Book Review and Recommendation: Still Life With Strings (5 Stars)

Still Life With Strings

L.H. Cosway

     My first book by L.H. Cosway was Painted Faces, which I LOVED, and so I just had to go and read every single other book she has ever written. That's when I found THIS baby here. I mean, just look at that COVER!!! It gives me chills! Butterflies in the stomach!! Makes my heart squeeze painfully with its beauty/peacefulness/promise.

    Now, let me tell you: the actual book has everything this perfect cover conveyed!! A super talented hottie with a dramatically painful past. I mean, the violin!? THAT IS THE MOST ROMANTIC INSTRUMENT EVAH!!

And our heroine!!! Cosway ALWAYS hits the mark with them! They're ordinary women, but with a TWIST! She "stands still for money". Isn't that intriguing? And admirable. I couldn't do it. :) (But then again I don't have a problematic/charming family to support). ;D

   And when they MEET!!! Woooeh. Sparks flew from my book!! Suuuuuuuuper sexy and unexpected! They are so cute and adorable and difficult and painful together! I simply fell in love with them! Also, let's not forget the music! The way it was described, the things the characters felt while playing/listening to it... it almost brought tears to my eyes! It was as if I was there. :D I've always enjoyed classic music, and the violin was always my favorite (am I repeating myself?), but Cosway made me see things under a different light now. Things just got much more... enjoyable and special.

    Not many books will actually manage to touch you, or to change you a little bit, like this one. I couldn't possibly recommend this author MORE!!!

*I wasn't paid to write this and used my own copy for review. XD*

This book is now available in this special ebook bundle, Rockers After Dark.

Early Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

If You Find Me
by Emily Murdoch

There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Publication Date: March 26th, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Format: eARC, 256 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

______________________________

My Review

I have to admit that I chose to read this book because I saw somewhere that it was a survival story. And it was. But not in the sense I thought it would be. I expected to see people having to fend for themselves in the middle of the woods, all Hunger Games-like or something... but it was a different kind of survival. A much sadder and realistic one. Two girls had to survive their own mother and the terrible things she did to them. All the things she let others do to them.

Carey raised her little sister by herself, because she learned a long time ago not to count on her bipolar/meth-addict mother. A mother who only cared about making enough money for drugs, a woman who could not be bothered to bring food home for her children, or clothes, or even NOT bring strange, disgusting men over to rape her 7 year-old (until she finally got her period at 13) for pocket change to buy drugs.

Carey is, not surprisingly, extremely mature for her 14 years-old. She would do anything to protect her baby sister, Jenessa. So when a woman from Social Services and a strange man (who looks somewhat familiar) show up in the middle of the forest looking for them, she's ready to fight. But there's nothing she can do. If she wants to keep her sister close, she has to live with this man. Her father. The one her mother said was the reason they had to run away years ago.

Now the two sisters have to learn how to live with the comforts and novelties of modern life. Clean, comfortable, warm clothes. A nice place to sleep. Food whenever they're hungry. Running water. This is all heaven for them, but this new life won't be easy. There's a stepmother involved. Oh, and a very jealous stepsister. And let's not forget about high school. And boys. If only Carey didn't have so much to hide...

This was such a sad, sad book. I loved the way it was narrated. I could almost hear Carey's voice, with her accent and all the missing g's and es's ('don't it?' 'runnin' '). It was such a melodic, dreamy, sad narration. It broke my heart from the start, because I just knew there was something bad to be discovered. 

I wanted to kill Carey's mother. What a freaking monster! How can someone do those things to her own children? Ok, I get it, she was sick AND on drugs, but seriously? Completely unacceptable. At the end of this book I found myself very mad with the opposite sex. I can't even begin to describe how satifying it was to me to read what she did to that rapist. 

Anyway... it was very heart-warming to see them adapt to their new, love-filled life. If anyone deserved it, it was them. I loved this book. I really did. Even if Carey, a girl who lived in the woods ever since she as a child, without proper nutrients and hydration, with next to no protection from the elements, under constant stress and all, being described as 'OMG, the most amazingly beautiful girl ever, she should be on cover of magazines and movies'. That was completely unnecessary to the story and quite unrealistic, but I'm going to let that go. The rest of the book was terrific, so there you go.

*I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Mini-Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins

Published December 2nd 2010 by Dutton

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Publication Date: Dec 2nd, 2012

Publisher: Dutton

Format: e-book, 372 pages 

Series: no

Source: My Kindle

_________________________________

My Review

I started this book a couple of weeks ago. It didn't instantly grab my attention, so I put it aside and read a handful of other books until I finally came back to it.

For the first 1/3 of this book I honestly had trouble figuring out what people saw in it. Really. So much fuss for this? >.> Until I realized that I had fallen for Etienne without even noticing.

Yup. I read this one right after finishing Twenties Girl, which means I still had some feelings remaining in my heart due to the PMS and all that (LOL), so I sort of cried while reading this one, too. Embarrassing enough, I even felt my heart tightening when Anna and Etienne kept hurting each other.... very emo, believe me, I am aware. Damn you, hormones!

But I digress. Oh, Paris. Your magic got to me. Suddenly I could relate to Anna (and started to crave a trip to those lovely tourist attractions) and wanted Etienne for myself.

This one was a lovely, light read that, at the same time, managed to approach some very serious issues, such as divorces, controlling and unloving parents, the tale of first love, the difficulty in ending a relationship because it's 'safe', how to forgive your friends and accept your flaws/admit your mistakes, and, of course, trying to find your place in the world. See, I told you my PMS made me sentimental. It apparently also makes me philosophical. But don't get used it to it.

Anna and the French kiss was an adorable read, and now I have to go and look for 'Lola and the Boy Next Door'. I hear it's just as cute. :P

P.S: Totally out of topic here, but don't you LOVE Perkins' blue highlights in this picture??? *-* I so wish I could pull it off.

Quickie Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack

Losing It
by Cora Carmack

Published October 12th 2012

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

Genre: New Adult, Adult, Contemporary

Publication Date: Oct 12th 2012

Publisher: the author

Format: ebook, 204 pages 

Series: no

Source: My Kindle

________________________________

My Review

With a title and cover like these, how could I possibly stay away from this book? Day-am. I got it as quickly as I could and, ignoring my pile of TBR books waiting in line to be read this year, set up to read it. Because I just couldn't wait.

Losing It was a lovely read. *-*

And, strangely enough, I don't know what much else to say about it. Wait, yes I can. It all comes down to this:

Garrick.

Tall, yummy, sexy, youngish, deliciously built, kind-hearted, blue-eyed, British-accented Garrick. 

I loved that guy. And so did the main character, Bliss, aka, the sacrificing Virgin.

My main issue with this book was that, after the first couple of chapters, things just became sort of unbelievable to me.

They met at the bar, had a lovely discussion about Shakespeare (be still my heart), and we could instantly see that they clicked, that the chemistry was there and was more than right, that they had so much in common, that things were starting to fall into place, that here was no love at first sight, but that it was obviously right around the corner, and that if only they gave it a try... but BAM. Bliss puts a stop to things right before she gives up her V-card to the perfect guy, Garrick. Even after promising she would give it up as soon as possible, regardless of the taker. 

I could not get past that. How could she not go through with it? She was comfortable in her skin, with what they were doing, she was comfortable with HIM and he was a perfect gentleman. What else could she want? So, okay, he was, technically, still a stranger. I just feel that a lot of trouble and unnecessary drama could have been avoided... but then again, if she had gone through with it, there would have been no book. :P

Bliss was sweet, but felt very immature and whiny to me, especially for someone just about to graduate from college. I liked her name, though. It wasn't overly common, nor was it too cheesy nor weird. Her friends were all very interesting characters, but the rest of the story could not hold my interest. I found myself flipping the pages on my Kindle to see what would happen after, and did not stop very often on my way to the ending, to be honest.

Well, what else can I say about this book that I read in fastforward mode? The hot scenes were pretty hot, I have nothing to complain about those AT ALL. There were some stereotypes from YA in the book that pissed me off, even if this is what people are now calling new Adult (I guess it's just a sort of grown-up, sexualized YA). The couple spent most of their time avoiding each other, then getting stuck in misunderstandings and hurting each other, then getting together again... that was annoying. Oh, and they didn't talk much, ergo, the misunderstandings. Also, the ending was almost too perfect, I think.

All in all, it was worth it for the steamy parts, but the rest really didn't work for me. But if you're looking for something fresh and light, this might be perfect for you.

Early Review: Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield

Hanging by a Thread
by Sophie Littlefield

Expected publication: September 11th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Summer is the best part of the year in Winston, California, and the Fourth of July is the highlight of the season. But the perfect town Clare remembers has changed, and everyone is praying that this summer will be different from the last two—that this year's Fourth of July festival won't see one of their own vanish without a trace, leaving no leads and no suspects. The media are in a frenzy predicting a third disappearance, but the town depends on tourist dollars, so the residents of Winston are trying desperately to pretend nothing's wrong.

And they're not the only ones hiding something.

Clare, a seamstress who redesigns vintage clothing, has been blessed—or perhaps cursed—with a gift: she can see people's pasts when she touches their clothes. When she stumbles across a denim jacket that once belonged to Amanda Stavros, last year's Fourth of July victim, Clare sees her perfect town begin to come apart at the seams.

In a town where appearance means everything, how deep beneath the surface will Clare dig to uncover a murderer?

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery

Publication Date: September 11th 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Format: eARC, 272 pages 

Series: ?

Source: Netgalley

______________________________________________

My Review

After her parents were divorced, sixteen-year-old Clare Knight, a.k.a. Cee Cee, and her mother decided to return to the city they both grew up in. To the city where her very eccentric grandmother lives. To the house everybody believes to be haunted. And they move there close to the date when, for two years straight, there have been murders. First, a little boy, Dylan, was killed in a car accident. And a year later, a very popular teen, Amanda, disappeared without a trace. The culprit was never caught for either crime.

Claire creates new clothes from people's 'trash'. She's the ace of sewing and just loves her art. But her mother wants her to study and have a real future, one that does not involve art school. But it's her dream, and she's been saving any money she makes from her line, 'NewToYou' to pay for it. But there's one thing that sometimes give her beloved daily handling of clothes a bit of a bitter taste. Clothes speak to her. Just like they did to her grandmother. And her mother before her. But not all clothes and not all the time, only those wore by people during times of strong emotion. Such as fear. They bring her the vision of the moment lived by the owner of the clothes.

And Claire has just found the jacket Amanda, the second victim, was wearing minutes before being murdered. Now she just needs to fit all the pieces of the puzzle and find the murderer... before he finds her.

This book could've been much better. I have to admit I skipped quite a few paragraphs about sewing techniques and such, because, well... it was just boring to me. But I thought it was interesting to see how much it mattered to Claire, even with her 'ability' bothering her. I couldn't quite believe how fast she and Jack got so chummy, because in one sentence she's telling us how he terrifies her and how she can't trust him, and in the other she's all 'oh, I want his body, I need him to hold me'. I mean, really? Are you afraid or are you horny? Just decide already!  >.<'

About the revelation of the killers.... it took me a while to finally have a good idea of what really happened from the clues the book offered. They weren't exactly predictable because things weren't made very clear at all. I have to say I expected more. The ending felt rushed and kind of bland to me... the tension built and built and then I was like: 'That's what happened?'. Oh, and I still can't understand why there was so much talk about the house being haunted and the origins of her abilities if these things weren't going to be better explained. I mean, why put so much effort in introducing a haunted house if you're not even going to use it in the story??? O.o It doesn't make any sense!!!

Other thing that wasn't explained was what she saw when she touched Jack's shirt, why he was so upset, why she didn't recognize the killer when she was in 'Amanda's shoes' (or clothes, for that matter) and experienced the whole thing. I mean, Clare herself said the person looked familiar. But it took her the whole freaking book to figure it out? Sheesh... there's a lot of useless information in this book. Not even the romance (if you can call that romance) was able to save it for me. Too many loose threads for my taste, no pun intended.

If you like sewing and styling your own clothes, you'll like many parts of this book. But if you're looking for a story that was well planned and well delivered, and narration with content that actually makes sense and are important to the plot, then you might want to look elsewhere.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

The Raft
by S.A. Bodeen

Expected publication: August 21st 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Robie, 15, lives with her family on the Midway atoll, a group of islands in the middle of the Pacific. Her parents are scientists; it’s an isolated life. Robie enjoys visiting her aunt in Hawaii—she gets back and forth on a cargo plane that brings supplies to Midway.

During a visit, her aunt is called to the mainland for a work emergency, leaving Robie to get home on her own. On her flight back to Midway the cargo plane hits nasty weather, and goes down. It’s just Robie, the pilot, and Max, a co-pilot she’s never met till this flight, on board. Robie is pulled aboard a raft by Max, who is injured and slipping in and out of consciousness. They have a bag of candy and very little water between them. When they finally reach an island that seems abandoned, Robie hopes they’ll be found quickly. But she’s not sure she was even on the flight manifest. Her parents must be looking for her... aren’t they?

Genre: Young Adult, Survival

Publication Date: August 21st 2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Format: eARC, 231 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

____________________________

My Review

Fifteen year-old Robie just got her nose pierced while visiting her aunt in Hawaii. When her aunt has to go away for work and decides to send her back home a week before the end of her vacation, she begs to stay a bit longer, by herself. After some deliberation, her aunt says she can stay, but under the agreement that a friend of hers will stop by everyday to check up on Robie. By an ironic twist of fate, said friend calls Robie' s aunt's apartment when she's already gone and asks the girl to let her aunt know she won't be able to hold up her part in the agreement. Robie is ecstatic. She'll be on her own for the first time!

But after one day alone, she's not as near excited anymore and decides to go home. She tries to contact her family, but they live in an isolated island where comunication goes down very often. So she decides to surprise them and let her aunt know when she gets there. She then boards a cargo plane to Midway, but for some reason her name is not documented in the passanger's list. When things go wrong with the engines and co-pilot Max throws a life-saver at her and starts screaming for her to get ready to jump, it hits her: the plane is falling and nobody knows she's in it.

Max pushes her off the plane and then fishes her out of the sea and on to the raft, then goes quiet. Robie is trying her best not to freak out, but they're alone, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark and cold, with no water or food, with just a thin layer of plastic between them and the sharks she's read so much about. And Max seems to be getting worse. His pulse is getting slower and slower and she almost can't feel it anymore.  But, luckily, he makes a turn for the best. To try and pass the time, she surveys the raft and finds a pamphlet with advice on survival at sea, which comes in very handy.

Robie has many interesting adventures while at sea, involving sharks, seagulls, attempts at fishing and fixing the leaking raft, trying to get the attention of a plane, doing her best to drink as much rain water as possible, hitting a reef and washing up on an island... there was never a dull moment.

The description of the plane falling were terrifying. I kept picturing myself in Robie's place. And I wanted to shake her real bad! To tell her: 'wake up and do something!'. LOL. But she was in shock and just froze. If not for Max, she would be dead. He saved her life twice, and both times she had just given up, preparing herself to die, making no effort at all. I understand she was very young and very scared, but her survival instincts weren't very good. Or she was just very weak. A very weak person and very weak character. If the situations weren't so fascinating and if I wasn't so curious as to know what a person should do in her place, I would have given uo on Robie and the book. But I'm glad her hardships and my curiosity wouldn't allow me. 

The book is very short, and the ending was very bittersweet. Deep inside we know what happens with Max, (especially because he's always asleep, never eats, hardly drinks or speaks...) but, like Robie, we're in denial. Still, it was quite a read and I enjoyed it.

If you like YA survival books with a lot of tension and drama, a big load of information on birds, marine creatures and great tips on how to survive, you'll really like The Raft.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

The Unquiet
by Jeannine Garsee

Expected publication: July 17th 2012 by Bloomsbury

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother. 

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists. 

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural

Publication Date: July 17th 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: eARC, 388 pages 

Series: ?

Source: Netgalley

_________________________

My Review:

First line: Sometimes, when I dream, the deadliest moment in my life happens all over again.

Last line: I don't believe you. 

Favorite quote: As someone who's always drawn to the "bad boy" type, I can't explain my attraction to a certified band geek who'll probably major in animal husbandry and end up inseminating cows for a living.

Corinne Jacobs has been a good girl, taking all of her meds everyday, for 3 months and 13 days. Why she's being so careful and counting all the days like that? Because of what happened 3 months and 13 days ago. The time when she decided to stop with her bipolar meds and ended up killing her grandmother.

Now her stepfather hates her and her mother has dragged her from sunny California to chilling middle-of-nowhere Ohio, where she grew up. Rinn doesn't think that moving to this dinky little town will make anything better. But then she actually starts making friends. And the cute farmer boy next door is starting to look way too yummy. Oh, and she absolutely loves her new house and room up in the attic. Until she finds out that the previous owner killed herself up there, of course. Right after her granddaughter was found dead in the pool at Rinn's new school. Awwwwkward. 

And, as if that wasn't freaky enough, she finds out that very strange things have been happening to the people who cross the 'Tunnel' (the part of the gym with the pool where Annaliese's body was found). Weird things have always happened there before, but now another student is found dead by the pool and Rinn's new friends start to act very bizarre. Is it the ghost of Annaliese? Is she haunting the pool area? Is she haunting Corinne? If so, why?

This book had so much in it! So much mystery, so much drama, so much angst and romance!! It really had everything a good book should have. I especially liked knowing/seeing more about how bipolar people act, what they have to deal and fight with everyday, how they really feel about themselves and everyone else. The pressure. The fear. The regret. The desire to just let go. The strength needed not to. 

The Unquiet gives you very strange vibes throughout the book. You start to think that things are getting better, that Rinn herself is getting better and everything and everyone is going to be alright... then the creepiness starts and you have to control yourself not freak out over what's happening in a freaking book! LOL. Miss Garsee has such an engrossing, enrapturing and right-to-the-pont way of writing things that it sucks you right in and makes you feel comfortable... and that's when you should be careful. She makes you forget, repeatedly, that you're actually reading a ghost story, not an ordinary teenage tale. And it sneaks right up to you. Every. Single. Time. O.o

It's been a while since I've found a book's title that is as absolutely perfect or as fitting as this one is. Unquiet. That's exactly how you'll feel during the entire 'ride' that is Corinne's story. And afterwards. Yup. Even after you close the book and start to try to think of something else. It will stick with you. That unquiet feeling. That little chill behind your neck. And you'll love it.

P.S.: And Nate was so adorable!!! *-* It makes me want to move to Ohio, too. Like, right now.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: All These Lives by Sarah Wylie

All These Lives
by Sarah Wylie

Expected publication: June 5th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani’s twin, Jena, isn’t so lucky. She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life. Dani’s father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything’s normal. And Jena is wasting away.

To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives. Maybe they’ll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one. Someone like Jena. But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she’s faced with a startling realization. Maybe she doesn’t have nine lives after all. Maybe she really only ever had one.

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Publication Date: June 5th 2012

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Format: eARC, 245 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

______________________________________

My Review

First line: This is how it feels to die: It starts from outside and works its way in. 

Last line: She looks a lot like my sister.

Favorite quote: "Most people think the biggest sacrifice, the greatest act of love you can give is to die for someone. 

And probably it is. 

But Sometimes it is the opposite.

The biggest thing you can do for someone is to live."

Sixteen-year-old Dani has survived a couple of situations in which she was very close to dying during her younger years, and she also remembers her mother telling her, in a playful way, that she takes after herself. That she is the girl with nine lives. Now, she's older and has to see her fraternal twin, Jana, go through the most horrible treatments for cancer. She can't even help by donating her marrow, because, incredibly enough, they're not compatible. 

But Dani is convinced she can help in another way. She has nine lives. Enough lives to spare. So she decides she'll throw a few of them up into the universe, hoping her sister will be able to 'capture' them and get better. But by doing so, she manages to push away the few friends she still has and to convince everyone she's trying to kill herself. But they don't understand. She's just trying to save her sister.

Her parents are trying very hard to act like things are normal, like nothing much has changed, but everything has. Jena specially. Dani can hardly recognize her sister anymore. She's so small, so weak, so sick and defeated. The smallest fever can bring her down, and she has almost daily visits to the hospital. At school, Jana's old friends act like she never even existed, and Dani can't stand that. So she finds comfort in teasing/bullying her classmate Jack when she feels like talking or just hanging out with her only friend, Lauren, (who just can't shut up) when she feels like losing herself in her thoughts. 

She also hangs out with bad boy Spencer, who seems to like her quite a bit, but quickly manages to push him away when she decides to crash his Harley for one of her soul 'deliveries'. Even though she still goes to school and random auditions to please her parents, Dani has really given up on studying and acting. Both things she used to be very good at. But now she has other priorities in life. Like trying to lose her lives.

I loved this cover. From the minute I saw it I knew I had to read this book. And it was SO good! I normally try to avoid much drama, but Danielle was such a complex character. She's trying so hard to pretend she's okay, that she's not freaking out on the inside about the possibility of losing her sister any day now. On the outside she tries to look like a very funny, very carefree person, (and she has some really great humorous quotes! Cracked me up quite a bit), but we  can see she's trying too hard. I really, really liked her. And Jana, the poor girl, was so sweet, also trying to hide how pissed and depressed she was about the disease. They broke my heart.

I'm not one for very dramatic and sad books, but once in a while a gem like this attracts me and I can't help but let it take over my life for a couple of hours. Probably because I always forget that after all the suffering, they usually leave me a feeling like having one's soul somewhat... lighter. 

Sarah Wylie is a very talented writer. She sucks you into the story, she honestly makes you care about the characters and feel what they're feeling. There's no better way to read a story than to feel like you're part of it. Too bad we can't change it.

If you like your YA with realistic fiction, dramatic family issues and very well-written characters and situations, you'll be blown away by All these Lives.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #3) by Larissa Ione/Reading Romances May Challenge

I chose this book for the Reading Romances May Challenge

2) Read a book by a favorite author or from a favorite genre.

Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #3) 
by Larissa Ione

May 22nd 2012 by Grand Central Publishing

Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, Regan Cooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he's about to become a father.

Demon-slayer Regan Matthews never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he's ever wanted-a family.

Genre: Young Adult, Steampunk

Publication Date: May 1st 2012
Publisher: Amulet Books

Format: eARC, 368 pages 

Series: ?

Source: Netgalley

_______________________________________________________

My Review:

First line: Regan Matthews was going to die

Last line: Too spoilery.

Favorite quote: From virgin to dad in zero to sixty.

Guardian Regan Matthews is pregnant and almost ready to deliver. Normally women in her situation would be thrilled, counting the minutes and preparing everything for the new arrival... but hers is a quite different situation. 

First of all, her baby was conceived in a very unorthodox way, one that made the father-to-be freak out and decide to kill her. So now she's in hiding and he's in an induced 'coma' of sorts, thanks to his siblings. A very strange situation, indeed. But it gets weirder. How? Well, the father is Thanatos, the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse. A.k.a Death, if his Seal breaks. 

And in Thanatos' mind, Regan, an OCD Aegis Guardian and psychometric empath with other gifts, has tried to purposefully break his Seal. After drugging him with an aphrodisiac and trapping him in his own body with one of her abilities. Practically 'raping' him to end the world. Even if he did enjoy it immensely and wants to do it again, he's still majorly pissed off and wanted to kill her. Until he found out she was pregnant with his baby, of course. He did get pissed off all over again when she told him they wouldn't be raising the baby.

Regan feels terrible for what happened that day. She really regrets it, but she was drugged as well, by one of Than's vampires, and didn't notice that Thanatos was 'restrained' by her powers at all. She also was not aware that there was a possibility os his Seal breaking and releasing the Apocalypse on Earth. As a matter of fact, she was made to believe quite the contrary. And now she's knocked up by a very, very mad Horseman. Very hot, too. Who wants her to make up for the eight months in which he was trapped by his siblings so as not to kill many people with his rage. And he wants her to make up for this time sexually. While they try to understand each other, his brother, whose Seal broke and is now known as Pestilence, is wreaking havoc all around the world. And he wants to kill his baby.

Oh, man. I've been waiting patiently to read this gem for months now!!! Thanatos is the perfect example of the wounded, flawed hero. And super hot and damaged. How can a girl not go crazy over that? 

It was kind weird to read about a man going on about how his virginity/his seed/his innocence were stolen, though. You usually expect a heroine to whine about that kind of thing. LOL. But it was completely understandable. He wasn't overly whiny about it, thankfully. Just indignant for a while. Then things became much more interesting.


Larissa Ione always manages to surprise me with the depth of her characters and the twists in all of her plots. When you finally think you're getting something... everything changes. LOL. It should be frustrating, but it's really refreshing. Thanatos has been my favorite character ever since the first book in the series, so I was in absolute heaven just reading more and more about him. He suffered so much... it felt good to see him finally find some happiness.


Also, her angels are very different from what we are used to expect from angels, so that, too, is quite fascinating to read about. No perfect little goody-shoes in these books. They are good, of course, but even they are not perfect... and even their goodness can go bad. LOL.


But I particularly want to see more of Harvester. She gives me very mixed feelings. Oh, and I'm dying to know what really went on in Reaper's past. And what awaits him in the future... The curiosity is burning me up!


Not to mention that I want to see more of Reseph/Pestilence. Like, right NOW. You are killing me, Mrs. Ione!!! In a good way, obviously. Sort of. LOL. That first chapter only served to make me squirm! December, come quick. :X


If you don't mind some spoilers, check out the synopsis for Rogue Rider. It sounds like it will be out-of-this-world good. :)


* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*