The romantic sequel to Alienated takes long-distance relationships to a new level as Cara and Aelyx long for each other from opposite ends of the universe…until a threat to both their worlds reunites them.
This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy of the novel obtained through Disney-Hyperion at the American Library Association Conference for free. This is in no way had an effect on the integrity of my review. Please note that published novel will differ from this ARC.
Genre: Young Adult, viagra 100mg Contemporary
337
No
April 15th, and 2014
Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, illness on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they’re rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.
Lucy and Owen’s relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and — finally — a reunion in the city where they first met.
A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith’s new novel shows that the center of the world isn’t necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.
Here’s the thing about me and my experiences with Jennifer E Smith. I’ve read everything up until this point and honestly, I just haven’t massively impressed so far. Its not that I think she’s a bad writer because I honestly don’t think she is. She’s a really good writer. But I just haven’t had a huge liking for her stories. They’re too cute, too unrealistic, too short. That’s not a bad thing, definitely not but its not to my taste. There are lots of people that are searching for those kind of stories so you should definitely pick up a Jennifer E Smith book. I just prefer my books with a bit more substance.
I will say this, though: I really liked this one. Its not mesmerizing and it won’t be a book that I’m constantly recommending to people but I thought that this was her strongest novel to date. I thought the story felt more real and I really cared more about these characters than I had in the past. They only met for a brief moment before being split apart and I genuinely wanted them to be together.
But here’s where things divert from in the past. Jennifer’s characters seem to always work out the right way, and it ends up happily wrapped up, with hope and all that but this book is so different and I think that’s why I like it. She really went realistic with this one. Two people, who spent a lot of time together, who obviously left a mark on each other, are separated and yet, they continue to live their lives. They see other people, they have fun, they live without each other. Sure, they think of each other, write each other, they’re always sort of in the back of each other’s minds but they continue to have lives and that’s what makes it beautiful. That we don’t stop living for others, but we keep going, even when they’re there in the back of your mind. I love that.
And I love that each and every interaction they have with each other is beautiful and realistic and it still makes you want to root for them, from beginning to end. You know its cheesy and a tad bit unrealistic that these two could ever really make it work but you want them to anyway and I think that’s a great thing. That’s the first time that Jennifer has really made me root for someone in her book and I was glad for that.
I have hope for, in the future, that she will write something that I truly love but for now, I’m really satisfied with this one and I honestly think that this book was very fun, and very cute and I hope to see more of Jennifer in the future. Never give up on an author, you never know what they’ll produce in the future.
3.75 out of 5 Stars
Genre: Young Adult, approved Dystopian, Futuristic
469
No
May 13th, 2012
What if there was an app that told you what song to listen to, what coffee to order, who to date, even what to do with your life—an app that could ensure your complete and utter happiness? What if you never had to fail or make a wrong choice?
What if you never had to fall?
Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results. Just like everyone else, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished surface of her prestigious dream school. Then she meets North, a handsome townie who doesn’t use Lux, and begins to fall for him and his outsider way of life. Soon, Rory is going against Lux’s recommendations, listening instead to the inner voice that everyone has been taught to ignore — a choice that leads her to uncover a truth neither she nor the world ever saw coming.
I was really excited when I received Free to Fall for review. I had heard good things about Lauren Miller from her novel “Parallel” and she was going to be a guest author at the Ontario Teen Book Fest so I was high in anticipation when reading this book. I was roughly half way through the book when I met Lauren, and she was so smart and so fun to talk to that I went home almost immediately to finish it.
I think what really gets me about all of this is that it felt so real to me. While Lauren’s novel takes place in the future, its not that far into the future and it is almost sort of warning of what is to come. Lux, the app that everyone uses on their phone, is like Siri on crack. I have Siri on my own phone but I must admit, I barely use it. Lux literally determines every movement of your day. It speaks in your own voices, tells you which bus to take when, what path is the wrong one, what coffee drink you should order, everything. It literally decides everything for you, and everyone trusts it blindly. I am getting shivers just thinking about it. For me, it felt so incredibly real.
I love that it was more than that though. The story could have been shallow, just a commentary on technology but it was so much more than that. Without going into too many spoilers, the more that we learn about Lux and the company behind it, the more that I felt the need to keep turning the pages. The mystery behind that and the mystery behind Rory herself was addicting. First, we’re on a roller coaster, trying to figure Rory out, and the next, we’re in the passenger seat while she unwinds the mystery of Lux. Its completely thrilling and terrifying. Everything that happens in this book seems so real, and terrifying and that’s what makes this SO good.
I also highly applaud Lauren Miller for accomplishing such a story in one novel. I honestly wish that other authors, myself, included could do that more often. It takes a lot to accomplish building up a story, and wrapping it up, in one book, especially in the sort of complicated story that she writes. Plus it makes it so much easier to move on to my ever growing list of books to read without having to worry about a sequel! I loved that! I think it takes a lot of talent to tell a complete story like in such a quick and perfect way.
4 out of 5 Stars
This review is based an advanced reader’s copy given to me by Macteen Books as part of the Fierce Reads Street Team in exchange for an honest review and promotion. This in no way had any influence on my review.
Summer, here boys, price and friendships gone sour. This new series has everything that perfect beach reads are made of!
Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer—which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, site her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long?
When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it.
Gemma’s plan is working (she’s finding it hard to resist Josh), but she’s finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is?
Katie Finn hits all the right notes in this perfect beginning to a new summer series: A Broken Hearts & Revenge novel.
I had no idea Katie Finn was Morgan Matson when I first got this book. I was SO excited, and am still VERY excited to be a part of the Fierce Reads Tour. Fierce Reads has a ton of amazing authors like Jessica Brody and Leigh Bardugo and Ava Dellaira and all kinds of authors. Being a part of their team has been awesome so far, and I was glad to be a part of it. When I became part of Katie Finn’s team, I was like, okay, I don’t know her, but that’s okay because I’m always up for learning about new authors.
I felt sort of silly when I went to go download my review copy and realized that she was Morgan Matson, one of my favorite authors ever. I urged my computer to download faster, and then cuddled up with my Nook to read this book.
I read it in about 2 hours. I sped through it so fast, because it was so much fun! It was really awesome to see a different writing side to Morgan. As Morgan, she writes sort of serious, dramatic YA, and as Katie Finn, it was a lot of fun, laughs, sort of unbelievable hijinks and I really truly enjoyed it. Whenever summer hits, I’m always looking for some good contemporary books to read, something involving road trips or trips to the beach and Broken Hearts is absolutely perfect in that.
Gemma is a real relatable character. She makes a mistake when she is younger, and she’s constantly feeling guilty about it. When she arrives to spend the summer with her father, and runs into the best friend she had so many years ago, the one she wronged, she genuinely wants to make things better. Of course, she goes about the wrong way, but she really is a genuine person and I think she’s hurt by her ex-boyfriend and just kind of making the mistakes that people make sometimes when they don’t quite know what to do with themselves. Plus, she makes some silly mistakes along the way too, and it makes me laugh. She gets herself into some of the craziest situations and I found myself laughing out loud at many of the parts.
I also love Josh. Josh is the brother of the girl Hallie that Gemma had wronged so many years before, and she has a vague memory of him, but when she returns, of course he’s totally cute and totally sweet, and crush-worthy. I totally developed a crush on him. Despite the train wreck of silliness that Gemma can sometimes be, he obviously cares a lot about her, and they are very cute together. Its a fun, summer romance and I love being along for that ride.
Getting down to it, without spoiling the book…its just fun. Its a really fun book. This is a perfect summer time read because its got the pool parties and the ice cream and the summer dates and all of that, the summer fun and, of course, the summer drama. I wanted to be a part of that world, and it reminded me of the summers I used to have before having jobs and responsibilities. It was juicy and racy and just straight up fun. I found myself laughing over and over and over again.
I will say this too, I wasn’t aware that it was a trilogy at first, because normally with contemporary, there is very little times, a sequel. So when the book ended, I was like “WHAT!” I never knew a contemporary book could leave me with such a delicious and infuriating cliffhanger. I wanted to throw the book across the room because I HAD to know what happened next. I turned the page and saw that there would be more books and felt a slight sense of relief that I would eventually find out what happened next, but I’m not a patient girl and I’m already ready for it!
All in all, fun book, full of everything you’d want in a perfect summer book…or even a book that you’re reading in winter, while dreaming of summer. It has the friendship and romance and pool parties and delicious treats and the rule breaking and all of that. Its a feel good, fun book and its one that I so HIGHLY recommend.
5 out of 5 Stars
Genre: New Adult, buy more about Romance
320
I believe it is the first of the Rusk University series.
May 13th, viagra 60mg 2014
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.
In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.
Dallas Cole loathes football. That’s what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.
But life doesn’t always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.
Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It’s obliterated.
Dallas doesn’t know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn’t know that Dallas is his new coach’s daughter.
And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel.
One thing that I always want to accomplish when writing my book reviews is absolute honesty. I don’t write reviews to please, or to make people happy or any of that sort of thing. So I’m not going to lie when I say that I haven’t been overly impressed with Cora Carmack yet. I ADORE her. I follow her on everything and I think she’s an absolute doll and I think that she’s fantastic with her fans. I’ve read her previous books and have enjoyed them, but not hugely impressed.
However, with All Lined Up, I was really really excited. VERY excited. Its about romance and football. I LOVE it. There aren’t a lot of books with sports in it and so I was very highly excited about it. I’m also writing a NA/YA contemporary romance that centers around a baseball centered town (once The Awakened is done being written) so I was also excited to get some inspiration. Which I have. Which is bad because I need to finish my YA sci-fi first.
Moving on though, I said in a Jenny Han review earlier this week that even though one book of an author may not impress you, you should never just write off that author and I’m very glad I did that in the case of Cora Carmack. While her previous books haven’t made a deep impression on me, this one most definitely did.
From page one to the last page, I was hooked. I was addicted to the romance, and I was highly addicted to the story of the football team and whether they’d win or not. Cora does an absolutely fantastic job of balancing the romance and the sports in the story. She also does a great job of doing justice to the sport, while also making sure that its accessible to those who may not be into sports. I think that’s a hard thing to do but she manages it so easily and I think that comes a lot from balancing the point of view between both Dallas and Carson. We get the romance on both sides and the football on both sides, but very different views of each and it plays out quite nicely.
Which brings me to the characters themselves. I love Dallas because she is so real. Her feelings toward love, and trusting people are so real, and her animosity toward football makes so much sense and I start hating football too. And I love football! She just feels so real and her emotions are raw and genuine and you can’t help but feel them with her.
And Carson! Thank you Cora Carmack for giving me yet another book boyfriend to be massively in love with. I have a weakness for hot athletic boys and you bring this one into my life like a hurricane and I just couldn’t handle it. I love a struggling athlete, and that is exactly what Alex is going to be in my own sports novel. I love that Carson feels so deeply, about everything. I love that he works so hard too. He wants to succeed so badly and he works everyday in order to make that happen. It’s not easy for him and its not handed to him. He genuinely has to work really hard to make it happen, and I love that. It makes you love him even more.
Basically, this book made a Cora fan. She had a great story, perfectly balanced with romance and sports and excitement and sexy steamy scenes. She creates memorable, real characters in both Dallas and Carson and everyone that surrounds them. I literally sped through this book so fast that when I reached the end, I was so sad that it was the end. Cora has a real voice for romance and I hope there are more in this series because I’m ready for more football and sexy boys!
4 out of 5 Stars
Young Adult, Romance
368
Yes, the second one is titled P.S. I Still Love You, and will most likely be released in 2015
April 15th, 2014
Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control in this heartfelt novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?
Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
Sometimes giving an author a second chance can be the best decision that you make. You can’t always judge an author by one book. Just because I particularly didn’t enjoy her novel, Burn for Burn, didn’t necessarily mean that I wouldn’t enjoy other novels from her and when this novel was released, I had a high desire to read it. After meeting her with Morgan Matson just a couple weeks ago, I knew I had to read the book. I bought it at the signing and read it just a few days later and I am so so so so glad I did.
First off, the idea of writing letters to the boys that break your heart…that’s brilliant. I absolutely love it. Even if you have no desire to ever send them out, the way Jenny Han or Lara Jean did, I think that’s incredible. It sounds…liberating and it was great to read the ones that Lara Jean sent out. You learn so much about her, and her family and her relationships and the way she feels about love from these letters and I loved the incorporation of them into the story and how important they are to the relationships and friendships that Lara Jean creates through out the novel.
Secondly, I really love the boys that are introduced in the novel, all of them. Without getting into too many spoilers, because I try to be as spoiler free as possible in my reviews, I really did not know who to root for in this book. You begin the novel rooting for one boy and then halfway through, you’re questioning it and rooting for someone else, and then crazy enough, you go back to boy number one. Then there are the boys that are in the letters that Lara Jean simply becomes friends with and you can’t help but love those as well. Jenny Han creates such different boy characters but they’re all so great.
I also just loved the character of Lara Jean. She’s so real and fun, and she wears Harry Potter costumes on Halloween and she just cracks me up. She’s so fun, and I love that about her. I love that when her letters get sent out to the boys, she just goes full force into recovering them and saving face. She’s weird and quirky and I love everything about her. And oh god, every time she gets behind the wheel of a car, I just found myself laughing out loud so hard because I’ve just never read a character so afraid of driving before.
Lastly, I love the dynamic between the three sisters: Margot, Lara Jean and Kitty. I’m a sister, the oldest of three. (I have brothers as well, we’re kind of a big family). That was a huge part of the appeal of the story to me because that family relationship felt so real. The responsibility that Margot feels for her sisters, the way she takes care of them, and feels like she’s abandoning them by going to college…that all felt so familiar. The way she probably needed that freedom and yet felt unneeded without them, again, felt so familiar. The Song sisters love each other so much and they fight with each other and have adventures with each other and it reminded me so much of my own sisters, and that made me super happy.
Basically, Jenny Han is awesome, and I’m super glad that I decided to read her again, after being less than impressed with Burn for Burn. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before had quirkiness and a memorable main character, a fun family dynamic and a ton of cute boys and kissing and it made for SUCH a great book. I was incredibly happy to hear that there was a sequel because what a cliffhanger. I eagerly await to find out what happens to all the characters in the book and to get more of the fun and quirky and cute boys and kissing ;)
4 out of 5 Stars
