Touching Melody by RaShelle Workman

Touching Melody by RaShelle Workman
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Polished Pen Press
Pages: 161
Series: Forever First #1
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Sometimes life isn't pretty, but you have to close your eyes and let go...

Maddie Martin's first weekend at college is nothing like she's used to. It's wild, like the wilderness on which the University of Bellam Springs sits. Roped into going to a fraternity party, she literally runs into Kyle Hadley. The boy she's loved since she was nine. The boy she promised all of her firsts to. But that was before his father killed her parents.

Determined to stay away from him, she throws herself into her music. Practicing piano eases her heavy heart, calms the sadness, and pushes away images of Kyle's face.

Until it doesn't.

Her music professor asks her to play a duet for their annual Winter Gala. Doing so means she'll be assured another full ride scholarship. It's an opportunity she can't pass up.

But Kyle is the other half of the duet. And that means hours and hours of practicing.

Weeks of seclusion - just the two of them. And it's more than just music. It's passion like Maddie never believed was possible.

The inevitable happens. She falls in love with him all over again.

But, will loving him be enough to erase all the hate in her heart for his father? Can she look at him, and not see the evil in his family tree?

And maybe it's all a set up. Maybe Kyle is only pretending to care so he can finish what his father started, and kill her too

My Thoughts:
You guys, just look at that synopsis. Admittedly it’s super dramatic, but think about how intriguing that story could be! I was totally drawn in by the plot description, and despite the inevitable chemistry angle of the story, I felt like it could be so different from a lot of New Adult titles out there. Unfortunately it fell into so many of the tropes of the genre, and not in any good way. Kyle is the guy who has a crazy reputation with women. Maddie is the shy virgin who’s been saving herself for Kyle, and yet she’s somehow afraid of him too. I didn’t get how she could want this guy so much while supposedly being terrified of him.

I feel like the book had serious potential, but so many moments were wasted. There wasn’t a lot of segue between important moments, and scenes where important conversations should have taken place turned into make out scenes instead. The whole feel of the book was weird, like reactions and discussions that were very necessary got cut in favour of kissing. I’m all about kissing scenes, but when they feel awkward and out of place instead of hot? Not so good.

Instead of getting better the book then delved into something even crazy, which just made it seem all the more ridiculous. I so wish I could say I liked this one, because negative reviews make me sad, but 'Touching Melody' was just over the top and all over the place -- definitely not the book for me.

The Cover:
A little washed out for my taste, but still pretty, especially with the music note details.

Rating:
[1/5]

Add Touching Melody by RaShelle Workman to Goodreads. Find a coupon plus purchase link on RaShelle's site.

The Kiss Off by Sarah Billington

Release Date: May 15, 2012
Publisher: Billington Media
Pages: 260
Series: The Kiss Off #1
Review Source: eBook from author for review

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global.

A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she’s along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn’t as easy as she had hoped.

Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.

My Thoughts:
I absolutely adored the concept of this book, and I had seen so many positive reviews, which is why I decided to accept it for review. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, because I still really love the plot of the book in general. In the end, though, this book just didn’t work for me. The whole book felt very run-on, like things kept happening and happening, but it felt like there wasn’t any real plan for the book.

Poppy also came across as a very unreliable narrator. Despite being in her head I never really felt like I knew what she was feeling. She withheld crucial information, and even after reading the whole book I still had no clue what happened with the Poppy/Cam breakup. I thought most of the characters were very shallow, and none of the secondary characters felt well developed to me.

For me the problem with this book was just a case of not being able to connect to the characters at all. There were all these relationships going on, and yet I couldn’t feel the connection between any of the characters. By the end of the book I just didn’t care what was happening, and I only managed to finish it because I was so close to the end. I hate when this happens, because it’s frustrating to me as a blogger to be so negative about a book. Unfortunately the only real positive I can come up with for this one is the premise, which unfortunately fell flat.

The Cover:
I really like it, especially the whole ticket idea for the title information.

Rating:
[1.5/5]

Find The Kiss Off by Sarah Billington on Goodreads; check Sarah's website for purchase links.

Impossible by Komal Lewis

Release Date: October 24, 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 254
Series: With Me #1
Review Source: eBook from author for review

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Ashton Summers is on her way to becoming the most popular girl in school and nothing—or no one—is going to stand in her way. Especially not Luca Byron, her freak neighbor, with his tattoos, loud music, and distracting green eyes.

Luca Byron has three goals in life: get through high school with a low profile, make sure his garage band becomes something more than a hobby, and try to forget about his insufferable ex-best friend, Ashton, who he can’t get out of his mind.

The last thing Ashton and Luca want to do is rekindle their friendship, but when Ashton takes a tumble down the social ladder, Luca—with his new makeover—is the only one who can help her rise up again by pretending to be her boyfriend. At first, being together is unbearable and annoying, but things start to change as Ashton and Luca discover the real reasons they drifted apart seven years ago.

Now, keeping their hands off each other seems impossible.

My Thoughts:
I wanted so much to like this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. Ashton, the female main character, was incredibly unlikeable. She was hard to relate to because she starts off the book treating people very badly with absolutely no reason to do so. I can deal with unlikable characters if there is a realistic plot arc of them realizing the error of their ways, but I never really felt like Ashton cared that much - or even realized - the true damage of how she had been acting. She has a mini-breakthrough and then steps right back into wanting popularity and wanting to be friends with a person who betrayed her. Ashton seems to think saying you’re sorry is a good enough exchange for years of terrible behaviour. I just couldn’t relate to her at all because of the lack of repentance.

Luca, on the other hand, was a character who I could relate to. He was generally a nice guy who cared about his friends, and about Ashton, despite how she had treated him. If anything I felt like Luca deserved better than Ashton, though I could understand how he liked her because of their years of history together.

I really love the idea of former best friends coming together romantically, but I wish there had been a real connection between the two characters instead of a relationship mostly based upon lust. I can enjoy books where relationships start off based on physical attraction when that attraction is coupled with fun and flirty behaviour. What I saw here was two people being rude to each other all the time and then manically breaking out into makeout sessions every so often. I loved the idea of ‘Impossible’, and while some will definitely enjoy it, it definitely wasn’t the book for me.

The Cover:
I really like it; it's what drew me to the book in the first place.

Rating:
[1.5/5]

Find Impossible by Komal Lewis on Goodreads, Amazon (Kindle & paperback), Smashwords (all e-formats), & Createspace (Paperback).

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Release Date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 384
Series: The Arcana Chronicles #1
Review Source: ARC from S&S Canada

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole introduces The Arcana Chronicles, post-apocalyptic tales filled with riveting action, the dark mysticism of Tarot cards, and breathtaking romance.She could save the world—or destroy it.

Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can’t do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side….

My Thoughts:
‘Poison Princess’ was very strange from the beginning, and it doesn’t help that none of the main characters were very likeable. The main character, Evie, was really bland, and despite all her freak outs I never really felt the depth of her emotions. Meanwhile, Jack, the “love interest”, is a lecherous drunk who talks about himself in the third person. There are some tiny hints of goodness in him, but he’s never really a reformed bad boy - he’s just plain bad. He supposedly cared for Evie, but really all I could see in him was crudeness as he constantly tried to have sex with her, and repeatedly mentioned how she was his only option (super charming, right?).

Beyond my huge distaste for the “romance” element I just found the whole concept of the book to be bizarre. I was actually intrigued by the “tarot card characters come to life” gimmick, but I don’t think it was explained well enough in the novel, and definitely not enough to base a whole apocalyptic plot on it. Somehow I ended up reading this book in one afternoon, so I guess readability is one thing that it has going for it, though I think I stuck with it more in a “WTF is going on here?!” kind of way, rather than genuine interest. You guys know that I'm all about being fair in reviews and acknowledging the subjectivity of reading, but in this case I really can't see why there are so many 5 star reviews on Goodreads for this one.

The Cover:
I know Jack is supposed to look older, but why do those models look 30?! I like the title treatment, though.

Rating:
[1.5/5]

Find Poison Princess by Kresley Cole on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

Happy Birthday To Me by Brian Rowe

Release Date: April 5, 2011
Publisher: Self-Pubbed
Pages: 322
Series: Birthday Trilogy #1
Review Source: Won from Ambur

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Seventeen-year-old Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day!

High school is hard enough; imagine rapidly aging from seventeen to seventy in a matter of weeks, with no logical explanation, and with prom, graduation, and the state championship basketball game all on the horizon. That’s what happens to Cameron, a popular pretty boy who's never had to face a day looking anything but perfect.

All Cameron wants to do is go back to normal, but no one, not even the best doctors, can diagnose his condition. When he finds love with a mysterious young woman, however, he realizes his only hope for survival might be with the one person who started his condition in the first place...

My Thoughts:
The concept of this book is fabulous. Guy starts aging one year every single day. It’s insane, right? And it’s a lot of fun to think about the possibilities for the plot. It’s part sci-fi and a little bit Beauty and the Beast. I was intrigued by the whole idea for the book, but unfortunately it failed to keep my interest.

I had a few main problems that caused me to dislike the book, including:

• Cam, our main character: He’s really unlikable. I understand that when you’re writing a book with character transformation, especially this story, that you need the guy to be a bit of a jerk at first. But Cam? He doesn’t really ever stop being a jerk, and I never saw a transformation in his thoughts. At one point he tells us he sees how he acted before and says he’s reformed, but I didn’t really see any indication in the text.
• Unrealistic side characters: The beautiful girlfriend wants to be an actress, and she’s vapid and shallow. The father is obsessed with appearances and will do incredibly drastic things to keep Cam looking good. Harsh basketball coach who likes the strip club. Bitchy school librarian who rags on Cam constantly. They were like caricatures instead of like real people. All of it felt like a very exaggerated satire.
• Cameron’s attitude to his “aging disease”: he wants to live life like normal, including playing basketball and going to prom. Well, sure, of course anyone would want those things. But he has no interest in finding a medical cure? He can’t even spend a week (heck, a DAY) of his time at the hospital trying to figure it out? Later on he does read some books about aging conditions, but his whole attitude toward it seemed so bizarre. You would expect more thoughts about life and what it means, even if they were on a shallow level, but instead he’s more concerned about his appearance.

I could say more, but I don’t really think I have to in order for my opinion on the book to be clear. I just didn’t much enjoy it. I couldn’t understand any of the characters’ motivations, and the prose failed to keep my attention. ‘Happy Birthday to Me’ has a really interesting plotline, but, for me, Brian Rowe’s execution of it leaves a lot to be desired.

The Cover:
I think it's really cute, but now that I've read the book I don't really think the pink fits with Cam's narrative voice at all. Still, the visual of all the many candles is pretty cool and funny.

Rating:
[1.5/5]

Find Happy Birthday To Me by Brian Rowe on Goodreads, B&N, & Amazon.

Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Release Date: September 12, 2011
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Pages: 314
Series: n/a, though it can be seen as a companion book for Princess Ben
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Princess Wisdom, known as Dizzy, longs for a life of adventure far beyond the staid old kingdom of Montagne.

Tips, a soldier, longs to keep his true life secret from his family.

Fortitude, an orphaned maid, longs only for Tips.

These three passionate souls might just attain their dreams while preserving Montagne from certain destruction, if only they can tolerate each other long enough to come up with a plan. Tough to save the world when you can't even be in the same room together.

Magic, cunning, and one very special cat join forces in this hilarious, extraordinary tale by the author of Dairy Queen and Princess Ben. An incredibly creative tale told with diaries, memoirs, encyclopedia entries, letters, biographies, even a stage play, all woven together into a grand adventure.

My Thoughts:
This book had a lot of great potential, but it ended up falling flat in a lot of ways. It took me a while to get into it because of all the different characters and perspectives, but eventually the action picked up a bit and I was intrigued. Then something specific happened with two of the characters (which I can’t reveal without being spoiler-y) and I seriously began to resent this book. I kept hoping it might get better, but it really didn’t.

My first major complaint is all the different perspectives. There were just too many characters to keep track of, and the switch to a different format (e.g. letter, memoir, encyclopedia) often cramped the narration style. The two perspectives I really enjoyed were Nonna Ben’s letters and Trudy’s memoir, and it seemed like whenever I was getting really interested in what they had to say I was whisked into another perspective.

I have a hard time finding much of anything positive to say about the book. I didn’t find the characters very interesting: again, I liked Trudy and Nonna Ben, but I pretty much despised Dizzy and Tips, the other main characters, because they were so selfish. There was also the presence of insta-love to the extreme, which was incredibly ridiculous.

The thing is, I think the story had a lot of promise. A more humorous fairy tale type of story sounds utterly appealing, and even the different types of perspectives can be awesome if done well. Instead we’re left reading a choppy story with underdeveloped (and often unlikable) characters. I have to admit that I only finished this book because I got it for review. If it were from the library I probably would have quit half way through, or maybe even sooner.

The Cover:
Meh. I do love how it features the subtitle, though really the cat didn't have a very large part in the book at all, unfortunately.

Rating:
[1.5/5]

Find Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

Between by Cyndi Tefft

Release Date: April 5, 2011
Publisher: Self-pubbed
Pages: 224
Series: Between #1
Review Source: eBook for review from author

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.

My Thoughts:
What I Liked:
- the time travel-y type aspect of the book
- the ability of Lindsey and Aiden to “cast” into their own memories and to change their reality
- the plot twist that occurs about 1/2 way through: it literally made to say “woah!”
- a few of the more emotionally honest scenes, like one particular encounter between Lindsey and her Dad

What I Disliked:
- insta-love to the extreme: I really couldn’t stomach the relationship between Lindsey and Aiden, and when I couldn’t buy into their relationship it pretty much meant the book was lost to me
- Aiden: he seemed like a stereotype or a cliche, rather than an actual character, and I found him to be pretty skeevy (when he checks out Lindsey's mom's butt is one particular example that sticks out in my mind... ew)
- Lindsey: she was weak and mopey, and pretty selfish as well, wanting to choose death over her family, friends, and whole life, just because of some guy she just met

Conclusion:
Definitely not the book for me. It all rested upon Lindsey and Aiden’s relationship, which meant I really didn’t enjoy it. I basically skimmed the last 1/3 of the book in order to finish it.

The book just doesn’t really feel like a YA title, partially because of the sexual content (the lust factor of it all), but a lot because of the characters as well. However, as always, I have seen positive reviews for ‘Between’, so feel free to peruse those and see if this might be the book for you.

The Cover: I like the blue colour and I think it works - it's memorable. The tagline is really great as well.

Rating:
[1/5]

Find Between by Cyndi Tefft on Goodreads. Click on over to Cyndi's blog to find the many ways of purchasing 'Between'.