Review: Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen

Publishing Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Genre: New Adult
Summary:  Nova Reed used to have derams-of-becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best as she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next... until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life- but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, and what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life... but then beautiful Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide; does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?

Review Note: This is an approved ARC by NetGalley in exchanged for an honest review:

Review:

At first, I had thought I had never read any of Jessica Sorensen's novels, but then I remembered The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden.
From reading the blurb of this book and the first and second chapter in Nova and Quinton's perspectives, I thought it was just another one of those eye-rolling girl-meets-boy or boy-meets-girl-who-are-both-broken-by-their-deep-dark-traumatic-past -and-can't-seem-to-move-on-with-themselves kind of book.
And in a way, it's really like that, and again, it's not.

How do you move on in your life when the one you love decides to leave you?

Nova Reed can't seem to live. She's living, but then again, she can't seem to move forward, for last year, her best friend and boyfriend, Landon, took his life. No warning, no reason. The only words he had said was left in a video and on the wall. She feels she will never feel or be the same again. Certain things- too much to handle, things that hit close that reminds her of Landon, brings back fresh, hurtful memories of her time with him. She doesn't know why Landon left her.Being home in the summer from college brings back memories. The memories are all around her no matter how far they are buried. All she keeps wondering is why? And if there was anything she could have done to prevented it. 

Quinton Carter can't get over the guilt and self-loathing he has for killing his ex-girlfriend and his cousin in a car crash that he was responsible for. As a reminder, he tattooed their names on his arm. Sometimes he wished that he was dead instead of them. He feels as if he doesn't deserve anything; happiness, living, love- anything. He knows that he shouldn't deserve to live. He does only one thing to cope. To get by. To take his mind off of the things, to take away everything he was done. He gets high. Loses himself. And when he does this, things are a little bit more bearable to handle.

  Together Nova and Quinton find each other, trying to figure out who each other is, what their stories are, but all the while, from time to time, shutting each other out; not wanting one to get too close to each other and ask deep questions that hurts to much to remember. They build this relationship with each other, and it always turns out to be friendship. But friendship doesn't last forever, does it? The more they spend time with each other, the more they want to know about each other, want to be with each other. Quinton feels that he can't. He uses girls when in his high, numb state and when this happens around Nova, he sometimes pushes her away.  But somehow, he knows, he knows that there's something different about Nova. And he can't seem to stop... being around her. He doesn't want to feel anything when he's with or around her, he doesn't deserve to feel and do the things that he does, and yet, he can't seem to stop himself.

Nova and Quinton's relationship (first as friends, then... somehow grows a little bit more) isn't healthy. They are both broken and damaged, and instead of trying to help each other, they dive deeper in out of control with drugs and their guilt about their pasts and... eventually Nova realizes she doesn't want to do this: she doens't want to do drugs, like getting high. She wants to get better, she wants to do something better with herself. She.. wants to move on, to forgive and forget everything though she knows it'll take time. And that's exactly what she does... and leaving Quinton and his broken, damaged, numb self behind... only for a moment.

Breaking Nova ends with a cliffhanger. It's not a bad one, but it means there will be a sequel that I am interested in reading for when it comes out.

The only thing that made my heart wrench was in the end when Nova went back to see Quinton, but figures out what he hasn't changed- that's he is doing the same thing since she left. And she wants to try to make him better...



Conclusion:

I will say, in the beginning, I didn't like the book, that I took a few days from reading this book because I felt it wasn't anything new. Just two characters running and moping over their loss loved ones in death, can't move on, find each other and lose control. Drugs. Alcohol. I'm sure you get the idea. And in a way, I still think that's how Breaking Nova is, but somehow, I know there is something more hidden within that I'm just missing?
But overall, I am willing to read the second book for Breaking Nova when it releases. Would I recommend this book? Yes, especially if you're a fan of Jessica Sorensen's books, Breaking Nova is another great book to give a try. 

Review: Plague by Lisa Hinsley

Publishing Date: December 9, 2013
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Publisher: Pocket Star
Summary:In this enthralling debut thriller in the vein of Contagion,  a young couple struggles to save their plague-stricken son as they desperately fight back against a tyrannical government.

A new strain of the bubonic plague is diagnosed in London. Before it can be contained it spreads through the population, faster and deadlier than anyone could have imagined. Three weeks is all it takes for decimate the country.

Johnny and Liz are devastated when their young son, Nathan, starts to show symptoms, but Liz phones the authorities anyway, and a few hours later, the army arrives and boards up their house.

Now Nathan is dying and there is nothing they can do to help him. Hours pass like weeks as their little boy grows weaker and weaker. All Liz want is for them to die with some dignity, but the authorities refuse to help. Then their Internet and phones stop working. Cut off from the world and stuck inside their house, the family tries its best to cope- but there is nothing they can do to stop the lethal epidemic.

Review Note: This book was approved by NetGalley as an ARC exchanged for an honest review.

Review:
Plague  is no zombie book. It reminds me of the novel Hot Zone  and other films and movies that deals with some sort of strain, disease, or virus.
History repeats itself once again. The Bubonic Plague finds itself in modern day London. It's faster and deadlier and spreads through London population like wildfire.

No one knows where this plague has come from. All we know is that it's deadly and no one is safe.

Johnny and Liv, with their four year old son, Nathan lives London while the Plague is going on. Devastated that Nathan is sick, he shows and has the symptoms of the Plague.

With a sick son, Johnny and Liv will do anything they can to help their sick son so Liv phones the authorities for help, but only ends up having their house boarded up-- which signifies to everyone that they have been quarantined. But since that happened, things go down hill from there.

There will be no spoilers but I will discuss the important things that I found terrifyingly interesting while reading this book!

Johnny and Liv and Nathan are trapped in their own home with no way to get out. Because if they do, the watcher that's looking over their house has orders to shoot them down if they tried.

With only medicine and limited amount of food, Johnny and Liv try to make the best of everything they have and can to help Nathan, but to soon come to the conclusion that he doesn't have long to live.

The thing that gets to me is the various symptoms an infected/sick/ill person has to go through when they caught the Plague. And Lisa Hinsley doesn't leave and sugar-coat things about the body when it comes to this.

The first thing you will have are swellings on your neck, under your arms and in between your legs. These will grow and grow until maybe into the size of a baseball. Then they'll start to change colors of blue, black, and purple. Soon, it will get hard to breathe until you're left wheezing.

Next, if I can remember, will be that you will start to vomit.

Have terrible diarrhea...

...you'll start to be in extreme pain that it hurts to even be touched. You can feel the pain everywhere. The pain will be too unbearable that you'll start screaming.


...Soon, it doesn't stop because then you'll start to suffer from fevers, rashes, seizures, and delirium...

Imagine if this happened. Today. In our era, with our advanced technology and medicine-- it'd be too late to have a vaccine or have a "cure" because by that time, half of the world's population (if it was international), would be dead.  There would be chaos. Quarantines. Military personnel. Death.

If you're quarantined, or someone who is also in your home with the sickness, you wont be able to leave your house no matter what happens.

The plague will continue on until everyone is dead and there is nothing left, or until the plague dies out because there will be no more hosts.

Soon, internet will be cut of. Telephones. Eventually electricity and gas will be shut off. Because this is exactly happens in Plague-- at least some of it.

Liv is the only one alone taking care of her family when her son and eventually Johnny gets sick. Soon, Liv believes after a few episodes of vomiting that she too is getting sick and eventually will share the same fate as her son and husband.

Things that happen within this book can actually happen in real life, and I give Lisa Hinsley praise for that. Everything has a realistic feel to it.

The only question  I have about this book was: where did this plague come from? How it began? Has the plague itself died down before springing back up again unexpectedly? It appears from the ending that the book that there should be a sequel. I hope there is a sequel because there are many things left unsaid.

Plague is about survival. Surviving in this hell that you're body is taking until you can't take no more- you want everything to end because it's too horrific and painful and terrifying and you want nothing but for it to stop. But it doesn't.  For those who already hadn't been sick, like Liv, will they eventually catch the sickness and come to a terrible fate like everyone else or will they become a special survivor?

Conclusion:
I enjoyed Plague. Lisa Hinsley does a great job at creating, well, re-creating a real-life disease and transporting it into our modern day world. Things that goes on in this book can actually happen in real life.
Like I mentioned before, Plague reminds me of so many books and films that deals with this type of phenomenon that you start to wonder, if at any given time, what will happen when it really does happen? Would we be prepared enough for it? But no one will ever know.

Plague  is suspenseful, sort-of-gross, but an intriguing book. If you're into the disease/virus/strain- kind of book then Plague is the right book for you.

4.8/5- Plague gets from me.  I will definetly be looking out for more future books from her.

Review: Crashing Into You by B.D.Rowe

Author: B.D. Rowe
Publication Date: October 8, 2013
Purchased: Requested from NetGalley
Genre:  New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Book Description:
Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with every ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus. Evan is six foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He's even easy to talk to.

There's just one problem: he's her roommate Melanie's boyfriend.

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn't take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more.

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when  sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan's life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her hear.

Reviewer's Note:  This approved book will be exchanged for an honest review.

Review:
I requested this book from NetGalley. I had to request this book because the book description (and cover- which reminds me of The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden) interested me.
From the first to second chapter, I can already find myself eye-rolling. Here's an example from one of the paragraphs:
"But I changed my routine this semester because it allowed me to spend more time with him. Tall, sexy, and sadly unattainable, he was the one I craved. He was the one I wanted to be mine. Evan Taylor, my roomate's boyfriend."- Sydeny Baker.
Eye-roller there.  It's already clear that the protagonist from the start that she wanted him. She will do anything to be with Evan Taylor. She had even said "I know you're dating my roommate, but would you care to make out?" in one of her internal monologues.

With me continuing on further into this book, I came to the conclusion that: I don't really much care for much of the characters than I wanted to. I wanted to like the characters, I really do...but it feels as if there is something missing. They just feel flat and plain to me. Nothing exciting or suprising with these characters that appears to me. I don't feel much of a connection to them as I thought I would have.

What's missing in Crashing Into You  was maybe having Evan's point of view of things like many other NA books have so we can have both sides of the story- knowing what they are thinking at that moment. If this book had it, I believe it would be a lot more enjoyable than just having it in Sydeny's perspective.


Conclusion:
Overall, Crashing Into You   has a lot of potential. It really does. Just a few things needs more tweaking such as character development, the situation theme of drinking and driving could have been handled more  much maturely than it was presented.  I enjoyed B.D. Rowe's writing, Crashing Into You was well-written but it could have been a bit better. I think this book book more highschool than college-themed. There maybe a promise of a second due to the end of this book in a questioning cliff-hanger kind of way.
Would I read the second book it if ever does plan on coming out? Hmm, maybe.
But this book really wasn't all that I expected. It's a quick, easy read.

But would I recommend this book? Of course, while it's my opinion, I'm sure there are many other people who would LOVE this book more than I did.

Crashing Into You   would be a 3.5/5 for me. Hopefully B.D. Rowe's stories are much more developed in the future.

Upcoming Reviews and Books Releases

These are the E-books that I have been approved of as ARCs from NetGalley.

Crashing Into You by B.D. Rowe

Publisher: B.D. Rowe
Publishing Date: Nov 5, 2013
Genre: Romance, New Adult
Summary Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with everything ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus. Evan is si foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He's even easy to talk to.

There's just one problem: he's her roommate Melanie's boyfriend.

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn't take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more.

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when  sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan's life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her hear.




Discovery (Electi) by Brina Courtney

Publishing Date: Oct 15, 2013
Publisher:  Laurlis Press
Summary:
Discoveries can be dangerous. Discoveries can be deadly.

Nine months ago, Teagan Matthews' boyfriend disappeared and took her sense of stability with him. But when the opportunity to live with her aging grandmother in Salem arises, she decides it's time to get on with her life. A new home, new job, and new friends are adding up to a beautiful summer...

....until a young girl's body shows up one night in town, wearing a pentagram necklace exactly like Teagan's.

Now a guy, looking remarkable like her missing boyfriend, has arriaved  in Salem along with a mysterious stranger, who may have some answers that Teagan has desperately been searching for. Teagan must now decide who to trust. It's a matter of life... and her death.




Intent to Kill by Ryshia Kennie

Publishing Date: Oct 18, 2013
Publisher: Beyond the Pages Publishing
Genre: Mystery/ & Thrillers, Romance
Summary:
 A ruthless band of smugglers will stop of at nothing to strip Cambodia of its priceless artifacts, even if it means using and killing female tourists. Journalist Claire Linton knows she's on to the story of a lifetime. But for Claire, it's personal too: long before her "Uncle Jack" came to the U.S., he was held captive int he nightmarish killing fields of Cambodia, and Claire senses there might be a connection between that long-ago bloody history and the dark crimes plaguing the country today.

Simon Trent is a burnt-out interpol agent who quit the service and was forced to disappear after his last case turned fatal. But with the resurgence in smuggling and all signs pointing to the man who once escaped his grasp, he comes out of hiding to finish the job that's haunted him for years. What he doesn't see coming is Claire, the beatifiuk and headstrong reporter who may be a threat to his case- and to his heart.

As Claire and Simon reluctantly join forces to unravel a mystery that reaches deep into her family history an dmay be his only chance at redemption, they must fight to stay one step ahead of a brutal killer and one step away from the dangerous feelings building between them.



Plague by Lisa Hinsley

Publishing Date: December 9, 2013
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Publisher: Pocket Star
Summary:In this enthralling debut thriller in the vein of Contagion,  a young couple struggles to save their plague-stricken son as they desperately fight back against a tyrannical government.

A new strain of the bubonic plague is diagnosed in London. Before it can be contained it spreads through the population, faster and deadlier than anyone could have imagined. Three weeks is all it takes for decimate the country.

Johnny and Liz are devastated when their young son, Nathan, starts to show symptoms, but Liz phones the authorities anyway, and a few hours later, the army arrives and boards up their house.

Now Nathan is dying and there is nothing they can do to help him. Hours pass like weeks as their little boy grows weaker and weaker. All Liz want is for them to die with some dignity, but the authorities refuse to help. Then their Internet and phones stop working. Cut off from the world and stuck inside their house, the family tries its best to cope- but there is nothing they can do to stop the lethal epidemic.



Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen

Publishing Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Genre: New Adult
Summary:  Nova Reed used to have derams-of-becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best as she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next... until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life- but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, and what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life... but then beautiful Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide; does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?


Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever  (The Ghetto Girl Romance of Quadrilogy, Book 1) by L.V. Lewis

Publishing Date: Oct 31, 2012
Publisher: Jungle Fever Press
Genre: Erotica, Romance
Summary:  Keisha Beale, a street-wise Chicago south-sider two years out of DePaul University, is a quarter million dollars in start-up capital away from realizing her dream of owning a recording studio/record store. She takes the place of her more business-savvy partner in a meeting with Tristan White himself, the venture capitalist they've targeted to fund their business.

A bi-racial--African American and Brazilian--woman with a troubled past, Keisha has been so focused on her business pursuits that her love life has been non-existent. Tristan White is the devastatingly handsome, 32-year old CEO of White Enterprises, the firm he build using only the inheritance his mother left him to prove to his father he had the mette to do it alone. He comes from a long line of wealth, and he lives the life of a"one-percenter" on Chicago's Gold Coast. Tristan is accustomed to controlling every aspect of his life given into a world of white privilege.

50 Shades To The 2nd Power...

When Keisha and Tristan's worlds collide, sparks fly, and a fever is ignited in them both that they have never experienced before, it turns out that they each have secrets, but together, in the unorthodox arrangement Tristan proposes, they discover passions they never knew they had.




Becoming Clissine  (Bastia, Book 1) by Anastasia Vitsky

Publisher:  Lazy Day Publishing
Publishing Date: Oct 22, 2013
Genre: New Adult, Sci-fi & Fantasy
Summary: 

What if heterosexuality were a crime?

Bethrothed at birth to the daughter of the most prominent Houses in the totalitarian theocracy of Bastia, soon-to-be-college-graduate Clissa isn't sure whether she is ready to undergo the Mar. Once she becomes the Nur, or the submissive partner, to her bethrothed she will have to submit all major decisions to her life to the beautiful Helaine, whom she has met once. She must marry a woman, according to the decrees of Bastian law.

Caught between a desire to "get along" and the growing awareness he iis "het" and is attracted to Clissa, her childhood friend, Destral, kisses her one day as they study in their college library. Shocked at the feeling the kiss awakens, Clissa begins to question everything she has been taught. Did Basti, their deity, condemn relationships between a man and a woman? Will her growing feelings for Destral cost her everything her parents have worked hard to give her?

After a mad attempt to subvert Bastian authority, Clissa is assigned to new parents for "reeducation" in the doctrine of Bastia. Her new parents are given one mandate, bring her back to rightness with Basti.

Clissa, list in a system threatened by her very identity, must make her choice. Will Bastian authority break her, or will she find a way to break free? Can true love overcome a harsh regime?


The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Publishing Date: Mar 1 2014
Genre: Romance, Teen/YA
Summary:  All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is hte perfect distraction.

Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life. When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all?

Giveaway Blitz: Discovery by Brina Courtney

Nine months ago, Teagan Matthews' boyfriend disappeared and took her sense of stability with him. But when the opportunity to live with her aging grandmother in Salem arises, she decides it's time to get on with her life. A new home, new job, and new friends are adding up to a beautiful summer...

 ...until a young girl's body shows up one night in town, wearing a pentagram necklace exactly like Teagan's.

Now a guy, looking remarkably like her missing boyfriend, has arrived in Salem along with a mysterious stranger, who may have some answers that Teagan has desperately been searching for. Teagan must now decide who to trust. It's a matter of life... and her death.

Purchase on Amazon

About Brina Courtney

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She’s spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

Links:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

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Review: Eleanor & Park

Eleanor & Park
By: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publishing Release Date: Feb 26, 2013
Purchased: Amazon Kindle
Purchase price: 8.89$

Summary (from Amazon):

So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

Review:

In 1989, Eleanor is a new girl in a new school. And, knowing new students, like Eleanor, is the students fresh target. She's big, awkward, and wears weird clothes. "Not just new- but big and awkward. With crazy hair, bright red on top of curly. And she was dressed like...like she wanted people to look at her. Or maybe like she didn't get what a mess she was. She had a plaid shirt, a man's shirt with half a dozen weird necklaces hanging around her neck and  scarves around her wrists. She reminded Park of a scarecrow or one of those trouble dolls his mom kept on her dresser. Like something that wouldn't survive the wild..."
Eleanor is immediately taunted by students because of her weight and weirdness on the bus and in school. Could her life get any worse?

Yes, actually. It can. Eleanor lives with her little siblings and they all share the same room. Living with an abusive, alcoholic step-dad, and her submissive mother, Eleanor sometimes she can disappear or go away and never look back. Her family doesn't have some basic necessities that other households have-shampoo and toothbrushes(?), but we do know that their bathroom doesn't have a door and therefore a sheet is their bathroom door. Sad.
Despite this, Park somewhat reluctantly, is the only person to share his seat with her. And from there on, Eleanor and Park's relationship kicks off. And it's a struggling, sweet one.


My Thoughts

What I like:
I adore Eleanor and Park's relationship with each other. It made me giggle when Eleanor giggled (literally) and mad whenever she was- due to the frequent teasing/bullying and inappropriate things that would happen to her. I also liked how strong she is- against the students who makes fun of her. She holds her head up high and try not to let those things get to her. I also like how strong she is for her siblings.

What I didn't like:
The only thing that I didn't like about Eleanor & Park  was the ending.
It was a sad but also sweet ending. And, I'll admit,I did tear up a little and stared at my kindle for the longest while the words "it's over?!" repeatedly swam around in my head. It was that serious.

Eleanor's step dad. He's abusive, alcoholic, and he seems (to me) to pick on Eleanor more than anyone else even though once in a while he'll turn on to the mother. But once it's revealed what he's done, I simply had no thoughts or words.

Sometimes I thought Eleanor cried too much and was a baby at some things, but I got over that and knew it was just part of her personality as a character.

Conclusion:

Eleanor and Park will make you reminiscence about your love life (if you were born in the 80's early 90s), and I bet some of the music that is mentioned in the book is actually real life bands that you listened to (I recognized one!). It's a sweet, adorable book filled with sweet, heart pounding joy between to the two characters, despite their race and physical appearances.
Would I recommend this book?
Yes! Yes, I would.
Eleanor & Park  gets a 4.5/5