Blog Tour: |Review| On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Today, I bring you my review of On the Island, my favorite book of 2012. I read On the Island and participated in the blog tour, the FIRST blog tour that is and today, I'm also a part of the book's second blog tour. Why a second tour you ask? Well, On the Island was previously a self published book but it has been picked up by Penguin Publishing!! Follow the rest of the blog tour HERE.

So without further ado, here is my review of the best book I read so far of 2012, it COMPLETELY BLEW MY MIND!!

Title: On the Island
Author: Tracey Garvis-Graves
Published July 10th 2012 by Plume
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Goodreads summary:

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends. Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

Racquel's thoughts:
This book went above and beyond what I ever expected!! While I loved the summary of the book and it definitely intrigued me, I was a little worried about how Tracey Garvis-Graves would handle the island issue and survival of the characters. I'm complete realist fan so I wanted to see both characters suffer but adapt at the same time because let's face it, getting stuck on an island is not cookies and cupcakes, it's hard and devastating and I wanted to experience that and I sure did! Also, one thing I was SO excited about is seeing how Garvis-Graves would deal with the age gap between Anna, our 30 year old heroine and T.J, our near 17 years old hero. Now I'm a not one of those people that think an age gap of more then a few months is scandalous. No, ABSOLUTELY NOT. Frankly, I lose some respect for the people who do! If I could, I would RIGHT NOW tattoo AGE IS JUST A NUMBER on my forehead. I cannot even begin to tell you how annoyed I get when a 16 year old girl dates a 18 year old and it's the worst thing in the history of the world. Umm, when Hugh Hefner was going to marry a girl SIXTY (YES! 60 years!) years his JUNIOR (yes! 60 years YOUNGER than him!!) no body screamed: pedophile! felony! illegal! molester! wrong! Did any cops get involved? that would be a negative.
So frankly, if this man can marry someone younger than his grand children then there is absolutely nothing wrong with the age difference in this book (13 years) or any age difference for that matter (unless it's a child...) what matters is maturity, and since maturity is such an important word I'm going to repeat it for you: MATURITY. Which differs from every single human being to another. Furthermore, age is not a factor for how mature a person is *deep breath* as you can tell, this is a subject I feel very strongly about.

Now that I proved my point about age, I proudly type that Tracey Garvis-Graves handled the age difference "issue" to perfection like a Jedi master. It was just done so well that even idiots who are brainwashed be society and the government to judge people's relationship upon age (I just said this statement and I will repeat it until my death) will not find a problem with the 13 year difference between Anna and T.J because it was done realistically, full-heartedly and one of the great things about this book is how we get to see both Anna and especially T.J. grow up and mature so the romance is literally born and blossoms in front of our eyes and no reader will help but fall in love with Anna and T.J. as a couple too.

I suggest you start reading this book during  a weekend when you have no plans because when you crack open the first page, you will not be able to put it down until you close the book at the end. There is always the questions of "Will they get rescued? Will they find food? Will they heal? Will they survive?" to push you through the wee hours of the morning to finish this spectacular book.

I loved how despite the seriousness and tragedy of what Anna and T.J. are going though- which is portrayed 100% realistically by the way, the book still had a few laughs that had me LOL'in and plus that, Garvis-Graves didn't shy away from describing the nasty, ugly sides of their isolation on the island or just anything in general whether it related to language, sexuality, or situations that most authors might just skip over.

I further want to discuss what goes on in the book but I will keep away from doing so as not to spoil what happens in the book for anyone but just so you know, every part of this book is top quality story telling. From the alternating POV's (which if you know me, you will already know I ADORE this!) T.J. male POV (another favorite thing of mine) and over all book, it's all just terrific. I mean as soon as I finished this book, I wanted it to re-read it and even now that I'm writing this review, I have an urge to read this book,  I think I might just answer it;D

Also, feel free to chat with me about the book of you read it, I would love to see how you felt!

Rating: 5 hearts~ Believe me, On the Island is a book you want to purchase right now and read ASAP. 

First:

I was thirty years old when the seaplane T.J. Callahan and I were traveling on crash-landed in the Indian Ocean. T.J. was sixteen, and three months into remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Quote that broke my heart:

“What’s nine-eleven?” 

“I don’t know."

Teaser: 

...he might have seen my fist coming before it connected with his left eye.

______________________________________________________________
Buy the book: Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Goodreads |
Find the author: Author’s website |  Facebook |  Twitter

Thank you for participating in the ON THE ISLAND Event! This week in addition to reviews and posts, select blogs are hosting a word from the author's favorite quotes in the book as a Scavenger Hunt! There is one quote from Anna and one from T.J. Visit each stop this week to find the hidden words (they will be numbered for order) and after July 22nd, submit your answer to the quotes here! Random winners for books and swag will be chosen and notified by July 29th.

Also, next week July 23-27, there will be even more events and chances to win the book and swag!

• Monday, July 23 at 8:00 pm CST - Chat with the author Tracey Garvis Graves! We will be chatting with the author on Savor Chat: http://www.savorchat.com/chat/on-the-island-chat Come join us! (You can sign in with twitter or facebook)
  
• Each day look at #ontheisland on twitter for random shout outs to win books and swag! @Tale_of_Reviews
• ON THE ISLAND released in bookstores Tuesday, July 10th! If you see the book in stores or 'in the wild' take a picture. Please tweet it and use hashtag #ontheisland. Or you can post it to facebook! Please submit twitter and facebook links of your post/tweet here!  All entries need to be submitted by July 29th.
  

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Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to follow the rest of the tour HERE!

 

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|Review| Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

Title: Such a Rush
Author: Jennifer Echols
Published July 10th 2012 by MTV Books
Genre: YA realistic contemporary, romance
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Goodread's summary:

A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.    

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business — until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers — and the consequences could be deadly.

Racquel's thoughts:
On the back of the Such a Rush paper ARC, it says Jennifer Echols is a rising star. I disagree. Jennifer Echols is not a rising star, she's been a star forever now. She's actually the freaking sun, that's how important she is! Such a Rush delivers awesome business just like all of Jennifer's other books and that's why Jenifer is not a rising star. She was a star with the release of Going too Far but today, July 10th, the official release of Such a Rush, Jennifer Echols is queen of contemporary! Jeez, how could they downgrade her like that?

How did I notice the rising star comment? Well, I devour JE's books. From cover to cover. I read everything. Even that page with publishers info. Dedication. Acknowledgment. The actual story. Back cover. Everything!! I love JE THAT much. Her books are my drug. She writes exactly the type of books that I crave. It's like they were written specifically for me because that's how I much I love them. They're perfect.

Jennifer Echols writes mature stories. I've seen it in Going too Far, in Love Story and now in Such a Rush. What do I mean by mature? Well the characters are going through serious stuff, family problems, death and money issues. There is no pitiful drama mama and I love that. Young YA is really not my thing so I appreciated the mature voice of the story no matter how the characters can act sometimes. Leah has been neglected basically her entire life. She never got to enjoy her childhood like a kid should or have fun as she grew up. Leah is a great character. A true human being. She's the type who has her middle finger in the air and has one friend only since every one else thinks she's trash. But she doesn't care. She just wants to fly. We truly don't have enough Leah's in YA. I have no problem with our regular smart cookie perfect-put-doesn't-know-it main character, I just believe YA needs more variety and Jennifer Echols succeeds in bringing something somewhat rare to the bookstores.

Grayson was another great character. A little too strong headed. An asshole at times. He is far away from perfect as a character can be. But thank god for that!! Grayson is MY kind of hero. Realistic. He got on my nerves at parts but he was a genuinely good person. Concerned for his brother and father's business and he wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of harming them, he would do anything for the one's he loved. So even IF he was manipulative and an asshole and fucked up at times, that made him better because Grayson is a complex person who's personality traits go beyond just perfect and swoony. He's multi-layered!

Now, could the romance be more perfect? It cannot. Grayson tries to get Leah to like Alec but the attraction between Grayson and Leah is unmistakable. Leah and Grayson bring out the worst and best in each other. They have a real connection that again goes beyond just cute and sweet. Also, kudos to JE for not shying away from sex. God bless her heart and soul. Some people might find Such a Rush a bit to steamy for YA but in my eyes it's still under-steamy and I don't mean about the graphic-ness of some scenes, but the overall topic of sex in the book. You come to my school for one hour and you will see. Sure not all teenagers are participating in sexual activities but that's the POINT. There are some books about those teenagers and then there is Such a Rush that shows you the teenagers who are. Again, variety!!

I can actually recommend Such a Rush. Well I DO recommend Such a Rush to every reader but I can actually go to my friends who are not active readers, hand them Such a Rush and I know they won't throw it at my face two weeks later. I also know that I will not be getting any "Racquel, what the fuck kind of book are you giving me to read? Is this boy supposed to her man? Some one needs to tell her his missing his balls and don't get me started on her anyways. Ugh." text messages. (oh yes, this real dialogue.) Again, VARIETY!

In addition, I'm a fan of airports and flying so of course I loved reading about Leah's love for airplanes and how important airplanes and flying were to the book plus Jennifer Echols knows her stuff! And in typical fashion, no matter how serious this book is, Jennifer Echols knows how to make me laugh out loud. I just love her snarky, clever humor.

So this is another extremely well written Jennifer Echols books that fails in no areas. Terrific writing that's become a Jennifer Echols signature? Check. Realistic well done characters? Double check. Heart pounding romance? thrice check. Fantastic plot? quadruple check. A must read? heck to yes!!

Rating: 5 hearts~ ANOTHER favorite read from Jennifer Echols.

First:

In each South Carolina town where I'd lived- and I'd lived in a lot of them- the trailer park was next to the airport.

Favorite:

"You mean you can fly a plane but you can't drive a car?"

Teaser:

"It looks like God barfed a rainbow."

Also, mega super awesome THANKS to Jen @Jenuine Cupcakes for letting me borrow her ARC, Jen you are a ROCK STAR (and oh heeeey, Jen and Jennifer! further proves you are a bombshell ;D)

In conclusion, READ SUCH A RUSH!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

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|Review| Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Title: Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe
Author: Shelley Coriell
Expected publication: May 1st 2012 by Amulet Books
Genre: YA realistic contemporary, humor, romance
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Goodreads summary:

Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

Racquel's thoughts:
Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe was not what I expected and that's a good thing! Going into the book, I thought it's going to be a cute, fun one sitting read and while yes it was fun, cute and I finished it a few hours, Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe still managed to weave serious issues into it's plot while still remaining to be a light read, A perfect balance between fun and meaningful!

Chloe has lost her best friends, her five brothers are away at college, her parents are busy surgeons and her Grandma's disease is becoming a serious problem and Chloe's junior project, a very important assignment that will determine her college acceptance has changed. But when Chloe is forced to join the radio station team at her high school she slowly regains her liveliness despite her being against being part of the radio station from the beginning. 

From the first paragraph (if you didn't believe the summary) Chloe tells us she loves being a burrito or in other words, the center of attention.

I loved being a burrito. Not the actual costume, a stinky ankle-length tube of compressed foam with scratchy shoulder straps. No I loved the physical act of being a burrito- more precisely, of getting people to notice me- and I was good at it.

Bam, first paragraph of the book and I knew it was a winner! We all read the story of the shy girl, the bullied girl, the underrated girl, the innocent girl, the shy girl, the underrated girl, the quiet girl and yeah I'm just repeating myself now. There is nothing wrong with reading those stories but it gets... boring. However, Chloe was a breath of much needed fresh air. She loved wearing vintage shoes, she was fun and outspoken and made sure her purpose in life is to make people laugh. Definitely NOT your typical YA main character and I can kiss Shelley Coriell a million times because she broke through the usual trend.

Chloe liked being the center of attention but she also had a big heart with the best of intentions always in mind even if sometimes her actions say otherwise. But guess what? She's a teen girl! She's not perfect nor is anybody. Shelley Coriell portrays this quirky, funny girl in such a realistic teen way, I swear to you this Chloe character is real somewhere out there. I actually see a lot of her in some people I know and I just loved that so, so much. Some reviews I have seen say that sometimes Chloe's annoying but that's all the better! Have we ever met a person in our life who didn't once get on our nerve? Mom, dad, sister, brother, husband, wife, friend, teacher or boss! Chloe is now one of my new favorite characters thanks to her being comfortable in her own skin, extremely, extremely  realistic, super well developed, different than your average cliches, and all around fun, nice girl.

I hope I have convinced you that I adore Chloe and you should too but besides that, the book was also filled with an interesting plot and a cast of enjoyable characters like Chloe's bosses and Chloe's grandma who is her closet friend and the rock in her life and an absolute hilarious, amazing 82 year old lady! Also the radio station group was a fun one, especially dragon Clementine. I cannot tell you how many times I laughed during her's and Chloe's banter.

Also, Duncan, the radio station technician, was an absolute treat to the book! He had home problems which broke my heart but seeing him with Chloe and how they both helped each other through their tough time was really heartwarming and sweet. Their relationship wasn't just built on attraction, but friendship and the tough times that they got through together and I completely loved that.

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe wasn't just a fun book, it also presented serious issues like drug abusive, home and parent neglection, mental illness and loneliness but Shelley Coriell managed to still make the book an enjoyable and often funny read. I think she presented her characters very realistically which is something I don't say often when it comes to YA books and the romance was definitely sweet and swoony. I would recommend Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe a million times!

Rating: 5 hearts~ absolutely adored everything about it! 

Also, check out my friend Kara @Great Imagination review of the book :D

*quotes taken from ARC, subjected to change*

First:

I loved being a burrito.

Favorite:

Did it bother me that my eighty-two-year-old  grandmother was still looking at guy's butts?

Teaser:

Yes, he was definitely different with his garbage. Almost relaxed.

*Thanks to Amulet Books  & Netgalley for providing me with a copy to review*

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|Review| Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom

Title: Ditched: A Love Story
Author: Robin Mellom 
Published January 10th 2012 by Disney-Hyperion 
Genre: YA contemporary, humor 
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Goodreads summary:

High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her. Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom. And then ditched her.

Racquel's thoughts:
I was having a pretty terrible day and the only I know of how to cheer myself up is reread my favorite books (which I already reread about infinite times) or pick a new book to get lost in. I picked Ditched: A Love Story to read because it seemed like the perfect cure and pick me up, which it 100% was. From the first page to the last, give or take a few minutes, it toke me only 4 hours to finish it all and it definitely succeed in putting a smile on face every sentence or so because it was flat out funny. In short, Ditched: A Love Story, was perfect.

The story begins right away with Justina in a ditch and not remember why or how she got there. But as she gets up, see's herself in her god awful prom dress, the crazy events of the night come back to her as she walks to 7-eleven and through her telling two ladies at the 7-eleven why she's in the most hideous prom dress at 6 in the morning, we slowly and hilariously learn how exactly Justina landed in a ditch.

I think what I loved more than the fact that Ditched: A Love Story made me laugh every second, was the voices of the all the teenage characters in the books. The biggest thing that makes me dislike a book is realism and often with YA is how that the teenage character act nothing like myself or other teenagers I know but that's not the case with Ditched: A Love Story. Even though some events that happen to Justina in the book are little crazy and unbelievable, her voice, how she acts, her friends and how they talk is real. It might as well be my friends or I or a group of people I know and that made me love the book and every character in it a million times more. Robin Mellom perfected the teen voice and I applaud her that. I also got to meet her at the Teen Book Con and when I told her this and how did she achieve this her response was that she would go with her son to highschool Friday football games and eavesdrop on teens and write down what they say and such. How can you NOT love this lady? seriously!

Also, fun fact! At Teen Book Con, when a few authors were asked about their book covers, turns out Ditched: A Love Story has a great story to it! Mellom and her agent (I think, though I'm sure it was someone from Disney-Hyperion) searched for a terrible dress to match the one in the book and they bought the dress being show on the cover off of ebay. They had a photo shoot specifically for the cover Ditched: A Love Story and they stained, ribbed, dyed and put back the dress together just like the book describes it. HOW AWESOME?! If you want, check out my Teen Book Con 2012 if you want to see pictures with me and Robin Mellom & other authors!


Rating: 5 hearts~  I don't want to give anything about the book away because it's a ride you have to experience yourself, I'll say its a great book that made me laugh all the way through and that on it's own deserves 10 stars! 

 

 First:

Food, a cell phone and my dignity... all things I do not have.

Favorite:

"I need to get to my house. Quick! It's gushing!"

Teaser:

"Thanks for being Lord of My Blood Sugar." 

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[Review] Matched by Ally Condie

Title: Matched (Matched #1)
Author: Ally Condie
Published: November 30th 2010 by Dutton Juvenile
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads summary:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Emma's thoughts:

If you've seen our Favourites of 2011 posts, then you will have seen the recurring appearance of Matched as a favourite of mine. And yes, I've just reread it for about.. the fourth time? How am I not sick of this book yet?!?!? 

But I am shocked. Really I am. Matched has an average rating on Goodreads of 3.8 and Crossed is even lower. This is my favourite ever dystopian series and nobody else seems to like it? *sobs* What's wrong with the world?!?

Admittedly, before writing this, I did go through just about all the reviews on Goodreads, the good and the bad. And I guess what everyone else is saying, is that, there's not much 'action' in Matched. Which is true in every way. But I guess, when picking up a dystopian, that's what you generally expect right? War, danger, apocalyptic situations? Well then yes, Matched is not the book you're looking for. It's more of a romance than anything, but it is not a bad book!

Matched basically depicts of Cassia's life in the future, and she's just gotten 'Matched', which means the 'Officials' have told her who her partner for life is. Her best friend, Xander. And yes, you've guessed it. Something goes wrong! She sees another face on the microcard that's supposed to tell her about her Match. It's not Xander. It's Ky.

Ky, Ky, Ky! I LOVE KY. Ky's always just been that guy, to Cassia. No one special, no one particularly outstanding. But of course, when you see someone else's face on your Match's microcard, you're going to want to know about them! You're going to be curious, and wondering what the heck's up? And naturally... the questions come.

What if he was my Match? What if we were supposed to be together?

One thing I love about Ally Condie's writing is the way she phrases her sentences, her paragraphs, and the questions that she keeps us asking. And it's beautiful really. The world she's created makes absolute sense. It makes perfect sense! What better way to ensure everybody is equal and everybody gets the best if one person decides for everyone?? Well that one person being the Officials...

And yes! Yes it's like The Giver, it's like 1984, but it does say that those two books influenced Matched! It's not like anything is original these days, geez... I haven't personally read those two books, but so what? Ally Condie has created this magnificent book, not about disaster or war, but a different kind of survival. The decisions and challenges Cassia, Ky, even Cassia's family and Xander face are hard ones, and ultimately life changing. One wrong step and the perfect life and facade they've all spent so long building might just crack.

I suppose Matched is a utopian, being a perfect world and all, but in every way it's a dystopian too. How would you like to suffocate in the bars of the Society? Being watched, even while you sleep. Having Officials predict and know your every step. How do you get out of that? How do manage to confine to the rules and still be yourself?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, Matched isn't like other dystopians. You're not going to get guns and fighting and bloody guts, but you're going to get something beautiful. I don't know how else to describe it, but don't be expecting war, because then yes, you will be disappointed. Otherwise... it's quite magical.

Overall Rating: 5 stars~ Matched introduced me to this wonderful world of dystopia and I'm never going back! 

First:

Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?

Favourites:

Is falling in love with someone's story the same thing as falling in love with the person himself?

Ky can play this game. He can play all of their games, including the one in front of him that he just lost. He knows exactly how to play, and that's why he loses every time. 

Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled.

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|Review| The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal

Title: The Lifeguard
Author: Deborah Blumenthal
Expected publication: March 1st 2012 by Albert Whitman & Company
Genre: YA contemporary, fantasy & romance

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Goodread's summary:

It's an unsettled summer for Sirena. Back in Texas, her family's splitting apart, but here in Rhode Island, at the cottage of her aunt, it's a different world. There are long days at the beach and intriguing encounters with Pilot, the lifeguard with shamanic skills. Sirena explores her obsession with Pilot and discovers his mysterious--almost magical--gifts.

Racquel's thoughts:
I'm not a car or a plane reader, whether print book, reading off of my phone or Kindle, if am in a moving vehicle while reading I will get a headache immediately. I mean it happens so fast where I'll read only two sentence then the pounding start and I have to put that book down.  But with The Lifeguard as I was on my way home from school I said to myself, "So what if I'll get a killer headache? keep reading, Racquel!" So yeah, I was engrossed!

Despite the fun looking cover and summary, this book had absolute depth to it. Sirena, our pleasant main character was growing up and viewing the world with new eyes due to her parents divorce that really hit her hard.

Sirena's vacation and coming in terms with everything happening to her was handled completely realistically and I absolutely adored that! She was definitely a great narrator and I didn't want to let her go at the end of the book. Pilot is another character I didn't want to let go off, I wish we saw more of him throughout the book but in end I was happy with him. Some might argue that the romance was insta-love between Sirena and Pilot but I say (and I definitely hate insta-love!) it wasn't. To me it started out as lust and curiosity on Sirena's behalf before growing to something more, even if it happened quickly.

Another thing that I enjoyed while others didn't is the fantasy element of the book. Some people I noticed were bothered it wasn't fully explained but I- and again, this is coming from a person who isn't the biggest fan of the paranormal genre- actually liked that! There wasn't anything paranormal of evil about the 'magic' and I didn't really need an in depth explanation because the the fantasy element was just so, it just existed and that was enough for me because it was a spiritual and natural element rather then a paranormal one. It was mysterious yet even believable and I enjoyed that. It reminded me of The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten because it also had the magical element that was never explained because it just was. There was magic and you had to believe it, something that I find intriguing. Overall, this is a hard book to resist! It's a beach read with depth and I absolutely enjoyed every page of it.

Rating: 5 hearts~ with a cast of characters you will love, humor and realism despite initial doubts people might face, this book is a fantastic read that I know I will reread again!

*quotes are taken from ARC copy, they might change*

 First:

The summer my parents were getting divorced in Texas, I was exiled.

 Favorite:

"Arrive the same, leave different."

Teaser:

"Bye, superman." 

*thanks to the publishers at Netgalley for providing me with a copy to review*

 

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Review: Double Clutch by Liz Rienhardt

Title: Double Clutch

Author: Liz Rienhardt

Publication date: September 6th 2011

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Goodreads summary:

What happens when you fall for the perfect guy...twice...in one day?

Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she's back in the States, she's determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance.

What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once.

The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus.

But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn't know why he can't get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake's sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be darker and more complex than Brenna is willing to deal with.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies...and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.

Between keeping the peace with her lovingly over-protective parents, designing t-shirts for her high school's rising punk band, keeping up her grades in classes split between academic and technical high school, and running the track like a maniac, Brenna has enough to worry about with out juggling two guys who make her heart thud and drive her crazy all at once.

She has to make a choice, but how is she supposed to do that when giving her heart to one of them might mean breaking the other's?

Recommended Age Group: Older YA

Racquel's thoughts:

Liz Rienhardt is the first ever author to ask me to read and review their book so from the beginning
this book was special. I was kind of anxious to read it though because I was scared I wasn’t going to like it and since Liz is just THE sweetest person ever, she’s so nice and I’m so glad I got to talk to her it would have been plain awful writing negative review. But thank goodness, I was spared from having to deal with that because this book ROCKS!

What I love about this book:

*It’s about as realistic (from MY perspective) as realistic YA fiction can get.

-Brenna wears make up. I know this is not big deal but as a make up freak that just adores make up I’m actually glad for once that a character doesn’t describe herself as plain Jane. Brenna knows she’s pretty though she’s not arrogant about it. I’m so tired of every female MC not caring or not knowing how to deal with their looks and they think they’re ugly and end up with THE hottest guy imaginable. Good for you plain Jane but the other girls have stories too.

-Brenna has a backbone. I’m sure you don’t know what that is because the majority of the books you and I read have plain Janes as MC’s and usually they keep to themselves and their outspokenness is limited. I will tell you what a backbone is, it’s the factor that makes you stand up for yourself, say what’s one your mind and take no bullshit from anybody at all cost. Brenna has this so very rare backbone and the only other MC I can think off who does too is Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy series.

-I can relate with the book! More then once I came across a scene which I have been in the situation as or said the same thing/had same reaction.

Ex: “‘HAGS’ in my yearbook at the end of eight.” If I wasn’t lazy, I would get up right now and take a picture of my eighth grade yearbook and show you all the HAGS over you.

Ex 2: “Even though it was about a bunch of killer school boys, I never managed to get into this one.” Lord or the flies was one of the books I had to read last year and I definitely couldn’t get into either!

Ex 3: “Run, forrest run.” I say this phrase everyday I’m at school and see someone running. So those words per year come out my mouth approximately 555 times per school year, I thought I was the only one making Forrest Gump references,

Ex 4: “I checked your Facebook page.” Let’s face it, we all have Facebook’s. You’re probably going to go write your status right now about how you read the world’s stupidest review but in the end we (REALTIY) use the site known as facebook but how come it never shows up in  realistic fiction books? Uhmmm, people propose to other people to facebook nowadays.  It’s basically the most important communication tool in world. You see those riots in the Middle East? Wonder how they were planned?  If you guessed Facebook good for you, if not then go back to the cave you live in. Just kidding:D

More things I love:

-As I told Mary from @anxirium about this book, Brenna did not come about this earth through random pollination. She has parents, yes a father (well a step dad but nonetheless, there mention of the sperm donor) and a mother (once again, yes a mother body) who carried her in her womb for nine months and these parents are HEXA-GASP! present in the book. Good god, an actual YA book with ACTUAL guardian’s or and parental figures who actual play a role in their child’s life in it? 2012 is real; get ready for an apocalypse…!

-The mature and realistic way sex was handled in the book. To be honest, I’m starting to like adult contemporary romance more because sometimes YA books get me so mad from how not YA they are! They take place in an ideal world and are nowhere near what actually happens in a teenager’s life but thanks to Reinhardt, Double Clutch doesn’t suffer from that. The book doesn’t shy away from tackling sex to what it is and I love that. No it’s not graphic, but it’s honest it’s portrayal of sex which made me so damn happy I can combust! For once sex in YA is not just “it happened and then later…” I would kiss Reinhardt if I can.

Overall: I can go on and on about all the things I loved about this book, it’s absolutely one of my favorites of the year. It was funny, cute and realistic and I personally believe if you don’t like it, you should get yours head checked. From the writing, to the characters, the dialogue and the details I couldn’t find anything wrong:D And this is coming from a person who hates hype! This is the perfect review to post on my birthday!

Rating: 5 hearts~ one of my favorites, I hope you enjoy it just as much as me((:

First: 

My mom waltzed into my room early on the morning of my first day of high school back at Sussex County, NJ after a year in Denmark, and I breathed a sigh of relief that she kissed my forehead like it was my first day of kindergarten instead.

Favorite:

"Um, try to not intentionally suck something useless into your brain."

Teaser:

"Once I get a job with dental coverage, I'm getting rid of all this character."

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Review: Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Title: Love Story
Author: Jennifer Echols
Published: July 19th 2011 by MTV Books
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Goodreads summary:

She's writing about him. he's writing about her. And everybody is reading between the lines..

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

Racquel's thoughts:
 Going Too Far is one of my favorite books so I was kind of excited for Love Story. The reason I wasn't overly excited is because I saw a lot of people didn't love it. Sure everyone liked it but it wasn't there with the love crowd but let me tell you, to me Love Story was is a one heck of a lovely story!

I loved the premise of the story. I think it's very original and I have never read anything remotely similar to the whole 'she's writing about him and he's writing about her' scenario and who doesn't love originality? especially a well done plot like the one in Love Story. Second, I love how that the story was set in college and the characters are older *ehmm* I mean mature. There is only so much of the immaturity of the younger teens I can take before wanting to blow my brains out and that is the exact same reason why I like reading adult contemporaries (even though I'm a teen myself). Because I simply get tired of YA and it's silly drama (yes, even if it's saving the world!) and insta-love romance but if every contemporary was written with the voice of maturity in Love Story, I would not mind!

One thing I really appreciate is how nothing is revealed from page one. Some books start off with "Hi, my name is Cheetah and I'm going to tell you the story of why Leopard and I hate Puma because she killed Lion." ummm hello element of suspense! That's what the summary is for! I like things to gradually unfold on their on pace. We slowly figured out the past behind Hunter and Erin through their stories and we knew more when Erin explained to her friends. All the telling and showing happened on it's own pace. Thank you Echols!

Also since this is called Love Story,  I should mention the love story. Cheers to no insta-love! Echols didn't just let the details play out on their own but also the love story. I saw the relationship grow (and fall!) between Hunter and Erin, my heart went out for them and skipped a beat at their intimacy. It was magical.

Jennifer Echols has talent, I love how in Going Too Far the voice of Meg was badass just like Meg herself and in Love Story, the voice of Erin was romantic, reflecting Erin's personality. Echols knows what she's writing about with the teenage world and while the book started just good for me, it turned to be amazing. Another masterpiece from Jennifer Echols. Round of applause please.

My rating: A definite 5 heart read, if you're a fan of contemporary you will be a fan of this book!

First line:

Captain Vanderslice was something of an ass.

Favorite:

"Because you were chasing a rat, telling me how cute it was."

Teaser:

"Are you asking whether I have gravel embedded in my ass? By the grace of God, no."

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Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

Title: Virtuosity
Author: Jessica Martinez
Expected Published: October 18, 2011 by Simon Pulse
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Goodreads Summary:
"Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.

Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall...."



Racquel's thoughts:
I was very excited to read this and when I when I learned I had the chance to read it early I squealed. Moi is not a squealer!! No doubt, I was not disappointed one bit because this book = amazing debut.

Martinez knows how to convey emotion like no body's buisness. When Carmen was stressed, I was stressed. When Carmen was happy I was happy. When Carmen was describing her passion for the violin, I wanted to play the violin my self.

I was in this book. I didn't just read about Carmen's story. I went through every little emotion through every page with Carmen. I laughed because Heidi and Clark are the definition of quirky character, I had a tug of war about Diana, Carmen's momager (mom/manager) and my heart skipped too many beats at every mention of Jeremy. Who's funny and vulnerable at the same time, he's dedicated, passionate and 100% perfect Carmen. I truly saw their relationship blossom and how Jeremy helped Carmen through the difficult parts of what she was going through is very believable and couldn't been handled better. Speaking of that, this book is all about Carmen finding herself. Does she love violin as much she thinks she is? Is taking anti-anxiety pills okay? Should she wield her own life? These problems are understandable because of Carmen's position in the music industry. I loved just turning to the next page and going through with Carmen as she learns more and more about what she truly wants, as she learns about reality.

As you can see I loved how well the emotions are conveyed but that's not all that made the book. The gorgeous cover, the great character names, the butterfly-in-my-stomach romance, the conflict about decisions, Carmen's inner conflicts, a big shocker, and perfect resolution all add up to once again what turned out to be a great debut!

I loved the writing, I loved from the prologue to the chapter before the last (that tie- if/when you read the book you will know which one;D- is AMAZING) and the epilogue? I had a grin of a fool the entire time so yes, Jessica Martinez, you have made a fan of me. One pre-order of your second book please!


My rating:

First line:

"The balcony felt cold under my cheek."

Favorite:

"I don't think doing origami with my pizza is going to change the taste."

Teaser:

"Is pre-competition stalking an American thing? Should I be doing it myself, or does this email qualify?"

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing me a copy to read + review!*

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Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Published: September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown & Company
Rating: 5 hearts!

Goodreads summary:
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Racquel's thoughts:
It goes without a doubt that Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the second Divergent of the year and I mean that buzz wise. I haven't read Divergent myself, but everyone has and everyone that has read it loves it and Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the exact same way. It barely came out today and already the hype about it is HUGE, so many people loved it and not a person hated. It's a favorite of the year for 90% of people who read it and let me be the first to say, ALL THE HYPE IS TRUE!

Laini Taylor really is an amazing writer, the world she created is fantastic and her characters are loveable, the plot? A page-turner but I think it's none of that that ultimately makes this book the 5 star deal for everyone but it's the writing.

It is beautiful.

So beautiful I kept rereading sentences because they are just so... fabulous! What do you think of when you hear the names Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel? Classy, beautiful, fabulous and iconic. They make you wanna whip out you're cat frames sunglasses, a ciggy and feel like you own the world. Well this is how the writing of Daughter of Smoke and Bone is.

Fabulous. Excellent. Marvelous. Magnificent. Remarkable. Extraordinary. Brilliant. Spectacular…. Just look up wonderful and all the synonyms you get describe the writing and prose.

Taylor has real skill, she has talent writers wish they had an ounce of. Anyone can come up with a half decent plot, half decent characters and make a half decent novel and sell it but Taylor has the magic. She has the sparkly pink fairy magic dust people wish they had so they can throw it around and wish to make things better.

I mean I bet when you open Daughter of Smoke and Bone the is probably what you will see:

and when you finish it you will be like:

and then you will be feeling:
for reading such a good book!

I kid you not, the writing is that good. I kind of want to eat it from how yummy it is!! I think if we took away the amazing writing we would just end up with yet another fantasy story, granted better then others but ubiquitous nonetheless. Lets be honest, at some parts of the book I was confused to the point where I literally had no idea what was going on but all of that is a trick on Taylor’s behalf and everything does clear up and I think the romance was too insta-love and I didn’t understand all the way how it came about, it just happened. Even after the big GASP happens and that should have cleared all doubts about the love, it still didn’t make 100% sense to me and. Also, Akiva’s past and his ‘kind’ didn’t have a solid background explanation for them to make them convincing and believable but in the end these things don’t smother the fact that the book is unique, it's amazing and mesmerizing and you better read it or I will hunt you down with black fairy dust and the results will not be that of the dreamy kind.

You have been warned.

Rating:

First Line:

"Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister" premonitions about the day."

Teaser:

"of all the theories she'd dreamed up about the other door, she'd never imagined this..."

Favorite:

"...before losing herself in a kiss that made her melt against him like sun-warmed honey."

Have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone? Don't hesitate to share you feelings!!

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Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Title: Graffiti Moon
Author: Cath Crowley
Series or standalone? Stand alone
Pages: 264
Published: August 1st 2010 originally by Macmillan Australia
My rating: 5 hearts♥

Goodreads summary: Let me make it in time. Let me meet Shadow. The guy who paints in the dark. Paints birds trapped on brick walls and people lost in ghost forests. Paints guys with grass growing from their hearts and girls with buzzing lawn mowers."

It’s the end of Year 12. Lucy’s looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about.

His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere.

Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow’s thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls.

But the one thing Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.

Racquel's thoughts: My favorite book reviewer/blogger ever Ari, over @readingaftermidnight just loved this book so much she proposed to it and let me tell you, things are about to get ugly in here so if you can't handle hair pulling, nail clawing and cat fights get out while you can because Graffiti Moon is mine. I won't do sharing when it comes to this book so somebody is going down and I already know it won't be me!! And if you can't already tell this is about the best book ever... just saying.

I want to buy this book and cuddle it to sleep every night, I want to shove this book in everyone face so they can read it and see how amazing it is but at the same time I don’t want anyone to read it so the relationship between me and Graffiti Moon will be extra special. Have you ever read books and you love this much? Well if you’re lacking a book mate I suggest you pick up Graffiti Moon ASAP to find that book mate because I know everyone will love it!!

Graffiti Moon has everything, the realistic characters, the hilarious dialogue, the profound writing, the interesting plot… let’s just put it this way: Graffiti Moon is perfection.

I loved how it was hilarious but still poetic in its own way at the same time. There was a part where I laughed so hard my brother started laughing with me even though he had no idea what was going, he just said my laughter rubbed off on him.

My heart went out to the characters, especially Ed. It broke my heart when he talked about school, about Bert (his boss at work) and about the money problems, my heart literally clenched every time. Lucy was a great main character also, not once did she annoy me like most main characters always end up doing. Her quest to find Shadow, her love for art and for the people she loved is inspiring really!! Also she’s hilarious, what more do you need?! Even the secondary characters were memorable, sure some did stupid stuff (looking at you Dylan) but you can’t help but want to know these people in real life and actually go through the plot of this book and speaking of the plot, I loved it! I have never read anything about graffiti or art like this before, I haven’t even read anything this well done in a while!! I felt the passion both Ed and Lucy towards what they did and it made me want to go the nearest art gallery and appreciate the arts! This book takes over the course of one night and while I like those books they always fall a little short for me because I always what more time with the characters but I didn’t feel like that with graffiti moon, the pacing was perfect. Nothing was rushed and there was nothing left that that was not tied up.

Over all this was perfect all around, even if the middle part kind of wasn’t as good as the beginning because Crowley switched over to telling us more then showing us some events but the end totally made up for that and this book is absolutely one of the best I read this year and it is most definitely going to my favorite shelf.

*sigh* I really cannot convey my love for this♥

Which cover do you prefer? The US or UK one?

I personally cannot decide. I like the UK one because it relates to the book better but then again if I saw it on a shelf and had no idea what it is or what it's about I probably would not pick it whereas I would pick up the US one.

Graffiti Moon is definitely of the 5+ hearts variety:

First Line:

"I pedal fast."

Teaser:

"... when wanting collides with getting, that's the moment of truth."

Favorite:

"Paint sails and the things that kick in my head scream from can to brick."

Did you read Graffiti Moon? If so, tell me what you thought!! I would love to talk about it:D

(Thank you Random House Children's Books for providing me an early copy of Graffiti Moon to read and review)

Buy Book: Amazon|Barnes and Noble|The Book Depository
Find Author: Website|Twitter

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