ARC Tour & Review: Nevermore (Nevermore, #1) by Kelly Creagh

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

I'm a little confused...about a lot of things actually.  Normally I catch on quick and have no trouble keeping up.  This one I think got the better of me and still has question marks floating around in my head.  I'm not sure about some details in the beginning, the middle threw me a little and the ending...whoa nelly!  Like I said, I'm a little confused, and to be honest I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to still have questions or if I'm just not up to speed when I should be.

What starts out as a partner project in a high school English class where team members are picked at random (gotta love teachers for that one), Isobel thought her biggest problem was going to be getting through a project with an anti-social boy who is the polar opposite of her popular jock boyfriend without failing the class.  She was so very wrong.  Not only is the project not a walk in the park, far from it, but that was only a small obstacle in the grand scheme of things.  Her possessive boyfriend takes being a bully to new heights, her friends jump on the "I hate Isobel" bandwagon and now she's got to work through the fact that she's possibly developing feelings for her project partner and Edgar Allen Poe aficionado, Varen.  Talk about a full plate, yikes!

Varen's got secrets and a deeply dark and murky past.  His ties and obvious connections to the famous writer Poe are eerie and unbalancing.  I'm not sure to be quite honest what I think after I've read this first installment in the Nevermore series.  I know I'm confused and would love some clarification but I'm also a little irritated with myself (mostly) on this one.  I think I'm making it too complicated maybe.  I'm going to let it all sink in and hopefully after a while my brain will catch up with the plot.

I gave Nevermore (Nevermore, #1) 3 shamrocks!!!

ARC Tour & Review: Return To Paradise (Leaving Paradise #2) by Simone Elkeles

Maggie and Caleb just went through the worst year of their lives. Hit by a car and starting life over with a limp, Maggie never thought she would forgive Caleb. But she did-and fell in love. What they shared was real. But Caleb wanted to be free from the past-and a terrible secret: he wasn't the one who hit Maggie. So he left Paradise-and Maggie-forever.

When Maggie and Caleb run into each other in a different town, they can't deny their true feelings. Will Maggie let Caleb get away again? Or will Caleb face the truth and return to Paradise?

Maggie and Caleb managed to make my list of awesome fictional couples.  I love these two and was so excited to see more of them in this sequel.  We're right back at square one with them admitting only to themselves that there's a crazy strong attraction between them, not to mention the actual feelings they have for one another, and a whole lot of pent up emotions on top of all that.  Maggie's trying to move on after Caleb left without a backward glance and Caleb's trying to move on after the car accident turned his life upside down.

Good old Caleb lands himself in some trouble (again) and in order to stay out of jail he's got to pay up...in a kind of group therapy, community service project.  And guess who's also involved?  Maggie of course!  So right off the bat these two are back to loving and hating each other (sometimes both at the same time) and these feelings change at a moment's notice.  They're stuck in a situation neither was expecting or prepared for and there's no way out of it.  I'll admit it's of course not all fun and games when it comes to Maggie and Caleb.  These two both have secrets and major baggage and have to deal with those things before they can even think of a happily ever after ending where they're concerned.  They both struggle, lie (to each other and themselves), despair, laugh and love their way through this installment and I was loving every minute of it.  Simone Elkeles' writing is so great to read and I always find myself finishing her books before I'm ready to say goodbye just yet.  I'd really love to see more of Maggie and Caleb in the future...is there any hope for a third installment in the series?  I sure hope so!

I gave Return To Paradise 4 shamrocks!!!!

ARC Tour & Review: The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

What if love refused to die?

Haven Moore can’t control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother’s house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.

In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves¸ before all is lost and the cycle begins again.

Talk about true love and fairy tale romances...The Eternal Ones will have readers believing in soul mates.  I love the idea of soul mates and star crossed lovers defying all odds to be with one another just as much as any girl who grew up reading fairy tales but The Enternal Ones has gotten to me like none of the others have.  The story of Constance and Ethan and Haven and Iain had me falling in love.  Kristen Miller knows how to hook a reader and hang on until only she's ready to let go.

Watching Haven grow up in a town so religious and strict that anything out of the traditional and conservative norm has the local townsfolk crying "demon" and "satan worshiper" was terrible to read.  I've never experienced anything like that personally so it was tough to get through.  I felt awful for Haven.  She lives in a claustrophobic environment with her horrible grandmother trying to make up for her sordid past by way of her grandaughter's present situation and it's awful to watch.  But with the bad, comes the good in Haven's best friend Beau (who is also looked down on for being gay) and he's with her through it all.  I loved him to death!  Their friendship was wonderful to witness and will make you appreciate you own friends that much more.

But the romance, oh the romance!  Haven knows she used to be someone in another life and she knows she loved someone then and is being drawn to that someone again.  Here is where Iain comes into play.  He's not the same boy from the other life and time but he's still Ethan in so many ways.  But like everything else, there's always a balance and with the good, bad follows.  What is he hiding?  Why is he lying?  Will Haven be able to remember everything she needs to in time?

This is a favorite for me and I was sad to have to pass it on for the tour, but I will be going out to pick up my very own copy the first chance I get.

I gave The Eternal Ones 5 shamrocks!!!!!

ARC Tour & Review: Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

His love captivated her... his secrets might kill her. 

Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.

After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.

But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.

This book reminded me why I love a good mystery so much.  Add in the great romance Anastasia Hopus has blooming between Phe and Zach and you've got me as a big fan without a doubt.  From start to finish Hopcus builds the mystery that hangs over the small town of Shadow Hills.  Clues are given out and revelations are made at just the right times but I was just as much in the dark as the characters were.  It was perfect, I wasn't predicting the end by page one but instead enjoying the complexity that Hopcus created.  There are clear "good" guys and clear bad guys but it was the floaters that surprised me and kept me second guessing myself from the beginning to the very end.

After Phe's older sister Athena dies, she wants answers and doesn't want to wait around for them to come to her, or to never materialize at all.  She was such a fun character to watch in action.  She was brave and gutsy (yes I just used the word gutsy) and went after what she wanted, no holds barred.  The mysterious Zach (a local native of Shadow Hills) has secrets and plays hard to get but that just makes you like him all the more.

With her new boarding school friends (and who doesn't love a boarding school backdrop?) Phe sets out to solve the puzzle of her new home town and figure out how her and her sister fit in with the whole thing.  Readers will love the mystery, romance and of course the suspense, and will want more where that came from.  Hopcus says on her blog that she can't confirm a sequel but that she is working on book two.  Let's just hope that she can confirm and release that book very soon!

I gave Shadow Hills 4 shamrocks!!!!

ARC Tour & Review: Matched (Matched, #1) by Ally Condie

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.


Ally Condie if you're out there reading this....will there be a sequel?  This book has been talked about and hyped up all over the blogosphere and I couldn't wait to read it for myself.  Now that I have I can say I know why it's been talked about at the volume that is has been.  I loved it!  Well, I loved it if there's a chance for a sequel, if this is a stand alone I'm very sad and without getting into spoiler zones that's all I can say.

Because I'd never read any of Condie's previous works I wasn't sure what to expect, but after reading her work you can't help but see she has a talent for this type of career in spades.  The dystopian world she created in Matched is very unique and terrifying, and at the same time it's of course strangely fascinating.  The idea of having the Society select your perfect match for each individual sounded like such a romantic idea to me at first.  Condie describes the events leading up to the matching and the characters are all so excited and nervous, it was incredibly suspenseful.  After a while though, the romantic aspects of the situation fade and the controlling nature of the act presents itself.  Boo to the Society!

Condie kept with the typical elements and key components necessary for a dystopian novel but at the same time she was able to make it very much her own.  The struggle Cassia goes through as she realizes that her perfect life may not be so perfect after all is very sad.  She's not alone of course but here is where I may not agree with other readers.  Cassia struggles with her feelings for two different boys and her love for both of them is poignant.  I was kind of rooting for one boy and I'm thinking there's a good chance the majority will be rooting for the other.  Only time will tell but you'll have to pick up the book to see for yourself who you think is right for Cassia and what you think she should do about all of it.

I loved Matched and Condie's writing and I'm crossing my fingers to see more of these characters in the future.

I gave Matched (Matched, #1) 4 shamrocks!!!!

In My Mailbox (19)

This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board.

This past week I had a larger mailbox than usual and had to become an even speedier reader than I already am.   

ARC tours

Dark Flame (The Immortals, #4) by Alyson Noel (Traveling ARC Tours)

At the start of this mesmerizing new installment of the Immortals series, Ever is helping her friend Haven transition into life as an immortal. But with Haven drunk on her new powers and carelessly putting them all at risk, their friendship becomes more and more strained. At the same time, Ever delves deeper into magick in order to get control over her enemy Roman and free Damen from his power. But when the spell she casts on Roman backfires, she’s bound to her deadliest enemy. Frantic to reverse the spell the moment the moon enters a new phase, she finds her efforts are fruitless—there’s a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, one that propels her toward Roman. Desperate to break free of this terrible curse before Damen or the twins can discover what she’s done, she turns to Jude and delves deeper and deeper into dark magick, ultimately risking everything she knows and loves—including Damen.

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade (Around the World Tours)

After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck here in spirit form with no sign of the big, bright light coming to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser/outcast type who hates the social elite. He alone can see and hear her, but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High. 

Can they get over their mutual distrust—and this weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?

Matched by Ally Condie (Star Book Tours)

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.

Rich and Mad by William Nicholson (We Love YA Tours)

This is a compelling and beautifully written novel about first love, first sex, and everything in between. Maddy Fisher has decided to fall in love. And not just any sort of love: can't-eat can't-sleep crazy in love. Rich Ross is after the same thing. He's set his sights high, and he's going to make it happen. The problem is, in life's messy whirlwind of friends and lies and sex and porn, the real thing can be hard to fine. But there's always a first time for everything. . .

The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride (Around the World Tours)

It’s been two years since Noelle disappeared. Two years since her bike was discovered, sprawled on a sidewalk. Two years of silence, of worry, of fear. 

For those two long years, her best friend Tessa has waited, living her own life in a state of suspended animation. Because how can she allow herself to enjoy a normal high school life if Noelle can’t? How dare she have other friends, go to dances, date boys, without knowing what happened to the girl she thought she would share everything with?

And then one day, someone calls Noelle’s house. She’s alive.

Change of Heart by Shari Maurer (Traveling ARC Tours)

In a world where the most stressful thing seems to be winning a soccer game or what to wear in the morning, you take some really basic things for granted.

Like the love of your parents.  Or hanging with your friends.  Or the beating of your heart. 

When you’re 16 years old, it never occurs to you that you might die. Emmi Miller’s got a fabulous life. She has tons of friends, does great in school and is an all-star soccer player who played in Europe last summer. It even looks like Sam Hunter, a totally cute baseball player, might be interested in her. And then she gets a virus. No biggy, right? Until the virus goes to her heart and weakens it so much that, without a transplant, Emmi will die.

Will Emmi get a heart in time? Is Sam too good to be true? What about her new friend Abe, who has also had a transplant and guides her through these scary times — is he just being supportive or is there more going on between them? And will Emmi realize it before it’s too late?

Bought

Raised by Wolves (Raised by Wolves, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two. 

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?

Won from Contests

Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry, #1) by Simone Elkeles (thanks to Marie @ Marie Loves Books)

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. 
In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt (thanks to Sarah @ Sarah's Random Musings)

Eliza is in a full-blown panic. Her notebook has been stolen—the one that lists everything she wants but is afraid to go after. And the absolute worst person in the world has it: her ex-boyfriend, Cooper. 

Like it’s not enough Cooper was lying to Eliza for their entire relationship, now he and his friends are blackmailing her. They’re giving her just one night to complete the most humiliating tasks on her list or they’ll post her secrets online—including the ones that aren’t just about her.

Eliza’s sure of only one thing: she isn’t going down without a fight. Cooper may have what’s left of her dignity, but she’s not the only one with something to hide …

ARC Tour & Review: Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Avery Hood is reeling from the loss of her parents--and the fact that she can't remember what happened to them even though she was there.

She's struggling to adjust to life without them, and to living with her grandmother, when she meets Ben, who isn't like any guy she's ever met before.

It turns out there's a reason why, and Ben's secret may hold the key to Avery finding out what happened to her parents...

But what if that secret changes everything she knows about--and feels for--Ben?

This is what I would consider to be a perfect read for a rainy afternoon.  It was a very fast read, with likable and easy characters and the plot was no problem to follow.  I was actually surprised by how quickly I finished up.  Although there were some twists and turns thrown in (all good mysteries have them) it was nothing that would drive you crazy.  Ivy Devlin started a great, fun and easy idea that has definite possibility for future follow ups.

Avery is a special girl.  She's grown up and spent her entire life in the woods, at least until her parents are murdered right outside their home.  She was found at the scene but can't remember anything about the actual event.  She moves in with her estranged grandmother and struggles to piece together any minor details of that night's events.  This is no easy task after the trauma she's experienced.  Reading and seeing the frustration Avery dealt with daily while trying to remember anything in hopes of helping the police find who committed this awful crime was heart breaking.  I felt her frustration through the pages.  

Along the way a new boy, Ben moves to town and has a tendency to pop up wherever Avery is.  Add to that the instant connection both of them seem to have for one another and we've got another element to add to our mystery.  How is it possible to feel so close to someone you just met?  Avery asks herself this very question every time she thinks of Ben (which is basically all the time) and she's got to find some answers.  Does he feel the same way?  Why is he so overly protective of her?  Does he know something that she doesn't?  And Avery's pretty sure he has some secrets of his own as well, but can she handle them after all she's been through?

All of these characters were a lot of fun to follow and read about.  Devlin did tie up most of the loose ends towards the end of the book, but I still think there's more to work with for future tie ins.  Mystery and romance are key parts to this story so if you're looking for a light and easy read than this might be the book for you.

I gave Low Red Moon 3 shamrocks!!!

ARC Tour & Review: Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy, #1) by Kiersten White

Sixteen-year-old Evie's job is bagging and tagging paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see through their glamours, she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone--or something--starts taking out the vamps, werewolves, and other odd beasties she's worked hard to help become productive members of society, she's got to figure it out before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal.

Normal is so overrated.


I officially have yet another great book to add to my 2010 favorites list and a brand new author to keep an eye out for.  Kiersten White has that new author shine and her writing is proof enough that she'll be around for a long time to come.  In fact, can I have the sequel already?  Paranormalcy hasn't even been put out on the shelves and already I'm dying for more.

So let's get right to it shall we?  The things that go bump in the night and hide under your bed that keep you awake with terror....they're all real.  And they put up these crazy glamours (a.k.a. camouflage) to appear just like you and me.  Scary right?  Only one person can see through them, drum roll please....enter Evie!  She's the star of the show but readers will soon find out that even though Evie's talent makes her unique and special, that might not be all it's cracked up to be.  We can go home and watch TV and listen to music, while at the drop of a hat Evie could be getting paged saying she has another mission: track down the bad guy (because she's the only one that can separate the bad guys from the normal people) and use yourself as bait.  When they're close enough (close enough to hurt or kill you that is) knock them out and take them into custody to be processed.  Piece of cake right? Ha...so wrong, no thank you, I so do not want any part of that job.

She has a talent for seeing spooky things so she doesn't have the luxury of being around normal people, doing normal things like going to school, attending prom, or even having human friends around to grab a slice of pizza with.  Instead she's best friends with a wicked smart mermaid (I adored Lish), has an ex-boyfriend who's a faerie with bad news written all over him (but of course he's stop you in your tracks gorgeous) and now she's got a crush on a yet to be determined/labeled paranormal that can shape shift to look like anyone he wants to.  So you can imagine it would take a lot to stress her out or worry her.

So when paranormals all over the world are turning up dead and the ex-boyfriend starts taking the term "stalker" to scary new heights, Evie is getting nervous and she might be the only one who can do anything to help.  But she's going to need help too and protection, not to mention answers, and lots of them.  So will Evie and her crew of crazies (just kidding) be able to stop the deaths?  Will the ex-boyfriend get what's coming to him?  You'll have to read the book to find out of course but you certainly won't regret it.  And Kiersten, if you're reading this review (long shot I know)...I'm dying for the sequel and anyone who reads Paranormalcy will be counting down the days until the release too!

I gave Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy, #1) 4 shamrocks!!!!