My review of Elegy

Elegy (Hereafter #3) by Tara Hudson
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon | The Book Depository

A stalker ghost, misguided Seers, and spellbinding wraiths—Amelia Ashley has faced them all. Now her greatest hope is to spend the rest of her afterlife with her living boyfriend, Joshua. But the demonic forces return to give her an ultimatum: turn herself over to the darkness or watch them murder one living person per week until she does.

Amelia fears she might really be doomed, until the forces of light give her another option. She can join them in their quest to gather souls, with a catch: Once she joins them, she can never see Joshua again.


Faced with impossible choices, Amelia decides to take her afterlife into her own hands—and fight back.

Elegy is the final book in the haunting Hereafter trilogy about ghouls, ghosts, and all things creepy. The ending is bittersweet and may not be what some fans are expecting, however it gives a nice closure and leaves you wondering what could happen next. If you have not read this trilogy then I'd recommend that you try it out in case you find yourself unexpectedly loving the paranormal elements, like I did!

It is Amelia's final stand! She must defeat the spirits who are trying to recruit her and stop them from hurting Joshua and others she care for. We meet more characters as she joins forces with some unlikely sources to help her in the fight. Do not undermine Amelia because she is a strong, both emotionally and physically, and we get to see even more of how she has progressed as a character from Hereafter. 

One thing that stands out for me in this trilogy is the romance. It's sweet, it's innocent and completely irresistible. A ghost lusting after a human and vise versa? Never going to work, right? Well, Joshua and Amelia are two determined characters who will do anything to be together. It didn't feel stupid, like in some YA books, the romance felt mature and real.

Overall, the journey for the characters has been rocky with so many things coming in their path to happiness, I honestly don't know how they managed to keep it together! If you area after a ghost story that packs a small punch then the Hereafter trilogy is the perfect starting place. There's not many amazing ghost books that I'd say off the top of my head accept this one.

Rating

A review copy was provided by the publisher

Book Haul (#83)

Hey,

I hope you've been reading plenty and enjoying all of your books. Sadly, I've read about one book these past few weeks; both because I'm lazy, and because I'm not in the mood. But I'm trying desperately to get out of this reading flunk.

This week I borrowed:

Altered (Altered #1) by Jennifer Rush - Borrowed - 
You don't understand how long I've waited to have this book in my hands! I'm dying to read this science-fiction/romance and GAH, I'm a few chapters in and I'm in love with the characters.
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch - Borrowed -
I've heard nothing but good things about this book and therefore my expectations for it are set quite high. 

Leave a link to your Book Haul/In My Mailbox/Stacking the Shelves/Letterbox Love/Showcase Sunday in the comments below.

Enjoy your books,
Sam :)

My review of Getting By

Getting By (A Knight's Tale #1) by Claudia Y. Burgoa
Release Date: February 18, 2014
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon | The Book Depository

When Emma Anderson arrived at San Francisco International Airport, she regretted accepting the distinction of being the maid of honor to Gaby’s—her childhood friend—wedding. It had been years since the last time she set foot in Menlo Park, where her parents had been killed. The rug where she had been shoving her feelings since that day looked bumpier than a camel’s hump. Who could blame her; if she hadn’t been selfish they’d still be around. Ever since that fateful day, Emma has been perfecting the knack of Getting By.

Cade’s wedding in Menlo Park—a city close to San Francisco—might be the perfect place for Jake Knight to shake the memories of his ex, Emma Anderson for good. Single, available women galore for an entire week was the perfect medication, one he intended to take three times a day for an entire week to return to his player days. It was a plan the former spy thought flawless until he came face to face with the maid of honor. Jake’s perfect retreat turns into a flight, fight or hide week of celebrations.

Getting By is a new adult romance that follows two characters with complicated lives as they count on fate each time to bring them together. It offers them both a "no strings attached" relationship, but after two years of this they are both in too deep and they realise that they do care about each other. When the two find themselves together at a mutual wedding, both have to figure what they want.

I liked the idea for the book. Leaving one's encounters with another up to chance and fate. The main characters in this book, Emma and Jake, have both dealt with extreme situations in their lives and the details of their lives are given in little chunks throughout the book which kept me reading until the end. What I also liked was the fact that it didn't feel like a typical, generic new adult romance where one of the characters is emotionally damaged and falls for someone who can fix them. Well, I've encountered many of these types of books and Getting By felt refreshing.


The book is told from both Emma and Jake's POVs and therefore you get a good whole image of what they are each thinking.Emma is quite a closed person and finds it difficult to discuss matters involving herself and her past. And then there's Jake, who was in the army and is all you could ever want in a gentleman. The two coming together made the story effortlessly funny and romantic.

I felt that the book moved at a slow pace, and this is fine, but I would have liked something to speed it up at times in order to make it a bit more captivating. Other than that, I have no complaints and I really enjoyed the characters and writing style! This is the first of a series and I'm very intrigued to find out what more there is to offer.

Rating

A review copy was provided

Waiting on Wednesday (103)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

Deliverance (Defiance #3) by C.J. Redwine

Release Date: August 26, 2014

Everything hangs in the balance, and nothing is certain: Rachel has been kidnapped by enemy forces and is being taken to Rowansmark while Logan, imprisoned and awaiting trial, is unable to leave Lankenshire. Separated from each other and their Baalboden comrades, each must find a way to achieve what they desperately want: to rid their world once and for all of the Commander and the tech that controls the deadly Cursed One.

Fighting through her pain and embracing the warrior she’s become, Rachel will do whatever it takes to escape her enemies’ clutches and join Logan in his fight. But when she learns a secret that changes everything, she realizes that escaping Ian and his tracker friends is no longer an option if she wants to save the people she loves. Instead, she’ll have to destroy Rowansmark from the inside out—if she can survive the journey through the Wasteland.

Logan needs allies if he wants to thwart Rowansmark’s power grab and rescue Rachel. But securing allies will mean betraying his beliefs and enlisting the help of the man he hates more than anyone: Commander Jason Chase. Driven by his fierce love for Rachel and his determination to make their world safe, Logan may be just the weapon the city-states need to defeat the Cursed One.

But as Rowansmark bears down and uneasy alliances are tested, will Rachel and Logan’s love for each other be enough to surmount the unbelievable odds against them?

This is definitely one of the best fantasy series in YA that you could possibly come across! I Defiance and Deception have really set the bar, but honestly I know that this will probably amazing.. I know. I can sense it. I'm sure.

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

My review of Wait For You

Wait For You (Wait For You #1) by J. Lynn / Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: August 15, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon | The Book Depository

Some things are worth waiting for…

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for...

Wait For You is a new adult contemporary romance that will melt your heart and break you down into tiny little pieces. I was hooked on Lynn's writing from the beginning; which was expected as J.Lynn, also known as Jennifer L. Armentrout, is one of my most favourite authors and her books are all simply divine.

I never get tired of this author. She explores different genres, themes and issues with a fantastic plot and addictive characters in her books; and she does what she does best with this book! I liked the change of pace in this book as it focuses a lot on the romance, unlike in her young adult books where there is also a focus on paranormal elements. Of course, there is still the presence of a feisty and confident female narrator!

Avery has been through some difficult issues and so she moves away; far, far away in order to start a completely new life. Then her path collides - literally - with the utterly gorgeous Cam (who is simply perfect in so many ways) and she knows that she can't let anyone close enough to find out what happened to her. However, living opposite him doesn't help, and nor does his persistent attitude and irresistible charm. Soon she knows that she needs to open up with the people around her, or go through everything alone.

In every review on Lynn's books I just gush and swoon over her characters and plot, and I honestly don't know how else to react; especially to Wait For You. I simply fell for it hard and fast; loving the characters from the first meeting and the idea for the plot withing a number of chapters. 

OHHHH MYYYY, CAMMMMMM!!!! Cam... I can't.... asdfghjkl *THE FEELS* He tipped the scales, made a home in my heart, infiltrated my brain and forced me to love him. I couldn't do anything about it. He's a realistic character who will warm your heart and make you laugh. I really wish fictional characters could come to life and be with me... 

Of course, this is a new adult rather than a young adult novel so bare that in mind when you pick up the book as it does get pretty steamy. But I'd definitely recommend Wait For You for all fans of good quality contemporary romances as this is extremely well-written and very easy to get drawn into. Armentrout/Lynn is a stunning author, do not give her books a miss.

Rating

Book Haul (#82)

Hey,

I hope you have enjoyed your books and that you've had a good week. I'm so jealous of the people who got to go to the advance screening of The Fault in Our Stars!! There were three venues in the UK and you had to win tickets. I just want to cry. The wait is too long.

This week I received:

The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman - Received -

Thank you, Random House! I haven't heard or seen anything about this one but the blurb makes it sound SO GOOD! It is one colossal of a book though, nevertheless I'm very intrigued to start it. 
The Maleficent Seven (Skulduggery Pleasant #7.5) by Derek Landy - Received -
Thank you, Harper Collins! I wasn't expecting this one as I did not request it, but I do recognise this from a very popular children's series. It's a standalone which means you don't have to read the whole series to understand.

The Oyster's Autobiography by Kitty Kilby - Received - 
Thank you, Kitty! This sounds and looks super cute. I need a contemporary right now, and I'm going to this start this one soon.

Leave a link to you Book Haul/Stacking the Shelves/Letterbox Love/In My Mailbox/Showcase Sunday in the comments so I can check it out!

Enjoy your books,

Sam 

Posts you may enjoy:

Review: Divine Vices by Melissa Parkin
Review: Boundless by Cynthia Hand

Review: Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis

Let's Talk: If I Stay Trailer
Let's Talk: Summer Romances and Reads

Let's Talk: Summer Romances and Reads

Hey,

Welcome to another "Let's Talk!" post. Today I shall be talking about summer romances and some YA books that you may enjoy this summer if you are looking for some nice, fluffy romance stories. This will be a ramble type of post and is quite personal because I thought it would be a cute story to share with you, but also because I thought I'd make some of my posts a bit different. I hope you enjoy this new style I'm going to try out.

I've been thinking about what I did last summer during my long six-week holiday to come up with ideas of what I should do this summer and my mind stopped on a particularly pleasing memory of my time in Cherbourg, France. My family and I stayed at this amazing campsite for a little less than a week and it was right next to a beautiful beach.

I really wasn't expecting much from the few days we would be there. Chilling by the pool, going to the beach, visiting French supermarkets, you know? I even made sure I put boys and responsibilities at the bottom of my list of things I should be thinking about.

BUT...

Just like in those cheesy YA contemporary books you read and swoon over; a miracle happened. I was walking back from the pool and there were these two hot boys putting up tents next to my pitch.

Come on, when does this ever happen in real life? I was having a silent party in my head and smiling like a fool. This is until I overhear them speaking and realise something pretty big: they're French. They only speak French and no English. I honestly felt so disappointed because they seemed so lovely I just wanted to spark a conversation, but being the idiot I am, I didn't learn any French  and I didn't have any 3G to get much needed help from Google Translate. This meant that my vocabulary extended all the way to "Bonjour" and probably pronounced in the complete wrong way.

The following day, we were all hanging around in the pool when I met three other girls, one who was a few years older than me and could speak English. Let the heavens cry hallelujah! (I thought I would have to resort to the "if I speak slowly and loudly they might understand what I'm saying a bit better!" Don't lie, I bet you've done it at some point.) She helped introduce me to the other two girls who were both roughly my age, but also the boys. I'm not going to lie, I developed a crush on the second eldest who was just so charming honestly I couldn't not fall for him. I'll call him J for the sake of this post. He was confident, funny, and a real sweetheart. It was simply a bonus that he was my age.

Over the next few days, we all went to the beach together as a big group and they attempted to teach me French. We talked about films and the music that we were all familiar with and I really felt like I made friends for life in that moment. There was the language barrier, but we managed to understand each other in a way and enjoy the time that we shared together.

I stayed out late a few nights, one of the nights involved visiting the camp's bonfire. It just so happened that that was the last night of the trip. I had spent the days with these people and I knew the likelihood of me seeing them again would be pretty slim; saying good bye (or rather "au revoir") was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. I cried.. I think I was the only one who cried because I'm overly emotional and they probably thought I was crazy. J hugged me for a few hours while we sat by the campfire wiping the tears and kissing my cheek. The stars were glittering and the sparks from the bonfire were dancing into the night. There were people who had instruments and were singing gorgeous songs in French. This moment was so unbelievably perfect that I wish I could of recorded it to be able to relive over and over again.

We never kissed, but I do wish that it had happened. Sometimes I really regret not going for it and maybe he does too. We skyped for a few months afterward but eventually the fire just went out. He was in France. I was in England. And we barely knew each other's languages. Nevertheless, I don't regret our little thing we had going on at all and it was my first kinda summer romance and it was absolutely incredible. I hope that everyone can experience a summer romance one time in their life because it's an exhilarating and exciting experience. If you've had a short summer romance, I'm sure you know the feeling I'm talking about.

Of course, you don't have to experience a summer romance in real life, you can read about it and explore it in books. The books that I have gathered together not only consist of books with summer flings, but also cute and romantic YA books that will simply be perfect summer reads.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Saving June by Hannah Harrington

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Definitely check out these books this summer! They're light, fun and entertaining! If you enjoyed this post please let me know down in the comments and I shall try and do more.

Enjoy your week,
Sam

P.S If you've noticed the dodgy times on my camera, that's because I haven't set it properly because I'm lazy.

Waiting on Wednesday (102)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave #2) by Rick Yancey

Release Date: September 16, 2014

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

The Fifth Wave was such a unique and captivating story to read. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would because the sci-fi elements just pulled me in! I'm definitely ready for more.

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

My review of Infinite Sky

Infinite Sky by C. J. Flood
Release Date: February 14, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon UK| Amazon | The Book Depository

Iris Dancy’s free-spirited mum has left for Tunisia, her dad’s rarely sober and her brother’s determined to fight anyone with a pair of fists. 

When a family of travellers move into the overgrown paddock overnight, her dad looks set to finally lose it. Gypsies are parasites he says, but Iris is intrigued. As her dad plans to evict the travelling family, Iris makes friends with their teenage son. Trick Deran is a bare knuckle boxer who says he’s done with fighting, but is he telling the truth? 


When tools go missing from the shed, the travellers are the first suspects. Iris’s brother, Sam, warns her to stay away from Trick; he’s dangerous, but Iris can no longer blindly follow her brother’s advice. He’s got secrets of his own, and she’s not sure he can be trusted himself.

Infinite Sky is a touching YA contemporary novel that is perfect for those first stepping into the YA genre. This book is full of realistic and free-spirited characters, a romance that will make your heart ache, and so much emotion that it'll bring you to tears. I applaud C. J Flood for doing a wonderful job writing her debut novel.

I really enjoyed the premise of the story and learning more about travelers/gypsies through Iris' eyes. And I also loved her relationship with Trick. Exciting, heart-wrenching, and completely forbidden. Trick is an Irish traveler who ends up living near Iris with his family. Iris' dad is not happy and nor her brother, but Iris can't control her curiosity because their way of living is so much different than her's.

Iris is innocent and would rather look at the best in people. She has an older brother called Sam, who changed course from his bright future to hanging out with a bad crowd after their mother left. Iris and Sam have an interesting relationship. Even though they aren't close, they don't figt or hate each other either. Sam can be extremely sweet towards his sister, or absolutely horrible, depending on his mood. But Iris put up with him anyway.

I enjoyed the easy flow of this story and the way it moved at its own pace. It gave me time to get used to the characters and where the story was heading. The relationship between each of the characters also really intrigued me.

You shouldn't miss out on Infinite Sky if you are a contemporary-junkie, enjoy books that will make you shed a tear, or simply looking for some awesome debut authors!

Rating

My review of Divine Vices

Divine Vices (Divine Vices #1) by Melissa Parkin
Release Date: November 1, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon 

Danger seldom leaves its victims unscathed in the ways of seduction, and this lesson is one that sixteen-year-old Cassie Foster now knows all too well. 

Nine months following the traumatic accident that claimed the life of her mother and sister, this high school junior has at last found a fresh start in the quiet town of New Haven, Maine. In the company of her best friends, Ian and Gwen, she’s bracing the usual turmoil of adolescence and taking all in stride… until the new transfer student, Jackson Matthews, comes walking into her life. He’s arrogant, sarcastic, roguish, devastatingly sexy, and the very last thing Cassie wants to entertain. But when circumstances drive these two together, she finds herself a bit too close for comfort as their bond intensifies. Plagued by unexplainable events, a sudden string of disappearances, and even a cult-related murder, Cassie begins to fear for her life. Is it all just a coincidence that these happenings began when this Casanova strolled into town, or has she in fact fallen for a real lady-killer, or worse?

What begins as a seemingly normal contemporary slowly progresses into a murder mystery before revealing all in a paranormal explosion. I had no idea what to expect around every corner of Divine Vices and I was kept interested all along the way by what it had to offer.

It's set in a high school and told from the POV of Cassie, a girl in her junior year. She has two best friends Ian and Gwen, and she's still trying to get back into the routine without her mother or sister who died several months earlier. Then there's Jack, a new student, and he's hot as hell with a charm to draw in every girl and Cassie is one of them. But Gwen is convinced that he has something to do with the girls in a local town who have been murdered; and it seems like Cassie is next.

Don't be put off if you find that when you start reading there are no paranormal aspects because -  believe me - they will come around when you least expect them to! Divine Vices is a book that you can put down and know that there is so many things to look forward to. The characters were really fun to read about. Cassie was quite boring in my opinion, but looking past that we have Ian and Gwen who just can't stop the banter. Ian is a lovely, lovely guy and honestly... I want him. He's a great friend to Cassie throughout through thick and thin; he was there. While Gwen is just wild and free and doesn't care what anyone thinks of her.

My only observation is that all the main characters spoke like adults in terms of the words they used. I found this difficult to believe at times that the characters were all meant to be typical seventeen year olds. 

However, that did not affect the creepy factor of the storyline. As there is also a murder-mystery plot, Parkins does a brilliant job at making the scenes chill you to the bone and want to find out more. I also feel like the blend of murder-mystery, romance, paranormal, and contemporary were an absolutely exquisite combination! There's so much that is going on and will appeal to a lot of different audiences.

I'm very much looking forward to the sequel as the cliffhanger at the end of this book is just torture and I'm sure that the plot line to follow in the next installment will be just as or even better than this book. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoyed Sweet Evil, Slide, or anyone who likes a good and solid paranormal romance or murder mystery.

Rating 

A review copy was provided by the author