COVER REVEAL: Not Pretty Enough by Jaimie Admans

Not Pretty Enough 

by Jaimie Admans 
Publication date: August 1st 2013 
Genre: YA Contemporary

 

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

“New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Lloyd Layton will know I exist. He once said three whole words to me, so this is obviously progress. If I don’t get a proper conversation out of him soon, then I’ll take my top off and streak through the cafeteria, because nobody could fail to notice these boobs.

2. I will not get expelled for streaking through the cafeteria.”

Those are the words that begin her mission.

Chessie is fourteen, not pretty enough, and very much in love. Lloyd Layton is hot, popular, and unaware of Chessie’s existence.

Her goal is clear: to get Lloyd to love her as much as she loves him, and she has exactly one year to do it.

As Chessie’s obsession with Lloyd reaches boiling point and she starts to spin a web of lies that spiral out of control, Lloyd turns out to be not quite the prince she thought he was. Can Chessie avoid the gathering storm before things go too far?

Not Pretty Enough is a contemporary young adult comedy suitable for ages thirteen and over.

Book two in the series will be released early 2014.

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COVER REVEAL: Devious by Suzannah Daniels

Devious 

by Suzannah Daniels  
Series: Dangerous, #2
Publication date: August 22nd, 2013
Genre: YA contemporary romance

Stone Hamilton had never been known for being the good guy. Just ask anyone who knows him. But things have changed since he started dating the sultry goody-two-shoes that he met over the summer. Now that it’s his senior year at Quail Mountain High, can he manage to hold on to the girl who’s stolen his heart or is it only a matter of time until he screws it all up?

If someone had told Dara Golding last school year that she’d be dating an ominous, wheelie-popping, biker boy her senior year, she would’ve scoffed. But she’s learned there’s a lot more to Stone Hamilton than she originally thought. Or is there?

How far will Stone go to hold on to the girl who has changed his world?

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Details for book 1

AUTHOR BIO

Suzannah Daniels has had an affinity for words for as long as she can remember. She grew up in North Georgia with four brothers, so she learned at an early age to admire snakes and motorcycles. When she wasn't pestering her brothers, she could usually be found reading or writing.

She is the author of Viking's Embrace, a historical romance, and Ghostly Encounter, Book One of her Ghostly series (young adult paranormal romance).

Currently, she lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee with her husband and her teenage daughter. Her son lives nearby. The family pets include a Lab mix, a Basset Hound, a Shih Tzu, and a sweet, little kitty.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: Motocross Me by Cheyenne Young

Motocross Me
by Cheyanne Young
Expected Release: June 26th 2013
Publisher: 336Love  

When Hana Fisher moves to the small town of Mixon, Texas to live with her dad, she dreads having to work at the boring pile of dirt he fondly calls a motocross track. But when she gets there, she finds the rinky-dink dirt bike track from her childhood has grown into the most respected racing track in the state. 

Now popular by association, Hana endures the pain and sweat of working in the summer heat in order to fit in with a sport she’s growing to love. She gets a real family, a best friend and not just one, but two of the fastest racers trying to win her heart. 

When Hana abuses her status as the track owner’s daughter to help the gorgeous Ryan Russo cheat in the biggest race of the year, she risks more than just losing her job. Every good thing in her life is at stake now- her friends, her dad’s trust, and Ash Carter- the kind-hearted racer who may not be as alluring as Ryan, but is proof that nice guys don’t always finish last

REVIEW

I decided to review this book for the tour because I think motocross racers are pretty cute! I’m sure I’m not the only one, and I haven’t seen this setting used much at all, so this one really grabbed my interest.

Hana Fisher has just learned some disturbing news from her mother when she finds herself on the road to her dad’s house. A dad she hasn’t paid much attention to for the past couple of years, all because she’s finally had it with her irresponsible mother.

Luckily her father is not a jerk, in fact, he’s remarried to a nice woman and they have an adorable pre-teen son whom she loves. So Hana made the right move. She can do better than a mother who prefers to marry over and over again – and this new engagement was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Hana.

So she ends up at her father’s motocross track – which has also grown up while she was away and is now a well-respected and busy place. Being surrounded by a bunch of “muscular” guys almost drives poor Hana nuts, and it doesn’t help that the two best riders are both interested in the owner's daughter.

These two boys couldn’t be more different. Ryan is a confident player while Ash is a quiet and serious gentleman. Of course I prefer Ash! And so does Hana, except Hana hasn’t quite made up her mind what kind of girl she is just yet. Hana comes off as naive, innocent, and a little bit childish—or maybe just more like a stereotypical teen.

I enjoyed this story and while there was a love triangle, it helped that Ash was so down to Earth because he diffused much of the angst of these scenarios just by being so calm. Hana learns some lessons about life, but she also learns some lessons about herself and what’s important to her. It doesn’t look like this book is part of a series, so the ending was a bit abrupt for me. I’d like to have learned more about what happens after. But I enjoyed it and I loved the setting. The descriptions and information about the sport of motocross was sprinkled throughout the story. Not so much that I felt like someone was explaining the rules of the sport to me, just enough to let me in on what’s going on.

Four stars for Motocross Me by Cheyenne young.

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AMAZON

 

GIVEAWAY

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About this author

Cheyanne is a native Texan with a fear of cold weather and a coffee addiction that probably needs an intervention. She loves books, sarcasm, nail polish and paid holidays. She lives near the beach with her daughter, one spoiled rotten puppy and a cat who is most likely plotting to take over the world.

www.cheyanneyoung.com 

 twitter.com/normalchey

RELEASE DAY GIVEAWAY: Losing Francesca By JA Huss

Losing Francesca 

By J. A. Huss

Expected Publication: July 1, 2013 Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Francesca Sabatini came to America to take in the sights, celebrate her high school graduation, and have fun wasting time before college starts in the fall.

That’s not what happens.

Fresh off the plane and barely on American soil more than a handful of minutes, Francesca’s face is recognized by TSA scanners to be a match for a child who was kidnapped twelve years ago.

Brody Mason remembers the day Fiona Sullivan went missing during a family vacation in Italy and it’s haunted him his whole life. So when Francesca shows up at the Sullivan farm down the road, he’s compelled to figure out if this girl really is his long lost friend.

But Francesca knows she’s not Fiona Sullivan. She knows exactly who she is. At least she thinks she knows – until Brody Mason relentlessly pursues her and she begins to have feelings for him. Maybe being Fiona isn’t so bad?

Reality becomes blurred, secrets are revealed, and life will never be the same when the final questions are answered: Is she Francesca or Fiona? And where does she really belong? Losing Francesca is a YA/NA crossover contemporary romance. :)

What people are saying about Losing Francesca by J.A. Huss!

"A 'you must drop everything and read this' kind of story." - Author Alexia Purdy @ http://alexiaepurdy.blogspot.com/

"...this book is so sweet and full of emotions and I loved it. I couldn't stop reading." - Lola @ Lola's Reviews!


"This. Was. Great!!!!! It was amazing! I loved it!" - Kimberly @ Kimberly's Novel Notes!

I lie back on the beach and put my hands behind my head. "So, we're gonna spend the whole summer hanging out and I'm not allowed to get to know you even in the most basic and simple ways? Is that how this is gonna go, Fee?" 

She lies back next to me and turns on her side, her eyes searching mine. "Why do you insist that I am her? I'm not her, Brody. This fact will hurt you if you don't accept it and I don't want to hurt you. You're nice, I like you, but I'm not that girl." 

"I want you to be her." I tell her truthfully. "I so, so want you to be her, Francesca. I cannot even explain how much I want to talk to her again. How much I want to tell her about all the days we never shared, to tell her that I thought of her at the end of every single one of them and that I prayed to God for years, every night, on my fucking knees, that she'd come back. I want to give her the Fruit Roll-Up I brought to school that first day back after summer vacation. That stupid Fruit Roll-Up that I still have hidden away, because I had this faith as a kid. This unwavering faith that only a kid can have that one day my friend would be back. And when she finally showed up, I'd give her that stupid snack to show her how much I missed her. And to prove myself to her. Because that little girl was my soulmate." 

She frowns so deep it makes me hold my breath. 

"I'm sorry," I say, turning my head to stare up at the sky. "I shouldn't tell you this stuff, I'm sorry." I'm projecting, that's what I'm doing. I want Francesca to be my Fee so bad I'm starting to believe it myself, even as she sits here and tells me straight up she's not her. 

Her hand touches my cheek and I look back over. "You can ask me one question, but it can't be about my other life." 

I laugh. "What good does that do me?" 

"Well, you can ask about things, but not my family, or school, or the places I've lived." 

"Give me a for example, because I'm not seeing the difference." She sighs and turns away, biting on her thumbnail a little. 

"OK," she says, turning back. "For example, I'll ask you the first question and you answer, then I'll answer the same question for you." 

I smile. 

She chews on her bottom lip this time. Clearly she is nervous. 

"All right, tell me about the best day of your life." 

I sit up and stare down at her. "The best day of my life?" 

She nods. 

"Today, Fee. The best day of my life is today."

Get your copy today!

JA Huss is a SF and new adult romance junkie, has a love-hate relationship with the bad boys, and likes to write new adult books about people with real problems. She lives with her family on a small acreage farm in Colorado and has two donkeys named Paris and Nicole. Before writing fiction, she authored almost two hundred science workbooks and always has at least three works in progress. Losing Francesca is her first young adult romance.

Website † Facebook † Twitter † GoodReads  † Blog 

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REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend by Louise Rozett

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend by Louise Rozett from Harlequin Teen.  The tour is hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  You can visit the rest of the stops on the tour here.  My stop today features a review and giveaway, which you can enter below.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend 

(Confessions #2) 

by Louise Rozett 

Release Date: 06/18/13 

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year—everything is going to be different. This year, she’s going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around...

...but if she’s not careful, she’s also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the “good girl” who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed goes unpunished) and possibly worst of all...the almost-girlfriend.

When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself.

    

Confessions of an Angry Girl

(Confessions #1)

by Louise Rozett

Release Date: 08/28/12

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Paperback/e-book

288 pages

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…

1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?

2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is nowenraged and out for blood. Mine.

3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry—get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)

(Sorry. That was rude.)

    

REVIEW: Confessions of an Angry Girl

 
First of all, this was probably the first totally YA book I’ve read in a VERY long time.  Like, maybe since I was a teenager, and I’m frickin old.  But, these two books came in on a weekend where I was just burnt out on NA really – like really bad.  I was just frustrated with a bunch of books that I had committed to review, and all I really wanted as a book where the writing flowed and would allow me to just enjoy the story.

 
I read these two books in one day.  They were so fun.  Rose’s voice was just fabulous, I loved her.  Normally I’m not into the fourteen year old’s perspective.  It’s been a long time since I was fourteen, I was wild when I was fourteen, so pretty much nothing these fourteen year olds are doing in any of these books can hold a candle to my real life.  But that Jamie… yup.  He was sorta hot for a highschooler!  :)

 
I thoroughly enjoyed Confessions of  an Angry Girl.. I totally got it.  Rose lost her dad, she was really, really struggling with that and to top it all off, she was a freshman in high school.  It’s a lot for a kid.

 
And in walks this older guy who sorta pays attention to her, but is just aloof enough to keep her hanging.  I had a few these guys at her age, but I wanted to believe Jamie was a good guy.  And I did, for this entire book… all the way to the end.  And then… yeah. I’ve been there too.  

 
I was pretty much done with Jamie. He was a total screw-up.

 
I did very much enjoy how Rose worked through her grief with her online “friends” at the blog she made for her father. I thought that was touching.  I hate the thought of kids losing their parents because they are serving their country.  It’s just so tragic and sad, I hate it, but that was a nice touch and I think it really helped Rose work through her anger.

I think Rose is an incredibly strong character in this book even though she has a lot of self-doubt.  I like how she stood up to her mom about her blog and the way she chooses to cope with her sadness and honor her father at the same time.  That was strength, even if she didn't realize it at the time.  I also think Rose starts off stronger than she ends up and I think Jamie is the reason she grows weaker.  She trusts him and I'm just not convinced he deserves it. But love is love.  That's not something that can be turned off easily, and not amount of good advice will change someone's mind.  That's a life lesson that has to be learned first hand.

 
 

REVIEW: Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend

 
So book two – Jamie is still being a douchebag, but now Rose is presented with two more very grown-up issues. Hate and domestic violence.  I’m just gonna go on record and say I agree with her decision. I get why Jaime was angry, he feels responsible for this family, but he was way out of line.  This girl is only sixteen and Jamie is as unpredictable as they come.  How is she supposed to know what the right thing to do is? Did she stay silent because she was jealous of Regina and Jamie?  Maybe. Did she stay silent because she was told to?  Maybe.  Did she stay silent because she feared for what Jamie would do? Probably.

I’m totally over this Jamie guy and I got over him way before that final incident because Jamie threatened someone with a gun.  OK. A gun.  I’m a second Amendment Rights Advocate, I actually carry a gun at all times, I have no problem with guns, my son learned to shoot when he was ten.  But that incident when he took that gun out and threatened someone, I was done with him.  I cannot even explain how not cool that is and if Rose was my daughter, I’d hope she had the sense to figure out just how unstable that move really was and toss this guy out.

With that said, I can’t really make a decision on Rose until I read the last book because, of course, book two is right in the middle of her character arc.  It's impossible to determine if she's strong and self-confident or weak and timid until this plays out.  I think everything hinges on her making a decision to move on or get stuck in this pattern of abuse.  Because that’s what Jamie’s doing to her.  He’s mentally abusing her – he’s keeping her secret, he’s messing with her head, he’s not able to commit. But yet he wants all the perks, right? He’s playing with her. And he most definitely does NOT respect her.

One boy I did very much enjoy was Angelo!  I loved his character and I loved that he's going to be a bigger part of Rose's life, even if it is off "camera" so to speak, becasue of how the book ends. I'm officially Team Angelo. 

So, basically the one character that got me totally hooked on this series is a total jerk and I can’t stand him!  :) But that might be the author’s intent, I’m not sure yet.  Maybe he redeems himself next time around. With that said, I enjoyed the books, I enjoyed Rose, and I’ll definitely be tuning in for the next one.

***GIVEAWAY*** One lucky winner will get a signed copy of ANGRY GIRL, a signed copy of ALMOST-GIRLFRIEND, and a $25 iTunes gift card! (US only) a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Louise Rozett is an author, a playwright, and a recovering performer. She made her YA debut with Confessions of an Angry Girl, published by Harlequin Teen. The next book in the series, Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend, is due out June 2013. She lives with her 120-pound Bernese Mountain dog Lester (named after Lester Freamon from THE WIRE, of course) in one of the world's greatest literary meccas, Brooklyn...and also in sunny Los Angeles. (Being bi-coastal is fun!) Visit www.Louiserozett.com for more info.

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REVIEW: Caly's Piece by JM Miller

 Caly's Piece

by J.M. Miller

YA/Coming of Age Romance

Caly knew her mom would punish her; in fact, she'd planned on it. But a late-night ride in the backseat of a cop car wasn't part of that plan.

Seventeen-year-old Caly Monroe has one passion: graffiti. Her mom hates it. And that's precisely why Caly decides to spray paint a barely dressed portrait of her mom in the middle of town, hoping to change her perspective―or maybe it was just to piss her off.

After Caly's mom picks her up from the police station, she banishes Caly to Gemstone Beach, the run-down bay beach where they used to live each summer. The last time Caly stepped a bare foot onto that beach's crusty sand was five years ago, before her mom opened a bakery and permanently ended their vacations. When Caly returns, she is tasked with manual labor at the boardwalk as punishment; though, she soon discovers the real punishment is facing the people she once cared most about, including her first love, Aden. 

While Caly continues to contemplate her artistic future, she has to let her heart choose what, and who, is worth fighting for.

REVIEW
This was a really good story.  I started it on Thursday and was supposed to post it on Friday, but I couldn’t bring myself to rush through the book to get the review up on time, so I emailed JM and told her it would be late.  I seriously read this book slow because I loved it!

The setting was awesome.  I know that getting a beach summer is a dream to many people, but I grew up on the beach.  It wasn’t an ocean, it was Lake Erie.  I lived on the beach, I went there every day, we had bonfires, and drank beer, and had first kisses (and sometimes a little more) … just like Caly’s beach in this book.  It’s a special thing when you get a summer like that, and Caly had quite a few of them under her belt before she was banished from the beach by her mother’s new business.

Caly’s family has a beach house.  Maybe it was sorta dumpy, but it was theirs, it was private and it was filled with people she knew her whole life.  Including one very special boy named Aden.

Being sent to the beach this year is a punishment because Caly tagged her mom’s bakery with graffiti art – I totally thought this was hilarious!  She made her mom a pin-up with the tagline, Eat my Muffin!

The book opens with Caly running from the police because of the beautiful piece of art she just sprayed all over he mom’s building, being caught by an ex-boyfriend who admits the only reason he dated her was because her mother begged his mother and he got a laptop out of the deal.

Buuuuurrn.

Needless to say, Caly’s coming-of-age story is not going well.  So she gets banished BACK to the beach with her not-so-responsible grandfather (he’s the reason she had to stop going to the beach in the first place, after the business took off, Caly’s mom had no time to go down there with her). She’s to perform manual labor helping the weird owner of the “resort” fix an old building. To make matters worse, her first love, Aden, is now dating her old BFF from back in the day.  Her ex-BFF is a total witch and makes Caly’s life a living hell over this boy thing.

But in between all this angst there’s a lot more going on.  Caly’s life is about to change forever, she’s about to figure out what it means to be a grown-up, and she’s about to realize and accept many things about herself that make her special.

This is a great read and one that I’d recommend to kids, parents, and just regular adults who love being transported back to that “one” awesome summer that totally changed your life.  JM Miller is an author to watch and I look forward to reading more books from her in the future.

About the author...

About me...hmm...

I love to travel.

I love to write.

Both satisfy my often restless psyche.

I'm a coffee and tea drinker. Do we really have to be one or the other?

I prefer my ice cream with some kind of chunk: pineapple, cherry, chocolate, cookie dough. Oh, the possibilities.

I love Goodreads friends so add me!