Showing posts with label ya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ya. Show all posts
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Welcome to my stop on the Official The Shadow Prince blog tour
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YA Review
The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain 512 pages
Published March 11th 2014 by Egmont
Age Group: Young Adult
Series: Into the Dark #1IntoTheDark_front
Source: Finished copy from Publisher
Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High a haven for children of the rich and famous Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.
Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn t the only student in Olympus who doesn t quite belong.
Haden and Daphne destined for each other know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails.  As war between the gods brews, the teenagers  lives collide. But Daphne won t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended he s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.
A pulsating romance of epic proportions, Bree Despain s The Shadow Prince will leave her fans breathless for the next book in the Into The Dark series.
My Thoughts
The Shadow Prince is a whopper of a book. It comes in at over 500 pages long , and the only thing I was thinking when I was done with it was,  That wasn t long enough. I want more!  I love mythology and I really enjoyed all of the attention to mythological details that Bree wove into the story. Mythology really was everywhere, throughout the street names in the town to the class lectures at school. It was an immersion into the stories of Persephone and Hades, which just so happens to be one of my very favorite myths. For example, One of Daphne s teachers was teaching her class about some versions of the Persephone myth and she was describing a thesis paper she wrote in college and I thought even that sounded fascinating. I would totally read her paper. So I may be a bit of a mythology nerd, but this book is perfect for both mythology enthusiasts like me and newbies alike.
I loved how strong willed Daphne was. She is not going to back down from anything or anyone. But she wasn t so stubborn as to be pig headed. She could admit when she was wrong. That is a balance that I seldom see in main characters. They are normally all or nothing. And I loved how passionate Daphne was about music. She could see music in everything. It was pretty magical, and Bree made all of it come to life in the story through her descriptive writing. This is a book that would have one of the most killer playlists out there- that s for sure.
Hayden is chosen as a surprising guardian. Right off the bat he is the underdog and I couldn t help but root for him. I felt bad about the harsh reactions he drew from everyone in his home court. And throughout the book he kept alluding to this big, bad horrible thing that he did to earn his people s hatred. It was driving me crazy trying to guess what it was. Watching Hayden fall in love with Daphne was really sweet. You know it is going to happen from the start, but even so it will make you smile. I am pretty in love with them myself.
The Shadow Prince is the first book in the Into the Dark Series, and I already know that I am going to freakin  LOVE this series. Not only did this book have me on the edge of my seat over the action scenes, but it had me laughing out loud and awh-ing at some of Hayden s parts. It is told in dual narrative, which served the story well. We got to see a peak into Hayden's head as well as get to see into his world. A great book for fans of mythology and for people who are new to the story of Hades and Persephone. This series is a hit!
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About the Author

Bree_LowResBree Despain is the author of The Dark Divine trilogy: The Dark Divine, The Lost Saint, and The Savage Grace. She rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off from college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo. You can visit her online atwww.breedespain.com.
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Friday, April 04, 2014
Two Chicks on Books
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guest post and giveaway

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                    YA Review
Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Godwin
Published March 14th 2013
Age Group: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Series: Drenaline Surf #1
Source: ecopy from Author
Summary:

After seventeen-year-old Haley Sullivan meets a mysterious stranger who plays by his own rules, she's more than determined to learn every trick of the trade from the master himself. But her dream-chasing mentor disappears after that night, and according to the local newspapers, he's been dead for years. Knowing he's very much alive, Haley enlists best friend Linzi to join her on a scavenger-hunt-style road trip that ultimately lands them in the surf town of Crescent Cove, California. Mystery guy is no mystery here, though � he's Colby Taylor, the west coast's biggest professional surfer.
If Haley wants to talk to the wave rider again, she'll have to get past his four intimidating bodyguards who are highly skilled in the business of sending starstruck fangirls back to where they belong. Haley is up for the challenge if it means chasing her dreams and escaping the perfectly corporate future that's been planned for her. But dealing with these bodyguards isn't exactly what Haley imagined it'd be. Sure, being thrown off a jet ski sucks, but falling in love with one of them might just be worse.

My Thoughts I really liked the premise of Chasing Forever Down. I am a big fan of beachy summer books and I like scavenger hunt road trip mystery premise, but the actual book fell a bit short for me. I feel like I am in the minority here though. Chasing Forever Down has a really high goodreads rating and great reviews, so if this seems like the kind of book that you would enjoy, you probably will! A lot of other people really really love the romance and story in this one. It just wasn't for me.

I liked the main character Haley, but she just seemed super impulsive to me. She met a guy at a party with her parents one night and they both really hit it off. I thought that first night they hung out and spent together was really cute, but then he leaves and when she tries to track down who he was she found out that he had "died" years ago. So she decides to track him across the country to figure out what is really going on. It just seemed to sudden and kind of crazy to me. But honestly it wouldn't have bugged me as much if she was all for the mystery aspect of him, but she had to go the love route. She just knew him for a couple of house one night and she loves him so much that she is dropping everything and driving across the country? It just seemed a bit obsessive to me.

The other characters we ok but kind of immature. Some of their dialogue was hard to follow, and Colby's friends all rubbed me the wrong way. I just couldn't really connect with anyone, and that made it really hard for me to get into the story. The girls kept doing stunt after stunt to try and get past all of his bodyguards. It started to make them seem like obsessed stalkers. It just didn't feel realistic to me, but like I said a lot of people loved this one.blue2

But don�t just take my word for it.
Check out these reviews from bloggers that LOVED Chasing Forever Down

Amber @ Paradise of Page gave it 5 Stars
Francine @ Always Lost in Books gave it 5 Stars

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 roadtosomewhereblogtour
Welcome to my stop on the Road to Somewhere blog tour
Be sure to follow the rest of the stops on the tour
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                YA Review
Title: Road to Somewhere 
Authors: Kelley Lynn & Jenny Morris
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publication: March 11th, 2014 by Bloomsbury SparkRoadToSomewhereJPG
Source: eARC from Publisher (via NetGalley)

Summary:
New! From Bloomsbury Spark, a sunny heartwarming story of discovery and sisterhood.
A road trip. A singing competition. And super-hot cowboys.
What could be better?
For Charlie, a post-high school road trip isn't just a vacation, it's life changing. While her parents think she's helping a friend move, a chance at fame is the real reason to grab her best friends and drive to L.A. But when her super annoying, uber-responsible, younger sister, Lucy, has to tag along, it isn't quite the summer of fun she imagined.
Add in a detour to her grandparents' ranch in Texas, and between mucking the stalls, down-home cookin�, and drool worthy ranch hands, this could just turn into the best, and most complicated, summer of their lives.
My Thoughts 
The Road to Somewhere is a super fun book. It is told in dual narrative between the two sisters- Charlie and Lucy. Dual Narrative is my favorite writing style "voice" for reading a book. I think it is a great way to get to know the main characters. Most of the time it is done between the main guy and girl of the story, but I really enjoyed the dual narrative between the two sisters. It was funny because in some ways they were so similar, and in some ways they were about as different as you can be. But this road trip was great for the two of them. I had so much fun reading this book. It put a smile on my face.
Lucy and Charlie are both great. Their strength is in their reliability. I could see them in myself and in my friends. They don't have all the answers, but that is some of the beauty of their journey. Charlie is about to start college, which can be super scary for a lot of people. But she has an even bigger goal for herself. And we get to find out all about that throughout the course of the story. I loved how supportive Lucy was of her older sister. (And don't worry! You get to learn all about Lucy's goals as well.) I liked both of the girls, but Lucy just stole my heart a little more. She is the quieter of the two girls and I think I related to her a little more. Even though I am the older sister, I can be pretty quiet when I want to be, especially when I was younger.
There are some cute guys thrown into the story. I mean, what road trip is complete with out at least one cute guy?? But the romance is not the main feature of the story, and I really appreciated that. Now I love a good romance probably even more than the next girl, but this book was about the sisters relationship and about their own coming of age tales, and the romance was secondary. It worked that way.
The road trip takes these two sisters all over the place. There are cowboys, ranches, Twists and turns galore. This book is a perfect summer read. I really had a great time with The Road to Somewhere. The ending left open the possibility of a sequel and I for one, am hoping that there is one!
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About the Author
kelleylynnKelley Lynn was born and raised a Midwestern girl. She�s not afraid to sweat and fills her free time with softball, soccer and volleyball. (Though you probably don�t want her on your volleyball team.) She occasionally makes guest appearances as a female vocalist for area bands. Music plays a large role in her writing process as well as the characters and plot lines within her stories.
Blog | Twitter | Facebookjennysmorris
Jenny S. Morris is a YA author who loves all things geek, may have a Kdrama addiction, and prefers the rainy NW to any place she's ever lived. Road to Somewhere is her debut novel.
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YA Review_thumb[2]
Blood Bond by Heather Hildenbrand
ebook, 347 pages
Published August 31st 2012 by Accendo Press
Genres: Young Adult Paranormal
Series: Dirty Blood #3 
Source: ecopy from Author
Summary:
Hybrids.
If I had to choose one word to sum up all of my problems, this would be it.
Without hybrids, I wouldn�t have to watch my best friend slowly becoming a monster. Without hybrids, I could let go of the mentality �hunt or be hunted.� CHAS wouldn�t be scouring the Earth, intent on slaughtering and using Alex to do it. Without hybrids, I wouldn�t have to be on guard that losing my temper meant losing my shape. There would be no monster inside me, struggling to get out.
Then again, without hybrids, I wouldn�t have Wesley St. John.
My Thoughts
Note: Blood Bond is the Third book in the Dirty Blood Series. You can find out more about the  series, Dirty Blood HERE
Heather Hildenbrand continues to surprise me with the dirty blood series. This book took the storyline to a whole other level. So much was going on, I am still trying to wrap my head around all of it. This is a great series. Blood Bond is really a book of discovery and answers in this series. Tara learns so much about herself, and we learn even more about CHAS and the hunter/werewolf society. A great installment in one of my favorite series.

I am so pleasantly surprised with how Tara handled herself in this book. She was on information overload. Seriously, I have no idea what I would have done if I had half the bombs that she had dropped on her. But she has really grown and she is so strong. I really admire her strength. And I love that Alex recognizes that strength and bravery in her. Blood Bond was much more focused on werewolf and hybrids than it was on the Wes Tara Alex love triangle, and while I missed my Tara and Alex moments from the second book, I was happy that the romance is not the main focus. Because now I can still hold out hope for Alex. I just love him. I like Wes too, but there is something about Alex and Tara. I think they push each other to be better. But even though Tara likes Alex, she is all about Wes. I am really pushing hard for this one to turn out my way, but I think I might be on the losing end of this love triangle. To be continued, I suppose.

The action is nonstop in Blood Bond. Tara has to deal with the George issue left over from the last story, plus she meets a crazy recluse scientist that holds lots of answers for her. And the crazy hybrids created by Miles pop up with a new master. All of these things get dealt with in this one book. Like I said, NON-STOP ACTION! I loved every second of it. I was on the edge of my seat- I couldn't read the pages fast enough. The ending killed me though. I need to read the next book to get to the bottom of it. I have a feeling there is much more than meets the eye with what happened. This is a must read series for anyone that likes paranormal books.
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1. Dirty Blood
2. Cold Blood
3. Blood Bond
4. Blood Rule
About the Author
Author of Across the Galaxy, Whisper, and the Dirty Blood series. I write, read, and fuss at my kids. Oh, and I do laundry, lots of laundry. I'm pretty good at it, too. Sometimes I even read WHILE doing laundry - and fussing at my kids. I'm a multi-tasker.
For more information on my books, release dates, or just general stalker material, um, I mean FAN material, visit my website. www.heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com. I love hearing from readers!
Likes and dislikes? I love vintage tees, hate socks with sandals, and if my house was on fire the one thing I'd grab is my DVR player!




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Welcome to my stop on the Savage Delight blog tour
Be sure to follow the rest of the tour!
If you are new to this awesome and powerful series, check out my review of the first book, Lovely Vicious HERE
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YA Review Savage Delight by Sara Wolf
162 pages
Published February 10th 2014
Age Group: Young Adult
Series: Lovely Vicious #2
Source: ecopy from Author

Light meets dark. Secrets meet truth. 

It's been three years, twenty-five weeks, and five days since Isis Blake fell in love, and if she has it her way, it'll stretch into infinity.

After a run-in with her mom�s ex-boyfriend, she scrabbles to remember what she�s lost to amnesia. Her ex-nemesis Jack falls deeper into a pit of despair, and his girlfriend Sophia does all she can to keep him to herself. But as Isis� memories return, she finds it harder and harder to resist what she felt for Jack, and Jack finds it impossible to stay away from the only girl who�s ever melted the ice around his heart.

As the dark secrets surrounding Sophia emerge, Isis realizes Jack isn�t who she thought he was. He�s dangerous. But when Isis starts receiving terrifying emails from an anonymous source, that danger might be the only thing protecting her from something far more threatening.

Her past.


***This book contains language and sexual scenes, some of which may be unsuitable for younger readers.

***This is the second book in the Lovely Vicious series.

My Thoughts
**Note: this is the second book in the series. It may contain light spoilers for book 1- Lovely Vicious**

Savage Delight picks up right after Lovely Vicious left off. You need to read the first book or you will be confused as heck in this book. Isis is still in the hospital dealing with her memory loss after the events at the end of book 1. It instantly transported me back to how devastated I felt at the end of the first book because of everything that had happened between Isis and Jack.

All of the your favorite characters are back in this second installment, plus we get to see a lot more of Sophia. She becomes a main character with secrets of her own. Secrets are the name of the game in the Lovely Vicious series. Everyone has them, I thought we found out most of them in the first book. So not the case! There were lots more coming to the surface in Savage Delight. I didn't see some of them coming at all.

I so badly just wanted Isis and Jack to start off where they finally left off near the end of the first book, but they had a long way to go to get back to that. Plus there was the added complication of Sophia. I got the impression through the first book that she only liked Jack as a friend, but I started to see a whole new Sophia in this story. One that I wasn't sure how much I liked. I understand why she was how she was, but my perception of her changed.

The Lovely Vicious series is dark and wounded. These characters are so deeply flawed but they are able to find comfort in each other after all of these awful things happened. I loved that they each faced some of their fears in this book. And I loved how they stuck together. The ending was tragic and intense once again and it left us hanging, just like last time. I am so sad that there is only one book left in the trilogy, but I am so anxious to see how everything will wrap up. This is a really unique series. There is not anything quite like it out there that I have encountered. I love it.

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About the Author

Sara Wolf is the author of ARRANGED, a college-aged romance series centered on an arranged marriage. She�s currently working on her next New Adult romance series. She�s addicted to the Vampire Diaries, loves chocolate and romantic angst, and can�t get enough of damaged heroes.

Website: http://sarawolfbooks.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sara-Wolf/476490705731978
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sara_Wolf1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6862831.Sara_Wolf


 
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