PIVOT POINT: KASIE WEST

I don't think I would have ever read these if I hadn't loved Kasie West's contemporary book The Distance Between Us and loved it. That would have been a shame because these are really smart and totally great. 

When I finished the last page of the second book I closed my copy and said out loud: "Wow that was clever." Which I didn't think once while I was reading because I was too entertained to notice how clever and well thought out this whole story was. So on top of a great premise, the writing is fun, clever and guess what? It is completely clean for you moms that have little (or not so little) readers in your home. 

Normally I HATE alternate reality stories. In fact I just read one (or attempted to read it) and I couldn't keep the different stories straight and I hated reading a story that kept getting interrupted by the other reality. In Pivot Point, the interruption of the stories in this is a minor offense because both story lines were equally good and different enough to keep me from going crazy trying to keep them straight. 

BOOK BLURB: (For book one only because the blurb for book two contains spoilers for book one!)

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Be sure to check out Kasie's other books too. I haven't read On The Fence just yet, but I adored The Distance Between Us.  

Find out more about Kasie and her books HERE.

THE SHADOW PRINCE: BREE DESPAIN

Full disclosure, Bree is one of my best friends in the world. She is one of the nicest and coolest girls around in case you are wondering. She has done her homework and this is one well written book. I never wanted to leave the world or the characters she created in this book. I always get so excited when secondary characters shine as much as the main characters. There are so many well rounded great secondary characters in this book that add so much to the whole feel of the story.

The book is in dual perspective and it is done WELL. I can't say that happens all the time when this style is used. But it has purpose here and adds depth to the story. Bree's style is this: she loves big epic stories with a bit of humor. I adored Haden and loved getting a laugh while he tried to figure out what in the world we humans mean by the things we say.

The Shadow Prince lays down the ground work for a very exciting trilogy unlike anything else I have read before. Bree wanted to write this as a stand alone, but "her people" convinced her that the story could not be contained in just one book. So if you are thinking: "Ugh, another trilogy? I can't take it!" Then just know that there is a method to the madness, and sometimes it takes a few books to get good and involved with characters that are easy to love.

BOOK BLURB:

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.

This book is totally clean. I read so much crap these days and this book really felt like a little beacon of light in this little world. There are just so many things Bree does well in this book, and I am so relieved she is such a talented writer. How awkward would that be if I didn't like her books? :)

Here are some pics I took from Bree's book release party at The King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City, Utah. That last one is of my cute daughter who can't wait to learn to read enough to read Bree's books.

MISFIT: JON SKOVRON

This book is never in a million years the kind of book I would pick up on my own. However, I had read another Jon Skovron book and really enjoyed his writing style so I put this on my to-read list. It is hard to say how I really felt about this book because a book this size would have normally taken me not too long to read. But because of a lot of family time (weddings, births, guests, oh my) this took me weeks.

Every time I sat down to read it I was transported into the world the author created and I liked that world very much. It did feel like most of the book was exposition and then the big finish just came too quickly. But AGAIN, I don't have the best feel for the flow of this book because my usual reading pace was way off. Also, I loved some of the secondary characters but I thought the best friend and love interest were a bit flat. But the story and writing were quite above average.

So is this a book you should try? If you like strong girls, interesting back stories, believable fantastical creatures based in old myths you should read this. Even if you don't you might still like it...like me.

BOOK BLURB:
Jael Thompson has never really fit in. She’s changed schools too many times to count. The only family she’s ever known is her father, a bitter ex-priest who never lets her date and insists she attend the strictest Catholic school in Seattle. And her mother—well, she was a five thousand year old demon. That doesn’t exactly help.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives her a present that brings about some unexpected changes. Some of the changes, like strange and wonderful powers and the cute skater boy with a knack for science, are awesome. But others, like the homicidal demon seeking revenge on her family? Not so much.

Steeped in mythology, this is an epic tale of a heroine who balances old world with new, science with magic, and the terrifying depths of the underworld with the ordinary halls of high school.

You can read more about it HERE. 

PARALLEL: LAUREN MILLER

The cover of this book is pretty, but I admit I judged the cover. I had the book checked out from the library twice before I finally read it. Why? Because it looked all si-fi to me and I just kept putting off the read and back to the library it had to go.

When I finally sat down and read this I was surprised. Miller takes a really complicated plot line and somehow makes it pretty easy to follow. It was interesting and I just really enjoyed the read. This book crosses over genres. The girls who like the si-fi and fantasy would enjoy this book as much as girls like me who generally don't like the si-fi or fantasy. A clever standout 2013 debut for sure.

BOOK BLURB:

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice—taking a drama class her senior year of high school—changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten.

With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach.

It has been awhile since I read this, but I remember it being a pretty clean read with a few swear words and talk of the existence of sex, but nothing more than kissing for our main character. Read more about it HERE.

UNEARTHLY SERIES: CYNTHIA HAND

I'm quite late on this series, but honestly I don't start most series books until they are all out. How else could I keep track of the details? I was surprised how much I like this. I found the whole thing interesting and endearing. I had some issues with the ending, but overall nothing worth ignoring the series for. Mostly I enjoyed how the plot developed and kept pulling me in with new and interesting tidbits along the way.

BOOK BLURB (BOOK ONE):

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .
Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

It is a pretty clean read with some swearing here and there. Also the swoony moments don't go too far. Read more about the first book HERE.

THE LOST GIRL: SANGU MANDANNA

This is not the type of book I usually seek out, but I kept reading good reviews so I decided to give it a shot. Even so it sat on my shelf for a long time with the "science fiction" library sticker taunting me to hate it. However, this book kept me sucked in until the very last page.  It is a concept that has been explored many times in literature, but this felt fresh. Overall what kept me reading was the voice of the very human man made girl that I wanted to cheer for from the first page.

BOOK BLURB:

Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other”, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.

From debut novelist Sangu Mandanna comes the dazzling story of a girl who was always told what she had to be—until she found the strength to decide for herself.

Read more about this book HERE. 

TIGER LILY: JODI LYNN ANDERSON

This book completely transported me to a magical world, and I loved all of it. I don't even know what possessed me to pick this up. I don't really like fantasy books, and I didn't like Anderson's contemporary romance series Peaches at all. But I liked Tiger Lily right away. The poetic and full words swept me off to an island with a very loveable Tinkerbell as my guide.

BOOK BLURB:

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

I don't generally keep track of quotes, but this book was so darn full of them that I had to make note of at least two:

" 'I'm not myself,' she offered, guilty. 

He smiled. 'You can never say that. You're just a piece of yourself right now that you don't like.' "

And then this one:

"To love someone was not what she had expected. It was like falling from somewhere high up and breaking in half, and only one person having the secret to the puzzle of putting her back together." 

At first this felt like a book that a mother could sit and read to her 8 - 10 year old daugter. But despite the fact that it is a clean read it is probably too dark for most children. The darkness was one of the reasons I loved it though.

Again, this book surprised me in so many ways because I just didn't think I could like it, but I freaking loved it. My cute daughter was fascinated when I told her I was reading a book about Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, and I promised my four year old that I would read it to her one day. Hopefully she will love it too.