Friday, November 30, 2018

Blog Tour Review: Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott


There is a reason this book is turning into a movie. It's because it is amazing, so moving and heartfelt. Truly one of my favorite contemporaries I've read this year! If you haven't heard of it yet, I'm so excited to be introducing you to it and if you have and you've read it, then you already know what all the hype is about. 





Title: Five Feet Apart
Author: Rachel Lippincott
Genre: YA Contemporary
Published By: Simon & Schuster (November 20, 2018)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)


Book Description:

Soon to be a major motion picture releasing in March 2019, starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson

Can you love someone you can never touch?

Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?









About the Author:



Rachael Lippincott was born in Philadelphia and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She holds a BA in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she splits her time between writing and running a food truck with her partner.

Blog Tour Schedule:

November 12 – That Artsy Reader Girl 
November 13 – Vivacious Bibliophile 
November 14 – A Gingerly Review 
November 15 – Life of a Simple Reader 
November 16 – A Glass of Wine 
November 17 – Book is Glee 
November 19 – Bumbles and Fairytales 
November 20 – Adventures of a Book Junkie 
November 21 – Jen Ryland Reviews 
November 22 – Joyous Reads 
November 23 – Chasing Faerytales 
November 24 – Folded Pages Distillery 
November 26 – Oh, Hey! Books 
November 27 – Book Briefs 
November 28 – Novel Knight Book Reviews 
November 29 – A Dream within a Dream
 November 30 – My Guilty Obsession



Taking a chance on an author and a subject that you know little to nothing about, is always a risk and in some cases, its a chance, a risk,  worth taking.

As is the case with Five Feet Apart. Beautifully written, heartfelt, emotional, and a read that will stick with you until the very end, Five Feet Apart is a novel that grabs you around the heart and refuses to let go.

So wonderfully told and executed it's a book that I won't be forgetting for a long time to come. 


Poignant, emotional, informational, and an all around amazingly done story, Five Feet Apart is one you don't want to miss out on. 






Monday, November 26, 2018

Review: The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone

Title: The Mansion
Author: Ezekiel Boone
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Thriller
Published By: Atria (December 4, 2018)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 3.5 Stars



Book Description:
After two years of living on cheap beer and little else in a bitterly cold tiny cabin outside an abandoned, crumbling mansion, young programmers Shawn Eagle and Billy Stafford have created something that could make them rich: a revolutionary computer they name Eagle Logic.

But the hard work and escalating tension have not been kind to their once solid friendship—Shawn’s girlfriend Emily has left him for Billy, and a third partner has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. While Billy walks away with Emily, Shawn takes Eagle Logic, which he uses to build a multi-billion-dollar company that eventually outshines Apple, Google, and Microsoft combined.


Years later, Billy is a failure, beset by poverty and addiction, and Shawn is the most famous man in the world. Unable to let the past be forgotten, Shawn decides to resurrect his and Billy’s biggest failure: a next-generation computer program named Nellie that can control a house’s every function. He decides to set it up in the abandoned mansion they worked near all those years ago. But something about Nellie isn’t right—and the reconstruction of the mansion is plagued by accidental deaths. Shawn is forced to bring Billy back, despite their longstanding mutual hatred, to discover and destroy the evil that lurks in the source code.








Ezekiel Boone has an amazing ability to turn mundane every day objects or beings into something truly terrifying. Something that once read, you can never unread or un-picture again. Once you have that terrifying thought of the what if in your mind, it's so very hard to ever see them the same again. 

From spiders to houses, he can make them all not only seem horrific but truly like something you can imagine happening in our world and that might the most terrifying part of it all. 

The Mansion is dark and atmospheric with rich detail that you almost have to wade through and put together slowly as you realize what is about to happen and yet, you know it's going to happen and you hope, as you feverishly turn the pages, that you are wrong and this won't be anything but a tale about a creepy old house and hidden secrets and ghosts. 

Instead you get something chilly in it's realistic appeal and you can picture it all. A truly haunting story that is so much more than a ghost story and so much more than a story about revenge and lost loves and a past everyone wants kept hidden. 





*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*

Monday, November 19, 2018

Review: My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

Title: My Favorite Half-Night Stand
Author: Christina Lauren
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Contemporary
Published By: Gallery Books (December 4, 2018)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4 Stars



Book Description:
By the New York Times bestselling author who “hilariously depicts modern dating” (Us Weekly), My Favorite Half-Night Stand is a laugh-out-loud romp through online dating and its many, many fails.

Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.

So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.

But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship...but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.


Perfect for fans of Roxanne and She’s the Man, Christina Lauren’s latest romantic comedy is full of mistaken identities, hijinks, and a classic love story with a modern twist. Funny and fresh, you’ll want to swipe right on My Favorite Half-Night Stand.










There are so many things I love about Christina Lauren's books, the great romance, the swoon worthy leading men, the quirky heroines, but one of the things I love the most are the friendships. Their books have some of the best friendships.....ever. And My Favorite Half-Night Stand has to be, hands down, one of my absolute favorites. 

The dynamic between these rag tag group of nerds was truly to die for. I adored them all. Their relationship, the way they interacted (both in person and through chats/texts), the witty one liners and pranks and truly the love they have for one another was just so wonderful and one of the things I loved most about this read. 

In fact I would go as far as to say it was what I loved most about this read. While I didn't always feel the sparks between the love interests, I did feel them between the friends and that made the whole story worthwhile for me and one that stuck with me and made me think about all the wonderful people in my life that just "get" me. 

Truly a fun story that you will quickly devour in a sitting. 





*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*

Monday, November 12, 2018

Blog Tour Review: The Reckoning of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin


If you've read this series (original or spin-off) you know two things, these are super good and super addicting.

They wrench at your heart strings. They are emotional on so many levels and they play with your mind..constantly. 

In short, they are unlike any other series out there and I adore them because of it.

I've been a fan since I first picked them up and am always left wanting more. The latest, The Reckoning of Noah Shaw is no different.







Title: The Reckoning of Noah Shaw
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: Book Two in the Shaw Confessions Trilogy
Published By: Simon & Schuster (November 13, 2018)
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)


Book Description:
Noah Shaw confesses all in this second novel of a chilling new companion series to Michelle Hodkin’s New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer trilogy!

Noah Shaw doesn’t think he needs his father’s inheritance.
He does.

Noah believes there’s something off about the suicides in his visions.
There is.

Noah is convinced that he still knows the real Mara Dyer.
He does not. 

Everyone thought the nightmare had ended with Mara Dyer’s memoirs, but it was only the beginning. As old skeletons are laid bare, alliances will be tested, hearts will be broken, and no one will be left unscarred.





About the Author:



Michelle Hodkin is the author of the Mara Dyer Trilogy, which was a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling series. The trilogy, which includes The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer, was described as “haunting and dreamlike” by Cassandra Clare and “darkly funny, deliciously creepy, and genuinely thoughtful” by Veronica Roth. Lev Grossman has called Hodkin “One of the greatest talents in Young Adult fiction.” The novels were praised by Romantic Times, MTV’s Hollywood Crush, and the Los Angeles Times, and books from the series appeared on several state reading lists. Additionally, The Retribution of Mara Dyer was selected as one of TIME.com’s Top 10 YA Books of 2014. Hodkin grew up in Florida, went to college in New York, and studied law in Michigan, before finally settling in Brooklyn last year. 








This series knows how to mess with your emotions. Get your heart racing and always, always leave you wanting more.


After both the killer cliffhanger and heartbreaking ending of book one, I was left anxious to get my hands on book two. I just had to know that that wasn't how it all ended. That that wasn't the end period between so many beloved characters.

Noah and Mara are explosive together, sometimes in the very worst ways possible but no, it couldn't end with them at odds with each other, it just couldn't. 

This book. So many feels. So many emotions. So many revelations, betrayals and even more mysteries. 

Literally, it was hard to wrap my mind around them sometimes. There was just so much going on in the best way possible. 

I don't even know what else to say without giving anything away but I will say this, it's a must read. It's beautifully done. It's mysterious, it's mind blowing and so very much happens and is reveled and exposed that fans of the series will not want to miss out on it. In fact, their only regret will be that book three isn't here already. 



Hodkins once again blows us away with the intricately laid out mystery that is Mara, Noah, and gang. The conspiracies, the danger, the gifts, the plans, the destruction. All so cleverly done and executed. I can't wait for more.






Blog Tour Schedule:

Blog Tour Schedule November 5 – The Lovely Books 
November 6 – Too Fond of Books 
November 7 – Downright Dystopian 
November 8 – Pure Imagination 
November 9 – The Book Loving Nut
 November 10 – a GREAT Read 
November 11 – The Eater of Books! 
November 12 – My Guilty Obsession 
November 13 – Arctic Books 
November 14 – A Gingerly Review 
November 15 – Ex Libris Kate
 November 16 – Girl in the Pages

Friday, November 9, 2018

Ho Ho Ho Read-a-thon!



It's that time of year again, where Kimba from Caffeinated Reviewer does her annual Ho Ho Ho Read-a-thon! Every year I tell myself I want to join because who doesn't love a good sappy holiday romance or a heart stopping winter mystery right? And sadly ever year I forget to sign up or realize I just don't have the time but this year is different, I am making the time!

  I already have my phone and kindle loaded up with holiday (winter/snow or holiday themed) stories and I secretly can't wait to get my holiday on.

This read-a-thon goes from November 9th through the 18th and there is still time to sign up (SIGN UP HERE) so come join us and get your holiday spirit on! There are promises of raffles, challenges, and giveaways and who doesn't love that?

So wish me luck. I so want to read at least a handful of books and if you have any suggestions, I am all for them. I realized after signing up that I actually have very few holiday/winter themed reads in my library and I need more, especially good ones. ;)  Any genre (as long as they fit the criteria above) will do so bring on the recommendations! 


Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Review: Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

Title: Shadow of the Fox
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Book One in the Shadow of the Fox Trilogy
Genre: YA Fantasy
Published By: Harlequin Teen (October 2, 2018)
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
My Rating: 4.5 Stars!



Book Description:
One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.


With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself. 








Beautifully written and executed, Shadow of the Fox was mesmerizing.

With it's delicate weave of both fantasy and lore, it kept me turning the pages eager for more. Rich in legends, danger, demons, and magic, this truly stood out not only in it's genre but sub-genre as well. 

A story that is every bit as captivating as it is imaginative. With beautiful imagery that made you feel like you were right there in the adventure with demons and witches around every corner. Never knowing quite what was real and who you could trust.

Told in alternate point of views, Shadow of the Fox was unlike anything I have read before. It will leave you with your heart racing and your lungs gasping for breath. 





*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*

Monday, November 5, 2018

Blog Tour Review, Q&A and Giveaway: First Grave on the Right and Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones





I'm so very excited for the release of the final book in the Charley Davidson series. I have loved this series from the very beginning and while it is bittersweet to say goodbye to these amazing characters, I have been so very anxious to see how it would all come together. But first, I am reposting my review of the first book in the series, First Grave on the Right, because after all, this is where is all began.

And not only do I have that but a Q&A from Darynda and an amazing giveaway too so stick around and check it all out! 





Title: First Grave on the Right
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Book One in the Charley Davidson Series
Published By: St. Martin's (February 1, 2011)
Genre: Urban Fantasy


Book Description:

This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.
Or a diagram of some kind.
A flow chart would have been nice.
Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. But what does he want with Charley? And why can't she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in?

With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.



About the Author:




NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious RITA, a Golden Heart, and a Daphne du Maurier. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. She currently has two series with St. Martin's Press, the Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of more than 25 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. 





This is one of those series that you need to make sure you have nothing else going on that day before starting because you certainly aren't going to get anything else done after you have started.

This book will consume all of your time, all of your thoughts and the characters will stay with you and refuse to leave. 

Charley is such a great character. You haven't met true sarcasm until you have met Charley Davidson.

I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud so many times while reading a book, which by the way, elicited lots of strange looks from my family members, but I couldn't help it, there were so many funny one liners and even when Charley was talking and thinking to herself, she was hilarious, in fact, most of her inner dialogue was probably some of the funniest moments in the book. 

And can we just talk about Reyes for a moment? Actually lets not, I might get distracted again and never finish this review. 

Lets just say he is definitely swoon worthy in all his devilish good looks and ways.


This is a must read series. I can't rave about it enough and it really is just something you have to read and experience for yourself! 










Q&A With Darynda!



How did you come up with Charley?

So, I’m lying in bed one morning, waiting for my turn in the shower, when Charley popped into my head in all her glory. I loved her from the get-go. I will add that I was looking for her. I had just typed The End on my second complete manuscript, a YA titled Death and the Girl Next Door which later sold to my amazing editor along with the Charley books. So, I was craving another project. I knew I wanted it to be adult and paranormal. That was all I had. And then Charley walked in.

What has it been like planning and writing this series, and how does it feel to be wrapping it up?

I had no clue! I dreamed, of course. We all do that. But for that dream to become a reality…it’s quite surreal. I have the best job in the world. Planning and writing the last two books have been bittersweet. I love writing these books so much, so the fact that it’s coming to an end is a little heartbreaking, but I want to go out with a bang. Like a HUGE one. I hope everyone loves reading them as much as I’ve loved writing them.

Are there any side characters or plots you wish you would have developed more?

Actually, yes. In Fifth Grave Past the Light, I brought in a character named Nicolette Lemay, gave her an insanely cool gift, then never brought her back in again. We see her briefly in Twelfth Grave, but I wish I’d done more with her.

Can you give us a sneak peek into how it all ends? What do you hope readers feel as they reach the last page?

I am very hopeful that readers will feel a sense of happiness, closure and (dare I dream?) euphoria. All I can say is that this book is truly darkest before the dawn. Charley and Reyes have accidentally opened a hell dimension within our own, and they have to figure out how to close it before it takes over the world. But it’s expanding exponentially, and soon there will be nothing left of the world as we know it. But with a little help from Charley's departed mother, one clue leads Charley in the right direction and, hopefully, to the secret to stopping the hell dimension and save all of humanity. Sadly, she only has three days to do it. 

What's the next project you're working on?
Right now I am working on a brand new series, a trilogy set in a small town in New Mexico with a sheriff named Sunshine, a missing girl named Olivia, and a murder suspect named Levi. Too bad she is in way over her head, especially since the missing girl is her daughter's best friend and Sunshine has been in love with Levi since she could breathe. 




And let's not forget the last book in the series releases this coming January. You guys, it was so good! I'm so excited for everyone to read it, you are going to love it!

Don't forget to check out the giveaway below for your chance to win an ARC!





Title: Summoned to Thirteenth Grave
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Book Thirteen in the Charley Davidson Series
Published By: St. Martin's (January 15, 2019)
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: ARC Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)

Book Description:

Grim Reaper Charley Davidson is back in the final installment of Darynda Jones’ New York Times bestselling paranormal series!

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper extraordinaire, is pissed. She’s been kicked off the earthly plain for eternity – which is the appropriate amount of time to make a person starkraving mad. But someone’s looking out for her, and she’s allowed to return after a mere hundred years in exile. Is it too much to hope for that not much has changed? Apparently it is. Bummer.

She’s missed Reyes and her daughter, Beep, but now that she’s back on earth, it’s time to put to rest burning questions that need answers. What happened to her mother? How did she really die? Who killed her? And are cupcakes or coffee the best medicine? It all comes to a head in an epic showdown between good and evil in this final smart and hilarious novel. 





*Amazon*B&N*






It is so very hard to review perfection isn't it?

I mean where do you even begin, and let's face it, this series has been pretty much that, from the very beginning. And while this has been such a bittersweet experience, it has also been one I won't soon forget. 

I adore these characters and while they aren't my babies like they are Ms. Jones, they are still, well, family to me. I love them, I care for them, and I will miss them like crazy. 

Reading this book has not only pushed me past my emotional limits but has tested them as well. So many feels.

It started with simply both wanting to devour and savor the experience of it. Heartbreak at knowing this was it for Charley and Reyes and all these amazing characters and yet, also knowing that I had to get through it, because I couldn't wait to see what happened. Couldn't wait to be immersed back into their world. 

So with a heart  both beating fast to know what would happen and slowly breaking at realizing this was it, I soldiered on and dove straight in, head (and heart) first. 

And oh what an experience! I relished it, I devoured it. I soaked it up and in and...it was amazing. Everything I was use to, everything I never thought it could be and everything I knew it could. 

The classic Charley humor, the love, the cases, the discoveries, the revelations. The loses, the bemoaning. Just so very much. 

I loved it and the ending, while perfect, also left me wanting more. That spin-off series, oh man, it better get here soon. 

All in all, that word again, perfection. 

Well done Ms. Jones, well done. 









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