ARC Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry (Pushing The Limits #2)

Publication date: 28th May, 2013
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Links:Amazon|Goodreads|The Book Depository
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4/5 stars

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again...

"I dare you..." 

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...

REVIEW

Dare You To is about Beth whom we've already met in Pushing The Limits. When she takes the rap for her mother, she gets arrested and is bailed out by her uncle Scott. Her uncle demands custody of Beth and she is whisked away to Groveton, the place where she grew up as a kid. Ryan, who approached her at a Taco Bell on a dare, seems like nothing but a privileged jock who wants to use her. When he hangs around even after the Dare is off, stands up to her and shows her how much he cares about her, it seems like there's a lot more in the cards. But Beth, who's cynical, sarcastic, badass on the outside and yet scarred by her past, her mother's abusive boyfriend, all of which turned her into a scared, scared girl is convinced that boys like him never end up with girls like her.

Dare You To, like Pushing The Limits, was an engaging read that made quite an impact! Both Beth and Ryan are trapped, almost, because of where they come from and in Dare You To, these barriers are recognized before they come apart. They were wonderfully fleshed out characters who stayed with me even after their story ended. 

I loved Ryan's growth throughout Dare You To. While on the outside, he seemed like Mr. Perfect, it was because he was following the perfectly mapped out life his father had planned for him. While his father was very invested in Ryan and his brother's future, it seemed to be to the point of being controlling. Ryan's brother, Mark, was shunned from the family the minute he did not meet the Perfect-Family criteria and only in the course of the book does Ryan stand up for his brother and go after what he wants. I kept picturing Dan from One Tree Hill as Ryan's father!

I felt Ryan's growth made him ready to be with Beth. Ready to dispel the beliefs in her head that no one is trustworthy and everyone can hurt her- beliefs triggered by very traumatic experiences  He is everything she needs and together, they are so much more. My heart went out to Beth throughout the novel and I was so glad she found Ryan. We also get glimpses of the central characters from Pushing The Limits: Noah, Echo, Isaiah and Rico. Let me just say Isaiah's presence was heart wrenching and haunted me throughout the novel! I'm glad he gets a story of his own in Katie McGarry's upcoming novel! 

Dare You To is told in two points of view, just like in Pushing The Limits and is a sweet, intense and explosive story!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: The Saddest Song by Susie Kaye Lopez

Publication date: 11th February, 2013
Publisher: Self published
Links: Amazon|Goodreads|Barnes&Noble
Source: Review copy
Rating: 3/5 stars

Where do you turn when you've lost your other half?

When Rainey Martin loses her high school sweetheart Garrett in a tragic accident right before the beginning of their senior year, her whole world is shattered. Feeling lost and alone, Rainey turns to the only person whom she knows might be able to comprehend her despair: Garrett's twin brother, Max. Max who is as devastated as Rainey, takes solace in their mutual misery. The two form an unlikely friendship that tailspins into a bond so deep it begins to make them uneasy. Could they each be what the other needs to feel complete again?

Told from the alternating perspective of Rainey and Max, The Saddest Song is a novel that explores love, loss and finding light inthe midst of darkness.

REVIEW

I wanted to read this book as the title reminded me of a song: The Saddest Song by Until June. It's a song that always managed to pull me into a vortex of intense sadness and silence. Rainey, the protagonist of The Saddest Song by Susie Kaye Lopez feels utterly devastated and helpless when she finds out that her boyfriend, Garrett, was killed in an accident. An accident that took place when he was on his way to see her.

Rainey is riddled with guilt and not entirely sure of how to deal with the loss of someone she imagined her future with. Everything, from her college plans, has lost meaning...

Max, Garrett's twin brother, feels just as emotionally wrecked and yet sees it as his duty to help both himself and Rainey get through the shock. The Saddest Song is about Rainey and Max picking up the pieces with some help from a psychic, a friend who can See ahead and a little help from Garrett himself. In the process, Max struggles to find words to a song he's been working on which he calls The Saddest Song.

The Saddest Song was a mixed bag for me. I did feel sympathetic towards Max and Rainey and everything they had to deal with. I loved the paranormal elements that gave the story a great deal of edginess; whether it was the psychic who wasn't simply guessing around or signs and messages from Garrett himself. The book also pays heed to the existence of soul mates, the One True Love you're meant to be with over lifetimes. I'm not really sure if I believe in soul mates but I've always thought of it as a beautiful idea and reading about it is always interesting.

The characters in the story were very likable! Almost all of them were people I'd instantly want to be friends with. Perhaps some of the secondary characters could've been more fleshed out... I felt we were only privy to their sunny sides... but I did enjoy reading about them! And while there was no particular character or sequence of events that annoyed me, sometimes the dialogue did. There were parts where the dialogue fell flat. It gave off practically no feeling or underlying sentiment when it was apparent that it was meant to be emotional. But in most other aspects, especially the descriptions, the story flowed pretty well.

Despite the issues I had with the book, I did want to find out what would become of Rainey and Max and I was happy to see them eventually learn to be honest with both themselves and each other! It is this growth that made it worth the read. The Saddest Song is by no means a perfect read but it's definitely worth a shot! It's a story of loss and acceptance, of music and messages from beyond, all of which aid fate and self discovery.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Feature and Follow Friday #11

Feature and Follow is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read!

Q: Happy Mother’s Day! Who is your favorite mom from fiction?

Good mom characters always make a book all the more wholesome! Mrs. Weasley from the Harry Potter
series is an obvious choice and obvious for a reason! She's the backbone of the Weasley clan! I still cannot get over, "Not my daughter, you *****!"

Also, Layken's mother, Julia, in the Slammed series by Colleen Hoover is someone who awed me with her strength. I won't say much about her hurdles at the risk of spoilers but her approach to life, acceptance of things and the way she dealt with the cards life presented her with was so inspiring. When Will and Lake had problems in the second part of the series, she was wisdom-in-a-vase! This woman is phenomenal!

I also thought Mia in Saving Francesca made as much of an impact on the reader as everyone she probably met and interacted with in the book. When Francesca thinks When I grow up, I'm going to be my mother I found myself nodding along (And tearing up. A little.).

Which fictional mom would you like to pay tribute to?

While I'm on GFC, Linky and can be followed by email, I'd prefer it if you could follow me on Facebook (Link to my page) since my Page is brand new ;)

Review: Double Click by Lisa Becker

Publication date: 27th March, 2013
Publisher: Create Space
Links: Amazon|Goodreads|CreateSpace
Source: Review copy
Rating: 4/5 stars

Fans of the romantic hit Click: An Online Love Story will enjoy another voyeuristic dive into the lives of Renee, Shelley, Ashley, Mark and Ethan, as Double Click picks up with their lives six months later. Are Renee and Ethan soul mates? Does Mark ever go on a date? Has Shelley run out of sexual conquests in Los Angeles? Will Ashley's judgmental nature sabotage her budding relationship? Through a marriage proposal, wedding, new baby and unexpected love twist, Double Click answers these questions and more. Readers will continue to cheer, laugh, cry and cringe following the email exploits of Renee and friends.

REVIEW

Double Click is the sequel to Click, a book I reviewed not long ago that chronicled the online dating adventures of Renee in the form of short, pun-filled, energetic and fun back-and-forth emails! Double Click is equally entertaining and ha-larious... where you're not as much privy to the online dating scene but it does a great job of sucking you into the lives of Renee, her best friends Mark, Shelley and Ashley! There's secrets, unexpected pairings, proposals and pregnancy blues in the ultra-cute second part to this fabulous feel-good series!

One thing I was really missing in Click was more of Mark's story! This is done complete justice to in Double Click. You're going to be sooo surprised when you find out who he ends up with! Mark's love interest made me giggle so much. They are so um, compatible. It was interesting to see the different ways in which his friends reacted to her and made her feel welcome (or not welcome)!

There's also a lot going on with Shelley... much more than her multiple business trips, that's for sure. And I grew quite fond of Ashley by the end of the book... in spite of her reverting back to the "old Ashley" with her pregnancy blues.

More than anything, I loved the parts in Double Click where Renee, Shelley, Ashley and their friends were just hanging out. The very light and very fun banter was enough to bring a smile to my face! While a great deal happened in the course of this book... there was no rush in pacing with scenes both relevant and completely irrelevant to the plot. With the email format, I found myself LIKING this utterly normal sequence and pace of events!

Double Click is the kind of book you read while lounging around. It's quick and it's fun and best of all, it manages to be what it is with consistent characterization and absolutely no suspension from reality! I liked Double Click even more than its predecessor and would totally recommend it if you're looking for a cute and hilarious read!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Blog Makeover!

I thought it was about time and thanks to Fahima @ I Read, Ergo I Write, it finally finally happened! She took time out to design the beautiful blog header you probably saw a few minutes back before scrolling down to this post! I cannot get over how much I love it! From the black cat to all those titles I loved reading throughout the year to the purple specs, the attention to detail is the coolest part!

Also, while customising the background and layout to go with the header, I finally got the Comment Reply feature and social media icons at the end of every post back! Don't know how that happened. I had a big problem with Comment Reply and the lack of social media icons in the previous layout.

So...it's a great start to the summer! Hope you like the changes as much as I do!

Feature and Follow Friday #10

Feature and Follow is a weekly blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read!

Q:  Is there a song that reminds you of a book? Or vice versa? What is the song & the book?

I'm sure there is! It's just that I can't really think of anything at the moment. Instead, I'm going to talk about a song that I practically discovered because of the book and will always associate with the book! It's Asleep by The Smiths which... well, I think you would've got it by now... practically feels like the heart and soul of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. 

The protagonist Charlie discovers the song in the mix-tape his sister's boyfriend made for his sister. I downloaded it the minute Charlie described the way he felt about the song and I listened to it on repeat while reading the rest of the book. While watching the movie, I nearly squealed when the song was played! The movie wouldn't have been the same without Asleep by The Smiths in the soundtrack.

Also, Expectations by Belle and Sebastian (oh, I fell in love with this song the minute I listened to it) is a song I'm listening to on loop at the moment and I would love to think of a book it goes with! I cannot think of any good matches though. I thought Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett... in terms of general feel... but probably not! 

But I'm going to feature it anyway ;)

Which song reminds you of which book?

While I'm on GFC, Linky and can be followed by email, I'd prefer it if you could follow me on Facebook (Link to my page) since my Page is brand new ;)

ARC Review: The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa

Publication date: 30th April, 2013
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Links: Amazon | Goodreads | The Book Depository
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5/ 5 stars

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

REVIEW

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa exceeded expectations last summer as I tore through the post-apocalyptic vampire awesomeness that it was. It was
Clever
Fast paced
Well characterised
Insightful
Gave me the right kind of kick!
Not your average in-season vampire book

The Eternity Cure, book two in Julie Kagawa's Blood of Eden series was equally engaging in every way. Most second books end up being more of a filler and a watered down version of the first part, but not The Eternity Cure!  There's enough conflict and adventure to keep things going.

Of course, initially, I got the feeling it was just going to be Allie Going Places in search of Kanin, her Master with minimal Zeke flashbacks... but thankfully, no. Rescuing Kanin, the vampire Allie owes her life to, from the clutches of Totally Deranged Sarren, isn't just a series of carefully-constructed obstacles. Jackal, Allie's blood brother... yes, the Prince character who wrecked havoc in the climax of the first installment, breathes life into the first half of the novel! You want to hate him, just like Allie does... yet he is so... three dimensional, I guess. Slippery, manipulative and yet his witticisms make you laugh and somehow, he earns your sympathy and makes you root for him!

There's also a search for the cure from the Red Lung virus, made worse by the new strain of the virus that's twice as deadly as far as survival of the human AND vampire races are concerned. This, again, is enlivened by wonderful character-centric plotlines. The Zeke-Allie relationship is as heartwarming and heartbreaking as ever (Zeke: must you always be such a saint?) and Stick's reappearance is a totally baffling yet brilliant touch to the plot! It was by no means a conventional turn of events and I loved how what Allie and Stick shared all those years was never in anyway forgotten. It added so much depth to the layers of hurt, desire for growth and much more that had disturbed Stick all along.

All in all, just like the first part of the Blood of Eden series, The Immortal Rules, The Eternity Cure is one heck of an adrenaline rush! I was constantly eager to know more, get to the bottom of the characters, the plot, the VIRUS, all while wondering about the fate of the characters we got to know so well in the previous part but don't really make an appearance here. As an amazing bridge book, I am not just waiting for the next book in the series but I'm no more uncertain about the Blood of Eden series having all the elements of an epic saga!!

As I said in my review of the previous part, it's post-apocalyptic dystopian vampire YA! If the genre itself has you excited, this is definitely a series you must check out. I wasn't the biggest fan of Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, but in this series, she has nailed it!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

If you liked The Immortal Rules, you will love The Eternity Cure! Definitely preorder-worthy!