Release-day blitz & Giveaway: A Little Too Hot by Lisa Desrochers

Today is the release day of A Little Too Hot, third book on the A little too far series by Lisa Desrochers.

A Little Too Hot (A Little Too Far #3) by Lisa Desrochers

Release day: January 21st 2014 

Publisher: William Morrow Impulse

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance 

BOOK SUMMARY: 

From USA Today bestselling author Lisa Desrochers comes the third book in her sizzling new adult series.

If you play with fire …

Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen's club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny's: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.

Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he's got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming. Because Harrison Yates isn't who he seems to be. And his secret will probably get her killed.

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Praise

"Every page is deliciously breathtaking, wickedly sexy and sensational. A LITTLE TOO HOT is wonderfully unique and a LOT HOT! I am a HUGE Lisa Desrochers fan."

   -- KATY EVANS, New York Times bestselling author of REAL

"Lisa is brilliant at creating sizzling sexual tension and impossible circumstances that make the reader hold their breath all the way to happy ever after. Sam and Harrison are more than A Little Too Hot, they are scorching!"

   -- JAY CROWNOVER, New York Times bestselling author of RULE

"Lisa Desrochers' best yet! A LITTLE TOO HOT is hotter than hot with all the emotional punch to back it up!"

   -- SOPHIE JORDAN, New York Times bestselling author

A LITTLE TOO HOT EXCERPT 

(First 3 chapters of the book)

Exclusive Excerpt of A LITTLE TOO HOT by Lisa Desrochers by WilliamMorrowBooks

AUTHOR BIO:

LISA DESROCHERS is the USA Today bestselling author of the A Little Too Far series, courtesy of HarperCollins, and the young adult Personal Demons trilogy from Macmillan. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. Find her online at www.lisadwrites.com, on Twitter at @LisaDez, and on Facebook at ww.facebook.com/LisaDesrochersAuthor.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

Win an A LITTLE TOO HOT blurb pack: REAL, MINE, and REMY signed by Katy Evans; RULE, JET, and ROME signed by Jay Crownover; and FORPLAY signed by Sophie Jordan plus signed swag.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Little Too Hot by Lisa Desrochers - Excerpt

Excerpt:

Exclusive Excerpt of A LITTLE TOO HOT by Lisa Desrochers by WilliamMorrowBooks

But links: Amazon,B&N and Apple.

Down London Road by Samantha Young - Chapter One Excerpt

Down London Road (On Dublin Street #2) by Samantha Young

Release date: May 7th 2013

READ EXCERPT-. HERE

Down London Road Chapter 1 Excerpt

Override by Heather Anastasiu

Title: Override (Glitch #2)
Author: Heather Anastasiu 
Publisher: St. Martin´s Griffin
Release date: February 12th 2013
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read an excerpt - here.
Read my review of Glitch - here.

Zoe is free. She has escaped the enslavement of the Community, disconnected from the hardware that had controlled her every thought and emotion, and evaded capture by the Chancellor intent on killing her. She is finally free, but she is far from safe.

Zoe and Adrien hide themselves from detection at the Foundation, an academy that trains teen glitchers to fight in the Resistance movement. Together, Zoe and her new team of superhuman fighters must risk their lives to rescue other glitchers and humans from the Chancellor's control. Challenges abound at every turn, and Adrien, who has become silent, distant, and tormented by his visions of the future, only adds to the growing certainty of defeat. But worst of all, as Zoe's team fights against impossible odds, distrust and betrayal leads to the terrible discovery that their greatest threat could already be lurking behind the safe walls of the Foundation.

Full of high-adrenaline action and shocking twists, Heather Anastasiu's Override is an exciting continuation of this popular young adult trilogy.

I really liked Glitch, the first book of this trilogy, the world Zoe lives is very interesting, the fact that they have a chip implanted into their bodies to control their feelings, have a built-in communicator in their arm and also have other monitors to check their vital signs, and at age 18 years-old they get their adult chip implant to cancel their feelings forever ..... a world of automatons...yeah, I can imagine that. And I like that the story falls between two genres that I love: the dystopian and science fiction.

Override picks up the story three months after the events of Glitch, Zoe now lives in the Foundation especially designed to house soldiers of the resistance and the young glitchers that have been rescued. This sort of headquarters for the resistance and the classes that Zoe is attending, reminded me a little bit of the X-Men movies, because each Glitcher has a unique power that they´re learning to control their supernatural powers and work as a team for their future missions.

I liked this book more than the last one, Zoe is more in touch with her feelings (though sometimes they get out of control) and with her powers, plus the story has more action, I especially liked the fighting scenes because the glitchers use their supernatural powers and there is hardly a dull moment. The only downside of the story (for me), is that there is less romance than in the previous book, because Adrien is having visions that make him be more withdrawn and he spends less time with Zoe.

OHHH! but it also has a great unexpected twist in the story, I did not see it coming, even though the author is giving us little clues, but I didn´t realize it until I finish reading the book .... and that ending!.... NO! it's so sad .... but I hope that situation to improve for the next book which I need to read soon! I can't wait to get my hands on Shutdown, third and last book of the trilogy, Shutdown comes out on July 2013.


I want to thank St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this review copy.

Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Scent of Magic (Healer #2)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publisher: Harlequin Mira
Release date: December 18th 2012
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 5/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read an excerpt here

**Contains spoilers if you haven´t read Touch of Power**

Read my review of Touch of Power HERE.

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

Scent of Magic begins shortly after the events of Touch of Magic, so I almost had a heart attack or something, when I realize that after all that happen in the previous book and finally Avry and Kerrick admitted their feelings for each other and are together as a couple, Avry decides not to follow Kerrick to Ivdel, where they´re supposed to join with the rest of the group. At that moment I thought that I might not like this book as much as Touch of Power because Kerrick was going to be absent for the rest of the story, and I finally liked Kerrick's character, so I was kind of sad for a couple of minutes until I found that each chapter is divided into two parts, one is Avry´s POV and another small part of the chapter is from Kerrick´s POV (.... yes!). So although the two characters are separated at the beginning of the story, because Kerrick has to travel to Ivdel to meet with Prince Ryne, and Avry decides to stay on this side of the Nine Mountains and has her own secret mission, I loved this book.

Scent of Magic is AMAZING! in this book I felt the story was more fast paced, because we already "know" the world of the Fifteen Realms, so the plot moves faster and there are more action and intrigue than its predecessor; is a great second book.

Scent of Magic is a book worth reading, definitely a must read, its characters are wonderful, with a strong independent female character, she´s very smart and with a strong male character, he´s headstrong, a leader (although he doesn´t want to be a leader) and I´m thankful for his POV because I got to know him a little bit more. And as I said on my review of Touch of Power, the villain is excellent he´s really crazy, but I loved him, he's one of my favorite villains. I recommend this book for every epic fantasy lover.

Now, I´m looking forward to the next book, Taste of Death.

I want to thank Harlequin Mira and Netgalley for this review copy.

UK Book Trailer

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Touch of Power (Healer #1)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publisher: Mira
Release date: December 20th 2011

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read an excerpt here

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life....

I don´t read too much epic fantasy as I should, and Touch of Power is the first book I´ve read by Maria V. Snyder, though I've read good reviews of Poison Study (a book by the same author), and because of this, I decided to read this series or trilogy.

Touch of Power tells the story of  Avry of Kazan a 20 years old young woman, she´s strong, smart, stubborn, strong-minded, she can take care of herself. She´s a healer that can heal by simply touching a person, the only drawback is that she absorbs and suffers the illness or injury of the person she´s healing, the gift that she has, at some time was well appreciated by everyone, but after a plague that killed two-thirds of the population of the Fifteen Realms,the healers were blamed for the plague and persecuted, so Avry for the last three years has been in hiding and trying to survive but at the beginning of the story she is about to give up. But when she is rescued-captured by a group of men led by Kerrick, with the sole intention of taking her  to heal a prince who has the plague and to which Avry has no respect or care about, but it is thanks to this group of "bandits" that she finds some meaning in her life

Within the group of "bandits" Kerrick is their leader, he´s just as stubborn as Avry, hard to understand, as he almost never shows any kind of emotion and his only goal is to save his prince, and at first I didn´t like him very much because of the way he treats Avry, but my opinion of him changed as the story goes on.

Other important characters in the story are the rest of the gang, which are Belen, he´s my favorite character in this book, he´s Kerrick´s best friend, he has a huge heart and he´s Avry´s protector, there are also Loren and Quain, they´re funny and ease the tension in the group and finally we have Flea, he´s the youngest of the gang and is a character that is impossible not to love.

I  loved Touch of Power!  is a great book, it has action, intrigue, a subtle romance with great characters, even the villain is great (a little bit mentally unbalanced but I like him as a villian) ! I highly recommend this book.

UK Book Trailer

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

Title: Uses for Boys
Author: Erica Lorraine Scheidt
Publisher: St. Martin´s Press
Release date: January 15th 2013
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 2/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read excerpt here

Anna remembers a time before boys, when she was little and everything made sense. When she and her mom were a family, just the two of them against the world. But now her mom is gone most of the time, chasing the next marriage, bringing home the next stepfather. Anna is left on her own—until she discovers that she can make boys her family. From Desmond to Joey, Todd to Sam, Anna learns that if you give boys what they want, you can get what you need. But the price is high—the other kids make fun of her; the girls call her a slut. Anna's new friend, Toy, seems to have found a way around the loneliness, but Toy has her own secrets that even Anna can't know.

Then comes Sam. When Anna actually meets a boy who is more than just useful, whose family eats dinner together, laughs, and tells stories, the truth about love becomes clear. And she finally learns how it feels to have something to lose—and something to offer. Real, shocking, uplifting, and stunningly lyrical,  Uses for Boys  is a story of breaking down and growing up.

The first thing that attracted me to Uses for Boys was its beautiful cover and after reading its synopsis which suggests that it was a poignant and heartbreaking novel, and I do love this type of books but I like them with a happy ending, and this book doesn´t have a happy ending.. Uses for Boys is a very realistic contemporary novel that shows the dark side of Anna the main character of the story.

This book is told from Anna´s POV and it begins when she´s 7 years old and she tells about the good old days when there were only she and her mother against the world and they lived in a tiny apartment, and as the years pass by, her mother starts looking for a husband and a better life, but from that moment she stops paying attention to Anna. Anna grows alone (even if she´s living in the same house as her mother) and without the affection of her mother, as she grows older, she begins to seek affection elsewhere and she finds it in the boys. And in my very humble opinion she does not use the boys, but it is the other way round; and I don´t know if it´s because Anna is innocent or broken but she  begins to confuse the attention she receives from boys with love. And as she grows up she creates her own world where the boys love her and they´re her new family, so she goes from boy to boy looking for love.

In Uses for Boys the chapters are tiny and because is told from Anna´s POV, there isn't almost any dialogue at all, is more about the thoughts of the protagonist, so I didn´t really like the book, because Anna has severe emotional problems. Definitely this book was not for me, I felt as if the chapters were cut, I did not like the ending and I would have liked an epilogue.

This is a realistic contemporary novel, dark and very depressing. My favorite contemporary novels are poignant, and heartbreaking but with a happy ending, so Uses for Boys was not for me.

Something I should mention that although the book is categorized for 13 years old and up, I do not recommend it for teens, is more a mature YA novel because it addresses serious issues, like sex, sexual abuse and abortion.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this review copy.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Obsidian (Lux #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release date: May 8th 2012

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read the first chapter here.
Aditional scenes from Daemon´s POV on Jennifer´s website - here.

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

Obsidian is another book that I had heard a lot of buzz about it and read several reviews where they said that Daemon was awesome and so on. Well let me tell you that I really loved Obsidian, but Daemon still has to win my heart, you may wonder why? well, because is a douchebag with bipolar personality.

The book is told from Katy´s POV, she´s a 17 year old girl who loves to read and is a book blogger, she just moved to a tiny town where everyone knows everyone, there she meets her new neighbors Dee and Daemon, they are twins and while Dee treats her well and tries to befriend her, Daemon mistreated her and tries to push her away from her sister. So from there the relationship between Katy and Daemon is like a roller coaster, sometimes they get along and the next moment they don´t.

What can I say about Daemon....mmm, he is gorgeous (physically) and he knows it, he´s sexy and one of the most powerful of his kind, so he has a huge ego and his priority is his family, in this case his twin - Dee, and he will do whatever it takes to keep her safe, and if he has to be an idiot to the girl he is attracted to, then so be it. But what saves Daemon's character to be disliked (at least by me), is that he has his moments where he shows his other face to Katy, the Daemon with no pressures, no obligations, just Daemon, and at the end of the book there are three scenes from Daemon´s POV that balancing the scales of my opinion of him, but I feel that the fact of seeing everything through the eyes of Katy, is the main reason why I didn´t fall for him completely. One of my favorite characters of the story is Dee, Daemon's twin sister, she is super sweet, cheerful and what she wants more is to have a "normal" friend (non-alien) and she ends up being Katy´s best friend.

Obsidian is a good first book in a new series, is a sci-fi with a lot of action, mystery, is super fun and I can´t wait to read more about these aliens. And it has a very sexy scene, of which I had heard a lot, that is the famous laptop scene .... wow. I really loved Obsidian! I highly recommended it!

Favorites Quotes:

"You´re kind of dirty, Kitten"
I blinked. Deny. Deny. Deny. "What did you say?"
"Dirty," he repeated, voice so low I knew Dee couldn´t hear him. "You´re covered in dirt. What did you think I meant?"

“You’re such an ass. Has…anyone ever told you that?”
He flashed a genuinely amused smile. “Oh, Kitten, every single day of my blessed life.” 

Smiling, he cocked his head to the side. "Kitten, what are we going to get into?"
A thousand images flashed. Thank God reading thoughts wasn´t one of his aliens powers.

Book trailer

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Title: Slammed (Slammed #1)
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Release date: September 18th 2012
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Buy it at: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read excerpt here.

Falling in love can feel like poetry. Or it can feel like a slam to the heart.

Colleen Hoover’s romantic, emotion-packed debut novel unforgettably captures all the magic and confusion of first love, as two young people forge an unlikely bond before discovering that fate has other plans for them.

Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she's losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbor Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her.

Not long after a heart-stopping first date during which each recognizes something profound and familiar in the other, they are slammed to the core when a shocking discovery brings their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together and the forces that tear them apart. Only through the poetry they share are they able to speak the truth that is in their hearts and imagine a future where love is cause for celebration, not regret.

Layken along with her mother and younger brother move from Texas to Michigan shortly after the death of her father and in this new city is where she meets her new neighbor Will Cooper, the attraction between them is undeniable and they have an intense first date, they feel a strong connection as if they were destined for each other (yes, it's love at first sight), but later something happens, an event that stands between them so they can´t keep seeing each other in romantic way even when they have strong feelings for each other. Although the initial romance between Layken and Will is a bit like instant love, in this book it works, is believable and intense.

Slammed is told from the point of view of Layken, she is a good daughter and a good sister, helps a lot at home and in the care of her younger brother Kel, she sometimes behaves mature, but sometimes she will throws tantrums and slam doors (many doors). Will is a very mature, levelheaded and reasonable for his age, he´s romantic, intense and with a passion for slam poetry.

The secondary characters are great, Layken's best friend Eddie, Eddie´s boyfriend Gavin, Layken mom & brother Julia and Kel, Will´s younger brother Caulder  my favorite of them all and I feel is Eddie,she´s a character full of life and wonderful.

Slammed is a contemporary novel, very emotional, intense, heartbreaking, but also has its funny parts, unexpected twists and a lot slam poetry which is an important part of the book (I really did not know what it was, but now such a fan of slam poetry, I LOVE IT!!!). Slammed hooked me right from the start, this book made me cry a lot but it made me laugh too, and I was so hooked and couldn't put it down that I end up reading it all at 4 am.

This is a must read if you like intense contemporary novels.

I want to thank Atria Books and Netgalley for this review copy.

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Title: Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1)
Author: Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Release date: September 18th 2012
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 4.5 / 5
 
Buy it at: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read first chapters here.

A DYING LAND
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of Shima’s imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger—a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

Since I saw the cover, I knew I had to read this book ... yes, I do pick a book by its cover and after reading the synopsis I knew I had to read it. I must confess that I struggle with the first 70 pages, the book didn´t hooked me right away, maybe because the complex world building is very descriptive and also because I had to recur constantly to the glossary (at the end of the book) or search in google since the book is based on Japanese culture and there are many words that I didn´t understand, especially the weapons.

Stormdancer takes place on the islands of Shima, much like Japan in feudal times but have mechanical technology (clockwork) and flying machines. The earth is dying because of Blood Lotus which has many uses: fuel, drugs, poison, etc, but this flower is killing the fertile land, polluting the air and water. Stormdancer´s world is a little weird because the steampunk breathing masks and goggles, the iron samurais with chainsaw katanas, the sky-ships.

The islands are governed by the Shogun (commander or dictator) who rules his people with an iron fist and he commands the capture of the thunder tiger a mythological creature believed to be extinct. Yukiko a 16 year-old girl is with the group of hunters who are entrusted with this task, she´s strong and very good to fighting with her tanto, and by a twist of fate she ends up "stuck" in the same place as the thunder tiger, an animal that sees humans as insects and would happily kill her, but they end up creating a very strong bond of friendship.

Stormdancer is a fantasy steampunk novel, told in third person from multiple points of view. Baruu, the Thunder Tiger is a character that makes you love him and has the best lines. I recommend this book to those who like epic fantasy novels, with a very descriptive writing and have no problem to be checking the glossary (at the back of the book).

Favorite quote:

"Dying is easy. Anyone can throw themselves onto the pyre and rest a happy martyr. Enduring the suffering that comes with sacrifice is the real test".

I want to thank St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this review copy.

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: July 31st 2012

Rating: 5/5

Buy it at: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read first chapters here.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

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.

Pushing the Limits is a contemporary novel and I loved it, is a heartbreaking story (yes, I cried), but in the end it left me feeling that all was well with the world.

The story is told from two points of view, alternating between Echo and Noah, and I loved that because it made me understand them a little more, especially Noah. I loved the characters of Echo and Noah (I adored him!).

Echo is a 17 year-old girl, she´s in her senior year, she used to be popular but now she´s a freak and subject to gossip and speculations because of the scars on her arms, which she covers with long-sleeved shirts and gloves, she attends therapy weekly with a social worker at her school because she can´t remember anything about the day she suffered the accident. Echo lives with her father, whom she blindly obey and with her stepmother, whom she hates. Noah is 17 year-old too and also like Echo is in his senior year. Noah is considered a bad boy with a bad reputation for been a womanizer, he is an orphan and lives in a foster home and also attends therapy with the same clinical social worker as Echo.

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

Echo is a very good student and is assigned to tutor Noah, so they begin to spend time together, at first they did not get along, but as they spend more time together the attraction between them is undeniable. And they found in each other something they needed and hadn´t so far managed to find, understanding and acceptance; they needed to feel normal.

"But I wanted normal and for a few minutes that´s what I was. Like two years ago...like before..."

 Normal. She wanted normal and so do I. "You know what´s normal?"

Another great character is Mrs.Collins, the social worker who provides therapy to Echo and Noah. I loved her interaction with both, especially with Noah because he was the most reluctant to trust an adult.

Pushing the Limits is the debut novel of Katie McGarry and she did an outstanding job, with a plot that keep me hooked from the beginning and I could not put it down. I could connect with the main characters and understand them. Pushing the Limits is a story with romance where the protagonists embark on an emotional journey where they learn to forgive, to trust and end up seeing the world differently.

This is a book that I recommend and is a must read. I can´t  wait to read next book of this author, Dare You To, is Beth´s story, she appears in this book, she´s like a sister to Noah.

Book trailer

Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

Title: Don´t You Wish
Author: Roxanne St.Claire
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release date: July 10, 2012

Rating: 4 / 5

But it at: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read except here

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school. 

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.

Annie Nutter is unpopular, she doesn´t wear designer clothes, she isn´t from a wealthy family, she has only one best friend and both belong to the invisibles at school. Annie's father is an inventor whose inventions have not been successful, her mother sells houses and she has a younger brother that she can´t stand.

One day, Annie has a bad day at school and is humiliated by the boy she likes, and later she found her mother crying reading a magazine, in this magazine there is an article about her mother´s ex-boyfriend, he´s now a millionaire and is doing pretty well. After this event Annie begins to fantasize, that would have happened if her mother had married someone else and is in the midst of her fantasy when she had an accident with one of her father´s experiments, and she´s transported to a parallel universe where her fantasy is true and now she´s Ayla a rich, beautiful and popular girl.

I really liked Don´t You Wish! Yes, it has many cliches and stereotypes at the beginning of the book about the populars and the invisibles. The first 100 pages of the book is about Ayla living the life she always dreamed of, being the popular girl, the beautiful and very rich, with a super hot boyfriend and popular bestfriends. For that could be a little shallow at first, but after a while Ayla (Annie) changes her perspective of life and realize that underneath all the glamor she is still Annie.

Annie meets Charlie a nerd who studies quantum mechanics, and can help her to return to her universe, but in the process of spending time together, feelings begin to arise between them, so that Annie is not quite sure if she wants to return home. I loved Charlie! he´s a cute boy, he falls for Annie, not Ayla.

What I liked most about this book, apart from parallel universe and quantum mechanics, etc.... is that it takes issue of what would have happened if you had done something different ...... Don´t You Wish touches on the subject, about what would have happened if Annie's mother had married her ex-boyfriend instead of her father and consequently Annie would be different and instead of having a younger brother she has an older brother.

I do recommend this book. Don´t You Wish has a very cute, sweet and believable romance and I loved the end, it was perfect.

Tempest by Julie Cross

Title: Tempest (Tempest #1)
Author: Julie Cross
Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin
Release date: January 17, 2012

Rating: 4 / 5

Buy it at: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Prequel to Tempest here or B&N
Read an excerpt here

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

I was eager to read Tempest since last year, so I sign up on the tour at LBT, and at last I could read it, I didn´t like it as much as I was expecting maybe because I started reading Tempest with high expectations, I'm not saying I did not like, I do like it. It just not covered my expectations, I was debating on the rating between 3.5 - 4 and in the end stayed at 4.

As the synopsis is more than informative, I will focus on the characters. Jackson is a 19 years-old, he comes from a wealthy family and he discovers that he can jump in time and with the help of his friend Adam (a genius) begin to experiment with his skills and write a diary about it. And so far Jackson has only been able to jump a couple of days in the past and not in the future. Holly is Jackson girlfriend they had been dating for a few months and she´s shot to death during a struggle between Jackson and a stranger. After the shots Jackson jumps into the past and is trapped in it.

My favorite character of the book is Jackson´s twin sister Courtney who died years ago, but once Jackson is trapped in 2007, he can not jump to the future but he can jump to the past, so we get to know Courtney and she´s an adorable little girl . Others important characters in the story are Adam, Jackson's best friend and confidant of his secrets and Jackson's father, who also has an important role in history.

Tempest is the first book I read about time travel, so it was a bit confusing at first, to be able to jump back in time and change something that has no impact on the future, with Tempest I had to forget all the stereotypes about time travel to understand the story. Tempest is a book that you have to pay close attention to details, they may not be relevant at that time but then they will be at the end.

In conclusion, I liked this Tempest and I want read the second book in the series - Vortex and see what will happen with Jackson.

Book trailer



The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: April 24, 2012

Rating: 5/5

But it at: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Read first chapter here.

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

The Immortal Rules combines two genres I love, the paranormal and dystopian. This book is amazing; it let me happy and sad at the same time.

Allison Sekemoto is a girl who has lived her entire life in a city of vampires, where registered humans "donate" blood regularly and in exchange receive food. Allison is unregistered, so she steals and scavenger food, she does anything she needs to do to survive. Allie hates vampires and everything having to do with them. One night she is attacked by rabids creatures that used to be human and because of a virus they mutated and are now monsters that feed on humans. Because this attack Allie is on the verge of death and a vampire comes to the rescue and gives her the choice to die or become one of them. She chooses to become what she hates most, a vampire.

Later she has to flee the city and wander in a world she does not know. There she meets a group of humans who are in search of Eden, a city that may be a myth and Allie decides to join them, which is not easy because she must pretend to be human and try not be discovered.

The story is wonderful; I had a while without reading a vampire book that I liked so much.

The Immortal Rules takes place 60 years after a lethal virus called Red Lung has killed almost all the human population. At some point the virus mutate and humans were turned into rabids. And the non-infected humans live in vampire cities, where they must "donate" blood in exchange of food and protection.

In the characters we´ve  Allison a 17 year-old girl that had been living among others  unregistered, where everyone look out for themselves, and therefore she´s suspicious and she´s against any kind of authority, but has good heart and is very brave. Allie's love interest is Zeke a 17 year-old boy (I adore him), with very good heart and kind, brave and completely selfless. He was taught that vampires are demons, which does not bode well for Allie. Among the characters we have secondary characters such as Kanin, the sire of Allie, a mysterious vampire, he taught her how to fight with a katana, and also everything she needs to know to survive as a vampire.

The Immortal Rules is a book that it fast-paced (considering it's a book of 504 pages), has no downtime, this very well written and addictive. It has action, mystery and some romance.

I love it! I highly recommend it.

Quotes:

Naive, I thought at once. Naive, brave, selfless, incredible - and much too kind to survive this world. It´ll break you in the end, if you keep going like this. Good things never last.

They will never trust us. They will never accept us. We hide in their midst and walk among them, but we are forever separate. Damned. Alone. You don’t understand now, but you will. There will come a time when the road before you splits, and you must decide your path. Will you choose to become a demon with a human face, or will you fight your demon until the end of time, knowing you will forever struggle alone?

Book trailer

UK Book trailer

Waiting on Wednesday (14)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The book I´m waiting this week is:

Title: Starters(Starters #1)

Author: Lissa Price

Release date: March 13, 2012.

Publisher: Random House Children´s Books

Read the excerpt here

Add it on Goodreads

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . . 

Book trailer

Why I want to read this book? first because I love dystopian novels and second the story sounds very interesting.

Which book are you waiting this week? 

Leave me your WOW link and I'll drop by.

The Scorpio Races de Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Scorpio Races
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Release date: October 18, 2011,
Rating: 4/5

Read excerpt here

Listen the prologue and the first chapter.

Maggie Stiefvater website



It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

"It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die."

I like this book a lot because it introduces the water horses (capall uisge, kelpie) from the Celtic folklore(in the book they´re refer as capall uisce). The water horses are magical creatures from the sea that can lure humans into the sea to drown and eat them. The riders must capture these creatures and train them for the race.

Puck Connolly is the first woman to enter the Scorpio race ever, she never expects to participate but the circumstances push her to it. She has a small horse named Dove, she has it since she was a little girl, and she adores Dove and considers it her best friend.

Sean Kendrick is 19 years old, but he hasn´t have an easy live he´s an orphan since the age of 10 and had to work ever since I think that’s why he´s a very mature person. he has won the Scorpio races four times. He works as a trainer in the Malvern's barn. He´s a person of few words, that love the horses and the capaill uisce, he specially love a red stallion named Corr a capall uisce that belong to the Malvern’s, for him Corr is his best friend and he can´t even consider be without Corr. Sean is like an expert in capaill uisce and knows how to handle them, he has a lot of tricks or small magic to work with them.

I truly enjoyed this fantasy; the romance was really slow but works for me. I think here the main story was the relationship between the main characters and their horses or water horses the bond that share with them.

Book Trailer (Official)

Book Trailer (non-official )

The Johnson County Public Library's book trailer.

I like it more than the official trailer.

Waiting on Wednesday (12)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The book I´m waiting this week is:

Title: Insurgent (Divergent #2)

Author: Veronica Roth

Release date: May 1, 2012.

Add it on Goodreads

Excerpt here

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

I can´t wait to read it, Divergent is one my favorites.

Which book are you waiting this week? 

Leave me your WOW link and I'll drop by.