The NetGalley Book Tag

Hello, hello – I think it’s time to take a wee break from reviews so here’s something a little different – even though it may be a tadddd late from the original creation of the tag.

I was (slightly indirectly, but tagged nonetheless) tagged by Kayla @Kdrewthebookworm so a big thanks for that, I do like these questions. And this tag is the original property of Kourtni @ Kourtni Reads  -make sure to check out both their blogs if you get the chance!

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The rules:

• Link back to the tag’s creator (Kourtni Reads)
• Thank and link back to the person who tagged you
• Answer the questions the best you can. If you don’t use NetGalley, you can substitute other sites or places where you get books!
• Tag a few people to do this too

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 Autoapproved: Who’s one author whose books you automatically want to read, regardless of what they’re about?

From my all-time, long-running favourites most probably Jennifer L. Armentrout, although I will also read anything that Pierce Brown writes and honestly cannot wait until the release of their next books.

Request: What makes you want to request a book that you see on Netgalley?

I’mma say something that will probably hurt a lot of bookworms out there – I judge books by covers and titles… if a book doesn’t have an impressive title and an even worse cover, chances are I will not pay it attention. So I do have to agree with Kayla on this one. These are necessities for me to actually notice a book in the first place. Of course, I will then read the synopsis to see whether it sounds like something I might like to read… but the preliminary actions sort of take priority here.

Oh, I might also check if it is something written by an author I loved previous works of, of course – that tends to be the case more often than not nowadays.

Feedback Ratio: Do you review every book you read? If not, how do you decide what books to review?

I definitely do try to review everything that I am given the opportunity to on NetGalley, but unfortunately, sometimes some reviews tend to end up a lot shorter than others mainly because I may not have been able to get into the book enough to be able to form any more solid thoughts. I also, for the most part, review everything on my blog as well (or at least the longer, better reviews that is). However, my actual feedback ratio has only just hit 53% because I made the mistake of requesting too much when I first signed up to NetGalley – so a little tip to anyone starting out… don’t do this, you’ll most probably lose interest in a lot of the titles before you actually get the chance to read them. 

Badges: If you could create your own badge to display on your blog, what would it be for?

Um… ummm….. Can I get an effort badge? Like an A++ for effort sort of thing? That’d be quite nice.

(this question is actually horrible to answer)

Wish For It: What’s one book that you are absolutely dying to read?

I need it, and I need it now… Right now – take my soul and I’ll bake you cookies on top of that.

 2017 Netgalley Challenge: What was the last book that you received as an ARC that you reviewed? If you’ve never received an ARC, what’s the last book you reviewed?

The newest ARC that I reviewed was definitely A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard, but the latest ARC review that I wrote was A Summer Like No Other by Elodie Nowodazkij because I am backlisting reviews back to like 2015 … because y’know, mistakes were made at the beginning and now I have to fix them.

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I tag:

Anyone who wants to do this tag, because I know I’m quite late to the party and a lot of people have already done it – so if you do feel like doing it feel free to say that I tagged you!

Book Review: A Summer Like No Other – Elodie Nowodazkij

Synopsis:

She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all.

They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting.

Sixteen-year-old Emilia Moretti’s goal for the summer is simple: forget her brother’s best friend—Nick Grawsky—ever existed. It should be easy: He’s spending his summer in the Hamptons, adding girls in tiny bikinis to his list of broken hearts. Guarantee he won’t be telling them they’re like his little sisters. This summer, Emilia won’t stay awake at night thinking about him. She’ll need flawless ballet movements to have a shot at next year’s showcase, and she’s finally ready to search for her birth parents. But when Nick decides to stay in the city, Emilia’s resolve disappears in a pirouette. Maybe it’s the spin they needed to be together. As long as she doesn’t get stuck believing in happily ever after…

Nick is tired of pretending to be the happy, let’s-have-fun guy. His father wants him to change his career from professional dancer to…lawyer. He needs to put all of his focus on dancing to prove to Daddy Dearest he’s good enough to make it big. And he may have a case of the bluest balls in history courtesy of Emilia. She’s off-limits: The bro code with Roberto even forbids the dirty thoughts he has about her. Besides, he’s not boyfriend material. He only has time for flings, for girls who don’t expect much, for girls he doesn’t want to kiss goodnight. He knows he should resist her, but he’s not sure he wants to…

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I received an e-edition of this book courtesy of Victory Editing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book left me feeling disappointed. It wasn’t awful, don’t get me wrong but there just wasn’t much that I could hang on to when it came to things that I actually could say I loved about it.

In fact, the best thing about this entire book was probably the fact that it was in split POV between Emilia and Nick and after reading many reviews where people have enjoyed books more solely because of this factor, you’d think authors would have gotten the gist by now and would have provided us with more of these sorts of books… But no, we are still left with the same (rather low at that) number of these novels and it’s a darn shame because it’s good to have the guy’s perspective in a romance novel – a lot of the time there’s a lot more to their characters than a singular girl POV let’s on and a lot of their motives and actions are explained better in their own words (which makes total sense of course.)

However, on the other hand – this romance missed the point of belonging to the romance genre. I felt no chemistry between the characters – their relationship was as bland as plain crackers (and we’re talking the salt-less kind here as well) which didn’t bode well with the fact that it seemed to be based on primarily physical aspects. And while I respect the fact that both of them being dancers would have provided them with quite attractive bodies… it just didn’t work for me.

In saying that, the ‘romance’ took over the story almost entirely which was a shame because Emilia’s quest to find her parents was probably the only remotely interesting thing about her character and that was taken away by her constant desire for all things Nick related… However, I did admire her resilience when it came to that particular issue – on the rare occasion that she remembered that she should be actively looking for them she did actually manage to get a few things done which was really commendable as she stuck through the hardships of it all.

The supporting characters were pretty good and I feel like they did a decent job at keeping our heroine on track when she was down (which of course would happen as a result of baggage which came along with the fact that she was adopted) which was quite nice to see despite the fact that she didn’t seem to acknowledge the fact herself.

The novella read at a pleasing pace thanks to Nowodazkij’s style which I think saved it, and while I think that it sets the scene quite well for the next novel. I don’t think that I will be reading the sequel in the near future, solely because I think I can tell what will actually happen within it and so don’t particularly see the point. Albeit I think it’d be a pleasant surprise if I turned out to be wrong so I guess we shall see.

My Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Book Review: Radio Silence – Alice Oseman

Synopsis:

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?

Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside.

But when Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship, unafraid to be herself. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken.

Caught between who she was and who she longs to be, Frances’ dreams come crashing down. Suffocating with guilt, she knows that she has to confront her past…
She has to confess why Carys disappeared…

Meanwhile at uni, Aled is alone, fighting even darker secrets.

It’s only by facing up to your fears that you can overcome them. And it’s only by being your true self that you can find happiness.

Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.

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I received an e-copy of this book courtesy of HarperCollins UK, Children’s via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

So finally,  it has come.

The review of my favourite book of last year and my favourite read for a very, very long time. Why it has taken me so long to review it, I don’t really have an answer to that; I could only suggest the fact that this book was such an incredible masterpiece that has stayed seared in my brain for so long after reading it that I could not even begin to fathom words that would do it justice. And I still cannot, but this post is going to be a crude attempt at doing so.

And feels there were. I am pretty sure I actually cried for a good portion of the story, but with good cause.

Oseman crafted such realistic, diverse and relatable characters it really didn’t take long for me to become attached to them with no way of turning back. And I loved every single one of them.

Frances was a brilliant protagonist (and it was also great to see that she, unlike many other YA protagonists out there had a very supportive, unicorn-onesie-wearing mother in her life to care for her), I think she portrayed the struggles of teenagers in Britain’s sixth forms remarkably well. I mean, with the first-hand experience of how attending one of said institutions feels like – I can definitely confirm that a good percentage of the ‘smart’ individuals definitely have multiple crises a week…

Which in turn leads me to my next point. I honestly feel like thanking Oseman for her realistic take on the British (and probably global) education system. It was not sugar-coated in the slightest – there was failure, it was also shown how easy it is to be deemed a failure; especially by relatives when following a path in life that they do not quite approve of or not wanting to follow a path that they do… This book also dealt with the pressures put on students by the schools themselves, which of course do not help at all when trying to deal with the whole ‘life’ thing whilst being told that it “only gets worse in the real world” whereas, in all fairness, the hardest years will probably be over once school and university for those who want to attend it are over and done with.

Back to the characters, their relationship was so bloody refreshing. A book based solely on the ideas of friendship is rare, especially where there is potential for some romantic chemistry to occur. I mean Frances was bisexual and Aled identified as asexual, so there was basically no reason for them not to get together other than the fact that their relationship was entirely platonic. THANK YOU SO MUCH BOOK GODS FOR FINALLY ANSWERING MY PRAYERS FOR AN AUTHOR WHO FINALLY UNDERSTANDS THAT TWO TEENAGERS OF OPPOSITE SEX CAN BE FRIENDS WITHOUT WANTING TO GET INTO EACH OTHER’s PANTS AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER.

Their friendship was honestly flawlessly written, whilst still possessing flaws – there were fights and disagreements but it was clear that there was a lot of platonic love between them, and paired with understanding and a general love of similar things – they made a wonderful pair.

This book was definitely not an easy read, with the aforementioned reflections on the education system – but also with the general works of being a teenager and trying to find yourself whilst simultaneously losing yourself in the process whilst trying to overcome all the other hardships that life will throw in your way such as familial issues, and general not knowing what to do which comes quite often as a teenager in present-day society which inadvertently pressurises us to get our metaphorical shit together and adult slightly before we are actually ready to in a lot of cases. I mean – deciding what I want to do with my life at 16? No thanks… I’d much rather not, but unfortunately, there is just no escaping it.

I loved every single thing about this book, down to the way in which it was written, the style was easy to read and made the 470 page book shrink down into one sitting of just over an hour and a bit…. The transcripts were a brilliant addition, and I honestly felt as though I could hear Aled speaking when reading them. The concept of Universe City was truly brilliant (have I used the word brilliant enough in this post??) and whilst it definitely made me cry towards the end, I appreciated the messages which it carried.

Also, may we talk about how bloody realistic and relatable this book generally was? Oseman honestly did a brilliant job, and I think that is partly due to her age – there were honestly so many points during the novel at which I simply felt like saying “same” or “that’s me and so and so” and I honestly don’t think enough books have gotten that sort of reaction out of me, so huge HUGE kudos to the brilliant author.

One thing that actually had me bouncing with excitement was the fact that this book was actually set in my home town’s surrounding area. The descriptions of the highstreet and its cobblestone streets rang a bell whilst reading, but it didn’t fully click why it was a little bit too familiar until I found out Oseman’s origins. This in turn left me a wee bit inspired and with hope that I too may be able to create similar wonderful things with my writing if I stick with it… so I guess this is a huge personal thank you for her from me too.

I could easily continue, but I feel as though it would be boring and many of the next points would be bordering on spoilery, so I am going to end my review here. I hope that many of you who read it will choose to embark on the journey that this book provides, because it truly is an extraordinary one that I will likely never forget.

My Rating: More than 5 / 5 Stars

“And I’m platonically in love with you.”
“That was literally the boy-girl version of ‘no homo’, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

Release Day Launch: Long Way Home – Katie McGarry

 

The highly anticipated third book in Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road Series is being released today! LONG WAY HOME is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance being published by Harlequin Teen! Grab your copy of the next book in this emotionally charged series, and don’t miss Violet and Chevy’s story!

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LONG WAY HOME Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

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Amazon | Kobo | BAM | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound

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“An intoxicating and unforgettable story that kept me glued to the page.”

—Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Walk the Edge

 

 

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CHEVY

The instructions of the English homework I didn’t do hangs out from the top of my folder: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both.

Story of my life.

According to my football coach, I chose wrongly on the two crap paths I had to face last week. I just ran into Coach on the way to English, and he ripped into me for my sorry decision-making skills when it came to me choosing to stand up for the Reign of Terror Motorcycle Club instead of a member of my football team.

I didn’t just get my ass chewed out, his tirade made me late for English with no tardy note. Which is great since my English teacher hates late students like I hate riding my motorcycle in forty degree weather while it rains.

I round the corner, then peek through the small window on the door of my class. Ms. Whitlock stands in front of her desk in her patented white button-down shirt, gray pencil skirt, and dark-rimmed glasses. From the back row, my best friend Razor meets my eyes and shakes his head. Damn. That means she’s in one of her moods where she’s refusing to let anyone in.

I’m not a tail-tucked-between-my-legs type of guy, but this lady is one of the few who can reduce me to begging. If she doesn’t let me in, then she’ll mark me as absent, the front office will think I skipped, and that means I won’t be able to play at tonight’s football game.

The window rattles when I knock. The entire class turns their heads in my direction, but Ms. Whitlock doesn’t. The muscles in my neck tighten. She is one of the hardest core people I know and my grandfather is the president of a motorcycle club. That says something.

She starts for the white board and I knock on the door again. This time, Ms. Whitlock does look my way and she grants me the type of glare reserved for people who kick puppies. I got it. I’m late. I’m the scum of humanity, so let my ass in so I can play football.

There’s this guy in my club, Pigpen. He’s about the same age as Ms. Whitlock, late twenties, and he’s a walking hard-on for this woman even though she would never give him the time of day. He practically runs into walls when she’s around because he’s too focused on checking her out. I don’t see gorgeous—all I see is seriously pissed off and the person standing between me and playing.

Ms. Whitlock points at the clock over her desk. She’s telling me I can wait. If I’m lucky, she’ll open the door after the quiz that I’ll receive a zero on. If I’m not so lucky, she won’t open the door at all.

Two pathetic paths and I could only travel one. Nowhere in that stupid poem did it mention there was good and bad to both paths and that sometimes it’s best not to choose, but to set up camp at the fork and do nothing at all.

I slam my hand into the nearest locker, almost relishing the sting.

“Feel better?”

A glance across the hallway and I freeze. Doesn’t matter how many times I see her in a day, she still manages to take my breath away.

 

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Add it to your Goodreads Now!

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 Don’t Miss the First Two Titles in the Thunder Road Series! Grab your copies today!

NOWHERE BUT HERE

WALK THE EDGE

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A  Rafflecopter giveaway

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Katie McGarry Bio:

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, NOWHERE BUT HERE, and WALK THE EDGE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumbler | Instagram

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ARC Review: Caraval – Stephanie Garber

Synopsis: 

WELCOME TO CARAVAL, WHERE NOTHING IS QUITE WHAT IT SEEMS.
Scarlett and Tella have never left the tiny isle of Trisda, pining from afar for the wonder of a Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show.

Caraval is Magic. Mystery. Adventure.

When the sisters’ long-awaited invitations finally arrive, it seems their dreams have come true. But no sooner have they arrived than Tella vanishes, kidnapped by the show’s mastermind organiser, Legend.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is an elaborate performance. But she quickly becomes entangled in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak.

And real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over, and her sister disappears forever.

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I received a free proof copy of this book courtesy of Chapter 5 Books in exchange for an honest review. 

THIS BOOK WAS JUST

I mean, I knew I was holding something special in my hands even based on the red sprayed edges that the UK copy of the proof has – but I did not expect just how good the story within the pretty pages would be.

The tagline “Remember it’s only a game” plays such a huge part whilst reading – the strong minded and resilient protagonist turns out to be wonderfully unreliable as she’s enveloped in the mystical game of Caraval. At points,  I was really struggling to see what was truth and what was a concept created by Master Legend in order to engross his guests despite having that constant reminder branded on the covers of the book.

The reading experience was almost magical.

I absolutely loved the relationships in this story – both romantic and not. Sisterhood played such a vital role and truly drove the plot of the novel. Despite everything they had been through (please mind a mild trigger warning for parent-child abuse for those easily affected by such matters – albeit it is never very graphic just present within the novel), their bond was unmistakably strong and definitely only grew through the novel as Scarlett strived to find Tella.

When it comes to romance, this was a great example of how a fantasy romance should be written; none of this insta-love, love triangle malarkey that we so often see in YA Fiction. Just subtle, slow burn romance which added to the story without completely overpowering all the other concepts within it.

Also, may we just talk about the plot twists? Can we? Because there were SO MANY. All of which I really could not even begin to predict. Once I thought I could predict something…. it turned out I was grossly mistaken. This book was one huge enigma to me, and I absolutely loved that!

The plot itself was so wonderfully dark and disturbing at points, and also as previously mentioned – psychologically affecting. The settings of this novel were so well described I could picture everything with great clarity. I honestly commend  Garber for this, and can definitely say that she truly has a gift for creating a sense of mystery using her plot and setting, and building it right up until the end. And unlike some authors’ attempts, the ending actually delivered. Questions were answered, but enough were left to make me anticipate the next book with great excitement.

I will not say much more about this book, for I think that the effect of it is spoiled the more you know about it – it’s one of those books where the less you know the better the reading experience will be. One that leaves you wishing that there was a way to forget things about the books you had read just to be able to relive them anew.

I can just say that you should definitely read this masterpiece and get lost in the world of Caraval, and I can only hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

My Rating: 4.9 if not 5/5 Stars

Chapter Reveal + Giveaway: Long Way Home – Katie McGarry

 

The highly anticipated third book in Katie McGarry’s Thunder Road Series is being released on January 31^st! LONG WAY HOME is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance being published by Harlequin Teen! Pre-order your copy of the next book in this emotionally charged series, and don’t miss Violet and Chevy’s story! Check out the first chapter below and be sure to pre-order your copy for the amazing bonus scenes! (and scroll down for the giveaway)

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CHAPTER ONE:

Chevy

 

The instructions of the English homework I didn’t do hang out from the top of my folder: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both.

Story of my life.

According to my football coach, I chose wrongly on the two crap paths I had to face last week. I just ran into Coach on the way to English, and he ripped into me for my sorry decision-making skills when it came to me choosing to stand up for the Reign of Terror Motorcycle Club instead of a member of my football team.

I didn’t just get my ass chewed out, his tirade made me late for English with no tardy note. Which is great since my English teacher hates late students like I hate riding my motorcycle in forty degree weather while it rains.

I round the corner, then peek through the small window on the door of my class. Ms. Whitlock stands in front of her desk in her patented white button-down shirt, gray pencil skirt and dark-rimmed glasses. From the back row, my best friend, Razor, meets my eyes and shakes his head. Damn. That means she’s in one of her moods where she’s refusing to let anyone in.

I’m not a tail-tucked-between-my-legs type of guy, but this lady is one of the few who can reduce me to begging. If she doesn’t let me in, then she’ll mark me as absent, the front office will think I skipped, and that means I won’t be able to play at tonight’s football game.

The window rattles when I knock. The entire class turns their heads in my direction, but Ms. Whitlock doesn’t. The muscles in my neck tighten. She is one of the hardest core people I know and my grandfather is the president of a motorcycle club. That says something.

She starts for the whiteboard and I knock on the door again. This time, Ms. Whitlock does look my way and she grants me the type of glare reserved for people who kick puppies. I got it. I’m late. I’m the scum of humanity, so let my ass in so I can play football.

There’s this guy in my club, Pigpen. He’s about the same age as Ms. Whitlock, late twenties, and he’s a walking hard-on for this woman even though she would never give him the time of day. He practically runs into walls when she’s around because he’s too focused on checking her out. I don’t see gorgeous—all I see is seriously pissed off and the person standing between me and playing.

Ms. Whitlock points at the clock over her desk. She’s telling me I can wait. If I’m lucky, she’ll open the door after the quiz that I’ll receive a zero on. If I’m not so lucky, she won’t open the door at all.

Two pathetic paths and I could only travel one. Nowhere in that stupid poem did it mention there was good and bad to both paths and that sometimes it’s best not to choose, but to set up camp at the fork and do nothing at all.

I slam my hand into the nearest locker, almost relishing the sting.

“Feel better?”

A glance across the hallway and I freeze. Doesn’t matter how many times I see her in a day, she still manages to take my breath away. Violet leans against the lockers as beautiful as ever. Red silky hair flowing over her shoulders, a pair of ripped jeans that look like they were tailored for her curves and enough bracelets around her wrists that they clank together when she moves.

Do I feel better? Not really, but I nod anyway as I try to judge if being alone with Violet causes more pain than having my balls ripped off. “Didn’t hurt.”

“Yes, I can see how slamming your hand against a locker didn’t hurt at all.”

My lips tilt up because she got me, and on top of that, Violet made a joke. Since she broke up with me last spring, things between us have been tense. On her side and on mine. Some people, like me and Violet, aren’t supposed to break up. Some people, like me and Violet, don’t know how to be near each other when we do part ways. “Are we talking now?”

“I’m locked out of class. You’re locked out of class. I could ignore you if that’s what you want.”

It’s not. Her ignoring me is never what I wanted. “Why are you late?”

Violet presses her lips together and looks away. A sixth sense within me stirs.Something’s wrong. I’ve known her my entire life. We were born only a few weeks apart and we learned to crawl on the sticky floor of the Reign of Terror clubhouse. We were friends, always friends, until one day, we weren’t just friends anymore. We became more until we lost it all.

“Late’s not your thing,” I say. Violet’s unconventional. Marches to her own drummer, but she’s not the type to be late to class. It’s a respect thing for her, something her dad taught her and Violet may never listen to another living soul, but she listened to her father. “What’s going on?”

She’s silent and frustration rumbles through me. Violet used to tell me everything. Used to see me as someone who could help solve her problems. She doesn’t see me like that anymore and it pisses me off. I’m angry at her for making us this way. Angry at myself for not figuring out how to fix us.

“You being late wouldn’t have anything to do with Stone, would it?” Stone’s her brother and the question’s a shot in the dark, but I don’t want to miss the chance to keep conversation with her going.

“Why are you late?” she replies as a nonanswer and my head snaps up. Guess sometimes blind shots do hit their mark. Violet was late because of Stone.

“What happened?” I push.

“I’m not talking about it.”

“Vi—”

She cuts me off. “I told you how to help me and my brother six months ago and you told me no.”

By running away? No again to that insane solution.

“Tell me why you’re late,” she says. “If you don’t, then you need to stop talking, because the last thing either of us needs right now beyond missing a quiz or possibly being marked as absent is detention for getting into a shouting match. At least it’s the last thing I need, okay?”

I back up to the lockers across from her and lightly hit my head against the metal. Yeah, I don’t want to talk about why I’m late either. I shove a hand into my pocket and try to think of a change in subject. Telling Violet I’m late because my football coach tore into me for hitting a guy who was causing problems for the Terror, a guy who had been causing problems for her, won’t help me and Violet stay civil. She’s mad at the club, which makes her mad at me.

Violet’s watching me, and her expression is a lot like someone trying to figure out a word problem for math. Unfortunately, she knows me as well as I know her.

“Being late is going to cost you, isn’t it?” she asks. “You can’t play tonight if she marks you absent, can you?”

I meet her blue eyes, and my chest hurts at the sympathy I find there. I’d willingly miss tonight’s game if I could rewind back to a time where I could talk to Violet with ease and that’s not the type of trade I’d normally make.

Football is my life. So is the motorcycle club. The Reign of Terror are my family—the blood kind and the bonds of brotherhood kind. I don’t know who I am without the Terror, but to be honest, I don’t know who I am without football either.

Lately, I’ve been torn between the two, just like that poem, and everyone in my life has chosen a side. Violet used to be the person I could talk to, but then she walked.

Six months ago, Violet asked me to run away with her.She was driven by grief, driven by something she wouldn’t tell me about. When I told her no, that we needed to stay home, to be near our family, to be near the club, Violet returned the next night and announced I was choosing the club over her and that we were done.

Being a running back, I’ve taken more than my fair share of hits over the years, but I’ve never been as blindsided as I was that night. Never experienced the type of pain her leaving me created.

The door to the classroom opens and a sense of relief washes over me. I’ll have to bust my ass to bring up my grade thanks to that zero on the quiz, but at least I’ll be able to play tonight.

Ms. Whitlock steps out and sizes me up, then Violet. “I’m only letting you in if you have a note, otherwise you can head to the office and hope they give you one.”

Screw me. There’s no way I’ll make it to the office, get a note and return in time. Right as I’m about to kick the hell out of the locker, Violet glides past me and hands in her note. “This is Chevy’s.”

My head whips in her direction. “It’s what?”

“Yours.” Violet meets my eyes. “Thanks for offering it to me, but it’s not right for me to take it. I’m the one who didn’t have a note, and I’m the one who needs to make it right.”

She begins walking backward, and my short-circuited brain sparks back to life. I can’t let her do this. “Violet—”

“Have a good game tonight,” she says, then disappears down the stairs.

“Are you joining us, Mr. McKinley, or not?” Ms. Whitlock demands. Never met a person I hate as much as this lady and it takes everything I have to force one foot in front of the other.

Everyone watches me as I stalk down the aisle then drop into the last seat in the row, the one next to Razor. He’s calm, cool, blond hair, blue eyes, and he’s watching me like an owl who’s considering whether it wants that unsuspecting mouse for a snack now or later.

Ms. Whitlock is lost in her own world as she continues babbling about poem interpretations and people who died too long ago. I can do little more than open my folder and stare at the top of my homework.

“Chevy,” Razor whispers, and I glance over at him. He points to the paper on his desk and in his messy handwriting is You okay?

Yes, because I get to play football tonight. No, because Violet sacrificed herself for it to happen. Hell no, because the world’s messed up and I don’t know how to fix it. Worse no, because I don’t know if I should read more into what Violet did—if it means somewhere deep inside she still thinks we have a chance.

I shake my head, Razor nods and the two of us stare at the whiteboard. Two roads. One path. Can’t take both. The guy who wrote it acts like the choice should be easy. It’s not. And he also didn’t mention what happens when people like Violet shove you onto a path regardless of your thoughts.

“So how many of you liked the poem?” Ms. Whitlock asks.

The entire class raises their hands. Almost everyone, except for me and Razor.

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And don’t miss the next chapters of LONG WAY HOME!
January 12: YA Books Central
January 13: Vilma’s Book Blog

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LONG WAY HOME Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

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LONG WAY HOME Pre-Order Links:

Amazon | Kobo | BAM | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound

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“An intoxicating and unforgettable story that kept me glued to the page.”

—Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Walk the Edge

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Add it to your Goodreads Now!

 

 

Don’t Miss the First Two Titles in the Thunder Road Series! And WALK THE EDGE is just $1.99 in eBook for a limited time only! Grab your copies today!

NOWHERE BUT HERE

WALK THE EDGE

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Pre-order LONG WAY HOME by Katie McGarry, and fill out THIS FORM, to receive three previously unreleased bonus scenes featuring important “firsts” in the lives of your favorite characters from the world of Katie McGarry! Complete the form to register your pre-order at https://wyng.com/campaign/820152.

 

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Katie McGarry Bio:

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, NOWHERE BUT HERE and WALK THE EDGE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads

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ARC Review: Blood, Ink & Fire – Ashley Mansour

Synopsis:

Imagine a world without books…
In the future, books are a distant memory. The written word has been replaced by an ever-present stream of images known as Verity. In the controlling dominion of the United Vales of Fell, reading is obsolete and forbidden, and readers themselves do not—cannot—exist.
But where others see images in the stream, teenager Noelle Hartley sees words. She’s obsessed with what they mean, where they came from, and why they found her.

Noelle’s been keeping her dangerous fixation with words a secret, but on the night before her seventeenth birthday, a rare interruption in the stream leads her to a mysterious volume linked to an underworld of rebel book lovers known as the Nine of the Rising. With the help of the Risers and the beguiling boy Ledger, Noelle discovers that the words within her are precious clues to the books of the earlier time—and as a child of their bookless age, she might be the world’s last hope of bringing them back.

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I received an eARC edition of this novel courtesy of Upturn Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

You know the book you had read was probably not the greatest masterpiece ever written when your first Goodreads update whilst reading it says, “I can already tell that this book will take a while,” but I have to say that this novel did have a lot of potential, which may or may not have been wasted.

A WORLD WITHOUT BOOKS!? Do you mean 

Because I think you do…  I found the entire concept so terrifying and yet just could not get into the story for a myriad of reasons.

I couldn’t connect with the setting, the world created was very much one dimensional despite seeming so vast – perhaps because the description was executed in an info-dump sort of way. However, Mansour’s writing style was pleasing to read; I really enjoyed the way she dropped in a few literary quotes into the story, and generally thought that her writing was beautiful at points.

However, much alike other books of the dystopian genre, Blood, Ink & Fire fell into the deep, dark realms of love-triangle/insta-love lovechild galore; complete with talk of spending the rest of their dark, dark eternity together basically hours after they just met. The romance was definitely too rushed for me to feel any positive emotions towards either of the potential pairings. If I was being frank, I didn’t particularly care for them in the slightest.

I honestly think that a good portion of the reason why I disliked this book was because it just followed so many of the dystopian tropes (but then honestly, that’s just me being horrible because after all, it is a dystopian story and it has every right to) even down to its predictability and the “My name is blabla, I am blabla years old, I did blabla,” cliché which has appeared in wayyyy too many books of the genre and personally, I’m starting to find it old…

The pace of the story was varied, and I’m not sure whether that was in a good way or not… because some parts felt awfully long whereas others I really wished Mansour would spend slightly more time on. The balance was definitely not struck. But yet I kept reading?

And I guess the ending was worth it, but also seemed like an easy way out of the huge mess that the book slowly unraveled to be? I am a mess of conflicted feelings about it.

It seems that I am largely in the minority when it comes to opinions on this novel, so I do urge you to read it – even if only for the scary premise to see whether you enjoy it much more than I did.

My Rating: 1.5/5 Stars

“You cannot change someone’s mind by lighting fires, burning their history, and persecuting their people. That will only push them further into extremism.”

Book Review: A Hold On Me – Pat Esden

My synopsis:

She never wanted to return.
He wants nothing more than for her to leave.
But the fire between them is as strong as the past that haunts them.

Annie Freemont grew up on the road, immersed in the romance of rare things, cultivating an eye for artifacts and a spirit for bargaining. It’s a freewheeling life she loves and plans to continue–until her dad is diagnosed with dementia. His illness forces them to return to Moonhill, their ancestral home on the coast of Maine–and to the family they left behind fifteen years ago, after Annie’s mother died in a suspicious accident.

Once at Moonhill, Annie is shocked when her aunt separates her from her father. The next time Annie sees him, he’s a bizarre, violent shadow of his former self. Confused, she turns to an unlikely ally for support–Chase, the dangerously seductive young groundskeeper. With his dark good looks and powerful presence, Chase has an air of mystery that Annie is irresistibly drawn to. But she also senses that behind his penetrating eyes are secrets she can’t even begin to imagine. Secrets that hold the key to the past, to Annie’s own longings–and to all of their futures. Now, to unlock them, she’ll have to face her greatest fears and embrace her legacy…

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I received an e-copy of this book courtesy of Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was definitely a surprise, I mean I suspected that there must have been an element of the supernatural in this book, given its paranormal genre. But I honestly didn’t expect Esden to implement it in the way that she did.

I loved the eerie atmosphere, from the gothic setting to bits of pathetic fallacy (thanks, GCSE English) to the uncertainty of everything that was going on. The element of slow-reveal was potent throughout, but it really worked.

The MC was largely realistic, and I liked the fact that she knew exactly what she wanted and that she wasn’t scared to do everything in her power to do it. Her loyalty to her father was impressive, she went to great lengths in order to help him, despite people telling her that it was practically impossible and that she should stop trying.

However, the romance part of the novel basically didn’t exist for me. Which did pose a few problems, seeing as the book was supposed to be a paranormal ROMANCE… I just wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Annie and Chase in the slightest and found myself skipping a lot of the “romantic” parts or barely skim reading them enough to follow what was happening in the rest of the novel, which of course just gradually increased over the course of the novel. So I lost interest very quickly and skim read for a large part, which was probably why I didn’t appreciate the novel as much as I possibly could have.

Of course, this book was the first in the series, and it definitely felt like one – whilst the secondary character were developed (and man, did I dislike some of them – not necessarily because they were badly written, just that they were horrible people who didn’t deserve to be liked), the plot revolved largely around Annie’s father and didn’t go further than that until the very end of the book.

So I am inclined to read the second book, just to find out where it all goes  and to see whether I enjoy it much more than its predecessor, especially in the aspects I have mentioned above.

My Rating: pushing 3/5 Stars, probably closer to 2.5

Book Review: Black Waters – India R. Adams

Synopsis:

The blue water Whit once loved now looked black because it was claiming her, taking her from me.

Whitney Summers is Link’s best friend. He would do anything for her, even sacrifice their friendship to protect her. Whitney believes she understands what is transpiring in her life, but so much stirs beneath the surface. As her closest friend and protector, Link faces the darkness in his own life to guard the girl he loves.
This is Link’s story…

There was no beauty in her dying that day…

 

 

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I received an eCopy of this book courtesy of the lovely author herself in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I did not know that it was possible to rewrite a book from another person’s perspective and still make me feel approximately

All of the things were felt whilst reading this novel, from sadness to anticipation, to fear, to outright happiness when the ending rolled around (and not because the book was awful and I was relieved, but because it was a heartwarming ending which I will forever be thankful for because it was honestly such a good conclusion to the novella).

I have to say that I probably should have re-read Blue Waters before starting Black Waters, but it did trigger enough memories of the prequel-ish-not-really for me to be able to fully enjoy it. And enjoy it I did.

This book was so damn detailed I honestly wish all authors cared enough to pad out secondary characters enough to be able to accomplish what India did within the limited page count. Characters I had not cared for or understood before suddenly became incredibly important? I actually understood the actions of Link’s father much more than I had during Blue Waters.

For some reason, though, I could not connect with Link as much as I had with Whitney, at least during the first half of the book, before major events and reveals happened which put his character in a much different, and a slightly more favourable light.

As you may already be able to tell, this book truly was the perfect companion of its predecessor, all the gaps and questions were filled in perfectly and India didn’t stop there.

We were also introduced to completely new ideas, courtesy of Whit’s oblivious state in Blue Waters. Link’s narrative presents us with what seemed like concrete information which seemed like things that really shouldn’t have been able to go unnoticed during the previous novella. So many twists in such a short space of time, my mind was reeling – it was WONDERFUL.

I cannot criticise this book, much alike I was not able to find anything wrong with Blue Waters; the writing style, the characters, the pace amalgamated into another amazing novella; so huge kudos to India R. Adams for writing this series.

My Rating: 4.75 Stars/5 Stars

“There was no beauty in her dying that day…”

-Link

ARC Review: Heartless – Marissa Meyer

Synopsis:

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king’s marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.

Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

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I received an eARC edition of this novel courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I have not read such an intriguing, well-written retelling in too long. This novel has turned out to be  another of Meyers masterpieces.

The writing style…..  The writing style was truly sublime. Easy on the brain,  no exuberant, over-the-top metaphors yet it was wonderful in its content. I absolutely loved the references to classic works of well known authors which Meyer scattered throughout this book.

The characters, oh my gosh, the characters. I loved Catherine, her story and development gripped me and I truly felt for her throughout. The situation she was put in by her parents was awful… I cannot imagine what I would have done in her shoes, although if I’m honest I probably would have been slightly more annoyed with the King and his goofy, over the top advances, I felt nauseous with how stupid they  really were sometimes and feel that I probably would have had to fight the urge to scream at him and/or tell him to leave.

However, the other supporting characters made up  for his stupidity. Haigha and Hatta  as well as Jest each had their own role in the story, and weren’t they brilliant? The answer to that question would be yes. I fell in love with them, and honestly by the end  I was so invested in their story that I spent the last few chapters heartbroken and grossly sobbing (which is of course the  most attractive combination).

The chemistry between Jest and Catherine was palpable and honestly it was the best romance in a fantasy novel that I have had the chance to read in a long while. There was no insta-love, there was of course attraction – yes. But Cath wasn’t falling head-over-heels in love with Jest the moment that she lay her eyes on him. And that itself made the book incredibly special in my eyes.

The only ‘but’ I could possibly have towards this  book (apart
from the fact that it dared  to end) was he fact that the beginning dragged a bit more than  it possibly should. But I did eventually get lost  in the world which seemed to fix  this particular problem of mine.

I honestly feel that Meyers did such a beautiful job of describing  the Queen of Hearts’ journey, it definitely had plot twists  I hadn’t seen coming, it had  development, the world building was so vivid and wonderful. The ending was so abrupt and yet it worked perfectly, I could not imagine a better ending or execution of this story.

This book broke my heart and made me think. But above all, it reminded me of the beauty of certain fairytales and made me crave more of them, preferably written by Meyers herself.

My Rating: 4.75/5 Stars