tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19553662919793707562024-03-17T22:03:12.742-05:00A Good AddictionBecause there are worse things in life than buying books... and more of them... and maybe just a few more.Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.comBlogger1295125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-24790597295885670942014-06-07T16:00:00.000-05:002014-06-07T22:40:36.822-05:00Review: The Truth About Alice by Jen Mathieu (Tour Stop)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Out on Tuesday was an amazing, impact, beautiful book: The Truth About Alice. It's different in so many ways, and had such a lasting impact on me. One of the things that made this book so stand out for me was how well I knew Alice by the end, despite never actually getting a direct POV from her until the very end (and what perfection it is). Also stand out? How strongly each of the four narrators is built, how I was able to understand each one, even sympathize without losing sight of the bigger picture, or the pain Alice was going through. Bullying and slut shaming is so a prevalent problem, and one so complex - and this book captures that effortlessly.<br />
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This is one of those books that push you and challenge you, and is pretty uncomfortable at times. It's also so frustrating to see all Alice is going through, and to be able to see so much other "logic" against the reasons people hate her yet that's overlooked. And yet, even thinking in my head, if Brandon was drinking, it might not matter at all Alice was texting him while he drove. He also didn't have to look at his phone. But then you think of those little moments too many of us do that we don't think will matter, and suddenly it does. Or maybe none of that mattered at all - maybe Brandon would've had that accident regardless of the alcohol or texting. But even with that side of logic playing in, I was so far invested in the story I was right there with each of the four characters, waiting and hoping and worried and a whole host of emotions.<br />
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Even months after reading this book, so many bits of it continue to stand out for me. But of everything, Kurt is who I want to highlight. This sweet, awkward outcast who gets so ignored, and who maybe doesn't immediately do the "Right" thing but when you already do suffer, what really is right? He was caught in that gap of being on the edges, of being ignored, and knowing things really could get worse if he were to speak up. And when things already aren't great, is it fair to ask that of a person? It's these kind of gray areas that really challenged me as a reader and a person, and with Kurt and the rest of the cast, so often, even if I didn't agree with their choice of action, I understood it.<br />
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While this isn't an enjoyable read, per say, considering the content and the ways it will test you, it's an impacting and important and wonderful one. As a writer and editor, it's utterly astounding in its complexity, in the multiple points of view and the then and now type of story telling. As a reader, it left a mark on me. And as a person, it tested me. I really do love this book, and cannot recommend it enough to anyone and everyone.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo Credit: George Hixson</span></td></tr>
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For more about Alice, this wonderful book, and the crazy talented author Jen Mathieu, check out the full list of blogs in this tour below. And run out to your local bookstore and grab this one, because everyone needs it in their life:<br />
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<a href="http://www.memyshelfandi.com/">6/3: Me, My Shelf and I</a><br />
<a href="http://exlibriskate.com/">6/4: ExLibris Kate</a><br />
<a href="http://foreveryoungadult.com/">6/5: Forever Young Adult</a><br />
<a href="http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/">6/6: Perpetual Page Turner</a><br />
6/7: Here!<br />
<a href="http://girlsinthestacks.com/">6/8: Girls in the Stacks</a><br />
<a href="http://rebekahfaubionbooks.wordpress.com/">6/9: Rebekah Faubion, Writer</a><br />
<a href="http://sleeplessreadsreviews.blogspot.ca/">6/10: Sleepless Reads </a>Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-47411501195690976512014-03-12T14:42:00.000-05:002014-03-12T14:42:17.036-05:00Review: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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SUMMARY: What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you?<br />
<span id="freeText17162221344363350418"><br />When
sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is
grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final
months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend
Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with
a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her
ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope
(doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some
childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes
into remission.<br /><br />Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of
all that she’s said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey.
But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the
one person who matters most? <br /><br />Julie Murphy’s SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY is a fearless and moving tour de force about love, life, and facing your own mortality</span><br />
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OPINION:<br />
<br />
Reviewing a book that captures a huge part of your heart and mind, that hits all your right buttons, that speaks on so many levels to you, is sometimes impossible to do. How do you really convey everything amazing about this book, without being able to give needed details due to spoilers? That's where I'm at with this one. I feel like I should say, I know Julie. But that in no way influences my intense love of this book. Honestly, I'd almost wish we weren't friends so maybe people would believe me that much more when I say this is one of those books you must read. No matter what. (But I love Julie, thus the almost).<br />
<br />
But this book. I connected so hard to Alice. I love this prickly girl who flat out gets revenge on people because she thinks she's dying, and she's angry, and hey she won't be around to handle the fall out. No, she's not a nice person in a lot of ways. But she goes through so much growth. I love the girl she becomes, the change in how she views the world. And, oh, god, the sweetness and connection between her and Harvey. I can see why readers might not like Alice. She does some awful things. But I rooted hard for her. And if I'm being totally honest, I saw part of myself in her. I think whether people want to admit it or not, everyone at least imagines what it'd be like to do what you want, regardless of the consequences. Then there's Alice, who really does it. I admire that. Even if it's in part because she won't have to handle the fallout. But I also just admire how take life by the horns she is, how determined she is. There is an immense strength in this girl, and I can't help but love her.<br />
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And Harvey. Oh, sweet, sweet Harvey. I love this boy. To pieces. He is so stunningly different than a lot of guys in YA. At the start, he and Alice haven't talked in way too long, despite the friendship that used to be between them. There is such palpable pain there, and it drew me right in. Then comes Alice's diagnosis, and he's back in her life. He knows she's using him, but he doesn't care. And maybe to some that makes him weak, but to me, it just melted me for this boy, this person who cares about someone so much they take the time they can get, do what they can to help that person in what is likely their final months. Yes, she treats him really crappy at times, and yet, I could never hate her for it, or hate him for taking it. Something about these two, both apart and together, enamored me and broke me. For all the ways he's possibly weak, he's got this huge strength, and a breaking point of his own. He challenges Alice, and he challenges himself. And these two just... break me. There's no other word for it. Harvey is amazing. He's that solid thing you can fall back on, yet he's also that thing that will let you fall when it's best for you int he end.<br />
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The pure brilliance of this book to me is not only the stunning concept, but how amazingly its executed. Told in dual POV between Harvey and Alice, but also in a nonlinear fashion, with the past mixed into the present on both sides. It's a style that I sometimes can't wrap my head around trying to do, and Julie does it so, so, so well. I followed the overall storyline so well, adding these pieces of the past to the here and now, combining the stories and constantly feeling my emotions shift and change. The voice is distinct and easy to fall into. Everything about this book sang to me. From the not so easy to swallow choices Alice makes to the raw yet sweet friendship and romance to the roller coaster of emotions throughout.<br />
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I'm calling it now. This is my best book of 2014.<br />
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<b>Details</b>:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Source: ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Age Level: 14 and up</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hardcover: 336 pages</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publisher: Balzer + Bray </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publication Date: March 18, 2014</div>
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Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-89777112507805468702014-03-03T08:00:00.000-06:002014-03-03T08:00:08.836-06:00Book Review: Third Degree by Julie Cross<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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SUMMARY: I used to be “Isabel Jenkins, child prodigy.” As lame as that sounds, at least it was an identity. But now I’m not sure what I am. I just failed the most important exam of my life—the emotional readiness test required to get into a medical residency program—and it turns out my parents can’t stand each other. Now I’m trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces of my life, and that means re-enrolling as a college freshman, but this time I’m shutting the books and majoring in being eighteen.<br />
<br />
But so far, my roommate hates me and I’m not into the party scene. The only good thing about school has been getting to know my insanely hot RA. Marshall Collins makes me wonder about everything I missed while I was growing up too fast. Pretty soon we’re hanging out constantly, but for the first time, I find myself wanting more than a no-strings-attached physical relationship. And the lesson I really need is one Marsh definitely can’t teach me: love. Because I’m going to be alone forever if I don’t learn fast.<br />
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OPINION: This book was so dang cute, and hilarious. Isabel cracked me up so much, from the often cut and dry way she saw things, and even her trying to learn sarcasm - and spout it back out - just had such an endearing element for me. As utterly brilliant as she is, it's clear how much basic socializing she's missed out on, and how awkward and rash she can come off as. There is such a well done mix between this intelligent, driven girl and someone who doesn't always see past the next step - and therefore can't see how their current actions might have effects further down. With that, there is a really great character arc, this huge moment of growth for her throughout this, built on that but not only reliant upon it.<br />
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And Marshall. Oh, melty sigh. He is so perfect for Isabel, willing to handle her weirdness, her out of sync personality, but also falling for her pretty dang quickly. He is charming and funny, sweet and sensitive, that perfect blend of kind of cocky but mostly just genuinely kind. He teaches Isabel about so much, and my favorite thing about them is how it isn't really only bedroom based. Though there is certainly heat between them, neither one jumps right into bed, and there is definitely an overall slow burn between them. There is a lot of sexual tension to this one, but I found it more sweet than sexy, which only made me love it more.<br />
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Despite Isabel being a child prodigy, and having her MD at just eighteen, there are so many relatable things about her and her story, this girl who has so much to learn and even if sometimes she's a bit petulant, overall, she just wants to work things out and better herself. Her interactions with Justin cracked me up, the guy who is essentially her nemesis on intern rotation, and the other prodigy who ends up getting a residency while she doesn't. He antagonizes her so often, and she reciprocates, but there is still just this great element between them that lured me in. And going from a physical only, otherwise annoyed beyond belief with each other relationship with Justin to what becomes so much more with Marshall really only made Marshall shine even more.<br />
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There are a few plots woven throughout this one, but the character arcs shine the most for me. Isabel goes through such a solidly done, tremendous change, and Marshall even goes through his own changes, and the pair together is a new favorite of mine. The pacing is great, and this is a book I read straight through in a sitting. With a wit throughout the writing and a great voice that is so very Isabel, this one has so much going for it and absolutely delivered.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Details:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Source: Netgalley</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Pages: 240 (ebook)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publisher: Flirt (Random House)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publication Date: March 25, 2014</div>
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Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-10920921521685416302014-02-18T08:14:00.000-06:002014-02-18T08:14:47.513-06:00Character Interview and ARC Contest: Gray from Frozen by Erin Bowman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm so excited to have Gray from Erin Bowman's (amazing and painful) series Taken and the upcoming Frozen here today! These are some of my favorite books, and I mostly want to kidnap Gray, wrap him in bubble wrap, and hide him from Erin for all the things she puts him through. And if you thought Taken had some punches, wait till you read Frozen. Because. Wow. And ouch.<br />
<br />
So let's get to it!<br />
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<b>Describe yourself in four words. </b><br />
<br />
This feels like a test...<br />
<br />
I'm pretty stubborn. And impulsive. A good shot with a bow and a loyal brother.<br />
<br />
Oh, look, I've already failed and gone over. But come on, four words? How can anyone be summed up in four words?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>What is your biggest fear?</b><br />
<br />
Losing my brother. I know I act like he's a pain--always playing the parent between us, nagging me left and right--but he's my second half. When he was Heisted, it was like I misplaced a piece of myself, like I was slowly coming undone. Then I got him back and realized I never wanted to go through that again. I don't know how to be without Blaine. I'm lost without him.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>So.. you've found yourself in a bit of a tight spot caught between Bree and Emma. I'm going to keep my (very strong) feelings to myself, but what's the hardest thing for you in having a connection to each of them?</b><br />
<br />
This is one of those questions where I'm going to sit here smiling and pretending you didn't ask me something so personal, and you're going to move on to the next topic without batting an eye.<br />
<br />
<i>(Kari's insert - I am totally batting eyes here. Darn you, Gray.)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Considering the title of book 2 is Frozen, what's worse for you: Freezing, or being too hot?</b><br />
<br />
Heat's not so bad. It usually lets up when the sun goes down, and on a really sweltering day you can always ditch layers. But extreme cold? There is nothing worse than being unable to get warm, shivering no matter how much clothing you pull on. When you can't feel your toes and a deep breath burns like fire, hibernating animals start looking a lot smarter than humans. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Are you glad Emma followed you over the Wall, after all that happened afterwards, or do you think she would've been better off to stay?</b><br />
<br />
She definitely would have been safer if she stayed behind. But that's not what you're asking, is it?<br />
<br />
Here's the thing--It doesn't matter what I think now. Emma followed me because she wanted answers, and now she has them. Now she sees that staying in Claysoot would be the same as living in a locked cell. It's a prison, that place we called home. I'm glad she's out, even after everything. I'm going to get them all out.<br />
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<br />
<b>What was your first kiss like?</b><br />
<br />
I was twelve. Rosie Santersen dared me to shoot one of Blaine's arrows over the Wall. I told her no, he'd be furious. Then she said she'd kiss me if I did it. So I went and fetched my bow. Blaine was furious. He had me make five new arrows to replace the lost one, but it was worth it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Boxers or briefs?</b><br />
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Like, boxes and crates? Debriefing sessions during a meeting? I don't know what you're asking me.<br />
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<i>(Kari's other insert, I'm choosing to believe this means he goes commando.)</i><br />
<br />
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<b>Finally, I have to ask. If you could get back at Erin for all the torture she is putting you through, what would be the first thing you do?</b><br />
<br />
I think I'll hold off on saying anything just yet. Maybe Erin has a happy--or even semi-happy--ending in store for me. I'd hate to give her a reason to upend that.<br />
<br />
That said, if something horrible does happen, I hear she hates clowns...<br />
<br />
<br />
So there you guys have it. If you haven't met Gray before, I hope this entices you to get his book! He's a favorite of mine, that's for sure! And he kind of breaks me. Or maybe that's Erin. Because she's really kind of mean? (In a good way, I think?) (Okay, my heart is still bleeding but whatever.)<br />
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And for those of you who have read the first book and are as eager for the next one as I was, I've got an ARC of Frozen up for grabs to one lucky winner! This is US Only, and just fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter!<br />
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d2546a5/" id="rc-d2546a5" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-52991818922302818512014-02-17T08:56:00.003-06:002014-02-17T08:56:35.508-06:00YA Review: Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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SUMMARY: When Jonah is forced to move from Hamilton to Cross Pointe for the second half of his senior year, "miserable" doesn't even begin to cover it. He feels like the doggy-bag from his mother's first marriage and everything else about her new life—with a new husband, new home and a new baby—is an upgrade. The people at Cross Pointe High School are pretentious and privileged—and worst of all is Brighton Waterford, the embodiment of all things superficial and popular. Jonah’s girlfriend, Carly, is his last tie to what feels real... until she breaks up with him.<br />
<br />
For Brighton, every day is a gauntlet of demands and expectations. Since her father died, she’s relied on one coping method: smile big and pretend to be fine. It may have kept her family together, but she has no clue how to handle how she's really feeling. Today is the anniversary of his death and cracks are beginning to show. The last thing she needs is the new kid telling her how much he dislikes her for no reason she can understand. She's determined to change his mind, and when they're stuck together for the night, she finally gets her chance.<br />
<br />
Jonah hates her at 3p.m., but how will he feel at 3 a.m.?<br />
<br />
One night can change how you see the world. One night can change how you see yourself.<br />
<br />
<br />
OPINION:<br />
<br />
I loved Schdmit's debut, Send Me a Sign, not only for the strong voice and solid writing, but the incredibly realistic characters, and Bright Before Sunrise delivers just as well. Jonah and Brighton are so easy to understand and relate to, so easy to root for, even when they are on opposite ends of an issue. There is something so effortless at the way Schmidt's characters appear on the page, and she's an auto-buy author for me as a result.<br />
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Jonah and Brighton are enemies of a sort to start. Jonah's the new kid at this ritzy school, with no desire to fit in or be part of clubs/events. He just wants to get back to his old town and see his girlfriend. He wants to get away from his mom and new stepdad, and he doesn't know how to handle his mom's decision to have another baby. Brighton is the most popular girl in school, nice, caring, pretty, and that person everyone wants to know and be friends with. But she's still in constant pain over her father's death and now, the day before a memorial for her father, she's determined to get Jonah's participation in a school volunteer thing to be able to have 100% participation, an achievement her father had years ago. This is what starts the enemies type element, and what comes after is so, so wonderfully done.<br />
<br />
I loved Jonah's character so much. This sweet, kind boy who now, is bitter, frustrated, and, after his girlfriend breaks up with him at the start of the book, lonely and a bit broken. He doesn't know where he fits in life anymore, he's quit baseball, and he's an outsider in his own family. A girl like Brighton, someone who seemingly has everything, who's the rich, popular girl, is the last person he wants to be around. Jonah is snarky and a bit standoffish to start, but there's truly just something about him that I really connected to. There is so much to like about him, though, despite how grumpy he might seem at the beginning, and I melted so hard for him multiple times.<br />
<br />
And Brighton. She's such a multifaceted character, this girl who has taken on so much and does it with grace, yet is carrying so much pain due to her father's death. It's not even a super recent death, but it's still effecting her constantly all the same. I loved her by herself, and I loved with her Jonah, watching her soften him up and watching her own walls slowly be taken down.<br />
<br />
This book is a romance, but I would say the stronger story line is two people in bad places fixing themselves and fixing each other. It certainly ends on a sweet and romantic note, but especially considering it takes place only over the course of one night, it's a softer side of romance. And despite being only over one night's course, I so wholeheartedly believed the changes these two went through, the connection the formed, and the depth of their budding relationship. I'll always believe that sometimes that right person comes along at exactly the right moment, and forget logic and everything else, it's truly just right in that moment and bridges something to strong to carry on - and this is what happens with these two.<br />
<br />
The voices are spot on for each, distinct and easy to differentiate. The story is one that is seemingly slow, it's two people going through stuff during one night, clinging to what happens in the darkness before a new day rises and things might be set back to "normal". And yet, this is one I read in one sitting, I couldn't put it down or get enough of these two characters. They're characters I connected to so strongly and emotionally. This is everything I love in YA contemporary, and even if it sometimes did feel a bit slow, it still just utterly captivated me.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Details</b>:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Source: Netgalley</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Grade Level: 7 and up</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hardcover: 288 pages</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publisher: Walker Childrens</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publication Date: February 18, 2014</div>
Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-90197997593202334002014-02-12T12:40:00.000-06:002014-02-12T12:40:43.690-06:00YA Book Review: Split Second by Kasie West<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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SUMMARY: Addie has always been able to see the future
when faced with a choice, but that doesn't make her present any easier.
Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. So when Addie's
dad invites her to spend her winter break with him in the Norm world,
she jumps at the chance. There she meets the handsome and achingly
familiar Trevor. He's a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart
do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets
that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious
of Addie than interested in her. She wants to change that.<br />
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Laila,
her best friend, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie's
memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who
don't want this to happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a
brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the
Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.<br />
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In the suspenseful sequel to <em>Pivot Point</em>,
Addie tries desperately to retrieve her lost memories and piece
together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she
nearly forgot.</div>
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OPINION:<br />
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I adored Pivot Point. So much. Sneaking pages when I should've been doing other stuff level of love. And I have to admit, the ending left me aching. I understood it. I believed it. But my heart had a few choice words for Kasie.<br />
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So finally, when I got to read Split Second, my heart did a happy dance. Then I actually, you know, read the book. And so, so, so awesome. Kasie has this uncanny ability for wit and humor infused throughout her books, this utterly amazing voice that just draws me right in, and her books always stand out in my mind as a result. I loved Addie in PP, but was so excited to get Laila's POV blended in this time around. And for all the ways Addie stood out and had this distinct voice and style, Laila stood out just as much. I never got confused on who was narrating, and I rooted so much for both girls.<br />
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I also love how their friendship was such a forerunning element of this book, even with their individual romances in there too. And that is just one of the many ways this book stands out so much to me. Yes, Laila betrayed Addie in a way, and yes, there are some big things they have to go through. But the trials they endure just make me believe in their friendship even more strongly. Even more, I truly love the sense of rightness that exists even with Addie's lost memories, these things that end up happening despite happening in a previous line for her in the past, and how she goes through all that.<br />
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And Trevor. Oh. Trevor. Right alongside her knack for wit, Kasie also has a talent for writing honest and real guy characters, who are just so dang sweet, even if a little bit flawed and not always in the right. Trevor slayed me in PP, and he only melted my heart even more this time around. I love his story, the things he's been through, and I loved the guy he's become as a result that we saw in PP. Now that's brought back in, reintroduced and, in a surprisingly solid fashion, built on even more. Even having known him already, I had no problems watching Addie get to know him again, seeing the things they connect over and everything else.<br />
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There is so much to utterly love about this book. While it probably can be read as a stand alone, considering how awesome the duology is, and how well the books play into each other, I recommend reading the first. Plus, if you're anything like me, you won't be able to get enough of Kasie's writing anyhow. The pacing is stellar, the plot has wonderful twists and turns, and the characters shine.<br />
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<b>Details:</b></div>
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Source: ARC</div>
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Hardcover: 368 pages</div>
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Publisher: HarperTeen</div>
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Publication Date: February 11, 2014</div>
Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-37914353534177716462014-02-10T12:59:00.000-06:002014-02-10T13:00:32.610-06:00Book Review: Vengeance by Megan Miranda<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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SUMMARY: Nobody really believes in a curse. Until you know the people who disappear. Too much coincidence, you look for reason. Too much death, you grasp for something to blame. Carson pulled Delaney out and he died on the side of the road with her mouth pressed to his. Her air in his body. Troy. She told the cops it was suicide. Didn't matter. The lake released her and grabbed another. But when Decker's father dies in a pool of spilled water on their kitchen floor, all Decker can feel is a slow burning rage. Because he knows that Delaney knew that his dad was going to die. She knew and backed out of his house and never said a word. Falcon Lake still has a hold on them both, and Decker can't forgive Delaney until he knows why.<br />
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OPINION: DECKER. Oh. Decker. Full disclosure, I ended Fracture with a serious love/hate feeling going on for Decker. I wanted to kick him as much as I wanted to hug him. So the wait for this book was a whole lot of constant cries of 'DECKER!' to Megan. And finally. Finally I got to read his story.<br />
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And he really sort of broke me. It's clear in Fracture he's got a lot going on. He messes up. He's confused. He tries so hard. He's solid. He's this whole mix of things, and Vengeance only opens the door into him so much more. This book is everything I love so much about YA. A boy who is such a mess, who knows that maybe part of what he feels is out of line but he can't help it still, who wants things to get better and be easier but doesn't really know how for that to happen. A boy who is going through some really awful things at home. A boy who has such intense anger and grief, geared towards his best friend and the girl he's fallen for.<br />
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Yeah. Talk about a messy situation. I ached so hard for him during this book. I was so emotionally vested I couldn't walk away. And pretty much just didn't sleep to see what would happen. And this is truly one of those books that I feel is a stunning portrayal of how perspective dictates reader perception and feelings. Decker treats Delaney pretty badly for some parts of this book, and yet I never blamed him or disliked him for it. Having known her so well in Fracture (and let's be honest, his treatment of her there, too, is part of why I wanted to kick him), I certainly didn't dislike her. I felt awful for her. And yet, I couldn't really turn my back on Decker either. And if this was in Delaney's perspective, I'm not sure I would be as solidly behind Decker. And in that, I think Megan's raw talent genuinely shines.<br />
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No, Decker isn't perfect. Yes, he does some messed up things. But he's hurting, and that emotional atmosphere is so infused throughout this book, I couldn't help but be sucked right under with him. He goes through such tremendous changes in this books, things built on changes from Fracture but delved into so much more. And Delaney, for all the hurts she endures, still pulls me in as well, this girl who has faced some pretty crazy things and yet somehow fights through it. I love her and Decker as friends, and I certainly ship them so hard romantically. They are a pair I feel just fit so well together, even if Decker has to figure some things out on his own first. Everything about this book appealed to me, and add in the thriller element I've come to adore Megan for, and the well done pacing, and this book is a knockout in every way.<br />
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<b>Details:</b></div>
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Source: ARC borrowed</div>
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Hardcover: 352 pages<br />
Publisher: Walker Children's<br />
Publication Date: February 4, 2014</div>
Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-87673593847842585452014-02-06T09:43:00.001-06:002014-02-06T09:43:54.415-06:00Character Profile: Z from Shredded<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIJnID166bU/UtgwhgrbHfI/AAAAAAAAjds/cUeDEmG7k-0/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIJnID166bU/UtgwhgrbHfI/AAAAAAAAjds/cUeDEmG7k-0/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Monday, Tracy Wolff's New Adult release Shredded was released, and I am more than excited to introduce to you guys Z, the sexy, broody, snow-boarding love interest of the book. Hello, hotness! I am always a sucker for a damaged playboy who reforms, so let's get to knowing more about this guy!<br />
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<b>Favorite Snowboarding Trick:</b> The YOLO flip (cab double cork 1440)<br />
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<b>Favorite Band:</b> Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eminem<br />
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<b>Favorite Movie:</b> Reservoir Dogs<br />
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<b>Last 3 Things Googled:</b> X-Games Schedule, Tourist spots in Sochi, How to give driving lessons<br />
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<b>3 Words that Describe Him:</b> Reckless, Damaged, Protective<br />
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Rawr. And if that doesn't peak your interest enough, here's some photo inspiration for this guy:<br />
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Yeaaaaah. So. Check out this book, out now, and get to know all about Z. And his clearly lickable abs. This is the first book in the Extreme Risk series published by Flirt (Random House), and what a way to start it!<br />
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And be sure to follow the entire <a href="http://mundiemomsblogtours.blogspot.com/2014/01/shredded-by-tracy-wolff-book-blast-blog.html">Mundie Moms/Mundie Girls SHREDDED blog tour</a> for more info about the character's, read excerpts, and reviews!<br />
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About the Book:<br />
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<b>In this intense and exhilarating New Adult series debut, a hotshot snowboarder and a vulnerable rebel with a cause try to let go of the past—and find a future in each other.</b><br />
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Twenty-one-year-old professional snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes. In fact, Z’s reckless behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his emotional suffering with physical pain.<br />
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Ophelia Richardson isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans high society, she’s no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen, godforsaken Park City. But laying low is her only option after her ex, a rich boy who couldn’t take no for an answer, nearly killed her in a jealous rage. Following that terrifying encounter, the last thing Ophelia needs is a boyfriend—especially one as rich and arrogant as Z. But Ophelia soon discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more damaged than she is.<br />
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Tormented by their pasts and feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But with Ophelia hiding the details of her life in Louisiana and Z’s death wish reaching terrifying new heights, their relationship seems to be going downhill before it even begins—unless they can find the strength in each other to trust, grow, and love again.<br />
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Book Links:<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/117311-extreme-risk">Extreme Risk #1</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shredded-Extreme-Novel-Flirt-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EBRUB5C">Amazon</a><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shredded-tracy-wolff/1117135306?ean=9780804176842">Barnes & Noble</a><br />
Add it to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18283137-shredded">Goodreads</a><br />
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Author Links:<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/TracyWolff">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracy-Wolff/55540014669">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.tracywolff.blogspot.com/">Blog</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18307261-ruined?from_search=true">Goodreads</a>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-nIJnID166bU%2FUtgwhgrbHfI%2FAAAAAAAAjds%2FcUeDEmG7k-0%2Fs1600%2Fshredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIJnID166bU/UtgwhgrbHfI/AAAAAAAAjds/cUeDEmG7k-0/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" -->Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-92001295734164119062014-02-03T08:00:00.000-06:002014-02-03T08:00:00.916-06:00Shredded by Tracy Wolff Release Blitz<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome to the SHREDDED book blast! The first book in an exciting new, New Adult series from author Tracy Wolff. The Extreme Risk series will introduce new adult fans to group of sexy snow boarders and the their dare devil ways, and complicated lives. SHREDDED introduces readers to the first hottie of the group, Z Michaels.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Blurb</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this intense and exhilarating New Adult series debut, a hotshot snowboarder and a rebel with a cause try to let go of the past—and find a future with each other.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /> <br class="kix-line-break" />Twenty-one-year-old professional snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes. In fact, Z’s rash behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his emotional suffering with physical pain.<br class="kix-line-break" /> <br class="kix-line-break" />Ophelia Richardson isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans, she’s no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen, godforsaken Park City. But after nearly dying in the same drag-racing accident that killed her boyfriend, she needs a place to heal, both physically and emotionally. The last thing Ophelia wants right now is a boyfriend—especially one as rich and reckless as Z. But Ophelia soon discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more damaged than she is.<br class="kix-line-break" /> <br class="kix-line-break" />Feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But their tormented pasts pull them in every direction, forcing their relationship into a downhill slide before it even begins—unless they can find the strength in each other to trust, grow, and love again.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Advance praise for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shredded</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><br class="kix-line-break" /></i></b>“Z from Tracy Wolff’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shredded</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is so hot he will melt your heart!”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New York Times </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bestselling author Monica Murphy</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /><br class="kix-line-break" />“</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shredded</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> features two gorgeously damaged characters and an amazingly written story that kept me on the edge of my seat! Love it!”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—Toni Aleo, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New York Times</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">USA Today</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bestselling author of the Assassins series</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About the Book</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By: <a href="http://www.tracywolff.com/">Tracy Wolff</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Published by: <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/234848/shredded-by-tracy-wolff">Flirt (Random House)</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To Be Released on: 2/4/14</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Series: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/117311-extreme-risk">Extreme Risk #1</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Get it From: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shredded-Extreme-Novel-Flirt-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EBRUB5C">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shredded-tracy-wolff/1117135306?ean=9780804176842">Barnes & Noble</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add it to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18283137-shredded">Goodreads</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This time I don’t bother to look up when the car pulls to a stop in front of me. I’ve been sitting here for fifteen minutes waiting for my connecting bus, and this is the fourth car that’s stopped. I don’t think I look like a hooker sitting here all zipped up—and it is obviously a bus stop, after all—but given all the idiot guys who’ve stopped to offer me a ride, you’d think I was wearing a sign that read No One Refused.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> not the case.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey!” one of the morons in this newest car calls to me, but I don’t even turn my head. If I completely ignore them, maybe these idiots looking to get lucky will finally go away.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ophelia!”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This time I do turn, at the urgent tone and the sound of my name. Shit. Not a stranger then, but Z, who looks confused and more than a little pissed off.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wave to him, then go back to what I was doing before he pulled up. Which isn’t much, really. Just staring down the road and trying to keep my teeth from chattering.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hear him curse, then the sound of the Range Rover turning off and a car door slamming. Which means I’m not getting rid of him as easily as I’d hoped.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What are you doing here?” he demands, coming around the front of the car to crouch down in front of me. “I thought you had a car.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I do.” But it’s not the blue Honda outside the clinic. No, my car is safe in the parking lot outside the employee housing provided by the lodge—in the same spot it’s been in since I arrived here twelve days ago.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Then why aren’t you driving it?” He looks at me like I’m insane. And maybe I am. Either way, it’s none of his business.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which is why I shrug. “I’m still new to Park City, don’t know my way around very well. I took the bus today because I was worried about getting lost and being late to my appointment.” Not a lie, I tell myself. Just not the whole truth, either.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Z doesn’t look like he’s buying it. Big surprise. After all, it takes a con artist to know one.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Isn’t that what GPS is for?” he asks.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What’s the big deal?” I demand, going on the offensive because the defensive obviously isn’t working. “Why does it matter if I didn’t want to drive today?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It doesn’t matter. Except you lied to me. And now you’re sitting out here at the bus stop, alone, in the dark and the cold, waiting for a bus that doesn’t look like it’s coming anytime soon.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s coming. It’ll be here in seven minutes.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Great. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you won’t be a popsicle by then. Or a rape victim.” He stands up, reaches for my hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I yank my hand back, glare at him. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m not going anywhere with you.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He rolls his eyes. “Relax, princess. You’ve been safe with me all night. I’m not going to suddenly attack you. I just want to take you back to the lodge.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m fine. The bus is almost here.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah, I can tell.” He gestures toward the nearly empty street. Currently the only car on it, besides his, is stopped at the light a few yards away. The two guys in the front look about our age, maybe a little older, and seem intensely interested in what’s going on between us. “You don’t actually think I’m going to leave you here alone, do you? With assholes like that around? It’s practically the middle of the night.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s not even eleven o’clock yet.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Still. Come on. Get in the car and I’ll take you home. What’s the big deal?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The big deal is you’re wasting your time. I’m not going to sleep with you.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His eyebrows shoot up to his forehead. “Who asked you to?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I almost blurt out that I know about the bet, but I don’t want him to get mad at Cam for tipping me off. “Give me a break. I know when a guy wants to sleep with me.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well. Aren’t you the egotistical one?” He tugs on my hand, pulls me to my feet. This time I don’t fight him, though I’m not sure why. “Are you sure you aren’t projecting?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Meaning?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Meaning maybe </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you’re</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the one who wants to sleep with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">me</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His hand is on my lower back now, and he’s guiding me toward his Range Rover. I should stop him, I know I should. But his hand—warm and firm and steady—feels so good that I’m hard pressed not to just sink into him. Already my teeth have stopped chattering as his warmth slowly seeps through the layers of my clothing and into me.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“As if.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That was weak,” he tells me with a snort. “Surely you can come up with something better than that.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I probably could if my brain cells weren’t all frozen. I swear, I don’t know how anybody lives in this place.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He yanks open the car door, starts to help me inside like he’s some kind of gentleman instead of a too-conceited-for-his-own-good snowboarder who also thinks he’s a player. “I’m fine here,” I tell him one more time, even as I slide across the smooth leather. “You don’t have to do this.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes, I do.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No. You—” He slams the door in the middle of my sentence, effectively cutting me off. I expect him to rush around to the driver’s seat, but instead he just stands there for a minute, looking at me through the glass of the passenger window.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I start to look away—the last thing his ego needs is for me to watch him like I’m spellbound—but I can’t. There’s something in his face, in his eyes, that keeps my gaze locked to his. It’s familiar, like I’ve seen it a million times before, and at first I think it must be the charmer in him. All smooth and smiling and I-know-you-want-me.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remi was like that, and I figure that must be it, that there must be something of my old boyfriend in him. Except . . . except then he blinks, and the mask I didn’t even know he wore starts to slide back into place. Then I realize it wasn’t Remi that look reminded me of. It’s myself. It’s what I see every morning when I look in the mirror before I put my makeup on. Before I put my mask on and try to convince the world—and myself—that I really am okay.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About the Author</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3BuRCXbS3SY/UtaaTqOCQmI/AAAAAAAAjcY/bgb7gg55GIs/s1600/Tracy_blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3BuRCXbS3SY/UtaaTqOCQmI/AAAAAAAAjcY/bgb7gg55GIs/s1600/Tracy_blue.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Tracy Wolff lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author Links:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://twitter.com/TracyWolff">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracy-Wolff/55540014669">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.tracywolff.blogspot.com/">Blog</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18307261-ruined?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Check out the cover for the next book in the Extreme Risk series, SHATTERED, which is Ash's story.</b></span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Extreme Risk series—Tracy Wolff’s edgy, emotional take on the New Adult genre—continues with the story of a lost soul and the fearless beauty who inspires him to take a flying leap back into life.</span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 28px; text-align: left;">Ash Lewis has poured every last ounce of his blood, sweat, and tears into reaching the very top of the professional snowboarding world—until the unthinkable happens. After the biggest competition win of his career, Ash’s mother and father are killed in a tragic accident. Unable to handle the idea of going back out on the snow to pursue the dream his parents shared with him, Ash feels that he has no choice but to walk away from snowboarding forever. Then he meets Tansy Hampton.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 28px; text-align: left;">Wild, fun, and impulsive, Tansy has a different look and a new passion every week. As a cancer survivor who spent the past several years waiting to die, Tansy has a fresh perspective on life—even if she doesn’t have a clue about what she actually wants to do with it. But she’s determined to find out, and that means making the most of her time while she still can.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 28px; text-align: left;">From the very beginning, their chemistry is intense. But while Ash can’t stop chasing the ghosts of what can never be, Tansy stays firmly focused on the possibilities the world holds for her—and for them. She’s already picked up the pieces of one shattered life. Now she’s determined to help Ash do the same.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 28px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/235381/shattered-by-tracy-wolff">Find out more about Ash.</a></span></div>
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Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-80699098735932879512014-01-28T11:01:00.002-06:002014-01-28T11:01:31.905-06:00YA Review: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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SUMMARY: Davy had everything—a terrific boyfriend, the homecoming crown, a bright future at Juilliard—but when her genetic tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome, she loses it all. Uninvited from her prestigious school and avoided by her friends and family, she is placed in a special class with other "carriers" who are treated like the murderers they someday might become.<br />
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Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life and tells her that she alone controls her actions—not the code embedded in her DNA. But even if she can learn to trust him, can Davy trust herself?<br />
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OPINION: I was enamored with this concept from the first time I heard about it - how awful would it be to know for a fact you have a higher chance of becoming a killer? I often think it's bad enough doing the cancer genetic testing, Huntington's, etc, those sorts of things, where you find out for sure you are more likely to end up suffering from that. Correlate that to this concept, and the different implications, and I was hooked before I ever picked up the book.<br />
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In a lot of ways, I have to say, this book is maybe a bit slower. To start, it's very much about Davy figuring out how to handle suddenly being cast aside, and the echoing of so many eras in our history as a result was chilling. This is one of those books that, despite not being solid contemporary/realistic fiction, is too realistic to be comfortable. Can I imagine everything in this book actually happening? Absolutely. I really loved Davy's character. She's a good girl, a privileged girl, with so much ahead of her, at least until she's uninvited from her school as a result of being a carrier. As everything is stripped away from her, and even her own family has some tension there now, it's both painful and realistic to read. Still, there is a lot of strength to Davy as she goes through all of this, but what I loved the most is how her fear is present, even has some element of hindering her, yet she also pushes through it and doesn't let it get the best of her.<br />
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And Sean. Oh. Sean. I love this boy, so hard. He's so determined to fight back against everything happening, even while it seems impossible to do so. He's that quiet, solid sort of guy, with mystery about him and a hard exterior, yet such a genuinely good heart inside. This boy really got to me and I want nothing more than to see him come out okay. He takes Davy under his wing so to speak, and there is definitely some romance though it's not as forefront as in Jordan's prior series. In a lot of ways, I feel like these are two people who need each other right now, who found each other at the right time, though what that means in the future I don't know.<br />
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There is so much realism infused throughout this book, and as someone who reads more contemporary than anything, I completely love it. Still, the sci-fi bend to it is scarily believable to me, and despite that niggle in my mind that this is something not in our world, how easy it is to imagine had me both hooked and uncomfortable. This book has so many layers and is brilliant in ways I can't describe without spoiling anything, but I highly recommend it for fans of all genres.Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-48202454829061841962014-01-24T09:16:00.000-06:002014-01-24T09:16:51.526-06:00Uninvited Chapter Reveal + Giveaway: Chapter Five<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://darkfaerietales.com/wp-content/uploads/Uninvited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://darkfaerietales.com/wp-content/uploads/Uninvited.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
I'm so excited to be hosting the final part of Chapters 1-5 from Sophie Jordan's Uninvited, out on Tuesday!<br />
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I seriously love this book. It's scarily realistic, despite the sci-fi sort of bend. It's dark, intense, painful, echoes a few too many painful things in our history, but is also awesome, memorable, and had plenty of moments to still make me melt.<br />
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If you haven't read the first four chapters, you can here:<br />
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<a href="http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/2014/01/uninvited-by-sophie-jordan-chapter-1.html#more">Chapter 1: Mundie Moms</a><br />
<a href="http://jenuinecupcakes.blogspot.com/2014/01/uninvited-by-sophie-jordan-chapter-2.html">Chapter 2: Jenuine Cupcakes</a><br />
<a href="http://www.goodchoicereading.com/2014/01/uninvited-by-sophie-jordan-chapter.html">Chapter 3: Good Choice Reading</a><br />
<a href="http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2014/01/exclusive-chapter-reveal-uninvited.html">Chapter 4: Once Upon a Twilight</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://darkfaerietales.com/dark-days-winter-book-trailer-uninvited-sophie-jordan.html">And for the trailer, check it out here! It is GORGEOUS! It might be my favorite ever?</a><br />
<br />
Copyright © 2014 by Sharie Kohler<br />
<br />
<b>Text Message</b><br />
<br />
8:42 p.m.<br />
Zac:<br />
Can u come over?<br />
<br />
8:55 p.m.<br />
Tori:<br />
Sure. What’s wrong?<br />
<br />
8:56 p.m.<br />
Zac:<br />
Everything<br />
<br />
9:00 p.m.<br />
Tori:<br />
Is Davy w/u?<br />
<br />
9:02 p.m.<br />
Zac:<br />
No<br />
Need 2 talk. Can’t b alone right now<br />
<br />
9:10 p.m.<br />
Tori:<br />
On way<br />
<br />
<b>Five</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> I report to Keller High School at eight sharp.<br />
Amid the packet of information from Pollock were the bolded<br />
instructions to arrive at eight and depart at three in order to<br />
avoid fraternizing with the general population. My first clue<br />
that even at Keller things were going to get worse.<br />
Although it’s hard to imagine that. After Zac left yesterday,<br />
it took me a long time to pick myself up and go back inside.<br />
Even longer for the tears to stop. The tight, aching twist in my<br />
chest? That still hasn’t stopped.<br />
My phone sat quietly on my nightstand all night. I had<br />
hoped Zac would call after he had time to process. No call.<br />
49<br />
Not even a ring from Tori. I could only guess that Zac told<br />
her. Or he told someone who then told her. It only takes one<br />
person to get gossip rolling. Davy Hamilton is a killer. That<br />
kind of gossip would be too juicy to keep quiet.<br />
I shake loose the crippling thoughts and focus on getting<br />
through this first day.<br />
The building is gray—from the outside brick to the flat carpet<br />
and chipping paint inside. Idly, I wonder if gray is the school<br />
color. It’s doubtful I’ll be attending any pep rallies to find out.<br />
We enter the office and get behind a student waiting for<br />
a tardy slip to class. The secretary’s smile slips from her face<br />
when Mom tells her who we are. Humming lightly under my<br />
breath, I scan the office as they talk. A student aide gawks at<br />
me as she staples papers together behind a desk.<br />
I arch an eyebrow at her and she quickly looks away.<br />
Mom signs her name to a few papers, not even pausing to<br />
read anything. It’s like she can’t get out of here fast enough.<br />
“Here’s your ID. Wear it at all times.” The receptionist<br />
slides a neon-orange tag across the counter that already bears<br />
the picture Pollock took of me yesterday. I take it and loop it<br />
around my neck.<br />
“The orange identifies your carrier status,” she announces,<br />
loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. A woman on<br />
the phone in the corner stops talking and stares.<br />
The secretary nods with approval at the ID dangling in<br />
front of my chest, letting me know I have no chance of staying<br />
under the radar. I glance at the student aide. Her badge is<br />
white. Yeah. No chance.<br />
50<br />
My eyes burn. I blink back tears, refusing to cry, refusing<br />
to let this small thing break me. I’ve been through worse than<br />
this in the last forty-eight hours.<br />
She continues, “The counselor, Mr. Tucci, will take you<br />
to the”—the secretary pauses, catching herself and correcting<br />
whatever it was she was going to say—“your classroom.”<br />
Mom faces me.<br />
I stare at her, hollow inside, nothing there except the lyrics<br />
of an old Beatles song: Hey, Jude, don’t make it bad, take a sad<br />
song and make it better. It doesn’t help much because I want to<br />
grab her and hold her and beg her not to leave me here, but it<br />
won’t do any good. She’s shut herself off. Her eyes are dull—<br />
like she’s beyond feeling anything.<br />
She squeezes my shoulder. “Have a good day, Davy.”<br />
Like that’s possible. I nod and watch her walk away. Leave<br />
me in this strange, horrible place.<br />
“Sit there.” The secretary directs me to a chair against the<br />
wall. “Mr. Tucci will be with you soon.”<br />
Hugging my sack lunch, I drop into the seat, not bothering<br />
to slide off my backpack. A sack lunch is another requirement.<br />
Carriers aren’t allowed to eat anything from the cafeteria. Too<br />
much chance of mingling with the general population. I sit at<br />
the edge of the seat, my body taut, waiting, watching as people<br />
come and go through the office.<br />
It’s nine thirty before Mr. Tucci appears. The secretary<br />
murmurs something to him and motions in my direction.<br />
He advances on me, sizing me up with a mild expression.<br />
I stare back. He’s dressed well in a pressed polo and slacks.<br />
51<br />
Something my dad would never wear to work, but still.<br />
“Welcome to Keller, Ms. Hamilton.” He extends his hand<br />
for me to shake. I stare at it for a moment, thinking he’s joking.<br />
He can’t want to touch me.<br />
His expression softens. “I know this is hard, but if you stay<br />
out of trouble, you can finish out your senior year here with<br />
no fuss.” Leaning down, he whispers for my ears alone. “Prove<br />
them wrong.”<br />
A ragged sigh escapes me. His words remind me of Mitchell<br />
and for a flash of a second I don’t feel so alone. Prove them<br />
wrong. A lump forms in my throat at the unexpected kindness<br />
from this man. Maybe it won’t be so terrible here after all.<br />
A moment passes before I nod, fighting the lump down in<br />
my throat. “I can do that.”<br />
“Excellent.” He smiles broadly. “Follow me.”<br />
He leads me from the office and down a deserted hall. We<br />
pass lockers. Teachers’ voices drift from inside the classrooms.<br />
His shoes clack over the linoleum floor. We descend a set of<br />
stairs and walk until it feels like we’re in the very bowels of<br />
the school. We are long past any classrooms. We pass the gym.<br />
The stink of the weight room greets me well before we pass its<br />
open doors. A quick glance reveals a few sweaty guys working<br />
out inside.<br />
There are no windows. No sunlight. Just the buzz of a<br />
fluorescent bulb every few feet. I see that the wide corridor<br />
dead-ends ahead.<br />
My pulse skitters nervously. “Where are we going?”<br />
He shoots me a disarming smile. Instead of answering, he<br />
52<br />
says, “There are five others. Like you. You won’t be alone.”<br />
I swallow. He means five other HTS carriers. And me.<br />
Until graduation. I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer to be alone.<br />
“You’ll get to know them well, I’m sure.”<br />
Before the end of the corridor, he turns left and stops in<br />
front of a set of steel double doors. Opening the right side door,<br />
he steps inside. I follow, but don’t go much farther. The space<br />
is too small, occupied by a single desk. A teacher sits there,<br />
reading a magazine. He’s young, looks barely out of college.<br />
He quickly stands when he sees us, dropping his magazine.<br />
“Ah, Mr. Tucci. Good morning. Is this the new one?” He<br />
nods in my direction, tugging on his waistband as though his<br />
wind pants need adjustment.<br />
“Yes, Mr. Brockman, this is Ms. Hamilton. I’m sure you’ll<br />
show her the ropes.”<br />
Mr. Brockman looks me over, his gaze crawling, and I<br />
suddenly feel exposed before him. “Not a problem, not a problem,”<br />
he says.<br />
I cross my arms. As if that might help to shield me from<br />
his measuring look.<br />
“Very good.” With another smile for me, Mr. Tucci<br />
departs. I wince as the heavy steel clangs after him.<br />
And I’m left with Mr. Brockman and the others, HTS carriers<br />
whose stares I feel boring into me.<br />
Mr. Brockman motions behind him. “Welcome to the<br />
Cage.”<br />
“The Cage?” I echo.<br />
He chuckles. “Yep. That’s what the kids call it. The name<br />
53<br />
kind of stuck. Even the staff calls it that now.” He nods to the<br />
wall of chain link behind his desk.<br />
It makes terrifying sense. What better way to remove us<br />
from the general population than to stick us down here with<br />
only ourselves for company? And beyond isolation . . . we’re<br />
confined.<br />
“The Cage” consists of chain link stretching from floor to<br />
ceiling. On the other side of the chain link there are about ten<br />
desks. Only four students occupy the desks, all staring at me<br />
with varying expressions. Maybe Mr. Tucci was wrong about<br />
the number. Or maybe number five has done something bad<br />
and is in jail.<br />
Immediately, I see that the gate-like door is the only way<br />
in or out. Mr. Brockman moves to open it. “It’ll take them a<br />
while to round up your assignments. You’ll just have to amuse<br />
yourself for today.”<br />
The door squeaks as he pulls it open.<br />
I pause at the entrance, reluctant to move inside, to take<br />
the first step that will officially make me one of them. I look<br />
back at him, unnerved at how close he’s standing beside me,<br />
still looking me over in a way that makes me feel like a piece<br />
of meat.<br />
“So you don’t actually teach us?” I ask for clarification,<br />
scanning his attire. He looks more like someone on his way to<br />
the gym than a real teacher.<br />
“No. Call me a glorified babysitter. I started as a part-time<br />
sub, but they hired me full-time last year. I just turn your work<br />
in to your teachers on the outside.”<br />
54<br />
On the outside. Teachers I’ll never even meet. I realize this<br />
now.<br />
I peer inside the Cage, eyeing the others. Three boys and<br />
one girl. She’s no longer looking at me, concentrating instead<br />
on carving something into the desk with her pen.<br />
“That’s Coco.” He takes one more step, bringing his body<br />
closer. The soft bulge of his stomach presses against my arm.<br />
“Bet she’ll be glad for some female company. Just been her in<br />
here with the boys since last year.”<br />
There’s something in his voice that makes the tiny hairs<br />
on my nape prickle, and suddenly I’m not sure what I’m more<br />
afraid of: the Cage and the supposed killers inside—or Mr.<br />
Brockman on the outside.<br />
“Course you don’t have to go in just yet.” His voice falls<br />
close to my ear. “If you want you can stay out here a bit with<br />
me.”<br />
Then I know what frightens me more. At least right now,<br />
in this moment, the answer is clear.<br />
In the Cage, I notice Coco’s pen holds still. Her attention<br />
remains fixed on her desk, but I know she’s attuned to me. To<br />
Brockman. Her alertness reaches me, folds into my own veil<br />
of awareness.<br />
Squaring my shoulders, I step inside the Cage.<br />
<br />
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<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-90351126002138482442014-01-19T16:58:00.002-06:002014-01-19T16:58:38.269-06:00Excerpt: Ruined by Tracy Wolff<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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Welcome to the <a href="http://mundiemomsblogtours.blogspot.com/2014/01/ruined-ethan-frost-1-by-tracy-wolff.html">RUINED blog tour</a>! The first book in Tracy Wolff's hot new New Adult series. Be sure to follow the entire tour <a href="http://mundiemomsblogtours.blogspot.com/2014/01/ruined-ethan-frost-1-by-tracy-wolff.html">here</a> to read more excerpts from the hot new release, and for your chance to enter to win.</span><br />
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<u><span style="color: #cc0000;">Advanced Praise for RUINED (Ethan Frost #1)</span></u></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Tracy Wolff knows how to steam up the pages, and she proves it again in </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ruined</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If you’re looking for a hot read, curl up with Ethan Frost.”</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—</span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New York Times</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">USA Today</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bestselling author J. Kenner</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Heat sizzles off the page and the oh-so-sexy Ethan Frost will make you swoon!”</span><span style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—</span><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 1.1500000000000001; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">USA Today </span><span style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bestselling author Stacey Kennedy</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; line-height: 1.1500000000000001; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>About The Book</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.1500000000000001; white-space: pre-wrap;">An electrifying journey of emotional and sexual discovery that pushes two damaged souls to their breaking point—and beyond.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He’s the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman’s deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his.</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in return.</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the secrets we we share will only tear us apart.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="color: #cc0000; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Read an Excerpt</b></span></span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I like your sepulcher. It’s a very . . . what’s the word I’m looking for here?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Uninterested.” I don’t bother looking up. I don’t have to see him to know I’ve got no interest in some guy trying his luck on the beach. Even if the sudden prickling of my nerve endings says otherwise.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And here I was going to say it </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> interesting.” He leans down a little, puts his mouth closer to my ear so I can hear the tenor of his voice now, even over the din of the crowd. Realization sinks in and I stiffen, even before he says, “Hi, Chloe.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The damn chills are back double time, although how I can feel both hot and cold at the same time—without having the flu—is a mystery to me. “Ethan.” I turn to look at him. I can’t help it. His presence is like a magnet I have no defense against. I want to see him. “What are you doing here?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Building community. Saving the oceans. You know, the usual. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Frost Industries is sponsoring this event.” It’s not a question. Only now do I remember reading about Ethan’s philanthropic interests. For obvious reasons, he spends a lot of time and money doing stuff for veterans, but the environment—and the oceans, in particular—is another big interest of his. I think back to the day I met him, to the board shorts and flip-flops. The Save Our Oceans stuff actually makes perfect sense.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s a good event,” I tell him a little grudgingly. I guess I’m more upset about him not calling than I thought.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m glad you approve.” He sits down on the other side of the sand castle, gently extricates the bucket from my sudden death grip, and starts to pack it with sand. “So, are you really building a sand tomb?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I look at the mess in front of me. “It’s supposed to be a sand castle.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He laughs. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re pre-law then, hmm?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His words so perfectly echo my own thoughts from a few minutes ago that I can’t help but stare at him. It feels weird to think the same things as him.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When he sees my expression, his smile fades. “You know I’m just kidding, right?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I force myself out of my Ethan-induced stupor. “Maybe, but you’re totally right. It’s a disaster.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not a disaster. It just needs—” He breaks off when he sees my face. My lips are pursed, my brows raised, and I know I look as skeptical as I feel. “Okay, yeah. It’s a disaster. But I can fix it.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What if I don’t want you to fix it?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He pauses in his sand-packing activities, his indigo eyes suddenly as deep and fathomless as the Pacific licking at my toes. “Then I should probably walk away now. I’m not very good at sitting by and doing nothing when I know there’s a problem—and how to fix it.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Suddenly, I’m having a hard time swallowing—or breathing. My throat is tight, my hands shaky. He’s talking about a lot more than the stupid sand castle, and we both know it.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not broken.” The words come out sounding harsh and jagged.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh, baby.” He reaches for my hand, rubs his thumb gently over my knuckles. “I know that. I just wasn’t sure you did.”</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">About the Author</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Tracy Wolff lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://twitter.com/TracyWolff">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracy-Wolff/55540014669">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.tracywolff.blogspot.com/">Blog</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18307261-ruined?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>The Giveaway</b></span></span><br />
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Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-70395027521930492762014-01-03T12:48:00.001-06:002014-01-03T12:48:24.671-06:00Book Review: The Vow by Jessica Martinez<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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SUMMARY: No one has ever believed that Mo and Annie are just friends. How can a guy and a girl really be best friends?<br />
<span id="freeText12667655944165623867"><br />Then
the summer before senior year, Mo’s father loses his job, and by
extension his work visa. Instantly, life for Annie and Mo crumbles.
Although Mo has lived in America for most of his life, he’ll be forced
to move to Jordan. The prospect of leaving his home is devastating, and
returning to a world where he no longer belongs terrifies him.<br /><br />Desperate
to save him, Annie proposes they tell a colossal lie—that they are in
love. Mo agrees because marrying Annie is the only way he can stay.
Annie just wants to keep her best friend, but what happens when it
becomes a choice between saving Mo and her own chance at real love?</span><div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
OPINION: </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This book captivated me, and had me torn several times over what I wanted to happen. And if that's your definition of tension, the this book is maybe as high as tension can come. I wanted both Mo and Annie to be okay, to come out on top but, really, in such an overall impossible situation, how? I think the way Martinez handled Mo's immigrant status, and the implications of everything, had a really strong, yet sensitive to the situation, note to it. He wasn't undocumented, undeclared, etc, he did have a work visa through his father, and this book looks at the conflicts and troubles that arise when a family like this is suddenly faced with leaving the United States. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
From the start, it was rather obvious there were so many ways things could go wrong for Mo and Annie. Two teenagers, suddenly trying to be married? And convince the authorities they aren't just in this to keep Mo in the country? I really admired how there were some things the pair just couldn't foresee, without making the characters seem conveniently clueless. Rather, it's a rash decision, emotionally driven, with the pitfalls too impossible to bring in at the time. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think there is something amazing, as a teenager or adult, in loving a person, even just as a best friend, enough to change your life. And the flip of that, for Mo, of loving this person, and this way of life, so much to pick them, in essence, over your family. Neither are easy situations or choices to make, and the set up here has such high stakes on both sides, for both ways to go. These various elements were all woven in so beautifully, without ever feeling overdramatic or poorly planned on the author's part.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love Annie and Mo, and more so, I think their individual and joint character arcs are so stunningly well done. This is one of those books where I rooted for Annie when I was in her head, even if it made me dislike Mo a tiny bit, yet instantly swapped that as soon as I was in his head. That little bias that comes with being thrust unfiltered in someone's mindset bleeds throughout this book, and yet I never completely disliked one or the other. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The ending, too, makes me love this book even more. I won't say it was the inevitable conclusion, because I feel like Martinez built the book in such a way that if any other decisions were made along the way, it wouldn't have ended up like this. But was it inevitable for everything that led to it? Yes. Was it still heartbreaking and impacting? Absolutely. Even months after having read it, I still remember so much about this book. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Details</b>:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Source: Edelweiss</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Pagecount: 432</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publisher: Simon Pulse</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Release Date: October 15, 2013</div>
Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-17222906017098987472014-01-02T13:57:00.002-06:002014-01-02T13:57:34.263-06:00Book Review: Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1369636433l/17573559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1369636433l/17573559.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
SUMMARY: It's time to meet your new roomie.<br />
<span id="freeText1299594582916033731"><br />When
East Coast native Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate
assignment, she shoots off an e-mail to coordinate the basics:
television, microwave, mini-fridge. That first note to San Franciscan
Lauren sparks a series of e-mails that alters the landscape of each
girl's summer -- and raises questions about how two girls who are so
different will ever share a dorm room.<br /><br />As the countdown to
college begins, life at home becomes increasingly complex. With family
relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly
seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the
complicated new boys in their lives . . . and each other. Even though
they've never met.<br /><br />National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr and
acclaimed author Tara Altebrando join forces for a novel about growing
up, leaving home, and getting that one fateful e-mail that assigns your
college roommate.</span><div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span>OPINION: </span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span>This one of those overall quiet feeling books, yet it is so captivating and memorable. I read this in one sitting, unable to put it down and loving both sides of this story. More so, though, I really loved seeing these two complete strangers get to know each other through emails only, and go through some really strong events and emotions, before they even meet in person. </span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span>One of my favorite things about this book are the first impressions on both sides, the little things that set the other girl's hackles up without it being intentional and, of course, figuring out later, they misjudged. It's such a simple thing, and one we all do, whether we mean to or not. And while this element really wasn't played up too much, it was one of those softer, little things, it really stood out to me. </span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span>With a nice romantic element, but plenty of much bigger things going on, this had all the makings of everything I love in contemporary. Elizabeth starts out so hopeful, both ready to escape and excited to see who her potential new closest friend is going to be, but quickly has to reel herself in due to the way Lauren initially reacts. Add in the fact Elizabeth's father lives in San Francisco, and some really awesome things that come up as a result of that, and this one really is just stunningly done, with so many quiet things to it that add up to pack a huge punch. </span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span>This is a book where I rooted for both characters, even when they were at different ends of an issue. I didn't like one more than the other, and went through such an array of emotions myself. This book is masterful, and definitely one for the favorites shelf.</span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span>Details:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span>Source: Netgalley</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span>Length: 288 pages</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span>Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span>Publication Date: December 24, 2013</span></div>
Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-21114288401377301062013-11-04T15:16:00.000-06:002013-11-04T15:16:25.644-06:00Character Interview + ARC Giveaway: Isaiah from Crash Into YouOut later this month is Katie McGarry's next (amazing) book, Crash Into You. To celebrate, I've got not only an interview with the meltingly sexy Isaiah, but a chance for you to win an ARC of the book! So let's get to it!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1370532247l/17233800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1370532247l/17233800.jpg" width="212" /></a><b>What do you think is the best and the worst things about you?</b><br />
Best thing about me? I’m definitely loyal to the people I love. I watch their backs and have their backs at all times. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for anyone I call family.<br />
<br />
As for the worst? Rachel would easily tell you that same loyalty streak can get me into trouble. When I see the people I love in danger, I can easily go into tunnel vision on how I can protect them. Sometimes I have a hard time seeing the whole picture if I think I can stop someone I care from being in pain.<br />
<br />
<b>So. Beth. I'm going to just come out and admit it. I went into your part of the story pretty dang mad at her on your behalf. Is forgiveness something you thought could ever happen for her?</b><br />
<br />
I was pretty damn mad at her too. Beth and I have been complicated from the day we first met. Forgiving Beth isn’t the hard part. It’s having her in my life at times that causes the problems.<br />
<br />
<b>What's the most ridiculous thing you and Noah have ever done?</b><br />
<br />
We went to a Halloween party that Echo was invited to. Talk about painful. Echo forced both of us to dress up like we were part of a biker gang. I felt like a damn fool, but at least Noah was in on that action.<br />
<br />
<b>Now let's talk about Rachel. What's your favorite thing about her?</b><br />
<br />
What’s there not to like about Rachel? She’s gorgeous, smart, and she’s courageous behind the wheel of a car.<br />
<br />
What I love about her? Rachel’s easy in a world full of hard. One look at her and all the chaos fades away. She owns a smile that causes me to forget every trouble that weighs me down. Rachel is like a piece of heaven. <br />
<br />
<b>What's it like to kiss her?</b><br />
<br />
There’s nothing like it. While Rachel’s brave enough to take on street hustlers, there’s a shyness about her. Especially when we’re alone and the lights are turned down. Each and every touch from her is a gift and when my lips finally meet hers, there’s always a hint of hesitancy on her part. But then the kiss always transforms into something more…something heated and kissing her…I think about it—constantly. <br />
<br />
<b>If you met under different circumstances, and not at a street race, do you think you would've still noticed her?</b><br />
<br />
Hell yeah, I would have noticed Rachel. She’s drop dead gorgeous. Now whether or not she would have noticed me, I’m not sure. Rachel’s the kind of girl every guy dreams about.<br />
<br />
<b>If you could race cars professionally, would you?</b><br />
<br />
While I love getting behind the wheel of a fast car and letting her loose, I have to say I prefer working on those beautiful ponies. There’s a strange high I can’t explain when you hear the grumble of an engine and you know you’re the one that made it happen.<br />
<br />
<b>Boxers or briefs?</b><br />
<br />
Boxers<br />
<br />
<b>What kind of cookie would you describe yourself as?</b><br />
<br />
That would be a question to ask Rachel. She’s the kind of person that would have an answer to that. Me? I just eat the cookie and don’t over think it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And to win an ARC of this awesome book (Seriously, it's my favorite of hers so far!), just fill out the Rafflecopter!<br />
<br />
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Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-47680921687359043912013-10-30T14:00:00.002-05:002013-10-30T14:00:30.897-05:00Trailer Reveal: Foreplay by Sophie JordanOut next Tuesday is Sophie Jordan's (way hot) New Adult release Foreplay. And trust me when I say you need to this book in your life. A sexy, quiet, brooding bartender named Reece definitely stole my affections, and maybe had some other effects on me. Ahem. Romance and NA lovers alike need to check this one out, and to get you even more excited for it, I've got the trailer right here for you guys!<br />
<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/en5osBNTtL8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
For excerpts from the book, <a href="http://www.sophiejordan.net/newadult/foreplayexcerpts.html">go here</a>. You know you want to.<br />
<br />
About the Book: Before she goes after the life she’s always wanted, she’s about to find the one she needs.<br />
<br />
Pepper has been hopelessly in love with her best friend’s brother, Hunter, for like ever. He’s the key to everything she’s always craved: security, stability, family. But she needs Hunter to notice her as more than just a friend. Even though she’s kissed exactly one guy, she has just the plan to go from novice to rock star in the bedroom—take a few pointers from someone who knows what he’s doing.<br />
<br />
Her college roommates have the perfect teacher in mind. But bartender Reece is nothing like the player Pepper expects. Yes, he’s beyond gorgeous, but he’s also dangerous, deep—with a troubled past. Soon what started as lessons in attraction are turning both their worlds around, and showing just what can happen when you go past foreplay and get to what’s real…Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-58287942258409158412013-10-28T11:15:00.003-05:002013-10-28T11:15:42.509-05:00Cover Reveal: Bleed Like Me by Christa DesirI am so, so, so excited to bring to you guys the cover for Christa Desir's 2014 release, Bleed Like Me.<br />
<br />
I read an early draft of this one, and so loved it. Intense, painful, and raw, it's everything I love in YA Contemporary, as well as from this author. I cannot wait to read the final. But before I gush further, here is the cover for your viewing love:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckii_L9D194/Um6NVFWXslI/AAAAAAAABxk/5j2NEe2vOGQ/s1600/BLM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckii_L9D194/Um6NVFWXslI/AAAAAAAABxk/5j2NEe2vOGQ/s320/BLM.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Unghhh I love this cover. It fits the book so, so, so well, and is also so simply, yet catching. Trust me when I say this is a book you do not want to miss, and it drops fall 2014 from Simon Pulse.<br />
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<br />
<b>About the Book</b> (This is the current blurb, but not the official one): Seventeen-year-old Amelia Gannon is overwhelmed. Her parents are pre-occupied with her high-needs adopted brothers, her best friend is more interested in bumming cigarettes than bonding, and her job at the hardware store feels more and more like a life sentence. She finds an escape in troubled new guy, Michael Brooks. He's obnoxious, possessive, and addictive. Gannon lets him insert himself into her life, and Brooks is just as addicted to her as she is to him. Swept into an intense relationship, their passion ultimately becomes dangerous to them both.<br />
<br />
Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-33137688136474787632013-10-25T13:06:00.000-05:002013-10-25T13:06:05.782-05:00Romance Review: Seven Day Fiance by Rachel Harris<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s5-4yNeicEw/UleD2ZXWdfI/AAAAAAAAAf4/agBz9pSub0c/s1600/9781622662388_200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s5-4yNeicEw/UleD2ZXWdfI/AAAAAAAAAf4/agBz9pSub0c/s1600/9781622662388_200.jpg" /></a>SUMMARY: Angelle Prejean is in a pickle. Her family is expecting her to come home with a fiancé—a fiancé who doesn’t exist. Well, he exists, but he definitely has no idea Angelle told her mama they were engaged. Tattooed, muscled, and hotter than sin, Cane can reduce Angelle to a hot mess with one look—and leave her heart a mess if she falls for him. But when she ends up winning Cane at a charity bachelor auction, she knows just how to solve her fiancé problem.<br />
<br />
Cane Robicheaux is no one’s prince. He doesn’t do relationships and he doesn’t fall in love. When sweet, sultry-voiced Angelle propositions him, he hopes their little game can finally get her out of his head. He doesn’t expect her to break through all his barriers. But even as Angelle burrows deeper into his heart, he knows once their seven days are up, so is their ruse.<br />
<br />
<br />
OPINION: Hot, witty, and enticing, Seven Day Fiancé is definitely a new favorite of mine. I love Cane. Seriously. This man is all kinds of sexy and melty. With the right amount of brokenness to him, not to mention his playboy reputation, he’s absolutely the kind of hero who gets me hot and bothered, but who also has me grinning like crazy when he settles down and finds his HEA. <br />
<br />
The banter and playfulness between Angelle and Cane drew me in, and watching their budding romance kept me hooked. I loved the family gauntlet he had to run, initially under the ruse of being her fiancé, but of course it shifted into having far more meaning. Then came his dark moment of the book, which is one of my favorites as far as romance mishaps go. He messes up in a pretty big way, but he also goes above and beyond to make up for it, and figure his issues out. On Angelle's side, the things she had to face and deal with played nicely into his, and I especially loved how determined she was to be her own person, rather than doing what her family wanted. Not to mention, the inherent awkwardness that came with facing the man she had turned down to marrying, with her fake fiancé by her side, was fabulously done.<br />
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This one is from the Bliss line, so the sexy scenes are closed door, but Harris has such talent when it comes to the heat, spice, and tension that this book still keeps you on the edge, waiting for the characters to get busy. With a great voice and fast pace banter and writing, this one is absolutely a must read for any contemporary romance fan. But I totally lay claim to Cane. Good gravy that sexy beast.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Details</b>: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Source: E-ARC received from Inkslinger PR as part of tour, in exchange for an honest review</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Print Length: 153 pages </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Publication Date: October 14, 2013</div>
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uNLtEoaqJQY/UleKqkjhVFI/AAAAAAAAAgc/b8s69r56iMU/s1600/Blogger+Button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uNLtEoaqJQY/UleKqkjhVFI/AAAAAAAAAgc/b8s69r56iMU/s200/Blogger+Button.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-85944511762683222742013-10-15T09:57:00.000-05:002013-10-15T10:06:31.445-05:00Thoughts on Fault Line by Christa Desir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1354534700l/13482832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1354534700l/13482832.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>Out today is one of the single most impacting books I’ve read: Fault Line by Christa Desir. I first read this one a good while ago. Actually, I’ve read it twice. And both times, I was a raw, emotional mess afterwards. This entire time, though, I’ve yet to really figure out how to accurately explain what this book has done to me. So this is less of a review, and more of my thoughts (or rambles?) about it.<br />
<br />
As a reader, I admittedly had a few problems with it (some of which have been fixed since I read it that first time). The particular style of this one is rapid, quick scenes, done with a specific purpose and intent from Christa, is a style that I, personally, have a hard time with. And that’s okay. I know why she did it, and after a certain point, my having a harder time falling into the book, into the narrative due to the rapidly shifting scenes, didn’t matter. Because I was invested. I also went into this one knowing what was going to happen to Ani. Specifically. So I admit, part of me was waiting for that to happen. Yes, I understood I needed to see Ani and Ben fall for each other, I needed to see their good times to appreciate and understand their bad. But I was antsy.<br />
<br />
Then that bad thing happened, and talk about an abrupt shift. Whether intentional or not, the entire shift in emotional atmosphere, in focus, in interest, completely flipped. Now, those rapid scenes were wonderful, because it meant I got to move to the next one that much quicker, to find out what would happen, if not just Ben but Ani would be okay. If Ben and Ani would be okay together. <br />
<br />
That was me as a reader. As a writer, I understood why so much of this book is like it is. I utterly adore this ending. Christa’s mentioned she’s made some edits to the ending – “To clarify, the ending didn't change. It just got fuller, as it were. It's still open and sort of broken. Don't worry.” But this ending. It’s the culmination of every hope, worry, thought, and feeling I had reading this one. The writer in me had so much respect for Christa ending the book where she does, for being so honest to her characters, to the stories.<br />
<br />
The person in me was eviscerated. <br />
<br />
I love painful endings. Bittersweet. Unhappy. Less than perfect. Those are my favorite endings, even if every time, I automatically think about what if these characters did get a happy ending? Even if there’s a piece of me that is instantly angry these people who don’t even exist went through all this, and still didn’t come out okay. But once that moment passes for me, every time, I fall into this huge appreciation, even love, of these painful endings. This one was no different.<br />
<br />
I remember the final scene of this book in vivid detail. I still remember how hard it hit me. How literally wrung out I felt. I wanted Ben to be okay. Yes, I wanted Ani to be okay, but Ben broke me. <br />
<br />
Ben, this somewhat of a cocky mess of a teenage boy who is still sweet and genuine and kind. This boy who loves his girlfriend, in spite of what happens to her. In spite of how she reacts afterwards. Who does his best. Holy crap does he try so hard for. For them. He believes he can fix her, he can be what she needs. <br />
<br />
And this is the beauty, to me, of this book. The reason I love it so, so, so incredibly much and so deeply. Because it’s Ben’s story, as much as Ani’s. Because Ani doesn’t come out okay, but neither does Ben. Because rape touches more than the victim, it touches those around that person. There is a certain kind of hell that comes with being the one on the outside, so to speak. Being helpless. In doing whatever you can, but knowing, in the end, you can't save that person. <br />
<br />
Oh, how Christa has captured that. It still brings tears to my eyes to think of that final scene, of when everything hits Ben, of his reactions, his actions. Of all those sweet moments in the early part of the book. Of the painful ones after what happens. Of the still sweet ones that filter in, those moments of hope. Of the things Ben does, good or bad, leading up to that final scene.<br />
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The other reason this book is so high up on my everyone must read list is how many layers there are, intentionally or not. How much it made me rethink rape, in a way. Rethink the impact on those around the victim. How far those metaphorical ripples actually reach.<br />
<br />
How completely painful it is when everything you do to try to help maybe doesn’t matter.<br />
<br />
And how completely not okay the boyfriend of that victim can come out of this being. And how okay, to me, it is that Ben isn’t okay. That he didn’t get an HEA with her. That he still hurt, and ached, and suffered. That this was as much a life altering event for him, as it was for Ani. <br />
<br />
It’d be easy to say this is Ani’s story. Many writers, I think, would tell her story here. And a valid, painful one it is. But what drew me the most to this book, and what kept me enamored, was that it’s Ben’s story. <br />
<br />
I still don’t know how to properly describe everything this book has made me think and feel. How to separate my views on it as a reader, a writer, and a person. Usually, those lines don’t cross nearly as much as they do with this one.<br />
<br />
But this book. My lovely readers. It will be painful, it will leave you raw and scarred. It will also hit you hard, in a huge way. It will impact you, and it will be a good thing. No, this isn’t your typical YA book. Yes, it’s short, and the scenes change pretty quickly, having less of a flowing feel to it. Yes, in some ways, at least for me, there’s a distance between the reader and Ani, even before everything happens. Yes, it might be easy to focus on those things instead of the bigger points. <br />
<br />
Focus on the big points. Let yourself be there with Ben every step of the way. Look at this book as a person, mixed with a reader, and whatever other category you are, rather than simply as a reader, a reviewer, someone looking to find faults.<br />
<br />
To me, this isn’t simply a book, a piece of fiction, something to be read and walked away from. <br />
<br />
There have been plenty of books that have impacted me. But this is one that has hit me the hardest, with a long lasting effect. I sincerely hope it does the same to all of you. I hope you give it a try, even if you don’t dig contemp as much. Even if you prefer female narrators. Even if you want the HEA at the end.<br />
<br />
Read it anyway. <br />
<br />
(And if this wasn’t motivation enough, 50% of proceeds is being donated into the Voices and Faces Project. So buy a copy (it’s under 10 bucks in Kindle right now!) or ask your library to order it.) <br />
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<br />
<i><b>About the Book:</b> Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><i>But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><i>Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><i>Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.</i>Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-43168725736052081762013-09-25T09:00:00.000-05:002013-09-25T09:00:02.232-05:00Cover Reveal: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer MathieuI am SO EXCITED to bring to you guys the cover for Jennifer Mathieu's 2014 debut The Truth About Alice!<br />
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So first.........<br />
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I. Love. It. I love the sort of old feel, blended with a modern feel as well. This book sounds seriously awesome, and exactly my kind of book: One that kicks me in the gut, and makes me think. <br />
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Haven't heard of this one? It's currently set to hit shelves June 10, 2014 from Roaring Book Press.<br />
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Also, those of you in Texas that are hitting up the (sure to be amazing) Austin Teen Book Festival on Saturday, Jennifer will be attending as well - and even has bookmarks. So be sure to find her. And gush about her cover. I know I will. <br />
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<b>About the Book:</b> Everyone has a lot to say about Alice Franklin, and it’s stopped mattering whether it’s true. The rumors started at a party when Alice supposedly had sex with two guys in one night. When school starts everyone almost forgets about Alice until one of those guys, super-popular Brandon, dies in a car wreck that was allegedly all Alice’s fault. Now the only friend she has is a boy who may be the only other person who knows the truth, but is too afraid to admit it. Told from the perspectives of popular girl Elaine, football star Josh, former outcast Kelsie, and shy genius Kurt, we see how everyone has a motive to bring – and keep – Alice down.<br />
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Add to your <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16068341-the-truth-about-alice">Goodreads shelf now</a> (and you can even <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Alice-Jennifer-Mathieu/dp/1596439092/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380062052&sr=8-4&keywords=the+truth+about+alice">preorder already</a>!), and keep your eye out for this one. <br />
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<b>About Jennifer:</b> Young adult author Jennifer Mathieu (pronounced Muh-two, but if you speak French you can pronounce it better than that - sadly, Jennifer doesn't speak French) is a writer and English teacher who lives in Texas with her family. A native of the East Coast and a former journalist, she enjoys writing contemporary young adult fiction that treats teenagers like real people. She loves to eat and hates to cook. Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-27238686562684416972013-09-24T13:29:00.000-05:002013-09-24T13:29:34.782-05:00Character Interview: Griff from Find Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Out today is Romily Bernard's gripping and fun debut Find Me, so to celebrate, I've got Griff here for an interview! <br />
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<b>What's your favorite part about hacking? Least favorite?</b><br />
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I’d always been interested in computers, hacking, but it wasn’t until I started doing some work for my cousin—he’s a detective—that I realized how much I could help. And, you know, it got me closer to Wick. Which is more than three years worth of classes ever did.<br />
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Least favorite part? Seeing what it did to Wick.<br />
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<b>Describe Wick in three words.</b><br />
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Smart. Prickly. Amazing.<br />
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<b>What's it like to kiss Wick?</b><br />
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Dangerous. The first time we kissed…well, I thought I had the upper hand. Never make deals with her. She’s always one step ahead.<br />
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<b>Any hints at what's next for you and Wick?</b><br />
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I’m not sure actually. She’s been…distant lately. Lot of fallout from what happened. Things are rough. I’m trying to keep her distracted, keep her thinking about the future. My drawings have gotten some attention. I might be able to go to college after all. Art school. There’s one in Savannah that’s interested in me. I won’t go without her though and Wick hasn’t decided what she wants. It’s fine. I’ll wait. I know what I want: her.<br />
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<b>What kind of sea creature would you describe yourself as?</b><br />
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Ha! I’m supposed to say shark, right? I’m probably more like a barracuda. Lean (you’ll never catch me working out with the football players) and fast (if I’m not hacking I’m working on my bike).<br />
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Enormous thank you to Kari for hosting me on A Good Addiciton. Thanks for reading and I hope everyone enjoys FIND ME!!<br />
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Congrats, Romily, on the release, and man do I need the next book ASAP! <br />
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About the Book: “Find Me.”<br />
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These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead.<br />
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Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target.<br />
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Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?<br />
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Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.<br />
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But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.<br />
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Because it just got personal.Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-13942583806317798922013-09-20T13:00:00.000-05:002013-09-20T13:00:00.878-05:00Giveaway: What Goes Around by Courtney Summers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Recently out is an awesome compilation of Courtney Summers' first two books. It's called What Goes Around, and includes Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are.<br />
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In case you somehow don't know this, Courtney is an amazingly talented author, and these books are still some of my very favorite YA's. Some Girls Are is one of those books where certain scenes still stick out vividly in mind, several years after having read it. And Cracked Up to Be has quite the prickly, not so easy to like, yet still somehow completely understanding and relatable main character. <br />
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So to celebrate this awesome release, I've got one copy up for grabs for one lucky winner. Just fill out the Rafflecopter below - and trust me that you want this!<br />
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<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-34017568939906726292013-09-20T07:00:00.000-05:002013-09-20T07:00:08.100-05:00Author Interview: Jen McLaughlin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dropping in today is Jen McLaughlin to celebrate her recent NA release, Out of Line! Definitely add this to your list if you haven't yet - it deals with one of my very favorite things: forbidden romances.<br />
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<b>What is the hardest part about going from adult romance to NA romance? </b><br />
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Remembering that the characters will not always make the smartest choices! In New Adult, they are still growing up and becoming the adult they will someday be. Things in this time period can change a person and shape them into their future selves. Making those decisions and, yes, consequences realistic can be tough when you're used to writing adults!<br />
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<b>Which scene, without spoilers, was your favorite to write?</b><br />
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The "discovery" scene. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about.<br />
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<b>Describe Finn and Carrie in three words each.</b><br />
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Finn: Hot, Brave, and loyal.<br />
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Carrie: Sheltered, Kind, and Adreneline-junky.<br />
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<b>Finn is hard to like from the start since he's so blatantly lying to Carrie about who he is. What was your biggest challenge in making him sympathetic and being sure readers don't write him off right away?</b><br />
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I didn't really think he was hard to like, I hadn't thought of it like that! Probably because I can see all his thoughts even more so than what's there, huh? But, anyway, *clears throat* I'd have to say giving him clear, concise reasons for what he's doing (and why he's doing it) and making it something that the reader can relate to easily. Ya know? :)<br />
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<b>If you found yourself in a situation like Carrie's, would you be able to forgive someone like Finn?</b><br />
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I would. Maybe not at first, but I would eventually forgive him, yes. Especially if he was Finn. ;)<br />
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<b>If you could pair Finn and Carrie with any character from any book, who would you pick for them?</b><br />
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Oooh. I'd totally pair them with Harry from Harry Potter. They could go hunt horcruxes together. She'd be very similar to Hermione in that series, I'd think.<br />
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<b>What kind of sea creature would you describe yourself as?</b><br />
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Hmm...A mermaid. ;)<br />
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Thanks, Jen, for stopping in and congrats on the release! This one is out now, so be sure you grab it! And check out the contest below for a seriously amazing giveaway!<br />
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About the book:<br />
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<i>Desperate to break free…</i><br />
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I've spent my entire life under my father’s thumb, but now I'm finally free to make my own choices. When my roommate dragged me to my first college party, I met Finn Coram and my life turned inside out. He knows how to break the rules and is everything I never knew I wanted. A Marine by day and surfer by night, he pushes me away even as our attraction brings us closer. Now I am finally free to do whatever I want. I know what I want. I choose Finn. <br />
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<i>Trying to play by the rules...</i><br />
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I always follow orders. My job, my life, depends on it. I thought this job would be easy, all the rules were made crystal clear, but when I met Carrie Wallington, everything got muddy. She's a rule I know I shouldn't break, but damn if I don’t inch closer to the breaking point each time I see her. I’m ready to step out of line. And even worse? I’m living a lie. They say the truth will set you free, but in my case…<br />
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The truth will cost me everything.<br />
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<a href="http://dianealberts.com/contestsgiveaways/the-official-outofline-blog-tour-list/">Full Tour Info </a></div>
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Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-90647421249405706042013-09-06T09:43:00.001-05:002013-09-06T09:43:31.112-05:00Character Interview: Finn from All Our Yesterdays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Cristin Terrill's debut All Our Yesterdays hit shelves earlier this week, and to celebrate, I've got the handsome, charming, yet rather cocky Finn here for an interview. I seriously love this book - it is hands down one of my favorites of 2013. It's brilliant, totally messes with your head, and left me completely stunned. So without further ado...<br />
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<b>Describe yourself in three words. What about Em?</b><br />
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I’m gorgeous, brilliant, and humble. She’s stubborn, aloof, and perfect.<br />
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<b>You time travel! What’s the hardest thing about that?</b><br />
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Probably getting past the men with the machine guns. Once you’re in the past, though, the hardest thing is knowing that there are some things you can never change.<br />
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<b>There are definitely not easy things ahead of you in All Our Yesterdays. What is the main thing that got you through everything?</b><br />
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Em, but if you tell her I said that, I’ll deny it.<br />
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<b>What’s your favorite thing about Em?</b><br />
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Underneath everything, she’s got a really good heart. She loves completely and selflessly. In fact, I think that’s why she’s so hard on the outside. She needs that shell to protect her soft, squishy insides.<br />
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<b>What’s it like to kiss Em?</b><br />
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Hey now, a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell! (But it’s awesome. Mostly because of me, of course, but she’s not half-bad either.)<br />
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<b>Can you give any hints for what’s next for you?</b><br />
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I have no idea. Hopefully something involving pizza.<br />
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<b>What kind of cookie would you describe yourself as?</b><br />
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Peanut butter. A little nutty, a little sweet. Pretty much everyone likes it, but a few people are violently allergic.<br />
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Thank you, Finn, for the interview, and congrats, Cristin, on the release (and I need book two like, yesterday!).<br />
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Make sure you guys pick this one up - it is a disservice to yourself to not! I love it so incredibly much. <br />
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<b>About the Book: </b>"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.<br />
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Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.<br />
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Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was.<br />
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All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955366291979370756.post-5842681984034719362013-09-03T09:34:00.000-05:002013-09-03T09:34:11.178-05:00Fault Line by C. Desir Release Giveaway + Info<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hitting shelves October 1 is Christa Desir's debut, Fault Line. This is a book that, in truth, I don't even know how to talk about without really giving anything away. But I will say, as Christa does, it's not for everyone. If you expect an HEA ending, don't. If you expect to walk away feeling good, well, you probably won't. But if you want to be tested and challenged and want to walk (limp?) away with a different take on an unfortunately overall widely known situation... read this book.<br />
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I'll save my full thoughts on this one for another post, but I will say, I went into this one like I did any other book. A work of fiction. A story about characters who, as real as the author might make them, still live within the pages. I had certain expectations, certain things that for me, for any book, make it great versus good versus not for me. I went into it as a reader, but for me, this is a book that I really feel, you have to go into as a person. As someone who gives a crap about those around you. Though I don't usually like books with specific messages, because all too often getting that message across irks me, this one does it perfectly. It made me so, so uncomfortable. I ached for Ben, I ached for Ani. I went through an entire array of emotions, some probably more acceptable than others.<br />
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This book. You guys. This wonderful, painful, beautiful book. About a boy who doesn't let something so awful effect how much he loves his girlfriend, but what if that love isn't enough anymore?<br />
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So read this one. Preorder it now. Love it like I do. Just know, it really isn't for everyone, but it's so incredibly important, and so potent, I want everyone to read it. (And note, The novel came out of Christa’s work in The Voices and Faces Project, a writing workshop for survivors of sexual violence that promotes speaking out and writing as a therapeutic process. She will be donating 50% of her proceeds from the novel back to the project. For more information on The Voices and Faces Project, go to <a href="http://voicesandfaces.org/">voicesandfaces.org</a>.... and how amazing is that? Even more reason to buy this one!)<br />
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And to celebrate the release, Christa has an awesome contest going on for a contemporary reads prize pack. I've read all but 2 of these (which I do own!), and have loved each one. <a href="http://christaramblesandwrites.blogspot.com/2013/09/one-month-left-fault-line-teaser-epic.html">Check out her website for the full list of books and the teaser trailer!</a> This lady has fabulous taste. Or, for international readers, you can win a $20 Amazon gift card.<br />
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So enter the contest. Spread the word about this book. And check below the widget, for a note from Christa, on the story behind the story. Because this, alone, will stop you in your tracks, even if just for a moment.<br />
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<i><b>Story Behind the Story: Fault Line</b></i><br />
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By C. Desir<br />
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About fifteen years ago, I sat in a hospital ER with a young girl who had been raped and badly beaten. Her entire being was shut down, turned inward. My job as the rape victim advocate in the room was to stay with her through the process, to explain what was going to happen, and to empower her as much as I could, even if just offering her a glass of water.<br />
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She would not talk to me. Or the doctors. Or the police. I stayed in the room and held her hand because she took mine. I waited with her after everyone left and two teenage boys came in. They were maybe eighteen or nineteen. Her brother and her boyfriend. They kissed the top of her head. Then her brother asked who did it. Nothing else. No comfort or assurances. Just “Who did it?” And she spoke for the first time. One word. A first name. Her boyfriend looked at her brother, a silent communication that I couldn’t interpret. Finally, her boyfriend said, “Don’t say anything to anyone. We got this,” and walked out. Within moments, it was like life poured back into the girl’s body. When she left the ER, still not having disclosed anything to the police or doctors, her boyfriend stood waiting for her.<br />
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Fast forward a few years, and I’m participating in a testimonial writing workshop for survivors. We’ve been told to write a scene from the perspective of a different gender. A character came to me. Ben. A boy who wants to fix his girlfriend and take care of it all. A boy who would say, “I got this.”<br />
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That was the beginning of Fault Line.<br />
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I am a childhood survivor of sexual assault. This is a label I wear on top of all the other ones: mom, wife, writer, Sunday school teacher, activist. It is something that I often don’t think about, yet it has steered the course of much of my life. From mundane things like never wanting to shop at a mall to bigger things like panicking when I get lost. I never tell people this to garner pity, but so they can understand how I see the world and how my lens has been affected.<br />
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I didn’t think I would write a book about rape until that day in the workshop. I didn’t think I had it in me. I didn’t think I could do it right. But Ben, my wonderfully flawed Ben, gave me something I needed to say. Rape impacts not only the survivor, but also those around her. And you cannot “fix” a survivor. And the way we treat survivors has a huge effect on how they heal. And sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we lose survivors.<br />
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This is not a happy story I’ve given Ben. But it’s an important one. It is a call to action for those around survivors. Stay. Fight. Hope. Believe. After seeing hundreds of survivors over the years, watching them interact with loved ones, I am astounded by the human capacity for compassion. And I hope that people see that in Fault Line. Maybe Ben’s story will help them respond in a way survivors desperately need.<br />
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<i><b>About Fault Line:</b></i><br />
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Who do you blame?<br />
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When Ben meets Ani, the sarcastic and free-spirited new girl in town, he falls for her – hard. Luckily for him, the feeling is mutual. Just when their relationship is getting serious, the unthinkable happens to Ani at a party that Ben decided not to attend. Ben watches as his once-vivacious girlfriend becomes a shadow of her former self; he must try to be supportive while wrestling with his own emotions about Ani’s ordeal and the lingering question in his mind: who is to blame?<br />
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C. Desir delivers a gritty, devastating, brilliant debut novel with Fault Line. Fans of Ellen Hopkins, Jason Myers, and Hannah Moskowitz will enjoy this author’s edgy realism. However, Fault Line stands out from other novels about teen sexual violence with a fresh point of view – the story is told not through the eyes of the victim, but from her boyfriend’s perspective. Unfortunately, far too many teens will recognize his feelings of frustration, anger, and helplessness in the wake of his girlfriend’s attack; readers with similar experiences will relate to and perhaps learn from Ben’s journey. <br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13482832-fault-line?ac=1">Goodreads</a> <a href="http://christaramblesandwrites.blogspot.com/">Author Site</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristaDesir">Twitter</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fault-Line-C-Desir/dp/1442460725/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1378218328&sr=8-5">Amazon</a> <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fault-line-christa-desir/1114149755?ean=9781442460720">B&N</a><br />
<br />Kari Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06447222718229334520noreply@blogger.com1