Category: Review (Page 229 of 295)

BOOK REVIEW – Changing His Game (Gamers) by Megan Erickson

April 28, 2015 / Jen / 0 Comments

Changing His Game (Gamers)
by Megan Erickson
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
He controls the game, but she's rewriting all the rules...

Marley Lake is no stranger to awkwardness, but getting caught watching a dirty GIF by the company's hot new IT guy exceeds even her standards. That is, until she realizes he's as turned on by it as she is. But with a big promotion on the line, she refuses to let her current dry spell be her downfall. Maybe.

Austin Rivers has no business lusting after the irresistible editor of Gamers Magazine. He's a secret partner in the business-and technically Marley's boss. One look at that GIF, though, and he's ready to install a whole lot more than just software...as long as she never finds out who he really is.

But reality's not as virtual as it seems, and when Austin's identity jeopardizes Marley's promotion, he has to change his game or risk losing the only woman with the cheat code to his heart.

Review:

Changing His Game was sexy and fun! The storyline, which moved quickly, was too cute. I caught myself smiling from time to time, and the characters helped with that because they were so quirky and unique. And the sexy level in this book was through the roof scorching hot. While I did have a few personal issues, this was still an adorable book.

Marley Lake is the head of the copy editing team at a magazine called Gamers. She loves her job, but she’s about to cross her own personal line. While an IT tech helps fix her computer, he stumbles upon her dirty gif she has on her tumblr account. He finds it as lust worthy as she does, so how can she not want to be with him? But what Marley doesn’t know is that the IT tech, Austin Rivers, is actually a silent owner in the company she works for. The one she wants a promotion from. Watch out, because the fun is about to begin!

Oh my gosh, I was beyond mortified for Marley in the beginning of this book. I would have crawled under that desk and rolled into the fetal position and died. Seriously. But thank goodness Marley didn’t do that, because it started a sexy chain reaction. While I didn’t feel as though I had a complete grasp on Marley, since I knew nothing about her parents or if she had any friends besides her brother, I did know that she was a hard worker. She was demanding and in charge of her career. And you know what? That’s why she’s drawn to her favorite gif so much. That woman in the gif lets everything go, and Marley needs that release too. To let someone else be demanding and take control of her actions. And Austin is the perfect guy for the job.

Austin is one of those people where his past and his present life are such a contrast, that it seems as though he is always struggling within himself. But he definitely did not have any insecurities when it came to being with Marley intimately in the bedroom uhhhh or other interesting places that I never would have thought of before haha. He was demanding, in control, creative and wasn’t going to let any situation steal time away from being with the one that he wanted to be with. Way to go Austin! I liked that nerdy yet oh so sexy man.

The few issues I had with this book, were completely personal. It was laced with cheesy humor, and while the sexy innuendos that were computer related were creative, I just can’t ever connect with that type of humor. Also, while I enjoy reading sexy, steamy scenes, I prefer my males to do less talking. Especially the demanding kind. Now I know that’s exactly what Marley wanted and needed, but it’s just not my cup of tea. And while I wish the book had more relationship development and a little less sexy time, again I understand that’s not what would have worked for Marley. But regardless, I still think this was a cute book. I loved how the story flowed and I liked the characters that she created. I will be trying some of her other books, because I loved the fun that she poured into the pages!

*ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review*

BOOK REVIEW: Unwind (Unwind #1) by Neal Shusterman

April 27, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Unwind (Unwind #1)
by Neal Shusterman
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

"Characters live and breathe; they are fully realized and complex, sometimes making wrenching difficult decisions. This is a thought-provoking, well-paced read that will appeal widely." School Library Journal, starred review

"[A] gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller...could hardly be more engrossing or better aimed to teens." Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[A] nail-biting, character-driven thriller." Horn Book magazine

In a perfect world everything would either be black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn’t a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.

Wow. I don’t know what I expected….but it certainly wasn’t that. I wasn’t expecting a broken, tortured soul of a boy who would win my heart on page one. I didn’t expect a fast-paced plot. I didn’t expect disturbing and grotesque images that would haunt me forever. I didn’t expect a heartbreaking romance that would be exactly what I needed. I didn’t anticipate falling for all these flawed characters no matter their faults….and I certainly didn’t expect that I would immediately want to start book two. But guess what? I got all of these things. And there wasn’t a moment I didn’t want to be reading this book.

People aren’t all good, and people aren’t all bad. We move in and out of darkness and light all of our lives.

Is there a word for….HJhfjhfhdfhhfasdfjh? What would that be? Flabbergasted? Shocked? Bewildered? Extraordinary? Sure, this book wasn’t without it’s flaws. There were parts of it I didn’t even like. But I think that marks the work of a great book-that feeling when, even though there are little parts you wish you could skim, in the end, you are so enthralled by it you just. Don’t. Care. That’s right where I am. These characters really meant something to me. And yes, I know I know, I am always talking about how much I love characters in a book I’ve just read-but this is different. This was a case where, even if I hated certain characters, I ended up rooting for them in the end or feeling remorse for what happens to them. That doesn’t happen with me…EVER. If I hate a character, I hate them. End of story.

The better to run. The better to hide. The better to lose himself now that darkness is his friend.

But what happens when the boy who annoyed the shit out of me becomes someone who I couldn’t stand losing? What about the guy who, despite causing PROBLEM AFTER PROBLEM, broke my heart because he deserved so much better? And then there’s Connor and Risa-their story, while not a main plot point, had me so enraptured that I couldn’t see straight while I had to reside in ‘the real world’. These characters meant something to me-and not just on the surface-they touched me deeply and I cared about what happened to them to the bottom of my soul. This book was deep-it only fits that my feelings reflect that amount of depth.

Unwinds didn’t go out with a bang-they didn’t even go out with a whimper. They went out with the silence of a candle flame pinched between two fingers.

And how does someone explain this book? It’s dark. It’s gritty. It’s disturbing as fuck. There’s a chilly detachment that isn’t often seen in YA stories. Parents sign their kids’ lives away just to get rid of a ‘problem child’ or just because they didn’t want another member in their family. And that, to me, is the creepiest part. Once you sign?? No negotiations-Your child is now due to be cut up into pieces for the betterment of the world. Someone’s lungs are no good? Awesome!!! We just removed a perfectly healthy left lung today! SOLD to the highest and most eligible bidder! It literally is that cold. Your son is misbehaving? Time for the juvey cops to come pick him up and transport him to the harvest camp of your choice! Let’s name the camps something uplifting (or retarded) like ‘Happy Jack’. Perfection! Now kids won’t be scared as their numbered days wind down (hardy har har) and they lose themselves piece by piece by piece.

Now, while I could go on and on and on about how creepy this whole process is, I think I need to move on to my favorite part of this story: Connor! You surely KNEW I wasn’t going to skip gushing on my main man, right? If so, you are sadly mistaken. He was loyal. He was sad. He was determined. He would do anything to keep Risa (and even Lev) safe. From the moment I opened this book, I knew I was going to have a deep-rooted connection to this guy, this poor boy who just can’t believe, despite his numerous fights and misbehaving, that his parents would sign him up to be unwound-and not even tell him about it!!!! As the story progressed, we got to see Connor become responsible for his actions and those around him. Some of the things he did were mistakes that might have changed the course of their journey for the worst, but one thing is consistent with his character: Every decision he made was with his heart. And that’s why I truly loved him. His fierce loyalty to Risa and those that couldn’t defend themselves was what broke my heart and kept me addicted to this book. Risa was a stubborn, determined little shit, but her hardheadedness was no match for that of Connor’s.

She takes her time, and seems more surefooted on the steps than she does on level ground. Connor tries to hold her arm to give her support, but she shakes him off, and throws him a nasty gaze. “If I want your help, I’ll ask. Do I look feeble to you?”
“Actually, yes.”
“Looks are deceiving,” she says. “After all, when I saw you, I thought you looked reasonably intelligent.”
“Very funny.”

And one thing I cannot stand is when a story is so amazing, but has horrible writing. Well, this wasn’t the case. I feel like excellent dystopian is so hard to find these days. It’s my favorite genre, yet I rarely read them-why is that? I’ll tell you why-so many authors think a fast pace and awesome plot are enough to excuse shaky or manipulative writing-but that’s not the case at all, and we see that here with this novel. I am super picky before I pick up dystopian anymore, and this is exactly why: I found this excellent, disturbingly realistic portrayal of a futuristic society I would NEVER want to be part of. And not one moment was dull, wasted, or drawn out. It was what it was-stark, harsh, and bleak. No questions, no bending the rules, just cold, hard statistics and surgeries. It was fast-paced and without long scenes that were unnecessary, and every character played a part-sometimes they played too well into the hand they were dealt, and it cost some of them their lives. What would that be like, to be punished for being who you are? You’re manipulative-so is the government. Beat that.

So, yeah. This book wasn’t without it’s flaws-I’d be lying if I said there were parts I didn’t like….but none of that compared to the overwhelming moments where I would cover my eyes and my mouth in horror, or when my heart would beat so fast it felt like I was losing breath-this book wasn’t without it’s butterflies…duh. I do so love a fantastic and bleak dystopian romance. This book will not be for everyone-of that I am certain. But, for those of you wanting to try something different? This is the book for you. And I assure everyone: Just when you think you know what’s going to happen and things couldn’t get any worse? You’re wrong. You bet your ass on that.

**********************

BOOK REVIEW: I Am the Mission (The Unknown Assassin #2) by Allen Zadoff

April 24, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

I Am the Mission (The Unknown Assassin #2)
by Allen Zadoff
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
He was the perfect assassin. No name. No past. No remorse. Perfect, that is, until he began to ask questions and challenge his orders. Now The Program is worried that their valuable soldier has become a liability.

And so Boy Nobody is given a new mission. A test of sorts. A chance to prove his loyalty.

His objective: Take out Eugene Moore, the owner of an extremist military training camp for teenagers. It sounds like a simple task, but a previous operative couldn't do it. He lost the mission and is presumed dead. Now Boy Nobody is confident he can finish the job. Quickly.

But when things go awry, Boy Nobody finds himself lost in a mission where nothing is as it seems: not The Program, his allegiances, nor the truth.

The riveting second book in Allen Zadoff's Boy Nobody series delivers heart-pounding action and a shocking new twist that makes Boy Nobody question everything he has believed.

That was before. And I’ve been taught to handle before.

You put it away and replace it with now.

Okay, so, I’m extremely mad at myself. Excellent story, wonderful flawed boy to obsess over, fast-paced and intricate story-line so there was no way I could lose my interest easily-and yet, here I am, the next day after finishing, wishing I would have waited to read IATM until this weekend. I was tired. I was dreary. I had, like, no time to read in more than 20% chunks…I am beside myself with how dumb this decision was. I wasted a wonderful, amazing book because I couldn’t keep my damn fangirling in check, and a wonderful book lost half a star because of that. *Face palm*

It hurts to watch her go. Not in my head. Someplace else, someplace deeper.
Closer to my heart.

This story was completely different than the first. For one, our dear, er, hmm, can I say his real name without it being a spoiler? Ummm okay, I’ll just use his ‘op’ name for this mission-Daniel, our dear Daniel has faced an emotional trauma from his last mission he isn’t likely to recover from. His heart is broken, but he knows what his job entails and he knows he must move forward. But now, on top of all the maturity he has to wrangle at his age, he can finally ‘feel’. He isn’t just an emotionless drone going from operation to operation-he is finally starting to question the morality and sanity of The Program. And with these doubts comes fear-what if he messes up again? Will it cost another life? And, most of all, when it comes right down to it, would he make the same decision again if he had to?

I see this too-thin, too-tired boy who has been up most of the night, first on a mission and then on postmission planning, and I transform his energy into that of a boy who had trouble sleeping because he is nervous about the day to come. A sixteen-year-old desperate to impress, yet confused about who he is and what he is here to achieve.
In short, I make myself into Daniel Martin, the new recruit at camp.

I really enjoyed seeing his struggle to make the right decisions and to know whether he was heading down the right path or not. The thing is, it all became blurred. He had very little sleep, was trapped where he couldn’t reach his ‘Mother’ or ‘Father’, and he was questioning every little thing set before him. But here’s the kicker-At one point?? I’m pretty sure Daniel went off the deep end. He wasn’t himself for a very long time in this story, and it was so sad (and addicting, sue me) to see him fraying at the edges, losing himself through doubt, determination, and a longing for someone to connect to. But one thing was clear-he would not make the same mistakes from his last mission. His last mission took a piece of his soul, and we get to see first hand how it effects him every single day. Poor widdle ‘Daniel’. 🙁

Physical pain is easy. It’s the other kind that’s new to me. The emotional kind.

One thing was for certain in this story: The bromance stole the show, right alongside the action. It tore my heart to pieces to see two lonely boys finally find what they always wanted: An awkward best-friendship lol. At one point, and good lord this will seem weird, I totally laughed/squealed/giggled from the adorable-ness that is Howard and Daniel. I LOVE their friendship and it actually became my favorite part of the story-and if you know me at all, you know I don’t give two shits about friends in stories. A lot of people would balk at that, me not caring about friends and only looking out for the romance, but eh, that’s me! And for me to fall so hard for two best friends and almost tear up at the epicness that is their friendship? That’s huge (Think Jazz and, gasp, Howie, from I hunt killers and that whole series).

Before I can stop him, Howard rushes forward, squashing me in a bear hug.
I say, “I’ve got to be honest. It makes me uncomfortable when you do that.”
“Just once,” he says. “Then you can go back to being a tough guy.”

So, while I absolutely adored this story and am completely enraptured by this series and the boy that leads it, something key was missing here. Whether from my lack of sleep or time for this story, or from the lack of a romance I could get behind like in book one, something tiny was missing-Something that would make me go wooooooahhhhh, no way, like in book one. But, again, I screwed up and read the meat of the story last night with my eyes half closed and floated through every page when it was supposed to be perilous sooooo I’m guessing my rating would have been 5 had I read this when I should have. Anyway-Tortured, lonely, confused Daniel is someone I really fell hard for in this book. His humanity (or lack thereof near the end) was amazing to follow as we watched him decide just how far he’d go to prove his loyalty. I NEED book three now…damn it, why do I have to wait until JUNE?!!! UGH!

BOOK REVIEW – Asa (Marked Men #6) by Jay Crownover

April 22, 2015 / Jen / 0 Comments

Asa (Marked Men #6)
by Jay Crownover
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Starting over in Denver with a whole new circle of friends and family, Asa Cross struggles with being the man he knows everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn’t it change its spots and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn’t want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it’s easy to hit bottom when it’s the place you know best.

Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner’s life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she’s trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can’t stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.

A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.

Review:

That was the perfect ending to such a pleasurable series. Not only did we get to watch Asa’s incredible story unfold, but we also got snippets of all of the other characters that we love. As if that wasn’t enough, we were left with an amazing epilogue! Happy tears were falling down my face, and I honestly could not be more satisfied with the way this series ended!

To say that Asa had lived a hard life would be an understatement. Asa went to jail, played people, and did beyond horrific things that earned him that spot in the hospital bed back in Jet’s book. It took him almost dying and his sister giving him a second chance for him to see the light. He finally wanted to at least try and live his life on the law abiding side. Asa and Royal are in the same circle of friends, and there’s no denying their underlying current of chemistry. But Royal is a cop who has arrested Asa in the past. After a horrifying event went wrong on a call, Royal wants Asa. She doesn’t want to fight her feelings anymore, and Asa should be a sure thing right? But it’s not so simple, and the fun has just begun!

I was ecstatic to read our southern charmer’s story, because Asa had already won me over in the previous books! And honestly, he made me grin constantly. I didn’t care that he was a criminal. I didn’t care that he automatically wanted to do what was “wrong” and had to fight those daily urges. He was alluring, dark, charming, hot and I had already fallen right into his trap. And when the good sides of him peeked out, oh my goodness he was amazing! But at the same time, he made me want to fix him. He had a tainted view of himself from his past actions, and did not see himself as redeemable or that he deserved anything good in his life. Even if that good made him exceedingly happy. I think that’s one of the reasons he started to test Royal. And while it hurt my heart to watch it all unfold, I loved how Royal reacted!

Just like Asa, I loved Royal when we met her in some of the previous books. She was smart, straight forward, made me laugh, and I could not wait to see what she was going to say or do next. It warmed my heart that she pushed Asa to try and see himself differently. And I was rooting for her from page one, even while she struggled immensely with an action she watched unfold. While they were both wonderful separately, when Asa and Royal were together they were electric! Their level of sexual tension was through the roof hot! And when it finally proceeded down that avenue, I didn’t know if fanning myself was enough since you could literally feel their heat radiating off of the pages. Their chemistry of course led to one of my favorite scenes being about a shower and a cracked door. WOW, I’ve never read anything like that before! *claps out loud*

I am sad to say goodbye to these characters that I adore and love. But with the Saints of Denver coming next year, it looks like we might get a peak here and there of our beloved crew. But till then, it warmed my heart to see how much everyone has grown over time. That each one of our Marked Men got their own version of a happily ever after! It’s been a great journey, and I am so happy that I got to discover their world!

P.S. I love that Royal loved pop music and Britney Spears! I always get a song or two stuck in my head that reminds me of the storyline while reading a book. For Asa and Royal’s story it was Criminal and Toxic. And I literally screamed out loud when Jay Crownover had Toxic on Asa and Royal’s Playlist haha! Of course their playlist was my favorite of this series!

*ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #) *Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.*
Rule #1 Reviews: Jen	Jet #2 Reviews: Jen	Rome #3 Reviews: Jen
Nash #4 Reviews: Jen	Rowdy #5 Reviews: Jen	Asa #6 Reviews: Jen

BOOK REVIEW: Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas

April 21, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

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

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

Our lives are made up of choices. Big ones, small ones, strung together by the thin air of good intentions; a line of dominoes, ready to fall.

Dangerous boys , dangerous boys who won’t share their toys…..Yeah, okay, that was weird but…yeah. Anyway. It felt right! Lol. I think that kind of sums it up, though, wouldn’t you agree?? After reading Dangerous Girls a week or two ago, I’ve been enraptured in the simplicity of it’s severity-the idea that something that is supposed to be fun, a break from reality, turned into something that would change one group of friends’ lives forever.

A heartbeat, a split-second’s whim, that’s all it takes to change your life forever.

No, I wasn’t shocked by the end-I even guessed it. But the point is that the execution hadn’t escaped my attention. More and more I started to long for a creeptastic end like in DG, but didn’t quite know where to turn. So, the next obvious step was to find out if boys can be as scary as girls in Haas’s other novel…but what I didn’t know was that I was going to become so wrapped up in this story that I wasn’t going to like what happened to my beloved boy(s)-for there was no happy ending that included all three of them-none that could possibly satisfy my need for safety and a wonderful life for my favorite brother. None for the flourishing relationship between a small town boy and a girl who longed to get away….and none for the wild card with a thing for baby brother’s girlfriend that entered an already peaceful scene and blew it all to bits.

Two bodies, two sets of clear blue eyes.
One survivor. One way out of this.
History is told by those who win.

I’ll admit I assumed that most of the story would mirror that of Dangerous Girls. In all actuality, it was nothing the same. I actually got everything I wanted that I didn’t get in DG with this story-it was real time and it was all in progression and in order of events…I LOVED THAT!!! I love that we got to see the crazy seep out of every pore and that we watch the inevitable demise of each individual-what lead up to it, who made it out of the house alive, why they made it out of the house alive, and how everything began to go downhill at a rapid pace. I was guessing after every page, after every chapter, spinning so many different scenarios and begging it to land where I wanted it to, pulling my hair out, all the while forgetting that even if what I wanted to happen happened….how could anything ever be okay?? And where could it possibly go after that?

You can never really know someone.

****

We’re all strangers, in the end.

So many emotions, so much squealing, hoping, praying, making deals with an invisible book God just so things might turn out even a little bit okay, I was a mess from page one. Once I take a stance, I am hard headed and I don’t budge on what I feel, so no one could reason with me or pull me down from the ledge once I’d made my decision on how this just had to go. In that regard, it was so much different than DG, because I built up this deep-rooted connection to the main character, but also for the boy who stole my heart. There was still a really cool format, but it worked much better for me this time and for this story-A ‘before, now, and after.’ And it was so simple. I loved switching back and forth and seeing where it was all heading…even as I saw us all careening toward the edge of a cliff with no breaks on the car. But I was all in. That’s the point, isn’t it?? I was in that car, sitting right beside Chloe and Ethan and Oliver-all of us in a terror filled journey where crazy takes a back seat to cold-blooded logic.

It’s me, it’s all on me.
So I choose.

***

Blood in the hospital, blood at the house. Blood soaked through my T-shirt, sticky on my hands.

Sinister with an end that chills you to the bone, I guarantee you’ll get at least a little satisfaction, no matter what side you rest on. The journey these characters take is something I can get behind. And while I did love this story a little more than DG, I find myself giving it the same rating-why? Why is that? Well, it’s simple-The story may have ripped it’s claws deep into my stomach, but it still ripped so deep that I was emotionally damaged and disturbed, and I can’t say every moment of this fucked up novel satisfied me. And I guess I’m horrible because I just didn’t like the way things were spelled or written, sometimes…it felt a bit, hmm, rushed? So, yeah. It wasn’t as clean cut and precise, writing wise, to me, and it chilled me deeply more than once-both in good and bad ways. And, while the end was thrilling and deeply disturbing (and I totally didn’t guess where the end was going even though I had most of it right), it didn’t give me the same malicious contentment her other work did. And I don’t ever compare-ever-but in this case, there were similarities (and tons of differences) that I couldn’t help comparing-like a badass ending.

‘What did I do to deserve you?’

***

We assume the sun will rise every morning just because it has done every other day, but what happens when you wake up to darkness?

Anyway-some of you will love this, and some of you would probably like the other story by this author better. One is real time (ish), and the other centers around the conviction of a best friend who is in the wrong place at the wrong time on a vacation from hell. In all reality, they are both so fucked up I guarantee you won’t walk away the same person. You’ll wonder what kind of people hide beneath their ‘perfect’ or ‘pretty’ or ‘well-read’ personalities and smiles-you’ll question what kind of world you live in that this fictional story could even exist. But, I’ll be the first to tell you-this is real. This happens. People are fucked up…and all you can do is be yourself. After all, that’s what we are trained to do-Be the perfect kid. The perfect student. The perfect boy/girl. Look out for yourself and try to take care of those around you…but it all circles right back around to you, doesn’t it? All for one….and one for all.

The line of dominoes falling one by one . Click, click, click, they tumble faster until you can only see the two that really mattered:
The beginning, and this, the end.
Oliver, and Ethan, and I.

BOOK REVIEW – Changing His Game (Gamers) by Megan Erickson

Synopsis:

Review:

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BOOK REVIEW: Unwind (Unwind #1) by Neal Shusterman

Synopsis:

In a perfect world everything would either be black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn’t a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.

People aren’t all good, and people aren’t all bad. We move in and out of darkness and light all of our lives.

The better to run. The better to hide. The better to lose himself now that darkness is his friend.

Unwinds didn’t go out with a bang-they didn’t even go out with a whimper. They went out with the silence of a candle flame pinched between two fingers.

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BOOK REVIEW: I Am the Mission (The Unknown Assassin #2) by Allen Zadoff

Synopsis:

That was before. And I’ve been taught to handle before.

You put it away and replace it with now.

It hurts to watch her go. Not in my head. Someplace else, someplace deeper. Closer to my heart.

Physical pain is easy. It’s the other kind that’s new to me. The emotional kind.

Before I can stop him, Howard rushes forward, squashing me in a bear hug. I say, “I’ve got to be honest. It makes me uncomfortable when you do that.” “Just once,” he says. “Then you can go back to being a tough guy.”

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BOOK REVIEW – Asa (Marked Men #6) by Jay Crownover

Synopsis:

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BOOK REVIEW: Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas

Synopsis:

Our lives are made up of choices. Big ones, small ones, strung together by the thin air of good intentions; a line of dominoes, ready to fall.

A heartbeat, a split-second’s whim, that’s all it takes to change your life forever.

Two bodies, two sets of clear blue eyes. One survivor. One way out of this. History is told by those who win.

You can never really know someone.

We’re all strangers, in the end.

It’s me, it’s all on me. So I choose.

Blood in the hospital, blood at the house. Blood soaked through my T-shirt, sticky on my hands.

‘What did I do to deserve you?’

We assume the sun will rise every morning just because it has done every other day, but what happens when you wake up to darkness?

The line of dominoes falling one by one . Click, click, click, they tumble faster until you can only see the two that really mattered: The beginning, and this, the end. Oliver, and Ethan, and I.

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It hurts to watch her go. Not in my head. Someplace else, someplace deeper.
Closer to my heart.

Before I can stop him, Howard rushes forward, squashing me in a bear hug.
I say, “I’ve got to be honest. It makes me uncomfortable when you do that.”
“Just once,” he says. “Then you can go back to being a tough guy.”

Two bodies, two sets of clear blue eyes.
One survivor. One way out of this.
History is told by those who win.

It’s me, it’s all on me.
So I choose.

The line of dominoes falling one by one . Click, click, click, they tumble faster until you can only see the two that really mattered:
The beginning, and this, the end.
Oliver, and Ethan, and I.