AUGUST 2011 REWIND

This has been quite a month! I’m still reeling from the fact that I'm actually here. And again, I couldn’t have done it without a bit of pushing from TheJay2xA. I’m really, really happy to be here!

So, in this post, I thought maybe I could take some time to recall the month that was. 

I’ve hosted some contests, posted some reviews and met some awesome people via Twitter. I’ve also managed to score myself my very first spot at an ARC BLOG TOUR! I’m so excited to be a part of the A MILLION SUNS ARC Tour, hosted by Secret of the Stars. I absolutely loved Across the Universe and can hardly wait to read Elder and Amy’s next adventures in space.

I’m still trying to figure out which publishing deity I’m supposed to be praying to so I can get my hands on some ARCs. But you know what? It’s all right. I’m lucky enough to have an over-indulgent husband who understands my obsession so I’m not really missing out on all the new release. But it would be awesome if I could read the books ahead of their release dates though! LOL.

BOOKS READ & REVIEWED:

AUGUST       2 - A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley

                  2 - Graveminder by Melissa Marr

                  3 - The Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Caletti

                  4 - Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

                  5 - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

                  6 - Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey

                  6 - Fear the Darkness by Sherrilyn Kenyon

                  7 - Guitar Highway Rose by Bridgid Lowry

                  9 - Witchlanders by Lena Coakley

                 10 - The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Dieppen

                 14 - The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegan

                 15 - Crushed Seraphim by Debra Anastasia

                 17 - Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

                 19 - Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

                 20 - Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

                 21 - The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

                 21 - Epic Fail by Claire LeZebnik

                 22 - The Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

                 23 - The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick

                 23 - Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

                 25 - Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

                 27 - Dead Rules by Randy Russell

                 30 - The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Wow! I read 24 books this month? Sheesh. Come to think of it, I can't remember if I'd ventured out of my bedroom on my days off...hmmm

CONTESTS WINNERS:
I'm all about spontaneity and am not much of a planner so most of the giveaways were impromptu.

Alexandria won my very first giveaway with a set of the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan. She was the first to comment on my Confessions of an Addict post.

Cassia won herself a copy of Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles by simply guessing which book out of my August shopping list was in my mind at the time.

Melannie won herself a copy of Ashfall by Mike Mullin, signed no less by Mr. Mullin himself! Not gonna lie, I'M SUPER, SUPER JEALOUS! Lol.

Sahina, Elin204, Mel Rob, Onge, & Melissa  won themselves some books that I had, er, multiple copies of.

And of course, the mother load of giveaways...My Blog Birthday winner was Lovely Reading Teen. She's on the move so she can't give me an address for which to send her books! Take your time, hun!

SPECIAL, SPECIAL MENTION!

There were two authors who loved the reviews I gave their books. I don't know about you but, I certainly feel a little bit of vindication when this happened. I was so happy when Trinity Faegan commented that she thought my review of The Mephisto Covenant was insightful. Also, I apparently brought tears to Megan Bostic's eyes with my review of Never Eighteen.

So this has been my month of August. How was yours?

Waiting on Wednesday #3

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine, which showcases the books that you're dying to read. Regardless of whether or not it's still a work in progress in the author's laptop or is just an idea written on a piece of a candy wrapper, you'd give a limb to get a copy of it right now...okay maybe that's a bit extreme...but you know what I mean.

Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Paperback, 330 pages

Expected publication: April 2nd, 2012 by Spencer Hill Press 

Goodreads Summary:
Alex lives--and loves--recklessly, until a single decision leads to a heartbreaking revelation. As a mysterious threat closes in and she confronts a Council that wants to see her in servitude, Alex must face a choice between love that is fated... and love that is forbidden.


#1 REASON Why I'm jonesing for this book? AIDEN. I had the privilege to read HALF-BLOOD a while back so my wait for the instalment is extra longer. I love the book and would do just about anything to get an ARC of Pure as well. 

_________________________________________________________

CLUE#2

How about this? Not yet?...better go find my most recent Confession post and find your clue there!

Review: The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

The wars that followed The Collapse nearly destroyed civilization. Now, twenty years later, the world is faced with a choice—rebuild what was or make something new.

Stephen Quinn, a quiet and dutiful fifteen-year-old scavenger, travels Post-Collapse America with his Dad and stern ex-Marine Grandfather. They travel light. They keep to themselves. Nothing ever changes. But when his Grandfather passes suddenly and Stephen and his Dad decide to risk it all to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down. With his father terribly injured, Stephen is left alone to make his own choices for the first time.

Stephen’s choices lead him to Settler's Landing, a lost slice of the Pre-Collapse world where he encounters a seemingly benign world of barbecues, baseball games and days spent in a one-room schoolhouse. Distrustful of such tranquility, Stephen quickly falls in with Jenny Tan, the beautiful town outcast. As his relationship with Jenny grows it brings him into violent conflict with the leaders of Settler's Landing who are determined to remake the world they grew up in, no matter what the cost.

___________________________________________

MY TAKE: 5/5 STARS

There wasn’t much left of America; there wasn’t much left of the world, for that matter. Civilization finally did what it had been trying to do for years – it exterminated itself by waging war against each other. Hunger, famine and a strain of a deadly flu virus took out what was left of the population until the only ones that survived were the strong, determined that humanity will flourish again.

This is the story of Stephen Quinn, a fifteen year old boy, who suddenly found himself alone after burying his heavy-handed grandfather and his father falling into a coma soon after.

The title alone should tell you that this book isn’t about rainbows and unicorns. Surprisingly, I didn’t have a difficulty reading the depressing situations that Stephen kept finding himself in. I think the saddest part was when he realized he was alone and he had to fight to live with what he had left, which was next to nothing, really. There were some violence but not as gruesome as some of the dystopian books I’ve read as of late.

Stephen has a great voice as a character. It was easy to feel what he was going through, even much more easier to root for this boy. He was strong, smart and wasn’t a trusting person but that was understandable. Though his father was in coma throughout most of the book, I loved the relationship he had with him. The flashbacks certainly helped.

Jenny was Stephen’s romantic counterpart. This girl was very angry. She’s one of those characters that are probably an acquired taste. You’ll either love her or hate her. For me, she was definitely admirable but I can’t say that I loved her or hated her – on the fence, I guess is the right way to describe how I felt about Jenny.

The world that Jeff Hirsh created was garishly vivid. I saw the earth’s destruction with every page, the mounds of freshly dug graves, each gaunt appearance of the starved and the sick. Settler’s Landing reminded me of The Village movie, guarded and aloof from the rest of the world. For Stephen, Settler’s Landing represented hope and home and never having to fight for each scrap for him to trade.

Over all, this story was about finding family, friends, strength, love and optimism where hopelessness thrived. I absolutely loved this book. Though, I might be a little biased because The Eleventh Plague is my kind of story :) No matter. With Jeff Hirsh’s clear, to the point, and concise writing, I say there was no way this book was going to get an unfavorable review from me anyway. 

Teaser Tuesday #3

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should be Reading.  Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•                   Grab your current read

•                   Open to a random page

•               Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)  Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I bet he's got that tan all year. Does he have a girlfriend?

- page 125, Chapter 14. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

MUSIC MONDAY #1

Do you ever find yourself listening to a song and as the lyrics and melody washes over you, you get this playback of a story running through your head?
Today, I’d like to share some songs on my iPod that never fail to incite an urge in me to fire up the Word document and start writing a story. But since I suck at writing, they go nowhere. Perhaps I should just leave the writing to the pros :) So here are five songs that scream, HERE’S THE PLOT…WORK YOUR MAGIC AND TURN ME INTO A BOOK!

    1.  SOMEONE LIKE YOU by Adele

Oh Lord. This is the banner song for the one that got away. I actually started writing a short story for this, but sadly, it got lost in plot bunnies inside my head - waiting…waiting to see where I was going to take it. Here’s how I imagined it:

Man met Woman A when they were kids. High school sweethearts, tumultuous relationship in College, pretty much an on and off, love and hate, drive you mad relationship. They finally break up because they realize they’re poison to each other. They moved on but occasionally, they’d find themselves thinking of what could’ve been.

Man met Woman B and decided it was time to man up and get married. So he proposed and she accepted.

Man is about to get married to Woman B, when Woman A makes a last ditch effort to stop the man from marrying Woman B.

“I hate to come out of the blue uninvited but I – couldn’t stay away, couldn’t fight it.

I’d hoped you’d see my face and that you’ll be reminded that for me…it isn’t over…”

**sigh** If I’d completed the story, it would have a happy ending. Man and Woman A walk out into the sunset with love on their faces.

    2.   The Only Exception by Paramore

      Ah yes, trust issues. Usually starts at home. When once upon a time, your parents loved each other enough to get married and have you but couldn’t love each other enough to stay married to each other. Not only that, you see your friends’ hearts broken enough to scare the heck out of you. So you stay away from people – guys mostly because you think to yourself, why the hell should I bother? Why put myself through the torture of giving my heart to someone only to be ripped it out of me and crush it into a million unrecognizable pieces?

   
      And then you meet him. You know he's different but you’re too blinded by other people’s failed relationships. But you see, you didn't know this at first. You have met your match. He’s persistent. He won’t leave you alone until you give in…until you find your resolve breaking…the ice chips in your heart cracking…

“And I’ve always lived like this

keeping a comfortable – distance.

And up until now I have sworn to myself that I’m content with loneliness.

Because none of it was ever worth the risk.

But you are…the only exception…”

    3.     Halfcrazy by Musiq Soulchild 

      Ouch. This is what happens when two best friends find themselves bored and decide to experiment. Sex between two caring people changes lives for better or worst. It’s a wonderful feeling when you figured out that you’re in love with your best friend, but it also sucks when you realize you just lost your best friend because of sex.

“Never thought that we could ever be – more than friends

And now I’m all confused ‘coz for you, I have deeper feelings

We both thought it was cool to cross the line

And I was convinced it would be all right

Now things are strange, nothing’s the same

And really, I just want my friend back—“

  

    4.    Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy

      Have you ever had one of those romances that you thought was “the one”? The one you couldn’t live without? The one you would give everything, do anything to keep? The one who treated you like you’re as precious as the Hope Diamond? The one you thought was so perfect and can’t do anything wrong? But you know, in the end, his love is fickle and your love wasn’t enough to keep him.

“Goodbye, my almost lover

Goodbye, my hopeless dream

I'm trying not to think about you

Can't you just let me be?

So long, my luckless romance

My back is turned on you

I should've known you'd bring me heartache

Almost lovers always do.”

  

    5.   In Another Life by The Veronicas

How many chances can you give a person? How many times are you going to allow him to break your heart? When are you going to realize that he will say what you want to hear just so you could forgive him and take him back again? Are you going to keep being his enabler? Don’t you know he’s just using you as a crutch? That if you’re not around then maybe he’d grow up and do something with his life? He plays with your heart but you’re the one in the wrong for letting him step all over you. Wake up, girl!

“The way you're holding on to me

Makes me feel like I can't breathe

Just let me go, just let me go

It just won't feel right inside

God knows I've tried

You know I love you, you know I do

But I can't fight anymore for you

And I don't know, maybe we'll be together again

Sometime, in another life…”

What about you? Any songs you’d like to add to this?

Review: Dead Rules by Randy Russell

 

Goodreads Summary | Amazon

Till death

Jana Webster and Michael Haynes were in love. They were destined to be together forever.

Do

But Jana's destiny was fatally flawed. And now she's in Dead School, where Mars        Dreamcote lurks in the back of the classroom, with his beguiling blue eyes, mysterious smile, and irresistibly warm touch.

                         Us

Michael and Jana were incomplete without each other. There was no room for  Mars in Jana's life—or death—story. Jana was sure Michael would rush to her side soon.

                              Part

But things aren't going according to Jana's plan. So Jana decides to do whatever it takes to make her dreams come true—no matter what rules she has to break.
_______________________________________________

MY TAKE: 4/5 STARS

“Love wasn’t always joy. Love could be hot-blooded pain down to your bone. Sometimes love was despair. And sometimes love was wrong.”

Dead Rules is a quirky, a bit funny, dark, much more morbid take on what happens when you die. I guess the best way I can describe Dead School is - PURGATORY, if such a place exist – not really heaven nor hell either. It was just a place to exist once you passed on. It is where you can figure out what your real destiny was since your life was cut short and you weren’t able to do so in the land of the living. Not so much as in terms of careers, but whether you’ll be good or evil or just be. This is the story of Jana after she found herself in a bus full of strange looking kids. She didn’t realize it right away that she was indeed, dead.

She mapped out her life with Michael; they were supposed to be together forever. But after a freak bowling "accident", she woke up on a bus on her way to a school where kids were either laid out on a gurney or depending on how they died, missing parts of their bodies. Jana needed to find Michael because without him, her after life would be unbearably lonely. The only way she could bear being dead is to be with Michael. But what if he didn’t want to follow her? Knowing the repercussions, would she go as far as break the Dead Rules to get to him? And what about Mars Dreamcote whose intense stares and warmth disturbs her but in a good and confusing way?

The first few pages of this book got me lost. It wasn’t because the author lacked the skill in creating a cohesive and clear introduction to his story – the opposite in fact. The author did it so well that I was in the same state of confusion as Jana was when she was trying to figure out where she ended up. I was also with her when the light bulb finally clicked on as she realized she was dead. This pretty much dictated the manner in which I devoured this book. The author never gave me the chance to lose interest at all.

There was something sad and poignantly humorous about the way he wrote the characters’ deaths. And again, it made me feel like I was sitting there while the ghosts told their stories. It kind of gave me goose bumps actually. A component that made this even creepier was how the students walked around like victims of a bad slasher flick. Some walking headless, missing half of their bodies, missing limbs and in Beatrice’s case, she had darts sticking out of her head. If you try not to think about how gruesome this imagery was, you can almost laugh and pretend it was some elaborate Halloween party but with everyone wearing the school’s uniform.

While a small part of Jana’s characterization was a bit overdone in the YA genre (I’m not pretty enough…not prettier than my mom or the comatose Darcee lying on the gurney…can’t ‘live’ without my boyfriend…), I did like her for the most part. I loved her determination to get to Michael even if she ended up hating him eventually. To be honest, she also kind of annoyed me with her blind faith that Michael would just die to be with her. The things she did to get to Michael were over the top.

As much as I’d like to give Michael some face time, I’d like to focus more on Mars 'dreamboat' Dreamcote. This guy was hard to pin down. Dead Rules is told in a third person POV but at the same time it had multi-character perspectives. Throughout the book, he remained a mystery even if it was his POV. This guy was slippery. Sometimes, it drove me crazy that I couldn’t tell what his true role was. But see? This is a part of the reason why my review is becoming annoyingly long. There were so many elements in this book that I can’t NOT talk about because I feel it’s important. I could go on about every character in this novel but I believe I’m in danger of boring you to sleep.

There were parts of this book that were, in my opinion, a bit risqué for this genre. It was oozing with sexual connotations and rebellious stunts that I found a bit hard to take. It was also one of the reasons why Jana rubbed me the wrong way. What she did to obtain demerits just to become a Slider kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, Dead Rules was about a trio of teenagers who’d intricately planned the demise of one. It didn't answer whether or not there was a heaven or hell but it certainly made you think about the "what-ifs" of the after life. Reading this was like opening a much-anticipated Christmas present – you already know what you’re going to get so you peel off the wrapper painstakingly slow to savor the eventual enjoyment you’d get in the end.

Well done, Mr. Russell, well done. 

IMM #3

In my mail box is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren. I'm just along to share this week's episode of Hoarders, Books Edition. 

Well, I'm staying away from S&S Galley Grab and Net Galley these days just because I'm drowning at the moment (Yes, I know, totally my own doing!). So this week's IMM are books that I've picked up this week. If anybody can tell me how I can get publishers to send me free copies of books, please let me know...LOL. 

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Between by Jessica Warman

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Witchlanders by Lena Coakley

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry

Fury by Elizabeth Miles

A Voice in the Distance by Tabitha Suzuma

Dark Heart Forever by Lee Monroe

Dark Heart Rising by Lee Monroe

Shattering by Karen Healey

What a week it's been for new releases! I can't wait to read these books. What did you get this week?

Review: Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Goodreads Summary | Amazon
Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim, or the pain will be unbearable. She is a siren - a deadly mermaid destined to lure men to their watery deaths. After a terrible tragedy, Lexi shut herself off from the world, vowing to protect the ones she loves. But she soon finds herself caught between a new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without?

__________________________________________________

MY TAKE: 4/5 STARS

Lexi is drawn to the water. She needs it, craves it, she’d get sick without it. This is a fairy tale. It’s about this siren that sings a beckoning song to anyone who can hear her. Once her victim is seduced to go into the water, they drown and die. The only way to break a curse is if she found someone who can love her unconditionally; someone who wouldn’t care if she was a murderer or if she could murder again. Otherwise, she won’t stop killing.

This story had me smiling at the most inopportune time. I was smiling even through the saddest scenes. I can’t explain it. I have been searching for that book where the romance is so genuine and real that you can almost feel every single emotion the protags were going through. Like when Lexi felt the need to hide from Cole, because being near him would just get him killed. Or when all Cole wanted to do is to comfort and be near Lexi. The tug-of-war between these two didn’t drive me nuts. I just love, love every single awkward, sweet, loving scenes these two were in.

Lexi’s character was lonely and sad. Her logic for keeping herself aloof to everyone was so nobody else gets hurt. There was just something about her broken spirit that just made me want to take her home, bundle her up in bed and tell her not to wake up until she’s all better.

Cole was no slouch in the swoon-worthy department. He was so kind and caring. The way I can describe my feelings as I read the interactions between Lexi and Cole was nothing short of sublime. I could feel their nervousness and fear as they try to decipher each other.

I loved about 95% of this book. I would’ve given this a 5 star rating if not for the tiny, teensy, weensy parts where Erik was in it. This evil character did not show his true – er, scales until the bitter end. I have to say that those ten pages, give or take, of Lexi being with Erik almost made me stop reading. But I was so into this book that I wanted to find out what happened in the end. Eventually, I gave in and pretty much just skimmed through those parts.

This is my first Mandy Hubbard book. I loved the pacing and all the other elements that made this siren book my favorite of the contemporary mer-tales. I have been looking for a book with this plot to blow me away, and Ms. Hubbard scored big on this one. 

Waiting on Wednesday #2

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme started by Breaking the Spine which showcases those darn not-yet-released books that haunt you until you just want to scream and beg the publishers or the authors to FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE LET ME READ YOUR BOOK! (Sorry...lost myself there for a second)

This week on my WoW post, I'm featuring a debut novel by Kristen Simmons. Her book is called Article 5  and is set for release on February 14th, 2012. Dystopian has been pretty much my thing nowadays so I'm wigging to read this book!

 Goodreads Summary:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC have been abandoned. 

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police — instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior — instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested don’t usually come back. 

17-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different. 

In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what’s worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Review: The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick

Goodreads Summary | Amazon
I'm not proud.
I'm sixteen, and soon to be homeless.Weary of his life with his alcoholic, abusive father, sixteen-year-old Billy packs a few belongings and hits the road, hoping for something better than what he left behind. He finds a home in an abandoned freight train outside a small town, where he falls in love with rich, restless Caitlin and befriends a fellow train resident, "Old Bill," who slowly reveals a tragic past. When Billy is given a gift that changes everything, he learns not only to how forge his own path in life, but the real meaning of family.

MY TAKE: 4/5 STARS

I’ve been a fan of books written in verse ever since I discovered Lisa Schroeder. They’re typically fast reads – short but powerful, nonetheless. 

Well, The Simple Gift was no different. It’s about Billy, who chose to be homeless rather than remain at home and be his own father’s punching bag. He ended up in a Freight Yard where he met Old Bill, a fellow hobo. He also found Caitlin, a rich girl who found what she was looking for in the person of Billy. Though all three characters were unforgettable on their own rights, my heart twinges for Old Bill. The story of how he lost his family was heartbreakingly sad. Not to take anything away from Billy’s troubled family life, but to read Old Bill’s downfall and the choices he had to make that led him there is something that I will think about for a while. 

There were questionable elements to the plot lines but I chose to ignore them. Am I being an unfair reviewer? Perhaps. But sometimes, I’d rather read stories of hope and happy endings rather than hardships and endless suffering. 

Review: Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Goodreads Summary | Amazon
Luis Fuentes has always been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers’ lives. But that didn’t stop him from taking risks—whether he’s scaling a mountain in the Rockies or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis can’t stop looking for the next thrill.

Nikki Cruz lives her life by three rules—boys lie to get their way, don’t trust a boy who says “I love you,” and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Her parents may be from Mexico, but as a doctor’s daughter, she has more in common with her north-side neighbors than the Latino Blood at her school. Then she meets Luis at Alex’s wedding, and suddenly, she’s tempted to break all her rules.

Getting Nikki to take a chance on a southsider is Luis’s biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by Chuy Soto, the new head of the Latino Blood. When Chuy reveals a disturbing secret about Luis’s family, the youngest Fuentes finds himself questioning everything he’s ever believed to be true. Will his feelings for Nikki be enough to stop Luis from entering a dark and violent world and permanently living on the edge?

MY TAKE: 3/5 STARS (Sacrilege, I know!)

Let me start by saying

I don’t want to say this but

&*(&*&*ghrhththhth

Well this is awkward.

I sang arias after reading Rules of Attraction. This time, I’d be lucky if I could hit one note.

So the last book to the Perfect Chemistry series wasn’t that great. It was good - still a signature Elkeles. But I’m afraid it didn’t blow me away nearly as its predecessors.

Don’t get me wrong; I think I’m going to be a Fuentes Fangirl forever and Luis certainly wasn't chopped liver. The boy can make this cougar growl in the most inappropriate times. But he was different from the other two. He was, for the most part of the book, easy-going and was not at all focus on revenge. I thought he was a pleasant change from his siblings. This boy took the Fuentes swagger into another level - cocky in capital letters. So I don’t think Luis was the reason that I didn’t cozy up to this book.

Maybe the reason that I thought this was just okay was because of Nikki, herself. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her character nor did I love her. I was just…indifferent. There’s a lot to be said about connecting with the characters. I’m not saying Simone Elkeles didn’t write her character well – no, far from it. I thought that Nikki’s character development throughout the book was well done. I could tell the difference from the first glimpse of her introduction right up to the minute she meets Luis again. There was just a sense of maturity. So the problem lies with my inability to correlate. Oh well…can’t win them all.

Maybe it was because I didn’t understand why Luis and his mom didn’t have a confrontation when he found out something about himself toward the end of the book that required a whole slew of “WTF, MOM?!” There should’ve been at least a conversation between them. But there was nothing. I thought this was important. I wanted to understand why she had to do what she did. I understood the threat but I still would love to have heard it directly from the horse’s mouth.

Maybe it was because it wasn’t as heart-wrenching as the other two books. After all, it’s not the usual Elkeles fare if I didn’t find myself sobbing like a freaking baby while and after reading. Granny made me tear up, though.

Don’t despair. There are a lot of good points to this book as well.

……*whispers* I think Simone was having a bad writing day when this came into fruition. Don’t tell her I said that.

….hold on, I’m thinking…….

…..Oh! Carlos and his occasional stupidity showed up! Oh how I miss this man. *hits Carlos upside the head* Seriously dude. I wish you’d think before you speak.

I stayed up ALL NIGHT reading this book. Am I sorry I did? Hell no. Even if I didn’t love it, I’m more than happy to look like a zombie this morning for the fact that I love Simone and her writing.

This book will not dissuade me from buying more of Simone Elkeles’ books. She could write the YELLOW PAGES and I’d line up at midnight for its release. She’s still one of my favorite authors and I’m just sorry this book didn’t hit the spot.

So now what am I going to do? No more Fuentes adventures to look forward to. I think I’m going to cry. :’( I truly hope she doesn’t stop writing.

Review: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Goodreads Summary | Amazon
When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.

MY TAKE:  5/5 STARS

I bought this book a year ago and started it back then as well. I don’t know what it was that made me shelved it back to my TO-READ pile, but I did.

Maybe because I was a little put-off by the realness of Kiara – hair in a ponytail, oversized shirt, uber self-confidence issues, over all your typical girl lead in a book who suffered from I’m not good enough syndrome; maybe because Carlos frustrated me even more so than Alex did. Carlos’ hot temper and occasional idiocy made me want to pull a good chunk of my hair.

But I’m so glad I kept going this time. The boy revved up my engines and had me cursing under my breath numerous times.

In a true Simone Elkeles fashion, Rules of Attraction delivered a sexually-charged, tearful, poignant story of brotherhood, family, friendship, and love.

This is the story of Carlos; the second Fuentes brother who seemed to be carrying an even bigger chip on his shoulder as Alex did and I’m imagining that the younger brother, Luis would too. After all, they’re cut from the same cloth. But he was even more frustrating than Alex. Half the time, I wanted to step into the pages of the book and sexually assault him senseless. It was truly a trying experience reading his POV. But he’s got redeeming qualities that stopped me from abandoning this book the second time around.

First of all, he’s a FUENTES. I don’t think there’s any need to elaborate on that. Second of all, once I got over myself and calmed down some, it was difficult to stop. The plot flowed smoothly like a warm maple syrup on hot pancakes. Now there are points in this story where I had difficulty reading. I’m not a fan of drug use in a book but I make exceptions on some. This series is one of them. You can’t really avoid excluding those scenes if the book is gang related. I also had to skip the violence scenes; it’s just a personal preference.

I absolutely loved Kiara and her family – talk about a refreshing read! I loved how supportive and loving her whole family was. They’re almost too perfect. Tuck was a delightful, funny character that made me wish I had a friend like him.

Simone Elkeles wrote this book with torture in mind, I bet. She didn’t give me enough time to recover from one maddening, assholic, Carlos scene to another. I was either fuming silently or getting hot under the collar. She tortured me with how unbelievably sexy this Fuentes brother is. I don’t know how it’s even possible for me to like Carlos even more so than I liked Alex. He simply reduced me to a puddle of molten goo.

Ms. Elkeles has a penchant for whisking you away into the world of her well evolved characters and irrevocably making you fall in love with them. Her writing is so real that it was not a hard task to identify with the characters’ feelings and situations. Hands down, SIMONE ELKELES OWNS ME.

Over all, I love, love, love Rules of Attraction. It will make you laugh; scream, cry, and sometimes, Carlos will make you want to punch your neighbour’s kitty. But in the end, this boy will own your heart.

Congratulations are in Order!

As you all know, I just had a major Birthday Blog giveaway. TheJay2XA drew the winner this past weekend and I'm happy to announce that the winner of this epic loot is: Lovely Reading Teen! Congratulations and  I hope you enjoy the books that will come your way!

I'd like to thank everyone for entering this contest and the warm welcome I've been given since. I'm so happy to be a part of this community and thankful to have finally found an outlet for my obssessions!

I'd also like to add that there's some people who won some mini giveaways via my Confessions of an Addict weekly posts.

SAHINA won a copy of BLOOD RED ROAD by Moira Young
ELIN204 won a copy of WILDEFIRE by Karsten Knight
MEL ROB won a copy of IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma
ONGE won a copy of OTHER by Karen Kincy
MELISSA won the SWEEP series by Cate Tiernan

Congratulations, you guys!

Review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Goodreads Summary | Amazon

Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

MY TAKE 3/5 STARS

Awww…

What a fun, modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice! True to its form, this was filled with snark, conflicts and annoying little sisters, and of course, the dreamy Mr. Darcy in the form of Derek Edwards.

Elise had me laughing with her dry, sarcastic humor. Though I wished she had more banter time with Derek.

Re-tellings are usually predictable but I enjoyed every bit of this anyway. Sometimes, you just need a book that will be quick and require less use of your brain cells - nothing wrong with that since I read to escape.

There really isn’t much to say about this book except that this is a perfectly delightful break from the paranormal grind I’ve been on lately.

This is how spent my Sunday afternoon; devouring this book in one sitting. Time well spent, in my opinion!