Happy Release Day: “Not After Everything” and Michelle Levy Spotlight, Review and Giveaway!

August 4, 2015August 4, 2015Leave a comment

So I’m sort of doing this on my own today, click but that’s because I’m so excited for the release of this book today and I’m so excited for Michelle and I want to implore all of you to grab this book and read it! We’re going to learn more about the super awesome Michelle Levy, her brand new, incredible book and you’ll even have a chance to get your hands on a copy too!

So let’s get started!

Meet Michelle Levy

Michelle Levy originally is from Denver, CO and is now a resident of our Los Angeles, CA. She has worked as a casting director for both movies and television in the past. She has a Great Dane named Magnus and a cat named Max and can sing and play piano but won’t do it so don’t ask ;) Not After Everything is her debut novel.

You Can Find Her At:

Her Website / Her Twitter / Her GoodReads / Her Facebook / Her Instagram

About Not After Everything

Tyler has a football scholarship to Stanford, a hot girlfriend, and a reliable army of friends to party with. Then his mom kills herself. And Tyler lets it all go. Now he needs to dodge what his dad is offering (verbal tirades and abuse) and earn what his dad isn’t (money). Tyler finds a job that crashes him into Jordyn, his former childhood friend turned angry-loner goth-girl. She brings Tyler an unexpected reprieve from the never-ending pity party his life has become. How could he not fall for her? But with his dad more brutally unpredictable than ever, Tyler knows he can’t risk bringing Jordyn too deeply into the chaos. So when violence rocks his world again, will it be Jordyn who shows him the way to a hopeful future? Or after everything, will Tyler have to find it in himself?

Find Her Book at Your Local Bookstore or the Following Links:

GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository / iBooks / Amazon

My Review

I am so so so in love with this book. So in love with this book. I met Michelle over a year ago at a book event for, I think, Jessica Brody. I’m pretty sure. And I just adore her. She’s a lover of books and she’s insanely encouraging and I was excited to learn about her debut novel. She was a moderator at the Ontario Teen Book Fest this past March and she slipped an ARC my way. Because she’s the most amazing person in the entire world. I knew immediately I had to go home and read it. And I did. And I devoured it.

I’ve seen comparisons to The Spectacular Now and to Eleanor and Park. I definitely agree with those. If you like either of those books, definitely read Michelle’s books. You’re going to love her book if you loved those books. But Michelle’s book stands on its own and I loved it from the first page to the very last. The two main characters are just incredible. Tyler and Jordyn are as different can be, or at least they seem so on the outside. Tyler is the football guy, the one who is supposed to have it all, until its revealed he really has nothing. Jordyn has the angry goth girl look going on but she has a loving family, she has direction, and she’s incredibly caring and loyal. When the two of them find their way to each other…its just beautiful. Its beautiful and heartbreaking and perfect.

Michelle has a way of creating her characters that just blows my mind. They’re both so real and familiar and yet different and out of reach at the same time, and its a great balance. You feel for both of them, you feel connected to both of them, but you’re frantically turning the pages in order to learn more, to find out what happens to them because she makes you care about them right away and I just love it. They’re memorable and I read this book MONTHS ago. I still remember how both of them made me feel and what I still feel for this book.

Then you get down to the story. Michelle is an incredibly beautiful writer and her prose is just fantastic but she also has a way of speaking to you as if you’re really that person, as if you’re a friend that Tyler is confiding in. I felt like I was right back in high school with him, and Jordyn, and all the feelings and struggles they both go through felt like my own high school romance all over again. She makes it feel real and genuine but its also unique as hell. There are some unexpected twists and turns and it doesn’t turn out at all the way I had expected it to. I had an idea of where things were heading and when they took a 180 and ended up in a completely different direction, I had to sort of pause for a moment. How on earth had that happened? But it was the exact perfect ending for this book and I applaud Michelle for writing an incredibly novel from the first to last pages.

The Giveaway!

Its SUPER easy. You have until August 8th to repost this image on Instagram with the hashtag #NerdGirlMichelleLevyGiveaway. The winner will win an ecopy (Kindle, Nook, etc) of Michelle’s Not After Everything! Make sure to tag me as well!

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Congratulations Michelle on your debut novel! I am so insanely excited for you and I wish you all the best for you and your beautiful beautiful book!

Top Anticipated August Releases!

August 2, 2015August 2, 2015Leave a comment

There are SO many amazing books coming our way this August but I’d like to share with you, pill today, the ones that I’m highly anticipating! I have read some of them but there are a lot I haven’t and I’m ready to read them. Check them out, add them to your TBR list, and share what books you’re looking forward to this month!

Young Adult:

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

The Diviners #2

After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O’Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to “read” objects, and therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the title, “America’s Sweetheart Seer.” But not everyone is so accepting of the Diviners’ abilities…

Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer?

Release Date: August 25th, 2015

My Thoughts: I cannot believe this book is finally coming out. The Diviners came out THREE years ago and I’ve been dying for a sequel since then and I’m so excited that I will finally have this book in my hands by the end of the month!

How to Say I Love You Out Loud by Karole Cozzo

Words are strong. Love is stronger.

When Jordyn Michaelson’s autistic brother joins her at her elite school, she’s determined not to let anyone know they’re related. Even if that means closing herself off to all her closest friends, including charming football stud Alex Colby. But despite her best intentions, she just can’t shake the memory of kissing Alex last summer, and the desire to do it again.

Can Jordyn find the courage to tell Alex how she really feels—and the truth about her family—before he slips away forever?

Release Date: August 4th, 2015

My Thoughts: I have already read this book, and I’m so incredibly behind this book. Its a beautiful romance and a great story about having a brother with a disability and I just love it all.

Not After Everything by Michelle Levy

Release Date: August 4th 2015

My Thoughts: This is an absolutely amazing debut novel by a dear friend of mine. She was awesome enough to give me an ARC of it a few months ago and I devoured the hell out of it. You need this book in your life. You need it.

Jubilee Manor by Bethany Hagen

Landry Park #2

In Landry Park, Madeline turned her back on her elite family, friends, and estate to help the Rootless. Now, in Jubilee Manor, she struggles to bring the Gentry and the Rootless together. But when Gentry heirs—Madeline’s old friends—are murdered, even she begins to think a Rootless is behind it, putting her at odds with the boy she loves and the very people she is trying to lead. If she can’t figure out who is killing her friends and bring them to justice, a violent war will erupt and even more will die—and Madeline’s name, her estate, and all the bonds she’s forged won’t make any difference.

Release Date: August 11th, 2015

My Thoughts: I have had this book in my pile since May and I haven’t had a chance to read it yet and that makes me incredibly sad because the first book, Landry Park is just incredible. Its hailed as a sort of Hunger Games meets Gone with the Wind and that is just a winning combination for me.

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…

Release Date: August 25th, 2015

My Thoughts: Oh Abbi Glines. I adore her as a person so much but I haven’t been caught as a fan of hers yet. I’m excited about this one a lot though. Football and romance is a weakness for me so I’m not giving up on her. I am very excited for this one.

The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To:
– find the liquor cabinet blindfolded
– need a liver transplant
– drive his car into a house

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To:
– well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle.

Release Date: August 18th, 2015

My Thoughts: I adore Huntley and I’ve loved everything she’s written so far so I’m excited to read more of her books. This is definitely one that will end up in my pile.

New Adult:

Better When He’s Brave by Jay Crownover

Welcome to the Point #3

Titus King has always seen his world in black and white. There is a firm right and wrong in his mind, which is why as a teenager he left behind the only family he’d ever known to make a better life for himself. Now a police detective in one of the worst cities in the country, he can’t deny his life has turned into a million different shades of gray.

The new criminal element in The Point has brought vengeance and destruction right to Titus’s front door, and walking the straight and narrow seems far less important now. The difference between right and wrong is nothing compared to keeping those he loves alive. To add to his already strained moral compass, the beautiful and mysterious Reeve Black has made her way back to town. This girl might be as dangerous to Titus as the guy trying to destroy the Point but he can’t walk away because he needs her—in more ways than one.

Reeve knows all about the threat trying to destroy The Point. She knows how ruthless, how vicious, and how cruel this new danger can be… and instead of running away, she wants to help. Reeve knows that she has a lot to repent for and saving the city, plus the hot cop that she hasn’t been able to forget might just be the only way she can finally find some inner peace.

With an entire city poised on the brink of war, Titus and Reeve stand in the crossfire—and it will take two brave souls to fight for the ultimate love.

Release Date: August 11th, 2015

My Thoughts: Okay, lets be real. I haven’t even read this first two yet. But I’m planning on that in the next couple weeks and then hopefully I will get to read this one too. I finished the Marked men last month and it WOWed me so I’m excited for this series.

Childrens/Middle Grade:

Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan

Who cut off Medusa’s head? Who was raised by a she-bear? Who tamed Pegasus? It takes a demigod to know, and Percy Jackson can fill you in on the all the daring deeds of Perseus, Atalanta, Bellerophon, and the rest of the major Greek heroes. Told in the funny, irreverent style readers have come to expect from Percy, ( I’ve had some bad experiences in my time, but the heroes I’m going to tell you about were the original old school hard luck cases. They boldly screwed up where no one had screwed up before. . .) and enhanced with vibrant artwork by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco, this story collection will become the new must-have classic for Rick Riordan’s legions of devoted fans–and for anyone who needs a hero. So get your flaming spear. Put on your lion skin cape. Polish your shield and make sure you’ve got arrows in your quiver. We’re going back about four thousand years to decapitate monsters, save some kingdoms, shoot a few gods in the butt, raid the Underworld, and steal loot from evil people. Then, for dessert, we’ll die painful tragic deaths. Ready? Sweet. Let’s do this.

Release Date: August 18th, 2015

My Thoughts: If its Percy Jackson, its in my mailbox, its in my arsenal. I loved the first one of these that was released last year so I’m definitely excited to having this come my way!

The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

I’m not sure what it is about this kid Duncan, but his crayons sure are a colorful bunch of characters! Having soothed the hurt feelings of one group who threatened to quit, Duncan now faces a whole new group of crayons asking to be rescued. From Maroon Crayon, who was lost beneath the sofa cushions and then broken in two after Dad sat on him; to poor Turquoise, whose head is now stuck to one of Duncan’s stinky socks after they both ended up in the dryer together; to Pea Green, who knows darn well that no kid likes peas and who ran away—each and every crayon has a woeful tale to tell and a plea to be brought home to the crayon box.

Release Date: August 18th, 2015

My Thoughts: If you haven’t read the first one, you are missing out. It is one of the cutest kids books I’ve ever read and Drew Daywalt was kind enough to do an interview for this blog, and was just awesome as hell. I can’t wait for the sequel ;)

General Fiction:

X by Sue Grafton

Kinsey Millhone #24

X: The number ten. An unknown quantity. A mistake. A cross. A kiss.

X: The shortest entry in Webster’s Unabridged. Derived from Greek and Latin and commonly found in science, medicine, and religion. The most graphically dramatic letter. Notoriously tricky to pronounce: thinkxylophone.

X: The twenty-fourth letter in the English alphabet.

Release Date: August 25th, 2015

My Thoughts: I’ve been reading these books since I was a kid, probably before I was actually mature enough to read these books haha. But I’m excited to read the next installment and I’m ready for this series to finally come to an end one day LOL.

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What are your most anticipated releases of August! Share in the comments below!

Book Review: Signs Point to Yes (ARC) by Sandy Hall

July 16, 2015July 22, 2015Leave a comment

This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy of the novel obtained through snail mail at the permission of Fierce Reads, information pills Macmillan Teen and Swoon Reads. 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, doctor Contemporary, website Romance

Pages:

272 pages

Part of a Series?:

Standalone Novel

Release Date:

October 20th, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Jane, a superstitious fangirl, takes an anonymous babysitting job to avoid an unpaid internship with her college-obsessed mom. The only problem? She’s babysitting the siblings of her childhood friend and new crush, Teo.

Teo doesn’t dislike Jane, but his best friend Ravi hates her, and is determined to keep them apart. So Teo’s pretty sure his plans for a peaceful summer are shot. His only hope is that his intermittent search for his birth father will finally pan out and he’ll find a new, less awkward home. Meanwhile, at Jane’s house, her sister Margo wants to come out as bisexual, but she’s terrified of how her parents will react.

In a summer filled with secrets and questions, even Jane’s Magic 8 ball can’t give them clear answers, but Signs Point to Yes.

My Review:

This book is so short and sweet and awesome, I can’t even handle it. Its a Swoon Reads book, which I love, because Swoon Reads is super awesome and gives a shout out to those working their butts off to get published :) And I’ve read a few other titles and I was excited to get this one in the mail.

I absolutely adore Jane. She’s just…everything about her is just great. I love that she’s unsure of the future and that she’s superstitious and she consults her Magic 8 Ball. I like that she’s obsessed with writing weird obscure fan fiction (okay because seriously, I want Little Women/Doctor Who crossover fic). I like that she’s just figuring stuff and I like that when she collides with Teo, they have such a cute relationship. I absolutely love it.

Because I really miss sweet romances. I love that Teo and Jane so obviously like each other and that they aren’t really sure what to do about it and its just so cute. Its definitely swoon worthy. Sometimes a short and sweet romance is exactly what I need and I like the way that they crash together eventually. Its just fun to watch. Like watching a romantic comedy.

But I also like that there are genuinely important concerns to teenagers in there. Teo wonders about the identity and location of his father. Jane wonders what she wants to do with her life and struggles when she doesn’t have an answer for that. Even Jane’s sister, who is a secondary character, has her own struggles, ones that are quite close to my heart, and I loved every single minute of this book. I can’t wait to read more Swoon Reads because the fans are picking them and they obviously do a great job with them!

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

July 15, 2015July 22, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

Young Adult, cialis 40mg Contemporary, price Romance

Pages:

352 pages

Part of a Series?:

Standalone Novel

Release Date:

May 5th, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

When Gia Montgomery’s boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she’d been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it’s not the real Bradley she’s thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn’t even know. But tracking him down doesn’t mean they’re done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend’s graduation party—three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.

My Review:

I did it guys. I finally read a Kasie West book! And I adore Kasie! I’ve met her twice in real life, and once was at the Ontario TBF and apparently that was enough for her to remember me at RT Convention in TEXAS and she is just the sweetest. Plus she said I looked like I was still in high school and I’m a sucker for compliments. I swear that has nothing to do with this review. I don’t give good reviews based on compliments. I mean, they help. Duh. ;)

Anyway…

I adore this book! Its so cute, I can’t handle it. I’ve been in the need for a lighthearted book where the main character isn’t broken. I needed a break from new adult and I saw Kasie’s book on the shelf and I thought…how have I not read any of her books yet. I immediately bought and read it and I just loved it. Its seriously so fun. Gia lies to her friends, tells them that this beautiful boy that she basically found in the parking lot is her boyfriend Bradley and then she stages a dramatic break up and then she actually falls for the guy and come on, hilarity and hijinks are going to ensue. Because when you lie that much, its just bound to come and bite you in the ass and I kind of flew through the pages because I just had to know how it ended. It reminded me a bit of Katie Finn’s Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend and how lying, especially to those you care about, can seriously blow up in your face.

And that’s also what makes it such a great book. Gia has to stop and think, wait, why am I lying? Why do I feel the need to lie? And that opens up a whole can of worms and while this book is fun and romantic and watching the romance between Gia and Fill-In Boyfriend build up is just so awesome, I love that the book really focuses on Gia’s struggle to figure out who the hell she is. And that’s hard! She struggles with who she is, who her friends want her to be, who her parents want her to be, who she expects to be and who she really actually wants to be and those are all incredibly confusing. And it sucks that it takes lying to her friends for her to figure it out but this book is so much about her growing up and I absolutely love that.

Bottom line, I was massively impressed with the first book I read by Kasie. She is able to both write a fun and light romance novel that also touches on genuinely real things that happen to teenagers. Its a hard balance but she does it so well and I absolutely enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Plus now I have a massive crush on Fill-In Boyfriend (you’ll figure out his name in the book!) and really, Kasie, did I truly need another book boyfriend?

Of course, I did.

Rating:

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: The Heir by Kiera Cass

July 9, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

Young Adult, side effects Romance, visit this site Dystopian (?)

Pages:

352 pages

Part of a Series?:

The fourth novel in the Selection series

Release Date:

May 5th, ailment 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she’d put off marriage for as long as possible.

But a princess’s life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can’t escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.

Eadlyn doesn’t expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn’s heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she’s always thought.

My Review:

I was so insanely excited for this book. I remember it took me ages to read The Selection and when I finally did, I blew through it and The Elite and devoured The One when it came out. To read a book about America and Maxon’s children? UGH. I was dying. I love that we get to see more of Kiera’s world without stretching the story out too far. Its like Tammy Pierce; we get to see the world of Tortall but underneath the banner of other characters. I think when you can do that, its just wonderful.

And Kiera really accomplishes that. She takes this world she created and expands under Eadlyn’s point of view. The problems that are left unsolved at the end of The Heir are being answered about eighteen years later and I think its incredible. It shows that things aren’t so easily wrapped up. Sure, in the first trilogy, they vow to abolish the caste system and all that but its not that simple, and you see that struggle and the problems that come with abolishing a system that had been in place for so long and I think that’s awesome. I love that things don’t end up happily ever after. That’s the mark of good world building, knowing that you can’t wrap up everything in a bow. Its fabulous.

Plus we get to see so many old characters and its just awesome. Its fun to visit old characters, see where they are at and all of that.

The one issue I had with the book is that it was hard to love Eadlyn at first. I think she’s very much a product of her environment and how she was raised and so sometimes you have to remind yourself that but she is SO spoiled and its hard to deal with it. I kind of want to punch her sometimes. But I love all the boys (its so hard to choose; I don’t know who I want her to end up with!) and I like the interactions she has with people. And I love that she is genuinely good person who just might be a little bit too naive.

I’m really excited for the next book. I think Eadlyn is a great character and I think the fact that we aren’t quite sure who to root for is both frustrating and exciting! Now I just have to wait patiently for the next book!

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

The Awakened Has Officially Been Submitted to Swoon Reads!

June 27, 2015June 27, 2015Leave a comment

And I could SUPER use your help.

As most of you know, what is ed I wrote a novel called The Awakened. It is a science fiction romance in the YA category (of course) and it is my baby. Read the synopsis here:

Eighteen year old Zoey Valentine is concerned with two things: surviving the multitude of self-defense classes her dad makes her take to keep her safe in their New York City neighborhood and avoiding her school bully, Ash Matthews, whose latest transgression includes dumping glitter on her during fourth period. College is just around the corner and she’s ready for it.

That’s when the virus hits, wiping out a third of the population in a matter of weeks. If that weren’t frightening enough, the bodies of the victims disappear and suddenly reappear, awakened from their dead state. They’re like zombies, but worse: faster, smarter, working together to get the one thing they crave, human flesh.

The United States is in a panic and then the government decides the unthinkable: to bomb every major city overrun with these awakened victims. Now Zoey is on the run, with her dad and Ash, desperate to find a place of safety amongst the ruined remains of the country.

I worked hard on it for over nine months and I’ve been working hard for nearly a year to get it published.

It is NOT an easy road. It’s not. But I’m not giving up. It’s just too important to me to do that. So I’m going another route, in the hopes that I can find a way to get this from my computer and into YOUR hands.

Swoon Reads is an incredible publishing company, and they are a part of Macmillan, which is a DREAM company for me. Legitimately a dream company. And they do this absolutely incredible thing: they allow you to upload your manuscript (as long as it’s romance!) and let the audiences (YOU) choose what books to be published.

I’ve read a TON of their books. I’ve actually just recently gotten a few more in the mail as ARCs. You guys pick amazing books and they publish him and I think its just completely fantastic. Its a wonderful thing and I thought, you know what, why not try that for The Awakened?!

So that’s what I’m doing.

And that’s where YOU come in.

What I need you guys to do…what I would absolutely LOVE and APPRECIATE if you did, is to head to the link below (you can also click the cover of The Awakened above) and go and read it and rate it and help me get this thing published :)

Now if you don’t like it, that’s okay! Its not for everyone, I know that. I hope you don’t give me a bad rating but don’t EVER feel obligated to give me a GOOD rating. I just know that there are a TON of you that have expressed interest in reading the book and now you can in. And if you like it, you can help me out. And that means a LOT to me.

SO if you can, if you’d like to, if you want to, head over to this link:

http://www.swoonreads.com/m/the-awakened

and read and rate The Awakened. I would so appreciate it!

Thank you guys :)

Happy Reading!