City of Savages by Lee Kelly

Release Date: 3 February 2015 | Publisher: Saga Press | Format: Audio

Review:

Sky, Phee, and their mom have been living and surviving on Manhattan ever since the Third World War turned the island into a POW camp. The island is ruled by the iron fist of Rolladin, the island "native" appointed by the conquering Red Allies to maintain control. The world, however, is not quite what the inhabitants of the island have been led to believe. Newcomers threaten to expose long-kept secrets and drive Sky and Phee to look for answers--and what they find along the way is not at all what they expected. City of Savages offer an action-filled, compelling read that I think will be appealing to fans of YA dystopian novels, but it wasn't without its flaws. While the story is told from both sisters' perspectives, I found their voices to be incredibly similar and at times difficult to differentiate (even with the added benefit of two different audio narrators). I found myself wishing for two more distinct personalities to come through. My other criticism of this book is less about the book itself (which, like I said, I really enjoyed) and more about the marketing. For me, this read solidly like a YA novel--full of action and the requisite suspension of disbelief (because of lacking details)--but it was published (and is shelved at my local public library) as an adult novel. I think readers who largely enjoy the more nuanced, detailed adult fiction might be disappointed by this book. That being said, this has a lot of potential to be a hit with teens and adults who read YA, especially since it is a standalone novel (YAY STANDALONE NOVELS!)

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Alive by Chandler Baker

Release Date: 9 June 2015 | Publisher: Disney-Hyperion | Format: Hardcover

Review: .

After years of waiting for a heart transplant, Stella miraculously receives one but it comes with some strange consequences--recurring pain, nightmares, and hallucinations.  Despite these effects, Stella is determined to make the most out of her second change and that includes going after new student and bad boy Levi Zin.  Stella's magnetic attraction to Levi is intense from the beginning and eventually she begins to question the forces pulling them together and why she experiences less pain in his presence.  With the help of her friend, Henry, she begins to investigate and finds that there's much more to Levi than meets the eye. Thrown in brassy BFF, Brynn, and paranormal twists, and you have this creepy, engaging read. The plotline is a bit predictable but with a creepy atmosphere that will appeal to fans of paranormal suspense and horror. 

 



Oh, How Time Flies...

I knew it had been awhile since I posted anything on this blog.  Life has a way of unexpectedly getting in the way of keeping up with things like this.  However, when I logged in, I realized that my last post was in January 2014.  2014?!  In January 2014, I was seven months pregnant with my daughter!  Now she is a crazy 19 month old toddler.  Time seems to have simply flown past me while I let this blog just sit here!

So, my GOAL is to start posting again.  Yay!  I feel like I finally have time to get reading done and I want to start writing reviews again.  I miss writing reviews because it made me seriously sit and think about my reading.  I'm tentatively excited to get back to blogging, but I certainly don't promise miracles.  Hopefully I'll be able to balance family life, work (and my work blog), and this a little more efficiently. :)

Looking forward to diving back into this fun adventure!

So, do YOU have any tips and tricks for finding that family/work/blogging balance?  Please share!

YA Book Review: Crash Into You

Release Date: 26 November 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Hardcover
Source: Own/Purchased

Goodreads description:

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

My Thoughts...

Katie McGarry's other two books, Pushing the Limits and Dare You To, were definitely some of my favorite contemporary reads of the last year plus.  She writes with a very authentic YA voice that draws me in quickly and easily.  Crash Into You did the same for me and was a great read to start off 2014 on the right foot (even if it was my 4th book of the year...).

Isaiah's character has basically haunted me since the first book in this series.  He was so dark and broody on the outside but we never really got to see what was going on inside his head.  It was eye-opening to get a more in-depth look into his personality and start to see him in a different light.  Usually, I'm not a fan of romantic relationships that change one person or the other but I felt like Rachel really opened Isaiah up to the possibilities in front of him and allowed him to dream for what was probably the first time in his life.

Rachel, well, I didn't think I was going to like Rachel at first.  I thought she was going to be a typical slightly whiny, wimpy rich girl with some problem and an attraction to bad boys.  But, thankfully, she wasn't that way at all.  Her family situation was truly a disaster, although no one on the outside looking in would ever know and you could almost feel her desperation to break free and be herself.  She also knew her family was well off and didn't try to hide it or turn her back on it.  She simply wanted them to accept her the way she truly was inside and she found that acceptance with Isaiah (after a little prodding).

Isaiah and Rachel may be the "life of this party" so to speak but the other characters in this one really pulled the whole story together for me.  We get fantastic glimpses into the other characters that we saw in the previous two books, moreso than we ever really did in the second book.  Each minor character has a crucial role to play and didn't feel like a throwaway.

Crash Into You was an enjoyable read, even if it was a tad predictable (like any good romance), and I look forward to more from the author.  The ending has a sort of rushed feeling to it and I wasn't sure how I felt about it as a way to wrap up the storyline.  However, neither of those minor issues will stop me from reading the next book in this series because they are really fun, quick reads.  Ms. McGarry's books are great read for YA romance-obsessed teenagers who enjoy the angst and the kissing that books like this offer.

Friday Fling! - Lucky Number Four

During Friday Fling , I share with you a "just for fun" romance book or novella that I read and really enjoyed.  It will generally be a "mini review" instead of a full review and I'll stray from my YA focus into the realm of new adult/adult romance (which, in case you're curious, is my not-so-guilty pleasure).  These are books that I think are fun, quick (sexy) reads that are definitely worth checking out!

Publisher: C.A. Kunz, LLC
Release Date: January 2014

Dora needs somewhere new to live and fast.  While living with her now married best friends seemed like a good idea and totally doable, their sex life has taken off and Dora is finding it a little hard to concentrate on her own life--not to mention hearing all the good sex is making her wish for some of her own!  A serendipitous roommate posting at the grocery store and three pushy models later, Dora is moving in with three drool-worthy men and she may have truly opened her own Pandora's box.  Attraction ensues, as one might suspect with three hottie roommates, but things are not necessarily quite as Dora is perceiving them

Ms. Pandora...well...she wasn't my favorite character ever in a new adult romance. She's clearly a beautiful young woman who can't fathom that she is, even with multiple handsome young men and her best friend drilling it into her head frequently.  While this was a fun and quick read, I felt like, for me, the character connections fell a little flat.  I wanted to like Pandora more (and to stop calling her Dora because does anyone NOT think of the little cartoon character when they say that name?), but something just didn't click there for me.  I also wasn't quite sold on the main love interest's instantaneous attraction to her.  I'm no stranger to love at first sight storylines but this one was lacking something and I'm not quite sure what.  That being said, I did enjoy this author's writing and general storytelling and I would probably pick up something from her in the future.

YA Book Review: Proxy by Alex London

Release Date: 18 June 2013
Publisher: Philomel
Format: Hardcover
Source: Own

Goodreads description:

Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

My Thoughts...