Friday, June 29, 2018

Review: ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE by Nicole Williams







ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE
by Nicole Williams
Publication Date: June 19, 2018
Published by Crown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 256
Source: Ardent Prose PR | Netgalley
Purchase AmazonNookKoboBooks





Synopsis

Fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, and Jenny Han will delight as the fireworks spark and the secrets fly in this delicious summer romance from a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

When Jade decided to spend the summer with her aunt in California, she thought she knew what she was getting into. But nothing could have prepared her for Quentin. Jade hasn't been in suburbia long and even she knows her annoying (and annoyingly cute) next-door neighbor spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. 

And when Quentin learns Jade plans to spend her first American summer hiding out reading books, he refuses to be ignored. Sneaking out, staying up, and even a midnight swim, Quentin is determined to give Jade days--and nights--worth remembering.

But despite their storybook-perfect romance, every time Jade moves closer, Quentin pulls away. And when rumors of a jilted ex-girlfriend come to light, Jade knows Quentin is hiding a secret--and she's determined to find out what it is.


My Thoughts

Summer. Night swimming. Annoyingly cute boy next door. I am hooked!! It didn't take much to know that ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE is a book I had to read. I love stories set in the summer, stories about crushes and first loves, and stories about falling for the boy next door. Check, check, and check. ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE is a fun story, perfect for readers looking for a young adult contemporary that makes your heart feel happy.

Jade wants the typical teen experience after living on the road with her famous mom. But she didn't expect the rules and restrictions and the hovering that came with living with her aunt. When she seeks an escape with a summer job, she . I loved the hilarious descriptions of working at the concessions counter at the pool. Catering to kids and their parents isn't all it's cracked up to be. (Trust me I know). But it's there that Jade begins to make her place and find new friends.

What I liked:

  • Quentin and his easily likeable ways. Teen me would have had a crush on him, no question about it.
  • When Quentin gifts Jade with a big ol' box of romance books
  • Jade's relationship with her mother
  • Jade's experiences living with her aunt and cousins
  • The Ferris Wheel banter 
  • The almost first kisses - the anticipation in the moment
  • The first kiss
  • THE NIGHT SWIMMING!!
Favorite Quote:

"You know, I'm full of surprises, too." 
That was one of the most obvious statements I'd heard. "Yeah, I know you are."


Quentin's secret isn't so difficult to decipher. Readers will definitely pick up on it sooner than Jade did, but seeing her realization and how she deals with it is what makes this story more than just a summer fling.

I just adore the book. It's sweet and charming. It charmed me. Definitely a book you should read to kick off your summer. 




Disclaimer:  I received this e-ARC as part a blog tour hosted by Ardent Prose PR. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Quotes are taken from the unpublished review copy and may differ from the final published version. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

It's Release Day: THE FRAGILE ORDINARY by Samantha Young - Excerpt and Giveaway

   
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Impossible Vastness of Us and the On Dublin Street series comes a heartfelt and beautiful new young adult novel, set in Scotland, about daring to dream and embracing who you are. THE FRAGILE ORDINARY is now available where all fine books are sold. Order your copy of THE FRAGILE ORDINARY today!

   

About THE FRAGILE ORDINARY:

I am Comet Caldwell.

And I sort of, kind of, absolutely hate my name.

People expect extraordinary things from a girl named Comet. That she’ll be effortlessly cool and light up a room the way a comet blazes across the sky.

But from the shyness that makes her book-character friends more appealing than real people to the parents whose indifference hurts more than an open wound, Comet has never wanted to be the center of attention. She can’t wait to graduate from her high school in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the only place she ever feels truly herself is on her anonymous poetry blog. But surely that will change once she leaves to attend university somewhere far, far away.

When new student Tobias King blazes in from America and shakes up the school, Comet thinks she’s got the bad boy figured out. Until they’re thrown together for a class assignment and begin to form an unlikely connection. Everything shifts in Comet’s ordinary world. Tobias has a dark past and runs with a tough crowd—and none of them are happy about his interest in Comet. Targeted by bullies and thrown into the spotlight, Comet and Tobias can go their separate ways…or take a risk on something extraordinary.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | Amazon Kindle

iBooks | GooglePlay | Kobo

 

“Endearing and relatable, Comet-the girl who is searching for her place in this world-will shoot through the sky and into your heart.”

— #1 New York Times bestselling author Erin Watt


      

  EXCERPT: 

By the time we got to the house and I let us into my bedroom, I was a jittering wreck. Massive waves of nervous energy were emanating from Tobias, making me worse. He was rarely nervous about anything. Once inside my room, I waited impatiently as Tobias slumped down on my bed, elbows on knees, head in hands.
I shrugged out of my jacket and unwound my scarf. Still waiting.
“Comet,” he huffed, not looking up. “Sit down, okay, you’re making me nervous.”
“You’re making me nervous.” I sat on the armchair across from him. “You and Stevie didn’t kill someone, did you? Did Dean dispose of the body for you and now he’s blackmailing you?”
Tobias’s broad shoulders shook and he lifted his head to stare at me with amusement tinged with sadness. “You’ve got to stop reading so many books.”
“Never.”
He smiled at me, his look so tender that I squirmed with the need to shoot across the room and throw my arms around him. Instead I met his gaze and asked directly, “What happened back there?”
“I just chose you over Stevie,” he said.
I swear my eyebrows must have hit my hairline at this pronouncement. “What?”
“Stevie and some of the guys have been hanging around Dean more and more. Dean is a dealer. And he’s part of something bigger—we’re talking an adult-sized, criminal gang who deal drugs and steal cars for a living. Dean deals cocaine to kids. Blair Lochrie High School is one of his grounds. He sells to quite a few kids there.”
At our high school?
Class A drugs at our high school?
“Bloody hell,” I whispered, “Where have I been?”
“Where I prefer you—safe with your nose stuck in a book.”
“Tobias…Stevie?”
Hearing the worry in my voice, he winced. “I tried, Com. I tried to keep him out of it, but he’s so messed up and I couldn’t stop him. I hung around to make sure he was okay.”
“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” God, please let that be why he was avoiding me.
“Yes.” A million apologies swirled in his gorgeous eyes. “I didn’t mean for Stevie to find out about you, because I didn’t want you anywhere near the stuff he was getting involved in. But then you two got along, so well I thought you might…have feelings for each other, so I told him that he either stopped hanging around Dean or he stopped hanging around you. He agreed keeping you out of that stuff, away from the boys, was better for you. So we stopped coming around as much and then stopped coming around at all. Tonight was his initiation into Dean’s crew. It was supposed to be both our initiations, I guess, because Dean was sending Stevie to some other party with drugs, and I was following Stevie as backup. Now I’m not.”
There was so much to process in what he’d just said.
My brain blurted out the first thing it wanted to deal with. “Stevie and I don’t have feelings for each other. I don’t like Stevie, Tobias.”
His eyes widened as my tone implied that I liked someone else. “No?”
“No.”
“Good. Because I just left him to that hell.” He stood up and started pacing back and forth. “I tried to help him even if it meant hurting you, and he just let himself get pulled further down into that crap.”
I stood up, reached out to touch him, to slow him down. He stilled, looking at my hand on his arm. “What did you mean? You chose me over Stevie?”
“Comet, Dean made it clear that if I left with you, I couldn’t go around there or anywhere near him again. So I either had to stay and go with Stevie as his backup on a drug deal and leave you to handle Dean on your own, or I could walk out of there with you and leave Stevie to do it alone. For good.” His gaze moved over my face, as if he were committing each feature to memory.
My heart started thudding so hard the blood rushed through my ears. “So you chose me.”
“Of course,” he choked out. “I’d never let anything happen to you. And seeing you there…I never want to see that crap touch you again. It was a wake-up call for me. I don’t want to be a part of that shit either. That’s not me.”
Seeing something in his expression made me brave in a way I never thought I could be. Knees trembling, I stepped up to him and placed a hand on his chest, over his heart. His chest was strong and hard beneath my hand, his body heat surrounding me and that woodsy, spicy, citrusy scent he wore teasing my senses. I wanted to sway into him, hold him tight, and never let go, but I had something important to say first now that I had his absolute attention. “Being a good student, working for something, achieving something, playing hard at football…it wasn’t all for your dad, Tobias. There is no maybe about it. Deep down you want those things for yourself, too. You’re smart and good and such a special person.” I gave him a tremulous smile, wondering if how I felt for him was as obvious to him as it was to apparently everyone else. “You deserve the life you really want.”
His chest rose and fell faster beneath my hand as we stared into one another’s eyes. Tobias licked his lips, as if he was nervous. “What if I want to get my grades back up?”
“Then I’ll help.”
“And join the rugby team?”
“Then you’ll try out.”
He nodded and slowly lifted his hand to cover mine. He took a step closer to me, his breathing sounding a little shaky. The thud of his heart racing beneath my palm made mine accelerate. My legs shook and my fingers curled into Tobias’s shirt. “And…what if what I really want…is you?”
Joy flooded me. I can’t truly describe the feeling. The euphoria. The excitement and thrill and fear and worry that cascaded through me at the thought of being with Tobias King.
No matter the plethora of emotions that came with his question, my answer was instant and absolute. “Then you have me.”



  


  About Samantha Young: 
Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook & hardback June 2017 

Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015. 

Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.  

 

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Review and Giveaway: GHOSTGIRL by JB Salsbury





GHOSTGIRL
by JB Salsbury
Publication Date: June 19, 2018
Pages: 404
Source: Author
Purchase Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo








Synopsis


She was brainwashed into believing she could save mankind.
Now, she’s the one who needs saving.


Abandoned with his two younger brothers, Milo Vega was placed in foster care. Now a twenty-year-old high-school senior covered in gang tattoos and working as the school’s janitor, he is living a life vastly different from the one he was destined for.


When another foster joins the family, this one from the psychiatric facility, Milo’s skeptical. A rare genetic condition makes her unlike any girl he’s ever seen, and he wants nothing to do with the one he calls Ghostgirl.


Despite his reluctance, his protective instincts flare when she enrolls in school, and eventually, an unlikely friendship grows between them. When a tragic event snaps her fragile psyche, Milo is faced with the possibility of never seeing her again.


Unless he risks it all to save her.


My Thoughts

I've been on the lookout for a new JB Salsbury book to read ever since I finished reading her adult novel WRECKED. When she announced her new book was young adult, I instantly knew this book would be next. I love young adult stories - while the characters are in high school, both teen and adult audiences will be drawn to this story. 

There are many layers to GHOSTGIRL - it's dramatic and romantic with elements of danger. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started reading it (I thought there could be some paranormal qualities to it), but I was immediately swept up in the storytelling and intrigued by this mysterious character.

I love an emotional story and Salsbury has given us that with GHOSTGIRL. And there's a bit of mystery. Mercy's past is revealed mainly through flashbacks. Through partial memories, we get glimpses of her experiences - the confusion, the terror, but never getting the complete picture. The story opens up as we gradually begin to understand what she happened to her that led her to a psychiatric facility.

Milo is not the typical high school protagonist. His age and his history doesn't allow him to have the typical high school experience. But there is something about his past and his relationship with his brothers that helps him understand what Mercy needs. His is protective of her, sometimes overprotective, as she navigates her way through high school and finds her place in the outside world. And as their attachment to each other becomes strong, Milo will do anything to make sure she is safe, leading Milo down a path he never wanted to return to.

I loved reading GHOSTGIRL for its intensity, the mystery, and the romance. Milo and Mercy are unusual characters in their own way, but together they make sense. There's more to Milo and Mercy's story and I just can't wait to discover what is ahead for them.


Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from the author. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

PAPERBACK GIVEAWAY


Prize: Signed Paperback of GHOSTGIRL
Must be 18 or older to enter
US Adddresses Only
Enter by Rafflecopter 


It's Release Day! ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE by Nicole Williams



It's Release Day for Nicole Williams's newest young adult book ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. I just finished this book last night and it was such a delight to read. It is sweet and endearing and I can't wait to share my review with you. I'll have it posted here in just a few days. If you like contemporary YA, you must add this to your summer reading list!


AP new - synopsis.jpg
Fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, and Jenny Han will delight as the fireworks spark and the secrets fly in this delicious summer romance from a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

When Jade decided to spend the summer with her aunt in California, she thought she knew what she was getting into. But nothing could have prepared her for Quentin. Jade hasn't been in suburbia long and even she knows her annoying (and annoyingly cute) next-door neighbor spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

And when Quentin learns Jade plans to spend her first American summer hiding out reading books, he refuses to be ignored. Sneaking out, staying up, and even a midnight swim, Quentin is determined to give Jade days--and nights--worth remembering.

But despite their storybook-perfect romance, every time Jade moves closer, Quentin pulls away. And when rumors of a jilted ex-girlfriend come to light, Jade knows Quentin is hiding a secret--and she's determined to find out what it is.


Purchase Links



AP  new -about the author.jpg


Nicole Williams is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary and young adult romance, including the Crash and Lost & Found series. Her books have been published by HarperTeen and Simon & Schuster in both domestic and foreign markets, while she continues to self-publish additional titles. She is working on a new YA series with Crown Books (a division of Random House) as well. She loves romance, from the sweet to the steamy, and writes stories about characters in search of their happily even after. She grew up surrounded by books and plans on writing until the day she dies, even if it’s just for her own personal enjoyment. She still buys paperbacks because she’s all nostalgic like that, but her kindle never goes neglected for too long. When not writing, she spends her time with her husband and daughter, and whatever time’s left over she’s forced to fit too many hobbies into too little time.



Nicole is represented by Jane Dystel, of Dystel and Goderich Literary Agency.






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Wednesday, June 13, 2018

#ForeverSummerReading: MORE THAN WORDS by Mia Sheridan


FOREVER ROMANCE is hosting a HUGE Summer Reading Event. This month, they are featuring Mia Sheridan, Debbie Mason, Jenny Holiday, and R.C. Ryan. I'm excited to read books by all of these authors, but I'm most excited to read MORE THAN WORDS by Mia Sheridan. I instantly fell in love with her book ARCHER'S VOICE and have wanted to read more by her. 


About the book

No one lays open the heart and soul quite like New York Times bestselling author Mia Sheridan in this emotional love story about destiny, second chances, and the healing power of love.

The moment she met Callen Hayes, eleven-year-old Jessica Creswell knew he was a broken prince. Her prince. They became each other’s refuge, a safe and magical place far from their troubled lives. Until the day Callen kissed herJessica’s first real, dreamy kissand then disappeared from her life without a word.

Years later, everyone knows who Callen Hayes is. Famous composer. Infamous bad boy. What no one knows is that Callen’s music is now locked deep inside, trapped behind his own inner demons. It’s only when he withdraws to France to drink his way through the darkness that Callen stumbles into the one person who makes the music return. Jessica. His Jessie. And she still tastes of fresh, sweet innocence . . . even as she sets his blood on fire.

But they don’t belong in each other’s worlds anymore. There are too many mistakes. Too many secrets. Too many lies. All they have is that instinctive longing, that needand something that looks dangerously like love.

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

I can't think of a better way to get in more #SummerReading than with an audiobook. I listen to audiobooks on my commute to work, on evening walks, and I will definitely listen to them as I travel to my vacation destinations. 


Listen to an excerpt from MORE THAN WORDS:






More than Words by Mia Sheridan is available now!

Purchase Link: 

About Mia Sheridan: 
Mia Sheridan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her passion is weaving true love stories about people destined to be together. Mia lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband. They have four children here on earth and one in heaven. Find out more about Mia and her books at miasheridan.com.


--

#ForeverSummerReading Sweepstakes






Friday, June 8, 2018

Review and Giveaway: ALWAYS FOREVER MAYBE by Anica Mrose Rissi






ALWAYS FOREVER MAYBE
by Anica Mrose Rissi
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Published by HarperTeen
Pages: 256
Source: FFBC Tours | Netgalley
Purchase Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | iBooks | Kobo





 
Synopsis


When Betts meets Aiden at the candy store where she works, their connection is like a sugar rush to the heart. Even before they share a first kiss, Betts already knows the two of them are destined to become an us.

Betts has a bruised, cautious history with love, but she feels safe and empowered in Aiden's arms. He trusts her with the darkness in his troubled past, and his devotion opens up a new future for Betts just as everything else in her world is changing. With graduation inching closer, Betts and her best friend, Jo, have been sliding slowly apart, and that fissure is blown wide open by Aiden.

Betts has only ever kept one secret from Jo, but suddenly there's a long list of things she won't tell her, things Jo wouldn't understand. Because Jo doesn't see how good Aiden is for Betts. She finds him needy. Possessive. Controlling.

She's wrong. With a love like this, nothing else matters.


My Thoughts

ALWAYS FOREVER MAYBE is one of those books that going in you know is going to be heartbreaking. I was drawn to the book by the title and the starkness of the cover, but most definitely because the story is about troubled romantic relationships and best friends.

I love the friendship between Jo and Betts because it is strong and unbreakable. Best friends since second grade, Jo and Betts know the most about each other and want only the best for the other. Their friendship is what makes this book shine.

I'm not going to lie, anticipating where this story was going, it was hard to see Aiden as anything other than loathsome. Recognizing the tactics Aiden used to create their connection and to emphasis their importance to each other was disturbing.
Betts questioned a lot of Aiden's thoughts and actions but didn't completely trust her instinct for fear of betraying him and their relationship. It could have been a more devastating situation than it was if Betts didn't have the support of her friends.

ALWAYS FOREVER MAYBE reminds me of a book I read a few years ago, GIRL ON THE BRINK by Christina Hoag which also tackles the difficult topic of teenage relationship abuse. I want to praise authors for writing these books because readers need them - whether that's because they have a friend in a similar situation and want to help or they see themselves in these stories and need to, but aren't sure how to, ask for help. Sometimes it's hard to see it when you're in it. 
I wish I'd read a book like ALWAYS FOREVER MAYBE as a teenager. I needed it. I'm glad to have read it as an adult.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC as part of the Fantastic Flying Book Club Tour. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
About the Author

Anica Mrose Rissi photo by Kim Indresano.jpg 
Anica Mrose Rissi grew up on an island off the coast of Maine. After college, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a cheesemonger and book editor. She now writes, fiddles in the electro-country band Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves, and walks with her dog, Arugula, near their home in Princeton, New Jersey. Anica is the author of several books for younger readers, and her essays have been published by The Writer and the New York Times. Always Forever Maybe is her YA debut. Visit her online at anicarissi.com, and follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @anicarissi.









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