ARC Book Review | The Remedy by Suzanne Young

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: April 21, 2015
My Rating: 5 Stars

In a world before The Program…

Quinlan McKee is a closer. Since the age of seven, Quinn has held the responsibility of providing closure to grieving families with a special skill—she can “become” anyone.

Recommended by grief counselors, Quinn is hired by families to take on the short-term role of a deceased loved one between the ages of fifteen and twenty. She’s not an exact copy, of course, but she wears their clothes and changes her hair, studies them through pictures and videos, and soon, Quinn can act like them, smell like them, and be them for all intents and purposes. But to do her job successfully, she can’t get attached.

Now seventeen, Quinn is deft at recreating herself, sometimes confusing her own past with those of the people she’s portrayed. When she’s given her longest assignment, playing the role of Catalina Barnes, Quinn begins to bond with the deceased girl’s boyfriend. But that’s only the beginning of the complications, especially when Quinn finds out the truth about Catalina’s death. And the epidemic it could start.

Review

As a huge fan of The Program books, I was extremely excited when I saw that there would be another book set in that world and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Remedy.  I wanted to see how everything began, and what happened before The Program and The Remedy lets us see all of that and more.

Quinlan McKee has been a closer since she was 7 years old.  A closer is someone who can ‘become’ anyone to give closure to grieving families who have lost a loved one, and Quinlan is the best.  Quinn is given her longest assignment yet, and quite possibly the hardest, because the person she’s to become, Catalina Barnes, has a boyfriend and that boyfriend is part of Quinn’s assignment.  Will Quinn be able to give Catalina’s family and boyfriend the closure they need without getting too attached?  You’ll have to read it to find out.

I really, really liked Quinn as our MC.  She was smart and loyal, and although many people judge her for being a closer, she tried not to let it bother her because she knew the reason she was doing it, to help people.  While I’m not sure how I would feel about someone coming in and taking on the role of a deceased loved one, I can understand how it could help some people.  They have the opportunity to say everything that they didn’t get a chance to, and I can see how that would be beneficial in the grieving process. 

I also really loved the other characters as well.  Deacon and Aaron were really great.  They were both there anytime Quinn needed a reminder of who she was and they seemed to always sense exactly what she needed without her having to say the words, or ask for help.

Now, let’s talk about that ending.  It REALLY left me wanting more.  I don’t know if there will be another book, BUT OH MY GOSH I HOPE SO.  You can’t end a book like that and not give me more, I can’t take it.  I NEED MORE.

The Remedy was such an amazing addition to The Program series.  As usual, Young’s writing is flawless and the story is fascinating.

ARC Book Review | The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A girl takes over her twin sister's identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters.

Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world.

When—after a heated argument—Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy's life was full of secrets. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options—confess her deception or live her sister's life.

My Thoughts:

The Secrets We Keep is such a thought provoking and heartbreaking story. The writing is so flawless and the story flows so perfectly that it's impossible not to get sucked into Ella and Maddy's story. You feel everything from the gut wrenching pain, to the all consuming guilt, and that's what makes this book so amazing.

Ella and Maddy may be twins, but they are the furthest thing from similar. Ella is the quiet one who is always drawing, and Maddy is the popular one. It hasn't always been that way though, they used to be inseperable, and even though Maddy isn't the best sister to Ella, Ella would still do anything for her. But when tragedy strikes, and Ella wakes up to everyone calling her Maddy, and she realizes that her sister is dead, she makes a split second decision to make sure that Maddy has the life that she should have had. But it isn't long until Ella realizes that Maddy's life isn't what she thought and Maddy has been keeping secrets.

It was so easy to form a connection with Ella, her grief was so raw and real that I felt like I was right there with her (as evidenced by all my tears). Ella and Maddy's parents were wonderful, even though they were grieving for one of the daughters, they still made an effort to try and be there for the other, and I can't imagine how hard that would be.

I really didn't like Maddy's set of friends, especially Jenna. She was so deceiving, back stabbing, and flat out mean. I know everyone tried to make excuses for the way she was, but I wasn't buying it. There is no good reason to treat people, specifically one you call your best friend, the way she did.

The Secrets We Keep is an emotional, gripping and gut wrenching story about grief, loss, guilt and finding yourself. 

  

Review | The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Format: Paperback
Source: Amazon &/or My Bookshelf
Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy
Publication: September 7, 2010
Pages: 280
Genre: YA, Contemporary
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.
But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

My Review

Something to Note: This book has a little heated scenes, but other than that DIVE IN!

The Characters: Bianca is a character that I am back in forth on. Don't get me wrong I absolutely loved her character, but sometimes she just didn't make sense. But, I feel like that's the reason I enjoyed her so much. She was so down to earth, and she had her opinions about certain things, yet at times she went against them. She hated Wesley, then she fell for Wesley - yet continues to go on about how much she totally and utterly hates him. I see a lot of reviews talking about how that annoyed them, but I think that part of the story really goes along with how people act now-a-days. I don't agree with what she did, but she acted how I expected her to, I guess. Anyway, Bianca is just a fun, loving character that I would love to get to know.

Wesley is a snobby, jerk...but I do think that he actually cares about Bianca. I didn't really like his character throughout the book because he was too cocky and he just annoyed me with all of his snood comments. I do appreciate how he was with Bianca and that's the reason that I was able to tolerate him as a character. 

Bianca's two best friends -- they were both so brutally honest and I loved it. I wish that they were in the book a little more than they were.

My Thoughts: This book was amazing in every way...yes, I may not have loved Wesley that much, but Bianca was such a great narrator and she alone made you fall for this book. Her family situations were wonderful and I love how her dad had such a huge impact on what happened throughout the book. I love how every bit of the story went and there were new things that tied everything together so well. 

There is anger, frustration and guilt thrown into this novel and it is played out so beautifully. There are definitely tears...but without any of that, this book would have fell flat on it's face. It is such a quick, wonderful read that I highly recommend. I cannot wait to see the movie (it's been too long & I need to see it).

One Line Wrap Up: Fun-loving, laid-back story about friendship, love, and the struggle of being you. 

Recommended for: people looking for an easy-going, fun read.

ARC Book Review | None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publication Date: April 7, 2015
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex . . . and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned--something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."

Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

Review

Book Review | Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas

Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased
Publication Date: August 14, 2014
My rating: 5 stars

Three teens venture into the abandoned Monroe estate one night; hours later, only two emerge from the burning wreckage. Chloe drags one Reznick brother to safety, unconscious and bleeding; the other is left to burn, dead in the fire. But which brother survives? And is his death a tragic accident? Desperate self-defense? Or murder?

Chloe is the only one with the answers. As the fire rages, and police and parents demand the truth, she struggles to piece together the story of how they got there-a story of jealousy, twisted passion, and the darkness that lurks behind even the most beautiful of faces…

Review

First let me start this review by saying that Abigail Haas is an absolute freaking genius, she knows how to keep readers hooked and twist the story so that you never see the ending coming. She done this with Dangerous Girls and she proves to us in Dangerous Boys that even though you may think you know what’s going to happen, you don’t.

I don’t want to come DB to DG because they are two completely different stories with two completely different twists. Really the only similarities that I could find between the two is the layout of the story, they both alternate between Then and Now, and the fact that they are both thrillers, that’s about as far as they go with the similarities. Dangerous Boys is the sequel to Dangerous Girls but like I said, they are two completely different stories so you don’t have to read DG first. Although I HIGHLY recommend reading DG at some point because it is absolutely amazing.

Dangerous Boys follows Chloe who has just finished high school and has big plans for her future, she’s leaving for college in a month and she’s getting out of her small hometown. Well, she was but the life happens and she’s forced to put college off and that’s when she meets Ethan. Ethan is everything a boyfriend should be, he has a good job, he’s caring and kind and he treats Chloe like a princess. Then his brother, Oliver, shows up and let’s just say that things start to get interesting and intense from there.

I can’t say much about the plot without spoiling the whole book so I’ll just say this, it’s a total mind f*ck. Going into this book I thought that since I read DG, I could watch for clues and have everything figured out before it happened…NOPE! I wasn’t even close and once again Haas blew my mind with her twists.

Dangerous Boys is a dark, twisty, mind blowing, thrill ride. If you liked DG, then you are sure to enjoy Chloe’s story. And if you haven’t read either of these books, trust me when I say, you don’t know what you’re missing. 

Book Review | Before You by Amber Hart

Format: Kindle
Source: Library
Publisher: K-Teen
Publication Date: July 29, 2014
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Some say love is deadly. Some say love is beautiful. I say it is both.

Faith Watters spent her junior year traveling the world, studying in exquisite places, before returning to Oviedo High School. From the outside her life is picture-perfect. Captain of the dance team. Popular. Happy. Too bad it’s all a lie.

It will haunt me. It will claim me. It will shatter me. And I don't care.

Eighteen-year-old Diego Alvarez hates his new life in the States, but staying in Cuba is not an option. Covered in tattoos and scars, Diego doesn't stand a chance of fitting in. Nor does he want to. His only concern is staying hidden from his past—a past, which if it were to surface, would cost him everything. Including his life.

At Oviedo High School, it seems that Faith Watters and Diego Alvarez do not belong together. But fate is as tricky as it is lovely. Freedom with no restraint is what they long for. What they get is something different entirely.

Love—it will ruin you and save you, both.

Review

Book Review | I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Format: Hardback
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: February 3, 2015
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

ARC Book Review | My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publication Date: February 10, 2015
Pages: 320
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner.

Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince.

Book Review | Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost

Series: Night Prince, # 3
Format: Paperback
Source: Won from Author Giveaway
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: January 27, 2015
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Play with fire, pay the price.

Leila’s years on the carnie circuit were certainly an education. What she didn’t learn: how to be a vampire, or how to be married to the most famous vampire of them all. Adjusting to both has Leila teetering on a knife edge between passion and peril, and now the real danger is about to begin…

Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn’t like Vlad to feel fear, but he does…for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad’s greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him—and his overprotectiveness drives Leila away—Vlad’s love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both…

ARC Book Review | The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: February 10, 2015
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

There's death all around us.
We just don't pay attention.
Until we do.

The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.

Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.

As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.

Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.

From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.

ARC Book Review | Last Stop Klindenspiel

Format: e-ARC
Source: Author via Goodreads
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 
Publication Date: November 25, 2014
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Combining the survival instincts made famous in The Hunger Games with the intensity of The Book Thief, Last Stop Klindenspiel is a tightrope of horrors that will make anyone think twice about running away to join the circus…

It’s been eight years since the Second World War has ended – long enough for people to forgive and forget – but feelings of hate run deep in Norway against people like fifteen-year-old Katya Holberg and her family. Separated from her father when the Allies liberated Poland, Katya and the rest of her family are sent to an internment camp in Oslo where they’re eventually rescued by a Norwegian war hero.

After four tumultuous years together, he brutally murders her sister, forcing Katya and her mother to seek refuge with her grandmother in faraway Droeback where Katya’s mother is murdered by villagers soon after their arrival. Fearing for her safety, Katya’s grandmother sends her to Klindenspiel, the only circus of its kind in Europe, where all of the performers are children.

Once there, Katya quickly learns that all of the young performers share her terrible secret, making them more like her than she could ever have imagined. Things become complicated when Klindenspiel’s artistic director pairs Katya with Aleks, a good-looking but secretive seventeen-year-old, who’s skilled in acrobatics and dance.

Curious about, and attracted to her new partner, Katya secretly follows him one night and learns the horrible truth behind Klindenspiel’s magic. With the curtains about to rise on Klindenspiel’s newest show, Katya and Aleks must give the performance of a lifetime – both on and off the stage – because their lives, and those of their fellow performers, are depending on it.

My Thoughts:

*I received this book for an honest review from the author.*

Where do I begin? I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was nervous at first reading this because I was thinking it would be a lot more history oriented, but the amount of history in the book was perfect.  I enjoyed Marta Tandori's writing style so very much. Everything flowed together so well and it kept me intrigued as I turned each page (well as I my Kindle turned the page). 

Each and every paragraph added more and more into the book. I do not think there was a paragraph that was there and had no importance. You know how in some books there are pages/chapters that are there just for fillers - not in Last Stop Klindenspiel. Each paragraph was perfect and I think that's why I enjoyed this book so much. I learned so much throughout the first few chapters and I liked that. I didn't have to wait for it to get good...it started off that way.

The book had me on my toes - I never knew where it was going to go. Surprise after surprise hidden among many of the pages (although I predicted one of them). There is loads of heart-break, struggle, angst, and death...but there is also love, desire, happiness, and relief. I loved how there were so many emotions throughout the book and it kept my heart going on so many roller-coasters. 

I was on the fence about whether to rate the book with just 4.5 or move it on up to a five. The only read I wanted to bring it down is because I wanted more and the other books that go along with this book do not seem to give me the more that I want. But, then I thought, I am judging on this book and this book alone and I immediately chose the 5 stars. 

ARC Book Review | Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: November 8, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Three went in. Three came out. None even a shadow of who they once were.

When their car breaks down, Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and his brother Mike walk through a winter storm to take refuge in a nearby town called Purity Springs. When they arrive, the emergency sirens are blaring and the small farming town seems abandoned. With no other shelter, they spend the night in an empty house.

But they soon discover that not everything in Purity Springs is as it seems. When the town's inhabitants suddenly appear the next morning, Dee, Luke, and Mike find themselves at the mercy of the charismatic leader, Elijah Hawkins, who plans to make Dee his new wife. Elijah's son, Joseph, offers to help them escape . . . but the price of his help may be more than Dee and her friends can bear.

My Thoughts:

I'm sure that if you've followed me for a while then you probably know that I'm a sucker for horror books. There's just something about the icky, creepy and gory that calls to me. Yes, I'm a freak. Anyway, when I saw Creed, I KNEW that I had to read it ASAP and I was lucky enough to get approved on Netgalley so once I downloaded it I immediately dove right in and Creed didn't disappoint.

Dee has her anniversary with her boyfriend Luke all planned out; she even enlisted Luke’s brother, Mike, in the scheme so that they would all have alibis for the weekend and wouldn’t be missed. But when their car breaks down in a winter storm, they tough it out and walk to a near town called Purity Springs. However, when they get there, it’s like a ghost town and there isn’t a phone in the whole town. Things get weirder from there and it doesn’t take long before they discover the eeriness that is Purity Springs, but by then, it may be too late.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning, Dee’s voice was so strong, I went through all of her emotions right along with her. She has been through so much in her short life and Luke was her everything. He brought her back from the brink and he kept her from sinking back down in her past. Luke was everything a book boyfriend should be; strong, charismatic, loyal and extremely caring.

The only thing I have to say about Elijah Hawkins is…he really needs to decide to quit breathing. I don’t think I can put into words how much I LOATHE him.

Overall, Creed is a wonderfully crafted, bone chilling psychological thriller that will leave you seething with hate for Elijah and concern for the ones that make it out of Purity Springs. I will warn you though, this book doesn't hold back on the on the bone chilling horror or gore, so if you’re looking for a happily ever after, then you should probably find something else, but if you want a thrill, then you should definitely give this one a go, you won’t be disappointed.

ARC Book Review | Rites of Passage by Joy Hensley

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher Via Edelweiss
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.

At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.

My Thoughts:

Wow! What can I say about this book that will do it justice? Probably nothing, but I’m going to try anyway, so here goes…

Before Sam’s brother, Amos, killed himself he dared her to go to a military academy, and Sam’s not one to back down from a dare, especially one she made to her deceased brother so she takes every ounce of hatred that comes her way and uses it to make herself stronger. She’s not going to let anyone get in her way and I absolutely loved that about her.

However, it isn’t long before Sam realizes that she’s getting treated so much worse than anyone else there and before long, things start getting way out of control and she knows that something has to change or any other new girls coming in will be treated the exact same way that she has been and Sam is determined to not let that happen.

Sam is SUCH a strong character and I fell in love with her personality and strength very early on. She’s determined to prove that she’s just as good as the guys and strong enough to take whatever comes her way. I also loved so many of the side characters in this book, Jax, Rev, Drill, Tim, Nix, Huff, Ritchie. They all cared about Sam and were willing to help her in any way that they could.

Rites of Passage was so different that what I thought it would be when I first started reading it. Yeah, I knew that it was about the first girl to go to a military school and I figured that the boys there would pick on her. But, this went soooo much deeper than the hazing that normal recruits go through, this was more like full on bullying. Some of the things they did to Sam was horrible and I wanted so badly to jump in a punch those assholes for treating her the way that they did.

Overall, Rites of Passage is a very touching book that will bring out a ton of emotions in you. This book made me laugh, cry and get mad as hell multiple times throughout. Hensley is definitely an author to look out for.

---Christy

Book Review | Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Format: Hardback
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What’s your worst nightmare?

For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams.

And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. . . at least for now.

Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group—the girl who locks herself in her room; the know-it-all roommate; “Mister Sensitive”; and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.

Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.

By the time Ivy and Parker realize what’s really at stake, it’s too late to wake up and run.

My Thoughts:

I seriously don’t even know where to begin writing this review. Welcome to the Dark House was one of my most anticipated summer reads, from the moment I read the synopsis, I knew that it would be one that I had to get my hands on ASAP. I tried getting a copy from Netgalley but unfortunately got denied, so I pre-ordered it and just waited. When I finally got my copy from Amazon (which was over a week AFTER the release day, grrrr) I couldn’t wait to get started. And I think this book was one of the fastest that I have read this year, less than 24 hours. I was absolutely hooked and for the life of me, I couldn’t put it down.

Ok, enough fangirling for now, let me try to explain the awesomeness that is Welcome to the Dark House. Six years ago, Ivy Jensen’s parents were brutally murdered while she was in her room right across the hall and when the killer was finished with her parents, he came for her. Luckily Ivy had called the police when she was woken up to the sounds of her parents being killed so the sounds of sirens scared him away. But he was never caught, ever since that horrific night Ivy has dreams about the man who murdered parents. In her dreams he comes back for her. Fast forward to an email that Ivy receives which invites her to share her nightmare in order to win a trip to meet famous horror director Justin Blake. Ivy doesn’t care about winning the contest and she’s not a fan of horror, but she sends in her nightmare anyway in hopes that putting it on paper will help her face her fear.

Fast forward a little more and Ivy is chosen as one of seven contestants who win a trip to the ‘Dark House’ for a weekend filled with horror. But little do the contestants know, the horror will hit closer to home than they realize.

In my hefty elf sack, your nightmares will keep. Better think twice before falling asleep.

From the moment I read the first page, I was hooked. The writing was fantastic, the story was well paced and the characters were so diverse. Sure, I had my favorites *cough* Ivy, Parker *cough* but each character had their own voice and it was really interesting to be in every single one of their heads, with the exception of Taylor, who we will hopefully find out more about in the next book. I did still have a few lingering questions after finishing, but I have complete faith that all will be revealed in time.

Welcome to the Dark House is a wonderful, haunting ride full of twists and turns. The ending will leave you on the edge of your seat, dying for more. If you are a fan of the horror genre, then you shouldn’t pass this book up.

ARC Book Review | One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Name of overseas edition of Between The Lives.

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is...

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking?

 

My Thoughts:

Have you ever read a book that left you speechless? Well, One Past Midnight had that effect on me when I finished it. I admit that I wasn’t really expecting to love it as much as I did going on, only because I had never read anything by this author before and with it being parallel worlds, I was a little hesitant because it takes an amazing writer to pull that off. However, I’m happy to report that I was wrong, I was immediately sucked into the story and I didn’t want it to end and I really, really want to know what happens to Sabine, especially after THAT ending. I can only hope that Shirvington has plans for a sequel because if not…well, I don’t even want to think about that.

All her life Sabine has lived each day twice, every night at Midnight she ‘shifts’ over to her other world and everything except her name changes. In one world she has two brothers and a boyfriend and in the other she has a little sister and no boyfriend. Sabine has lived her lives carefully as anything physical to her body has always transferred over to the other life so she’s always been real careful about everything, not dying her hair in one world only to not have an explanation in the other. All of this changes when Sabine breaks her wrist in one world only to shift to the other that night and finding out that the break didn’t cross over. This sets something in motion for Sabine, she’s sets up a series of tests to try and find a way to have one life like everyone else. And she already knows which life she would chose, or at least she thinks she does.

Sabine was a unique character and she was different in both lives, but still kind of the same, if that makes sense. While I didn’t agree with some of her tactics in determining whether the break in her wrist was a fluke, I can understand why she would go to extreme lengths. I mean, here is a girl who has lived her entire eighteen years twice, she graduated high school twice, she has her period twice as long each month, and I’m sure us ladies can imagine the torture THAT WOULD BE. All she has ever wanted was to live one WHOLE life just like everyone else, and who’s to same that I wouldn’t have gone to the same lengths if I was in her position. Plus it lead her to Ethan ;)

Ahhh, Ethan. While I would love to devote this whole review to him, I can’t because that would spoil so much of the book so you’re just going to have to trust me when I say that Ethan everything a book boyfriend should be and you should definitely look forward to meeting him.

Overall, One Past Midnight is a wonderfully constructed and unique contemporary. You will laugh, you will cry and you will be stunned by the ending.

 

---Christy

ARC Book Review | Some Boys by Patty Blount

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: August 5, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.

When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.

But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?

A gut-wrenching, powerful love story told from alternating points of view by the acclaimed author of Send.

My Thoughts:

Haunting, emotional and gut wrenching, Some Boys tells the heart breaking story of a seventeen year old girl trying to deal with not only getting raped, something NO GIRL SHOULD EVER HAVE TO SUFFER but the fallout after the fact. The boy who hurt her is the most popular guy in school and everyone takes his side and no one believes her, her friends stop talking to her, people start harassing her and calling her crude names.

I don’t know if I can even explain the emotion this book brought out in me. I was sad for Grace, I was angry with the way people treated her, at times I was disappointed with Ian and Grace’s dad. It was just a rollercoaster of emotion and that my friends is when you know you are reading a good book. Any book that can send me from tears to flat out rage within a paragraph is definitely one that deserves praise.

Like I said above, Grace is trying so hard to stay strong and deal with everything that has happened to her, because she knows that if she takes her mom up on the offer of going abroad for a semester then Zac wins. But with everyone making her life a living Hell, it just gets harder but Grace is a fighter. Ian, what can I say about him? I could tell from the beginning that he wasn’t as bad as his friends, he didn’t go out of his way to harass Grace, but then again he didn’t stand up for her either. It isn’t until he’s forced to work with Grace that he starts getting to know her, and starts questioning everything his ‘buddy’ Zac tells him about THAT night.

Another thing that I liked about this book is that the parents are present and active in the kids’ lives. Yeah, at times I was so disappointed with Grace’s dad and I wondered how in the hell he could treat her that way but light gets shed on his reactions at the end of the book and I can kind-of get where he’s coming from, KIND-OF. Grace’s mom and Ian’s dad though, were wonderful. Grace’s mom was always there when she needed her and she didn’t get upset about little things Grace would do to try and make herself feel safer. Ian’s dad was also very respectful towards Grace and he didn’t treat her like someone who was broken or someone who was lying, like everyone else was doing.

Some Boys is an emotional and heart wrenching story that sheds light on rape and bullying. I think a lot of the time teenagers don’t realize the effect that their words or actions can have on someone else, but regardless that doesn’t make bullying ok in any way shape or form and maybe if books like this or Thirteen Reasons Why was made assigned reading in high school, it might make them think twice before saying crude things to someone.

--- Christy

Book Review | Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire

Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster phenomenon continues in the first heart-pounding new adult romance in The Maddox Brothers series.


Fiercely independent Camille "Cami" Camlin gladly moved on from her childhood before it was over. She has held down a job since before she could drive, and moved into her own apartment after her freshman year of college. Now tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn’t have time for much else besides work and classes, until a trip to see her boyfriend is cancelled, leaving her with a first weekend off in almost a year.

Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt.

Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red.

As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she’ll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever—even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.

In the first installment of the Maddox Brothers books, readers can experience the rush of reading Beautiful Disaster for the first time, all over again.

My Thoughts:

I’m sure fans of the Disaster books were ecstatic to get their hands on another Maddox brother book and I was no exception. I had this book pre-ordered a month before the release date and as soon as it came in the mail, I dropped everything to start reading it. I was expecting the same wild ride that we got in the Disaster books but it turns out that wasn’t the case. While Trenton is kind of man whore and has a bad temper, he’s much more controlled than Travis.

Don’t get me wrong, Trent is a Maddox so of course he flies off the handle, but he seems to be able to reign in back in fairly easy. Cami is the opposite, she isn’t really the type to let her temper rule her, she’s much more level headed, which is exactly what Trent needs.

Going into this book I didn’t know that Beautiful Oblivion follows the same timeline as BD, while I was expecting this to take place after, it really didn’t bother me that much. I really liked the fact that we get the Pigeon tattoo scene in this book, I can’t believe I didn’t know that Trent was the one who gave Travis the tattoo…I either missed that little tidbit in BD and WD or I’ve forgotten more than I thought about those books.

I really loved the secondary characters in this book too, Hazel cracked me up and Raegan was an amazing friend to Cami, even though she was going through some boy troubles of her own. I really like the family vibe that Red and Skin Deep had. You could feel the love and respect that they had for one another and that’s extremely rare now days.

Overall, Beautiful Oblivion was just as compelling and unputdownable as BD and WD. I’m sure fans of the Disaster books will fall in love with Trent just as much as they did Travis.

---Christy

Review | Red Hill by Jamie McGuire

Format: ARC
Source: Won
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When the world ends, can love survive?

For Scarlet, raising her two daughters alone makes fighting for tomorrow an everyday battle. Nathan has a wife, but can’t remember what it’s like to be in love; only his young daughter Zoe makes coming home worthwhile. Miranda’s biggest concern is whether her new VW Bug is big enough to carry her sister and their boyfriends on a weekend escape from college finals.

When reports of a widespread, deadly “outbreak” begin to surface, these ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances and suddenly their fates are intertwined. Recognizing they can’t outrun the danger, Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda desperately seek shelter at the same secluded ranch, Red Hill. Emotions run high while old and new relationships are tested in the face of a terrifying enemy—an enemy who no longer remembers what it’s like to be human.

Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you’d die for becomes the one who could destroy you?

Red Hill grabs you from page one and doesn’t let go until its stunning conclusion. This is #1 New York Times bestselling author Jamie McGuire at her unforgettable best.

My Thoughts:

I know the world ended on a Friday. It was the last day I saw my children.

When I picked up Red Hill I honestly didn’t think that I would be shedding any tears, although the last line above was the ending of the prologue so that should have been a slap in the face that this book was going to be emotional. But I had never read a zombie book before that had made me cry. Sure, I knew that people would die, but in previous zombie books that I have read it wasn’t characters that I had grown attached to or it was those certain characters that weren’t written so well and you really didn’t form any sort of connection to them.

Well, Red Hill is nothing like those previous zombie books that I had read, no one is safe from death and the characters are all written so well that it’s so hard not to form any sort of connection with them. Of course, that just makes it sooo much more devastating when someone succumbs to the infection.

I wasn’t sure how long we could survive, but I knew I wasn’t dying on day one of the fucking zombie apocalypse.

Like I said above, the character development was amazing, especially since this book was told in three different POVs. Usually when there are more than two different characters narrating, I would either like one of them the best and find myself skimming the others or I just wouldn’t connect to any of them at all. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with this book at all. I felt a connection with each of the characters from the beginning, and I found myself interested in what was happening with all of them, instead of just one and that was a huge plus for me.

This book also tore at my heart, maybe it’s because I’m a mother and I couldn’t imagine the pain that Scarlett was going through not knowing where her children where and if they were even still alive. Every day without seeing them must have been agony, but her hope never faltered and I think that made me like her so much more.

Overall, Red Hill is one hell of a rollercoaster, I laughed and I cried. McGuire is one hell of a writer and I have loved every book that I have read by her and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

---Christy

Book Review | Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sophie Winters nearly died. Twice.


The first time, she's fourteen, and escapes a near-fatal car accident with scars, a bum leg, and an addiction to Oxy that'll take years to kick.

The second time, she's seventeen, and it's no accident. Sophie and her best friend Mina are confronted by a masked man in the woods. Sophie survives, but Mina is not so lucky. When the cops deem Mina's murder a drug deal gone wrong, casting partial blame on Sophie, no one will believe the truth: Sophie has been clean for months, and it was Mina who led her into the woods that night for a meeting shrouded in mystery.

After a forced stint in rehab, Sophie returns home to a chilly new reality. Mina's brother won't speak to her, her parents fear she'll relapse, old friends have become enemies, and Sophie has to learn how to live without her other half. To make matters worse, no one is looking in the right places and Sophie must search for Mina's murderer on her own. But with every step, Sophie comes closer to revealing all: about herself, about Mina and about the secret they shared.

My Thoughts:

I’m not sure where to even start with my review for this book. It seems like the more I liked a book the harder it is to review, and I loved this one so you can imagine my struggle as I’m trying to put my thoughts and feelings about the awesomeness that is Far From You into words. So, forgive me if my review seems a little unhinged.

Do you ever go through phases where you just want to read a bunch of the same genre? Well, this is what’s happening to me right now, and my drug of choice (pun intended) is thrillers. So, what do I do? I go to Goodreads and ask for thriller recommendations and this little gem shows up as a recommended book (Thanks, Tonyalee!) and I’m glad that this book got my attention because it was amazing.

At seventeen years old, Sophie has been through more in her short life than a lot of people go through in a lifetime. She was in an accident when she was only fourteen years old that left her with pain that doesn’t go away, this in turn leads to an addiction.

Sophie is a recovering addict and she has been clean for months, but when she is the only witness to her best friend, Mina’s, murder, no one believes that the drugs found in her jacket wasn’t hers. The police have written Mina’s murder down as a drug deal gone wrong, but Sophie knows there’s more to the story, Mina never would have taken her to buy drugs, and Sophie is determined to figure out what Mina was involved in that got her killed. But the closer Sophie gets to the truth, the more danger she’s in.

Sophie is such a strong character, I can’t imagine the strength it would take to deal with the loss of her best friend without turning to the one thing that has comforted her for the past few years. But Sophie is determined to keep her sobriety no matter how much pain, physical and emotional, she’s in and this made it so easy for me to like her. Yes, she has a past, but who doesn’t? I know that I’ve done things in my teenage years that I’m not proud of but I’m not that same person, and neither is Sophie. Her struggle was real and raw and that made this book so much MORE, you know?

Sharpe’s writing style was impeccable, the transition between past and present was so flawless, you knew exactly which time frame you were in, there’s was no confusion whatsoever. In my opinion, the switch between past and present added so much more to the story. It was so fascinating to go back and see not only how the relationship between Sophie and Mina developed, but also what their relationship was like. It just made Mina’s death and Sophie’s loss feel more vast.

Overall, Far From You is an amazing story about loss, recovery and staying true to who you are. I applaud Sharpe for tackling such emotional and tough subjects and I look forward to reading more by this author.

---- Christy

Book Review | To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 15, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all

 

My Thoughts:

I must admit that from the beginning of this book up until about 15% in, I really didn't think I was going to like it. It just started out a little too slow for my taste. BUT, I'm so glad that I stuck with it because it is such a wonderful story and I absolutely adored these characters.

Lara Jean has written 'goodbye' letters to any boy that she's every loved as a way to wipe her hands clean and move on. These were letters that were meant solely for her and no one else was ever supposed to read them, especially the ones that were written for. So when Peter K. comes up to her one day at school holding a letter that she had written to him years ago she is stunned. However, it turns out that her letters getting sent out may be one of the best things that could have happened.

I really liked the fact that this book isn't just about the romance either, it also has such a strong family dynamic and I love that. It's not often that we see books that have such a strong family bond in YA so I'm always excited when I finally come across one.

I really liked Lara Jean as the MC, she felt really genuine and it was extremly easy to connect with her. There's also a very complicated love triangle, well I guess square would be more appropriate (read it and you'll see what I mean) so I don't really want to give anything away about the love interest. Let's just say that I really liked one at the beginning of this book and not so much the other and by the end it was kind of vice versa.

And Kitty! She was absolutely adorable, I wish that I had a younger sister like her (I'm an only child :( ) to keep things interesting. I didn't really connect to much with Margot, Lara Jeans older sister and the oldest of the Song girls. I don't know what it was about her that I didn't click with, but it just wasn't there.

Overall, To All the Boys I've Loved Before is an cute and intriguing contemporary that will leave you wanting more. While it did take a while to warm up once the story got going, I couldn't have put it down even if I wanted to. I look forward to see what happens next with Lara Jean.

----Christy