Feature and Follow Friday #14: The One Involving Hardsell

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

Bookselling Time: Go to your biggest bookcases. Go to the second shelf from the top and pick out the sixth book from the left. Hardsell that book to us – even if you haven’t read it or if you hated it. (if you don’t have bookcases, don’t have six books on one shelf, etc, pick a book at random)

The sixth book from the second (and bottom) shelf of my bookcase is Cat Girl's Day Off by Kimberly Pauley. CHECK IT OUT ON GOODREADS HERE

For movie buffs, it's Ferris Bueller's Day Off meets quirky cat person with superpowers! 

If you're a cat person, it has the most kickass protagonist ever who can talk to cats! These cats aren't just signposts for the main character to solve the mystery, or whatever. No! They have personality! Some of them are snobby to the point of seeming royal, some cheeky while the others are plain adorable. And at one point, there's a whole army of cats! 

If you love pop culture, you'll like Nat's celeb-obsessed friends and Easton West, a celeb blogger who reminded me a little of Perez Hilton in the beginning!

If you have a soft spot for the underdog, you'll love how Natalie (that's the protagonist) shows the world that it's not just invisibility or lie detection that are the *major* superpowers that count. 

If you feel minority characters aren't given enough importance in books or just exist as token characters, once again... meet Natalie! And her friend Oscar!

If you like a good crazy, how-did-they-get-even-here?!, barely-takes-place-in-a-day, movie-within-a-book story with the best characters and the best cat quotes, Cat Girl's Day Off will feel like it's written for you! :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Isla and The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases!

This book has probably been over-featured but I feel like I've been waiting for its release since forever:

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

ADD ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER TO YOUR WANT-TO-READ LIST

Anna and the French Kiss has spoiled me for life. I guess it was a combination of Etienne St. Clair, Paris and boarding school awesomeness that left me starry eyed and weak-in-the-knees. I didn't even like the second book, Lola, as much. It's so cool that Isla and the Happily Ever After takes place, once again, in Paris and is about Isla and Josh, both of whom I loved in Anna! And that the couples from the previous books make appearances.

The release year was pushed back to 2014 which is finally just.around.the.corner. so I cannot wait!

And um, this may not be a book release but it still has me psyched for 2014 so I could not help myself (again, FINALLY!):

Review: Imaginable by J. Meyers (Intangible, #2)

Publication date: April 1st, 2013
Publisher: Self-pub
Links: Goodreads|Amazon|B&N
Stars: 4/5
Source: Review copy

Twins Sera and Luke Raine’s unusual abilities are growing. Sera is healing vampires now, making them human again. And, at times, Luke can actually change the future he Sees.

But Sera’s healing has dangerous consequences, and though Luke is altering the outcome of more visions, he can’t control them yet.

Now Sera is in danger as the dark creatures of the Realm seek to use her. As Luke struggles to master his gift in order to save his sister, he discovers even more about his powers.

And what he learns just may put him in greater danger than Sera has ever been.

REVIEW

Imaginable is the sequel to Intangible, where we first met Luke and Sera: twins with supernatural abilities. In Imaginable, Sera's healing powers make her the target of various dark creatures. Much of the book takes place in the Realm, where Sera is alternatively held captive by vampires and the Shadows, while her friends seek to locate and rescue her. 

Most sophomore efforts tend to be a bit of a muddle... probably because they usually function as bridge books between the first and later parts. In many ways, Imaginable was no exception. While there's a lot of action, even hints of something brewing and you do get into the skin of these characters, you also cannot quite grasp where this is all ultimately headed. Is there a big picture to all of the little plots and developments?

Also, many of the back story details were fuzzy in my head. I couldn't recall what had happened to Luke and Sera's parents because it had been a while since I'd read the first book. But you know what? Most of the time, all of these things didn't matter. Mainly because I love the world and the characters of J.Meyers' Intangible series. The main players are all so colourful and unique, so balanced somehow, that most of them are in no way defined by their Giftedness/origin. They are who they are despite their origins, and that's something I found refreshing.

Luke, Sera, Quinn, Rachel and the lot once again seem a lot younger and innocent, somehow, than the average Young Adult character. Their friendships are genuine -they actually make you feel something- and the romance, subtle but no-less-powerful, takes its time to develop (and when it does, you cannot.stop.squealing.)! The action was solidly described, making the climax extremely engrossing. 

All in all, I enjoyed reexperiencing the richness of the world J. Meyers has crafted and the warm, steady and admirable cast of characters! Not sure what's in store for them in the future parts but I'll definitely be reading them!

Rating: ★★★★☆

ARC Review: Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits, #3) by Katie McGarry

Publication date: November 26th, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Links: Goodreads|Amazon|The Book Depository
Stars: 4/5
Source: NetGalley

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane 

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

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

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

REVIEW

After Pushing The Limits (Pushing The Limits #1), in which Echo and Noah's chemistry blew me away, I've always looked forward to more of Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits series. Crash Into You is about Isaiah, a foster kid, who was never my favourite character but not my least favourite either; someone we always caught glimpses of in the previous books and seemed so let down in Dare You To. He's practically Noah's brother, was mooning after Beth and finally, in Crash Into You, we get a close-up of him.

I finally understood him and respected him so much for everything he had made of himself despite the odds that are stacked up against him. 

Despite having the punk-boy-meets-rich-girl-and-there-are-obstacles storyline that has the potential to be so cliched, Crash Into You was funny, sweet and surprising. The credit, I think, goes to the characters who popped out of the page and refused to be pigeonholed into a "type".

Isaiah meets pretty, wide-eyed and car-crazy Rachel Young at a drag race and their story accelerates from there. It's partly told in Rachel's point of view which I really enjoyed as Rachel had this innocence about her that was so refreshing! Seeing Isaiah through Rachel's eyes was incredible- even for Isaiah. She saw the best in him, made him feel worthy and in the process, we get to see how strong and loyal she is, despite the people around her overprotecting her. She's definitely not the textbook-private-school-girl teen reads love to portray. The girly, giddy rush that accompanies first love was written so well that I was grinning like an idiot whenever we got to read about the events from Rachel's perspective!

Isaiah's social worker, Courtney, was pretty awesome too. I loved how while she was still learning the ropes, she cared enough to make sure Isaiah knew she was there for him in the long-term. Abby, Isaiah's friend, came off shady in the beginning but ended up being endearing and yes, a little strange but in a good way. Echo, Noah, Beth and Logan make cameo appearances while we also get acquainted with the Rachel's brothers: Ethan, West and the lot. There is also a "villain", street thug Eric, who is not-so-three-dimensional and a little over-the-top but it kind of went with the adrenaline-junkie-cars-backdrop, so I don't think it made the story flawed in any way.

Isaiah and Rachel make perfect sense in a way that made me cheer for them throughout! I loved how they never for a second doubted their feelings for each other and accepted that Rachel's parents weren't going to greet him with open arms immediately; two things that might've been a source for relationship theatrics in most books. By throwing light on the weight that comes with the prospect of aging out of the foster system and painting the beginnings of a relationship that is joyous, transforming and far from superficial, I enjoyed reading Crash Into You even more than Dare You To. I was reading this on my phone non-stop, through bus rides, in the supermarket, you name it, and it was definitely worth the ride!

Rating: ★★★★☆

ARC Review: Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando

Publication date: December 24th, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Links: Goodreads|Amazon|The Book Depository
Stars: 3.5/5
Source: NetGalley

It's time to meet your new roomie.

When East Coast native Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment, she shoots off an e-mail to coordinate the basics: television, microwave, mini-fridge. That first note to San Franciscan Lauren sparks a series of e-mails that alters the landscape of each girl's summer -- and raises questions about how two girls who are so different will ever share a dorm room.

As the countdown to college begins, life at home becomes increasingly complex. With family relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives . . . and each other. Even though they've never met.

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr and acclaimed author Tara Altebrando join forces for a novel about growing up, leaving home, and getting that one fateful e-mail that assigns your college roommate.

REVIEW

Roomies is a fun and breezy read that captures the butterflies and exhilaration of the summer between the end of high school and beginning of college, along with the sparks of a summer romance that might just lead to something more. New Jersey-bred Elizabeth and San Franciscan Lauren receive intimations that they have been assigned to be each other's roommates for the coming year. Elizabeth or EB as her friends call her rushes off to email Lauren, while not-so-eager Lauren tries to hide her disappointment on not being assigned a single.

But like it or not, Lauren and Elizabeth soon find it easy to confide in each other about the complications and sensitivities that are starting to take over their lives: from absentee fathers, big chaotic families, new boys in their lives, strained friendships and a goodbye of sorts looming close.

These girls couldn't be more different from each other. There are points where their personalities practically grate against each other but other points when they are surprisingly on the same track. The ice does not break right away: it cracks, submerges a bit before it is on the brink of melting. Whatever their differences, they share the nervous excitement of starting over and their emails to each other shake their ideologies a bit; influencing them for the better. When the prospect of the much awaited start of uni nears, they find unexpected strength in just-barely knowing each other; though conflict isn't far behind.

Roomies is told in Lauren and Elizabeth's alternating points of view, interspersed with their variations of clipped, happy, sad, elaborate and angry emails to each other. It starts off drama-filled but slows down in pace towards the end; when it finally feels less like something that would get a prime time slot on CW and more relatable and down to earth.

Reading Roomies was "easy"; I finished it in less than a day. I found myself smiling at times, nodding along at some of those college-anticipation moments and quite taken in with some of the characters; Lauren's new boyfriend's dad in particular. But beyond that, I wasn't entirely attached. It was a well written "okay" read that was fun to kick back with. It's great if you're looking for something quick and fun, especially if you're a prospective undergrad but not so much if you're looking for something that leaves a lasting impression. Roomies still manages to be wholesome, if not memorable!

Rating: ★★★1/2

Note: Roomies has a preview edition, consisting of the first 58 pages for free on Amazon :)

Mini-reviews: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen and The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I use Grammarly's plagiarism checker because plagiarism is one of those "ism"s that is just not cool. Ever.

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It's the end of the week and I thought I would post mini-reviews of some of the books I read this year but never got to reviewing! One thing these mini-reviews have in common is that they are of books by amazingtastic authors: J.K.Rowling, Sarah Dessen and Donna Tartt!

Publication date: April 30th, 2013

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Stars: 4.5/5

Links: Amazon|Goodreads

Source: Bought

A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide.

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, thelegendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

REVIEW

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (also known as J.K.Rowling) made me feel all warm and happy inside; a feeling I haven't gotten since I finished reading the final Potter book. I must warn you though, that the similarities between The Cuckoo's Calling and Harry Potter end here. JKR couldn't have deviated more from her previous genre of choice. From The Cuckoo's Calling, you cannot expect magic, beasts and other curious creatures or even a "muggle" reference.

What you do get, though, is a solid murder mystery, JKR's inimitable style of writing, well-fleshed out characters, accents and quirks. What makes it a worthy series to invest in is that the main character Cormoran Strike is worth rooting for. He has good sense, is not flashy but still has an interesting past! I'm already waiting for the next Cormoran Strike novel and I'm so glad JKR is not done writing! She does it like no one else!

Publication date: June 4th, 2013

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Stars: 3/5

Links: Amazon|Goodreads

Source: Bought

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

REVIEW

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen was a bit of a disappointment, to be honest. It is not a comfort read like Just Listen was, nor does it shine like The Truth About Forever. It didn't provoke me enough like Dreamland. On the other hand, it wasn't that bad either. I found the family dynamics heartbreakingly charming at times, despite the presence of discord. When it comes to the elements of a typical Dessen novel, it has it all: the Dessen Girl, the locale and this time the (not-so) Dessen boy.

However, the formula started to feel a bit worn out. While it is a quick, breezy read, and I'll always love Sarah Dessen and her books, this one didn't work for me.


Publication date: April 13th, 2004

Publisher: Vintage

Stars: 3.5/5

Links: Amazon|Goodreads

Source: Bought

Richard Papen arrived at Hampden College in New England and was quickly seduced by an elite group of five students, all Greek scholars, all worldly, self-assured, and, at first glance, all highly unapproachable. As Richard is drawn into their inner circle, he learns a terrifying secret that binds them to one another...a secret about an incident in the woods in the dead of night where an ancient rite was brought to brutal life...and led to a gruesome death. And that was just the beginning...

REVIEW

The Secret History in five words: sex, money, youth, scandal and the not-so-perfect crime. Once I started reading the book, I could not stop. At times, I could barely breathe for the fear of making the events set in motion in the book even worse. The is a nail-biting at-the-edge-of-your-seat novel about an outsider who befriends these rich, seemingly untouchable Greek students in a private college. There's lust, hate, fear and enough paranoia to go around. If you're a fan of rich-kids-in-prep-school novels, this is one of those; only it's much darker and set in college.

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This post is sponsored by Grammarly. All opinions expressed in the mini-reviews are my own. 

Featuring: Jacob Hills by Ismita Tandon Dhankher

Publication month: May 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Links: Facebook|Goodreads|Flipkart|Homeshop18|Amazon.in

An unloved woman is a soft target, anyone can hit her, have her.
It’s just another evening at the Tiller’s Club.

Near the bar, Capt. Rana, the Young Officer undergoing training at the War College stands among his course mates, consciously avoiding his pregnant, Muslim wife, Heena. Rumour has it she had forced him to marry her because of the baby.

Saryu, village belle turned modern babe, drink in hand, chats up a YO. Her husband, Maj. Vikram Singh, shoots angry glances at her. She isn’t bothered; the question is, who will she go home with tonight?

Pam and Gary, the flamboyant Sikh couple, chat merrily with the senior officers, charming as ever. Who’d ever guess that they lead the infamous Key Club, an underground swinger couples’ club?

And in one corner stands the Anglo-Indian wife of Maj. George Chandy, Eva, who finds herself at the heart of a murder mystery when a woman’s bleeding body is discovered at the old church under the black cross. The murdered woman’s body is covered with cigarette burns. A six-year-old girl’s wrist is similarly marked. Another little girl shows signs of severe abuse.

Jacob Hills: an army station that houses the War College where young officers receive training. A world of army officers and genteel conversation, of smart men and graceful women. Set in the 1980s – in an India that was at the cusp of tradition and Westernized modernity – this is the story of the ugliness that lies beneath the garb ofJacob Hills’s beauty and sophistication. An ugliness the Chandys find themselves confronted with. Will they uncover the truth behind the woman’s murder? Will their love survive Jacob Hills?

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:

The shadow of the erstwhile British army lingered long after they left the country. Their drinking, smoking, womanizing culture was eagerly embraced by the cream of the crop in the organization. Flirtation is a norm of an elitist, high flying society and it was used to further, both personal and professional agenda.

The seventies and eighties was an era of great suppression, men and women were not allowed to mingle freely. All over the world the hippie movement was on a roll since the sixties but premarital sex in India was seen as an aberration.

Under the garb of British legacy, sycophants and lotharios in uniform thrived and carried on the tradition left behind by the Gori Chamdi.

Every organization has its grapevine, Ismita grew up hearing rumors, snatches of conversation, old wives tales. With an active imagination, the blanks were easy to fill and Jacob Hills was born.

Check out the book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N1haWkL6Syc

And a review of the book by Janhvi @ The Readdicts' HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ismita Tandon Dhankher is ‘A Lesser Known Poet’. Her poem, ‘The Beasts Run Wild’, is currently up on MSN, as part of an ongoing exclusive feature “Her Courage” in tribute to Indian women. http://news.in.msn.com/her_courage/the-beasts-runs-wild

Ismita’s, 'I am Beautiful’ won prize money of 50,000 on the Yahoo-Dove Indibloggers contest. She’s also the author of the romantic thriller Love on the Rocks, a Penguin imprint released in 2011. Her third mystery novel Love Kills is slated for release by HarperCollins India in December 2013.

Ismita went to Sophia College, Ajmer, where she studied Economics, History and Sociology. After acquiring an MBA and doing a brief stint in the Foreign Exchange Division of Thomas Cook, Mumbai, she took up poetry and prose wholeheartedly.

She just finished her fourth novel Secrets We Hide, and is working on The Song of the Sufi Masroof, a book of photographs and poems. Beyond the Hills(Prequel to Jacob Hills) is in the process of being completed.

Ismita blogs and can be reached at www.lesserknownpoet.com

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