Thursday 29 August 2013

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

Which is more important? Quality for your reading? Or quantity?

Quality for sure!  What's the point of reading millions of books if you're not taking the time to really enjoy and absorb them.  Plus if they're all crap it's kind of a waste of time.
Now as a book blogger and vlogger I need to have content for my posts, but I want that content to be worth it.

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Fight With Me by Kristen Proby (With Me In Seattle #2)

Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 451 KB
  • Print Length: 276 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1482332574
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Jules Montgomery is too busy and content with her life to worry about a man, especially one Nate McKenna. If growing up with four brothers has taught her anything, she knows to stay away from sexy men with tattoos and motorcycles. That goes double if he's your boss. During the one incredible night they shared, he violated the no fraternization policy...among other things, and it won't happen again. Jules won't risk her career for mind-blowing sex, no matter how much her body and her damn heart keep arguing with her. 

    Nate McKenna could give a shit about the no fraternizing policy. He wants Jules and he'll have her. The rules could bend around them, or be damned. He's not a man to be taken lightly, and Jules Montgomery is about to find out just how he responds to being pushed aside after the best night of sex he's ever had. She can fight all she wants, but he'll have her in his bed in the end.
Cover:Another sweet and sexy cover.  Love it.

After reading book 1 I knew I wanted to carry on with the series.  And I enjoyed this one even more than Come Away With Me.  
Mostly because of Nate.  I'm a sucker for a hot, tattooed guy, and he...well...yum.
The romance was hot, Jules and Nate were a great couple.
I completely devoured this, reading it in just a day.
My only issue is that I felt I would just be getting to the plot, it would just be driving forward, when suddenly it all dissolves into sex.  That's ok once or twice, but it's all the time.
Over all 4/5 stars.  I did thoroughly enjoy it but got bored of all the sex scenes.  I think less would have been more.  Plus I wanted more of Nate' POV. Again we only got it in the epilogue.   

Sunday 25 August 2013

Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 281 KB
  • Print Length: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (10 Jun 2013)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Rush promised her forever... but promises can be broken.

    Torn between his love for his family and his love for Blaire, Rush has to find a way to save one without losing the other. In the end one has to be more important. Letting go isn’t easy.

    Blaire believed in her fairytale... but no one can live in a fantasy.

    Her love for Rush and desire to have a family keep her believing that they can find a way for this to work. Until she has to make the right decision for her and the baby. Even if it breaks her heart.

    Can they find the forever that they both want or has it all just gone... too far?
  • Cover:  Freaking love this cover!  I love all the covers for this series.  Like I've said like a million times before- I love cute/sexy/romantic covers, and coupled with the fact that this is how I picture Rush and Blaire=perfection.  I'm actually dying to get my hands on the US paperback when it comes out, because I DESPISE the UK covers for this series, and not only this series, but all of Abbi's books.  For some reason they've given them the '50 Shades' treatment and they're dull.  But I couldn't wait for the paperback release- I NEEDED IT NOW.
This review might be spoilery if you haven't read the first two, but then even the synopsis gives away major stuff so it's not my fault.
Ok so yeah I was dying to get my hands on this.  I LOVED the first two books so I was desperate to see how Rush and Blaire's story ended, and I wasn't disappointed!
I really love Rush and Blaire as a couple so was really rooting for them in this.  It was a super sweet and cheesy conclusion.
Nan.  I hate her.  I am sick of her selfish bitchiness and don't think I will ever be able to sympathise with her.
We were introduced to a new character, Harlow, and I'm super excited to see more of her in the spin offs because she's different to all the other characters we've met so far in that she's really reserved, shy and bookish.
Over all I freaking loved this.  I devoured it in a single day and loathed any interruptions to me reading.
4.5/5 stars!
Oh and did I mention there's a song to go along with the book.  I even love this and am playing it ALL. THE. TIME.


Thursday 22 August 2013

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

We all know the beauty of reading a really wonderful book for the first time—when everything about the story and the writing and the timing click to make a reader’s perfect storm … but it’s fleeting, because you can never read that book for the first time again.
So … if you could magically reset things so that you had the chance to read a favorite book/series again for the first time … which would you choose? And why?
And then, since tastes change … Do you think it would have the same affect on you, reading it now, as it did when you read it the first time? Would you love it just as much? Would you risk it?

Ohhh tough.  There are so many books that reading them for the first time was amazing.
I think though I would love to read Ella Enchanted for the first time again.
I remember I was about 13 when I read it, and I was close to the end, and tension was obviously building for the ending, when my mum said 'bed time' and I just couldn't.  I had to stay up til the end because I was so engrossed and Invested in the story.  So experiencing that again would be fantastic.

I would also say Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone because her writing is so poetic and lyrical, different from anything I've ever read before, so I'd like to experience coming across that for the first time again.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Beauty and the Beast by Jenni James

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 375 KB
  • Print Length: 260 pages
  • Publisher: StoneHouse Ink; 2 edition (20 May 2013)
  • A prince by day and a wolf by night—

    Prince Alexander has been turned into a werewolf and has one year to find someone to love the beast and break the spell, or he will be a wolf forever. He has nearly given up achieving the impossible, knowing no girl would ever fall in love with such a monster.

    Just when he is about to abdicate the throne to his cousin, he meets Cecelia Hammerstein-Smythe, while a wolf, and begins to hope for the first time in months. Can he balance both worlds as a human and beast, gaining the love and trust of a girl who has every reason to despise him?

    Cecelia detests the prince. She only knows Alexander as the arrogant monarch—the tyrant who has made her life miserable—though perhaps he's changed right before her eyes. He's not as full of himself as he once was. The prince is gentle now... but then again, so is the beast.
  • Cover: I love this cover.  I love the medieval feel it has, the dress, rose and what looks like castle walls.
Like many of you, I grew up with fairy tales and Disney movies, and to this day love them.  So I'm always on the look out for re-tellings.
Particularly of Beauty and the Beast, because it's my favourite.
I really enjoyed this one.  It's a quick, cute read.  Reading it in just a day.
I loved the premise of the prince being cursed to turn into a wolf each night, and his interactions with Cecelia were really interesting.
I did think it read a little young, and some of the flowery dialogue was a tad cringey at times.  I think the fast pace was detrimental to the romance side of it- it resulted in it being unbelievable.  I wish it was slowed down and we got to see the relationship develop a little more.
I liked the protagonists.  The prince more so as I felt Cecelia came across as superficial for the first three quarters.
I also I didn't get a feel for the setting, it was never really mentioned, just 'a village'.
Over all I really enjoyed reading it, a perfect light, fluffy read and I will definitely continue with the series.
3.5/5 stars.

Monday 19 August 2013

The School For Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks (6 Jun 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007492936
A dark and enchanting fantasy adventure perfect for girls who prefer their fairytales with a twist.

Every four years, two girls are kidnapped from the village of Gavaldon. Legend has it these lost children are sent to the School for Good and Evil, the fabled institution where they become fairytale heroes or villains.

Sophie, the most beautiful girl in town, has always dreamed of her place at the School for Good while her friend Agatha, with her dark disposition seems destined for the School for Evil. But when the two are kidnapped they find their fortunes reversed…

Cover: Freaking love this cover!  It's one of the prettiest covers on my shelves.  Absolutely stunning.

I think my expectations may have been too high for this one.  Everything about this called to me.  I love everything fairytale related so obviously this was one I was going to pick up.
I loved the concept- a fairytale school for heroes and villains.  But I found the pacing quite slow, especially for a middle grade read.  I feel it needed to kick in much quicker.  It didn't have that 'I-can't-put-this-book-down-because-everything-it-going-down' feeling.  I think the writing didn't match the fantastic concept.  The writing felt bland, and it didn't flow very well.  Suddenly I wouldn't have a clue what was going on, so I had to backtrack. 
There's a 'Hunger-Games' feel to it, with 2 children being taken to the school to compete in trials and challenges.
I felt the 'Good' students came across as vain and shallow, and sometimes, bitchier than the 'Evil' students.  I didn't take to them, but I loved the Evil students, particularly Dot, who I felt really sorry for.  The Princes...totally useless.  I love Princes in fairytales, cliche, but I do.  This totally killed that for me.
It was totally obvious from the start which of the two girls was good and who was evil, so it was so frustrating that it was dragged out.  I was like COME ON IT'S BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS. 
I loved Agatha's character, but Sophie, I actually despised her.  You know, how you can love a villain in a book, but I couldn't stand her from start to finish.
The ending...I didn't like it at all.  It was a total...whaaaaaaat???  Considering the build up to the end, it's not a small book, just shy of 500 pages, it was disappointing.
I do think I will enjoy the movie that is coming out more.  It's reads with great movie potential, but I think the book could have been better.
2.5/5 stars.

Thursday 15 August 2013

Booking Through Thrusday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

I’ve asked before how you feel about lending your books. I’ve asked how you feel about libraries. But—how do you feel about borrowing books from friends? Is this something you like to do? Does it make you feel uncomfortable or rushed while reading? Does it affect how you feel about the book you’re reading, pressured into liking it?

I don't like to, because I personally don't lend books out.  So I feel like I don't want to be a hypocrite. 
But one of my bookish friends hasn't taken no for an answer when she wants to push a book she particularly loved on me.  
I do feel like I have to make it a priority when a friend has lent me book, because I want to give it back to them, because I don't like having something that's not mine for a long period of time.

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Frigid by J.Lynn

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 706 KB
  • Print Length: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary (15 July 2013)
  • For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn't anything new. They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the 'man' in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to risk their friendship by declaring her love. 

    Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feelings he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have. 

    But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.
  • Cover: Just the kind of cutesy, romantic cover I adore.
I've read two other Jennifer L. Armentrout books so far (Cursed and Wait For You), and I loved both, so knew I wanted to get and read Frigid.
I was so excited, and I wasn't disappointed.
The pacing was fantastic, as soon as I picked it up, I was hooked.
The attraction between Syd and Kyler is so adorable, and electric, and you really do want them to open their eyes and get together!
I love Jennifer's ability to create characters that feel 100% real- it's something I've found with each of her books I've read so far.  Her characters thoughts and reactions feel realistic, and relatable.
For me, Wait For You has the edge of Frigid.  Don't get me wrong, I freaking loved both, buuuuut I just loved Cam in Wait For You.  He was more my kinda guy.  It takes a lot for me to really 'love' a man whore character like Kyler, and I was wholly won over.
I really enjoyed the stuck-in-a-cabin-while-someone-terrorises-them aspect, shooting out the windows, cutting generator wires, etc.
Over all I thoroughly enjoyed this, blasting through it in just one day.
I will totally reread this at some point.
Jennifer Armentrout has definitely secured herself as one of my favourite authors.
4.5/5 stars.

Monday 12 August 2013

Beneath an Irish Sky by Isabella Connor [Review + Interview]

  • Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Choc Lit (7 Aug 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1781890048
  • Jack Stewart thought he'd put the past behind him. On the surface, he has everything success, money, a big house and he is never short of an attractive woman by his side, but a tragic road accident shatters Jack's world. 

    Raised as an Irish Traveller, Luke Kiernan hasn't had it easy, and when he wakes in a Dublin hospital to find the man he's hated since childhood at his bedside, he's hungry for revenge.Two very different worlds collide, bringing new dangers, exposing past deceits, and unearthing dark family secrets buried long ago. But from tragedy springs the promise of a fresh start with two women who are intent on helping Jack and Luke mend their lives.

    Can new love heal old wounds, or are some scars there for good?
  • Cover:  I neither love or hate this cover.  
Firstly Isabella Connor is a pen name for Liv Thomas and Val Oltenau.  Normally I'm wary of co-written novels.  I often find them jarring or incohesive. 
That was not the case with this novel.  It flowed so well from the very first page, to the last.  The pacing was excellent- you're hooked from page one, and the mystery and drama is kept up throughout.
I loved Luke's character.  He really is a sweet guy, brought up in horrific circumstances, and all he wants is justice for his mother.
Jack is struggling with a grief for a wife he thought he hated but soon finds out there may have been different reasons for Annie leaving him than what he was led to believe.
I did have some issues in that the reason that Annie disappeared, while tragic, I do feel something would have been said.  I didn't find it 100% believable - if they were so much in love, I feel she would have said something.
Plus at the end, when all the family secrets are revealed- I wanted to see more of the results.  The fallout.  I wanted to see the bad guys get their just rewards.  So that left me wanting. 
Over all I thoroughly enjoyed this, and really liked the combination of the Irish Travelling community meeting the snobbery of English aristocracy. 
A little light on the romance for me, but definitely worth picking up.
4/5 stars.
Interview

Hi Erin, thank you for inviting us to be on your blog. ‘Beneath an Irish Sky’ has been a labour of love for five years, and we’re so excited to finally see it in print. We hope people enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.
-Liv and Val-

“Beneath an Irish Sky” by Isabella Connor
(pen-name of Val Olteanu and Liv Thomas)



Liv Thomas lives in England. Val Olteanu lives in Canada. They met on a Tolkien fan forum and decided to write a novel together. Despite living more than 4,000 miles apart (and with an 8-hour time difference), they succeeded in producing their debut novel, ‘Beneath an Irish Sky,’ which is now available as eBook and paperback. They write under the pen-name of Isabella Connor and are already deep into co-authoring their second novel.


1. Who came up with the initial idea for ‘Beneath an Irish Sky’?


Liv: I came up with the basic idea, but it developed rapidly once Val became involved, so much so that by the time we shared our ideas we ended up with a 240k word story, and then spent a year re-writing it because it was too long for any publisher – which we learned too late!


2. What was the hardest part of co-writing ‘Beneath an Irish Sky’?


Val: The hardest part was the time difference. I’m on the west coast of Canada and Liv is in England, so we’re eight hours apart. When I’m going to bed, she’s waking up. That meant phone calls during the week were out, and everything had to happen via e-mail, which took longer. I’m not dissing e-mail, though – if we’d been collaborating a hundred years ago, we’d have had to use snail mail and it would have taken us twenty years to co-write this novel!


3. How did you resolve any writing disputes?


Liv: Cyber arm-wrestling.  We would each voice our thoughts on whatever the issue was and try to convince the other. We had a few Mexican stand-offs but
generally if one of us was insistent, the other would recognize that they were probably right. I don’t recall any issues where neither of us would compromise. Eventually. 



4. What do you think people look for in a book?


Val: There are so many different kinds of people and so many different kinds of books that it’s really impossible to generalise. Sometimes I want to read something light and entertaining; other times I want to be challenged and encounter new ideas and have my view of the world shaken up a bit. I do think, though, that most people crave connection. We spend our lives isolated in our own heads, so it’s a wonderful thing when you meet a character in a novel who thinks the way you do or who has had a similar experience to your own. That’s particularly important for children and young people, whose sense of self and belonging can be very fragile.


5. Who is the dream cast for your novel?


Liv: When we started writing it we had very specific ideas. Jack was definitely Sean Bean, but Sean has probably outgrown him now! Jonas Armstrong is perfect for Matt, but Val and I will have to go to Ireland to search for Luke. He has to be exactly right. We’ve also got Charles Dance, Helen Mirren, and Julie Walters lined up.


6. What advice would you give aspiring writers?


Val: Write the kind of book that you would like to read. Don’t try to be too clever – a scene pared down to essentials and characters displaying honest emotions will resonate with a reader more. Do your research about publishers – think of it as online dating – for a working relationship to be fruitful, you and your publisher will have to be on the same page (no pun intended!).

Saturday 10 August 2013

Book Haul/In My Mailbox 9/8/13



Fevered Souls by S.K. Falls [Blogtour] Excerpt


  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 613 KB
  • Print Length: 216 pages
  • After I left for college, I thought I’d never see Eden again. But I found myself headed back four years later, destitute and unable to find a job anywhere else. Still, I was adamant nothing would keep me there for long.

    Then I met the intoxicating Dax Allard. Copper-colored eyes, skin that emanated an exceptional heat, and a host of strange talents… It wasn't long before I was drunk on him.

    But Dax’s past was darker than mine, teeming with ancient secrets. Falling for him could cost me my life.

    I had two choices: walk away or deal with the perilous consequences.

    It was no choice at all.

    --

    Fevered Souls Season 1 is the omnibus of the first season of the Fevered Souls serial novel.

    Episodes included: Possession, Betrothal, Illumination, Initiation, and Judgment.
Excerpt

Dax wore a dark button down shirt and jeans that rode low on his hips, his golden skin flushed with pleasure. His eyes held mine steadily and constantly without any qualms, not at all like humans who had to look away every four seconds during a conversation. But he didn't follow any such norms. Dax stared at me like he wanted to devour me. And I liked it.
"I’m kidnapping you," he whispered, his breath sweet and tantalizing. His pupils dilated as he said the words, his scorching hands running up and down my arms. My skin, through layers of fabric, seemed to blaze as if it were on fire.
I struggled to maintain a semblance of rational thinking but my hormones were taking over, that incredible electric attraction between us incinerating any resolve I had to not show just how badly I wanted him. I leaned in farther, pressing my body against his.
The heat was overpowering. It felt like stepping into a sauna, or too close to a bonfire. In the chilly night, it was the most delicious pleasure. "Why?" I asked finally, making sure to inject some pique into the question. I knew stepping back just a touch would make my point much better than my body pressed up against his, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. My need for him was physical, mental, spiritual. "At my mom's house, you didn't seem to..." I trailed off, blinking and looking away as his hands stilled on my elbows.
"What?" He asked, his voice low but urgent. "Seem to what?"
The stupid lump was back in my throat. "I wanted to kiss you," I whispered, my gaze automatically going to his perfect, velvet lips and then back up to his eyes. "But you didn't even want to be near me." I swallowed, my voice cracking pathetically on the last part of my sentence.
His hands tightened just the slightest bit around my elbows then, and I could tell he was restraining himself, trying hard not to be too rough with me. His jaw was tense, his expression somewhere between fury and sorrow. "Are you distressed? Because of me?"
I sighed and leaned my head against his chest, my heart thumping wildly when he didn't move away or make me stop. His own heart was trotting along, much faster than any human’s heart would ever be. Heat blazed through the fabric of his shirt and almost singed my skin.
"Not because of you," I murmured. "Because of myself. I just...I want you so badly. And I don't just mean in the physical sense, although that's enough to drive me crazy." I chuckled softly, but he was quiet, waiting for me to continue. "I guess it's because of the betrothal thing, but it's like I can't function without thinking of you. You're on my mind all the damn time. When you're near me, I want to be touching you, I want to be with you, connected to you.
And then, when I tried to kiss you, you backed away. I knew then that—" I cleared my throat, embarrassed. "I knew then that you don't feel the same way. Your...I know you called it love, but I'm not sure if it is, not in the human sense anyway. In any case, your feelings for me aren't as ardent as mine are for you." His hands tightened a little again, and in spite of the sharp pain in my elbows, I continued. "I shouldn't find that so incredibly hurtful, honestly. You're...you're on another plane, Dax. You're beautiful, immortal, perfect. And I'm just me. It's natural that you wouldn't—"
"Stop." He didn't raise his voice, but it was undeniably a command. I pulled my head back to look at him. His jaw was clenched, his eyes on fire. "Don't ever say that."
"Say what?" I asked, intimidated by the way he was looking at me—livid, upset, furious.
"That I'm not as ardent as you are. That my love"—he practically stamped the word into my mind with the force he used to say it—"is anything less than what humans experience." He pulled me closer, his hands on my lower back. He dipped his head so our lips were just barely touching, his velvet skin whispering against mine as he spoke. "You. Are. My. Betrothed."

Thursday 8 August 2013

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

All other things being equal (good writing, enthralling story, etc), which would you rather read—something serious, angsty, and tragic? Or something light, fluffy, and fun? Or a blend of both? (Since, really, isn’t that how real life works?)

Hmmm ideally a little bit of both works perfectly- things like Heart On A Chain by Cindy C. Bennett, Wait For You by J. Lynn and Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry are the perfect mix for me- serious undertones and tackling serious issues, but also some romance in there.

Tuesday 6 August 2013

A Touch of Midnight by Lara Adrian

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 314 KB
  • Print Length: 184 pages
  • Savannah Dupree is halfway across the country from her Louisiana bayou hometown, a freshman studying at Boston University on a full scholarship. But academic excellence is only one of Savannah’s gifts. She possesses something even more remarkable than her quick mind and insatiable curiosity for learning. With a simple touch, Savannah can see an object’s past—a skill that puts her life in danger, when her studies bring her into contact with a centuries-old English sword and the secret hidden within the blade’s history: the vicious murders of twin boys by a group of fanged creatures borne of the worst kind of nightmare.

    In all his three hundred years of living as one of the Breed, vampire warrior Gideon never dreamed he’d see the blade again that spilled his young brothers’ lives ages ago on that blood-soaked night in London. Ever since the boys’ deaths, Gideon’s been on a personal quest to rid the world of Rogue vampires, but now he can’t help wondering if the brutal slayings of his only kin was something more sinister—an act perpetrated by an unknown enemy. An enemy who is apparently living in hiding somewhere in Boston. There’s one certain way to prove Gideon’s suspicion, but it will mean using innocent, gifted Savannah to help uncover the full truth—a truth that will shatter everything she knows about herself and the world around her. And with danger closing in from all sides, the passion that ignites between Gideon and Savannah will tempt them to risk their hearts and lives for a love that might just last an eternity…

    This novella, a prequel to the Midnight Breed series, was previously published in its entirety in The Midnight Breed Series Companion (May 2013)
  • Cover:  I don't love the cover.  I don't hate it.  It is what it is.
  • From the very beginning of the Midnight Breed series I've wanted to read Gideon and Savannah's story!  And now we have it!
  • I was so excited for this.
  • I totally loved it!  I fell in love with Gideon in this one.  And it was great to see more of Savannah, as I don't feel we see enough of her in the series.
  • The action, the romance- everything was spot on.
  • I do wish there had more more of it.  I feel Gideon and Savannah deserved a full length novel, but I'll take what I can get.
  • Over all it was a great little read, and a must read for any Midnight Breed fan.
  • 4.5/5 stars.

Saturday 3 August 2013

Waiting For The Storm by Marie Landry [blogtour]


  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 381 KB
  • Print Length: 205 pages
Seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved. 

After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…

Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?


Cover: A nice, simple, relevant cover.

A novel about loss, life and love.
I really enjoyed this one.  It was a really sweet novel about a family trying to cope with their mum passing away but drifting apart.  They carry out her last wish by renovating a holiday house she would visit and loved when she was younger.
I really loved Charlotte's character.  I felt I could relate to her.  She's very bookish, loving to curl up and escape into a book, and starts blogging for the local library.  Obviously she was going to strike a chord with me.
The romance aspect was sweet.  I really liked Ezra.  They really are 'two peas in a pod'.  While their friendship was great, I didn't feel any great chemistry between them, so I wish there had been more to make the romance 'gel' a bit more.
I think the grief process was tackled really well in this book.  Each one of the family deals with it in a different way- her dad becomes 'Zombie Dad', her sister Ella acts out, and Charlotte's sleep patterns are effected, after taking care of her mom for such a long time she can't break it.
I definitely recommend giving this one a try.
3/5 stars.

Thursday 1 August 2013

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

Do you have a preference between “person” in the books you read? Do you prefer third-person to first-person? Or don’t you care?
And … why??

For me, I don't really have a preference.  As long as the author writes the character in a way in which I can relate to the character, I really don't mind.

I do freaking love when books have dual perspectives in first person though.  Big fan of that, because I feel that it makes the story that bit more well rounded as we're getting info from both sides kind of thing.