Page 182 of 420

TOP TEN TUESDAY – Books We Loved but Will Never Re-Read

April 10, 2018 / Jen / 9 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday.13

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
This week is Books We Loved but Will Never Re-Read.
Seems like an easy enough TTT right?! Wellllllllll this created the most hilarious, drama inducing texts. You see, we’re really possessive and sensitive when it comes to our book boyfriends. Arielle put The Selection which has Chelsea’s Maxon. Chelsea put Anew which has my Tristan and she also put Safe Haven which has Josh Duhamel on the cover (I’ve loved him for-ev-er), and I put The Fever Series which has Chelsea’s Jericho. Words were said, people tried to explain themselves and well it ended up being an emotional mess! At the end of it all we were laughing so hysterically that both Chelsea’s husband and mine asked us why we were laughing so hard. What was so funny? HA! It was so ridiculous and hilarious and we definitely proved how loyal we are to our book boys!! So here the books we won’t ever read again……

Jen’s Choice

1. Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie Moning
Amazon * Goodreads
If a series has more books than thee books then I find myself needing the romance to play a more dominant role. And while this series is still one of my favorites, and I loved Mac and Barrons, the element of romance was definitely lacking for me. So I can’t ever see myself reading these books again.

2. Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth
Amazon * Goodreads
I loved this trilogy. And I more than got why it had to end the way it did. I think I was one of the rare ones, since I thought it ended the way it should. But I have no desire to revisit the inevitable heartache all over again.

Jen’s Choice

Chelsea’s Choice

3. Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
Amazon * Goodreads
I absolutely loved this book! It was beautiful, enchanting and I swore it would become one of my favorite series. Ever. But the last book RUINED this series for me. It was nothing like the first book I fell in love with and I was left extremely bitter and angry about the ending. Yes I know I’m emotional lol. So not only will I not ever pick this book back up again but I will never read anything by this author again too.

4. Love Show by Audrey Bell
Amazon * Goodreads
Jack was one of the most EPIC boys ever….and I believe he was truly screwed over in this story. It sold him short and this book broke me into a million pieces. Yes-it has a HEA. No. It did not make me happy [after the shit show in the end]. Sometimes one moment alters a whole novel-this is the case here, unfortunately. #BITTER.

Chelsea’s Choice

5. Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi
Amaon * Goodreads
Amazing book. Amazing boy. Amazing story. I fell hard. I fell fast. Author changed my boy’s personality to the point of no recognition. AUTHOR IS ON AUTO DO-NOT-READ list. Chelsea is FURIOUS. #BITTERER (Jen agrees with this too!)

6. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Amazon * Goodreads
Yeah, random. I literally JUST saw this movie playing on tv yesterday…was so excited Because I loved the book AND movie…until I started watching and realized I now am married AND have a girl AND-when I saw him moving on with another woman and they start talking about his dead wife (he also has children)-I can’t . Just can’t. Tap out. I started BAWLING. #DidISayBitter ?

Chelsea’s Choice

Arielle’s Choice

7. Anew (The Archers of Avalon #1) by Chelsea Fine
Amazon * Goodreads
This series, frankly, is really only a case of being underwhelmed by the final book and everyone else I read it with LOVING THE END. Nothing kills a reading boner like being the loser in the group wondering why you’re broken lol. #NotSoBitter

8. Paper Princess (The Royals #1) by Erin Watt
Amazon * Goodreads
This is one of those books and series that people either loved or hated when it came out. I personally am OBSESSED with Elle Kennedy’s writing (who is half of the Erin Watt pseudonym) but this series turned a little too wildly unbelievable and dramatic with people mysteriously coming back from the dead and even just the blown up reputation of the Royal boys for me to make any recs.

Arielle’s Choice

9. The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass
Amazon * Goodreads
Don’t get me wrong, I ate these books up when they came out during the time of the dystopian craze. It was a fresh new premise that no one had really done before but in the end, Cass didn’t pull it off to my liking. There wasn’t nearly enough world building and I felt like there was way too much skipped over and left unexplained in favor of the romance (which to me isn’t really what dystopians are all about).

10. Evermore (The Immortals #1) by Alyson Noel
Amazon * Goodreads
It’s been so long since I’ve originally read this series that I can’t even really tell you what they were about. I do know that I read them as soon as they each came out and loved them at the time but when I stumbled across them on one of my shelves on Goodreads, the ONLY thing I could remember was that the two main characters spend the ENITRE series trying to reverse this weird curse in which they hadn’t been able to have skin-to-skin contact so they could pick up where they had been disrupted by some ordeal in the first book and have sex–I wish I was kidding.

So these are the Books We Loved but Will Never Re-Read. Do you have any of these books on your won’t-ever-read-again-list? Or are you upset to see any of them on here….like we were with each other lol!

BOOK REVIEW – Unmaking Hunter Kennedy by Anne Eliot

April 9, 2018 / Jen / 8 Comments

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy by Anne Eliot
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
After a car accident--an event he considers a prank gone bad--jaded pop star, Hunter Kennedy is forced to hide out with his aunt in small-town Colorado. He’s supposed to rest, heal his scars and attend high school in disguise until the press dies down. But he only wants to get back to work.

Worse, the girl who’s been assigned to make him over into a geek is a major geek herself. Vere Roth is a chattering pixie, a blushing tornado and a complete social disaster. He’s never met a girl who’s never-been-kissed, believes in romance and thinks Hunter’s a 'nice' guy.

Funny thing is…Hunter is nice around Vere because she’s his first real friend. He also can’t seem to stop sharing his secrets or keep her out of his heart. Knowing he’d never deserve a girl as sweet as Vere, he resigns himself to the friend zone, and helps his new bestie with her own makeover.

She tortures him daily for ridiculous guy advice on how to snag her life-long crush. A guy Hunter thinks is totally wrong for Vere, and sadly, one who has taken note of Vere’s stunning transformation.

When Vere asks her best friend for some kissing advice, Hunter can’t resist.
And that’s when things get out of control…

Review:

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy was such a cute read! The story-line was adorable, while also being deep at times, and I loved Hunter right away. While I had some hiccups here and there, I’m definitely going to pickup another book by this author. There was a lot of promise for me, and I’m hoping that I’ll mesh a little bit better with the next story. It’s about Hunter’s band mate.

This situation was his fault. He’d really messed up. Taken things between him and his mom way, too far.
And then he’d taken them further.
Done some really stupid, scary shit. Even scared himself.
He pulled his hands deep into his sleeve cuffs.

From that first chapter I spent with Hunter, my heart quickly connected to him. He’d been in a locked down therapy/rehab facility for the last six weeks because of what he did. While we were not initially given every piece to the puzzle, what I did know about his past made my heart hurt. Yes Hunter was extremely famous, yes he had some twisted people in his life, and yes he had a skewed way of viewing others. But underneath it all, I felt his pain and also his unease. After learning that he was being shipped to Colorado, to live his life out of the fame and spotlight, I got why he fought it. Yet it was obvious how much he desperately needed change. And Colorado did just that.

Vere finally seemed to regain some control and held up her own hands in front of her, all while aiming a small, ball-of-death-glower onto everyone in the room. “No. Offense. Back. But I can take care of myself. I can certainly drag this spoiled, rock-and-roll-prince shopping for ugly clothes and drive him to the lake cabin without getting mauled or pregnant!”
Mrs. Roth gasped.
Hunter bit back another huge laugh.
Double entertainment.

Upon arriving in Colorado, Hunter met his Great Aunt’s neighbors, Vere and Charlie Roth. They were going to be the ones to help him out with his unmaking, so no one would recognize him. And right from the start, I was beyond entertained with how Hunter and Vere interacted. They were smile inducing. But Vere and I did have some trouble connecting in the beginning. When I got to the first chapter from her pov, I was shocked with how boy obsessed yet awkwardly shy she was. It was painful for me to read some of the scenes. But after a few chapters, I couldn’t help but like this adorable girl. I found myself hoping that Vere would be braver, and that’s where Hunter, who was now going by Dustin, came in.

He laughed low and ran a finger along the top of her mouth. His touch sent shivers of sparkles down the back of her neck. “You have heart shaped lips in a heart shaped face. Has anyone ever told you? This one—this top lip alone—could drive a guy out of his mind?”

You see, Vere didn’t really know who Hunter was. While her brother was obsessed, Vere easily treated him like a family friend and she would even give Hunter attitude from time to time. Which seemed like a first for him lol. Over time, Vere helped Hunter see that the world didn’t just want him for something and Hunter helped Vere be comfortable around the opposite sex. Their friendship was slow yet, when they made that connection, they bonded deeply. They confessed things to each other and were the best friends in every way possible. Yet Hunter started to feel things for his bff. And what’s a guy to do?

One kiss. One kiss. One kiss.
If he agreed, he would be an absolute ass.
And an idiot. That much was obvious.
But he’d been an ass before, and an idiot ever since he let himself fall in love with this amazing girl.
Why stop the stupid-train now?

So yes, Unmaking Hunter Kennedy was a super cute, heartwarming story. But like I said, I had a few hiccups. The guy, Curtis, that Vere has had a crush on forever? He was a complete and total douche bag. And it bothered me that Vere’s brother, Charlie, thought that Vere and Curtis would be a good thing. But you see, I wasn’t the biggest fan of her brother either. Yes Charlie could be wonderfully protective of Vere, but he could also treat others so awfully. But besides my personal preferences for characters, I felt that some of their conversations or internal monologues went on much longer than I liked. Which made me want to skim from time to time. And when you couple that with some spelling errors, you can see why I had a few hiccups. But still, this book was beyond adorable and so much fun! So I’m definitely hoping that I end up loving Runaway Girl even more!

BOOK REVIEW: The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

April 7, 2018 / Arielle / 3 Comments

The Demon King (Seven Realms #1)
by Cinda Williams Chima
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...

The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards.

“You have to take chances, Raisa. What seems safest on its face may not be in the long run.”

It was SO GOOD going back and starting this series again. Ever since I finished all of the books the first time around, this has been a go-to series that I recommend people looking for quality YA fantasy. I’m even more excited to keep going, too, because from what I remember the books just keep getting better and better as the series progresses. Whether you’re looking for wizards, a strong beginning of world-building, clashing groups of people, interesting characters (the list goes on)—this book, and entire series for that matter, has it all.

And when you’re in the gangs, loving somebody is like putting your heart on a plate and serving it up to your enemies.

I guess the best way for me to go about this is to start with the characters themselves. We get two main POVs from Raissa, the princess heir to the Fells and Han, a “reformed” street lord who spends half of his recent time either trading mostly legal things for bits of money for his family or up on Hanalea with the clans. While neither of them is perfect in this first book, or by the end of the series, it’s nearly impossible not to fall in love with them (PARTICULARLY HAN).

“Mercy is never unbecoming, mate,” Cuffs said.

Raissa is a unique princess character in that she a mix of characteristics from all of the different stereotypes that you generally get in YA fantasy. She can appreciate the frivolous things in life like kissing multiple boys and a good party BUT because she is part clan and has spent time outside of court, she longs for more. After hearing from her old friend (now corporal) Amon that things aren’t all what they seem in the heart of her city, she wants to find out more. And not just in the sense that she feels utterly trapped and wants to go out adventuring (which I mean..she still does)…but she wants these things not just for herself but to actually get to the bottom of how her people are living in the hopes that she will be made a better ruler for it. She feels like she’s in the dark (she DEFINITELY is) and she’s constantly grasping for the light. She doesn’t want to keep the wool pulled over her eyes and that’s a pretty big deal if you ask me.

He expects nothing, she thought, because he’s never had anything. And nothing was expected of him. He was free in a way she never would be.

Han…..Han in a word is charismatic. I think that’s why so many people love him so much. It’s impossible not to! As I mentioned earlier, he was a former street lord who now tries to stay on the right side of the law (not that that’s really possible). He wants to provide a better life for his mother and younger sister and is doing the best that he can until he runs into a wizard and *maybe* ends up threatening him because he is threatened and I mean how could he have helped it really because he WAS in fact a street lord. ANYWAYS somehow he ends up with this magical amulet and things basically start to go to shit for him from there. People on the streets close to him start to die and ~things~ are revealed about the past that shake the very foundation of the past that he has always known to be true. In short, this books sets up for the next three to become very interesting.

“Perhaps you subscribe to the notion that princes actually have control over their own lives. I beg to differ. We strut the boards, improvising like mad, only to learn that the script is already written, and we’ve got it wrong.”
“Not always,” Raisa countered. “I have to believe that sometimes we can write our own.”

The best part of all of this is that when Han and Raisa cross paths, it isn’t under the best of circumstances and Han had no idea that she was royalty at all. ESPECIALLY since they both are headed towards the same place at the end of this book. *laughs maniacally*

Magret’s eyes kindled with pride. “You’re just like she was,”she breathed.
“Like who was?”
“Like Queen Hanalea herself.”

BOOK REVIEW – Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body (Page Turners #1) by Jennie Marts

April 4, 2018 / Jen / 6 Comments

Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (Page Turners #1)
by Jennie Marts
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Sunny’s not sure she’s even looking for Mr. Maybe, when her friends decide to find her Mr. Right. Sunny Vale considers herself a dog-loving, romance-reading homebody. But her life goes from dull to deadly when her book club fires her from her own love life and sets her up on six blind dates--one of whom might be with a murderer.

More trouble arrives in the dead of night, in the form of Jake Landon, a mysterious stranger, who breaks into her neighbor’s house and possibly her heart. But Jake is packing more than a loaded gun in his well-fitting Levi’s. He brings an arsenal of secrets and plenty of heat to Sunny’s ho-hum summer.

Jake Landon finds himself caught up in the capers of the sexy blonde in the house next door. But he has his own agenda which doesn’t involve playing hero to a curvy second-grade teacher and babysitting her panty-puking puppy. He's got other problems like fiery explosions, a missing person...and a parade of jerks Sunny insists on dating. Could Sunny’s Mr. Right be right under her nose? Even though Jake is gorgeous, likes her dog, and has abs she can crack an egg on, can she really go out with him if he’s just murdered her next door neighbor?

Review:

Have you ever picked up a book because of someone else’s recommendation, even though that genre wasn’t really your thing? Because that was me. I’m not really into chick lit or mysteries anymore. I’ve liked plenty in the past, but they haven’t worked for me in the last few years. Yet I trusted an author whose books I love, and picked up a sample on Amazon. I was happily surprised that when I got to the end of the sample, I had to have more! So I went and bought this book. It was just that adorable. Another Saturday Night made me laugh and the characters quickly became my friends. And I’m happy to say that when I finished that last page, I was left smiling and grabbed the next book in The Page Turners Series!

Her life was safe and quiet. Had it only been a couple of days since she had wished for more excitement? She feared she was about to get her wish.

Stepping into the first scene of this book, I knew I was going to love it. Sunny was talking to her eighty year old neighbor, Edna, on the phone. You see, one of Sunny and Edna’s neighbor, Walter, was MIA. But Edna swears she saw a hot, gun toting stranger going into Walter’s house last night. What transpired from there was oh so funny. Especially how Sunny ended up meeting said hot, gun toting stranger. His name was Jake Landon and he definitely had a ton of secrets. Yet Sunny couldn’t deny that there was an attraction between them, right from the start.

Finding Mr. Right? I didn’t even know if I was looking for Mr. Maybe.

Not only were Sunny and Edna neighbors and friends, but they both belonged to a weekly book club. Rounding out the club was Maggie, a mom of two boys, whose husband left her a year and a half ago. Cassie, who was happily married with two kiddos. And Piper, who was Cassie’s high school niece who had come to live with her. I quickly warmed up to each of these women and found myself invested in their lives too. They not only discussed the books they were reading, but also their lives. And in their latest book meeting, they all decided to help Sunny out with her lack of love life. They were going to set her up on a date a week, for the next six weeks.

The last few weeks, she had been throwing caution to the wind and dating strange men, hoping to add excitement and find that right guy. But what if the right guy was next door and had just invited her to dinner?

Sunny’s dates were hilarious! I was laughing so hard, but at the same time I was dying for her awkward situations. And I found humor in so many other places in this book too. Even with Sunny’s dog, Beau. Oh my gosh, I adored Beau!! He was hilarious, loyal and added so much joy to this story. I also loved how Beau interacted with Jake, sigh. I truly think that Beau is my favorite dog in a story. Ever. So while Sunny found herself going out on these blind dates, and coming back to just her dog, Jake was still there. Just next door. They couldn’t help but run into each other. And slowly a friendship started to form, yet there was also that attraction between the two of them. But there were still so many questions surrounding Jake. Who was Jake? And where was Walter? Did Jake kill him? And as if that wasn’t enough, another mystery appeared on the pages.

“Hey, Sunny,” he called from the doorway.
She stopped and looked back. His lean body was silhouetted against the light coming from the house, and it took all she had to not run back and throw herself into his arms. “Yeah?”
“You can trust me,” he said softly, looking into her eyes. Then he stepped back into the house and closed the door behind him.
Maybe, but right now, she didn’t think she could trust herself.

I’m proud to say that I guessed the majority of the mysteries correctly, yay! And I’m also proud to say I liked how this story was told. Usually I prefer to stick with one or two characters, so I found myself shocked that I liked floating around between everyone. Yeah Sunny was the main character, and we spent the majority of the time with her. But we also got to see life through Jake, Maggie, Piper and a few of the other characters too. I was more than invested in all of their lives. This book was super adorable, light even though it touched on some heavier topics (trigger warning for attempted rape), had a sweet romance, intriguing mysteries and was such a quick read. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book and catching up with this crazy gang again!

BLOG TOUR+GIVEAWAY+EXCERPT: The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder by Cookie O’ Gorman

April 3, 2018 / Chelsea / 8 Comments

Cookie O' Gorman has long since been one of the authors I most look forward to since I read her book Adorkable. This woman's writing is just plain intoxicating, and I can't help but to melt into a pile of goo when I think of her stories. I am honored to feature her newest work (and it's a mystery, no less!) today- Below I have an excerpt, giveaway, and information on where you can follow the tour. So check it out! Enjoy!

BLOG TOUR+GIVEAWAY+EXCERPT: The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder by Cookie O’ Gorman

The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In the south, everyone has a secret--and murder is served with sweet tea.

The word's out: Ethan Wilder’s coming back to town, and the people of Bowie, Georgia are in a southern tizzy. Everyone knows the story. He shot and killed his sister four years ago, and people say his father, Jim Wilder, the biggest holy roller this side of the Mississippi, sent him packing for just that reason. Even if her death was unofficially ruled a suicide, Ethan’s return has everybody talking.

Seventeen-year-old Delilah Doherty can’t go anywhere without hearing his name. Born and raised in Bowie, Delilah knows firsthand about the gossipmongers and how they love a good scandal. The daughter of a wild child and niece of the local psychic, she’s also the only one who doubts Ethan’s guilt.

After Ethan saves her life, the two start a slow and steady burn neither can deny. But when Bowie's spiritual leader is nearly murdered, it rocks the small southern town to its core. Delilah and Ethan are caught in the crossfire, their relationship threatened before it's even begun. Someone has it out for Ethan's family. With everyone convinced of Ethan's guilt, it's up to Delilah to unravel the mystery before someone else gets hurt or worse...dead.

Excerpt:

[scroll-box] “So,” Wilder said, “how much for the ride?”
I eyed him wearily. Seconds ago he’d looked like he was going to be sick. Now, he was teasing?
“Free?” He feigned surprise. “Wow Doherty, I didn’t know you cared.”
Alright, if he wanted to play, I wasn’t above a little teasing.
“Information,” I said, crossing my arms. Despite myself, I was still interested. “You like the truth so much, tell me something I don’t know, something about you. The real Ethan Wilder.”
“You mean, besides the fact that I killed my sister?”
His delivery was inspired, but I rolled my eyes.
“You did not,” I said.
“Oh?” His gaze narrowed. “You don’t believe me?”
“Not a chance.” I shook my head; no way did I believe that. “The truth, Wilder.”
Crossing his own arms, he said, “I’m gay.”
“You’re what?!” I nearly swallowed my tongue.
Ignoring my outburst, he went on.
“I’ve loved you, Delilah, half my life.”
At that, my heart skipped a beat. How could he say something like that so easily?
“I killed my sister.” He waited for his words to sink in. “If I told you only one of those statements is true,” he said, stare fastened to my face, “which would you believe?”
I thought it over. The first had to be a lie. I’d seen him with too many girls. No way Wilder was batting for the same team. I automatically discarded the second statement. It couldn’t be true either. I hadn’t met Wilder before this year, so his being in love with me for any extended period of time was simply impossible. His being in love with me at all was inconceivable. That left what he’d said about his sister. The idea flitted through my brain, in and out in less than a breath. The more I knew of Wilder, the more convinced I became that some terrible, terrible mistake had been made four years ago. I didn’t believe for a second he’d killed his sister, not even when he said it so convincingly. To think, the same person who’d jumped into that lake could be capable of such an unspeakable offense. No, whatever else he was, Ethan Wilder was not a murderer. He just couldn’t be.
Considering my options, I settled on the only possibility.
“So, you’re gay.” I shrugged. “No big deal. Next time I see Ronnie, I’ll let him know you’re fair game.”
Wilder laughed. The sound was real, filled with complete abandon. Hearing him laugh like that, knowing I’d caused that break in his cool façade, made a strange ache bloom in my chest. I wanted to hear that laugh again and again.
“You do that,” he said, stepping outside. “I’ll see you, Doherty.”
Unable to resist, I said, “Should I tell Ronnie to get your coffee from now on? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, seeing as how you love it so much.”
Wilder peered through the open door.
“I hate coffee,” he said seriously.
“You do?” I asked confused.
He nodded. “Always have.”
“Then why—?”
“I’ll see you.”
Shutting the door, he took his time walking up the stone pathway.
[/scroll-box]

Add to Goodreads

Buy on Amazon

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

Cookie O’Gorman writes YA romance to give readers a taste of happily-ever-after. Small towns, quirky characters, and the awkward yet beautiful moments in life make up her books. Cookie also has a soft spot for nerds and ninjas. Her debut novel ADORKABLE is out now! Her second book NINJA GIRL was released March 30,2017!