Book Review: After the End by Amy Plum

Title: After the End (After the End #1)
Author: Amy Plum
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: May 6th 2014
Length: 336 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, Alaska, romance, magic, nature
Source: Publisher

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.


At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

Summary by Goodreads

 

As a big admirer of Amy Plum's REVENANTS series, AFTER THE END was a definitive must read for me. And Amy's new book is totally different than anything I've read by Amy Plum so far. Juneau's story takes us to the frozen, barren tundra where she lives a very primordial life with her tribe and their animals.

Juneau is this very tough wilderness girl who hunts and can survive anywhere. And she has to prove herself only a few short days later when her tribe is kidnapped by a shady organization. She's so brave and independent that she sets out to save them all, sees big cities like Anchorage and civilization for the first time. How would you feel? Her emotional commotion is something you can understand even if you are no professional caribou hunter who grew up in Alaska. When a character loses something so dear to him or her and sets out to get it back, the story practically tells itself, especially with Amy Plum's exceptionally good writing.

Did you know that AFTER THE END is told from alternating point of views? Juneau you know. And then there's Miles. Miles had me on his side from page one. He's this smug and arrogant rich kid who believes he can get out of everything. He is a character one could dislike but I always want to give such a character the chance to prove himself. And I couldn't wait for Juneau to come along and change him radically. One would absolutely be expecting her to do that, right?

They also go on a kind of road trip, not voluntarily because they are trying to find Juneau's people but they grow closer and make great experiences together. It's just that some parts of their trip were not that captivating because they kept dragging on for some chapters. 

The Alaskan setting in the beginning is kick-starting the story like a rocket. I could easily feel myself into Juneau's nature-loving life and wanted to learn everything about their routines and how they believe that they are the only people left after Word War III. There are huskies, too, and they were so adorable, stole my heart right from the start! Reading the summary one could expect a dystopian read but it's more of a contemporary with magical and a few light supernatural influences.   

4/5 **** AFTER THE END – A pretty wild first book in a new adventurous trilogy by Amy Plum. 

Readers who liked Amy Plum's writing in her REVENANTS series will definitely be into her new series as well. It's spiritual, it has car chases, a big portion of cultural exchange and magical elements. Alternating point of views, a light romance between Juneau and Miles and a beautiful Alaskan setting make AFTER THE END an exciting new release!

"From the cracking of branches to my right, I know that another foe lurks nearby. I can't see the inevitable scars and pockmarks from nuclear fallout, the radiation damage. But it's there. I'll have to take my chances. You have to be tough to survive an apocalypse."

AFTER THE END you might enjoy SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo, SNOW LIKE ASHES by Sara Raasch or UNEARTHLY by Cynthia Hand. They don't have exactly the same feel to them but they are all wintry reads with their own qualities like magic and angels.

* Liked AFTER THE END? Then you should read Amy Plum's debut DIE FOR ME!

* Click here to read an excerpt of AFTER THE END!

* Want to meet Amy Plum? Check out her event schedule.

* For more information about Amy Plum and her books visit www.amyplumbooks.com.

* Thanks to Harper Collins International for the chance to review AFTER THE END!

Read More

Mini Reviews #23

Today I'm reviewing three hot summer reads. I'm sure some of you have been waiting for WICKED GAMES by Sean Olin, WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart and THE SECRETS OF LILY GRAVES by Sarah Strohmeyer to be released for a few months now. And I've heard great things about them, but they just weren't for me.

Wicked Games by Sean Olin

Carter and Lilah are the perfect couple. Until Carter falls in love with another girl and the wrath of Lilah is unleashed. 

At first I got excited that something bad was about to happen. It's like that gleeful feeling in movies when you are about to witness mean girls...well, being mean (but you know their ways won't work in the end). The first few pages you fall in love with the image of the perfect couple that are Lilah and Carter and the way they got to know each other. Then it fast goes downhill, your sympathy for them and the desire to learn more about their wicked thoughts, too. I admit, their fights offered a kind of cheap enjoyment at first. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the story to get a psychotic and monotone feel to it. Sean Olin's characters hurt each other, they don't have empathy and have no idea what's going on in their minds and lives. So why would I want to invest any time in their relationships and finding a soluation for them when they weren't even willing to see reason? You should think twice about trusting those characters with your precious reading time.

2/5 ** WICKED GAMES – A crazy psychological drama, too disturbing for its own good, painting pictures of intrigues and false love without any morale.

When I first thought of WICKED GAMES as intriguing and entertaining to read, with a tinge of revenge and thrill, I almost couldn't bring myself to read on till the end. I didn't get the intention of the story at all, because characters keep repeating their mistakes, being ignorant to other people's feelings and acting upon their irrational and dangerous thoughts. 

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publishing Date: June 10^th 2014
Length: 352 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, romance, friendship, revenge, thriller

Source: Edelweiss

Goodreads Summary 

Author's Homepage

 

 

The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer

By family tradition Lily Graves lives and works in a funeral parlor with her mother, aunt and grandmother. She might have a crush on football player Matt. And when his ex-girlfriend Erin is found dead, Lily has more than one problem. She now becomes main suspect after having a fight with Erin. 

The title is a bit misleading because Lily Graves isn't the girl who's keeping secrets all the time, lying to everyone. She's quite a nice girl under all that dark goth exterior. The story setting was a very good source for the general dark and mysterious mood of the book. In the end Lily and Matt's romance wasn't strong enough to make the story a really good read, but the murder mystery was engaging and had some gruesome details to it, thanks to all the resources a funeral home offers.

3/5 *** THE SECRETS OF LILY GRAVES - A perfect read for fans of Pretty Little Liars, only less lying and more graveyard visits.

Sarah Strohmeyer's new YA release is on the darker, more mysterious side of summer reads with a gentle romance and a morbid, gothic touch to it. You'll enjoy the murder case most, lots of teenage drama in there, too.

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publishing Date: May 13^th 2014
Length: 304 pages
Keywords: YA, funeral parlor, murder, gothic, romance

Source: Edelweiss

Goodreads Summary 

Author's Homepage

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Cadence Sinclair has spent her summers on Beechwood, a family island which belongs to her grandfather. She and the other grandchildren who are also her best friends since childhood call themselves the Liars. Cady tells you what it means to spent summers on Beechwood island. What is expected from you as a Sinclair and what does it mean to live with regrets, in a world in which no mistakes are allowed?

Stories set on a private island that only very few people have access to always draw me to them, especially if there's talk about a mystery and dark family secrets.

For me WE WERE LIARS was not so much a thriller working with tension and anticipation. I experienced it more as a live rendition of Cady's thoughts, piecing together what happened two summers ago. E. Lockhart's writing was jumbled, incoherent (kind of like Cady's memories), and absolutely not fit to engage a reader like me.

I have no idea why the teens were called Liars because in the end there really weren't that many secrets to be surprised about. I didn't connect with the characters at all, not even with Cady. And the entire family, the prestige, manipulation and money, everything that determined the Sinclairs' lives, was just so insufferable. No family I could bring myself to care about.

2/5 ** WE WERE LIARS – The tragic story of a family crumbling under the weight of its money, prestige and secrets.

I guess this is one of the reads you either really really like because you get it, or you don't. Well, I didn't. Couldn't see the sense behind all of Cady's musings and her telling you about her great Sinclair family. Originally, I didn't plan to read WE WERE LIARS and only wanted it since everyone else started talking about how much they wanted it. I should've listened to my original feeling that this wouldn't be a story for me.

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publishing Date: May 13^th 2014
Length: 240 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, friendship, romance, memories, thriller

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads Summary 

Author's Homepage

Read More

The Break-Up Artist Blog Tour: Q&A with Philip Siegel

Today I'm very happy to welcome Philip Siegel, 2014 debut author, on the blog. My stop of the THE BREAK-UP ARTIST blog tour features a Q&A with Philip Siegel. He was patient enough and so awesome to answer all the questions I sent his way. Hope you enjoy them. There's also a giveaway (actually more than one)!

_____________________________________________________

Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash. Some work at the Gap. Becca Williamson breaks up couples. 


After watching her sister get left at the altar, Becca knows the true damage that comes when people utter the dreaded L-word. For just $100 via paypal, she can trick and manipulate any couple into smithereens. With relationship zombies overrunning her school, and treating single girls like second class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even her best friend Val has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend.
One night, she receives a mysterious offer to break up the homecoming king and queen, the one zombie couple to rule them all: Steve and Huxley. They are a JFK and Jackie O in training, masters of sweeping faux-mantic gestures, but if Becca can split them up, then school will be safe again for singletons. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date and wiggle her way back into her former BFF Huxley’s life – not to mention start a few rumors, sabotage some cell phones, break into a car, and fend off the inappropriate feelings she’s having about Val’s new boyfriend. All while avoiding a past victim out to expose her true identity.
No one said being the Break-Up Artist was easy.

About The Break-Up Artist:
Goodreads | Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  IndieBound


Philip Siegel grew up in New Jersey, which he insists is much nicer than certain TV shows would have you believe. He graduated from Northwestern University and promptly moved out to Los Angeles, where he became an NBC page. He likes to think that the character of Kenneth on 30 Rock is loosely based on his life rights. Currently, he works in downtown Chicago by day while he writes novels at night and during his commute sandwiched in between colorful characters on the El. THE BREAK-UP ARTIST is his first novel.

Find Philip:

Website| Twitter | Facebook

_____________________________________________________

Tour Schedule

Monday April 28 - Bumbles and Fairy Tales - Guest Post

Wednesday April 30 - Reading Teen - Guest Post

Friday May 2 - Scott Reads It - Guest Post 

Monday May 5 - Miss Page-Turner's City of Books -Author Interview

Wednesday May 7 - Xpresso Reads  Author Interview

Friday May 9 -  Me, My Shelf and I  Guest Post

_____________________________________________________

Q&A with Philip Siegel

1) How are you celebrating THE BREAK-UP ARTIST's release date on April 29th?

I think I’ll go around to a few local bookstores and see if my book is on the shelf. And then of course enjoy the surreal moment of seeing MY BOOK in a bookstore. My release party is two days later, which is when I’ll celebrate with friends and cupcakes.

2) Becca Williamson breaks up couples for money. How did you come up with this rather unusual job idea for a high school student?

I’d wanted to do something like the anti-Hitch. We’ve all seen and read stories about matchmakers, but what about people who break up couples? I’d been a bit cynical about relationships growing up; I was always on the outside looking in. Plus, a few years back, I had some friends in bad relationships. In those situations, it’s hard to step in and say something because you don’t want to damage that friendship. It made me wish there was someone who could break up couples for me.

3) What are Becca's top three sneaky methods for breaking up couples? And what was the most hilarious or even awkward moment in her career?

In the book, she hatches a plan to break up this megapopular couple by making the girl think that her boyfriend is falling back in love with his old girlfriend. I loved the slow burn plotting of her scheme. You can’t just throw rumors of an affair in someone’s face. Step by step, Becca makes it seem like the guy is straying, fueling the girl’s paranoia.

Becca’s also broken up a pair of actors by making it seem like they wrote negative reviews of each other’s performances, and for another couple, she spread rumors that the guy was badmouthing the girl’s friends. When writing the book, I realized that break-up schemes couldn’t be forced or too obvious. They needed to be subtle, with time to sink in. She mostly needed to plant seeds of doubt and discontent in her marks’ minds.

4) Becca and Val are best friends, but then Becca suddenly has feelings for Val's boyfriend after spending some time with him. How important is friendship versus love in THE BREAK-UP ARTIST?

One of the big reasons Becca became a break-up artist is because she saw the friendships that were being ruined by relationships. Friends being ditched for boyfriends and girlfriends. Becca believes that love is toxic and that friendships rules, but she realizes that friendship is its own form of love. I really like that Becca does champion the importance of friendship.

5) How much of your original draft made it into the final book? Can you share a deleted scene with us that you really liked but had to cut anyway?

Probably less than 10%. When I think about my original draft, it’s a totally different book. In fact, I had to reread the original synopsis from 3 years ago to refresh my memory. In the original draft, I wrote a scene where Becca’s sister Diane takes her on a road trip to crash her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. It involved leaping out of cars and crying at a gas station. I loved the emotional weight and the dynamic of the sisters in the scene. Becca realized here that she needed to play the big sister for once. I cut the scene because in the end, it was too extreme. Becca’s sister is down in the dumps about being left at the altar, but trying to crash and ruin her ex’s wedding just made her a little too sad and crazy. In future drafts, I shifted her story away from getting back with her ex to reconnecting with her friends.

6) Which recent YA releases can you recommend to readers who are looking for a read just as fun as THE BREAK-UP ARTIST?

My all-time favorite YA novel is THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger. Go ahead and read all her books because they are amazing. For more laughs, you must check out MEANT TO BE by Lauren Morrill and ALSO KNOWN AS by Robin Benway.

7) Can you tell us something about other book projects you are currently working on?

I am working on a follow-up to THE BREAK-UP ARTIST that’ll be out in 2015. I won’t ruin the surprise since there’s a neat little set up for it in the epilogue.

8) Becca and her crush Ezra are talking about movies quite a lot. What are some of your favourite movies? And did you have to do a lot of research or was the extensive movie knowledge something you already had before you began to work on Becca's story?

I am a total movie buff, and I definitely used it as a crutch when writing Ezra. Usually in books, the characters are really into music or sports or some other hobby. I know movies, so it was easy for me to drop references into scenes. I didn’t have to do research; it was all in my head. (I have an uncanny talent of remembering when movies came out and how much they grossed at the box office. Feel free to test me in person.)

I listed out my Top 10 movies in the back of the book, which was agony to pare down, so I’ll mention some of my other favorites: To Die For, Boogie Nights, Network, The Social Network, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, The First Wives Club, Six Degrees of Separation, Fargo, Addams Family Values. I’m stopping myself here or else you’ll need a whole ‘nother blog post.

9) Becca's sister Diane gets dumped on her own wedding day and Becca loses all belief in true love. Can you think of anything or anyone that could change her mind?

I think if Becca saw a healthy, loving couple where each person had their own life outside the relationship, she would feel better about love. What bugs her the most is how she’s seen people change for the worse once they get a boyfriend or girlfriend. They stop hanging out with their friends and being themselves.

10) If you could choose anyone to make a guest appearance in THE BREAK-UP ARTIST (film, TV, literary character) who would it be?

Wednesday Addams from Addams Family Values. I think they would get along great!

11) Do you have one place that inspires you or can you write anywhere?

I can, and do, write everywhere. At my desk, on my couch, on a futon in the back room, on the train, at a Starbucks. But my favorite place to write is at the library. It’s quiet, and I’m surrounded by books.

12) Are there any characters in THE BREAK-UP ARTIST who are based on anyone you know in real life?

Yes! When I wrote this book, I needed to think of real people for each of the characters in order to get inside their head and get the voices down. Readers may think the character of Val can be over the top, but she’s very much based on a friend of mine. Some of the things she does, like making charts of potential boyfriends, sending multiple notes that say I NEED A BOY!, hatching schemes to get boyfriends, going after guys who just broke up with their girlfriend, asking Becca for her percentage chance with a guy…well, that all happened verbatim. It just goes to show you that life will forever be stranger than fiction. 

_____________________________________________________

Giveaway 

Each tour stop is offering up a copy of The Break-Up Artist. And one winner will receive a fantastic grand prize package including the following Harlequin Teen titles: 2 copies of The Break-Up Artist, a copy of White Hot Kiss, The Forever Song, The Secret Diamond Sisters, Played, and an ARC of Let’s Get Lost.

Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open to US/Canada.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/207d1c516/

_____________________________________________________

For more information on the THE BREAK-UP ARTIST blog tour visit www.kismetbt.com. Thanks for organizing such a great blog tour!

Read More

Book Review: Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Reckoning (Sweet Evil #3)
Author: Wendy Higgins
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: April 29th 2014
Length: 464 pages
Keywords: YA, fantasy, angel, demon, sins, romance, friendship
Source: Edelweiss

It’s time.

Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive ways.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous—especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna’s great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she’s prepared to risk.

Summary by Goodreads 

  

It was so hard to say Goodbye to Kaidan and Anna and all the others after everything that happened over the course of the three SWEET EVIL books. There is a lot of drama and teen angst, also some of the best and happiest moments our characters could wish for. I can't believe SWEET EVIL almost remained a standalone novel a few years ago and now we've been lucky enough to get three whole books out of the story. Wendy Higgins always puts a certain clever spin on events and leaves room for surprises. Her books are merging together seamlessly into one big constantly well-plotted and beautifully written story.

Anna and Kaidan's romance is the biggest part of the story, and I'm sure their fans wouldn't want it any other way. Their relationship is even more intimate, trusting and steamy than before. Actually, it's even more romantic than I imagined it to be. Now there are some very deep emotions that have grown from the strong physical attraction that brought Kaidan and Anna together in the first place. The progress they are making as a couple is just as immense as their own personal maturation. Wendy Higgins' writing makes for a whole bunch of happy readers in the end.

No other series has as many secondary characters that I just can't get enough of as the SWEET EVIL series. Blake, Kopano, Zania, the twins and all the other friends and allies that are set to fight evil. Their stories and relationships, of love and friendship, meant just as much to me as Kaidan and Anna's love story. They all belong together and are bound by their loyalty, love and common goal.

Some readers will probably not be okay with some things happening towards the end of Anna's story. I had to wrap my mind around the fact that they were happening for the greater benefit of Anna and Kaidan's relationship and their friends. The only part I'm still hoping to forget is the epilogue. I found it corny and not in sync with the original story's voice. But SWEET RECKONING isn't the first book with a last chapter that didn't quite fit with my taste. 

SWEET RECKONING is the conclusion to a beloved trilogy, so naturally I want to tell you all about  my favourite scenes (there are so many), but you have to find out on your own how Kaidan and Anna's story ends. And now I'm wishing for many more books written by Wendy Higgins!

  

5/5 ***** SWEET RECKONING - A blazing end to one of the best sexy YA series by the sweet Wendy Higgins!

When I first picked up Wendy's debut SWEET EVIL I couldn't foresee how hard I'd fall for Kaidan and Anna's love story in the end. Kaidan is one of my absolute favourite book boys, the conflict between heaven and hell is as absorbing and the story in SWEET RECKONING as fast-paced as in the previous two books. This is the exact right pick for readers who are looking for a series with a hell of a paranormal story background and a romance on the hotter side of YA contemporary.

""Everything will be okay," I said quietly. 

"The sooner we get rid of them, the better."

His jaw worked from side to side. I wanted him to talk to me.

"What are you afraid of, Kai?"

"I'm only afraid of one thing." His blue eyes hit mine. "Losing you."

Pained fear showed on his face, and it wrung my heart. We both knew what we were up against."

SWEET RECKONING you might enjoy ANGELFIRE by Courtney Allison Moulton, THE FALLEN AND LEVITHAN by Thomas E. Sniegoski and THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER by Jana Oliver. Demons or angels make an appearance in all of them, but unfortunately no Kaidan.

* Have you read SEE ME by Wendy Higgins yet?

* Click here to read an excerpt of SWEET RECKONING!

* Watch the SWEET EVIL book trailer here.

* Do you want to meet Wendy Higgins? Check out her event schedule.

* For further information about Wendy and her books visit www.wendyhigginswrites.com.
 
* Thanks to Harper Teen and Edelweiss for the chance to review SWEET RECKONING! 

Read More

Behind The Pages #4 - How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Welcome to my new Behind The Pages post! You can find last month's post of this feature, with Rebecca Serle and her second novel The Edge of Falling, here.

What is Behind The Pages all about? I asked some of my favourite authors and a bunch of promising 2014 debut authors to annotate a scene, page or more of one of their books. I see the feature as a chance to show readers what's behind a page. Authors can share their favourite writing memories, the music that influenced a certain scene or anything else that comes to their mind. We might get hints to what the characters were thinking and feeling that exact moment or other fun details about their story. Hope you enjoy Behind The Pages as much as I do. I'm intending this feature to be a monthly post here on the blog.

Last year I read HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES and I fell in love with it after only a few pages. Jennifer's debut is such a fabulous summer read and if you didn't read it last year, now's the time to read it. Summer's just around the corner!

Thanks to all the incredible authors who took the time to annotate a page or scene for us, your comments are always so insightful and fun to read. When readers can't get enough of a book and its characters it only shows how much the author's work means to them, to us. Thank you! 

_____________________________________________________

First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

Source

About Jennifer Salvato Doktorski: "In addition to writing for teens, I’m a freelance writer who has written articles and essays for national publications including, Cosmopolitan. I think I’ve always wanted to be a writer even though I often referred to my college major in English as “PreLaw” because it held the promise that I might actually find work someday.

As it turns out, I did find work. My first paid writing gig was as an editorial assistant for the North Jersey Herald & News, where, in addition to developing a life-long passion for coffee and news, I wrote obituaries for eight months. I’ve also worked as a speech writer, bank teller, ghostwriter, bookkeeper in a lampshade factory, pet shop clerk, and music zine editor."(Author bio found on www.jendoktorski.com.)

 _____________________________________________________

 How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

_________________________________________
 
 Snap Shots

Here's a picture Jennifer took of the Grand Canyon when she was there for the first time. I can't wait to see it live in September for the first time, too!

Photo Credit Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Grand Canyon ♥

And pictures of the Flintstone's campground, mentioned on Jennifer's annoated pages. Doesn't it look fun?

Source

Source

_________________________________________

Soundtrack

I asked Jen if she listened to a special song while she wrote this scene. Here's what she said: "I didn’t listen to any particular song when writing this scene – I imagined it very quiet. But Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” was in constant rotation while I wrote this book – she helps me tap my inner teenager and angst."

I bet you can't wait to read HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES now, or start a re-read! :)

Read More

Cover Reveal: Love Me to Death by Marissa Clarke

Love Me to Death
by Marissa Clarke




Expected release:

October 28th
2014













Medical research scientist Elena Arcos has always lived her life under the radar. When she is shot in a convenience store robbery, Elena finds herself rocketed into supernatural insanity courtesy of a sexy immortal law enforcer. He’s convinced she’s some kind of freaky half-vampire thing and that her deceased dad was the real deal: a blood sucking monster. Yeah, right. Nikolai Itzov never anticipated battling the urge to kiss the offspring of his father’s murderer. As a Slayer, an elite law enforcer descended from Azrael himself, his orders from the Underveil General are clear: Kill her or die.

Nikolai and Elena find themselves in a life and death battle to stop a plot designed to lift the Underveil and enslave humans. With her analytical mind and his centuries of training, they might be able to foil the plot with their lives and maybe their hearts intact. But in order to succeed, he must help her become the very thing he hates the most: an Undead.

Read More

Book Review: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Geography of You and Me
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Headline
Publishing Date: April 15th 2014
Length: 352 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, romance, friendship, travelling
Source: Netgalley

Owen lives in the basement. Lucy lives on the 24th floor. But when the power goes out in the midst of a New York heatwave, they find themselves together for the first time: stuck in a lift between the 10th and 11th floors. As they await help, they start talking...

The brief time they spend together leaves a mark. And as their lives take them to Edinburgh and San Francisco, to Prague and to Portland they can't shake the memory of the time they shared. Postcards cross the globe when they themselves can't, as Owen and Lucy experience the joy - and pain - of first love.

And as they make their separate journeys in search of home, they discover that sometimes it is a person rather than a place that anchors you most in the world.

Summary by Goodreads

Whatever you paid for THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME, Jennifer E. Smith made sure you are getting it back in double the amount of smiles, melancholic sighs and happy tears. This beloved YA contemporary author's words are conjuring up all the feels!

New York City is dark. Lucy and Owen's is surely not the only elevator in the city that is stuck without any electricity. But theirs is the one to start their story. The one to start a great love story. So after the elevator, Lucy and Owen spent one night together (it's ordinary, but same parts magical). And then things come together and after only a few short days their ways part again. Lucy leaves New York for Europe and Owen goes on a road trip with his father.
So there will be chapters told from Lucy's perspective and others told from Owen's. Despite the distance between them they are never really separated from each other, still wondering what the other one is doing. And I'm still surprised that Lucy and Owen's story touched me so much because they have so few time they actually spend together. Distance makes the (reader's) heart grow fonder really applies here.

Their love story evolves with distance and each moment they spend in a new city, they learn how to find to themselves first before they can find to each other. Wandering, travelling and seeing the world is a big part of their story. Edinburgh, London, New York, Lake Tahoe. This is such a rewarding and rich story for everyone who loves to travel. I've seen a few of the places Lucy visits, and Owen's stops will all hop right onto my travel wishlist.

Just thinking about Lucy and Owen's story gives me this deep feeling of contentment. Life is uncertain, people go different ways and sometimes not fate, or a coincidence, but your own striving to find happiness brings you back together. It's a story of many contradictions, similarities, too. Of learning how to fit in, and how you sometimes need to fit only with the ones that you love. How a place can be an adventure, a home, or both.

It's hard to explain how Jennifer E. Smith writes her characters right into your heart after only a few chapters. Her stories always have that special feeling about uncertainty of the many ways of life and the miracles that can actually happen. There are chapters in THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME that left me stunned and they sometimes consisted of only a handful of words.

There are postcards, and ice cream, travelling, wonders of nature, bustling cities full of possibilities. Jennifer E. Smith just wrote some of my most favourite things in the world into one story, so it's easy to say this story had everything I need. Now you too should get ready for the marvels and miracles of this new Jennifer E. Smith book!

5/5 ***** THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME - Lucy and Owen's globe-spanning love story is one of a kind. This is the one book that should be shared with all your best friends!

Are you looking for a YA contemporary read that gets your skin tingling, your mind wandering and your heart soaring? Then Jennifer E. Smith's THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME is the perfect pick to get your daily dose of reading happiness. If you could wish for any book right now, this should be it!

"He considered this a moment. "Yup," he said finally.

"That pretty much sums up my feelings about New York."

Lucy nodded. "You would prefer not to," she said. "But that's just because it's new. Once you get to know it more, I have a feeling you'll like it here."

"Is this the part where you insist on taking me on a tour of the city, and we laugh and point at all the famous sights, and then I buy an I♥NY T-shirt and live happily ever after?"

"The T-shirt is optional," she told him."" ― p. 10

THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME you might enjoy THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT also by Jennifer E. Smith. UNBREAK MY HEART by Melissa C. Walker and its sailboat love story is very cute and THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Leila Sales is for the music lovers and everyone who has felt left out at some point in life. 

  

* Have you read Jennifer E. Smith's THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? It's the book that made me fall in love with her writing.

* Click here to read an excerpt of THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME.

*Want to meet Jennifer? Check out her event schedule.

* For more information about Jennifer E. Smith and her books visit www.jenniferesmith.com.

* Thanks to Frances and Headline for the chance to review THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME!

Read More