Blog Tour | Book Review & Giveaway: BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS by P.T. Michelle

Welcome to the next stop in the Brightest Kind of Darkness Official Blog Tour! I welcome you to my site today as much as I am honored to be part of the awesome lineup of bloggers for this amazing tour. I want to thank my Starbooks friend Dani and RLR Tours for letting me become part of this tour. And thanks to the very talented author of Brightest Kind of Darkness and Lucid--Ms. P.T. Michelle.

As part of the tour, I did a book review of the first book in the series, plus there is a giveaway somewhere in this post. Be sure to enter. Good luck and enjoy!

Brightest Kind of Darkness (Brightest Kind of Darkness #1)

Author: P.T. Michelle

Published: June 27th 2011

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance

Summary:

Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.

Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past. 

 Add to TBR 

Read an excerpt

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My Thoughts:

To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

I didn't know what to expect when I started this book. All I know was that it is said to be good. Well... this book isn't just good. It's really good! The concept reminds me a bit about Final Destination since it deals with cheating death or fate. Have you seen the movies yet? Yeah? Well, I think this book is a bit similar to that, minus the gross and the super horrible deaths, and then add a big dose of romance. I know that lots of us are suckers for good love stories and this book has it! More than anything, Brightest Kind of Darkness deals with Fate with a capital F. It is a story about a girl named Inara who has this extraordinary gift of seeing her future through her dreams. But she sees only what will happen to her the next day after she dreamed of it. This actually gives advantage to her during exams and soccer games until she challenged fate and tried to change the outcome of one of her dreams. When she saw what would happen to her school when she dreamed about a bomb planted in one of the student's locker, she didn't hesitated to call 911 and report the attempted bombing. She knew that she has to do something about it to save the school and the students. But then, one attempt and everything changes. Still, Nara believes that she has this gift for a reason and so she tried to save everyone from those horrible things that were supposed to happen. Then she met Ethan and later she realized that her dreams began to disappear, and she suspects that maybe this mysterious loner has something to do with it.

Ethan. The swoon-worthy Ethan who--rumor says--was expelled from his last school by beating up a guy. But Nara strongly feels that Ethan is a good guy despite the bad rumors she heard at school. There is something about him and his past that he isn't telling anyone, and though Nara have doubts, she still feels that he's the only one she can trust. He's the only person who remained solid to her when her bestfriend couldn't even stand up for her. With their growing attraction to each other, their journey in defeating Fate begins and no one knows how things will end for both of them and for those people they mostly care about...

This book takes the reader to a journey that is both dark and thrilling. It kept me guessing the whole time! Sometimes it was frustrating when I cannot tell what's "really" happening, but then it's the reason why I was rooted in the first place. It made me even more excited to see what comes next and I found myself flipping the pages until I reached the end of the book. The mystery that surrounds Ethan is very suspenseful, and most of the times I just wanted to jump into the book and investigate it myself. The flow of the story is very well executed, and though I got irritated with Nara a lot, I'd say that the characters remained strong and effective thus making them likable. 

With it's gripping storyline, beautiful plot, and interesting characters, this is surely a great start for a remarkable series. It was an exciting read, something you shouldn't want to miss. 

My Rating:

And now for the GIVEAWAY, just enter in the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.T. Michelle’s Brightest Kind of Darkness

Tour Schedule

September 24th

Confessions of a Bookaholic – Review (Lucid)

Nothing Better Than a Book – Review (BKoD)

Jelly Loves Books – Review (BKoD)

Deea’s Journal – Review (Lucid)

Some Like it Paranormal – Featured Post (Random Trivia about the BKoD series)

Beauty & the Bookshelf – Excerpt

The Bookish Babe – Guest Post + Review (Lucid)

Better Read Than Dead – Review (BKoD)

Hope, Faith & Books – Review (BKoD)

I’m a Book Shark – Featured Post (All about Parkour)

September 25th

The Bookish Brunette – Featured Post (Ethan & Nara character interview)

A Buckeye Girl Reads – Review (BKoD)

I Read Indie – Review (Lucid)

Readers Live A Thousand Lives – Review (BKoD)

Vendea’s Dream World of Books – Review (BKoD)

Seeing Night Reviews – Review (Lucid)

Fictional Distraction – Review (Lucid)

Creative Reads – Review (BKoD)

K-Books – Review (Lucid)

A Book Vacation – Featured Post (Ravens)

Stories of My Life – Excerpt

Winter Haven Books - Review (Lucid)

September 26th

Mundie Moms – Review (BKoD)

I Heart YA Books – Review (Lucid)

Serenity’s Lovely Reads – Review (Lucid)

Book Nerd – Review (BKoD)

Simply Infatuated – Review (BKoD) + Excerpt

Books Over Boys – Featured Post (Playlist)

Step Into Fiction – Review (Lucid)

Nomalicious Reads – Review (Lucid)

Reader’s Antidote – Review (BKoD)

Primrose Musings – Featured Post (BKoD: The Movie)

Panda Reads – Review (BKoD)

September 27th

Kindle Fever – Review (Lucid)

Always YA at Heart – Review (Lucid)

A Dream Within A Dream – Review (BKoD & Lucid)

Rampant Readers – Review (BKoD)

Book Briefs – Featured Post (Top 10: Little known facts about Nara)

Michelle Chew Writes – Review (BKoD)

Into the Hall of Books – Review (Lucid)

Book Passion for Life – Excerpt

Rhi Reading – Featured Post (Building a World)

Shortie Says – Featured Post (How Dreams Can Inspire…)

Jean BookNerd – Review (Lucid)

September 28th

Refracted Light Book Reviews – Featured Post (The RL girls discuss Ethan & Drystan)

Once Upon a Twilight – Review (BKoD)

Vamps and Stuff – Review (BKoD)

Young Adult BookReviews – Review (Lucid)

Sparkles and Lightning – Review (Lucid)

Books With Bite – Featured Post (Top 10: Little known facts about Ethan)

Little Hyuts – Review (Lucid)

Books 4 Juliet – Review (BKoD)

Rants ‘N Scribbles – Review (BKoD)

The YA Sisterhood – Excerpt

Random Acts of Books – Review (BKoD)

Book Review: IMMORTAL BELOVED by Cate Tiernan

Immortal Beloved (Immortal Beloved #1)
Author: Cate Tiernan
Published: September 7th 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Summary | Add to TBR

Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.

Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.

Cate Tiernan, author of the popular Sweep series, returns with an engaging story of a timeless struggle and inescapable romance, the first book in a stunning new fantasy trilogy.

My Thoughts:

...time itself was like a river, moving steadily forward, and you got to be in a new river every day, every hour. All my life I'd felt like--a lake. A lake where everything was contained, forever.

This book surprised me in many ways. I didn't know exactly what the story is about until past half-way through the book. It was nothing I've expected before I started this book but I'm glad that after what seems to be months or so, I finally abled to read it. The first half of the book was a bit slow for me and I've been waiting for something exciting to happen. I didn't get that until I reached the second half where it became hard for me to put down the book. Honestly, I don't like Nastasya at all, since she's so immature and selfish and spoiled-brat. She always rants about things around her and she seemed to see all the bad things and not the good things. It was irritating to hear her thoughts especially during the early part of the story. Thank goodness, her character developed (a little and slowly) as the story continue to unfold. There's also too little romance in this book, but I can see that there will be more in the next installments. I didn't get to see more of Reyn as much as I wanted but somehow their love-hate relationship is something that kept me rooted. I was so anxious to see the two let their emotions out and it was driving me crazy in a good, exciting way. I want to see them together but I think I still need to read the rest of the series to find out.

The very memories and experiences I'd tried to block out of my mind for the last four hundred years were sixteen feet away from me, in living color. It was like confronting the monster under my bed, only amped up a thousand times. There he was: the monster. My worst nightmare was wearing a dark green plaid flannel shirt and jeans and smelled like laundry detergent and fresh autumn air. 

The characters are good, though not all of them are very likable. Each of these characters has their own secrets and stories that are interesting enough. I love the teachers and the other wayward immortals that adds flavor to the story, except Nell who irritated me the whole time and who I want to send flying off across the Atlantic Ocean! 

Even though the plot was a little slow for me in the beginning, I appreciate how the second half was done. I liked how the story was written, including the flashbacks which made me shuddered most of the times. The story is really good and there is no doubt that it was written with depth. I enjoyed it and I recommend it to readers who love paranormal/fantasy stories.

My Rating:

Release Day Blitz + Giveaway: Derailed by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Welcome to the Release Day Blitz of the New YA Contemporary Romance book by Author Alyssa Rose Ivy entitled DERAILED. This new novel is now available at the following links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Title: Derailed

Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

Released: September 26, 2012

Genre: New YA Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

When you're lost, sometimes the only place you can go is home.

Broken over the death of her fiancé, Molly leaves law school to return to her childhood home in North Carolina. Expecting to lay low until she can figure out what else to do with her life, she finds herself in the arms of her high school sweetheart, the boy who represents everything from the past she tried to leave behind.Looking for an escape, she instead finds a way back to the girl she almost forgot existed and a future she never dreamed possible.

Isn't the cover lovely? This book sounds really good! And well, there's another treat for you for visiting this post! You can WIN either (1) PRINT COPY of Derailed if you are in the U.S. or one of the (2) ebook copies of the book for international readers. Just enter in the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks once again to SupaGirl Tours for hosting this event and for letting me participate in this Release Day Blitz.

Cover Reveal: Just For Now by Abbi Glines

I am SO EXCITED to share with you the cover of the new book in the Sea Breeze Series by Author Abbi Glines. This is one of my most favorite series of all time and I can't wait for this book! It's amazing to be part of this cover reveal, and I wanna thank AToMR Tours for this awesome opportunity. And of course, a huge thanks to Author Abbi Glines for creating such a wonderful series!

Just for Now, the 4th book in the Sea Breeze Series is expected to be released on October 23, 2012. The cover was designed by Stephanie Mooney of Mooney Designs, and the book trailer by Hellion Works.

Title: Just for Now (Sea Breeze, #4) 

Age Group/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance 

Expected Release: October 23, 2012 

Cover Design: Mooney Designs

Book trailer created by: Hellion Works

Cover reveal organized by: AToMR Tours

Book Description:

The day Preston Drake figured out that wealthy women paid well for a set of tight abs and a pretty face his life turned around.

The run down rat-infested trailer he had shared with his alcoholic mother and three younger siblings was now only a place he visited to pay the bills and stock the pantry with food. 

He no longer worried about his family starving or living without electricity. The money he made entertaining rich older women more than covered his family’s needs and his own. He had it all figured out. Except…

There was this girl.

She was as innocent as he was tainted.

Amanda Hardy wished her knees didn’t get weak when Preston walked into a room. She hated the fact her heart raced when he flashed his smile in her direction. He had a different girl in his bed every night. He was the kind of boy a smart girl ran from. So, why was she coming up with ways to get close to him? Even when it was obvious he wanted to keep her at a distance.

Maybe her heart knew something the world didn’t. Maybe Preston Drake was more than just a pretty face.

Author's Bio:

Abbi Glines can be found hanging out with rockstars, taking out her yacht on weekends for a party cruise, sky diving, or surfing in Maui. Okay maybe she needs to keep her imagination focused on her writing only. In the real world, Abbi can be found hauling kids (several who seem to show up that don’t belong to her) to all their social events, hiding under the covers with her MacBook in hopes her husband won’t catch her watching Buffy on Netflix again, and sneaking off to Barnes and Noble to spend hours lost in the yummy goodness of books. If you want to find her then check Twitter first because she has a severe addiction to tweeting @abbiglines.   Facebook is also somewhere she visits a little too often. She blogs regularly but rarely about anything life changing. She also really enjoys talking about herself in third person.

Abbi Glines| Facebook| Twitter

TBR Intervention Challenge (50)

TBR Intervention is a weekly challenge hosted by

RefractedLight, Whatever you Can Still Betray, and Books4Juliet

Everyone is WELCOME to JOIN this meme. Just click the image TBR Intervention Button above to see the rules and read more about this feature.

LAST WEEK'S TBRIC:

Last week I've finished Shattered Souls by Marie Lindsey but sad to say I haven't finish Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris. Shattered Souls was good, Unraveling Me was a little slow. I still plan to finish the book but I don't know when, we'll see. Hehe. Anyway, aside from that, I also read and enjoyed Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan. It was really good and I'm looking forward to read the second book. It was slow in the beginning... full of flashbacks actually. The protagonist irritates me so much but the story is worth reading so I manage to stay on and finish the book. I really liked it.

THIS WEEK'S TBRIC:

This week I'm planning to finish Article 5 by Kristin Simmons and then start Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. I heard good things about these books and I'm so excited to finally be able to pick them for my TBRIC. They've been on my TBR for months now and I think it's time to get through these wonderful-sounding books.

What are you planning to read this week?

Book Review: EVERY DAY by David Levithan

Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Published: August 28th 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Summary | Add to TBR

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. 

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

My Thoughts:

Every relationship has a hard part in the beginning... It's not like a puzzle piece where there's an instant fit. With relationships, you have to shape the pieces on each end before they go perfectly together.

Every Day is an interesting book. The story is about A, who wakes up everyday in a different body of a sixteen year old, regardless of the gender. Sometimes he's a boy, sometimes she's a girl. A deals with the person's memories, family, and life for one day. And just when midnight strikes, A leaves the body and wakes up to a different one. 

Honestly, I find this book very intriguing. I haven't read anything like this before and it was truly a unique story that David Levithan created. No doubt that he's a talented writer. At first I didn't know where the story was heading and there are parts of the book that I find a little slow. Nevertheless, I can't deny the fact that the whole story is something that will stay in your mind for a very long time. It was remarkable. All the while I thought it was a 3 star book for me, but something in the last part made this book surprising and I've decided to give it a 4 star rating. I know from the beginning that this is a kind of book where I shouldn't expect a happy ending and I was right. The ending is sad and bittersweet,  and a little heartbreaking... I didn't expect to end it like that but for me it's really good. This may not appeal to everyone but I think it's a book worth reading. It's not a story that is full of rainbows and sunshines, but it's nice to read a book that makes you think and contemplate and feel something like sorrow and hope for the characters.

I wanted love to conquer all. But love can't conquer anything. It can't do anything on it's own. It relies on us to do the conquering on its behalf.

A isn't the typical fictional character we love and cheer for... I can't say I love him because I can't imagine what he really looks like and his personality isn't very well clear to me. There was no description whatsoever (as far as I remember) but I like him as a protagonist. On the other hand, I find it a little hard to connect with Rhiannon. She's the girl who captured A's heart, but I can't see what A sees in her. I see her as a girl who can't figure out what she wants and what she needs. Maybe it's just me, but I'm really not fond of characters who are not sure of themselves and her relationship with others. Though I felt that something is missing in the story, I really enjoyed it. David Levithan crafted a story that is unique, sad, heartbreaking, and remarkable. It will stay in your mind ( and in your heart) for a very long time just like what it did to mine.

When first love ends, most people eventually know there will be more to come. They are not through with love. Love is not through with them. It will never be the same as the first, but it will be better in different ways.

My Rating:

Blog Tour | Character Interview & Giveaway: Dust by Devon Ashley

Hello again! Welcome to the next stop of the DUST Blog Tour! Today, I am very much honored and humbled, not to mention being so excited and overwhelmed by my special guest. This fae has a lot of repercussions to deal with, and a whole lot of things to worry about, but he accepted my request to join us here and answer my interview. Honestly, I want to thank Ms. Devon Ashley for this opportunity to talk with her awesome character--Jack.

By the way, if you haven't join the Rafflecopter Giveaway of DUST, you can still enter at the end of this post. The prize is supa-awesome, don't miss it! If you've missed my previous post for this tour, you can still read it here. The rafflecopter is also available there. Don't forget to enter in the awesome giveaway because there are two awesome prize pack that you surely don't want to miss. Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of the tour!

Summary | Add to TBR

4. The number of times my delicate wings have been broken and clamped behind my back. 

68. The number inked upon my skin, marking me the sixty-eighth pixie to be stolen.

87. The number of days I’ve been wrongfully imprisoned.

88. The first day the faeries will regret stealing me.

Healthy. Cheery. Vivacious. All traits Rosalie has before becoming enslaved by the faeries to make an endless supply of pixie dust. Now that Rosalie has been traumatized by slave labor, extreme desolate conditions and multiple deaths, this hardened pixie is anything but. When this rebellious teenager attempts an escape, she’s isolated in cramped quarters until she learns her place. Just as she begins to let go of all that hope, she finds an unlikely friend in Jack, the faerie assigned to guard her. Interspecies dating is forbidden in the fae world, so their growing attraction is unacceptable. And even if Jack can find a way to free her, they know the prison is the only place they can truly be together.

So without further a-do... here's Jack from Dust (Of Dust and Darkness Trilogy).

* * * THE INTERVIEW * * *

Me: How will you describe yourself in three words? 

Jack: Well, I'm not really one to talk about myself, but I'll try. Protective. Non-conformist. Simplistic.

(Hmm, interesting...)

Me: Can you tell me a little about the day you first met Rosalie? 

Jack: Ugh...that's not a day I come off looking too good. To say the least, I was a bit of a jerk. Turns out that punishment of babysitting a pixie worked out for me in the end.

(A jerk. Yeah. Lol)

Me: How do you feel about her that time? Is it love at first sight? 

Jack: LOLOLOL. Absolutely not. She was a thin, scraggly thing with hollowed-out eyes. Not pretty, as she was literally knocking on Father Time's door. I can proudly admit this was the first attraction that was slow and had nothing to do with looks...although she's looking pretty good now that she's gaining weight again.

(Haha! Well said.)

Me: Have you been in loved before? (I'm curious *wink) 

Jack: Nope. Not. Even. Close. Most of the faeries I know are a little too privileged and used to getting what they want. FYI...not an attractive feature in a female. Rosalie's aggressive, but not in the ways I'm used to. And she's more into the forest than society life, just like me.

(Uhm... I'm not into the forest kind of life, but if you were there, I'll survive *wink.)

Me: If you and Rosalie could be together for one day free of risks and consequences, how will you spend your day with her?

Jack: I'm pretty sure it would involve a canopy tree house in the deepest part of the rain forest, rain pattering on the roof, isolating us from the rest of the world, the wind squeezing through the walls of dried, twisted vine, enveloping us with the musty smell of wet earth, lying together on a bed of fresh moss, feeding each other succulent berries, and just holding each other more and more tightly as the hours pass by. That would be my perfect day.

(And I bet, that would be Rosalie's perfect day, too.)

Me: What is your favorite past time aside from playing harmonica and uhm, well, playing tricks on other faeries? :P 

Jack: You can usually find me hanging out with my buddies, trying to do the complete opposite of what my parents expect of me. So that pretty much means anything I shouldn't be doing, in places I shouldn't be going.

(I thought so! lol)

Me: If we could rewind and change the past, would you prefer Rosalie to be captured again by the spriggans then meet her eventually or you'd rather choose her freedom even if it means that you'd lose the chance of knowing her?

Jack: Ugh...I think you just managed to rip a piece of my heart off with that question. I don't like to see her hurt. And I especially don't like to see her tortured by Finley and those stupid spriggans, but I don't think I could ever wish upon myself not meeting her. That's totally selfish, huh? I'm completed disgusted with myself at the moment for even thinking that, seeing how she'd have to suffer through starvation, intense labor and torture all over again.

(Aww, I think that's understandable. What she suffered was a taste of death. But then she have you now.)

Me: Rosalie loved it when you played harmonica during the times when she was imprisoned. Did you intentionally play for her?

Jack: In the beginning, I didn't really care if she liked it or if it annoyed her, so I played for myself. Later, when we were friends, I did it because I could tell it soothed her, and I wanted to give her what peace I could down in that black hole.

(That is so sweet!)

Me: You were a bit mysterious in DUST and we didn't see you until the second half of the story. Will we ever see more of you in the next books? Because we would *really* love that! 

Jack: I might make an appearance (wink) but I've got some repercussions to deal with before I'll ever have a chance to see Rosalie again. If I even get to...

(I feel heartbroken already.)

Me: Do you have a message for me, err.. I mean to your readers and fans? *winks. 

Jack: Uh, yeah. Don't judge me too harshly the first time you come across me in the story. It's not pretty and I cringe every time I think back on it.

(I didn't judge you, promise. I was so excited to finally see you descending from the top of the pit! It was a memorable moment for me! And I don't care if you've been a jerk, I think that many of us here loves a jerk, at least in books! lol)

* * * THE GIVEAWAY * * *

That's a whole lot awesomeness, don't you think? Here's the Rafflecopter for the Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Devon Ashley has always had an active imagination, and found herself daydreaming her childhood away. She became interested in creative writing as a teenager and used writing as a stress-reliever - and a way to escape the real world for a few hours. It wasn't until a judge in a screenwriting competition suggested she turn her world into a fiction series that she actually began writing novels.

Find her at The Crazy Dream Blog | Dark Horse Books | Facebook | Goodreads

TBR Intervention Challenge (49)

TBR Intervention is a weekly challenge hosted by

RefractedLight, Whatever you Can Still Betray, and Books4Juliet

Everyone is WELCOME to JOIN this meme. Just click the image TBR Intervention Button above to see the rules and read more about this feature.

LAST WEEK'S TBRIC:

I finished Every Day by David Levithan. It was such a good book. Sad, heartbreaking, remarkable. It's very unique and I really enjoyed it. A little slow but there is a part in the book that really made it for me. It was surprising and I didn't expect something like that. It wasn't a happy ending but I liked it. I know that there are readers who LOVED this book, I didn't love it like they do, but I still liked it. This may not be a book for everyone, but it's a worth a try. It's a 4-star for me :)

THIS WEEK'S TBRIC:

I want to read a contemporary right now but I don't think that would be such a great idea. My OB-Gyne said to me that I should temporarily avoid very emotional stories (not good for my developing baby and for my swinging moods), and all the contemporary books I have on my shelf right now are tear-jerker (so I've heard). So now, I've chosen Unraveling Me and Shattered Souls as my next TBRIC. okay, I kinda cheat here because I already started Unraveling Me by Elizabeth Norris. It's a little slow but interesting enough to continue. Then I'm going to read Shattered Souls by Marie Lindsey. It's been a long while already, I need to read it.

So how's your TBRIC last week? I've been absent on the hop lately... sorry I wasn't able to visit your posts. I will try my best to get back on track. :) Have a great weekend everybody!

Release Day Blitz: Kismetology by Jaimie Admans

Welcome to the Release Day Blitz of Kismetology by Jamie Admans.

This book is available on September 14th, 2012 (and that's today!).

Thanks to SupaAwesome Heather @ SupaGurl Tours for bringing us this awesome blitz!

Title: Kismetology

Author: Jaimie Admans

Genre: Chick-lit, romantic comedy

Release date: September 14th 2012

Summary | Add to TBR

Finding the perfect man isn’t easy. Especially when it’s for your mother...

Mothers. Can't live with them, can't live without them, can't live three doors down the road from them without them interfering in every aspect of your life.

Fed up with her mum meddling in her love life, Mackenzie Atkinson decides to turn the tables and find love for her lonely mother.

Her lonely and very fussy mother.

Surely finding an older gentleman looking for love won't be that hard, right?

Wrong.

If you've ever thought that boys grow up, here’s the problem: They don't. Ever.

And Mackenzie is about to learn that the hard way.

Buy Links: 

Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Available on all other Amazons too. And coming soon to Sony, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Apple iBooks.

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER:

CHAPTER 1

If I could give one piece of advice to every teenager in the world, it would be this: when you move away from home, move far, far away, and never look back. My biggest mistake? I didn’t move far enough. In fact, I only moved three houses down the road. The perfect distance for my mother to interfere in my life, even more than she did when I lived under her own roof.

"Mackenzie, your curtains aren't even straight," Mum complains from her place on our sofa. "I don't know how you can put up with such a mess."

"How can curtains not be straight, Mum?"

"Well, the join in the middle isn't in the middle at all and the line where they meet doesn't go straight down. Plus there is at least six inches more on the left one than on the right one."

Dan rolls his eyes and gets up from his armchair with a groan.

I know how he feels.

"Don't be long, Daniel, you'll miss Eastenders," Mum calls after him.

"Sir, yes sir," Dan mutters, doing an army salute behind her back.

In all fairness to my mum, maybe my announcement that I was moving in with Dan came as a bit of a shock to her. After all, we’d been dating for a year, but my mum had only known him for six of those months. I’d dated him in secret for the first six months. I was a bit reluctant to introduce them, especially after the incident with an ex-boyfriend—the first and, up to that point, only boyfriend to ever meet my mum—where she'd nearly run him over with a wheelie bin (accidentally) and then put a brick through his car window (she was killing a wasp).

"Can't you get him to brush his hair once in a while?" Mum asks when Dan has left the room. "He makes the place look untidy. And don't even get me started on that shirt."

"Leave him alone, Mum," I warn her. "And stop your bloody dog peeing in my houseplant again, it's dying."

"Oh, Mackenzie, you'll never guess what happened to me today," Mum says animatedly. "Go on, guess."

"I have no idea, Mum."

"I almost got a criminal record. Can you believe that? Me! With a criminal record!"

"I'm honestly scared to ask, but how on earth did you manage that?"

"I nearly got arrested in the park!" She says excitedly.

Only my mother could be excited about getting arrested. "What happened?"

"Well, you know Baby's crocodile outfit, right? I did a really good job of making it, didn't I? I made it look really realistic?"

I nod.

"Well, Baby was off his lead in the park, doing his business, you know, as dogs do. And suddenly all these police surround us. Two animal control vans pull up, there's a helicopter overhead, there are even a couple of men with tranquilizer dart guns poised and ready to shoot."

I rub my hand over my eyes. "Why?"

"Well, it turns out that someone had seen Baby in the park and thought he was a real crocodile. She'd called the police in case he ate the children."

"Oh, Mum, really?" I groan.

"It was so exciting! I think I might even be on the news tonight!"

She thinks this is exciting? Embarrassing would be my preferred term. Very, very embarrassing. "So what happened?"

"Well, the police quickly realised their mistake. But one of them did take me aside and ask if I could not bring Baby to the park in that attire again. Then he gave us a lift home in his police car. He was ever so nice about it."

"I'm sure he was."

"How anyone could mistake my Baby for a crocodile is beyond me. He's hardly crocodile size, is he? The woman must have been blind as a bat."

"Well, you do insist on dressing him up as potentially dangerous animals. And walking him. In public. It's really quite disturbing."

"Oh, nonsense. I like trying out the sewing patterns I find on the internet. It keeps me busy."

Well, something has to, I suppose.

"Come here, Baby." Mum pats the sofa and the miniature Yorkshire terrier, which is practically surgically attached to her, comes running over. "Don't listen to that big, mean lady. She loves you really."

Baby is currently dressed as a ladybird. No, really. Mum's hobby of making these outfits for him is getting out of hand. He jumps onto the sofa and sinks his teeth into one of my twenty quid cushions.

"These cushions were expensive." I yank them out of his way.

"He likes the tassels," Mum responds.

This is our nightly routine now.

On our one-year anniversary, Dan had proposed that we move in together. My mum had not been overly thrilled by the turn of events, until she'd found a little house available to rent and paid the deposit without even asking us. The house happened to be three doors away from her place.

We should have known better.

Dan was indifferent to the fact that my mum had decided where we were going to live and paid a deposit without even telling us. It was one less thing that he had to do. And I couldn't really be mad at her; she was only doing it out of the goodness of her heart. Presumptuous, yes, but ultimately only trying to be helpful. We'd signed a one-year lease two days later.

Since then, Dan has been a gem. Not many men would put up with my mother being an almost permanent third wheel. Not many men would run her cat, Pussy (no, really), down to the emergency vet at three o’clock in the morning because it looked a bit peaky. It was fine. A screeching woman yelling that it looked off-colour had just woken it up from its sleep. I look peaky at that time of day too. Dan had offered his car as transport and we’d roared off down the road at breakneck speed, scaring the poor cat half to death. Then Dan and I had sat in the parking lot for half an hour, while the vet determined that there was absolutely nothing whatsoever wrong with the cat. 

The house being so near had softened the blow of me moving out and leaving Mum with only her yappy little dog and not-sick cat for company.

"You can pop in anytime you want," I'd told her.

I had no idea that translated into "come over every night and bring the dog and cat with you" in mum language.

The night we moved in, just as we’d settled down together on our new sofa with a glass of wine each and switched on our newly installed satellite TV, my mum’s special knock-knockknock-knock on the door reverberated through the living room. We looked at each other with dread and Dan groaned.

My mum came in, took her shoes off, sat down on the sofa, helped herself to a glass of wine and put on Coronation Street. She didn’t actually watch Corrie, but proceeded to criticise our carpets, our uncomfortable sofa (it wasn’t) the colour of the walls, the way the walls clashed with the curtains (they didn’t) the heat in the room (it was too hot) and the shirt Dan was wearing (I’d always quite liked him in it). Within three minutes, Baby had peed on my new plant. I don't have the best of luck with plants anyway, but I'm sure the dog pee didn't help the plant's life expectancy.

This routine has continued almost every night in the three months since we moved in. In comes my mum, on goesEmmerdale, Corrie or Eastenders, and out comes Mum’s opinion of everything from the wattage of our light bulbs to the colour of Dan’s socks.

Author Bio:
Jaimie is a 27-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese & onion crisps. Kismetology is her first novel but there are plenty more on the way! She wants you to know that the mum in this book is nothing like her own mum!

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

My Never-Ending Booknotes: Legend by Marie Lu

My Never-Ending Booknotes features my favorite lines/dialogue/quotes from the books I already finished or currently reading. I'm going to post every Wednesday, and if you want to share your favorite quotes, please feel free to do so. I would be so happy and excited to read them. Who knows, we might have the same favorites! :)

One of my recent favorite dystopian novel is Legend by Marie Lu and this is my feature book for today's NEBN. Enjoy!

I take a closer look at Kaede's new opponent.

She's not much taller than Tess and definitely lighter than Kaede. For a second it seems like the crowd's attention has made her uncomfortable and I'm ready to dismiss her as a real contender until I study her again. No, this girl is nothing like the last one. She's hesitating not because she's afraid to fight, or because she fears losing, but because she's thinking. Calculating. She has a dark hair tied back into a high ponytail and a lean, athletic build. She stands deliberately, with a hand resting on her hip, as if nothing in the world can catch her off guard. I find myself pausing to admire her face.

For a brief moment, I'm lost to my surroundings.

...the instant the new girl steps into the circle and I see her stance...I know I've made a big mistake. Kaede strikes like a bull, a battering ram.

This girl strikes like a viper. (Day)

Book Review: LOCK AND KEY by Sarah Dessen

Lock and Key
Author: Sarah Dessen
Published: May 14th 2009 (1st published April 22, 2008)
Publisher: Speak
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Summary | Add to TBR

"Ruby, where is your mother?" Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she's been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.That's how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn't seen in ten years, and Cora's husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future—it's a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?

My Thoughts:

It's never something huge that changes everything, but instead the tiniest of details, irrevocably tweaking the balance of the universe while you're busy focusing at the picture.

Not even once did Sarah Dessen disappoint me with her stories. Her books aren't always the happily-ever-after kind of thing, but there's always hope and they are open to possibilities. I love how she made me feel when I read her books and mostly it's a mixture of emotions. She always made me cry, if not, teary-eyed. She doesn't fail to touch my heart with her beautiful writing. She writes with depth and delicacy, and her characters are very relatable, her stories are very realistic. This may not be my most favorite of all her novels but I still won't hesitate to recommend it. If you love Sarah Dessen, I'm sure this book will somehow make its way into your heart too.

The best gifts come from the heart, not a store. 

Ruby lives with her mom in a small yellow apartment until her mom abandoned her and left her to fend for herself alone. Her sister who left and whom she hadn't seen for ten years came and took her under her wings. Ruby should have been grateful in the fact that she will now study in an exclusive school, wear branded clothes, has her own beautiful room in a huge, gorgeous house in an expensive neighborhood. But she doesn't feel like she belong, and she kept looking back and coming back to her old apartment, her old friends, her old life. 

You get what you give, but also what you're willing to take.

The best thing I liked about this book is the relationship of Ruby to her older sister Cora. It's the closest thing in my heart with regards to the story. It's very emotional to see how she and Cora struggles to catch up with the lost times. It's a good thing but also a sad one. I liked Ruby because she is so easy to relate with. I understand her wants to run away from her sister and from the new life she's offering her. I understand Cora, for all the things she and Ruby had went through all their lives. And I adore her for all the things that she's trying to do for Ruby and to save her relationship with her sister. It's so fun to read about Cora's husband Jamie, too. I think he's perfect as a husband, as a man. He is so kind and forgiving, loving and very supportive. He's the life in the story and so is Nate. I liked Nate for being a really good friend, what can you asked for? He will always be there for you if you need him, though he has his own secrets and problems to deal with. 

"'You swim' is a philosophy?" 

He shrugged. "Better than 'you sink,' right?"

I think that when it comes to Sarah Dessen's book, you don't need a lot of encouragement or endorsement to make. They're just that good. This book is another reminder why I love Sarah Dessen. But if there is one thing that I wish I can get more from this book, it's Nate. I'm not really satisfied with the ending because I don't get my perfect love story or something close to that. And since I don't want to spoil anything, I'd just rather say this: I wish there was more of Nate and Ruby in the end of the story. And I wish I could see a life of Ruby and Cora with their mom. It was an issue that I don't think was addressed perfectly in the book. Other than that, everything is good. From the characters, setting and plot... really good.

I guess there is nothing more for me to say other than this: if you love other Sarah Dessen's books, go get Lock and Key! If you haven't read any of them yet, I hope you'll try to check her books out. Maybe it's about time to read her stories. I'm sure that at least one of them will deeply touch your heart. I read different kinds of book genre depending on my mood, but whenever I finish a dystopian book or a paranormal/fantasy book, I always seek for a contemporary read afterwards. And most of the time I  come back to Sarah Dessen's books. It's like coming home and it's nice to feel something like that.

...we can't expect everybody to be there for us, all at once. So it's a lucky thing that really, all you need is someone.

My Rating:

Blog Tour | Review and Giveaway: DUST by Devon Ashley

I welcome you to the Official Book Blog Tour of DUST by Author Devon Ashley. This tour will last until September 21 with exciting giveaways along different tour stops. Be sure to visit the rest of the participating blogs. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the lovely author of DUST for making me a part of this wonderful tour. THANK YOU SO MUCH Miss Devon!

As part of the tour, I did a book review of Dust, and somewhere in this post is a giveaway, too! Be sure to enter! Good luck and enjoy the tour!

DUST (Of Dust and Darkness #1)
Author: Devon Ashley
Publication Date: September 18th 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Summary | Add to TBR

4. The number of times my delicate wings have been broken and clamped behind my back. 

68. The number inked upon my skin, marking me the sixty-eighth pixie to be stolen.

87. The number of days I’ve been wrongfully imprisoned.

88. The first day the faeries will regret stealing me.

Healthy. Cheery. Vivacious. All traits Rosalie has before becoming enslaved by the faeries to make an endless supply of pixie dust. Now that Rosalie has been traumatized by slave labor, extreme desolate conditions and multiple deaths, this hardened pixie is anything but. When this rebellious teenager attempts an escape, she’s isolated in cramped quarters until she learns her place. Just as she begins to let go of all that hope, she finds an unlikely friend in Jack, the faerie assigned to guard her. Interspecies dating is forbidden in the fae world, so their growing attraction is unacceptable. And even if Jack can find a way to free her, they know the prison is the only place they can truly be together.

My Thoughts:

My name is Rosalie. I may be smaller, I may be weaker, but I was born free, should die free. You will not take this from me.

I don't normally judge a book by its cover, but the gorgeous look of DUST made me want to read it. I'm not a fan of faeries or pixies whatsoever, but the summary of this book was so enticing that at the moment I wanted to grab a copy and devour it.

DUST reminds me Tinkerbell and the Pixie Hallow. It reminds me of those cute and adorable Disney fairies which I loved and enjoyed watching. Though this book isn't entirely about fairy tales and happy endings, I think it's beautiful and inspiring.

Before the Spriggans captured Rosalie, she was living with her roommate Poppy in their Hollow. She was an adventurous, free-spirited little pixie who finds happiness and comfort in her humble little tree-house. Now, she's living in a pit away from home with fellow slaves who have broken wings and deteriorating bodies. They are forced to work long hours making magic dusts--deprived of food and most of all, freedom. This isn't that Rosalie wish for and she will do her best to get her freedom back and save the other pixies from forced labor and near death. But in her attempt to escape, she was caught and put back into prison for torture and breaking of her wings. She prepared herself for the worst, but what she didn't expect was to become friends with the suddenly nice, gorgeous faerie who is assigned to guard her. 

The story is interesting and might as well unique since I haven't read any stories like this one before. I'd say though, that the first half of the book was a little slow for me and I was fighting the urge to skip a few lines just to get to the part where the action and romance will happen. During the first part of the story, I felt mixture of emotions, most of them sadness and pity for those poor pixies that were deprived of their freedom and soon die without hope. It was a bit emotional for me too, especially when it comes to the characters I began to care for. I just think that it could have been more exciting if we could see more than just glimpses of the other characters in the story. I can see big potentials for some of those minor characters  and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in the next installments. 

Even though the first half was a little slow for me, I'd say that my favorite part happened in the second half of the book. When I pictured Jack descending from the top of the prison down to the hole where Rosalie was, I finally see myself smiling and dreaming for that love story that I was waiting for since the beginning of the book. It wasn't love at first sight but their chemistry has been obvious to me ever since. I know that some may find their romantic relationship a bit rushed but I still enjoy it and the fact that these two characters finally found each other made me giddy and excited. I know there are more to anticipate in their relationship and I want to see how everything will work out for the two of them. 

Some books know how to make their readers hanging by the end of the story, and this book did it BIG time! I wasn't expecting something like that. And I wasn't prepared for such a cliffhanger ending. This book surprised me! After the ending I was left open-mouthed. I didn't know how to react at first. It wasn't something I expected but I believe it's good that the readers have something more to anticipate in the coming sequel.

If you're looking for a fast and enjoyable read that will touch your imagination as well as your heart, read this book. It has a promising plot, interesting storyline, and likable characters. I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward for the next book.

My Rating:

About the Author

Devon Ashley has always had an active imagination, and found herself daydreaming her childhood away. She became interested in creative writing as a teenager and used writing as a stress-reliever - and a way to escape the real world for a few hours. It wasn't until a judge in a screenwriting competition suggested she turn her world into a fiction series that she actually began writing novels.

Find her at The Crazy Dream Blog | Dark Horse Books | Facebook | Goodreads

And now for the giveaway, below is the picture of what you can WIN. Isn't it awesome? Just enter in the Rafflecopter to join!

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