{MINI-REVIEWS} HOPELESS, THE SECRET OF ELLA & MICHA, THE COINCIDENCE OF CALLIE & KAYDEN, WALLBANGER, THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY

Series: Stand alone
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Publisher: Colleen Hoover
Publication Date: 12/19/12
Source: Bought

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.

My Thoughts ~   Hopeless is without a doubt one of the most powerful stories I've ever read. I was intrigued, swooned off my rocker, giggled at the wit between Holder and Sky, reduced to a quivering, huddled teary-eyed wreck. I stayed up until 3:30 am on Christmas morning to finish Hopeless, knowing my kids would be up by 6:00 am. I did not regret that decision. The way in which Colleen told this story... my mind is blown. I cannot recommend Hopeless highly enough. But, be sure to have tissues on hand. Read this.



Series: The Secret #1
Genre: Contemporary New Adult
Publisher: Jessica Sorensen
Publication Date: 10/2/12
Source: Bought

Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.

Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.

Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.

Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.

(New Adult Contemporary)
*Mature Content** Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language.

 

My Thoughts ~  I liked this one, quite a bit, but not as much as I'd hoped to. Maybe it was the hype, maybe it was that I had just read a phenomenal book. The writing felt a bit awkward at times. Overall, though, it was a sweet story. Ella and Micha were two kids who'd lived hard lives. Their connection was strong and beautiful. The character development was good, and the ending was open-ended, but cool. I will definitely be reading The Forever of Ella and Micha.



Series: The Coincidence #1
Genre: Contemporary New Adult
Publisher: Jessica Sorensen
Publication Date: 12/13/12
Source: Bought

There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.

Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe.

For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.

Now he can’t stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved.

(New Adult Contemporary)*Mature Content** Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language.

 

My Thoughts ~  Another story of two broken people, who find strength in one another. Callie and Kayden broke my heart. Each are dealing as best they can with the horrible circumstance they've been dealt. The issues that Callie and Kayden had were handled very beautifully by Sorensen. I loved that she took her time with the characters, letting them get to truly know and understand one another. I really enjoyed The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden and the ending was BRUTAL! I will definitely be on board for The Redemption of Callie and Kayden.




Series: Stand alone
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Publication Date: 11/27/12
Source: Bought

Caroline Reynolds has a fantastic new apartment in San Francisco, a KitchenAid mixer, and no O (and we’re not talking Oprah here, folks). She has a flourishing design career, an office overlooking the bay, a killer zucchini bread recipe, and no O. She has Clive (the best cat ever), great friends, a great rack, and no O.

Adding insult to O-less, since her move, she has an oversexed neighbor with the loudest late-night wallbanging she’s ever heard. Each moan, spank, and–was that a meow?–punctuates the fact that not only is she losing sleep, she still has, yep, you guessed it, no O.

Enter Simon Parker. (No, really, Simon, please enter.) When the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. Their late-night hallway encounter has, well, mixed results. Ahem. With walls this thin, the tension’s gonna be thick…

In her third novel, Alice Clayton returns to dish her trademark mix of silly and steamy. Banter, barbs, and strutting pussycats, plus the sexiest apple pie ever made, are dunked in a hot tub and set against the gorgeous San Francisco skyline in this hot and hilarious tale of exasperation at first sight.

 

My Thoughts ~  New. Favorite. You guys, I loved this book so much that I can hardly stand it! I was in dire need of some fun after reading some very "heavy" books. Wallbanger gave me all the fun I could handle, and then some. The characters, particularly Simon and Caroline, were flawless. Wallbanger read like a romantic comedy, would be a fantastic movie. There were some times I laughed so hard that I snarfed and had tears streaming down my face. The only downfall? It ended. When it comes to Wallbanger, believe the hype.



Series: Stand alone
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Publisher: Antisocialite Press
Publication Date: 9/5/12
Source: Bought

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.Full of rage and without a purpose, former pianist Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone discovering her past and to make the boy who took everything from her pay.

All 17 year-old Josh Bennett wants is to build furniture and be left alone, and everyone allows it because it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t exist. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, a hot mess of a girl who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. The more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he may ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a slow-building, character-driven romance about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Please Note: This book contains mature content including profanity, drug/alcohol use, and sexual situations/language.


**The Sea of Tranquility was bought by Atria and has a new cover and details. Since I bought the book when it was still self-pubbed, I chose to include the original cover, which is very meaningful to the story.**
My Thoughts ~ The Sea of Tranquility is a beautiful, brutal, emotionally exhausting, soul-crushing masterpiece. Seriously, I have no clue what to say after reading TSoT. As soon as I finished, I told my BFF to read it, now. She asked what she could do to prepare. My answer: Alcohol. Beer. Defribrillator. And Tissues. I'm so exhausted that I can't even begin to comprehend writing a full review. I just...I just don't know what I can possibly say that many others haven't already said. And much more eloquently than I could ever hope. I just sort of want to die when I think about how completely perfect TSoT is. My brain is oatmeal. And I'm really happy to now be part of the super-special group on Facebook that's dedicated to this book. (Thanks, Megan!) I have a feeling that I'm going to need to do a lot of feelings-sorting there, lots to think about.

I get to meet Katja Millay at a book event in Florida in February. I want to hug her. Ask her how the hell she ever created such a phenomenal story and characters. If her soul ached while writing as much as mine did while reading. Cry a little bit. Then thank her. And give her another hug. When I have her sign my copy, I'm sure there will be tear stains.

It should be said: There's a special place in heaven (or wherever you believe) for someone who can write boys like Josh Bennett and Drew Leighton. Especially Josh Bennett.