Book Review | See Me by Wendy Higgins

Posted on Monday, March 31, 2014 4:00 AM


Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: March 17, 2014

 
 
While most seventeen-year-old American girls would refuse to let their parents marry them off to a stranger, Robyn Mason dreams of the mysterious McKale in Ireland, wondering how he’ll look and imagining his cute Irish accent. Prearranged bindings are common for magical families like her own, however when she travels to the whimsical Emerald Isle she discovers there’s more to her betrothal and McKale’s clan than she was led to believe.

What starts as an obligatory pairing between Robyn and McKale morphs over time into something they both need. But one giant obstacle stands in the way of their budding romance: a seductive and deadly Fae princess accustomed to getting what she wants—and what she wants is McKale as her plaything. Love, desire, and jealousies collide as Robyn’s family and McKale’s clan must work together to outsmart the powerful Faeries and preserve the only hope left for their people.
 

My Thoughts


 
Wow! This book took me completely by surprise. While it's true that I figured that I would like this book, I mean it's written by Wendy Higgins so I had a feeling that it would be great. But I have never read anything about Leprechauns before so I wasn't sure how that would work out for me because the last time I tried a book about a creature that I hadn't read before *cough* Gargoyles *cough* it didn't work out so well. However, I completely fell in love with this world and these characters that Wendy created and I sincerely hope that we get to see more books set in this world.
 
Robyn didn't have the luxury of a normal upbringing. Instead she has known since she was a little girl that she was promised to a boy that she had never met before. You see, Robyn's parents work for the Fae and when Robyn was a baby, the Summer King's Consort threatened to take Robyn unless her parents agreed to an arranged marriage. Of course, her parents knew what would happen to her if she was held in Faerie, so they agreed.

Robyn didn't look forward to the union with dread, instead she has spent her whole life wondering what her future husband was like. She even bought him presents when she was just a little girl. But it isn't long after Robyn meets McKale that she realizes that a Fae girl has her sights set on him and she will stop and nothing to get him.

Yes, the Fae were stronger.  They could force us to work for them.  Force us to bind with strangers.  They could alter our minds and take our memories.  But they couldn't take away our will to live or our choice to love.  We would endure, and then we would die, but our hearts would be full along the way.  I pitied the Fae with all their power and beauty and their lack of love.

Robyn was such an easy character to like, she was just so sweet and the complete opposite of the FFG (Freaky Fae Girl) that was trying to win McKale over. McKale *sighs* McKale is such a sweetheart, I can see why he has two girls fighting over him. Hell, there would be three girls fighting over him if I could somehow jump in this book :)

The secondary characters in the book are wonderful too. I adored Robyn's sister, Cassidy. She was such fun, I think she brought out a little bit of a wild side in Robyn. And Rock, he had me cracking up.

I also really liked the fact that Robyn and Cassidy's parents were present a lot in this book. It seems like a trend in YA books where the parents are nowhere to be found and I find that a little unrealistic. Yeah, when I was a teenager I would have loved for my parents to be gone more so that I could have a little bit of freedom, but in the real world, it doesn't usually happen that way.

Overall, See Me is such a fun and captivating read. Wendy's writing is flawless and the story flows so perfectly that it's impossible not to get swept up in this world and I hope to see more of these characters in the future.

 
 





Cover Adoration | April Showdown

Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2014 4:00 AM
 
Since April is almost here I thought it would be fitting to do a April Showdown and put a few April covers against each other and see which on comes out on top!
 

Here's the contenders




Let the showdown begin!!

 
 

Which cover is your favorite?





  
pollcode.com free polls 
 
 
 

Stacking the Shelves (46)

Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2014 6:19 AM
 
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.
 

My Haul:

 
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan (Won)
 

Kindle Books:

 
See Me by Wendy Higgins (Read & Loved! - Review will be up Monday)
 

For Review:

 
My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal (Thanks, Macmillan!)
 

 Be sure to check out the 2 giveaways going on!

 
 
 
 
What did you get?
 
 
 
 

A Beautiful Wedding by Jamie McGuire

Posted on Friday, March 28, 2014 4:30 AM





Series: Beautiful Disaster 2.5
Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: December 10, 2013
You know that Abby Abernathy unexpectedly became Mrs. Maddox. But what do you really know?

Why did Abby pop the question?
What secrets were shared before the ceremony?
Where did they spend their wedding night?
Who else knew about it . . . and didn’t tell?

Everything about Abby and Travis’s elopement was top-secret . . . until now. Fans of Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster will get all of their questions answered in this whirlwind tale of the wedding day (and night!)—and as with all good stories, this one will definitely have been worth the wait




 

My Thoughts

When I saw that McGuire was coming out with a novella featuring Travis and Abby’s wedding, I was SUPER excited. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it so that I could devour it and I really enjoyed jumping back into the world of Travis and Abby.

A Beautiful Wedding starts off with Abby and Travis in his room after the fire and her thinking about some things that lead to her proposal. Honestly, I was a little surprised and disappointed with what was going through Abby’s head when she decided to ask Travis to marry her. When I was reading this scene in Beautiful Disaster I just assumed that Abby realized just how fragile and short life was and that was what brought about her proposing to Travis, but boy was I wrong.
That was really my biggest let down with this book, everything else I really enjoyed. I don’t know if I can describe why I felt the way I did during this part without giving anything away and since I’m not a big fan of spoilers, I will just say that I was expecting something different when it came to Abby’s reasoning.
I know this review probably seems like I didn’t like this novella at all, but that’s not the case. In fact I really enjoyed it and I actually flew through it, and there were a ton, was quite a few may have been a couple of instances where I cried my eyes out *cough the letter cough* so if you enjoyed the other books in this series, I would definitely recommend for you to pick this novella up.










Book Review | Angelfall by Susan Ee

Posted on 4:30 AM




Series: Penryn & The End of Days
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Feral Dream
Publication Date: May 21, 2011
Goodreads

 It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

 

My Thoughts

Have you ever picked up a book that has been out for years but you haven't read it because you didn't think you would like it, but once you do decide to give it a chance you felt like kicking yourself because you loved it so much?  Well, Angelfall is that book for me.  I'm so mad at myself for not picking it up sooner and diving into this exquisite world in which angels are something to be feared.

From the moment I started this book I found myself completely absorbed in Penryn's world and when her sister, Paige, gets kidnapped by avenging angels, I felt all the same emotion that Penryn was feeling.  From the beginning I felt such a connection with Penryn and that connection didn't fade, not once.   

Raffe, what can I say about Raffe.  He had me intrigued from the first moment that he was introduced into the story and he still had me intrigued at the end.  But he's also such a big mystery in the sense that it's hard to figure out what he is thinking a lot of the time.  However, at the end of this book we emotions that he kept hidden from Penryn and when I saw that side of his, I was in tears.

Overall, this was such an exciting and fascinating read and I can say that this book will be unlike any angel book you have read before. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go buy World After so that I can see what happens next.
 




 

Discussion | How I Know That It's Time To DNF A Book

Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2014 4:00 AM

 
I know that the act of DNFing books is different for everybody, some people will put a book down if they are not enjoying it and some will hold out until the very end. I feel like everybody should do what they feel comfortable with or what they feel is best for them. If they are not feeling a book and that decide to put it down, that's ok. Or if they are not enjoying a book and they still finish it, well, that's ok too. Everybody should have their own preference when it comes to the dreaded DNF.

When I first started reading, I was the type of person who would force myself to finish a book no matter if I liked it or not. However, since I started blogging, I don't force myself to read the books that I'm not enjoying anymore. I have so many books that I want to read that I just don't feel like I should waste my time on the books that I don't like. Again, this is only MY personal preference.

The main thing that makes me decide that it's time to DNF a book is when I find excuses not to read. There have been times when I'm reading a book and I will constantly try to come up with something to do that way I won't have to read that specific book. When I notice myself wanting to do other things like housework instead of reading a certain book, that's when I know it's time to add that book to the DNF pile.


 
Now, I want to you what your preference is when it comes to DNFing books. Do you DNF a book that you're not enjoying? Or do you try to hold out?
 

 
 
 

Four Pics, One Series (5)

Posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 4:00 AM
 
The answers to last weeks pictures are: Revenants Series and the Sweet Evil Series!
 
Now, on to this weeks pictures.  You can leave your guesses in the comments and next week I will announce the correct series.
 

Part 1

 

Part 2


 
 

Let the guessing begin!

 
 
 

Hidden Treasures (2)

Posted on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 4:30 AM

 
I'm sure we all have those books that we absolutely LOVED but it seems like they aren't very popular. So I decided to start a feature here on the blog that will allow me to spotlight some books that I have loved that I feel don't get a lot of recognition. My plan for this feature is to share the cover and summary of the book along with the first sentences or paragraphs and if it's a book that I didn't write a review for, I will probably also throw in a few reasons why I loved the book along with links to find out more about the book.
 

This week's Hidden Treasure is:

Countdown by Michelle Rowen

 




 3 seconds left to live. Once the countdown starts, it cannot be stopped.

2 pawns thrown into a brutal underground reality game.

Kira Jordan survived her family's murder and months on plague-devastated city streets with hard-won savvy and a low-level psi ability. She figures she can handle anything. Until she wakes up in a barren room, chained next to the notorious Rogan Ellis.

1 reason Kira will never, ever trust Rogan. Even though both their lives depend on it.

Their every move is controlled and televised for a vicious exclusive audience. And as Kira's psi skill unexpectedly grows and Rogan's secrets prove evermore deadly, Kira's only chance of survival is to risk trusting him as much as her instincts. Even if that means running head-on into the one trap she can't escape.

GAME OVER

 
 
IT'S CALLED NYCTOPHOBIA.  I LOOKED IT UP once.  It's the official term for an abnormal and persistent fear of the dark.  I've had it ever since my parents and sister were murdered during an in-home burglary while I hid under my bed.
 
In the dark I couldn't see anything; all I could hear was the screaming.
 
And then the silence.
 
So, yeah.  I've been scared like hell of the dark ever since.  Go figure.
 
Unfortunately, that's where I found myself when I opened my eyes.  Frankly, I didn't remember closing them.  I'd been in the mall, I remembered that much.  I'd just lifted a new pair of shoes - my old pair was worn out since all I do is walk everywhere in the city, day in and day out.  This pair was nice.  Red.  With strong laces that, if necessary, could double as a weapon.
 
The streets were tough sometimes.  Especially at night.  Especially in the dark.
 
Light right now.
 
But this wasn't the street, I knew that much.  I was inside.  Somewhere.
 
Choking panic began to flood my body.  I knew freaking out wouldn't help, but sometimes you can't stop yourself - or reason with yourself - when you're in the process of freaking out.
 
I felt a pinch at my right wrist and reached over with my other hand, trying to feel my way through the inky blackness.  It was a metal cuff.  Attached to a chain.  Attached to the smooth, cold metal wall behind me.
 
What the hell is going on?
 
 
 
I wrote a review for Countdown so I don't want to go into all the details but here's a little snippet from my review.
 
Countdown was an amazing adventure that didn’t have a dull moment throughout the entire book. This book was like Saw, The Condemned and The Hunger Games all rolled into one. If you like your books with a strong MC, non-stop action and a little bit of romance on the side, then this book is for you.
 
 
 
 

Amazon

Goodreads

Author's Website 

 
 
 


ARC Book Review | Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Posted on Monday, March 24, 2014 4:30 AM


Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: Walker
Publication Date: April 15, 2014
 

 
 
After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.


"A fabulously entertaining story of friendship, healing, and love. Filled with laughter, heart, and a side of sass, this rock star debut will have you cheering for an encore!"—Elizabeth Eulberg, author of Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality


 

My Thoughts


Open Road Summer has been on my radar for a while, it was one of my most anticipated Contemporary books of 2014. And I'm happy to say that this book surpassed every one of my expectations.

Reagan is excited to be touring with her best friend Dee for the summer. Yep, Reagan's best friend Dee is actually country music star Lilah Montgomery and when she invites Reagan to spend the summer touring with her, Reagan jumps at the chance.

Reagan has been through some tough things lately and she's trying to change and become a better person, and she feels that spending a whole summer with her best friend is the perfect opportunity. I have to say that I loved Reagan and Dee's relationship, for some weird reason it's so uncommon to see a good best friend relationship in YA books these days so I'm always ecstatic when I do come across one.

Reagan is such a wonderful main character, she's proof that even though you come from a broken home and have made some questionable choices, you can still come back from that and change the type of person that you are for the type of person you want to be. She grows so much by the end of this book and it was such a pleasure to watch her transformation. I also really loved Dee, she is the complete opposite of what you expect famous people to be. She's very down to earth and she's a genuinely good person, she's also an amazing friend. 

I was very surprised by how much I liked Matt. Like Reagan, he has been through some tough things in the past few months and he's had a hard time dealing with them and I think Reagan this tour was exactly what he needed in order to start the healing process. Did I mention that he is also incredibly swoon-worthy?

Overall, Open Road Summer is such a fast and fun ride and it deserves every bit of the praise that it's getting. Lord is definitely an author to watch out for and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
 



 


Cover Adoraton (15) | Series Showdown

Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2014 7:33 AM
 
 
Instead of doing an Author Showdown for this weeks Cover Adoration, I thought it would be fun to do a Series Showdown. 
 
The winner of last week's Author Showdown was Possess!
 
 

The Contenders:

 


 
 
 

Let the showdown begin!

 
 
 

Which covers is your favorite?



  
pollcode.com free polls 





Book Review | Nil by Lynne Matson

Posted on Friday, March 21, 2014 4:30 AM

 

Format: ARC
Source: Won
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
Publication Date: March 4, 2014

 
 
 
On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have exactly 365 days to escape—or you die.

Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s naked in an empty rock field.

Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that she has to find a way to beat the clock, and quickly.
 



 

My Thoughts:

When I first heard about Nil I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy because the summary sounds absolutely amazing. So, I was ecstatic when I won a copy and once I received it, I immediately picked it up because I couldn't wait to immerse myself in this unique world of Nil. But unfortunately, this book didn't blow me away like I was expecting it to.

Nil is an island that no one knows about until you wind up on it, buck naked with no idea how you got there. Charley is just one of Nil's many victims. She is in a Target parking lot one minute and then on a mysterious island the next with no idea what happened. It takes her a while to get her bearings and to find the others that are on the island and once she does, she learns the cold hard truth about Nil. She has exactly 365 days from the time she arrived to catch a gate and make it off the island, or she dies. No one knows what waits for them on the other side of the gate but they do know that a person doesn't live over the 365 days that Nil allots them.

I think the main reason why this book wasn't what I was hoping for it because I didn't feel a real connection with any of the characters and the first part was kind of slow. Both Charley and Thad were really good people and the genuinely cared about the others in the City and each other, but for some reason I just didn't personally feel a connection with either of them and unfortunately, if I don't have that connection then most of the time I don't enjoy as book as much and I think that's what happened with this book, which is a shame because it has such an interesting premise and I'm sure I would have really enjoyed it otherwise.

Overall, I think a lot of people will really enjoy this book, but it was just one of those that I didn't connect with personally. If you're a fan of the TV show Lost then this will probably be a book that you will love so you should definitely give it a chance.

 
 

 


Booking Into Spring Giveaway Hop!

Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2014 12:00 AM


YAY, IT'S FINALLY SPRING! This has been one of the worst winters that we have had here in Eastern KY in a LONG TIME, so I couldn't be happier that today is the first day of Spring! And to celebrate the beginning of warm weather, I'm going to be giving something good away. 


This giveaway hop is hosted by myself and the lovely Tonyalee @ Lilybloombooks. This hop will run from March 20 - April 1st. This giveaway is INT, as long as TBD ships to you. If you're not sure, please check before entering.

Please read my giveaway policy before entering. And please do not cheat, entries will be checked and ones who are found cheating will be disqualified from all future giveaways as well as this one.

The Prize:


One winner will receive a Spring Release (any book released from March 20 - June 20) of their choice from The Book Depository (INT as long as TBD ships to you)

Here's just a few books that you could choose

- Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell
- Don't Look Back by Jennifer L Armentrout
- Open Road Summer by Emory Lord
- Rebel by Amy Tintera
- The Treatment by Suzanne Young
- What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick
- After the End by Amy Plum
- The One by Kiera Cass
- Take Me On by Katie McGarry
- Reborn by C.C. Hunter


Enter via the Rafflecopter below and be sure to check out the other blogs on the hop :)

Good luck!





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hop On! 



Four Pics, One Series (4)

Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2014 4:30 AM
 
 
The answers to last weeks pictures are: Soul Screamers & Lux Series!
 
Now, on to this weeks pictures.  You can leave your guesses in the comments and next week I will announce the correct series.
 

Part 1

 

Part 2

 
 

Let the guessing begin!





Guest Post by Liz Coley & A GIVEAWAY!

Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 12:00 AM


I'm so excited to have Liz Coley, the author of the fantastic psychological thriller, Pretty-Girl 13 on the blog today. I read Pretty-Girl 13 last year and fell in love with Angie's story. You can find my review here. Liz is also going to be giving away a signed paperback and edible swag pack to one lucky US winner! Just enter via the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the post!



 
Scenes from a Life: How Dr. Dean Saved My Fingernails

By Liz Coley

It was round about 1976, and back then schools took liberties with the kids' safety and dignity that would be inconceivable today. Without forewarning the parents or issuing permission slips or even considering whether this was a good idea at all, our small school brought in a locally renowned night club hypnotist to entertain at a morning assembly. As we sat on the bleachers with baited breath, Dr. Michael Dean cast his piercing eyes across the assembled hundred and thirty students and somehow picked out the twenty most likely (and impressionable) candidates for an hour of hilarity and humiliation, seventies-style.

Swaying like a human pendulum, Dr. Dean repeated his mantra in a resonant bass voice: "Way down. Deeper and deeper asleep. Your eyes are getting heavy. So heavy. Way down…," until the twenty were largely lulled into submission. Where hypnosis left off and compliance due to peer pressure and expectations began is anyone's guess. One student was asked to act like a chicken and willingly clucked and flapped. One of the older girls sang "Bennie and the Jets" at the top of her lungs. A future Harvard man was made to crawl like a toddler, suck his thumb, and sit on the lap of the singing hypnotist while he crooned "Danny Boy." The rest is a blur, hideous images of teenagers made to look like fools fortunately lost to memory.

However, all of this put us in mind of hypnosis, for good or evil. At the next sleepover, a batch of us girls decided to try it on ourselves despite warnings about the dangers. The logical hypnotist was (let's call her) Marie, whose father was a psychiatrist, which by osmosis made her the one most qualified to tap into our brains. Fortunately, this girl, who later played Glinda in the high school play, was a good witch even then. Her object was to use the power for good. When she called for volunteers, I asked to be cured of biting my fingernails. Marie used her own soothing pattern of words, and all the girls crowded around, watching to make sure I fell under her spell. Of course I didn't. But like the kids on stage, I obeyed various instructions, such as repeating words, answering questions, and lifting my arms. Finally, she instructed me that whenever I had the urge to bite my nails, I was to think of blue mountains and green gorillas. And then she "woke me up."

That was the day I stopped biting my nails, not because of photosynthetic primates on smurf-colored hills, but because everyone expected me to. For weeks, they would be inspecting my hands and asking for progress reports. I couldn't let them down. I couldn't burst the bubble. We were too invested in believing in the power of hypnotism, because the alternative was to conclude that all our friends had willingly performed those embarrassing antics.
 

 

About the Book:








When thirteen-year-old Angela Gracie Chapman looks in the mirror, someone else looks back—a thin, pale stranger, a sixteen-year-old with haunted eyes.  Angie has no memory of the past three years, years in which she was lost to the authorities, lost to her family and friends, lost even to herself. Where has she been, who has been living her life, and what is hiding behind the terrible blankness? There are secrets you can’t even tell yourself.

The truth lies buried in the darkest corners of her mind. With a tremendous amount of courage and support from unexpected friends, Angie embarks on a journey to unearth the secrets of her past and reclaim her life. 
Liz Coley’s alarming and fascinating psychological thriller is a disturbing—and ultimately empowering—page turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

 

About Liz:


 Liz Coley has been writing long and short fiction for teens and adults for more than ten years. Her short fiction has appeared in Cosmos Magazine and several speculative fiction anthologies: The Last Man, More Scary Kisses, Strange Worlds, Flights of Fiction and Winter's Regret.

In 2013, psychological thriller Pretty Girl-13 was released by HarperCollins and HarperCollins UK in print, eBook, and audiobook editions. Foreign translations have been published in French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, Czech, Slovakian, and Chinese.

Liz lives in Ohio, where she is surrounded by a fantastic community of writers, beaten regularly by better tennis players, uplifted by her choir, supported by her husband, teased by her teenaged daughter, cheered from afar by her two older sons, and adorned with hair by her cats Tiger, Pippin, and Merry.

Liz invites you to follow her @LizColeyBooks on Twitter, like Liz Coley Books on Facebook, and visit her website at lizcoley.com, where you can watch the book trailer, download editing tips, and read her confessional blog postings "Scenes from a Life."






a Rafflecopter giveaway



Find Liz:

Website

 
 
 
Thanks for stopping by, Liz!
 
 
Copyright © 2014 Novel Ink
Template and Design by New Chapter Designs
Subtle Patterns (Subtle Patterns) / CC BY-SA 3.0