Published: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Source: ARC from Raincoast Books (thank you!)
Find the author: Goodreads || Website
Buy: Amazon || B&N || The Book Depository

~ The Blurb ~
From Goodreads

It’s 1971, and seventeen-year-old Chloe and her best friend MJ head to San Francisco to ring in the New Year. But Chloe has an ulterior motive—and a secret. She’s pregnant and has devised a plan not to be. In San Francisco’s flower-power heyday, it was (just about) legal to end her pregnancy.

But as soon as the girls cross the Golden Gate, the scheme starts to unravel amid the bellbottoms, love-beads, and bongs. Chloe’s secrets escalate until she betrays everyone she cares about. MJ, who has grave doubts about Chloe’s plan. Her groovy aunt Kiki, who’s offered the girls a place to crash. Her self-absorbed mother meditating back in Phoenix. And maybe, especially, the boy she wishes she’d waited for.

~ My Thoughts ~

Love & Haight is a fun, and slightly tripped out, walk through the streets of San Francisco in 1971. It touches on family connections, love lost and love found, friendship and what it takes to really know yourself and follow your convictions. Love & Haight is written in a deliciously witty and psychedelic narrative that makes it a completely enjoyable and entirely too quick read.

I was really excited to pick up Love and Haight, the 1970s San Francisco setting was instantly attractive and I was completely fascinated with the subject matter. Chloe is a 17 year old girl who takes a road trip with her best friend to San Francisco where it is almost legal to have an abortion. I don’t know much about abortion laws in the 1970s but this book reads like the author did her research. I instantly fell in love with Carlton’s writing style, it was fresh, kind of cheeky and the entire book read like I was having a conversation with my best friend (which was awesome). Love and Haight was a super quick read for me and I’m not sure if it was my interest in what would happen to Chloe or Carlton’s addictive style but I read this book in two sittings.

Unfortunately I felt as though there was just too much going on in this book for only 192 pages. There was the prominent story of Chloe and her desire, and struggle, to secure herself an appointment to have an abortion. There was MJ the best friend who wanted to be there for Chloe but was struggling with her own religious beliefs about abortion making it next to impossible to support Chloe in a way that she needed. Then there was aunt Kiki whose life could have had an entire book dedicated to it alone. And I haven’t even started to talk about the romance with Teddy – the boy Chloe wished that she had waited for. I felt like I was reading the first couple of chapters of a larger book, and just wanted so much more detail and explanation. Love & Haight could have been a really great book for me but there just wasn’t enough there. I was left with a lot of questions and felt as though neither the relationships, or events, were given the time they needed to really come to life.  I was also really disappointed in the ending; there wasn’t really an ending the book just sort of stopped.

That being said, I really enjoyed reading what was there. Chloe’s narrative was a treat and all of the little details, from the music quotes to Chloe’s asides, added to the experience of reading this novel. Carlton did manage to showcase a number of different viewpoints on abortion through the characters and I found it particularly interesting how she portrayed the effects of Chloe’s decision to have an abortion as it pertained to the other characters in the novel. 

Love & Haight had the potential to be a great and thought provoking book. The 1970s backdrop added some light and humor to the extremely serious nature of the plot but unfortunately because of the lack of follow through with the characters, their emotions, and the events of the novel this book fell flat for me. I don’t need my novels to tie up neatly with a bow at the end but I like their to actually be an end – Chloe, Teddy, Kiki, MJ and Virginia are all sort of suspended in thin air and it just doesn’t feel like their stories were given any closure at all. I definitely enjoyed Love and Haight but it didn’t wow me or completely live up to my hopes.

I received an ARC of Love & Haight from Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love this meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It is a great way to organize my reading for the week and see what I have waiting for me on my book shelf.

I have been having a few really bad reading weeks and have barely read 50 papges since last week. Real life has taken a top priority and reading/blogging has had to take a back seat (and I'm talking, back of the bus kind of back seat) as of late.

This week I hope to finish Wherever You Go. I am loving this book so far, the writing is really unique and the story is taking me places I didn't expect to go.

I also hope to start reading Ghosts of Our Pasts by Sophia Duane

A love beyond understanding, a loss unfathomable, a grief unbearable.

He was her anchor and hero, and in the blink of an eye he was gone. Emily Martin has spent the past ten years creating a life of comfort, but still being held back by the weight of the past. As a successful owner of a small gourmet food store in SoHo, her fierce independence is a brutal lesson learned as the result of a tragic loss in her youth.

But after years of giving away only pieces of her heart, Emily is beginning to realize that this leaves her with nothing in the end. For while love is fraught with risk, turning away from love may be the biggest risk of all…

Will Darcy once held the world and his future in the palm of his hand. Engaged to marry the love of his life and on the cusp of a brilliant financial career, he loses everything in a horrifying act of violence that still ripples through his life almost ten years later.
A shell of the man he once was, frozen in grief, he surrounds himself with the beautiful things she loved that only remind him of all that was lost. She was only feet away, but he could not save her. As life tumbles forward around him, Will has to make a decision—to live in the pain of the past or reach out to grasp a new chance at life and love.

Thrown together by fate, these two wounded souls in the heart of a wounded city must do what neither of them have done in years: open up and learn to love.

I seriously doubt it if I will get to anything else this week but here is hoping!

What are you reading this week? Don't forget to leave your link!

I am thrilled that the Words at Home featured Indie Author for May is Jessica Crawford Vernold, author of The Keeper. I reviewed The Keeper last week and just loved it.

Being completely awesome Jessica has offered to give 2 ebooks away. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post or my review of The Keeper to be entered (or leave a comment on both for 2 chances to win!).

Bonnie: Jessica thank you so much for taking the time to stop by Words at Home and chat! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself to start with? Who is the girl behind the pen (or computer)?

Jessica: I am a wife and mother of four and a former elementary teacher. I have a passion for stories and am a bibliophile.

Bonnie: Speaking of behind the pen, what do you write on? Are you an old fashioned pen and paper kind of girl or are you electronic all the way?

Jessica: I am a fan of efficiency so I use my laptop and, of course, I back everything up. I can’t imagine what it used to be like for writers before modern technology.

Bonnie: As a mother of 4 when do you find the time to write? Do you have a favourite place to write in?

Jessica: I am a night owl and am most inspired at night. That is also when my house is quiet and I have the most time. I like to write in bed on my laptop.

Bonnie: Can you talk a little about your writing process?

Jessica: Well, admittedly I think I suffer from ADD so I can’t proclaim to be organized. I don’t really plan anything out but instead like to start with an idea and see where it takes me. My writing tends to be character driven so I get to know my characters in my head first. This does make for a lot more editing, though and sometimes I have to completely back track and omit and entire portion and start over.

Bonnie: As a self-published author do you have any advice for other aspiring authors? Would you have done anything differently knowing what you know now about self-publishing?

Jessica:  My best advice is to believe in yourself, be thick skinned and never give up. Trying to obtain an agent which is the first step in getting published is very difficult and feels down right impossible. It still has not happened for me and many like me. Being open minded to alternatives like self publishing is important. There are draw backs with that process and it may not be your first choice but you ultimately have to decide what is most important to you and take the initiative yourself. I will likely be self publishing the sequel to The Keeper as well as a third. That does not mean that I have given up sending query letters.

Bonnie: Ok, so let’s talk about your book!  Where did your inspiration for The Keeper come from?

Jessica: I love a great ghost story, angels and a good romance. So combining those elements was the goal. My husband said it should be spooky and I wanted it to be romantic. My daughter was the inspiration for the main character.

Bonnie: And what about Zeke? Because he is definitely swoon-worthy! How did you come up with this perfect character?

Jessica:  I love angels and I always have. Even though it is fun to read about dangerous monsters  turned romantic hero, I wanted a classic romantic hero that also had a supernatural element. He is powerful yet fundamentally good.

Bonnie: One thing that I really appreciated about The Keeper was that Zeke wasn’t afraid to tell Kaylee when he believed she was being mistreated. Can you talk a bit about your decision to include this dialogue that so many authors choose to ignore? Do you have any thoughts as to why it is trendy for male characters to exhibit controlling and stalkerish tendencies?

Jessica:  Zeke is an arch angel so he has to be good to the core. Aside from that he is her acting guardian angel. That was the drive behind it. I felt this was how a guardian angel would handle the situation. It was one more way to solidify his true intent and character. The reason I think there is a trend that seems to place the female protagonist in controlling relationships with controlling male leads is that it provides that element of danger. I enjoy reading those types of stories too. It’s that classic bad boy appeal. But I just was not going that direction with Zeke. Azza is another story and there will be more of him in the sequel  as per my daughter’s request.

Bonnie: So what’s next? I’m not quite ready to leave Kaylee and Zeke yet – can we expect a sequel?

Jessica:  The sequel is in it’s final stages and will likely be out in the fall. The working title is The Sender.

Learn more about Jessica and The Keeper at readthekeeper.com

Don't forget to leave Jessica some love in the comments!

Question: Comments. The holy grail of blogging success! What type of posts do you leave comments on? How do you try to encourage more comments on your own blog? Do you respond to people who leave comments on your posts? How do you handle negative/spam comments? Do you use captcha?

I don’t always have the time to visit as many blogs as I would like to in a week (these last few weeks have been hopeless for me!), but I try to comment every time that I do visit a blog. I know how long it takes to write a review, or put down your thoughts and I try to take the time to leave that small comment as a way of saying I appreciate what you do! What kind of posts do I leave comments on? Um… everything. J A review that I loved or a review of a book that I really enjoyed. I absolutely love discussion posts (even though I don’t always write as many as I would like) and always try to comment on the ones that I read.

I, like just about every blogger out there, of course love getting comments. I don’t know if I do anything special to encourage comments except for making it easy to leave a comment on my blog. That means no hiding the comment widget, no captcha and no jumping through hoops or having to log in to do so. There is nothing more irritating that wanting to leave a comment but not actually being able to! I also reply to every comment in the comments section and try to visit back each blogger that takes the time out of their busy schedule to read my thoughts. Sometimes it takes me a few days (Blogging is hobby, in my real life I have a job, husband, two kids and all that comes along with it), but I always do reply.

As far as spam goes, I use the Akismet plug in for WordPress and as for negative comments, I don’t really get any. I love when people take the time to express a different opinion than mine and further the discussion and don’t consider those to be negative comments, but if I had to deal with downright hateful or trolling comments I think I would just delete them.

What about you? What are you thoughts on comments in the book blogging world?

Published: Nov 9, 2011
Publisher: CreateSpace
Source: Review copy from author
Find the author: Goodreads || Website || Twitter: @jessicavernold
Buy: Amazon || B&N || Smashwords

~ The Blurb ~
From Goodreads

The Keeper is young adult paranormal romance set in old Rye Wilderness in Manatee County Florida.

Most importantly, can the two get to the bottom of the evil that has taken hold of the plantation and protect Kaylee and her family from danger or will this love story have a tragic ending?

~ My Thoughts ~

I feel like I’m on a bit of an angel kick these days, and I really enjoyed The Keeper by Jessica Crawford Vernold. She has written a story that not only captured and held my attention from the very beginning, but she also created characters that I genuinely cared about, and every time I stepped away from this book I missed them a little bit! The Keeper was emotionally stirring, exciting and contained just enough mystery and action to keep me glued to the pages.

The Keeper really begins when Kaylee and her family relocate to southern Florida in what she believes to be a move to help her come out of the depression that has settled over her following the death of her best friend Cassie. I instantly liked Kaylee, she was damaged but not whiney and she had a toughness to her that I really appreciated. While she was continually punishing herself for the accident that killed Cassie, her emotional turmoil was presented in an authentic way and I believe anyone in her position would have struggled with the same feelings.

It is no secret that I am not a fan of the dreaded insta-love and even though there was a healthy dose of insta-love happening between Kaylee and Zeke for some reason it really worked for them and I kind of liked it in the case of The Keeper. Zeke is pretty much the perfect male YA character. He is genuinely good. He is sweet and caring and it shocked me to see that Zeke was perhaps one of the few YA characters I can think of who actually called someone out for treating our heroine badly. I’m at a point where I’m getting a little tired of the bad-boy treating a girl like crap = swoon-worth behavior thing that seems to be going on in YA romance, so Zeke was an absolutely welcome change for me! So Zeke’s inherent goodness overshadowed any doubts that I had about how quickly he and Kaylee fell in love with each other. They convinced me, and that can sometimes be hard to do.

My only real complaint about The Keeper is that there were a few instances where things tied up too neatly and details were inserted at very convenient times with little to no build up or explanation. For example in the last quarter of the book when confronted Kaylee wonders to herself if her Tae Kwon Do training would help her in this situation. I was like “What? Tae Kwon Do – since when”? These minor annoyances didn’t really impact my experience with this book and I still quite enjoyed the ride that Vernold took me on.

The Keeper by Jessica Crawford Vernold is a YA “angel book” with a bit of an edge. It will play on your emotions and keep you coming back for more! Kaylee is an easily relatable character and Zeke is definitely a swoon-worthy love interest! Despite the requisite insta-love there is something going on in the romance department that really works for this novel. I definitely recommend The Keeper to fans of YA angel stories, and a good YA love story!

I received an e-book of The Keeper from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

So how is everyone doing on their TBR Pile Challenge? If you haven't signed up yet it's not too late – just click on the botton at the top of this post to go to the sign up page with all the details.

I'm super excited to be the host this month and am looking foward to checking out your reviews, mini-challenges and of course to give one of you a free book!

Here are the books that I managed to cross off my TBR list for the month of April (it was a bit of a slow month for the TBR pile I'm afraid):

 And now for the SPRING WORDS mini-challenge & giveaway!

You can still enter the giveaway even if you don't complete the mini-challenge, simply link up your April TBR Challenge reviews to the linky at the bottom of this post. Each unique link up counts as one entry.

Up for grabs 1 (one) book of your choice from The Book Depository up to a total of $15.00CDN

Here is what you need to do:

FIRST grab yourself a basket of books (an Easter basket would work just fine if you have one left lying around!)

SECOND use your favorite books to spell out a spring or Easter themed word. Use the first letter in the title of each book.

THIRD create a TBR Pile Challenge Wrap up post with your spring word and the list of books that you read this month and link it (along with any reviews of those books) to the linky below to be entered. Each linky entry counts as one giveaway entry.

If you complete the mini challenge that is one entry, all reviews for books from your TBR pile that were completed in April also count as entries. (so mini challenge + 4 reviews = 5 linkups/entries)

Easy peasy right? And don't forget to leave a comment!

My word is ~ S P R I N G ~ and here is how I made it

Books used:

S – Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz
P – Peter Nimble and His Fantstic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
R – Rumors by Anna Godbersen
I – Illuminate by Aimee Agresti
N – Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis
G – Graceling by Kristin Cashore 

Rules:

1) You have to sign up for the TBR Pile Challenge (click the button at the top of this post to go to sign up page) and be a book blogger
2) Link up one (or many) of your TBR Pile Challenge book reviews to the linky below. Do not link up a review that you have previously used for this challenge
3) Spread the word!

That's all – oh and this giveaway is open internationally (as long as The Book Depository will ship to your address) you have until May 31, 2012 to link up and enter.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a great meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey and is a great way to plan my reading for the week and check out what everyone else is reading. I have found so many fantastic books through this meme!

Love and Haight by Susan Carlton

But as soon as the girls cross the Golden Gate, the scheme starts to unravel amid the bellbottoms, love-beads, and bongs. Chloe’s secrets escalate until she betrays everyone she cares about. MJ, who has grave doubts about Chloe’s plan. Her groovy aunt Kiki, who’s offered the girls a place to crash. Her self-absorbed mother meditating back in Phoenix. And maybe, especially, the boy she wishes she’d waited for.

Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test #2) by Aimee Carter

Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person whom she would really rather not meet. Henry's first wife, Persephone.

Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

  Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Go is is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light. 

So what are you reading this week? Don't forget to leave your link!

As you may know, I have been featuring indie author Suzan Battah for the month of April. I started the month off by reviewing her novel Mad About the Boy and I think it is only fitting that I end the month off letting you know what else she has going on. And I don't know about you but I'm kind of diggin' that cover, no?

BaSatai: Outside In # 1

Seventeen year old, Armani Radnelaq a full blooded BaSatai is plagued by a curse in her blood. A curse created from hate and designed to break the divide between two parallel worlds of Earth and H-trae when Armani's blood is spilled in attack and she dies.

The blood curse maturing in her veins makes her a target for her enemies. Her Guardian Karhl and an elite BasSatai Warrior Rafael are the first to arrive and prepare her for her crossing over. Her attraction to Rafael complicates her purpose to stay on earth even more. They both insist she fall into line and follow their lead but she is not ready to leave earth just yet…

Published: July 8, 2010
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Review copy from publisher Penguin Canada (thank you!)
Find the author: Goodreads || Website
Buy: Amazon || B&N || The Book Depository

~ The Blurb ~
From Goodreads

A sophisticated, page-turning double love story spanning forty years-an unforgettable Brief Encounter for our times.

It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband.

Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie's search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance.

A spellbinding, intoxicating love story with a knockout ending, The Last Letter from Your Lover will appeal to the readers who have made One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society bestsellers.

~ My Thoughts ~

The Last Letter from your Lover is an epic and impossible love story. It is about the kind of love that is not defined by labels, boundaries, social standing, or even time. It is the kind of story that will leave you feeling excited, frustrated, hopeful and maybe even a little breathless.

Picture you are the perfect London society wife in the 1060s. You have an envious wardrobe, powerful husband and you are known for your legendary parties. But then you wake up in a hospital bed and don’t remember any of it. This is what happened to Jennifer Stirling. As her friends and family tried to remind her of her previous life she knew that something didn’t fit, something wasn’t right. It was then that she began to find the letters. Brilliant, and soulful love letters that could only have been written to her are stashed around her home. As she tries to put the pieces together and discover the identity of her true love (who is not her rich and powerful husband) she begins to discover things about herself that were laying just below the carefully constructed façade that was her life.

Jojo Moyes left me speechless. What do you say to follow up a story like that? This is the kind of book that when you finally close the covers deserves a sigh of the deepest contentment and satisfaction. Moyes conveyed Jennifer’s emotional turmoil in such an honest and clear way that all I wanted to do was to reach out to her. Jennifer was woman who married a man not for love but because he was an appropriate match for her; a woman who was constrained by the social pressures, standards and inequalities that all women faced in the early 1960s. She was also a woman who despite these constraints still found a way to live true to herself and her emotions. It is impossible to summarize Jennifer’s story without giving away vital parts of the story but I will say that hers’ is a story that demands to be told.

I fell in love with Jojo’s writing and the style of the book. The first half of the novel regularly jumped from 1964 to 1960. The earlier flashbacks gave the background information on Jennifer and her relationship before her accident, and before she lost her memory of the man with whom she was deeply in love with. I will admit that in the beginning if I didn’t pay attention to the date at the top of the chapter it was easy to become confused as to where in time we were, but as a I read on and got more familiar with Jennifer before and Jennifer after her accident I really didn’t need the dates. The transitions felt more natural and became much easier to follow. Even though it took a little to get used to the format I really did enjoy the way the story was written. Moyes just gave you enough information to keep you interested without giving away the whole story at once which made for a quick and compelling read.

I found myself so wrapped up in Jennifer’s story that I did not initially appreciate the switch to present day and the introduction of Ellie. The present tense writing shift irritated me a little until I got used to it, and it wasn’t until Ellie found Jennifer’s letters that I was able to become absorbed in the novel again. Once the connection between Ellie and Jennifer became clear it felt like the novel was back on track and I was once again hooked.

The Last Letter from Your Lover is an absolute treat for fans of both historical and contemporary fiction. This book has it all, a captivating love story, strong characters, and vivid social history. I have been waiting to read this book for a while and am so glad that I finally read it, I was certainly not disappointed!     

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher Penguin Canada in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

In My Mailbox is a meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren, that features books you have received/purchased/borrowed during the current week.

So this is going to be a bit of a long one – I will warn you! It's my IMM and Razorbill Signing Recap all in one…

My week started out on a pretty awesome note when I received a sweet Tweet from Evie that she had picked up a little something for me at the Random House YA Blogger Event. What was it you ask? Well, between the ever fabulous Evie and equally wonderful Lindsey at Random House this amazing pack of goodies made its way to me!

How great is that bag? I will absolutely be taking it with me everywhere from now on! The the books! I have been pining for Someone Else's Life for ages now and I am beyond thrilled to have a copy of my very own!!!

Another view of the fantastic bag of wonders!!!! Thank you again SO MUCH Evie and Lindsey!!! <3

Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne

The Taming by Eric Walters and Teresa Toten

One Moment by Kristina McBride

The Green Man by Michael Bedard

The Dragon Turn by Shane Peacock

And as if that wasn't enough my week ended up on an equally fabulous note when my mom and I attended a book signing in Toronto with Jay Asher, Lesley Livingston, and Charles de Lint to celebrate the launch of Razorbill in Canada! My mom reads as much (or more) YA as I do and was thrilled to go with me – we had a great time!

And here are the authors! I had no idea what I was in store for but I am so glad that I went. Listening to these authors talk about themselves and their books was amazing. They had such a great chemistry and were so funny.

Now just a little background, I am ridiculously shy, my mom not so much. I was surprised that I even asked to get a photo with Jay Asher but I was not about to ask all 3 authors for a photo. My mom being the ever outgoing social butterfly pulled me back up on stage (after a little mother daughter "get up here" "no, mom stop" "get up here" "sshh.. m-o-m" banter) but I'm glad she did! And then she proceeded to chat up the authors and became a fan of a few more books!

These are the books that I brought along to be signed with the awesome Razorbill t-shirt that Evie scored for me (thank you!).

So what was in your mailbox this week?