Friday, December 14, 2012

December New Release Giveaway Hop (INT)


I love December! Christmas and the ending a great year are always so much fun! 
This month I'm doing the first giveaway on Pause Time and it happens to be a Giveaway Hop for December New Releases. This giveaway is hosted by Book Twirps & Refracted Light Reviews. 
This giveaway runs since December 15th until December 31st, so make sure to enter while you still have time. 

What's up for grabs? 
A book of your choice from The Book Depository released on December (up to $12).

Here are a few ideas!



Never Let You Go by Emma Carlson Berne
Burned by Sara Shepard
The Trouble With Fate by Leigh Evans
Indigo Awakening by Jordan Done
Deadwood by Kell Andrews
Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Farm by Emily McKay
Guardians of Stone by Anita Clenney
Interrupted by Rachel Coker
Blood Vow by Karin Tabke
Sealed With a Curse by Cecy Robson
Edge of Sanity by Shannon K. Butcher


Who can enter?
This giveaway is International as long as Book Depository ships to your country (for free). 
You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
The winner will be notified by email as soon as the contest ends and will have 48 hrs to reply, otherwise a new winner will be chosen, so please don't forget to leave your contact information in the form.
To enter just fill out the Rafflecopter below and don't forget to check out the other blogs in the hop!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feature and Follow Friday [3]


The Feature & Follow Friday meme is hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. It’s a great way to make more bookish friends and get more followers on your blog. Each week you share your answer to  the question of the week and hop around a tad and follow, follow, follow. 

This week the question is…

What is the last book that made you cry? Tell us about the scene...

My answer

The last book that made me cry was Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. This book was an emotional roller coaster, my emotions were all over the place the entire time I spent reading this story. If I would have to describe this book in one word it would be INTENSE. The characters are intense, the love story is intense and the background story is intense.
One of the scenes that made me cry was when (spoiler alert!) after the fight between Shep, Mare and Abby about how this insane relationship between Abby and Travis is going to break apart the other couple, Travis who overhears the conversation, takes the two girls to his apartment while Abby is trying to sleep in the other room, and then the morning after, when he goes to the market and bring a lot of things for Abby hopping it would make it all better and the she acts like it's not big deal and Travis is so desperate trying to explain himself to her and apologizing... Gosh! This whole thing broke my heart so badly. I love this book! It's so real that you can feel everything the characters are going through. If you haven't read it, you definitely should!


You can follow me through GFC or email. If you do, please let me know in the comment section below, so I can follow you back! 
Happy Friday :)

Thursday, December 13, 2012

2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge


Well, the new year is almost here, and since this is the first time I get to start a new year as a blogger I thought it would be great joining to a reading challenge and what could be better than a Paranormal one? Since this is one of my favorite genres, I think I'll have a lot of fun while trying to complete this challenge.
The 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge is hosted by Megan Likes Books and Auntie Spinelli Reads.

The goal is to read one book featuring each of the following paranormal creatures: Vampires, Werewolves/Shifters, Fey, Angels/Nephilim, Mermaids, Dragons, Zombies, Demons, Witches/Wizards, Ghosts, Aliens & Other (ie: sirens, unicorns, centaurs, timetravel etc.).

Each month of the year will highlight one creature and we can choose any book about  the monthly paranormal creature.
We can choose to read just one book for month or read as many as we can, so here's the order of the challenge's categories and some of my picks:

January - Vampires: My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking



February - Angels/Nephilim: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare




March - Fey: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa



April - Demons: The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver



May - Aliens: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout 



June - Zombies: Hollowland by Amanda Hocking



July - Witches and Wizards: Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough



August - Mermaids: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks



September - Dragons: Vanish by Sophie Jordan



October - Ghosts: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake



November - Werewolves/Shape-shifters: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong



December - Other (Time-travel): Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone



So here are my top 12 choices for this challenge. I still may add some more, so if you have any suggestions, please leave them in a comment below. 
If you find this challenge interesting and you'd like to be a part of it, go HERE, read the guidelines and join the fun!

[Review] Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Title: Ashfall
Author: Mike Mullin
Series: Ashfall #1
Publisher: Tanglewood Press
Published: October 11th 2011May 24th 2012 (first published September 27th 2011)
Source: I borrow a copy from a friend.
Blurb from Goodreads: Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don’t realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano, so large that the caldera can only be seen by plane or satellite. And by some scientific measurements, it could be overdue for an eruption.
For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to seach for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.



Review

First thoughts: Ashfall the first book on a dystopian series based on what could happen if Yellowstone volcano erupts. If that happens in the future, I think the world would be pretty much like Mullin describes it in this first book of the Ashfall series.  That's one of the reason I loved this book, the details are so precise and the reaction of the characters are so real that I completely bought the whole story
This story is a great picture of the human behavior in crisis times and it shows us that even if we are always telling ourselves that we are rational and that's what set us apart from animals, when the things get ugly we are just like them: we operate by instinct, we are willing to kill first and ask questions later and we basically live by the law of the jungle.
It took me an insane amount of time to finish this book, but that's almost entirely my own fault, because the pace is good. Not too fast but neither slow. 

Plot and characters: Well, the description of this book is pretty accurate. The Yellowstone supervolcano has erupted and this happened just on the weekend that Alex was left alone in his house because his family went to the country and he refused to come along. So when his room starts to fall apart, Alex begins his journey. First he was taken in by his neighbors, but after seeing them taking the lives of some intruders, he just can't stand being around them anymore. There's no power, food and water resources are limited, and everything is covered by thick layers of ash, but Alex is determined to find his family, so he figure out that skying his way to the country isn't a bad idea after all. In this journey, Alex will learn that human beings are just like any other animal when they feel threatened, and soon he'll find out that hunger and fear can bring out the worst in a person.
Alex is a fifteen years old boy like any other teenager, a little awkward, a bit of a geek and he just want to feel independent. But when the things get ugly he just want her family back. He's not a perfect protagonist, he's so real you can relate to him perfectly and I loved that about him. I really liked how this books shows all the growing up process that Alex went through in this whole tragedy, he starts as a boy and ended up being a man. He learns and matures so much through the book that you almost feel proud of him.
There are a lot of secondary characters on this book, but I don't think they are really important to mention, because they were built for the seek of the suspense and adventure within the story. 
The other important character is Darla, a girl that take Alex when he's badly hurt. This girl is a pain in the ass, I just hated her. She has this smarty attitude toward Alex and spend half of the book treating him like crap, when he's always trying to be useful and to impress her. I guess I didn't get her character, she's a strong girl who has been through a lot, but I think that doesn't give you the right to be a bitch. Although by the last third of the book she starts to behave more like a kind person, she's the main reason why I didn't give this book the five clocks.

About the writing: The story is narrated in first person, from Alex's point of view, which is great, because there are not many YA/NA dystopian books with a male narrator. 
It wasn't really that fast-paced and in took me a while to get involved with this book at first. I was a little bit reluctant in the beginning, but after the action starts to take place, even if it wasn't really fast, I enjoyed it.  
I love the way this book was written, it seemed so real! The author doesn't bother trying to cover the ugly true of the human beings behavior in crisis times, he portraits them as they really are: frantic, chaotic, careless, and capable of taking the life of someone else just in order to preserve themselves. The characters are really believable and I love how the author didn't try to make them perfect, they have a lot of flaws which is good, because nobody likes a perfect character. I found Alex pretty relatable and I loved how her mind works.
Some other thing I really loved about this book was when I found a passage with the description of the cover, that made me realize how well the cover suits the story, check out: "Darla turned away from the bed. She stared at a cracked mirror mounted above the dresser. The mirror was so coated in dust that it didn't reflect anything. She dragged her splayed fingers across its surface, and our reflections appeared, fractured into five narrow lines by the paths she'd drawn." Cool, right?

I would recommend it for: Dystopia lovers, age +13. It had some scenes that may not be entirely suitable for a kid. I would recommend it though, for everyone who likes this genre. 

Rating:





Quotes:

“For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn't taken our humanity. No, we'd given that up on our own.” 

“A librarian can’t live by books alone, and I wouldn’t eat them if I could. Feel too much like cannibalism.”

“Hunger of choice is a painful luxury; hunger of necessity is terrifying torture.”


About the author:


Mike Mullin’s first job was scraping the gum off the undersides of desks at his high school. From there, things went steadily downhill. He almost got fired by the owner of a bookstore due to his poor taste in earrings. He worked at a place that showed slides of poopy diapers during lunch (it did cut down on the cafeteria budget). The hazing process at the next company included eating live termites raised by the resident entomologist, so that didn’t last long either. For a while Mike juggled bottles at a wine shop, sometimes to disastrous effect. Oh, and then there was the job where swarms of wasps occasionally tried to chase him off ladders. So he’s really hoping this writing thing works out. 

Mike holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. ASHFALL is his first novel. 



Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Teaser Tuesday [4]



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.   Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1.- Grab your current read
2.- Open to a random page
3.- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4.- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5.- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



My teaser: 



"Everything was discreet and suited her. The only bright colour was on her lips: the rest of her make-up was a variation of her own hair colour and skin tones. "Easier to make decisions," she explained once. "Anyway clothes should showcase you. Not the other way round." I liked that in  her: the choice to limit her wardrobe to what worked, and ignore fashion. Her practicality."

~ p. 73 "
The Uninvited" by Liz Jensen.












What do you think about my teaser? 
What about yours? 
I would love to read it. 
Leave your answer in the comment section below.
If you're following me, tell me so in a comment, so I can follow you back :)

Top Ten Tuesday [3]



Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.

Top Ten new-to-me Authors 2012


#1 Amanda Hocking (check her books here)

I loved the Trylle series, I read the three books on this series this year and I was absolutely blown away by this beutiful world that Hocking has created. I absolutely recommend this author.


#2 Suzanne Collins 
(check her books here)

I know I'm a little late, but I read The Hunger Games Trilogy just this year. I absolutely loved it. She introduced me to the dystopias and now I'm a huge fan on this genre. This series is on my all time favorite list, and I think this series is definitely a must-read for everyone. 


#3 Patrick Rothfuss 
(check his books here)

This is a fantastic and creative mind I can't believe I was missing. I just loved the first book from The Kingkiller Chronicle and I'm really looking forward to read the next one. The Name of the Wind is one of the best written books I've ever read in my life, so I'm really thankful for this author.


#4 Tammara Webber 
(check her books here)

I absolutely loved Easy and Between the Lines (at least the first two books, since I haven't read the third one yet). Easy was the first book from the New Adult genre and it couldn't be a better exponent. I love how well I could relate to the characters and how fast-paced are her novels.


#5 P.C. & Kristin Cast (check their books here)

I can't treat them as separate author since I haven't read any of his stand alone works. I just loved the first three books of the House of Night series and I have every intention of reading the next ones. 


#6 Cynthia Hand 
(check her books here)

I read Unearthly this year and I completely loved it. I haven't had the time to continue this series but I definitely will. I loved how easy to read, fast-paced and well-written was this book. I fell in love with its protagonist and I really admire Hand's imagination. 


#7 Abbi Glines (check her books here)

I read the first book in the Existence series and I loved it. I cried and laughed a lot, which I haven't done in a long time while reading a book. It was a great piece of work and the next books on the series are on my to-read-next list. 



#8 Lauren Oliver (check her books here)

I read Delirium as a recommendation from a friend when I finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy, and I was a little unsure at first, but then I fall in love with Alex and I could relate really well with Lena, so this books was just a bless. I'm definitely looking forward to read more about this author. Before I Fall, other of her novels, is on my to-read-next list, so I'll be checking her out again very soon.


#9 James Dashner (check his books here)

I read The Maze Runner (the first book in this series) earlier this year. I was just captivated by its suspense and I really liked the pace and the world-setting. I think this author is great and his work was really well-written. So, I think I'll be reading the next books on this series too. 



#10 Colleen Hover (check her books here)

I just finished Slammed, just in time to include this author in my top ten of new-to-me authors this year. I completely loved her work, I think I failed my exam yesterday because I was too captivated by her book this weekend to put it down. I love when books have that power over me, although maybe it wasn't the best moment, but I have no regrets. I completely loved how she was able to include poetry along her prose and the love story she created was beautiful and really heartwarming. 





Did you like my picks? 
What authors are on you Top Ten this week? I'd love to know!
Leave a comment below. 
If follow me, tell me on your comment so I can follow you back :)

Monday, December 10, 2012

Musing Mondays [3]


MUSING MONDAYS is a weekly event where MizB of Should Be Reading will ask a book/reading-related question, and you can answer with your own thoughts on the topic.

This week's musing asks: What was the last book you could not finish and why?

My answer:

First of all, I have to say I'm not the kind of reader that give up on a book, like EVER. Even when I'm bored as hell reading a book and I'm not liking it at all, I just keep reading until my eyes bleed. I think it's important to read everything so you can make a good critique based on the entire book and not just the first 50 pages that you didn't like. I know there are a lot of great books out there that could be ten times better than the one you're fighting to finish, but I just don't like unfinished business. 
All that said, there is one book, that I haven't been able to finish YET. I don't think this is a bad book, I don't even feel bored while I'm reading it... It could be it's length  (1200 pages) or just that I always pick it up when I'm kind of in a bad mood. The book I'm talking about is The Witching Hour (Lives of Mayfair Witches #1) by Anne Rice. Like I was saying, I don't think it's the book's fault. I just can't keep my attention in something for that long... This one is always going back and forth from by currently-reading shelf to my to-be-read one on Goodreads. 
I still have every intention of reading this entire thing, I just have to find the right timing for it.






I would love to hear your thoughts, leave me a link with your Musing Monday or your answers on the comment section below. 
Have a nice week!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

[Review] Torn by Amanda Hocking

Title: Torn
Author: Amanda Hocking
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: February 28th 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin (first published December 31st 2010)
Series: Trylle (Book #2)
Source: I purchased a copy from a bookstore.
Blurb from Goodreads: When Wendy Everly first discovers the truth about herself—that she’s a changeling switched at birth—she knows her life will never be the same. Now she’s about to learn that there’s more to the story…
She shares a closer connection to her Vittra rivals than she ever imagined—and they’ll stop at nothing to lure her to their side. With the threat of war looming, her only hope of saving the Trylle is to master her magical powers—and marry an equally powerful royal. But that means walking away from Finn, her handsome bodyguard who’s strictly off limits…and Loki, a Vittra prince with whom she shares a growing attraction.
Torn between her heart and her people, between love and duty, Wendy must decide her fate. If she makes the wrong choice, she could lose everything, and everybody, she’s ever wanted…in both worlds.
As a special gift to readers, this book contains a new, never-before-published bonus story, “One Day, Three Ways,” set in the magical world of the Trylle.






Review

My thoughts: Torn is the second book from the Trylle series and it was one of the most astonishing sequel I've ever read. When you start a series and the first book turns out to be amazing, you just have to hope the second one can keep up the awesomeness. And this one completely did, and more than that. I loved Switched so much, that I gave it 5 clocks, but then if I could give Torn 5 & half or 6 clocks I would, but that's out of my rating system. What Amanda Hocking has created is a stunningly beautiful world, where even the secondary character have their time to shine and the protagonist never stop to grow in your heart. 

You can check out my review of Switched (Trylle #1) HERE!

About plot & characters: After Wendy and Rhyss run away from Forening, they try to explain Matt what's been going on in the last weeks, and when they finally seem to start making progress, the Vittra come into scene, kidnapping them and taking them to the Vittra palace. Here's where Wendy finds out she's the most important piece in all this Trylle puzzle. She's right in the middle of a fight that has been going on for many years.
In Torn, we are introduced to the other side of this world, the Vittra, and to a lot of new characters that come into play. We meet the Vittra king, who happens to be the most tyrant, cruel and self-centered being in the whole world. There is Sara, his wife, who is submissive and kind but I just hated her for being such a coward and never standing up to him. And we met Loki. How can I start talking about Loki without melting down? He's gorgeous and sexy and sarcastic and if I'd have to compare him to another character I'd say he's a lot like Jace from TMI series. If you loved Jace, I'm sure you will love Loki. 
There is a lot going on in the Trylle side of the world too. We get to know Willa and Tove a lot better and I really grew fond of both of them. 
There is Duncan too, Wendy's new bodyguard. He's just adorable, you can't help but love him. He's goofy and silly but he has a great heart and he would do anything to keep Wendy safe. 
The only one who has lost all my respect is Finn, I just can't stand him anymore, he's so focus on his job that he can't see anything else around him and I just want to kick his ass and telling him to grow some balls and start fighting for what he loves.
Wendy is growing too. Without her even knowing it, she's becoming in someone worth to be called "princess". She realizes that there are a lot of flaws in the system that has been ruling the world of the Trylle and she's not willing to just let it be, because there's the way the thing has been managed since forever. She wants justice, and she's willing to fight for it. 

About the ending: It was a proper ending, but that doesn't mean I liked it. It was necessary but you know how many times what's right is not what we want? Well, that's it. In the last two chapter I hated Finn more than ever and that's a shame because I really liked him in the first book. I can't really tell you much more about it without giving it up and ruining it for you, so you'll have to read it to find out what I'm talking about.

About the writing: I was so blown away by the first book that I started this one right away. I wasn't sure of what to expect, but in Torn, Amanda manages to keep up with the vertiginous pace of Switched and include a lot of details and information that help to built the background story without making you feel like you are being info-dumped. The character development is amazing, you can almost see the changes that Wendy is being going through and how everything is starting to fall in its right place. I loved how what it seemed to be a paranormal love story has become in an epic battle between two very different and powerful sides of the same species, leaving the protagonist right in the middle of everything. It's full of great moments, surprises, action, love and suspense. Everything was so well-written that when finished the book I was satisfied with the story but eager to start reading the last one in the series.

I would recommend it for: If you haven't read the first one yet, you HAVE to read it as soon as you can and catch up to this amazing book! I couldn't recommend it more!

Rating:



Quotes:

“I don't care where I come from or who you are. I can make you happy, and you make me happy. We could have a happily ever after.” 

“Right then, it didn't matter what his reasons were. All I knew that I was sick of him breaking my heart.” 

“Tove had blown the doors open with his abilities, and he stood on the other side of them, looking astonishigly bad ass.” 

“And I have two eyes. I’ve seen that little melodrama play out between you and that other tracker. Fish? Flounder? What’s his name?” 



About the author (from her Goodreads page):


I live in Minnesota, and I write young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy mostly. The My Blood Approves series is about vampires in Minneapolis, and its available now. I also wrote the Trylle Trilogy, which is a paranormal romance without vampires, shifters, mermaids, fae, angels, dragons, ghosts, or ninjas.
My latest book is Hollowland - a zombie urban fantasy set in the dystopian near future. It's a bit more violent and gritter than my other books, but there is still romance. Mostly though, Remy kicks a lot of butt. 
I also enjoy Red Bull, Jim Henson, Batman, Jane Austen, Star Wars legos, and I absolutely hate long walks on the beach out of my intense fear/hatred of wet sand 
My favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut, Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis, Alan Moore, and J. D. Salinger, but I don't write anything like them. I have an obsession with River Phoenix, and I've seen Silence of the Lambs more than any other movie, even The Dark Knight. If I were trapped on a deserted island, the one thing I'd take with me would be a boat capable for taking me home.
I'm also the guitarist in a band called the Fraggin Aardvarks, and even though its even twice as cool as it sounds, we haven't had a practice in like two years, so I'm not sure that technically we are still a band. But we never broke up, and it's an awesome thing to tell people, so I'm sticking with it. (We even had a synethesizer!)
Here are some ways you can talk to me:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/amanda_hocking
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amandahockingfans
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/amanda_hocking  
Email: hocking_amanda@hotmail.com

Friday, December 7, 2012

Feature and Follow Friday [2]


The Feature & Follow Friday meme is hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. It’s a great way to make more bookish friends and get more followers on your blog. Each week you share your answer to  the question of the week and hop around a tad and follow, follow, follow. 

This is my second Feauture & Follow, so here we go :)

This week the question is…

Activity! Who do you want to be? If you could choose any character from a book. What do you think that character looks like and what do you have in common?

My answer

I would love to be Clary Fray from the Mortal Instruments series. This is one of my favorites series of all times. Who wouldn't want to be around sexy Jace? I wouldn't mind going through hell just for a chance of being with JaceI'm strong-head and a trouble maker just like her and I share with her the interest for art and paintings. I also have a male best friend, like Clary has Simon, and I don't get along really well with other girlsSo I think we have some things in common. I really feel related to her, even if she's a character from a fantasy book, because I think I understand how her mind works.  Physically, I don't think we have a lot in common, just the green eyes. I love her though, she's one of my favorite heroines.



Thursday, December 6, 2012

[Review] Easy by Tammara Webber


Title: Easy
Author: Tammara Webber
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: May 24th 2012
Source: I purchased a e-copy from Amazon
Blurb from Goodreads: A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?
When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.
Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.
When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.



Review

First thoughts: Tammara Webber has become in one of my favorite authors. Before this year, I haven't even heard of her, and then one night I decided to purchased this book and since then I'm absolutely obsessed with her work.
Easy is a New Adult novel, full with romance, drama and some mysteries waiting to be solved. I read it in just one sitting, and I dreamed about the characters for more than a week after I finished the book.
I loved every single page of it. Since the very beginning, because, WHAT A START! Omg! You definitely have to give it a try, when you read the first 10 pages, I guarantee you, you won't be able to put it down. And I mean it. Because it's really difficult for me to find a book that can keep me on the edge of my sit, laughing out loud and worrying about the characters at the same time.

Plot and characters: In one hand we have Jacqueline, a really interesting character, a girl who has just started collage and who has made every decision about her life since her graduation, thinking about how it would affect her relationship with Kennedy, her high-school sweetheart. 
Jackie is really innocent, easy to love and caring and would've done anything for Kennedy. And then, out of the blue, Kennedy, who -from my point of view- is a completely asshole, decides that he wants to explore new horizons and Jacqueline is a liability in his desire to pursue the happiness and success he thinks he deserves. So, he dumped her. Leaving her clueless and regretful since she could have taken chances to pursue her musical career instead of choosing to be Kennedy's tail. 
On top of that, Kennedy's stupid best friends has been arousing Jacqueline, making it all worst. So, since then, she's kind of lost and trying to fit in a world where she used to belong just because of his ex. 
Now, with everything as it is, she's failing a class for the first time in her entire life and needs the help of a tutor. There's where Landon comes into play. He's smart and writes the most interesting emails to Jacqueline as her tutor. She haven't met him in person, but she waits anxiously for every reply to her emails. 
Then,  alongside, there's Lucas, a mysterious guy who sits in the back of her economics class  and who spends most of the classes drawing things on his notebook when he's not staring at Jacqueline, and the one who always seems to be around when she needs him the most. 
Besides, now that Jacqueline is finally single, she's able to look at Lucas with different eyes and she starts to notice how handsome he is. This two  guys seems to be like two sides of a coin. But they have much more in common than what Jackie could ever imagine.

Themes: I loved how the stalking, raping and bullying themes are treated in this book, don't be afraid, because this isn't an erotic kind of thing. The issue is addressed from a emotional point of view and it shows along the book the struggle and the way that Jacqueline has to overcome what had happened to her by helping other people that have went through similar situations.
This story has several great messages, about not giving up, about overcoming difficulties, about learning from your mistakes, about letting yourself trust someone else, it's beautiful in every sense of the word.

About the writing: The story is narrated in first person, from Jacqueline's point of view, which is great, because you can relate perfectly with her, knowing all her feelings and insecurities and overall she's a really believable character. I loved the writing, it is simple and familiar and the e-mails alternated with the prose give a very modern touch to the book.

I would recommend it for: Everyone. This is New Adult, but I didn't think it was too explicit, so I think anyone over 13 would understand it and enjoy it.

Rating:



Quotes:

“Love is not the absence of logic
but logic examined and recalculated
heated and curved to fit
inside the contours of the heart”

“Choosing to be with you, isn't a difficult decision, Jacqueline...It's easy. Incredibly easy.” 

“I wanted to tell you that I just--I miss you. And maybe that sounds ridiculous--like we barely know each other, but between the emails and texts and... everything else, I felt like we did. Like we do. and I miss--I don't know how else to say it--I miss both of you.” 

“You're full of contradictions, Ms. Wallace." 
I looked up at him and arched a brow. "I'm a girl. That's part of the job description, Mr. Maxfield.” 

“If someone had asked, "How does this compare to kissing Kennedy?" I would have answered, "Who?”

“The truth was, he now belonged only to my past, and it was time I begin to accept it, as much as it hurt to do so.” 



About the author:

I write romantic Mature Young Adult / New Adult fiction. 

EASY is my newest contemporary stand-alone novel. BETWEEN THE LINES is my contemporary series.  

Reading was one of my first and earliest loves, and writing soon followed. My first book was about a lost bear, but my lack of ability as an illustrator convinced me to abandon that effort and concentrate on passing 3rd grade. I wrote sad romantic poetry in high school and penned my first half-novel when I was 19, for which I did lots of research on Vikings (the marauders, not the football team). It was accidentally destroyed when I stuffed it into the shredder at work. 

Addictions: coffee and Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt. Also baby carrots, but not with coffee or frozen yogurt, because that would be disgusting. I love shopping for earrings, because they always fit - even if I occasionally forget to work out. I'm a hopeful romantic who adores novels with happy endings, because there are enough sad endings in real life.