If you haven't noticed I've haven't been posting much since April, and that's been for a variety of reasons...school's winding down, finals are coming up soon, real life, etc. Anyhow, I haven't had much time to dedicate to blogging recently, so I'm going on an official hiatus until the week of June 11th, which is the first week of my summer vacation. :) I won't be posting or replying to emails until then (unless something urgent arises). So don't miss me too much in my absence, and I promise once summer comes, I'll be around a lot more.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Spotlight on Night Sky by Jolene Perry
About the book:
After losing Sarah, the friend he’s loved, to some other guy, Jameson meets Sky. Her Native American roots, fluid movements, and need for brutal honesty become addictive fast. This is good. Jameson needs distraction – his dad leaves for another woman, his mom’s walking around like a zombie, and Sarah’s new boyfriend can’t keep his hands off of her.
As he spends time with Sky and learns about her village, her totems, and her friends with drums - she's way more than distraction. Jameson's falling for her fast.
But Sky’s need for honesty somehow doesn’t extend to her life story – and Jameson just may need more than his new girl to keep him distracted from the disaster of his senior year.
About the author:
Jolene grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. She graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in political science and French, which she used to teach math to middle schoolers.After living in Washington, Utah and Las Vegas, she now resides in Alaska with her husband, and two children. Aside from writing, Jolene sews, plays the guitar, sings when forced, and spends as much time outside as possible.She is also the author of The Next Door Boys and the upcoming Knee Deep.
Find out more about the series/author: Night Sky web site/ Night Sky Goodreads/ Jolene Perry's Facebook/ Jolene Perry's Twitter/ Jolene Perry's Website/ Jolene Perry's Blog/ Jolene Perry's GoodReads
Find out more about Tribute Books: Tribute Books website/Tribute Books Facebook/ Tribute Books Twitter/Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook
Be sure to check back for my reivew! :)
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Review + Giveaway: Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins
After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon's Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father's wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she's not thrilled…even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.Review:
Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist's assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn't the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn't the only thing that needs a little TLC….
After reading both Until There Was You and My One and Only, I started to realize that Kristan Higgins was an excellent chick lit/ romance writer. Her books contained such fun and witty characters, and the romance was always the perfect mixture of realistic and swoon, so when Somebody to Love, her newest book, showed up in my mailbox, I couldn't wait to get started. As it turns out, it was everything I hoped it would be and much, much more. Actually, it was probably my favorite book of hers so far.
Somebody to Love had a lot of great things going for it, and one of those aspects was the characters! Parker's story was enchanting from the start. I always love a good riches to rags story, and Parker's definitely fit the bill. What I loved most about her, though, was that she wasn't the typical rich girl. Instead, she was sweet and normal. Well, except when it came to James, her father's crony and later her assistant when it came to fixing up her aunt's house. Talking about James, he was just as fun to read about as Parker! I always enjoyed seeing his POVs, because not only were they sweet, but they showed a side to him that Parker's didn't always allow from the get go. The wide variety of side characters in this one were also terrific. I liked Parker's child, her well meaning but messed up parents, and the people to be found in Gideon's Cove. Everyone was just fully developed and likable, which made it even more enjoyable to dig into their stories.
The plot in this was plenty of fun as well. It was predictable in some parts, but it still managed to surprise me in some ways as well. I enjoyed seeing Parker and James fix up her aunt's old house as well as seeing how Parker continued her career as an author and began one as a florist. It was lots of fun to say the least! The romance between Parker and James was also great. It had a fantastic and witty build up with plenty of laughs along the way. Best of all, was the ending, which was the definition of adorable, but I won't say anymore about that.
Higgins' writing was also great as per usual. I felt she did a great job of bringing this story to life, and I particularly enjoyed seeing how she intertwined past characters of hers in this one. It makes me want to read her past books all the more now!
In all, Somebody to Love was a spectacular book, one that I highly suggest to fans of chick lit, and I really fill like older teens would enjoy this one as well, as at its core it's a story about finding yourself again as well as following in love.
Grade: A+
Somebody to Love is now out!
Source: Katie at Little Bird Publicity
Thanks to Katie and Harlequin I also have one copy of Somebody to Love to giveaway! To enter, please fill out the folloiwng form.
Official giveaway rules:
~ Must be 13 years or older (be aware that this is an adult book though)
~ Must have a US mailing address
~ This givewawy will end on May 12, 2012 at 12:00 pm est
Monday, April 23, 2012
Review: The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks
Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:
When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.
Review:
After reading The Night She Disappeared by April Henry, I was dying to get my hands on anther YA mystery and/or thriller, so when I realized I had a copy of The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks, another seemingly intense book, on my Nook, I dove right in. Luckily, The Girl in the Park turned out be an eventful, interesting, and heart racing read, one that I enjoyed from the beginning all the way to the haunting and bittersweet conclusion.
The Girl in the Park begins the story of Rain, a senior in high school who has recently learned of the brutal death of her fellow classmate and former best friend Wendy Geller. Wendy was always one of the wildest and daring girls in her grade, someone that all the girls hated and all the boys seemed to like. Everyone in Rain and Wendy's high school chalk up the death to nothing more than "in the wrong place at the wrong time" situation. However, Rain feels like there's more to the story, because while Wendy was impulsive and crazy, she never seemed stupid enough to wander into a deserted part in NYC on her own, especially while intoxicated. So Rain begins the search, hoping to discover the pieces that tie everything together. Is Rain ready, though, to learn more about her classmates as well as Wendy than she ever thought possible? Is she ready to dig into her own pass as well and come to terms with it? Only time and more pages can tell in this thrilling and eventful reading that will have nearly anyone dying to know what happens next!
The Girl in the Park is told from the POV of Rain, a girl who really managed to win me over over the course of the book. Rain is always the girl that's been in the background, especially when she was friends with Wendy. She's the one who always makes things better as well as comforts people, even when no one seems to be doing the same for her. So it's no shock that she would attempt to make sense of Wendy's death. Rain was someone I rooted for throughout, especially when she truly managed to gain her own voice. And while Rain seemed like a mousy girl on the outside, she truly was daring and dauntless on the inside, and those two traits among others really began to come out during this ready. One of the most interesting parts about her character, though, was her friendship with Wendy. Like most friendships, it had its good and bad points, and while Wendy was the character that probably should have been hated, I felt nothing but sorrow towards her, because she was a sweet girl deep down...she just had a lot of covers and layers over it all.
The plot of this was book was truly one of the best parts about it! I enjoyed seeing Rain piece together the mystery clue by clue, especially when something shocking managed to come out of the wood work. I also liked how Mariah really dug into the plot with this one. There never was an easy explanation behind anything, and just when I thought I figured out who the murder was, I was introduced to a new trail as well as new possible murder suspect. The private school setting worked well with this novel as well. It managed to add an extra suspenseful tone behind it as well as hundreds of possible motives and the suspects behind them.
Prior to reading this one, I had read one other book by Mariah, and while I liked that one well enough, this one was so much better! She's really grown as an another with not only character but plot, and I especially loved how well she developed the mystery. She's definitely an author to keep an eye on.
Thrilling as well as daring, The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks is anther fabulous addition to YA lit...one that I highly suggest you pick up!
Grade: A-
Source: Publisher via Netgalley (Thanks Random House!)
More about the author/book: website
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