Review: On The Fence

On The Fence

by Kasie West

Number of Pages: 320

Publication Date: July 1st 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

ISBN: 0062235672

Summary

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.
Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.

Review

Oh where to start, where to start! I've been so excited about reading this book and when I finally got my hands on it I didn't believe my luck. It's actually killed me knowing it's been sitting on my kindle but I've had other books to read! But I've read it now and OH MY GOD I LOVED IT! The character's are exciting and new, the plot is well written and perfectly executed. It's everything you could want from a YA contemporary read this summer. You're going to love it!! 

Now, if you've read my reviews recently you'll have probably picked up on the fact I struggle with a dual narrative and I am happy to say that On The Fence is told from a singular point of view. You have no idea how happy that made me, seriously! Instead this was told from the point of view of one Charlie Reynolds. Charlie is a tomboy in every possible way, which might have something to do with the fact her mum died when she was six and she has spent the majority of her life around her dad, three older brothers and rather sexy next door neighbour. However, after being caught speeding - again - Charlie has to get a job and said job leads her into the unfamiliar world of girlie. 

With a story like this you tend to have one of two things happen with the plot line. Firstly the whole book centres around the love story, which is fine but sometimes you need something extra to keep you interested and to stop the book becoming mindless drivel. Or secondly, the author tries to imprint some kind of complex dilemma to liven up the plot. Which again can be okay, but also has a habit of becoming cliché or taking over ever aspect of the book. When that happens you're left with more of a mystery/thriller than a contemporary. So I am more than happy to report that neither of these were the case with On The Fence. Kasie cleverly intertwined a deeper plot line that gave the book the depth it needed but as it subtly unfolded throughout the book it didn't completely overshadow everything else. After all, this is a story about finding yourself, about first loves, friendship and family. It's about knowing you're the only person who can define who you are and if the whole 'mum' plot line had been anymore than it was some of those things would have gotten lost.

If there was ever a book to make you wish you had older brothers then this is it! Jeeze, from the very beginning I was ready to trade in my younger brother for an older model. Gage, Nathan and Jerom are complete goofballs that treat Charlie like one of the boys. Throwing her around, kicking her butt or at least trying to. However, Charlie can match her over protective siblings at pretty much anything. It's these scenes that made the book for me, constantly placing a smile on my face! 

Oh and then there's Braden! Even though this was a single narrative you were given all the information you needed on his story too. He's swoon worthy personified and the perfect boy next door. Braden has his own issues to deal with throughout the book but they only make him more fascinating to unravel. 

Overall I loved this book! I had high expectations and it did not disappoint. Charlie was a honest, real and easy to connect with character. Her story was compelling and inspiring. The love story was beyond adorable and above all else, it was completely unputdownable. Another great book for summer and I hope you all get to read it soon because it really is worth a read. 

**I received this book as an ARC from Edelweiss to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**

Friday Finds #8

Friday Finds is a weekly post the tells you lovelies about some of the books I've found this week. Whether it be an ARC, a classic or anything in between; these are books I've discovered over the past 7 days.

Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness. 

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.
Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

A Thousand Pieces of You
by Claudia Gray

 

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.
Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.
A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

Boy21
by Matthew Quick

Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in gray, broken Bellmont, a town ruled by the Irish Mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, he takes care of his disabled grandfather, and at school he’s called “White Rabbit”, the only white kid on the varsity basketball team. He’s always dreamed of getting out somehow with his girlfriend, Erin. But until then, when he puts on his number 21, everything seems to make sense.
Russ has just moved to the neighborhood. A former teen basketball phenom from a privileged home, his life has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he now answers only to the name Boy21—his former jersey number—and has an unusual obsession with outer space.
As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, “Boy21” may turn out to be the answer they both need.

Thoughts

So I guess the first one you'll notice is Throne of Glass and you'll all me shaking your heads at me because I haven't read it yet. I know its a massive series and A LOT of people love it but it's never been one of those books I've taken a second glance at. Until this week that is, when I finally gave into peer pressure and read the blurb. And then I bought a copy!

A Thousand Pieces of You just has the most stunning book cover I've ever seen. I'm a total book snob when it comes to covers and this one gets 5 stars! Then there's the bonus fact that the book itself actually seems like an interesting story. Can't wait for this one to be released!

Lastly is Boy21. Now this is by the same author as The Silver Linings Playbook, which is AMAZING. I'm super excited about this and considering this time last week I'd never even heard of it that's saying something. I was sent not one, but two copies of this book from Headline Publishers so I'll be hosting a giveaway when I post my review later this month. :)

What did you find this week?

Book Blitz: Just Sing

Hello lovelies! Today we have a book blitz for Just Sing by René Gilley. This is everything you need to know about this new release, my review will be up on the 7th June as part of a tour - along with a little Q&A with René. So enjoy and tell me what you think!

Just Sing

by René Gilley

Publication Date: 5th June 2014

Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House

Summary 

Sixteen-year-old Lily O’Brien has one goal in life—to sing. Her dream is to get into a topnotch college vocal program, but the summer before her junior year, her high school cuts their awarding-winning vocal ensemble. She might as well kiss her dreams goodbye.
When the snobby new neighbors move into their mansion up the hill, Lily is positive summer can’t get any worse, and she’s determined to hate and ignore them—until she meets Aiden.He’s broken and beautiful, and they become reluctant friends. Through her newfound friendship, she finds the strength to step outside the comfort of her plan and follow her dream.
But when Lily’s family is about to lose their home, she puts her wishes aside and finds the answer to save their generations-old ranch in the last place she expected.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON US || BARNES & NOBLE || KOBO

About René

I’m René Gilley, a young adult and new adult author. I’m a mom, wife, and breast cancer survivor. A portion of every book royalty I receive will go to support breast cancer patients, awareness, and research for a cure. JUST SING, my debut young adult book, will be available in ebook and paperback, June 5, 2014. Published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House TWCS.

TWITTER || FACEBOOK || WEBSITE || GOODREADS

WoW #9

Stitching Snow
by R. C. Lewis

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: October 14th 2014

Language: English

ISBN: 1423185072

Princess Snow is missing.Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back-but that's assuming she wants to return at all.Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane's arrival was far from accidental, and she's pulled into the heart of a war she's risked everything to avoid.
In her enthralling debut, R.C. Lewis weaves the tale of a princess on the run from painful secrets . . . and a poisonous queen. With the galaxy's future-and her own-in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

Why I'm waiting...

I'm completely obsessed with fairy tales - always have been - and this whole trend of retelling of our favourite stories is something I wholly support! We've had a lot of Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast & Cinderella retellings over the last 5 or 6 years and I'm really excited for one about Snow White - being as all movie retellings I've seen have been terrible! 

We're a generation that loves our fairy tales so why wouldn't I be waiting for this beauty to hit the shelves in october!! 

What are you waiting for this fine Wednesday?

Cover Reveal: Mirror X

MIRROR X

by Karri Thompson

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pub. Date: June 30, 2014

Find it: Goodreads|Amazon|Barnes & Noble|iTunes

I was born more than a thousand years ago.Put into a cryogenic tube at age seventeen, forgotten during a holocaust that decimated the world, I've finally been awakened to a more serene and peaceful future.But things at the hospital are new and strange. And it’s starting to scare me.Everyone is young. Everyone is banded and tracked. And everyone is keeping secrets. The cute geneticist Michael Bennett might be the only good thing in this crazy new world where “life is precious” but no one seems free to live it. The problem is, I don’t think he’s being totally honest with me, either.When I’m told only I can save the human race from extinction, it’s clear my freeze didn’t avoid a dreadful fate. It only delayed the horror…

**Exclusive Excerpt**

Michael took a seat on the edge of my bed, rocking me toward him. When the side of my thigh met his knee, my heart rate doubled, and I drew in a deep breath.“Before you were awakened I spent hours at your bedside imaging what you were like, how your voice would sound, how you looked when you smiled. When your red lips pulsed, when your chest heaved, and you took your first breath, I kept my emotions in check. But now, now that you’ve ‘awakened,’ everything is different. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about you.”I ignored the pain and tilted closer until the space between our faces was less than a foot. My heart, my mind, my soul— everything yearned for his affection at that moment. “I feel the same way, too.”I closed my eyes, wanting this handsome, earnest guy to take me into his arms and tell me he’d make them let me go. My lungs expanded with his warm breath and spicy scent. When his lips met mine, every atom in my body danced, urging me to pull him closer and tighten my grip upon his back.His kissing became more fiery and I reacted by kissing him harder. It wasn’t until his mouth moved to my neck, that I came to my senses and drew away.“Not yet,” I said, scooting away.“I know,” he said between breaths, rising from the bed. His wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his uniform and returned to the chair. “I can’t…we can’t. We can never…,” he said abruptly. “It’s against protocol. I-I should go.”

About Karri

Karri’s debut YA novel, Amateur Angel, was released May 1, 2012. The next book in that series, Hollywood Angels, came out September 1, 2013. The first book in her upcoming dystopian trilogy, The Van Winkle Chronicles, will be released by Entangled Publishing Spring 2014.

Website || Twitter || Facebook || Goodreads

Giveaway 

1 eGalley of MIRROR X International

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Crash Into You

Crash Into You

by Katie McGarry

Publishing Date: November 26th 2013

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 037321099X

Received from: Edelweiss

Summary

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life—that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind. 
Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look. 
But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Review

"What people project to the world never shows what's lurking on the inside."

So being me I've managed to pick up this series on book 3 and with it being my first Katie McGarry book I have to say I'm in awe! She has a style of writing that is full of emotion and speed that makes you turn the page. It will make you smile and tare out your heart. With the themes of this book being very car orientated it gave the whole story a sprinkling of old school charm that made me feel like I was in an old 1930's race car movie. It was damn near perfect! 

The story follows Rachel and Isaiah, two very different seventeen-year-olds who get into trouble after a drag race gone wrong. The book is all about their relationship and the things they have to do to pay off Eric - a notorious gangster type character. Both character's have a truck load of personal issues, that sometimes leaves me wondering how they even get up in the morning but there's also a humour within the text and a romance to make you swoon. Katie is an amazing story teller and I may have just become a bit of a fangirl.

This is yet another dual narrative. Although we do get an equal amounts of both Isaiah and Rachel which means we get the full picture of the events that unravel throughout the course of the book. I feel like I've said this a hundred times but I'll say it again. Dual narratives are hard to get right! A lot of the time if I know it's being told from more than one point of view I won't even pick the book up but Katie has this insane talent for creating voices that are rich, real and above all else completely unique. 

"I can't give you the world, Rachel, but I'll give you all I got."

Out of the two characters I personally connected a lot with Rachel, however it was Isaiah's half of the story that drew me in. He's damaged and rough around the edges. He has this way about him that screams 'I don't give a f*ck' but you can tell that he doesn't do anything unless he believes it's what needs to be done to keep the people he loves safe. Once I had finished reading I went through the notes I had made and all the highlighted quotes were from Isaiah. If there was ever a book boy to swoon over this would be the one. I've not read a character quite like him before and I feel sorry for the character's in the next book I read as Crash Into You casts quite an impressive shadow. 

It wasn't perfect though, there were moments when I could't tell if I was meant to like certain characters or not and I, for one, hated Rachel's brothers. I found them over protective to the point where I wanted to slap them! Especially West, who I just wanted to shake out of the book at one point. 

Then there was Abby. This is a book full of broken toys and she is probably the most fractured of them all but I loved her. I wanted to bundle her up and give her a better story. I don't know if Abby is one of the character's that's been covered in the Pushing The Limit's books so far but if she isn't then I really hope she gets her own book soon. 

Rachel and Isaiah's story is a compelling and an all round wonderful read that will have you captivated from the first page. It will draw you in and make you take note of every little detail. I'm struggling to put into words how much I enjoyed this book without gushing. And I hope that - like myself - you are all heading to your local bookstores to pick up the rest of this series! It's a must read and another book perfect for the summer. 

"I'm waiting, angel."

**I received this book as an ARC from Edelweiss to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**

Cover Reveal: Locks

LOCKS
by Sarah J. Pepper

  

PREORDER

Summary

Gunned down by the hottest killer in the history of the Badass Archives wasn’t exactly Rapunzel’s end-game. But when her reputable extraction skills fail, she uses unorthodox methods to gain her freedom from the Mercenary, whose icy blue eyes have serious panty-dropping capabilities. Even though most girls wouldn’t fall for their would-be assassin, Rapunzel isn’t like most dames. Her major girl-boner for the Mercenary is so pathetically intense it verges on cliché.
Regardless, Rapunzel’s hands are tied. Love chooses its victims, not the other way around. She isn’t the stereotypical Damsel in Distress. Her Bad-Boy Prince Charming is a renowned mercenary, and her “Happy Ending” plays out like a bad movie. However, she is determined to find her freedom—love be damned—and she’ll do it in a fabulous pair of heels.

Author Bio

I specialize in dark, paranormal romance – think “happy ever after” but with a twisted, dark chocolate center. Real-life romance isn't only filled with hugs, kisses, bunnies, and rainbows. True-love can be more thoroughly described in times of darkness and tribulation. It’s in those harsh moments where you see what a person is truly capable of – both the good and bad. Sometimes prince-charming isn't always on time, and the glass slipper is a little snug. However, it doesn't mean Charming is not Mr. Right, and who says every shoe is the perfect fit?

Cover Reveal: How To Date Dead Guy

HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS

by Ann. M. Noser

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Publication: July 15th, 2014

Summary

College sophomore Emma Roberts remembers her mother’s sage advice:  “don’t sleep around, don’t burp in public, and don’t tell anyone you see ghosts”.  But when charming Mike Carlson drowns in the campus river under her watch, Emma’s sheltered life shatters. Blamed for Mike’s death and haunted by nightmares, Emma turns to witchcraft and a mysterious Book of Shadows to bring him back.  Under a Blood Moon, she lights candles, draws a pentacle on the campus bridge, and casts a spell.  The invoked river rages up against her, but she escapes its fury.  As she stumbles back to the dorm, a stranger drags himself from the water and follows her home. And he isn't the only one.   Instead of raising Mike, Emma assists the others she stole back from the dead—a pre-med student who jumped off the bridge, a desperate victim determined to solve his own murder, and a frat boy Emma can’t stand…at first.  More comfortable with the dead than the living, Emma delves deeper into the seductive Book of Shadows.  Her powers grow, but witchcraft may not be enough to protect her against the vengeful river and the killers that feed it their victims.Inspired by the controversial Smiley Face Murders, HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS will ignite the secret powers hidden deep within each of us.

About Author 

My to-do list dictates that I try to cram 48 hours of living into a day instead of the usual 24.  I’ve chosen a life filled with animals.  I train for marathons with my dog, then go to work as a small animal veterinarian, and finish the day by tripping over my pets as I attempt to convince my two unruly children that YES, it really IS time for bed.  But I can’t wait until the house is quiet to write; I have to steal moments throughout the day.  Ten minutes here, a half hour there, I live within my imagination.

Like all busy American mothers, I multi-task.  I work out plot holes during runs.  Instead of meditating, I type madly during yoga stretches.  I find inspiration in everyday things:  a beautiful smile, a heartbreaking song, or a newspaper article on a political theory.  For example, a long drive in the dark listening to an NPR program on the SMILEY FACE MURDERS theory made me ask so many questions that I wrote HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS to answer them to my satisfaction.

I’d love to have more time to write (and run, read, and sleep), but until I find Hermione Granger’s time turner, I will juggle real life with the half-written stories in my head.  Main characters and plot lines intertwine in my cranium, and I need to let my writing weave the tales on paper so I can find out what happens next.

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