Review: Me Since You by Laura Wiess

Book Title: Me Since You

Author: Laura Wiess

Release Date: February 18th, 2014

Publisher: MTV Books

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

“Laura Wiess’s masterful prose kept me turning the pages. This is the first book in a very long time that made me say, ‘Wish I’d written this’” (Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank, on Such a Pretty Girl).

Sixteen-year-old Rowan is still reeling from her father’s suicide four months ago, after he failed to stop a man from leaping off an overpass to his death. The only witness is Eli, a teenaged boy wrapped deep in mourning for his own father, killed in action in Afghanistan. When Rowan and Eli meet, they recognize kindred spirits, and begin to navigate grief and its aftermath together.

Rowan can’t understand how her father could choose to leave her, and acts out, pushing away friends and taking risks with her safety. Rowan’s mother, wracked with her own guilt and sorrow over failing to save her husband, stops going to work and collects stray cats for comfort. Grief, fractured and unpredictable, rules their lives now. Rowan is lost—and sinking. But Eli represents a lifeline for Rowan, and as they struggle to make sense of what’s gone and what is left behind, they begin to fall in love. Me Since You is Laura Wiess at her finest—a beautiful, gripping and painfully honest examination of adolescence.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review:

This one is going to be a hard one to review for several reasons.When it was really good, it was really good and I cried so hard I nearly puked. But when there was a lull, which was a lot of the time, it was disappointing to me. I think a lot if not all of the problem I had was that I couldn't really relate to Rowan.She had an intact family where her parents clearly loved each other. I couldn't relate to that.

Yet when her father commits suicide, I cry buckets. I cry for Rowan because it's just not fair that a father who loved his family that much, could be in so much pain where the only thing he could do to deal with it, was end his life. I cried because I remembered being in a similar position 2 years ago when a good friend of mine ended her life. 

This one was different though. With Rowan it was her beloved father. The grief was palpable, but yet I felt disconnected from it. Trying to connect with either Rowan or her mother was impossible because I couldn't understand why they were so sad. I blame that totally on my life experiences though.I totally understand why this entire book was a complete sobfest for others.

I absolutely adored Eli though. I know normally I say that relationships like this are formed out of convenience, but not this time. It helped that Rowan and Eli were already friends before Rowan's dad killed himself.I love watching a friendship turn into something more. It's always been a big positive for me to see two people start off as friends first before they become romantically involved.

Rowan needs Eli, especially once she realizes that her onetime best friend, Nadia has essentially deserted her. That absolutely infuriated me. Nadia expects Rowan to be okay only a month after the death? Nadia's job is to love and support Rowan as she navigates this journey called grief, and yet she doesn't. She gets mad at Rowan for "not being over it already" Really she wants Rowan to "get over" the death of her father in a month? Nadia turned out to be a class A bitch.

I really wanted to love this book, but I think the fact that I couldn't connect with the characters at all was my main problem. Structurally the book was great and the feels were definitely there.The crying I did was really the only time I connected with the characters.The emotional parts were wonderfully written and Eli was easily my favorite character. Aside from that, I didn't hate this book, but I just didn't love it either. That's why I have to give it 3 stars.

Book Blitz: Forever Loved (Forever #2) by Deanna Roy

The Forever Series

Book One: Forever Innocent

On sale for 99 cents Jan. 12-24

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Book Two: Forever Loved

Release Date: Jan. 10

Book Link: Goodreads

On sale for $2.99 through January 31

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

 

“How do I tell the woman I love that I fathered a son with a prostitute?”

After four long years of separation, Gavin has finally reunited with his childhood love Corabelle. She’s forgiven him for leaving her during the funeral of their seven-day-old baby, and also for where he ended up — in Mexico to get a vasectomy.

A message from Rosa, a prostitute he met the day of his surgery, brings his life to a crashing halt. She claims Gavin has fathered a son, now three years old and living with her cousin in Ensenada. He doesn’t know if he can trust Rosa, who never mentioned the boy before, or if his delicate reconciliation with Corabelle can withstand the shock if it is true.

Corabelle believes their future together is the right thing despite their past. But when she learns of this other child, the one thing she lost long ago and might never have again with Gavin, Corabelle’s faith that her life will ever follow her old dream is shattered. To make things right for Gavin and his son, she just might have to let go of the only person she always believed would be her forever love.

Forever Loved is the heart-wrenching conclusion to the passionate story that began with Forever Innocent.

Interview with an over-the-top freakishly fun Book BFF

Today we’re chatting with Jenny, best friend of Corabelle, the main character of Deanna Roy’s Forever Series, including the bestselling Forever Innocent (on sale for 99 cents through Jan. 24) and the sequel Forever Loved, which just came out Jan. 10.

Hair color: PINK! Of course. Oh, you mean the real stuff? No telling. I’ve been pink since I was 13. Probably some horrid ashy brown. The world will never know, thanks to Manic Panic. (My bathroom always looks someone just murdered Strawberry Shortcake.)

Eye color: A bizarre grayish dull green. No emerald or sapphire or any other cool romance novel color. (Stupid author. Can I at least be jade? In fact, can I change my name to Jade? I don’t know what she was thinking when she named me Jenny. I am not girl-next-door-name material.)

Height: What is this? A physical exam? With boots or without? I can reach the top shelf in my kitchen in my tin-foil stilettos, so does that make me 5’9”? We’ll go with 5’9”. BTW, don’t ask my weight or I’ll mix Manic Panic with your hair gel. And not a cool color either. Think seaweed.

School: UC San Diego. I’ve been undecided since kindergarten. I’m a junior credit-wise although I’ve only been there two years. Ha, you thought I was an airhead. I placed out of twelve hours, people. Pink hair does not equal dumb. I’m aware that I have to decide something sometime. Right now I’m cool with being well-rounded arm candy.

Work: I’ve been slinging coffee at Cool Beans for about six months. That’s how I met Corabelle. Anybody THAT sad needed somebody like me in her life. Studying nonstop when you are not even taking classes is like, I don’t know, bad for your mental health. I make her get out in the world. Engage. Other than boyz. She won’t go near them. Which means more for me. This is a very workable plan.

Boyfriend: Is that singular? I mean, not that I am a big fat cheater (not in my mind) or polyamorist (I love that word), just that there can be, sometimes, a little crossover. See, not every guy goes for me. I mean, they like to LOOK, and often they like to FEEL UP (some parts more than others), but I have to separate the taste testers from the gourmets, you know? So sometimes I am looking for one just a tad bit before I let go of the other. It’s all about life boats. You wouldn’t jump ship until you had one, am I right?

BFF:  Corabelle works for me. I’m hard to be friends with. I know I’m a flirt. I’m as subtle as Miley Cyrus on an award show. So a lot of girls won’t be around me. They think I’ll steal their boyfriends. But I have a code. It’s a serious set of rules I don’t violate, not ever. No boys of friends. No ex-boys of friends. Never ever. So see, I’m not so bad. Just know that if we’re out clubbing, if I see him first, you better stake your claim in a hurry, or else, he’s MINE.

Author Bio:

Author Bio:

Deanna Roy is a passionate advocate for women who have lost babies. She founded PregnancyLoss.Info in 1998 and runs many online and in-person support groups. She is the author of several two-hankie reads, including Forever Innocent, Stella & Dane, and Baby Dust.

Connect with the author: 

Goodreads-Author

Website

Twitter

January Book Blast (Entangled Publishing)

Releasing January 13, 2014

Resisting the Hero by Cindi Madsen

Resisting her brother’s best friend is futile…

Faith Fitzpatrick isn’t looking for a hero. Burned one too many times in the past, she’s now sworn them off completely. And when her brother’s best friend, Connor, convinces him to join the dangerous SWAT team, Faith has never been more anti-hero. What’s wrong with having a safe job? There’s nothing safe about Connor. Confident, sexy, and sporting a six-pack that should be illegal, he’s everything she doesn’t want.

When his best friend’s sister moves to town, local cop Connor Maguire knows he’s in trouble. Faith is feisty, funny, and talks trash like nobody’s business. She’s also his partner’s sister—and so totally off limits. Working on the Fall Festival together, they agree to a truce and become friends. But the more time Connor spends with Faith, the more he’s willing to risk the wrath of her brother. If he could only convince her to take a risk on him, too.

Amazon 
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Goodreads

Falling for her Soldier by Ophelia London

She fell for the nice guy, but will she fall for the real guy?

Ex-ballerina Ellie Bell has twenty-four days left until her self-imposed man-less year is up. No more falling for the wrong kind of guy—charming, sexy, bad. Why can’t she find someone sweet like Charlie Johansson, her soldier pen pal? His e-mails meant the world to her, and she can’t stop thinking about him…until she meets Hunter, whose muscles and cocky smile threaten to have her relapsing.

Before Charlie “Big Game Hunter” Johansson’s last tour of duty, he’d gone through women like crazy. But after connecting on a real, emotional level via letters with his best friend’s sister, Charlie’s ready for a relationship—with Ellie Bell. But then her brother introduces him as Hunter. Proving he’s no longer a player by becoming Ellie’s dance partner for an Army benefit seems like it could convince both siblings he’s changed, but the harder he falls for Ellie, the harder it is to come clean. Can he convince her to fall for the real him before it’s too late?

Amazon
Kboo
Goodreads

Love Songs for the Road by Farrah Taylor

A rock star. The nanny. A love that could rock their world.

The only thing rock star Marcus Troy loves more than making music is his kids. So finding just the right nanny to take on tour with them is important—as is proving to his ex he deserves joint custody. Falling for his employee wouldn’t just be fodder for the paparazzi: it could ruin everything.

Too bad the perfect nanny turns out to be beautiful, vibrant Ryan Evans. Ryan’s never left her small Montana town before, so she jumps at the chance to see the country. And as much as accidental fame doesn’t gel with shy Ryan, what does is her relationship with her capricious, smoking-hot, shockingly good dad of a boss. Marcus is nothing like what she expected. But when the whole world’s watching them, will life in the spotlight be too hot to handle?

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Goodreads

On sale for $.99!

Falling For Her Fiancé by Cindi Madsen

What’s a little fake engagement between best friends?

Danielle and Wes have been best friends since college, so when Wes needs a date for his sister’s wedding and Dani needs a partner for her company’s retreat, they devise the perfect plan: a fake engagement to get through both events unscathed.

Adrenaline-junkie Wes can prove to both his ex and his family that he’s well and truly moved on, and serious-minded Dani can prove to her boss that she’s worthy of the promotion he seems to only want to give to a family-oriented employee.

But amid the fake swoons, fake kisses, and forced proximity, neither expects the very real feelings that develop. There’s nothing more dangerous than falling for your best friend…but what if the landing is worth the fall?

Find Falling For Her Fiance Online:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Goodreads

Playing at Love by Ophelia London

When it’s glee vs. gridiron, can love level the playing field?

Show choir teacher Tess Johansson loves three things: music, her job, and sharing that passion with her students. But when a school budget crisis forces funding to be pulled from either the sports or music programs, she finds herself going head to head with Jack, the gorgeous new football coach who broke her heart fifteen years ago.

Jack Marshall wants two things: to be closer to his young daughter and to make his mark as a football coach. Taking the new job, with the promise that he’d have time to build a solid team, gave him both. But now he must win the season with a group of boys who aren’t anywhere near ready or he’ll lose everything he’s worked so hard for. Being pitted against Tess, the summer love he never forgot, is like being fourth and long with only seconds on the clock.

On opposing sides of a fierce battle and with everything at stake, Tess and Jack find themselves torn between doing what it takes to win and doing what it takes to be together.

Find Playing at Love Online:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Goodreads

New Year’s Bliss Bash January 14 8pm – 10pm EST

Join five, yes FIVE!, fantabulous Bliss authors at our New Year's Bliss Bash celebrating our December Bliss releases, our January Bliss releases and a whole lot of other fantabulous other happenings going on this new year.

Who will be here you ask? We will be welcoming:
Cindi Madsen
Ophelia London
Barbra DeLeo
Farrah Taylor

There will be plenty of virtual drinks, party hats, giveaways and fun to be had. So invite all of your friends to join the fun.

It’s all happening on the Bliss Facebook page here.

About Cindi

Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children. She is the author of YA novels All the Broken Pieces and Demons of the Sun, adult contemporary romances Falling for Her Fiancé and Act Like You love Me, and the women's fiction novel Cinderella Screwed Me Over.

Find Cindi Madsen Online:

Website
Blog
Twitter

 Facebook

About Ophelia London

Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she's lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes. Ophelia is the author of DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE, ABBY ROAD, and the Perfect Kisses series including: PLAYING AT LOVE, SPEAKING OF LOVE, and FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER (Jan 2014). Visit her at http://ophelialondon.com. But don't call when The Vampire Diaries is on.

Find Ophelia London Online:

Website
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest

About Farrah Taylor

A reading specialist with a masters degree in Early Childhood Education, Farrah Taylor has taught first grade in Northwest Montana for over a decade. She is thrilled to be publishing her first novel, Love Songs for the Road. Farrah, a lifelong music lover who has spent far too much of her savings on concert tickets, is glad to finally be seeing a return on the investment. She lives with her husband, Ty, and son, Latham, in Polson, Montana. 

Find Farrah Taylor Online:

Website
Facebook
Twitter

Stacking the Shelves #26

This feature is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful week and I hope at least some of that time was spent reading. I'm sure I've mentioned it before but both Edelweiss & Netgalley are seriously dangerous. Harper put up a ton of new e-ARC's this past week and while I did get quite a few, I managed to limit myself at least somewhat.

I didn't buy anything this week as I am still waiting on a box from Amazon. I bought books with my birthday money and with all the crappy weather occurring on the East Coast, the package was delayed slightly. So I'll definitely have three new books to show you next Sunday.

On to the fun part. The books.

Bought

-

Received for Review

~Edelweiss~

17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Gifted 

-

Won
-

As always, be sure to let me know if you've read any of these or if you are wanting to read any of these. Don't forget to leave links to your Stacking the Shelves posts or vlogs.

Weekly Blog Wrap-Up

Monday- Review of Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

Tuesday-Cover Reveal for As You Turn Away by Molli Moran

Wednesday- Review of Secret Lies by Amy Dunne

Thursday- Review of Knowing Jack by Rachel Curtis

Friday- Information on Challenge Participation 2014

Saturday- Review of Say Forever (Something More #3) by Tara West

Say Forever (Something More #3) by Tara West

Book Title: Say Forever (Something More #3)

Author: Tara West

Release Date: December 19th, 2013

Publisher: Shifting Sands Publishing

Genre: Adult Contemporary

Series: Book 3 in Something More trilogy

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Christina
I love Andrés so much, more than anyone I’ve ever loved before, yet there are days when I don’t know if I want to scream, swear, or fall to pieces. We’re trying to plan a future together, but our families won’t leave us alone. What’s worse is I can see Andrés is not happy.

They say love trumps all hurdles, but some days I wonder will “our” love trump “our” hurdles? Then I look into Andrés’s sensual smile and passionate gaze and I fall in love all over again.

Andrés
When I told Christina I would love her forever, I meant every word. The nightmares are back, and I don’t know how to stop them, but I have to be strong for her. This pressure from my family and my job feels like a noose around my neck, but I will do whatever it takes to give Christina the life she deserves. She’s everything to me, and I won’t lose her.

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

Review:

Very rarely can I say that a series actually gets markedly worse. I felt like screaming half of the time at these characters. Authors it really is possible to write about a man who is close to his family but who also realizes that its OKAY to do his own thing.In the first two books, Andres and Christina were hot and I was really rooting for them to overcome everything that had tried to tear them apart.

This book changed that majorly. Christina returned to her doormat status which really frustrated me and Andres self esteem plummeted. Both sides of the family were deciding on things without even checking on what the bride and groom wanted. Now that doesn't sound too out of the ordinary but when Christina doesn't put her foot down, suddenly she's meeting with The Cobra's best friend who is going to coordinate the wedding, Andres aunt is insistent on her daughter Marie being a bridesmaid even though Marie and Christina hate each other.Christina is saying over and over "I don't want this" but she's not saying it to people and certainly NOT authoritatively.

Then we have Andres who is miserable at his job but feels a sense of family duty to stay there since his Tio & Tia took him in when his mother died. Yet, privately Andres yearns to persue his passion and become a chef. He's so focused on making Christina happy that he doesn't realize that if he's not happy Christina will never be happy.

And therin lies another issue I have with Christina. Her happiness is tied to a man. That should NEVER happen. A person needs to be happy on their own before they get coupled up. She also needs to find something that's just hers and not tied up with Andres.

I was happy to see that Karri made an appearance as did her son. I was not expecting to see Karri at all in this book. Plus Grace and her girlfriend had substantial parts in it which made me happy. Seeing that Christina did have friends outside of Andres. 

I was happy with the ending and I was happily surprised to see the epilogue. I wasn't sure if we'd get one so it was a nice surprise to see it.It definitely did not feel rushed to me.

This book was easily the weakest of the three. Both main characters took major steps backwards which really bummed me out. That's the main reason I have to give this book 3 stars.

Challenge Participation for 2014

Hello guys, this post will be less of a discussion post and more of a post letting you guys know what blogger challenges and events that I am participating in this year.

The first one is a year round challenge that encourages us to clean out our e-Readers. Read these Edelweiss review copies or those Netgalley review copies.It is being hosted by Emily @ Falling For YA. Definitely go check out the initial post. Make sure to grab the participation button that she has made specifically for this challenge.

I am really excited about this one as I am trying to get my feedback percentage for Netgalley up to an acceptable percentage. I went a little Netgalley crazy when I first started blogging in April of 2013 so my percentage is not what I want it to be. I'm determined to bring my percentage up considerably. As for Edelweiss grabs, things have gotten slightly out of control ever since I was whitelisted for HarperTeen & Harlequin Teen's titles.

Now onto the second one that I signed up for just yesterday. The Book Blogger Love-a-Thon being co-hosted by Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books & Kate @ Kates Tales Of Books And Bands. This is an event to share the blogger love and even get acquainted with a bunch of new blogs that you may never have known about before.I will let both Katelyn and Alexa tell you all of the information.

So go check out both of these events/challenges whatever you want to call them and consider participating.I wasn't going to participate in anything this year but I decided to limit myself and only pick a couple of events/challenges to participate in.And these are the two I've picked.

Review: Knowing Jack by Rachel Curtis

Book Title: Knowing Jack

Author: Rachel Curtis

Release Date: January 17th, 2014

Publisher: Rachel Curtis

Genre: NA/Romance

Series: Book 1

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: none yet

Synopsis from Goodreads:

I am not a slut, although I’ve been called one often enough. Yeah, I spent three months screwing one of my college professors, but I was crazy about the guy. Then he broke up with me.

I am not a bitch, although people like to say I am. I kept our relationship secret. I’m not responsible for telling the university administrators about it, but a lot of students still blame me for getting their favorite professor fired.

I am not a drama queen, although everyone thinks I am now. When I got a few nasty messages, I just deleted them. When I got the threat, I assumed it was someone being stupid. I still think that’s all it was. My parents worry, though, so they hired me a bodyguard. Now Jack follows me around, intimidating everyone who approaches me and looking obnoxiously hot.

This is what I am. I’m Chloe. I’m a twenty-year-old art history major. Kind of shy, although I pretend not to be. Stubborn enough to stay here for my senior year, even though everyone hates me.

And I’m stuck with Jack.

He calls me “Princess,” but I’m not a princess either.

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

Review:

Just once, I'd like to read an NA book that includes real issues that people who have just become legal adults, face. I mean, I'm getting extremely frustrated with the formula that most NA's are following right now. Being in your early twenties is much more than going to school and having sex. I mean, really.It involves finding your career path, forming friendships and establishing new boundaries with parents.

The synopsis of this one seemed interesting so when I started it, I had high hopes. Those high hopes were dashed fairly quickly. I liked Chloe in the beginning.Especially how she was determined to return to the school where her reputation had been trashed. It took a lot of courage for her to return to school and I was hoping that her strength would sustain throughout the book.

The thing with Jack just went really fast. I mean clearly Chloe was not committed to this so called "man fast" Basically 3/4's of the book was straight up erotica. I have no problem with erotica, but in an NA book, there has GOT to be more to the plotline.

The biggest frustration I had was with Jack. He was obsessive,controlling and called her princess all the time. Just no. also he practically laid claim on her after the first time they had sex. I mean, if that's not a controlling move, I don't know what is. He said she was his.Controlling much? Women are not possessions asshole. He'd freak out when an old male friend of hers talked to her and then justified his reasoning for practically laying out the guy by saying.

"I don't want to control you. I want to keep you safe." -Jack-

No, just no. That is a statement made by many controlling men. They are trying to assure the woman that they are doing this for their own good and because they care about them.

Jack also cared way too much about what his father said. I would even go as far as saying that he was incapable of living his own life, away from his father's influence. His past was also glossed over which really bugged me. I wanted to know why he was basically playing keep-away with his heart.

I liked Chloe when she was on her own. She was stronger alone than when she was with Jack. She was definitely more confident when he wasn't around. He turned her into a weak, sex-crazed woman. 

I really didn't like this book at all. Jack and his asshole tendencies ruined this book for me.So I'll be giving it 2 stars.