Life Unaware
by Cole Gibsen
Release Date: 04/28/15
Entangled Teen
Book Summary:
Regan Flay has been talking about you.
Regan Flay is on the cusp of achieving her control-freak mother's "plan" for high school success―cheerleading, student council, the Honor Society—until her life gets turned horribly, horribly upside down. Every bitchy text. Every bitchy email. Every lie, manipulation, and insult she's ever said have been printed out and taped to all the lockers in school.
Now Regan has gone from popular princess to total pariah.
The only person who even speaks to her is her former best friend's hot but socially miscreant brother, Nolan Letner. Nolan thinks he knows what Regan's going through, but whatnobody knows is that Regan isn't really Little Miss Perfect. In fact, she's barely holding it together under her mom's pressure. But the consequences of Regan's fall from grace are only just beginning. Once the chain reaction starts, no one will remain untouched...
Especially Regan Flay.
About the Author
Cole Gibsen first realized she different when, in high school, she was still reading comic books while the other girls were reading fashion magazines.
It was her love of superheroes that first inspired her to pick up a pen. Her favorite things to write about are ordinary girls who find themselves in extraordinary situations.
Author Links:
Fun Facts Video
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So I decided since AP exams will be happening soon and afterwards I'm home free with no stress from school to do the Bout of Books 13!
If you don't know what Bout of Books is, here is a brief description:
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team
I'm so excited to do it. If you guys have the time and resources, you should too!
Book: Life Unaware
Author: Cole Gibson
Format: ARC
Page Count: Final paperback 320
Publisher: Entangled Teen
My Rating: ★★★
Synopsis: Regan Flay has been talking about you.
Regan Flay is on the cusp of achieving her control-freak mother's "plan" for high school success―cheerleading, student council, the Honor Society—until her life gets turned horribly, horribly upside down. Every bitchy text. Every bitchy email. Every lie, manipulation, and insult she's ever said have been printed out and taped to all the lockers in school.
Now Regan has gone from popular princess to total pariah.
The only person who even speaks to her is her former best friend's hot but socially miscreant brother, Nolan Letner. Nolan thinks he knows what Regan's going through, but what nobody knows is that Regan isn't really Little Miss Perfect. In fact, she's barely holding it together under her mom's pressure. But the consequences of Regan's fall from grace are only just beginning. Once the chain reaction starts, no one will remain untouched...
Especially Regan Flay.
“Life Unaware” is a book that centers on the effects of bullying and social media. To me, it had the potential to be something really amazing, but fell short.
The story itself didn’t seem to progress anywhere and at times lost my full attention. I thought the novel would really focus on the main character developing as a person and learning from her mistakes. While she did in some aspects, I felt like her change didn’t seem really realistic to me. I also didn’t connect well with her situation and didn’t sympathize. The entire situation was brought upon by herself, though that is absolutely no excuse for bullying. I also felt like the contemporary romance that was sprinkled throughout was unnecessary at times.
My largest problem with “Life Unaware” was the extreme unnecessary amount of swearing. Now I am no saint, at times I can cuss like a sailor, however there is a time and a reason to use swearing in a novel and those were not situations that needed cussing. I understand the setting is a private Catholic high school and it is natural to believe teenagers swear like no tomorrow, but we don’t. As a high school who attends a public high school and has been exposed to private Catholic school, teenagers do not swear as much as presented throughout the novel. To me, it seemed like every other sentence had the f bomb.
Despite all of this, the novel over all was pretty enjoyable. I powered through the book to see how it would end and how each of the characters would develop.
So I haven't been active much on this blog lately or had a chance to read, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I am nearing the end of my senior year so that means being loaded with AP homework and preparing for exams. I had my last ever high school math test before the actual AP Calculus exam which makes me unbelievably happy. At the same time I am so stressed out. I am so ready for the AP exams to be over and then the school year so I can read, write, and watch Netflix all summer long.
Reading wise this week, I didn't do so hot. I started an ARC of "Lola Carlyle's 12 Step Romance" from Entangled Teen.
Lola arrives at Sunrise Rehab intent solely on finding Wade, saving him from himself, and—naturally—making him fall in love with her…only to discover she’s actually expected to be an addict. And get treatment. And talk about her issues with her parents, and with herself. Plus she has insane roommates, and an irritatingly attractive mentor, Adam, who’s determined to thwart her at every turn.
When I first started reading the book I didn't really like it because I thought the character was a surface level stuck up bitch, but the further I get into the book the more I like her and the more humor and sarcasm she offers up. I'm kinda excited to see where it heads because the situation the character has put herself in is quite interesting.
Reading wise this week, I didn't do so hot. I started an ARC of "Lola Carlyle's 12 Step Romance" from Entangled Teen.
Lola Carlyle is lonely, out of sorts, and in for a boring summer. So when her best friend, Sydney, calls to rave about her stay at a posh Malibu rehab and reveals that the love of Lola’s life, Wade Miller, is being admitted, she knows what she has to do.Never mind that her worst addiction is decaf cappuccino; Lola is going to rehab.
Oh, and Sydney? She’s gone.
Turns out, once her pride, her defenses, and her best friend are stripped away, Lola realizes she’s actually got a lot to overcome…if she can open her heart long enough to let it happen.
Thank you so much Fillipa for nominating me for "The Liebster Award Nomination".
Rules
1. Link back to the person that nominated you
2. Answer the questions given by the nominator
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers
4. Create 11 questions for the nominees
5. Notify all nominees via social media/blogs
Fillipa's Questions
1. Books that would be perfect as movies/TV-shows according to you?
Hmm.. I want almost book I've ever read to become a movie or TV show. If I were to narrow it down I would want Red Queen to be a movie as well as The Lux Series. I would love to see Cal and Daemon come to life so I can fawn over their how bodies.
2. The latest book you gave 5 out of 5 stars?
The last book I gave 5 stars to was Red Queen back in February. I absolutely loved that book. The world Victoria Aveyard created was so interesting and that cliff hanger... I need book two in my life.
3. Your favorite book covers at the moment?
At the moment I love Red Queen and The Darkest Part of the Forest. Even though I really didn't like Holly Black's latest book, the cover is gorgeous.
4. Two character from different books that would make a perfect couple?
I think Katy from Lux would go perfectly with Aiden from Covenant. They both go for the same type of characters because since Jennifer L. Armentrout created both series, Katy is similar to Aiden's girl Alex and Aiden is like Katy's boy Daemon.
5. Your favorite book series? Try to choose just ONE series!
NOOOO Just one??? I'll try... If I had to choose just one I would say... The Covenant Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. She is my queen and I would either go with that series or The Lux Series. Honestly I just love both of them so much.
6. Your favorite stand alone?
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. I honestly loved that book a lot and it worked perfectly as a stand alone. It is my favorite Holly Black book as well.
7. A book that you thought you'd love, but you didn't?
I know this one right off the bat. I thought I would love Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger since The DUFF was fantastic, but honestly it was a huge disappointment. It was okay. I enjoyed it but not to the point where I loved it.
8. If you could hang out with a fictional character, who would you choose?
I would hang out with Katy from The Lux Series. Honestly I identify with her so much plus she is a book blogger like myself.
9. Your favorite genre?
I'm going to say YA because it is so broad. I can't narrow it down to one specific genre in YA because I love so many type of genres within it. My top two though are definitely dystopian and contemporary.
10. Have you ever read a book that totally blew your mind? Which book?
A book that blew away my mind was Shatter Me. The absolutely beautiful writing style just blew me away and enraptured me.
11. How many books do you want to read this year?
I plan on reading 100 books this year but who knows if that is going to happen since I'm finishing my last year of high school and start college in the fall.
People I Tag
Nichole from Forsakenfates Books
Melissa from In a Bookish World
Jess from Jess Kidding Books
A.M. Bradley from Hungover Fiction Lover
Chelsie from Bookish Dream
Rachel from Creativity and Crazy Blog
*Yeah I know that's not 11 but that's all I got off the top of my head*
My Questions
1. What is your least favorite genre?
2. What aspects of a character automatically make them your favorite?
3. What is your favorite place to read?
4. If you could have dinner with an author, which author?
5. If you could rewrite the ending of one book/series, which one?
6. Which book in your opinion has the best ending ever?
7. If you could date one character, who would you date?
8. If you could wipe a book/series off the face of the Earth, which one?
9. What do you like most about being a book blogger?
10. Who would be your best book best friend?
11. What do you like to do while reading?
Something Like This by Eileen Cruz Coleman
(Secrets Series, #1)
Publication date: April 24th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Synopsis:Twenty-three-year old Jadie Santiago has a secret.
One morning on her way to work she stops to offer a homeless man a bottle of water. As she meets the man’s eyes, Jadie instantly recognizes they belong to her father, whom she hasn’t seen since she was sixteen. Unable to accept the truth of her encounter, Jadie flees, hoping eventually to forget the experience and continue leading a normal life.
But then she meets Reece, an aspiring writer with a mysterious past who is set on capturing Jadie’s affection. Jadie wants nothing more than to give her heart to Reece, but her broken past and crippling secret keep her from surrendering it to him fully.
Things won’t come easy to Jadie as she fights for her place in the world, but there is strength in her, and she is determined never to stop struggling for what so many others have: love, happiness, and a sense of belonging.
Buy Links
AUTHOR BIO:
Eileen Cruz Coleman was born in Washington, D.C. to an immigrant El Salvadoran mother and a Puerto Rican father. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in History. Her short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals both online and in print. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two children.
To stay in touch with her, subscribe to her e-newsletter. Cut and paste this URL into your browser: eepurl.com/vAmTz
Excerpt
I ran my fingers down the sides of
my dress. Wow, could I be more obvious? Here I was trying to fix myself up in
front of a complete stranger, who for some reason was making me very nervous.
“Oh, well, why are you here?” I managed to spit out.
He winked at me. “To see you.”
Yep,
I’m going to faint right here in front of him.
“Oh?”
“I came to ask you if you’ve
changed your mind about having lunch with me.”
I swallowed and forced my cheeks
not to blush. “I have a busy day today…I’m not sure I can take lunch.” I lied.
Mr. Walker didn’t have a single appointment on his schedule. And on days when
he had a clear schedule, he often came in late or took a longer than usual
lunch.
“I know for a fact you can take
lunch today. I called my uncle and asked him.”
“What?”
“Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m
not stalking you or anything.”
“You called my boss about my
schedule. Why would I think you’re stalking me? What you did is completely
normal. Yep, totally normal.”
He crossed his arms. “Maybe it
comes across a little weird.” Then he uncrossed his arms. “Look, I’m a good
guy. All I’m asking is for you to let me take you to lunch. One hour, less, if
you want, and then you can see for yourself whether or not I’m some crazy
stalker, which I assure you, I’m not.”
I looked him up and down and gave
in. “I’ll agree to coffee and if that
goes well…”
He smiled. “Coffee it is.”
“Come back tomorrow morning,” I
said, taking my handbag off my chair and placing it on my desk.
“What’s wrong with now?”
I sat down and pulled myself close
to my desk. “I just got here.”
“Oh, come on, you’ll only be gone a
few minutes.” He gave Mr. Walker’s door a glance. “My uncle isn’t even in yet.”
Sighing, I said, “Twenty minutes,
and if I get fired over this…”
“You won’t get fired, I promise.”
Grabbing my purse, I stood. “Where
shall we go?”
My stomach started aching. Had I
known Reece was going to surprise me, I would have called in sick.
“There’s a place down the street
just past the train tracks,” he said.
My heart melted and slid to my
toes. We’d have to pass my father. “I’d rather not go to that one.”
“Why not?”
I cleared my throat. “I would
rather we not go to that one. Is that okay?”
“There’s one across the street. You
okay with going there?”
I nodded.
“We’re off to a good start,” he
said.
“What makes you say that?”
“We haven’t even been on a date and
I already know something about you.”
“And what is that?”
“You’re very particular about where
you get your coffee from.”
Ebook Giveaway
Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
Book: Lying Out LoudAuthor: Kody Keplinger
Format: ARC
Page Count: Final Hardback 304
Publisher: Scholastic
My Rating:★★★ 1/2
Synopsis: Kody Keplinger returns to the world of The DUFF in this brand-new companion novel!
Sonny Ardmore is an excellent liar. She lies about her dad being in prison. She lies about her mom kicking her out. And she lies about sneaking into her best friend's house every night because she has nowhere else to go.
Amy Rush might be the only person Sonny shares everything with— secrets, clothes, even a nemesis named Ryder Cross.
Ryder's the new kid at Hamilton High and everything Sonny and Amy can't stand—a prep-school snob. But Ryder has a weakness: Amy. So when Ryder emails Amy asking her out, the friends see it as a prank opportunity not to be missed.
But without meaning to, Sonny ends up talking to Ryder all night online. And to her horror, she realizes that she might actually like him. Only there's one small catch: he thinks he's been talking to Amy. So Sonny comes up with an elaborate scheme to help Ryder realize that she's the girl he's really wanted all along. Can Sonny lie her way to the truth, or will all her lies end up costing her both Ryder and Amy?
Where to start... let me begin by saying that I LOVED The DUFF. It was one of my favorite books that I read last summer. That being said, I liked Lying Out Loud, but I didn't love it.
In the beginning I liked the new main character, Sonny. I really identified with her. Her situation in life mirrored mine a lot. Also the whole compulsive lying at the bat of an eye really got to me. Lying comes super easy to me to the point where I lie all the time without guilt. With that in mind, she easily started to annoy me in the book. There is a time and place to be a liar, those were unecessary times. Sometimes I got so pissed off because the entire situation of the book is her own damn fault that she could have corrected. Seriously, the plot of this book kind of seemed petty to me just because it shouldn't have ever happened.
Now on to Ryder. As a character, I fucking hated him. He was fake, two faced, and honestly I didn't see anything that great about him. However, he is a person of color, which I highly appreciate. It is not often that you find a male person of color in books these days, especially as an important contemporary character, the character the protagonist is in love with.
Amy... I really wish she had stuck up for herself more often. She is throughout the whole book, but I didn't feel like I really got to know her as a character.
Now to the best part of the entire book.... Wesley and Bianca. Bianca wasn't a major component but nevertheless her presence was enjoyable. Wesley on the other hand... I couldn't get enough of him. He really made this book for me. He is such a great source of inspiration and wisdom in his own quirky little way.
My hugest flaw with this book was how unrealistic it was. Not just the storyline but the little things. For starters if this book is in present modern day America where smartphones exists, they should have been filling their college applications online using CommonApp or the school's website. I know, I know, that seems really petty, but to me it took away from connecting with the book. I am a senior myself and I just went through that process, but the fact that the process was inaccurate kind of annoyed me.
This leads me to my second flaw, the whole emailing/IM thing. Don't get me wrong. I actually loved the IMs. I wish there were more of those in the book. But come on, what high school student in America communicates via email unless it's for a school assignment. They should have been Facebook messaging, Google Hangouts, iMessage, texting, ANYTHING OTHER EMAIL/IM.
Now we transition to sexting... what the actual fuck? Pardon my language but that entire ordeal was unecessary. I get the point Kody was trying to display that it is sad Ryder was thinking of Amy and not Sonny, but come on; do people who barely know each other sex each other that early on?
Also, that ending... what was that???
Overall it was a nice quick read--I finished this book in 3 hours. I wish it had more depth to it like The DUFF had, but it is what it is.
Book: The Truth About Jack
Author: Jody Gehrman
Format: ARC
Page Count: ---
Publisher: Entangled Crush
My Rating:★★★★
Synopsis: Dakota McCloud has just been accepted into a prestigious art school. Soon she'll leave behind the artists' colony where she grew up―hippie dad, tofu since birth, yurt―and join her boyfriend and best friend on the East Coast. It was the plan…until Dakota finds out her boyfriend and best friend hooked up behind her back.
Hurt and viciously betrayed, Dakota pours out her heart on a piece of paper, places it in a bottle, and hurls it into the ocean. But it doesn't quite go where she expects…
Jack Sauvage finds the bottle washed up on the shore and responds to Dakota's letter. Except what if his straight-laced life doesn’t jive with the free-spirited girl he’s only seen from afar? As Jack creates a persona he believes she’ll love, they slowly fall for each other with each new letter. Now Jack is trying to find a way to make this delicate, on-paper romance happen in real life…without revealing his deception.
The Truth about Jack was the first great contemporary read of the year that I really enjoyed. The plot, writing, and the characters just really bring together the story.
First off the plot. I went into this book expecting a cute contemporary. I definitely got that. Jack is a boy who finds a message in a bottle from the main girl Dakota who is going through a tough time. Jack decides to lie about who he truly is to get to know Dakota. Both Jack and Dakota are characters I came to love, Jack especially. Jack is a down to Earth musician, a guy I would definitely go for. What I truly love about his character was how honest he was with himself. He realizes falling with a girl after first laying eyes on her is creepy. He isn’t afraid to let his feelings show. That is so rare in a guy which made me appreciate him even more. I definitely enjoyed chapters with his perspective more than Dakota, who nevertheless I still enjoyed. The plot in general was very cutesy. There were a few moments when things got a little dark, but those moments were still nice to read. I knew going in what direction the plot would go and the endgame, but the moments in between still made it good.
Don’t even get me started on this writing. From the very first page of the story I fell in love with the writing. There was something about it that just drew me in. The writing is simple yet elegant, the perfect combination. The writing style was perfect for this type of contemporary.
FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Human beings are incapable of lasting love.”
“I try to lose myself in the music. Sometimes when I practice I can do that—delve so deeply into the notes that I forget my own name.”
Overall this was a lovely contemporary and if you enjoy contemporary you should check this book out.
Well my plan to read a lot during Spring Break was an epic fail. I'm still trying to read 1984 and The Lie before break is over. I just didn't feel like reading. I had a ton of AP homework and I went out of state for a college visit. I probably won't be avidly reading until the AP exams are over in May. Once that passes, I'm going to go on a reading spree until I start college.
So this time last year I finished "Enticed", the second book from "The Violet Eden" series.
Book: Enticed (later changed to Entice)
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Format: Ebook
Page Count: 465
Publisher: Sourcefire Books
Synopsis: Her destiny is to protect humans from the vengeance of exiled angels. Knowing who to trust is key, but when Grigori reinforcements arrive, it becomes clear everyone is hiding something - even her partner, Lincoln.
And now Violet has to learn to live with her feelings for him while they work together to stay alive and stop the exiles from discovering the key to destroy all Grigori. It isn't easy. Especially when the electricity between her and exile Phoenix ignites, and she discovers his hold over her has become more dangerous than ever.
The race halfway across the world to find the one artifact that could tilt the balance of power between Angels and Exiles brings them to the cradle of civilization, where Violet's power will be pushed to the extreme. And the ultimate betrayal exposed.
My Thoughts: When I read this book, I was Team Phoenix all the way. I thought for the most part Lincoln was a douche. I didn't give two thoughts about Lincoln until really the end. This book was so action packed and a lot happened. I also really started liking Violet a lot more. We also learned more about the new world Violet was thrust into which was really neat.
So this Wednesday, the Top 5 Group wants to know 5 books I wanted to start yesterday. Had this been a topic last month, I would have freaked out because I had such a huge TBR, a lot of them books that have already come out. However at the beginning of this month I got real with myself and narrowed down my TBR to less than 50 books and got rid of books I know I will not be reading any time soon.
5. Maybe Someday/Confess by Colleen Hoover
I know, I know, these are two different books. The thing is I equally want to read them. The only Colleen Hoover book I have read is "Ugly Love" and I absolutely loved it. I want to read her other works and these two are top on my lists.
4. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
There's a ton of buzz about this book and the concept seems really interesting. I have it I just haven't gotten around to reading it. I'm going to soon though... hopefully
3. Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger
So I loved "The DUFF" and I'm excited to read "Lying Out Loud". I won a signed ARC of this book, I just haven't gotten around to reading it... I definitely plan on reading it soon since it comes out April 28th.
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I bought this book because Natasha from "Toshopolis" is obsessed with this book. I watched the first episode and I liked it, I just want to read the book first though. The size is really intimidating though...
1. Game of Thrones by George RR. Martin
Once again this is a book I own but I haven't gotten around to. I've watched the tv show so I wanted to read the book. However I read about 100 pages before I realized I didn't have time to read it. Hopefully this summer I can get into it.
What are some books you guys want to read?
Awakening
Release Date: 04/07/15
Entangled Teen
Summary from Goodreads:
A thrilling, futuristic sci-fi novel set in a unique and thought-provoking world, from author Shannon Duffy.
Desiree Six (because she was born on a Friday) believes in everything the Protectorate stands for. She likes the safety and security of having her entire life planned out—her career, her mate, even the date of her death. She doesn't even think to question when Darien, her childhood friend and neighbor, is convicted of murdering his parents. They had seemed like such a loving family. But if he was convicted, then he must have done it.
Then Darien shows up in her room late one night. He has escaped from the Terrorscape—a nightmare machine used to punish all Noncompliants—and needs Desiree's help. What he tells her rocks her world to its core and makes her doubt everything she's ever been told. With this new information, will Desiree and Darien be able to escape the Protectorate before it's too late?
Buy Links:
About the Author
Author of MG and YA books full of adventure. I grew up on the east coast of Canada in the province of Newfoundland and now live in Ontario. I love writing, reading, fashion, fitness, and traveling.
Author Links:
Why do young adults need sci fi and dystopian type books?
Well in my opinion, it’s not just young adults who need these kinds of books, but all people, no matter the age. Personally, I love sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian, and paranormal books the absolute most. Basically anything in books that can take me outside the realm of the real or current world and way of doing things, I’m probably going to like. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some contemporary too. It’s just that I think it’s such a mental holiday to escape to another world or spice things up with some magic or crazy futuristic technology, or a government that seems to have everything in perfect order, but doesn’t. It just feels so creative and a fun way to explore the impossible or unimaginable. I like to be taken to the future or even the past, or to an alternate existence and way of living. To me, it’s so creative and captivating to imagine all of the what ifs and hows? When an author can make this kind of thing feel authentic, it allows the reader to really immerse themselves into this world or way of life and follow the characters as they struggle to survive or wade through their strange dilemma they’ve found themselves in. Take me on a journey to the unusual, and I’m sold.
I hope I managed to do that with Awakening and that readers enjoy the futuristic world I’ve created. No matter how old I get, I know I’ll always love books that take me away and allow me to experience something unique.
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