Books and Swoons: October 2014

Favorite Friday (#11) - Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young

Have a favorite book? Series? One that you've just read or are currently reading? Favorite Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Books and Swoons where we spotlight some of our Favorite Reads. Everyone is welcome to join. Just enter your information on the linky or leave us a comment!

Caroline is at a crossroads. Her grandmother is sick, maybe dying. Like the rest of her family, Caroline's been at Gram's bedside since her stroke. With the pressure building, all Caroline wants to do is escape--both her family and the reality of Gram's failing health. So when Caroline's best friend offers to take her to a party one fateful Friday night, she must choose: stay by Gram's side, or go to the party and live her life.
The consequence of this one decision will split Caroline's fate into two separate paths--and she's about to live them both.
Friendships are tested and family drama hits an all-new high as Caroline attempts to rebuild old relationships, and even make a few new ones. If she stays, her longtime crush, Joel, might finally notice her, but if she goes, Chris, the charming college boy, might prove to be everything she's ever wanted.
Though there are two distinct ways for her fate to unfold, there is only one happy ending...

When I first read this book, I cried like a baby. Caroline's story has stayed with me even a year later. I originally read this book as an ARC but I love it so much that I went out and got myself a hardcover. I feel like this is one of those books that needs to be popular and I wish more people read it. So, read it, please?

About the author:

Raised in a house that was struck by lightning–twice–Cat Patrick is the author of young adult books Forgotten, Revived, and The Originals, and the co-author of Just Like Fate.
As a child, Cat could be found making up stories like her first book, Dolly the Purple Spotted Dolphin; growing corn in the backyard; or performing with a traveling sign-language troupe. She earned a journalism degree from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree from Boston University, and worked in public relations for fifteen years. She lives outside of Seattle with her husband and twin daughters, and is on Twitter @seecatwrite, or Facebook at authorcatpatrick.

Author's links: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

About the author:

Suzanne Young is the New York Times bestselling author of The Program series. Originally from Utica, New York, Suzanne moved to Arizona to pursue her dream of not freezing to death. She is a novelist and an English teacher, but not always in that order. Suzanne is the author of THE PROGRAM, THE TREATMENT, THE REMEDY, and A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL.
Friend her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @suzanne_young.

Author's links: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

I hope you can join us in sharing and talking about some of your favorite reads. Book talk always make me happy.

What are one of your favorite reads?

Review: Not Yet by Laura Ward

Not Yet
Author: Laura Ward
Release Date: July 28, 2014
Publisher: Laura Ward
Source: Xpresso Book Tours & Laura Ward
Review by: Nahomi

Emma Harris is learning that life is just a series of lessons.

Lesson #1: Nothing goes the way you plan. Lesson #2: You can’t trust men. Especially not the pretty ones. Lesson #3: Turns out, appearances are almost always deceiving.

Emma thinks she has life all figured out, and what she knows isn't good. For years, she’s put her big sister, who was born with Down syndrome, first. Now Emma’s ready to start her own life, but fate has other plans. To do the right thing for the sister she loves, Emma’s dreams will just have to wait.

She doesn't plan on meeting Landon — a rich, flirtatious jock, who never has to wait for anything. Not for attention, not for money, and certainly not for girls. Meeting Emma marks the first time in his life that he’s had to fight for something. And Landon doesn't know how to lose.

Emma has no interest in wasting her summer with a superficial guy like Landon. But very soon she realizes she is wrong about him. The question is, can she trust him? Or will he let her down like every other guy in her life? But most importantly, can Emma trust herself enough to live the life she's always dreamed of?

Life has a way of sneaking in the most important lessons when you aren't looking. And once the heart gets involved, that's when the real learning begins.

*This book was provided in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars out of 5 stars

I was hoping to be able to give this book this book a higher rating but alas there was no real connection with the characters for me. The beginning seemed very rushed, Emma is supposed to be the Midwest biggest bi*$# and it didn't take long for her and Landon to get together. I understand Landon is very hot and sweet and I see how Emma tries to rationalize it but it doesn't come off as genuine. It is a bad case of instalove and although I can get through that sometimes, this wasn't one of those cases.

Although this story wasn't my cup of tea it had a lot of good elements which is the reason I gave it a 3. I really liked Landon's character although he seemed perfect, he had his flaws. I liked how the author incorporated families that had loved ones with disabilities; she did a great job with this aspect of the novel. The story was okay and had a lot of good elements but I just didn't connect with the characters.

Waiting on Wednesday (#82)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Morning swooners!

This week pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is:

Captive (The Blackcoat Rebellions #2) by Aimee Carter

Expected Release Date: November 25, 2014

Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

Synopsis:

For the past two months, Kitty Doe's life has been a lie. Forced to impersonate the Prime Minister's niece, her frustration grows as her trust in her fake fiancé cracks, her real boyfriend is forbidden and the Blackcoats keep her in the dark more than ever.
But in the midst of discovering that her role in the Hart family may not be as coincidental as she thought, she's accused of treason and is forced to face her greatest fear: Elsewhere. A prison where no one can escape.
As one shocking revelation leads to the next, Kitty learns the hard way that she can trust no one, not even the people she thought were on her side. With her back against the wall, Kitty wants to believe she'll do whatever it takes to support the rebellion she believes in—but is she prepared to pay the ultimate price?

I'm super excited about Captive. Pawn was an awesome read and I was completely hooked. And after the ending, I'm definitely anxiously anticipating this release.

What are you "Waiting on?"

Release Day Launch + Giveaway & Excerpt - All Broke Down by Cora Carmack

All Broke Down
(Rusk University #2)
Author: Cora Carmack
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow Impulse

In this second book in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack’s New Adult, Texas-set Rusk University series, which began with ALL LINED UP, a young woman discovers that you can’t only fight for what you believe in . . . sometimes you have to fight for what you love
Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.
Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians—you name it, she’s probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He’s in for a different kind of fighting. And though he’s arrogant and infuriating, she can’t help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.
Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it’s trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He’s met girls like her before—fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn’t think he’s broken, and he definitely doesn’t need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about, his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.
Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all.

I think I get it then. That decision I saw in her eyes back in the kitchen. That’s what this, what I’m about for her, too. I’m just another part of whatever rebellion she started earlier today. About doing what she wants, not what’s expected of her.

“We’re not talking about me, though,” she says. “So you went to meet your friend, and then what happened?”

She keeps her eyes down as she picks up the gauze and begins winding it snugly around the knuckles of one hand, and then the other.

“He said the wrong thing.”

“Which was?”

“Dylan.” Now it’s her that’s pushing too hard. I didn’t want to talk about things with my friends, and I won’t talk about them with her, either, no matter how gorgeous she is.

“I’ll guess. You were mad about what he did, and he wasn’t sorry.”

“This isn’t middle school, Pickle. He didn’t hurt my feelings. He said some shit he had no business saying, and it pissed me off. The end.”

“But you don’t think some of that anger stems from what you feel is a betrayal of your friendship?”

She finishes taping down the last of the gauze, but doesn’t let go of my hand.

“I think you’re analyzing me again. Making things more complicated than they are.”

“And I think you’re just a guy who doesn’t like to admit he has feelings.” She drags out the word, teasing me with some goofy smile on her face. I turn my hand over so I can clutch her wrist. I curl my other bandaged hand around her waist and pull her closer.

“I feel plenty of things.”

The teasing stops. She swallows.

“I wasn’t talking about that kind of feeling.”

With her standing and me sitting, I’m eye level with her chest. I see the sharp rise and fall as she sucks in a breath. I want her in my lap again, straddling me this time.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t talk about that kind of feeling. Or experiment with it.”

“Is that Stella girl an ex?”

I cough, surprised. My throat twists uncomfortably, and it takes me a couple of solid breaths to get a hold on myself.

“Ah, no. Stella and I have never dated.”

“Have you—”

“Do you ever run out of questions?”

“Not ever.” She turns playful again, and I’m done doing this the careful way. If she wants a rebellion, I’ll be the one to give it to her. I want her against me, and I’m tired of waiting.

I pull her forward, insinuating my knees between hers, and her body naturally follows, settling across my thighs. Her lips part, but she catches herself before she gasps this time. I keep her steady with my hands at her waist and say, “I’ll make you a deal. A question for a kiss.”

Tentatively, she lays her palms against my shoulders. They rest there, her grip light and casual. She ponders my offer for a moment, and it drives me mad that she can do that while our hips are inches away from alignment.

“Okay then. Are you—”

I cut her off. “Not so fast, Dylan Brenner. I’ve already answered one question. We’ve got to settle up first.”

I wrap her braid around my hand like I’ve been waiting to do all night, and I use it to pull her head back just enough that I can crush my mouth against hers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Author Links: Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Website

Release Day Launch organized by: InkSlinger PR

Book Blitz - Stan by C.J. Duggan

Stan (Summer #1.5)
Author: C.J. Duggan
Release Date: October 26, 2014
Publisher: C.J. Duggan

I had plans, big plans, but all that changed the night Bel Evans darkened my doorstep.
Stan Remington is the go-to man. What he doesn’t know about Onslow means one of two things: it doesn’t exist or it hasn’t happened yet.
And when it comes to Onslow, for Stan, being an only child means a guilt-riddled sense of duty to help out at his parents’ caravan park every summer of his life: same old town, same old story.
Until Belinda Evans.
The wild and insipid doctor’s daughter who spends summer holidays with her family at Remington’s Caravan Park, but she’s not Stan’s problem; that is, until she sabotages his planned weekend escape. Now Stan finds himself not only caretaking the caravan park on his own, but responsible for Bel as well.
Just the two of them. Under the one roof. For one long, long weekend. In a world built by mundane routine and small-town boredom, this summer promises to be anything but boring.

About the author:

C.J Duggan is an Internationally Number One Best Selling Author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia. When she isn't writing books about swoony boys and 90's pop culture you will find her renovating her hundred-year-old Victorian homestead or annoying her local travel agent for a quote to escape the chaos. The Boys of Summer is Book One in her highly successful New Adult Romance Series.

Author Links: Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Website

Book Blitz organized by: Xpresso Book Tours

Quotes (#80)

Is it really Monday??

Morning Lovelies,

Another Monday is upon us and I'm just over it already. But that gif of Toy Story certainly perks me up. And what certainly perks me up is that I can finally share my personal, exciting news with you guys.

I few weeks ago, I said I had some good news to share and now that the rest of my extended family knows, I can tell you guys too. I'm engaged! Wheee! My boyfriend, well, now fiancé, proposed over my birthday weekend last month and he came down to talk to my dad and kind of did the whole "asking for your blessing" old-school thing. I'm super excited about this next step in my life and I can't wait for it to start. I've started the wedding planning process, and thankfully, Nahomi and Daisel have basically offered up their help in any they can and for that I'm forever grateful because I'm not the most creative person.

I am feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of stuff that needs to be done for a wedding and working full-time as well as going part-time to school and blogging makes me feel like I'm juggling way too many things. I'm learning to prioritize and I realize that as much as I love blogging, it going to unfortunately be on the bottom of my list. So if I don't have time to post a review or a promo post, it just won't happen. With both Nahomi and I in school, working, and Nahomi being a mom and me planning a wedding, some things may slip through the cracks. So if you see a couple of days of no posts, just know that we're working on trying to get you guys some new content.

And after that really long soliloquy, sorry, I tend to babble when excited/nervous, here are this week's quotes!

“A party without cake is just a meeting” - Julia Child

“Never give up...No one knows what's going to happen next.” - L. Frank Baum

“We are all worthy of one another.” - Edward P. Jones, The Known World

“There is nothing more luxurious than eating while you read—unless it be reading while you eat. Amabel did both: they are not the same thing, as you will see if you think the matter over.” - E. Nesbit, The Magic World

“You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” - Mark Twain

“We must love one another or die” - W.H. Auden

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” - Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

That's it for me today. I hope you all have a great week!

Favorite Friday (#10) - Crash into You by Katie McGarry

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.

Out of all of the Pushing the Limits books, Crash into You is my favorite. Isaiah is just the perfect balance of bad boy with the soft touch that just sweeps me away. I love Katie McGarry's books and I'll read anything she writes.

About the author:

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, katielmcgarry.com, follow her on Twitter @KatieMcGarry, or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.

Author's links: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

I hope you can join us in sharing and talking about some of your favorite reads. Book talk always make me happy.

What is one of your favorite reads?

Waiting on Wednesday (#81)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Morning swooners!

This week pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is:

The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Expected Release Date: November 4, 2014

Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

Synopsis:

Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told. There is.

She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead. She should.

She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance. She will now.

Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story. Retribution...

I die a little each day I don't have this book...there are no words for how good this series is, that is all.

What are you "Waiting on?"

Quotes (#79)

Morning Swooners,
Monday's here already and I feel like I just ran a marathon; last week was crazy busy and I'm so happy that this week is looking much better for me. I'm wishing you all a great week!

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
~Friedrich Nietzsche

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
~Aristotle

“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”
~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” ~ Maya Angelou

“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”
~ Lance Armstrong, Every Second Counts

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
~ Jane Goodall

Fancy Some Tea? Weekly Recap!

Fancy Some Tea? Weekly Recap! is a weekly meme hosted by Owl Always Be Reading. Just in case you've missed any of our posts, giveaways, reviews, here's your chance to catch up!

Monday:

Quotes (#77)

Tuesday:

Review: The One by Kiera Cass

Wednesday:

Waiting on Wednesday (#80): Beware The Wild by Natalie C. Parker

Pre-Release Celebration: Caged In Winter by Brighton Walsh

Thursday:

DNF Review: Count Down by Michelle Rowen

Friday:
Favorite Friday: Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren

Favorite Friday (#9) - Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren

When Hanna Bergstrom receives a lecture from her overprotective brother about neglecting her social life and burying herself in grad school, she’s determined to tackle his implied assignment: get out, make friends, start dating. And who better to turn her into the sultry siren every man wants than her brother’s gorgeous best friend, Will Sumner, venture capitalist and unapologetic playboy?
Will takes risks for a living, but he’s skeptical about this challenge of Hanna’s…until the wild night his innocently seductive pupil tempts him into bed- and teaches him a thing or two about being with a woman he can’t forget. Now that Hanna’s discovered the power of her own sex appeal, it’s up to Will to prove he’s the only man she’ll ever need.

If you have followed this blog, you know we are BIG fans of Christina Lauren and the hot, sexy dirty men they write. Well in honor of them releasing their YA title, Sublime, this week, I took it back to one of my favorite men that they've written. Player Will is my favorite of their Beautiful men and still has me dreaming about him. If you haven't read this series, you're missing on some fun times, of the both the funny and smexy variety.

About the Author:

Lauren Billings (but everyone calls her Lo) has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and before she made writing her full-time job, would spend her days doing nerdy research-type things wearing a lab coat and goggles. She is silly Mommy to two littles, wife to one mountain biking homebrewing scientist, bestie to a shoe-stealer, and an unabashed lover of YA and romance.

Christina Hobbs (but you’ll always hear Lo call her PQ) used to spend her days in a junior high counseling office surrounded by teenagers. Married to the cutest boy in school, she has a thirteen year old daughter, is an unapologetic lover of boy bands and glitter, and also likes to steal Lo’s shoes.

You can follow their shenanigans at:

@lolashoes (Lauren) & @seeCwrite (Christina) on Twitter. On Tumblr! where we post kissing gifs and writerly stuff and Wattpad for short stories and sneak peeks!

For official information about their books, events, interviews, movie news and more, follow @beautifulbastrd.

I hope you can join us in sharing and talking about some of your favorite reads. Book talk always make me happy.

What is one of your favorite reads?

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