Happy One Year Anniversary to ME!

I cannot believe it’s been ONE YEAR GUYS!!!

I have been off the grid for awhile but I just want to thank everyone who has supported and stayed with me through my fails and my hits… I hope you will continue on to grow with me.

In my first year I had a “to do” list of sorts and I thought it might be cool to share that now and see how I fared:

1. Reach 100 followers on my blog – BIG YES to this – thank you to everyone who follows my flog!

2. Get a Twitter Account and get 200 followers there (I thought this might be tough) – but happy to report I MADE IT! Thanks guys!!

3. Befriend one amazing author and help support their work. WOW Yes, I have so many people to thank here – Jessica Park, Emma Chase, Katie McGarry, Colleen Hoover, Lauren Oliver, and so many more! I have met via online more authors than I could ever dream – the authors I dream about taking time to talk to me on FB or Twitter has meant more than anything else, it’s why I wanted to become a blogger to support these wonderful people!

4. To get a chance to read books “before” they hit the market – so sue me, I wanted to be part of the cool kids club. and YES i have to say I don’t get every book I ask for, but I do get a good part, nothing to complain over for sure! I still buy my fare share, so Amazon never has to worry about losing me as a customer….

5. To get to know what Indie writing is all about. WOW have I really learned about this this year – some of my best reads for 2013-2014 have been the indies that were self pubslished and still stole my heart. I try to promote these as often as i can – these books and characters deserve as much love as the largest authors and stories out on the market. The indie writers have touched my heart, but more than that they have made me feel like maybe i have  a place in this world outside of blogging….

6. To evaluate my own life and what part reading plays into it. Well, like all things “me” i dove in head first and over did it. Then I had to put the breaks on, now I’m trying to work some balance into the picture – so we shall see how this goes. I still read a TON but I’m trying to be more selective of what I review and only review things I feel like I really want my readers to read and/or at least know about. No worries about my reading habits here though, I still read pretty much anything I can get my hands on…..haha…

7. To Become friends with other bloggers I can share my love of books with: Now to this I would say YES in some ways and NO in others. When I first came along I spent the time to troll other blogs and communicate. I was honestly hoping I would find a book BFF somewhere in the internet land.. No one I know shares my true love of books and especially the genres I love so much – so while I have been active on forums I haven’t found my “click” yet. The cloest thing I have to a blog I follow and would love to be a part of is the Aestas Blog – I follow them religiously and they seem like cool chicks – maybe one day I can be part of that, maybe not – for now i’m happy sharing thoughts and seeing their thoughts about my favorite subject.

8. Did I say 10 really?? Hmmm… #8 to really start looking outside of the YA genre. When I started thsi that was my main focus. If you read my blog at all, you will know that I have OVERLY achieved this. I have fallen in love with this new genre… New Adult (Iknow everyone has mixed feelings here) and I also love the adult world to a point (AKA Sylvia Day, Alice Clayton, E.L. James, and of course Emma Chase). I have been introduced to so many new authors and for that i’m thankful everyday! So keep it coming in this aspect!

9. I want to attend a BEA Conference. This is one of my biggest wishes – and I don’t know that it can happen this year…. but I want it to happen soon. All my dreams would come true here, to be part of the real blogging community and to meet some of my favorite authors – nothing would be better! It would be like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one – are any of you guys going this year???

10. Last, but certainly, not least I would like to meet Stephanie Meyer. Without “Twilight” I don’t know that I would have gotten back into reading on this scale and fallen in love with this genre leading to my blog/etc. Meeting her would be…amazing.

11. I have to add one last one, I want to have a blurb – Yes a blurb on the back cover of a book or in a description of a book on amazo – i’m not picky, i’ll take what I can get but to see my writing helping show off soemone else’s would be amazing!

All Right guys that’s about it. I can tell you about one cool thing I did this year and why it was a “bookish” cool thing..

I was in NYC last month for Toy Fair (yes for my real job) and I had a minute, and i picked to site see the NYC Public Library – specifically the Rose Reading Room. Have you been? If not you are missing out big time! For readers, it’s like…heaven. THe smell of books, the quiet, the smell…ahhh I could have spent all day there. Most importantly i was picturing a scene from one of my favorite books there – If you have read “Beautiful Stranger” in the “Beautiful Bastard” series you know what I mean – and that scene is HOT. So, I flushed, sniffed the great smell, sat in a chair in the famous reading room and bid it a fond farewell – believe me I’ll be back. It was then I realized just how much books had become a part of my life. Here I was picking this of anywhere to sight see – and it was the best place i’ve been there in a long while. Just to enjoy the quiet for a few moments, to know all the words contained in all those books I can’t wait to read. The whole expanse of knowledge and stories I have yet to find… It’s humbling and amazing all at the same time.

So happy blog anniversary to me! And to you – thank you ALL for sticking around and making it worth my while!

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Your fellow Blogger –

Kell

ARC Review of “How To Love” by Katie Cotugno – a lesson on real life love

Book: “How to Love”

Author” Katie Cotugno

Publish Date: October 1, 2013

How I Got the Book: From a Blog tour Site – Around the World ARC Tours

————

Summary:

Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he’s never seemed to notice that Reena even exists…until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.

After: Almost three years have passed, and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena’s gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she’s finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn’t want anything to do with him, though she’d be lying if she said Sawyer’s being back wasn’t stirring something in her. After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love—twice.

What I thought:

For starters I got the book and realized it was very long, but after the first chapter – it had me at Chapter one.. I liked the way the author went back and forth between before and now – so you could build the story in your head in a full way – without making full judgement of any character before you gave them a chance. I think had all the before scences come first it would have been WAY harder for me to like Sawyer at all – but the way she built the story and the narration was great. Maybe I read too many books now, but I really take notice of these type of things and I appreciate when someone does something different. I do wish we had heard more from Sawyer’s side, but in the end it was Rena’s story that needed to be heard – well her and Hannah’s story.

I started out thinking this would be another cute/love story in the contemporary YA world, but I was amazingly proved wrong. It was deep, real, and emotional. I felt the heart break Reena felt and the loss when Sawyer left – and the heartache and loss when she learned she was pregnant – and then the pure joy of her beautiful little girl. The book had it all. If you are looking forward to anything in October, i hope this is one of the top picks. The story covered series emotional situations – teen pregnancy, teen parenting, addiction, abandonment – troubled family relationships, and just plain fear. It’s certainly not a fairy tale teen pregnancy story, it’s real and gritty and heart breaking.

The theme I got over and over again was about love, the fact that real love is not easy by any means  – that it takes work but when you work for it, it’s one of the best parts of this world. I have gone through some difficult times in my own life, and my own love has been tested to the very limits during some of these times, and I thought this book really did justice to the real life love it takes to survive in this world. It showed a “true” love can overcome any obstacle – it really reminded me of “the Notebook” and the end where Noah and Ally believe their love can do anything – nothing worth having is ever easy – that is my two cents anyway… for what it’s worth.

Now On To The Characters:

Reena is a strong young woman. When she realizes she’s pregnant and goes to see Sawyer and walks home to face the music alone, her bravery and character astound me – for her age it’s hard to imagine having to go through that and what a tough girl. Tosss in some huge loss in her life and she is really tested beyond belief yet she keeps moving forward – making the best of what she has. She has regrets sure, but who doesn’t. Even with Sawyer, when he appears again – she is so afraid to love him and for good reason – but she doesn’t give up. Yes, she fights it, but I think after everything that went down she deerved to be fought for to some extent.

Sawyer – well from the first pages he was hot, laid back – the cool guy everyone thought they wanted to date in highschool. I like that it showed all of his sides, not just his good side – and it showed that no one is perfect. I wanted to like him, but it took me even a good part of the book to see what his purpose was when he was back in town and to allow myself to give him a chance – I have to say I was rooting for him by the end…

Shelby – Loved her. I loved her real friendship with Reena which is just what she needed. Despite her being in college and away from home she was still there for Reena and supported her no matter what – which is just what she needed. She also added fun and laughter to somme of the most difficult parts of the story.

The parents – The relationship I felt the most for was for Reena and her Dad – in the end I had tears as they had their last conversation, how much she taught him and how far they came – I don’t want to ruin any plots here, but it’s worth the read  juswt to see this touching scene…

So Enough Blabbing on – What’s My Take Away Here?

5/5 Stars for sure!

The book had true emotion. My heart broke, mended, and grew all in one story. I loved the characters and disliked them strongly at different times. Combine that with the beautiful writing and it’s a classic for sure. The way Katie wrote the story really made all the difference, to me she let you see what you needed to and when – and not before or it may have changed your opinion of the characters – I think it let you get to know the characters in an unbyassed way as possible. This book is just so hard to review because it reallly exceeded everything I thought I would get from it. I thought this would be another YA teen pregnancy story – but boy was I wrong. I learned things about living and taking life as it comes from this strong young character – and seeing real love in action warmed my heart. It’s so easy to love when everything is perfect, so easy to feel like that anyway – but it’s not easy to realize that you have to work for what you want. All that happened here, Sawyer had to work for his family, and seeing someone seeing someone his age to that – made my heart warm.  It was just a wonerfully redeeming story.

In the end it was real, not what you expected. It had hard moments, moments that brought tears to my eyes for the shear heart break – but it also had moments that made me so happy I shed tears then too. It really had it all. In the end, I was left feeling whole – like the world was left as it shouold be and I hope you will feel this same way when you are done.  It’s one of the best “real life” love stories I’ve read in some time.  The characters had a love that won out against everything life threw at them – and that even taught them how to love again and feel what had been there all along.

In closing, I hope you get this book, it’s an absolute worthwhile read — so remember October 1st or better  yet pre-order now. Then tell me what you think! If you’ve had a chance to read and review, love your comments here too —

I will admit I’m missing my famous quote section here this time and I hate that because this book had some great ones, but when it’s “offiially” released i am already planning to go back and get some to amend this slight to all of you guys, so keep posted!

Happy early Friday Everyone and Happy reading!

Kelley

Related articles

• Tuesday Teaser – August 27th (bookgirlfromsouthcarolina.wordpress.com)

Friday Finds for September 27th!

Hosted by Should Be Reading @ http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/friday-finds-sept-27/

FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

So, come on — share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

———–

Happy Friday and HEY GUYS! Have you missed me? I’ve been sick this week and just insane busy… So i haven’t posted since Monday (OH NO!) but still wanted to share some Friday finds with you this week! Hope you all have an amazing weekend!

 “Perfect Ruin’ By Lauren DeStefano

Link to goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17339241-perfect-ruin?ac=1

 “Trust in Me” by J. Lynn

* I LOVE a male POV so if you read “Wait For You” then I feel certain you will love this too!

GoodReads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17860217-trust-in-me

——

The next 2 are books I “re-found” on my Audible unread this week and promtply read them while I was sick – and really enjoyed!

 “Beautiful Stranger” by Christina Lauren

*Note I heart “Beautiful Bastard” and Bennett – but Max in this with his English accent… YUMMY! Highly Reccommend

GoodReads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16117506-beautiful-stranger?ac=1

 “Entwined With You” by Sylvia Day

*Now this is part of the cross fire series and to be honest I thought the last book – must be why I held off on it, but it’s NOT so read it and get excited for more!

GoodReads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15731779-entwined-with-you?ac=1

—–

Well that’s all I’ve got folks – have a great weekend and do some great reading!

Kelley

Monday Musings… September 23rd

 Hosted by Should Be Reading @ http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/musing-mondays-sept-23/

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits. • Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s). • What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! • Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it. • Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us! • Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

—————————

Today I want to “muse” about the Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan. WOW. If you haven’t read it, I highly reccomend reading it asap – my full review will be up today hope you will check it out!

Anyway, the series.. I have not been so emotionally entangled with characters in a story in I don’t know when – I literally was dying to see what would happen and the ends of each of the two books were insane – I am kind of glad in a way I waited until they were all out so I woudln’t have to wait because I think if I did have to wait I may have gone nuts..seriously!

I don’t want to go on and on, but i just loved it and I hope you will consider checking it out – it’s a trilogy and they are all on Amazon now.

My other question to my fellow bloggers is about the review – I want to write the review of the series since I read it all at once – what is your thought on this? Have you ever done it before? I just can’t see myself separating out each individual book now that I have the whole picture presented by the series — so tell me what you think?? Love to hear some feedback here!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Kelley

“Back to Life” by Danielle Allen is a Sexy Must Read!

Title: “Back to Life”

Author: Danielle Allen

Release Date: July 2013

Length: 340 Pages

How I Got the Book: I got an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Link to buy book on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Back-to-Life-ebook/dp/B00E5S4DAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1379937118&sr=1-1&keywords=back+to+life+danielle+allen

Summary From GoodReads:

Sahara Lee has spent the last ten years living with the guilt of a tragic accident and its aftermath.  That night irrevocably changed the outgoing, fun-loving college freshman into an introverted, workaholic with no social life.  Sahara isolates herself from everyone and everything that reminds her of home in an effort to forget what happened.  Using art as a substitute for love, Sahara throws herself into music and art as a way to feel something other than the guilt that haunts her. She accepts her lonely existence as penance for the role she played in the accident. That is, until she meets Tyree Barker, the good looking entrepreneur with baggage of his own.  

Blindsided by a legal loophole, Sahara is suddenly forced to confront the past she’s been running from.  Juggling the guilty feelings of her past and the unexpected feelings of her present, Sahara’s future becomes complicated as she heads down a path of forgiveness, love, and heartbreak…and not in that particular order.

Back to Life reminds you that living and existing are two completely different ways to go through life. Grief will break you but guilt, guilt will destroy you. And once that happens, what can bring you back to life?

What I Thought:

I cannot begin to tell you the range of emotions I went through while reading this book – back and forth – happy and sad – I should have had emotional whiplash! But even with all of that, I loved it. Danielle Allen’s writing is amazing – beautiful and her plot twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I got an email asking me to review this book and to be honest at first I was not sure whether or not I would be interetsed, but once I started I was hooked – and I’m so glad I decided to read it. From the summary above you can get the jist of what happens in the book, but I can tell you there is so much more to discover. It’s absolutely not one of those book covers that gives it all away before you read it.

I found Sahara to be… heart breaking. Watching herself keep busy with work and her music, to keep the demons at bay was heart breaking all in it’s own. Her guilt over what she thought she had done weighed even me down as I read the pages. That is one of the things I most enjoyed about the book, you could “feel” the emotions coming off of the pages, and I felt for Sahara. Punishing yourself for 10 years is…wow..just so sad. Then enter Tyree….

Tyree is amazing – strong, sweet, caring – and just what Sahara needs. It’s like he woke her up again, and for that I rallied for his character the entire book. Watching their relationship develop and watching him help her overcome her demons and open up was amazing – I love a story where the couple grows out of something that is so hard.  Seeing her alive again through his eyes kept me reading through the more difficult moments. Although, Tyree is amazing – he does not come without baggage himself, and as i like to say “no one is perfect.” I don’t want to put any plot spoilers here, but I will tell you it will be a surprise and will add twists and turns you did not expect to be taking with this story…enough said – READ IT!

Now – we also had some supporting characters – I just really want to mention Emily who could not have been a better best friend. She kept on while Sahara shut her out continually for 10 years – who stays around for that? She does, Emily should be the depiction of what a best friend is.

Post-It Recap:

In the end I give this book a 4.5/5 stars. I loved the writing, the characters, and the story. The romance was hot and sexy – and I cannot wait to see  more from these two characters. The only thing I have to say is that the cliff hanger is KILLING ME!  “Back to Reality” is out soon and I cannot wait to see what happens – hoping I”ll get to be part of the blog tour for that one too!  As much as I love being left wanting more, I want more NOW!! So my reccommendation, get this like today – read it asap – and be ready for the next book to come out and see the next chapter of their story.

Happy Reading!

Kelley

ARC Review of “Foreplay” by Sophie Jordan

Book: “Foreplay”

Author: Sophie Jordan

Release Date: 11/5/2013

How I got a copy of the book: I was granted access through an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

Summary From GoodReads:

Before she goes after the life she’s always wanted, she’s about to find the one she needs.

Pepper has been hopelessly in love with her best friend’s brother, Hunter, for like ever. He’s the key to everything she’s always craved: security, stability, family. But she needs Hunter to notice her as more than just a friend. Even though she’s kissed exactly one guy, she has just the plan to go from novice to rock star in the bedroom—take a few pointers from someone who knows what he’s doing.

Her college roommates have the perfect teacher in mind. But bartender Reece is nothing like the player Pepper expects. Yes, he’s beyond gorgeous, but he’s also dangerous, deep—with a troubled past. Soon what started as lessons in attraction are turning both their worlds around, and showing just what can happen when you go past foreplay and get to what’s real…

————–

What Did I Think?

What did I think about this book? I actually read it amoung a week long spree of adult fiction (usually I try to alternate between YA and Adult when I read for reviews) – but this week in particular I had a spree of GREAT books – this being one of them.  I can admit when I first started reading it, I thought the idea Pepper had this crazy crush and that she was trying to use someone else to gain experience was a little….insane… But at the same time being a girl, I could in some way fathom how someone may think this is a good idea – and then we meet Reece. Reece is dark and haunted, and beautiful from Sophie Jordan’s awesome portrayl with words. Pepper just didn’t know what to do with a guy like this. The heat betweeen them even in the begining crackled off the page – always leaving me wanting more. I can hoenstly say the first time he took her to his room, I almost fainted just reading the hotness of it all. I know the story is similar, bad boy with bad reputation – good girl who doesn’t know better but wants a little taste of the bad boy world – but I still thought it took on it’s own twist. I like that Pepper really saw Reece even from the start, even though it scared her pants off. Then we throw Hunter into the story. I really wanted to like Hunter, but from the moment Reece came into the picture, in my heart that was the person for Pepper (no matter what Pepper wanted) – guess that would have made me a pretty crappy friend right?

Anyway, so here is the good girl with the bad boy – who commences to teach her all she needs to know to make the guy of her dreams want her – which is really kind of messed up, but again the moments are so HOT. All I can say about this is that Reece is smarter than he lets on throught out the entire book – he takes what she offers but I know he knew more from even the begining and being that he was willing to take her crappy offer – made my heart stutter even more.  I started to really worry about Recce’s feelings – especially after that scene in the pizza place. But woudln’t you know it, what guy doesn’t want what he can’t have (age old story here too, right?) and all of a sudden Peppper has everything she “wants” – and this is where the torture kind of started for me, I was utterlly decided that it was Reece not Hunter who deserved her – and I rooted ruthlessly for him, so you can mark me Team Reece here… and the rest is history since you will have to read the book – will Pepper choose the safe choice with Hunter or will she take the big leap and give Reece and happiness a chance?

The Characters

Starting with Pepper I’ll admit right out that she had it rough growing up and this really makes me understand her hesitancy with the opposite sex – in many ways. It also really explains her lure to the “safeness” of Hunter and his perfect family. It’s the only normal she ever knew. So when Reece comes screeching into her life full force and full of his own problems, of course she will run for the hills. While Pepper thinks she isn’t strong and her survival is only built on her taking the safe route, which she has built in her head with Hunter, I actually saw a lot of strength in her – I thought she was incredibly brave to continue with her life, although carefully, and not crumble from all she had been through. After reading her story you will understand more, but for me – the fact she was even walking and going through life (albeit a little unlively) showed how brave she really was. The fact that Reece understood where she was coming from and saw her braveness too just gave him another point in my book. Hunter, while he did care about her deeply, you could tell he never really  understood what was beneath the surface from her life before she knew him… I enjoyed seeing Pepper grow and learn to live in this book, not just exist.

Reece, oh Reece — what can I say?  Reece absoultely came from a rough situation – and one run in with his father showed exactly why. When he poured his heart and his story to Pepper, my heart hurt for him… This guy had been through so much and yet, just like Pepper – he kept going. He even went as far as to deny himself something that would make him happy because he felt he didn’t deserve it – now I know in any psychological sense this makes him…not so well – but for the story I think it showed how good of a person he was. Him letting Pepper in was amazing to watch – seeing him grow in this novel and accept that he deserved better made me root for him even more. He just like Pepper was so much stronger than he gave himself credit for.

Hunter, Mr. Perfect. I don’t dislike Hunter and he actually seemed like a totally stand up guy. I’m not completely sure why he had no interest in Pepper until he saw her with Reece since they knew each other for a long time, but who knows.. I do know from what I saw he was a gentleman and a good person – Unfortunately during his part of the book, we really only saw what Pepper ws thinking.. I am glad she got her chance to be with him, no matter what happens that I may or may not agree with – but this was part of her journey. In the end, the last scene or one of the last to be exact – he won my heart over too – he really is a stand up guy. I liked that Jordan didn’t write scummy guys in this book – what’s better than having 2 amazing but different guys in love with you?

The other characters –

Reece’s brother and Pepper’s best friend both played pretty significant roles in the book, and because this is the first in a series – I feel like we will see more of all of them as it continues, and I am personally super excited about that – hearing the other stories. I “think” the next story may be about Pepper’s room mate and I think that will be something interesting to read and it’s absolutely on my watch list –

Post Book Re-Cap

Overall I give this book a 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed the characters, the writing and the storyline. It’s the first in the series and I can honestly say that I will want to read the other parts of the series as they come out. I have not read anything by Sophie Jordan before but I will be checking more stuff out that she writes for sure.  The one thing I can say here is that I wish I could see things from Reece’s mind – i’m so spoiled seeing things from both sides in so many books, that now I miss out when I can’t understand what a guy or whomever is thinking that’s the other part of the story. In some points, the same goes for Hunter. I think this book for me is a re-read because I was so entranced with the story round number one I could have missed some of the better points, and I certianly wouldn’t mind going back over some of the steamier moments (HOT!). I really think I’m starting to enjoy this new new adult genre. So in the end, it’s an amazing story of growth for Reece and Pepper – and also about Hunter realizing what he wanted all along was right under his nose. Like I said before, what is better than having 2 amazing guys in totally different ways in love with you – well the only thing I can think of is that you have to choose – so what will Pepper do?

—-

I hope you enjoyed my review and will get the book – I’ll post the pre-order link above and don’t forget it hits shelves on 11/5 (not too far away). I want to thank Sophie Jordan for allowing me to review this early – it was my pelasure! And I hope to hear some of your comments too, espeically when you can read it for yourselves —

Happy Reading!

Kelley

 

Tuesday Teaser – “Reason To Breathe” Rebecca Donovan

Hosted by Should Be Reading @ http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/teaser-tuesdays-sept-17/

Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

——–

This week I’m reading:

 “Reason to Breathe” from the Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan

Summary From GoodReads:

“No one tried to get involved with me, and I kept to myself.  This was the place where everything was supposed to be safe and easy.  How could Evan Mathews unravel my constant universe in just one day?”

In the affluent town of Weslyn, Connecticut, where most people worry about what to be seen in and who to be seen with, Emma Thomas would rather not be seen at all. She’s more concerned with feigning perfection while pulling down her sleeves to conceal the bruises – not wanting anyone to know how far from perfect her life truly is. Without expecting it, she finds love. It challenges her to recognize her own worth – but at the risk of revealing the terrible secret she’s desperate to hide.

Reason to Breathe is an electrifying page turner from start to finish, a unique tale of life-changing love, unspeakable cruelty, and one girl’s fragile grasp of hope…

MY TEASER:

“Fine, if that’s how he felt, then he should’ve gone.  He obvioiusly couldn’t stand to look at me, so why should I care if he left?!  Now I don’t have to worry about him yelling at me, or making me feel guilty for my decisions.  I don’t care if I never see him again.”

“This was almost convincing, but my heart stuttered in panic at the thought of not seeing his face in the halls.”

—-

So I’ll leave you with that –

If you’ve read it, love to hear feedback, I”m fairly frustrated already with Emma’s situation – mad that someone coudl treat someone that way in general!! I’m hoping for Evan to be a miracle but not sure how things will go —

Happy Reading!

Kelley

Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten TBR Books Fall 2013

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish @ http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/2013/09/top-ten-books-on-daisys-fall-2013-tbr.html

Hi guys! Time for another Top Ten Tuesday! This week we’re talking about the books on you Fall 2013 TBR list, it can be either books you’re planning to read or Fall releases you’re excited about!

My Top Ten TBR Books for Fall 2013

*I am going to preface this with the fact I could not stick to just 10 books, since my TBR is so full – I think this should reflect that as well so I’m giving you my Top 12 TBR Books for Fall 2013 – Enjoy!

—————–

Number 1

 “Crash Into You” By Katie McGarry

I have been psyched about this book since I knew it was coming – I love her other books, especially “Pushing The Limits” and I cannot wait to hear the story in this one – super psyched! McGarry is one of those authors I would read anything she wants to write!

*Link to GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17233800-crash-into-you?ac=1

Number 2

 “Found In You” by Laurelin Paige

I just finished the first book in this series, “Fixed In You” and I loved Hudson and Laynie’s story so much I cannot wait for the second part – October 1 cannot come fast enough for me on this!!

*Link To GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17930773-found-in-you?ac=1

Number 3

 “The Longest Ride” By Nicholas Sparks (out today!!)

I know his writing might be seen by some as… old school – but I just love a good N. Sparks book – nothing better than a good cry and this book, The Notebook book and movie form being an inspiration to my personal life – for serious! So, I’m super psyched to read this, it sounds different but the same, I have read every single book he’s written so I just can’t stop now. Plus it’s out TODAY! How exciting!!

*Link to GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17407748-the-longest-ride?ac=1

Number 4

 “Rome” by Jay Crownover

If you have not read “Rule” Or “Jet” yet and you like bad boys – get them now! I loved those books and I cannot wait to read this one, I actually thought it might come out before 2014 – in December, so not sure this counts 100% but I’m sticking with it as a top TBR b/c I’m hoping to get a review copy – Can’t blame a girl for wishing right?

*Link To GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17798233-rome?ac=1

Number 5

 “Holy Friggin Matrimony” by Emma Chase

I love this book enough to list it even though I don’t have a cover to put there yet – but trust me – if you have not read “Tangled” yet, you are missing out!!! Emma chase is amazing and funny and I cannot wait for the next installment in this series!

*Link To GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18282724-holy-frigging-matrimony?ac=1

Number 6

 “Allegiant” by Veronia Roth

Who could NOT be excited about this last installment in the “Divergent” series? I’m super psyched myself – cannot wait!!

*Link To GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10616322-allegiant?ac=1

Number 7

 “The Promise of Amazing” by Robin Constantine

I got this as an Earc review book and I”m super excited to check it out – I love a little young love!!

*Link To GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17844678-the-promise-of-amazing?ac=1

Number 8

 “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green

I know, I’m probably the last person on the planet that has not read this yet – so it’s absolutely on my radar – Cannot wait to read!

*Link to GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11870085-the-fault-in-our-stars?ac=1

Number 9

 “Hopeless” by Colleen Hoover

Again, I think I’m maybe the only person that has not read this yet, but I just finished the Slammed series and Cannot wait to read this too!! One of my top fall look to books!

*Link to GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15717943-hopeless?from_search=true

Number 10

 “Connectivity” by Aven Ellis

This is Aven’s debut novel and I’m super psyched to check it out and I hope you all will be too!

*Link to GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18484171-connectivity?ac=1

Number 11

 “Red Hill” By Jamie McGuire

I am a true Jamie McGuire fan and cannot wait to read her next book – so excited for this! “Beautiful Disaster” is one of my top ten all time favorite books and with her amazing writing I know I will just love this too!

*Link To GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17457124-red-hill?ac=1

Number 12

 “The Edge of Never” by J.A. Remerski

Saw this book on one of my kindle deals and was drawn in my the description alone, cannot wait ot read the book! Plus I know a sequel is in the works and should be out soon and I cannot resist a good series, so hope you all will check this out too!

*Link to GoodReads Summary: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16081272-the-edge-of-never?ac=1

I also want to add my Top 2 TBR books thus far for Winter 2014 – I bet a lot of you will share my excitement in these too!

 “Panic” By Lauren Oliver

If you read my site, you know I”m a HUGE fan of the “Delirium” series and Lauren Oliver in general and cannot wait to read this too! Too bad we have to wait until March 2014  – however I”m still crossing my fingers I can get an ARC in my hands before then —

 “Into the Still Blue” by Veronica Rossi

Cannot contain my excitement on this – LOVE this series – and cannot wait to see how it all ties together for Aria and Perry. I’ve requested an ARC on Edelweiss – so I’m keeping my fingers crossed I get it, but if not I’ll be waiting like everyone else until Jan 2014 – which seems like forever!! If you haven’t read the rest of the series yet, totally check it out!

—————————————- The END ————————————————-

Well that’s it for my Top Ten Tuesday (or Top Twelve) in this case —

 

Happy Reading!

Kelley

 

 

Review of “Louder Than Love” by Jessica Topper – On sale now!

Title: “Louder Than Love”

Author: Jessica Topper

Publish Date: September 17, 2013

How I got the book: I got this book via Egalley from NetGalley – In Exchange for an honest review

——

Summary From GoodReads:

In this powerful debut novel, a young librarian grieves the loss of her husband…and discovers a love that defies classification.

It’s been over three years since a train accident made a widow of Katrina Lewis, sending her and her young daughter Abbey back to the suburban town of her youth…the only place that still makes sense. Lauder Lake is the perfect place to hide and heal.

Recluse rocker Adrian “Digger” Graves survived the implosion of his music career, but his muse has long lain dormant. Until Kat hires him to play at her library—not on the basis of his hard rock credentials but rather, because of the obscure kids’ TV jingle he wrote years ago. In a case of mistaken identity, Adrian stumbles into the lives of Kat and her comically lovable daughter.

Using tattoos as a timeline, Adrian unfurls his life for Kat. But as the courtship intensifies, it’s unclear whose past looms larger: the widow’s or the rocker’s. Will their demons ever rest, or will they break these soul mates apart?

My Thoughts….

What initially drew me to this book was the title and the beautiful cover (see above), but what made me WANT it was the summary. The summary and the title and covered lived up to all of my expectations and more! Jessica Topper did an amazing job with this book. The characters, the plot, the voice – all great. For a debut novel, I think she just did a great job and I really enjoyed reading this amazing love story! The whole book is written from Kat (or Katrina’s or Tree’s) POV, and although I wish I could have seen into Adrien (or Digger’s) mind during some points, I enjoyed being inside her head for the most part. I can say, I am getting rather spoiled by all the male POV written stories though, and the tell tale sign was me reading this and in certain moments, thinking… WOW I wish I knew what HE was thinking right now – which is great because it tells me I’m invested in the story in my point of view.  Anyway – it starts out with Kat and her story (which broke my heart!!) and then I met Abby and she was…adorable..even from a book page – great personality written for her. I have to stop here and tell you one of my favorite scenes of her is her little “child’s nightclub” on the porch where she dances and dj’s with other neighboorhood kids- the image of them dancing around with their juice boxes in the air – that had me really laughing.. When Kat first meets Adrien that is also an interesting moment and night. Really the story just had me from the first chapter, I was invested in finishing this from there.. The story while something that isn’t “brand spanking” new put an edge on the theme and I love rock and roll boys with good girls, so that absoutely left me wanting more – even at the end.  I liked that the author wrote in friends for the main character, but didn’t let them take away from the most important part of the story, sometimes I feel like the back story characters take on more focus than they need to and it distracts from the main point. Topper did a great job keeping the supporting characters supporting without them being too flat or boring, it was just enough – and it has been awhile since I’ve felt that way about a story. I also didn’t feel like it was overwhelming, it was just the right amount of sad, happy, love, and heart break emotions – it encapsulated the best first parts of a relationship and put that under tight constraints with the character’s back-stories in mind, and just did a great job telling the story from start to finish. So, before I gloat anymore, we will just say it was great! Now on to the characters –

The Characters –

I’ll start with Kat – Katrina, or Tree depending what you like, but I’ll call her Kat. I thought she was really brave, after all she had been through, to keep moving for one, and to survive more importantly. She was solid. She wasn’t perfect, as none of us are and admitted her own weaknesses within the story, but at the same time she was ok with herself and forgiving – and just kept moving – no matter what. What happened to Kat, to me, would have broken more people, so to see her even out there trying again when Adrien came into the picture – was warming to my heart and a testament to the love that she could give even from the begining. One of my favorite parts in the end is where she talks about all the different types of love she has, and how she has room for all of them in her life, not just certain ones. I’m scared to say more because I feel like that will give away plot points, but once you read it, you will understand what that means…

Now let’s talk Adrien, or Digger Graves. Second name hilarious, first – intense. He is HOT. I can start with that, all his manliness was written to just jump off the page, I swear I could almost smell him in some scenes. He is also a trooper. He had been through so much, and you could tell when they first met, he ws still really going through heck and back – but the first meeting even, it’s like you saw a light go off inside of him – it changed him. His interactions with Abby – including the pancake breakfast – stole my heart – and made me ache for a man like that to be the father for my own child when that time comes – I mean..how sweet! I loved how deep his back story was, and how he had become a good guy just with that edge of bad boy. The development of his character was great – I’m a huge Digger fan – I can tell you that for sure!

My Take-Away From It All:

Loved, loved, loved it! 5/5 Stars on this one Jessica Topper — Great first book. She hit the romance and the feelings “spot on” as Adrienne might say in his brittish accent. You could feel the loss and grief and then in the end, the utter happpiness and contentment. It had a little bit of everything – tossed in with the most adorable 4 and a 1/2 year old I have EVER read about – Abbey.  It also had those HOT, and very adult moments that I really enjoy without being cheesy or staged or… too adultish, and I really liked that too. Their entire romance felt real, not scripted, and not unrealistic. He wasn’t a prince charming, and she wasn’t a princess. They were both normal people with baggage, and yet they still found each other – but you will have to read to see how it all ends up – that’s my task to you!

When it comes down to it, I just really love a good LOVE story, and this my friends, is a great one. So, September 17th will be here before you know it – go out and check this one out! I’m going to put the link for Kindle to pre-order below and I hope you will at least check it out. It’s worth the cash and I would even verge to say worth a re-read and you know that is a big reccommendation in my book! I’m also going to give you a quote below – I think it sums up the whole book actually and yet doesn’t give anything away – so check it out and then check out the book!

The Quote:

“You’ve got this…this love-no, it’s louder than love. It’s passion and beauty built up inside you that deserves to burst out.”

Where You Can Buy NOW:

http://www.amazon.com/Louder-Than-Love-ebook/dp/B00AR49H2Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1378761620&sr=1-1&keywords=louder+than+love

Happy Reading!

Kelley

ARC Review for “Unspoken” by Jen Frederick (AKA my new favorite love story!)

Title: “Unspoken”

Author: Jen Frederick

Series: #2 in The Woodlands Series

Publish Date: September 3, 2013 in Paperback (Kindle 9/16/13)

How I got my copy: I was given this copy as an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Link to buy paperback on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Unspoken-Woodlands-Volume-Jen-Frederick/dp/0989247953/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1378927787&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=unspoken+jen+frederick

Summary From GoodReads:

I’ve been called all these at Central College. One drunken night, one act of irresponsible behavior, and my reputation was ruined. Guys labeled me as easy and girls shied away.  To cope, I stayed away from Central social life and away from Central men, so why is it that my new biology lab partner is so irresistible to me?

He’s everything I shouldn’t want. A former Marine involved in illegal fighting with a quick trigger temper and an easy smile for all the women. His fists aren’t the danger to me, though, it’s his charm. He’s sliding his way into my heart and I’m afraid that he’s going to be the one to break me.

Impulsive. Unthinking. Hot tempered.

I allow instinct to rule my behavior. If it feels good, do it, has been my motto because if I spend too much time thinking, I’ll begin to remember exactly where I came from. At Central College, I’ve got fighting and I’ve got women and I thought I was satisfied until I met her. 

She’s everything I didn’t realize I wanted and the more time I spend with her, the more I want her. But she’s been hurt too much in the past and I don’t want to be the one to break her. I know I should walk away, but I just can’t…

What I thought….

W-O-W. I have been reading A TON lately, so characters are all over my brain right now, but I have to tell you in the past 24 hours the only thing on my mind has been Bo and AM. It was such a refreshing NA story – even from the description and cover I knew I wanted to read this! Bo and AM’s chemistry was palpable from the first page, that first class together – I could feel the electricity I swear! Bo had me from the first few pages, I can tell you that – I was head over heels for him. Same for AM – her courage and her determination even with everything else going on – amazed me. This book in general had my attention up front and center. I do work for a living (not that I woudln’t love to blog for a living – but it has yet to pay my bills – however it does support my book habit so that has to count for something right?) and I have not been able to even concentrate today while I was thinking about this book and what would happen next. I LOVED having the dual voices. Seeing a story from both sides and being inside both of the main character’s brains to see how they think has become my new favorite way to read a story – I feel like for me that makes both the characters much more real and I can understand where they are coming from. This might mean that sometimes the bone head things a guy does won’t seem all that horrible because I see why he thought that was ok (not that I’m excusing it at all) but without seeing inside Bo’s head here I may have thought he was a little more than a jerk in some places…

The POV was great, and I really enjoyed the story too. If you read a lot of romance (which I do obviously) then you will understand how some writers bring you to the point of madness waiting on the edge to see what’s going to happen, or bring you through the trenches and wrench your guts before you see things may even work out – but not Jen Frederick. I loved how she gave just the right amount of mystery, romance, angst, and also the great factor of amazing girlfriends and girls standing up for each other. I really liked that this is something I could see happening to someone, especially what happened to AM. I like that she made it real, and that AM was amazing while not being perfect – she was real. Bo’s story was also real – something too many people have to go through even today. I loved Bo and AM’s relationship too, the way they bantered and had fun, not just hot sexing all the time, they had it all and I think that made me love them as as couple more too – to see all of their moments. Some of the banter in the book made up my favorite parts – they were just so stinking cute together!! So overall, you can see I highly enjoyed this book and would absolutely reccommend it!

The Characters:

I’ll start with AM – girl’s first right? AM is a tough cookie. She had the unthinkable happen to her and despite her past and her fear, she did the best she could and she did NOT run away – the fact that she stayed spoke volumes to me. Her love of her friends and her family and her core loyalty all spoke to me. I also like that she didn’t make it easy for Bo – even though she wanted to be with him, she stuck to her guns and made him wait it out, work for it – and even when they got together it wasn’t a defined and easy thing – there is no forgone conclusion here.. In the end, I love the confidence she gained – she is a strong, independent woman and she showed that and I always enjoy a good female character.

No for Bo – oh BO… HOT.. Muscled…Smart..Marine.. SO many words come to mind, but when I think of Bo while at first that centered my mind from descriptions but once I got into his head, I thought..decent guy…good guy…loyal guy.. I knew he had some issues, I mean come on – all the fighting was for some reason – but once I saw what that was it made everything click together. I loved that he saw AM and wanted to be with her not for a challenge but because he wanted to just “be” with her – and wanted it to be for the right reason so he didn’t hurt her, even from the begining. I love that in the begining of the book he noticed her the semester before when he sat in front of her all semester – just showing that she was more noticable then than even she tought. Bo is a loyal friend, a good guy, and a great man – that’s all there really is to say. Oh – and his impression of Lloyd Dobber’s move in “Say Anything” will be one of my favorite book moments for all time I feel sure – *Swoon*

The Take-Away Thoughts:

1. Read the book – maybe now if you can make that happen. If you want a paperback, go for it – if you want it for Kindle  unfortunately looks like 9/16 is the day – but I can tell you now it’s worth the wait.

2. Love the book – how can you not? And tell me about it once you’ve read it – asap! Let’s compare swooning moments!

3. 5/5 Stars for this one – hands down – it’s an absolute re-reader – so invest the $ and buy it. I woudln’t even mind owning this in paperback.

Now my final thoughts:

I just loved this story, Bo and AM. I liked the characters built into their world and the story itself. It was real and I know I say this a lot but that matters to me, I don’t like especially romance books that just seem so fake and cheesy – like this could never happen to you type of stuff. I like the real, butterflies in my stomach books that make me realize love is still out there – true love and true love stories still happen! I’m a total romantic at heart if you cannot tell. The writing was amazing and the characters – were also great. I like in this story that AM didn’t make it easy, even though she could have – she worked for it and made Bo do the work too – so will they work out? That’s my last thought – and I want you to find out.. They want it, they want to let the past go and move forward– but will it work out? That’s for you to find out, and I hope you do and share with me! I was not dissappointed even one little bit – I was right when I knew this book was for me and I hope you will feel the same way.

My very last thought is this: How did I not know that there was a first book in this series – until I checked the author’s website I had no idea about “Undeclared” and now my whole day has been made. You know I’ve already been online to Amazon and it’s waiting patiently on my Kindle for me to get off tonight and devour! I cannot wait! And the one thing I thought through this whole book is that they did bring Noah and Grace up – but what ws their story, I was hoping to hear it next and now to know it’s already there for me – Amazing! Plus – a bonus – other stories are on the way too – Finn and Mal and I’m hoping Grey (that name is just HOT!). All right, I’m putting my antics to bed now, you all know I loved it, want you to read it, am begging you to read it, and to read “Undeclared” too – if you are waiting for a Kindle version now is the perfect time to read “Undeclared” and then you can start “Unspoken” next – see perfect timing, right?? Now check out some amazing quotes from the story and then go BUY it!

The Quotes:

Number 1-

“Am I feeling sorry for myself?” Bo asked, a rueful smile playing around the edges of his mouth. “Yes, and if you act like this any more, I’m going to start calling you Edward.” “Wow, is that the insult we’re using instead of pussy?” “It’s the male version.”

Number 2-

“You know what she’s planning?” Noah whispered. “Nope. I’m just here to catch her.” And hold her, comfort her, and beat the shit out of anyone who made her cry.”

Number 3-

“Now whenever you feel alone, know that I’ve got your back. No matter who’s against you, know that a thousand others wait to avenge you.” “But I’m not a Marine,” I whispered back, my voice catching on the tears threatening to spill out. “You’re a fighter, Sunshine. Plus, you belong to this Marine.”

—

Well that’s all. I really hope you will all check it out. I can’t even do it justice, even with everything written above – it’s something you need to read for yourself. If you are into romance, hot guys, military hot guys, love, NA novels, or all of the above – it’s for you!

Happy Reading!

Kelley