He's So Not Worth It

He's So Not Worth It
Author:Kieran Scott








Summary:
Ally Ryan, come on down to the Jersey Shore and forget your troubles!

Have you recently been humiliated in front of your friends and family at your former best friend's birthday party? Was your almost boyfriend partly responsible for that humiliation by withholding some vital information about where your estranged father is? Did you come home to find said estranged father sitting on your stoop?

If so, then it sounds like you could use a vacation! The Jersey Shore is the place to be. Your mother may be living with her boyfriend of only a few months, but at least the stunt Shannen pulled has put some of your friends back in your court. Even so, you're still angry and what better way to get over Jake than to blow off some steam with local guy, Cooper? People will hardly recognize your new attitude, but the old one wasn't getting you anywhere, so who cares!

Jake Graydon, an exciting opportunity is waiting for you in the service industry!

Are your grades so low your parents have grounded you for the summer? Did you the girl you really like unceremoniously leave you behind? Would you rather eat dirt than see your friends again? Then a job at the local coffee shop is just the ticket! Surprisingly, Ally's father is the new manager so you get to be reminded of her nearly every day. Maybe it's time to start flirting with your best friend's ex or even taking school a bit more seriously. Especially when you finally see Ally and she's hanging around with some loser and it's couldn't be more clear that she is over you.

Have a great summer!




Review:
Oh My God…. Did that really just happen?

From beginning to start I just couldn’t stop reading this book, I just finished the first one (“She’s so dead to us”) and loved it, and now I finished the second one. I didn’t think this book could top the first one but I was so wrong, so very wrong.

“He’s so not worth it” started off right after the first drama filled book, there’s never a dull moment in Ally’s life that’s for sure.

Ally has just gotten over the fact that her dad after running away for two years and not telling anyone where he is has suddenly appeared on her doorstep after the unfortunate incident that happened right before that. Ally’s mom wanted nothing to do with him, especially since she was dating a rich guy who she loved.

Ally just wants everything to work out, she wants her mom and dad to get back together, she wants nothing to do with her back stabbing friends and most of all she doesn’t want anything to do with Jake. That’s why she starts getting closer to a local hottie, all he and her ever do is go to parties and drink alcohol. I knew something was up with him from the very beginning, he didn’t seem very nice.

Throughout the book it switches from Ally’s point of view to Jakes. I really appreciated the different POV because you knew what Jake was actually feeling. Jake loved Ally so much and just wanted to make things right. I wouldn’t think twice about dating a boy as nice and handsome as Jake. I realized that Ally was mad at Jake but she didn’t really need to act like that towards him.

You’re not missing out on the drama; both books are filled with so much drama in everyone’s life, it’s like their very own soap opera.

The thing about main characters is that when you read about them and what they’re thinking you kind of start to dislike the character a little bit. Ally acted like a total B**** (excuse the word but I don’t know how else to put it) she’s whiny, she pity’s herself way too much, plus she puts way to much drama on herself. I know she does have an excuse. Her life is a living nightmare, and I think that if I were her I would act the same way.

I just can’t get enough of this series. I think Kieran Scott is my new favorite author! And everyone complains about the love triangle’s in books well there wasn’t just a love triangle, there was a love square, meaning she had not 1, not 2, but 3 guys who liked her. *sigh* bad decisions were made, fights broke out and the cliffhanger at the end. You do not know how much I just want to break into Kieran’s house and borrow her manuscript for just a sneak peek.



5/5 stars

She's So Dead to Us

She's So Dead to Us
Author: Kieran Scott







Summary:
Born with a silver spoon, living with a plastic spork. The first book in a new trilogy about losing it all and being better off.







Review:
I loved reading “She’s So Dead to Us”, it was a quick and fun read, and most important of all I wanted to meet each character in the book and punch them in the face. I have never read a book where the characters were this vicious.

She’s So Dead to us started out with Ally and her mom coming back into town. After having to leave town on and unfortunate matter where her father invested a lot of her and her friends family money and losing it all, now Ally is broke and all of her friends lost so much money, many of them having to lose some of their homes, others having to sell their vacation homes.

Now she’s back in town after years of leaving with her friends hating her. She returns to school and tries to talk to her friends but they snub her and ignore her completely, well almost. Ally’s ex-friends have some humiliating, dangerous and pure evil tricks up their sleeves. They want Ally to pay for what her father did, at all costs.

While reading this I was so sympathetic to Ally, she wasn’t the one who lost all their money. Her father didn’t know this was all going to happen. It was a complete accident. I don’t know why her ex-best friends have to be so mean to her.

I hated how the two girls who wanted to get back at Ally the most were Faith and Shannon. The rest of the group just couldn’t stand up to them and accept Ally. At times they were almost nice to her when Faith and Shannon weren’t around. And now let’s start with Jake. He’s new to Ally’s old friend circle and she finds out he lives in her old house. At first he was kind of sweet (when he wasn’t with his friends) when he was with them he was almost as bad as everyone. Jake didn’t even have the guts to stick up for her. She felt hurt and rejected.

Kieran Scott is an absolutely amazing writer, I feel like when someone hates or loves a character it means the author did well. It means there emotion behind their words. She’s So Dead to Us left us in a cliffhanger and thankfully I was able to read the second one right away. Unfortunately now I have to wait for the third one which I assume comes out sometimes next May.

Loved this book to death definitely recommend it to everyone, especially those who are looking for an escape from all the dystopian/paranormal books.



5/5 stars

What's coming out in July?

July 1st


The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills
author: Joanna Pearson

Pretty Bad Things
Author: C.J. Skuse
my review here

Fins Are Forever
Author:tera Lynn Chils
my review here







                                              July 5

Paradise
Author:Kill S. Alexander







June 12

Forever
Author: Maggie Steifvater
my review here

Wolfsbane
Author: Andrea Cremer

Bad Taste in Boys
Author:Carrie Harris

Starstruck
Author: Cyn Balog

Sometimes it happens
Author:Lauren Barnholdt

Undercurrent
Author: Tricia Rayburn

Sass and Serendipity
Author: Jennifer Ziegler








                          July 19

Love Story
Author: Jennifer Echols







July 26

Supernaturally
Author:Kiersten White












Leave a comment telling me what book your most anticipating for in July!

Author interview winner!!

The winner of So Much Closer is......
#11

Loreal!

Thank you all so much for stopping by and commenting.



-Alyssa

Lauren Oliver interview and giveaway!

Author: Lauren Oliver


Author of: Before I Fall
                Delirium





Bio:

Lauren Oliver comes from a family of writers and so has always (mistakenly) believed that spending hours in front of the computer every day, mulling over the difference between “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal. She has always been an avid reader.

She attended the University of Chicago, where she continued to be as impractical as possible by majoring in philosophy and literature. After college, she attended the MFA program at NYU and worked briefly as the world’s worst editorial assistant, and only marginally better assistant editor, at a major publishing house in New York. Her major career contributions during this time were flouting the corporate dress code at every possible turn and repeatedly breaking the printer. Before I Fall is her first published novel.

She is deeply grateful for the chance to continue writing, as she has never been particularly good at anything else.



Interview:

1--How did you come up with the idea for Delirium?

The idea for DELIRIUM came from an essay I read by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in which he wrote that all great books were about love or death. The next day I was thinking about that quote--particularly about how and in what form a modern love story could be told--while I was on the treadmill at the gym. I was simultaneously watching a news story about a flu outbreak that had everyone freaking out about the possibility of a pandemic, and I was kind of marveling that people so easily go into panics about reports of these diseases, and at some point the two trains of thought--love, and disease--just sort of combined in my head.

2-      At what age did you first start writing?

I started writing at around the age of five, actually—basically, once I started reading on my own. As soon as I began to read, I began to write sequels for my favorite books. It was an early version of fan fiction, I guess.

3-      Did you think Delirium was going to this big of a success?

 Oh! I don’t know. I try not to think too much what will happen to my books once they go out into the world. It’s so stressful. I’m continuously kind of baffled and amazed, though, by how many people have found their way to my books already. So I guess no—I didn’t really expect it.

4-      Who’s your biggest inspiration

I’m not sure I could narrow it down to one person. I get inspired by so many people—my parents, my friends, my fans, and anyone who works hard to achieve a goal.

5-      Would you like to travel to the future or to the past?

For how long? The past, I guess. The future kind of scares me. But I would only go to the distant pass if I could bring along modern plumbing…or lots and lots of air fresheners.

6-      Do you have a bucket list? If so what are some things on it?

I don’t have a list, per se. I would just like to keep living as much and as expansively as possible—loving well, traveling, embracing new opportunities, pushing myself and trying new things. I’m a “yes” person. I’ll pretty much say yes to anything once.

7-      Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Hmmm. I’m kind of both and neither! I love being out late but I hate sleeping in and missing the morning, which is a super productive time for me. Plus, I need a ton of sleep—like nine hours a night. I so wish I could be one of those people who only needs five or six hours. So although I wish I could be both a morning and a night person, I usually end up getting to sleep by midnight and waking up around eight.

8-      What’s your favorite time of the year?

That’s a great question! I love both the fall and the summer. I love going to the beach and being bare-foot and in shorts and getting my hair tangled with ocean-water. But I also love the colors of an East Coast autumn, and cozy sweaters and warm days that melt into cold nights. 

9-      What author would you like to meet and why?

JK Rowling. I would tell her to adopt me, I would tell her I loved her, I would kiss her hand.

10-   Can you tell us some facts about yourself that no one really knows about?

Oof, that’s a hard one. I hate watching TV except for Glee. I religiously sing in the shower, and I even have a sponge shaped like a microphone. I dance a LOT in my apartment. My sister used to call me Sluggie, because I am the world’s slowest walker! There. That’s a lot of secret facts. J

Giveaway time!!

I will be giving away a UK copy of Delirium:

Rules to win:
follow my blog via GFC (suscribing by email is optional)
and leave a comment with your email address down below.
+1 entry for tweeting a link to this interview


The Giveaway ends on July 4 at midnight




my review of Delirium here


Check out her website here
read her blog here


Buy a copy of Delirium here
Buy a copy of Before I Fall here



Don't forget to be on the lookout for the second book in the Delirium series which comes out march 6 2012 (mark it to your to-read list here )

Thanks for checking out the interview and enjoy!

I'm sorry guys......

I am going to my best friends house and I wont be back till Sunday.


I won't be able to post anything but I will be reading and writing more reviews for you guys.

Make sure to come back on Monday because there will be an interview with Lauren Oliver! author or Delirium and If We Fall. also you can enter for a chance to win a copy of Delirium :D


thanks for understanding
-Alyssa @The Book Blog Experience

just felt like posting this if anyone cared lol

Waiting on Wednesday #11

waiting on wednesday is a weekly event
hosted by breaking the spine






This week's book I can't wait for is:

Epic fail
Author: Claire LaZebnik
publication date: August 2





Summary:
At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

• As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

• As the daughter of the new principal, new-girl-on-campus Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long. Fans of Susane Colasanti (When It Happens), Polly Shulman (Enthusiasm), and, of course, Jane Austen will love finding out if Elise’s love life will be an epic win or an epic fail.


Leave the link to your WOW down below :D

Will Work for Prom Dress

Will Work for Prom Dress
Author: Aimee Ferris
pages: 265
publication date: February 8 2011





Summary:
Quigley Johnson has, reluctantly, given up the rest of her last year of high school to take part in her best friend Ann's Betterment Plan, which will turn them into the best-dressed, most sought-after, most admired girls at their senior formal. Because - hey - who doesn't want the perfect prom, complete with a dream dress and a devastatingly handsome date?

But the prom costs money - lots of money - and even though the girls could easily have Ann's mom design their dresses (she's only Victoria Parisi, one of the most famous designers in the world), Ann insists that they pay their own way. And that's how Quigley gets stuck making artistic topping masterpieces on frozen pizzas canvases, before becoming a live model for Ms. Parisi's fashion design class, where she meets Zander.

He's cute, and cool, and funny, with a killer design sensibility (even if he can't sketch). But is he too good to be true? And what about David, the hot, talented artist at school, who's also kind of a jerk, but won't leave Quigley alone? And Ann - she started the Betterment Plan to improve Quigley and herself, but it seems like it's ripping their friendship to shreds.

This road to the prom dream may just end in disaster





Review:

To say I liked this book was an understatement. I honestly could not stop reading it till I was finished. It was a break from all the paranormal/dystopian novels I have been reading recently and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Quigley and Ann are best friends, Ann’s mom is a famous fashion designer and she told both the girls that she would make them prom dresses for free. But Ann doesn’t want that. So Quigley and Ann both get jobs to pay for them as a frozen pizza topper, unfortunately an incident happens and they are both fired.

Quigley is upset she just wants to have the perfect prom dress, Ann has an idea, she sets them up as models for a college fashion design course and things start looking up. Especially when she gets paired up with Zander, the nice, cute Zander, I absolutely adored him, for some reason I didn’t see him as 19 years old. He seemed much younger than that. He was such a mysterious character, wouldn’t talk much about his past but he just made the whole story complete.

When Quigley was kind of going out with David and Zander at the same time I was furious at her, she acted like a fool, why can’t she see that Zander is the one for her.   I sometimes question the stupidity of characters in books. I do realize that there all fictional but I feel like when I read any book there real characters and that’s when I think that the characters seriously need to lose the stupidity.

Anyways my point of this whole review is that everyone should go out and read this amazing book. It was a refreshing read and it’s very fast paced. I look forward to reading more of Aimee’s books!

5/5 stars

Imaginary Girls

Imaginary girls
Author: Nova Ren Suma
Pages: 346
publication date: June 14 2011






Summary:
Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.
But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.




Review:

Imaginary girls was not at all like I expected to be, it was worse. I don’t want to sound harsh right away but I was very disappointed in the plot and the whole storyline.

Right from the beginning of the book you knew that Ruby was different, unnaturally different. She had every single guy wanting to be with her, with just a couple of words she could convince anyone to do something for her, not matter what she wanted she got and she had a very unnatural relationship with her sister.

I understand that Ruby kind of had to protect Chloe and keep her safe and that she was basically the mom even when they were both so small but Ruby acted very strange towards Chloe. She was always telling Chloe what to do and what not to do. It was like she had Chloe on a very tight leash.

Not only did I find this book hugely creepy I thought Ruby was a psychopath from the very beginning. Then more towards the end I understood more but it was still very creepy and not normal at all. Sometimes while I would be reading I would have no clue what was going on.

I thought Owen and Chloe had the perfect relationship until Owen had to be a jerk about it. Seriously I was like What the Heck is your problem.  

I hate to be a downer but it just wasn’t my kind of read. I seen so many reviews where everybody loved it and I’m just like am I missing something? Was there something that I missed? But there wasn’t. It just wasn’t the type of book I like to read.

I give this book 2/5 stars because I didn’t like it at all, I felt like it was lacking something. But I have to hand it to Nova, it was a very creative and creepy plot.

Born at Midnight

Born at Midnight
Author: C.C.Hunter
Pages: 400
publication date: March 29 2011






Summary:
One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…




Review:

Wow, amazing, suspenseful, beautiful, well written are all words to describe C.C.  Hunter’s amazing book.  My favorite book of 2011!

I have been waiting for this book for quite awhile, suddenly it shows up in my mailbox totally forgetting I signed up for it in an ARC tour. I couldn’t get enough of “Born at Midnight”.

I started it last night and finally had to put it down at 3:00 in the morning, I didn’t want to stop but I knew that if I wanted to function the next day I would have to get some sleep. I woke up and immediately started where I let off and finished it off in a few hours.

Boy does Kylie have a screwed up life. Her parents are getting divorced, her nana, who she was very close to, just died, she sees ghosts and then her mom ships her off to some supernatural camp, can’t get any worse than that.

Kylie gets caught at a party where there are drugs and alcohol and her mom ships her off to a camp that’s supposed to be for troubled teens, but come to find out that it’s a camp for the supernatural, all kinds, Werewolves, vampires, fey, shape shifters and witches. She learns that she has some kind of “gifts” but no one can read her and find out what she is. The whole book is her trying to figure out what she is and find her place.

There is a definite love triangle between two hot supernatural boys at camp and Kylie, then there’s Kylie’s ex-boyfriend who wants her back, so it’s really a love rectangle?

All in all a very creative plot, I really liked the idea of all the different supernatural’s all together at camp. From the beginning when Kylie thought everyone was a freak till the end where she learned to learn about what her gifts may be instead of denying it.  

I really wish there was an option to give a book more than 5 stars because this book deserves it. I hated though that after I was finished reading it we still don’t know what Kylie is, plus I really wanted to know what Lucas wrote in the letter to Kylie, and unfortunately that’s all going to be in the next book that comes out 2012.

5/5 stars

Author interview and giveaway with Susane Colasanti

Author: Susane Colasanti

Author of: When It Happens
                Waiting For You
                Take Me There
                Something Like Fate
                So Much Closer



Bio:
Susane Colasanti is the author of When It Happens, Take Me There, Waiting for You, and Something Like Fate. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from New York University. Before becoming a full-time author, Susane was a high school science teacher for almost ten years. As a teenage Jersey girl, Susane felt like her true home was across the water in New York City. She now lives in the West Village.

Susane's fifth teen novel, So Much Closer, was released in May 2011. Her sixth book will be out next year.
Interview:

1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

When I was about 16, I wanted to write a children’s book.  But I had already decided to be a science teacher when I was 12.  I’ve always loved science, especially astronomy and physics.  I studied those fields in college.  Then I went to grad school to become a physics teacher.  But the longing to write was burning inside of me.  My first book, When It Happens, was inspired by my own experiences during senior year of high school.  The story would not leave me alone.  I just had a feeling that people would want to read that book.  So I started writing the first draft in grad school.  The book was published 10 years later.

2. What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love to read.  Reading has always been my #1 fave thing to do.  There’s a park near my place right on the Hudson River.  It’s like this strip of green space that runs along the river from midtown all the way down to the tip of Manhattan.  I love taking long walks there or around my neighborhood at night.  Walks are always best at night.  This is New York, so there’s always something new and interesting happening nearby.  Like today I’m going to Rainbow City, this large-scale outdoor art installation with 40 interactive balloons.  Balloons!  And in a few weeks there’s this thing called Shadowplay.  A bunch of colorful dots are projected on a huge wall and you have to capture them with your shadow.  Random fun things like these come up all the time – this is the most creative city and I love being in the center of it all.

3. Have you ever been noticed as an author while you were out in public?

Only in bookstores, which doesn’t really count as out in public.  But one of the best emails I’ve ever received came from someone who thought she saw me on the street.  The mother of a reader told me that she and her son were having lunch outside in my neighborhood.  Her son has read all of my books and apparently knows what I look like (which is always surprising).  When Kiefer Sutherland walked by with someone, her son swore it was me.  Of course I wanted to write back and be all, “Yeah, me and Kiefer go way back.  We were just chilling.  That’s how we do.”  But I had to admit that, no, it wasn’t me, I just look a lot like Kiefer’s girlfriend.  Which I know because Kiefer and I have a mutual friend who says every time he sees his girlfriend, she reminds him of me.

4. How many times did you get rejected by a publisher with your first book?

The first draft of When It Happens got about seven or eight rejections.  It was even rejected by my publisher!  The first editor who read it included some feedback in her rejection letter.  I applied her suggestions to the revised manuscript and submitted it again.  It was rejected again.  The same editor read it a second time and provided even more feedback.  I refused to give up.  Failure was not an option.  I revised the manuscript and submitted it again.  A different editor read it and wanted to work with me.  Why did I keep submitting my manuscript to a publishing house that rejected me twice?  I had a Knowing that Penguin was where I belonged.  My imprint, Viking Children’s Books, publishes lots of books I adore.  When you’re looking for a publisher, it’s a good idea to focus on houses that publish books similar to yours.  I’m thrilled that house became my home.

5. What’s your ritual while writing, like do you listen to music or do something else?

It’s so weird about music.  I used to have to listen to music while I wrote.  My first three books could not have been written without music playing constantly.  But then something changed.  I started turning the music off now and then.  At this point, I mostly write without music, just the sounds of the city swirling in the distance.  Music used to take me where I needed to go for every scene I wrote, but now it distracts me too much.  I’m not sure why that change happened.  The important thing is to go with the flow.

6. If you could switch lives with any author who would it be and why?

As fun as it would be to switch with Meg Cabot and wear cute dresses and have 8,637 emails in my inbox, I don’t think I would.  Being me has finally gotten pretty good.  I’m working on being in the Now more and appreciating everything I have.  There are lots of things I still want (and I can be very impatient!), but that’s where my drives comes from.  Which is a good thing.

7. How many hours a week do you write?

My schedule while writing a new book is to write five pages a day, five days a week.  Since I’ve always been a night person (which was a problem when I could hardly drag my teenage butt out of bed for school in the morning because I stayed up mad late reading), I write in the afternoons.  As with any job, I have my good days and bad days.  Sometimes I can write those five pages in two hours.  Sometimes it takes six hours.  I spend about 25 hours a week writing when I’m working on a new book.  But when I’m on deadline with a revision, I usually work 12- to 16-hour days.

8. What was your childhood like?

You may have heard of my hometown.  Middle of Nowhere, New Jersey?  It’s a small town deep in the woods with a population of under 2,000.  It’s one thing to be older and go back and appreciate nature and all, but growing up in the country was beyond boring.  I couldn’t wait to move to a big city with lots of things to do.  That’s why I love living in New York City.  All of the bookstores and coffeeshops and museums and concerts and green spaces…it’s an amazing place.  And somehow I always knew it was my true home.  This part of my life actually inspired the plot of my latest book, So Much Closer.  Brooke leaves everything behind in New Jersey at the beginning of senior year and moves to New York City.  She moves for a boy who she believes is her soul mate.  Later, she realizes that he was just a catalyst.  She needs the adventure of moving here to discover who she is.

9. Coffee or tea?

Green tea.  When it’s coffee, it has to be decaf.  Caffeine makes me feel sick.

10. What’s the weirdest thing you encountered as an author (e.g. What’s the weirdest thing someone asked you to sign, etc.)?

Other than signing jeans, nothing too weird has happened yet.  Even the jeans were way more cool than weird.  However, I adore the Weird and look forward to weird encounters.  Bring it, readers!

Giveaway time!!

Susane has been gracious enough to let me give away a copy of her newest book, So Much Closer!

Rules to win:


follow my blog via GFC (suscribing by email is optional)
and leave a comment with your email address down below.


The Giveaway ends on June 27 at midnight

my review of So Much Closer here


check out her website here
click here to go to Susane's blog
go here to go to her facebook
follower her on twitter
and check out her youtube page here


Buy her new book"So Much Closer" right here on Amazon


Thanks for checking out the interview, enjoy!

Forever

Forever
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Pages:400
Publication date: July 12 2011





Summary:
The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater

In Maggie Stiefvater's SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.





Review:

I honestly wish I would have like “Forever” better than I did. I was very disappointed with the last book in the “Shiver” series.

*Warning there are some minor spoilers in my review*

I loved the first two books but why didn’t I like the last book?  I felt like the pace was very slow I had to stop and do something else and then come back several times till I was finished reading it. The first 200 pages didn’t really have much of a point, just talking about emotions and thoughts from previous books.

In the beginning Sam was trying to find Grace after she had changed into a wolf and it just made me very annoyed that she hid from him and didn’t come out to him. I felt like the emotions were lacking from their relationship, there isn’t that normal spark that I see from both of them.

Isabella is still stubborn as ever and closes herself off to Cole and everyone who tries to reach out to her. I felt that there should have something should have been resolved between Grace and her parents. Of course her parents thought she was dead but she did come back to them, and her dad acted like a jerk towards her. Even after the book finished Grace and her parents didn’t resolve their problems. I think that Maggie should have wrote something about Grace and her parents finally putting their anger for each other to the side and try to work things out.

No matter how much negativity I wrote in the beginning of the review I did like the book.  My favorite character was Cole, which is surprising since in the last book I thought he wasn’t that great of a character. There was a lot more of Cole and I understood his character better.

I do have to say though that the last 60 pages were full of action and adventure and it had my heart racing at times. The pages flew by at the end. This was a pretty good ending to the Shiver series and I can’t wait to read Maggie’s new series coming out soon!

I am sad to see this series ending; Hopefully Maggie can create a short story of what happened in the future for the Mercy Falls wolves

3/5 stars  

In My Mailbox #7

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Everblue Cover Release!!

Everblue has just released its final cover!!
Isn't it beautiful?


Please add this book to your to-read pile and dont forget to buy in just in time for summer, Everblue will be in stores on July 31 2011


Everblue, book #1 of Mer Tales
Publisher: Obsidian Mountain Publishing
Tentative Release Date: 7/31/2011

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Summary:
Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them.
Ashlyn is about to discover what she’d thought to be true her whole life, wasn’t, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever.



check out Brenda's other series  The emerald talisman,
buy here: Its only .99 for the kindle

But I Love Him

But I Love Him
Author: Amanda Grace
Pages: 245
Publication Date: May 8 2011




Summary:
At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved — and needed. Ann can't recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor's rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything — and everyone — in its path.

This evocative slideshow of flashbacks reveals a heartbreaking story of love gone terribly wrong.



Review:

But I love him was fast paced and a must read. Even though I didn’t like this as much as I would have liked to I still think it’s worth a read.

But I Love Him is written differently than most novels. It’s written backwards, starting out at the end and going backwards to the very first day that her and Connor met. It starts out showing us the abusive relationship between and Connor and Ann.  By writing the book this way it gives us a little understanding on why Connor why he is the way he is. You can’t help feel a little compassion for Connor throughout the book.

Unfortunately relationships like this happen all over the world, everyday someone is hurting. Wanting to get out but feel guilty for even thinking about it.

While reading this I did feel angry at Ann for staying the relationship, I have read a couple of other books about abusive relationships and how they thought that the other spouse was going to change, that they wouldn’t do it and that it would be alright after they apologize for hurting you. It frustrates me that they can’t just leave and they choose not to tell someone about it. 

I can’t judge Ann though, I don’t know why she did what she did, it did make more sense near the end though.

I think Ann and Blake should have gotten together though. Ann had such loving and caring friends. Blake and Abby cared so much for Ann, unfortunately Ann chose to push them away but even then they still were there for her. Those are the kind of friends I want to have.

But I Love Him is an intense and emotional read. It’s fast paced and Mandy Hubbard (pen name Amanda Grace) wrote this story so beautifully. Sometimes it’s really hard to read such an intense subject but Mandy has created it that that it makes it easier to read.

This is an important subject for people to read and I hope that a lot of people read this!

3/5 stars

Divergent

Divergent
Author:Veronica Roth
pages:487
Publication date:May 3 2011





Summary:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.





Review:

I have heard so many people rant and rave about this book and I couldn’t wait to read it, I am now the proud reader of Divergent. I fell in love with Divergent from the first page and nobody could stop me from devouring this book.

Divergent was a little different from all the other Dystopian novels I have read lately. The characters were so real and I felt like I knew them personally. The detail of it all was amazing. There aren’t many books that I really get into book and almost feel the pain and sadness of the characters.

Beatrice is the main character and my favorite character in the book, she is strong willed, brave and like no one else I have ever read about. She took so much pain and had to make so many different decisions that would change her life.

Let me explain the plot of the book. There are 5 fractions, which are like cliques of certain people; you have Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, Dauntless and Candor. When you turn 16 you have to pick one of those 5 fractions.  Before you pick a fraction you take a test, make a certain decision and the test tells you what fraction you would be best in. Beatrice wasn’t any of those, the test was indecisive. She was a Divergent. Divergent is dangerous, if word got out that someone was Divergent they would be instantly killed. Beatrice kept her secret and picked her fraction.

Beatrice picked the Dauntless, Dauntless were willing to risk their lives in a blink of an eye, they are trained to fight, to kill if the time comes.  After you were to pick your fraction you would have to undergo a test, of strength, courage and lots of pain, physically and mentally.

If you don’t make it past the first couple of tests you are fractionless, which pretty much means your homeless.

I was on edge the whole book, I thought that relationship was Beatrice and four was sweet and I loved it. It was intense and real.

Divergent was a book that has many wishing for more and hoping there’s a good outcome. The whole time I was reading I was thinking about what would happen if I was in the situation as Beatrice. I would not make that’s for sure.

I can’t wait to read Insurgent, the second book in the series

5/5 stars

Interview with Susan Goldsmith

Author:Susan Goldsmith

Author of:Abithica






Bio:
After receiving a journalism degree, Susan was an Undercover Private Investigator, worked as an outside Sales Rep for Dun & Bradstreet, and then spent five years in pharmaceutical sales. Today, she is living her dream with her high school sweetheart and their two daughters in The-Middle-of-Nowhere, Arizona, where she spends her days unleashing her rampant imagination and documenting all the crazy places it takes her.





Interview:
1) How did you come up with the idea to write a book like Abithica?
My vacuum, Thomas Moore and my very persistent imagination were the inspiration behind Abithica. Maybe I should explain that. You see, all my best thoughts have come while pulling a vacuum. Now enter Thomas Moore. He wrote a book called Care of the Soul. In it, he asked a very profound question: what is your worst fear? Hmmm, what is my worst fear, I wondered. Naturally, I grabbed said vacuum and unleashed my imagination.
Losing my husband and children was the answer. Oh, but what if I was taken from them without their knowledge and they didn’t even know I was gone? Ouch! That would definitely hurt. But what would be even worse is if another soul took my place and I was there, unseen, invisible, watching their lives continue as if I had never existed.
I was getting closer to my worst nightmare, but I wasn’t quite there yet. It needed a little something more. Got it! What if the body I was in had never really belonged to me in the first place? What if it was me who had been the intruder all along? I had been borrowing the woman’s life… and now… she wanted it back.
The question became an obsession, and my vacuum and I spent a lot of time together. Soon, the idea of “switching” was born. It grew legs and arms and even acquired a face, Abithica’s face.

2) How long did the whole writing process take?

I didn’t have an outline the first time I sat down to write Abithica and I ended up re-writing the first chapter 30 different ways and every one of them was the beginning of a completely different story. I had no idea what Abithica was or how she was going to fix her problem, or how the story was going to end. I was like an artist standing over an empty canvas. Was I going to use pastels, pencil or paint? Was it going to be a nature scene, or a portrait? Why not an elephant? Did it even have to be on a canvas? Why not the side of a building or a sidewalk? I had no idea so I kept trying a little of everything, until eventually, nothing worked and I found myself pinned to the ground, screaming uncle.
Once I worked out an outline summary, the story started to progress. From that point on, it took about a year until my publisher took it on, and then another year before it was released.


3) Will there be a sequel to this book?

There is a sequel in the works. The title is going to be Echonyza. (I think) The sequel centers on The Legnas and how Abithica is tied to them. Echonyza is a mysterious character who “awakens” to help The Legnas find the missing Sarah Cummings. Like a snowflake, no two people see him the same. He has the ability to be whatever you need him to be. There are huge plot twists that will keep you on your toes, and Lane and Abithica’s love is challenged on the very opening scene in a huge unexpected way.

4- How did you come up with the name Abithica?

Abithica is a name I made up. Without giving too much away, it had to be unique and sound otherworldly. My husband and daughters liked it immediately.


5- Do any of the characters pertain to you or any real life people?

All the characters are fictional. I made the mistake early in my writing career of placing my family in a story and using our real names. Every single one of us was perfect in every way imaginable - beautiful beyond words, highly talented and unusually bright. Boring didn’t even come close to describing the outcome. Stephen King would have puked after the first page!

6- If you could hang out with any character from Abithica who would it be and why?

The post-Abithica Sydney would be fun to hang out with. She’s got spunk and a wicked sense of humor, but boy could I use some of Marge’s wisdom….

7- Where’s your favorite place to write and do you listen to music as you do it?

I write in my office, and music turned out to be my secret weapon. Listening to certain songs before I sat down to write did amazing things for my writing. I was immediately transported smack into the middle of Abithica’s world where I found it much easier to step aside and let her take over. Somehow it connected us. I ended up creating a playlist on my iPod that I’d turn to for inspiration. Here are some of my favorites:

“Bring me To Life” by Evanescence
“All That I’m Living For” by Evanescence
“Starlight” by Muse
“Amazing Grace” by Neil Diamond
“Lightning Crashes” by Live
“Save Yourself” by Stabbing Westward
“You Complete Me” by Stabbing Westward
“Moment of Surrender” by U2
“Heavy in Your Arms” by Florence & The Machine
“Voodoo” by Godsmack
“Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie


8- Who’s your inspiration?

I grew up reading Stephen King so he’d be way up there on my list. If I had to pick one of his books, it would have to be The Stand. I fell asleep every night to Neil Diamond telling the story of Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I’d love to get my hands on that record! Yup, let’s add Richard Bach to the tally. The Time Traveler’s Wife was the first paranormal romance I’d ever read. When I was finished, I thought to myself, hey, why can’t I write something like that?—Susie style, of course. So, let’s put Audrey Niffenegger somewhere near the top, and while we’re at it, let’s make some room for Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. When my husband first read it, he actually thought (probably did some serious wishing too) I’d written it under a different name. Bryan and I met our freshman year in biology. He was my partner. (No he’s not a vampire! Sheesh!!!) But there were fireworks. Long story, but it was the excitement I saw on his face for that brief second before I rudely crushed his fantasy that keeps me at the computer even on days I don’t want to be there.


9- Writing takes up a lot of time, what do you do in your spare time?

Exercise keeps me sane. I love tossing a football with my family, kicking around a soccer ball, riding our bikes up and down the mountain road we live on, rollerblading around the U of A campus, yoga (but I still can’t finagle my legs into the lotus position!), weight lifting, hiking, scuba diving, and my latest passion is indoor rock climbing. Oh man, is that fun. We’re working our way up to outdoor climbs. The one activity I don’t care for is golf. It’s not a sport unless you have to beat the ball to the hole!

10- Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate all the way!!!




Abithica  just came out yesterday on June 15, please go check it out!


click here to buy it from Amazon

You can also buy it for your kindle  for only $2.99!


my review for Abithica: My review

Die for Me

Die for Me
Author:Amy Plum
Pages:341
publication date: May 10 2011





Summary:
In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

In this incandescent debut, newcomer Amy Plum has created a powerful paranormal mythology with immortal revenants. The Paris setting comes enchantingly alive as a relentless struggle between good and evil takes place in its streets. Rich with romance, atmosphere, and thrills, Die for Me will leave readers breathlessly awaiting its sequel.




Review:
I have heard so much hype for this book and a lot of not so good reviews. I don’t know how anyone can dislike this amazing story.

Amy Plum’s Debut novel is such a different paranormal book than the normal vampire and werewolf books. She created a story about Revenants, There zombies but a different kind, there’s two different types of Revenants. The good and the bad, Vincent and his kin are the good ones, they save people from near death experiences. If they die in their place they come back to life 3 days after. Then there’s the bad kind, instead of dying to save someone they have to kill.

Amy didn’t really go into how the bad revenants life style is; I would have liked to know a little more about their background.

The love story between Kate and Vincent, Vincent is a sweet, charming, lovable character. I wish real life relationships were that dedicated to each other. You could tell Vincent loved Kate deeply. Although I thought Kate was a strong character her emotions were a little annoying. I think that if I were to find out my boyfriend is a revenant I would freak out to but she cried a little too much in the book. Is it just me who thinks that?

I have been waiting to read this book for awhile now and I wasn’t disappointed Amy plum created a mysterious different plot. I really did want to know how Kate’s grandfather knew about the Numa. Ever since I read that part I was very skeptical about her grandfather, he seems to know more than he’s letting on.

Amy created a world full of unique characters and I fell in love with each and every one!

I loved reading every word of Die for Me. I really can’t wait to read the sequel to this book. The wait is going to feel like forever. Amy you better not disappoint me with the next book.


5/5 stars