Mommy's Reading Break

You can also read this and other reviews on my blog, Mommy's Reading BreakDaughter of Smoke & Bone was another book that I didn’t really know much about. I didn’t know what to expect or what it was really about, but I had seen several people read it and enjoy it, so when I saw that my library had the audio book available for an MP3 download, I decided to give it a chance, and I’m glad I did.Daughter of Smoke & Bone starts off as a fairly normal story, other than the fact that Karou has blue hair. However, that’s easily accomplished with a bottle of hair dye. She’s an art student living in Prague, and has a jerk of an ex-boyfriend, who is still finding ways to annoy her and try to win her back (which is not working). While Karou is in an art class with her friend Zuzanna, we learn a little about the paranormal aspects of the story. You see, Karou was raised by, and runs errands for, chimaera. After being attacked by a winged stranger, Karou starts to learn a little more about the chimaera, and learns more about love and herself in the process.I loved the characters in Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Karou was a kick-ass heroine, though she’s a bit naive sometimes, due to her chimaera “family” keeping her ignorant to a lot of what goes on in their world. Also, Karou doesn’t know where she came from. As far back as she can remember, she’s been with Brimstone and the others, and she considers them family, but obviously, as a human, she had to have come from somewhere. This doesn’t seem to bother her too much during the story, but it definitely makes for interesting reading, as I was dying to know more about who she was and how she came to live with monsters. Her friend Zuzanna is great. She is absolutely hilarious, and the dialogue between the two had me cracking up several times. They really have a great friendship. Then there’s Karou’s ex, Kas. He is unintentionally funny. He’s so full of himself that you can’t help but laugh when Karou turns him down time and time again. And Akiva. He’s really intriguing. He’s an angel, but don’t let that make you complacent. Taylor’s angels are nothing like any other angel I’ve ever read about. And his interactions with Karou were always very interesting.The ending was great, if a bit emotional, and it had me dying for the next book. It definitely wrapped most of the necessary events and questions from Daughter of Smoke & Bone, but also had an open ending that was a perfect set-up for Days of Blood & Starlight.I listened to the audio version of Daughter of Smoke & Bone, and I would highly recommend it. It’s narrated by Khristine Hvam, who also narrated The Iron King, which I listened to not that long ago. Her voices for the characters were great. She did male voices and accents, and they just sounded perfect, not overly done or unrealistic. I don’t have a ton of experience with audio, but she is definitely going up as one of my favorite narrators. In fact, I loved the audio so much that I rejoined Audible to get the sequel, Days of Blood & Starlight, in audio form as well!Overall, I thought that Daughter of Smoke & Bone was a great read and a very interesting take on chimaera and angels, and I would highly recommend it.

I’m not really sure what to say about Origins: The Fire. It is a prequel short story to Mila 2.0, and short it was. It was only 15 pages long, and I didn’t really feel like it told us anything. It basically started with Mila waking up and realizing the house was on fire. She then tries to escape, realizes her parents are home, and tries to find them. That’s about the gist of the whole story. It wasn’t a terrible read, but even after reading Mila 2.0, I just don’t feel like it added anything. Maybe I’ll realize the significance as the series continues?You can also read this and other reviews on my blog, Mommy's Reading Break.

I received this book for review from the publisher via Netgalley.Have you ever found a new author and loved him or her so much that you would read anything he or she wrote? That happened to me. Last year, I read Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series, and I loved it. I knew then that I wanted to read more from her. I continued on to the Bloodlines series, and while I didn’t love the characters quite as much as I did with VA, I still was very happy with Richelle’s writing and storytelling. So when I found out that Richelle was writing a new series, one for adults, I couldn’t wait to read it. Gameboard of the Gods was the first book I ever requested from Netgalley (and technically the whole reason I even joined Netgalley), and I was very excited to be approved. Needless to say, I had high hopes going into Gameboard of the Gods.Honestly, right from the beginning, I was confused. When the story starts, Justin March is exiled from RUNA (a dystopian future combination of most of the US and Canada) in Panama, gambling and being talked to by invisible ravens. Mae Koskinen is a praetorian (a kind of super-soldier who has an implant that ramps up their abilities) who had a friend/lover/something to die and gets into a fight at the funeral. This leads to a punishment and her serving as a private bodyguard to Justin. When they first meet, neither knows who the other is, and they end up sleeping together. Both are shocked when they find out the other’s identity and causes some tension in their relationship. When Justin comes back to the RUNA, he brings along Tessa, the daughter of one of his Panamanian friends, so that she can get a RUNA education.There was nothing completely unlikable about Justin or Mae, other than the fact that they both seemed to be extremely stubborn. And Justin’s ravens just had me confused for most of the book. However, I didn’t find either of them to be overly likable either. Honestly, for the first half of the story, I just didn’t really care about any of the characters. There was just nothing connecting them to me.The whole point of Gameboard of the Gods is that there are murders going on, and there’s a mysterious video from one of the crimes that doesn’t make sense. It’s a big “What is going on?” It seems like something supernatural, but the government of the RUNA has decided that there’s no such thing as gods, goddesses, or supernatural beings.During the first half of Gameboard, Justin and Mae are both investigating different reigions/cults, trying to get some answers about the murders, but also going about Justin’s usual duties as a servitor. A couple of strange things happen that I didn’t really understand, and I found myself getting frustrated. Honestly, the first half was so slow-paced and confusing that I considered DNF’ing. I actually had to take a break and put Gameboard down for almost a week. I really went back and forth on whether or not to pick it back up.I will say that I’m glad I did decide to keep reading Gameboard. It never quite got up to par with the Vampire Academy series, but I definitely felt like it got better. Right after the 50% mark, things started making more sense. We got more back story, more action, and more importantly, more answers. I started to actually find myself enjoying the story and effortlessly continuing on in reading.The ending wrapped up most of the events within Gameboard of the Gods, but it had some twists that were left open, since it’s supposed to be part of a series. I will probably pick up the sequel when it comes out, but it’s not a book that I’m dying to get my hands on.Honestly, I’m not sure whether I would recommend Gameboard. I’ve seen mixed reviews on Goodreads, so it’s not a sure bet. If you can get through the first 50%, it does pick up, but like I said, if you’re expecting something on the same level as Vampire Academy or Bloodlines, I think you’ll be disappointed. I thought the story was okay, and I’m hopeful for the rest of the series, since first books are usually kind of slow. I’d say it’s worth giving a chance.This review can also be found on my blog, Mommy's Reading Break

I received this book for review from the publisher via Netgalley.Taking Back Forever is the second book in the Kindrily series. I read the first book, Grasping at Eternity, back in January as part of a Read & Review in a group I’m in on Goodreads. I was kind of confused through a lot of it, but by the end, I liked it enough that I knew that I’d need to read the rest of the series. When I found out Taking Back Forever was available on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to request it.I typically like to binge-read series, so the constant recap of what happened in previous books tends to annoy me. Taking Back Forever doesn’t have the recap, which is great if you’re reading it right after Grasping at Eternity. However, since I read Taking Back Forever 4 months after Grasping at Eternity, I had forgotten a lot of what happened in the first book. Luckily, though there is no real recap, there are enough references to events from the first book that my memory was jogged enough.Like Grasping at Eternity, Taking Back Forever is told from two different perspectives, but this time Harmony replaces Nathan. It was kind of cool to see things from Harmony’s perspective, since she was one of the more enigmatic characters in the first book. Seeing things from her perspective really helped to get to know her better and to see why she is the way she is.I definitely liked Taking Back Forever better than Grasping at Eternity. Both Maryah, and subsequently, the reader, know more of what’s going on, so it’s easier to get engrossed in the story. Also, there are a lot more emotional moments. There are some deaths and near-deaths that really had my heart racing. But a bigger surprise to me was that there were a lot more, um, steamy scenes. The romance between Maryah and Nathan heats up in a big way!What’s really cool about Taking Back Forever is the ending. I won’t spoil it for you, but there’s an author’s note at the end. She couldn’t decide whether to end with a cliffhanger or not, so she left the decision up to the reader. There’s a nice ending with most things tied-up but enough open to make you eager for book 3 where you can choose to stop. Or you can read a few more chapters that give a little more info, but end on a cliffhanger. I always want more and actually really love cliffhangers, as they get me excited for future books, so I chose to go on. I actually was really happy with the ending. It did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I didn’t think it was a major, heart-stopping, want-to-throw-my-book-at-the-wall cliffhanger. It did make me very anxious for the next book, though!Overall, I thought that Taking Back Forever was a good read, and I thought it was better than its predecessor. If you liked Grasping at Eternity, I think you’ll definitely like Taking Back Forever.This review is also posted on my blog

You can also read this and other reviews on my blog, Mommy's Reading BreakPivot Point is another one of those books from HarperTeen that I heard about on Epic Reads, and I was really excited to read it. When it came in for me at the library, I was thrilled.Alternate universes and the like seem to be a new trend in the YA genre, and I’m loving it. I think it’s really cool to see how different choices can lead to different paths. What was cool about Pivot Point was that there was a paranormal element that led to the alternate futures. Addie lives in the Compound, a secret community of people with supernatural abilities. Addie’s ability is to be able to see the two outcomes that would occur depending on what decision she made. When her parents get divorced, she has a choice of which parent to live with, and when she Searches to make her decision, it leads to the majority of the plot and story of Pivot Point.I thought that the characters in Pivot Point were really great, especially with some of their abilities. Addie is a completely likable girl, and I think that her ability is one of the coolest ever. Who wouldn’t like the ability to see exactly what the outcomes would be when faced with a difficult decision? Her parents also have interesting abilities: Her mother has the power of persuasion, and her father is a human lie detector. Honestly, that wasn’t hugely developed in the story, but it definitely helped form some of the backstory to see some of why Addie is who she is. Her best friend, Laila, really is a great friend, along with the cool power to erase memories. Also, let’s not forget the fact that there are two really cool boys that Addie becomes involved with, one in each future, Trevor (the Norm) and Duke (the telekinetic).The chapters in Pivot Point switch off between Addie’s life with her mom in the paranormal Compound and her “Norm” life with her father. I thought it was really interesting to see the differences, but what I liked even better was on the occasions that we got to see the same event from both perspectives. Obviously, whether or not Addie is on the Compound would make a difference on how the actual events would play out, but I thought it was interesting to see that certain events would happen with either decision, and I really enjoyed the overlap.Throughout Pivot Point, there’s also a bit of a mystery, with the murders occurring on the Compound, and I thought that the resolution of that storyline was brilliant. I never saw it coming, not even the slightest little hint. The ending of the book was great, too. It was awesome to see how the events unfolded and what would lead Addie to make her choice, not to mention which choice she made. Most of the loose ends were tied up, so I’m not sure exactly what to expect from the sequel, since Pivot Point is supposed to be part of a series, but I can’t wait. I thought this was a great story, and I’m excited to read more! I would highly recommend Pivot Point, especially if you’re interested in parallel/alternate reality stories.

You can read this and other reviews on my blog: Mommy's Reading BreakI hadn’t heard too much about Before I Fall, but I had seen that a lot of people had read and enjoyed it, so when I saw the audio book available on my library’s website, I decided to give it a chance. It sounded really good, and I went into it very optimistically.Before I Fall starts with a prologue, and I was a little confused. Of course, I was listening to the audio version and was slightly distracted, so that’s not surprising. However, I went back and listened again and understood what was going on.Once the story actually started, though, I was a little nervous. At the beginning of Before I Fall, Sam is your stereotypical popular girl. She has everything she could ever want, and she and her friends are very quick to pick on the have-nots or unpopular kids. Ugh, honestly, she was very unlikable for a good portion of the book. However, I remained hopeful. It’s pretty safe to assume that if you’re living the same day over and over again, you’re going to have to learn something, and a lot of people loved this book so I assumed that she did.What I liked most, and what ultimately kept me feverishly listening, were the little changes from day to day. After Sam dies on the first day, she is bound and determined to change her fate, and so each day, she makes different decisions, which lead to different outcomes. Like when I read Parallel, I was always curious and fascinated to find what effects her changes would have. As can be assumed, each day, Sam learns new things and starts to understand herself and the people around her a little more. I really enjoyed learning new things along with her and watching her grow. Sometimes she still frustrated me, but she did grow and learn and ultimately become more likable.The ending really surprised me. It was emotional, as I expected, but Before I Fall did not end how I expected, and looking back, I thought that was really great. I can’t really talk too much about it without spoiling everything, but I thought it was a great ending, and definitely had me choking up.As I stated before, I listened to the audio version of Before I Fall, and I thought it was great. Sarah Drew spoke a little faster than most narrators I’ve listened to, which threw me a bit at the beginning, but as I got used to it, I totally thought it fit. I don’t know about you, but as a teenage girl, I definitely talked a lot and very quickly! She never spoke too quickly to understand, and I just thought her voice was a perfect fit for Sam. I would highly recommend that audio version of Before I Fall!Overall, I thought that Before I Fall was a very interesting story, and I absolutely loved seeing the repeating days and the changes they made. I would highly recommend it, and I look forward to reading more from Lauren Oliver!

I’ve had The Iron King on my TBR list for a while. I bought both the audio book and the Kindle book within the last few months because they were on sale. It was voted as the Book of the Month in a group I’m in on Goodreads, and I was in need of a new audio, so I decided to bump The Iron King up my list.The Iron King starts off pretty typically to me. Nerdy/dorky/unliked high school girl finds out that everything is not as she thinks it is in her world, and that certain supernatural creatures exist, and then finds out she’s one of them. I’ve seen this several times in reading paranormal/fantasy novels. It’s predictable but not unlikable.I found it pretty interesting once Meghan enters the Nevernever (Fairyland). I thought that the world was really well-developed and that Kagawa had a very interesting spin on faeries. Sometimes the world building dragged the story down a bit for me, but I find that this happens a lot in series premieres, so I was able to deal with it.Meghan kind of drove me nuts sometimes because I honestly felt like she just intentionally stuck her head in the sand sometimes. She had a hard time facing the truth of her situation in the Nevernever. This got better as the story continued, though. I loved Puck and Ash, and I thought that their interactions created great comic relief.It seemed to take a long time to actually introduce the Iron Fey and Iron King, but I found it really interesting once they did. This was definitely a new and interesting concept to me, and I found myself much more invested in the story. There were a few scenes that I was actually very anxious to see how they’d pan out. And I felt that the ending was great. It definitely wrapped up the events of The Iron King nicely but also left enough to open to make me want to read the rest of the series.Just as a little extra, I listened to this one on audio. I thought that Khristine Hvam did a really good job. And after flipping through my kindle version here and there to see what page I was on, I saw some words that I would never have pronounced correctly, so I’m glad I listened to the audio version. I would recommend The Iron King in any form, but I would definitely recommend the audio version.This review can also be found on my blog at http://mommysreadingbreak.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/review-the-iron-king-by-julie-kagawa/

I actually got Winter’s Passage as a Kindle freebie a couple years ago. At the time, I had never even heard of The Iron Fey series. However, after reading The Iron King, I needed just a little more before moving on to review books, so I picked up this novella.Winter’s Passage picks up right at the end of The Iron King, when Ash comes to bring Meghan back to his mother, Queen Mab. She requests to just check on Puck before she goes. Since Meghan lives in Kentucky, and Puck is in a tree in New Orleans, the easiest way to get there is to go through the Nevernever. As the are crossing through the Wyldwood, they sense something chasing them. The rest of the Winter’s Passage is their journey to the Winter Court as the mysterious Hunter gives chase.I thought that Winter’s Passage was a nice little story to put in between books 1 and 2 of the series, but that it wasn’t really necessary. It was nice to see some old friends (the dryads and Grimalkin) and to learn that there is always more going on in the Nevernever than we see or even expect, but at just 49 pages, it was a little too short for me to really get invested in anything. Just when I felt like things were getting good, it ended.Overall, I thought that Winter’s Passage was a good little filler story if you’re just looking for more, and the ending definitely made me anxious to see what would happen in the next book, but it isn’t something that I would say you had to read.You can also read this and other reviews on my blog: Mommy's Reading Break

I received this book for review from the publisher via Netgalley.I had never heard of Twerp or Mark Goldblatt. However, I was browsing on Netgalley and thought that the description sounded interesting, so I requested it. I went into it with an open mind, but I was unfortunately unimpressed.Twerp is written as a series of journal entries written by Julian, as an opportunity to get out of writing an essay on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. I'm not a fan of this writing style. I'm not really sure why, as in theory, it's not much different from any other book written in first person narrative, but it definitely reads differently to me. Also, I did not find the characters to be very likable. Julian seems like he knows the right thing to do in many situations but is pretty much a follower. His friend, Lonnie, is the leader of the group, and overall, doesn't seem like a very nice guy. He seems very able to manipulate Julian into doing things he doesn't want to do, and it leads to situations that I guess are supposed to be amusing or thought-provoking, but they just made me cringe and want to smack Julian for not standing up for himself.Throughout Twerp, I felt like Julian couldn't catch a break. He just seemed to keep making stupid choices that led to stupid consequences. He does seem to redeem himself a bit towards the end of the book, but definitely not enough to make me like him.Twerp wasn't horrible, though. Other than when I thought one scene was going in a different direction than it did, I never considered DNF'ing it. I just wasn't really as invested as I could have been.I think Twerp would be appealing to people who like this writing style. It was fairly reminiscent of The Perks of Being a Wallflower to me, which I was also not a fan of. However, I know that a lot of people did really like that book, so they might like Twerp, too. I'm rating it as okay.This review is also posted on my blog: Mommy's Reading Break

I received this book for review from the publisher via Netgalley.4.5 stars, rounded up to 5When I first requested Dare You To, I knew very little about it, other than that several people were really excited about it. When I realized it was the sequel to Pushing the Limits, I wasn’t sure what to think. I knew a lot of people really liked Pushing the Limits, but I hadn’t read it yet. However, I requested it and was approved and committed to reading it. Once I finished Pushing the Limits, I was super excited to read Dare You To.I wasn’t sure exactly what to think going into Dare You To. I absolutely adored Noah and Echo from Pushing the Limits. Their story was super emotional but very romantic and heart-warming at the same time. Beth’s role in Pushing the Limits was fairly minor, as one of Noah’s friends, and honestly, she was kind of a bitch. However, I kept an open mind.After an incident with Beth’s mother and her mother’s boyfriend, Beth is arrested. Her father’s brother blackmails her mother into signing over custody to him, and Beth is not happy about it. We don’t find out the full story right away, but Beth feels like he abandoned her when she was younger and resents him coming back in to control her life now, especially since his taking custody means she has to move to a new town with new rules, one of which that she have no contact with her mother or old friends.With some help from her uncle, Beth quickly meets Ryan, a baseball player from her school, and the boy she met at a Taco Bell when the story first opened. They had a bad first meeting, and they are both very unsure of the other. However, they start to form a very hesitant friendship and find themselves spending more time together and getting to knew each other a little more.Unlike with Pushing the Limits, I didn’t find myself immediately drawn in to the story of Dare You To or really relating to Beth. We know a little bit of Beth’s story from Pushing the Limits, so we know she’s had a rough life. Because of this, she’s got a very tough exterior. She has walls upon walls built up around herself, and she doesn’t really let anybody in. However, she really grows a lot throughout Dare You To, and I found that really interesting to watch. I also didn’t really care for Ryan. He has a very demanding father, but in comparison to Beth, Echo, Noah, and Isaiah, he pretty much led a charmed life. Sure, things aren’t perfect, and his home life is uncomfortable, but his situation really pales in comparison to the others. He was kind of frustrating and annoying with his “I don’t lose” personality, and his fascination with Beth seemed a little unbelievable at first. However, as the story progressed, I felt like he redeemed himself, and I started to really like him, too.In several ways, I actually found Dare You To to be a more emotional story than Pushing the Limits. Though Echo had some bad history with her brother dying and the situation with her mother, she did have a father and stepmother who cared about her. Beth’s father left when she was young, and her mother is an alcoholic with an abusive boyfriend. For this reason, she has really grown to have major trust issues and very low self-worth. Even as things heat up with Ryan, she strongly doubts his feelings for her. Also, every scene involving her mother was heartbreaking in one way or another. I really felt like Beth was a more tortured soul than Echo was, and as I learned more about her history, I found myself really liking and caring about her.Overall, I really thought that Dare You To was a great book and would highly recommend it, especially if you loved Pushing the Limits. It may take you a bit longer to get into it because Beth and Ryan are such different characters from Echo and Noah, but I think that once you do, it will grab you and not let you go. It releases next Tuesday (May 28th), so definitely pick it up!This review can also be found on my blog, Mommy's Reading Break

I received this book for review from the publisher via Netgalley.Considering that I primarily read Young Adult Fiction, the fact that I requested an Adult Nonfiction book from Netgalley may seem a little strange. However, I like to read all sorts of things, and I am a married woman. My husband and I have been married for almost 9 years, and we have our ups and downs. We are not on the brink of divorce, but we are also certainly not perfect. I thought that The 7-Minute Marriage Solution sounded like a good read, something that would help make our marriage better and stronger, and I went into it with high expectations.Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the book for me. First, the blurb on the front talks about “Scientific Research”, but I felt a lot of it came from Christianity. I do believe in God, and I would technically classify myself as a Christian (I guess), but I’m not very religious, and even if I were, I didn’t go into this book looking for or expecting a highly Christian approach.I will admit that I only made it to 33%. I didn’t even finish the section on 7 Behaviors to Stop. Okay, so at 224 pages, 33% is approximately 75 pages. That’s not much for the most part, but I felt like it dragged. I kept reading sections over and over and was just confused. Most importantly, I felt like what I did read didn’t deliver on its promises. For example, one of the 7 behaviors to stop is having unrealistic expectations of your partner. I don’t know about you, but for me, this was a no-brainer. Obviously, having unrealistic expectations is not healthy for your relationship. However, I didn’t feel like Arterburn gave any solid advice on how to do some of the things he was suggesting. When things are easier said than done, they don’t really help.I didn’t hate The 7-Minute Marriage Solution, and in fact, I may go back and skim certain sections if I feel they apply to me or my marriage, but it just wasn’t a book that I could sit down and read cover-to-cover.

I’ve said this before, but I love novellas, so when I found out that there was a novella between Pushing the Limits and Dare You To, I knew I had to read it. I also really liked that it actually focuses on different characters. Crossing the Line is Echo’s best friend, Lila’s, story. It is right after graduation, and it starts off with Lila finding out that Lincoln has lied to her about something.I really liked Lila’s story. Lincoln seems like a good guy, and the way they met was kind of interesting, a little coincidental, and I enjoyed their interactions. There also is one really amusing scene involving some expensive shoes.Honestly, while I did enjoy Crossing the Line, I felt like it was lacking a little something. I think if it had been a little longer, or even better, a full-length book, it would have been able to develop a lot more naturally, and really dive deeper into their story and relationship, but overall, I thought it was a really good read.This review can also be found on my blog, Mommy's Reading Break

I was a bit hesitant going into Pushing the Limits. I have kind of been in a book slump where I would think books were okay or maybe like them a little, but the books that reached out and grabbed me and made me keep reading were few and far in between. And I have a pretty hit or miss track record with contemporaries. However, I had heard good things about Pushing the Limits (which is why I purchased it on sale back in December), and I had an eARC of Dare You To to read, so I decided to pick it up. And let me just tell you that it did not disappoint. Pushing the Limits was exactly the book I needed to help me with my slump!The two main characters are Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins, and the book is told in their alternating perspectives (which are clearly marked at the beginning of each chapter). When we first meet them both, they are meeting with and waiting, respectively, for the school’s new clinical social worker. We learn very early on that both of them have had some sort of trauma or difficulty in their pasts, but we aren’t sure exactly what it is at first. Echo has had a very traumatic experience that her brain has repressed the memory of, and she mostly works with the social worker/therapist to try to remember them. Noah is in foster care after the death of his parents. They are thrown together when Echo begins tutoring Noah. Very early on, they have a very tumultuous relationship, but the more time they spend together, the more they find things they have in common.I thought that Echo was a wonderful character. She’s insecure and confused, but after her past experiences, it’s not surprising. She has scars all over her arms, and she can’t remember how they got there. She knows one tiny aspect that she wants to keep secret from everyone else, but because of this, she is subject to all sorts of whispers and rumors. She has gone from the popular girl to the outcast. She also has a strained relationship with her father and stepmother. I really enjoyed seeing her navigating these relationships while trying to remember what happened to her, reclaim her past, and establish her future.Noah is amazing. I don’t typically like the bad boy with the good heart, but we very quickly find out that there’s much more to him than what he seems. He’s not really all that bad, but does have a hard exterior, for a very good reason. His interactions with Echo were some of my favorite scenes in the book!Echo and Noah each have two close friends, with one that really stands out. For Echo, it’s Lila McCormick. She’s a pretty, popular girl, but she’s not petty (That would be reserved for Grace.) She is really there for Echo when she needs her and a great friend. This made me really happy because my oldest daughter’s name is Lila, and I’m not sure I could have handled a bad character with one of my daughter’s names! Noah’s friend is Isaiah. With piercings and tattoos, he comes across as scary and intimidating, but he’s a really great friend to Noah.I think my favorite part about Pushing the Limits was the mystery. We learn little bits about Echo’s and Noah’s pasts at a time, so it really takes almost the whole book to find out the full extent of their pasts. It was a bit dark at times and definitely dealt with some tough subjects, but I thought it really worked, as it was interspersed with friendship, love, and character growth.The ending was great, too. We get enough resolution to be happy with events, but enough left open for more character growth and realism.Overall, I thought that Pushing the Limits was a really captivating story. I loved the writing style, I loved the characters, and though a bit sad, I loved the storyline, especially the way it all came together. I would absolutely recommend Pushing the Limits (and already have, in fact!)This review can also be found on my blog

The latest trend I’ve noticed in YA seems to be some kind of alternate reality or version of yourself, parallel universes, or twins. Honestly, I think they sound pretty cool. If you read my review of Parallel last week, you’ll know that I really enjoyed it. After hearing great things and really liking Parallel, I was pretty excited for both Dualed and Pivot Point by Kasie West. I haven’t read Pivot Point yet, but I was disappointed by Dualed.I thought that the synopsis of Dualed sounded really good, but I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting. Dualed started off pretty well, with West’s brother’s best friend, Chord, receiving his assignment. West and Luc go with Chord to find his Alt, though they know better than to assist him in the actual kill. However, the assignment doesn’t end well, leading West to the deepest grief of her life. Honestly, after the beginning, I thought I was off to a great start.But from there, I just felt that the story dragged. I didn’t really like West very much, and she started to irritate me. As the main character and narrator of Dualed, West was the central focus of the story, but I just couldn’t relate to her. Also, as I went along, I found the premise bothered me a little. I’m not sure why, because I loved The Hunger Games, and both of them contain teenagers killing other teenagers, but for some reason, it just bothered me with Dualed. Maybe it’s because the way the book starts out, the description, or the cover, but I was expecting bad-ass Alts with gladiator-style fights to the death, or one Alt to be obviously evil. However, it turned out to seem more like totally normal kids trying to kill each other, otherwise they’d be killed themselves. There are even pathetic Alts who beg for their lives. I guess, after a while, it just rubbed me the wrong way.I considered DNF’ing Dualed several times, but I pushed on. First, I almost never DNF books. I really don’t like to do it. But more importantly, I had heard really good things about Dualed, so I figured it must get better. I did really like the last 30 or so pages. They were pretty much exactly what I was expecting throughout the rest of the book, but honestly, I can’t say that the ending was good enough to justify my trudging slowly through the rest of the book. Dualed is also going to be part of a series, but I can’t think of anything the rest could be about, and honestly, I just didn’t connect enough to the characters or the story line to continue the series.Honestly, I’ve seen several good reviews for Dualed, so I can’t say that I wouldn’t recommend it, but it just wasn’t the book for me. The beginning and the end were pretty good, and though I wasn’t invested, I never really hated the book, so I’ll rate it as okay.This review can also be found on my blog

This book was received from the publisher for review via Netgalley.After a friend of mine downloaded Twigs off of Netgalley, I read the description and thought it sounded pretty good, so I requested it as well. Unfortunately, i just couldn’t get into this book and only made it to 27% before I put it down.I’m not totally sure what it was about Twigs that I didn’t like, but I just was not connecting to the story.First, there’s Twigs, aka Madeline, who is the main character and narrator of the story. I just didn’t find her to be likable. She seems like a completely miserable human being who hates everything about life and doesn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities. And the other characters, such as her boss, mother, sister, and absentee father, didn’t really seem any better.At 27%, I also felt like not much happened, aside from a lot of whining from Twigs, and one very uncomfortable incident in an alley. I really didn’t feel like much else was going on, and I was bored. However, that alley incident made me completely uncomfortable. I just had dread curling in the pit of my stomach over what may have happened in that scene or will probably happen in a future scene, and honestly, it was just something that I wasn’t prepared to deal with during this reading.It’s hard to really say much about Twigs since I only made it to 27% before I gave up, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a horrible book. I think it would probably be good for someone who is looking for a darker, slower-paced, tough subject contemporary. However, it just wasn’t for me, and I decided not to force the issue.This review is also posted on my blog: http://mommysreadingbreak.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/dnf-arc-review-twigs-by-alison-ashley-formento/

This review is also posted on my blog hereI received this book for review from the publisher via Edelweiss.I’d heard of Jessi Kirby several times and had actually heard the title of Golden quite a bit as well, but it wasn’t until I read April from Good Books and Good Wine’s review that I actually decided to request it on Edelweiss and give it a read. Also, my friend Jac (For Love and Books) started it a day or two before me and was absolutely sure that I would love it. So I went into it with high hopes.Golden started off pretty well because from the very first sentence, we are told that Parker is trying to hold on to a small secret in a town that can’t keep a secret. Of course, you immediately know that a town that can’t keep a secret is bound to actually hold a few, so I was curious. Also, we very quickly get to the main point of the novel because it doesn’t take long for Parker to find Julianna’s journal, and therein starts the main story arc.I found Parker to be a bit frustrating, as she is the typical good girl. She has spent most of her life doing what she is told and what is expected of her, so when she even thinks about branching out to do something unexpected, she has a really hard time coming to terms with it. However, with Julianna’s journal in her hands, Parker finds herself beginning to do more unexpected things, starting right when she decides to take the journal in the first place. However, she grows a lot throughout Golden, and I actually found her to be quite likable by the end. Her friend Kat was definitely her opposite, but someone that I felt really added a lot to Parker’s life. And the best part? There is exactly one swoon-worthy boy in Trevor. However, Parker is still a little annoying in her interactions with him, but as someone who has never had a boyfriend, it’s not really surprising.The best part of Golden for me was Julianna’s story. I thought it was interesting to uncover her secrets and realize that she was not quite the person that everyone thought she was. Even reading her journal was an interesting experience for me, since I was curious about the events leading up to her death. I actually expected a Jodi Picoult’s The Pact-like twist in her story, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Jessi Kirby did not go in that direction.There were some surprises and interesting turns-of-events that I didn’t see coming and that I thought were handled very well and really added to the story. It was amazing that the sequence of events would lead to where it did. And there were also a couple of unexpected characters.I thought that the ending was great. At one point, I was really frustrated with where I thought Golden was going, and I was not happy about it at all. However, the ending surprised me in a really good way.Overall, I thought that Golden was definitely one of the better contemporary novels I’ve read. It was really good, it had me flipping the pages, and at no point did I consider putting it down. However, it was missing something. I can’t even put my finger on what might have been missing, but I just didn’t love it. I did like it a lot, though, and would definitely recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of contemporary. It comes out on May 14th, so grab your copy!