded and sparks began to fly something else was clear: She was not there to make friends.
Courtney quickly became one of the
biggest villains in Bachelor franchise history. She
unapologetically pursued her man, steamrolled her competition, and broke the
rules—including partaking in an illicit skinny-dip that sealed her proposal.
Now, after a very public breakup with her Bachelor, Ben Flajnik, Courtney opens
up and tells her own story—from her first loves to her first moments in the
limo. She dishes on life before, during, and after the Bachelor, including
Ben’s romantic proposal to her on a Swiss mountaintop and the tabloid frenzy
that continued after the cameras stopped rolling.
For the first time ever, a
former Bachelor contestant takes us along on her journey to
find love and reveals that “happily ever after” isn't always what it seems.
Complete with stories, tips, tricks, and advice from your favorite Bachelor
alumni, and filled with all the juicy details Courtney fans and foes alike want
to know, I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends is a
must-read for every member of Bachelor nation.
Review in Five:
1. The selling point as a Bachelor tell all is kind of misleading.
Only about half of the book is actually about Courtney’s time on The Bachelor.
Also kind of funny is that it is explicitly stated that The Bachelor
people operate with a ‘what happens in Vegas’ modus operandi when it come to not revealing details about each other to outsiders (non-Bachelor cast members). But, frequently people are outed for hookups etc.
(which let’s be honest – us Bachelor fans are reading to find out more of that what you didn’t know stuff).
On My Wishlist: May 31, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
Reviews in Five
I've decided to start a new kind of review, the Review in Five. Most of the time I'll write full reviews, but sometimes I'll be doing quick fast reviews in five comments or less.
Let me know if you my lovely readers like this new kind of review or not!
Let me know if you my lovely readers like this new kind of review or not!
On My Wishlist: May 24, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
That time the blog turned one...
On May 21st 2013, Confessions of an Adult Teen Reader went live with its very first review. On the one year anniversary I thought I'd take a look back at the year, share a few of the millions of amazing things that have happened, and a few of the things I've learned trying out this reviewing thing.
Amazing Thing #1 - Some authors actually read your review!
The first time I had an author interact with me I literally started to cry and jumped up and down. I can't say I've gotten used to hearing from authors, but I have come to more of a realization that they are real people who legitimately get excited when someone loves their book.
Lesson #1 - Some authors actually read your review! (even when you really didn't like their book)
Twitter is an interesting beast. I had an author 'follow' me within about a minute of tweeting out a link to my review of their book. I did not tweet the link to them, and I did not try to make them aware of the review in anyway, but they found it anyway. About five minutes later the author not surprisingly unfollowed me. I did not like their book, and while I tried to respectfully explain why I didn't like the book, I still felt bad they'd read a negative review.
Amazing Thing #2 - Having my review of The First Lie by Diane Chamberlain highlighted on her Facebook page
Amazing Thing #1 - Some authors actually read your review!
The first time I had an author interact with me I literally started to cry and jumped up and down. I can't say I've gotten used to hearing from authors, but I have come to more of a realization that they are real people who legitimately get excited when someone loves their book.
Lesson #1 - Some authors actually read your review! (even when you really didn't like their book)
Twitter is an interesting beast. I had an author 'follow' me within about a minute of tweeting out a link to my review of their book. I did not tweet the link to them, and I did not try to make them aware of the review in anyway, but they found it anyway. About five minutes later the author not surprisingly unfollowed me. I did not like their book, and while I tried to respectfully explain why I didn't like the book, I still felt bad they'd read a negative review.
Amazing Thing #2 - Having my review of The First Lie by Diane Chamberlain highlighted on her Facebook page
On My Wishlist: May 17, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
ARC Review: All Lined Up (Rusk University #1) by Cora Carmack
Pub. Date: May 13th,
2014
Publisher: William Morrow
& Company
Paperback
320 pages
Synopsis from Goodreads:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.
In Texas, two things are cherished
above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.
Dallas Cole loathes football.
That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a
sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing
field (and the players) in her past.
But life doesn't always go as
planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad
enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make
the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas
finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.
Carson McClain is determined to go
from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the
scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead
literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated.
Dallas doesn't know Carson is on
the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter.
And neither of them know how to
walk away from the attraction they feel.
The thing at the top of my ‘what I
have love the most about Cora Carmack books list’ is her insanely witty,
entertaining dialogue. I’m always a little worried when an author I adore
starts a new series. There’s a little bit of fear that the new won’t live up to
the old. But within the first pages of All
Lined Up, I knew there was nothing to worry about. All Lined Up lives up
to high wit and character bar that Cora’s Losing
It series set. The first page introduces us readers to Dallas and her best
friend Stella, and I couldn’t help but compare them to Bliss and Kelsey from Losing It. Like Kelsey, Stella’s
character shows that while you may not currently be the star of the show (or I
guess more accurately, the star of your own book!), if Cora created you, you’re
bound to make a lasting impression. I hate finishing one of Cora’s books
because I know I’ll have a wait for the next, but All Lined Up only reinforced how worth the wait Cora’s books
are.
All Lined Up has one of the most
adorably hilarious ‘meet-cutes’ ever. I found it so refreshing that from the
first meeting, Carson (who quite literally has the girl of his dream fall into
his lap) and Dallas are honest and vocal about seeing something in the other
person that they like. There is so little of romance’s typical will they won’t they drama, and when it
is there, there’s an actual reason behind it.
On My Wishlist: May 10, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
ARC Review: Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2) by Alexandra Bracken
Pub. Date: October 15th, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Hardcover
507 pages
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Ruby never asked for the abilities
that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis,
leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into
the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby
“Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.
When Ruby is entrusted with an
explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving
the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed
most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared
and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is
only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy
Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.
As Ruby sets out across a
desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that
has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and
the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the
people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?
Within the first few chapters of Never Fade I began to realize how many significant details from The Darkest Minds I completely forgot.
When I say significant, I’m talking major plot points, primary characters, and
the ending of the novel. I literally forgot about 90% of the book. What I think
affected my memory the most was how Never
Fade in no way picks up where The
Darkest Minds left off. All of those little memory light bulbs that go off
as characters, setting, and plot details become important again, weren’t lit as
early into Never Fade as I would have
liked, because the story begins in a completely new location, with an almost
entirely new set of characters. I really liked Bracken’s style of jumping right
into the action, and I would typically applaud the lack of blatant recapping. But,
for one of the first times EVER, I actually really needed a recap to orient
myself within the story.
On My Wishlist: May 3, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
ARC Review: Three Broken Promises by Monica Murphy
Pub. Date: December 31st, 2013
Publisher: Bantam
Paperback
304 pages
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Commitment. That’s what I really want from Colin. Ever since my brother, Danny, died in Iraq, Colin’s done so much to help me, including giving me a job at his popular restaurant so I can leave my crappy waitressing job at the strip joint. But lying in bed with him every night to comfort him from his horrible nightmares isn’t enough anymore. I know he feels guilty about Danny’s death, about not going to Iraq, but I can’t keep living this double life.
Commitment. That’s what I really want from Colin. Ever since my brother, Danny, died in Iraq, Colin’s done so much to help me, including giving me a job at his popular restaurant so I can leave my crappy waitressing job at the strip joint. But lying in bed with him every night to comfort him from his horrible nightmares isn’t enough anymore. I know he feels guilty about Danny’s death, about not going to Iraq, but I can’t keep living this double life.
I love him desperately, but he’s
got so many demons, and if he can’t open up to me now, then he’ll never be the
real partner I need him to be. I gave him a month, and now I’m out of here. If
he truly loves me like he says, he knows where to find me.
Disclaimer: I only read about half of Three Broken Promises.
From the beginning of the novel I wasn’t a fan of the
characters. I found that the primary characters actions and their words in no
way matched up. With neither being exceptionally honest, and with very little
build up occurring in their relationship, I found I didn’t care how either was
feeling, or honestly, how their story worked out. The further I got into the
novel, the more frustrated I became with what I perceived as 'and then this
happened, and then this happened' story telling. The flow felt disjointed, with
very little happening for a while, and then too much being thrown at you all at
once. My disinterest in the characters, and my feeling of too little
development in their story may have been because I have not read the other
books in the series – though it was my understanding that you could read this
one without having read the Drew and Fable stories. For whatever reason, I lost
interest pretty quickly, and I will not be attempt to pick this one up again.
On My Wishlist: April 26, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: April 19, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: April 12, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: April 5, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: March 29, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: March 22, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
On My Wishlist: March 15, 2014
On My Wishlist is a weekly event highlighting a book that I really want to read. The book may be 20 years old, or the pub date may not be until next year, but either way I'm excited about it, and hopefully you will be too!
ARC Review: Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington
Publisher: Soho Teen
280 pages
Hardcover
Synopsis from Goodreads:
When Liv Bloom lands an art scholarship at Wickham Hall, it’s her ticket out of the foster system. Liv isn’t sure what to make of the school’s weird traditions and rituals, but she couldn’t be happier. For the first time ever, she has her own studio, her own supply of paints. Everything she could want.
When Liv Bloom lands an art scholarship at Wickham Hall, it’s her ticket out of the foster system. Liv isn’t sure what to make of the school’s weird traditions and rituals, but she couldn’t be happier. For the first time ever, she has her own studio, her own supply of paints. Everything she could want.
Then she meets Malcolm Astor, a
legacy student, a fellow artist, and the one person who’s ever been able to
melt her defenses. Liv’s only friend at Wickham, fellow scholarship kid Gabe
Nichols, warns her not to get involved, but life is finally going Liv’s way,
and all she wants to do is enjoy the ride.
But Liv’s bliss is doomed. Weeks
after arriving, she is viciously murdered and, in death, she discovers that
she’s the latest victim of a dark conspiracy that has claimed many lives.
Cursed with the ability to see the many ghosts on Wickham’s campus, Gabe is now
Liv’s only link to the world of the living. To Malcolm.
Together, Liv, Gabe, and Malcolm
fight to expose the terrible truth that haunts the halls of Wickham. But Liv
must fight alone to come to grips with the ultimate star-crossed love.
Liv, Forever has a
timeless feel. Full of art and poetry references, it is a Classicists dream,
presented in a completely approachable way. It felt decadent to read. Each
Wickham ghost added to the timeless feel with songs, political perspectives,
and fashion styles representing their lives and their culture, in the same way
Liv’s art represents her. Readers will be able to pick up the novel twenty
years from now and not be ostracized by the pop culture references, because the
references are from so many decades. From the ghosts, to the current Wickham
Hall students, each and every character is unique, memorable, and adds to the
story in their own way. I found this novel so unique, and so interesting. As
easy as it is to describe a book as ‘unable to put down’, this book was truly
that for me. I was compelled to get to the end so that I would know how
everything worked out.
ARC Review: Uninvited (Uninvited #1) by Sophie Jordan
Pub. Date: January 28th, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
384 pages
Hardcover
Synopsis from Goodreads:
When Davy Hamilton's tests come
back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses
everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she
can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any
different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.
Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier,
can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as
dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.
The first in a two-book series,
Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human
nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark
mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect
for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.
I was blown away by Sophie Jordan’s most recent novel Foreplay (see my review). For that
reason, coming into Uninvited, my
expectations were really high. Overall, I truly did like this novel. The
characters and the story were interesting and outside the box. But, I had one
major issue. I feel Uninvited should
have been two separate novels. The novel is split into two parts, which gave me
a really disjointed feeling as a reader. Both parts had unique identities, with
separate story focuses, separate tones, and almost entirely separate casts of
characters. I was enthralled by part one - excited by the story, the pacing,
and the intensity of what was going on in the characters lives – and confused
by the abrupt shifts when I hit part two.
I was drawn into the story and Davy’s character immediately.
We have a pretty everyday girl – albeit one from a well off family – doing
everyday things. The all too common in dystopia’s ‘I’m the different/ chosen/ unique/
only one who could possibly complete this task - one’, in no way exists here.
Yes Davy has skills, but they’re more everyday skills, like musical ability,
that any one of us could legitimately hold.
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