My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Release Date: June 14, 2012
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Pages: 395
Buy The Book: Amazon

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

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

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

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

My Life Next Door was one of the best YA contemporary books I've read to date. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it is by far, my favorite YA contemporary book EVER! Yep, there it is. I said it! This book was the perfect combination of love, family, friendships and it all felt so real and gripping!

Samantha was a main character that I think a lot of people can identify with. She lives with her up tight single mother, and her older and wilder sister. She lives a comfortable life, including dinners at the country club but everything in her life is about to change. For as long as she can remember, Sam has watched her neighbors the Garrett's. A family of 8, full of life and love, so different from her own life with her up tight Mom. She watches their lives, and imagines what they are like. But everything changes when Jace Garrett, the boy next door, climbs her terrace. Okay first of all, I gotta LOVE Jace for this! What girl totally wouldn't swoon when the hot buy next door climbs up to her window? If you just answered no, you are CRAZY!

Jace *sighs dreamily* if I were 10 years younger I would totally be all up in his koolaid! Jace was such a great character. He was caring, kind, loving and gentle. He had a great sense of humor, he was responsible and balanced,  working, spending time with his loved ones and helping out his rather large family like a pro! On top of that he had crazy good looks that would melt a stick of butter. The only problem is Samantha's mother can't stand his family, or him!

I loved the Garrett's crazy big family. I loved the way they interacted with each other, and helped each other. They were amazing and some of my favorite parts of the story. Especially Jace's little brother George. He totally stole the show!

I liked how there was more to the story than just fluff. There were some real challenges and dilema's that these character's face. All in all this book was incredible! I couldn't put it down and read the entire book straight through. It captivated me and stole my heart.

My Life Next Door is a wonderfully done contemporary that will make you laugh, cry, and smile. This book will capture your heart and leave you wanting more!

Cover Reveal: The Cadet of Tildor

Hello Lovelies!

I am really excited to be participating in the cover reveal for The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell. This YA fantasy novel sounds amazing and I can't to read it! But for now I will have to be content with staring at the cover and imagining the adventures that lie within the pages!

The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell is set to be released on January 10, 2013 by Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin)

You can find more information about the book at Goodreads . And don't forget to stop by Amazon to preorder your copy of this epic title!

Now on to the fun stuff! There are 2 awesome swag giveaways for this book. One is for Teachers and Educators only. Both contests start on June 15th, and are open to US residents only. Don't forget to scroll down and enter the rafflecopter to win an awesome swag pack!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Transcendence (Review and Interview)

Transcendence by C.J. Omololu

Release Date: June 5, 2012

Publisher: Walker and Company
Pages: 336
Buy The Book: Amazon

When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider.

As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet—an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.

Full of danger, romance, and intrigue, Transcendence breathes new life into a perpetually fascinating question: What would you do with another life to live?

Transcendence is such an addicting story. I got hooked from the beginning and stayed up way past 3 am reading it. The story starts off in London with an encounter with a couple of cute boys, a few strange flash backs, and then the story begins to unfold.

The main character Cole, is a cello prodigy. This girl is seriously world famous! She has a lot of drive, and total dedication to her craft. She spends hours practicing, teaching,playing at concert's and that's in addition to her schooling. While in London, she meets Griffin, a total hottie, and begins to have some rather odd flash back's. After she returns home, Cole begins having an increased amount of flash back's that don't seem to make any sense. When she runs into Griffin, she begins to wonder if this is more than just a coincidence.

Griffin was a really great character. He took Cole under his wing, and taught her everything he knew about the "Akhet". He explained what all the weird feelings she was having were. He did his best to make her feel at home in her own skin, and like this was all normal. Or could eventually feel normal anyways. Griffin was her night in shining armor, protecting her and fighting for her. I adored him!

Overall, I really enjoyed Transcendence. It's a really great story with a dash of romance, and a lot of mystery at the heart of it! It was completely addicting and I was so engrossed in the story that I couldn't stop reading until I got to the very last sentence!

Interview with C.J. Omololu

Transcendence is so different from Dirty Little Secrets. How did you come up with the idea for your book? 

They really are different books. I started thinking about death and the afterlife when a friend’s son died unexpectedly and came up with the idea of a group of people who could remember all of their past lives as a way of dealing with it. I read a bunch of books on reincarnation and took the parts of it that I liked and made up other things as I came up with the ‘world’ of the Akhet.

In your book, the main character is a very talented musical prodigy. Do you play any musical instruments? 

Sadly, no. I did play cello in the school orchestra in sixth grade, so I had a super basic knowledge of how it works. My grandfather was really musical and could play the piano insanely well and my son plays guitar and everything else he can get his hands on, so it skipped my generation. Somewhere out there is a photo of me in ninth grade wearing a band uniform and holding a clarinet. I was a ‘faker’ for our school’s award-winning marching band. They needed people to fill out the ranks in the things the band did during halftime shows and it was either band PE or swimming at 7 o’clock in the morning. I even got to go to the Rose Parade and fake my way marching down the street without playing a note.

In the story, Cole, gets to travel to some pretty amazing places! What's the most exotic place you've been to? 

I’ve been to Nigeria, in West Africa – my husband’s family is still there. We didn’t really go outside of the big city, but it was a culture shock all the same.  I also spend a good deal of time in a small town in central Texas, which is exotic in its own right.

If the Akhet were a real group of people, would you want to be one of them?

Yes! Being Akhet isn’t without its drawbacks as people will see in the book, but I’d jump at the chance.

The way that you wrote Transcendence, there is definitely room to do more with the story if you chose. Will there be a sequel in the future? ( please oh please!)

 That makes me so happy! Yes, we’re just putting the finishing touches on the sequel which will be out next year. Most of the characters are back and there are some intriguing new ones as well – I loved writing it and I think it came out really well. I’d love to do more, but only time will tell.

Thanks for letting me come by your blog!

Thanks for stopping by! It was a pleasure to have you her today! :)

Debut Author Giveaway Hop

Hello!

This week I am participating in the Debut Author Giveaway Hop. I am stoked! I love participating in the Debut Author Challenge each year. It's a fantastic way to find new authors and support them! So of course I am super excited for this Debut Author Giveaway. Eeek!

I will be giving an arc of one of the following books to ONE lucky winner!

This contest starts today and will end on the 13th. Rafflecopter will randomly select one winner who will have their choice of the arcs pictured above. This contest is open to US residents only. Sorry guys! I can't afford to ship internationally at this time. 

Check out the rafflecopter below to enter the contest. And don't forget to stop by and visit some of the other great bloggers participating in the hop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting On Wednesday (25)

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

Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass

What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different--except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.

The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

This is a dazzling debut that will steal readers' hearts.

I am so excited for this book it is ridonkulous! Seriously! I am a HUGE fan of that tv show Awake and I am devastated that they cancelled it! Anyone else? Your furious too right?!?!? I know you are!

Anyways... I am sad that there won't be anymore Awake in my life. *sniff sniff* But I am hoping Lucid can fill the void. It sounds epic! And totally gorgeous cover! Can't wait to snag a copy of this when it comes out October 22nd!

What books are you looking forward to? Leave me a comment, I'd love to know!

Review: Lies Beneath

Lies Beneath (Lies Beneath #1) by Anne Greenwood Brown

Release Date: June 12, 2012

Publisher: Delacourt Books for Young Readers
Pages: 303
Buy The Book: Amazon

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

I have always been fascinated by mermaid tales. I blame this on Disney's the Little Mermaid which totally enchanted me. This is my first mermaid book, and I am completely hooked! Lies Beneath was unique, original and totally captivating!

I don't have a lot of mermaid books to compare this to, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting a more fun and light read ( again think Little Mermaid minus the singing) and was pleasantly surprised. This book was more dark, dramatic and full of intrigue and plot twists and turns. I got hooked immediately from the first few pages and the story totally sucked me in.

The story is told from Calder's point of view. A lot of time's, male POV's can be really hit or miss for me. They are either not manly enough, or way over the top. The author did a superb job of writing and it was perfectly done! The story itself was incredible! I was totally engrossed from the very  beginning and could not put this book down until I finished it.

The character's really came to life for me! There were some I loved, others that scared me, and some that just made me cringe. And at times, okay if I'm being honest, pretty much the entire book, I wished a lovely mer-man would come for me! tee hee

All in all this I loved this one! It was perfectly done and I can't wait to read more about this story and the characters. There will be sequel right? Someone...please tell me there is a sequel! Anyone?!?!?

Nail Your Books (3)

Nail Your Books is an original feature that I created to show off off some awesome book related nail ideas! It can be anything from a book inspired design to a really cute matching nail polish. This feature combines my love of both books and nail polish. Some people match their nails to their outfit, I match mine to my books!

Hello Lovelies!

This week's edition of Nail Your Books was inspired by Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown. This was my first mermaid/merman book and it totally captivated me! Just look at the gorgeous cover!

The Supplies

Seche Clear, Crystal Clear Base Coat
Elle Nail Lacquer in Seaside Chic
Sinful Colors in Nail Junkie
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Make sure you start with a good base coat. It will help your mani last longer, plus, it keeps darker colors from bleeding onto your nails! Then once this dries the fun starts! Paint one to two coats of Seaside Chic onto your nails. This is a new polish line by Elle and  its sold exclusively at Kohl's. They have loads of fabulous colors, I've already bought 4 and want so many more!!! After you let this coat dry, apply Sinful Colors in Nail Junkie. You can snag this at Wal-green's for $1.99! And if you watch for sales, you get this for 99 cents! Nail Junkie is a pretty dense glitter polish, so you only need to apply one coat of this. Once this dries, apply a good top coat to seal it all in. And voila!

Pictures do not do this one justice! The combo of the two polishes is stunning! The top coat really catches the light, and sparkles, just like the ocean. I got many compliments on this mani and I for sure will be wearing it again!

This one perfectly matches the cover to Lies Beneath, which is gorgeous! The light totally plays off of the glitter polish and sparkles just like the cover of this incredible novel! 

So what do you think of my book inspired mani? Will you be trying this one out? I'd love to know! So make sure you leave me some comment love and don't forget to stop back by tomorrow for my review on Lies Beneath.

Happy Reading!