NO PLACE TO FALL: JAYE ROBIN BROWN

Seems like this book has some mixed reviews, it is either a love it or hate it kind of book. This took me a bit to get the feel of it, but pretty soon I was really enjoying it. It was just one of those books that I wanted to go on reading for a long time because I just really started loving everyone in it. I didn't really know where it was going to go at first and I thought that was refreshing, and it really added to a perfect coming of age feeling.

BOOK BLURB:
Amber Vaughn is a good girl. She sings solos at church, babysits her nephew after school, and spends every Friday night hanging out at her best friend Devon’s house. It’s only when Amber goes exploring in the woods near her home, singing camp songs with the hikers she meets on the Appalachian Trail, that she feels free—and when the bigger world feels just a little bit more in reach.

When Amber learns about an audition at the North Carolina School of the Arts, she decides that her dream—to sing on bigger stages—could also be her ticket to a new life. Devon’s older (and unavailable) brother, Will, helps Amber prepare for her one chance to try out for the hypercompetitive arts school. But the more time Will and Amber spend together, the more complicated their relationship becomes . . . and Amber starts to wonder if she’s such a good girl, after all.

Then, in an afternoon, the bottom drops out of her family’s world—and Amber is faced with an impossible choice between her promise as an artist and the people she loves. Amber always thought she knew what a good girl would do. But between “right” and “wrong,” there’s a whole world of possibilities.

 Read it and see what you think, or go on Goodreads and see that feelings on this book are all over the place HERE.

BEST OF 2014 GIVEAWAY HOP

I didn't read as much this year, and I also found myself revisiting many of my past favorite books when I felt like I needed to visit an old friend. So as I sat down to pick my favorite reads I realized I didn't have as many as I thought. In years past, I have come up with a top ten best of the year, but I think this year I am going to share a top five, with some honorable mentions. Because folks that is all I've got for you this year, but I think we've still got some winners on our hands.

1. LOVE AND OTHER FOREIGN WORDS: ERIN McCAHAN

Erin McCahan wrote one of my all time favorite books in 2010, and I was so excited for her second book. It exceeded my expectations and I absolutely adored it.

2. ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER: STEPHANIE PERKINS

Another eagerly awaited release that knocked my socks off. I loved being back in Paris for Isla's love story.

3. THE SHADOW PRINCE: BREE DESPAIN

Bree is one of my dearest, oldest friends and I can admit that I probably would never have read this book if that wasn't the case, because...well...it wouldn't seem like my thing. And yet, it is so good that it makes it my thing.

4. THE VOW: JESSICA MARTINEZ

My favorite boy/girl friendship that I have ever read.

5.TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE

One of my favorite moments this year was meeting Jenny Han and having her sign my books. I have never had a author entertain me so much by read their work out loud. I can't wait for book #2 in this series!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

This year I also read and LOVED all of  Mhairi McFarlane's books. I could not chose which one I liked best or maybe one of them might have made my list. I loved them all equally in their own special way. I also loved the two debut books that I featured in the post before this: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord and Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander.

So my giveaway is simple, you can pick any book from my list and I will include Honorable Mentions as well. 

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2014 DEBUT AUTHOR GIVEAWAY HOP

I think it is so important to support stand out debut authors because the publishing world is not as easy and wonderful as you might dream and hope for. Plus the pressure of writing book two? Yikes, this is why I don't write books and just read them, no thanks for me. :)

These are my two stand-out debut author books for the year and I really hope to read more from these authors. I'm going to let the winner of this giveaway chose which book interests them the most and I will send it to you. How does that sound? I also hope you check these both out for yourselves and see what you think!




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IT'S NOT ME IT'S YOU: MHAIRI MCFARLANE

How delightful are the characters in Mhairi McFarlane's books? I can't even tell you. Three books now and I have been delighted by all of her characters. Her writing style in this book is the same as in her previous two. She writes a TON of little asides that go way over my head. However, her characters shine and make me want to read and read and read and then cry when there is no more to read. 

BOOK BLURB:

Delia Moss isn’t quite sure where she went wrong.

When she proposed and discovered her boyfriend was sleeping with someone else – she thought it was her fault.

When she realised life would never be the same again – she thought it was her fault.

And when he wanted her back life nothing had changed – Delia started to wonder if perhaps she was not to blame…

From Newcastle to London and back again, with dodgy jobs, eccentric bosses and annoyingly handsome journalists thrown in, Delia must find out where her old self went – and if she can ever get her back.

You can read more about it HERE. Thank you Edelweiss for the review copy.

I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN: JANDY NELSON

When you love a book like I loved Jandy Nelson's The Sky is Everywhere, you can get a nervous fluttery feeling in your tummy when you finally have your hands on her second book a whole 4 and a half years later after you feel in love with her writing.

In I'll Give you the Sun, she clearly proves that she is lives in kind of an author land of beautiful writing that is not easily visited by anyone else who writes books. This book is so beautifully written, and that you cannot argue with. It is well thought out and smart. You can see in the first few pages why it took Nelson years to write another book. But did I love it? Maybe.

I had a few issues with it, the main one being I wish she had made the characters at least one or even two years older. Sometimes it just felt too mature to believe the characters were as young as they were supposed to be. Then, even though it was pretty much done perfectly, I didn't like the past/present time switch. I rarely do like any type of voice change or time change because I just like to keep reading the story I'm reading. In this, each time I had to switch to the brother or sister I was annoyed. Lastly,  I thought maybe the writing was too pretty and perfect. I know, hard to imagine having a problem with something being too pretty or perfect, but there were so many beautifully writen lines and descriptions I sometimes couldn't digest them because it was like I said...just TOO much.

So if I had to pick, I would still go with preferring The Sky is Everywhere. But I can't imagine anyone not feeling something wonderful by reading this. And I wish and hope and pray that I don't have to wait another 5 years for her next book, but if I do I know it will be worth the wait.

BOOK BLURB:
Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

Read more about it HERE.

LOVE AND OTHER UNKNOWN VARIABLES: SHANNON LEE ALEXANDER

Read this book if you have ever wondered what it would be like to be loved, adored, worshiped, and have your spirited lifted by a geeky boy. Our hero in this male POV novel is so stinking loveable and likeable and funny and charming that absolutely nothing could have happened in this book and I would have still enjoyed it. One of my favorite heads to be in as a reader ever.

BOOK BLURB:
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).

You can read more about it HERE.

ONE PLUS ONE: JOJO MOYES

This is the kind of book that I just see a lot of people liking. It just has these fun, loveable, flawed characters that are just interesting to read about. It isn't a "dumb" book, but it isn't isn't a hard read either. It is just that kind of novel that sucks you in and entertains you and makes you believe in happy endings despite the crap of life.

BOOK BLURB:

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.

Tiny bit of swearing, a little romance. Overall, not overly adult in nature.  

You can read more about it HERE.