Review of: The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

Page Count(Hardcover Edition): 425 pgs
Publisher: HarperTeen
Released: September 6th, 2011
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
My Rating: 3/5 stars
Read: from 5/13/13 to 6/26/13
Source: Books-A-Million
Synopsis: 

Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After. What I’m talking about here is the ka-pow, shake-you-to-your-core-and-turn-your-bones-to-plastic kind of crappy.

Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel’s life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss—a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

Jennifer Castle’s debut novel is a heart-wrenching, surprisingly witty testament to how drastically life can change in the span of a single moment.

(from Goodreads)

The Beginning of After was truly it's title. After a horrible thing happens and it affects your family or friends, you have to start over again. I know, I've been there my share of times. This book perfectly navigated one girls' journey after her mother, father and brother were killed in a car accident.

One of the most important things this book taught me was how to be sad, how to grieve, which I think everyone needs to know how to do. If you don't grieve, you will never be able to get past something that has happened. But also, after grieving, you have to begin to grow from it. Laurel taught me that it is perfectly okay to feel bad for yourself when something awful happens. But she also taught me the importance of getting back up on your feet and persevering through life once again. Life is full of ups and downs, no matter how much we wish the downside's of life ceased to exist

I think the story line was brilliant. Bad boy neighbors-dad, Mr. Kaufman,  is responsible for the deaths of her family. He is comatose, but the only survivor of that night. I sympathized with Laurel as she began to come to terms with what has happened. She didn't know who to blame, herself for not saving the day, or Mr. Kaufman. David, his son, is also dealing with this car accident as his father is in critical condition. It was nice to see that Laurel didn't automatically shun him, whilst she didn't exactly invite him over for dinner as well. It took time for their relationship to grow, and I appreciated that! Not very fond of insta-loves!

On a happier note, I adore this cover! The actor perfectly resembles what I would have thought Laurel would have looked like. Plus, just the colors and design are gorgeous!

If you're looking for a deeper, emotional contemporary read focused on moving forward in life, this book is for you!

♦Haley♦

Review of: Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Possess by Gretchen McNeil 

Page Count(Hardcover Edition): 379 pgs
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Released: August 23rd, 2011
Genre:Young Adult Paranormal
My Rating: 3.5
/5 stars
Read: February 21st-March 18th, 2013
Source: Library

Synopsis: 

Rule #1: Do not show fear.
Rule #2: Do not show pity.
Rule #3: Do not engage.
Rule #4: Do not let your guard down.
Rule #5: They lie.

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

So I guess I'm back! However temporarily that may be, I'm not sure. I'm sorry if this is is a completely meaningless and horrible review; I have forgotten how to write them. But lets just all enjoy this time while it lasts, shall we? Lets get on with this review.

When I first read the synopsis for Possess, I was a little bit frightened but intrigued, because paranormal does that to me I guess. Demons as a topic is a definite first for me. Possess was a pretty short read because it drew me in fast and furious. I was hoping for a second book or even a series, but I guess some books are better off standing alone.

I liked the fact that Bridget was pretty young, like my age, and dealing with banishing demons into who-knows-where. She had her moments as a 15 year old would, but for the most part, she was in control of the situations she was put in. Bridget was dealing with the murder of her father, so being able to pull off all she did was pretty impressive. The demon banishing scenes were the ones that drew me in the most because of the suspense. I felt like I was actually there in the heat of the moment. I also liked the romance between Bridget and Matt. It, unfortunately, was underdeveloped, but from what I glimpsed of it, I really liked their relationship and how Matt was willing to do almost anything for Bridget

I didn't like how predictable the whodunit character was. I do admit that I went back and forth a bit between 2 people, but it became pretty clear about halfway through the book. I like to be surprised, and in this case I wasn't. I also wasn't very fond on how some characters and their background weren't very developed. Hector, Peter and even Matt seemed 1-D because of how so little I knew about them.

Overall, Possess was an okay book. Better than meh, but I didn't totally love it.

So happy I did a review in what seems like forever! See you guys soon, I hope!

♦Haley♦

Blog Tour: Ever(Ever, #1) by Jessa Russo

Hi guys! So today I have my first blog tour of Ever by Jessa Russo. I will inlcude my review with all of the information you will want/need on Jessa. Enjoy!

Ever(Ever, #1) by Jessa Russo

Page Count(E-book Edition): 295 pgs
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Released: October 1st, 2012
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Read: March 18th-25th, 2013
Source: Review copy provided by Jessa/Curiosity Quills Press

Synopsis: 

Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.

Of course, it doesn't help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.

Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.

Some girls lose their hearts to love.

Some girls lose their minds.

Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.

(from Goodreads)

Ever, for me, was a semi-hard book to get into. It was almost as if something was holding me back, and I think that the lack of plot movement until about halfway through was it. In the beginning, I was waiting for something to happen, something to unfold. I was happy with Toby and Ever canoodling and such, but I wanted action, cliffhangers and all the good stuff if you get my drift. Boy, was I in store for all of that plus more..

Ever, Toby and Frankie. The perfect stereotypical love triangle. Actually, I wouldn't really consider it a love triangle until the last 10-15 chapters or so. It was really Ever and Toby, with Frankie as a ghost, and then something happens to Frankie that I shall not mention for the sake of those who want to read this book. I actually didn't mind their love triangle, because it wasn't forced, but I did have one problem with it because Ever kept mentioning it. She kept fluctuating between Toby and Frankie, and kept going over the same exact points every time. For Frankie, she knew he was a ghost, and there would be no way to act on her feelings for him and vice versa. For Toby, she felt guilty for dating him, because she felt like she was betraying Frankie by being happy with Toby. It's all confusing, I know. It got quite irritating after a while, but it soon dwindled down into nothing.

I absolutely loved Jessie! She is the perfect best friend for Ever, and a sister that I would love to have. She protected, defended and stood up for not only Ever, but occasionally Frankie and Toby, and Ever's mom. With her, I adored Greg. He seemed super cute and friendly with Ever and Jessie. In Ever's time of needs, he was there for her, by either having a hand on her shoulder, or on the small of her back, guiding her in moments of need. He seemed like the perfect guy best friend or big brother for Ever.

Man oh man, can Jessa Russo write some steamy makeout sessions! My eyes were glued to the page, oh my. She made it seem as though you were in the room as it was happening, no matter how weird and awkward that sounds, haha(:

My heart started beating so fast when every. single. part/secret to the story unfolded in Ever's kitchen. In the span of about 2 minutes, plot twist after plot twist after plot twist unveiled itself on the story, and left my mind going WHAT JUST HAPPENED :OOO. I'm pretty sure my mouth gaped open, due to the amount of information that was let out. Then, it got even better near the end when even more plot twists and secrets were revealed. I can honestly say I was super surprised at the end. I was left with a huge cliffhanger!

Ever was a hard book to get settled into, but once I was totally indulged, I was thrown around on a major roller coaster of events. I was honestly shocked near the end, but I'm excited to read the next in the series, Evade.

*A big Thank You to Jessa Russo and Curiosity Quills Press for providing me a review copy. Thanks for letting me participate in this book tour!*

About the Author:

I'm an unashamed super fan of all things paranormal romance. I read, write and breathe paranormal YA, rarely straying from my comfort zone. Seriously. I love the stuff.

When not writing or reading, I'm out and about making memories with some seriously awesome people - for an introvert, I'm pretty extroverted. ;-) You can bet that I'm also ALWAYS secretly planning my next trip to New Orleans. (If my eyes glaze over, I'm in one of my stories, or NOLA.)

I have a husband I love as much now as I did when we first fell in love over ten years ago, and a daughter we're doing our best to raise with manners, values, and spunk.

Southern California will always be home, but I'm open to suggestions.

Links:

Jessa's Website

Jessa on Twitter

EVER on Amazon

On Barnes & Noble

Goodreads/EVER

Goodreads/EVADE

On Jessa's Website, she is hosting a giveaway of one signed paperback copy of EVER, and one signed paperback copy of EVADE(coming soon). Please click the link and enter if you are interested! I know I am! ;)

Well, that wraps up today's post! I hope you enjoyed it, and I thank Jessa Russo and Curiosity Quills Press for giving me this chance to participate! I had fun(:

♦Haley♦

Showcase Sunday, #3: The Anne Eliot Edition!

Showcase Sunday is a wonderful meme hosted by the lovely Vicki @ Books, Biscuits and Tea. If you would like to join, please click HERE.

So, last weekend or so, I received a ginormous package full of goodies from one of my best-author friends, Anne Eliot, author of Unmaking Hunter Kennedy and Almost. Over the past couple months, we have become really close after I reviewed Unmaking Hunter Kennedy. Click the name to see the review,if you wish(: She was so generous and kind enough to send me her two books, a coffee mug, and plenty of other book-related swag + Rio 2016 Olympics swag! 

○○○○○

~Unmaking Hunter Kennedy~

Paperback

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy was the first book I have read and reviewed of Anne Eliot's. I was super excited when she asked me, and I was not disappointed! So happy to have this baby with me now(:

~Almost~

Getting Almost in the mail was suprising. I mean, I knew I was getting it, but it was sort of a freebie when Anne offered it! I'm super stoked to read this book, it sounds so interesting! Plus, both of these books are heavy, which is a good thing! I really like it that way(:

This was such a cool post card! As to her writing, these are ancient sand dunes turned on their side. This is all in her backyard in Colorado! Neat!

This is too cute! I mean, it sums up my life in one sentence. This may end up as my bumper sticker one day, you never know! ;)

Agh! A coffee mug! YAY! :D Even though I don't drink coffee, I can use this for lots of drinks! Plus, this is the first of it's kind, so it's awesome-er(is that even a word? lol)

I know this is hard to see, but it says Rio 2016. And some stuff on the front I don't understand, but anywhoo, this is cooool! I mean, who else has Olympics just released swag besides me and Anne?? It's pretty spanking awesome.

So that was a long a drawn out Showcase Sunday! But, I really wanted to get it out there for all you guys, and wanted to appreciate Anne for all she sent me! Thanks bunches Anne! Yes, I know this is a day late.. yada yada.. I'm busy, people! Haha just kidding(: What did you get for your Showcase Sunday? Feel free to elaborate in the comments.

♦Haley♦

Review of: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky

Page Count(Paperback Edition): 216 pgs.
Publisher: MTV Books
Released:February 1st, 1999
Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
My Rating: 3 stars
Read: from December 11 to 27, 2012
Source: Borrowed from a friend(Thanks Meagan!♥)

Synopsis:

Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix-tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. 

But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. 

(from Goodreads)

Okay, I'm going to start off saying this: I may say some things that offend your opinion or P.O.V, and I'm sorry. There is no other way for me to explain why I rated this book 3 stars, without criticizing it. I admit, it will be hard for me to do this too. I will not, however, harp on all the negative things and leave out the positive ones. That would be unfair of me. But let's get to this!

So, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This almost turned into a DNF, because I was so depressed in the middle of the book. How could I not be? I felt like Charlie kept talking about his deceased aunt Helen all the time, and everything else that was going on in his life. Then, I started feeling bad! I felt that I should have loved and adored this book like everyone else, but I couldn't. I couldn't fake my feelings about this.

Charlie was an odd character. I still don't know whether I liked him or not. He's a freshman, who hangs out with juniors and seniors. That seemed unrealistic to me, but I won't get into that. Charlie is a wallflower, and an intellectual one at that. And this is where my feelings for him waver; he seemed too smart and knowing for his age! How is that realistic?

Ok, here come my two favorite characters: Patrick and Sam. I absolutely loved them. They were fantastically written, and seemed real! Maybe I loved them because I actually know what they look like in the movie...

The last negative thing I will say is how the mood of the story really, really affected me and my progress on this book. I was confused and sad almost the whole time.

Okay, now onto positive things! In the second half of the book, I started liking the story a whole lot better because happiness seemed like it entered the atmosphere. I started reading the book faster because I felt better as a reader. I also really liked Bill, Charlie's English teacher. While he kept giving him books to do essay's on, you learn that he really thinks Charlie is very smart.

I loved Charlie's, Sam's and Patrick's relationship. They were so close, almost like sibling's. If that relationship didn't exist, I wouldn't be able to cope with this book.

All in all, I didn't loathe The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I semi-liked it. It just wasn't the book for me, but I still would recommend everyone to read this, since it is a must-read book.

♦Haley♦

Review of: Belles(Belles, #1) by Jen Calonita

Belles(Belles, #1) by Jen Calonita

Page Count(Hardcover Edition): 356
 Publisher: Poppy
 Released: April 10th, 2012  
 Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
 My Rating: 4 stars
 Read: December 02 to 16, 2012
 Source: Library


Synopsis: 

Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she's ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls' lives forever.

(from Goodreads)

As I'm sure other's would agree, this book is addicting. There was not one point where I said to myself " I'll just stop there for today" There was no good part to stop at. This story was very continuous  and it almost lost it's affect if I ever set it down for too long. Which is why I didn't!

 I love the idea of this story. To me, this was a dialed down version of Mean Girls in a book! It was verbatim the same, with a new girl, and basically a group of mean girls. Who doesn't love this plot?!

I very much enjoyed the character set. Izzie was by far my favorite because of how strong she was, whether it looked like it or not. She had so much backbone and spirit which I loved. Hayden came next because of how helpful he was to Izzie and because he was genuinely sweet. Mira and the others to come are in no particular order, just the way they pop up in my head. At first, I didn't like Mira because she was so controlled by Savannah, and didn't try to accept Izzie into the family! Opposite of Izzie, she had no backbone in the first half of the book, but then towards the end, she really rose and stood up for herself. I cheered her on quietly in my head(: Now, onto the evil queen, Savannah. I did not like her from the beginning and didn't feel sorry for her in the end. She truly irritated the crap out of me, and I probably hated her more than I should have had, because I was imagining her to be someone else.. Anyways, I really thought she was a rich, spoiled, ungrateful brat. I think that I was supposed to hate her, because she was the one who made everyone take Izzie's side. So, Jen, I thank you for that!. 

Onto the guys and family members(: Brayden! Ooh Brayden was such a cute character, I loved him♥. I wasn't expecting that little twist  at Emerald Prep with him and Izzie, but it really set the stage for what was to come. If Brayden was real, I'd take him in a heart beat. No offense Izzie! ;). Taylor was kinda iffy for me. In the beginning, I thought he had some clingy problems with Mira and brushed them off. But towards the end, he really wanted Mira to be everywhere with him, every practice, game, even every minute. That was the point where I was totally creeped out, and vowed to never become a trophy wife, ever. Kellen was really interesting. I was intrigued by his aura around him, but was disapointed when Jen didn't add more to his story with Mira. I hope in the next book, Jen will expand a lot more on their relationship. Mira's family was fairly good, but had some secrets which were revealed in the end. I was shocked when I found them out.

Belles was a wonderful, but shocking book. The only critique I have is that there needs to be more expansion among characters in the next book. I can't wait to get my hands on Winter White! I recommend this to fans of contemporary with a bit of a twist.

♦Haley♦

*on a side note: I have now added another name to my favorite baby girl names: Mirabelle! It's just so perfect and princessy; I love it! The other one I love is Tabitha(:

Review of The Daughters Break The Rules by Joanna Philbin/ Stacking The Shelves #3

This is a combination post, as I have just gotten a new book in the mail!

The Daughters Break The Rules by Joanna Philbin

Page Count(Paperback edition): 276  
Series: Daughters #2
Publisher: Poppy (I love poppy!)
Released: April 5th, 2011
Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
My Rating: 5 stars
Read: August 16th - 26th
Source: Books-A-Million    

Synopsis:

Daughters Rule Number Six: Never talk to the press about your parents.

After leaking a story about the family business, impetuous high school freshman Carina Jurgensen is cut off by her billionaire father. Always resourceful, she fibs her way into a job as a party planner for New York's annual Silver Snowflake Ball. But when Carina finds out that the party committee expects favors and freebies from her dad's A-list connections, a choice must be made: Does she get real about her downgraded status, or pretend she's still the ultimate heiress?

Best friends and fellow daughters of celebrities Lizzie Summers, Carina Jurgensen and Hudson Jones are back in Joanna Philbin's second stylish and heartfelt Daughters novel.

This is going to be a shortish review, as I am still on hiatus. Hope you enjoy! (:

Ah! What can I say? The Daughters Break The Rules was an excellent sequel to The Daughters, and I'm very happy I picked it up. It didn't disappoint, in fact it may even be better than The Daughters!

From this book I got a good mixture of emotions. People may just think that this sounds like every other chick-lit book. I admit, it had some of that (but I LOVE that), but it also had real tones of learning how to live with little. Carina was put in the situation where she was cut off from everything and had only $20 a week, and they twenty dollars included food, clothes and extra stuff. If you haven't noticed, $20 goes by quick. So throughout the story, Carina had to learn how to not only cope with it, but also be grateful for what she has. She definitely grew during the story.

The plot was cute and quick. There was no slow down from point to point, and still had enough sufficient points to make me happy. I really thought that Carina was going to have to stay in California, and would have liked to seen that. But I'm still really happy with how it ended. Almost everyone had a picture perfect ending.. I can't tell you who didn't though! I am really looking forward to reading the third book in the series, The Daughters Take The Stage. I most definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a sweet and relatively short read. (:

And now... drum roll please..

This is also a Stacking The Shelves! Just today, I went to my mailbox and found an ARC copy of:

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. I have received the paperback copy(YEEE) and a complimentary sunscreen!(I'm going to cherish it forever hehe) Courtesy of Kristi from The Story Siren(Thank you so much Krisi! ♥)

 Without further ado, here is the beautiful cover and synopsis!

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

I cannot wait to start reading this! I'm so happy that I got to post this much today, especially because of how busy high school is! Also, due to Hurricane Isaac, I had today off and tomorrow too! So tomorrow I will have Top Ten Tuesday up for you. Hope you all are safe and away from Isaac.

Any questions or comments on my review and/or my Stacking The Shelves? Leave them below please (:

♦ Haley ♦