Page 328 of 422

COVER REVEAL – The Ruins (The Union #2) by T.H. Hernandez

We’re having a cover reveal for TH Hernandez’s The Ruins!  We are so excited about this new dystopian YA from TH, and today, in addition to the cover, TH is sharing an exclusive excerpt with us!! Check it all out!! 🙂

Also, the first book is currently FREE!!  So if you’re not familiar with this series, then go pickup, The Union.  Enjoy → Click Here.

The Ruins (The Union Series _2) by T.H. Hernandez

Title: The Ruins

Author: T.H. Hernandez

Release Day: June 16, 2015

 

Synopsis

Heartbroken, grief-stricken, and wracked with guilt, seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor returned to the Union, leaving behind the boy she loved.

Now, she and her friends must find a way to do the impossible – warn the citizens of the Union about an impending rebel attack without alerting the government and risking retaliation against her friends in the Ruins.

When every move Evan makes is thwarted, it soon becomes clear she’s being watched. Faced with a daily fight to stay one step ahead of her pursuers, she returns to the Ruins. But life in the Ruins has its own dangers, and soon she’s fighting a different battle – to stay alive long enough to discover the truth.

THE RUINS is the second book in THE UNION series, a young adult romantic adventure set in the near future.

Goodreads | Amazon Pre-Order

 

[insert page=’z-reading-order-the-union-the-union-1-by-t-h-hernandez’ display=’content’]

About T.H. Hernandez:

Author T.H. HernandezWhen not visiting the imaginary worlds inside my head, I live in San Diego, California, with one husband, three children, two cats, and one dog. In addition to my day job as a technical writer and editor, I write young adult fiction. I love the intensity of teen emotions and the way they’re still figuring out life. When I’m not writing, you can find me with my nose in a book, hanging out with family and friends, hiking, or knitting. I’m obsessed with Facebook, young adult novels, bad lip reading videos, pumpkin spice lattes, microbrewed beers, and the San Diego Chargers.

 

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

 

Exclusive Excerpt:

Lisa opens the door still in her pajama pants and a tank top. Jack’s behind her in nothing but a pair of sweatpants. I raise an eyebrow in silent judgment. How could she have Jack spend the night with Colin here?

“Where’s Colin?” she asks, looking past me.

“What do you mean, where’s Colin? Isn’t he here?”

“No. He never came home last night. I thought he was with you.”

“You were with me.”

“No, I mean after we separated. I figured he showed up at your place.” Her cheeks turn bright red.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” My hands ball into fists of anger at my sides. “You can’t really be that…” I bite off the words. It’s not my place to share how Colin feels about her.

“He probably left with one of those girls we saw him with,” she says.

I push into her apartment and find Colin’s duffel bag on the floor where it’s been since he began camping out on her couch last week. “So, he just blew off his train?”

“Maybe,” she shrugs.

“Not likely,” I say, stalking back outside, unease gnawing through my stomach. If all this other shit wasn’t going on, I could chalk it up to Colin getting laid, but I can’t shake the feeling something isn’t right. I’m halfway to Bryce’s before I realize that’s where I’m headed. Hopefully he takes me seriously.

My fast walk turns into a jog as I cover the remaining three blocks and two flights of stairs down to the apartment he shares with Jack. I’ve only been here once before, but I think I remember which one it is. I lift my hand and knock on the pale blue door then pace the small empty concrete porch. Thirty seconds pass before I knock again, louder and longer this time. Still no answer. I’m beginning to think he’s not here when the lock clicks and the door cracks open.

Bryce swings the door wider, and my eyes zero in on a bare chest. My gaze drifts from his firm abs and pecs up to meet a pair of gray eyes, squinted against the morning light. Confusion fills his features as he stares at me.

“Colin didn’t come home last night,” I blurt out, my voice breaking.

His gaze rests on my face for a moment before circling the room, reminding me we’re being monitored. “I’m sure he’s fine, but let me get dressed, and we’ll look for him.”

Stepping inside, I close the door and bounce on the balls of my feet while I wait for him. The place is decorated in neo-classic guy. A fireplace and hearth runs the length of the front of the apartment, and opposite that is a solid glass wall overlooking a weedy, overgrown garden. The limited furniture is a jumble of chairs, a couch, and a couple of mismatched tables littered with empty beer bottles.

Bryce dresses in record time and takes my hand, pulling me outside. He leads the way to the depot to catch a train back to the nightclub. “I want to retrace his steps after we left,” he says. “He might’ve just found some company for the evening.”

“That’s what Lisa said, but I think there’s more to it.”

“It’s no secret how he feels about Lisa. He might’ve just wanted to get away for the night.”

“But his bag is still at her place. He would’ve had to come get it before catching his train.”

The nightclub is deserted with the exception of a handful of staff still cleaning up. Bryce walks up to a lanky guy pushing a broom. “Can I talk to the manager?”

A woman in her mid-thirties approaches us a few minutes later, wiping her hands on an apron. She sweeps a chunk of blond hair out of her face with the back of her wrist. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m Detective Cooper,” Bryce says, flashing his credentials. “We’re looking for a friend. He was here with us last night, but we’re not sure what happened to him.”

She glances between me and Bryce. “Did something happen to him?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out. Can we take a look at the security feed from last night?”

“Sure,” she says, inclining her head. “Come on back.”

We follow her past the bar and into a small office beyond the kitchen. “Here,” she says, indicating a chair in front of a display screen.

Bryce sits and she shows him how to move through the video files. Bryce locates the one time-stamped from when we were here and forwards through frame-by-frame. I see us leaving for the night and Colin dancing with the girls, getting another drink, dancing some more, then about an hour later, Colin walks toward the exit alone. A guy in a sweatshirt, hood pulled up, hands shoved into his jeans pockets, approaches Colin. They appear to exchange words. Colin nods before following the guy out the front door.

“What the hell?” I ask. “Who was that guy?” Terror sweeps through me, turning my blood to ice. “And where the hell is Colin?”

“I don’t know,” Bryce says, reaching over to squeeze my hand. “But we’ll find him, I promise.”

 

About the Cover Designer:

Illustrator Mark SgarbossaMark Sgarbossa is an award-winning artist from San Diego, California. A partial list of his clients include Jason Mraz, Target Stores, Tony Hawk, Franz Ferdinand, Major League Baseball, San Diego State University, Snowboarder Magazine, 3 Doors Down, and AC/DC.

 

In addition to art, Mark is a talented musician. He played rhythm guitar and sang vocals in the indie band The Shirlies as well as playing synth and singing in the live electro duo ROTATOR.

 

Website | Email |LinkedIn | Reedsy

FRIDAY STARS – Your Weekly Must Knows 05/15/15

 

Friday Stars

Click book covers for ordering.

Happy Friday!  Below you will find:
What we just finished and loved.
What we are planning to read next.
Upcoming releases, in the next week, that we are extremely excited about!
And of course the latest sales and freebies, which we have either read or have on our to-read lists.
♥ Enjoy!

Just Finished and Loved

Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson – 5 Stars!  It deals with the little things of growing up that I think most people can relate to, and Matson wove all that into something almost magical and so much fun!   Before Sloane, Emily didn’t go to parties, she barely talked to guys, and she didn’t do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—someone who yanks you out of your shell.  But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list with thirteen bizarre tasks that Emily would never try. But what if they can lead her to Sloane?  Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.  Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?  Kiss a stranger? Wait…what?  Getting through Sloane’s list will mean a lot of firsts, and with a whole summer ahead of her—and with the unexpected help of the handsome Frank Porter—who knows what she’ll find.  Go Skinny Dipping? Um…  Laura’s Review

✩✮✩✮✩

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West – 5 Stars! From page one I was giggling, smiling ear-to-ear, and felt immediately lighter. The snarkiness of our main character was parallel to some of my all time favorite snark-masters and Xander was…oh my, what was Xander? Xander was the equivalent to every good person in the world I feel like I would date.  Money can’t buy a good first impression.  Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers learned early that the rich are not to be trusted. And after years of studying them from behind the cash register of her mom’s porcelain-doll shop, she has seen nothing to prove otherwise. Enter Xander Spence—he’s tall, handsome, and oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and the fact that he seems to be one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But just when Xander’s loyalty and attentiveness are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. With so many obstacles standing in their way, can she close the distance between them?  Chelsea’s Review

✩✮✩✮✩

End of Days (Penryn and the End of Days #3) by Susan Ee – 5 Stars! Beautiful, mesmerizing, addicting….perfect.  The story continues….in the first book, Angelfall, It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with Raffe, an injured enemy angel. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco, where Penryn will risk everything to rescue her sister and Raffe will put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.  Chelsea’s Review

 ✩✮✩✮✩✮✩✮✩✮
Reading Next

Lion Heart (Scarlet #3) by A.C. GaughenThe final book in the series, eeps!!  In the first book, Lady Thief, Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the evil Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only Big John and Robin Hood know the truth-that the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. It’s getting harder to hide as Gisbourne’s camp seeks to find Scarlet and drive Robin Hood out of Nottinghamshire.  But Scarlet’s instinct for self-preservation is at war with a strong sense of responsibility to the people who took her in when she was on the run, and she finds it’s not so easy to turn her back on her band and townspeople. As Gisbourne draws closer to Scarlet and puts innocent lives at risk, she must decide how much the people of Nottinghamshire mean to her, especially John Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles and temper have the rare power to unsettle Scarlet. Full of exciting action, secrets, and romance, this imaginative retelling of the classic tale will have readers following every move of Robin Hood and band of thieves.

 

✩✮✩✮✩✮✩✮✩✮

Upcoming Release

Never Never: Part Two (Never Never #2) by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher (Releases 5/17) In the first book, Never Never, Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen.  Complete strangers since this morning.  He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget.

✩✮✩✮✩

Lion Heart (Scarlet #3) by A.C. Gaughen(Releases 5/19)  The final book in the series, eeps!!  In the first book, Lady Thief, Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the evil Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only Big John and Robin Hood know the truth-that the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. It’s getting harder to hide as Gisbourne’s camp seeks to find Scarlet and drive Robin Hood out of Nottinghamshire.  But Scarlet’s instinct for self-preservation is at war with a strong sense of responsibility to the people who took her in when she was on the run, and she finds it’s not so easy to turn her back on her band and townspeople. As Gisbourne draws closer to Scarlet and puts innocent lives at risk, she must decide how much the people of Nottinghamshire mean to her, especially John Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles and temper have the rare power to unsettle Scarlet. Full of exciting action, secrets, and romance, this imaginative retelling of the classic tale will have readers following every move of Robin Hood and band of thieves.

✩✮✩✮✩✮✩✮✩✮

Sales

$0.99

$1.99


5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review

5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review
 

5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review

$2.99


New Sale

5 Stars!
Jen’s Review
Chelsea’s Review

4.5 Stars!
Jen’s Review
Chelsea’s Review

Chelsea’s Review

Chelsea’s Review
$3.99-$5.99
✩✮✩✮✩✮✩✮✩✮
Freebies

New Sale
Jen’s Review

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: End of Days (Penryn and the End of Days #3) by Susan Ee

BOOK REVIEW: End of Days (Penryn and the End of Days #3) by Susan EeEnd of Days by Susan Ee
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

“It’ll be tough for them to take any action while I’m pummeling their faces. Disrespect will not be tolerated.” I half smile at him. “Because you’re all about respect.” He sighs as if a little disgusted with himself. “Lately, I seem to be all about you.”

 photo so-cute_zpszflrpynl.gif

Beautiful, mesmerizing, addicting….perfect. It’s no secret to anyone that knows me that this is my second favorite series of all time-not even close. I have fangirled about this series to friends and enemies alike, if only to spread a little more of the Raffe love-oh yeah, did I mention he’s my number one book guy?? EVER? Yeah, well, most people know that as well. But what most people don’t know, seeing as it’s my darkest secret, is that I was so terrified I’d hate this book that I almost wasn’t excited about it’s upcoming release. Yeah. Shocking. But as I picked this story up and began zooming through the story, pages of the book simply evaporated into thin air as if they were never there in the first place-I was a torrential reading storm. It was as if I had never left this world…and maybe I never truly have.

Sometimes, I wish I could take a vacation from myself.

What began as a story about an archangel losing his most coveted possession, his snowy white wings, and a girl taking him ‘hostage’ to get her sister back became an all out war between the two races. It’s almost as if Penryn was meant to run across the de-winging of my beloved Raffe all those days and nights ago. Humans are scared of angels. Angels believe man to be inferior and not worth questioning when told to slaughter them all. That is, until a certain cocky angel gets taken in by a stubborn and determined girl and they are forced to travel together for what they both want most. But what happens when what they want most becomes the one thing they were taught to despise: Each other.

He looks down at me with sincere eyes. “If I were human, I would have been the first in line for you…”

I’d have to say that, even through all the searching and war and battles, this has to be my favorite forbidden love story. And no, there’s so much more to this series than an angel bereft of his wings who has ‘secretly’ fallen for a daughter of man. I realize this. I’ve processed that. And my conclusion is this: While the story is amazing, unforgettable, and utterly epic, it wouldn’t mean half of what it did to me without Penryn and Raffe’s unattainable love for one another. They are by far the cutest, sweetest, fiercest enemies I’ve ever stumbled across, and I highly doubt I’ll cross paths with a couple that will ever mean more to me than them….and that’s a bold statement on my part: I’m the whore of ships.

He’s still scrutinizing my outfit. “Are you wearing men’s shorts?” “I guess so. But they fit.” “Whose are they?” “Nobody’s. I found them in a drawer.” He reaches over and pulls a thread off the frayed leg. It unravels, slowly winding it’s way around my thigh and incrementally shortening the already short shorts. “What would you do if you had to make a run for it?” His voice is husky as he stares, mesmerized, at the unraveling thread. “I’d grab my shoes and run.” “Dressed like this? In front of lawless men?” His eyes drift up to my midriff.

Every character was beyond wonderful in this story (main characters, let’s not be hasty). We got more Paige, some of Penryn’s crazy mom (Whom I absolutely adored in this installment), and some wonderful new Watchers. Each character added an intricate layer to the story that made it impossible not to fall harder and, in the end, they even added to Raffryn’s (YES, I WENT THERE-WHAT OF IT?) relationship. An amazing love scene is one thing, but added laughter, friendship, awkward instances, family love moments…that all makes it even better. One minute I’m swooning, then two seconds later I’m giggling and squeeing all at once (Keaton avoided me at all costs during this voyage through my beloved Raffe land-I was not to be trifled with as I fangirled openly) and unable to control the RIDICULOUS smile on my face.

The sun is beginning to set, adding a golden glow to the water. Wisps of mist begin creeping over the bay. It should be a peaceful scene, only my blood feels like it’s freezing by the second.

I can’t sign off of this series without saying something that is very important: Susan Ee is the Queen. Elaborate? Of course, my mistake. She’s the Queen of: Writing, characterization, gore, disturbing images, forbidden love, epic battle scenes, epic tormented love…. Need I really go on? This woman is my hero, from her creepy locust thingies that tore my heart out in book one to the creepy monster we see in the finale, no one has ever made me love evil (and now sometimes lovable, thanks to a certain sister) beings more than this author. She made me smile maliciously so many times I swear you could have caught me twirling my metaphorical mustache more than once in each installment. Breathless, heart-pounding, soul-crushing moments are her specialty, and I am in first in line when she serves them up…and no one is likely to take that accomplishment from her in my mind anytime soon (Kagawa is the only one likely on the same playing field, but I refuse to give either of them a step above the other-they’re both wonderful, sick, evil beings). Anyone over my fangirling yet? Too bad.

 photo Phoebe-Gifs-friends-16836441-500-200_zps8ebl7pjb.gif

You don’t have to keep reading lol, but this is my final Raffe review and I will not stop before it’s all out.

Without his feathered wings, the angels won’t accept him. And regardless of what kind of wings he has, humans won’t accept him either. Uriel or someone in his crew once said that angels were made to be part of a pack, but no matter where Raffe goes, he always seems to be the outsider.

The way Raffe protects, takes care of, treats, saves, lives for Penryn shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces. The love he tries to hide so he can save his brethren throughout the series crushed my soul (in the best possible way). And the way he longs for Pen…..it made me so beyond happy I could barely breathe. Nothing compares to his jealousies, his devastation that he can’t be with her because it could never be in the world they live in. This installment capitalized on all those wonderful feelings we got from book one and multiplied them into this tragic and epic betrayal of what they both want more than their next breath-I teared up so many times it bordered on crazy. Even after they repeatedly say goodbye, is there a way to make it work?

 photo tumblr_n87phrQr181t0z40ro1_500_zps94v9e1sd.jpg

I could not have loved this more. I don’t care about literally any of the flaws, any world-building faux pas my lovely and aggravating friends found to be incriminating, or any of the beyond disturbing and nightmare inducing images. Any flaw is minuscule to the immense enjoyment I found while reading this wonderful, addicting, and, again, UNFORGETTABLE series about a beautiful, tormented, and lonely angel who feels the only person he can trust in the world is the daughter of man who once took him hostage. Nothing compares to the feelings I got while reading this and I will perpetually re-read this series until I know it word for word and scene by scene. I would say, ‘Hey, you HAVE to read this,’ but everyone and their brother has read it. Dude, my GRANDMOTHER has read this and began this final installment yesterday, like me. What kind of person hasn’t? Do you live under a rock?? Bro, step it up! And seriously, Raffe, enough about the farming lol. That won’t win Penryn-we don’t live in 1950 (or whenever-psh).      

************************  photo b7a5b5d9a27386d1f9024c71f92584b4_zpstvkordqf.jpg

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

OMG SO PRETTEH!!!!!! AGHHHHHH!!!!!

 photo 13638020_zpst0y8a4ic.jpg

RAFFEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! I NEED YOU, LIKE, YESTERDAY ♥

Reading Order & Links:
Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
angelfall susan ee
Angelfall #1
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea
Laura
Anna
world after susan ee
World After #2
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea
end of days susan ee
End of Days #3
Reviews:

Jen
Chelsea

Save

BOOK REVIEW: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

BOOK REVIEW: The Distance Between Us by Kasie WestThe Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

 photo omg_zpsrv9ygqtg.gif
Oh my dear, dear Kasie West…Where have you been all my life?? Well, in all fairness, it’s my fault I’ve never picked up a masterpiece that is a KW novel. My friend, Anna, has been more than clear about how I would love this author, if only for her adorable, yes, absolutely adorable male leads. And, ya know, she was right-as usual. Damn know it all Alien. Anyway, I digress. My whole point is that when I was down and tired and couldn’t hardly read this weekend, what did I do? I listened to someone’s advice and picked up a fun book that was supposed to be light, funny, and altogether an easy read. I’ve never been so glad I did.

He laughs a little. “You live above a porcelain-doll store; your best friend lives in a cemetery. You’ve pretty much grown up surrounded by creepy things. Is there anything you’re afraid of?”
You.

I have been in a perpetual bad mood for the last two weeks-I won’t lie about that. It’s been horrible. I haven’t cared about much and yes, I come off as (generally) pretty normal/happy most of the time. I’ve even found some amazing books to read. But, what happens when an already bad mood turns just plain sour the minute Thursday strikes? Why, you pick up a fluffy book. All the booze and/or medicine in the world couldn’t salvage my mood, but guess what did? This book cured a two week streak of surliness and altogether inexcusable snark on my part. This book did what no person could do, no matter how hard they tried, and that’s how I know I waited until the perfect time to start obsessing over this woman’s books.

A lot of people don’t get my humor. My mom calls it dry humor. I think that means “not funny,” but it also means I’m the only one who ever knows it’s a joke. Maybe if I laugh afterward, like my mom does when she’s helping customers, more people would humor me, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

It’s more than that, though. I don’t do cheesy. I loathe easy peasy story-lines, unless it’s my dear Lauren Layne. And I don’t really venture from my dystopian or fantasies very often-but for this author? I think I’m going to start making an exception. From page one I was giggling, smiling ear-to-ear, and felt immediately lighter. The snarkiness of our main character was parallel to some of my all time favorite snark-masters and Xander was…oh my, what was Xander? Xander was the equivalent to every good person in the world I feel like I would date.

After he climbs in as well, he starts the engine and then gives me a long look. “What’s wrong, babe?” Xander grabs my hand and puts it on his knee.
“Is that the pet name we’re going with? Babe?”
He backs out of the parking stall and starts driving. “You don’t like it?”
“It’s okay. It makes me think of the pig, though.”
“Are you putting in a request, then?”
“I’ve always been partial to sweetie, mostly because I’m not sweet so it makes me laugh.”

I don’t know. He just…there was just something so special about him. He may have been rich and a tad spoiled, but it never once showed in his demeanor and he never let it effect who he was as a person (namely, he didn’t act like a pompous, spoiled brat). Sure, he might have worn driving gloves (BAHAHA okay, that was unnecessary of me to say, but come on, Xander-driving gloves?? LMAO) and he may not own anything shoddier than a high-brow polo, expensive jeans, and loafers, but he was a total boy-next-door type, and his sweetness never once effected me as it does with other books. I like dark, tortured guys the most, lately, but I also have always had a soft spot for the good ones. Those boys that we should all aspire to date, if they existed beyond these pages. And yeah, my heart is super easy to break into (and break, when it comes to book boys) but lately the boys in these stories have had to work really hard for my fangirl affection….But with Xander? It was effortless.

He pockets his phone. “Caymen.”
“Xander.”
“Does this mean I won the game?”
“I didn’t realize we were playing a game.”
He picks up the doll and backs away with his lower-lip-biting smile. “I think you did.”

Even now as I am finishing up this review my heart is soaring and I have the biggest smile on my face as I recall my favorite quotes and moments from this story. It wasn’t without it’s flaws, much like any other book, but the flaws were hardly a blip on my radar. But, hey, that’s the way I am. I truly believe that, if a book made you extremely happy and you weren’t without warm and blissful feelings throughout, it deserves every star in the world. But that’s only if the flaws don’t outweigh the good-in that case, yeah, it probably stunted your enjoyment a tad. But, even with some of the miscommunications and rude preconceived notions, my smile never slipped once (Okay, lie, there was definitely some angst that made me frowny face-but only because I love my dear Xander so much!!!).


 photo 3118900_zpspug483gh.gif

So, you know, I loved this. The rich, beckoning boy and the not-so-rich girl meeting and finding a spark they’ve never felt before, mixed with funny shenanigans to find each other’s destiny, this story was perfection. From the way Xander looked at Caymen all the way to how much he was willing to do to make her a part of his life-I couldn’t put this one down. Pre-sipped drinks and bakery made blueberry muffins never sounded so wonderful, thanks to Xander, and I know I’ll be re-reading this many times over if only to read about Xander’s hard earned smiles and Caymen curiosities. Anna, I owe you one, ya ol’ dark pup. 😛

 

View all my reviews

BOOK REVIEW – Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark Perini

BOOK REVIEW – Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark PeriniHalfway Perfect by Julie Cross, Mark Perini
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Bestselling author Julie Cross teams up with Ford model Mark Perini to pen a poignant and gritty YA novel about love and the dark side of modeling and the fashion industry.

Eve's time as a fashion model nearly destroyed her-now she's determined to build a career behind the camera lens. But landing a coveted photography internship brings her face to face with her dark past-and her ex.

While Eve is snapping pictures, up-and-coming male model Alex is launching his career-which, for him, involves maintaining a fake relationship with his (secretly) underage co-star, Elana.

But Alex is falling for Eve, and Eve won't let herself get hurt again. If Alex can pull off a fake love with Elana, can he convince Eve to risk a secret affair with him?

What Julie Cross and Mark Perini offer us is a gritty and wide-eyes worthy incursion into the modeling world, and for that fact alone, Halfway Perfect is worth reading in my opinion.

Truth be told, I never thought that the modeling world was that great. Guess what? It seems that I was right. A book about what hides behind glitter and glamour written in collaboration with a former model? I’ll take that. Of course I googled the guy – because hey, if I struggle to remember the names of actors from movies I watch, you can guess that I don’t know the names of models. The only ones I see are from perfume ads (what the deal with swimming-pools anyway?) Yeah, I’m such a snob. Just sue me already.

The truth is, this book made me rage. I was furious to see how models had to comply with the requirements of … Of what, exactly, tell me? Of what is considered as hot? Since when a fourteen years-old teenager too skinny and without breast is considered as a sex-symbol? Said WHO? What is wrong with our society? Seriously, what is wrong with us? To me this book brings a good kind of rage. A kind of rage which makes us think about what standards our society runs and above that, about everything we don’t want to see because “that’s not our problem”. ← The favorite sentence of humans, if any.

However, we don’t see only the darkest sides of the modeling world, but also the good parts, and it was refreshing because it sounded real.

Frankly, it was difficult to connect with the characters at first, yet I slowly grew attached to them. Take Alex, for example. I’m pretty sure that I followed Eve’s evolution in my opinion of him. Indeed there is no-insta-love here but characters who try to know each other’s and who don’t fall in love quickly. So, as Eve, I changed my mind about Alex. From judgmental toward him to interested to … Well, the moment when I found him downright adorable and sexy, Eve shared for sure my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, he’s flawed. Oh, yes, he is, and I couldn’t fathom how he could believe this piece of shit of an agent he has and not completely disregard what tabloids say about Eve. But you know what? I’m okay with that, because it’s realistic to me : real people don’t always believe the truth and need time to gather their thoughts. Real people are frustrating and need time to evolve. So did Alex and Eve.

Moreover, I’m not gonna lie, I was waiting for Eve to fucking realize that her relationship with Wes (her former agent) wasn’t healthy at the time and in that particular case I found that Julie Cross did a good job at picturing how we can be blind when it comes to our relationships sometimes. The fact is, Eve was 14-16 at the time and NO, she didn’t realize that Wes was taking advantage of her and acting like a huge controlling and violent asshole – and years after, at 18, she still has this false opinion about what was wrong in their relationship. In my opinion it was realistic because unfortunately I do believe that the end of a messed-up relationship doesn’t stop the crap right away if nothing is resolved and if nobody talks about it. Don’t get me wrong, I was APPALED to see how she still isn’t able to figure out how jerk and creepy he is/was, but even if I wanted to shake her, I could understand why she acted and thought that way, because nobody never supported her, nobody never told her that Wes’s behavior wasn’t acceptable but downright CREEPY and pedophile. I want him to die in a slow death. But it didn’t prevent me from being angry, so angry at her, because while I could understand her reluctance to tell her story, the fact that the young Elena could fall into Wes’s trap was so infuriating that I couldn’t help but feel mad anyway, even if WES was the only one to blame for sure. What a bunch of contradictory feelings, right?

And then, when shit goes down for Eve, IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING. I cried out of RAGE because it was so unfair. I felt the walls closing around her as it was me and felt claustrophobic. Even though I’m not sure if the way everything is resolved in the end is believable, at this point, I don’t fucking care, because I’d have taken ANY way to stop Wes and to make him pay for his actions.

Or, more accurately, about how French people are pictured. Yes, sexual majority is settled at 15 in France, that’s true. Now, there is a difference between what’s legal and what’s considered as acceptable. Would Wes have been in trouble for sleeping with Eve when she was 15? Actually, yes, because he had authority over her, being her agent, and in that case the sexual majority is settled at 18. In Elena’s case, that’s a little different, that’s true, but frankly, even if it’s legal, I don’t know anybody who would think that it’s okay for a powerful guy of 27 to date a 15 years-old teenager. We’re different from our laws, guys, and I’m sick of hearing people judge French as if reading our laws was enough to know how we think. Same thing about the legal age to drink : I had already a problem with that fact in Anna and the French Kiss actually. In France, it’s FORBIDDEN to buy alcohol in a club or a bar (or in a shop, for that matter) under 18, okay? So, yeah, we can drink in family or in a party if somebody else (understand older) buys alcohol, that’s true. Of course NOBODY does that in the US, RIGHT? Let’s be a little frank one second here. Finally, I don’t understand what’s the deal with the topless thing. Twice characters said that as Elena was French, she would be okay to pose topless, because “she’s probably walked around topless since birth”, being French and all.

YOU DON’T SAY?! Yeah, right. Just come to France, guys, we’re all wandering around topless waiting for you to stare. Oh, wait – that’s wrong. We’re not. Come back in your plane. Perhaps you think that I’m overreacting, and maybe you’re right. What can I say? I’m sick of reading about French pictured as reckless parents who let their kids walking around almost naked and drinking wine, because 1)that’s wrong, and 2)that’s fucking hypocrite in my opinion.

To sum up, I ended liking this book despite its flaws, and yes, I recommend it. Just know that it’s not free of stereotypes and that the characters can be downright annoying at times.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2025

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑