Blog Tour: "In Real Life" by Jessica Love (GIVEAWAY + EXCERPT)

My rating: ★★★★★

Author: Jessica Love

Series: Standalone

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Page Count: 240 (hardcover)

Release Date: March 1st, 2016

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin's Griffin)

Hardcover: 978-1-250-06471-4 / $18.99

eBook: 9781466870994 / $9.99

Places to order:

Amazon

B&N

Indiebound

iBooks
Google Play

About Jessica:

Jessica Love is a high school English teacher in Los Angeles, California, where she met her husband and her two tiny dogs online. She is the co-writer of Push Girl with Chelsie Hill.

Website // Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // Tumblr // Snapchat

Synopsis:

Hannah Cho and Nick Cooper have been best friends since 8th grade. They talk for hours on the phone, Skype all the time, regularly send each other presents, and know everything there is to know about one another.

There's just one problem…Hannah and Nick have never actually met. 

Hannah has spent her entire life doing what she's supposed to, but when her senior year spring break plans get ruined by a rule-breaker at school, she decides to finally break a rule or two herself.  She impulsively decides to road trip to Vegas, with her older sister and BFF in tow, to surprise Nick and finally declare her more-than-a-friend feelings for him.

Hannah's romantic gesture backfires when she gets to Vegas and meets Nick's girlfriend, whom he failed to mention to Hannah for the past three months. And it turns out his relationship status isn't the only thing he's been lying to her about.  Hannah knows the real Nick can't be that different from the online Nick she knows and loves, but now she only has one night in Sin City to figure out what her feelings for Nick really are, all while discovering how life can change when you break the rules every now and then.

My review:

First off, thank you very much St.Martin's Press and NetGalley for sending me an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to Michelle Cashman from St. Martin's Press for allowing me to be part of the blog tour!

Secondly, I wrote a NON-SPOILER review so that everyone can read what I have to say without spoiling the book to those who haven't! I hope you all enjoy it! (Don't forget about the GIVEAWAY & EXCERPT of "In Real Life" towards the end of this post!)

"In Real Life" will make you laugh, scream, and want to go on this rollercoaster ride again and again! Love, secrets, lies, truths, confessions, and courage; what more could you want in a contemporary novel?

AHHH this book was such a good pick-me-up! Definitely the book to read if your not having the best day of if you need a good laugh! Loved this new contemporary novel to bits and pieces! It's been awhile since I've read a fun YA contemporary novel that made me feel so many things. 

Hannah Cho is a smart, quirky Korean girl who never stepped out of her comfort zone or got into any trouble. She's an exceptional student and the "good sister" in the family who does what she'd told and stays put. After four years of virtual friendship with Nick Cooper, she's ready to finally to be brave and put her heart and feelings on the line as she (along with her older sister Grace and best friend Lo) set out on an adventure to meet him in real life.

It was fun to watch her go on this crazy adventure to Vegas to overcome her fears and to let loose with two of her greatest gal pals! And it was great to see another diverse young adult novel, even if it only extends to the main character and her sister being Korean and doesn't much elaborate on their culture or traditions (I, myself, am Korean, so I'd recognize references). 

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book did not turn into a "catfish" story, meaning that Nick didn't turn out to be a completely crazy person. I liked that this was a sweet, romantic story filled with risks, heartbreak, and misunderstandings so that they were able to learn from their own actions.

I predicted certain situations that would happen in this book, but after reading the ending, I had immediately wanted to forget I had finished the book so that I can read it all over again with fresh eyes and watch the characters go on their adventure again! Also, I will never look at the word "ghost" again the same way without my heart wanting to burst in happiness! :)

The craziness Hannah and the other characters went through made me laugh hysterically, yell at the book once or twice, create angry reaction tweets with gifs, hold my breaking heart from falling out of my chest, and smile like a mad person! They were in Las Vegas for crying out loud! I definitely anticipated that they would all go on lots of spontaneous events!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book is like a mash of "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin, "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" by Jenny Han, and "Hello, I Love You" by Katie M. Stout! This book, in my opinion, deserves a 5 out of 5 stars because if a book is able to make me feel so many emotions all at once and makes my heart feel full, I consider that a great book!

I highly recommend this novel and hope you have the chance to check out Jessica's media sites and buy copy of this wonderfully fun book! 

GIVEAWAY!

To enter this giveaway for a chance to win one finished copy of IN REAL LIFE, check out the Rafflecopter widget below!

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"IN REAL LIFE" BLOG TOUR EXCERPT  

“CREDIT: In Real Life by Jessica Love; Courtesy of Thomas Dunne Books”

  

My best friend and I have never met.

We talk every day, on the phone or online, and he knows more about me than anyone. Like, deep into my soul. But we’ve never actually seen each other in real life.

Sometimes, when I’m talking to Nick, I wonder how we man- aged to get ourselves into such a bizarre, complicated friendship. At first glance, our relationship probably doesn’t seem all that odd. Like right now, it’s the Friday afternoon that kicks off the spring break of my senior year. I’m lying out next to my pool with my feet dangling in the chilly water, my back flat on concrete, and I’m talking to him on the phone. This is how I spend pretty much every Friday from 3:30 to 4:25-ish, before he goes off to band practice and I have one of my various school or family obligations. Sounds pretty normal.

But the thing is, Nick lives in a different state, 274 miles away. Yes, I looked it up.

“Ghost,” he says, because he never calls me Hannah, “you know I will do anything for my best friend, and this is no exception. I’ll have this girl killed for you without a second thought. Just give me twenty-four hours.”

I laugh as I swish my feet back and forth in the pool. “There’s no need to resort to murder. It’s just a stupid student government trip. I’ll be over it by the end of the week.”

As tempting as it is to plot Aditi Singh’s violent end, the only reason she applied to go to the national leadership conference when it should have been a given that the senior class president (aka me) was going was because I got into UCLA and she didn’t, so a big ol’ middle finger to her. But she can’t see my middle finger, because she’s in Washington, D.C., for spring break and I’m at home with no plans like a big loser.

“Well, if you change your mind,” Nick says, “just let me know. That’s how much our friendship means to me. The code word is ‘Platypus.’ Just say it, and—poof!—I’ll make her disappear.”

I sit up and pull my feet from the pool, crossing them in front of me. “And how can you do that?”

“Hey, I live in Vegas. I have connections to the mob. Everyone here does.”

“You’re a senior in high school, and you live in a tract home in Henderson. You’re not exactly Al Pacino.”

“You don’t know. Everything I’ve told you for the past four years could be a front. I need to have a cover. No one suspects the quiet, nondescript white boy.”

“You’re right. There is a lot I don’t know about you. I mean, there are any number of huge secrets you could be keeping from me.” I say it just because I’m playing along, but it’s not true at all. I’m pretty sure I know everything there is to know about Nick Cooper.

I know when my sister met his brother at a concert four years ago and they told us we should start talking online, he thought I was one of his brother’s friends playing a joke on him until I e-mailed him a picture. I know in the middle of junior year, he shaved his head when his favorite English teacher started chemo. I know the gravelly scratch of his voice when he wakes up in the middle of the night to answer one of my random “I’m bored, talk to me” phone calls. I know the hole in the sleeve seam of the lucky Rage Against the Machine T-shirt he inherited from his brother, Alex, since I’ve seen so many pictures of it. I know his middle name (Anthony), the date and time he was born (September 24 at 3:58 A.M.), and his favorite color (gray). And he knows more about me than absolutely anyone else, even the über-embarrassing stuff. We’ve IM’d, texted, sent a million pictures, mailed each other packages, video-chatted, and talked on the phone.

We’ve just never been in the same place at the same time.

I don’t think it’s strange to be so close to someone I’ve never met. Yeah, he’s in Nevada and I’m in Southern California, but I talk to him more than to people I’ve been in classes with since kindergarten. I do wish we could go to the movies together or something normal like that, but we watch the same movies at the same time and mock them over video chat, which is pretty much the same thing.

On the other end of the phone, his laugh stops abruptly and his voice changes. “Secrets? What kind of secrets could I have?”

“Who knows!” I try to sound shocked and serious, but I can’t keep a laugh from creeping in. “For all I know, you do have a secret mob life. Do you have some sort of gangster name I’m supposed to call you?”

His voice lightens again when he realizes I’m joking. “Oh yeah. Knuckles Nick. Or, no. Wait. Nick the Click.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know. It rhymed. Don’t those names always rhyme?”

“I know nothing about mob names, Nick the Click. But rhyming names do make mobsters seem a bit less murder-y.”

There’s a shuffle, a thump, and a squeak on his end of the phone, and I imagine him collapsing backwards onto his twin bed. “I just hate that you’re still bummed over missing out on the trip.”

“It’s not that I’m bummed, it’s just . . . I followed all the rules, Nick. I did exactly what I was supposed to do. Serving four years as class president means I go on that trip, not Aditi Singh. Onetime vice-presidents don’t get to go! It’s supposed to be my year. She broke the rules, but she got picked. How do you break all the rules and get what you want like that? It isn’t fair.”

“Well, you know what they say. . . .” “Life’s not fair?”

“Well, that, too. But I was thinking rules are made to be broken.”

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

Thanks again for reading and hope you have the chance to get a copy of this novel!

Happy reading!

Whitney Lauren

Blog Tour: "Dirt on Ninth Grave" by Darynda Jones

Hi everyone! This is a special blog post for Darynda Jones's DIRT ON NINTH GRAVE, which is the ninth installment in the Charley Davidson series coming out January 12th, 2016! Recently, I've finished reading the first and second book (FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT and SECOND GRAVE ON THE LEFT), and I've really enjoyed these books! If you've never read this series before, the main character's name is Charley Davidson, who's a part-time private investigator but full-time Grim Reaper! It's sort of like a combination between the TV shows "The Ghost Whisperer" and "Jessica Jones," but with a sassy and witty protagonist!

*Warning* If you have not read the previous books of the series, I highly suggest that you do not the synopsis that I've included at the end so that you don't get spoiled!

About Darynda:

For reasons known only to the Big Guy upstairs, NYTimes and USA Today Best Selling author Darynda Jones won both a Golden Heart and a RITA for her manuscript FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT. But even before that, she couldn’t remember a time she wasn’t putting pen to paper. When she was five, she would pick up a pencil and notepad, scribble utter chaos onto the page and ask her mom to read her masterpiece aloud. Thankfully, her mother would play along.  Later she wrote plays for the neighborhood kids, made up stories for her brother as he played cars, and fell in love with Captain Kirk. Those raging, seven-year-old hormones only fueled her imagination, prompting her to create fantastical stories for Barbie and Ken to enact. Ken was such a bad boy back then. (click here for the rest of her bio!)

Website // Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // Goodreads Fan Group

Synopsis:

In a small village in New York Charley Davidson is living as Jane Doe, a girl with no memory of who she is or where she came from. So when she is working at a diner and slowly begins to realize she can see dead people, she's more than a little taken aback. Stranger still are the people entering her life. They seem to know things about her. Things they hide with lies and half-truths. Soon, she senses something far darker. A force that wants to cause her harm, she is sure of it. Her saving grace comes in the form of a new friend she feels she can confide in and the fry cook, a devastatingly handsome man whose smile is breathtaking and touch is scalding. He stays close, and she almost feels safe with him around.

But no one can outrun their past, and the more lies that swirl around her-even from her new and trusted friends-the more disoriented she becomes, until she is confronted by a man who claims to have been sent to kill her. Sent by the darkest force in the universe. A force that absolutely will not stop until she is dead. Thankfully, she has a Rottweiler. But that doesn't help in her quest to find her identity and recover what she's lost. That will take all her courage and a touch of the power she feels flowing like electricity through her veins. She almost feels sorry for him. The devil in blue jeans. The disarming fry cook who lies with every breath he takes. She will get to the bottom of what he knows if it kills her. Or him. Either way.

Places to Buy Bookish Merchandise!

Interested in buying some bookish stuff for family, friends, or yourself? I've found some cute online shops where you can buy anything like t-shirts, pillow cases, bookmarks, or even scented-candles! Down below, I've listed a couple online stores that are pretty well-known in the book community, but if you don't see a store that you know of, please leave the name in the comments so that I can add it to my "Part 2" post later on!

Nook & Burrow
Instagram: @lillytales

A few days ago, I recently purchased two bookmarks from this store since many of my friends, who've also bought a bookmark from this store before, have been raving about how much they love these bookmarks and how cute they are! These bookmarks have simple designs that include book quotes, hashtags, bookish sayings, etc. 

What this store is known for:

• Handmade wooden bookmarks
• Soy Candles
• Wooden Jewelry (broaches)

Here's the link to the online store!

http://www.nookandburrow.com

Bookworm Boutique 

Instagram: @bookwormboutique

I bought my first bookish item from this store (the "Sleep Less Read More" throw pillow)! This shop is what I like to call the "universal" shop for bookish things since this store has everything! They also have multiple designs for each type of item they sell, which makes it easy to find something you'll like! (i.e. they have mugs with lots and lots of designs!)

What this store is known for:

• Mugs
• Throw Pillows
• T-shirts
• Tote Bags
• Art Prints

Here's the link to the online store!
https://society6.com/bookwormboutique

Alice in Wonderbookland
Instagram: @alice.in.wonderbookland

I first discovered this online book shop through Nikki's Instagram (username above), and even though she mostly sells her bookish merchandise in the Philippines, she has separate sites (links below) for people in other countries!

Here are the links to the online stores!

https://society6.com/aliceinwonderbookland

http://www.redbubble.com/people/alicesboutique

Happy Hello!
Instagram: @happyhelloart

This little shop sells cute magnetic books that have been very popular amongst the book community! Some bookmarks can be bought individually or in sets. I, myself, have never bought a bookmark from this store, but I hope to soon since I can match the bookmark characters with their respective books that they're from!

What this store is known for:

• Magnetic Bookmarks
• Book characters
• TV Show characters
• Disney characters

Here's the link to the online store!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/HappyHelloCo

Cozy Daily

Instagram: @cozy.daily

If you're interested in more simplistic, modern designs, this shop is for you! They also have really clever mugs with reference to the Harry Potter series! (i.e. the "Accio Coffee" & "Accio Tea" mugs)

What this store is known for:

• Mugs
• Tote Bags
• Throw Pillows

Here's the link to the online store!

https://society6.com/cozydaily

* * * * *
That's it for this post! Thank you for coming by & reading this somewhat lengthy post! If you guys known of any other online stores that sell bookish merchandise, please let me know in the comments so that I can make a "Part 2" post in the future!

What Am I Currently Reading? Why Am I Doing a Terrible Job at Finishing Books?

There are two types of readers in this world: those that can only read one book at a time and those that read multiple books at the same time. I guess I fall under the second category since I'm currently reading about five different books... But recently, I've been having trouble finishing books, which means I keep adding more books to my ever-growing "current reads" list. This is becoming a problem, but I think I know why it's happening.

Time. First, I'm still in college, which means most of my time is taken up by the classes I take and homework + exams + projects. Second, when I don't have classes during the weekdays, I usually have work, which is a day-time job (and can be a night-time one as well). And after I'm done with work or classes, depending on my schedule for that day, I workout for about an hour to an hour and a half--this is a way for me to keep myself healthy, lower my chances of getting sick, and to relieve any stress.

Preference. In addition to reading multiple books at the same time, I also have the tendency to read certain books that I feel I'm in the "mood" for. For example, last May (2015), my reading mood decided to shift towards fantasy, and because of that, I read four books by Sarah J. Maas--three of them were from the same series and one from Sarah's newest series. That was an interesting month for me. And the summer before (2014), I was very into contemporary novels. Because my mood (or preference) for books can shift, I sometimes put books that I'm currently reading down and pick up a new one with a different genre.

Reading Slumps. Sometimes readers just have those days (or weeks or months) where they feel no desire to read anything at all. This has happened to me a couple of times; the usual cause is due to Netflix, exhaustion, laziness or just a lack of desire to pick up a book. It stinks, but it does happen to the best of us.


Down below are the books that I'm currently reading:

1) Magonia by Maria Davhana Headley (Magonia book #1)

Almost done reading this for a book club I'm in called, "The Reading Rebels." We (12 other girls and I) started a book club a couple months ago on Instagram to have monthly readalongs with our followers, and the "Book of the Month" (BOTM) for our November readalong was this book.

Synopsis: 

Aza Ray is drowning in thin air. 

Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live. 

So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.

Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia. 

Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

2) Cress by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles book #3)

Okay, so I started this book in the summer of 2014 but only read about 20 pages then just stopped. Not sure why I stopped, but I did. But I decided to pick the book back up since the last book called, "Winter" (book #4), just came out recently and many of my reader friends are currently reading it. 

Synopsis:

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

3) A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston 

I received an electronic "Advanced Readers Copy" (ARC) during the summer (2015) from NetGalley, and I was so excited that I got a copy! But before I got the news that I got a copy of this book, I had just finished reading a book called, "The Wrath and the Dawn," and both books were inspired by the same classical tales "Arabian Nights"/"1001 Nights"--never read these classics, so I can't really say which one the books were based off of. So, when I started reading "A Thousand Nights," I knew it was going to be very similar to "The Wrath and the Dawn," which was not a good thing. I think that's why I held off on finishing this book.

Synopsis:

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

4) Slumber by Christy Sloat (Slumber book #1)

I received this book for review by the author over the summer, and I read about halfway until I stopped, which might be due to the multiple releases of books that I've been anticipating for, and forgot to pick it back up. Then I forgot to take it with me when I went back to college, so that was also another problem I had.

Synopsis:

Not all princesses get their happily ever after...
They tell me I killed my boyfriend Phillip in cold blood. I stabbed him twenty one times. I’m only seventeen years old, and I am serving life in Spindle Ridge Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
I don’t remember killing him, so it’s really hard to believe I’m capable of murder. In fact I don’t remember anything before I came to Spindle Ridge, not even my boyfriend.
I can only grasp onto my realistic dreams while the madness of the asylum threatens to pull me under. I dream I’m a beautiful princess and there is an evil faerie named Maleficent who is bent on my destruction. The dreams are the closest thing I have to memories of my life, except they aren’t real.
I’m crazy. I’m not a princess. 
They’re the mad illusions of an irrational teenage girl, right?
They’ve assigned me a new doctor, and she says I can trust her, and that she’ll help me see the truth of who I really am. 
When she arrived she brought a new patient, Sawyer, who is everything Spindle Ridge isn’t: exciting, mysterious and beautiful. He promises he’s here to rescue me. Trusting either of them frightens me.
Could it be possible that my dreams are more than just the imaginings of a delusional girl? Could they be truth?

5) A Healing Heart (Riverview book #1) & A Healing Spirit (Riverview book #2) by Melissa A. Hanson

These books were sent to me by the author to review whenever I had any free time, so I'm not overly upset about not finishing these books, but I'd like to finish these soon. I hate not finishing books that were given to me to review, so I hope to finish these books and give them a complete, honest review soon!












Synopsis:
On a bitter cold winter night Bailey Walsh’s family was killed in a traffic accident. Two years later as she lives with her aunt and uncle in Southern California, Bailey is still plagued by the nightmares of that terrible night. Everywhere around her are reminders of what she lost. Even her aunt, in a cruel twist of fate, is not just her mom’s sister, but her identical twin. Babysitting Riley, a spunky two-year old, is a sweet distraction and one constant light in her life. One day as she takes Riley to the park she meets Collin McKenna, a senior at her high school and her life is changed forever as he helps her find herself and realize her life is worth living. As the romance between them grows her broken heart begins to heal. However, still nagging in the back of her conscious is the fear that her newfound happiness could come crashing down and she could lose everything she loves, yet again. Outside forces begin to tear them apart and Bailey must learn to trust in herself and realize that she is worthy of happiness. That sometimes love and healing comes in unexpected forms.

My Most Anticipated Releases of 2016 (Part 1)

Hey everyone! Since 2016 is coming upon us in just a few short months, I've complied a list of books that I'm EXTREMELY excited to get my hands on when they are released! Luckily some of them come out of the same day as one another! 

This is only "Part 1" post since there will be more books coming out in 2016 that I will want to read later on! 


"Truthwitch" by Susan Dennard
Release date: January 5th

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

Preorder links: 
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

"Passenger" by Alexandra Bracken
Release date: January 5th

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.ii. A journey by water; a voyage.iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever

Preorder links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble


"Lady Midnight" by Cassandra Clare
Release date: March 8th

Los Angeles. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge.

Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim.

The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

Preorder links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble


"Map of Fates" (The Conspiracy Theory #2) by Maggie Hall
Release date: March 8th

Two weeks. 



That’s how long it took for Avery West’s ordinary life to change forever: In two weeks, she discovered she was heiress to a powerful secret society known as the Circle, learned her mother was taken hostage by the Circle’s enemies, and fell for a boy she’s not allowed to love, just as she found out another was her unwelcome destiny. 



Now, Avery crosses oceans in private jets to hunt for clues that will uncover the truth about the Circle, setting her mom and herself free before it’s too late. By her side are both the boys: Jack—steady, loyal, and determined to help her even at the expense of his own duty—and Stellan, whose connection to Avery grows stronger by the day despite her best intentions, making her question what she believes at every turn.
 


But at the end of a desperate hunt from the islands of Greece to the red carpet at Cannes comes a discovery that not only changes everything, but could bring the whole world to its knees. And now Avery is forced to face the truth: in the world of the Circle, no one is what they seem.


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"A Court of Mist and Fury" (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas
Release date: May 3rd

 Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court--but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms--and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future--and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.


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"The Rose and the Dagger" (The Wrath and the Dawn #2) by Renee Ahdieh
Release date: May 3rd

I am surrounded on all sides by a desert. A guest, in a prison of sand and sun. My family is here. And I do not know whom I can trust.

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad has been torn from the love of her husband Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once believed him a monster, but his secrets revealed a man tormented by guilt and a powerful curse—one that might keep them apart forever. Reunited with her family, who have taken refuge with enemies of Khalid, and Tariq, her childhood sweetheart, she should be happy. But Tariq now commands forces set on destroying Khalid's empire. Shahrzad is almost a prisoner caught between loyalties to people she loves. But she refuses to be a pawn and devises a plan.

While her father, Jahandar, continues to play with magical forces he doesn't yet understand, Shahrzad tries to uncover powers that may lie dormant within her. With the help of a tattered old carpet and a tempestuous but sage young man, Shahrzad will attempt to break the curse and reunite with her one true love.

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"A Torch Against the Night" (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir
Release date: August 30th

A Torch Against the Night takes readers into the heart of the Empire as Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia’s brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts.

In the city of Serra, Helene Aquilla finds herself bound to the will of the Empire’s twisted new leader, Marcus. When her loyalty is questioned, Helene finds herself taking on a mission to prove herself—a mission that might destroy her, instead. 









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"Everything, Everything" (ARC Review)

My rating: ★★★★★

Author: Nicola Yoon

Series: Standalone

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Page Count: 320 pages (Hardcover)

Release Date: September 1st, 2015

Publisher: Random House Kids\Delacorte Press

Places to order:
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Books-A-Million
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IndieBound

About Nicola:

Nicola Yoon grew up in Jamaica (the island) and Brooklyn (part of Long Island). She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and daughter, both of whom she loves beyond all reason. Everything, Everything is her first novel.

Website // Instagram // Twitter // Tumblr









Synopsis:
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

My review:

I received an ARC (advanced reader’s copy) of Everything, Everything by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and extremely creative because of how it reflects the story so well. In terms of content, this book is not recommended for readers 14 and younger since it includes some violence and sexual content. Okay, so lets get started with this review!

Superb, emotional, beautiful. Everything, Everything reels you in with a love story that will warm your heart, break it, and stich it all back together.

For those who don’t know much about this book, it’s about a girl named Maddy, who is a half Asian and half African American teenager with a rare disease that makes her allergic to the world—literally. She cannot leave the house nor come into contact with people. For a teenager, being secluded within a house and having no connections to the outside world, other than the Internet, can be extremely lonely and boring. But when the house next door has new tenants, Maddy looks out the window and sees Olly—tall, dressed in all black and beautiful. These two characters immediately connect and go through a crazy journey together about taking chances and making your own choices.

Throughout the book, there are drawings and illustrations of messages Olly and Maddy send to one another and a few other small details that make this book extraordinary in it’s own special way. Another extraordinary thing about this book is that it’s a diverse book, unlike most young adult books where the main character is typically a girl with pale skin and blonde or brown hair. Yay for diversity!

The character development for Maddy transitioned well as the story progressed since she was starting to be braver with her life (or being a rebel, whatever you want to call it) and making her own choices. With Olly, he had his own secrets and family issues that played an important role in the story. Although as the readers we don’t recognize what it is at first, but soon on, we see that his father is an alcoholic who gets violent.

This story is about a girl finally taking chances to live and experience everything the world has to offer—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

*SPOILER SECTION*

(if you have NOT read this book, don't not continue reading!)

Truthfully, I expected the twist at the end about how she wasn’t actually sick. There were some signs that her mom was being a little strange when it came to her health, and I began to see some foreshadowing that would take place.

Maddy is selfless and daring. She ran out of her house when she saw that Olly was in danger from his dad, even though she could have died from just being outside. THEN she wanted to risk her life to spend a few days with Olly in Hawaii, which gave me all the feels.

After finishing this book, I went through stuff in my head to see if there was anything that stood out in the book that I didn’t quite like or something that I disagreed with…but I couldn’t find anything. I loved every scene, picture, and word in this book—not to mention the stunning cover! I loved how it all ended with her finally making some huge decisions for herself (such as leaving home to go find her first love).

I highly recommend this read for everyone (especially to those who like John Green and Rainbow Rowell’s books) because this is one of those contemporary YA novels that speak so much to you and leave you feeling so overwhelmed with the power of the words that you won’t want to pick up another contemporary book for a while.

*Down below is a YouTube video of Nicola Yoon being interviewed and discussing about her novel among other things about herself!