YA Book Review: In Too Deep

Book Title: In Too Deep
Author: Amanda Grace |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Flux Books
Genre: YA Fiction
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: paperback

Cost: $9.95

Pages: 228

How I got it: BEA 2012 

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: Feb 2012
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

Carter didn't rape me. People at school think he did. Suddenly, new friends are rushing to my side, telling me that Carter hurt them, too. They say he's getting what he deserves. Maybe I don't want to fix this. Sam is in love with her best friend Nick, but she can't seem to tell him. So she decides to flirt with golden-boy Carter Wellesley, hoping Nick will see it and finally realize his true feelings for her. On Monday, everyone at school is saying that Carter raped Sam. He didn't, but Sam can't find the words to tell the truth. Worst of all, she's afraid she'll lose Nick if he finds out what really happened. As graduation approaches, Sam discovers that living the lie isn't as easy as her new friends make it sound--and telling the truth might be even worse.

I've heard a lot about this book. Kristi the Story Siren gave a great review that made me want to read it.  When I saw Flux Books at Book Expo America 2012, I was super excited and I quickly snagged a copy.  It's a small quick read, it took me one day, not because I loved it, but because I needed to see this car wreck through.  It's written for the young adult audience, so perhaps that's why it's like being in the mind of a little child, but if this was trying to be like Speak it failed miserably.

This book made me so mad I wanted to scream. This character was weak, stupid, deserved a bitch slap and then some. The character was beyond immature for her age, and made an accusation that was disgusting then tried to make it sound as if she was the victim,  I F**king hated this book, the concept, heck even as I'm typing this I'm getting mad all over again.  This book was not hashed out, it was a piss poor job of a story, if they had wanted to discuss how it affected the boy, cool if it had been told from his point of view this would have been a good story, this vapid, insipid idiot of a character?? If they had told the story as say someone else made the accusation and she was actually trying to clean it up?? Maybe then it would be different but she WENT along with the lie, KNOWING it was a lie; yes she never actually told the lie, but when given chances to fix it she allowed it to stand and allowed others to embellish it. She had a million chances in which to correct the mistake and didn't and I'm not here for it. 

This kid's life could be over, all these people someone is going to tell an adult and you f**king worrying about losing some dude...who asked you point blank to tell him the truth. Bitch your priorities are all f**king wrong get it together; especially because your father is the SHERIFF, how do you think this is going to go down?? Granted his friends were douchebags and they shouldn't have threatened her, because really that's not helping the situation. How many chances did she have to fix this before it got this far??? Yes the guy in this scenario is an idiot and an asshat, but NO ONE deserves to be accused of raping someone (unless of course they are actually a rapist).   If during her lying it had come out that he had raped another girl then I would say yeah, keep telling the lie because then maybe justice will be served, but it's all because he didn't treat them nice. 

There are no heroes in this story, the accused is one step up from a bottom feeder and the female lead is a dummy. I'm so done with this story. The only good part?? The ending because just as I suspected someone told a parent and it made it back to her dad.  I felt no sympathy for her at all as she dealt with the fallout.

 I know I wasn't the only one who thought so, as one of my fellow BEA buddies flipped out when she read it. My sister also read it because we heard so much about it, she read it on the way home; right after we got back from NY she texted me " You remember how excited we were about this book?? Yeah lower your expectations like lower yeah and keep going lower Yep right around there would be good. She could have solved all of this in fifteen minutes but she didn't she's an idiot" And I totally agree with her.

This is one the worst books written on this topic in my opinion especially in light of the events that was taking place when this came out. Nope I HATE THIS BOOK.  When books like this come out, it helps to feed into the belief that girls and women lie about rape, and while there might me a minuscule amount of idiots like this character, the vast majority of women aren't lying and their voices are being silenced by those who point out the few who did lie.  I feel no sympathy for the character because she knew it was a lie and the minute she figured out what was happening she had plenty of opportunity to correct the mistake.  

While I'm happy her classmates were willing to back her against her 'attacker' the truth is way too many young women are slut shamed by their peers after an attack. There are no lessons in this book, She didn't learn anything, the friends who egged her on didn't learn a lesson, no one went to jail,nothing was accomplished. She simply blew up her life and if gods forbid she was ever really attacked??? No one would believe because this story would always come up.

As a woman who has friends & a family member who were once victims; I feel like this book makes light of the devastation to family, friends and of course the victim.  Many victims never come forward because they won't be believed or they don't believe they will be heard and here she's believed even when it didn't happen. Her panic attack when she's confronted and her acting as if something did happen when the only thing that went on was an embarrassing tale of rejection?? Yeah, she's not a likable character at all.

I can't recommend this book to anyone because it's truly not worth it to me to pass on. Or perhaps it can be used as a cautionary tale, of what can happen when a lie gets out of hand.  IDK, but I do know that even though I despise this book, it could be a good conversation starter. Speak being on end of the spectrum and In too Deep the other.
 ★☆☆☆☆

Happy Reading

And So It Starts: Bloggiesta 2014

Well my loves it's the beginning and it's time to get working on my list. So far here's what I've done:

Some of you may be wondering what exactly is Bloggiesta and/or when is it? In short, Bloggiesta is a blogging marathon revolving around ticking off those items on your to-do list and improving your blog while in the good company of other awesome bloggers doing the same thing. Our awesome mascot Pedro (Plan. Edit. Develop. Review. Organize) is ready to break out the nachos, enchiladas, drinks, mariachi music and whack a pinata or two! It’s nothing short of an awesome fiesta! Bloggiesta was originally started in June of 2009 by the lovely and tenacious Natasha from Maw Books Blog. In March of 2012 Natasha graciously passed the torch on to Suey fromIt’s All About Books and Danielle from There’s A Book. After hosting this fantastic event during both March and September of 2012 it was decided thatBloggiesta needed it’s own home, which is the site you’re now visiting.

Well we're supposed to become good friends with Pedro (Plan, Edit, Develop, Review & Organize). I normally use this time to do all the behind the scene stuff on the blog. I will have to note here, I'm not tech savvy enough to have done all of this by mysel, most of these come from Kimba's Blog Tips & Tricks, and the few she didn't have I noted beside each check off.

So here goes nothing:

1. Buy the domain name
2. Clean Out Email Took the whole damn day, Jeez !!
3. Clean up 12 reviews & Pre post them
4. Participate in Challenges and Chats 
5. Set up BEA 2014 posts
6. Link Last few reviews to author pages & title pages
7. Set up Review by Ratings Page
8. double check broken links Using Google Webmasters program, it checks for broken links and let you know. (It's free)
9. watermark all my pictures and put them back up & delete duplicates Only had a few of these to do
10. Fix rating on side bar Tried new rating on sidebar didn't like, went back to old template
11. Make blog button I created mine via this website. 
12. Fix Facebook & Twitter headers & twitter background
13. Set up Google + header properly
14. Link FB page so posts go there
15. Youtube Channel Header & Background

Added on after stalking other participants posts:

fix favicon button Completed mine using this website but for some reason it's not showing, you know because Blogger HATES ME!! UGH!!

Setup BEA Page

Setup BEA IMM and link reviews

Info & copyright information at bottom of page
Backup Blog ( Thanks to Bri @ The Book Vixen I remembered this) 

#Review: 77 Things You Absolutely Have To Do Before You Finish College

Book Title: 77 Things You Absolutely Have To Do Before You Finish College
Author:  Halley Bondy |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Zest Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Genre: Non Fiction College/High School
Series/Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Format: Paperback

Cost: $14.99

Pages: 192

How I got it: Publisher

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: 3/11/2014
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

College is about way more than just frats and finals: It’s also a time when students can learn new skills, encounter different cultures, test out potential careers, and take a stab at something new just because it sounds cool. And in order to leave college a better, smarter, and more interesting person than you were when you started out, all you need is an open mind, a willing spirit, and (of course) this book! The 77 entries included here cover everything from negotiating the terms of an apartment rental to attending a school-sponsored lecture event to hosting a movie marathon – and supplemental sidebars provide bonus tips for doing everything cheaply and well. (Oh, but remember: The most important thing to do? Graduate!)

As I'm a older college student ( I don't ever want to leave);  I passed this book on to my sisters who are (younger & traditional students) in college and a resident advisor friend in college and they all loved it and wanted to keep it.  This book has several sections that break down all the little things you should try to accomplish while in college outside of you know actually attending your classes.  Some of the entries include:

• starting your own on campus club
• Making your dorm room your personal temple
• Taking a road trip
• Getting an internship

I had done many of them while in college and my friends & sisters just left on a road trip *too cool right??*.  This book gave really good advice, some of which I wish I had known while in college. Just to see I counted I had done a total of 17 of them.  Some of them include:

• Find & Rent an Apartment:   I lived with my sister during her junior & senior years.  Which was the first & second year of my second degree.  Awesomeness personified.
• Learn To Cook One Meal Perfectly: I took cooking lessons from my mother (a former home economics teacher) and learnt several staying alive meals.  
• Join a Political Campaign:  my freshman year at college I joined in a political campaign, making signs, & being a part of the student ground force. It wasn't until later that I realized I had joined the campaign for a different party than my family. I mostly did it because all my friends (read boy I was crushing on hard) and sorors were, so I joined up. I really had no idea what the candidate stood for.  I should have known something was up when they starting making a big deal around campus about the fact that I was a Black girl in their campaign and in the local paper. If you can't figure it out by that I'm not telling. Let's chalk it up to being young, dumb (sheltered, read here sheltered, ok) and attending a Catholic College, <~~~ should have been my first clue that something was up. Learnt a valuable lesson of doing my research even when a cute boy is involved. So... thanks for that, at least.
• Spend quality time in the library without doing homework: To pledge to my sorority we had to have a minimum of 20 hours in the library. You signed in and stopped by the Sorority room and let them see you. I spent a lot of hours in that library not doing anything but walking the stacks and hiding out in the media room watching movies because I was never one to wait to do the homework assigned. I was pretty much always ahead in my classes. I learnt a lot that semester reading random books on new subjects and talking to the older librarians. Yeah fun times.

There are a ton more of these fun little nuggets to read and use.  They suggest a few ways to avoid pitfalls and how to make the most of the suggestions. It's very resourceful and reminds me of a book for adults that I love, it's called Oh Solo Mia ( a travel/life guide for women, showing how to have fun solo).  We all (everyone who read it) agreed that this book was a wonderful resource for college kids and would help to round out their experiences far more than going it alone would.

Even with all this fun stuff, it does have a few things missing. Many of the suggestions are for students who are traditional (young, no responsibilities, live on campus), very few take into account non traditional students (commuters, adults, or even young ones with responsibilities outside of school).  The body & health sections are however good as well as the sections geared towards helping you to prep for leaving school. Like how to round out your wardrobe (this I learnt from my sorority, but not everyone had this resource, eventually we convinced the school to give it as part of the senior seminar, that took place before graduation).

It has a great little section on social media, I wish they got to the kids in high school so they wouldn't have to do the clean up but hey you live and learn right??  I would recommend this as a book for incoming freshman and again as juniors so they know to fix whatever they haven't taken advantage of yet.

Enter Zest Gvieaway for a chance to win a copy for yourself or a teenager you know.

 ★★★★☆

Happy Reading

Book #Soundtrack: Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits 3)

Book Title: Crash Into You (Pushing The Limits 3)
Author: Katie McGarry
Music Inspiration: Author Lists
Book Review: Crash Into You Review
Youtube Playlist:

Songlist:
(Beside each will be the scene the author. There are also a few I thought went best with each scene My songs will be in blue).

Songs for Theme:
" If I Die Young" by The Band Perry
"Lighters" by Bad Meets Evil featuring Bruno Mars
"Barefoot Blue Jean Night" by Jake Owen
" Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down

Isaiah:
"Beverly Hills" by Weezer
"Speed" by Mongomer Gentry
"Shimmer" by Fuel
"Santa Monica" by Everclear

Rachel:
"Mean" ny Taylor Swift
"Little Miss" by Sugarland
"Fallen Angel" by Poison
"Life Is a Highway" Rascall Flats

Soecific Scenes:
"Animal" Def Leppard (First Time Rachel sees Isaiah)

"Possum Kingdon" by Toadies ( When Isaiah decides he likes Rachel at the bar/apartment)
"Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebellum
"You and Your Tequila" Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter (Isaiah's New Year's Eve)
"Take Me There" Rascall Flats ( Isaiah with Rachel, hanging out at his apartment)
"Best Man I Can Be" The Best Man Soundtrack by Ginuwine, R.L. Tyrese, Case (Noah & Isaiah throughout the book)

"Crash Into You" Dave Matthews Band

"Stupid Girls" Pink

 (Songs that represent Isaiah & Rachel's future)
"Ours" by Taylor Swift
"Fast Cars & Freedom" by Rascal Flatts

Well that's it my loves, it's the end of the songs and the books for now.  The next one comes out in May 2014 and you know there will be a review & more songs right??  Did you enjoy?? Share down below if you have others you think we should add on.

YA Book Review: Crash Into You (Pushing The Limits 3)

Book Title: Crash Into You
Author: Katie McGarry |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA Fiction
Series/Standalone: Series
Format: ebook, hardcover
Cost: $ 11.37

Pages: 474

How I got it: NetGalley

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publish Date: Dec 2013
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind. Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look. But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Where do I begin?? I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH.
Once again I stayed up late to finish this book, it took me longer than the others because after this there is nothing left for me right now. *sobs* I loved this book, the writing, the characters, the emotions, all of it. Katie gets to the heart of the story and bring you in, you become so immersed in their world and you love every second of it.There are moments that make your heart seize, that make you laugh out loud, that bring a few stray tears along and throughout it all you're rooting for them to make t, for them to survive for them to get out!! I loved how easily Noah & Echo fit into the story, along with Beth & Ryan. The glimpses of each couple only adds to the story, instead of taking away your focus.

I think I might actually love Isaiah more than I love Noah, yeah that's saying something. I didn't realize how much Noah and Isaiah depended on each other until this book, how deeply we misunderstood Isaiah due to the glimpses we got from other characters. For me his story hurt the worst because there were several chances for his lot to get better and always it came down to the selfish desire of one person. He had such big dreams and all he needed was a chance, just one to make it happen. I'm glad he was so independent and stubborn because it meant he stayed clear of so much that normally would bring others down.

Rachel has been for me a wonderful character, she still comes after Echo & Beth, but she's such a wonderful character. Her fear of being weak was literally killing her. I know, I have personally felt pressured to be something else but never like this; her family was beyond broken and dysfunctional.  To even make a child feel like this is just wrong, even if you thought so in your head saying out loud to your child is beyond disgusting. I get that her older brothers were coming from a good place but NO sir your doing it wrong!! 

I loved that Rachel had an outlet in cars and that made it amazing to read her and Isaiah's love, because I'm a car junkie myself (not like them but you know I'm good) and reading this story made me so happy to see a female character that wasn't just a hanger-on, she was actually into the cars and knew her stuff.

I know my heart seized when we got close to the end. I almost stopped reading because I didn't want it to be that way, but then I sucked it up and read and I'm so glad I did. I almost cried when I got to the end like I totally knew Isaiah wasn't going to leave her and I almost cried when I realized what that meant. I had to stop reading because I didn't want her to do that to my favorite characters like no, don't hurt them like this. PLEASE.

I can't wait to read more about Abby, Logan, West, Ethan and the rest of the gang. Ohh can we have Rico's story too??I loved every second of the book and I can't wait to get my physical copy to put next to the others. 

The playlist in the back of course only makes the book better, make sure to look out for my Book and Music Post for this book.

I highly recommend this book, this series and this author, Burn Rubber (see what I did there...yeah I'll stop now) to get this book my loves.
 ★★★★★
Happy Reading

Book #Soundtrack: Dare You To (Pushing The Limits 2)

Book Title: Crash Into You (Pushing The Limits 3)
Author: Katie McGarry
Music Inspiration: Author Lists
Book Review: Dare You To Review
Youtube Playlist:

Songlist:
(Beside each will be the scene the author. There are also a few I thought went best with each scene My songs will be in blue).

Overall Theme:

"Dirt Road Anthem" by Jason Aldean

"F**king Perfect" by Pink

" Cosmic Love" Florence & The Machines

"Broken Arrow" Rod Stewart (Ryan teaches Beth to float)

"Teenage Dream" Katy Perry (Beth and Ryan are happy)

" Rip Her To Shreds" Blondie ( Rumors about Beth)

Beth:

" Find Me Somebody To Love"  Queen (The Glee Version)

"Farmer's Daughter" Crystal Bowersox (Beth's Mother In The Bar)

"Heart Like Mine" Miranda Lambert (Beth Wakes in Scott's House)

"Somewhere with You" Kenny Chesney (Isaiah offers to run away with Beth)

"Hurt" Nine Inch Nails  or Johnny Cash version (Isaiah betrays Beth by taking her away from her mother)

" I Will Let You Go" Daniel Aheam (Beth Breaking Up With Isaiah)

"Free Bird" Lynyrd Skynyrd (Beth sings her mother to sleep)

"Don't let me get me" Pink (Beth tries to scare Ryan away)

"25 to life" Eminem (Beth's final showdown with mother)

Ryan: 

"Summertime" Kenny Chesney (Taco Bell Dare)

"U + Ur Hand" Pink

"Back Were I Come From" Kenny Chesney (Ryan in town)

"My Kinda Party" Jason Aldean (Field Party with Beth)

"Just a Dream" Nelly (Dancing with Beth)

" Mine Would Be You" Blake Shelton (Ryan & Beth @ Homecoming)

Written for the book by Amgela McGarry

Ribbon and Bows

We weren't meant to be

Another round of amazing songs. I loved reading the book to this soundtrack. Did you check out the first Soundtrack?? What songs would you add?? Share 'em down below.

Happy Reading & Listening my loves

YA Book Review: Dare You To ( Pushing The Limits 2)

Book Title: Dare You To (Pushing The Limits 2)
Author: Katie McGarry |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA Fiction
Series/Standalone: Series
Format: Paperback

Cost: $17.99

Pages: 480

How I got it: Book Expo America 2013

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: June 2013
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

"I dare you..." If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does.... Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him. But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...

Book two and this one was of course another marathon read. I don't know why I doubt Katie, but I was hesitant to pick this one up after reading Pushing because I was scared it wouldn't be as good.  And while Beth can't replace Echo, and Ryan isn't anywhere near as awesome as Noah I still loved this story.

We get to see deeper into Beth and why she was constantly running in Pushing. We see her true home life and why and how it went down hill. Poor Beth is that kid who just desperately wants to be loved so much she was willing to do whatever her mother needed her to do. She didn't want to leave her mother behind even though everyone else was desperately trying to save her.  Beth was drowning but didn't want to see it.

Having read books about the psychology of children of addicts I know that Beth fits the diagnosis to a T, but it was still heartbreaking to read.  I kept getting angry with her and on her behalf when certain people would tell her that her mother was her responsibility.  Like no Beth is a child and your sister is a grown woman why don't you help her??  Especially after what happened in Pushing the Limits, I wouldn't have allowed Beth anywhere near her mother  The solution to Beth's issues was so easy but no one wanted to be the one to do it.

Even though she's been given a new chance at life, Beth believes she's betraying her family and her friends by being happy. Ryan oh man Ryan is the golden boy whose family life looks great on the outside but has gone nuclear on the inside.  I loved that they both needed each other and that they worked at becoming a couple even with Beth's crushing issues. I loved seeing Noah & Echo again, meeting Chris and Lacy, Logan with his dare devil self and of course learning so much more about Isaiah. I can't wait to read more from the gang especially Logan's story, because that should be interesting to say the least.

I do love this book, but I felt like someone should have been more responsible and not put Beth in the position she was in; someone should have done more for her. Although when people like her Uncle tried to do more for her, she kept running from it. I get that her friends couldn't do it, but really everybody was being an enabler.  Beth like most kids can only see what's in front of her and was so focused on taking care of her mom she never saw the bigger picture, she never saw the fault within her parent.  Everyone was trying to keep her from drowning and Beth was hell bent on swimming out further.  I get it, but this annoyed me so much, like you have a chance at a better life, but you keep coming back, you keep running back to the cycle of abuse.   I loved that Ryan was able to point out to Beth what her 'normal' was and it totally freaked her out.Beth dominated the story, and even though we know Ryan's life wasn't exactly great, she definitely held down a good majority of the story.

Ryan's home life wasn't what the town thought it was, it imploded a long time ago but no one knows because his parents refuse to seek help or to even discuss it. His family was more concerned with image than with reality and I totally get why Ryan was being spun around.   His brother's announcement turned his whole world upside down and now he's trying to figure out where he fits in. Does he want the dream he's always wanted, the one that would make his family happy or does he want to go to college and make himself happy.  I loved the few glimpses we have of his brother and how clearly their relationship made Ryan feel centered and made their home life great.  His father was an overbearing asshat, who was attempting to live his dreams through his children.

Although it annoyed me, Beth's characteristics fit with the psychology of children of addicts and I thought Katie was wonderful for writing such a heart wrenching story.  I loved how messy and real the story was, how each persons life helped to build up the characters and also how some of the relationships held them down. It was a raw, and realistic look at modern life and I loved it immensely.

I will confess that I met Katie McGarry at BEA 2013 and I had no idea how wonderful her writing was. I know a lot of bloggers were fangirling over her being in the Harlequin booth and so I snagged a copy. Best Decision Ever!!

I love that she has included a soundtrack to the book and I will be making a playlist along with other songs I thought of will reading the story.  The playlist will be under the Books and Music Tab and on my Youtube channel under Playlists.
 ★★★★☆

I highly recommend the series and this book. Just don't start reading right before bed.  There are several others set to come out and I can't wait to read them!!!!
Happy Reading

Book #Soundtrack: Pushing the Limits (Book 1)

Book Title: Pushing The Limits (Book 1)
Author: Katie McGarry
Music Inspiration: Author Lists
Book Review: Pushing the Limits Bk 1)
Youtube Soundtrack Link


 List of Songs:
(Beside each will be the scene the author. There are also a few I thought went best with each scene My songs will be in blue).

Overall Story:
Push Matchbox Twenty
Bad Romance Lady Gaga
Scar Tissue Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Use Somebody Kings of Leon

Noah:
Down by Jay Sean
Change 2pac and Talent
Hey Soul Sister Train

Echo
Paint by Roxette
Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough by Patty Smyth and Don Henley
The End of Innocence by Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby
Leather & Lace Stevie Nicks
Your Body is a Wonderland John Meyer

Songs for Scenes
Undone (The Sweater Song) by Weezer (Noah and Echo at the party)
Crash Into Me Dave Matthews Band (kisses between Echo and Noah)
Wild Horses The Sundays (For the Formal & their first dance)
Free by Zac Brown Band (the story arc between Echo and Noah, the author's dream for them, Best for their trip during the summer after the story ends.)

Can You Written for the book by Angela McGarry

Well that's it, what do you think?? Do you have any song you would add?? Share in the comments down below.
Thanks

YA Book Review: Pushing The Limits (Pushing The Limits 1)

Book Title: Pushing The Limits (Pushing the Limits 1)
Author:  Katie McGarry |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA Contemporary
Series/Standalone: Series
Format: Paperback

Cost: $8.99

Pages: 392

How I got it: Purchase

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

 It should say 'than, not then'
Courtesy of Parajunkee

I laughed quite a bit while reading this book. I literally stayed up all night just so I could finish the book, of course, silly me I started the book at 130 am and couldn't put it down until I finished at 730 am this morning.  I really enjoyed it, Noah and Echo totally had sparks that allowed them to be comfortable being sarcastic and witty with each other.  I loved that they were broken and that they struggled to find themselves without there being crazy drama. ( O_o I mean other than her mother and Noah getting into... you know what... ok so there was a little bit of drama.) I loved the feels from this book, the emotion that they had to deal with, the desire to be more than what they were right then. I loved their idea of 'normal'.

Echo's (whose name I love by the way) story is so heartbreaking. I mean the poor girl had the worst ever beginning, And high school gossip certainly doesn't help her make it through with her self esteem intact.  Afraid of what the scares meant she hid them and slowly withdrew so that others couldn't judge her for them.  I know she was kind of self centered (but then what kind of teenager isn't ??), but she's operating with a limited amount of information so therefore she's being her version of normal.

OMG Noah it's like reading Riley from Sweet by Erin McCarthy, he's so amazing, he's attempting to be the best brother he can be without losing himself, his entire focus is on his brothers.  He is actually a bit of a stoner because he's afraid of all the things his young shoulders have to hold. He's pushed into several different foster homes and each one was worse than the last and he's left to fend for himself. All due to one incident his life is completely torn apart.

I loved reading from both of their points of view as it allowed us to see more of the world they lived in. Their friends at least the good ones are actually well written.  I loved the flow of the story and that as each switch happened we learnt more about them and their personal situations. There were so many moments that kicked you in the chest when you didn't see it coming, I really loved Mrs. C the school counselor, she was awesome just enough batty, forgettable & eccentric enough to be cool to the kids and yet smart enough to keep the parents at bay.
 ★★★★★

I'm definitely checking out the other books in the series, because I now know why everyone loves them so much!! 

It wasn't until I was reading Dare You To that I realized that the books have a soundtrack in the back, so guess who is getting their own list??!! Make sure to look out for that, the author's songs and the ones I thought of during the reading marathon.

Happy Reading

#Review: Throne of Glass

Book Title: Throne of Glass (Book 1)
Author: Sarah J Maas  |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Genre: SciFi YA
Series/Standalone: Series
Format: Paperback

Cost: $9.99

Pages: 404

How I got it: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: August 2012
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Synopsis:

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

I read this as a part of the Youtube Read-a-long. I must say I found myself struggling to get into the book because at the moment I'm on a serious contemporary kick, like i"m totally gobbling up everything romance & contemporary that I can get my hands on. Which is a lot, like that's pretty much what I read when I'm not reading paranormal everything. Anyway, this took a little longer to get into and while I liked it, I wasn't as blown away as others said I would be.  The hype is both justified and not at the same time.  I grew up reading science fiction, paranormal books and while this is a pretty nice spin on the genre it's not completely new; I however can see why those who haven't read the genre would fall in love with it because of this book. It's a pretty awesome story with a strong female lead, who embraces being a bada** while also being a woman with all the girly frills allowed. She will totally kill you before she goes to the ball, but freak out about tearing her dress. Yeah I totally love Celaena for that.

There are a few moments that I so didn't see coming, but others I knew immediately.  My sister who doesn't know what the book was about; took one look at the cover & made an awesome observation about our lead character,  I cracked up that she made such a huge plot guess without knowing anything.

I really loved the book because it's got magic in it.  The lead character is kick ass and totally a girl even though she's tough as nails and a total bad a**. Which I never understood why authors always make women choose between the two like you can't be bada** and care about what you look like. Says who??  Celaena was snarky, funny, and hell bent on being more than what everyone wanted her to be, mostly she wanted freedom, even if it means she's got to dance for the devil for a few years.

She's experienced harshness and even when she was down she was never broken. She raised hell even while being beaten down and the similarities between her struggle and the struggle of the slaves (both in the book and in reality) was harsh. raw and made me like her more.  I loved that she knew how to keep her own counsel, and made decisions based on her own expertise and experience instead of just going off what everyone else thought.  She chafed at being made to appear smaller and less so that others wouldn't feel threatened by her reputation and I totally loved her reaction to being told to constantly be less so not to intimidate the men

I loved her friendship with Chaol and Princess Nehemia , who by the way was bada** herself.  I totally felt for her and even though Celaena thought she was a little out there, I totally get why Princess Nehemia did what she did and how she did it. Oppressed people have to do what they have to do to get out.  May I say, thank you to Sarah J Maas for writing a world where Blacks are major characters?? Thank You for not creating a 'perfect' world that doesn't include Blacks, way too many times in SciFi or Paranormal books we are excluded and it bothers me to support authors who don't even count us in at all. So Thanks for writing a strong witty character who has her own strength and brings quite a bit to the friendship and isn't a token or a "Magical Negro" here to save or guide Celaena.  Wait now that I write that....hmmmm.  We'll have to see what happens in the next book to make sure, but for now Nehemia is a kick butt future Queen.  Although I'm still mad that in your world we can't catch an effing break and we are still slaves. O_O

Personally I just think that Chaol is way better for her, but I would totally love to see all three of them together LOL never going to happen in a YA novel but hey a girl can dream. *See that's why I don't read YA too much, I don't want to choose I want both.* Dorian is good for her, but truly Chaol is the one who challenges her not just as a woman but as an assassin and I think if we are going in the direction I believe we are; Chaol's going to be way better as a mate than Dorian. Dorian has a lot of growing up to do, especially if he's never been on the battlefields, & he really wants to a both King and the man in Calaena's life.

It's going to be interesting to see the full arc once the King is found out and once the people of the country finally embrace change and a challenge the status quo. Will Celaena's true lineage be revealed although we got a small glimpse in the end. Does the King know is that why he wanted her?? Who really betrayed her??  And why??  So many questions.

While not the greatest fantasy novel I've read *which is what someone said* , I'm intrigued enough to want to read the rest (which I hear is going to be a six part series, I have the second book so it's not too bad a wait and the third one comes out in September soooo thankfully it's not a long wait).  Like many of it's genre, this book spoke on subjects not really covered, speaking on slavery, conquering of nations, the brutality of oppression, the treachery needed to make it happen and even how those being oppressed may appear weak but their daily battles make it easier to see the end results: Freedom.

I'm looking forward to reading Crown of Midnight, so keep an eye out for my review of that. Hopefully Heir of Fire (book 3) will be at BEA and I won't have to wait until September. A girl can dream right?? Right??

Let me know what you thought of the novel below in the comments section. Did you love it?? Hate? Not care one bit?? Haven't read it yet??

 4 Witch Hats: Engaging Plot, Well rounded and well written characters. Great world building, and ends in a way that makes you want to read the next in the series.  It's a definite must add to your TBR Pile and a highly recommended read for the genre.

Happy Reading

#Review: Wrecked ( An ArrowHart College Novel)

Book Title: Wrecked ( An ArrowHart College Novel)
Author: Priscilla West |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Blackbird Publishing
Genre:New Adult Romance
Series/Standalone: Series
Format: ebook, 

Cost: $9.99, $2.99 Nook, 

Pages: 286

How I got it: eARC via NetGalley 

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble |
Publication Date: 12/6/2013
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Synopsis:

“There would be no happy ending for us. He was too damaged. I was too broken.” Two years ago, Lorrie’s mother was murdered. But that wasn’t the end of it. Reeling from the tragedy, Lorrie’s father spiraled into alcohol, depression, and finally suicide. The two most important people in Lorrie’s life are both gone but she’s still alive. Trying to recover from the tragedy, Lorrie returns to campus, ready to pick up the pieces of her life. All Lorrie wants is to get back to “normal.” Then she meets Hunter. The man, the legend, “The Hammer.” Hunter is a cage fighter who takes on every fight like he’s got nothing to lose. His life is a tangled mess of girls, booze, and fist fights. And while it may seem like he’s got a devil-may-care attitude, he’s fighting a private cage-match with a monster he can’t defeat. Lorrie knows that Hunter is exactly the type of guy she should stay away from, especially in her fragile state, but Hunter has other ideas. As Hunter and Lorrie grow closer together, will they be able to overcome their pain and heal each other? Or will they both end up wrecked?

This was an impulsive click on NetGalley for me, I have the author's other books on my queue of books to read, as this has a pretty solid four stars on goodreads and a few of my fave and trusted reviewers like it; so of course I wanted to read it. As I said before I see the ratings, but I don't read the reviews until I'm either half way through and have an opinion or I'm struggling with the book and want to see if others had the sane problem.  This one I'm glad I didn't read the reviews. I liked going in with no preconceived notions.

The story starts of fast then slows down and then crawls for a while before it picks up right before it finishes, since I was already so invested I went ahead and bought the next book *yes once again I broke the ban but whatevs I'm reading aren't I??*.  I enjoyed the story enough to want to know the ending, I personally thought she could have made this one large book especially because for literally the first half of the book it was just boring ground laying stuff.

Question for y'all since when did fight club move to college?? This is like the third or fourth new adult novel I've read where the character is a boxer/fighter/ MMA fighter. Is this a way of showing how bad boy the male protagonist is supposed to be?? I just don't understand the trend but hey at least in this one he's legit instead of underground fights.  As a character he was clearly a woman's interpretation of a man, there were many times he said something that I wanted to laugh like, how many young guys do you know who really talk like this?? Yeah not too many or maybe even none at all.  We didn't really have a read on him until the very end of the book (at 90%) is when he began sharing his side of the story and we begin to learn why he is the way he is.  And that's kinda when he went from a flat character there for the female to lean on to being a bit more of a full character himself.

For about 50 percent of the book we have Lorrie denying that she had any feelings for him at all and really the way she was written, it clearly didn't appear to be any feelings.  I kinda don't like Lorrie, who tells him she doesn't want to be anything but friends but then gets hella jealous when he dates other girls.  She holds rumors about his life above his head but yet demands he not listen to the rumors about her.  I get why she's confused and out of focus I mean really her life went to hell in a hand~basket and she was left with the fallout of other people's mistakes and selfishness, but ummm why are you punishing him?? He didn't do anything to you.  While I get her hesitancy towards dating when she isn't ready, why be his friend if you know you have feelings??

I kinda got frustrated reading this book, because we spent so much time in Lorrie's head, and getting the story from her POV, she was way self centered, wanting him to be there for her but not really giving him a chance, like how was he supposed to know something was wrong when you haven't told him your last name.  I just wanted to shake her and tell her to take her head out of her hindparts, especially because you claim to love him but don't really talk to him about important things.

I really felt like there was more going on than she knew about.  I, of course, as we are supposed to disliked Ava, but I totally got why Ava went in on her because really Lorrie you are too self centered to be a good girlfriend. I don't think they had a shot because Lorrie was hell bent on not being in a relationship and when we learn Hunter's secret we see why he was holding back too & quite frankly his was way more important to them moving on as a couple than hers was. With both of them hiding important parts of themselves back they never really had a chance.  Add in friends who are concerned but won't share what they really know and you just have a clusterf*ck of foolishness masquerading as a relationship.

Once we hit the second half of the book the story really took off and got way better, the character development really began to come together and we learnt more about each of them and their lives together. I personally loved how well they worked together once they moved from friends to lovers.  I really really liked reading their love making scenes, because they were sweet and sexy.  There were a few moments I had to re-read to make sure I wasn't making it up, there were a few awkward to read scenes in there, they didn't really flow as well as the rest of the story.

Other than a thin plot point to get them coming together often what was the point of the kittens??  I would have liked for their friends to be described more, a little more background on each of them, giving us clearer picture of them would have been nice as well.  I doubt I could truly describe how anyone but Hunter looks because she barely describes herself.  Her aunt and uncle are also only thin flat characters, we know they took her in, but what do they really do, how do they look, how are you related, was your aunt you dad's sister, or your mom's sister. There were so many ways to make the story richer and fuller that were left on the wayside in a attempt to get to the romance of the two of them.

Even though I was frustrated with both characters, I did enjoy reading the story. Enough to get the second book and I'm going to read that soon as well.  Overall the story felt a little disjointed and I was left feeling confused and frustrated, but then again so was Lorrie so maybe that's what we're supposed to feel?? IDK but I'm going to go read Rescued now and let you know what I think of that later.
 ★★★☆☆

Happy Reading

#Review: Dial M for Menage

Book Title: Dial M for Menage
Author: Emily Ryan~ Davis  |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Erotica Romance
Series/Standalone: Series
Format: ebook

Cost: $2.99

Pages: 150

How I got it: NetGalley

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: 2/3/2014
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Synopsis:

Katrina Holland began the new year by waking up with two men in her bed. Introducing marine Hunter Croft into her marriage was passionate and explosive—for Katrina and her husband Liam. But now that the honeymoon period is over and they've returned to the real world, can this arrangement ever work? Liam Holland thought he had it all—a beautiful wife, great home, and a solid career. Only one thing—one man—eluded him. When he saw an opportunity to grab Hunter, Liam reached out with both hands, determined not to let go. But as the first rush of passion fades, Liam must identify exactly how far he's willing to go to keep Hunter a part of their lives. Hunter needs something only Liam and Kat can give him. But while he's willing to change some aspects of his life to be with the couple, he's a marine before all else. When a reassignment means relocation, he'll need to move on—with or without his two lovers. See how Kat, Liam and Hunter's love began in Ménage on 34th Street.

I was super excited to see that there was a follow up to the novella Menage on 34th Street.  I was intrigued enough to request it and see how the trio had made due & how they were getting on after the tete of the Christmas reunion.

I enjoyed this story and loved how well written each of the characters were. I felt however, like there were a few questions not answered, which makes me wonder if there is supposed to be another book. After their reunion Hunter made them aware what he needed from them and they attempted to comply, however the reality is a little more complex than any of them had expected.

Liam is still dealing with his background and struggling not to let old fears and doubts come between him and his lovers, however the past won't stay there & each attempt to ignore it only puts pressure on him.  I liked Liam as a character most of the time, however he had moments where I wasn't a fan at all.  In dealing with his foster sister and ignoring his wife's feelings on the matter, he was allowing the sister to step in between them. I get he feels responsible for her but there comes a time when a person has to stand on their own, if they know you're always going to intervene they never have to learn.  Liam wanted the trio but when he has to change things in his life becomes a bit resentful in a way that makes me wonder what the heck he thought was going to happen.

Hunter was struggling with hiding his non conventional relationship and maintaining his standards for the military. He was a Marine and that to him mattered greatly, because it was in the Marines that he found himself.  Even though he loved his partners he also needed the comfort of his career, he was however at times left feeling as if he visiting instead of being a full third. I liked the tension brought into the relationship and the story as a third coming into an established duo, even though there was history there, it was still him coming in after they had found their rhythm as a couple instead of all of them coming together.  It made it interesting and intriguing enough for me to fly through the pages.

Katrina wanted whatever she needed to keep her relationships going. She saw the cracks but wasn't willing to fully face them, because she was afraid of losing either of the men she loved.  Kat was both a strong character and an foolish one, there were moments she should have put her foot down & she didn't, moments to push & she let the issue go, not from knowing it was right but because she wanted the easier path.  Katrina/Kat eventually made the push to get them all together.  I really loved how emotive the story was.  I felt for her when she had to face those moments of what would happen to all her dreams if Hunter wasn't interested in the dreams she and Liam had dreamt together.  That moment made me really feel for her and love her at the same time.

I enjoyed how the trio strove to fit in all their needs while honoring the relationship.  The military aspect made the relationship very different from a regular menage and I enjoyed reading it.  The things that we normally take for granted weren't something they could take for granted & that was very eye opening.  I loved that it wasn't easy that it was something they had to work on.  The boundaries that were necessary, and the story they would need to be seen as 'normal'  made for a great background tension that helped them grow as a poly`triangle & as individuals.  I loved the tension between Lian ad Hunter, due to their approaches to how they handle Kat as an individual and as a unit, Liam learning to not make decisions for everyone was a great lesson to read.

I wanted to know more about the relationship between Liam & his foster sister. I also wanted more background from all the characters.  I enjoyed the story, but felt like we could have used more information on their lives before and how it really set them up to be the characters they are now.

It was enjoyable and a good start if this is going to be a series, if not it was still a good read especially when they were all together.  Even though this is listed as an erotica, I felt that the story took over and made it more of a love story with a few really good and raunchy scenes.  I loved it as such, because the emotions made the raunchy scenes that much more.
 ★★★★1/2☆
Erotica Rating: ★★★★★ *Extra Steamy: great story with an excellent plot, amazing sex scenes*

I suggest making space on your TBR pile for this series, especially if you love a good bit of hot m/m action.
Happy Reading