Into the Hall of Books

The Last Hour by Charles Sheehan-Miles Review with Giveaway

2013-05-23T10:05:00.000-04:00

The Last Hour
by Charles Sheehan-Miles
Series: The Thompson Sisters
Publish Date: April 19, 2013
482 Pages
Source: Author for review - Thank you!
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

Twenty-seven year old Carrie Thompson-Sherman has the life she always wanted: her PhD, a prestigious fellowship, and an amazing husband.

Her life begins to unravel as a jealous colleague puts her fellowship in jeopardy and a haunting secret Ray Sherman carried home from Afghanistan comes to light.

Hounded by a federal investigation and the ensuing media feeding frenzy, Carrie and Ray desperately lean on each other, until a disastrous accident puts both Ray and her sister's lives at risk.

In the last hour, Carrie and Ray will each find themselves faced with a choice.

A choice that will change everything. -(from Goodreads)

The Last Hour is the third book in Charles Sheehan-Miles' Thompson Sisters series. The books are companion stories that obviously follow the Thompson family and MY GOODNESS they are excellent. I've read A Song for Julia (HERE) and Just Remember to Breathe (HERE) and absolutely loved them both. Every time I pick up one of these books, I think it can't be possible to love it as much as the one before it - but every time, I'm wrong. I'm so invested in this family and I feel like I know them all so well, it's ridiculous. It's fiction, you guys.

The Last Hour is the story of sister Carrie Thompson and Ray Sherman - I've met them before in the previous books so I was overjoyed to spend some time with them on a more intimate level. If you've not read either of the previous books IT'S OKAY, you don't have to - these books can be picked up in any order, really.

Within the first paragraph, which was a horrible car accident, I was holding my breath. Not everyone in the car walks out conscious and talking - a couple of the people on the inside have some pretty serious injuries. I'm telling you, there was some tough, emotional, gut-wrenching stuff written into these pages and it was hard to read after I have spent so much time getting to know and love these characters so much. But I've grown accustomed to Charles Sheehan-Miles writing really great, emotional, and sometimes tough stuff into his stories and it felt really good to be back in shis world with this family again even though they were having some of the worst times of their lives.

Neither of the previous books hooked me in quite the same way as The Last Hour. That isn't to say they are not really wonderful stories, because they are. But this one is a little different in terms of what is at stake for this couple and their future together. I was on the edge of my seat, I had to remember to actually inhale and exhale, and there was some mad Kindle-clicking involved. I almost think I need to read it again just to take the time to absorb everything because I was trying to devour everything on the first go round.

I highly, highly recommend any and all of the books in The Thompson Sisters series by Charles Sheehan-Miles to anyone that is looking for a great story. Again, you can pick them up in any order and start the series. Fans of strong family relationships and sibling stories will absolutely love these books, and they are wonderful New Adult romances. I wrote about them when I recommended New Adult books HERE and I will continue to throw these titles out to people in real life and online. I'll quickly pick up the next title by this author. This series is solid, friends.

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The Last Hour will appeal to fans of:

New Adult Contemporary Romance
with Issues
Romance: No triangle. Already established.

Stories with Military subplot

The Last Hour by Charles Sheehan-Miles

is currently available for purchase.

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Charles Sheehan-Miles has been a soldier, computer programmer, short-order cook and nonprofit executive. He is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including the indie bestsellers Just Remember to Breathe and Republic: A Novel of America's Future.

Follow Charles Sheehan-Miles: Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Website

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And now for a Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit each of these blogs for

reviews, promotional posts, and chances to win.

Big News from Alessandra Thomas! SUBJECT TO CHANGE Cover Reveal & PICTURE PERFECT Cover Re-Launch

2013-05-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

First! PICTURE PERFECT has a new cover!

Picture Perfect by Alessandra Thomas

Series: Picturing Perfect #1
Publish Date: March 26, 2013
306 Pages

Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

Fashion design major Cat Mitchell has a closet full of gorgeous clothes - and not a single thing fits. After two years of runway modeling for easy cash, an accident shattered her lower leg bone and her self-esteem in just one swift fall. Ten months of no exercise, prescription steroids, comfort eating and yoga pants meant returning to campus as a size twelve instead of her former size two. When her gorgeous long-time friend with benefits sees her for the first time after her accident and snubs her in front of all her friends, Cat’s self-image hits rock bottom. Her sorority sisters all insist that she looks gorgeous, but all Cat sees is the roll of her stomach when she sits down, or the dimpling at the back of her thighs that wasn't there last year. Cat’s therapist prescribes something radical to stop the downward spiral - nude modeling for a nearby college's human form drawing classes. When Cat faces her fears and bares it all for the class, she realizes that she's posing naked in front the most gorgeous, buffest guy she's ever seen in her life. He asks her out after the class, and after one steamy night together, Cat's absolutely smitten.

Nate’s pretty close to perfect – he takes Cat rock climbing when he discovers that it makes her feel strong and becomes a great chef after he learns that the perfect pesto sauce makes her swoon. Cat starts to feel like her old self again - confident and beautiful - as long as Nate's around. Even when he discourages her from entering the Real Woman Project, a design competition for plus-sized apparel, she reasons that he's just trying to prevent old body image wounds from splitting wide open again. But when Cat goes home with Nate for Thanksgiving, she discovers something shocking from his recent past that proves that he hasn’t always been so encouraging of women of all shapes and sizes. Cat has no idea what to think, but she does know one thing - this might destroy their relationship before it's even had a chance to get off the ground.

Before Cat can figure out whether the real Nate is the sensitive, adoring guy she fell in love with, or an undercover asshole, she'll have to finally feel comfortable in her own skin - even if it means leaving him forever. -(from Goodreads)

I read Picture Perfect back in March and was completely taken in by this story - I could identify with Cat in so many ways. So, so many of us can! I think all older-YA/mature-readers need to pick this one up.

(You can read my thoughts HERE to see why I loved it so much.)

Next! SUBJECT TO CHANGE has a cover!

Subject To Change by Alessandra Thomas

Series: Picturing Perfect #2
Publish Date: June 25, 2013
300 Pages

Find It: Goodreads

Joey made her dad a deathbed promise that she would become a doctor, and dedicate herself to fighting the very cancer that took his life. There’s just one problem -three years into her pre-med classes, she's struggling to stay on top of the curve, let alone prove she's dazzling enough to earn a spot in an Ivy League medical school. In a Hail Mary move, she throws a basic Business 101 class into her semester schedule, banking on a perfect score to boost her GPA.

That is, until she’s paired for a final project with Hawk, the bartending, motorbike-riding, gorgeously bedheaded loser who falls asleep in class and communicates in one-word sentences.

Hawk does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, which sets Joey on edge – in every possible way. As they get to know each other, her urge to scream at him is curbed only by her fantasies of tearing his clothes off. Soon those fantasies become reality, and Joey realizes Hawk makes her feel more fully herself than any of the rich boys her mother and sorority sisters approve of.

But the promise to her father hangs over her head, and the harder Joey tries to succeed in her chosen career, the faster everything falls into a hopeless tailspin of bad grades, broken promises and guilt. It doesn't help to have Hawk sitting like a devil on her shoulder, insisting she should be free to live however she wants to live - like he does.

The only thing Joey knows is that her neatly organized life is crushing her - and Hawk's bad attitude might be the only thing that can save her. -(from Goodreads)

Alessandra Thomas won me over with the first book in this series. I loved Cat Mitchell's story so much that it's basically a no-brainer that I'll be back for Subject To Change as soon as I can get my grabby hands on it. Impatient, impatient! Can't wait for release day!

Congratulations Alessandra! These look great!

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Alessandra Thomas is a New Adult writer who swears she was in her twenties yesterday. Since she's not, she spends her time looking back on her college years fondly, and writing sexy stories about guys and girls falling in love and really living life for the first time. When she's not writing, you can find her with a spoonful of ice cream in one hand and the newest New Adult release in the other.

Follow Alessandra Thomas: Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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Are either of these on your to-read lists?

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler Review

2013-05-22T23:45:00.000-04:00

The Book of Broken Hearts
by Sarah Ockler
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publish Date: May 21, 2013
352 Pages
Source: ARC Tour/Publisher
Find it on: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one.

Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas?

Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong?

Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking. -(from Goodreads)

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

My Thoughts: This is my first Sarah Ockler book! I feel like I'm finally in the contemporary-readers club and it feels pretty good.

The first thing you need to know is this:
This cover is so pretty. It caught my eye right away.

It actually made me think that this book was a nice, fluffy romance.

That's the funny thing about being me and judging books by their covers. This book is a nice romance and I loved reading about Jude and Emilio - but there is way more in this book that just a romance. I feel like I've said over and over lately that I've picked up books expecting one thing and what I've gotten is something way more with much more depth and emotion.

I think in this case, what we have is actually two stories in one.

The second thing you need to know is this:

Jude and her Papi are looking to have Papi's old motorcycle restored.

They end up hiring Emilio Vargas.

Emilio Vargas is one of the infamous Vargas brothers, and the Hernandez family has sworn off getting involved with the Vargas family forever - that is, after two of Emilio's older brothers completely shattered the hearts of two of Jude's older sisters. Jude's older sisters have kept to their promise, and now it's up to Jude to do the same. Initially this is easy for Jude, but it actually becomes difficult with each passing day.

Emilio is great at working on Papi's motorcycle. He seems to know exactly what he's doing and Papi enjoys his company. He is patient and he's kind and he's never given Jude any reason to suspect that he is anything at all like she had always heard his brothers were. As time progresses, Jude finds that she looks forward to the days she will spend around Emilio. And she knows that she eventually has to break this news to her sisters - she is not looking forward to this.

The third thing you need to know is this:

Papi is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease,

which is drawing the Hernandez family closer and breaking their hearts.

So this, this is the part that I didn't really know about when I picked up this book. I'm not sure many readers have known about Papi and his issues. But goodness gracious, this family is pretty devastated by this and it certainly pulled at my heart with their grief at his deteriorating condition. It was even worse when it was Papi in the scenes on the pages - watching him become more forgetful and then realizing what is happening to him, and watching Jude have to go through this by his side. Hello, heart break city.

The restoration of the motorcycle is what is supposed to keep Papi alert and healthy and feeling good. That's the entire idea behind this project and Jude is hell-bent on seeing it through and making sure it happens. But as the summer wears on and stuff pops up - potential obstacles to the motorcycle being finished, plans for the future, things like that - Jude finds herself finding comfort and strength in Emilio Vargas, even when she's taken a blood oath to never, ever, ever get involved with his family.

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Wow, The Book of Broken Hearts. A great story, first of all. I always love it when I'm pleasantly surprised and I think that happened here as I got way more than I anticipated. I loved the sweet romance and while it was definitely my favorite part of the book, I didn't mind the part of the story that involved Jude's family and her Papi. However, I'm probably gonna take a beating when I say that I thought the whole idea of the oath swearing off the Vargas brothers was kind of crazy.

Regarding Jude's family: they were such an interesting bunch. I found myself interested enough in what all they had going on, but I'll be honest and say that I had a super hard time really connecting with them on much of an emotional level. The idea of taking a blood oath - actually drawing blood - and making out a contract stating that you will never become involved with another family? That sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. In this story, the older three sisters were much closer in age, with a several-year gap before Jude came along. So we have these three older sisters - two with broken hearts - that had sworn off an entire family, and I get that they wanted nothing to do with these three older brothers. I really do. But to expect Jude to go along with it seemed kind of crazy. SURE it makes for a good story, but because I found myself like yeah, whatever to this part of the story, I had a harder time other parts of the story, like the sibling relationship and Papi's health issues. I suppose buying into that oath and contract and sister-agreement thing was kind of important to the foundation of the story, and I kind of missed the mark on that a little. BUT!

That's not to say that I didn't like the family or the family dynamic - that's just to say that the fact that these sisters expected Jude to play by their outdated oath was a little bit...ridiculous? Unacceptable to me? So I was really happy when Jude stepped out and grew up and developed into her own person over time - enough that she was willing to voice her opinions and stand up against the oath ~~she was told to take~~ she took when she was a young child.

Phew. Now that I'm probably an outcast for voicing that...

I liked Jude. I liked her unease and her discomfort with Emilio being around the house and her thought processes on what she should do about the whole thing. She was in a really tough position, being at that age and in that situation with her Papi and her sisters and Emilio out in the garage after signing that dumb oath years ago. I love that she still went out to the garage and kept him company while he worked and that she recognized that despite her sisters' disdain for his family, Emilio was good for her Papi. The summer in this story is a summer of growing up for Jude, and I love that coming-of-age.

But just as much, I love the romance. The crush on Emilio, complete with being unsure of what to say to him and the fluttery feeling in her heart when he was close. Emilio was not quick at all with anything - gosh, he was torturously slow - but he was confidant and a little bit cocky and that's always fun.

Ultimately, I liked this book and I liked this story. I am so, so glad that Jude rose up and over that oath she took and became her own person. I'm glad that it was Emilio that was chosen to work on the motorcycle. I'm glad that I finally read a Sarah Ockler book and I'm glad that I'll read Twenty Boy Summer as my next Ockler book. Hopefully soon.

I recommend The Book of Broken Hearts for fans of YA Contemporary with Romance, books with strong family ties, and books with sibling relationships.

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The Book of Broken Hearts will appeal to fans of:

YA Contemporary

Romance: Slowly Developing. No Triangle.

Coming-of-Age

Books with Strong Family Relationships,

Sibling Relationships.

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

is currently available for purchase.

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Is The Book of Broken Hearts on your to-read list?

Have you read it yet?

Have you read any other Sarah Ockler books?

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping by Alyssa Rose Ivy Review + Giveaway!

2013-05-22T10:21:00.000-04:00

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping

by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Publish Date: May 17, 2013

248 pages
Source: Author for Review - Thank you!

Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

This isn't a deep book about first loves or self-discovery. If you want a book like that, I'd be happy to recommend one, but I don't have that kind of story to tell. Instead my story is about rash decisions and finding out that your dream guy is bad in bed. It's the story of when I finally went skinny dipping, and how my life was never the same again. Oh, and it's also the story of my freshman year of college and realizing Mr. Right might have been there all along.

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

My Thoughts: This book was so much fun to read!

Juliet is ready to head off for college when she receives an envelope from her cousin, Amy, with a list inside - on the list are five things to complete before going to college. The fifth thing on the list? Skinny dipping. Lucky for her, she has the perfect place - her family's private beach house has a pool. Unlucky for her: just when she thinks she's home alone with no neighbors, hunky hunky neighbor next-door Dylan drives up and walks over. While she's in the pool. Naked. Because she's crossing the last thing off of her pre-college list. Which is skinny dipping. Awkward!

One more thing: Juliet has had a crush on Dylan for years.

So...things just progress from there i~~n what seems to be the most natural and normal neighborly way~~. Dylan just takes his clothes off and decides to go skinny dipping with Juliet. Then BAM! stuff happens. Then they're back at college - list completed, thankyouverymuch - and they're now a couple. While this is probably not very likely to happen in real life (unless you went to school with some of the people that I went to school with), it was a very, very entertaining start to the story and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I was totally okay with Juliet and Dylan - until Dylan became a weirdo. Why do the hunky characters always turn into weirdos in these books?

He ends up being possessive, controlling, all that and then some - that's our Dylan. At first, Juliet just takes it in stride because she did have a crush on him for so long and now YAY!! she finally has him. But when the straw breaks the camel's back after Dylan pulls this one crazy stunt, I was thrilled that she cut him loose and let him go. AND that she stuck to it even when he was trying to be persistent. Way to go, Juliet. Thank you, Alyssa Rose Ivy.

BECAUSE:

While all of this Dylan-business is going on, Juliet has pledged a sorority. And she is working hard in her classes. And she has gotten a job. She's working at this little pizza place with Reed, who is just her friend (she tells Dylan over and over). Reed is that guy, the good-looking one who is also a little bit cocky, the smart one, the really great friend. He's the one that encourages her, who builds her up, who kind-of looks out for her. Naturally, he doesn't really like Dylan all that much. As Juliet works her shifts with Reed, their friendship builds, which is awesome.

We all need good friends, right?

So when she and Dylan break up, Juliet goes to her friend. Reed. Who, as it turns out, kind of likes her. Why do the hunky characters always turn into weirdos in these books? To make room for characters like Reed.

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The Hazards of Skinny Dipping by Alyssa Rose Ivy is a really great New Adult Romance. Why? Because it is exactly what the summary says it is. It isn't too deep and it is fun. While some of the characters have some issues they clearly need to work on, this just isn't an issues-contemporary book. This is more on the easy, breezy side. I'd take this one outside and read it by the water. Or in the yard. Or in my favorite chair. And not have to worry about being bogged down with the issues (which I do love, but not every day).

Juliet made me laugh with her whole skinny-dipping thing. The book starts out with the skinny dipping, actually, so we get to know quite a bit about Juliet and who she is and what she's willing to do/be/put up with right away. But then we get to watch her with Dylan, which is a little on the wonky side but only because Dylan might not be everything she thought. While she's dating this guy, there are several others that show interest in her that I want her to pursue, but nope! - this girl stays true to her man. Gotta hand it to her, she's a faithful one. And smart - I was proud of her for finally sticking up for herself once she'd had enough of his mess.

Dylan had the potential to really bother me - like in a real-life way - but because this book isn't issues-heavy and because of how this story is written, he just didn't. Somewhere in the background, I know he is trouble but I knew that Juliet could take care of herself too. (It was so not-stressful reading the book and realizing that I didn't have to worry about the characters. I know that I'm not the only one that gets that way.)

Then there's Reed. He is practically perfect in every way, just like Mary Poppins, and I'm not even joking. From the moment he steps onto the pages, I wondered why on earth Juliet was with Dylan. Reed made me laugh with his cocky attitude and there were swoons on very many occasions. I just thought he was great. Everyone that reads this one will like Reed.

It was so unexpected and nice and wonderful to pick this one up and just...read...without being stressed out about anything. The story was fun and it felt summer-y and seasonal and I loved it. I'm going to be reading Alyssa Rose Ivy's Clayton Falls series for the Summer Series Challenge in June (as it overlaps the contemporary event) and I'm more than a little eager to get started on it now.

I recommend The Hazards of Skinny Dipping by Alyssa Rose Ivy to fans of New Adult Contemporary Romance, fans of easy, fun stories, and guy-girl friendships.

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The Hazards of Skinny Dipping will appeal to fans of:

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Romance: Slowly-developing and Very Swoony.

Books with guy-girl friendships.

Setting: College. IN THE SOUTH. Yesss!

Great summer read.

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping by Alyssa Rose Ivy

is currently available for purchase.

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Alyssa Rose Ivy is a New Adult and Young Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.

Find Alyssa Rose Ivy: Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest / Website

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And now for the Giveaway!

Author Alyssa Rose Ivy is offering
a BEACH BAG PRIZE GIVEAWAY

filled with all kinds of neat stuff!

This contest is open to US and Canada Only. Ends May 21.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin Review

2013-05-21T18:20:00.000-04:00

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publish Date: April 1, 2013
330 Pages
Source: Publisher
Find it on: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

If he had been with me, he wouldn't have died.

Throughout their whole childhood, Finn and Autumn were inseparable—they finished each other's sentences, they knew just what to say when the other person was hurting. But one incident in middle school puts them in separate social worlds come high school, and Autumn has been happily dating James for the last 2 years. But she's always wondered what if...

The night she's about to get the answer is also one of terrible tragedy. -(from Goodreads)

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

My Thoughts: THIS THIS THIS is the exact type of contemporary story that I love. If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin is filled with so many of the things that make my heart both swell and choke at the same time and GOSH that is just the best feeling when I'm reading a contemporary story - all of the emotion behind those words. This story just dismantled me and left me sitting there helpless, and I absolutely loved it.

I knew from the summary that there would be some terrible, tragic event and probably some guilt involved. I knew that Finn and Autumn would grow up together and be best friends and that there would maybe be a love story tying them together. Oh man, I couldn't wait to get started on this story.

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Finn and Autumn did, in fact, grow up next door to one another. They were together almost 24/7 from a very young age, even spending the night with one another until it became inappropriate to do so. After that, they were together until their mothers told them it was time to go to sleep - except at bedtime, they'd hang out of their bedroom windows (which faced each other) and talk until the wee hours of the morning. Their friendship was so incredible to witness and read and imagine in my head, even when it was realized through flashbacks. Sadly, Finn and Autumn grew apart at a certain point in their lives. At school, they ran with different crowds - opposing social groups at school, which became uncomfortable at times (to them and to me), but everyone managed. Once home, though, in the safety of their homes and yards, there were still the comfortable stolen glances and silences, even though the two had grown apart. See, Finn's mother and Autumn's mother were best friends and the four often ate dinner together, had holidays together, did things together. So these two friends-that-weren't-friends-at-the-moment still spent plenty of time together.

Both had respective other halves - Finn had the beautiful cheerleader Sylvie and Autumn was paired with the emo/rebel-boy Jamie. There is so much time - years - devoted to these other boys and girls, and it was painful for me (me, who loves friendship-relationship-loves) to read the intensity of these relationships. They were intense, but not with an intensity of love - it felt like the intensity came with Autumn and Finn trying so hard to love Jamie and Sylvie. It was like they were trying to convince the world that they really did love these other people. And maybe they did? They probably did. But it was so so so obvious to me, the reader, that these two were meant for one another.

And this is such a tricky thing, isn't it? To have two people, two characters, that are at such a young age be obviously so deeply in love and for it be believable? I always find myself rooting for these young couples even though I know that the odds are stacked so, so against them. Finn and Autumn even have their mothers cheering for their union. In the eyes and hearts of their mothers, it's written in the cards for these two to be together. And for me, that's what I really, genuinely, truly wanted. So every time I turned the page, I hung onto every glance and every word between these two. I clung to every thought that one had about the other. I was willing them together as I was reading, as if they were two people that I could push in the same direction.

There is a point in the book when one of them thinks he/she might be falling for the other one. It's kind of like an A-Ha! moment for him/her. BUT TO ME, I COULD SEE IT ALREADY - PAGES AND PAGES AND CHAPTERS BACK. It was like I was waiting, just waiting for the catch-up. And the other one? The other one appeared to have already arrived at that conclusion. Maybe, anyway? It was sometimes obvious and sometimes hard to tell but MY WORD YOU GUYS reading about it was so delicious and torturous, and I just couldn't get enough. I couldn't.

Then, as the summary suggests, there is a time when these two need to sort out how they're really feeling about one another. I suppose in real life, any friends that are in a position like Finn and Autumn need to come to this place before they can go to the next stage of their lives, before they transition into the next part of what is to come. So I'm reading and I'm gripping the Kindle with a ferocity that I can't even describe because I want so badly for things to end up my way and I've forgotten that the book began the way that it did...and oh oh oh, these next pages and chapters are where my heart just GOES.

ARE THEY MEANT TO BE TOGETHER OR ARE THEY NOT MEANT TO BE TOGETHER?

It's like they've waited their entire lives to get to this point. Their moms have waited their entire lives to get to this point. And here they are. And this is it. And I'm so invested. And my heart is so invested. Which is why this book is so perfect and wonderful and amazing and beautifully written and OH MY GOSH I can't say enough about it. THIS is how life sometimes is and just OH! the beauty and pain of it all.

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When the book was over, I felt like I needed someone beside of me so I could just grip a shirt or a wrist and stare or scream or cry or something. But I was by myself so all I could do is just sit quietly and let the tears fall off of my face and just sit in this story for awhile. I just had to sit there and be in the story for a while and do nothing else.

This book. This book is yet another reason that THANK GOD I read contemporary. What a story! What a telling. And what a cover - which on another glance after finishing the book, just pulls at my heart even more.

The "What-If's" in life are so hard. They are so, so hard. I could sit around and say "What If?" all day long and it doesn't do a thing.

That is such a huge concept behind this story.

I recommend If He Had Been With Me for fans of YA Contemporary with Realistic Fiction, readers who love the issues contemporaries, and readers that love great guy-girl friendships in books. This book is absolutely fantastic and I am overjoyed that I got the chance to read it.

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If He Had Been With Me will appeal to fans of:

YA Contemporary/Realistic Fiction

Books with Guy-Girl Friendships.

Issues: Death.

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

is currently available for purchase.

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Fight or Flight by Jamie Canosa Review + Giveaway! #CFMonth13

2013-05-20T12:17:00.000-04:00

Fight or Flight by Jamie Canosa
Series: Fight or Flight #1
Publish Date: March 12, 2013
356 Pages
Source: Purchased
Find it on: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

Be smart.
Keep your head down.
And look out for number one.

These are the rules Jay has lived by for the past two years. The rules of surviving life on the streets. But when Em comes bursting into his life, in all of her disastrous glory, the rules go right out the window.

Survive.
Flee what’s been left behind.
And never look back.

Emerson’s plan was simple. Though, it was easier said than done. The city streets are dangerous and unforgiving to a new arrival. Especially, a seventeen-year-old girl who’s never known anything but life in the suburbs. Sometimes, however, what’s lurking behind those white picket fences can be more frightening than any dark alley.

Both of them made the same decision when life got overwhelming—to run from their demons. Brought together by fate or circumstance, Em and Jay find the kind of love neither of them ever expected. But, when those demons come back to haunt them and their love is on the line, which instincts will they choose to follow this time . . . Fight or Flight? -(from Goodreads)

Fight or Flight by Jamie Canosa

My Thoughts: Fight or Flight by Jamie Canosa is one of the best YA/NA Contemporary books I've read in ages and ages. And ages.

The first thing you need to know is this:
Emerson is leaving. She doesn't care where she goes.
She just has to get out.

The book opens as Emerson is waiting up in the middle of the night, rocking away in her rocking chair. She grabs her heavy backpack and tiptoes out of her house, careful to avoid the third-to-last step in the stairwell. She knows that if she's caught, there will be hell to pay - or worse. She has $52.83 in her pocket, which isn't much, but she'll just have to make that last. She can't let HIM hear her leave. Her entire survival depends on slipping away unnoticed, without HIM finding out. She needs to be far, far away when he realizes she's gone.

In thinking and planning ahead, Emerson decided to leave at dawn on a Saturday - at a time when there would be the least amount of cars out, to avoid prying eyes. She'll ride trains all day, go as far as possible. Once she gets there, she'll ditch her wallet, her pictures, her insurance cards, her Social Security card, everything everything everything that makes her Emerson James. She'll be a different person. Forever. And finally, she'll be away from HIM.

The second thing you need to know is this:

Jay spots Em at the train station.
Wide-eyed, she stands out among the crowd.

Em has arrived to the city. She's done the things she said she would do. Now what? She has no idea. And it shows.

Jay sees her with her wide eyes and her full backpack - like someone just begging for trouble in the city. Just like someone without a clue. Like someone begging to be mugged, beaten, hurt in some way. She ought to just stand up and announce to the whole place HEY I'M HERE AND I'M NEW IN TOWN - COME TAKE MY STUFF AND EAT ME ALIVE! Jay decides to follow her because he's already noticed that someone else is following her too, and he knows this guy - he's nothing but trouble. Jay feels protective over this girl for some reasons, which he really can't afford. Out here, it's every man for himself...but the look on this girl's face is something that he just can't walk away from. The fear, the sadness, the hollow, empty desperation behind her eyes...

Em stops for a second to look at a map and sits her backpack down. Immediately, the other guy that is following her grabs it. What does she do? She takes off after the guy to get her stuff back! WHOA NOW. Jay stops her, tells her that the guy that swiped her bag will likely kill her for whatever is in there - it's best to just let it go. Jay is hoping that what he has just said will scare her enough that she'll go back home BUT NOPE! He doesn't know what she's running from, though. Jay doesn't know about HIM.

The third thing you need to know is this:

Against his better judgment, Jay takes Em to his squat.

Nobody shares their squat, but Jay takes Em back to his place. (That's a really big, big deal.) Em is a little afraid but she has no better option and Jay seems nice enough, so she goes. Jay knows that bringing this girl with him means he has another person to look after, another person to slow him down every day, another person to attract attention, another mouth to feed. But he does it anyway. Every day, Jay wears himself out looking for day-jobs to try and earn enough money to buy food for he and Em for that day, and then he does it again the next day. And the next day. And the next day. He makes Em promise to stay inside - don't leave the house. She doesn't yet know how to survive on the streets and with her looks and her small size, she'd likely be taken or taken advantage of right away. It doesn't take long for Jay to work himself sick. Literally, sick. And then there is just one thing after another that threatens to knock these two down. But they work together and they fight hard to survive.

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Good gracious, this book. When I started Fight or Flight by Jamie Canosa, I have to admit it was because the summary sounded pretty good and the cover looked amazing. I had NO IDEA how much depth the story contained, how incredible it was, and how invested I would become in the lives of Em and Jay.

In the beginning, I knew right away that Emerson was leaving; I could feel her desperation to not just leave, but to flee her circumstances - so I knew that she didn't care where she ended up and how awful her situation ended up being as long as she was away from HIM. It takes a while for Emerson (aka Em) to open up to Jay and to the reader about why she is so desperate to get away, but by the time she did, she had already won me over and I WAS TOTALLY ON HER SIDE. There is no way you can read this book and doubt this girl. For Em to be willing to live on the streets, to go without food, to be without blankets in the Northeastern US in the wintertime, to go without medications after being hit by a car, to to without bathing, without anything - something suspect had to be going on, ya know? It took Em a while to trust Jay, and I felt so thankful when she finally did.

Jay was acting on instinct and his gut when he followed Em in the train station - and thankfully so. When he acted against his better judgment to bring her to his squat, it was awfully good of him to be so giving and kind. When he got up after little to no sleep to stand in line and hope hope hope for work...then to actually work hard all day for just enough money for a little bit of food...then to share it with her while starving himself - oh, what kindness. When Jay was protecting Em from other people that had less-than-honorable intentions for her, I respected him so much because he put himself in harm's way over and over for this girl he barely even knew. Jay's character did nothing but make me like him the more and more I read him. There were times when he had to act out of desperation for their situation, but I never ever faulted him - I can't even begin to put myself in the situation of these two.

I never felt like Em or Jay annoyed me, and that was something I was wondering about as I read. Sometimes when you read these books that are so issues-heavy (particularly with a female character that has an issue) it's easy to feel manipulated or annoyed by her OR to feel like she is overly whiny. I never felt this way with Em - or with Jay. They accepted their circumstances - sure, they wished for better - but they accepted how things were and they worked together to make the best of what they had. They even found time to laugh a little when they could.

Another thing that I appreciated so much with this book was that there was no overlying romantic tone to the story. Em and Jay were far too busy trying to survive the streets and trying to find food and stay alive - they didn't have time to have a romantic relationship or to have swoony, steamy scenes. Yes, they did lie closely beside each other a couple of times to use each other for body warmth, which is realistic. Yes, they did become friendly companions and establish trust and a rapport with one another, which is realistic. But a romance? Not really - nothing to speak of until the the story is established, when it was appropriate. And even then, it begins as a love that is different than we normally read about because this relationship begins in a way that is different than those that we normally read about.

I just loved Fight or Flight - I finished the story and felt like I had found a real jewel that I could read again and again. There were a few characters in the story along with Em and Jay that I liked quite a bit, and I'm excited that Author Jamie Canosa is writing a story that will feature one of them. I KNOW that I will not look at this circumstance - young people living on the streets - in the same way again, ever. I know that I am still thinking about this story and I finished it quite a while ago. Things like a bed, blankets, a shower, warm food, toothpaste - chose comforts of life - these things randomly make me think of Em and Jay and how hard they had to fight just to not let life get them down.

For those that are afraid that this story might be too much of a drag - it really isn't. It's a fantastic survival story and it ends on a positive note. I recommend Fight or Flight to readers who enjoy YA/NA contemporary stories with issues and a hint of romance, great characters, and survival stories. I am anxiously waiting for Sink or Swim, the spin-off that I mentioned above, and I am anxiously awaiting for the sequel to this story, which looks like it will be a continuation of the story of Em and Jay. SO MUCH MORE to come from Author Jamie Canosa and you guys, I am so, so excited.

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Jamie Canosa is a full time author of YA literature, which she absolutely loves. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she can usually be found with her nose in a book. She currently resides in Ravena, NY with her wonderful husband and three crazy kids . . . plus the dog, the bird and the rabbit.

Current works:
Dissidence

Fight or Flight

Heart and Soul mini-series (#1-3)

Upcoming works:

Vengeance (Dissidence #2)

Sink or Swim (Fight or Flight #1.5)

Fight or Flight #2

Heart and Soul #4

Find Jamie Canosa: Blog / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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And now for the Giveaway!

Author Jamie Canosa

is offering an ebook copy of

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

to one lucky reader!

This means this contest is open worldwide, friends!

*Ends midnight Monday, June 3, 2013*
Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Castles On The Sand by E.M. Tippetts Excerpt + Giveaway!

2013-05-19T23:30:00.000-04:00

Castles On The Sand by E.M. Tippetts
Publish Date: August 20, 2012
268 Pages
Find it: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

If there’s one thing Madison Lukas understands, it’s pain. The pain she feels when her mother ignores her completely. The pain her best friend endures as her parents starve her as punishment. The pain of a dangerous boy whose mother has to be carried away by law enforcement on a regular basis.

She gets it. She feels the pain of others as if it were her own.But when a mysterious man claiming to be her long lost brother appears with promises of relieving her suffering, trusting him could reveal more truths than Madison is ready for. Because the truth can hurt, too. -(from Goodreads)

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I'm excited to share an excerpt from Castles on the Sand

on the blog today and offer a chance

to win a copy of the book!

Stick around for the Giveaway at the bottom of the post!

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Several hours later, as I'm drying my hair, the doorbell rings, or I think it does. I turn off the hairdryer and listen. Sure enough, it rings again. I put my hair up in a ponytail.

When I go to answer the door, I find those same two Mormon missionaries from the other day on my doorstep. “Madison, right?” he says the blond one. His name tag says he is Elder Britton.

Kailie must've told him my name.

“Madison... Udall?”

Udall is Mom's last name, and the way Elder Britton breaks off lets me know that he saw my reaction. “No,” I say.

“Madison...” He frowns, deep in thought. “Lukas?”

Now I just stare. How on Earth would he know my last name?

At that, the missionary's eyes moisten with barely contained tears. “Listen. My name's John Britton, and I'm your brother.”

For what feels like eternity, Elder Britton and I just stare at each other. Then he presses his palms together in front of his face and shakes his head slowly. “I don't know what to say right now, other than sorry. I know I scared you yesterday. I wasn't thinking. One minute I'm just out tracting and the next, there you are, plain as day. I've been looking for you for fifteen years.”

“Elder Britton,” says the other missionary. “You sure?”

“Your name is Madison Lukas,” he recites, “and your mother, our mother, is named Sharon Udall. She used to be Sharon Britton. She's got dark blond hair, about this color-” he points to his own head “-and you'd be sixteen years old, as of last April twenty-seventh. Mom would have turned forty on December fourth.”

I can only stare. All the facts are right, but the situation feels all wrong. For my entire life, it's been just me and Mom. Every time I asked about my father, she'd say, “He's long gone, so it doesn't matter.” She never mentioned being married before or having other kids, and that seems like the sort of thing you'd bring up now and then.

He looks around at the large pot that doubles as an umbrella stand just inside the door, the wall hangings with glazed clay scales that overlap like fish scales, the potshard wind chime on the front porch, and the enormous planters on either side of the front door. “I'm gonna to out on a limb and guess that she still makes pottery.”

“Yeah...”

“And I have no idea what to say now. Or do.”

“Hey,” says the other missionary, “you'll be released from your mission in less than a week. Figure it out then? Maybe we call the mission president now just to let him know?”

“Yeah, good point. Listen, Madison, we're not supposed to have contact with our families outside of letters or emails while we're on our missions. I'll get in touch with you the moment I finish mine, all right?”

“Um...” That's about all I can say. I try to force my thoughts into some kind of order. “Mom was Mormon?”

“She didn't tell you about that?”

“She never told me about you.”

“Really? At all?”

I shake my head.

“Then this has to be really, really strange for you. She mention Lance and Logan?”

“Who are they?”

His eyebrows shoot up. “The twins? They're our oldest brothers.”

The world shifts under my feet and I grab the doorframe to steady myself. From the way both missionaries look at me, I can tell it wasn't an earthquake. It was my knees starting to buckle.

The guy who claims to be my brother radiates sympathy and concern, and now that I take a good look at him, I have to admit, he does look like Mom. Same shape to the eyes. Same stance, one shoulder forward. Same way of pursing his lips.

I picture Mom, back in the shed, oblivious to all of this, and wonder if I should mention she's only about thirty feet away. She does not tolerate interruptions while throwing pots, but this is the most extreme circumstance I can think of.

“Okay,” says the other missionary. “We need to call the mission president. Madison, Elder Britton, write down your email addresses. We'll figure out what to do once we talk to our priesthood leaders.”

“Yeah, okay,” says my alleged brother. “Right. Sure.” He pulls a pad of paper out of his breast pocket and starts to write. After he rips the page off like a doctor tearing off a prescription, he hands it to me. With shaking fingers, I write down my email address, while a little voice at the back of my mind babbles that I shouldn't give this info out to a stranger. What if, it babbles, this missionary is a stalker? What if he's wearing a disguise? Maybe he looked up all this information on me, put on a suit, got a name tag, and this is all part of some elaborate ruse?

I should take him back to see Mom. I should stop right here, right now, and take control of this situation.

I finish writing and hand the pad of paper back. He takes it, tucks it in his pocket, looks into my eyes, and says, “I'll talk to you soon. Any questions you have, ask, okay?” He hands me his email address and I fold it over and over again.

The other missionary guides him away from our door with a hand on his shoulder and pulls a cellphone out of his pocket. “...figure this out...” I hear him say.

I make myself step back and shut the door, then lean my forehead against it. Talk to Mom, I think. She'll clear this up. I stuff the missionary's email into the pocket of my jacket on the way past. That's where I keep every slip of paper, receipt, tissue, and used tissue I accumulate. It's a bad habit. Right now I couldn't care less.

Mom, I know, is going to ream me out for interrupting her work. She's an artist through and through. She lives to make pottery and if she doesn't get to make enough of it in one day, she makes sure to spread the misery around. “Interrupting my pottery making is like choking me,” she's said before. “You don't like it if someone interrupts your breathing.” And true to analogy, she'll push every interruption away, no matter who they are or what it is they might want to tell her.

Today, however, I'll risk it.

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Emily Mah Tippetts writes romance under the name E.M. Tippetts and science fiction and fantasy under the name Emily Mah. Originally from New Mexico, she now lives in London with her family. Before she was a published author, she was an attorney who specialized in real estate, contracts, and estate planning, especially literary estate planning.

Find E.M. Tippetts:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

********************************************************

And now for the Giveaway!

Author E.M. Tippetts

is offering one print copy of

CASTLES ON THE SAND!

This means this contest is open worldwide, friends!

*Ends midnight Thursday May 23, 2013*
Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Summer I Learned To Fly by Dana Reinhardt Review

2013-05-18T18:35:00.002-04:00

The Summer I Learned To Fly
by Dana Reinhardt
Published by Wendy Lamb Books
Publish Date: July 10, 2011
224 Pages
Source: Borrowed from Tara @ Hobbitsies -Thanks, friend!
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

Drew's a bit of a loner. She has a pet rat, her dead dad's Book of Lists, an encyclopedic knowledge of cheese from working at her mom's cheese shop, and a crush on Nick, the surf bum who works behind the counter. It's the summer before eighth grade and Drew's days seem like business as usual, until one night after closing time, when she meets a strange boy in the alley named Emmett Crane. Who he is, why he's there, where the cut on his cheek came from, and his bottomless knowledge of rats are all mysteries Drew will untangle as they are drawn closer together, and Drew enters into the first true friendship, and adventure, of her life. -(from Goodreads)

The Summer I Learned To Fly

by Dana Reinhardt

My Thoughts: The Summer I Learned To Fly by Dana Reinhardt is a short and sweet coming-of-age story about a young girl in a small town - a girl that we can probably all relate to at least a little bit.

As I was reading about Drew, there were some things that stuck out right away:

Nick Drummond - 19-year-old Nick works in the family Cheese Shop, and he's Drew's crush. He's so dreamy and he's nice to Drew and he rides a Vespa.
Lord High Rat Humboldt Fog, Drew's pet rat, aka "Hum" - yes, Drew has a pet rat, which is kind of gross, but for she really does love the thing.
The Book of Lists. This was actually the most heart-breaking/heart-warming part of the whole book, probably. Drew's father kept a book of random lists and she found it in the closet one day when she was looking for a shawl or a scarf or something to wear. Since these lists were written by her father, they become super-special to her, and she reads them over and over and over. This book of lists is something that she needs to learn more about her father and to be closer to him. I loved it.
Aunt Swoozie. She's from Wisconsin, but ends up close-by. Ends up coming to the shop most days. Drew can ask Aunt Swoozie things she can't ask her mom, so they're very close. They talk about important stuff, like about stuff from her father's lists (Drew's mom doesn't know that Drew has the Book of Lists).

Drew has friends, but she prefers the company of Nick and Aunt Swoozie to anyone else in her life.

As summer approaches, Drew's mom suggests that Drew stop working and just rest a little - Drew is offended! She wants to work and she wants to get paid for it! Mom explains that there isn't quite enough money coming in and that Drew needs to cut her hours, which makes Drew sad and a little angry. To top it off, Nick gets a girlfriend. One day, Drew leaves early and arrives home only to find that she's left Hum at the shop (yes, she takes the rat to the Cheese Shop with her - gross). She goes back and hears whispering behind the dumpster. The whispers belong to the one and only Emmett Crane who is talking to Hum, who he has befriended. Drew and Emmett talk for a few minutes and end up kind-of hitting it off.

What follows? Meetings in the park with blankets and cheese. Great conversations and questions that are evaded. Time spent at Drew's house hanging out. Their friendship builds and a (ssshhh) a crush forms, separate from the crush on Nick (which doesn't matter anymore because he has an actual real, live girlfriend). Over time, the friendship continues to grow but Emmett is always hard to locate and sometimes there are days between visits. It seems that he is always the one contacting her, finding her, leaving messages for her. He is never available when she wants to talk to him. This frustrates Drew, but she doesn't really know what she can do about it.

In the meantime, Nick has a really bad accident on his Vespa, which devastates Drew - remember, she's crushed on him for a long time and considers him a friend. It's at this point that her summer seems to take a bit of a turn: Emmett seems aloof and Nick is no longer working at the shop. Everything is different and Drew can't depend on things to be as they always have. In talking with Nick and in learning to trust Emmett, Drew learns a few things about herself and sort of grows up a bit in the process.

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The Summer I Learned To Fly by Dana Reinhardt is super short story that is a great coming-of-age, feel-good read. It is one of those books you spend a little time reading, you close the book, and you probably just hug it for a second before you put it down and move on to the next thing. Drew is such a relatable character going thru such a relatable time in her life, and I think that is what makes the story so endearing.

I loved Drew's connection with her father through his Book of Lists - he isn't present in the story in person, but he is sort-of present by way of his lists. Drew finds comfort in learning about who he is and how she is like him by reading his words, and I think that is so very much how a young person would be in real life. I think I would be that way if I in the same situation that Drew finds herself in. I love that Drew has her Aunt Swoozie to confide in and to love on. I love that she had her friend Nick at the Cheese Shop - even though Nick was a little older, he realized the importance of his place in her life and he embraced it. He never made fun of Drew - rather, he built her up, he encouraged her, he took on a "big brother" role, which is such a great thing for a person of his age. When he finally finds a girlfriend, he (and the girlfriend) break it to Drew gently and allow her to acclimate to this disruption in her life and eventually she accepts this as the norm. I love everything about his character.

And Emmett Crane - such a great character! He was such a mystery for the majority of the book, but he had to be for the story to work. Drew wasn't entirely sure about what Emmett was up to, and neither was I as the reader. In the end, though, it worked out for all of us, and the story turned out really well.

Perhaps one of the more interesting relationships in the book was the relationship between Drew and her mother, because it was evolving. Drew finds herself at a place in life when she needs her mother the most, and yet her mother is around the least. Her mother doesn't mean any harm in what she's doing, it's just that she is at a turning point in her life and Drew is having a difficult time dealing with this. This part of the story is part of what makes the coming-of-age part of the story so well-written and so wonderfully done and relatable.

I recommend The Summer I Learned To Fly by Dana Reinhardt for YA readers of all ages, readers that enjoy coming-of-age stories, and readers that enjoy stories set in small towns. I think that the book is perfect for younger YA readers and also perfect for reluctant readers (particularly females) as well.

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The Summer I Learned To Fly will appeal to fans of:

YA Contemporary

Coming-of-Age

Romance: None really beyond a crush.

Setting: Small Town.

The Summer I Learned To Fly by Dana Reinhardt

is currently available for purchase.

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Has anyone read this book?

What did you think?

How awesome is that cover?

Contemporary Series Assistance, Please. #serieschallenge

2013-05-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

This is what JUNE means for this blog and for my reading:

Month #2 of the Contemporary Fiction Month event - in which things will blow up contemporary-wise because I will be joined by my awesome co-hosts Evie and Bonnie. Month #1 is currently in progress.
The Summer Series Challenge begins.

These two events will overlap, which means this: My June #serieschallenge reads will be contemporary. I love it when things work out well. Makes life so much easier!

Today, I'm asking for help in deciding which contemporary series or series books I shall read.

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Now, I already know of one series in particular that I want to read and have been planning to read for months.

I'm reading The Summer Series by Jenny Han. I've wanted to read these for ages and I finally have all three books. So those are first on my list! A-ha! (This is actually the only contemporary series that I have completed on my shelves.)

But then I get a little bit unsure of myself. Contemporary doesn't seem to have as many series as other categories/genres of books, does it? More standalones, which make a lot of people happy. But I'm looking for contemporary series. I am thinking that perhaps I can finish a couple of series that I've started?

I've only read the first book in the Perfect Chemistry Series!

I've only read the first two books in the Jessica Darling Series!

I think the Perfect Chemistry series would be super fun but I haven't gone any further with the Jessica Darling books because I LOVE WHERE THE SECOND BOOK ENDS. Y'all know how I get totally freaked out with moving forward in a series that I love. I've heard our darling Jessica is a bit of a loose cannon in the latter books, which doesn't surprise me a bit. HOWEVER, I have no problem whatsoever adding the Fuentes brothers to my summer. Ahem.

Then there are a couple of series that I want to read but I don't have the complete series and my libraries do not carry the books that I'm missing. Asheley/Library FAIL.

In this case,

I have the first two books on my Kindle in the Hundred Oaks series

but not the most recent release.

And I have the last two He's So/She's So Series books, but not the first.

WHAT? I know. I am horrible about obtaining series books in the incorrect order.

Another option:

I have the first four Laural Heights Series books on my Kindle.

Perhaps this would be a good time to start those? I think these may be New Adult.

I actually have the first three books in Ann Brashares' Sisterhood Series on my shelves. I could start those? Maybe. What about Nicole Williams' Crash series? I just read another of her contemps and LOVED it.

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Obviously I won't make it through all of these

in June while also keeping up with my regular Contemporary Month stuff - cause there is a ton of it.

BUT if you guys have any input, I'd love to hear it.

Which of these should I read? Are there other

contemporary series that I should consider?

HELP! Recommendations, please!

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Sign-ups are still open for the #serieschallenge!

June - August 2013.

Read all about it HERE.

ALSO:

A few weeks ago, Lauren hosted a contest and asked entrants to name their favorite series or a series that they'd like to start. She's compiled the results today and HERE THEY ARE! Everything she has listed on her blog post will count toward the challenge. The Rules and Objectives can be found HERE.

SHUCKED by Megg Jensen Excerpt + Giveaway! #CFMonth13

2013-05-16T17:30:00.000-04:00

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I'm excited to have an excerpt from
SHUCKED by Megg Jensen on the blog today.

Stick around for the Giveaway at the bottom of the post!

This YA book looks like a cute farm story and

I'm excited to be sharing it on the blog soon.

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Shucked by Megg Jensen
Publish Date: May 2013
Find it: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / Kobo

Suburgatory meets Indiana Jones...on a farm

Fifteen-year-old Tabitha has had the kind of life that would impress even the greatest adventurers. She's escaped a croc attack in the Amazon, walked the length of the Great Wall of China, and earned a black belt in taekwondo in Korea. She owes her worldly experience to her mother's career in archaeology, but when her mother takes on a dangerous new assignment, Tabitha is devastated to learn she can't tag along.

Instead, she's forced to live on a midwestern farm with her grandparents where she'll have to attend a full year of public school. It's Tabitha's greatest nightmare, because despite all her adventures, she has no practical experience with the one thing that frightens her the most - other teenagers.

Her math teacher is her mom's old high school boyfriend, she can't tell the friendly girls from the mean ones, and she develops a major crush on a boy she knows she can't trust. And just when she thinks she'll never get the hang of this normal teenager thing, an attack brings the danger of her previous life right up to her midwestern porch. Who could have ever guessed getting totally shucked would bring her face-to-face with her most exciting adventure yet? -(from Goodreads)

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I peered through the overgrown bushes, observing the beasts in their native habitat. My heart pounded, tapping an unfamiliar beat. I’d subdued a croc after an attack in the Amazon, looked a lion in the eye in the African bush, and swam with sharks in the Great Barrier Reef, but nothing compared to the fear ripping through my chest, infecting every bit of my essence with panic.

“Tabitha,” my grandmother, Mimi, bellowed, “get over here right now!”

I backed away from the evergreens, swinging my backpack over one shoulder. “Coming.”

My whole life I’d been surrounded by adults or kids from cultures so far removed from civilization that American teenagers became the epitome of uncivilized behavior. I’d seen their TV shows on the Internet. All I could hope was that reality TV wasn’t real.

The double doors of the school loomed in front of me. The embedded crosshatching in the windows skewed my vision of the masses of kids opening lockers and chatting in groups. A select few were already swapping spit. I rolled my eyes. Suspicions confirmed.

“Do I have to go in there?” I turned around, arms folded across my chest. Mimi stood her ground, towering over me at nearly six feet tall, a giant to my mere five foot one inch. I wasn’t afraid. Intimidated yes, afraid no. I’d spent years cuddled on her lap reading stories but as I grew up, I realized that she was the powerhouse in her marriage and nearly everywhere else. No one crossed her except for my mom. I think that’s why Mom hadn’t come back to her hometown in the last sixteen years.

“Of course you have to go in. It wouldn’t do for you to be late on your first day of school.” She had that same look on her face as when I’d first met her. Exasperated, annoyed, and definitely not in the mood to be defied.

“But Mimi,” I started.

“No buts,” she barked. Her bear-like hand grabbed the door handle, opened it and she pushed me in with the other paw. “Have fun, Tabitha.”

I stumbled in as the heavy door thudded behind me. How could she leave me here alone? Among some of the most frightening creatures on earth – teenagers. I felt the bile rise in my throat but I swallowed it. Just what I needed, to be the girl who barfed on everyone the first day of school.

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I've been a freelance parenting journalist since 2003 and began writing YA novels in 2009. I co-run DarkSide Publishing, am a member of SCBWI, and I blog about writing while juggling freelancing, volunteering, and family life. I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband, two kids, and our miniature schnauzer, Ace.

Find Megg Jensen: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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And now for the Giveaway!

Author Megg Jensen

is offering one winner an ebook copy of

SHUCKED plus 3 Bookmarks!

This means this contest is open worldwide, friends!

*Ends midnight Monday May 20, 2013*
Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy Review + Giveaway! #CFMonth13

2013-05-16T07:05:00.000-04:00

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy
Published by Simon Pulse
Publish Date: May 7, 2013
288 Pages
Source: Edelweiss
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

Nikki’s life is far from perfect, but at least she has Dee. Her friends tell her that Dee is no good, but Nikki can’t imagine herself without him. He’s hot, he’s dangerous, he has her initials tattooed over his heart, and she loves him more than anything. There’s nothing Nikki wouldn’t do for Dee. Absolutely nothing.

So when Dee pulls Nikki into a crime—a crime that ends in murder—Nikki tells herself that it’s all for true love. Nothing can break them apart. Not the police. Not the arrest that lands Nikki in jail. Not even the investigators who want her to testify against him.

But what if Dee had motives that Nikki knew nothing about? Nikki’s love for Dee is supposed to be unconditional…but even true love has a limit. And Nikki just might have reached hers. -(from Goodreads)

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy

My Thoughts: Two things: 1) This book is written by an author that I love and 2) This author wrote the heck out of this book.

The first thing you need to know is this:
Dee has committed a crime.

Gunshots were fired.

Nikki will do anything, say anything to protect him.

Nikki didn't realize when she went to that house with Dee that something bad would happen, but when she heard gunshots and saw him running toward the car, things kind of changed for her. Nikki and Dee take a few minutes to try and come up with a story that sounds about right, to make sure they're on the same page - and then Dee tells Nikki not to contact him.

Nikki feels very unsure about what has happened. Heck, she doesn't even know what just happened. She just heard gunshots and that can never be good.

The second thing you need to know is this:
Nikki lives with her best friend Bird and Bird's daughter.

Living with Bird has been like a dream for Nikki, since her mom Cherry is nearly constantly high on some drug or another and hands her off to men in exchange for a good time. Living with Bird feels safe, and Nikki can help with the cooking and cleaning in exchange for staying there. It isn't a perfect situation, since Bird is a little wary of Dee, but it's Nikki's best option.

When the bad thing happens and Nikki comes home, she's in a daze. She wants to be able to talk to Bird about it - she's her best friend, after all - but she can't tell Dee's secret. Besides, Bird probably wouldn't understand.

When the police start coming around asking questions - first to Nikki's workplace - Nikki freaks out a little bit. THEN, THEN they start to question Bird and things take a turn. Nikki still can't tell Bird what happened but they did use her car, which was seen by witnesses, and they're telling police that they hung out in Bird's house - this makes police want to question Bird further along with members of Bird's family, and even search Bird's car.

Bird isn't happy. She doesn't want any part of whatever these two have going on. She makes Nikki leave and go back home to her mother, to the drugs, the parties, the men. The men, the men.

The third thing you need to know is this:

While all of this is going on, Nikki holds onto her love for Dee.

But Dee maintains that he doesn't want to be contacted.

Over and over and over, Nikki feels that if she can just talk to Dee, just see him for a few minutes, everything will be okay and she will feel better and things will make sense. Maybe Dee will tell her what happened, why things are happening this way, what is going on. But every time she desperately texts Dee, it goes unanswered until she gets a rude and ugly response from Dee basically telling her to leave him alone.

Nikki eventually goes to prison. She confesses in such a way as to keep Bird from getting into any more trouble, but to name herself as an accessory to murder.

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Okay, so, WOW. You guys, after falling so hard and fast in love with this book, I trust Terra Elan McVoy completely with my heart and I love what she's done with it again this time. It's completely true that Criminal is a totally different direction than McVoy's other work, but MAN OH MAN is it good. When the book opens, the crime has already been committed and this is the story of the how things sometimes unwind in the aftermath.

What we have here is a great story, yes, but more than that, Criminal is an amazing look at characterization - exactly how far Nikki will go to protect someone she loves, even when that love is a totally unhealthy, completely obsessed kind of love. When you put the complete picture together and look at Nikki as a person, it's not hard to see why she loves Dee so much (even though my gut is asking me over and over WHY she doesn't just leave him alone) - she is desperate for attention in the worst way, and in some ways Dee makes her feel complete. But his love is incomplete and not pure and really not that great - Nikki just cannot see it that way. (How often do we see this type of love/relationship happen in real life and in fiction?) So when Dee goes and commits murder, Nikki immediately and without question wants to keep him safe, out of jail, free from charges. Without even thinking of herself or what might possibly be the right thing, she is constantly thinking of what she'll say to the police, to others to keep him out of prison. So, so unhealthy is her love for this man! It's so unhealthy and so bad that it's really hard to make a connection with Nikki and kind of hard to like her for a large part of this book. But stick with her...

Nikki has a better relationship with her best friend, Bird. When Bird allows Nikki into her home, that is such a blessing for Nikki - it gets her away from all of the bad behaviors of her mother, Cherry, and brings her into a somewhat more stable environment. At Bird's place, there is some food, there is some laughter, there is some work to do, and there is some semblance of structure. When Nikki decides over and over that she cannot trust Bird with this secret, she is really just choosing Dee over Bird - this makes Bird feel upset, frustrated, angry. Then when the police show up and start to question Bird about things she has no idea about, things that could associate her with a crime she didn't commit - well, let's just say that doesn't go over well. Losing her place at Bird's home should be a wake-up call for Nikki, and as a reader I held out hope that it would be - but Nikki still clings desperately to Dee. And his love. And his acceptance. Which never comes.

It's true that Nikki was an accessory to a crime, yes. She finally owns up to some stuff and we finally see that Nikki can make some changes. She finally realizes some things about how Dee has treated her and how Bird has treated her and perhaps-maybe how her priorities have been screwed up in a big way. When Nikki ends up in prison, it isn't pretty, but maybe it isn't the worst thing for her?

Terra Elan McVoy really took a risk with Criminal and man, I just love that. Readers that are fans of her previous work will be surprised when they read this one because it is so different, and yet what it does is give us more from her to love. This book isn't the easiest to read - totally issues-contemporary - but good gracious, it is good. McVoy is so very able to get into the head of Nikki and spread her emotions and thoughts and feelings across the page - it is amazing. I felt things when I read this book - anger, disappointment, shock, rage, resignation, and other things - and this is what I'm learning to expect from this author. BUT Nikki makes changes and while you have to hang on a little while for her to get there, it's so good when it finally happens.

I recommend Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy to fans of YA contemporary/realistic fiction with great characterization and those who love issues contemporaries. I think this book also could be considered New Adult.

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Find Terra Elan McVoy: Facebook / Twitter / Website

Find Criminal: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

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Criminal will appeal to fans of:

YA/New Adult Contemporary/Realistic Fiction

Romance: Already established. No triangle.

Great characterization.

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy

is currently available for purchase.

*********************************************************

And now for the Giveaway!

Author Terra Elan McVoy is offering
SIGNED, PERSONALIZED copies of CRIMINAL

to five winners!

( US Only, please. )

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to visit the the other participating blogs

for more opportunities to win!

May 07 | http://kellyvision.wordpress.com | @khager

May 21 | http://ratherbereadingblog.com | @readinggals

May 22 | http://thebookcellarx.com | @thebookcellarx
May 23 | http://www.ramblingsofabooknerd.com | @sarabooknerd

May 24 | http://thegrownupya.wordpress.com | @grownupya

EVERY LITTLE PIECE by Kate Ashton Excerpt + Giveaway! #CFMonth13

2013-05-15T17:30:00.000-04:00

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I'm excited to have an excerpt from
Every Little Piece on the blog today.

Stick around for the Giveaway at the bottom of the post!

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Every Little Piece by Kate Ashton
Publish Date: May 2013
Find it: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / Kobo

Secrets never stay in the past.

The night before high school graduation changes everything. Lies are told. Mistakes are made. Secrets tucked away. Lives are changed in the span of a few hours.

A year later, Haley is still reeling, numb with the constant ache of guilt. She's in a place she never expected to be: lost without her friends and Seth. Until he enters her life again, dredging up everything she's trying to forget. Everything about that night.

Seth returns to his hometown determined to share his truth, his side of the story. He desperately needs to make things right with Haley, even if it means losing her forever. Because the truth will ruin any chance of her ever loving him again.

Except neither of them are prepared for the shock of what really happened the night before graduation. -(from Goodreads)

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The door opens and a draft of cooler air rushes through as another flood of customers enter. I sigh, grab some menus and greet them with a smile.

Then I see him. My heart hammers and I force air in and out of my chest. Time stops, like we said our goodbyes just a few days ago when really it’s been almost a year. He looks the same but different. Shadows haunt his face and the bright part of his blue eyes that used to light up my heart seem faded, like they need a good polish.

He steps closer. My heart hurts and a lump forms in my throat. Emotions I’ve locked away push at the edges.

“Hi, Hales.”

Two simple words and I almost come undone. I seem to have lost my ability to speak and move as I stand there taking him in. His black hair hangs a little over his ears and his eyes draw me in just like before. But there are little changes too. His face is pale. Tattoos swirl around the top of his arm. Truth invades and real life comes crashing in. My knees shake, and I sway a bit.

“Are you okay?” He holds out a hand to steady me.

I jerk away like I touched a live socket. I can’t go back. The memories are too strong. Sometimes no matter how much you love someone, the past is stronger, and mistakes make love impossible.

A girl with blonde hair flounces in with a bright sparkle to her eyes. She hooks her arm through Seth’s and gives me a suspicious look. “Who’s this?” she asks.

“An old friend,” Seth says without taking his eyes off me. I see forever in his eyes and it squeezes my chest.

I tear my gaze away from him and study her. Adoration simmers off of her. She loves him or is close to it. Jealousy floods my heart. The happy times they probably spent together in the past year, the smiles, the touches, the laughter. The kisses, gentle and sweet, that used to be mine. I want to grab a butter knife and cut the smile off her face.

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Kate Ashton is the author of the contemporary YA, Every Little Piece. She writes about relationships and love, heartache and healing. And everything in between.

Find Kate Ashton:

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

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And now for the Giveaway!

Author Kate Ashton

is offering an ebook copy of

EVERY LITTLE PIECE!

This means this contest is open worldwide, friends!

*Ends midnight Monday May 20, 2013*
Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell Review #CFMonth13

2013-05-15T10:20:00.001-04:00

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Published by Dutton Adult
Publish Date: April 14, 2011
323 Pages
Source: Library
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can't seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.

When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he'd be sifting through other people's inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can't quite bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can't help but be entertained-and captivated- by their stories.

But by the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late for him to ever introduce himself. What would he say to her? "Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you." After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it's time to muster the courage to follow his heart . . . even if he can't see exactly where it's leading him. -(from Goodreads)

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

My Thoughts: I'm not sure, but I think I may have loved Attachments more than Eleanor and Park. Yeah, y'all take a few minutes to soak up that very bold statement, especially if you've by chance read how much I fell in love with Eleanor and Park.

Actually, you know what? I can't decide. They are at least one as good as the other, though, and that is some high praise.

The first thing you need to know is this:
Jennifer and Beth work for the local newspaper -

WORK being the operative word.

I mean, they actually do work. But they spend way too much time personally emailing each other while they should be working more. They talk about everything over the company email, including things that are just too inappropriate for work email...which is why their email is often flagged as inappropriate and sent to the files of the security team for review. The security team is really just one person, Lincoln. Lincoln, from the IT department.

Lincoln works an odd shift at the newspaper as part of the IT team. He's the guy that sorts through all of the emails that are "inappropriate" and actually decides if they really are inappropriate or not. Then he gives warnings and citations and all that jazz. Well, until he sort of takes an interest in the emails between Jennifer and Beth. Because GOSH they have such interesting lives and interesting things to say. Remember, they talk about everything.

The second thing you need to know is this:
Lincoln knows he needs to reprimand them,

but before too long it's BEEN too long.

Lincoln should've done something about their inappropriate use of company time and email the first time he found out about it, but he didn't. And he didn't the second time, or the third time, or any time. And he finds himself so caught up in their lives. CAUGHT UP. He finds himself trying hard not to open up his folder at work to see if emails with their names show up, but he never lasts more than a few hours before HE HAS TO KNOW! He has to know the next part of their stories! He feels really invested in their lives and yet he also feels really creepy that he knows so much about them - but he justifies this in some strange way because he's never actually met them or even seen them.

Then all of these things happen, not necessarily in this order:

Lincoln finds out that Beth thinks someone at the office is cute. He is jealous.
Lincoln walks around the office trying to figure out which desk belongs to the girls, especially Beth.
Lincoln has a mad crush on Beth. Lincoln's crush turns into him falling for Beth.
Lincoln realizes that HE is the cute guy in the office. WAIT WHAT?

The third thing you need to know is this:

THEY BOTH LIKE EACH OTHER?

SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE?

Lincoln really, really, really should've said something about reading the emails to Beth (and maybe Jennifer) before because how's it gonna look when he tells Beth now?

ALSO, how on earth can she be attracted to HIM? What should he do? Should he ask her out? Should he not say anything at all? He never should've read the emails! But Beth did some strange things with regard to her crush on Lincoln too, and he only knows about this because he read the emails. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Dilemma, dilemma.

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You guys, let it be known that I love Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. I STAYED UP UNTIL 5:00 AM READING THIS BOOK. True story. I didn't really mean to, but when I looked at the clock and realized how super late it was (2:49AM, ugh) THIS is the page I turned to next:

I MEAN, IT ISN'T LIKE I CAN CLOSE THE BOOK NOW! GAH! So I kept reading, and while I paid dearly for it the next day, it was so worth it.

Beth and Jennifer are exactly what I would imagine two work friends to be - working, but also doing a lot of not-working, if that makes any sense. Sneaking delicious gossip and banter into their day while also earning their paycheck. Being great friends to one another, sharing the burdens of one another. Their chapters are written as emails while Lincoln's are narrative. We get to know Beth and Jennifer a little bit - mostly Beth, I think - but it is Lincoln that is the true star of this book.

Lincoln is this guy, this guy that has had his heart broken and he's just had a really hard time bouncing back from it. (Y'all know I love a broken-hearted boy.) He's moved back home with his mom and become a bit of a reclusive student-for-life. Seriously, he just keeps getting degrees and wanting to go back to school. He works this oddball job with these oddball hours, and it kind of keeps him from having relationships with people - friends or girlfriends. Correction: it doesn't really keep him from having relationships, he just doesn't. Lincoln's self-esteem has taken a bit of a ~~hit~~ plunge but once he realizes that someone might actually be interested in him, things really begin to take an upward turn in his life and it is awesome. (In a crazy way, Lincoln's character reminds me of Adam Sandler's character in the movie Punch-Drunk Love. I may be totally alone in this feeling, but I'm cool with that.)

Watching Lincoln fall for this girl is so endearing. Heck, everything about Lincoln is so endearing. He's this guy that you want to know or perhaps fall for yourself. He knows that what he has done is over-the-top and crossing the line, but he just can't stop himself because he's kind of in love. Y'all when he figures out that he is the office cute guy, I wanted to reach through the book and just hug him and pinch his cheeks and give him high fives and everything, everything. HOW DOES RAINBOW ROWELL MAKE ME FEEL LIKE THIS?

Attachments is more than a story of falling in love with another person, which is wonderful and sweet and very much like a John Hughes movie. It's also a story of beginning to love yourself again after taking a pretty big hit in life, and this part of the book is just as good or maybe even better than the love-part. I can't imagine reading this book and not falling so very hard for it. This is the second time lately that I've felt like I want to take something that Rainbow Rowell has written and put it in the hands of everyone so they'll be happy and have a happier day and a happier life for a while after reading it. This is one of the books you hug when you close it, YOU DO. I just don't know what else to say about it.

Except maybe OH, THAT ENDING. I love it so.

I recommend Attachments by Rainbow Rowell TO EVERYONE. Seriously.

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Attachments will appeal to fans of:

Adult Contemporary Fiction

Romance: Slowly-Developing Romance. No triangle.

Quirky characters! (I LOVE THEM.)

Alternating POV

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

is currently available for purchase.

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Have you read ATTACHMENTS yet?

How about ELEANOR AND PARK?

JUST DO IT.

Read them both.

Ten Contemporary Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

2013-05-14T06:12:00.000-04:00

Click HERE to check out Top Ten Tuesday
at The Broke and the Bookish

Ten Contemporary Books
Dealing With Tough Subjects

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Hopeless by Coleen Hoover

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Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Uses For Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

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Fight or Flight by Jamie Canosa
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

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Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Butter by Erin Jade Lange

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Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams
Lie by Caroline Bock

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Everybody Sees The Ants by A.S. King

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

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Every AMAZING thing by the incredible Ellen Hopkins

Shown: Burned

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I didn't explain any of my choices today
for fear of spoilers in case you haven't read them.

Also, some of you may not agree that some of these
are exactly tough, but they were for me.

What are some of the tough reads for YOU?

Inhale Exhale by Sarah M. Ross Review #CFMonth13

2013-05-14T00:20:00.000-04:00

Inhale Exhale by Sarah M. Ross
Publish Date: May 4, 2013
Source: Author for Review - Thank you!
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N

Jillian had a plan: celebrate the end of her first year of college with an amazing summer full of beaches, barbeques, and bonfires. When her mom insists she needs a summer job, and her boyfriend spends more time with his band than with her, Jillian’s plans go down the drain.

Grant had a plan: finish his Masters, get a great job at Google, and get the hell out of Georgia. He might be giving up some of the fun of his youth, but he knows his all work and no play method would be worth it when his dreams came true.

But things never go according to plan.

When temptation brings them together and tragedy tears them apart, Jillian and Grant will be forced to choose: fight for their dreams, or fight for each other. -(from Goodreads)

Inhale Exhale by Sarah M. Ross

My Thoughts: Inhale Exhale is one of those stories that I began thinking that I was reading another romance story but by the time the story ended, I realized there was more substance and drama in there than I initially thought - I've read several of those stories lately and always end up being completely taken by surprised when the events turn.

The first thing you need to know is this:
Jillian and Christian have been dating for about 4 years.

She's sure they'll end up married.

Christian doesn't work or go to school, but he does play in a band. He's been spending a ton of time away from Jillian lately because of his commitments to the band. She misses him and wants to spend time with him, but understands that for his band to be successful, he needs to put as much time into it as he can and this requires time away. Jillian is super understanding where Christian is concerned.

The second thing you need to know is this:
Jillian's parents make her get a job for the summer.

It's there that she meets Grant.

Hello, insta-attraction! Grant is HOT. He's good-looking and toned (he is an athlete) and he is very, very nice. He works in the IT department - Jillian keeps needing his assistance when her computer locks up. This is how they meet.

Grant is captivated by Jillian's looks from the second he sees her. He has a plan to finish school, get his Masters, get a great job, all of that - and nowhere in that plan does dating fit - so he tries to squash his attraction to her, tries to tell himself that she isn't all she seems. Honestly, though, the more time Grant spends around Jillian, the more obviously genuine she is, the sweeter she is, the more he just wants to be with her.

Jillian recognizes the mutual attraction for what it is and mentions over and over that she has a boyfriend. She feels so guilty for being so attracted to Grant - BUT Christian is never home, he's always off in another town playing another gig...and Grant is always so present and good and understanding.

Before long, it is pretty hard to deny the attraction that they feel for one another is a little more than just attraction. There's just the little problem of the boyfriend that they both try to tiptoe around.

The third thing you need to know is this:

Christian finally is able to spend some time at home.

He carves some time out for Jillian.

But some crazy stuff happens. CRAZY.

Grant had warned Jillian that Christian was into some unsavory stuff but Jillian didn't believe him. She thought he was jealous and actually acted quite rude and ugly to him. When Jillian finds herself in a pretty dangerous spot (thanks to Christian) not once, but twice - things with Christian heat up, and I don't mean in a swoony or steamy way. Jillian distances herself from him in hopes of distancing herself from his bad behavior, but his bad habits and lifestyle catch up to her and she ends up the victim of a violent act.

It's at this point that Jillian has some choices to make regarding these two guys. And Grant has to decide if he wants to proceed with the plans for his future, or does he want to fight for a relationship with Jillian...

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Inhale Exhale by Sarah M. Ross was a mixture of sweet romance and a little bit of drama, but it somehow worked to make an interesting story that I don't want to put down.

Even though her friends and family don't really like Christian all that much, Jillian fully expects to marry him one day. It is clear that he doesn't have much drive in the way of plans for his future. I think Jillian felt too comfortable in her well-worn relationship and was okay to settle for what she had rather than seek out what she deserved. Meeting Grant shook up Jillian's world quite a bit and opened her eyes, and eventually she was able to see what her friends and her family (and all of us readers) can already see.

Christian is basically a loser. I kind of feel bad for saying that because he doesn't really get that much page-time in the story, but he really is a loser. I got a worthless vibe from him from the very beginning and never liked him at all, so I was bothered that Jillian was developing a relationship with Grant (bad me!?). What is interesting is that Jillian still was so protective of Christian and was so blinded to his flaws even though they were practically neon signs to me. The fact that Jillian allowed herself to fall for another guy while she was still in a relationship - cheating - is so interesting in this story, because it completely goes against the rest of Jillian's character. She even is at war with herself over and over in her words and her thoughts because she just knows that she shouldn't be feeling what she is and it is wrong, but she really cannot help it.

Grant is great - he's a driven college student with a great work ethic, a plan for the future, and a great respect for women. He is an athlete and has a healthy lifestyle. He is basically the opposite of Christian. It appeared to be an obvious no-brainer which one of these guys she should be in a relationship with, but for some reason it took a long time and a couple of acts of violence to convince Jillian that her choice in men was suspect at best.

Speaking of the violence - it is there, but it is on the milder side compared to other books that I have read. I don't really feel like I need to "issue any trigger warnings" or anything like that, but there is an event that happens at about three-fourths of the way into the book that made me go WHAT?! Of course, the awesome Grant is there to see Jillian through everything, proving that he is the knight-in-shining-armor that is obvious to everyone else from the very beginning. I wasn't expecting this turn of events, but it made the story interesting. Also, it seems like it should be obvious that this story has a love triangle in it, but for some reason it just doesn't feel like a love triangle to me.

Inhale Exhale is a New Adult Contemporary Romance that is an easy, quick read and appears to be a standalone. I recommend this book for fans of the NA contemporary romances, HEAs, and stories with a little bit of steam in there but not too, too much.

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Inhale Exhale will appeal to fans of:

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Romance: Instant Attraction.

Inhale Exhale by Sarah M. Ross

is currently available for purchase.

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Check out my Blog Tour Stop

where you can read an excerpt

and for a chance to win!