Thursday, January 30, 2014

Review: Forever by Karen Ann Hopkins







Forever
Series: Temptation #3
by Karen Ann Hopkins
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Published by HarlequinTEEN
Pages:336
Source: Publisher via Netgalley








All I want is my happily-ever-after.
That's all I've wanted since meeting Noah Miller.
From the day we met, the world has tried to keep Noah and me from being together, but now that I'm carrying his child, no one will be able to tear us apart. Or so I hope. But Noah and I have made some mistakes along the way, and the consequences are impacting the people we love. Worse, there's a storm on the horizon, and it's sure to cause serious devastation.
If we can get through this, we'll finally be Rose and Noah; a family, forever.
But first we have to survive the road ahead. And happily-ever-after is a long way off.

My Thoughts


When writing my reviews of Temptation and Belonging, I found it difficult to share my thoughts about the books without revealing too much. It is the same with Forever. So this is my warning: This review gets a little spoilery - so read at your own risk.

As soon as I finished the last page of Belonging (book 2) I wanted to know how Rose and Noah's story was going to play out. Throughout the series, I had conflicting feelings about whether they should be together or not. I love a happily-ever-after, but I am fine if it doesn't happen for the main characters too if it suits the story being told. Honestly, when I started Forever, I could see the story going either way, but then the title wouldn't be accurate. So I knew how it was going to end, and realized that the getting there part was what really mattered.  

Like the other books in the series, Forever is told in multiple points of view of Noah, Rose, Sam, and now Sarah, Noah's younger sister and Rose's friend. Adding this new perspective lets readers know how Rose and Noah's Amish/English relationship affects everyone else in the community. In Belonging, Sarah and Rose built a strong relationship as Rose tried to become Amish. She became a prominent character, so it seemed right to know more of story from Sarah's perspective.

Just as in the other books, Noah and Rose are initially kept apart until Noah makes a drastic decision for the sake of his relationship with Rose and also his family. There wasn't as much of the dramatic push and pull of Noah and Rose's relationship as in the first books and I liked that. Instead, there were new experiences for them to deal with as Noah steps out of the Amish community and begins living among the English. It was really interesting to read how he dealt with being away from the lifestyle he was accustomed to just as Rose had in Belonging. This was something that I had an issue with in the previous books and I was glad to know of the sacrifices Noah would make for Rose.

There were some pretty intense moments in Forever that had me completely on edge. In the book description, there is the statement "there's a storm on the horizon" and there is, literally. Without revealing what happens (other than there is a storm), I do want to say that Hopkins's description of how the storm builds and progresses is terrifying and made me anxious while reading it. And then the aftermath of the storm, just devastating.

When a series comes to an end, there can be a lot of expectations if the book will end the way that you want it to. I try to not take that approach and ask "is this how it is supposed to end?" With Forever, I would say that the answer is yes. With all of the anticipation and the will they, won't they, should they, shouldn't they, Forever ended perfectly. 

I really enjoyed reading this entire series for the writing, the characters, and all of the questions that I had while reading it. I was originally hesitant to start this series because of the Amish storyline (which I realize now is completely stupid of me), but I'm glad that I didn't overlook it because I would have missed out on a wonderful story, an incredible reading experience, and an author whose work I love more and more with each book.  

 

Disclaimer:  I requested and received this ARC from HarlequinTEEN via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.


Forever Blog Tour-Wide Contest

We have lots of exciting prizes, so make sure to follow the tour for more chances to win every day! Up for grabs is both a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a $50 Amazon Gift Card, plus copies of the following Harlequin TEEN titles: Heartbeat, The Queen’s Choice, White Hot Kiss, Anything to Have You, Secret Diamond Sister and Grim. Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open to US/Canada.
 
 
 
 
Other Books in the Series
 
 
Temptation
Book #1
 
 
Belonging 
 
 
About the Author
 
 A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.
 









Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Guest Post: Elizabeth Scott - HEARTBEAT



Elizabeth Scott is one of many of my favorite young adult authors. I've read over half of her books and the over half are in my TBR pile. Heartbeat, her newest book published by Harlequin Teen, came out yesterday. Today I'm hosting Elizabeth as a part of the Heartbeat Blog Tour hosted by Kismet Book Touring. I've asked Elizabeth to share her favorite bookstore memory.

Welcome Elizabeth!!! 

I grew up in a very rural area. We had one tiny library and one--even smaller--bookstore. (Picture a large closet, and there you have it.)

I spent my first paycheck at that bookstore.

When I went to college, I took the bus everywhere (because it was free) and still remember seeing my first non-campus bookstore. It was in a shopping center and now I realize the bookstore wasn't that large, but at the time, it seemed mythical. I walked in and thought, "I'm home."

I still feel that way every time I walk into a bookstore, actually. I just--books are my comfy blanket.




Purchase


Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.
But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.
Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma—the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia—New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge. Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death—and maybe, for love?
Excerpt from Heartbeat
I sit down with my mother. My smile is shaky as I tell her about my day.

“I think I did okay on my History test,” I say. “Oh, and Olivia wore her new pair of false eyelashes, the ones I told you about. She was batting them around so much that a teacher stopped and asked if she had something caught in her eyes.”

I laugh at the memory, and the sound is shaky too. “Olivia wasn’t super happy about that.”

There’s the slightest movement, but it’s not on Mom’s face. Her face never changes. But under the skin of Mom’s stomach…I don’t want to look but I can’t help it, because there my mother’s skin is moving.

Because the baby is moving.

I close my eyes.

When I open them, Mom’s stomach is stretched out and still.

“Emma, are you ready to go?” Dan says as he comes into the room, and I look up at him and nod.

“Did you two have a nice chat?” he says, bending over to kiss Mom.

I stare at him.

He must feel it because he straightens up, clearing his throat, and pats Mom’s stomach. “Look how big he’s getting. Lisa, he’s growing so much.”

Mom doesn’t say anything, not even to that.

She can’t.

She’s dead. Machines are keeping her alive. They breathe for her. They feed her. They regulate her whole body.

My mother is dead, but Dan is keeping her alive because of the baby.

 
About Elizabeth Scott



ELIZABETH SCOTT grew up in a town so small it didn’t even have a post office, though it did boast an impressive cattle population. She’s sold hardware and panty hose and had a memorable three-day stint in the dot-com industry, where she learned that she really didn’t want a career burning CDs. She lives just outside Washington, D.C., with her husband, and firmly believes you can never own too many books.




Giveaways

On my blog
Signed Copy of Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Tour Wide Grand Prize

Enter by Rafflecopter
(click link below)

US/Canada Addresses Only
Giveaway Ends Feb. 14th

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