Monday, August 19, 2013

Stacking the Shelves (17)


Welcome to this week's Stacking the Shelves by Tynga`s Reviews. It is about adding books to my shelves I received during the past week whether it is physical or virtual.

Bought from Amazon:


Afterburn by Sylvia Day

I have been extremely busy this week. I was the maid of honor for my friend's wedding and there were a lot activities I had to attend. It was a beautiful traditional wedding and it was blast. But now that it is done, I have a lot more time now. This week I only bought 1 book. When I heard the Sylvia Day was coming out with another series, I just had to have it. 

I would love to hear from you!

Raquel
xoxo

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Blog Tour: No Reverse by Marion Croslydon

Title: No Reverse 
Author: Marion Croslydon
Age Group and Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Expected release date: August 12, 2013


Book Description:

A girl who needs to undo the past.

A boy who wants to forget it.

In love, there’s no way back.

At high school in Steep Hill, Kansas, Cassie O’Malley and Josh MacBride were the poster couple for quarterback/cheerleader romance until they starred in their own tale of teen pregnancy. No need to say: their shotgun wedding was low-key. But when there was no baby anymore, they went their separate ways.

Five years later, Josh has breezed through Georgetown and is about to finish his post-grad degree at Oxford University. He is set to join a lobbying group on Capitol Hill, owned by his new fiancĂ©e’s father. For Josh, the sky is now the limit… only he must first take care of a tiny legal matter: technically, he’s still married to the girl who broke his heart.

Meanwhile, Cassie has been waiting tables in Steep Hill to pay for her sick grandmother’s care. On the day of the old lady’s funeral, Cassie is served with two sets of papers. Josh is asking for a divorce. Her heart squeezes, but, well, he moved on a long time ago. But the second envelope shakes Cassie to the core. So, for the first time, she leaves Kansas and heads to good ol’ England.

There, Cassie finds that Josh has not just “moved on,” he’s freakin’ engaged to some blue-blooded heiress. The feelings Cassie had buried deep rush back to her. But no matter if he keeps thrusting the divorce papers under her nose, she needs him to save the only person she loves more than Josh, more than life itself…

About the Author
Marion’s parents are terribly disappointed with her… 

They wanted her to have a serious job, providing financial stability and social standing. For years, she really tried to make them happy; she studied hard, got into top schools, graduated with honors and found a high-achieving job.

But deep down, Marion was miserable. She never wanted to be a top executive, brokering deals in New York, London or Tokyo. Marion wanted to be… a ROMANCE WRITER. She wanted to spend her days in that good ol’ tracksuit of hers, in front of her laptop, popping down Oreos like there was no tomorrow. She wanted to fall in love with a different man each time she wrote the first line of a new book (while being happily married to the most handsome man in Great Britain).

That’s exactly what Marion does these days, and it makes her incredibly happy. She loves to share these happy vibes, talk book crush, fictional boyfriends and sexual chemistry with like-minded people. And because she spends most of her days on her own deep inside her writing cave, you are welcome to come and say “hello” from time to time. Just to make sure she doesn’t sink into insanity.

Her friends, family and arch-enemies (there are quite a few) will be forever grateful for your help.

Author’s social media:






My Thoughts:
I have been waiting a long time to read No Reverse. I came to know about the book because I did a cover reveal for it previously and when I read the synopsis I loved what I read. Also I loved the cover so that was a bonus. This book was every bit as good as I thought it was going to be.

No Reverse is a story about a girl and a boy, best friends turned lovers that ends in teen pregnancy. One lie forced them to go their separate ways. Five years later, the girl enters the boy’s life again because she needs his help trying to save the only family she has alive. I really liked the concept of the story. I stayed up late many nights reading. Even at times when I shouldn't be reading, I was doing it because I needed to know how everything was going to play out.

I was invested in the characters of the book. I wanted everyone to get their happy ending. I really liked how the author didn't make Eleanor the villain. She was heartbroken that she may not be able to have the life she dreamed of. I also really liked Cassie. She is the most selfless person. She ruined her whole life so that Josh could have a future. She is alone in the world due to her grandmother`s death ad continued giving because she wanted to make everyone happy and do the right thing. At times, I found it to be a little irritating because she never considered herself and her hopes, her dreams and what she wanted. I never thought I would say this but I thought Cassie was a little too selfless.
What can I say about Josh? He is a decent guy. I felt for him. After everything he has been through with Cassie, I really can`t imagine how I would react in the same situation.

I was really unsatisfied with the ending but I read that there is going to be a second book. I really need to know what happens next. It can`t be soon enough for me!

My Rating:
4 out of 5 stars

You can follow the tour to see reviews, guest posts, and excerpts by clicking the button below.



Friday, August 16, 2013

Blog Tour: Unteachable by Leah Raeder

Title: Unteachable
Author: Leah Raeder
Release date: August 1st 2013
Publisher: Velvet Pony Press
Purchase: Amazon

BLURB:
I met him at a carnival, of all corny places. The summer I turned eighteen, in that chaos of neon lights and cheap thrills, I met a man so sweet, so beautiful, he seemed to come from another world. We had one night: intense, scary, real. Then I ran, like I always do. Because I didn’t want to be abandoned again.


But I couldn’t run far enough.

I knew him as Evan that night. When I walked into his classroom, he became Mr. Wilke.
My teacher.

I don’t know if what we’re doing is wrong. The law says one thing; my heart says screw the law. I can’t let him lose his job. And I can’t lose him.

In the movies, this would have a happy ending. I grow up. I love, I lose, I learn. And I move on. But this is life, and there’s no script. You make it up as you go along.

And you don’t pray for a happy ending. You pray for it to never end.


About the Author:
Writes pretentiously lyrical YA and adult fiction of various genres. Loves zombies, velociraptors, and other world-ending things. Copies her bio from Twitter because she's lazy.


My Thoughts:
Unteachable is a truly captivating story about a tale so unique, I couldn’t get enough of it.

I love how the author wrote this story. There is something so honest about how the heroine felt that I related to her in so many ways. I love how there were so many layers to Maise and the more you read the more you pull back and see the real Maise. Evan was sweet and in my mind, very hot. Together, Maise and Evan had this incredibly strong connection to each other. It left you wondering if the connection was real or is the connection there because of the forbidden aspect to the relationship. At the same time, there is something so addictive in her writing that makes you want to stay up late and see what happens. I really liked how the author chose to write this novel almost like a movie; Maise telling us what happened, how it started, the stolen moments that happened. I have never read anything a story like it. I have read some student/teacher relationships in novels but never to this extent where the heroine knew he was a teacher almost in the beginning.

To tell you the truth I was rooting for the relationship even with the age difference. When you removed all of the titles, they were perfect for each other. Sometimes age is just a number and not a defining fact in a relationship. For love, you have to take chances and they definitely did.

In my opinion, what made the book? I did not see the big twist coming at all. Sometimes in other books, I know something is going to happen but I was shocked to find some interesting info about Evan, it through me for a loop. I’m happy Maise and Evan got their HEA. It shows you that you can find love in any place even when you shouldn’t because it is not right. I found I was left hanging a little bit at the end of the story, I would have liked for it to have an epilogue. I would have liked to have seen where things went or even a year or two from now.

My Rating:
4 out of 5 stars

Excerpt:
We both started. It must have broken the trance, because then his arms were around me and I was on my knees, kissing him, pressing his back to the window. I tasted glassy rain and my own wet hair tangling across my face. He didn’t stop me to fix the shot. He wanted me as I was, raw, unedited. His hand ran up the back of my bare leg, his fingers stroking the inside of my thigh. I gasped against his mouth. Lost a sandal. Rubbed my face against his jaw, hard, feeling the grit. Mark me, I thought. Give me something to take away with me. Something I can touch when I’m alone, remembering this. 

When we stopped to breathe he took my face between his hands. “You don’t know what you do to me. I can’t look at you in that classroom.” 

“You look at me all the time.”

 “And do horrible things to you in my head.” 

My blood was wildfire. I felt my swollen mouth, my sharp teeth digging into my lip, my dreamy half-shut eyes, and knew what I looked like to him. “Do them to me,” I said.
“Take me somewhere.” 

He gave a long, long sigh. His lips were bright red from my attentions. “I want to. You have no idea how much I want to.” Two fingers on my chin, pinching gently. “This is moving very fast. We should think it through. Think about how to be less conspicuous.”

 My face lit up with dark glee. “I can be discreet. I can be Harriet the fucking Spy.”