Early Review: Finding Paris by Joy Preble

Finding Paris by Joy Preble
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Release Date: April 21, 2015
# of Pages: 272
Synopsis: A page-turning, evocative novel for fans of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY and SPEAK, about a girl who must follow a trail of mysterious clues to discover what happened to her sister.

Sisters Leo and Paris Hollings have only ever had each other to rely on. They can’t trust their mother, who hops from city to city and from guy to guy, or their gambler stepfather, who’s moved them all to Las Vegas. It’s just the two of them: Paris, who’s always been the dreamer, and Leo, who has a real future in mind—going to Stanford, becoming a doctor, falling in love.

But Leo isn’t going anywhere yet… until Paris ditches her at the Heartbreak Hotel Diner, where moments before they had been talking with physics student Max Sullivan. Outside, Leo finds a cryptic note from Paris—a clue. Is it some kind of game? Where is Paris, and why has she disappeared?

When Leo reluctantly accepts Max’s offer of help, the two find themselves following a string of clues through Vegas and beyond. But the search for the truth is a not a straight line. And neither is the path to secrets Leo and Max hold tightly.

My Review:

I received Finding Paris by Joy Preble from the program, Around The World ARC Tours where you can get ARCS to read and review, and then pass on to the next person.

Finding Paris was amazing the whole way through. The characters were great, the plot was intense with all its plot twists I found myself never wanting to put the book down. In the very beginning we meet sisters Leo and Paris. First off I love the way they are introduced, with Paris waking Leo up in the middle of the night for pie because of a boy. It just showed their character and I found it very interesting.

When Tommy is first introduced, there was not anything I felt was strange about him. He just seemed like a normal drunken stepfather, this is really common in books so I did not think anything of it. I immediately loved Max when he came into the picture. The way Leo approached him with pie in hand, it was incredibly cute and I loved it.

I obviously already knew that Paris was going to disappear because it reveals that to us in the synopsis but I was still confused when it happened. The first not said something like he made me do it, and I kept trying to figure out who ‘he’ was but I did not start figuring it out who it was until the end of the book. Paris leaving almost was a good thing though because it really brought Leo and Max together for the better. The two had their ups and downs yes but they had just met, they cannot be expected to love everything about each other right away. So the few tiffs they had were to be expected.

The ending completely threw me! I was definitely not expecting what happened. I read the few pages that the secret came out on and said out loud, “plot twist,” everyone around me was confused but it made sense to me. In the end I fell more in love with the bond that Paris and Leo had for each other, and what lengths they were willing to go to for each other. I have always wanted a sister so I could have that kind of bond with someone. 

 

 

 

Stacking The Shelves - January 24, 2015

Hello Bookies, how are you all on this very snowy day? This is going up a little late but we are in the middle of a snow storm, and I also just got home from work. So it has been a very slow day.

In other news! Here are the books I have received recently!
Bought:
Still Alice by Lisa Geneova

Borrowed: 
Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Septeys 

From Work:
All Fall Down by Ally Carter

Around The World ARC Tours:
Finding Paris by Joy Preble

School:
Slavery & Freedom by James Oakes

For Review:
Bit Players, Has Been Actors & Other Posers by S.M. Stevens
Bit Players, Bullies & Righteous Revels by S.M. Stevens
Bit Players, Bird Girls & Fake Break Ups by S.M. Stevens

My Reviews You May Have Missed! 

When by Victoria Laurie  Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

The 52nd by Dela

Thanks for stopping by! Leave links to your hauls, and STS' below :)

Book Blitz: The Clone Chronicles by Heather Hildenbrand

   

Deviation by Heather Hildenbrand

Publisher: Alloy

Release Date: December 30, 2014

Synopsis: Until a month ago, eighteen-year-old Ven had never set foot outside the windowless warehouse where she was created. An Imitation of Raven Rogen, Ven spent her days confined in the lab, studying videos of her Authentic, all so she could step into Raven’s life at a moment’s notice.

Now, Ven lives in Raven’s penthouse apartment, kisses Raven’s boyfriend, and obeys every order from Raven’s dad, Titus Rogen—the very man who created her. But Ven has a secret plan. She doesn’t want Raven’s life. She wants her own. In the action-packed sequel of Imitation, Ven wages a dangerous war against Titus. First she’ll free herself, then she’ll free every last Imitation. . . . 

Purchase on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1wXxNHZ

Haven't started the Imitation series yet?

Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand

Publisher: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform

Release Date: April 3, 2013

Synopsis: Everyone is exactly like me. There is no one like me.

Ven wrestles with these contradicting truths every day. A clone of wealthy eighteen-year-old Raven Rogen, Ven knows everything about the girl she was created to serve: the clothes she wears, the boys she loves, the friends she loves to hate. Yet she’s never met the Authentic Raven face-to-face. Imitations like Ven only get to leave the lab when they’re needed—to replace a dead Authentic, donate an organ, or complete a specific mission. And Raven has never needed Ven . . . until now. When there is an attack on Raven’s life, Ven is thrust into the real world, posing as Raven to draw out the people who tried to harm her. But as Ven dives deeper into Raven’s world, she begins to question everything she was ever told. She exists for Raven, but is she prepared to sacrifice herself for a girl she’s never met? Fans of Cinder, The Selection and Sara Shepard’s Lying Game series will love Imitation, a thrilling, action-packed novel sure to keep readers guessing until the very last page.   

Purchase on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1AO8UlO
 

Meet The Author:

Website Facebook Twitter

Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. (She's only slightly socially awkward as a result.) Since 2011, she's published more than eight YA & NA novels including the bestselling Dirty Blood series. She splits her time between coastal Virginia and the island of Guam and loves having a mobile career and outrageous lifestyle of living in two places. Her most frequent hobbies are riding motorcycles and avoiding killer slugs.

Heather is also a publishing and success coach bent on equipping and educating artists who call themselves authors. She loves teaching fellow writers how to create the same freedom-based lifestyle she enjoys. For more information visit www.phoenixauthorink.com and find out how to create your own OutRAGEous Life. She is represented by Rebecca Friedman. You can find out more about Heather and her books at www.heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com

Early Review: When by Victoria Laurie

When by Victoria Laurie 
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: January 13, 2014
Book Format: e-ARC
# of Pages: 336
Synopsis: Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.

Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client's young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not the how, she’s unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie.

Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be connected to it all, Maddie's whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she right things before it's too late?

Meet The Author: (Taken From Goodreads)

 Victoria Laurie is the New York Times bestselling author of 26 books and counting. Victoria divides her time between her two adult mystery series, (The Psychic Eye Mysteries, and The Ghost Hunter Mysteries), and a Y/A thriller, When (Formerly titled Death Date), to be released in early January of 2015.

As a professional psychic, Victoria's protagonists - psychic Abigail Cooper, and spiritual medium M. J. Holliday - tackle the tricky world of the paranormal while fighting bad guys and demons with plenty of plucky humor and determination.

And using that keen understanding of the paranormal, Victoria also created the character of Maddie Fynn, a teenager with the unique intuitive ability to predict the exact date of someone's death.

To showcase her writing range, Victoria has also penned a children's epic adventure series, The Oracles of Delphi Keep.


My Review:
I received When by Victoria Laurie from the publisher and this is my honest review.

By the time this book was downloaded to my kindle app I had completely forgotten what the concept of the story was. So, after reading the first chapter or two I was pleasantly surprised.
In the beginning we meet the main character Maddie who has a very special ability, and that is she can see a persons death date by simply looking at their forehead. The concept of this novel, is so refreshing compared to all the other overused YA subjects like vampires, werewolves, etc. A young teenager being able to read anyone and everyones death date is an interesting concept, and could make for a very well written story which Laurie has proved.

Maddie has had this ability ever since she could remember, and has used it to help people since the death of her father when she was younger. She felt that if she had warned her father of his date he would still be alive and well today. In the book, Maddie is living alone with her alcoholic mother doing anything she can to bring in money. For example she started a small business to read individuals death dates for them. But when one client comes in, everything goes very wrong.

I found myself not being able to stop reading this book from the minute I started it until the very last page. There were so many lovable thing incorporated into the book. For instance, Stubby had to be by far my favorite character. He was such an innocent kid, that every time something bad happened it upset me greatly. I felt for both Maddie and Stubby and was rooting for everything to end in their favor.

Another really lovable character by far was Mrs. Duncan, from the very beginning of the story all the way until the end she made sure that especially Maddie, her mother, and sometimes uncle Donny were well taken care of. Everything this sweet old lady did was amazing and I loved every time she had a part in the story.

Laurie did an amazing job ending the book. I was so into figuring out who was committing all the murders throughout the whole book. But let me just say I had no clue who it possibly could have been. I had a few hunches but I never suspected the person that it ended up being, when Maddie walked into her house and was attacked I almost yelled PLOT TWIST! I was so surprised.

In the end I am very glad I had the opportunity to read this book, I loved all the characters they all had huge parts and made the story interesting and fun to read. Maddie was a young but very strong girl dealing with a lot and I was rooting for her and her family to pull through the whole time. I am very satisfied with the ending. 

Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martins Griffin
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Book Format: Hardcover
# of Pages: 326
Synopsis: Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Meet The Author: (Taken From Goodreads)

Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

More at rainbowrowell.com.





My Review:

I bought Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell with my own money, and this is my honest review.

Recently I decided to buddy read Eleanor & Park with Dela; who just happens to be the author of another book I recently finished, The 52nd which by the way is amazing and I highly recommend everyone to check it out. But back to the topic at hand, I have heard amazing things about all of Rowells books but never had the chance to pick one up for myself until now.

I must say the fact that the story is based in 1986, makes it that much more enjoyable. I feel like it probably would be more profound to someone who was alive at this point in time, but just the fact that Rowell took a risk and chose that year rather than present day was interesting. Another aspect that drew me in, was Eleanor and Parks reactions to each other in the beginning pages. Early on Eleanor refers to Park as a stupid asian quite often and I got a kick out of it every time.

Their love was not instant, which lets face it makes the story that much better. It bugs me when people lay eyes on each other and its like, “I don’t know you but I love you.” The way these two started off made for a much better story. Another great part was the ice breaker between them which was when Park started giving Eleanor comics to read, that made me melt. Another feature that making their love iconic was how awkward the two of them were when their romance started, “Jesus. Was it possible to rape someones hand?” (Rowell, 74) I laughed out loud to this line for a while.

The background characters really added to the story in this case. My favorite was Parks mom for the sole fact that she was asian and Rowell most of the time did a great job making her accent stand out. The character that I hated the most though, you would think was her stepfather, but it actually was Eleanor's mother for me. The reason being is because she had like 6 kids in that house sleeping in one room, they had pretty much nothing, and were all being subjected to the rath of their stepfather. I mean come on now, how much does it take for her eyes to open and something to be done?

The ending was just meh for me. I was hoping for and expecting so much more, and as imagined the end just left me feeling empty and wanting more. Yes I know this is some authors goal, but the way the whole book went I felt as though it was supposed to be a happily ever happy ending, and while it was a safe ending for Eleanor it was most certainly not happily ever after.

Favorite Quotes:

“Nobody thinks Asian guys are hot.” Park said finally. (272)

“She kissed him with tongue. On the bus.” (219)

“Did you really kick him in the face?” his dad asked” (133)

“Jesus. Was it possible to rape somebodys hand?” (74)