Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

YA/New Adult Romance, Published July 2012

Read August 2012, 384 pp.

❤ Team: Noah

Challenges: Debut Author Challenge

4/5 STARS

Book Blurb:

“I WON’T TELL ANYONE, Echo. I promise.”

Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone TOUCHED ME like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins?

His DARK BROWN EYES shifted to my covered arms. “You didn’t do that—did you? It was done to you?”

No one ever asked that question.

They stared.

They whispered.

They laughed.

BUT THEY NEVER ASKED.

SO WRONG FOR EACH OTHER…AND YET SO RIGHT.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Thoughts:

This romance is definitely on the borderline of YA and the “New Adult” genre.  While the characters are still in high school, the content still seems quite mature for younger YA readers.  Echo Emerson has problems.  She has survived a very abusive home life and only has a few friends in school.  Noah used to be the popular jock, but now has a few secrets of his own.  While Noah is portrayed to be the bad boy, he really hasn’t done anything wrong, other than defend his younger brothers.  I loved the chemistry between the Noah and Echo and how they truly begin to support one another as friends before anything else.

Can’t wait to read Noah’s friend Beth’s story in Dare You To.  I have a feeling her story is going to be very interesting!

Quotes:

Luke used to give me butterflies.  Noah spawned mutant pterodactyls. (p. 84)

Similar Reads:

• Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry
• Chelsea Fine – Sophie & Carter
• Jessica Sorenson – The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden (Mature – New Adult)
• Jamie McGuire – Beautiful Disaster (Mature – New Adult)

Thanks to NetGalley and HarlequinTEEN for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

YA Fantasy, Published August 2012

Challenges: Big Book Challenge 2012, NetGalley Reading Challenge 2012

❤ Team: Capt. Chaol Westfall

Read September 2012, 404 pp.

4.5/5 ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Book Blurb:

When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle. She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom. If she can defeat twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition to find the greatest assassin in the land, she will become the King’s Champion and be released from prison.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her.

And a princess from a foreign land will become the one thing Celaena never thought she’d have again: a friend.

But something evil dwells in the castle–and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying, horribly, one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival–and a desperate quest to root out the source of evil before it destroys her world.

Thoughts:

With comparisons to Game of Thrones, I was very excited to read Throne of Glass.  It is evident that a lot of love has gone into the writing as well as good editing (Maas has been working on this story of 10 years now).  Good editing can go a long way.  As the first in a new high fantasy series, the author does a good job setting up the characters and world as well as the various plot lines.  I thought the story does a good job with having a complete story arc contained within this book and while I still want to know what happens in the uncompleted story arcs, I was satisfied that they were not all left open-ended.

There are a lot of things I loved about this book.  I didn’t know what to expect from a character like Celaena and to find her immediately off the bad as witty and sarcastic with the two main men characters was great.  It definitely made me like her as the heroine.  She has a great rapport with Chaol almost throughout the entire book and I LOVED her letter exchange with Prince Dorian and his response.  I wish they could have kept the letters going throughout the story.  I felt like a lot of their “relationship” was a little forced and I think if they had exchanged more letters, I wouldn’t have felt that way so much.  Celaena’s character, in general, for me seemed to lose this rapport the further into the story we went, but I guess she has a lot on her plate – winning the role of the King’s Assassin, running down the secret passages underneath the old part of the castle, having both Dorian and Chaol sneaking into her chambers in the middle of the night, dressing up for balls, escorting the Princess Nehemia, figuring out why her fellow champions are being murdered – the girl has a lot to do!  The reader follows along more inside her head as well as from various other characters than actual conversations.  I want to hear more from Chaol!!

I can’t wait to read Celaena’s backstory in the novellas and to see where the story continues in book two. 

Quotes:

After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines at Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point.

~Opening line

“You like to read?”

She raised an eyebrow.  “Don’t you?”  Not waiting for an answer, she moved farther into the library, the train of her gown sweeping across the floor.  She neared the shelf and looked at the titles.  She recognized none of them.

Grinning, she whirled and moved through the main floor, running a hand across the dusty books.

~p. 55

Book Trailer:

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Children’s Books for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I have also purchased my own hardcover copy for my shelves.

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Review: Victoria Dahl’s Close Enough to Touch

Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl

Contemporary Romance (Adult), Published Aug. 28, 2012

Read August 2012, 384 pp.

3/5 STARS

Book Blurb:

Can a city girl make it in the wild, wild West?

For makeup artist Grace Barrett, Hollywood is less the land of golden opportunity and more the land of difficult
divas, cheating boyfriends and unemployment. So when her great-aunt offers her a free place to stay in Jackson Hole, Grace thinks she’ll spend a little time in the sticks to figure out her life, and then move somewhere exciting to live out her dreams. But it turns out that there are a few more thrills in this small town than Grace was expecting…

Cole Rawlins is a rugged Wyoming cowboy born and bred. Yet he can’t help but be drawn to the fascinating big-city girl who moves in across from him. As they discover a sizzling attraction, it’s Grace who finds herself surprised. Cole’s the only man who’s ever dared to get close enough to see through her tough facade. And his mysterious past only makes him sexier.

They’ll need more than scorching-hot passion to make this opposites-attract affair work. But if they can learn to trust one another enough to reveal their secrets, they just might have a chance at forever.

Thoughts:

I adored Dahl’s Donovan Brothers Brewery series so when I saw Close Enough to Touch, I quickly grabbed a copy to read.  While I didn’t love this book as much as the Donovan Brothers, it was still very entertaining and enjoyable – I just didn’t fall in love with Grace and Cole like I wanted to.  They both carry a lot of baggage and are stubborn about letting people in, especially Grace.  I love the opposites attract aspect, but found it hard to ever really warm up to Grace or her relationship with Cole.  I absolutely loved the setting of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and can’t wait for more from some of the other characters.  I would love to see more from Grace’s crotchety Aunt Rayleen and all the cowboys in her bar.  Overall, I enjoyed this read – which really speaks for Dahl’s impeccable writing because even though I wasn’t loving the characters, I love her wit as well as her ability to not let me put the book down until I was finished. A new must read author for me!

• Check out my review for Victoria Dahl’s Donovan Brothers Brewery trilogy – Good Girls Don’t, Bad Boys Do, & Real Men Will

Thanks to netGalley and Harlequin for providing me with a copy of these books in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: How to Romance a Rake

How to Romance a Rake by Manda Collins

The Ugly Ducklings Trilogy #2

Romance – Historical, Published July 2012

Challenges: Historical Fiction Challenge, NetGalley Reading Challenge

Read September 2012, 352 pp.

4.5/5 ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Book #1 – How to Dance with a Duke

Book Blurb:

You can lead a wallflower to the ball, but you can’t make her bloom—unless one daring young bachelor turns up the heat…

What’s a nice girl like Miss Juliet Shelby doing at a place like Lord Deveril’s ballroom? With her shy demeanor, she’s a total stranger to the dance floor and a source of mockery for the ton. So imagine her surprise when Deveril gallantly comes to her defense—and offers to teach her to dance! Juliet can hardly believe the most handsome bachelor in London would notice her, until he takes her in his arms and sets her heart ablaze…

Lord Alec Deveril has never felt such a spark of attraction for an unmarried lady before. Unlike the “fashionable” ladies he’s accustomed to, Juliet possesses a generous spirit, a fiery intelligence—and an explosive secret. Deep in the London underworld, a dear friend has vanished, and Juliet fears the worst. Deveril insists on helping, escorting her through the darkest alleys in town. But he too is hiding a shocking secret—and the only way he can defeat the devil in his past is to seduce the angel in his arms…

Thoughts:

Again, I’m in love with The Ugly Ducklings!  I adored the first in the series – How to Dance with a Duke – a great combination of romance and mystery.  The same is true with book two.  This time it’s duckling Juliet’s turn to find a husband, but she would have never guessed who it would turn out to be.  Her mother has a husband picked out for her, but Juliet cannot stand the sight of him!  But she and her cousins have a few tricks up their sleeves to get around her mother’s match.  When Juliet discovers her dear friend Anna has gone missing and left her baby behind, she knows it has to be foul play.  It is Lord Deveril who comes to her rescue and insists on accompanying her in finding out the truth behind the disappearance.  I love the chemistry between the three cousins and the men in their lives and while the story focuses on Juliet and Lord Deveril, we still get to see glimpses of characters from book one.

Can’t wait for Book 3 – How to Entice an Earl - about Ugly Duckling #3 – Cecily and Juliet’s cousin, Madeline – comes out January 29, 2013.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: The Summer My Life Began

The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland

YA Contemporary Romance, Published May 2012

Read June 2012, 250 pages

3.5/5 STARS

Book Blurb:

A great summer beach read filled with sunshine, cooking, and—of course—romance!

Elizabeth Margaret–better known as Em–has always known what her life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard, and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is, it’s not what she wants. So when she gets the opportunity to get away and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em learns that her family has some pretty significant secrets. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn’t. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels that for the first time ever, she is really living life on her own terms.

Thoughts:

This is a fun book to take to the beach (if you do that sort of thing, which I don’t).  Em has to get away from the strictness of living under her parents’ roof before she falls in line and becomes the lawyer they want her to be.  When she arrives at her newly founded Aunt’s house, she soon finds the life she has always wanted.  Em’s passion is cooking, but she has always been too afraid to stand up to her parents and tell them.  Her newly found freedom allows her to cook at her aunt’s B&B.  I loved the setting of Aunt Matilda’s house – I think I want to go on vacation there!  I think Em was craving the same attention from her mother that her aunt then provides and that’s why she clings so closely to her.  I liked Em’s blossoming relationship with Cade, but I wanted more!  I loved Em’s relationship with her cousin too.  They were definitely two peas in a pod!  Overall, a good coming of age story with a little mystery – where has Aunt Matilda been her whole life?

Quotes:

“It’s strange, but I’ve always liked graveyards.”

I looked back.  “Me too.  It’s the —”

“History,” my cousin finished for me.

“Isn’t it amazing the names, the relations, how they died…?” Frederick’s voice trailed off as he pondered the headstones.

And I thought I was the only graveyard freak in the family.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

Contemporary Romance, Published October 2011

Read June 2012, 384 pp.

3/5 STARS

Book Blurb:

Posey Osterhagen can’t complain. She owns a successful architectural salvaging company, she’s surrounded by her lovable, if off-center, family and she has a boyfriend—sort of. Still, something’s missing. Something tall, brooding and criminally good-looking… something like Liam Murphy.

When Posey was sixteen, the bad boy of Bellsford, New Hampshire, broke her heart. But now he’s back, sending Posey’s traitorous schoolgirl heart into overdrive once again. She should be giving him a wide berth, but it seems fate has other ideas….

Thoughts:

There are many things to love about this bad boy romance.  Liam Murphy is Posey’s bad boy crush from high school.  Now many years later, they’ve both found themselves back in their home town and running into each other constantly.  I loved that not only are we seeing the story through Posey’s eyes, but Liam’s as well, and of course, there are two completely different stories going on!  I loved Posey’s architectural salvage company and all the many characters that work for her.  I also loved Liam’s 15-year-old daughter and her blossoming relationship with Posey.  I wasn’t, however, crazy about Posey’s family and I didn’t ever really feel the chemistry between Posey and Liam.  Why do they need to be together?

Overall, an enjoyable cozy read.

Quotes:

Every woman has a fantasy about running into the man that broke her heart.  In such a fantasy, she’d be walking down the street, her well-dressed and gorgeous husband (let’s say George Clooney, shall we, circa age 40) caressing her, perhaps nuzzling her neck because he can’t help himself.  She’d be wearing something fabulous, her hair would be glossy and perfect, she and Clooney would have just left the nicest restaurant in town, perhaps, or the poshest jewelry shop, because he insisted on buying her yet another token of his love – and then oh, my goodness, who’s that?  Why it’s him, the first man she ever loved, the one who didn’t just break her young and loyal heart, but shattered it.  He’s not looking so good these days.  No, the years have not been kind.  He’s gray – or better yet, balding – and slightly overweight, and his posture is hunched.  He looks at her, recognizing immediately that the biggest mistake of his life was dumping her.  Pleasantries will be exchanged.  Clooney will shake his hand, giving Adored Wife a wry look (Him?  Really?), and as the happy couple walks away to their snazzy car, the heartbreaker of old is already forgotten.  Be he will gaze longingly after her, wondering how he ever could’ve been so blind.

That would’ve been nice.

-p. 84 (ARC)

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: My Life Next Door

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

YA Contemporary Romance, Published June 14, 2012

Challenges: Debut Authors 2012

Read June 2012, 395 pages

4/5 STARS

Book Blurb:

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

Thoughts:

Samantha has always looked over to her crazy neighbors with too many kids and too much mess, with a feeling of wanting to be a part of it all – much to her mother’s disgust.  When her mother becomes too busy for her and her sister leaves for the summer, Sam instantly becomes one of the Garretts after a fateful night of meeting Joe on the roof of her house.

But then one night changes everything…

This is a pretty predictable story, but will still be a very enjoyable summer read with loveable characters.  You’ll instantly fall in love with all of the Garrett brothers.  I liked that Sam and Jase were friends first.  I did not like, however, how Sam’s mother and her boyfriend dealt with the “crisis” and the way they pressure Sam into doing or not doing, as the case may be, the right thing.  I was disgusted, as I guess I was meant to be, by their “adult” way of covering things up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dial/Penguin Young Readers Group (USA) for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

YA Romance, Published June 2012

Read June 26, 2012, 383 pages

5/5 STARS

Book Blurb:

Your heart misleads you.

That’s what my friends and family say.

But I love Noah.

And he loves me.

We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other’s arms. It should be

ROSE & NOAH

forever, easy.

But it won’t be.

Because he’s Amish.

And I’m not.

Thoughts:

When Rose’s father moves her and her brother to live in Amish country, to say Rose is not excited would be a great understatement.  The only bright side is having her horse near her.  Their Amish neighbors, being neighborly and wanting to get on the good side of the new country doctor, come to help the family fix up their old farm house.  Noah immediately notices Rose and finds every excuse to talk to her.  And so it begins..

I was instantly drawn to the forbidden attraction between Noah and Rose.  I just could not put the book down, which is what I look for in a great summer read.  Temptation brings an interesting and new twist on Amish fiction.  Noah is not interested in leaving his faith or family, but is conflicted with his feelings for Rose.  I loved the interactions between Rose and Noah as well as her growing relationship with Noah’s sister, Sarah.  I also loved Hopkin’s witty writing style and the back and forth character POVs.  The reader not only gets to see an outsider’s point of view of the Amish, but an insider’s as well.

The ending definitely leaves you wanting more – which, conveniently will happen since this is the first in a new series.  I was a little disappointed to see how both Rose and Noah worked to manipulate the other, but I think this is because they are both so young and have a very narrow view of life.  Some have pointed out that the sexism bothered them, but I found it very true to the story.  I don’t think this is meant to teach or influence young readers to not stand up for themselves, but it does make them aware of other cultures, faiths, and to learn to make their own decisions.  *SPOILER ALERT* Now that Rose and Noah are together, a whole new set of obstacles will be before them.  How will they make it work?  Will they go through with a marriage?  They are both so young and since Rose is from the outside world, how will she be able to live with the Amish rules and their constrictions of women?

Quotes:

In that instant, I knew she belonged with me.  But what is forbidden is not so easily forgotten.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarlequinTeen for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Monthly Wrap Up – April & May

I can’t believe summer is just right around the corner, although outside it sure does feel like it has arrived early!  I’m ready for some fun summer reads!

Books I Read:

1. Legacy by Cayla Kluver and narrated by Anna Chlumsky – YA Historical Fiction, Audio Book Challenge, Mt. TBR, unabridged, 12.5 hours, April 2012, 3.7/5
2. Allegiance (Legacy #2) by Cayla Kluver – YA Historical Fiction, NetGalley Reading Challenge 2012, 490 pp, May 2012, 4/5
3. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard – NetGalley Reading Challenge 2012, 352 pp, May 2012, 3.5/5
4. Death by Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked by Mary Miley Theobald – NetGalley Reading Challenge 2012, 144 pp, May 2012, 3.5/5
5. What about Cimmaron? by Lauraine Snelling – NetGalley Reading Challenge 2012, 96 pp, May 2012, 2/5

Books Reviewed:

• Review: Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey

• Review: Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby

• The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs

• Review: Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm

• Review: Legacy by Cayla Kluver

• Review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

• What about Cimmaron? by Lauraine Snelling

• Review: Allegiance by Cayla Kluver

Other Posts:

• Top Ten Books to Read in One Day

• Teaser Tuesday – Love on the Range by Jessica Nelson

• Monthly Wrap Up – March

• Happy Easter!

• Teaser Tuesday – Death by Petticoat by Mary Theobald

• Musing Monday – 5/14
  

• Teaser Tuesday – The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis

• Teaser Tuesday – The Key on the Quilt by Stephanie Grace Whitson

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Review: Death by Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked

Death by Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked by Mary Miley Theobald with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

History, Published June 5, 2012

Read May 2012, 144 pp.

3.5/5 Stars

Book Blurb:

Every day stories from American history that are not true are repeated in museums and classrooms across the country. Some are outright fabrications; others contain a kernel of truth that has been embellished over the years. Collaborating with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Mary Miley Theobald has uncovered the truth behind many widely repeated myth-understandings in our history in Death by Petticoat including:

* Hat makers really were driven mad. They were poisoned by the mercury used in making hats from furs. Their symptoms included hallucinations, tremors, and twitching, which looked like insanity to people of the 17th and 18th centuries–and the phrase “mad as a hatter” came about.

* The idea that portrait painters gave discounts if their subjects posed with one hand inside the vest (so they didn’t have to paint fingers and leading to the saying that something “costs an arm and a leg”) is strictly myth. It isn’t likely that Napoleon, King George III, or George Washington were concerned about getting a discount from their portrait painters.

*Pregnant women secluded themselves indoors, uneven stairs were made to trip up burglars, people bathed once a year, women had tiny waists, apprenticeships lasted seven years–Death by Petticoat reveals the truth about these hysterical historical myth-understandings.

Thoughts:

This was a fun read that debunked a lot of myths in American History that I had never even heard of, but at first glance made sense.  It would be a great addition to a tour of the historical northeast.  I liked that the explanations were short and concise with a little humor mixed in and it is obvious that a lot of research went into this book.  However, the real history buff will be left wanting more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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