Book Review: The Fifteenth Minute (ARC) by Sarina Bowen

Genre: 

New Adult, find Contemporary, website Romance

Pages: 

294

Part of a Series?:

5th in the Ivy Years Series

Release Date: 

October 13th, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.

She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.

But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel “DJ” Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. There’s something haunting his dark eyes and she needs to know more.

DJ’s genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.

Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can’t get close to Lianne, and he can’t tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible.

My Review:

Dear Sarina Bowen,

I have always had a soft spot for hockey. I have. I used to live next to this big empty lot when I was a little kid…that eventually became the Arrowhead Pond, now called the Honda Center…which houses the Anaheim Ducks. I love hockey. I had a friend in grade school who had season tickets. I got to meet some seriously awesome players back then. I love hockey. I haven’t been as attached to it over the past couple years because my first love is baseball. This is true.

Because of your writing, your stories, and your characters…I am now massively in love with hockey. Your stories freakin ROCK. Every single story is so different and the characters so unique, but you make them all lovable and you make it so we want to keep reading about them, book after book after book. Seriously. This fictional world you’ve created at Harkness College feels so incredibly real to me and I love every moment of it.

Which brings me to DJ and Lianne. I ADORE every moment of Lianne. I love that she’s this super famous actress in this super cheesy film series, and that she just wants to go to school and be normal but even without the whole famous-actress-super-rich-thing, she’s just SO awkward as hell and it just makes the whole book to me. You’re trying to figure out how to handle that she’s this famous person, but you’re too busy laughing at how insanely normal and silly and awkward and awesome she is. Seriously. I’m jealous of Bella for being her sort of roommate because I want Lianne to be my best friend. I love that behind this facade of supposed perfection is this girl who is literally just trying to figure out who she is, and where she stands. She’s insecure with boys and she is embarrassed at Bella and Rafe’s sexy times next door. She’s so refreshingly normal and I fall in love with her at every page.

And then there’s DJ. I adore DJ and I think its because we’re able to keep this connection to the hockey theme of the whole series but in a totally different new way. I love that he used to play but that being in the booth, playing music, playing with the reactions of the crowd, and using the music to interact with the players. I love music, a lot, but I have no connection to it other than loving it and listening to it. DJ makes it seem like so much, and connects it with something I do love: sports. I never thought of the music other than something they play through the speakers but it can have an effect on the crowd and the players and I LOVE it.

Plus, okay, besides all of that…you just write amazing books. I laugh a lot, and the sexy times are ALWAYS so good, and it makes me want to become a better NA sports romance writer, and you are a huge influence.

Keep writing these. I’ll keep reading. For sure.

Also, can I, like, HAVE Rafe? I know he belongs to Bella and all that, but I’d like him to kind of belong to me too? Is that okay? Is that a real thing…

Let me know.

Love, Sara

Rating: 

5 out of 5 stars

Top Anticipated October Releases!

Young Adult

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl #2 (sort of)

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, dosage but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

Release Date: October 6, 2015

My Thoughts: I literally can’t wait to get my hands on this book. As soon as Rainbow said she’d release it, I have just been counting down the days to hear more about Simon and Baz. Its so weird to be such a fan for a fandom that’s not even real but its so true. I adore Simon Snow and I can’t WAIT for this book!

A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Grace Mae knows madness. She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum. When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

Release Date: October 6, 2015

My Thoughts: I think that Mindy has a beautiful way of writing and an incredible storyteller and I’m really excited to read this book. I’ve had an ARC for months but just haven’t had the time to read it, but I’m so excited for it!

Cinderella’s Shoes by Shonna Slayton 

Cinderella’s Dress #2

The war may be over, but Kate Allen’s life is still in upheaval. Not only has she discovered that Cinderella was real, but now she’s been made Keeper of the Wardrobe, her sole responsibility to protect Cinderella’s magical dresses from the greed of the evil stepsisters’ modern descendants. But Cinderella’s dresses are just the beginning. It turns out that the priceless glass slippers might actually exist, too, and they could hold the power to reunite lost loved ones like her father—missing in action since World War II ended. As Kate and her boyfriend, Johnny, embark on an adventure from New York to Italy and Poland in search of the mysterious slippers, they will be tested in ways they never imagined.

Release Date: October 6, 2015

My Thoughts: I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first book in this series and Shonna is so nice as hell, and I can’t wait for the second one. The main character is just sassy and wonderful and I really can’t wait for more adventures in this historical romance.

The White Rose by Amy Ewing 

The Lone City #2

Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude. But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm. But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

Release Date: October 6th, 2015

My Thoughts: I’ve already read this book and its incredible and such a great follow up to the amazing book that is The Jewel. I’m lucky that I was able to read this already and I’m glad that its coming out soon!

Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl

Natasha Romanoff is one of the world’s most lethal assassins. Trained from a young age in the arts of death and deception, Natasha was given the title of Black Widow by Ivan Somodorov, her brutal teacher at the Red Room, Moscow’s infamous academy for operatives.

Ava Orlova is just trying to fit in as an average Brooklyn teenager, but her life has been anything but average.The daughter of a missing Russian quantum physicist, Ava was once subjected to a series of ruthless military experiments-until she was rescued by Black Widow and placed under S.H.I.E.L.D. protection. Ava has always longed to reconnect with her mysterious savior, but Black Widow isn’t really the big sister type. Until now. When children all over Eastern Europe begin to go missing, and rumors of smuggled Red Room tech light up the dark net, Natasha suspects her old teacher has returned-and that Ava Orlova might be the only one who can stop him. To defeat the madman who threatens their future, Natasha and Ava must unravel their pasts. Only then will they discover the truth about the dark-eyed boy with an hourglass tattoo who haunts Ava’s dreams. . . .

Release Date: October 13, 2015

My Thoughts: I mean, come on. Black Widow AND the amazing Margie Stohl…I was sold from the moment that I first found out this was going to be an actual thing. There needs to be more of Black Widow in the world – and all the female Marvel and DC characters – and I’m glad this book is coming out and I’m stoked about Margaret being at the helm.

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

It’s been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell. Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves? Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?

Release Date: October 13, 2015

My Thoughts: I literally can’t handle the excitement that is this book. When I read that first book…I couldn’t handle how excited I was when I finished this book. Its just so insanely good. Sara is an incredible writer and storyteller and I think there should be more fantasy like this in the world. I can’t wait to see how this story continues.

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

The Young Elites #2

Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers that murdered her love, the Crown Prince Enzo Valenciano.

But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good, when her very existence depends on darkness?

Release Date: October 13, 2015

My Thoughts: I’ve literally had this in my possession since July and I haven’t read it, no matter how excited I’ve been about it. I hope to read it before its released because my goodness, the first one was just incredible and I can only imagine that it gets better and better.

Trust Me, I’m Trouble by Mary Elizabeth Summer

Trust Me #2

Staying out of trouble isn’t possible for Julep Dupree. She has managed not to get kicked out of her private school, even though everyone knows she’s responsible for taking down a human-trafficking mob boss—and getting St. Agatha’s golden-boy Tyler killed in the process. Running cons holds her guilty conscience at bay, but unfortunately, someone wants Julep to pay for her mistakes . . . with her life.

Against her better judgment, Julep takes a shady case that requires her to infiltrate a secretive organization that her long-gone mother and the enigmatic blue fairy may be connected to. Her best friend, Sam, isn’t around to stop her, and Dani, her one true confidante, happens to be a nineteen-year-old mob enforcer whose moral compass is as questionable as Julep’s. But there’s not much time to worry about right and wrong—or to save your falling heart—when there’s a contract on your head.

Release Date: October 13, 2015

My Thoughts: Mary Elizabeth is awesome and her first book is so fun. I love it because the main character is just not what you expect, and she’s not exactly a hero and that’s what makes it so fun because you love her the entire book. I can’t wait to see what shenanigans she gets up to in this second book.

Poet Anderson…of Nightmares by Tom Delonge and Suzanne Young 

Poet Anderson #1

Jonas Anderson and his older brother Alan are Lucid Dreamers. But after a car accident lands Alan in a coma, Jonas sets out into the Dream World in an attempt to find his brother and wake him up. What he discovers instead is an entire shared consciousness where fear comes to life as a snarling beast called a Night Terror, and a creature named REM is bent on destruction and misery, devouring the souls of the strongest dreamers. With the help of a Dream Walker—a guardian of the dreamscape, Jonas must face his fears, save his brother, and become who he was always meant to be: Poet Anderson.

Release Date: October 20th, 2015

My Thoughts: One of the coolest YA authors writes a book with Tom Delonge from Blink 182? Do I honestly need to say much more than that?

New Adult

The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen

The Ivy Years #5

Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.

She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.

But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel “DJ” Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. There’s something haunting his dark eyes and she needs to know more.

DJ’s genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.

Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can’t get close to Lianne, and he can’t tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible.

Release Date: October 13, 2015

My Thoughts: I read this a few days ago. Amazing. Just keep writing Sarina. I’m just in love.

Middle Grade

Magnus Chase: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

Magnus Chase #1

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .

Release Date: October 6, 2015

My Thoughts: I just got this in the mail and I’m really so very excited to read this. I am wary, of course, I love Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus as well, but I never was sold on the Egyptian series so I’m hoping Magnus Chase captures me in the same way Percy did once upon a time. I have high high high hopes for it!

General 

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

Cormoran Strike #3

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

Career of Evil is the third in the highly acclaimed series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, it is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.

Release Date: October 20, 2015

My Thoughts: The first two novels have just been absolutely amazing. JKR has a way with mystery and crime. She has a way of making her voice shine but also creating a whole new voice with these incredible novels. And I love that she still writes as Robert. It makes me happy as hell. I can’t wait for this!

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What books are YOU excited for in the month of October? Share them in the comments!

September Book Wrap Up!

Books Pledged to Read in 2015:

150

Am I On Track: 

9 books behind schedule. I went slump-y again

Books Read So Far: 

103

Total Books For September: 

6

Moving Target

Flamecaster (ARC)

Stand Off

Fangirl – ReRead

Dumplin’ 

The Fifteenth Minute

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Cover Reveal: The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen

I am SO insanely excited to bring this cover reveal out into the open today. I am a HUGE fan of Sarina’s and this series so I’m excited for the new cover and I’m excited that this book is only weeks away from being released!

Before I reveal the cover though, viagra dosage I’m going to tell you a little bit about Sarina, there a little bit about the Ivy series, sick and then we’ll talk about The Fifteenth Minute. I know not all of you are familiar with this series but I’d love to tell you more so you can fall in love with these hockey guys and gals just like I did!

About Sarina Bowen 

Sarina Bowen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. She lives in Vermont’s Green Mountains with her family, six chickens and too much ski gear and hockey equipment.

You can Find Her At: 

Website / Twitter / Instagram / Tumblr

About the Ivy Years Series

New Adult Sports Romance

In The Year We Fell Down, two injured ice hockey players are thrown together by their own bad luck. Adam Hartley will play again, but Corey Callahan will not. Over video games, tequila and physical therapy sessions, the two must figure out what really matters.

The Year We Hid Away is the tale of two lovers, Bridger and Scarlet, hoping to hide all the ugliness in their lives. But if they can’t learn to trust one another with the bad as well as good, everything they’ve built together will be lost.

The Understatement of the Year. With Bridger off the team, Coach brings in an unfamiliar replacement. But when the new guy reveals the reason for his transfer to Harkness, some of his new teammates aren’t so happy to have him in the locker room. And one is too devastated by past secrets to even look him in the eye.

The Shameless Hour. Things get a little crazy between Bella and her hot upstairs neighbor. And then they get awkward. But when something shocking happens to Bella, it’s Rafe who is there to pick up the pieces.

About Book Five: The Fifteenth Minute

Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.

She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.

But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel “DJ” Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. Something’s haunting his dark eyes, and she needs to know more.

DJ’s genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.

Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can’t get close to Lianne, and he can’t tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible.

The Cover Reveal

The Fifteenth Minute

Preorder on Amazon now and make sure to add it to your GoodReads TBR list!

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Book Review: My Sweetest Escape by Chelsea M Cameron


Genre: 

New Adult, order Contemporary, viagra sale Romance

Pages: 

363 pages

Part of a Series?:

Second in the My Favorite Mistake series

Release Date: 

January 28th, 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

Jos Archer was the girl with the perfect life; until the night it all came crashing down around her. Now, nine months later, she still hasn’t begun to pick up the pieces. Even transferring to a new college and living under the watchful eye of her older sister, Renee, isn’t enough to help her feel normal again.

And then she meets Dusty Sharp. For reasons Jos can’t begin to fathom, the newly reformed campus bad boy seems determined to draw her out of her shell. And if she’s not careful, his knowing green eyes and wicked smile will make her feel things she’s no longer sure she deserves.

But even as Dusty coaxes Jos to open up about the past, he’s hiding secrets of his own. Secrets about the night her old life fell apart. When the truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together;or tear them apart for good?

My Review:

I loved this book even more than I loved the first one. The first was sweet, and all of that, and I loved seeing Taylor and Hunter fall in love but I really love Jos and Dusty…oh especially Dusty. I loved them from page one to the last page.

I like that Jos and Dusty both have secrets, they both have issues that they’re dealing with but they can’t help but be drawn to each other. What makes that even better is that their problems are connected and it takes them a bit to realize that. I don’t know why but I really like that. I like that they push each other away and pull each other back and take care of each other and mess up. They feel so real to me. I wish I genuinely could find a guy like Dusty, because that’s how incredibly real these two characters felt to me.

I also liked the way Chelsea captured loss. Both Jos and Dusty are dealing with a loss and they each have their own way of handling it and I think she does a beautiful job of capturing the emotions and the struggle of it. I really feel what Jos is feeling when she talks about this boy who became her best friend, who literally become her everything, before he was taken away from her.

I’m sitting here, trying to think of what to say about this book because one, its been a little bit since I read and two, I just loved it so much that I can’t really get the words out. Just thinking about it makes me want to read it again because I truly really enjoyed Jos and Dusty’s romance. I truly LOVED Dusty so much.

Rating: 

4 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M Cameron

Genre: 

New Adult, buy Contemporary, erectile Romance

Pages: 

400 pages

Part of a Series?:

First in the My Favorite Mistake series

Release Date: 

August 27th, view 2013

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

Two secrets. One bet. Who will break first?

Taylor Caldwell can’t decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.

On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he’s a tattooed, guitar-playing bad boy. Maybe that’s why Taylor’s afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn’t want to get burned, so she needs him gone before it’s too late.

Hunter himself has been burned before, but Taylor’s sexy laugh and refusal to let him get away with anything make her irresistible. Determined not to be kicked out of her life without a fight, Hunter proposes a bet: if she can convince him she either truly loves or hates him, he’ll leave the apartment;and leave her alone.

But when the man behind Taylor’s fear of giving up her heart resurfaces, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever.

My Review:

I was browsing around some lists, looking for some new NA to read and Chelsea M Cameron’s name kept popping up. My library had copies of My Favorite Mistake, so I figured, why not? I’m really really glad that I did.

Chelsea tells a great story from the beginning of the first page all the way to the end. When Taylor walks in and realizes that for some reason she’ll be rooming with a guy – and a HOT one, that – she is so not pleased. I love her tenacity, I love her temper and I love that the first thing she thinks to do is punch him. That’s a pretty legit reaction in my book. I love that. I love that we kind of know right away the kind of person that she is. Immediately I like her.

I also immediately like Hunter as well. I like that he has a balance with Taylor, and that even though she totally punched him in the face and is annoyed by his very presence, he just kind of lets her be her. There’s something really amazing about that. He knows there is some underlying things going on there and he knows that he wants more, but he just accepts her for the person that she is and kind of lets her come to him.

And I like how they come together. Its sweet and sexy at the same time. Its a slow build up to when they end up working their way to each other. I like that. There’s something to be said about a slow build up and I really truly love that about Taylor and Hunter. I really think they become friends before anything else and then friendship blossoms into something else. I think that’s what really made me love their story and I love that when they do reveal things to each other, it just brings them closer together, as it should. Their story feels real. I think sometimes in romances, things get…er…romanticized and don’t seem very realistic, but this one felt real and it felt familiar. I truly love their romance and how it ends.

Okay, the end is a little…not so realistic. Let’s just say Hunter gets Taylor a gift thats a bit much but I don’t know. To me, it just fit with all of their personalities and it fit the story. All in all, a very good opener for this series :)

Rating: 

4 out of 5 Stars