Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Publisher’s summary: Just breathe, Kacey. Ten tiny breaths. Seize them. Feel them. Love them.

Four years ago, Kacey Cleary’s life imploded when her car was hit by a drunk driver, killing her parents, boyfriend, and best friend. Still haunted by memories of being trapped inside, listening to her mother take her last breath, Kacey wants to leave her past behind. Armed with two bus tickets, Kacey and her fifteen-year-old sister, Livie, escape Grand Rapids, Michigan, to start over in Miami. They’re struggling to make ends meet at first, but Kacey’s not worried. She can handle anything—anything but her mysterious neighbor in apartment 1D.

Trent Emerson has smoldering blue eyes and deep dimples, and perfectly skates that irresistible line between nice guy and bad boy. Hardened by her tragic past, Kacey is determined to keep everyone at a distance, but their mutual attraction is undeniable, and Trent is desperate to find a way into Kacey’s guarded heart—even if it means revealing an explosive secret that could shatter both their worlds.

My Take: OK! So I totally now get why everyone’s obsessing over K.A. Tucker’s NA Contemporary Ten Tiny Breaths, why they were all eagerly awaiting One Tiny Lie and why the already independently published Ten Tiny Breaths was picked up by Atria Publishing! And that’s because K.A. Tucker’s writing is amazing! She creates extremely vivid scenes, she does a phenomenal job bringing each character and their personalities to life and she always keeps the story flowing at a steady pace that keeps you interested and wanting more! And that is exactly what she did in Ten Tiny Breaths!

However, even though I’m already a huge fan of K.A. Tucker and her Causal Enchantment Series, I’m not really big on Contemporary, and it’s pretty much always been a HECK NO when it comes to the New Adult genre. In New Adult books, the characters are usually a little bit older than in Young Adult and I think the whole point of the genre is to show the characters actually having sex, and it’s the detailed sex scenes that I’d like to stay away from. So, even though I’m still leery about New Adult, I’ve started to give Contemporary a try. Luckily, I didn’t feel like K.A. Tucker took it too far in the sex department! And, since I’ve exclusively been listening to the audios of the Contemporary books that I have actually started to try, I was thrilled to discover that Ten Tiny Breaths was available with Audible!

As for the characters, Kacey, the main character, is pretty dang badass and she’s super funny too. But she’s got some SERIOUS mental issues. (Due to her past, it’s understandable that she’s a little mentally messed up.) And Livie is the perfect little sister. She’s so sweet and innocent that she would be anyone’s ideal little sister. Storm, the stripper neighbor, is totally awesome and her daughter, Mia, is just the most adorable little girl. But one of my favorite characters is a doctor who makes his appearance near the end of the book, and he rocks! Except, I’m not so sure I’d actually like him as my doctor. OH…and then there is Cain! He’s super cool too! OK…so you’re probably getting the idea that I like every character. LOL! But last of all there is Trent! All I’m gonna say is he’s a hottie and I was rooting for him throughout the entire book.

Now for the story . . . Ten Tiny Breaths starts off with Kacey and Livie arriving in their new home in Miami, running from something potentially horrible in Grand Rapids, MI. They’re starting a whole new life which means that Kacey basically needs to start from scratch. The story moves along really quickly and K.A. keeps the story very entertaining. I think my favorite scene was probably when Kacey finds a rattlesnake in the shower. That scene was hilarious and it led to something even more hilarious. Near the end of Ten Tiny Breaths there is a very crazy twist/reveal which made me think to myself, “Yep! There’s K.A. Tucker’s twisted brain in action.” This twist messes everything up but it also makes the whole story so much more brilliant.

So, if you’re looking for a brilliant Contemporary that will keep you glued to your reading chair…look no further! Read this book!!!

Special Feature! Author Rachel Clarke! ...I'm so excited!

About Rachel

Rachel Clarke has loved writing stories since the moment she figured out how to pick up a crayon and form letters and turn them into words and then sentences. While she has tried out many different career paths, writing has been and will always be her passion. And every so often, when she’s not working, reading or blogging about books, she tries to turn those ideas rattling around in her head into stories. Some of which can be found on her website.


☆ How to find Rachel ☆
Author Website ★ Fiktshun ★ Rockstar Book Tours
Facebook ★ Fiktshun Facebook ★ Twitter

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Her Awesomeness Stories!

The Cop and the...
Kilt, Stripper, Ex-Con & More

Author Summary: The Cop and the... is a series of fun and flirty short stories that chronicle the misadventures of Officer Mindy Harding. This first volume contains: The Cop and the Kilt - an introduction to Mindy, her sexy-but-disapproving partner Maxwell Stone and a rather memorable encounter with a drunk and disorderly on her first day as a police officer; The Cop and the Stripper - a story of revenge gone wrong as Mindy attempts to get payback but finds that getting one over on Stone isn't so easy; and The Cop and the Ex-Con – a stranded Mindy goes looking for a ride, but when a hot ex-con shows up willing to give her one, she's not entirely sure what kind of ride he's offering.


What I have to say: There are so many reasons why these stories are so special to me! But, first off, the thing I’m super excited about is that the main character’s name is “Mindy.” And it’s not a coincidence! Rachel named her after me!!! I’d also like to believe the main character’s physical attributes (like her blonde hair and blue eyes) are based after me too . . . but I’m not quite so sure about those parts so I’ll just have to quietly keep giving myself that bit of credit in my own head.

And speaking about taking credit, the only other thing I can take credit for is a twitter chat that Rachel and I had with Jaime (Two Chicks on Books) when the first story started to take shape. After Rachel wrote this totally hilarious story about Demon Ryder and her Ab-man Aximander, she asked us for another sexy, physical, dude-attribute that she could write about. And I said, “Rock. Hard. Thighs.” Yep, she took that and totally rolled with it! So, in the first story in The Cop and the Kilt Mindy has this serious problem with drooling over dudes’ Rock. Hard. Thighs. One of the dudes is her total douche-bag partner (Mindy's a cop) and the other is the dude in a kilt (best part). It’s a totally brilliant story and I can’t help myself from reading it over and over again!

After Rachel wrote The Cop and the Kilt, she later gave me a heads up whenever she had another short story she was finishing up that told us more about Mindy’s unfortunate (or not so unfortunate!) escapades in these amazing short stories! And the best part about every single one of these stories is that every single time Rachel would send one of them to me, it always seemed to arrive just when I was going through a difficult time in my life and I needed something to brighten up my week/month/year/lifetime. (I’d like to think it wasn’t just a coincidence that I’d get one of these stories just when I needed it the most, if you get my meaning. Or, if it WAS only a coincidence, then it was the MOST awesome coincidence ever!) And each story is just fabulous! So unbelievably awesome! Some of the moments in the stories had me laughing so much and so hard that I was actually crying! And, even though some of the stories had me feeling really bad for the main character and the situations she got herself into (because “things” kept happening in ways she totally did not intend!), I loved it! And I just loved Mindy more for them and I just couldn’t help but admire her. She is so very different from me, that I feel like she could be my slightly rebellious twin . . . the twin who I always wanted to be like even though SHE’s always getting herself into trouble (yep I was putting myself in Mindy’s shoes while I was reading because, well, because she’s Mindy!) OK . . . maybe not quite! Mindy does take quite the extreme leap in The Cop and the Ex-Con, but I love it! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it all!

I’m more than a little excited to see there’s a brilliant new cover for this book! And that chick on the cover is HOT! Which means, once again, I’m jealous of my rebellious twin-Mindy! LOL! And I’m even more excited that I now have the eBook on my Kindle and on my phone so I can re-read them forever and ever and ever! Rachel’s still working on The Cop and the Tattoo Artist, and I can hardly wait to read it! But since I know she puts a lot of pressure on herself to work on her other “works” during NANOWRIMO, I’ll just have to be patiently waiting!

To top all this awesomeness off, Rachel is an absolutely fabulous writer! I’m in awe by how amazing her writing is, and I hope one of these days I get to read a full on novel by Rachel Clarke.

Rachel says she plans make these awesome short stories available on Amazon, and I think that’ll be awesome because you all will get the chance to put them on your eReaders too!

But, for now, you can read them on her website
rachel-clarke.com/stories.


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Love Stinks!
by Douglas Rees, Vivi Barnes, Marni Bates, Eldritch Black, Karice Bolton, Naomi Canale, Cecily Chase, Rachel Clarke, Shanyn Day, Tara Gonzalez, Laurie McLean, Lynda K. Scott, Linda Wisdom, Carol Wolf

Description: Love is magical. Love is amazing. But every once in a while love stinks! We’ve all been there. Heartbreak spawning crafty ideas of revenge. The “It’s not you, it’s me,” syndrome. Well, this book celebrates all those love-bumps along the great highway of life. Fourteen YA authors have come together to reveal the truth about the dark side of love that few people talk about. But with a lot of humor and a bit of mystery, you might not mind too much that LOVE STINKS!

Love Bites
(Chapter 6 in Love Stinks!)
by Rachel Clarke


My take: I don’t read Anthologies very often, more like, almost never! But when I heard that Rachel was writing a short story for an Anthology, I knew that I’d read it the moment I got it in my hands, and I did! I have yet to read the other stories in Love Stinks!, so I’m only writing a small review of Love Bites by Rachel Clarke.

I don’t want to say too much to prevent from spoiling, so I’ll try really hard to be careful. And, I don’t want to judge the main character, Shelby, too harshly from this story because this story takes place on her least favorite day of the year…Valentine’s Day…so she was pretty much in a sour mood right from the beginning of the story. But I absolutely love her best friend, Brie! She’s upbeat and quirky and loves and supports her friend as she tries to make the day good for Shelby. But I really don’t care too much for Brie’s boyfriend, Dan...in my opinion, he’s a jerk. Anyways, in the process of trying to make Shelby’s day better, Brie takes Shelby to a party and what happens in the party makes the whole story so much fun. The ending totally rocks! It makes the story phenomenal. But I really wish we could find out what happens with Shelby! And find out if THAT Valentine’s Day ended up being her absolute best or worst day ever. Pure brilliance!

☆ Where to Buy ☆
Amazon ★ Barnes & Noble ★ SmashWords ★ Kobo

Alice In Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Publisher’s summary: She won't rest until she's sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that's all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real.

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn't careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.

My take: Alice in Zombieland is the first book in a long time that I got me so super excited I just had to talk to someone about it! In fact, it was so much fun that I’m super excited that Through the Zombie Glass will be coming out next month…and I want to read it now!

In the beginning of the book, I was trying to wrap my brain around how this story could possibly be about zombies because it’s an Urban Fantasy story and, in the beginning, there’s not a single zombie. So I started wondering if there was going to be a big zombie outbreak somewhere in the book, but nope…not even close…it’s something totally different. And even though it took me just a little bit to figure out exactly what’s happening with this version of the zombie genre, I like how Gena Showalter created an Urban Fantasy book with zombies. Yep, I said it right! It stays Urban Fantasy, so no all-of-a-sudden outbreak. You’ll have to read it to get it…I’m not spoiling.

I really liked Ali’s character and I felt really bad for her because of her horrifying loss in the beginning of the book. Then there is the friend she meets right after the tragedy, and I think that character (sorry I’m suck with names) might just be my favorite character in the entire book. Ali’s grandparents were hilarious when they were constantly misusing slang words while trying to connect and be on the same level as Ali, and I just loved them for it. The best part is when they give “the talk” to the guy picking Ali up for the night. I couldn’t help myself from laughing out loud. But, best of all, is Cole! Oh….Cole! Hawt, bad boy…gotta love him.

Of course, there are some horrifying things that happen near the end of the book that were really sad, but I absolutely loved the way the book ended and, like I said before, I’m dying to read Through the Zombie Glass. It needs to happen, like ASAP!

The Program by Suzanne Young

Publisher’s summary: In this “gripping tale for lovers of dystopian romance” (Kirkus Reviews), true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in.

And The Program is coming for them.

My take: Oh…wow! This book sucked the life out of me and left me numb! But it was so good! I have no idea how Suzanne would be able to write this book without going into a deep dark depression because she would have to literally put herself into a deep, dark depressed state of mind to accomplish the feelings and emotions that come out of this book. And I think it was really important for Suzanne to create these true, dark feelings in order to create and tell the story as well as she did. She did a phenomenal job in my opinion.

It killed me while reading this book, knowing that these teens are constantly being watched to see if they develop signs of sadness or depression which means they’ll be thrown into The Program. And how is it even possible for these teens to avoid the very emotions The Program supposedly says proves they are infected…when one in every three teens is killing themselves (these teens know other teens who have committed suicide), when they are constantly being monitored, and when they then see these other kids come out of The Program as totally different people. Don’t these things alone give them a reason to show signs of sadness, depression and anxiety? Wow!

There is something that happens really early on in the book that has you truly understanding what these teens are going through. And then that’s only the beginning…craziness is going on throughout the entire book! It all blew me away.

Suzanne Young is an amazing writer. She does an amazing job developing the story’s characters, and she did an amazing job emotionally attaching me to the characters. The world she created in this book and her storytelling were remarkable! And I especially love how she created a contemporary feel to this dystopian novel.

The story ends amazingly well, and I’m really excited to see where the story will lead!

In the After by Demitria Lunetta

Publisher’s summary: Attack.
Not isolated.
Fate of Americans: unknown.
Amy is watching TV when the world is attacked by Them. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to survive—and even rescue "Baby," a toddler she finds in an abandoned supermarket.

Then, after years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream, with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she'll lose Baby—and much more.

You'll tear through the pulse-pounding narrow escapes and horrifying twists of fate in this thrilling debut from author Demitria Lunetta.

My take: This book was so freakin’ good! I loved it! And I’m so super excited and I’m definitely going to be impatiently waiting for book #2.

When I first started reading In The After, I’ll have to admit that I was a little worried because I started reading this book not too long after I read The 5th Wave, and I was afraid I would be unfairly comparing the two books. But not long into the story, the book took a different, super strange turn that freaked me out! And, I knew from that very moment that I would love this book. And I was right!

This is one of those books that you wonder throughout the story who the protagonist, Amy, should actually trust. And I can’t say that I was too surprised by the betrayals, but there definitely are some crazy ones.

I loved the character named Baby, but it was REALLY distracting for me to keep referring to her name as “Baby.” There’s not much I want to say about the other characters in this book because the book starts out with just Amy and Baby (all alone for like, I think, 2 or 3 years) and I don’t want to give up any spoilers.

There were a couple things that transpired and that came together in the end that truly surprised me, and I was totally loving it! And I absolutely love the way the story actually ended…it leaves my brain reeling over how insane the next book will be, and I can hardly wait!!!

Snakeroot by Andrea Cremer

Publisher’s summary: The next thrilling novel in the internationally-bestselling Nightshade series!

Fans asked for it, and now they've got it! Andrea Cremer is continuing the story she began in in her internationally bestselling trilogy: Nightshade, Wolfsbane and Bloodrose. In this new installment, Bosque Mar haunts the dreams of both Adne and Logan, trying to escape for the Nether, where Calla, Shay and the other Guardians trapped him in the final battle in the War of All Against All. Will he turn Adne to the dark side? Will Logan reclaim his birthright? And will darkness take over our world? In a novel filled with magic, romance and breakneck action, master storyteller Andrea Cremer's newest installment will not disappoint!

My take: You guys have no freakin’ idea how exciting it was (and still is!) that I got the opportunity to read Snakeroot early! I’m a huge Andrea Cremer fan, and I was super excited when she announced that she was going to continue her Nightshade series with the side characters from the Nightshade Legacy. And OMG!...Andrea totally satisfied my hunger for this world with Snakeroot!

I’ll have to admit that as I was getting close to the end of Snakeroot (and even after I was finished), I started to get super worried that there wasn’t going to be any more books following this one. But whew! I cleared it up with Andrea…Snakeroot is the first book in a NEW trilogy. And thank goodness there’ll be more because this story isn’t close to being finished in Snakeroot.

In Snakeroot, the story is told in several different points of view. The primary point of view is Adne because she obviously will be playing a big central part in this trilogy. We also get to read in the POV of Connor, Sabine and Logan Bane. The best part about reading a story with these side characters is that we get to really understand their characters better than we did in the Nightshade trilogy. For example, my view of Logan is totally changed from the way I saw him in the previous Nightshade trilogy to how I’m thinking of him now from reading Snakeroot (Nightshade Legacy.) I don’t know why I just thought he was a wimpy punk in Bloodrose, thinking that was the reason he did what he did in the last book (or if he was just starting to see what the Keepers were doing wrong), but I for sure didn’t see him for who he really is…and we get to see who he really is in this book.

The one thing that frustrated me big-time is the lack of communication between Adne and Connor. This seems to be a common factor in a lot of YA books, but I guess if we all had perfect communication, we would never have issues…right? LOL

There’s a whole new plot twist that I really liked where the Searchers now have no idea what to do with themselves, and there is a whole lot of craziness going on as they try to figure out what to do. On the other hand, there is something truly horrible going down that the Searchers really should be putting their focus on.

I just know this is going to be a great new trilogy where I’ll constantly be dying to read the next book in the series because I’m already craving for the Nightshade Legacy book #2 and Snakeroot isn’t even scheduled to come out until December. *sigh*

Make sure you come back tomorrow to see Andrea Cremer’s Guest Post for the 2nd Annual Authors are Rockstars event. To make it even better, it’s Andrea Cremer’s birthday tomorrow and there’ll be a giveaway!

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Publisher's summary: The third book in Rae Carson's award-winning The Girl of Fire and Thorns fantasy trilogy. Elisa, the seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen, will travel into an unknown enemy's realm to win back her true love, save her kingdom, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny. Veronica Roth called The Girl of Fire and Thorns "intense, unique . . . definitely recommended."

Perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce and George R. R. Martin's style of sweeping and deeply satisfying epic fantasy, the third and final book in the trilogy takes the young queen on a journey more dangerous than any she has faced before. Elisa will stand before the gate of the enemy. And she must rise up as champion—even to those who have hated her—or her kingdom will fall. Full of sorcery, adventure, sizzling romance, and secrets that challenge everything she believes, this is a bold and powerful conclusion to an extraordinary trilogy. As USAToday.com proclaimed, "Rae Carson has proved she's a master and has shaken up the YA genre."

My take: I’m totally blown away and in complete and utter awe with what Rae Carson has accomplished in The Bitter Kingdom! There was so much that happened in this story that it’s hard to believe that it all happened in just one book!

I’ve done a lot of thinking when it comes to Elisa’s character. OMG! She has changed so much from that first scene in the first book (The Girl of Fire and Thorns) when she’s getting herself ready for her wedding. She’s now so much more independent, confident and way more calculating than she has ever been before. And she handles every situation throughout this book perfectly.

I didn’t really have many expectations for this book because the characters and world Rae Carson has created are so completely unique and, after she killed off some pretty important characters in the first book, I went in with only one expectation, and I’m pretty freakin’ thrilled with the way the story turned out.

I think my favorite character in this book is a new character that is introduced pretty early on in the story. She plays such an important role throughout the story, and adds some fun spice as well, that I just loved, loved, loved it!

I’m sad to see this series go, but I don’t think the series could have had a better ending than the ending in The Bitter Kingdom.

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

Publisher's summary: A magical romance between a boy cursed with invisibility and the one girl who can see him, by New York Times bestselling authors Andrea Cremer and David Levithan.

Stephen is used to invisibility. He was born that way. Invisible. Cursed.

Elizabeth sometimes wishes for invisibility. When you’re invisible, no one can hurt you. So when her mother decides to move the family to New York City, Elizabeth is thrilled. It’s easy to blend in there.

Then Stephen and Elizabeth meet. To Stephen’s amazement, she can see him. And to Elizabeth’s amazement, she wants him to be able to see her—all of her. But as the two become closer, an invisible world gets in their way—a world of grudges and misfortunes, spells and curses. And once they’re thrust into this world, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how deep they’re going to go—because the answer could mean the difference between love and death.

From the critically acclaimed and bestselling authors Andrea Cremer, who wrote the Nightshade series, and David Levithan, who wrote Every Day and co-wrote Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist with Rachel Cohen and Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green, as well as many other novels, comes a remarkable story about the unseen elements of attraction, the mortal risks of making yourself known, and the invisible desires that live within us all.

My take: Invisibility was a fun, fresh and relaxing read, and I adored the story.

I’ve nothing but amazing things to say about David Levithan’s Every Day, and I’m also a huge Andrea Cremer fan, so when I first heard about this book, I was dying to get my hands on a copy.

The only thing I struggled with in this book was wrapping my head around the whole invisibility thing. It was hard for me to make it real in my head when all I kept thinking about was, “How the heck did Stephen’s mom take care of him when he was a baby?!” But enough about that…it’s just a story right?

The romance between Stephen and Elizabeth was heart melting. Their journey to discover why Stephen is the way he is, why only she can see him, and whether there is anything they can do to change his condition was so much fun that I’m smiling even now as I write this. I think the best part of this journey is Laurie. Laurie is Elizabeth’s brother, and he is by far my favorite character.

The overall feel of this book is kind of a contemporary feel, but with a paranormal twist. If you’re looking for a fun, sweet, relaxing, cute and romantic read, then this is the book for you!

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Publisher's summary: After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

My take: This book is amazing! Really, I’d have to say it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year!

Whenever I tell someone about this book, I always paint a picture of the first scene in the book because, for me, it totally sets the tone for the entire story. And I knew I’d love this book right after that scene transpired.

What makes this book amazing? The whole premise of the book is awesomely unique, the characters were very well developed and the execution was perfect!

As far as the characters go, I’m not quite sure if I’m really all that fond of Cassie, the main character, because her actions were really flip-flop to me. One minute she’s being super mean to pretty much every dude her age she interacts with, and the next minute she’s changing how she reacts to the other dude (can’t say cause it’s a spoiler). Yes, I know in her internal dialog she notices this character trait about herself, but she doesn’t really do anything about it, and it still bugged me. Plus, I’m not thrilled with how she feels about one of the characters by the end of the book. There are 3 other POVs in this story (all 3 are male character POVs), but two of them are kind of spoilers so I’m not going to talk about them (other than to say that one of those 2 is my FAVORITE POV.) The one male POV that I am OK with discussing is Zombie’s. I’m actually really fond of his character, and I think he rocks! OH! And pretty much all the other side characters from Zombie’s POV are my favorites too. I was always thrilled to be in is POV.

The ending is the BEST and I loved it! I’m so excited about this book…I truly believe it 100% deserves the hype it’s been given, and I know this one will be a big hit!

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Publisher's summary: In Cia's dystopian society it's an honor to be chosen for The Testing. But it’s not enough to pass the Test. Cia will have to survive it.

It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about—hope for—is whether she’ll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings (”Cia, trust no one”), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever. Danger, romance—and sheer terror—await.

My take: Holy flippin’ crap! This book was downright craziness! I’m having the shakes right now thinking about everything that happened in this book, and I’m having severe separation anxiety because I want Independent Study (book 2) now! If I were put in “The Testing,” I don’t think I could control my temper one bit; I think I’d probably hemorrhage right then and there and start acting like a raving lunatic. In fact, while reading The Testing, in one moment I’d feel like I wanted to jump right through the pages and go on a frenzied rampage, and then in the next moment I’d feel the complete opposite and I wanted to curl up in a ball and have an internal freak out.

In the very beginning of the book I wasn’t fully invested in the story, and it took me a few tries to get drawn into the story, as I’d start and stop reading. Which is really weird because it wasn’t very far into the book before the story takes a turn that really sparked my interest and got my full attention. At that point, there is this one particular thing that happens that actually had me leaping from my seat in shock, and I was stuck.

I can’t really talk too much about the characters in The Testing because I have some really strong feelings about a lot of those characters. This is one of those books that had me changing my original feelings for some of the characters by the stuff that transpires by the end of the story. So, by talking about the characters, I’d be revealing major spoilers, and you know how much I hate to do that! In fact, my feelings for some of the characters were so strong that I’ve gotten into a few heated battles with some blogger friends, particularly Jaime from Two Chicks on Books.

This is a book I would totally recommend! And if you are struggling with the beginning, don’t let that hold you back because the story’s phenomenal!

Annabel by Lauren Oliver - Novella Review

Publisher's summary: Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.

My take: I don't know if it was all that necessary for me to read Annabel's story, other than it allowed me to enjoy a little more of the Delirium world.

In this Novella, Annabel's story is told in the same way that Pandemonium was written, with the chapters alternating back and forth between "Then" and "Now." The "Then" chapters followed Annabel along in her past when she fell in love, and they described what it was like for her in a world where a law was passed that required everyone to get the cure. The "Now" chapters followed Annabel during her very last days of being in prison. So that is why this story was so interesting.

There was only one thing that I struggled with while reading Annabel's story and that was the affection she showed toward her daughters. It was very clear throughout the story that she had love and affection toward Lena, but (at first) I got the feeling that she didn't even like her oldest daughter Rachel. I kept thinking that it was weird that she had negative feelings toward Rachel before her daughter even got the cure. But then I realized that maybe Annabel actually loved and admired Rachel exactly because of her stubborn character traits...at least I hope that's the case.




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Hana by Lauren Oliver - Novella Review

Publisher’s summary: The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—and even her first kiss.

But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.

In this digital story that will appeal to fans of Delirium and welcome new admirers to its world, readers will come to understand scenes from Delirium through Hana's perspective. Hana is a touching and revealing look at a life-changing and tumultuous summer.

My take: Now I get it! I now totally understand why people don't like Hana after reading her story and understand why they didn't care for her POV in Requiem.

Even though I’m baffled by how horribly awful Hanna became by the end of the Novella, I still felt a little bit sorry for her while reading her story. I came to realize that the only love she really ever experienced was with Lena, and I think that is why the ending is so horrible. We already know what Hanna did from Delirium but you never quite understand her motives. And I still wanted to believe she had a proper motive. I'm actually quite glad that I waited to read this story until after I finished all three books in the series.



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The Elite by Kiera Cass

Publisher’s summary: The selection began with 35 girls. Now, with the group narrowed down to the Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's love is fiercer than ever. The closer America gets to the crown, the more she struggles to figure out where her heart truly lies. Each moment she spends with Maxon is like a fairy tale, filled with breathless, glittering romance. But whenever she sees her first love, Aspen, standing guard, she's swept up in longing for the life they'd planned to share.

America is desperate for more time. But while she's torn between her two futures, the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America's chance to choose is about to slip away.

My take: Oh my gosh!!! This series is AWESOME! There is so much to say about why I loved, loved, loved this book! I loved The Selection and I just love The Elite even more!

The Elite picks up pretty much right where The Selection left off, and there is so much more that happens throughout this book! Oh…my! Something really terrible happens to one of my favorite characters in this book and I was absolutely horrified! That’s when we also learn how horrible the nation’s leaders really are. There are also some eye-opening things that happen that had me questioning the true motives of the rebels, and a bunch of other events that have left me curious about what is really going on all around! OH MY!!!! I’m dying to know more!

As for the romance! I was a little sad that Prince Maxon is absent from a lot of the book; especially, because Aspen is back in the picture and we see him throughout the book. I don’t hate Aspen, but I just really don’t want America to be with him. Then something horrible happens that had me questioning my feelings about Prince Maxon, but my feelings are really clear now! And this other thing that happens with Prince Maxon… I WAS a little horrified with the initial shock of it, but I should have expected it and I’m not really mad at him. I’m thinking, “Can I really blame the guy?” “Nah, I’m good!” I’m still Team Maxon!

There‘s a lot of craziness that happens near the end of The Elite, and I was worried that it was going to end in a way that I wouldn’t be happy with, but it actually ends perfectly! It ends in a way that has me dying for the last book and it left me knowing that the next book will be fabulous!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Publisher’s summary: For thirty-five girls, The Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

My take: Loved it! Almost immediately when I first started listening to this book, I knew I’d like it!

I thought the romance between America and Aspen in the beginning of the book was sweet, and I thought right away that I’d be rooting for their relationship. But when Aspen started telling America to enter The Selection and then when he broke up with her, I was a little irritated. For a while, I gave him a break and took into consideration his insecurity about being unable to care for America, but I got over that really quick, and then I no longer cared that he was insecure…he was pretty much forgotten in my mind.

But as soon as Prince Maxon was introduced into the story, I was won over! Maxon was probably a huge factor as to why I forgot all about Aspen. There were so many moments throughout the story where I grew to like Maxon more and more. And even though America was unworthy of his affection because she kept turning away from him, I still was rooting for their relationship throughout the story. I kept hoping that America would realize that she should be falling for Maxon.

Obviously, for me the romance plays a big part in this book but, of course, it needs to be because The Selection is a dating game…right? But it wasn’t just the romance that made me love this book. I loved the interaction between the ladies in The Selection and loved learning if they could be trusted. I was also interested in discovering the dynamics of the royal family because I’m sure they can’t all be good if the country is now run so horribly.

Near the end, there was a complication thrown into the mix with Aspen, and I wasn’t too thrilled with that. But I knew it needed to happen in order for the reader to truly know if America will choose the right guy for the right reasons. And, of course, I immediately started reading The Elite as soon as I was done with The Selection.

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

Publisher’s summary: No one survives the Fade.
They have taken everything, destroyed everything.
The only safe place left is within the wall of light called the Arclight.

No one survives the Fade.
If they call you, if you leave, you're lost.

No one survives the Fade.
They're trying to get in.

No one survives the Fade.
But she did.
She doesn't remember how.
She doesn't remember anything.

Marina survived the Fade . . .
but for how long?

My take: The moment I saw the cover of Arclight I was really intrigued and could hardly wait to read this one! And I actually ended up really liking it! I had the ARC but I ended up listening to the audio on Audible.

I absolutely love the way this book starts out. You get the feel right from the very start that Marina is kind of the odd-girl-out, and that there is a good reason why everyone looks at her like she’s a bad omen. And right when all this opening craziness happens, we get to meet a bunch of characters that are introduced into this high stress environment…including the main character Marina. Then to top it all off (along with the really cool story/character introductions), we get a feel for what the people in this story are protecting themselves from (The Fade.)

Throughout the story every scene moves smoothly and kept me entertained. There were just a few things that I had troubles with. Once we start to get a feel, or start to see a picture of The Fade, I had a hard time visualizing them in my mind. And then, when we finally do learn a lot more about The Fade, the new information just kept messing with the image that I already created in my head. Hopefully, we will get a clearer picture of The Fade in the following books. My only other problem is that I listened to Arclight pretty much right after I listened to Mila 2.0, and there were a few similarities (not much really) between the two books and the Narrator for both books is the same. I’ve listened to another book read by Tara Sands and she’s a really good Narrator, but I just felt like these two books had a similar feel to them. (Of course, the only reason I may have noticed these similarities is because I listened to both books back-to-back.) Other than those two things, I really liked this book.

The paranormal/dystopian aspect to Arclight is very different from everything else out there and I really liked this aspect of the book. I’m really looking forward to the next book so I can learn more about The Fade.

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

Publisher’s summary: Mila was living with her mother in a small Minnesota town when she discovered she was also living a lie.

She was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was never supposed to remember the past—that she was built in a computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much, and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology.

Evading her enemies won't help Mila escape the cruel reality of what she is and cope with everything she has had to leave behind. However, what she's becoming is beyond anyone's imagination, including her own, and that just might save her life.

A compulsively readable sci-fi thriller, Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza's bold debut and the first book in an action-filled, Bourne Identity–style trilogy.

My take: Mila 2.0 was a fun read. I listened to this book pretty quickly and I thought it was cute!

I think the best part about this book was following along with Mila as she discovered what she truly is. She has to go through a pretty traumatic discovery of betrayal by the one person she truly cares about, and she has to try and learn to accept herself for what she is.

I think this book was probably written mostly for a lot younger reader than the books I’m used to reading in YA, so I felt like there were some situations that seemed a little too unbelievable to me. And I think this feeling is why I didn’t care as much about some of the characters while I was listening to the book in Audible.

There seemed to be moments where there was a lot more action than you would normally see in this kind of book. But trying to visualize these heroic moments when Mila is discovering her superhuman capabilities was a lot of fun as I was listening to the story.

I think the best part of the book is when Mila is put through a series of trials. During these trials, there is a character who’s introduced that I can probably say was the only one I actually really liked. However, the trials were interesting.

It’s the last part of the book that I’m not sure I care too much about. I felt like what happened was pointless from the standpoint of the overall story because Mila had to go through so many different things just to prevent this thing from happening, and then it happened anyways! And then…well, I just don’t know how to put it into words…um…yeah!