Month: November 2013

Review: Reality Boy by A.S. King

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RBI don’t read as much YA as I used to. However, sometimes you just have to feed a need! This book did not disappoint. I have never been a big fan of reality TV. This book pointed out many reasons why reality television isn’t necessarily a positive influence in the world. Especially when it comes to the stars of the show. It seems that instead of learning from the pain and heartache of what some of these shows have created, the public just wants more. Like a train wreak we are unable to tear our eyes away from.

This story is about Gerald Faust. He is an almost 17-year-old that is still known to the world as the young child that starred in a reality television series. Even though more than 10 years have gone by…even though much of the show took place when he was only 5 years old, he is still known, and judged by the events that the show chose to show the world. Just imagine how anyone can take a few minutes out of your week and sculpt them into what they want the world to see. Imagine that everyone judges you by those few minutes alone. You have no chance to show them the events that led up to those events. You have no chance to tell your side. No one is allowed to see how others treated you prior to those events. No one is allowed to see what happens after the events. Now imagine this is how you will be judged not only in that week, but in the rest of your life. Isn’t being a teenager hard enough?

I can’t really say that this book has a happy ending. I can’t say that you’ll fall in love with any of the characters. I can say that parts of it will make you sad. Parts of it will scare you. Parts of it will also make you angry. You’ll be reminded that we should not judge those that we do not know. You’ll be reminded that you’re not alone no matter how much you might feel that way….

Should you read this book? Yes! Turn off that damned telly and pull out this book. It was a quick read. It will have you wanting to hurry to the end to see how Gerald fairs in life. You will want his reality to be a happy ending! I won’t lie to you….this is based on reality tv…and just as reality is never “wrapped up in a pretty bow” at the end, this book won’t be either. Nothing is really ever perfect, is it? Some people never get the help that need. Some people never choose to face the hard facts…about those they love or about themselves….but sometimes, life does get better! Sometimes you do find positive people to surround yourself with. Life CAN get better…perhaps not perfect, but at least you can make changes that improve it….at least in this respect, this book is very much like “reality”

Enjoy! Until next time….

Urania xx

Reading copy obtained from Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now Reality Boy

Review: When I Look to the Sky, by Barbara S. Stewart

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“Cause when I look to the sky something tells me
you’re here with me
And you make everything alright

And when I feel like I’m lost something tells me
you’re here with me
And I can always find you when you are here”

-Train-

Oh my word….I need a minute…..

OK, I have sat here for two hours writing and deleting and writing again. This is the 5th time a book has made me wanna just type…It was awesome. I cried. Buy it. But that won’t do it justice, will it?

This is the second book in a trilogy. The first, Rock and Roll Never Forgets, was one of the ones I couldn’t write a review that was worthy of it. But I have to give this one a go. I’ll try not to spoil the first book by telling you of this one. But you REALLY must start from the beginning. You MUST!!! I’ll be buying these in print, because some of the proceeds go to The American Cancer Society. That makes me love these even more.

When I finished Rock and Roll, I was devastated. The last 25% of the book I spent crying. I won’t spoil it, but I will say, you may need tissues. The entire love story was so romantic and tragic. The love, that was shown, was overwhelmingly beautiful. I never wanted the story to end. I wanted to know what happens next.

But I admit, I was scared to read this one. After the last, I didn’t know if it was gonna live up to the emotions I felt. So I put it off for a while. But when I finally picked it up, I knew I wasn’t gonna be disappointed. And I knew I was gonna need tissues. 🙂 Just reading the beginning, I was already crying.

Carlee always felt loved by Andy. He gave her everything she ever needed or wanted. She’s been through a lot, in her young age, but her Papa was always there. And she loved him with all her heart. When Andy surprises her with a European vacation, she never imagined that it would bring her another man to love and change their lives forever.

While eating at their hotel, she meets Matthew. I loved the way we see him for the first time and get his view of her. He was instantly smitten and so sweet to her. Offering to be her tour guide, was perfect. 🙂 It was cute to see Andy find ways to have Matthew join them in their travels.

I loved all the point of views we see. This book shows us what everyone is feeling and seeing. But not in a confusing way. They have so many people in their lives and they all have a part to play. You see Andy as he is watching his sweet girl move farther from him and closer to another man. You watch Carlee experience everything for the first time. You see Matt try to be the best man he can, for his girl.

Watching Matt’s and Carlee’s romance reminded me of the good times between Andy and Carlee’s mom, Beth. They were very slow and sweet. Innocent kisses and hugs and long phone calls. Now, I love romances with a bit of sauce in them, but not every story needs that. I think if they rushed into things, it would’ve ruined it. They way they took their time to get to know each other was perfect. And when Matt needed Carlee, she jumped to his aid. They leaned on each other through the hard times and grew closer through the good.

“I think about more than ‘now’ when I look at you…I can’t wait for every tomorrow with you…”

Music played such major character in this series. I was constantly looking up the songs to listen while I read the scenes, which undoubtedly made me cry more. I’ll never hear “Unforgettable” without thinking of Andy.

DO YOU KNOW MEL?

The camp scenes were just so touching. I won’t say much more. I don’t want to spoil that part. But if I ever have a chance to be a part of something that amazing, I’m going to jump on it.

While we’re watching Matthew and Carlee’s love story we see Andy and Carlee’s love. They love each other so much it hurts. It’s been only them, for so long, he has to learn to let go of his little girl, and it breaks his heart.

“I’m going to bed now and cry myself to sleep…Wake me in the morning. I need a few more minutes alone with you before I share you with Matthew…forever.”

“Papa, I love you.”

“Carlee Elizabeth, you just don’t know.”

*wipes eyes*

After I typed all of this out, I read the last book, Feel Like Makin’ Love, and that was the perfect ending to a wonderful series. I am so glad I went straight to it, after this one. It answered the few questions I had. But really, I just needed closure. I needed to know that everyone was OK.

There is so much more I want to say, but it would spoil it, so I’ll leave you with this.

It was awesome.

I cried.

Buy it.

~Melpomene

Rock and Roll Never Forgets (The Rock and Roll Trilogy)

When I Look to the Sky (The Rock and Roll Trilogy)

Feel Like Makin’ Love (Rock and Roll Trilogy #3)

New Releases for November 5, 2013

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There are over 100 new releases today!! Narrowing them down, to list them here, was quite difficult. But I tried to find a few that would catch your attention.

14290364Champion: A Legend Novel
This is the final book in the Legend trilogy. I haven’t read these yet, but I’ve heard good things about it.

15831827Born Wild: Black Knights Inc.
Can we just stare at the cover for a bit?? This is #5 in the Black Knights Inc series. Another series that is sitting on my kindle waiting for me to start. *sigh*

15810107Rumor Has It (An Animal Magnetism Novel)
LOVE Jill Shalvis!!! But I’ve never read her Animal Magnetism series yet. They are sitting next to the Black Knights. 🙂

15704285Striking Distance (An I-Team Novel)
I can’t wait to read Javier’s story!!! I know it’s gonna be a good one.

17792606Mine (The REAL series)
My review of this will be on Friday, during the blog tour. Kinda geeked about that!!

17374029The Edge of Always
I actually posted my review already. Here’s the link for that. And here’s the rafflecopter link.

Don’t forget to go to our Facebook page and enter the first of my birthday month giveaways!!!

~Melpomene

Review: Margot by Jillian Cantor

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20131101-184210.jpgYou’d be hard-pressed to find an adult who hasn’t heard of Anne Frank. For many of us, her diary was likely required reading in high school. And some may even remember that Anne had an older sister, Margot. But how many people have considered what Margot’s perspective on their situation might have been? I’m guessing not more than a handful if any. I sure didn’t before reading this book.

This imaginative, and at the same time, historical novel by Jillian Cantor asks the reader to do just that. And, stretching your imagination even further, believe for the duration of the book that Margot was actually able to escape from Auschwitz and eventually make her way to America. The story opens with Margot, now known as Margie, living in Philadelphia several years after the war has ended. She has completely erased her identity and past as she tries to assimilate into a Gentile, American lifestyle. Fear is an overriding theme of Margie’s day to day life: fear of her Jewish heritage being uncovered, fear of being the target of an anti-Semitic attack, fear of having to face her conscience and the guilt she suffers daily at having survived while her sister did not.

To complicate matters further, the big screen version of her sister’s diary is now the talk of the town. Nobody close to Margie suspects the double life she is leading. Not her closest friend Shelby, and certainly not her boss, Joshua, who Margie develops feelings for in spite of her carefully constructed outer shell of a life. Margie is also haunted by memories of her teenage love, Peter, and the dilemma of whether he, too, may have survived and escaped to America.

Having never read anything by Jillian Cantor, I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this story. I’m always interested in a good historical fiction novel, especially one that deals with this era in history. As I read this book, I had to keep reminding myself that this was not a factual account of the Frank family’s experiences. The author does that great of a job pulling us into the story. The characters are well-developed, especially Margie who evoked such feelings of sympathy from me. My heart broke for this lonely young woman living such a solitary life with no family to comfort her other than her cat.

Margot will definitely go on my list of favorite historical fiction books. It offers a fresh take on an unfortunate time in our history. Five stars for me!

~ Thalia

Buy it Now: Margot: A Novel

Review: Archangel’s Legion by Nalini Singh

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15808767 I’ve gathered a few authors over the last few years or so that are complete auto buys for me ut as I get burned by each author I slowly have been dropping the auto buys. Just not worth the pain my bank account feels every time one of my much awaited books lets me down once again. But my romantic heart was sure that Nalini Singh would not let me down. For once I was not wrong!!

Singh writes the Psy-Changeling books of which there are 12 so far and all beloved by me. But my favorite of hers is the Guild Hunter series. The world in this series is dark and gritty and a hard one to live in, all of the characters have an intense back story that one glimpse makes you want to know everything about their past. Book #6 Archangel’s Legion is an excellent addition to the stories in the series that have come before this one.

Elena returns as the heroine and the reason I love these books so much. She is a fierce warrior and although she’s lost a lot in her young young life, she is the Archangel’s Consort and is definitely up for the task. There is upheaval in the angelic world as the Archangel’s are evolving and getting additional powers that are unexpected to all. When angels drop from the sky without warning and the vampires in Raphael’s territory begin to get ill from tainted blood, answers need to be found.

This was a fantastic addition to the growing series. The world remains just as cold, dark and gritty as always, which is what I wanted to see. With each book that comes out and as one more person in this world gets their HEA there is always the fear that the edge of that hero or heroine will be gone. That has not been the case with these characters at all. While Dmitri has gotten his HEA, he certainly doesn’t seem to be any less blood thirsty or will to defend the Archangel.

The most surprising and unexpected part of this book was the humor. It’s definitely not something I would ever associate with Raphael or even this world. Elena has a dark sense of humor we often get to see come out when she is with her best friend Sara or with her other Hunters like Ransom but in this book we see the Archangel himself and the other angels be funny for once.

“Wave to the nice tourists, Sparkle. I promise it won’t cause pestilence and firestorms.”
Elena bit the inside of her cheek at Aodhan’s glare-she’d never seen anyone crack his reserved shell. “Sparkle and Bluebell, nice.”
“Never,” Aodhan said, hands stubbornly on the girder, “ever repeat that. Illium seems to have forgotten I promised to separate his tongue from his mouth should he utter it again in this immortal lifetime.”

Raphael gets into the bantering with Elena, which caused me to giggle more than a few times. But the one thing the series does well and always has done well is action. This is action packed and the last quarter of the book had me unable to put the book down and had me telling my husband to SHUSH while I finished. I highly recommend this series and this is a great addition to it. Then again, I highly recommend anything Nalini Singh writes ever. She is quickly becoming that author that never lets me down. Ever.

5 stars.

~Clio

Buy it Now Archangel’s Legion (Guild Hunter)