Derailed Tour: Review and giveaway

Hi all! I am glad for the opportunity to participate in this book tour, hosted by AToMR Book Blog Tours.

Derailed by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Clayton Falls #1

260 pages – Contemporary, Fiction, New Adult

September 23, 2012- CreateSpace

http://www.alyssaroseivy.com/

Facebook: Yes

Twitter: @AlyssaRoseIvy

Source: The Publisher via AToMR Book Tours

Purpose: Part of the Blog Tour

Rating: M for Mature Audiences

Summary from GoodreadsWhen you're lost, sometimes the only place you can go is home. Broken over the death of her fiancé, Molly leaves law school to return to her childhood home in North Carolina. Expecting to lay low until she can figure out what else to do with her life, she finds herself in the arms of her high school sweetheart, the boy who represents everything from the past she tried to leave behind. Looking for an escape, she instead finds a way back to the girl she almost forgot existed and a future she never dreamed possible

My Thoughts: Occasionally I find a book that surprises me, sometimes making me glad I’m a book reviewer. This was one of those books. I know that I probably never would have discovered this book or this author any other way. I’m glad for the occasion.

                I was immediately pulled into the mystery of what happened to Adam and why she blamed herself. I knew he was dead, but was unsure of what part she played in it.  But that wasn’t enough to keep me reading. The main character, Molly, did that.  Sometimes she was annoying with her denial and secrets. But it wasn’t overbearing. I really felt for her, because she was obviously struggling but trying to survive. I like Clayton Falls and find that it would probably be a cool place to visit. But everyone knowing everything or wanting to know everything would drive me crazy.

                There were two –very different- guys who were interested in Molly, but it was clear that she was only interested in one of them. So there wasn’t much of a triangle, but I can’t say that she made the right choice. I can’t say that she didn’t either. For the most part, I like him.  There were a couple of quirks/traits of his that Molly found comforting, but I found kind of disturbing. In the back of my mind I kept thinking he was going to go too far and do something twisted.  But alas, not in this book at least.

                Derailed was a fun and a quick to read. The characters were well-developed and the plot engaging enough.

3 Stars ***

What's  Next: Veer

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Click link to check out the rest of the tour!

Always Shine, 

Starr K

Review: Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Book #1

Harlequin Teen – July 31, 2012

416 pages – Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary

http://www.katielmcgarry.com/

Twitter:  @ KatieMcGarry

Facebook: Yes

Source: The publisher via Netgalley

I received a digital galley, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Summary from Goodreads: No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again

My thoughts:

Echo Emberson has had a traumatic past with a life altering event that she can’t remember.  Noah Hutchinson has lost in his parents in a house fire and his two little brothers to the foster system. He wants to get her brothers back and be a family again.  Echo wants to remember the night that left her with so many angry scars. Both want normal - something that they may never have again.

                There were moments where I had to fight back tears, moments where I relaxed in brief moments of peace.  Pushing the Limits was a  roller coaster and kept the emotions flowing – never settling on one for too long.  I am not sure if I can write this review without gushing. I loved this book!! Usually characters are either good or bad. They may have tendencies of the opposite, but good guys are good and bad guys are bad. Happily, that was not the case with Pushing the Limits.  Here the characters were irrevocably human.  You see all of the secondary characters through the eyes of Echo or Noah, so you are shaded by their opinions and objections of each. Everyone comes to life, flawed and radiant.

                I think it was great seeing others through Echo and Noah. You don’t have to decide whether or not you like them, but you do learn to accept them as they are.  Something that Echo and Noah learns to do as well.

                Since it’s a given that I love this book, I won’t go on and on about what I like. I will talk about what works.  You meet Echo with a hole in her memory and scars on her body. She wants to know what happened in the hopes of gaining her life back.  Her parents, police and therapists all know but refuse to tell her.  In a short period of times Echo loses her brother Aires to Afghanistan and her mother to the depressive side of bi-polar. Her father, who seems to want nothing more than to control her life, is too absorbed with his new wife and unborn child. Echo feels that she needs to be perfect to win his love. All of this comes together to add an unsettling tension to the story of Echo’s life.  Without knowing the whole story of what has happened to Echo, you are just unsettled reading it as Echo is living it.

                Noah is a foster kid with limited supervised visits with his younger brothers. From his previous experiences, he has learned to not become attached to anyone  and to never trust adults. He carries the burden of a guilt-heavy secret with his little brother Jacob. He deeply fears that his youngest brother, Tyler, will forget him. He does everything he can to fight for the custody of his brothers.  Knowing about his family adds another layer onto Noah’s character and you can’t help but understand and care about what happens.

                Echo and Noah, like magnets, are instantly and passionately attracted and repelled to each other.  Where no one can truly accept them as they are, they are able to accept each other. Both feel as if they are not worthy of the other. Neither are completely prepared for the way that  their lives ar about to change. But neither was I.

                With everything that Echo and Noah  has experienced, I so wanted  a perfect happy ending.  I got something even better. It was warm and cozy, yet it was a flawed ending.  It was beautiful, believable and satisfying.  Because I am a pessimist at heart, I am glad Noah and Echo’s story ended where it did. Any world where Echo and Noah were not together would not be right.

What’s Next? Dare You to (Beth’s Story)

5 Stars *****

A 2012 favorite

Bonus: If you are in the Louisville, KY - Katie McGarry, Bethany Griffin, Kelly Creagh  and Julie Kagawa will be at Barnes & Noble in The Summit tomorrow from 6:30-8:30!

Cover Image

Always Shine,

Starr K

Review and Giveaway: Shallow

Thanks to AToMR Tours for allowing me to participate in the Going Under and Shallow Tours.  Below you will find a link to the tour list and other sites should definitely visit!

Shallow by Georgia Cates

Going Under #2 

September 21, 2012 - Amazon  Digital Services

261 pages - Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary Romance

http://www.georgiacates.com/

Facebook:  Yes

Twitter:  @GeorgiaCates

Source: Author via AToMR Tours

Read what this book is about here.. 

I received a digital copy of this book, free, in exchange for my honest review. 

I didn't struggle with the review for this one as much as I did with the first book, Going Under. In fact, I think that Payton Archer and Nick Hawke made better main characters than they did secondary characters.  Their personalities were a lot stronger and they were instantly more likable.  I also enjoyed getting a different perspective on Jessie and Claire, and realized that they looked so much better through Payton’s eyes.

This was a cute romance, one that I could honestly describe as sickly sweet. At moments it was over-the-top and other times it was that nice warm and fuzzy sweetness.  The whole fall-in-love instantly doesn’t gel with me, but I won’t hold it against the book.  After the sappy-happy ending in Going Under, I was kind of hoping for a darker ending.  The possibility was there and honestly, a darker ending would have totally bumped the rating for me. But I didn’t get my wish.

I can’t say that I loved this story or that I have even found a series I will definitely continue with. But I did like the story for the most part. Not to give anything away, there was a part in here that bothered me, the moment that they really should have walked away from each other.  (I think it bothered me more because it was never addressed again in the story.) The two biggest issues I have would be that it was too similar to the first book and again, there is a big confusion of lust for love.

Payton and Nick’s forceful personalities redeemed this book in so many ways and made it that much more enjoyable.

3 Stars ***
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Click here for more tour information!
Always Shine, 

Starr K