THE SCAR BOYS: LEN VLAHOS

Well written with a very strong voice, The Scar Boys is one of those books that isn't that easy to categorize as YA or adult. There should be a book genre called Adult Nostalgia. Because I can see adults enjoying this as much or more than an average teen since this takes place during the rise of Punk music.

Over the last while I have decided that I don't care for memoir books, but this felt like a really amazing memoir. It isn't full of manufactured emotions even though it could have felt that way with how dramatic this story is sometimes. It just felt real and honest and so observant of basic human behavior. This might be the most enjoyable time I have had being in the mind of a character that really hates himself, but doesn't really want to.

BOOK BLURB:

A severely burned teenager. A guitar. Punk rock. The chords of a rock 'n' roll road trip in a coming-of-age novel that is a must-read story about finding your place in the world...even if you carry scars inside and out.

In attempting to describe himself in his college application essay--help us to become acquainted with you beyond your courses, grades, and test scores--Harbinger (Harry) Jones goes way beyond the 250-word limit and gives a full account of his life.

The first defining moment: the day the neighborhood goons tied him to a tree during a lightning storm when he was 8 years old, and the tree was struck and caught fire. Harry was badly burned and has had to live with the physical and emotional scars, reactions from strangers, bullying, and loneliness that instantly became his everyday reality.

The second defining moment: the day in 8th grade when the handsome, charismatic Johnny rescued him from the bullies and then made the startling suggestion that they start a band together. Harry discovered that playing music transported him out of his nightmare of a world, and he finally had something that compelled people to look beyond his physical appearance. Harry's description of his life in his essay is both humorous and heart-wrenching. He had a steeper road to climb than the average kid, but he ends up learning something about personal power, friendship, first love, and how to fit in the world. While he's looking back at the moments that have shaped his life, most of this story takes place while Harry is in high school and the summer after he graduates.

Thanks to NetGalley for this read.

IT FELT LIKE A KISS: SARRA MANNING

So one of my best Christmas presents was from my mom. She snagged me an ARC of our favorite author's new book. Normally I would wait and be patient to read this closer to the release date, but I don't even know the US release date...so who cares right? Instant book gratification never hurt anyone that much.

It Felt Like A Kiss was great. It was a bit slow starting, but I was still enjoying it. The last half was almost impossible to put down. Also, I love love loved having cameos from my two favorite Manning characters Vaughn and Grace as well. 

BOOK BLURB:

Ellie manages a swank Mayfair gallery, but it’s her life that’s a real work of art. Great job, really good hair, loyal friends, loving family. It’s only her succession of lame duck boyfriends that ruin the picture.

Oh, and the world-famous rock-star father she’s never met, who won’t even acknowledge her existence.

Then Ellie’s perfect life is smashed to pieces when her secret is sold to the highest bidder and her name, face (and pictures of her bottom) are splashed across the tabloids. Suddenly everyone thinks she’s a gold-digging, sex-crazy, famewhore.

Enter David Gold. Charming and handsome David Gold. On paper he’s even more perfect than Ellie, if only he wasn’t her father’s ruthlessly ambitious lawyer whose job is to manage the crisis – and her. He certainly doesn’t think that Ellie’s the innocent party and she doesn’t trust him at all. So why is it that every time they’re alone together, damage limitation is the last thing on their minds?

So what are you going to do since this book isn't even out yet in the UK, which means who knows when you'll be able to get it in the US? I have a brilliant solution for you: Go to Amazon and either borrow Unsticky for free if you are an Amazon Prime member, or freaking buy it for $2.99. I'm sure you have bought worse books for that price.

After that you will be all caught up on Grace and Vaughn. If you can't wait for more Manning You Don't Have To Say You Love Me is also crazy cheap and available to borrow. These are two of my favorite books of all time people!

Sarra writes some sexy scenes in her books, but they are not glamorized romance novel type scenes. There is always a fair amount of character driven swearing as well. 

She is my favorite author of chick-lit and YA. End of. (That is my favorite British saying ;) )

THE NATURALS: JENNIFER LYNN BARNES

This surprised me. I thought this was really smart. I loved how well thought out it was. I loved the dialogue between all of the characters. I thought the premise was cool. And I for sure did not predict the twist. Now, I don't read a lot of suspense/mystery books, but I honestly cannot remember the last time I was actually surprised by a twist. Apparently this is going to have a second book...I look forward to it. 

This was a sit down and start, and read till your done kind of book for me. Great from beginning to end.

BOOK BLURB:

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Overall, we have a pretty dark subject here. However, it is still really a clean read. No swearing that I can remember. 

Thanks NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the read.

BEST OF 2013 GIVEAWAY!

Yikes it is here again! Time to think about and share my favorite reads of this past year. So for 2013 my total books read went down by half. Mostly because I started a ton of books that I did not finish. I've started to realize pretty quickly if I am going to like a book and I honestly just can't bare to read more than a chapter or two of some of them. I mean, who wants to spend time reading a bad book? :)

I only gave 8 books out of my 141 reads this year 5 stars. So there were some standouts, yes, but not as many as I have had in year's past. After much deliberation I have come up with my top 10 of 2013. And one lucky reader will get to choose from one of these amazing reads for their own collection.

10.

Admittedly, I don't remember that much about this book. But I do remember that I loved it very much. A friend and I were talking about it and we weren't sure if this book was really that good, or if we had been in that bad of a reading rut. I think it was that good. This might be the first time I've really enjoyed reading a story within a story which is what you will find in Golden.

9.

This might be the saddest book I have ever read about a neglectful horrific mother. How this book is still so hopeful is a testament to an amazing job by Emily Murdoch. It might be the first horrifically sad book that I would be willing to read again. 

8.

This is my favorite "cute" book of the year. There isn't any huge family issues, or some horrible story of abuse, or someone dealing with a death of a loved one. This book is just a cute little romance with plenty of sassy lines, swoony moments, and good fleshed out secondary characters. There is just no better word for it than CUUUUUTE!

7.

This is the only book I have found so far in all of my reading that is the equivalent of a Chick-Lit book written by a guy about what it is like to be a guy. But don't let my Chick-Lit comparison make you think less of it. It is smart, funny, very funny, and hilarious, and has a ton of heart. Parts of this might shock my more innocent readers because it talks of guy stuff pretty openly, but if you can get through the first bit and you are still enjoying it then you will definitely enjoy the rest. I really wish there were more books like this in the world.

6.

Can Miss Rainbow Rowell have two books on my list this year? I'll give you a hint: the answer is the opposite of "no way hoseay". Fangirl is great, and it was a nice comfort to know that Rowell was not an author who could only come up with one amazing book. She had more tricks up her sleeve and this book is one of them. It is a great college coming of age tale. I did find some of the added fanfic, written by our MC, kind of distracting at times...but...I could overlook it because the rest of Fangirl was freaking fantastic.

5.

This was my favorite debut of the year. I never wanted it to end. I just wanted to keep reading and reading and reading about these characters. I read it back all the way in January so I honestly don't remember that much to tell you here except for this: I may have forgotten the details of it, but I remember the loving of it.

 4.

I actually read this for the first time last year, but I didn't put it on my best of 2012 list because it was officially released by Penguin this year after winning the Amazon Breakthrough Award. Regina came to Utah (where I live) this year and she is so darn lovely, and her book reflects that loveliness all over. I read it again this year, and I can tell you now that you have never read a coming of age book just like this. But at the same time this feels so familiar. This has such an interesting male love interest unlike any one I have ever read before but again so like lots of boys I've actually known in real life. Wonderful this book.

3.

I champion Paige Toon on this blog constantly. I adore her stories and my only complaint is usually that they end much much too soon. One Perfect Summer is (I think...hard to choose) my favorite of hers. It takes place mostly in college and it is not some sexy New Adult trashy book that is thrown together to sell cheap copies on Amazon (sorry...little rant there...). So have you not yet read a Paige Toon book? What are you freaking waiting for? They are wonderful! Go on Amazon and buy a used one for a penny and find yourself a new girly author to love. May I suggest One Perfect Summer?

2.

I was honored to be at the book debut party for Sara Zarr's 2013 release. It was beautiful to hear her speak so openly about the effort she put into writing this book. It made my read that much richer. Over the years I have come to really admire Zarr's writing. As you read one of her books you feel as if she chooses each word with extra thought and care. No words are just throw away words. They are all important. The Lucy Variations is probably my favorite of her books and as usual her characters shine bright, just daring me to love them.

1.

I'm sure I won't be the only blogger to list Eleanor & Park as their #1 read of the year. But this book, I can't help love it as much as the next gal. In fact I just recently re-read it to make sure I liked it more than Fangirl, and I was instantly transported to the hearts of misfits Eleanor and Park. It was equally wonderful the second read through and I stand by my original review from earlier this year where I sang this book's praises to high heaven. It is sad, hilarious, beautiful, and rings so true. It is just one of those magical books you so rarely find and if you haven't read it yet...get going...I'll wait...

So that is a list of my favorites for 2013. Thanks to the all the authors out there that persevere and face the challenges of the publishing world to get their voice out there for all of us to enjoy. I'm glad there are people that write, just like I am sure they are glad that there are people like us who read. I hope this list has inspired you to give one of these reads a try in 2014.

Thanks to Bookhounds and I Am A Reader Not A Writer for hosting this best of 2013 blog hop!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOU LIFE: LEILA SALES

I thought this author's first book was completely forgettable. In fact, I thought this was a debut book while I was reading it because I really didn't remember that I had read her first release. Good thing I have Goodreads to keep track of my books...

Anyway, I really liked a lot of things about this book. First off, I loved the really good music mentioned throughout the book and the list for readers at the end was extremely good. Good job Ms. Sales for exposing a few young kiddos to some actual good music, heaven knows they don't hear enough of it. Mostly though, good job for reminding me of some of the great music I have loved over the years. Our MC reminded me of what it felt like to love a great song. 

I had trouble reading this in the beginning (I didn't like the depressed, attention getting suicide attempt). But, as I got into this, I really loved the story. I especially loved our older, cooler, but obviously insecure love interest. What a way to shake things up with the boy characters. Most of all though, I loved the idea of being lost in music.

I did have one HUGE issue with the book, and I can't seem to get over it. In what world would a club promoter hire a 16 year old DJ to work in a club that you have to be 21 or older to get in? I was willing to go with the whole underground club idea, but when her first big DJ night is advertised in the local paper I just couldn't come to terms with it. There is no real world in which that would fly. So that bugged me, but I was willing to look past it and I recommend the read.

BOOK BLURB:

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

Read more about it HERE.

30% OFF ANY BOOK ON AMAZON.COM

Just wanted to give you heads up on a deal. You can get 30% off any one book on Amazon.com using the code BOOKDEAL. Deal expires (I think) on December 1st.

I bought Eleanor & Park, what are you going to buy? :)

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.