Book Review: Virgin by Radhika Sanghani + Giveaway




Virgin
Author: Radhika Sanghani
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: August 5th 2014
Review Source: Berkley

Okay, I admit it…I didn’t do it.

Yet.

This is normal, right? I mean, just because everyone I know has talked like they’ve already done it doesn’t mean that they’re telling the truth…right?

It’s not like I’m asking for that much. I don’t need the perfect guy. I don’t need candlelight or roses. Honestly, I don’t even need a real bed.

The guys I know complain that girls are always looking for Mr. Right—do I have to wear a sign that says I’m only looking for Mr. Right Now?

Sooooo…anyone out there want sex? Anyone? Hello? Just for fun?

I am not going to die a virgin. One way or another I am going to make this happen.

Hey, what have I got to lose? Besides the obvious.


Virgin was definitely a book where I got more than I expected and I just totally love when that happens! It took me completely by surprise on how much I adored this book. Virgin follows Ellie a 21 year old college student who has this huge cloud hanging over her head, she’s a virgin. Ellie wasn’t the girl that wanted to save herself for the right one; she just wanted to lose it to get it over with, to not be the odd man out when everyone around her is talking about all their experiences and escapades.

So when I read the excerpt about this girl who was actively trying to lose her virginity I was a little wary, but Leydy said she heard it was hilarious so I dove in and pushed my qualms aside. This book wasn’t just about this girl losing her virginity it was her actively trying to get answers to questions you wouldn’t want to ask your mother, or find in Cosmopolitan, and sometimes it can be a little awkward to ask your friends about. And being a girl and growing up going through these odd changes and all that jazz that comes with becoming a woman, the questions are there and the answers were few and far between. So while Ellie was trying to hand over her V card to the first taker, her and a friend Emma start a blog, or a Vlog (a vagina blog), talking about all the awkward stuff coming from a virgin and in Emma’s words a slut. They tackle the good the bad and down right cheek blushing questions.

This book became more than Ellie losing her virginity, but you get to see her evolve as a woman and become a true independent, I don’t give a crap what you think person. She went through trial and tribulations with friends, herself, and life in general. I loved this book so much and would love for every mature teen to read it. It’ll definitely help some girls get over the hurdles they were struggling to find the answers for.

Mini-Book Review: Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Through the Woods
Author: Emily Carroll
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel | Horror | Short Stories
Released: July 15th 2014
Review Source: Margaret K. McElderry Books



Discover a terrifying world in the woods in this collection of five hauntingly beautiful graphic stories that includes the online webcomic sensation “His Face All Red,” in print for the first time.

Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to “Our Neighbor’s House”—though coming back might be a problem. Or find yourself a young bride in a house that holds a terrible secret in “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold.” You might try to figure out what is haunting “My Friend Janna,” or discover that your brother’s fiancée may not be what she seems in “The Nesting Place.” And of course you must revisit the horror of “His Face All Red,” the breakout webcomic hit that has been gorgeously translated to the printed page.

Already revered for her work online, award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll’s stunning visual style and impeccable pacing is on grand display in this entrancing anthology, her print debut.


This book will capture your interest from the second you begin reading it. The illustrations are pretty awesome. It's like they have something secret drawn into them that put you in a trance and you can't take your eyes off them. At times I just caught myself starring at the same picture for a few instead of turning the page. Carroll not only tells a eerie tale but also captures you with the illustrations. 

You will read in one sitting. And when your done, you skim through the pages over and over again to see those awesome illustrations again. I recommend to anyone that enjoy a great graphic novel but also a scary haunting tales. 





Trailer Thursday: Conversion by Katherine Howe


Conversion
Expected Publication: July 1st 2014
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile



From the New York Times bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane comes a chilling mystery—Prep meets The Crucible.

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.

First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .

Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?

Blog Tour: Goodbye To You | A.J. Matthews | Dream Cast| Giveaway


Welcome to our stop on Goodbye to You tour for A.J. Matthews. This tour is hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.


Goodbye To You
Author: A.J. Matthews
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: July 1st 2014


A tragic diagnosis. A determination to survive. A drastic decision. The man who changes everything.

This summer, I'm playing nursemaid to my sister. Yeah, I know. Relatively good looking twenty-two-year-olds don't spend the summer bedside in the cancer ward but, that's the plan. Until my sister threatens me with bodily harm unless I get on a plane and take a trip like normal girls my age.

And even though I hate leaving her, I know she's right. At least I'll have stories to tell when I return. In the back of my mind, all I can think is, "Go and live your life, while you still can." So I go and promise to have a good time.

That's when I met him. He likes me. Really likes me. But more than that, he loves my boobs -- like can't get enough. I have no idea how to tell him that they'll be gone soon, courtesy of a preventative double mastectomy. Yep. That's what testing positive for the breast cancer gene mutation will do to a girl.

But don't feel sorry for me. I'm enjoying him, holding on until the last possible minute, while I muster up the strength to tell him, and watch him walk away.
GOODBYE TO YOU Dream Cast
I like looking at pretty people, and I am a visual writer, so coming up with a dream cast was easy for me. I’d cast the leads last year while I was writing the book, and I am really excited to share with you them and my cast of supporting characters from my debut novel, GOODBYE TO YOU.


Thea McBride
Blond, beautiful, bodacious body? Meet my ideal Thea, Scarlett Johansen. Thea loves her body, and Scarlett is well-known for showing off her famous curves.  They’re both on the shorter side, and the loose side braid in this photo of Scarlett reminds me so much of my cover. While they’re physically similar, I’ve seen Scarlett play characters like Thea really well. She has a strength, but vulnerability lies just below the surface. Thea is brave, making a decision in her early 20s that most of us will never have to make in a lifetime. She’s also afraid no one will love her after her body is altered by mastectomy, so she shields her heart. Or tries to, until she meets…


Shay Kelly
If you’re going to have a no-strings vacation fling, shouldn’t it be with someone who looks like an Olympic athlete? In this case, like 2012 Olympic gold-medal diver David Boudia? Oh, heck yeah. David isn’t an actor, but I’ve loved his sweet, unassuming personality since I saw him in interviews from the 2012 London games, and he worked hard to achieve his goals, much like Shay. When I was imagining Shay in my head, David came immediately to mind. It doesn’t hurt that he is incredibly handsome, and looks fantastic in a swimsuit. That smile…it kills me, and the dimples, especially that really deep one? I totally understand why Thea can’t resist touching it.

I also cast some of the supporting characters, so here’s a little about them.


Leesh: One side of the “besties” triangle, I imagined her to look like Karen Gillan, Amy Pond on DOCTOR WHO. She’s tall and slender with fiery red hair, freckles, and those big eyes. And sassy with a capital S-totally Leesh.


Bennie: Thea’s other best friend, Bennie is dark-haired and brown-eyed, with a strong, athletic body. She’s also supportive and strong-willed, but a bit of a romantic who tries to be tough but sometimes lets her guard down. Naya Rivera, best-known as Santana on GLEE, perfectly embodies these characteristics.


Fred: Shay’s best friend and fellow medical student, Fred is smart, a clean freak, and always ready to speak his mind. Maestro Harrell, who played Malik on SUBURGATORY, can make me laugh with just a look. His expression in this picture is how I envisioned Fred during a pivotal conversation he has with Shay.


Uncle Paddy: He surprised me. He’s only in a few scenes, but people have told me how much they liked him. His embarrassing behavior is the primary reason Thea and Shay actually speak to one another. He makes a brief appearance in book two about the three Kelly brothers, and plays a significant role in the final book. I wanted to include him here, though, because he’s so darn adorable. Irish actor Stuart Townsend is the perfect Paddy. Look at that mischievous expression!

If you’ve read GOODBYE TO YOU, who did you imagine in the roles? Close to my picks, or did you have completely different people in mind?



I wrote my first book at six. A retelling of The Three Little Pigs, illustrated by my grandmother, the book was never picked up and was self-published instead, glued to cardboard with a cover fashioned from wallpaper scraps.

Today, I write stories featuring nice guys (or nice guys in-the-making) in between my other jobs writing research reports for a commercial real estate company, refereeing two young daughters, navigating the teen waters with a too-cute-for-his-own-good son, spoiling a neurotic cat, and making my darling, patient husband shake his head. I'm also an autism mom, chocolate enthusiast, sports-watcher, nacho-eater, and beer-drinker.

A Maryland native, I live in North Carolina now, but dreams of the beach fuel my fantasties, and my characters can often be found strolling in the sand or sailing along a coast.


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Book Review: Kiss of Broken Glass by Madeleine Kuderick




Kiss of Broken Glass
Author: Madeleine Kuderick
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: September 9th, 2014
Review Source: HarperTeen

After she’s caught in the school bathroom cutting herself with the blade from a pencil sharpener, fifteen-year-old Kenna is put under mandatory psychiatric watch. She has seventy-two hours to face her addiction, deal with rejection, and find a shred of hope.


When I started reading this book it kinda hit home for me. The main character in this book Kenna was caught trying to cut herself in the school bathroom. Well they send her to the psych ward where she is under 72 hours of watch. She needs to fight her addiction and dealing with rejection. When reading this book you were actually reading her diary that she wrote eveything down for us to read and be in her postition. The reason why this book hit home for me because I went through the same thing when I was younger after having my daughter. I ended up developing postpartum depression and was put on so many meds to try and help me. It didn't work and I tried commiting suicide twice and I ended up in the pysch ward twice. What she wrote in her book you actually see there. There was one girl that would be in there for cutting.Others were in there because if trying to commit suicide. It was the longest three days of my life. Your family can come and see you but your mostly locked in there and you can't have a phone or anything that you brought with you. It's like a prison.

When I was reading the book it was bringing back the past that I would love to forget and wish never happened. But if that didn't happen to me back then I wouldn't be where I am today. This is a good book if you want a quick read and plus it makes you look at your life and love everything around you even more.

Waiting on Wednesday: Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King

Waiting on Wednesday
"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Glory O'Brien's History of the Future
Author: Jandy Nelson
Release Date: October 14th 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers


WOULD YOU TRY TO CHANGE THE WORLD
IF YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD NO FUTURE?

Graduating from high school is a time of limitless possibilities—but not for Glory, who has no plan for what's next. Her mother committed suicide when Glory was only four years old, and she’s never stopped wondering if she will eventually go the same way...until a transformative night when she begins to experience an astonishing new power to see a person’s infinite past and future. From ancient ancestors to many generations forward, Glory is bombarded with visions—and what she sees ahead of her is terrifying.

A tyrannical new leader raises an army. Women’s rights disappear. A violent second civil war breaks out. And young girls vanish daily, sold off or interned in camps. Glory makes it her mission to record everything she sees, hoping her notes will somehow make a difference. She may not see a future for herself, but she’ll do everything in her power to make sure this one doesn’t come to pass.

In this masterpiece about freedom, feminism, and destiny, Printz Honor author A.S. King tells the epic story of a girl coping with devastating loss at long last—a girl who has no idea that the future needs her, and that the present needs her even more.

Blog Tour: Where You Are | Alla Kar | Top 5 Favorite Books | Giveaway


Welcome to our stop on Where You Are tour for Alla Kar. This tour is hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.


Where You Are
Author: Alla Kar
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Romance
Released: July 14th 2014


Got boy problems? Call Laney Scott. She's good for advice, a shoulder, or a swift kick where you need it. When her roommate Bethany gets her heart broken, yet again, it's Laney to the rescue. But Laney's harboring a secret. She's nursing her own broken heart. She and her friends come up with a plan to break Aiden and set it into play. Laney wants Aiden to pay for what he's done to Bethany. She will make him fall in love with her, so can break his heart.

Laney's ex-boyfriend Lachlan Hems is back in Florida, still Australian and sexy as hell. His best mate Lucas is getting married, and he is in town for the show. He just didn’t realize Laney would be there … in another guy’s arms, or that seeing her again would have such an effect on him. After the incident in high-school, he vowed to never care for her again. But sometimes fate has different plans.

When Laney’s resolve crumbles, Lachlan is the only one that can put her back together again.

Where You Are is the start of a three-books new adult series from Amazon and Barnes and Noble bestselling author Alla Kar.
My Top Five Favorite Books

This is such a freaking hard question. There are too many books that I love! But I’ll give it my best shot!
1.       The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I can’t imagine anyone not loving this book. I read it two years ago while I was still in college, and it was the only book that my entire class loved! That should tell you something right there!

2.       Easy by Tammara Webber. *Sigh.* It doesn’t get better than this. The sexual chemistry between the two main characters is off the charts. It had me flipping pages for an entire day!

3.       The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  I love this book for many reasons. I’m from the south and reading southern style books always makes me happy. I also loved the plotline because you don’t read a lot like this. To see this come to life in the movie was so exciting!

4.       Salvage The Bones by Jesmyn Ward. This book made me cry. I also read this in one of my classes. It’s set in the south, and full of heartache. It’s beautifully written and really pulls you into a world that you can see unfold around you.

5.       Real by Katy Evans. I don’t think I know anyone who has read anything to do with Remington Tate and not loved him. The sexual chemistry in this is probably one of the best I’ve ever read. It’s raw, gritty and addicting.


I go by Alla Kar. I live in the Deep South with my husband, Chihuahua and pit-bull puppy. I love to bring southern gentlemen, alpha males and all things new adult to life. I am an Amazon Best-Selling Author!

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