Recap: My September YA/NA Challenge

My goal for September was to read ALL the YA/NA novels…well maybe not ALL, but a huge chunk. That's why I started my September YA/NA Challenge. 

If you read my Project Read All The Books: September Recap you’ll know that the month of September kicked my butt. I was out a town a good deal and felt mucky pretty much for the whole month. I went to the Dr. on Friday and she did some blood work. Though I don’t know the results yet, she was confident that a month long round of B12 shots, plus some other lifestyle changes would have me fit as a fiddle in no time. …which means THEN I can read ALL the books. ;)

Though I didn’t get make as much progress on my YA/NA Challenge as I would have liked, I did read some good books. I ended up factoring in some middle grade into the challenge as well.

This challenge was suppose to be only for the month of September. I started it to counter my Summer-filled months of romance. I found that I really enjoyed getting back into reading YA after 3 straight months of smut.

What are some new Middle Grade/ YA/ NA books that you have recently read?

Here is a recap of what I read in September….

Middle Grade:

                Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan – 4 Stars

                Sisters by Raina Telgemeier – 3 Stars

                Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – 4 Stars

Young Adult:

                The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski – 5 Stars

                Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins – 4 Stars

                We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – 4.5 Stars

                Legend by Marie Lu – 4 Stars

New Adult:

                Finding It by Cora Carmack – 4 Stars

                One More Chance by Abbi Glines – 1 Star

Project Read All The Books: September Recap

Goodbye September and good riddance! I had epic plans for the month of September and they all went out the door.

I had a lot of personal stuff going on for September, so I knew I wouldn't have as much time to read as normal. I went out of town twice (Got to see Oprah and then Garth Brooks!) and then I felt pretty icky for the whole month. All these things (mainly me not feeling so hot) led to kind of a dismal month in reading.

I only read 16 books for the whole month and only ONE was from my To Be Read (TBR) bookcase. I knocked out Cora Carmack’s Finding It, which I have had since its release last Fall. I’m a big fan of Cora Carmack and I really enjoyed Kelsey’s story as she tries to find herself, while backpacking through Europe.

Even though I didn’t do as much reading as I would have liked, I did get into some major Fall cleaning. I ended up getting rid of 14 books from the TBR bookcase. In return added 3 to the collection.

Total Count as of Today: 88

Goal for October: 3 books (I’m giving myself a low goal because I’m still feeling icky)

I’ll post my recap of my YA/NA Challenge soon.

Until then....here are some picture from Oprah and Garth!

What a Wallflower Wants Spotlight

What a Wallflower Wants

Bad Boys & Wallflowers # 3

By: Maya Rodale

Releasing September 30^th, 2014

Avon

In the third novel in Maya Rodale’s charming Wallflower series, London’s Least Likely to Be Caught in a Compromising Position finds temptation in a devilishly handsome stranger . . .

Miss Prudence Merryweather Payton has a secret.

Everyone knows that she’s the only graduate from her finishing school to remain unwed on her fourth season-but no one knows why. With her romantic illusions shattered after being compromised against her will, Prudence accepts a proposal even though her betrothed is not exactly a knight in shining armor. When he cowardly pushes her out of their stagecoach to divert a highwayman, she vows never to trust another man again.

John Roark, Viscount Castleton, is nobody’s hero.

He’s a blue-eyed charmer with a mysterious past and ambitious plans for his future-that do not include a wife. When he finds himself stranded at a country inn with a captivating young woman, a delicate dance of seduction ensues. He knows he should keep his distance. And he definitely shouldn’t start falling in love with her.

When Prudence’s dark past comes back to haunt her, John must protect her-even though he risks revealing his own secrets that could destroy his future.

EXCERPT

Prue forced her breath to be even. In. Out. In. Out. She willed her heart to beat in a steady rhythm as she tried to reclaim power over her emotions and fears.  Castleton’s gaze settled on her face. She peered up at him. This time she really looked at him focusing on his mouth, which was firm, sensual and smiling encouragingly. It wasn’t like The Beast’s tight and cruel smile. The memory of that made her stomach ache and her palms dampen. Everything about Castleton was different. His blue eyes had darkened in the candlelight. That friendly sparkle had been replaced with something darker. In spite of her efforts, her heart began to race. This was a mistake. She wasn’t ready for this. Her limbs tensed. Her lungs started to tighten and she couldn’t quite breathe. “Are you having fun yet?” Castleton asked her affectionately.Her gaze flew up to his. Ah, those eyes. Knowing. Dark. “It’d be rude to say no, wouldn’t it?” he murmured. “So you won’t say anything. How about now?” “I can’t explain what this is making me feel,” she said, her voice breathless. But, for two eighths of life, she wanted to make it through one dance. “Tell me,” he urged. “I hardly know you,” she said. She couldn’t even explain it to her best friends, because she hadn’t even told them what had happened to traumatize her. “I was born and raised in at Castlemore Court in Yorkshire. I’ve read over three hundred books. My sister’s name is Martha. I spend an inordinate amount of time traveling around the countryside, playing cards and wagering. I’m on a winning streak. And I hate turnips.”

GoodreadsLink

Buy Links

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

iTunes

Author Info

Maya Rodale began reading romance novels in college at her mother’s insistence and it wasn’t long before she was writing her own. Maya is now the author of multiple Regency historical romances. She lives in New York City with her darling dog and a rogue of her own.

Author Social Links

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads 

Spotlight: Loving Eden by T.A. Foster

Have you ever thought of packing up everything you own and moving halfway across the country?

I’m talking about leaving your entire life behind—friends, family, school—with no turning back. No? Me either, but that was before a week of spring break changed my life forever. Before I did something I never thought I’d do at twenty-two. Before I fell in love with Grey.

Sometimes happily ever after isn’t always what you think it will be.

Loving Eden is the sequel to Kissing Eden, which I reviewed earlier in the year. I highly recommend checking out both Loving and Kissing. They are fun reads and the characters are quite lovable. 

Buy Links:

Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/1rn2neO

B&N Link: http://bit.ly/1spvrF2

Smashwords:  http://bit.ly/1un5YvK

iTunes:  http://bit.ly/Ye46rB

About T.A. Foster

T.A. Foster once spent a monthlong spring break on South Padre Island, where she soaked in the Texas sun, beach, and learned what real Texas country music is. Sometimes fiction does spring from reality.

She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children, and two canine kiddos.

T.A. has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing, or planning her next beach trip.

Win a book prize pack (ebooks). International


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris

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

Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Amazon | Amazon UK | IndieBound

THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING Synopsis:

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

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

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

EXCERPT:

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that I’m kissing Brandon.

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

That was unexpected.





About Rachel Harris:

Award-winning and Bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls next door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Emotion, vibrant settings, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books...and kissing. Lots of kissing.

An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, and LOVES talking with readers.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Author Goodreads | THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

@CoraCarmack Inspire COVER REVEAL

We are thrilled to bring you the cover for Cora Carmack's INSPIRE! INSPIRE is a New Adult Paranormal Romance novel and is due to be released on December 15, 2014!

The cover was designed by VLC Productions.

Add INSPIRE on Goodreads

About INSPIRE:

Kalliope lives with one purpose.

To inspire.

As an immortal muse, she doesn’t have any other choice. It’s part of how she was made. Musicians, artists, actors—they use her to advance their art, and she uses them to survive. She moves from one artist to the next, never staying long enough to get attached. But all she wants is a different life— a normal one. She’s spent thousands of years living lie after lie, and now she’s ready for something real.

Sweet, sexy, and steady, Wilder Bell feels more real than anything else in her long existence. And most importantly… he’s not an artist. He doesn’t want her for her ability. But she can’t turn off the way she influences people, not even to save a man she might love. Because in small doses, she can help make something beautiful, but her ability has just as much capacity to destroy as it does to create. The longer she stays, the more obsessed Wilder will become. It’s happened before, and it never turns out well for the mortal.

Her presence may inspire genius.

But it breeds madness, too.




Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Author Goodreads

.

.

.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Review

Cady Sinclair Easton is a Sinclair through and through. Every summer Cady and her mother embark to the Sinclair family island with her two aunts, their children, and her grandparents. Yes, to the family island. Everything seems grand until Cady’s 15^th summer on the island, when she has an accident. For two long years after she cannot remember what happened and no one will tell her. As Cady heads back to the island in hopes of uncovering what is haunting her, we are introduced to the Sinclairs…and the Liars.

I picked up We Were Liars by E. Lockhart because it is the September pick for the Forever YA Book Club, plus it coincides nicely with my September YA/NA Challenge. I was just recently introduced to E. Lockhart when I read the first two Ruby Oliver books, which I thought were great. One of my regular patrons checked out We Were Liars before I could and I was interested to hear her thoughts. I was surprised to hear that she didn’t like the story. She thought it was too dark and melancholy. I don’t think she even finished it. With her thoughts fresh in my mind plus a few Goodreads rumblings about how sad the book was I admit that I was a little reluctant to read We Were Liars.   

Within 20 pages of starting We Were Liars, I knew I was hooked! I loved the hauntingly beautiful writing style. It was almost poetic to me. Yes, this story is sad but Lockhart did an extraordinary job creating a dynastic and dysfunctional family. As Cady travels back Beechwood Island to expose what her family is hiding about her accident, we are introduced to the Liars. Cady, her cousins Mirren and Johnny, and Gat, a family friend, band together as the Liars. They don’t take part in the pettiness of the family and see the world through the eyes of idealistic youth.

I don’t think We Were Liars is for everyone. If you like happy go lucky novels, then definitely skip this one. If you are fans of mysteries, suspense-fill novels, or of dark novels in general then I think you will appreciate We Were Liars. I know I did.

Also…if you don’t like spoilers then stop reading. I just have to warn you (because I like when people warn me of this)…

.

.

.

.

.

.