Tuesday 30 April 2013

Cover Reveal: Jet by Jay Crownover (Marked Men #2)


If you visit The Readers Den on a frequent basis you know that Jasprit and I don’t participate in very many Cover Reveals or Blog Tours, for that matter.  So you know if you see a Cover Reveal on here it’s because we love the author and their work so much that we’re really excited for anything new they release.  Today I’m thrilled to be one of the blogs participating in the Cover Reveal for Jetby Jay Crownover.  I read and reviewed the first in the series, Rule (Marked Men #1) back in February (my review) and LOVED it!  It was an addictive read of unrequited love with some good old danger and drama thrown in.  So here without further ado is the cover for Jet (Marked Men #2):



Image Map

Jet by Jay Crownover (Marked Men #2)
Expected e-Copy Publication: May 28th 2013
Expected Paperback Copy: November 19th 2013
Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the book: With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

Jet can’t resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he’s tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.

Will the blaze burn into an enduring love. . . or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?

Jay Crownover's excellent writing got noticed by Harper Collins and a deal was announced this month for this series under their imprint William Morrow. Congratulations Jay!! 

I know this story is going to knock my socks off if it's anything like Rule! Bad boy rocker?! Sign me up! In the words of the author: "I guarantee my Rocker is going to be one hell of a good time."  I can't wait!! 

Author Links: Facebook | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads


Giveaway: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless (Hopeless, #1) 

Description: Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.



Hello readers! You may remember I went to a signing earlier this month and got some goodies. I was so excited to get my own signed personal copy and I thought you might like one, too! So today I have a SIGNED copy of Hopeless to giveaway to one lucky reader! This giveaway is International. You've probably read the raving reviews or maybe you've read and loved this as well.  Just fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win. Good luck! 

Monday 29 April 2013

Review: My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi

My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication date: 2nd April 2013
My rating: 3.5 stars.

 
Lucy just had the worst week ever. Seriously, mega bad. And suddenly, it's all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a whole new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of. And now her life will never be the same. Now, how will she be able to have a boyfriend? What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family? Now her life is completely different...every moment is a gift. Because now she might not have many moments left.

My Life After Now first captured my attention because of the mystery which was blurbed surrounding our main character Lucy, she seemed to have a happy life, but something happened to cause everything to tumble down around her. I had a few ideas in my mind of what this could be, but was surprised to find out what the big mystery turned out to be. 

I have to praise Jessica Verdi for tackling this taboo topic in her story in the first place. I don’t think I’ve come across a novel which places this issue in the forefront of their story. It was truly an eye opening experience getting into our protagonist's head when she had to go through such a rough ordeal. And despite having a strong support network through her parent’s, best friends Max and Courtney and boyfriend, it just goes to show you how this issue can quickly cut off the support around you. Some chose not to support Lucy because they were scared for themselves, whereas Lucy also lost some friends because she wasn’t knowledgeable on the subject and so shut everyone down. I know that if I was in Lucy’s shoes I would feel like my life had become pointless, so cutting everyone off would have probably have been my first response too. And as Lucy felt ashamed to confide with anyone about her issue, (the rights and wrongs had been drilled into her for so long), and she had slipped up, it’s no wonder she immediately jumped to the worst case scenario. It was a tough time for Lucy at first, and Verdi portrayed well just how isolated an individual could feel. 

On top of that Lucy had to deal with the unexpected arrival of her pregnant mother, her ex-boyfriend being in love with the evil Elyse St. James and the school play where the most important scene, her co-star wouldn’t even come close to her. I admired Lucy’s character, as things at times did get extremely bad for her, but she tried to hold her head up high and battle on. It’s at times like these you truly discover just who your true friends are and I’m glad Lucy was able to realise which ones she could hold onto forever and which she should have dropped a long time ago. 

My Life After Now was a beautiful read, but also a truly insightful one. Authors take note; novels such as My Life After Now not only leave lasting impressions, but are also able to build knowledge and insight into issues many individuals try to bury their head in the sand about.


Sunday 28 April 2013

Showcase Sunday #26


Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea. The aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.



Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton, Harlequin Teen, Flux Books, Orchard Books and Simon & Schuster and Indigo/Orion Books

Angelfall by Susan Ee
Confessions of An Almost-Girlfriend by Louise Rozett
The Truth About You & Me by Amanda Grace
Quicksilver by R.J Anderson
Fire with Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

I really did try to refrain from making any requests these last two weeks, but a lot of these books I just couldn't resist.Confessions of An Almost Girlfriend, Quicksilver and Fire with Fire were sequels which I had been highly anticipating, I'm hoping that all of them will live up to their predecessors. I'm probably one of the last people to pick up Angelfall! I was ecstatic to learn that it was picked up by a UK publisher, so I knew I finally had to succumb and read a copy. I also finally picked up the first book in the Kate Daniels series and despite it starting off really slow, it certainly left me wanting more, so I was quick to grab the next two books in the series.

But then yesterday was the best book day ever, I finally received Siege and Storm, a book I had been waiting on forever, but it was in a special two in one edition, so I have both Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm together! The reviews for the latter book have been amazing so far and plus I have a double dosage of The Darkling with this edition! 

Lets see which goodies Rachel received.




Thank you to Delacorte Press, Atria Books, and Netgalley.

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Paige Morgan
Star Crossed by Jennifer Echols
Eve of Darkness by Sylvia Day
This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Cornerstone by Misty Provencher
Vain by Fisher Amelie

I forgot say thank to my lovely co-blogger, Jasprit for Starcrossed and This is Not a Test!! She gave me these books when we met up in London back in March!! *hangs head in shame* Thank you, Jasprit!! I won Eve of Darkness from Andrea @ The Bookish Babe.  I’m always so shocked when I win a book but I don’t know why.  With the amount of blogs I visit, and contests I enter I’m bound to win something, lol! Thank you Andrea! I’m excited to read The Beautiful and the Cursed.  It’s set in Paris and I’d love to read a book set there after just visiting.  I bought Cornerstone and Vain after seeing numerous raving reviews.  Both were .99 cents on Amazon, so I couldn’t resist!

Rachel and I are super excited about diving into these reads. Which goodies did you receive this week? Leave a link in the comments below and we'll be sure to check it out!

Saturday 27 April 2013

Review: Dare to You by Katie McGarry


Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2)
Dare to You by Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication date: May 28th 2013
My rating: 5 stars


 Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."


If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...



Well, Katie McGarry just wowed me again!  Dare to You was just as AMAZING if not more that Pushing the Limits!!  I was full of intense emotions, and on the edge of my seat the entire read, completely immersed in Beth and Ryan’s story!!

I knew Beth’s story would be something else, because she was such a hard and troubled character in Pushing the Limits, and now we finally see why.  Beth is living with her aunt after having the crap beat out of her by her mother’s boyfriend, Trent (what a gem!).  Her mother is a loser and that’s putting it mildly, but Beth still feels obligated to make sure she’s okay.  When an altercation ends in Beth taking the fall for her mother with the law, Beth ends up in her Uncle Scott’s custody. Beth hasn’t seen Scott in years since he left Beth and she does not welcome his return.  She has nothing but resentment and anger at him for abandoning her to the hell her life has become.

Ryan’s life is perfect.  At least, that’s what it looks like from the outside.  He’s the all-American boy with everything going for him: good looks, promising future in baseball, and a well respected family.  What they don’t know is Ryan’s family is falling apart behind the scenes.  His parents look like the model couple outside but can barely stand each other behind closed doors.  His older brother Mark has been ousted from the family, and Ryan resents and mourns his absence.  Ryan had his own struggles, trying to figure out his future.  For so long he goes along with his parent’s expectations and desires, but is this what will make him happy?

When a dare brings Beth and Ryan together their worlds collide.  They are from very different backgrounds but there’s a spark of attraction between them.  At first you can’t tell if they want to kiss or kill each other!  But shared troubles bring them together and they start to form a bond.  Romance lovers will not be disappointed, because there is plenty of swoon is this novel!!  

“We should talk,” I say in a rush before the thought drifts away, but my hand draws another lazy circle on her stomach.  Her muscles come alive under my touch, a shudder of pleasure, and I crave to please her.
“No, we shouldn’t,” she answers. “Talking is overated.”*

I had a stupid happy grin at just about everything Ryan did!!  In a sea of “bad-boy” characters, Ryan stands out as a good-guy who melts your insides!!

I want her to be wowed so she’ll stay on homecoming court, but more…I want this gift to prove that I know her and that I see beyond black hair and nose rings and cut-up jeans. I see her as she really is—I see Beth.*

*sigh*

Beth was so guarded and hesitant to trust, but you really couldn’t blame her for feeling that way.  How can you trust outsiders when your family has let you down so many times and in infinite ways?  My heart soared when she finally started letting people in.

Ryan has led such a sheltered life, but his family raised him right, for the most part.  How else could you have such a complete gentleman?  I can’t express how much I loved and respected his behavior!!  The way he treated Beth is what finally made her walls come down and begin to trust.   Scott was also a huge part of Beth’s road to healing, and it was nice to finally see a responsible, present, and loving adult in YA fiction!! 
                                                                                                                                              
Ms. McGarry is fast becoming a favorite author of mine, she has a talent for writing amazing and well-fleshed out characters that make you care.  Such a moving, emotional, and riveting story! Dare to You is one of my favorite reads of 2013!!

*Quotes taken from an uncorrected proof and may change in the final copy.






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