Breakdown

Title: Breakdown
Author: Amanda Lance
Genre: YA/NA
Rating: 3.5/5
Cover: 9/10

This is part of the Review Blitz for Breakdown - all info about where to buy the book, etc is below my review.

Let me just start by saying that I'm a sucker for bad boys, and so for me, William was just... *sighs* not to mention his name. So many of my favourite characters are Wills, that name has a special place in my heart already, and he didn't disappoint.

However, that said, I will say that while the plot and characters were good, the editing of this book left so much to be desired, it was actually painful to read at times. Things like verb conjugations, typos and the narrative perspective would shift out of the blue, ruining the overall novel, which is a shame, because it really could have been to good. Also, I felt a slight laziness from Ms Lance in continuously referring to Lottie's co-workers as 'the manager', 'the illegals' and 'my fellow counter girl'. I felt like an extra layer could have so easily been added there by simply giving them names, and the fact that they didn't have any actually started seriously pissing me off, because if also effectively made them so one dimensional, it was painful.

That said, I really enjoyed the relationship between Lottie and Will. Their banter was fresh, and even though her backstory felt slightly like it was decided on last minute, it worked. It worked for her character, and it worked for their relationship.

Overall, a good book with interesting characters and a decent plot. If the grammatical mishaps and lack of names for people won't bother you, definitely give it a go!

Breakdown by Amanda Lance REVIEW BLITZ October 6-10 2014

BUY IT ON AMAZON: http://bit.ly/BreakdownAm
BUY IT ON BARNES AND NOBLE: http://bit.ly/BreakdownBN
BUY IT AT KOBO: http://bit.ly/BreakdownKo
BUY IT ON ITUNES: http://bit.ly/BreakdownITunes

Charlotte Ferro is about to jump.
Yet nothing ruins a perfectly good suicide attempt worse than a handsome do-gooder. After William O’Reilly convinces her to take one last ride with him, Charlotte finds herself forgetting about her own problems and enjoying a world of which she never dreamed.

Now addicted to the rush of fast cars and cool criminals, Charlotte finds herself leaning less towards the ledge and more toward the arms of her savior. But with reasons of his own for keeping Charlotte safe from herself, William is reluctant to involve her in his criminal undertakings. Will his career choice keep them apart? Will Charlotte’s painful past?

~*~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~*~

A native of New Jersey and lifelong nerd, Amanda Lance recently completed her Master in Liberal Arts at Thomas Edison State College after her BA in English Literature and AFA in creative writing. As an avid reader of all genres, some of her favourite authors include Hemingway, Marquis de Sade, Stevenson, Bukowski and Radcliffe.

When she isn’t writing or reading, Amanda can found indulging in film noir or hiking with her other half and their extremely spoiled dog. She is obsessively working on her next book and trying to tame her caffeine addiction.

Locked

Title: Locked
Author: Parker Witter (aka: Rebecca Serle)
Genre: YA
Rating: 4/5
Cover: 10/10

To any of you who don't know, Locked is the e-novella published by Rebecca Serle as a kind of introduction to the world of her novel, Famous in Love which is out later this month. You can find my review for Famous in Love here, along with all the info on how the novella ties into it, and links to both the novella and a free short story that is a prequel to it at the end of the review.

I said I'd read it! It's actually a really nice, sweet novella, and having read Famous in Love definitely added a certain edge to it, since I felt like I already knew the characters.
I like that in Famous, we never do find out for sure the ending to Locked, so in a way it was still a surprise, even though I guessed by what Paige said at the end. And that's a point: I get what Paige meant at the end of Famous in Love now. Which is both good and really, quite sad.
I really enjoyed reading the parts that we see filmed in Famous, because even though I knew they were coming, it was fun to see the difference in how a character living the moment sees it, and how Paige, who just has to act it, treats it. It's especially good fun when the paradox in the characters' characters is considered. This is almost like book Inception, but I think it'll make sense once you read Famous!
My only consolation is Paige has two more books to right her wrongs (technically, so does August, but I don't think we'll get to see that, to be honest). Plus... well, let's just say, I don't think a certain someone will be too happy when he finds out why she did what she did.

Cover Love: The Hidden Prince

For those of you who don't know yet, Jodi Meadows' upcoming (next year! It's too far!) The Orphan Queen is, as of about a month ago, the book I'd kill to read. I read the excerpt up on edelweiss, and it has me convinced that this book will be the best thing since sliced bread.
Sadly, I now have to wait until March 10th of next year to read the rest of the book, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.
If you want to know why this book is going to be so amazing, here's the blurb from goodreads:

"Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world."

Good, right? So imagine my delight when Jodi revealed the cover of the first novella of the series, The Hidden Prince, today. No blurb for that one yet, since pretty much any info about the novella could spoil The Orphan Queen, but the cover is pretty, hmm?

Shipping Saturdays #1

This will be a weekly addition to the blog. Basically, I talk about my favourite ship in a book/series, and then you guys get to vote on which favourite pairing of that book/series you prefer. If there are any couples you'd like me to talk about, let me know in the comments (along with what book they're from, in case I haven't read it yet!) and I'll add them to the list. 
Weekly poll winners will be announced in the next Shipping Saturdays post.

This week, the spotlight is on Celeana Sardothien and her veritable harem of men. May contain spoilers for Heir of Fire; definite spoilers for the first two books.

So I've always been an avid Doraena (Dorian x Celaena) shipper. He gets her in a way that Chaol never could, because he too knows what it's like to have to hide part of yourself, out of fear and protection. This quote from Heir of Fire, when Dorian tells Chaol that he 'can't pick and choose which parts of her to love' really touched me, and reminded me why I shipped them so hard back in Throne of Glass.
Also, by the end of Crown of Midnight, I was all but convinced she'd have to marry him to help seal the peace between Terrasen and Adarlan. And they could have a plethora of royal babies. And while that's still definitely a scenario I'd be happy to see, Heir of Fire introduced another contender - Rowan.
And I know, chances are it will never be more than platonic because of his mate way back when, but a girl can dream, right? I mean, can you imagine the badassedness that would be a marriage between those two? And the same reasoning applies here - this wedding could also help seal peace between Terrasen and the Fae kingdom, since I'm sure Auntie Dearest will declare war soon enough.

My friend Kim disagrees and tells me I'm insane for shipping anything other than Chaolena, and how dare I. It's weird, cause it's one of the few times we've disagreed on a ship, so Aelin should feel special - she's one of two to divide me and my bookworm friends!

But you tell me now, through comments or just by voting: who do you think Celaena should end up with? (taking into consideration, there are still 3 more books to come, so don't rule out any characters as of yet!)

Who do you ship Celaena with?

Chaol

Dorian

Rowan

Aedion

Other (including Sam. Comment & let me know)

Poll Maker

Famous in Love

Title: Famous in Love
Author: Rebecca Serle
Genre: YA contemporary
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 10/10

I was given an ARC of this novel by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a 100% spoiler-free review.

It's hard to explain my feelings when I finished this book. It was part smugness because my wild guess turned out to be right, and part absolute despair, because let me tell you about the ending. It hurts. Like a picket being thrust into my heart. The first thing I did was rush to the computer, and frantically tweet Rebecca Serle, asking if there was going to be a sequel. But I was too nervous to wait for a reply, so I went fishing, and found out that (thank all the gods above and below) there will two more books. I went into the story assuming that there would be, but because there was no name to the series and #1 by the book on goodreads, I had to be absolutely certain, or I might burst into tears.
Crisis averted, though. There's still hope.
Now let me tell you about the story.

I loved Paige. Really, really loved her. Throughout the entire thing, she was so relatable. Usually, with stories about love triangles (that's not a spoiler, it's in the blurb), I get annoyed at the girl flip-flopping between guys, because to me, it's usually so obvious who she's supposed to be with. Here, though, Serle did such a superb job in the placing of characters, it never once felt strained or fake or stupid. It probably helped that once she actively admitted her feelings for Jordan, she kind of put the stuff with Rainer on hold. It was the right, honourable thing to do, I think, and only fair to all three of them. And it was great to see her grow as a character from the shy, scared girl at the beginning to the strong, sure woman she is by the end. Though I might not agree with her decision at the end (and judging by the prologue, neither does she), I definitely respect it. I think there could have been a better way to handle things, and that that was a piss-poor reason to make the decision she did, but the girl has guts, and I respect her wanting to be there like someone who was there for her when she needed it.
Rainer... what to say? He starts out like a dream, but I don't know. There's this one line that he says even before Jordan shows up that niggles at me. I think he really likes Paige, and I could see them being a great couple, but I just don't know...
And then there's Jordan. At first he was such a haughty prick, I kept wondering whether Paige was attracted to him, or if he just made her really nervous because he was so closed off. But then his whole backstory came up, and... ah, I don't know a thing anymore. He's fiercely loyal, and yet some things he said to Paige about Rainer don't seem to fit. It makes me wonder.
It also doesn't help that, even though I know who Paige wishes she had picked, I'm not certain on August. I think I know, but it was quite vague, since they're intrinsically different characters, even though Paige said whatever happened to one did to the other.

So, anyway. You should read this, you really should. It's funny, it's cute, and it's hot. It's also sad, tugs at your heart and can get quite serious at times. Basically, it's amazing. And, even better, to tide you over once you're done, there's two little extra tidbits already out there. Serle actually wrote Locked and has published it as an e-novella under the pseudonym of Parker Witter, so guess what I'm off to read next! But even before that, there's a free story on Wattpad, The Three of Us, that tells the story of August, Ed and Noah before the crash. So. If you're in any way unsure, and my ramblings haven't convinced you, here's the link to The Three of Us, and here's the link to Locked. And if you like those, then definitely give Famous in Love a chance - you won't regret it! (and if you want, you can come cry with me about the ending on twitter. Please do.)

Cover Reveal: Two Faced by Melissa Pearl

TWO FACED BY MELISSA PEARL

COVER REVEAL

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS: http://bit.ly/TFCRGR

RSVP TO THE RELEASE DAY/ MELISSA PEARL 15^th BOOK CELEBRATION: http://bit.ly/RSVPTFRDB

THE SHARE THE POST GIVEAWAY: http://eepurl.com/13lWn

"Caitlyn Davies has an unusual gift. She knows exactly how people feel. Everyone wears a mask, but she sees the hidden truth. This ability has changed her life, both for the better and worse. She can choose to ignore what she sees... but what happens when it involves the guy she loves?
Eric Shore knew getting involved with a girl who could read people was risky, but he couldn't help himself. Caitlyn is gorgeous and he loves being with her. Their relationship is going great...until she tells him that his step-brother and star basketball player, Connor, is doing drugs. Having looked up to the guy for years, Eric just can't buy it. Things only get worse when Caitlyn questions the true nature of Eric's favorite teacher.
The first year at college is supposed to be amazing, but theirs is off to a rocky start. As masks are peeled away, secrets will be exposed, dangers will be revealed, and both
must decide out of the people closest to them, who is telling the truth... and who is being two-faced..."

~*~ABOUT THE
AUTHOR~*~

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books. Recently she signed with Evatopia Press and her first Evatopia book was released in February 2014 - True Colors, The Masks Series #1. She is very excited to be trying out new things this year while continuing to publish under her own name as well. She has six new titles releasing in 2014 and is excited about writing each and every one of them.

"I am passionate
about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be
the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

FIND MELISSA AT:

https://twitter.com/MelissaPearlG

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5314516.Melissa_Pearl?fro m_search=true

http://www.amazon.com/Melissa- Pearl/e/B0064I6S26/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1402684718&sr=1-2-ent

https://www.facebook.co m/melissapearlauthor

http://www.melissapearlauthor.com

Black Ice

Title: Black Ice
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Genre: YA
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 8/10

I was sent an ARC of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to risk sounding like Janice from FRIENDS during this review, but OH. MY. GOD.

I just... I don't even know where to begin properly. I literally just finished it, and my mind is a jumble of images. What a ride! Becca Fitzpatrick, I'm not sure what I was expecting after Hush, Hush, but it wasn't this. I think what surprised me the most was the darkness of the book. It's everywhere, and by the time you get to the end, the one character who actually says he's 'not good' (I'm not naming names, because spoilers) actually turns out to be the best. Seriously, trying to sort out the goodies from the baddies was like trying to run through a maze with no concept of north and south. Every new character that was introduced, I had to stop reading, assess them, their words, their body language and try to figure out their intentions before going on. It was awesome! It kept me on my toes, and I think I figured it out about the same time that Jude did.
On that note, OH MY GOD. JUDE. I don't want to say too much about anyone, because this books' brilliance relies so heavily on surprises, and not knowing who to trust, but... JUDE. I seriously will not be able to listen to the Beatles song ever again without thinking of this book. Funnily enough, the lyrics actually fit them in the mountains to a T. But I digress.

It's annoying that I can't say much without spoiling it all, but basically, you want to read this. You really, really want to read this. And Patch Cipriano better look out, because Ms Fitzpatrick is upping the ante here, and he's got serious competition. The level of sass if those two ever met... but I'm digressing again. Also, I was meant to be catching up on Sleepy Hollow, but am instead up way too late again. I really should know better by now.

My one question is, what on earth happened to Korbie? I hope she found herself a new friend, too. She deserves a Caz after everything; I can't really hold what she did against her, after all...

*mock glares at you all* go read it when it's out (That's October 7th, if you're wondering)! And watch out for a GIF review for this one at some point this week!
Here's the promised GIF review - full of spoilers, as usual ;)