Book Blitz + Giveaway: The Opposite of Nothing by Shari Slade

The Opposite of Nothing by Shari Slade
Publication date: March 31st 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Goodreads / Amazon / BN

Synopsis:

Callie Evans would rather hide out in her DJ sound booth than face the fact that she’s in love with her best friend, notorious campus hottie Tayber King.

Tayber turns hooking up into an art form–no drama, no commitment, no lies, and nobody gets hurt. Nobody but Callie, that is. When she sees an opportunity to explore his sexier side using a fake online profile, she grabs it. Now her uninhibited alter-ego ‘Sasha’ is steaming up the screen, and Callie is breaking all of Tayber’s rules.

As Callie and Tayber get closer, online and off, she knows she has to confess. And risk losing him forever.

**For mature readers, contains strong language and adult situations.**

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     AUTHOR BIO

Shari Slade is a snarky optimist. A would-be academic with big dreams and very little means. When she isn't toiling away in the non-profit sector, she's writing gritty stories about identity and people who make terrible choices in the name of love (or lust). Somehow, it all works out in the end. If she had a patronus it would be a platypus.

Frequently found in a blanket fort, you can also find her contributing at Wonkomance, on twitter, facebook, or tumblr. For new release updates, sign up for the newsletter.

FIVE FUN FACTS

 •   I first got the idea for The Opposite of Nothing when the Manti Te’o scandal broke last year. I wanted to write a “catfish” story with a happy ending.

•   According to extremely unreliable internet sources, the name Tayber means “misfortune.” This is appropriate.

•   Callie is short for Callista, which comes from the Greek for “most beautiful.” No wonder she’s uncomfortable with it.

•   I purposefully omitted the name of the song Tayber sings along with in the car after he and Callie go to the movies. I wanted it to be whatever song the reader wished a crush would sing to them. For me…he’s singing Ana Ng by They Might Be Giants.

•   When Callie wallows in her guilty feelings, she plays a punk rock cover of the Fiona Apple song Criminal. As far as I know, there is no professionally recorded punk cover of that song. I so wish there was.

FROM CALLIE'S PLAYLISTS

A sad-sappy playlist made for sitting alone in her apartment eating Oreos and contemplating the disaster that is her life.

Awful Mess – The Softies
Fineshrine – Purity Ring
Keep Yourself Warm – Frightened Rabbit
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart – Wilco
Breathe Me – Sia
Lover I Don’t Have to Love – Bright Eyes

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been putting stories on paper for as long as I can remember. My first efforts were illustrated with crayon and affixed to the refrigerator with alphabet magnets. I spent several years seriously focused on poetry. All very emo. Why are you running away? Stop. Come back. I promise I won’t make you read it. I pricked my finger on the Happily Ever After three years ago and I’ve been under the romance spell ever since.

Where do you find inspiration?

All around me? Plot bunnies nibble my ankles when I’m eavesdropping in line at the grocery store, watching the news, skimming twitter or listening to a song on the radio. I’m always open to the potential for story.

 Tell us about your book and how we can get it.

THE OPPOSITE OF NOTHING is a contemporary new adult novella full of dirty IMs, angst, and achy sweetness.

Callie Evans would rather hide out in her DJ sound booth than face the fact that she’s in love with her best friend, notorious campus hottie Tayber King.

Tayber turns hooking up into an art form–no drama, no commitment, no lies, and nobody gets hurt. Nobody but Callie, that is. When she sees an opportunity to explore his sexier side using a fake online profile, she grabs it. Now her uninhibited alter-ego ‘Sasha’ is steaming up the screen, and Callie is breaking all of Tayber’s rules.

As Callie and Tayber get closer, online and off, she knows she has to confess. And risk losing him forever.

You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.

What are you working on now? What’s next?

I have a few irons in the fire. There’s a secret project I’m super excited about. It is smokin’ hot and will be announced very soon. I’ll also have a short story set in the Copeland College world included in a charity anthology available in June. The anthology, SUMMER RAIN, will benefit RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and feature works from Ruthie Knox, Molly O’Keefe, Charlotte Stein, Cecelia Tan, Mary Ann Rivers, Amy Jo Cousins, Audra North, Alexandra Haughton and me. I’m so excited for this anthology it’s a wonderful cause and an amazing group of writers. Oh, yeah, and this fall, I’ll release another Copeland College novella. 

What is the best book you’ve read in the last six months?

That is such a hard question. I read so many amazing books that picking a favorite is nearly impossible. I recently read HE’S COME UNDONE by Theresa Weir and it just killed me. It deals with all the issues I love exploring: Identity, Mistakes, Awkwardness, Old Hurts. And it has so much humor. Laugh out loud funny is so hard to do, especially in the middle of an angst-fest. *hat tip*

SLIGHTLY STEAMY EXCERPT

She changed into a tank top and threadbare shorts before slipping into her desk chair. I’ll just check my school email, ten minutes tops. She was lying to herself, bargaining with the devil. I will not open his profile. I will not send him a message. Making that fake profile for herself last month had seemed like such a good idea at two o’clock in the morning, after a few beers with Jessa and a few agonizing hours of watching Tayber hook up with some random girl at The Brick. She just wanted to know what she was missing. In graphic detail. Sasha let her find out. Except it had only made her wanting worse, and it was such a wrong thing to do. So she’d stopped. At least a dozen times.

But nothing stopped him from messaging her. There it was, blinking away. She should ignore it. Delete, delete, delete. It wasn’t even for her. Not really. It was for Sasha. And she’d sworn she’d never be Sasha again.

Tay: Hey

How could three tiny letters be so suggestive? She could hear him in her head. He’d say it kind of soft, but forceful, like the whole universe of his carnal experience could be contained in one word. She pictured him hunched over his laptop, shaggy hair eclipsing his face, shirtless, bare feet hanging off the end of his extra-long bed.

She had to answer. She wanted him any way she could have him.

Sasha: Hey yourself.

Tay: Why am I always happy to see you?

Sasha: Because I’m awesome like that?

Tay: You are. I’m looking at your picture right now. So beautiful.

Not me. She’d sent him a picture of her cousin, on spring break in Cabo three years ago, filling out her bikini and pulling a duck face for the camera.

Sasha: Not really

Tay: Inside and out

Sasha: Laying it on thick tonight?

Tay: I can’t stop thinking about you.

It was torture. The ninth level of Hell. Everything she’d ever wanted him to say was there on the screen, except it wasn’t really for her.

Tay: I wish I could touch you.

And she was burning, flaming. If he were saying these things in person, she’d disintegrate. She tugged on her tank top, pulling the thin cotton away from her itchy skin.

Tay: Is that okay?

She was practically molting, slipping right out of her skin on the spot. This disastrous attraction might kill her. She squeezed her thighs together and shifted in her seat.

Sasha: I want to touch you too.

Tay: Skype?

Sasha: Can’t, still no webcam.

Shit. This was going to be the end of it, again. Who didn’t have a webcam? She held her breath, waiting for the little indicator to flash that he was answering. A full minute. He was probably frustrated, pulling that mop of hair out of his face now, tugging it into a tiny ponytail. A minute and a half. He’d lost interest. Any second now his light would go out.

Tay: Too bad

She exhaled, a rush of relief that left her giddy.

Sasha: Sorry

Tay: Don’t you want to see me?

Sasha: More than anything

Tay: I want to see my hands on you.

Was he touching himself now? She traced a figure eight over the soft skin below her navel, chasing the flutter building there. She’d never be able to tell him the truth, and this was never going to be enough.

Sasha: You’re touching me now

Tay: Where?

Sasha: My belly

Tay: Lower. I’m touching you lower. I’ve got my fingers between your legs and you’re so wet for me.

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Perfectly Broken by Prescott Lane

Perfectly Broken by Prescott Lane

Publication date: March 2014

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

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Synopsis:

Even after years of trauma therapy, Peyton still believes she’s broken.  She has little desire to date or show off her natural beauty, content simply to hang out with her best friends and run her pie shop in New Orleans.  But her world turns upside-down when a handsome architect and self-confessed player shows up in her shop and thinks she’s perfect, much more than the usual hook-up.  While Peyton does her best to resist his charms, believing she could never be enough for him, she can’t deny the obvious heat between them.

With Reed determined to have her, Peyton must decide whether to continue to hide behind her apron and baggy clothes or take a chance and share her scars with Reed, a man with a playboy reputation and scars of his own — a dark past he can’t possibly share with Peyton, not after learning the horrors she’s endured.  But if they can find a way to trust each other, and themselves, they just might be able to heal, to save each other, to live perfectly broken together.

AUTHOR BIO

Prescott Lane is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, and graduated from Centenary College in 1997 with a degree in sociology. She went on to Tulane University to receive her MSW in 1998, after which she worked with developmentally delayed and disabled children. She currently resides in New Orleans with her husband and two children.

Author links:

FB / Twitter

EXCERPT...

A rush of vanilla hit him as a breeze blew through the air.  He took off his jacket and slid it around Peyton’s shoulders, his fingers grazing her neck when he moved her hair to the side.  Her eyes locked on his, and he pulled on the jacket collar to bring Peyton close to him.  He took his time, teasing her, his warm breath just barely brushing her lips.  Her hands slid up the muscles of his back, pulling his lips even closer to hers, hoping he’d kiss her, ready to crawl up his body, begging, if he didn’t.  

Reed gave a sexy smile, eyeing her mouth, and took a step back.  Peyton felt the muscles between her legs clench in disappointment, but she wasn’t about to show it, straightening her spine.  “I thought you said our date would be ‘pretty damn hot’?”

Reed laughed.  He hadn’t laughed like this with a woman before.  She was just so damn funny and cute, standing before him wearing his jacket.  He didn’t mind her wearing oversized clothing if it was his.  “Come here,” he said and pulled her back to him.

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Review: Great by Sara Benincasa

Great by Sara Benincasa

Expected Publication: April 8, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Format: via Edelweiss

Challenges: 2014 NetGalley/Edelweiss

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Everyone loves a good scandal.

Naomi Rye usually dreads spending the summer with her socialite mother in East Hampton. This year is no different. She sticks out like a sore thumb among the teenagers who have been summering (a verb only the very rich use) together for years. But Naomi finds herself captivated by her mysterious next-door neighbor, Jacinta. Jacinta has her own reason for drawing close to Naomi-to meet the beautiful and untouchable Delilah Fairweather. But Jacinta's carefully constructed world is hiding something huge, a secret that could undo everything. And Naomi must decide how far she is willing to be pulled into this web of lies and deception before she is unable to escape.

My Thoughts

Great is a retelling of sorts of the Great Gatsby. While I’m not one for retellings or remakes, what can I say I love originals, I went into this with an open mind and heart. I’m so glad I took a chance on this cause it’s so worth it! I read this in like a day and a half that's how invested I was, and I hadn't done that in awhile.

Great is the story of Naomi, who in  a sense lives two lives, during the school year she lives with her dad who's a high school coach and summers with her mother who is a megastar in the food world and Hampton socialite. Naomi hates everything about her summers but this summer she decides to live a little and try to have a bit of fun. She soon makes friends with the ever popular Delilah and also has a bit of a summer romance with Delilah’s boyfriends friend. She is wrapped up in lavish parties and soon finds herself friends with her new mysterious next door neighbor Jacinta. Jacinta is a fashion blogger who no one has seen but has come to East Hampton for reasons no one knows…yet.

Delilah, Naomi and Jacinta are best friends but Naomi soon feels like the third wheel in this friendship. There is much speculation that Jacinta isn’t who she claims she is. Is Jacinta lying and if so why? Naomi finds herself caught up in a world she may have wished she never entered. One of lies and secrets that only the rich and famous can cover up so elegantly.

Sara Benincasa's tale is beautifully written and paints the perfect picture of lavish parties and Hampton summers. What I loved and enjoyed most was her humor. She injected quite a few laughs that I thought were excellent. I love characters who talk back and who can be a bit of a smartass. I liked that it didn’t end all perfect and wrapped up in a little bow. Some novels just need to have you feeling and thinking after the face… it’s up to you decide what happens after. Great is the perfect summer read, if you like your reads with secrets, laughs and sassy characters. Well played Sara well played! 

Review: The House at the End of Hope Street by Meena Van Praag

The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag

Published April 4, 2013

Publisher: Penguin Books

Format: paperback via publisher

Rating 4/5

Synopsis

Distraught that her academic career has stalled, Alba is walking through her hometown of Cambridge, England, when she finds herself in front of a house she’s never seen before, 11 Hope Street. A beautiful older woman named Peggy greets her and invites her to stay, on the house’s usual conditions: she has ninety-nine nights to turn her life around. With nothing left to lose, Alba takes a chance and moves in.

She soon discovers that this is no ordinary house. Past residents have included George Eliot and Beatrix Potter, who, after receiving the assistance they needed, hung around to help newcomers—literally, in talking portraits on the wall. As she escapes into this new world, Alba begins a journey that will heal her wounds—and maybe even save her life.

My Thoughts

Simply put…I adored this book! This is the most magical quirky book I’ve read in a long time.

The title alone says it all. The story focuses on Alba who after some difficultly with her career is somehow brought the house on Hope Street. She doesn’t know why or how she got there but she knows she was brought there for some reason.  We soon discover that this house has some magic behind it, it was been the home to the world’s most important women icons. I love how one of main messages was the power of women, how we are strong and how some of the greatest minds belonged to women.

My favorite thing though was the house. I was taken back about how magical the house was, how simply everything came alive but not in a scary way but in a non-threating beautiful way. I also enjoyed the little mystery behind it. All I was thinking was how can this all be happening? I tend to think so much when I read but for once I just sat back and let the words take me on a journey. I didn’t want to question I simply wanted to enjoy, I wanted to believe…in the beauty of it all.

Menna Van Praag writes an amazing story that gives us hope that everything will work out in the end. Do yourself a favor and read this story she will wrap up in her magical, cute and quirky world that you can’t help but love.

Review: The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner

The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner 

Published: March 2014

Format: via NetGalley

Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Challenges: NetGalley/Edelweiss

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Just when everything seems to be going wrong, hope and love can appear in the most unexpected places.

Summer has begun, the beach beckons and Francesca Schnell is going nowhere. Four years ago, Francesca s little brother, Simon, drowned, and Francesca s the one who should have been watching. Now Francesca is about to turn sixteen, but guilt keeps her stuck in the past. Meanwhile, her best friend, Lisette, is moving on most recently with the boy Francesca wants but can t have. At loose ends, Francesca trails her father, who may be having an affair, to the local country club. There she meets four-year-old Frankie Sky, a little boy who bears an almost eerie resemblance to Simon, and Francesca begins to wonder if it s possible Frankie could be his reincarnation. Knowing Frankie leads Francesca to places she thought she d never dare to go and it begins to seem possible to forgive herself, grow up, and even fall in love, whether or not she solves the riddle of Frankie Sky.

My Thoughts

The Summer of Letting Go is simply all about letting things go. You see Francesca is trying to move on after the death of her little bother a few years ago, which is hard seeing how she blames herself for his death. She was supposed to be watching after him while her and her family where at the beach she turned her back for a few seconds and he got swept up by the tide. Not only is she racked by the guilt of this but also by the fact that she thinks her mother blames her also. Her mother hasn’t been herself since he died and all that Francesca wants is her old mom back.

One day while Francesca suspects her dad is having an affair she meets this little boy named Frankie whom she thinks is her brother reincarnated. She sees her brother in this boy and wonders if this is some sort of sign from her brother. She decides to take a job as his babysitter to be around him more.They form a bond and Frankie helps her heal in ways she never thought she could otherwise.

This novel is all about the power of forgiveness, acceptance and moving on with your life. We all have loved ones who have passed and we will miss them dearly but at some point we all have to move on. They wouldn’t have wanted us to shut down and not live our lives. One cannot let it consume us. It’s all about the circle of life; we are all here for a purpose rather big or small. And while some pass on too soon we must realize that they touched us in some way that they were meant to.

Gae Polisner’s beautiful writing about a girl who is trying to mend her family and most importantly herself back together is so magical. She brings just the right note for sorrow and hope that will make you love this story.

Spotlight: Imperfect Love by Rebecca Talley

Imperfect Love by Rebecca Talley

February 28, 2014

DuBon Publishing

Goodreads / Amazon

Lauren Wilson is well on her way to her happily-ever-after. She has a career she loves, a husband she adores and a baby on the way, but a devastating diagnosis changes everything. The life she's built suddenly crumbles around her when her husband insists she choose—the baby or him. Returning to her small hometown to rebuild her shattered life, Lauren crosses paths with Ethan Campbell, the man who stole her teenage heart. The old attraction is still there, but Lauren won't admit it to anyone—least of all herself. Her only priority is providing a life for her child, and she can't afford to get it wrong. Ethan is confusing everything, including stirring up feelings she’s not prepared to face. Will she spend her life raising her baby alone or is the family she's always wanted finally within her reach?

Imperfect Love Excerpts

A plus sign.

Lauren Wilson blinked the hopeful tears back. Was she seeing it right? She flicked on the bathroom light for a better look and scrutinized the pregnancy test wand.

Definitely a plus sign.

She leaned against the wall. A baby.

Some moments are milestones, and some milestones are moments. Lauren gazed at the wand again. This is definitely both.

After trying for over two years—well, she seemed to be more intent on conceiving than her husband, Paul, but that didn’t matter now. The wondering, hoping, then crying, month after month, didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now. She was pregnant.

Excitement bubbled up inside her. She’d finally have a baby and the happily-ever-after she’d dreamed about since she was a little girl.

Lauren rested her hand across her stomach, her fingers tingling. After all this time, it was finally her turn.

Finally.

She rushed into the bedroom to find her cell phone and call Paul with the news. Her anxious fingers stumbled over the keypad, searching for his speed dial number. What if he’s in a meeting? What if he can’t take the call? I don’t want to leave this on his voicemail.

She ended the call before it could go through and sat on the bed. This wasn’t something she wanted to tell him over the phone. It was too momentous. Too amazing. Too wonderful.

A photo caught her eye. She handled the delicate metal frame, memories of her wedding flooding her mind. What a perfect day it had been at the church on Third Avenue in Durango, her hometown. It was such a beautiful beginning to their life together, and now they’d move to the next step—adding a baby to their family.

Ideas of how to tell Paul swirled around her head. She wanted to make it special for him, so she decided to take some time to come up with just the right way to let him know he was going to be a daddy. Daddy. The word felt sweet and satisfying on her tongue.

Lauren glanced at the clock on the light green wall opposite the bed. Seven thirty. She’d have to hurry—she didn’t want to be late for her first class.

Her hands stroked her stomach. I’m going to have a baby. I can’t wait to tell Paul. He’ll be as thrilled as I am.

     About the Author

Rebecca Lynn Talley grew up in the gorgeous seaside city of Santa Barbara, CA. She met, and married, her husband, Del, while attending Brigham Young University. She graduated from BYU with a degree in Communications. She currently lives in rural Colorado on a small ranch with a dog, too many cats to count, and a herd of goats. She and Del are the proud parents of ten wildly-creative, multi-talented children. Rebecca is the author of a children’s picture book, Grasshopper Pie (WindRiver 2003), a children’s chapter book, Gabby’s Secret (DuBon Publishing 2011), four novels, Heaven Scent (CFI 2008), Altared Plans (CFI 2009), The Upside of Down (CFI 2011), and Aura (DuBon Publishing 2012). She has also authored numerous children’s stories and articles for both print and online magazines.

When she isn’t writing, Rebecca loves to date her husband, play with her kids, swim in the ocean, and dance to disco music while she cleans the house. She has folded at least one million loads of laundry, baked hundreds of batches of chocolate chip cookies, and eaten 5,478 gallons of ice cream.

Author Links

Website / Blog / Twitter / FB

GIVEAWAY *CLICK HERE TO ENTER*

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 4/10/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the authors. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Late to The Game [2]: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Late to the Game is a little feature I’ve been doing that focuses on books that seems like everyone’s read but me. This one features…

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Published: February 28, 2012  

Format: Kindle purchased

Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

Rating: 4/5

Seeing how it seems like everyone has read Divergent but me I won’t do this as a review so much but just some rambling about my thoughts on it.

I must admit I was a tad apprehensive when it came to reading this. I was back and forth if I wanted to start another series. Was I going to like it and feel as crazy about it as so many others seemed to be? Most importantly did I really want to invest the time to read that huge of a book? lol Well I went for it and what can I say I loved it!

I loved how Tris wasn’t your typical heroine. She just represents your average girl who was just trying to find her way and find out who she was. In the process she finds out she is more powerful then she could ever imagine. What wouldn’t be a great read without a little romance? Although I love the other parts a little more I love the interaction between her and Four.

Now seeing how the movie comes out today I must admit when I heard it was becoming a movie that made me want to read the book more. I know book to movie adaptations can be god awful! So when I first heard about the actors cast I was a bit scared. Though I like Shailene Woodley I didn’t see her as Tris. However when I finally saw the previews I totally bought it, I can’t wait to see it! The trailer looks so cool and very true to the book... dare I say it even looks better than the Hunger Games?? *GASPS* I know it’s not fair to compare the two they are totally different so I won’t.

So to wrap it up… I’m a Divergent believer now. I got sucked in once again by an amazing story and characters that leap off the page and take you on a ride you will never forget. Now I will admit I haven’t read the complete series…yet…but I will…if anything the movies put pressure for me to finish.

Do you have any wildly popular books you can suggest that I haven’t read it? 

Feature and Follow Friday

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

 The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

This week’s question…

How have your reading habits changed in the past few years? Did you get interested in a new genre? Do you read more? Less? Why do you think your habits changed, if they did.

My habits have changed a lot in the last couple of years I’m proud to say. I use to only read just straight up fiction but now I’ve opened myself up to new genes and I’m glad I did, I’ve found some amazing reads in the process. I’ve got into some mystery/thriller and my biggest surprise is YA. It’s good to try new things you never know what kind of gem you will find.

Feel free to add me however you like…GFC, Bloglovin, Twitter, and/or Goodreads. Be sure to link me up to yours so I can follow back.

Review: Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland 

Published: May 7, 2013

Format: ARC via publisher

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Challenges: 2014 TBR Pile

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she'll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn't.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it's the things Cricket hadn't counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

My Thoughts

I don’t know why it took me almost a whole year to read this wonderful book when I had the ARC for the longest. If I had known what a picturesque summer novel this was I would’ve read it sooner.  Just love how Leila Howland paints the perfect New England summer picture, I feel like I’m right there.

Nantucket Blue is the story of Cricket and her summer while working in Nantucket. She was originally supposed to spend it with her best friend Jules and her family. However just before they were to leave Jules’s mother unexpectedly dies. Of course Jules isn’t herself and for some reason decides to push Cricket aside and wants to deal with this by herself for the summer.

Now this is where I don’t get why Cricket doesn’t listen to her and decides to go to Nantucket anyway. Jules has made it clear she doesn’t want her there and when Cricket shows up isn’t very pleasant to her. Yeah I get Jules is mourning her mom and everyone deals with death in their way but she’s being a tad mean and a borderline bitch. Cricket wonders if she even knows who her best friend really is. This person she has become isn’t the one Cricket has known all her life.

In the meantime Cricket whose other main reason for going to island for the summer, her high school crush Jay decided he didn’t want anything to do with her after he heard something she said about his family. So Cricket is left by herself alone with no one until one day she sees Jules’s younger brother Zack. It doesn’t take long before Cricket doesn’t see him as just her best friends brother but as real guy. There is MAJOR flirting these two and soon a summer romance blossoms. While she feels bad for hiding her secret she can’t help but to truly fall for Zack, she knows when Jules finds out it won’t be good.

Is this the real thing between Cricket and Zack? Time will tell when they get back home. Or just a summer fling? Will she get her best friend back or will this just tear them further away? I won’t give the whole story completely away but I will say this is one book that is an ultimate summer beach read. So do yourself a favor and get this if you haven’t already. Oh and also while you’re at it get the follow up, Nantucket Red it will be coming out May 13, 2014. Keep an eye out I will reviewing that one soon, I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

BOTTOM LINE...

Review: The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

Published: March 1, 2014

Format: via NetGalley

Challenge: 2014 NetGalley/Edelweiss

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

A teenage girl trying to cope with her new diagnosis of type one diabetes and a teenage male veteran who is learning how to embrace his new life after losing an arm, who come together by using each other as an escape, only to discover through love and struggle that your life is what you make of it.

My Thoughts

The Summer I Found You is a story about two individuals who are trying to live their lives as “normal” as possible after both are dealt circumstances bigger than both can manage.

Kate is trying to deal with a break up after her first boyfriend dumps her for someone else all while trying to deal with her recent discovery that she has diabetes. Kate isn’t very concern with her illness seeing it as something that is a nuisance. She doesn’t take it seriously and gets an attitude with everyone around her who is on her back about it. She seems more concern about her ex and his new girlfriend rather than taking care of herself.

Aidan is Kate’s best friends cousin and he has a whole set of issues that he is trying to handle. He is recently out of service after an explosion caused him to lose his arm. He is trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life now that his career has come to an end all while still doing therapy for his arm.

I like this story and how while both are coping with their problems those things while major can’t stop love from happening. The chemistry between these two is undeniable, you can just feel it. Kate’s character rang very true to me because I know some people who are diabetic they act somewhat the same as Kate did. She didn’t take her illness seriously; some people don’t realize how bad the illness can affect you until it’s too late. Just as with Kate it takes a serious scare to knock some sense into them.

I also loved how Aidan missing an arm isn’t that big of an issue. He is a very independent person he doesn’t want anyone’s pity. It isn’t the main focus with Aidan. It’s about functioning in the real world again, about falling in love and just dealing with the everyday things in life.

The love story was my favorite, it showed that we can find love when you least expect it and we can all find someone who will love us for ourselves. Sometimes love can conquer all and sometimes we all need a little help from others.

New Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Harp's Song by Cassie Shine

HARP’S SONG by Cassie Shine

In just a few months Harp Evans will be officially coming of age and graduating from high school. She will be free from the mother that never wanted her, the house that never felt like home, and the disappointment of the last seventeen years. What she doesn’t know is that her mother has been holding onto a secret that has the potential to derail her dreams and destroy her already faulty sense of self.

A self-proclaimed recluse, Harp spends most of her time practicing the cello, in the hopes of earning a full scholarship that will grant her freedom, but will also send her away from her best friend Connor Williams, who is becoming more than just a friend.

As revelations are made, will Harp still feel the same way about leaving everyone that cares about her behind? Or will she continue to pursue the life she’s been dreaming of for as long as she can remember?

Harp’s Song: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Cassie Shine

Cassie Shine released her debut young adult novel, Harp's Song in November 2013, finally finishing the short story she started in her college creative writing class … many, many moons ago. She has always been an avid reader and lover of music (yes, she was in the high school marching band). While she has a weak spot for all things teeny bopper, especially boy bands, she also loves classical, country, rock and well, pretty much everything. 

After living in St. Louis for more than ten years, she and her husband packed up a U-Haul and headed west. They currently live in Orange County, CA with their furry kids Finnegan and Molly. 

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Instagram | Goodreads

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