Monday, March 31, 2014

ARC Review: Be With Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: William Morrow and Company
Publishing Date:  February 4th, 2014
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Pages: 365 pgs
ISBN: 9780062294784
Source: Received for honest review by publisher and Edelweiss



Summary from Goodreads:
Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year—she’s in love with her big brother’s best friend, but he hasn’t spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, change-your-life kiss. She got out of a terrible relationship. And now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It’s time for Plan B – college. And maybe a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he’s not telling anyone. Especially not his best friend’s incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn’t have time for a relationship. But it doesn’t help that all he can think about kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.

As they’re thrown together more and more, Jase and Tess can’t keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they’re willing to risk to be together, and what they’re willing to lose if they’re not…

My Review: 

When I finished reading Wait for You by Jennifer L. Armentrout I couldn't wait to read more. I was excited to see that there was a companion novel written about Cam's best friend Jase and his sister Tess. Tess is younger than both Cam and Jase but she has always had a thing for Jase.  Even though they share a pretty hot kiss, Jase puts up a wall and Tess can't figure out why. 
I really enjoyed reading this steamy novel. It was full of drama and at times it tugged at the heartstrings.  I liked Tess.  She was not afraid to tell Jase how she was feeling and she pushed for what she wanted. She was struggling with her inability to continue doing something she loved and she was getting over an abusive relationship. She cared about her friends and family deeply and that shines through to her relationship with Jase. 
Jase's story is one that will melt your heart a little. He is really pushes everyone close to him away or he lets them in but keeps them at arms length. He never fully lets anyone in until Tess shows up and even then it's a lot of up and down. Those parts were super frustrating for me. I just wanted to yell at Jase and say, "Stop being so stupid! Don't you see you have a good thing?" 
While I really enjoyed this book and the storyline, I found that I didn't like it as much as Wait For You. I'm not sure why that was but it just was. I still enjoyed this book but just not quite as much. I would definitely recommend this is for a fun beachy read. 

Sunday, March 30, 2014

In My Mailbox

Well it's been a long time since I've done one of these but since I got some great books this week I thought I'd share them :)

We had our 3rd annual Ottawa Blogger Meetup today and we were lucky enough to get a few goodies!


Here they are: 

This is an overview of all the goodies. Lots of buttons and bookmarks, some tea, sunglasses, lip gloss and of course- BOOKS!

The lovely Caroline Pignat was actually present at our meetup. Her new book Unspeakable is a historical fiction novel about a shipwreck.  I am also looking forward to Born of Illusion by Teri Brown. It's one I've been eyeing for a while.      


Abroad by Katie Crouch- I borrowed this one from Ciara from Lost at Midnight. Shadows by Paula Weston (signed!) and An Infidel in Paradise by S. J Laidlaw (Also signed!)


The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco- This one looks super creepy.  Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid- This one looks great! Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell- This has been on my TBR for quite some time.

The Summer of Letting Go- This one is not from the meetup but from Thomas Allen and Sons for review. The DarkWorld by Cara Lynn Shultz- I hadn't heard of this but it looks pretty freaking. Better off Friend by Elizabeth Eulberg- Another borrow from Ciara. Thank you :)

Little Red Lies by Julie Johnston- Another borrow from Ciara. Inifinite Sky by C.J. Flood- I hadn't heard of this one before either but I'll give it a try. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson- I NEEDED this book! So excited to read it.
Cress by Marissa Meyer- Did I mention it was signed and personalized? Amazing The Beautiful and the Cursed by Paige Morgan- What a cover! The Young World by Chris Weitz- looks like a good dystopian.

Well there you have it. That's my haul for the week. What did you get?

Thursday, March 13, 2014

ARC Review: Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publishing Date: February 25th, 2014
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 272 pgs
ISBN: 9781442440227
Source: Received for honest review from Edelweiss/Simon & Schuster



Summary from Goodreads:
Friendship is a bond stronger than secrets in this novel from the author of The Almost Truth and Unraveling Isobel.

As first graders, Avery and Nora bonded over a special trait they shared;they were both adopted.

Years later, Avery is smart, popular, and on the cheerleading squad, while Nora spends her time on the fringes of school society, wearing black, reading esoteric poetry, and listening to obscure music. They never interact...until the night Nora approaches Avery at a party, saying it's urgent. She tells Avery that she thought she found her birth mom; but it turned out to be a cruel lie. Avery feels for Nora, but returns to her friends at the party.

Then Avery learns that Nora overdosed on pills. Left to cope with Nora's loss and questioning her own actions, Avery decides to honor her friend by launching a search for her own birth mother. Aided by Brody, a friend of Nora's who is also looking for a way to respect Nora's legacy, Avery embarks on an emotional quest. But what she's really seeking might go far deeper than just genetics.

My Review: 

My first Cook novel was The Almost Truth and I quite enjoyed it. I was happy to receive Year of Mistaken Discoveries for review. I started it almost immediately but it has taken me a bit of time to write my review. I was conflicted with this novel. There were lots of parts that I quite enjoyed and then other parts that I had a hard time connecting to. 
To begin this story is about friendship and family. Avery and Nora had a great friendship and they bonded over being adopted. When the book commences the two are already on the outs. They have grown apart because of high school dynamics. Avery is the more popular one and I would probably describe Nora as someone who stands out. She may even be described by some as emo. It was hard to really get a handle on how close the two used to be because while we are reading the two are so awkward around each other and really more acquaintances than friends. We see a bit of their friendship through memories and through Avery's quest after Nora has passed away. That being said, I wanted to see more of this friendship. I wish the novel had a few more flashbacks so that we could really see the relationship between the two girls. I also would have liked to see more between Nora and Brody. We know that Nora was close to Brody but there isn't too much depth to that explanation. 
I will say that I enjoyed watching Avery on her quest to find the birth mother. It seems like quite a difficult task and I am glad that I don't have to go through that. I can't really understand what it would be like to know you have pretty amazing parents but not knowing about your genetics and who gave birth to you. I think that I would always be wondering why. 
I like Cook's writing and her storytelling. This book is interesting and keeps you engaged but as I said before I just wanted a little bit more. It's a fairly quick read and at times it is pretty emotional. I would say if you are looking for a quick read then this is your bet.