Book News: Second Chance (First Comes Love, #2) by Katie Kacvinsky

Katie Kacvinsky, author of First Comes Love, has wrote and self published the follow up story, Second Chance (First Comes Love #2). I read First Comes Love earlier this year and really enjoyed it. You can read my review HERE. I can't wait to read Second Chance and find out what happens next with Gray and Dylan.

You can purchase your copy of First Comes Love HERE on Amazon.
You can purchase your copy of Second Chance HERE on Amazon.com. It's only $2.99!

First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Like his name, Gray is dark and stormy. Dylan, a girl always searching for what's next, seemingly unable to settle down, is the exact opposite: full of light and life. On the outside, they seem like an unlikely couple. But looks can be deceiving and besides, opposites attract.

What starts as friendship, turns into admiration, respect and caring, until finally these two lone souls find they are truly in love with each other.

But staying in love is not as easy as falling in love. If Dylan and Gray want their love to last, they're going to have to work at it. And learn that sometimes love means having to say you're sorry.

Second Chance by Katie Kacvinsky

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Can two drastically different, imperfect people be perfect for each other?

It’s been four months since Gray and Dylan have seen each other. Dylan’s been traveling in Europe, while Gray has college, baseball, and a life rooted in one place. Gray’s determined to forget Dylan, the girl he fell in love with in FIRST COMES LOVE. Besides, how do you make a relationship work with an independent loner?

Just when he decides he’s over her, Dylan makes an unexpected entrance back into his life, hoping their steamy romance can start right where it left off. Gray realizes you can tell your mind to do one thing, but you can’t always convince your heart to follow. Dylan realizes she finally has to make a choice between freedom and her relationship with Gray.

Hilarious, intense, inspiring, and emotional, SECOND CHANCE shows that love is a journey, and there are never clear road signs or maps to guide you along. You can only navigate with your heart.

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Review: The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

Publication Date: July 17th, 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Page Count: 388 pages
Format: ebook
Source: eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists.

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

My Thoughts:

I was really looking forward to reading The Unquiet, and I really wanted to love it, but in the end I thought it was just okay. The premise is enticing and there is plenty of drama and angst - enough to make things interesting and to keep me reading to find out what happens next. The writing is very descriptive and keeps the story entertaining.

The author does manage to keep up the creepy factor throughout the book. I just felt that the story kept going and going without any sort of resolution in sight. I want to compare it to any of the scary movie series where the characters are killed off one by one, and the rest of them never get a clue and figure out who's doing it and how to survive. The viewer can't look away, even though they know what's coming. That's how I felt while reading The Unquiet.

I liked Rinn as a character, although I never personally connected with her. As the story progressed, I really started wondering how reliable Rinn was as the narrator. Was she delusional? Where these things really happening, or was it all in her imagination? Rinn was on so many drugs to help her bipolar disorder, and the way she described things going on around her it was as if she was watching from outside her body. The reader has no way of knowing if the goings on were real or just really weird!

Overall, I did enjoy reading The Unquiet, and I am interested in what Garsee will write next. I definitely recommend The Unquiet if you love scary and creepy! You will get your fill with this book.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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September is for Sequels Challenge

I am excited to participate in the September is for Sequels Challenge at Lisa Loves Literature. The objective is to read and review a minimum of 4 sequels between the dates of September 1st and 30th, 2012.

Rules:
Complete rules can be found on Lisa Loves Literature. The book must be a sequel - it can be any # in the series, just not the first book. Prequels can count if they came out AFTER the first one in the series. You can do e-books, even ARCs or e-galleys, as well as good old fashioned books. And the little 1.5 novellas that are often published as e-books count too.

There is a signup link and even a giveaway on Lisa's BLOG, so be sure to sign up!

These are the books I currently plan on reading in September for this challenge:
1. Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins Read My Review HERE
2. Covet (The Clann #2) by Melissa Darnell I only read to page 188 before I stopped. I'll have to pick this back up and try again.
3. Rivals and Retribution (13 to Life #5) by Shannon Delany Read My Review HERE
4. Second Chance (First Comes Love #2) by Katie Kacvinsky

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Winner! Back to the Books Giveaway Hop

There were over 1300 entries for this contest, which is spectacular! Thank you to everyone who joined my blog as a new follower. And a really BIG Thank You to all of my old followers! Thank you all for your wonderful comments regarding what book you are looking forward to reading in September. (The Raven Boys is a must read! hint hint)

Don't worry if you didn't win this time. I have plenty more giveaways in the works, including follower appreciation giveaways.

The winner is:
Entry #836 Pixie S.

Winner has been contacted and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Follow Friday (18)

Follow Friday is a weekly feature hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. It's a great way to discover new blogs and make new friends.

If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Q: What are you reading right now? How do you like it?

I am currently reading Rivals and Retribution (13 to Life #5) by Shannon Delany. I am not enjoy it at all! Pietr lost all of his appeal in book #4, and he still hasn't regained his personality or found his balls. Pietr and Jess are so lame as a couple right now that I don't even care if they are together. That makes me sad because I loved them in the first 3 books.

Book #5 (like book #4) changes POV between Jessie, Alexi, and Marlaena. My problems with this is that the POV changes almost every page, so it's hard to jump from one character to the next, and it makes the story very choppy. And I don't give a shit about Marlaena and her POV. She is a waste of time and space and I don't understand why she has become one of the main voices of the last 2 books. Also, Alexi was hotter than hot in book #4, but now his POV adds nothing to the story - his parts don't have any of the inner dialogue and turmoil that it did before. We get juicy bits like "We all stood around looking at each other" and "We all crammed in the car and I drove..." Downright compelling. Only NOT. It's filler.

I am past 200 pages currently and things aren't looking good for this book. Someone save me...

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Review: Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams

Hardcover, 352 pages
Published May 1st 2012 by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Source: Borrowed from library

Synopsis From Goodreads:

After her brother’s death, a teen struggles to rediscover love and find redemption in this gripping novel.

Growing up in Africa and Latin America as the children of missionaries, London and Zach were as close as could be. And then Zach dies, and the family is gutted. London’s father is distant. Her mother won’t speak. The days are filled with what-ifs and whispers: Did Zach take his own life? Was it London’s fault?

Alone and adrift, London finds herself torn between her brother’s best friend and the handsome new boy in town as she struggles to find herself—and ultimately redemption—in this authentic and affecting novel from award-winning novelist Carol Lynch Williams.

Waiting should come with a box of tissues. It is certainly one of the most heart wrenching books I have ever read. The subject matter is heavy, as I expected, and it's just so sad. Waiting is written in verse and is a very quick read. I loved the flow of the writing, and the story felt so real and believable.

I really felt for London and what she was going through. Her grief was so overwhelming and all consuming. She is one of those people who feels every emotion so strongly that it makes it a struggle just to get through the day. She had a very tough journey through some really hard times, and you can't help but want her to come out stronger on the other side.

I liked London's new friends, Lili and Jesse. They seemed to know what London needed more than her old friends did. And Zach's best friend, Taylor, really wanted what was best for London. He was very caring, and he felt Zach's loss as much as London did. There was really no love triangle. It was more like which way does London want to travel - the hard road or the easy road. The easy way would be to pursue a relationship with Jesse. He is new to town and being with him doesn't bring back memories of her brother. However much she really want to be with Taylor, it is painful because so many of her memories of Zach are tied up with him.

Waiting is a look at the absolute worst part of a family that is grieving the loss of one member. It is a challenge just to get through each day. They are all so dysfunctional, but none of them seek the professional help that is desperately needed. London's mother is absolutely off her rocker and needed some serious mental help. She completely falls apart after Zach's death, and no one can get through to her. She hasn't spoken to London in a year because she blames London for her brother's death. The Dad isn't much help. He buries his head in the sand and tries to pretend his family hasn't fallen apart. Through London's memories, we learn that Zach had problems of his own that their parents tried to pray away. Taking some sort of action (as opposed to praying) would have helped this family tremendously.

Overall, I did enjoy reading Waiting. Once I started, I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know what had caused so much turmoil in this family. It was painful at times, and eye opening, but I had to learn the truth. It was an emotional journey, and I loved that the ending was both hopeful and bittersweet.

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

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Waiting On Wednesday (42) Death and the Girl Next Door (Darklight #1)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

My choice for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Death and the Girl Next Door (Darklight #1) by Darynda Jones

Paperback, 320 pages
Expected publication: October 2nd 2012 by St. Martin's Press

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace. Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home. For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be. Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it, standing outside her house in the dark, night after night. Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school. Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity. What does Jared know about her parents? Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei? And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real? Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

Why I Want To Read It:
I have been reading a ton of great reviews for this book. I haven't read anything from Darynda Jones before, but I am willing to give this a chance.

What are you waiting on this week?

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Top Ten Tuesday (12) Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR:

In no particular order:


1. Crewel (Crewel World #1) by Gennifer Albin
I have an eARC of this that I really need/want to read.


2. Black City (Black City #1) by Elizabeth Richards


3. Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill


4. Touched (Sense Thieves #1) by Corrine Jackson
I still have to get a copy of If I Lie by Corrine Jackson that came out last week.


5. Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
It seems as though I have been waiting for this since forever! I can't wait to read it.


6. The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin


7. This Dark Endeavor (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #1) by Kenneth Oppel
8. Such Wicked Intent (The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #2) by Kenneth Oppel
I just borrowed This Dark Endeavor from the library. I hope I like it!


9. Nevermore (Nevermore #1) by Kelly Creagh
10. Enshadowed (Nevermore #2) by Kelly Creagh
I bought Nevermore when it came out (a long, long time ago) but didn't read it at that time because the sequel was so far off... now I can read the first 2 and pine for the 3rd.

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