ARC Review: All Lined Up (Rusk University #1) by Cora Carmack

Pub. Date: May 13^th, 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.

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.

ARC Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Pub. Date: February 25th, 2014

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

336 pages

Hardcover

---

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author - Courtney C. Stevens.

---

I’ve done my best to remain spoiler free – for that reason, there’s a bit of vagueness, which I usually try to avoid.

I expected Faking Normal to be a heavy, serious read, and I honestly wasn’t sure I was in the mental space to handle it. While the subject matter is very serious, at it’s core Faking Normal is an uplifting and inspiring story about what being a friend, and being supportive, really means. In a novel where grief and trauma dominates, I found Alexi and Bodee’s slow growth of trust in each other, and the subsequent slow reveal of the traumas they’ve faced, to be a really powerful thing. I had such a strong emotional reaction to this novel. The story will stay with me for a longtime.

Faking Normal has one of the most interesting and heartbreaking opening chapters I’ve ever read. While we have no idea the depth of trauma Alexi has face, we are instantly introduced to a big part of the devastation Bodee is facing.

ARC Review: Sweet by Erin McCarthy

Pub. Date: October 15th, 2013

Publisher: InterMix

257 pages

ebook (Trade Paperback publishing June 3rd, 2014 by Berkley Trade)

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Jessica Sweet thought going away to college would finally make her free of her parents’ constant judgments and insistence she play chastity club role model for their church events, but if anything, the freedom has made her realize she can’t go home and be a hypocrite anymore. Tired of dodging their questions, she stays at school over the summer and lands in an unexpected crash pad: Riley Mann’s house.

Sarcastic, cocky, and full of opinions, Riley is also sexy personified with tattoos and biceps earned from working as a roofer all day. Not the right guy for her even if Jessica was looking for a relationship, which she is definitely not. But Jessica knows that Riley hides the burden of having to raise his younger brothers behind that grin and as she helps him get his house in order for a custody hearing, they begin to fall hard for each other, and she is forced to question what she’s hiding herself.

Jessica has never had a problem getting naked with a guy, but when it comes to showing Riley how she truly feels inside, her fear of rejection may just ruin the best thing—the best guy—to ever happen to her…

             _______________________________________

Some books blow you away with description, others with dialogue. "Sweet" is definitely a book that blows you away in the dialogue department. 

When I first started reading Sweet, I didn’t realize that it was book two in the True Believers series. While I don’t think reading the books in order is absolutely necessary, reading them in order gives you more context about the characters backgrounds, and a stronger sense of flow from one story to the next. Sweet is one of those novels that grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let me go until the last. I started reading just before bed, and while the logical side of my brain told me ‘go to sleep, you have to work in the morning’, I was so into the story and so in love with the characters that I couldn’t help but finish the novel in one sitting.

Jessica Sweet’s voice is what drew me in right away. She is one of the wittiest, funniest, most sarcastic, and completely no nonsense characters that I have ever read. I connected with her in a way that I don’t connect with many characters.

ARC Review: Racing Savannah (Hundred Oaks #4) by Miranda Kenneally

Pub. Date: December 3^rd, 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Paperback

304 pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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…

             _______________________________________

There are so many great parts to Racing Savannah. From the humor (especially the character of Rory, whose script ideas ranged from groan inducing to eyebrow raising), to the different family dynamics, the ridiculously amazing setting, and the personified animals, the novel is so full and so fulfilling for readers. All of those aspects may be great, but seeing a character grow to accept who she is the way Savannah does, is incomparable in its greatness. Jumping out of her comfort zone and taking chances turns out to be the best possible thing Savannah could do. Savannah goes from having insecurities about where she comes from and who she is, to realizing that she is the one who has set her own bar of expectations too low. She moves from insecurity to empowerment, and that journey is invigorating and powerful for the reader.

The one element of Racing Savannah that I could have done without was, second half of the novel’s Jack. I know I’m probably alone in this, and that Jack and Savannah’s relationship will probably have a

ARC Review: Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always by Elissa Janine Hoole

Pub. Date: November 8th, 2013
Publisher: Flux
Paperback
360 pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Cassandra fears rocking the family boat. Instead, she sinks it. Assigned by her English teacher to write a poem that reveals her true self, Cassandra Randall is stuck. Her family's religion is so overbearing, she can NEVER write about who she truly is. So Cass does what any self-respecting high school girl would do: she secretly begins writing a tarot-inspired advice blog. When Drew Godfrey, an awkward outcast with unwashed hair, writes to her, the situation spirals into what the school calls "a cyberbullying crisis" and what the church calls "sorcery." Cass wants to be the kind of person who sticks up for the persecuted, who protects the victims the way she tries to protect her brother from the homophobes in her church. But what if she's just another bully? What will it take for her to step up and tell the truth?

_______________________________________________________

Within the first twenty pages of the novel, Cassandra says, (and I’m going to paraphrase because I don’t know whether words or page numbers changed during final edits) she’s ‘going to find herself, even if the cliché of doing so kills her’. Unfortunately, while I didn’t find the action clichéd, I did find the attempt clichéd. Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always is really the story about a girl who doesn’t know how to stand up for herself and her beliefs. She knows who she is. She knows what she believes. She’s just afraid of vocalizing those things. I wish that I could say I connected with Cassandra’s story, but while reading I found myself wishing she would just own up to what she thinks and feels, and stop acting like jerk to everyone, because I was sure ready to move the story along.  

ARC Review: Inhuman by Kat Falls (Fetch #1)

Pub. Date: September 24th, 2013

Publisher: Scholastic

Hardcover

384 pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In a world ravaged by mutation, a teenage girl must travel into the forbidden Savage Zone to recover lost artifacts or her father’s life is forfeit.

America has been ravaged by a war that has left the eastern half of the country riddled with mutation. Many of the people there exhibit varying degrees of animal traits. Even the plantlife has gone feral.

Crossing from west to east is supposed to be forbidden, but sometimes it’s necessary. Some enter the Savage Zone to provide humanitarian relief. Sixteen-year-old Lane’s father goes there to retrieve lost artifacts—he is a Fetch. It’s a dangerous life, but rewarding—until he’s caught.

Desperate to save her father, Lane agrees to complete his latest job. That means leaving behind her life of comfort and risking life and limb—and her very DNA—in the Savage Zone. But she’s not alone. In order to complete her objective, Lane strikes a deal with handsome, roguish Rafe. In exchange for his help as a guide, Lane is supposed to sneak him back west. But though Rafe doesn’t exhibit any signs of “manimal” mutation, he’s hardly civilized . . . and he may not be trustworthy.

        ____________________________________________

I’ve been dystopia/ post apocalyptic storied out recently because nothing felt fresh. That was before Inhuman. From the beginning the premise really intrigued me. The twist of human error causing the apocalyptic event – and the apocalyptic event itself – is different. Avarice and vanity have lead to death and destruction, which makes it all the more horrifying. Because the apocalyptic element is so different, there’s a level of unpredictability to the story. You never know if there will be a happy ending, which characters will survive, or what’s going to happen. There’s a huge shocking reveal, and so many little twists and turns, all of which keep you on the edge of your seat while reading.

ARC Review: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Pub. Date: September 17th, 2013

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Hardcover

288 pages

Elise Dembowski is one of the funniest, most relatable girl next door while being a complete individual, characters that I have had the privilege of reading. Her voice is completely encompassing and this book touched me profoundly.

Everyday for Elise is a struggle. Even when she tries, its obvious that she’s not like everyone else. The take away, avoid being unique and don’t be special, it just makes you lonely and miserable. So, Elise makes the only decision she thinks she has left, to commit suicide. After a failed attempt followed by major support and healing time, Elise finds comfort in listening to music while night walking. Her walking leads her right to where she will heal the most - a warehouse party, with a DJ. Finding a place where people appreciate music as much as she does is like finding Mecca. But when Elise’s natural DJ ability threatens her new friendships, she has to decide if it’s better to fit in, or be true to yourself.

I loved this novel. The realism, humor, and music blew my mind. Within the first few pages there was one of the most descriptive, affecting, ‘practice’ suicide attempts that I have ever read. I felt sick to

Review: A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchison

Pub. Date: September 1^st, 2013

Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group/ Carolrhoda Lab

320 pages

Hardcover

With sweeping lyricism and expertly woven beauty amongst its tragedy, as a modern retelling from Ophelia’s perspective, A Wounded Name more than does justice to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Since her mother’s death, Ophelia has been considered mildly crazy. With the ability to see ghosts and hear the music of the bean sidhe, even the pills that her father all but forces down her throat, can’t make Ophelia ‘normal’. When Elsinore Academy’s Headmaster dies, everyone is shaken, but no one so much as his son, Dane Hamlet. Dane - devastated by the loss, and furious with the rest of his family - begins to possessively depend and lean on Ophelia. Left with meeting Dane’s needs, her father’s standards, and keeping a promise to her dead mother, Ophelia becomes impervious to her own needs, and suffers greatly for it. When Hamlet starts to act more and more deranged, no one is safe from his wrath, especially not Ophelia.

Though A Wounded Name modernizes Hamlet’s world, the play’s original flow and lyricism is expertly maintained. If a reader were unfamiliar with the play, the creatively interwoven original passages would seem like Hutchison’s words, but for those who know, they are little treats dropped in every once in a while. I was personally not a big fan of Hamlet being reduced from Prince, to son of a school Headmaster, but the majority of the other modernizations worked very well, and I believe they made the story much more accessible and relatable for readers.

Review: Unspoken (Woodlands #2) by Jen Frederick

Pub. Date: September 16^th 2013

Publisher: Pear Tree LLC/ Jen Frederick

260 pages

Paperback/ ebook

Having read a fair amount of New Adult lately, I’m finding that there's a bit more ‘rough’ than diamonds in the rough out there. Unspoken is definitely a diamond – but a diamond that needs just a little more polishing until it reaches perfection.

Bo is not your typically college student. At 23 he’s already been a Marine stationed in Afghanistan, and carries more baggage than a sorority house sees on moving day. AnnaMarie, AM for short, carries just as much baggage after a series of rumors involving ‘‘extracurricular activities’’ with the entire Lacrosse team were falsely spread. The only two non-freshman in Biology class, Bo slyly groups the two together. Under the guise of schoolwork, Bo and AM spend increasing amounts of time together, showing the other who they really are beneath the baggage and rumors that they have been brandished with. 

I appreciate NA without Insta-love immensely. Insta-love is so unrealistic and I typically lose interest the second it is introduced. Frederick really proved to the reader the relationship between Bo and AM, and why the two characters connected, long before they actually became a couple. As a reader you had to work towards the Happily Ever After, it wasn’t just handed to you, so you appreciated it that much more. I especially appreciated that once the two are together, they’re together. There is very little of the ‘what is going to break them up before they’re eventually brought back together’ drama. Bo and AMs relationship felt much more true and realistic to real life than most NA relationship do for me.

Review: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

Pub. Date: October 1^st, 2013

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Hardcover

389 pages

How to Love took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride. I was angered, inspired, annoyed, and overjoyed throughout the reading process because of how relatable Reena’s character is, and because of how realistically her situation is represented.  

With a 4.0, the chance to graduate high school after only three years, a close family with supremely strong religious beliefs, and general anti-social tendencies, Reena is not a teen you would expect to end up pregnant at 16. But she does. How To Love tells Reena’s story ‘Before’ the birth of her daughter Hannah, and ‘After’. Everything that ‘Before’ Reena experiences – from the destruction of a significant friendship, to her budding relationship with long-time crush Sawyer, until the moment she finds out she is pregnant – makes you feel like you're waiting to be propelled into the middle of an intersection, knowing the car speeding up behind you has no chance of stopping before impact. You know something serious and potentially horrible is about to happen, but you're powerless to stop it.

Review: Promise Me Something by Sara Kocek

Pub. Date: September 1^st, 2013

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company

Hardcover

311 pages

I always try my best to remain spoiler free in my reviews – but this is one of the rare times that I will not be able to review without discussing some major plot points. If you want to remain spoiler free I suggest you skip this one!

When the school board changes zoning areas, Reyna Fey has to start freshman year at a different school than her three best friends. Hoping to not spend everyday completely alone, Reyna’s open to making friends, but sharp tongued, tell it like it is Olive Barton, wasn’t the kind she was expecting. Brought together first out of loneliness, Reyna slowly begins to consider Olive a real friend. But, everything changes when Olive comes out to Reyna, and Reyna responds in the most hurtful, painful way possible. Unaware how severely she has hurt Olive, Reyna submerges herself in a new relationship, and a new group of friends, abandoning Olive when she needs her the most. As the girls become more hostile than friendly, Reyna is forced to learn how one person’s actions and words can forever alter someone else’s life. 

Review: My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron

Pub. Date: August 27^th, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin

Paperback

400 pages

Cameron has an insane ability to pull you right into her novels. Her novel Deeper We Fall is by far my favorite read of the year, and My Favorite Mistake is definitely top 10. As Cameron’s novels begin to take the ‘traditional’ publishing route, I’m preparing my ears for the squeals of joy as more readers discover her excellence.

Taylor and Hunter first connect like a punch connects to a face. Nothing could surprise Taylor more than her new roommate being a smooth talking, guitar-playing dude. Instantly rubbing her the wrong way, Hunter seems to have the innate ability to make Taylor uncomfortable and bring out the worst in her – a trait that leads to him gaining some significant facial bruising. Hunter, out of rooming options makes Taylor a deal – by the end of the semester, if she can truly make him believe that she either loves or hates him, he’ll move out. Rooming with a guy is just as awkward as you would expect, but Taylor and Hunter learn that opening up about the struggles they’ve dealt with in the past, may just be the thing that can bring them together.

Review: The Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Robin Palmer

Pub. Date: June 27^th, 2013

Publisher: Speak

Paperback

400 pages

The Corner of Bitter and Sweet is utter perfection. There were no events, words, or sentences that didn’t have a purpose. At first I was slightly put off by the more serious tone and the slower pace, but I quickly realized that that was because of my own idea of what I should expect from a Robin Palmer novel – an interesting realization given that so much of this novel is about abandoning your perception of how things or people should be, and accepting them for what they are. It took me a few chapters to really get into the story, but I think I needed the time to allow myself to become attached to the characters. Once I was attached, there was no putting the book down.

Annabelle Jacobs has more pressure and responsibility on her shoulders than any 16 year old should. Her mother, once an A-List actress, left a successful TV-show for bigger and better film roles that never came. Now her mother is not only a self-obsessed actress, but also utterly dependant on pills and alcohol to make it through the day. After being called in the middle of the night to bail her mom out of jail for a DUI, no one would have blamed Annabel for completely giving up hope that her mom could ever be the mom she once knew. But, The Corner of Bitter and Sweet is not about losing hope; it is about finding hope.