(Review) Ask Her at Christmas by Christi Barth

Psst! Click on the banner to go to the Fortnight of Festivities giveaway!

Title: Ask Her at Christmas
Author: Christi Barth
Anthology: Romancing the Holiday
Published: December 3, 2012 (Carina Press)
Rating: Lunch Break Read
Format: Digital ARC from author

Summary: Caitlin McIntyre’s heart stops when her best friend drops to one knee and proposes. Kyle Lockhart never once hinted over the years that he has any idea she’s in love with him. Not wanting to jeopardize their friendship, she’s never let it slip. Good thing, too, since it turns out he’s only practicing—he’s about to propose to someone else.

A business merger might not be the most romantic reason to propose to a woman he barely knows, but Kyle’s determined to win the respect of his dying father who’s never seen him as quite good enough. Kyle’s always depended on Caitlin’s friendship, while trying to ignore the physical response she arouses. So he turns to her when it comes time to craft his proposal, not realizing his decision will affect their relationship, forever.

I was excited to read this ARC because it sounded perfect for a sweet Christmas read. What better setting than the holidays for a friends-to-lovers romance? I enjoyed reading about Caitlin and Kyle. They had been friends since they were children, but Caitlin had wanted more for years. Kyle had been more oblivious about his feelings - as men in these stories are wont to be - but had always fought attraction to Caitlin. Not wanting to ruin their friendship, neither Kyle or Caitlin had said anything to the other.

Because I am the kind of person who can never get too much build-up, my usual complaint about novellas is that there is not enough time for the relationship to develop. However, this story was actually a perfect fit for the length of a novella. To make it longer would be pointlessly dragging things out for no reason. Caitlin and Kyle had been best friends for years, and that was clear as soon as the story started. Their relationship developed at a good pace, and I liked the way it unfolded.

Unfortunately, there was not much characterization beyond the surface. But I liked Caitlin and her perpetual happiness, and there was Kyle, a total nerd who also happened to have movie star looks. Who doesn't love that? Monica, Kyle's would-be fiancée was an obviously boring and horrid woman despite her Marilyn Monroe appearance. She was clearly not going to present any threat to the couple.

This was a nice little Christmas romance. Nothing too serious or dark happened, and there was not much standing in the way of the HEA. It made me giggle several times and had quite a few good lines. If you're looking for a quick, cute friends-to-lovers romance in a Christmas setting - or a variety of potential ways to propose if you live in the Chicago area - Ask Her at Christmas is a good choice.

Yeah, he wasn’t any good with words. Now, if he could craft an equation that transformed her beauty into the simplicity of numbers, then he’d be eloquent. Except she wouldn’t understand it. And he’d win the prize for biggest nerd ever.

---

Believing in love, valuing it, doesn’t make me naïve.

---

Nice guys, to be sure, but as geeky as a pocket protector stuffed into a tuxedo on prom night.

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Blog Tour: |Review| The Jelly Bean Crisis by Jolene Stockman

The Jelly Bean Crisis by Jolene Stockman stops on my blog today for a review and I'm very happy I had the opportunity to read and review this book since it's such a great and inspiring book! HERE is link to check out the rest of the tour for more awesome reviews and excerpts!

Title: The Jelly Bean Crisis
Author: Jolene Stockman
Published August 1st 2012 by CreateSpace
Genre: YA realistic contemporary
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 
Buy the book: Amazon | B&N  
Goodreads summary:

A total meltdown. The whole school watching. Now Poppy’s an ex-straight-A with no Plan B.

When Poppy Johnson throws away a full scholarship to Columbia, she can only blame the jelly beans. The yucky green ones? Midnight cram sessions and Saturday’s spent studying. The delicious red? The family legacy: Columbia, and a future in finance. Except now it’s starting to look like Poppy’s jelly bean theory is wrong. School has been her life until, but maybe it’s time to start living now.

Poppy has thirty days to try a new life. No school, no studying. Just jumping into every possible world. Thirty days to find her passion, her path, and maybe even love. The Jelly Bean Crisis is officially on.

Racquel's thoughts:
This book was definitely not what I was expecting and that is a great thing! From the beginning, my ideas about The Jelly Bean Crisis were vague since I didn't really fully understand the summary but the cute cover and interesting summary (albeit confusing) made me want to read the book nevertheless and I'm very happy that I did.

The Jelly Bean Crisis follows Poppy who is awarded a full scholarship to Columbia and that's when the crisis embarks. Does Poppy really want to go to college? Does she really want to study even more to only land a corporate job because it's her family legacy? What does Poppy really want? What makes Poppy happy anyway? The Jelly Bean Crisis takes us on a ride with Poppy as she figures out the answers to these questions and as she learns more about herself and what she wants from life.

As a senior, I understand Poppy and her crisis. I'm in the position that she's in and that really made the book all the better for me. It was nice seeing someone struggle with what I'm struggling with. Do I want to go to college? What do I want to do at college? Every highschool student has to ask themselves this questions to some (like Poppy and I) the answer is not quite clear and definite.

Jolene Stockman really WOW'ed me throughout the book as she put Poppy in difficult situations, that well, annoyed me because Poppy was very naive. However, what matters is what Poppy gained from those experiences. With each job that Poppy tries, I really got to see her mature and open her eyes better at how the world works. Poppy's idea of success were pretty utopian. World peace by the snap of one's finger and such. But Poppy really got a nice dose of harsh reality throughout the book but she never failed to lose her optimism and that was the most important thing, I believe.

The Jelly Bean Crisis was very well-written and it kept surprising by how well-written, insightful and inspiring it is. If it wasn't for the unnceesarry romance (GASP! Romance? Unnecessary? Coming from ME? Well it's true. I would have enjoyed the book better if the romance was left out OR if it was developed more. I really do wish that it was explored more, that would have been more satisfying than a few scenes with a guy to equal a "romance") and the cheerleader-hating (yes, I highlighted a few cases on my Kindle about the downgrading and stereotyping of cheerleaders and as always, I won't let it pass no matter how great the story is because It. Is. Not. Acceptable.)  I would have giving this book 5 hearts.

Rating: 3 hearts~ a great insightful book that I think highschool students would benefit from! We are not alone, us lost kids ;D

First:

 Cheers and woo-hooing filled the hall.

Favorite:

"Are you on drugs?" Mom is trying to be cool.

"Vivian!" Dad is not.

Teaser:

It was sweet the way he stood up for the fish. Sweet and random.

Now for the fun stuff! This is one heck of a giveaway and trust me, ENTER ENTER ENTER because this book is WORTH IT!! Good luck :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As always, thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out the rest of the tour stops HERE!

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|Review| The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten

Title: The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers 
Author: Lynn Weingarten 
Published: December 27th 2011 by HarperTeen 
Rating: ♥♥♥

Goodreads summary:

When her boyfriend breaks up with her on the first day of sophomore year, Lucy has no idea how she’s going to make it through homeroom, let alone the rest of her life. Enter three stunning girls with a magical offer Lucy can’t refuse. All she has to do is get a guy to fall in love with her in the next seven days, and then…break his heart and collect one of his brokenhearted tears. As the girls teach Lucy how to hook a guy (with the help of a little magic), she quickly discovers how far she is willing to go—and who she is willing to cross—to get what she wants.

Fans of Lauren Myracle, Jodi Lynn Anderson, and Meg Cabot will love this tale of breakups, friendship, new crushes, and magic. Told with wit and charm, The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers is sure to be one of this winter’s most irresistible reads.

 Racquel's thoughts:
Olivia, Liza and Gil are Heartbreakers, something haBoo fuckppened to them in their life that caused them to be recruited as Heartbreakers, girls who break guys heart to make them better people and now they were trying to recruit Lucy. I don't think I've been this confused before! I like the book but on one hand I hate the characters and what they do, but on the other I actually like them.

I know one thing for sure, this book is told with charm and wit like the summary says. It's told in 3rd person with what feels like a whimsical tone from the narrator and while I usually prefer 1st person, Weingarten worked 3rd person. Also the Heartbreakers were inspiring, they gave Lucy some fantastic advice, they helped build her confidence and break her out of her naive shell. Lynn Weingarten could be a motivational speaker if you ask me, she knew what she was talking about with confidence, personality, love and life. The Heartbreakers didn't just help Lucy, they helped me also! There so many great quotes and advice I want to show you:

"Beauty is in the mind of the beholden."
"She who has the strongest reality wins."
"Be confident and believe in your own beauty. That's the big secret."

and many more quotes that I just loved. So why the 3 hearts and confusion? Well at some parts, I found the Heartbreakers (including Lucy) extremely weak and ugly hearted. I wanted them to get hit by a bus because of some things they did (poor Ethan & Colin!). Was it necessary, their way of life?  They went to such extremes to get over broken heart which means they ARE the weakest because they couldn't just lick their wounds and get over it. Lucy didn't love Alex, she loved the idea of having a boyfriend and someone to love and love her back. So what he broke up with you?! Boo fucking hoo. Guys and girls both are ENTITLED to break off relationships. I didn't hate Alex, like every other human in the world he can't help how he feels and just because he doesn't like Lucy anymore doesn't mean he's evil and a villain. I liked the sisterhood and their close friendship and I liked the twists of the book (I feel SO sad for a certain character D'; ugh I just HATE Lucy at the end!) and while I was put off by the Hearbreakers action, what would the book have been without their sisterhood? So yeah, I loved the things I hated. Quite the predicament right?! the magic was well, magical and despite everything, I do love Weingarten's writing and I will be reading her next book. Because hey, if a book leaves me thinking this hard and (are the Heartbreakers good or bad?!) and feeling so strongly about it after I'm done, it means the author done her job :D

Rating: 3 hearts~ despite some annoying factors in the book, Lynn Weingarten is inspiring and this IS a charming book and I DEFINITELY thing you should give the book a try.

 Goodies:

First:

In the beginning, there was Lucy Wrenn, standing all alone out in front oh her school on the first day of sophomore year, with a seductive little message written on her stomach in Sharpie marker.

Favorite: 

"I'm not your honey pie or your sugar face or your fish stick marzipan banana bread lasagna." LOL

Teaser:  

"If they're recruiting you into a lesbian sex cult you can tell me." He paused. "So long as they let join too." makes me laugh & breaks my heart.

Book Trailer:

Thanks to Lynn for sending me copy to review, truly appreciate it♥

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Review + Giveaway: The Next Door Boys by Jolene B. Perry

Title: The Next Door Boys
Author: Jolene B. Perry
Published: October 4th 2011 by Cedar Fort, Inc.
Rating: 3 hearts

Goodreads summary:
With her body still recovering from last year's cancer treatments, Leigh Tressman is determined to be independent. Despite the interference from her overprotective brother, physical frustrations, and spiritual dilemmas— not to mention the ever expanding line of young men ready to fall in love with her— Leigh discovers what it actually means to stand on her own and learns that love can be found in unexpected but delightful places.

Racquel's thoughts:
With the Plague of Paranormal, every time I come across a YA contemporary book fireworks of happiness go off and fireworks definitely erupted when I came across The Next Door Boys for the first time and can you just imagine how I felt when I saw this on netgalley, requested and got it accepted. It was a complete squeal fest and phew, thank god I wasn't disappointed!

To be honest I picked this up and one chapter into it, I put it down. I had no idea that it wasn't going to shy away from religion and I was a little scared that the further I read on, the more it was going to turn into a Christian read only. It's nice to see writers not shy away from religion but I don't want to read only about it, I'm not even Christian but later that day I decided was going to suck it up like a big girl and keep going. I can't judge a book by one chapter only and again, phew, I'm glad I didn't!

Sure religion drives the plot of the book to a certain extent but I found myself not minding at all and I can't imagine the book without it! It actually added charm to the book and it wasn't that thick of factor in the book so worry not, even if you don't like reading about religion in books I'm sure it won't bother you in The Next Door Boys.

I'm going to get this out of the way first since I seem to be singing praises so far, why did I give the book 3 hearts only if I liked it so much? Well I didn't like how Leigh judged everybody. She judged Brian at sight, she judged Kim (her roommate) on sight and she judged Meghan's (her other roommate) sister after one second in their presence. It seemed to me that quiet & nice = down to earth and amazing while loud & boy crazy = not so great of a person.

Also the fall of Noah's and Leigh relationship bother me. To be honest Perry built Noah too perfectly and it was completely out of character to do what he did at the end, I couldn't believe that sweet person at the beginning could something like that! I wish there was another way around their break up and it's the same thing with the judging here, I got the vibe that just because Noah was ambitious about his acting career that turned him into an ugly person. Fame = not a good thing. When in reality Noah was just trying to reach his goals! Just because Leigh might have not really found them great doesn't mean they're bad.

Complaints aside, I really did enjoy this book to extremes♥ I loved how Leigh had hobbies like sewing and I liked to see her grow more independent. I loved the relationship between Jaron and Leigh and Brian and Leigh. For once, an author took the time to actually DEVELOP a romantic relationship!! It made me so happy((': Brian and Leigh's relationship is probably one of my favorite romantic relationships of all time! I wish we had an epilogue though, I felt the book ended too abruptly. I was not ready to leave the characters! I will say though,  I will definitely be looking forward to Perry's book and I almost died from happiness when I found out there will be TWO more books added to The Next Door Boys!!

If you have not added The Next Door Boys to your to-be-read pile, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! A great debut by Perry, this is a must read for contemporary fans!

My Rating: 3 hearts~ very good, I enjoyed it immensely!

First Line:

"My parents joined us in the driveway."

Favorite:

 "She may dress like a girl but her romantic sensibilities are on par with most men I know- Jaron excluded, of course"

Teaser:

"We're going to Paris."

Onto the giveaway!!

One lucky random winner will receive a copy of the book provided by the publisher.

Congrats Lecea on winning!

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for me to review and giveaway*

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Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Catching Jordan
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Published: December 1st 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
Rating: ♥♥♥
Goodreads summary:

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starting position... suddenly she's hoping he'll see her as more than just a teammate.

Racquel's thoughts:
These two pictures are taken from my sociology book:

 Lets start with the pictures above. Now that we know the definition of stereotype and the evils of it, we know why I knock out two stars from the rating of the book (and any book with stereotypes!) immediately. Catching Jordan started with the worst kind and my worst enemy of stereotypes: cheerleaders who are dumb, slutty, complete bimbos and whores. I do not need to explain all the horrors of that stereotype do I? Because getting into how awful it is to categorize people in a single simple-minded spiteful view of a group of people will only piss me off. Though I will give Jordan the credit that she redeemed herself and her harsh view of the cheerleaders by befriending two of them and learning that god almighty, they might not be all that bad!!

My other problem will be Jordan herself. She was a hypocrite, the exact same nasty names she called those cheerleaders. Even though she had a boyfriend, she went and tried to kiss another boy. Also, even after her boyfriend told her they should break it off if she isn’t serious about him she still played and basically used him while she pinned for another guy. So yes, the love triangle is ridiculous and while I’m a complete romance maniac, I hated the romantic aspect of this book.

But there were good things that made me not hate the book completely like Jordan’s family. I love it when family is included in YA books and this is not an expectation, I loved every part that featured Jordan’s family and how we saw the relationship between Jordan and her father grow. Also, who doesn’t love a book that makes you laugh? And even though I have my complaints, Catching Jordan definitely had its good LOL’s.

Overall: my problems with the book run mostly personal, I can't stand books that stereotypes so without a doubt, I'm sure everyone will enjoy Catching Jordan better then I did.

 
Rating: 3 stars~ disappointed, expected better and I saw the potential for better

First Line: 

I once read that football was invented so people wouldn't notice summer ending.

Favorite: 

 "I was in labor with him for fourteen hours!" Henry exclaims as he rocks the baby back and forth.

Teaser:  

"I have to breastfeed, 'cause I'm the mom," Henry says, continuing to push the stroller toward the locker room.

*Thanks to the publisher at Netgalley for providing me with a copy to review.*

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Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went

Author: Gayle Forman
Published: April 5th 2011 by Dutton Juvenile
Series: If I Stay #2
Rating: 3 hearts

Goodreads summary:

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

Racquel thinks:

Where she Went is written from Adam's perspective and since I love books told from guy POV's, I loved this book before I even started it! But to be honest- and as much as I feel pressured NOT to say this- this story was unnecessary. I was happy with the way If I Stay ended and I didn't need closure in a sequel. If this book wasn't from Adam's POV, I probably would have really disliked it.

Racquel likes:

Adam's POV. I love books from guy's perspective and Adam's voice delivered, I felt his angst towards Mia and the anxiety of being famous.

What made this not a 5 star read:

-I liked the flashbacks at first, it was a nice view into Mia and Adam's previous relationship but however, I still did not feel the chemistry between Mia and Adam and just like with If I Stay, the flashbacks got annoying because I just wanted to see Mia and Adam in present time and how they're dealing with being around each other.


-the transitions. One moment it was Adam and Mia in the present bowling then it switched back to 4 years ago. One moment they were making up, the next they were having sex and the next second after that they were arguing. What in the world...


-I'm sure I mentioned this already but WHY ARE MIA AND ADAM GOING OUT? I don't feel any spark between them. Usually even if am not a fan of the couple I still root for them and life would not be complete if they don't end up together but with Adam and Mia, if they didn't end up together I would be happy.


Overall: sure I have my complaints, but like If I stay, I finished this in one sitting. If you want to read it, go ahead. If not, then you're not missing anything out.


Rating: 3 hearts

First line: 

Every morning I wake up and I tell myself this: It's just one day, one twenty-four-hour period to get yourself through.

Favorite: 

I can't imagine what it would be like to have had her company in my head--the comfort that would've brought.

Teaser: 

Mia's eyes reach out to meet mine, and for a second I fear that my facade will fall apart.

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Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey #1
Published: February 1st 2010 by Harlequin Teen
Rating: 1 star- no heart ):

Goodreads summary: 
Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. 
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Racquel's thoughts:
The Iron King officially proved to me hype and excitement only do bad things to books. They get me super excited and without me even knowing, give me high expectations but that only leads to a bad, bad bad road. First of all, I decided to immediately knock off two stars if the book has stereotypes, yup just like that. If the author has to rely on stereotypes then they probably don’t have the creativity to write a book. So from the first chapter The Iron King lost two stars due it having the worst kind of stereotypes.


Bimbo mean blonde cheerleaders and sexy stupid jocks. At the top of the list of things that I cannot stand is stereotypes so obviously I wasn't happy. I'm not even blonde or a cheerleader but god good who can't take offence at that? At my school we have as many black girls on the cheerleading team as white girls, and most of them aren't even blonde. And wait for it!  Some of them are actually nice and SMART. I do not understand how authors add this in their books. Do they truly believe blonde cheerleaders are dumb and football players are shallow?


I understand this is fiction and fantasy at that but I'm drawing the line at this. What happened to being against bullying? You're basically bullying the people who are cheerleaders and jocks with stereotypes like these. I'm pretty sure they have feelings.


I will not complain more about this because it will get my blood pressure too high.


Second problem I had was Meghan. I was not in her head. Basically her POV was more vague then 3rd person narration, really her narration makes 3rd person just WOW, I might as well be inside the head of every character!
'This happened.'
'He did this'
'she said so-so'
'I felt like this'
'it made me sad'
'I saw this'
'I did that'


But WHHHHY? why are you sad, why are you mad? What bothers you and why does it bother you? I need a little background of her brain because not just because she said she felt that way I would understand it and justify it. I need WHY. I need to be in the narrator’s head but this just felt like I'm on the sideline completely lost.


That leads me to number three: because, to me, the writing recited things without going on to justify or back them up in anyway, I couldn't believe Meghan’s actions. From the beginning every mention of her brother was how he bothered her. How do you expect me to believe that she's going to accept this fantasy world thrown at her face in a nanosecond and jump on a train to save her brother when she never mentions good feelings toward him? Just because he's her brother doesn't mean she has to love him.


I know people who would go to end of the world and back on foot to kill their siblings Blood means nothing. Again, this goes back to I NEED SOME THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND ACTIONS!


Also there was a bit in the book where Ash tells Meghan that she is very loyal which… no. Sure she is loyal to her brother (which I don’t understand why! Once again, just because he’s your brother means you love him. I need thoughts!) When she knew Puck could get in terrible trouble for helping her she insisted that he should, what kind of friend is that? Sure that means she’s loyal to her brother but Puck ends up getting the worst end of it for you? She didn’t even think twice about his punishment! I don’t know about you but when I’m loyal to my friends I want to PROTECT them from harm, not be the cause of it!


My thoughts on the Romance? Insta-love. One page it wasn’t there one page it was. How? I don’t know especially since the only contact Ash and Meghan had before was:
A)He tried to kill her
B)They danced together


Yeah, no it doesn’t work that way.


Now I didn’t completely abhor this book! Maybe 2/3 through I got really into it and was just flipping pages like madwomen because I couldn’t read fast enough. At least true to everybody’s reviews, the book does get really good when Ash is in the equation and I would have given the book 3 stars for that middle part alone but I can’t ignore all the problems I had with it in the beginning and the end.Will I be reading the second book? Yeah, someday. I saw potential in that middle part when I couldn’t get enough of the book and I’m hoping The Iron Daughter is as good as that middle part. Besides I HATE myself for not liking this more! It makes me mad that practically everybody loved it except me//:


My rating, SADLY:

First Line:

"Ten years ago, on my sixth birthday, my father disappeared."

Favorite:

"Shall we have tea first? Brew up a nice pot of kiss-my-ass?"

Teaser:

"How very like you, Puck." Ash's voice came from a great distance, and the room started to spin. "Offer them a taste of faery wine, and act surprised when they're consumed by it."

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Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Title: Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer
Series: Nightshade #1
Published: October 19th 2010 by Philomel
Rating: 3 hearts

Goodreads summary: 
Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Racquel's thoughts:
Nightshade starts right into action and that how the book continues, Andrea Cremer wastes no time with pointless details and description. It's always bam-bam-bam which works for Nightshade because you don't doubt the world. These people shift into wolves anytime they want? Totally believable! Cremer leaves no room to think otherwise. BUT I was still confused, until maybe 1/3 of the book I didn't really understand who/what the keepers were and I was lost until Calla, the MC spelled it out for Shay, the human boy she saved from getting killed.

The first third of the book to me was so-so. It just showed how bipolar Calla is, one second she wanted Ren (the guy she was in an arranged marriage with) the next she wanted Shay and I was confused out of my mind anyway but after the explanation of who and what the guardians, keepers and searchers are, the book picked up.

I really liked the mystery and suspense of why Shay is important to the keepers, will Shay & Calla get caught doing something they're not supposed to do and of course, down to earth Shay or sexy Ren? Also the romance is HOT-HOT-HOT. I can say I never read anything as sexy as the none graphic HOOOOT scenes in this book, I loved it!

Why didn't I give this 5 stars though?

A lot of the minor characters like the people in Ren and Calla's pack were underdeveloped. I didn't even know who was in what pack and as I read, they were just vague characters in my mind. The other thing that ultimately made the book lose a star is Calla. I don't mind love triangles but Calla was just so bipolar about everything it started getting effy. One second she was cool with Ren, the next she’s slapping him. She ignores Shay for the day then she wants to kiss him. It got on my nerves and could have been handled better.

Other then that, Nightshade is a great paranormal read that I definitely cannot wait to see what happens next in book 2, it ended in a great action-packed way I’m sure everyone loved. Despite minor things, this is a great debut!!And the most famous question ever, am I on team Ren or Shay? Well, how about Calla get’s Shay and I get Ren? Since I’m pretty sure I know who Calla will end up with and I don’t want to support team sexy when he will not win, so I’m team Shay!

By the way, am I the only one who is sad about the new paperback cover? The hardcover ROCKED, they didn't need to change it//:

My rating:

First line:  

"I'd always welcomed war, but in battle my passion rose unbidden."

Favorite: 

"I dont read just philosophy. I went through a rebellious phase when I was pretty young and decided I wanted to be a professional thief. I was reading a lot of Thieves and Kings at the time."

Teaser: 

"I was almost drowning in the heat and mist when I realized he intended to kiss me."

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Review: Lie By Caroline Bock

Title: Lie
Author: Caroline Bock
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
ISBN: 0312668325
Pages: 224
Published: August 30th 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
My Rating: 3 hearts- Good but could have been better in, read it though!

Author Website|Amazon|

Goodreads Summary:

Everybody knows, nobody’s talking. . . .
Seventeen-year-old Skylar Thompson is being questioned by the police. Her boyfriend, Jimmy, stands accused of brutally assaulting two young El Salvadoran immigrants from a neighboring town, and she’s the prime witness. Skylar is keeping quiet about what she’s seen, but how long can she keep it up?
But Jimmy was her savior. . . .
When her mother died, he was the only person who made her feel safe, protected from the world. But when she begins to appreciate the enormity of what has happened, especially when Carlos Cortez, one of the victims, steps up to demand justice, she starts to have second thoughts about protecting Jimmy. Jimmy’s accomplice, Sean, is facing his own moral quandary. He’s out on bail and has been offered a plea in exchange for testifying against Jimmy.
The truth must be told. . . .
Sean must decide whether or not to turn on his friend in order to save himself. But most important, both he and Skylar need to figure out why they would follow someone like Jimmy in the first place.

Racquel's Thoughts:
How do you decide to read a book? What makes you add a book to your 'to-be-read' pile? I'll tell you what: genre, summary and cover. We want to read something we will enjoy, we want something we will end up liking and it's not a secret that everyone judges books by their covers. So to me the answer to those categories have to fall under: YA or adult romance, pretty cover, interesting summary. Lie fit into all these categories so it was a go but let me tell you beneath the pretty cover and hella interesting summary, is a terrible story. STOP, I don't mean terrible it gets 0 stars terrible, I-want-to-burn-this-book terrible but terrible as in this book is not to be read for shit and giggles, it's not a guilty pleasure read you read by the poolside because the story is dark, it's too real and it's heartbreaking. So if your the type to stick to sweet books this is not for you.

I wasn't expecting what I got with Lie, to be honest I don't really know what I was expecting but what I got was definitely 180° not what I was expecting.

First of all if you read any review about Lie (and when I picked up the book I didn't) you will already know the book goes through 10 different POV. Yes, TEN. We got to hear Skylar Thompson's thoughts, she is Jimmy's girlfriend. We read her dad's thoughts, her bestfriends Lisa Marie, from Jimmy's bestfriend Sean wand Carlos, the victim and a bunch of random people but through out all this the one person we don't get to read their thoughts is the one and only Jimmy and if that is a good thing or not I will get back to you on that. I feel like we read about so many different feelings concerning Jimmy that it made up his character and we didn't need to have his POV.

I would like to say that I am the first person to jump on the wagon that knows hate-crime exists, and that yes, there is still racism through out the world. I have seen it and I see it every single day, I live in Houston after all, you can't more of a racial diverse city. So I found everything about beaner hopping, the racism and the ground this book is built on to be absolutely 100% realistic with the fact that last year a group of white kids that call themselves 'crib killers' brought a knife to school ready to 'kill' some 'cribs' (a group of Mexicans who like to think they have a gang) in mind.

I salute Bock for going to the land of taboo and picking a subject from there to write about and if I do say so myself this book is well done. She captured the hate crime perfectly, the writing is very well done and I teared up twice at certain parts of the book. Then why did I give this book only 3 stars? Well there is thing books have and it's characters and the characters of this book frustrated it me from here to Antarctica. While I get that Bock tried her best to portray the characters as realistic as possible and I think she did a good job but I think she was a little extreme about it. One thing I didn't understand is how EVERYONE worshiped Jimmy like he was Jesus Christ himself. I get that maybe Sean and Skylar would kiss the ground he walks on but did everyone have to too? Not one person had common sense to see what he was doing is down right awful? At a certain part of the book, when everyone was praising Jimmy like Buddha I actually liked him even though I knew what he did... his 'charm' got me but it didn't get me enough to overlook what a complete disgusting human being he is, and the grown-ups, oh my god are grown-ups really this naive? because I doubt it. Bock made every single grown up in this book have a mind of a 2 year old! Why did they give a blind eye to the answers right in front of their eyes? I can understand a couple of the grown ups in this book doing it but did it have to be EVERY single one. It frustrated me to no end and made me want to pull my hair out!

I would have liked to read more from Carlos because he was my favorite narrator and less of Lisa Marie who I almost hate more the Jimmy which reminds me to say, I didn't fully understand why Jimmy does the things he does. What caused him to get to the super extreme level of racism he is in? I understand his dad went through a lot because of terrorists and lost his jobs to illegal immigrants but still that doesn't drive a person to torture people. I would have liked more background on that but besides that Bock does a really well job to make you feel for the victims. Not all the characters we read about are saints just like normal people and they all do awful stupid things, but surprisingly that didn't make me hate every one of them. I liked how we saw how each character dealt with what happened in their own way, how they tried to get past it and what their actions and reactions were. I though that was handled very book just like the book and over all I really enjoyed Lie. I even think I can pick this book up again and re-read which definitely in my scale means that this is a must read even though a couple of things could have been better.
Rating:

(thanks to Random Housr Childeren's Books for providing an e-galley ARC for me to review)

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