YA Book Addict: December 2013

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

TEASER TUESDAY #4: Forbidden: Discover the Legend (Wolf Sirens #1) by Tina Smith

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

*****

The Mystical Bond, the Fatal Allure ... of Hunter & Prey

Misunderstood seventeen year old Lila Crain unwillingly moves to the foreboding town of Shade, prepared to face her punishment - Shade High. But she can't begin to anticipate the life-altering events that lie in wait for her.

The dark and charismatic Reid has a wolfish grin and amber eyes that would make any girl blush and he has his sights set on the new girl in school.
Reid's stunning friends - including icy top dog Sam - invite Lila into their clique. Suspicious, yet flattered by their attention she answers the intriguing call like a moth to a flame.

Thrillingly introduced to the local nightlife by the enigmatic group, Lila finally feels like she belongs. But her newly found friendships threaten to turn sour when she unwittingly develops feelings for the leader's off-limits boyfriend, Sky.
Tensions rise further when a quirky local named Cresida warns Lila to stay away from the clique at all costs.

Undeterred, she is irresistibly drawn to uncover the truth behind their mysterious lifestyle.
Lila unwittingly starts off a chain of events that will forever alter fate for both hunter and hunted as she learns they have been waiting for her...

Inspired by the legend of the femme fatale goddess, Artemis, Wolf Sirens is a compelling gothic masterpiece of paranormal romance.

Forbidden, Fever, Night Fall and the soon to be released Dusk in Shade - all continue the tale of Lila Crain, the heroine with the chip on her shoulder, on an epic paranormal journey in which forbidden love threatens to destroy the underworld.

Teaser:

How could I know that my innocent presence terrified them far more than they threatened me, or what I had just triggered? I was what they had feared, what they had been hoping wouldn't come. - 4% on Kindle

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesday post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, December 30, 2013

BLOG TOUR - REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: The Other Me by Suzanne van Rooyen

Title: The Other Me

Author: Suzanne van Rooyen

Publisher: Harmony Ink Press

Release Date: 19 Dec, 2013

Length: 216 pages

Genre: YA, LGBT, contemporary

Blurb: Fifteen-year-old Treasa Prescott thinks she’s an alien. She doesn’t fit in with the preppy South African private school crowd and feels claustrophobic in her own skin. Treasa is worried she might spend life as a social pariah when she meets Gabriel du Preez. Gabriel plays the piano better than Beethoven, has a black belt in karate, and would look good wearing a garbage bag. Treasa thinks he’s perfect. It might even be love, as long as Gabriel doesn’t find out she’s a freak.

As Treasa spends time with Gabriel, she realizes she might not love him as much as she wants to be him, and that the reason she feels uncomfortable in her skin might have less to do with extra-terrestrial origins and more to do with being born in the wrong body.

But Gabriel is not the perfect boy Treasa imagines. He harbors dark secrets and self-destructive tendencies. Still, Treasa might be able to accept Gabriel’s baggage if he can accept who she longs to be.

My Thoughts:

"Do you know what it's like to live every day feeling trapped, feeling cheated by God and biology? Nobody asked me if I wanted this body." I grab at my boobs, wishing I could tear them right off. "Every day-" My voice cracks, and a new onslaught of tears threatens to wreck my complexion. "Every day, I wish I'd never been born, because then I wouldn't have to live this lie."

You know how sometimes you can start reading a book, and despite it being a fantastic and engrossing read, it can feel like you've read it before because of the subject matter? Well, The Other Me is a fantastic read. It is a book that completely drags you into the story and it is so completely original and unique that you will never once feel like it's been done before. And that's because I've never read a book based around this subject before.

At some stage in our lives we all experiment with the way we look, the clothes we wear and how we wear our hair. Imagine doing all of that because the body that you are in feels so completely foreign to you. Fifteen year old Treasa Prescott feels like an alien. An alien living in the body of a girl. Then she meets Gabriel du Preez and she is instantly drawn to him. She thinks he's perfect. But Gabriel is fighting some pretty heavy demons of his own and he believes that he doesn't deserve someone like Treasa. But he can't seem to get her out of his head. When their secrets are revealed how will they both deal with the very real and deep feelings that they have both developed?

He smiles, and not even the sunshine parting the clouds or the rainbow hanging in the sky comes close to the radiance of his expression.

I love books written in dual point of view. The ultimate way to get to know both main characters on a deeper level. Being able to get a true feeling for what they are experiencing allows a much greater connection and understanding of not just the characters, but also the story. And The Other Me allowed me, as the reader to feel both characters pain. I didn't expect to be so taken in by this story and it's characters. But the things that they were both dealing with pulled at my heart. It ached for them. Going through your teenage years can be hard at the best of times, but Treasa and Gabriel are dealing with so much on top of the norm.

I loved Suzanne Van Rooyen's writing style. It made reading her words so easy. Her characters came across as incredibly real. Add all of that into the uniqueness of the stories subject and The Other Me turned out to be a book that I absolutely loved. So much in fact that I would love to read more of these characters. I would love to see how Treasa deals with all the changes she will be going through. I would love to see the deeper development of the friendship between Gabriel and Tristan. And I would love to be there as Gabriel and his Dad repair their relationship.

My only negative, if you could even call it that, was that I felt the end wrapped up too quickly. But aside from that, if you are looking for a Young Adult contemporary, with a storyline that hasn't been done before, then I couldn't recommend The Other Me highly enough.

4.5/5 Original Stars.

Excerpt:

Gabriel

Five years ago

today, my mom died, and it seems I’m the only one in the family who

remembers. Even after all this time, I feel her absence, the ache physical,

kind of how I imagine an amputee must feel after losing a leg. You think

the missing bit is still a part of you, and it comes as a shock every time

you realize it’s gone. Only I lost an internal part of me no one can see is

even missing. Only I feel the loss, feel that huge gaping wound that might

suck me right down into the abyss, if I let it. Mom probably wouldn’t want

me chucking myself out of the car or getting stoned with Dirk or shagging

a girl like Karla. She’d like a girl like Treasa, though. Mom was a singer

too.

“You know, she’s been dead for years, and I still half expect her to

waltz into my bedroom in the mornings with a cup of condensed milk

coffee.” I watch the family with the dog and the Frisbee, watch the mother

pick the little kid up when he bails into the grass.

“Man, that was the best coffee ever,” Dirk says.

Last time I had condensed milk coffee was the morning before Mom

died. If only I’d known it was the last cup she’d ever make me, I would’ve

savored it and not left half behind, too busy playing piano to pay proper

attention.

Damn Klippies, now I’m getting all dronkverdriet. I backhand

unwanted moisture from my eyes, and the snatch of a melody spins loose

from my imagination. It’s simple yet beautiful, music in a minor. If only I

had my notebook with me. I’ll probably forget the tune by the time I get

home, even though I try to catch it, humming the notes under my breath in

the hopes of remembering. This’ll be the first theme of my sonata. Finally,

I have something to work with. Maybe this is how all those great

composers did it; maybe I should do this more often: get wasted, get

morbid, rip the scabs off old wounds, and let myself bleed all over the

staves.

Author Bio:

Suzanne is an author and peanut-butter addict from South Africa. She currently lives in Finland and finds the cold, dark forests nothing if not inspiring. Although she has a Master’s degree in music, Suzanne prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When not writing you can find her teaching dance and music to middle-schoolers or playing in the snow with her shiba inu. She is rep'd by Jordy Albert of the Booker Albert Agency.

Author Links:

Website l Twitter l Facebook l Pinterest

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Sunday, December 29, 2013

STACKING THE SHELVES #4

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Received from Simon & Schuster Australia

The Unidentified Redhead (Redhead #1) by Alice Clayton

A Beautiful Wedding (Beautiful #2.5) by Jamie McGuire

*****

Thats it for me this week.

What books did you add to your shelves this week?

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! Thank you so much for your continued support during 2013.

Monday, December 23, 2013

NEEDING HER - Molly McAdams Prank-Tacular Blog Tour

WHO IS THE REAL MOLLY McADAMS?

Molly McAdams is pulling a prank on the internet to celebrate the release of her prank-tastic novella, Needing Her, on 12/23! For eight days until Needing Her goes on-sale, the internet will be brimming with New Adult celebs like J. Lynn, Jay Crownover, Sophie Jordan, and more—all pretending to be the REAL Molly McAdams. All have filled out the same Q&A, so it’s up to the fans to guess which one is the real Molly! Each day, a new Q&A will go live on a variety of blogs, and if you guess who’s answering the questions in the comments, you could win a fabulous gift basket, including books from all the participating authors, as well as a prank “starter-kit,” for your own practical jokes. Here are the participants:

Molly McAdams

J. Lynn

Monica Murphy

Lisa DesRochers

Jay Crownover

Sophie Jordan

Nichole Chase

Blogger Yara Santos of Once Upon A Twilight

So see if you can guess who’s who by commenting, and you’ll be entered to win a lavish prize basket. And check all the other participating blogs until 12/23 to see if you can pick out the REAL Molly McAdams. Identities will be revealed, and the winner will be announced on 12/24, on these blogs as well as on the Between the Covers FB page.

12/23—Molly McAdams Pretender #8

Favorite food?

Lobster

Favorite color?

Emerald green

Favorite band and / or favorite song?

I love classic rock, and it's super hard to pick out one band, forget one song, so I'll go with my current favorite: Imagine Dragons.

How do you come up with your book ideas?

Usually a character just pops into my head and starts telling me a story, but sometimes it's a song lyric, or something I overhear someone say, or a line from a TV show or movie.

What’s the best prank you’ve ever played on someone?

Me and my high school lab partner in chemistry went out of our way to blow stuff up, so we broke a lot of beakers and test tubes over the course of the year. Our teacher gave us a bill at the end of the year for something like forty bucks...so we brought it all in loose pennies and dumped them on her desk.

What’s your fascination with cops and detectives?

There is just something innately alpha about them. They don't take any crap, and there are lines that they can never cross.

What’s the thing you love most about Needing Her?

Getting to revisit some of my favorite characters and give them the happy ending they deserve.

Needing Her:

A fabulous, fun, and sexy New Adult novella from New York Times bestselling author Molly McAdams. If you loved Connor in From Ashes, this is the story for you.

She's the girl next door

Maci Price isn't really into relationships. Having four very protective older brothers has always made having a boyfriend very difficult anyway. But her friend is set on finding her the right guy—and thinks the mysterious Connor Green is the perfect pick.

He's her brother's best friend

Connor Green is trying to find himself again. He loved, then lost, and it's time for him to pick up the pieces. His brooding is making his friends crazy, but Maci, who has grown up into a gorgeous and incredibly sexy woman, is about to break the spell.

They're made for each other

When Maci starts up old pranks to get Connor out of his slump, an all-out war leads to a night that will break all their rules … and a relationship they must keep hidden. Together they're electric. Apart they're safe. And soon they'll each find that they're exactly what the other needs.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple Bookstore

Participating Blogs:

Monday, December 16^th:

Books Over Boys

The Eater of Books!

Jennifer Weiser

Reading on the Rocks

A Life Bound By Books

YA Bookish News