Top Ten Books That Were Hard for Me to Read

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak - I was worried this book would make me cry, and it did. I read half the book one weekend and half the next because I needed a break in the middle!

2. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - This book was just plain cringeworthy.

3. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa - This book took two tries to get through. Not because it was bad, but because it was slow.

4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - Another book I put off reading for a long time due to subject matter that I ended up loving!

5. The Giver by Lois Lowry - Everyone will hate me for this, but I hated this book. I had to read it for class and wanted to stab it the entire time. I wrote an entire essay on why Jonas was stupid.

6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I did like the book, but do due the fact that it's going on two-hundred years old, the writing style is a little out of date. Also, I read my mom's super old copy that was falling apart...

7. Revealed by P.C. & Kristen Cast - While I love the first half of this series, it's kinda gone downhill. I am excited to read the last book next month, but the last few have been disappointments.

8. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor - I did not finish this book. I was super confused and there were too many characters!

9. 34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodriguez - This book made me too sad and mad to continue. I can understand some idioticness, but I couldn't stand this.

10. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - I'm sorry, but not really. I honest to god did not like these books. The only reason I read them was to figure out what happened at the end of book seven, because movie seven part one had come out, but not part two, and I needed to know what happened. I labored over them at some point or another, and finally finished them. I still don't like them.

Which books were hard for you to read? Do you agree with me on any of my picks?

Book Blitz: The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris

We are so excited to bring you the Release Day Launch of Rachel Harris' THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING! THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING is the first book in Rachel's The Fine Art of Pretending Series published by Spencer Hill Contemporary.

Title: The Fine Art of Pretending
Author: Rachel Harris
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release: September 30, 2014

Synopsis:

According to the guys at Fairfield Academy, there are two types of girls: the kind you hook up with, and the kind you're friends with. Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Reed is the second type. And she hates it. With just one year left to change her rank, she devises a plan to become the first type by homecoming, and she sets her sights on the perfect date—Justin Carter, Fairfield Academy’s biggest hottie and most notorious player.

With 57 days until the dance, Aly launches Operation Sex Appeal and sheds her tomboy image. The only thing left is for Justin actually to notice her. Enter best friend Brandon Taylor, the school’s second biggest hottie, and now Aly’s pretend boyfriend. With his help, elevating from “funny friend” to “tempting vixen” is only a matter of time.

But when everything goes according to plan, the inevitable “break up” leaves their friendship in shambles, and Aly and Brandon with feelings they can’t explain. And the fake couple discovers pretending can sometimes cost you the one thing you never expected to want.

You Can Find it At:
Barnes & Noble

iTunes

Kobo

Amazon

Amazon UK

IndieBound

Goodreads

Excerpt:

An exhale of breath leaves Brandon’s lips, almost like a laugh, and he scoots closer to me on the blanket. I twist my legs under myself, sitting tall as I face him. He cups my chin and tilts it toward him, drowning me in the now dark-green depths of his eyes, the cologne I gave him for his birthday filling my head. It’s woodsy and yummy and I always loved how it smelled on the store testers, but on Brandon, it’s even sexier. My eyes flutter closed, and I inhale again, this time slowly. Goose bumps prickle my arms, and my head gets fuzzy.

Brandon slides his hand down the column of my neck and brings the other up, threading his fingers through the hair at my nape. His breath fans across my cheek, and everything south of my bellybutton squeezes tight.

When his mouth first meets mine, it’s hesitant, questioning. But as I move my lips with his, he quickly grows bolder, coaxing them apart.

Desire, pure and raw, electrifies my veins as his tongue sweeps my mouth. A whimpering sound springs from my chest, and instinctively, I wrap my arms around his neck, tugging him closer. Needing more. My teeth graze his full bottom lip, and I pull it, sucking on it gently.

He moans and knots his fingers in my hair, and a thrill dances down my back.

Brandon is an amazing kisser, just as I knew he would be. I have no control over my body’s reactions. I lose myself in his lips, his tongue, and his strong arms, forgetting time and space and even my surroundings—until Gabi’s snicker brings reality crashing around us, reminding me we have an audience.

And that I’m kissing Brandon.

We break apart, out of breath, and stare into each other’s eyes.

That was unexpected.

Author Bio:

Award-winning and Bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls next door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Emotion, vibrant settings, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books...and kissing. Lots of kissing. An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, and LOVES talking with readers.  

You Can Find Her At:
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Goodreads

Giveaway:

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Book Blitz: Memories of a Different Future by David Pandolfe

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Synopsis:

For Nikki, it feels like no time has passed since they rescued Henry’s sister from her abductors. After all, in the in-between realm, time is completely different than for those still “living.” Even though it’s been almost twenty years, only lately has Nikki started crossing between realms again. She’s been checking on Ian—the person they knew as Curtis before he jumped into a new life. Nikki hasn’t admitted it to the others but she’s been curious. Could Ian’s life really be as good as it seems? Can she find the courage herself to try the other realm again despite what happened last time?

When Nikki suddenly starts receiving ghostlike visits from Curtis—all these years since he returned to the physical realm—she can’t imagine how it’s possible. She also realizes it has to mean something serious. Nikki soon learns that, three days from now, an incident on Earth will end Curtis’s new life. Now, Nikki, Henry and Jamie must find a way to alter the outcome of a future event only they know will take place. They’ll also have just minutes to make that happen. Otherwise, Curtis is going to die again, taking with him any hope Nikki and her friends had for starting over.

You Can Find it At:
AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

BOOK DEPOSITORY

Author Bio:

David Pandolfe is the author of three novels, Streetlights Like Fireworks, Jump When Ready and Memories From A Different Future (Jump When Ready #2). His short fiction has also appeared in literary reviews.

While he's still writing about himself in third-person, David should probably also mention that he lives outside Richmond, VA, with his wife, two kids and a dog who's terrified of thunder (not the best situation since it thunders from spring until fall in Richmond).

You Can Find Him At:
Website
Twitter
Goodreads
Facebook

Giveaway:

--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter

Winner will receive a Signed print copy, of Jump When Ready,
Winner will Signed print copy Memories From A Different Future (Jump When Ready, Book 2)
Winner will receive a $15 iTunes gift card

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Blog Tour: Dead Over Heels by Alison Kemper

I am super excited to be helping to kick off the Dead Over Heels blog tour! I'm partially through the book right now and loving it! I'm ecstatic to share a special excerpt with you AND a special giveaway! Here's some details on the book.

Title: Dead Over Heels
Author: Alison Kemper
Release: September 9, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 269

Excerpt:

Cole is still staring at me. “Sleet,” he says simply and moves in my direction.

I nod dumbly, my face too numb for talking. If I open my mouth, I’m sure I’ll start weeping. Cole somehow manages to wedge himself closer on the narrow rock ledge. Without a word, we wrap our arms around each other. He drops his face into the top of my hood, while I tuck my head in his shoulder. We do all this wordlessly, instinctively, knowing there’s no time for awkwardness or polite gestures. We simply need to minimize the parts of our bodies exposed to the freezing rain.

“It’s like a monsoon,” he says in my ear. “A sleet monsoon.” The freezing rain blows sideways. Cole shifts, repositioning his face somewhere between my ear and shoulder, trying to protect his face.

“I’m sorry I made you lose your hat!” I say over the spatter of a billion flecks of falling ice.

He shrugs. “This is more fun than wearing a hat. It would’ve taken me another two days to work up the nerve to touch you again.”

I can’t decide whether to laugh or cry. “You make the best of every situation, don’t you? I can’t believe you’re flirting with me in a zombie-apocalypse sleet storm.”

“God almighty,” he says, “I don’t think I’ve ever been this cold. I’d give anything for a decent coat.”
“I hear you. If I ever get out of this mess, I’m buying nothing but fleece-lined clothing for the rest of my life.” I shiver in the semidarkness. “Fleece-lined pants, fleece socks…”

“Fleece underwear?”

Is he thinking about my underwear? Embarrassed, I try to change the subject. “And I’ll eat soup all day long.”

“Mmmm…soup…what kind?”

“Something hearty. Potato and bacon.”

“Oh, yeah,” he agrees. “Bacon.”

Bacon usually distracts boys from thoughts of underwear. “And hot cocoa,” I tell him. “I’ll drink the hell out of some hot cocoa. Like a gallon of it.”

We sit in silence for a full minute.

“Those things are all gone, aren’t they?” My voice breaks. “S-soup and hot cocoa and showers and TV? And even more important things. My friends back home. My relatives. Hell, maybe we’ll get to Glenview and my parents will be dead also.”

Soon, Cole will be gone, too. Alone. On his own in this crazy forest.

This time, the tears come and I can’t fight them any longer. I’m tired of fighting them. I’m scared and hungry and completely exhausted.

“I’m so sorry,” I whimper. “I don’t mean to cry.”

 His lips move against my temple. “Shh. Go on. I got you.”

***

Wasn't that awesome? I know I loved it! Wanna see what this book is all about? Read on!

Synopsis:

The end of the world just might be their perfect beginning…

Glenview, North Carolina. Also known―at least to sixteen-year-old Ava Pegg―as the Land of Incredibly Boring Vacations. What exactly were her parents thinking when they bought a summer home here? Then the cute-but-really-annoying boy next door shows up at her place in a panic…hollering something about flesh-eating zombies attacking the town.

At first, Ava’s certain that Cole spent a little too much time with his head in the moonshine barrel. But when someone―or something―rotted and terrifying emerges from behind the woodpile, Ava realizes this is no hooch hallucination. The undead are walking in Glenview, and they are hungry. Panicked, Ava and Cole flee into the national forest. No supplies, no weapons. Just two teenagers who don’t even like each other fighting for their lives. But that’s the funny thing about the Zombpocalypse. You never know when you’ll meet your undead end. Or when you’ll fall dead over heels for a boy…

You Can Find it At:

Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo Books

Author Bio:

Alison Kemper grew up in South Florida, the only girl on a street with eleven boys. She spent most of her childhood paddling a canoe through neighborhood canals and looking for adventure. She usually found it. Sometimes the police were involved. And large dogs. And one time, a very territorial snake. Now that she’s grown up, she lives in North Carolina and writes books. The books often include girls having adventures. With boys. Cute boys. And cute dogs too. But no cute snakes. Never cute snakes.

Her debut novel, Donna of the Dead, will be published by Entangled Teen in 2014 and followed by two companion books in the series. She loves to meet new people and talk books, so send her a friend request or connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.

You Can Find Her At:

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Facebook

Giveaway:

Special Giveaway:

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Tour Giveaway:

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Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

Title: Rites of Passage
Author: Joy N. Hensley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release: September 9, 2014
Pages: 416
Review: 5 Stars

Synopsis:

Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What’s she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.

At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.

You Can Find it At:

Indiebound

Books-A-Million

iBooks

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Book Depository

Review:

First Impressions

I got an ARC of Rites of Passage this month on a whim. It looked interesting and I thought "why not?" I hadn't heard of it before, but once I got it, I started seeing it everywhere all over the internet. The other week, I saw it on my shelf, and decided to pick it up. I was obsessed like that. I loved the characters instantly, and by loved them, I wanted to stab a bunch of them. Repeatedly. But with love. The main character is part of the first class of girls at a previously all-boys military academy. Needless to say, she is not treated well by many of the populace.

Characters

Oftentimes, contemporary books don't have a clear antagonist. It's often along the lines of the main character's mind, or an oversensitive parent. In this, there is a definite antagonist, though I'm hoping for a sequel with more details. The main character Sam is pretty awesome. She goes to the school on a dare from her brother that passed away the year before. Sam is one of the few recruits made for military life, but she gets pushed to the breaking point over and over again. There's Corporal Matthews, which I want to stab for the rest of my life. Matthews is HORRIBLE to Sam. He is extremely sexist and just ARGH! But I digress. There's also Becka, on of the other female recruits, and while at first I thought she was a ditz, she really came around. Lastly, there's Drill AKA Drill Sergeant Stamm, AKA Dean. I honestly loved his character. He treats the male and female recruits the same, and is willing to help Sam when no one else will.

Writing

I really enjoyed the writing in the book. It was very to the point. There was a lot of military terminology that I didn't understand, but that was about it.

Plot

The first bit of the book was a lot of verbal abuse towards Sam and military training. About halfway through though, the plot gets jump started. Suddenly, everything starts to make sense. Characters fall into place and references start making sense. Needless to say, I loved it.

World-Building

I really could see the world of the military academy. There was a good bit of vague description that I would like to know more about, but also understand. The main character didn't get to see much of campus, so we readers didn't either. Why didn't she see much of campus? Mainly because she was either busy doing military things/classes, or was in trouble for reasons and couldn't go anywhere.

Author Bio:

Born and raised in Virginia, I've come back to my roots after five years of wandering up and down the East Coast. From being a barista to editing, writing commercials for television to being a middle school/high school English teacher, there's nothing I'm not willing to try. That includes going to military school (on a dare), hiking 600 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and playing in the mud with my students!

A graduate of Greensboro College, I received the Excellence in English award for my fiction and poetry contributions. In 2007 I graduated from Long Ridge Writers Group's Breaking Into Print class, and in 2009 I finished their Shape, Write, and Sell Your Novel classes.

Now, between hiking, doing obstacle course runs, and having fun with my husband and two sons, I continue to write. I am repped by Mandy Hubbard at D4EO Literary Agency.

You Can Find it At:
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Waiting on Wednesday (32)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spines, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I am featuring Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer, and Redeemed by P.C. and Kristin Cast! I'm super excited for both titles! Trust Me, I'm Lying is the first book in a series, and it looks SO good! I can't wait to dig into it. Redeemed is the twelfth and final book in the House of Night series. The last few books have been disappointing, but I hope it will end strong!

Synopsis:

Trust Me, I'm Lying

Fans of Ally Carter, especially her Heist Society readers, will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.

Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.


But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.

Release: October 14, 2014

Redeemed

In the final electrifying novel in the HoN series, Neferet has finally made herself known to mortals. A Dark Goddess is loose on Tulsa and the world. No single vampyre is strong enough to vanquish her - unless that creature has the power to summon the elements as well as the ability to wield Old Magick. Only Zoey Redbird is heir to such power…but because of the consequences of using Old Magick, she is unable to help. Find out who will win and who will lose in this epic battle of Light versus Darkness.

Release: October 14, 2014

Cover Reveal: Beautiful Curse by Jen McConnel

Title: Beautiful Curse
Author: Jen McConnel
Release: December 2014
Publisher: Swoon Romance

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Mya Jones is cursed.

She is, hands down, the most beautiful creature on earth. But beauty can wound, and Mya finds herself reviled and shunned by her peers. If there is even a chance that she could start over, Mya longs to take it, no matter the risks.

So when the strange Mr. Merk offers her a new life away from home, Mya is hesitant but hopeful. Only she didn't count on the mysterious Ross, or her feelings for him.

BEAUTIFUL CURSE is a contemporary retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid.

You Can Find it At:

Goodreads

Author Bio:

Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).

She is also a former reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.

A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. A graduate of Western Michigan University, she also holds a MS in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga.

Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.

You Can Find Her At:

Pinterest

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

Goodreads

Cover Reveal Organized by:

Top Ten Books on My Fall To-Be-Read List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

This going to be INSANELY hard! I have so many books I want to read this fall, but here I go!

1. Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

2. The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

3. Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry

4. The Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter

5. The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris

6. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

7. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson

8. Unmade by Sara Rees Brennan

9. Unmarked by Kami Garcia

10. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

What fall books are YOU looking forward to? Do you agree with my picks?

Eternal by C.C. Hunter

Title: Eternal
Author: C.C. Hunter
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release: October 28, 2014
Series: Shadow Falls: After Dark
Pages: 386 (ARC, 400 full)
Review: 4 Stars

Synopsis:

Just when Della feels like she’s starting to figure out her life, she finds herself reborn…and her new existence comes with a whole different rulebook.

Della's secret powers always made her feel like an outsider in the human world. Now, just when she’s starting to feel like she belongs—at Shadow Falls, a camp for teens with paranormal powers—her life is turned upside down all over again. Attacked by a deadly virus, she must make the difficult choice to be reborn. It’s her only chance at survival, but it comes with a price: It irreparably bonds her to Chase, a tall, dark and mesmerizing vampire who makes her laugh one minute and infuriates her the next.

Chase already knows too many of Della’s secrets, and being eternally bonded to him is the last thing she wants. Even worse, she doesn’t fully understand what their bond means. Is the attraction she’s started feeling for Chase real—or does fate have something else in store? And what does that mean for Steve, the hot shapeshifter whose kisses make her weak in the knees?

Now Della’s battered heart is about to take another hit. While investigating her latest case, she discovers shocking evidence about her father’s dark past, making her question everything she believes to be true…and her place in the world she loves.

You Can Find it At:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Review:

Second books in a series, especially a trilogy, will often fall into two categories. Either they have Second Book Syndrome, or they are totally, epically, amazing. Thankfully, this one fell into the latter category.