ARC Review: What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton

Synopsis:
How can you talk about something you can’t remember?

Before the ski trip, sixteen-year-old Cassidy “Sid” Murphy was a cheerleader (at the bottom of the pyramid, but still...), a straight-A student, and a member of a solid trio of best friends. When she ends up on a ski lift next to handsome local college boy, Dax Windsor, she’s thrilled; but Dax takes everything from Sid—including a lock of her perfect red curls—and she can’t remember any of it.

Back home and unable to relate to her old friends, Sid drops her college prep classes and takes up residence in the A/V room with only Corey “The Living Stoner” Livingston for company. But as she gets to know Corey (slacker, baker, total dreamboat), Sid finds someone who truly makes her happy. Now, if she can just shake the nightmares and those few extra pounds, everything will be perfect... or so she thinks.


My Thoughts:

What Happens Next was an earth-shattering book. The emotions in it were very raw. I cried several times while reading the book. What happens to Sid is always a tough topic to deal with. I think the author did a fantastic job conveying the emotion of what a victim goes through. The whole book had me captivated from the beginning to end. There wasn't a boring moment. The ending of the book was great. I was sad when it ended. I wanted to know more about the characters and what happens in the future. I wasn't ready to let them go. However, it seems like What Happens Next will be a stand alone novel. I liked most of the characters. The only one I didn't like was Kirsten. She dropped Sid for a stupid reason, and only came back to her because she needed someone to listen to her. I loved Corey. He saw all the problems Sid had and knew she was broken, but he was still her friend when she didn't have any others. I loved this book. It was mesmerizing at times, and heart breaking at others. It made me smile, cry, laugh, and get angry at times. Every book should make you feel this way, but it's only the excellent ones that do. What Happens Next can definitely be included in that category. This is Colleen Clayton's debut novel, and she did a wonderful job. Based on What Happens Next, I will read anything she writes in the future. 


I give What Happens Next: 5/5


Want to know more about the author?
Website: http://colleenclayton.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ColleenYA
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5259422.Colleen_Clayton


I received this ARC from the publisher for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

ARC Review: Blind Spot by Laura Ellen

Synopsis:
There’s none so blind as they that won’t see.

Seventeen-year-old Tricia Farni’s body floated to the surface of Alaska’s Birch River six months after the night she disappeared. The night Roz Hart had a fight with her. The night Roz can’t remember. Roz, who struggles with macular degeneration, is used to assembling fragments to make sense of the world around her. But this time it’s her memory that needs piecing together—to clear her name . . . to find a murderer. This unflinchingly emotional novel is written in the powerful first-person voice of a legally blind teen who just wants to be like everyone else.


My Thoughts:

First of all, I must say something about the gorgeous cover. I love all the different colors in the eye. The contrast of the dark eye-lashes, and eye on the pale skin drew me in right away. I have mixed feelings about the book though. The story line was fantastic. It drew me in until I finished it at about 3 a.m., reading it in just four hours. I'm going to try to make this rant as spoiler free as possible. The ending really made me mad. I thought Tricia, as a character, deserved a better ending than that. I hated all the characters aside from her. She dies, so she's not even in the book for that long. The main character is a horrible person who only thinks of herself. Mr. Dellian was a complete douchebag. He kind of redeemed himself at the end, but I didn't like his reasoning for treating Roz the way he did. No one deserves to be treated that way for any reason especially by a teacher. Heather got annoying after a while. Jonathon was a jerk. Greg wasn't too bad, he just needed some better judgement skills. I loved Tricia and her quirky personality. She was definitely my favorite character. I could identify with her randomness and strangeness. Other than the characters, I really liked the book. I will most likely read more of the author's work in the future. 


I give Blind Spot: 3/5.


Want to know more about the author?
Website: http://www.lauraellenbooks.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LauraEllenbooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauraellenbooks
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4790114.Laura_Ellen


I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Haunted Moon by K.B. Miller

Synopsis:
Before Lilyann stepped into her destiny to lead the coven, there was another powerful Moon witch...her grandmother. 

A teenage witch-to-be in Galway, Ireland, Leeny Moon was prepared to take her rightful place in the circle along side of her family. That was until she witnessed firsthand the forthcoming nightmares she would be expected to face, vampires.

The fight between good versus evil begins here...

Blessed Be~ 


My Thoughts:
Haunted Moon was a great novella. The beginning of the book started off a little slow. However, after the first vampire attack, the book got much better. Haunted Moon is a prequel to Compulsion. Based on how much I liked Haunted Moon, I will definitely read Compulsion. There were a couple of grammar errors that I found. Other than the beginning of the book, the plot flowed smoothly. I loved the way Haunted Moon ended. It set up a plot for Compulsion perfectly. I thought the idea of witches fighting vampires was interesting. The reader often sees the two in YA novels, but rarely in the same novels. The characters were very well written. I liked all of them. Colleen was a little whiny, but she redeemed herself towards the end of the book. I really liked Haunted Moon, and can't wait to read Compulsion. 


I give Haunted Moon: 4/5.


Want to know more about the author?
Website: http://kbmillerbooks.weebly.com/
Blog: http://kbmillerbooks.blogspot.com/
Tumblr: http://kb-miller.tumblr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kbmillerbooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kbmillerbooks
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5029571.K_B_Miller

I received this book for free from Amazon. I was in no way compensated or this review.

A Life Aligned with Mary Magdalene by Renee Michelle Christian

Synopsis:

Mary was born an American army brat in Germany. Her ancestors originated from Paris, France.

The family moved back to the United States with her at a young age of three years old. She grew up a troubled child with the war’s rippling effect on her family. In her teenage years, her life became aligned with Mary Magdalene as suggested by a stranger. Each decade that passed, she was reminded of her similarity to Mary Magdalene in terms of her appearance and character. Through a near-death experience, her views on life are changed forever.

She dreamed of meeting her Prince Charming from another land since her childhood days.

Following a life of trauma, she finds herself suddenly standing before the man of her dreams—a man she had met twenty-seven years prior and longed to be reunited with. A spiritual sensation takes over, and as independent and resourceful as she is, her longings for deep and lasting intimacy supersede any selfish inclinations.

Mary was the first person to arrive at these different locations; she was by no means the only witness, named by any of the authorized gospels as a witness to Jesus’s crucifixion, His burial, and the discovery of His tomb to be empty. Could her soul have longed for Jesus since she lost Him at an early age by such violence and controversy? Could her lifelong desire to unite with Prince Charming be her Jesus in the flesh so that she might rest her soul? Or could modern-day Mary have been a student of Mary Magdalene who has come to prepare the way for Mary Magdalene’s second coming in balance of man and woman, Jesus and Mary?

My Thoughts:A Life Aligned With Mary Magdalene was a good novella. It sounds like it would be a Christian novel, but due to an f-word , I wouldn't consider it such. However, it was a very good book. In the book, Mary finds out that she is a lot like Mary Magdalene. She also has a spiritual awakening through Jesus Christ. The meeting scene was a little confusing. I didn't understand what was going on until a few pages into it. It was interesting hearing about Mary's life as a prostitute. The pimp was a bit scary at times. I felt bad for Mary, but I didn't understand how she could let him treat her the way he did. I also didn't understand why, in her next relationship, she knew the signs that her boyfriend was being abusive, but still went back to him everytime. I liked this book. The story of Mary was very inspiring to me. She had a very rough life, but she still made the best of it. I am excited to read the next book in the series when it is released. I can't wait to find out what happens between Mary and her Prince Charming.

I give A Life Aligned with Mary Magdalene: 3/5.

Want to know more about the author?

Website: http://www2.xlibris.com/books/webimages/wd/101075/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reneemichelle.christian

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Swag Giveaway Winners

Giveaway Winners!

The giveaway winners have been chosen. Congratulations to Crystal, Jen, Amanda, Gisele, Joella, Molly, Delphina, and Devyn. The emails have been sent out, and you have 48 hours to respond. Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. Also, thank you to everyone for your continued support of the blog. It means more to me than you will ever know.

My Next Ten Books to Read and Review

Hello everyone. I haven't done one of these in a long time, so I figured I would updated you with where I am in my reading pile. This does not count ARCs, which will be read and reviewed a few days before the release date.

1. Dark Side of the Mirror by R.L. Austin
I've heard a lot of good things about this book, and can't wait to start it. It should take me a few days to read.

2. Shadows by Michael Duncan
This book looks really good. It sounds like a fantasy book, and I've been looking for a good fantasy book to read. It should take about a week to finish

3. Awakening by Karice Bolton
I'm finally getting closer to starting this. It seems like I've had this book in to-review pile forever. I have the old cover version of the book, which is black and red. I'm uber excited for this one so it should only take a couple days to finish.

4. Dark Before Dawn by Stacy Juba
This is also another book I'm looking forward to starting. I haven't been able to find a lot of books about physics. I've read some of the author's other works and loved them, so I hope I love this as well.

5. The Seventeenth Pocket by Hargus Montgomery
This is a longer book, so it will probably take me a bout a week or two to read it. I've heard a lot of great things about it, and I hope it lives up to my expectations.

6. The Spirit Box by J.H. Glaze
This cover is creepy, yet awesome. I'm glad I finally get to start this book sometime in the near future and see what all the hype is about. I've met a lot of bloggers that love this book.

7. A Season of Eden by Jennifer Laurens
I am a sucker for student teacher relationships in books. I took one look at the synopsis and the cover and knew I absolutely had to read it. I've read some of the author's other works, and I love her writing style.

8. Fresh Start Summer by Beverly Nault
I haven't read a lot of  mysteries in the past. I feel that I need to read more to broaden my reading genres and followers. This will be a nice break from the books I usually read.

9. The Portal by Alan Zendell
I read the synopsis of this on Goodreads, and thought it sounded like something I would like. I'm pretty excited to read it, and learn what the portal is.

10. The Return of Innocence by Duane Simolke and Toni Davis
This looks to be a quick, fun read. The cover is beautiful. I was very excited to learn that the novel had dragons in it. It should take a couple of days to read.














Have you read any of these books? If so, comment and let me know what you thought of them.

Drain You by M. Beth Bloom

Synopsis:
Every night I'd lie there in bed and look out at the hills behind our house, listening. I knew there'd be consequences.

Actions meant reactions. Sunrises meant sunsets. My fear was too permanent, lasting longer than eyeliner, something I wore every day and didn't wash off.

Quinlan Lacey's life is a red carpet of weird fashions, hip bands, random parties, and chilling by the pool with her on-and-off BFF Libby. There's also her boring job (minimum wage), a crushed-out coworker (way too interested), her summer plans (nada), and her parents (totally clueless). Then one night she meets gorgeous James, and Quinn's whole world turns crazy, Technicolor, 3-D, fireworks, whatever.

But with good comes bad and unfortunately, Quinn's new romance brings with it some majorly evil baggage. Now, to make things right, she has to do a lot of things wrong (breaking and entering, kidnapping, lying, you name it).

There's normal, and then there's paranormal, and neither are Quinlan's cup of Diet Coke. Staying sane, cool, in love, and alive isn't so easy breezy.


My Thoughts:
Drain You is very hard for me to rate. I loved the story line. It held my attention and was a lot of fun to read. However, it had quite a few flaws. The biggest flaw for me was the irresponsible parenting. Seriously, who tells their teenager, "Be back whenever, I don't care"? When Libby (the main character's best friend) is gone for days at a time with her boyfriend, her mother doesn't care at all or do anything to stop the behavior. Most of the parents in the book, like the Sheets' parents, are gone for long periods of time. The second thing that bothered me about the book was that the 90's references seemed cliche. It almost seemed the author would randomly throw one or two in, then would shortly after forget she was writing in the 90's time period. I understand that people used cool, dude and like quite a bit in the 90's but I don't think they used it that much. I don't want to hear the word cool again for quite a long time. Other than those few things I liked the book. I finished it in just a few hours because I couldn't put it down. I liked most of the characters aside from Libby. I could not stand her. I thought she was a whiny, ungrateful person. She was also a horrible friend. I liked James, but he made me mad because of the whole 'I'm going to sleep with you then leave and not tell you where I'm going or when I'll be back' thing. OH! This brings up my other thing I had against this book. I'm not a big fan of sex in young adult books, and although the scenes weren't overly descriptive, they were still there. My favorite character was Whit. I liked his attitude. I also like that he kept Quinn happy no matter what she was going through. I liked Drain You, but I didn't love it. I reccomend it to fans of paranormal romance and for older YA (16+).


I give Drain You: 3.5/5.


Want to know more about the author?
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5766217.M_Beth_Bloom
Twitter: http://twitter.com/QuinlanLacey
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Drain-You/293767440710504

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.