artsy musings of a bibliophile

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Top Ten Tuesday: Spring To-Read List

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I’m really not good at organizing what I will be reading next unless it’s for a blog tour. I like to read books that piques my interest. That being said, if I motivated myself enough to become organized I’ll be reading the following in the spring of 2013:

i. The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Multiple fake identities fascinate me and then there’s a smart and adorable farm boy. I’m such a thrill-seeker. Sigh.

ii. The Rules by Stacey Kade

Another book in which the main character is hiding her true identity but this one is science fiction and there’s a police chief’s son involved. The adventurer in me squeals again.

iii. Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

A girl guardian who walks on wind and saves the boy from a tornado. I’m in awe already.

iv. The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer blew my mind and since I just read it last month, I figured I’d wait for some time before reading the sequel. I’d wait till October but I don’t think I have it in me. I just hope the book doesn’t destroy me completely.

v. Uprising by Jessica Therrien
I’m very excited to read Uprising and seeing as I had to wait a year to get around to reading the sequel, it’ll be totally worth the wait.

vi. Insurgent by Veonica Roth

I finished Divergent today and because I have yet to get my wits together about the awesomeness that is Veronica Roth’s creation, I want to savor the Divergent experience.

vii. The Loop by Shandy Lawson

“Ben and Maggie have met, fallen in love, and died together countless times.” 
Sometimes the first line of the synopsis pulls you in and screams at you to read the book. This is definitely one of those books.

viii. Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

The main characters seems to have been thrown in an unknown complicated environment when plans go awry. I want to know how she deals with it. I want to read this book.

ix. The Flame in the Mist by Kit Grindstaff
The Flame in the Mist seems to have everything I like to read from dark adventures to magic to villains. I’m so ready to read this book!

x. Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook
I like to read books about broken people who find their other half and together they mend each other. This book sounds like such a book so give it to me now.

What books are on you list? Leave a link!

Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

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ABOUT THE BOOK
Pivot Point by Kasie West
young adult paranormal fantasy published by HarperTeen on 12 February 2013
first book in the Pivot Point duology

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .
Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.
In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

THE RATING

THE REVIEW
“I run my finger along the smooth glass, drawing my standard doodle—a line that halfway up splits in two. Then I circle the pivot point. The point right before the path separates. I press my finger into the center. One little choice can make all the difference.”
The split second when the mind is swaying between two things, there is a subtle buzzing. If you ponder too much, you might get paralyzed and ultimately rendered unable to make the right choice. If you don’t ponder at all, you might make a wrong one. What comes to mind in that instance is a wish to be able to see the outcome of each choice, a searing hope. It all happens in a moment that Pivot Point explores.
Addison Coleman is a Divergent so when faced with a choice, she can close her eyes, feel and see the future almost as if it was real. The Compound where Addie lives is full of Paranormals who have a special something in their genes and are much more advanced that the Normals who are unaware of their existence.
Thus, it comes as more than a shock when her parents tell her that they’re divorcing. Even more so when she comes to know that her father has decided to leave the Compound for the Normal world. As easy as it sounds, to make a decision based on the familiarity of the Compound and the unfamiliarity of the Normal world, Addies knows that she has to Search.
The journey between the words ambush and screwed thus ensues. I say this because of the word and its definition at the start of each of the 36 chapters. The events of the next six weeks of the two possible futures occur almost simultaneously in Addie’s mind. Alternating between the Normal and the Paranormal, Addie experiences life like never before.
In the Normal world, she has a hard time adjusting to its ways with electrical switches, locks, and the people. Trevor is the only one who gives her hope that she might just survive okay. While in the Paranormal world, life goes on as it was before with Addie trying to act out and Duke showing interest in her.
One of the things I really loved about Addie was her behavior in each of the worlds. It’s fascinating to see her out of her element in the Norm world and then to really see her make her way into life with the help of Laila, her best friend, in the Paranormal world. I like that she’s a reader, she’s witty and she’s smart. It’s very easy to relate to her and her problems even though she’s a paranorm which makes her so fascinating.
Trevor is a pretty reserved character and as a reader, you really want to get to know what is going on with him. He surprised me with his penchant for graphic novels and the quiet. His capability to put other people at ease is what makes him the perfect choice for Addie to get to know in the Norm world. Duke, on the other hand, is flamboyant, swoon-worthy, humorous and definitely have a way with words.
The abilities in the Paranormal Compound range from being fairly simple to dangerous. There are the ones who have the ability to Persuade and Discern, the ones who can perform Telekinesis, then there are also Memory Erasers, Mood Controllers and of course, Clairvoyants. Essentially, these are mind powers and seeing as how obsessed I’m with anything to do with the brain and its manipulation, I devoured the explosive way they came together to make Pivot Point a thoroughly breathtaking read.
Kasie West style of writing is simple and clever and you really marvel at Pivot Point as it maneuvers its way through tough decisions and laugh-out-loud moments. It is a difficult feat to achieve that balance and still shock the reader at the end of the book. Kasie West made it look easy and for that, I am amazed.
THE QUOTES

“Sometimes I feel like I’m slowly floating away. I’m constantly looking for something to grab on to so I don’t lose myself.”

“And can we just get this out of the way? Your eyelashes make mine want to commit suicide from shame.” 

“I hate obvious boys. Tell me that.” “You hate obvious boys. Because heaven forbid you like something that everyone else does. If you don’t have to hunt for it, and carefully plan its capture, it must not be worth having.”

Review: Focus by Alyssa Rose Ivy Blog Tour + Giveaway

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Focus | The Crescent Chronicles | #2 | Alyssa Rose Ivy | NA Paranormal | Self | 23 January 2013 | 268 (aARC)

ABOUT THE BOOK 
Freshman year of college is hard even when you’re not tied to the future king of a supernatural society.
Allie dives into college head first with Hailey as her roommate and the city of New Orleans as her backyard. As things within The Society heat up, Allie realizes that whether she’s with Levi or not, she’s in far too deep to turn back.

THE RATING

THE REVIEW
Focus begins a little after the events of Flight as Allie and Hailey are settling in Tulane as freshmen. It felt good to be treated to Allie’s feistiness again and see her stand up for herself. However, as normal as she’d like her college life to be, it isn’t surprising to see Hailey, Owen, Jared and even Levi accompanying her to classes. At first Allie thinks it’s just a Pterons thing but things are much more serious than Levi let on.
As Allie is transitioning into her college and dorm life and making new friends, Levi is hard at work trying to make up to her. But Allie’s indecisiveness is as apparent as it was in Flight. It’s actually relieving to know where it’s coming from because we know it’s not that Allie doesn’t want to be with Levi. She needs time and Levi respects that even though he keeps trying.
What I really like about Focus is how Levi and Allie work on their relationship. As a reader, you get that they belong with each other but it’s not easy to guess how they’re going to work out the kinks. It’s obvious that Levi is a control freak and possessive as hell. But then Allie is hotheaded and stubborn like anything. So it gets really interesting to read about the sexual tension as well as their little arguments.
Focus gives more insight into the secondary characters as well and it felt good to know more about Jared and Owen. Allie’s and Hailey’s friendship also deepens more but I was sad when Jess didn’t make much of an appearance. However, it is understandable because both of them have started college in different states. Allie knows she’s in for good but is having a hard time as any so she immerses herself in her study. Allie also attends a few meetings of The Society and gets to see more of the hierarchy, even though she doesn’t truly understand its dynamics or her role in it.
Focus moved at a regular pace; though at times I found myself wishing that things would get more exciting somehow. It isn’t that there isn’t much action, but it has more to do with the fact that even though there is an underlying buzz that Pterons are being threatened; it’s more of the same. Though I will admit, Focus is much hotter than I was expecting it to be. There’s a lot of teasing going on and we get to see a sexier side of Allie, too. Focus ends in a much similar way to Flight meaning pretty unexpectedly but it left me wanting more because it was a pretty unpredictable end. Found has to be an earth-shattering end to a remarkable series. I look forward to reading it!

THE QUOTES

“Break ups aren’t fair. Why does only one person have power? We both agreed to start dating. Why do you get to make the decision to end it? Shouldn’t it be a joint decision too?”

“Relationships aren’t a democracy. Not everyone gets an equal vote.” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alyssa Rose Ivy is a Young Adult and New Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.

Alyssa Rose Ivy can be found at 

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Buy Focus (The Crescent Chronicles, #2)
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THE GIVEAWAY
The following giveaway is part of the blog tour. Enter away and good luck!
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Thanks to Alyssa Rose Ivy and ATOMR for providing me a copy of Focus for review.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Characters In Road Trip Genre

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Despite my evergreen love for the road trip genre, I haven’t read that many books from it (this a great Goodreads list to get started). However, road trip books are so good that it’s pretty easy to fall in love with more than one character. So here’s my list:


Caleb and Maggie from Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles 

Take two characters who have more than a rocky history together and put them together in a single bus on a summer trip. It only spells disaster and emotionally drained. I liked Caleb because of his intimidating yet gentle and reserved nature. Whereas despite Maggie having a lot to deal with, she is willing to forgive Caleb. I found this to be very intriguing and they get to open up to each other which gives a deeper meaning to their actions.

Dylan from Take Me There by Carolee Dean

I connected with Dylan; his restlessness, his failed attempts at trying to understand himself, his fate, his redemption. You know it in your heart that he is utterly genuine but trouble is only at arm’s length when it comes to him. It is so gut-wrenching to see him trying so hard to succumb to his fate and fighting it at the same time. It undoes you and spectacularly so.

Jordan and Courtney from Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Two-Way Street is a fun book. It has two characters who are broken up but unable to escape the circumstances of their break up. They still have a trip to college to survive ’cause apparently you can’t break up and not have it come bite you in the ass the next day.

So it is hard not to love Jordan who is helplessly in love but his hands are tied and Courtney who is seething with jealousy over Jordan’s made up girlfriend. The jibes, jealousy and the hilarity of the two characters easily made them one of my favorites.

Colin and Hassan from An Abundance of Katherines from John Green

These two are a perfect pair unto each other. They can honestly live together happily ever after. Colin is awkward, socially inept but crazy smart and he knows facts! I totally related to him on that level. I love knowing and telling facts and statistics (not like Sheldon’s does) so it was awesome to see Colin do that.

And Hassan is comfortable in his skin which is what makes him so likable in my book. Also, it was great to read about a Muslim character and from John Green’s point of view. I just didn’t like the way Hassan kept calling Colin kafir; that is so not acceptable.

Kylie, Max and Will from From What I Remember… by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas

I adore this book so it’s no wonder that out of the four main characters, three are my favorite. Kylie is a favorite ’cause she has that not-concerned-with-others look about her and she is damn smart! She likes to keep with herself or the people she is comfortable with which is so me.

Max was such an asshole at first but then I got to know him and the guy had depth he wasn’t showing! He almost did a complete one-eighty as the story progressed. I said almost because he gets confused in between and I wanted to shake him out of it. Generally, he is a milder Noah Hutchkins and hot.

Will is the coolest character ever (second to only Wesley Rush from The DUFF). He likes to party and could act like the laziest person ever when everyone else is panicking. I wouldn’t have minded reading the whole book from his point of view or even reading one of him only. The best gay character as yet (along with Cinna from The Hunger Games).

Link up your Top Ten Tuesday’s post below and I’ll be sure to visit!

Giveaway: The Boys of Summer by C.J. Duggan‏

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Swoon-worthy. Check. Summer romance. Check. Forbidden love. Check. Heartbreaks. Check. This book has a little bit of everything so why not win a copy for yourself?
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Boys of Summer | The Summer, #1 | C.J. Duggan | New Adult, Contemporary Romance | Self | 17 December 2012 | 321 (eBook)
Quiet, 17-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summer time job.
She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before dreaded Year 12 begins.
To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fire works at the Onslow show, and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.
How did she let her friends talk her into working?
After first shift disasters, rude wealthy tourists, and a taunting ex boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come from working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer, and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love, and heartbreaking chaos.
All with the one boy she has never been able to forget. 
It will be a summer she will always remember. 
Warning: Sexual references and occasional coarse language.

THE EXCERPT

     Moon rays filtered through the windshield, giving the cabin an otherworldly glow.

     Toby’s perfect teeth were illuminated when he smiled. “You know, you are the worst winner!” He shook his head. “Ever since you won the bet, you’ve been apologising. Just go with it, enjoy it, because I assure you, next time …” – he leaned closer – “… you will not be the winner.” He pulled back, smug.

     I curved a brow. “Next time?”

     He nodded. “I fully intend to redeem myself.”

     “Want a chance to rebuild your shattered ego, do you? I bet you’re itching to fix my bike so you can be rid of me once and for all.” I shouldered him gently, teasing him as I would Adam. And then I realised what I had done; I had treated him like my friends. He looked down at his shoulder, then up at me. His eyes shadowed with untold meanings that I couldn’t read.

     “What if I didn’t want to fix your bike?” he said in all seriousness.

     “Why, is my company so stimulating that you can’t bear the thought of being without me?” I teased nervously.

     I was aiming for light and airy, but something must have gone wrong with my delivery because Toby’s face went blank. He looked out into the lights of Onslow, ran his tongue over his bottom lip and sighed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.J. is Australia’s newest enthusiastic addition to the Indie market of self publishing. Paving the way by writing her debut novel, a YA Romance ‘The Boys of Summer’. A coming of age love story set in a mythical small Australian Town in the mid 90’s. 

Juggling the pressures of a stressful day job, or be it the many realms of mundane reality. C.J. has earned a name for her ballistic imagination and witty banter in her blog. Offering an honest, refreshing account with her daily rants of the world and her personal journey in being an aspiring author.

C.J. Duggan can be found at 

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Buy The Boys of Summer (The Summer, #1)
THE GIVEAWAY
Enter below to win an eBook copy of The Boys of Summer in the international giveaway below. Enter away!

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Thanks to ATOMR for the promo event.