Let It Be Me by Toni Aleo (Promo & Giveaway)

Let It Be Me by Toni Aleo
Release Date: October 2, 2013
Publisher: Self-Published

Do you see that woman there?
The one with long, wavy blond hair and blue eyes that used to sparkle?
That’s me, Violet Moore.
Do you see those men over there?
One is my husband, Rob.
A man who claimed he loved me, but proved his fist loved me more.
The other is Tucker McCloud, my savior and confidant.
I'm torn between what's right and my own fear.
But not anymore.
I’m taking my life back now.
I will fight back.
I will be happy.

EXCERPT:

I jump when he snatches the letter from my hands. When I look up, Rob is glaring at me before he throws the paper in the trash. He dumps his bowl in the sink before turning to look at me.

“Are you going to go back to Colorado?” I ask trying to act as if I’m not scared shitless of him.

“Nope, I can’t get off of work. Don’t you worry your little head about it though, it doesn’t concern you,” he says before crossing his arms across his chest. “What I want to know is how you got back to Colorado? Did your mom pay for it?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitation. I’m not stupid, I know you may think differently but I’m not.

“Didn’t I tell you that you couldn’t go?”

I shake my head. “No, you said you didn’t have any money and then hung up on me. Not once did you say I couldn’t go. I wasn’t going to miss my grandma’s funeral so I asked my mom.”

“I’m pretty sure I said you couldn’t.”

“You didn’t,” I say.

“Whatever, she didn’t love you anyway. I don’t know why you wasted your time or your mom’s money.”

Rage rips through me, and I swear I can only see red as I sneer out, “That’s a fucking lie and you know it.”

He laughs looking off to the side. When he comes off the counter, I take a step back but the way the kitchen is set up, the counter makes a L shape and I am stuck in the corner with nowhere to go. When he reaches for my face, I smack away his hands and I guess that surprises him because he stops, his eyes wide as he glares down at me.

“Did you just hit me?”

“I don’t want you grabbing on to me,” I say, my voice breaking as I look up at him.

“What the fuck is your problem?” he yells, making me jump.

I try to act like he doesn’t faze me, but I know it isn’t working. My hands are up, trying to protect my face and my chest is rapidly rising and falling. Swallowing loudly, I say, “You have to stop hitting me. It isn’t right and I don’t deserve it. People are starting to notice, people are asking questions.”

He glares before saying, “Do I look like I fucking care about the people asking questions or if they notice? You are mine.”

“You don’t own me, Rob,” I whisper, shaking my head.

Why I said that is beyond me. I should have just agreed, walked away but instead I say that. Within second his face is red, his hands are shaking and he towers over me. He smacks away my hands, wraps his fingers around my throat and starts to squeeze. I reach up, trying to pull his hand away but he presses his body against mine, holding one of my hands up as he continues to squeeze. I can’t breathe, my vision is spotty and I know this is it.

He is going to kill me.

About Toni:
Toni Aleo is the author of the Nashville Assassins series: Taking Shots, Trying to Score, Empty Net, and Blue Lines. When not rooting for her beloved Nashville Predators, she’s probably going to her husband’s and son’s hockey games and her daughter’s dance competitions, taking pictures, scrapbooking, or reading the latest romance novel. She lives in the Nashville area with her husband, two children, and a bulldog.

Where to find Toni:
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

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This Tasty Review Tour runs from September 30 - October 11

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Jade Kerrion: Character Interview with Zara

Today I'm pleased to welcome back Jade Kerrion for an interview with Zara, the main character of her Double Helix series.

Today, on our character interview, we’re pleased to welcome Zara Itani, from the seven-time award-winning Double Helix series. Her author, Jade Kerrion, has insisted on sitting in on the interview. It’s not quite the norm, but we’ve agreed to Jade’s request. Let’s start with some easy questions, Zara. How did you first meet Jade Kerrion? Want to dish about her?

Zara: I think Jade was having a midlife crisis when we met. She was growing older, and realized that she was going to live out her life in the frantic corporate rat race of America, while being a mom with husband, two kids, and a mini van. She probably felt that she needed to live vicariously through someone else, namely me.

Jade: I am not having a midlife crisis!

Did you ever think that your life would end up being in a book?

Zara: I’m a mercenary, and I own an agency of mercenaries. No, I do not crave the spotlight or expect to make headlines, at least not with my name in print next to my unfortunate victims. Jade, however, appears to be a strong proponent of full disclosure—it’s amazing, though how her novels are full of people who never disclose anything to anyone else—and she decided to get my name out there.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the Double Helix series.

Zara: My favorite scene from the first three books takes place in the second book, Perfect Betrayal. It’s an intimate moment with Danyael Sabre. It’s especially memorable because, if you know Danyael, then you know that Danyael doesn’t do “intimate” often. Danyael, of course, swears the encounter never took place. He’s lying, of course. We have a daughter and five genetic tests to prove it. (smiles) Of course, I have many favorite scenes in Jade’s upcoming novel, Perfection Challenged. The closing scene is particularly memorable.

It sounds like you have a complicated relationship with Danyael. Tell the truth. What do you think of your fellow characters?

Zara (arching a perfectly tweezed eyebrow): They’re…charming, like black mambas are charming. Still, we’ve gone through a great deal together, and on a good day, I’d trust them, but not too much.

What do you like best about Danyael Sabre? What do you like least?

Zara: Do we have to talk about Danyael?

Well, your name is frequently mentioned in conjunction with his name and Galahad’s. How do you choose between two men who look alike?

Zara: Danyael is Galahad’s physical template, but in every other way that matters, they are nothing like each other. Galahad, the lab-created perfect human being, is eager and impatient to seize the world. On the other hand, Danyael, after a traumatic childhood as an undiagnosed alpha empath, wants nothing more than to be left alone to do his job as a doctor in a charity clinic. I used to think Danyael was evasive and a coward, unwilling to face his past or embrace his mutant powers. He isn’t really. He’s both courageous and compassionate, but most people don’t see him for what he is.

And what about you? What impression do you make on people when they first meet you? How about after they’ve known you for a while?

Zara: Ideally, they’d know me as a practical, levelheaded person who isn’t afraid of doing what it takes to get things done. After they’ve known me for a while, I hope they’ll continue to say the same thing.

Jade (in a stage whisper): Ask her about that compassionate streak…

Zara (shrugs an elegant shoulder): Not there. It doesn’t exist, and you can’t prove it.

Ladies, please. Zara, what would Danyael say about you?

Zara (flashes an amused smile): Ah, he’s much too polite to say anything, but if he did, I imagine he would say that I’m more abrasive than steel wool, and that I have a cruel and ruthless streak several miles wide. He wouldn’t say anything about compassion.

Jade (scowling): He wouldn’t have fallen in love with you otherwise…

Jade, if you don’t mind, I’m interviewing Zara here. Zara, if your story were a movie, who would play you?

Zara: Kate Beckinsale would do a great job. She’s beautiful, and she knows how to kick ass. She’s not Lebanese-Venezuelan, but nobody’s perfect.

Will you encourage your author to write a sequel?

Zara: She’s already written four Double Helix novels, five, if you include the Young Adult spinoff, When the Silence Ends. She insists that Perfection Challenged is the end of the Double Helix series, but that’s not to say that there aren’t other stories to be told about the world of the Double Helix. Knowing her, she’ll be back with another fascinating story about my world and the people who live in it.

What do you like to do when you are not being actively read somewhere?

Zara: You already know what I do for a living; I find ways to keep busy to pay the bills. I also have a two-year-old daughter, Laura. She’s learning her alphabet by reading Dr. Seuss and gun catalogs.

Jade (pulls Zara to her feet and drags her away): I am so sorry. This is why I don’t let my characters out unsupervised. I think they say stuff like that just to embarrass me.

Ah, okay, and that brings to an abrupt end our interview with Zara Itani today. Thank you for joining us for this character interview, and we hope you’ll take the opportunity to get to know Zara better in the DOUBLE HELIX series.

“The best of the four books…the perfect ending to an amazing series.”

Perfection Challenged, the thrilling conclusion to the multiple award-winning, bestselling DOUBLE HELIX series, is finally here. Grab your copy today.

If you’ve never picked up the DOUBLE HELIX series, keep reading for a special offer on the six-time award-winning novel, Perfection Unleashed.

PERFECTION CHALLENGED

An alpha empath, Danyael Sabre has survived abominations and super soldiers, terrorists and assassins, but he cannot survive his failing body. He wants only to live out his final days in peace, but life and the woman he loves, the assassin Zara Itani, have other plans for him.

Galahad, the perfect human being created by Pioneer Labs, is branded an international threat, and Danyael is appointed his jury, judge, and executioner. Danyael alone believes that Galahad can be the salvation that the world needs, but is the empath blinded by the fact that Galahad shares his genes, and the hope that there is something of him in Galahad?

In a desperate race against time and his own dying body, Danyael struggles to find fragments of good in the perfect human being, and comes to the wrenching realization that his greatest battle will be a battle for the heart of the man who hates him.

E-books available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Apple iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords

Paperbacks available at Amazon / Amazon UK

PERFECTION UNLEASHED

Two men, one face. One man seeks to embrace destiny, the other to escape it.

Danyael Sabre spent sixteen years clawing out of the ruins of his childhood and finally has everything he wanted--a career, a home, and a trusted friend. To hold on to them, he keeps his head down and plays by the rules. An alpha empath, he is powerful in a world transformed by the Genetic Revolution, yet his experience has taught him to avoid attention.

When the perfect human being, Galahad, escapes from Pioneer Laboratories, the illusory peace between humans and their derivatives--the in vitros, clones, and mutants--collapses into social upheaval. The abominations, deformed and distorted mirrors of humanity, created unintentionally in Pioneer Lab's search for perfection, descend upon Washington D.C. The first era of the Genetic Revolution was peaceful. The second is headed for open war.

Although the genetic future of the human race pivots on Galahad, Danyael does not feel compelled to get involved and risk his cover of anonymity, until he finds out that the perfect human being looks just like him.

FOR A LIMITED TIME, E-BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR JUST $0.99 (Discounted from $2.99)

E-books available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Apple / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords

Paperbacks available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository

Connect with Jade Kerrion:

Website / Facebook / Twitter

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
Release Date: September 9, 2013
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Pages: 320
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Kate Worthington knows her heart and she knows she will never marry. Her plan is to travel to India instead—if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. She makes a bargain with Kate: India, yes, but only after Kate has secured—and rejected—three marriage proposals.

Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?

Set in Northern England in 1820, Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn how to follow her heart. It is Wuthering Heights meets Little Women with a delicious must-read twist.

My Thoughts:
I absolutely adored Julianne Donaldson's first novel, ‘Edenbrooke’, so I was very excited to delve into ‘Blackmoore’, another historical romance. Both of Julianne’s books straddle the line between Young Adult and Adult. YA isn’t as clear of a category in historical novels, but I definitely feel this would work for both audiences, since it is a clean romance.

Julianne Donaldson definitely knows how to bring on the swoon while keeping things PG. There’s such a yearning to this novel, with Kate pining after her best friend, who is meant to marry someone else. She hides her feelings by talk of adventure, and has made it very clear to everyone that she never wants to marry. Of course, as the reader we get a definite sense that Henry loves Kate as well, but he simply can’t admit it because of his position, or he doesn’t want to because of how clear Kate is on never marrying.

What this author does so well is bringing out such emotion in her characters, and therefore in her readers. You can just feel the chemistry between Kate and Henry, both in the present and in flashbacks from their friendship. You can also feel the pain in Kate having to deal with her flirty, busybody mother and Henry’s snobby, plotting mother. Then there’s Henry’s intended, the insufferable Juliet, and Sylvia, Henry’s sister, who used to be friends with Kate, but is now a stranger.

I flew through this book, because it was just so easy to feel a kinship with Kate and to fall in love with Henry alongside her. I love when you want to reach right in and shake the characters, to force them to work things out, and that definitely happened here. I was so invested in the characters and their happiness. ‘Blackmoore’ is a clean romance that manages to be superbly swoony, and it’s a great introduction to historical romance.

The Cover:
Pretty!

Rating:
[5/5]

Find Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

You can find many more reviews for 'Blackmoore' (as well as a few giveaways and guest posts) by visiting Shadow Mountain's blog tour page.

Namesake by Sue MacLeod: Excerpt & Giveaway

Namesake by Sue MacLeod
Release Date: May 1, 2013 (Canada) / September 1, 2013 (US)
Publisher: Pajama Press
Pages: 230

It started with a history project. Mr. Gregor assigned a research paper on a figure from the Tudor era, and of course Jane Grey had to pick her namesake—Lady Jane Grey, the fifteen-year-old girl whose parents schemed to place her on the throne of England, then abandoned her to face the executioner. The project is engrossing from the start, but when Jane opens a mysterious prayer book and finds herself in the Tower of London in 1553, she ends up literally drawn into her namesake’s story. Soon, Jane is slipping into the past whenever the present becomes too unbearable, avoiding her mother’s demands, her best friend’s fickleness, her crush’s indifference. In the Tower she plays chess with the imprisoned Lady Jane, awed by her new friend’s strength and courage. And it is in the Tower, keeping vigil as the day of the execution draws near, that Jane learns that she, too, must have the courage to fight for her own happiness.

Namesake by Sue MacLeod (Excerpt)

Thanks to Pajama Press I am able to offer a giveaway of Namesake to one lucky winner with a US or Canadian address.
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Cover Reveal: One & Only by Viv Daniels

I am thrilled to be taking part in the cover reveal for One & Only by Viv Daniels, aka the romance pen name for Diana Peterfreund.

Diana's Secret Society Girl novels are basically my favourite example of New Adult novels, even though they were released in the adult category way before college-set novels were popular. Needless to say, I'm thrilled to see what Viv Daniels has in store for us with One & Only.

Before you check out the cover, here's what the novel is about:

One & Only by Viv Daniels
Releasing November 8, 2013

One night they can't forget...

Tess McMann lives her life according to the secrets she's sworn to keep: the father who won't acknowledge her, the sister who doesn't know she exists, and the mother who's content playing mistress to a prominent businessman. When she meets the distractingly cute Dylan Kingsley at a prestigious summer program and falls in love, Tess allows herself to imagine a life beyond these secrets. But when summer ends, so does their relationship -- Dylan heads off to Canton College while Tess enrolls at the state university.

One love they can't ignore...

Two years later, a scholarship brings Tess to Canton and back into Dylan's life. Their attraction is as strong as ever, but Dylan has a girlfriend…who also happens to be Tess's legitimate half-sister. Tess refuses to follow in her mother's footsteps, which leaves her only one choice: break the rules she’s always followed, or allow Dylan to slip away for a second time.

...And only one chance to get things right.

And here's the cover, created by Okay Creations:

About Viv:
Viv Daniels writes love stories for the young and young at heart. Like many of her characters, she met her husband in college, and knows all the ins and outs of navigating that kind of relationship — from how to date when you’re both flat broke to how to fit two people in narrow dorm room bed. Her favorite new adult authors include Tammara Weber, J. Lynn, and Cora Carmack. Viv can usually be found on her Facebook page or Twitter feed, chatting with readers about her favorite New Adult fiction, or sharing pictures of cute boys. She lives outside of Washington D.C. with her family.

Where to find Viv:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads



And there's a GIVEAWAY!! If you'd like to check out the Secret Society Girl books (and you definitely do!), here's your chance to win some signed copies:

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Waiting on Wednesday (34)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where bloggers feature upcoming book releases that they're looking forward to.

This week I'm eagerly anticipating...

Ashes to Ashes

by Melissa Walker

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Release Date: December 23, 2013

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

If I Stay meets the movie Ghost in this first book in a teen duology about a teenage-girl-turned-ghost who must cling to the echoes of her former life to save the people she left behind.

Ashes to Ashes is author Melissa Walker's sweeping, romantic, and emotionally rich story about the things that torment and tempt us, even from the Great Beyond. This book is perfect for fans of Die for Me and Imaginary Girls, and its breathtaking ending will leave readers anxiously awaiting the series conclusion, Dust to Dust.

When Callie's life is cut short by a tragic accident, she expects to find nothingness, or maybe some version of heaven.

Instead, her spirit travels to the Prism, an ethereal plane populated by the ghosts she thought were fictional. Here she meets a striking and mysterious ghost named Thatcher, who is meant to guide her as she learns to haunt and bring peace to the loved ones she left behind.

However, Callie uncovers a dark secret about the spirit world: The angry souls who always populate ghost stories are real, dangerous, and willing to do whatever it takes to stay on Earth, threatening the existence of everyone she ever cared about.

As she fights to save them, Callie will learn that while it may no longer beat, her heart can still love-and break.

I've been a fan of Melissa's for even longer than I've been blogging... she was one of the first authors I started chatting with online, in fact. I love the stories she tells, and while this is a departure from her strictly contemporary novels, I just know she'll do it justice. Label anything If I Stay meets Ghost and I am all over that! Add in that it's from Melissa, and I am even more excited.

Avery's Designs Grand Opening Giveaway

Today I am pleased to help promote Avery's Designs, a new design service run by my fellow Canadian blogger Avery, who runs Avery's Book Nook, and who also happens to be my book BFF.

Avery's designs are super fun, and I love that her goal is to make blog design easy and affordable. Her blog packages (which include a header, button, and avatar) are only $25! We'd love for you to take part in the grand opening celebration by entering to win 1 of 2 complete blog makeovers (this includes the winner's choice of Avery's premade designs AND installation of said design, which is a $35 value)!

This is the perfect opportunity for those who have always wanted to start a blog, but have yet to do so, or for those seasoned bloggers who feel like their blog could use a facelift! Make your blog stand out with her one-of-a-kind, professional designs!

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Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood

Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood
Release Date: June 18, 2013
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Pages: 371
Series: Cahill Witch Chronicles #2
Review Source: Received via Netgalley, but review is based on my own finished copy

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

My Thoughts:
If you’re looking for a series book with a Happily Ever After then you should probably look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for something absolutely gripping, a book that will draw you in on every page, and will make you throw your hands up at the end and scream “whyyyyy?!?!?!” (that isn’t hyperbole, that was my actual response), then please, please check out ‘Star Cursed’, and the first volume of the Cahill Witch Chronicles, ‘Born Wicked’.

There are so many reasons to like these books. The world building is intricately structured, with such an intelligently written focus on gender roles. Just like in our world there are different factions within groups arguing about how to change the status quo and bring women back into power. 'Star Cursed' brings us to New London, a location which we only heard about in Born Wicked, a place where the Brotherhood rules even more strictly, especially as increased restrictions on women are being put into place.

While all the characters are layered and interesting, Cate is the real reason why these books work so well. Cate is so strong, even when her hands are tied. She cares so much, and she wants to do what is right. She doubts herself, like anyone would, but she really grows into her own in this book, embracing her power and seeing how magic can be very good or very bad, depending on who’s wielding it.

Without getting too much into spoilers, I just adore the relationship between Cate and Finn. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out how lovely they are together, and how refreshing it is to see a pair who suit each other so well, and respect each other so much. But while the romance is spectacular, the even stronger relationships in these books belong to those of the three sisters: Cate, Maura, and Tess. There is such an intense dynamic at play here, especially between Cate and Maura. Their bond is very complicated, but it’s one that Jessica Spotswood writes flawlessly.

As you may have been able to tell from my first paragraph, it’s putting it kindly to say that the ending of this book is cliffhanger-y (an official term) and heartbreaking. Even though I thought I saw it coming, it still completely broke me, just like the ending of ‘Born Wicked’ did, except this time even more so. As of writing this review it’s been a couple of weeks since reading the book, but I still feel all those emotions. When I think about the book my heart races and I want to start counting days until the next book’s release, except I know acknowledging that wait will break my heart even more. Basically? Jessica Spotswood sure knows how to leave her readers dying for more. I would seriously dislike her for that ending if a) she wasn’t so sweet a person, and b) her books weren’t so brilliantly crafted. Highly, highly recommended.

The Cover:
I liked the original series design better, but this is still gorgeous!

Rating:
[5/5]

Find Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

All Of You by Christina Lee

All Of You by Christina Lee
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Publisher: Intermix (Penguin)
Pages: 219 (approximately, per Amazon)
Series: n/a
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Avery has just met her hot upstairs neighbor. He's irresistible. Tattooed. And a virgin.

Nursing student Avery Michaels wants nothing to do with dating—she's perfectly happy single. Privy to too many of her mother's bad decisions and even worse taste in boyfriends, all Avery can handle is a string of uncomplicated hookups whenever the mood strikes.

When she meets smoking hot tattoo artist Bennett, she wants him—for just one night. But he won't accept a no-strings-attached arrangement. He lives by a straight-laced code of values based on his own troubled upbringing.

Bennett sees something special in Avery and he wants more from her. Way more. As Avery wrestles with her emotions for Bennett, danger and tragedy force them to open up to each other. And Avery must face the terrifying realization that she wants more from him, too.

So she needs to make a choice—let Bennett go or finally let him in.

My Thoughts:
It's funny how a book can follow tropes and tell a story you've read a million times before, and yet it can still touch you and bring something different to the table. If you read the synopsis for ‘All of You’ you might think it sound like every other New Adult book out there (granted, with a twist on gender roles), and you wouldn’t be inherently wrong. But I’ve read many New Adult novels with similar sounding plots, and a large number of them I disliked. I’m picky with romance, especially New Adult, as there are more and more released each week, and the books really need to step up in order to be unique and enjoyable. Thankfully Christina Lee knows how to take something you’ve read before and make it her own, simply by writing characters with depth, ones who you really feel something for. I really enjoyed the writing style in ‘All of You’, and I adored the connection between Avery and Bennett.

I loved how Avery tries to make herself appear one way, but that in reality she’s a very sensitive and caring person. She cares so much for her brother, and her job at the nursing home shows how she applies those values on a larger scale. I loved reading about her interactions with a very special lady named Mrs. Jackson, one of a few people who really cares for Avery, and who Avery lets into her life in return. I liked how Bennett and Avery actually came from such similar circumstances, and yet turned into such different, but compatible, individuals. While I felt like sexual situations happened too quickly between Bennett and Avery, they weren’t so over the top that they seemed unrealistic.

Overall I liked all the different aspects of this book: the friendship, the family issues, and the romance. It presented “people with tragic pasts find happiness in each other” without too much angst or ridiculousness. While I can’t say this book is truly unique, I can say that it’s well worth a read and is one of the better New Adult books I’ve read with this type of plot.

The Cover:
Typical NA cover, but it's not bad. I like the font treatment, simple as it is.

Rating:
[4/5]

Add All Of You by Christina Lee on Goodreads. Purchase from Amazon, B&N, Google Books, & iBooks.

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Pages: 288
Series: n/a
Review Source: eARC for review from publisher through Raincoast Books

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

My Thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book. Any hype that you’ve been hearing about it? Totally true. ‘This Song Will Save Your Life’ is a powerful and emotional novel that truly made me feel things. This whole book felt like an anthem to me: one about discovering yourself and realizing you're good enough. It spoke to me about issues of control -- that you can control yourself and how you act and react, but that you have no say over what other people do. Some people will disappoint you, but the beautiful thing is that other people will surprise and delight you.

As the title indicates, this book is a love letter to, and about, music. The power of music for Elise is huge. What’s awesome about this book, though, is that it will make you see the beauty in music, whether you’re a music person or not, but it can also be seen as a book about finding and embracing your passion, whatever that may be.

The characters in this novel are all so real and true feeling. They’re not stock characters at all. I could relate so much to the emotions of Elise, both at the beginning when she feels alone and like she doesn’t belong, and as she grows and learns throughout the novel. Basically, as I stated at the very beginning of this review, I absolutely loved this book! It’s a powerful story, written in an extremely gorgeous way. I highly recommend this book, as well as Leila Sales’ other novels (Past Perfect & Mostly Good Girls).

The Cover:
Like!

Rating:
[5/5]

Find This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.