Book Release: Sweet by Tammara Webber + Review!

April 30, 2015Leave a comment

Congrats to Tammara Webber and her brand new release, healing Sweet!

I was lucky enough to get an early copy and be a part of the release day/week/month/time awesomeness. I adore Tammara a TON so I’m excited to tell you about her book today!

But first, viagra buy let’s learn a little bit about Tammara, in her own words.

Tammara Webber

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of EASY and BREAKABLE (Contours of the Heart series – NA), as well BETWEEN THE LINES, WHERE YOU ARE, GOOD FOR YOU and HERE WITHOUT YOU (Between the Lines series – YA/NA).

I’m a hopeful romantic who adores novels with happy endings, because there are enough sad endings in real life. Before writing full-time, I was an undergraduate academic advisor, economics tutor, planetarium office manager, radiology call center rep, and the palest person to ever work at a tanning salon. I married my high school sweetheart, and I’m Mom to three adult kids and four very immature cats.

You Can Find Her At:

Her Website / Her Facebook / Her Twitter / Her Instagram

About Sweet

Contours of the Heart #3

The best part of this though is you do NOT have to read 1 or 2 to read 3! Its part of a series of books taking place in the same universe but 3 stands alone from the first two!

He’s the love of her life, but he doesn’t know it.

She’s his one moment of sacrifice in a lifetime of survival.

He was damaged and wild, but resilient.

She’s always been obedient. Now she’s restless.

Home for the summer between college and med school, Pearl Torres Frank knows two things: Boyce Wynn is the embodiment of everything she should run from, and everything she wants to run to. Rebellious and loud. Unconcerned with society’s opinion of him. Passionate. Strong. Dangerous.

And one more trait he hides from everyone but her:

Sweet.

Find the Book:

Good Reads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iBooks

Seriously, try to get through some of these without splashing some water on your face!

My Review

I’ve been anxiously awaiting for this book to be released and I was really excited when an epub showed up in my inbox. I’ve been very lucky in developing a friendship with Tammara and getting to preview her books early. That being said, that also has NO influence on my review of this book whatsoever. Honest review, every time :)

This book was HOT. Tammara has always managed to write books about characters that are real and genuine and sexy as hell and she does that again in this novel. Both Boyce and Pearl drive you crazy and I kind of spent the whole book wanting BOTH of them. They’re both determined characters and they’re so frustrating as well. We get both point of views and so watching them both fall madly in love with each other, but be so pathetic and not realize their feelings are reciprocated was frustrating but it keeps you reading til the end.

I liked a LOT that it takes place in the same universe as Easy and Breakable so we get a little bit of Lucas and Jacqueline, because I adore those two so incredibly much and I was totally happy to get a little bit of them, even just the smallest bit we do get.

What I really love about this story, what really stands out about this one is that these characters have known each other for years, since they were children. They have a connection over the course of over a decade and so that makes the story different and unique and amazing. Don’t get me wrong: I love romance period. And I love romance developed between two characters who meet and fall in love but there was something fun about these two characters who have ALWAYS loved each other, figuring it out as adults and finding their way to each other. It was beautiful. I loved every minute of it and I loved each character. They had a lot they were each dealing with it, and they dealt with it together and they grew up together. I really like their story a lot.

The only small beef I had with the novel was the end. There is an instance where a character returns and some sh*t goes down and…to me, it seemed sort of random and unexpected. I didn’t really mind that it happened, it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Like, whoa, hey, random plot twist…Like I said, not necessarily a totally bad thing but it threw me off a little bit.

All in all, another win for Tammara. I told her as soon as I finished it: keep writing and I’ll keep reading and I definitely stand by that :)

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

Tuesday Top Ten-Favorite YA Contemporary Novels

October 14, 2014October 14, 2014Leave a comment

Now this is something that I’ve done before. I did this exact post for the Tuesday Top Ten on April 30th, dosage 2013, so a good year and a half ago. In that nearly two year period, Ive spent a LOT of time reading new books. A TON of time. So, of course, my favorite YA contemporary novel list has changed.

This blog has been around for two and a half years now and so that means that I will be doing repeats of old Tuesday Top Tens because things change, because the beauty of this blog that I’m constantly reading new books and being introduced to new authors so I’m finding new favorites. When you get down to it, this list is probably going to chance in a week or two anyway.

But I digress. Here are my top ten favorite YA contemporary books.

Side Note: Can I just say how proud I am of myself for posting this? Seriously. I rock. Moving on…

10. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The first time I read this book was back in 2001, when I was 12 years old. I had seen the movie, thought it was cute and immediately went out and bought the book. Now, the book is SO incredibly different from the movie, SO different and I immediately fell in love with it. Mia felt so close to the person that I am: awkward, shy, failing math, in love with my best friend’s brother (it worked out SO much better for her than me), loving writing, etc. She felt awkward for being tall, with no boobs; I felt awkward for being really short with huge boobs. Because this entire series is written in diary format, you are in the mind of Mia the entire time. So it feels real and authentic and like reading a note from your best friend. It feels genuine and it always made me laugh and cry and feel relatively sane. Mia is constantly being paranoid and worrying and doing all these fun teenage things and it makes me feel relatively normal, especially when I was a teen!

9. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

For the longest time, Lola and the Boy Next Door was my favorite from Stephanie Perkins because I loved the quirkiness of both Lola and Cricket. But as soon as I read Isla, I knew this one had easily passed it up. What I love about this book is …well, a lot of things. First off, Isla felt closer to me than Lola and Anna. She was happy, she got the boy, but she doubted it, she felt insecure, she always felt like she might screw it up. That sort of insecurity has been with me for ages and even after a relationship, I still sometimes feel like that, like anything that I say or do can tip the scale, both with potential boyfriends/girlfriends and with just friends alone. Plus Josh was the dreamiest of the boys in all the books, his graphic novel drawing and writing skills were swoon worthy. But I think what I love about this book is that its not the beautiful happily ever after we always expect. It tells us that relationships and love is wonderful but it doesn’t come without work and struggle, which is SO true. I love everything about this book. Plus Stephanie Perkins is just plain awesome.

8. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

First off, I love the main character’s name, Auden. I love that this has the love story and the beauty of summer, as does most of her books, but I think I love that it focuses a lot on the relationship between Auden and her parents. I know what its like to be forced to grow up quickly and to have that reality that parents aren’t perfect thrust on you. I’ve dealt with parents who have run from their mistakes instead of facing them head on. I’ve dealt with that fear that things were my fault. I think Sarah really captures a lot here. A lot of her characters are growing up as a teenager, becoming adults, that sort of thing, but in this book, Auden is just growing up, period. She’s experiencing things that you learn from just being a child, like riding a bike and bowling and that sort of thing. And I think that’s beautiful. I think I like Auden transforming from this closed off person to someone who accepts that she’s imperfect, that she makes mistakes and that she can open herself up to new things and new people.

7. Between the Lines by Tammara Webber

The first time I read this book was quite a few years ago. I had just bought my first e-reader, and I was looking through top sellers, but cheap, and this one caught my eye. It sounded kind of juicy and I liked the premise of it, so I decided to buy it. And I’m so so glad that I did. Tammara writes a four part series following the story of Reid Alexander, an actor who is hot, charming, and totally full of trouble. These books are sexy, and fun, and kind of make me wish that Reid Alexander was real so, 1. He could play Jace Wayland in a City of Bones adaptation and 2. So I could just date him, period. But what surprised me is the emotional depth of these books. The characters were all real to me, and the character development of Reid over the course of the four books just absolutely blows my mind. I love these books SO much, I reread them all the time.

6. The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

The Secret Life of Prince Charming was actually the first Deb Caletti book I ever read, and I’m so glad I did because it turned me on to an author that just literally blows my mind every time she releases a new book. She writes so beautifully, against the north west coast of the United States. She captures the setting, the story, the emotions, the people, everything so well that it always sticks out in your mind. I don’t often have a hard time recalling her books because she’s just such a beautiful writer. I thought that this book was so unique in compared with other contemporary romance YA novels. I think that Quinn learns a lot about love, in that, its a great and wonderful and awesome thing but its also complicated and difficult and it has its ups and downs. That’s the beauty of this book. It doesn’t gloss over the hard parts, and it doesn’t glorify the hard parts. Relationships, love, breaking up, moving on, all of that is SO hard and its all in this book and I love every bit of it.

5. Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love everything Gayle Forman touches. She’s an absolutely incredible writer and she writes stories that are so unique but real. I love If I Stay and I loved the movie as well. But the minute that I finished Just One Day, I knew I had read something that was amazing and I wouldn’t forget it. Just One Day is about adventure, about that incredibly rare idea of adventure and love and throwing caution to the wind, that sort of thing. And I just loved it. Who wouldn’t want to spend a crazy day around Paris, with a super charming and sexy guy? I know I would. But the book goes beyond that, beyond just the adventure. It follows Allyson for a year after this experience, seeing how it changes her, and her life and the way she views life and I think that’s just…incredible (even though I’ve repeated that word in this post about, oh, about a thousand million times). Its just…beautiful. Its full of SO MANY FEELS. And its nice to think that one day, just one day, could change everything.

4. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

I grabbed this book because it was on the shelf next to Sarah Dessen’s current release. I liked the cover, and it was next to Sarah and the back cover sounded pretty interesting. Now Morgan is one of my favorite authors and I love getting to see her as often as possible, because she is just an incredible author. The story follows Amy and Roger, as they go on this road trip across the US to new homes, to places where they don’t really want to go. Its supposed to be a straight shot to the destination until they decide…screw this, let’s have an adventure. Did I mention that I like adventures? I like the possibilities of adventure, the idea that you’re making up every step of the way on a whim, and I think that’s what Amy and Roger love about it, the idea that anything is possible, when things have gone so wrong in both of their lives. Plus, its a road trip books, and road trip books are fun and make me want to get in my car and have a road trip, and Morgan talks about all these cool food places to eat (god I love food) and she has playlists throughout the book and she has a great taste in music. Okay, now I want to go read this book again…

3. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

This is my favorite Sarah Dessen book ever and I think it all boils down to that there was so much about Remy that I wanted to be, especially in high school. She’s beautiful, smart, in control, confident. She knows what she wants, who she wants and when she wants it and she knows how to get it. She’s brilliant. Of course, she has no idea how to love someone, and she has no idea how emotions help not hinder you and hold back. She has to learn that she can trust others and that trusting others is not the end of the world. But I wanted to be her. I wanted to be that confident and to hold my beauty (possibly) as a weapon, and to be as in control as she seems to be. I was always so messy and emotional in high school and I wanted so hard to be in control of all of that and I never felt like that. Plus I just love Dexter, the male lead of the book. He’s a musician and goofy and genuine and just hilarious. I want a boy like Dexter. Can someone find me something like that? haha.

2. Winger by Andrew Smith

There are so many wonderful things about this book that I am not even sure where to begin. This book made me laugh so hard I cried, and made me cry because I was so sad. It is one of those books that made me stop and think, this is a teen voice. This is completely the voice of the character. There are so many authors that write in the voice of a teenager but none of them ever seem to get it as much as Andrew Smith does when writing in the mind of Ryan Dean West. Andrew is an incredible writer, and I hadn’t heard of him before this book, to be completely honest, so when I did, I was just blown away by this book. I had never really read anything like it before so it has been stuck in my mind since then, and it easily became my favorite book. I’ve read it two or three times since then and it just blows my mind every single time. It makes me laugh so much and I wish I could write a book this good, one that I want to buy a million copies of and shove it into every single person’s hands.

1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This has become one of my favorite books in the entire world. When I first heard of it, I thought that the title was super cute because being a fangirl is a huge part of my life, and Cath’s obsession with Simon Snow in the description of the novel sounded so familiar. What I didn’t know is that I would read this book that literally felt like it walked into my very soul and knew it. That sounded really cheesy, wow. Wow. But its true. Cath is exactly the way I have been and the way I still am. She loses herself into these books, escapes into them, because they make her happy, they make the bad things go away. She’s afraid of the world outside of books, she’s anxious about new things, she likes to be alone and fan fiction and the internet are her friends. There’s something about Cath being thrown into these new situations, solo, so outside of her comfort zone that just makes me feel so familiar. It makes me feel happy to know that, even though this is a fictional character, there’s someone who understands how I feel. Cath is so me, its scary. She says things that make me laugh and cry and literally reaches into me and makes me want to say “OHMYGOD YES”. It has become, easily, one of my favorite books ever.

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What are some of your favorite contemporary YA novels? Share them in the comments!

Tuesday Top Ten: Authors I Own the Most Books From

July 29, 2014July 29, 20143 Comments

Once again, generic I’ve fallen massively behind in my regularity with the Tuesday Top Ten. I’ve also been out of a lot of creativity so I decided to pop on over to The Broke and Bookish blog, sick where they host the Top Ten Tuesday, and grab their idea for the week.

I think that even though it suggests something kind of simple, it also shows something. The authors who I own the most books from? Obviously that means they are authors I really, really love to own so many from them.

So let’s do this.

Also, when doing this, a lot of authors have a count of 3 and 4, because of trilogies haha. So I own alllllll these books but there are very few authors that I have more than 3 or 4. But I digress. Check out the list.

10. J.R.R. Tolkien – 6 books

I own the entire LoTR trilogy, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin. I know there is so much more than I could own by him but baby steps haha. I’ve read these six books, and I love them dearly. I actually feel like I have more than just 6 because I’m fairly sure I have multiple copies of the LoTR and The Hobbit, hidden somewhere in my ever growing collection of books.

9. Tammara Webber – 6 books

Tammara Webber has been one of my favorite authors for quite some time now. I own the entire Between the Lines series because she was sweet enough to send me all four books, signed and personalized to me. Which was the sweetest thing EVER. I also have her new adult novel, Easy, and its companion book, Breakable. I know that my collection of her books will only grow as she releases more :)

8. Cinda Williams Chima – 8 books

Cinda Chima is such an incredible fantasy YA author and its easy to have all of her books in my life. I have all four books of the Seven Realms series, no problem, and I own a complete collection of the Heir Chronicles, so far. This collection will grow just slightly when the 5th Heir Chronicles novel releases (OHMYGOD) this fall. If you have not given her novels a chance yet, you definitely should. Seriously, she’s absolutely amazing.

7. Rick Riordan – 11 books

This one is so easy. I own the complete Percy Jackson collection, with a few extra copies and the entire Heroes of Olympus series so far. I hope to get my hands on the complete collection with the new covers because I actually quite like them. I can’t wait to get my hands on the final Heroes of Olympus book. I’m just dying for it!

6. Sarah Dessen – 11 books

The reason that I put Sarah Dessen lower (higher?) on the list is because even though I own all 11 of her books, I also think that the count is probably higher because I am almost 100% positive that I have doubles of a few of the books. Again, I have so many books scattered around, in my room, in bins in my backyard, in boxes in storage. I have over 600 books, so I’m bound to own more than 11 Sarah Dessen books. Plus she’s one of my auto-buy authors so I immediately go out and purchase every new release of hers, every since I was about 12.

5. Richelle Mead – 15 books

YES! I own the entire Vampire Academy series and Bloodlines series, with a few doubles there too. I am actually counting Silver Shadows in this count even though I’m technically writing this at 2 am and the bookstores haven’t opened so therefore I don’t actually have my copy of Silver Shadows yet. But I’m going to buy it immediately tomorrow and I can’t wait for it. As soon as I started reading VA, I immediately fell in love and had to get my hands on all of them. Because of generous gifts from my dear friends Mina and Katie, I own both series now and I’m glad to have them complete!

4. Cassandra Clare – 16 books

I feel like this one is such a duh. One, she’s one of my favorite authors. Two, she has a TON of books. I have the entire Mortal Instruments series, of course. But that includes the fact that I have 3 copies of City of Bones and 3 copies of City of Heavenly Fire. I’m weird that way. I also have Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess. Of course. Add in The Shadowhunter Codex because that was a must. Then I have ARCs of The Bane Chronicles and The Iron Trial and I’m overflowing with Cassandra Clare books. I adore her. I want all of her books in my life!

3. Tamora Pierce – 20 books

Tammy Pierce has been writing YA fantasy since the early 80s, which means that she has quite a few books under her belt. Which means that I have quite a few of them in my collection. I am hoping to branch out into her not-Tortall books soon but I’ve always been massively obsessed with her Tortall world. So my collection is The Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, The Protector of the Small, The Daughter of the Lioness and the Beka Cooper trilogy, which a few scattered doubles in there, plus the Tortall stories she released a few years back. Any time a Tortall story hits the shelves, I’ll be first in line.

2. J.K. Rowling – 30 books

Again, duh. My favorite author of all time, so of course I’d own a ton of books. I have the entire Harry Potter collection, which doubles, triples, even quadruples of some copies. I have two copies of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts. I also have foreign editions of several of the books from the UK, Australia, Spain, France, Korea, to name a few. I also have The Casual Vacancy and The Cuckoo’s Calling as well. Hopefully soon I will have The Silkworm as well but for now, I’m just too broke for that book. Adult books are very expensive :( But yes, I have a ton of books by JKR. I don’t know why I keep buying copies of HP but I see them at used bookstores for fairly cheap and just have to buy them. I’ve overrun haha.

1. Meg Cabot – 45 Books

Aw yes the winner. I actually think the number of Meg Cabot books that I own is much larger than this. This number is based on what I know I own but I have been reading Meg since I was 12 years old, which means I know I have a decent collection of her books in boxes in storage. I have every single book she’s ever released, except her romance novels under Patricia Cabot mostly because I’m just not a romance person. Other than that? I own them all, and probably doubles of a lot of them too. She is definitely one of my auto buy authors so its easy that she is the top of the list. She’s a machine and she’s released so many books over the year, and as a dedicated fan for about 15 years, I own them all :)

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What authors appear the most in YOUR book collection? Share in the comments!

Breakable Blog Tour: Interview with Tammara Webber and Book Review!

May 9, 2014May 7, 20141 Comment

I am SO pleased and excited to be a part of the official Breakable blog tour. Tammara Webber is one of my absolute favorite authors, story since the first time I purchased Between the Lines, pills and I’m so excited to be sharing this with you all. I’ll be talking all about Tammara, her new book, Breakable, and we’ll have an awesome interview at the end.

First, let’s talk about Tammara herself!

Tammara Webber is author of the New York Times bestselling New Adult novel Easy, the first novel in her Contours of the Heart series, and the Between the Lines series. She is a hopeful romantic who adores novels with happy endings, because there are enough sad endings in real life. Before writing full-time, she was an undergraduate academic advisor, economics tutor, planetarium office manager, radiology call center rep, and the palest person to ever work at a tanning salon. She married her high school sweetheart, and is a mom to three adult kids and four very immature cats.

You Can Find Her At:

Her Site / Her Twitter / Her Instagram / Her Facebook

About Breakable

In Tammara’s novel Easy, we meet Jacqueline Wallace, a girl trying to survive in college, after an acquaintance tries to rape her after a party, and her relationship with her savior, Lucas. You can find Easy at GoodReads here.

In BREAKABLE, readers are introduced to teenage Landon on the worst day of his life, the day is family is ripped apart by the death of his beloved mother. Webber flashes from the present to the past, young capturing Landon as he deals with the stark and painful changes in his life following his mother’s death, and present-day Lucas as he reacts to meeting Jacqueline Wallace, the young woman whose appearance changes his life for the better. Loving Jacqueline is so easy, but Lucas knows just how breakable the soul is and that giving himself wholly to another person is the most frightening thing he’ll ever do.

You Can Find/Purchase the Book At:

Good Reads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository

Quick Book Review

I don’t want to sit and talk forever about this book because this will be the longest post in the entire world and I don’t want to do that to you. Here’s the small gist of it: I loved Easy. Easy tackles the idea of rape in such a beautiful way, in an honest and raw way. Jacqueline is nearly raped but she’s afraid to say anything because of the rape culture that we live in, and the only person that knows is her attacker and Lucas. Tammara builds a beautiful love story between Jacqueline and Lucas and its a beautiful book. Breakable continues it, and I honestly had to admit that I was worried. I love Tammara and think she’s an absolutely amazing author but the idea of a companion…I wasn’t 100% sold. Until I got the book. Until I stayed up all night reading it. Breakable gives us even more depth to the person that Lucas (Landon) is, and his story is just as beautiful, just as heartbreaking and just as hopefully as Jacqueline’s was in the first novel. It is a must-read, both of these books, and I encourage you all to pick them up!

The Interview!

Nerd Girl: Why was it important to you to tell Lucas’ side of the story in Breakable?

Tammara: It was Landon’s story that convinced me to write Breakable. I knew his story was heartbreaking, of course, but there was so much more to it. Once he started telling me about it, I had to write it.

Nerd Girl: Was it difficult to return to the same story, but in a different voice?

Tammara: Lucas’ perspective of their relationship was different from Jacqueline’s. The overlapping parts (which one comprise a third of the book) were only difficult in that the conversations and outcomes were already there and set — I couldn’t change them. I enjoyed adding scenes that didn’t occur in Easy – some that included Jacqueline, some that didn’t.

Nerd Girl: Did Jacqueline’s story still have an influence over Lucas’ voice?

Tammara: Over his voice? No. Over his story-yes.

Nerd Girl: There is so much going on within the story of Breakable: abuse, neglect, loss, grief, self-discovery, rebellion, love, etc. What do you hope your readers come out of this novel with?

Tammara: I don’t. I write in hopes of readers to connecting with the story, going on a journey with the characters and finding entertainment and escape along the way. Easy is the only book I’ve written with a clear message in mind — and that message, it wasn’t your fault, was unhidden and meant for a particular reader. In Breakable, I had the added desire of giving readers who loved Easy an in-depth view of Lucas.

Nerd Girl: Now that you’ve wrapped up the Between the Lines series, and now have finished both sides of the story with Jacqueline and Lucas, what can you tell us about what you’re working on next?

Tammara: I can’t reveal much just yet. I have a couple of storylines in mind, but I’ve got my usual brainstorming to do, and meetings with me agents and editors, before I settle down and write.

Nerd Girl: Did you always picture yourself as an author or did you have other career aspirations, and what is the best part of being an author?

Tammara: I didn’t even start calling myself a writer, let alone an author, to real-life people until after I’d published Easy — my fourth book. Writing fiction for a living is literally all I’ve ever wanted to do. When I couldn’t find an agent for Between the Lines, I honestly thought it was never going to happen. I’d already written a second BTL by the time I self-published the first. I never thought it would sell — or that people would want sequels.

The only job I had before writing full-time that I enjoyed was academic advising. I loved helping people one-on-on. As much as I loved it, though, it was secondary to writing.

Nerd Girl: You’ve written all of your novels in the young adult/new adult contemporary genre. Do you see yourself continuing in that trend or maybe branching out to any other genres?

Tammara: I started writing Between the Lines in 2009, with MCs aged 17-20. I called it “Mature YA” and hoped to sell it to a YA publisher, because there was no such thing as NA. Publishers (and therefore agents) have been saying for years, “No one wants to read stories about college students”. I was shooting myself in the foot, writing about characters in that age range — but it’s all I wanted to write. And also, I’m really stubborn. I figured I would find a niche market, perhaps. All I can say is…I found it!

Nerd Girl: Most of your readers definitely have developed book crushes on Lucas. Who is YOUR book crush?

Tammara: Darcy. Always Darcy. :)

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Thanks Tammara for stopping by What A Nerd Girl Says, for the second time! You can check out my interview with Tammara from June 2013 here.

And don’t forget to hit your local bookstore and pick up a copy of Breakable (and Easy if you haven’t read that), now!

Tammara Webber and I at her book launch event with Abbi Glines in Los Angeles, CA!

Tammara Webber and I at her Breakable book launch event with Abbi Glines in Los Angeles, CA!

Oh, and I still totally fancast Reid Alexander from Between the Lines as Jace Wayland in The Mortal Instruments ;)

Happy Reading Everyone!

Tuesday Top Ten-Books I Was Reluctant to Read But Am Glad I Did!

March 18, 2014March 17, 20146 Comments

Well, troche that was a seriously fun title. I kept trying to make it shorter but nothing I did made it sound…right. This was the closest. It got the point across and that’s all that matters.

So do you ever go to a bookstore, pharmacy or read a blog or talk to some friends, buy and there is a book that they just won’t let go, and you just have no desire to read it. You’re reluctant and there’s several reasons you could be. You don’t like the cover. You don’t like the name. You don’t do “zombie books”. Its too popular.

Whatever the reason is, you’re just reluctant to pick up a copy and read it. But for another reason, you finally decide to. Maybe you found a super cheap copy somewhere or your friend just WON’T STOP BUGGING YOU ABOUT IT. And you know what, the book surprises you. And it becomes something that you like, or even a favorite of yours.

That happens to me a lot actually. I’m kind of a book snob. I make fun of my boyfriend all the time for being a movie snob but I’m totally a book snob, and I might even be worse than him. I judge books b y their covers and their names. I tend to stay clear of vampires and romances, fallen angels and ghosts.

So I have trouble a lot when people recommend books. I have to really hear good things about it, or be bugged enough about it to sit down and read it. And sometimes, I’m like, “Okay, well that was a waste of my time.” But more often than not, I’m actually pleasantly surprised.

Here is my top ten of those books.

10. The Lightning Thief

I know, right? I know! This is one of my absolute favorite series, along with its spin-off, The Heroes of Olympus. I mean, how could I ever be reluctant to read it. I don’t know if I thought it was going to be childish, or I don’t know. I just remember that it took forever for me to sit down and read them, and when I finally did, I remember speeding through all five books, plus the first two of HoO in like, a week and a half because I was just blown away. I know that it got a lot of Harry Potter comparisons in the beginning and that also could have been something that turned me off since there really can only be ONE Harry Potter but its more like, if you like HP, you’ll like PJ. And I definitely agree with that. I absolutely loved these books.

9. 52 Reasons to Hate My Father

I LOVE Jessica Brody and I seriously love everything she writes but I must admit I felt a little skeptical to read this book. The cover (both this and the hardback cover) turned me off a bit and I just wasn’t sure how to feel about it, and it sounded weird, and cliche-ish. But I decided to read it because I got it signed and its Jessica and I absolutely adore her. And I LOVE this book. Its exactly what I thought it was going to be and yet so much more. It surprised me with its realness and its humor and I loved the main character so much that even while she was driving me absolutely insane, I still totally wanted to be her best friend. And the whole 52 jobs in 52 weeks thing actually sounds like it would be fun, inspiring and life-changing.

8. Anna and the French Kiss

I hated this title so much. I hate everything about it because it sounded like a fluffy, no substance YA romance novel and it proved me massively wrong. I definitely enjoyed this book immensely but I think the reason I am so glad that I got over my aversion to this book was that it led me to the “sequel”, Lola and the Boy Next Door, which I LOVE so much. I am so in love with Cricket and Lola is just an awesome character. I was pleasantly surprised with how much depth these books had, and that they were so much more than just a fluffy novel. Stephanie Perkins is an absolutely fantastic author and I was surprised and happy that I had read these books.

7. Between the Lines

I purchased this for about 2 or 3 dollars on Kindle about four years ago. It kept popping up as a recommendation and I remember thinking: it looks super fluffy romance AND its self-published so what if it totally sucks. I eventually gave in because I think I had nothing else to read and it was super cheap and I’m so glad I did because she has become one of my absolute favorite authors and a dear friend of mine. This is a four book series and while it has the fun and sexiness of Hollywood (and I totally wish Reid Alexander was real so I could drool all over his washboard abs), there’s all this substance in there. There’s alcohol and drug use and charity work and neglect and abuse and teenage pregnancy and so much coming-of-age-ness. I absolutely love this series, and this author and I’m SO glad I took a chance with this.

6. Unbreakable

The reason I was super reluctant to read this was because I was not a fan of Beautiful Creatures at all. While the premise of this book sounded really awesome, I just didn’t want to be disappointed after BC. I just wasn’t a fan of that book at all. Not my thing, I suppose. But I decided to give this one a chance, based on the recommendation of some fellow bloggers and, again, I’m so very glad that I did. I love this book. Its exactly what I wanted from it based on the description and I think Kami super rocked it. I loved all the myths and legends woven into the story and I love that its kind of like Supernatural, with two hot brothers but its told in the point of view of a girl, who I just know is going to be totally kickass as this series builds. I am counting down the days until book two.

5. Obsidian

I hated the cover, I hated the stupid synopsis on the back. I hate when books don’t even have a real synopsis on the back. Its like “One Girl. One Guy. One Destiny. He’s an alien. She’s a book blogger. Kisses. What will happen next?” Okay, that was so made up right now but you know what I mean. It’s like, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS BOOK ABOUT? And the cover was just, ugh. It only caught my eye because the spine was all pretty and green. Then I met Megan and she convinced me to read it so I went back, bought it and decided to give it a try, and I read the next two super quickly. It’s not super substantial or life changing but its fun and sexy and I love it. Plus it also just introduced me to JLA and I adore her, and I’m massively in love with her Covenant series.

4. The Selection

Again, the cover. I’m such a snob. I judge books by their cover and I was like, this one doesn’t look good in the slightest. But someone, I can’t remember who, told me to read it so I did and it really surprised me with the depth that it had. It had sort of a Bachelor meets Hunger Games meets Divergent sort of vibe. It was very dystopian but it also feels kind of like the Bachelor. I thought America was a well thought out character and that her struggle as a girl in the Selection was so real and raw and familiar. Even though I’ve never sat and competed for the hand of a prince with 20 other girls, I could understand her confusion and her constantly waging emotions. Its such a real book, and I can’t wait til the next one comes out, I’m just dying. Kiera Cass really impressed me and I want to meet her and tell her that.

3. The Hunger Games

I KNOW. I know right? I can’t even…whatever. (If you missed that as a Mean Girls quote, you don’t deserve to read my blog…haha). I read the first two books in the series about two weeks before Mockingjay came out. Again, I’m kind of a snob and everyone was reading it and it was around the same time as the Twilight outbreak and I was just kind of over reading “trend” books, if you know what I mean. I was just so much “too cool” for that. HA! My sister kept bugging me to try it though so I picked up a copy at Barnes and Noble one night and the begged my sister to let me borrow her Catching Fire because the stores were closed and I needed it RIGHT NOW. I remember buying Mockingjay on my Kindle app so I could download it at midnight and start reading. I can’t believe I ever was like, I’m too cool for this because I don’t know what my life would be without this series.

2. Unspoken

I adore Sarah! However, I had read her Demon’s Lexicon and just wasn’t that impressed. But I really liked her, I liked meeting her so I saw this book and was like, meh, I’ll add it to my TBR. I was interviewing some authors and I interviewed her and she was so sweet and so quick about it and I was so happy, and I was like, I have to read this book. I read this one and its sequel, Untold, in about two days because I LOVE this book. I love the main character, Kami, and all her sassiness and I’m madly in love with Jared Lynburn and his dark sexiness, and I just loved the story. I thought everything about it was so fresh and new, and the characters felt new and yet familiar and I was just so in love with this book. It just sort of reminded me that I shouldn’t give up on an author simply because I may have disliked one book. Another book may completely surprise me.

1. Vampire Academy

I don’t do vampire books. I don’t like this cover. I don’t like the title. The girl reminds me of Angelina Jolie and I’m not a fan of hers. There was so much about this that just turned me off. Every time I saw it in the bookstore, I just made a face and turned around. I seriously have to thank Jade and Stephanie for this, for beating me down and making me read it because now I have a VA tattoo. I mean, that’s how much I am so glad I gave these books a chance. I mean, they basically were like “Sara, shut up and read this book” and I did and I am just…I am so glad I did. The title and cover is still not my favorite at all, but I love these books. They don’t even feel like vampire books. They have so much darkness and romance and action and coming-of-age-ness (I keep saying that, I think I made that up) and I just love it all. I love Rose and Lissa and Christian and Dimitri and Adrian (ADRIAN!!!) and I just love it. I’m so massively glad I read these because now I have a molnija mark on my shoulder and its beautiful.

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What are some books that you were reluctant to read but you did and you ended up liking? Share in the comments!

Let’s Talk About…New Adult Literature

January 30, 20143 Comments

So I’ve decided to start a new segment. Called “Let’s Talk About…”

Its not going to be a weekly segment. We’ve learned pretty well that I’m TERRIBLE at keeping up with weekly segments, unhealthy although I’m ready to get back on board with blog writing. I really am.

That being said, welcome to the new segment. Basically this is a segment that I’ll write whenever I just feel like talking about something in the nerd world. It could be about cosplay. It could be about internet bullying. It could be about anything really.

The point of it is, I want to talk about it. I want to share my opinion and start a conversation on a subject that’s on my mind.

So the very first “Let’s Talk About…” is about the emergence of new adult literature and my opinion of it.

For those of you who may be unaware, new adult is a fairly recent term used to describe young adult literature thats for mature audiences. Think Jennifer L. Armentrout and Cora Carmack, as some famous ones.

When I first heard the term, I was skeptical of it, but I wasn’t too against it. The idea of a more mature young adult literature really appealed to me actually. I’m twenty-five years old, which means, technically, I’m not the intended age group of young adult literature.

Bear with me, I know that even though we are not the intended audience, adults are reading more and more YA literature. It just makes sense. That’s a whole ‘nother “Let’s Talk About….” so I won’t address that here. I just didn’t want you all jumping down my throats.

Moving on, the idea of a book that would be written in that sort of young adult style but be more mature really appealed to me. I honestly think what I write tends to more “new adult”. Now I always just assumed it was “mature young adult” because I didn’t know that there was an actual term for it. My characters tend to have more sex than characters do in YA, and I don’t cushion it, I give you the full scene. They deal with more adult issues, like going to college, growing up after high school, getting jobs and having adult relationships. That sort of thing. They don’t hold their language back. That was the kind of idea that I had about new adult literature.

Now, the more involved I get into middle grade, young adult and new adult literature with this blog, the more I’m disappointed at what new adult essentially is becoming, and I’m not pleased with it.

I took a screen shot of the “new adult” page on Net Galley. Net Galley, for those of you who don’t know, is a website where you can go (mostly as a blogger or reviewer) to request upcoming novels for review before their release-digital ARCs, basically. I went to the “new adult” page to sort of give you an idea of what it is.

What does it look like to you? Really take a look at it.

Yeah, it all looks like romance novels right?

Disclaimer before I begin: I have nothing against romance novels. I’m not a fan of them, but if that’s your cup of tea, the more power to you.

But the fact is: I didn’t think the whole point of “new adult” was just young adult with sex. Because that’s what it seems like. Most new adult books I’ve seen have racy covers, with half-clothed people. It seems less plot heavy, less character driven. It also seems there aren’t a lot of care taken in the new adult genre for actual good books and talented writers. It doesn’t seem to matter if its actually good, just thought its a bit more racy than actual good literature.

And that sort of thing really bothers me. Obviously I have no problem with sex in novels. I write sex into my novels. Sex is an important part about being an emerging adult. But I want more new adult about the idea of being…well a new adult.

Like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell for instance. I would consider it YA with a hint of NA. The only reason its not full NA is that you definitely could be younger and read it. But I enjoy the newness of the story. I enjoy reading about a girl in college, struggling on being away from home and navigating a new world. Its refreshing to get a different world from high school. We see Cath go from a teenager to an adult in college, and I love that kind of story.

So what I really think new adult should be is emerging adult stories. People from the ages of 18-25ish, coming into the world. Going to college, traveling, getting jobs, all the sort of stuff that I’m going through now, and have been going through since leaving high school. Throw some more serious themes in there, throw some sex in there, and maybe some foul language. That’s okay, that’s realistic. I want to see those kinds of stories in new adult. I could really get behind the idea of new adult, if that’s what it represented.

Instead, I find myself with a group of books that basically seem to YA with sex. A lot of sex. And a lot of it is definitely not well written. This is incredibly disappointing and really puts a bad name on those of who want to write quality new adult literature that has more to it than just sex.

I’m hoping in the future, that there will be more quality new adult literature and that hopefully there won’t be a negative connotation when you write new adult. A lot of NA authors tend to be self-published because most publishers don’t accept it. They have seen the same sort of things I’m seeing: books that aren’t really well-written, with a ton of sex. They really should be going in the romance section.

I have read good NA though. I think Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl could be considered NA. I’ve heard good things about Cora Carmack’s books, but I haven’t had a chance to dive into them yet. Tammara Webber’s Between the Lines series and her standalone, Easy, are definitely NA and I absolutely love those books.

I think there could be really great stuff in the new adult genre but I must admit that, for the most part, I tend to avoid it. Its starting to sort of lump together, in a mess and its really hard to find the quality ones in the mess of pretty bad ones.

I have a lot of hope for the genre but until I really start seeing some good stuff, and on actual shelves, instead of all the self-published stuff, than I really think I”ll get into the ‘genre’. Until then, I am just disappointed that the potential of it is just not being utilized. Young adult has a hard enough time being taken seriously as real, quality literature and the emergence of new adult literature doesn’t seem to be helping because of the lack of quality in it. I hope this changes soon, and that publishers start printing really good, well written new adult lit soon.

What do you think? Share in the comments!

Remember, everyone is open to their opinion. You may not necessarily agree, and that’s okay. But we show respect, and we discuss things, we don’t argue, ridicule or treat people with disrespect because of differing opinions. Thank you!

What A Nerd Girl Says

Nerd Life is Just So Much Better Than Regular Life

Tag: tammara webber