Review: Secret Lies by Amy Dunne

Book Title: Secret Lies

Author: Amy Dunne

Release Date: December 16th, 2013

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

Genre: YA/Contemporary/LGBT

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Would you face your biggest fear, to save the one you love? 

Nicola Jackson escapes from her abuser, only to realize she has no one to turn to and nowhere to go. In a twist of fate, she accidentally bumps into Jenny O’Connor, the most popular girl at school. They strike up an unlikely friendship. As their trust in each other develops, they share their darkest secrets, and their relationship blossoms into a secret romance. 

Jenny loves Nicola, but she is fearful that if their secret relationship is discovered, she might lose her family, friends, and her seemingly perfect life. 

Nicola confronts her abuser and blackmails him to leave for good, but things go terrifyingly wrong. Jenny is left with a life-changing dilemma: should she face her fear and accept who she is, or let Nicola take the blame and pretend their relationship never happened?

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

This author was a new author to me so I had no idea what to expect when I began this book. I found myself really liking the story. Yes, the timeline was a bit unbelievable but when you are in an abusive situation you'll use any means to get out of the situation. Even if that means befriending a girl that you had hardly ever spoken to before. 

I totally understand why so many people disliked the book because of the unrealistic timeline, but for me it didn't both me much. Maybe because the characters were so great all down the road.Out of both Nicola and Jenny, I liked Nicola more. She was resilient and determined not to play the victim which was amazing given all that she had been through in the past 5 years.

I liked Jenny too. It was hard to hear about how she dealt with things but I'm glad that it wasn't treated as a taboo subject like so many things still are. However, it was her family that made me like her even more. Despite being very devout Catholics,they were warm and loving which was really nice to see. Even Elizabeth, who was a class A bitch initially, grew on me.

The relationship itself was a bit insta-lovey which makes me cringe but they were able to be themselves around each other which was good to see. Outside of Laura, Jenny really didn't have any decent friends.I didn't like how once they were together and alone together, they always went to sex. But then I had to remember that they were teenagers and many teenagers are sex-crazed.

The ending just about broke me and it only made me love Jenny's parents more and actually made me have sympathy for Nicola's mother, which I never expected to happen.I cried a lot of tears during the end.So the feels were definitely there. 

Overall, I really liked this one. The timeline was unrealistic and sometimes Jenny & Nicola both got on my nerves for being so sex crazed so those are the reasons I'm giving it 4 stars.I think I'll probably read any book the author writes in the future.

Cover Reveal: As You Turn Away by Molli Moran

Title: AS YOU TURN AWAY (The Walker Boys #1)
Tentative release date: March 1, 2014

Genre: New Adult

Book Link: Goodreads

Cover Designer: Marie Landry

Synopsis: 
When Quinnlan Reynolds left home at 18, she escaped her small, Georgia town and her suffocating upbringing. She started a new life as a ballerina, and tasted freedom for the first time. But four years later, her first visit home turns tragic. Reeling, Quinn tries to piece her life back together again. But doing so is easier said than done when sexy Jonah Walker saunters back into her life.

Quinn shattered Jonah’s heart once, so getting involved with her isn’t something he’s sure he’s ready to do again. He became someone he didn’t recognize when he left home. He’s spent the last years burying his pain by keeping everyone in his life at arm’s length. Now he needs to get to know his family again, and finally become who he wants to be.

But neither Quinn or Jonah can stay away from each other, especially when old feelings resurface. Something is pulling them back together, and they can’t deny their chemistry for long. One Georgia summer could change both their lives forever, if they can work through their past to have a future together. 

Excerpt #3: Flashback | Dance With Me

“Dance with me.” He cupped her waist, which wasn’t exactly where his hand belonged, but they were alone, and he’d do what he pleased. Between school, and working the farm, not to mention Quinn’s family, they barely got any time together. But what time they did spend together meant more to Jonah than he knew how to say.

“Always.” Quinn stumbled on the next step, but recovered. She stared at her feet, watching as he led.

“1-2-3, 1-2-3,” he counted. He could feel the smile tickling his lips as they found a rhythm. Quinn was adorable when she concentrated, and even more so when she wanted to get something right.

“Well, you suck at ballet but you’re pretty good at waltzing. Someday you’ll have to tell me how you learned.” Quinn squeezed his hand. “And you’re not half bad at being a boyfriend.”

Jonah couldn’t hold back the grin any longer. “Boyfriend, huh? Is that what I am? That would make you my…girlfriend.”

“I mean…if you want to be…”

She was flushed, and flustered, and completely adorable. Jonah pulled Quinn into his arms, and kissed her lips. She melted against him, and he smiled against her mouth. The response was as automatic as the sun washing away the moonlight - it was something he simply knew would happen. Anytime he kissed her, happiness overtook him.

“Yeah.” He kissed her forehead, lips lingering. “I want to be.”

 Author Bio:

Molli is a Southern writer who doesn't consider her day complete if she hasn't written. She loves coffee and talking fast, things she attributes to being raised by Gilmore Girls. She's a romantic at heart, and brings that to her books. When not reading or blogging, she can be found obsessing over Doctor Who, cuddling her various pets, or spending time with friends, family, or her girlfriend. 

Connect with the author:

Website
Twitter
Facebook Author Page
Book Blog
Email

Giveaway:
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

Book Title: Being Sloane Jacobs

Author: Lauren Morrill

Release Date: January 7th, 2014

Publisher: Delacorte

Genre: YA

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.

Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over.

When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than being yourself.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

This book title had been floating around my fellow book bloggers since shortly after I became a part of the book blogger community. I had seen the synopsis and I was truly excited for it although I knew my chances of getting an ARC of it were pretty slim. Imagine my surprise when I got the email from NetGalley a few months ago, in October.

I downloaded it instantly but wasn't able to get to it until recently.It was well worth the wait. It made me cry, laugh and have all the feels in between. This isn't a fluffy Parent Trap-esque book. The romance happens for the girls, not the parents.Happily, the romance wasn't the main plot point. It was a subplot to the main plot of two stressed out athletes needing a month away from their families. 

Sloane Emily's family is a mess. She walked in on her father having an affair with his assistant, and suddenly that assistant is everywhere-even in Sloane Emily's thoughts. Her mother is clueless about the affair and Emily isn't about to clue her in on it. Her brother, James is working with the political party, who their father is NOT affiliated with.

Sloane Devon's family is a mess too. Her mother is a raging alcoholic, who is in rehab, her father is trying to parent her as a single father but is failing big time. Add that to Sloane Devon's temper and there's a recipe for disaster.

A lot of people are going to take issue with the fact that it seemed like they had no problems with switching and that they seemed to do well in sports that they weren't previously focused on.I don't find that as much of an issue mostly because they do have the background of being on the ice. They just have to get used to using different equipment. For Sloane Emily, that's pucks and hockey sticks and lots of body armor. For Sloane Devon, that's ice skates.

Nando and Matt were two good additions to the story. I did prefer Matt, mostly because I didn't feel it between Sloane Devon and Nando. I did feel major sparks between Matt and Sloane Emily though. They were completely adorable.Matt was so determined to prove that he was no longer a playboy like he had been in the past.

There always has to be some sort of rival in books like this but I was bored with Melody. I fully expected her to pull some crazy stuff like Ivy did.Yet, she didn't and that kind of bored me.Melody just seemed like the typical ultra-competitive player who talked a big talk but when it came right down to it, she was not going to risk her place at camp to go after Sloane Emily.

Alternating POV's was great and overall I preferred Sloane Devon's. There were many times that I busted out laughing so hard I was crying while reading her POV. 

"And as much as the thought of Ivy finding a mouse in her bed thrills me, I really should just open the box and eat the brownies." Sloane Devon

She was everything that I could want in a likable character. She was laugh out loud funny, which was one of my favorite things about her.

"The only thing that's keeping me from smothering Ivy in her sleep is that I'm convinced that she would haunt me if I did." Sloane Devon

I do think that Sloane Emily was the one who changed the most by the end of the book.I ended up liking her a whole lot more than I had initially.Yet it was Sloane Devon's family that made the most changes to themselves by the end of the book and that alone made me cry quite a bit at the end.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, loved the characters a lot. I would love to give this book a full five stars but I didn't get many feels while reading this, which bummed me out. I also didn't feel like I got to see enough of Sloane Emily's personality. If I had gotten to see more of her personality, I think I would have liked her more.So this book will be getting 4 stars.

About the Author:

Lauren Elizabeth Morrill is many things, including, but not limited to, a writer, an educator, a badass roller derby skater, a former band nerd, an aggressive driver, and a die-hard Mac person. She also watches a lot of TV, eats a lot of junk food, and drinks a lot of Coke. It’s a wonder her brain and teeth haven’t rotted out of her head.

Connect with the author:
Website
Twitter
Facebook Author Page

Stacking the Shelves #25

This feature is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Welcome to 2014 everyone. 2013 had a lot of crazy and wonderful moments for me as a blogger. The first day I began blogging, I never envisioned how crazy it would end up getting.Crazy in a great way though. One of the biggest highlights for me was getting whitelisted for HarperTeen & Harlequin Teen's titles on Edelweiss. I also was whitelisted for several other publisher's titles right around the same time.

This week was a weird week. I had submitted several e-ARC requests through Netgalley and was getting irked that they hadn't been accepted or denied yet. In 3 days, I got 4 approvals and 1 denial. If I hadn't gotten any responses, I probably would have passed on doing a post today.

I did buy one e-book this week thanks to my birthday money. I bought Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. It was on sale for $1.99 on the Kindle Store. I was initially torn because I also wanted This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith, but I decided to go with Incarnate because I've been DYING to start this series.

I'm sure you're sick of reading this and you just want to know what books I picked up. Well here you go.

Bought

Incarnate (Newsoul #1) by Jodi Meadows

Received for Review

-NetGalley-

Knowing Jack by Rachel Curtis

A Million Little Snowflakes by Logan Byrne

Never Have I Ever by Katie Heaney

Say Forever (Something More #3) by Tara West

Gifted

-

Won
-

As always, please let me know if you read any of these or if you're wanting to read any of these. If you have read any of these, be sure to let me know what you thought of them. Of course, leave the links to your Stacking the Shelves posts/vlogs etc.

Weekly Blog Wrap-up

Monday- Review of Splintered (Splintered #1) by A.G. Howard

Tuesday- Discussion Post Top Ten Books I Read in 2013

Wednesday- Review of Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler

Thursday- Review of Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Friday- Discussion Post Book Blogging/Reviewing Resolutions

Book Blogging/Reviewing Resolutions

Hello everyone and welcome to the year 2014. Wow, can you believe that we are already in 2014? It seems like it was yesterday when I started my blog. Yes I know, 8 months isn't really that long ago, but I have grown a lot as a blogger & reviewer in the past 8 months. I've made friends, I've improved my book reviews, I've noticed mistakes I've made and I've worked to correct them.

So onto my resolutions for this year.

1. Stop requesting so many books.
2. Limit Book Tours to books I am truly excited about.
3. Comment more on blogs.
 4. Get my own blog out in the Twitterverse and Blogosphere more often.
5. Get the courage to contact publishers and request physical ARC's.

So those are my top 5 blogging/reviewing resolutions.Did you make any blogging/reviewing related resolutions this year?

Review: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Book Title: Another Little Piece

Author: Kate Karyus Quinn

Release Date: June 11th, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA/Horror

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble,Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Disclaimer: This was a personal purchase.

Review:

Holy crap! What did I just finish reading?

Those were the words that floated out of my mouth the moment I finished reading this book at 2am this morning.A book really has to draw me in big time for me to stay up half the night devouring it. Another Little Piece definitely did that. First, lets just get this out of the way, this is not a book for everyone. Not everyone is going to devour this book like it's their last meal.But after a slow start, this book picked up steam and never looked back.

Normally I hate poetry in books but the poems that were in this book, worked. They were poems that Annalise wrote herself before she disappeared and they nearly always gave clues as to what was going to happen next.

The writing fit the story so well. At times it was disjointed but that made sense to me as Annalise felt disjointed herself. She didn't remember her life at all and she struggled to try to remember it. The writing was beautiful and haunting which, again fit the book so well.The use of the author's descriptive language was awesome.

I adored Dex, he was a wonderful surprise and he was good to and for Annalise which was awesome to see. There was a slight love triangle but I'm not even sure you can call it that because Logan was from the past and there was never really anything there between him and Annalise. 

The paranormal elements were definitely a surprise as I didn't see that coming at all. Normally I shy away from paranormal elements in books, but it was done so well this time that I didn't mind it. It definitely added a layer to this book.

My brain literally HURT while reading this book. Not in a bad way, just in a I-gotta-know-what-happens-next kind of way. There were multiple questions I had throughout the book and every time a question was answered, another one would crop up. I mean that is a GREAT way to get people to want to keep reading, so kudos to Kate Karyus Quinn for doing that.

It was labelled as a bone chilling, spine tingling book but I didn't get that feeling. Yes there were parts that were creepy as all get out but nothing really bone chilling or spine tingling. I also didn't get many feels from this book. So those are the main reasons that I am giving this book 4 stars. Not everyone will love this book, but you should definitely give this book a try.

Review: Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler

Book Title: Afterparty

Author: Ann Redisch Stampler

Release Date: December 31st, 2013

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother -- whose name her dad won't even say out loud. That's why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her...and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she's everything Emma is not.

And it may be more than Emma can handle. 

Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It's more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop... 

This explosive, sexy, and harrowing follow-up to Ann Redisch Stampler's spectacular teen debut, Where It Began, reveals how those who know us best can hurt us most.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Simon Pulse via Edelweiss.

Review:

I had such high hopes for this book. The cover was really pretty, kind of a dark ethereal theme if there is such a thing.The book started off really promising but unfortunately it spiraled downward very quickly.

Emma seems like a very normal girl when we first meet her. Yes, her dad is overprotective, but I really don't bat an eye at that. It's not until Siobhan sinks her teeth into the naive "good" Emma that things really start to unravel. It's not until Siobhan gets Emma into her clutches do we realize exactly how much of a doormat Emma is. I mean, I understand the idea to bust out of her father's overprotection, but Siobhan has this hold on Emma which apparently renders Emma incapable of saying no.

The dialogue was repetitive a lot of the time. Emma's morals are constantly talked about and rehashed. It was very frustrating to constantly have Emma talk about being the "good Emma" Siobhan was an absolutely terrible friend. Clearly she was troubled and she wanted to pull Emma down with her. Initially I felt bad for Emma, but then I realized that Emma didn't have to say yes all the time. She needed a backbone. 

The character development was non-existent. I wanted to know so much about Siobhan's background and how she came to be such a troubled young lady. There were points & conversations that alluded to it, but nothing was explored in depth. Also I wanted to know more about Emma's mom. That storyline was basically swept under the rug.

The writing was weird too. It was a rambly style that really kind of drove me crazy. Sometimes the dialogue would feel kind of forced. I am big on dialogue so it really disappointed me to see that the dialogue wasn't smooth.

I really didn't enjoy this one at all. I cannot actually find anything about this book that I enjoyed. It had a lot of promise, but it just didn't deliver. That's why I have to give this book 1 star.