Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts

October 11, 2014

Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander




Love and Other
Unknown Variables
by Shannon Lee Alexander


Published: October 7th 2014
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Format: Ebook


Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck.

The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy.

By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).



AMAZON | B&N | iTUNES






*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
At first I was a little hesitant whether I wanted to read the book or not. It was compared to The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, and you remember what happened with that. Not my favorite book, though I didn't hate it either. The main problem was I thought it would be about one thing, but as it turned out, it was about completely another thing!
Well, the same thing happened here, kind of. I expected the focus would be on Charlie and how he's a complete geek and completely fells for this girl, who is ill. It was a little bit like that, but something was missing.

Everything was just too.. mild. For example the synopsis describes Charlie's prank "the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history". It would be a completely different thing if Charlie pranked Charlotte's sister for the right reasons (like, for having fun etc.) but to take her attention off Charlotte? Really didn't get that.
And the whole pranking thing felt just a little awkward over all. As in this is actually funny haha vs. I'm trying to act as if this is funny.

I was also having hard time with their whole romance, cause I didn't really feel the vibe. Maybe there was some chemistry, but again I felt like things were really mild.
This was probably why I had no urge to finish this book. I usually read a little before going to bed and halfway through the book began checking the page numbers. Cause I felt like I had been reading this book for weeks and I was convinced I was nearly finished. As it turned out, I wasn't even halfway through which usually means it's way too slow-paced for me.

So overall, I loved the idea of this book, but as it turned out, ended up just liking it.


My thanks to Entangled Publishing for providing a copy for review!






ABOUT AUTHOR


Shannon Lee Alexander is a wife and mother (of two kids and one yellow terrier named Harriet Potter).
She is passionate about coffee, books, and cancer research. Math makes her break out in a sweat.
Love and Other Unknown Variables is her debut novel. She currently lives in Indianapolis with her family.



WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS






June 25, 2013

Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend blog tour + Giveaway (US)!

Welcome to my stop on the Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!


Confessions of an
Almost-Girlfriend
by Louise Rozett


Published: June 18th 2013
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Ebook
Pages: 336
Source: For review
Amazon | B&N


Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year — everything is going to be different. This year, she’s going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around...

...but if she’s not careful, she’s also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the “good girl” who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed goes unpunished) and possibly worst of all...the almost-girlfriend.

When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself.


*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Here's my review for the first book, and I shall quote myself..

"..And since Rose is older in the next book, I suspect I won't be having that much trouble with the age issue then!"

So that's how I ended the first books review. How stupid of me, that was clearly a jinx.
But more on that later, because the main thing is.. This definitely ends up being one of my this years favorite books, and is just as brilliant as the first one!

Things are pretty much the same with Rose, meaning everything is f'ed up and she's kind of angry. Not as angry as before, but somewhat. So she spends a lot of time in therapy with her mother, because why wouldn't that be fun?
Her brother is just as absent as before and has some pretty dark secrets. Her best friends seem to have their own things and then there's Jamie Forta, who is even more of a mystery than before!
I would be annoyed, too.

Rose manages to surprise my yet again. Even though she's angry and feels betrayed by everyone, she manages to make the best of it. Just like that she finds her true calling and starts to grow up (fast)!
She doesn't let anyone else define her, but starts to trust herself and her good heart and.. she just amazes me, again. She's an inspiring main character and I just can't get enough of her!
But this time, I wasn't really impressed with Jamie Forta. Or with any other character, really. They made me feel annoyed and basically the same feelings as Rose. And the feminist inside me was all hooray! when Rose finally realized Jamie Forta isn't the answer! Yay! (But why do I keep writing "Jamie Forta"? Can't I just use one name?! Guess he's just one of those guys..)

Then there's the one, and only, but. This is the reason why there's half a cupcake missing, and is the same reason I didn't completely fell in love with the first book. The age thing.
I know, Rose is older and wiser, but, again, it's just too much. She's supposed to be 15. How many of you found their true calling at the age of fifteen? How many of you weren't an awkward blob most of the time? And here I'm waving my hand, because I remember what it was like to be fifteen. I was the most awkward girl on my class and just tried to fit in, and so did pretty much everyone else. We were just ridiculous and thinking back to those days just makes me want to cry most of the time.
We were childish and so extremely ridiculous and yes, now I'm definitely crying. It was just.. horrible. Nothing like Rose's life, which really makes me envy her.

Huge thanks for the review copy, this was definitely a pleasure!







Remember to check out..

Confessions of an
Angry Girl
by Louise Rozett


Published: August 28th 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Amazon | B&N


Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…

1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?

2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.

3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry — get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable. (Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.) (Sorry. That was rude.)



*** GIVEAWAY ***

a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the author


Louise Rozett is an author, a playwright, and a recovering performer.

She made her YA debut with Confessions of an Angry Girl, published by Harlequin Teen. The next book in the series, Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend, is due out June 2013.

She lives with her 120-pound Bernese Mountain dog Lester (named after Lester Freamon from THE WIRE, of course) in one of the world's greatest literary meccas, Brooklyn...and also in sunny Los Angeles. (Being bi-coastal is fun!)

Visit www.Louiserozett.com for more info.


website │ blog │ goodreads │ twitter │ facebook │

pinterest






June 11, 2013

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi


Through the Ever Night
by Veronica Rossi


Published: May 7th 2013
(first published January 8th 2013)
Publisher: WSOY
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Source: Received for review
from adlibris.com
Amazon |
Book Depository

It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission.

Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, can their love survive through the ever night?
In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.




*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
This book continues where Under the Never Sky left. In the first book we saw Aria who had lived her whole life in Reverie and wouldn't have survive without help. Now both Perry and Aria have gone through huge changes; Aria was a scared little girl, but now an experienced hunter and traveler. Perry's new position as The Tides leader isn't what he thought, thanks to worsening Aether storms and harder living conditions. He tries his best but just can't seem to live up to his brother.
The world is in near chaos and their only hope is to find Still Blue, where the sky really is still blue without any Aether storms.

If I remember correctly, this series is going to be a trilogy. And many times the second book is nothing but some "filling" and everyone just waits for the third book. But luckily this ended up being just as good as the first one! I loved the first book and I loved this just as much.

In the end, I had very little to complain about. Yeah, I know, that's rare! I actually had only two complaints: First was about how there wasn't really any recap in the beginning. It had been a while since I read the first book, so it was kind of hard to dive into the story when I had absolutely no idea what happened in the first book! Minor detail, but bugged me a little.
The second problem was with the translation. I was reading Finnish edition and mostly it was perfectly translated and original. There was just two incidents, where the translator decided to use English words. One word was "ignore" and the second "stalk". Believe me, if everything else is perfect Finnish, it's pretty weird to stumble on some English words used as they are!
I know Finnish is hard sometimes, especially when the perfect word doesn't exist. But I cried only little over this, so no harm done!

And now.. We'll just wait another year for another book. So the usual problem.


My thanks to Adlibris.com for providing the review copy!







May 28, 2013

Nissa by Bethany Lopez


Nissa
by Bethany Lopez


Published: April 23rd 2013
Format: Ebook
Pages: 216
Source: Received for
review purposes
Amazon |


At 900 years old, Nissa is finally ready to follow her mother's path and become the best Fairy Godmother she can.
She’s not thrilled when her first assignment turns out to be a teenage human girl with self-esteem issues, but she knows she has to start somewhere.
Her assignment has dealt with bullies since her freshman year and they haven’t let up. If Nissa can’t help her regain her self-confidence her future is bleak.

To complicate matters Nissa experiences all the signs that she's met the being fated for her. This impossibility distracts her from her purpose. After all, fairies and humans aren't meant for each other.
How can her heart believe otherwise? Can Nissa successfully complete her first assignment as a Fairy Godmother?
Will the fates allow Nissa and Levi to be together? And even if they do, will Levi believe Nissa once she reveals the truth?




*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
This book was described as "a contemporary fairy tale", so of course I couldn't wait to dive in. I'm a sucker for that kind of stories, and the gorgeous cover definitely didn't hurt! Seriously, just love it.

And the beginning was quite promising. Nissa decides she wants to be a fairy godmother and her first assignment is a teenage girl named Vicky. Then it got pretty bad.
By bad I mean the story didn't have a soul. Weird thing to say, but it was just empty. I couldn't connect with the story or with the characters.
I'm really having hard time to describe the problem here. It's like someone just tells you "main character named X meets a dude and they look each other. Now they are like feeling the connection and all. They like really fall for each other." Yeah, you can keep telling me that, but that just isn't good enough.
That pretty much describes the love story here. First Nissa meets Levi, drools over him a little, then they're suddenly sleeping together, then they're.. I don't even know what they are. There's absolutely no chemistry between these two characters so how am I suppose to believe they are falling for each other? I have no idea.

There was just this overall emptiness that bothered me so much. I really wanted to give only one cupcake, but I absolutely loved the idea behind this book and the cover, so I had to give two cupcakes.






April 16, 2013

Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting


Dead Silence
by Kimberly Derting


Published: April 16th 2013
(today!)

Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: The Body Finder #4
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Source: For review
Amazon | Book Depository



Violet thought she’d made peace with her unique ability to sense the echoes of the dead and the imprints that cling to their killers… that is until she acquired an imprint of her own.

Forced to carry a reminder of the horrible events of her kidnapping, Violet is more determined than ever to lead a normal life. However, the people who run the special investigative team Violet works for have no intention of letting her go.

When someone close to Violet becomes a suspect in a horrific murder, she finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a madman with an army of devoted followers. Violet has survived dangerous situations before, but she quickly discovers that protecting those closest to her is far more difficult than protecting herself.


*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Okay, let's get something clear. Before I read this, I heard this was going to be the last book in the series. But after finishing this, I was convinced I remembered wrong, and this isn't the last book. Then, I read someone else's review saying this is the last book! Is this, or is this not, the last book!?
Because if this is, I need to wipe this whole review and give just one cupcake and be all WTH!?
Okay, I'll just google this, just a sec..

Few google searches and a day later..
Yeah, still have no idea if this was really the final book. But let's presume not, since it definitely didn't feel like it.

It's been a while since Violet got attacked and got the imprint of her own. Things have settled, yet her life definitely isn't what it used to be; she's avoiding her friends, avoiding the group (and Rafe), having trouble with sleeping, you name it.
And like in every book, Violet (stupidly) wonders to places she's not suppose to and finds a bunch of bodies.
After this Violet gets to know her talent better, learns interesting things of the past and finally opens up to at least one of her friends. Prepare yourself!

Violet is pretty much her old self, just a little sleep deprived. Unfortunately she hasn't really learn impulse control, so she just runs off, hunting dead bodies! Never liked that quality in her, since she always gets into trouble that way! But other than that, I do like her.
Actually a little more now, since she did evolve a little; she realized she actually has friends worth trusting, and opens up a little. I always wondered how she can truly be a real friend if she has to hide such a huge part of herself, but now she has another true friend. Yet, that's when things get complicated.. Another thing Violet notices: it bothers her when Rafe gets close to another girl. Like, really bothers her. Someone might say she's screwed, I say YAY! *happydance*
But that's the main reason why it's so hard to believe this would be the last book; there's been a whole lot of hinting towards love triangle, and now something may actually happen, so this can't be it! Violet's realization was the huge cliffhanger for me and definitely makes me crave for the next book!
And yeah, I'm definitely Team Rafe, especially when he does something Jay never thought of. Don't want to spoil it, let's just say it's extremely creepy yet so romantic, you just have to love that kind of guy!

My thanks to HarperCollins for providing a copy for review!









April 12, 2013

The Unloved Blog Tour + Giveaway (INT)!


Welcome to my stop on the The Unloved blog tour by Jennifer Snyder hosted by YA Bound. Click HERE to see the rest of the blog tour schedule!


The Unloved
by Jennifer Snyder


Published: July 28th 2012
Pages: 263
Source: For review

The Unloved is on sale this week only for $.99!
Amazon | B&N


Sometimes the love our heart needs to heal can be found in the familiar eyes of a childhood friend...

Julie Porter learned the hard way that trust is something which must be earned and not something to be given out lightly, those who say they love you are those who hold the power to hurt you most, and best friends can help you survive anything—until they move away.

Nick Owen knows a thing or two about a hard life. At a young age Nick learned how to take a hit and to make lemonade out of the lemons life tossed his way. Returning home after nearly two years of being away, all Nick cares about now is protecting his mom from the abusive hands of his father and catching up with his best friend—the girl who lived across the street, the girl he can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Finally reunited after two years apart, Nick and Julie are about to learn that age does nothing to protect you from life’s trials and tribulations, heartache and loss, but maybe together they’ll find a way to survive.


*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Like I've mentioned so many times earlier, I have a thing for sad and even disturbing stories. So I was absolutely thrilled to read this book!

Jules and Nick have always had it hard, but together they stayed strong. Until one day Nick was gone and Jules was left all alone against the world. But now it's two years later and Nick is back.

Like I said, I had some high hopes for this, and I wasn't really disappointed. In occasions, I managed to take the heartache and pain and feel like it was my own. And who doesn't love that??
Yet I had some trouble with connecting the characters. Some of the things were just so over the top, I couldn't take them seriously. Like how Jules feels so many times every guy is a potential rapist, or just a total creep, except for Nick of course. But everyone else seem to be a threat. And how she dresses to shirts 10 sizes too big. It was just taken too far.
And the beginning with Nick coming back to home.. To a mum, who just didn't seem to give a ****. Absolutely.. don't even know what.
Definitely too much sometimes, and sometimes just not enough.

I still managed to enjoy this, and even though I shouldn't describe this as "good time", that's exactly what I'm going to do. This didn't change my life, but was some pretty good time!




a Rafflecopter giveaway





About the author


I live in a small town nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina with my husband and two small children. Growing up, I was always an avid reader. My mother spent way too much money on R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike books!

Writing a novel of my own wasn't something I'd ever given much thought to. It seemed like an unobtainable, far-fetched dream. Then, in late 2007, I attempted to put pen to paper for the first time. What came out wasn't pure gold. And what came out next wasn't either. Things didn't work that way for me. I had to write and rewrite and learn more about my 'voice' as an author first.

It took me a while to find that. Roughly about two years.

I did make a stab at going the traditional route to getting a novel of mine published, but it didn't work out. Some might say I gave up too quickly, some might not. You can look on the 'For Writers' tab to read my post on why I went the way I did to hear the full story.

I will say, I don't regret my decision to Self-Publish. It was right for me. I'm loving that fact that I am able to still be a stay-at-home-mom even though my kids are both now in elementary school. I thank my readers for that. Seriously, a million times over I thank you!

SHATTERED SOUL was my debut novel and no, you haven't seen the end of me yet...


blog | twitter | facebook | goodreads






March 29, 2013

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth


Bitter Greens
by Kate Forsyth


Published: February 25th 2013
(first published January 1st 2012)

Publisher: Allison & Busby
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 542
Source: For review
Amazon |
Book Depository




An utterly captivating reinvention of the Rapunzel fairytale weaved together with the scandalous life of one of the tale's first tellers, Charlotte-Rose de la Force.

Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. She is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...

Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death, sixty-four years later. Called La Strega Bella, Selena is at the centre of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition, retaining her youth and beauty by the blood of young red-haired girls.

After Margherita's father steals a handful of parsley, wintercress and rapunzel from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off unless he and his wife give away their little red-haired girl. And so, when she turns seven, Margherita is locked away in a tower, her hair woven together with the locks of all the girls before her, growing to womanhood under the shadow of La Strega Bella, and dreaming of being rescued...

Three women, three lives, three stories, braided together to create a compelling story of desire, obsession, black magic and the redemptive power of love.




*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Bitter Greens ended up being a captivating story mixing both fiction and fantasy! This was both a fairytale retelling of Rapunzel and historical fiction revolving around Charlotte-Rose de la Force's scandalous life. Charlotte-Rose de la Force actually was a French novelist and poet. She was also the one telling the tale of Rapunzel for the first time. This definitely peaked my interested and added something extra for the story!

About half the book is about Charlotte-Rose de la Force and her life. Thanks to some scandals, king forces her to move to a convent, where life isn't fun and games. Especially in the beginning her life is miserable. We also get to see glimpses of her earlier life, which was filled with dancing, flirting, scandals, you name it. And I must say I definitely enjoyed those stories more.
Then there's the story of Rapunzel, which locates to Italy in the 16th century. This is the part containing most of the fantasy, yet I still ended up loving Charlotte-Rose's story more. Somehow it just seemed more relatable and the story just flowed. I could've read a book solely concentrating on Charlotte-Rose!

Through the book there's a lot of jumping back and forth in time, which many times confuses me. I don't usually get easily confused, but I never seem to remember which year we're in, so I always have to browse through earlier chapters. And when you add different stories and characters to that.. Oh my, I should've been completely lost!
Yet, the author managed the jumps brilliantly, even my chicken brain managed to stay focused!

This was kind of a risk for me to read, since I usually stick to young adult literature if possible. And tend to avoid any historical- something. So when I actually ended up enjoying this book, I was so happy! Because it's always a pleasure to find a great read, and it's somehow even more amazing when it's out of your comfort zone.
You don't like historical fiction? You should try this out! Love historical fiction? Again, you should definitely try this out.


My thanks to The Book Depository for providing the review copy!









March 20, 2013

Blog Tour: The Boys of Summer by C. J. Duggan


Welcome to my stop on The Boys of Summer blog tour hosted by YA Bound. Click HERE to check out the full blog tour schedule!


The Boys of Summer
by C. J. Duggan


Published: December 17th 2012
Format: Kindle edition
Pages: 321
Source: For review
Amazon |


It seemed only natural to nickname them the ‘Onslow Boys’.
Every time they swaggered in the front door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and genuine as they settled onto their bar stools.
I peeked through the restaurant partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I saw them, saw him ...
Toby Morrison.

Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.

To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.

How did she let her friends talk her into working?

After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away.
However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.

All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.

It will be a summer she will always remember.






*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
This was a really great and summery read! The story is about a 17 year old girl named Tess. She's sort of a loner, who has two best friends but other than that prefers to go unnoticed. But her ex decides otherwise and tries his best to pick on her.
Yet Tess tries her best to to have a summer of her life! And what's a better way than accepting a great job where you can have all the fun with your best friends? Of course, things won't go exactly like planned, especially when "The Onslow Boys" show up..

There was things I liked and things I wasn't such a huge fan of. I especially loved the writing style, it was easy going and sometimes there was some extremely hilarious sayings, whether they were intentional or not.
Other thing I loved was Tess' sidekicks, Adam and Ellie! They were definitely my favorites, 'cause they seemed real. They had their flaws, but that just made them more humen. Don't get me wrong, I liked Tess and The Onslow Boys, but those characters just seemed too.. typical.

And that ended up being the biggest turn off for me; even though I liked Tess and even Toby, they just seemed like the typical couple in this kind of book. There's the girl everyone thinks is unattractive/ugly/you name it, until one day she takes off her glasses/wears a tight sweater/you name it and everyone notices she's actually HOT.
And there's the older guy, who already has a girlfriend and/or some other obstacle on their way, but the younger girl is so hot he just can't let it go! Sound familiar?

So, the story wasn't the most original ever, but it was definitely entertaining! This would've been a perfect read for a hot summer day, unfortunately it's -20 degrees Celsius and summer feels so far away.. Luckily, this is the perfect way to travel to those sunny days ahead!




Buy Links:
 photo B6096376-6C81-4465-8935-CE890C777EB9-1855-000001A1E900B890_zps5affbed6.jpg  photo 111AD205-AA04-4F9E-A0F4-C1264C4E9F30-1855-000001A1E8CEB6D7_zps9b730b94.jpg


Add An Endless Summer(Summer #2) to Goodreads






C.J Duggan is an Australian author who lives with her husband in a rural border town, New South Wales, Australia.
The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature Young Adult Romance Series.




Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook




Enter below to win one of 5 e-book copies of The Boys of Summer, open Internationally! a Rafflecopter giveaway




March 04, 2013

Shadow of Time by Jen Minkman


Shadow of Time
by Jen Minkman


Published: January 1st 2013
Publisher: CreateSpace
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
FREE ON AMAZON |


All Hannah needs is a nice and quiet vacation after her first year of teaching French at a high school. She joins her brother Ben for the summer in their mom’s log cabin in Arizona. There, she meets Josh again, Ben’s childhood friend from the Navajo reservation. The little boy from the rez has grown up fast, and Hannah can’t help but feeling more for him than just friendship.

But fate apparently has something else in store for her. And it’s not peace and quiet. Night after night, Hannah is plagued by strange nightmares about the past of Navajo Nation and terrifying shadows chasing her. They seem to come closer – and why is Josh always present in her dreams?

Sometimes, the past has a way of catching up with you.




*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Our main character is Hannah, who is on her way to Arizona, where she's suppose to meet her brother, Ben. Before she gets there, she runs into a hot stranger while fueling up. She's blushing like an idiot, but manages to somewhat get over it, until she realizes The Hottie is Josh, his brother's best friend. He's the guy who used to call her "big sister". And he still is only 17!
Hannah tries her best to get over his hotness, but doesn't really manage that so well. Especially when she sometimes feels like he might feel the same way about her.
And that isn't her only problem; she's started seeing some weird dreams, where Josh is with her. And after first running into three drunken guys, he keeps seeing groups of three men everywhere. Sometimes not even men, but coyotes. You'd be freaking out, too!

Main thing left in my mind about the book was a huge admiration towards the author. Because times and times again I was just astonished her knowledge of Native American culture! She's really done her homework and a whole lot of more on top of that! She knew everything about customs and culture and language and it just kept surprising me over and over again. That's definitely a positive thing. But it also made me wish I was more into Native American culture. Or to any other culture. In school, any class about different cultures or even about history and I was fast asleep. Like in ten seconds! I have no idea how that's even possible, but it's a true story, I swear.
So, there was a whole lot of information in this book. Yet I didn't fall asleep, but I did get distracted occasionally. There was just so much details about a subject I'm not that interested about, so I had to take a lot of breaks. But still, I always came back!

The story was pretty slow paced, probably because of the huge amount of details. That also kept distracting me, and I had to really focus and remind myself that this is a love story and the main focus should be on Hannah and Josh.
In the end, they are a great couple, but Josh was definitely my favorite! Hannah was suppose to be an adult, yet she acts like she's fifteen with all the blushing etc. And the age difference bothered me. And I kept reminding myself that my husband is six years older than me, but then I remember I was 20 when we started going out. Everything was legal. Yes yes, I'm definitely old.

In the end, I didn't really get along with the characters, but still, the main thing on my mind about this book is how talented and passionate the author is. I'm not a fan of Native American culture, and probably never will be, but I hope someone who is will read this. Because this will probably become his/her favorite book, thanks to amazing details and a great love story!


My thanks to the author for providing a copy for review!





Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 

Mind Reading? Copyright 2009 Sweet Cupcake Designed by Ipiet Templates Image by Tadpole's Notez Mods Monaliz