Quote of the week: The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

I always try to pick a book that I've read this week and pick some quote from it. Sometimes it's hard to decide, but let me tell you when one of the books I've read that week is written by Melina then the pick will be from it book. So this week I've finished The Piper's Son. As always there is plenty of quotes but here are some.

“Maybe she'd always been there. Maybe strangers enter your heart first and then you spent the rest of your life searching for them. ” 

“Don't let anyone take care of you. Can you maybe leave that for me to do? I mean, take care of you? Feel free to take care of me in return... because I think I'll need you to do that.” 

“I’m scared I’m going to spend the rest of my life in a state of yearning, regardless of where I am.” 

My review for this book to come sometime this week. I hope so.

Until the next time,

Splintered by A.G. Howard

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Author's 

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Book summary: 

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

       It's really tricky to read retellings, at least for me. Somehow they tend to disappoint and I usually avoid them, but after hearing all the great things about this book I simply had to read it. Luckily it didn't disappoint.

       We all know the story about Alice (is it just me or this story is mostly used for retellings) but somehow the author managed to create really interesting story about this one. We're in present and reading about this girl whose great, great mother was the famous Alice in Wonderland. Even today after all these years people know her last name and tend to make reference to the fairy tale. Only there is another thing her mother is in asylum cause she couldn't take all the voices anymore. Now Alyssa has the same problem cause the voices are talking to her too. She must find a way to break a curse and for that she must go to Wonderland, the land she dreamed so much about.

       If I had to describe this story I'd say it was enjoyable, readable and full of action. Just how it should be. Of course I wasn't happy about some things, but nothing that I couldn't go over with. Now I'm happy that I gave this book a try. Luckily it didn't play any tricks with one of my favourite fairy tale.

Rating: 4 stars.

Until the next time,

Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

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Author's 

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Book summary: 

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

     As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

     Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Go is is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

      Thanks to this 2013-TBR-pile-challenge I started reading the books that have been on my shelf forever. Of course I should have read this one a while ago but that's me after all.

      Wherever You Go took me by surprise mostly because I haven't read the blurb (surprise, surprise) and it took me some time to catch everything, but once I did everything started flowing easily. Here we have a story about Holly, the girl who by the all circumstances grew up too early. Being only 17 she must take care about a lot of things - her sister, education and recently her grandpa. With all that she has recently lost her boyfriend, Rob. Her now dead boyfriend is still around, he is watching her. There is also Jason, Rob's best friend, who tries to help her as much as he can, cause he feels that she is special. He is the boy with different type of life and now he must pass all the challenges that are coming in order to help Holly. This is story about girl who has almost lost her life as a teenager, she has too much responsibilities on her mind. This is a story about letting go cause Rob must continue his way into unknown. And this is story about Jason, who is now starting to understand some things and has to sort his life out in order to be satisfied.

     I really enjoyed reading about all of them. At moments this book was fanny but it also brought tears to my eyes. In my opinion beautifully written story about growing up and dealing with all sorts of troubles in life. 

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,

Waiting on Wednesday (#31)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme created by Breaking the Spine. Every week we post book that we cannot wait to read. Here is what we have for you this week:

Glass' pick

After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.

To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.

In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.

Expected publication: May 28th, 2013

Tanja's pick

Cash is haunted by things. Hungry, hollow things. They only leave him alone when Anaya, Heaven’s beautiful reaper, is around. Cash has always been good with girls, but Anaya isn’t like the others. She’s dead. And with his deteriorating health, Cash might soon be as well.

Anaya never breaks the rules, but the night of the fire she recognized part of Cash’s soul—and doomed him to something worse than death. Cash’s soul now resides in an expired body, making him a shadow walker—a rare, coveted being that can walk between worlds. A being creatures of the underworld would do anything to get their hands on.

The lines between life and death are blurring, and Anaya and Cash find themselves falling helplessly over the edge. Trapped in a world where the living don’t belong, can Cash make it out alive?

Expected publication: July 2nd, 2013

We love checking out your WOWs so link them up in comments :)

Until the next time,

Tanja's Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Favorite Romances

Hey people. Here is another Top Ten Tuesday. As you all know it's a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Here are my picks on today's topic.

1. Aiden and Alex from Covenant series. Ah I really love the way JLA created this between them. It's sometimes so lovely and sometimes make you cry. Perfect.

2. Grace and Sam from The Wolves of Mercy Falls. Because of the writing I worship here I loved this romance. It was so poetic and lovely.

3. Jonah and Taylor from The Jellicoe Road. Maybe it was slow and maybe it wasn't in the center of events but still it was beautiful.

4. Tris and Four from Divergent series. Ah you have no idea how much I wanted to hug my book for these two.

5. Elizabeth and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. I think there is nothing left to tell about them.

6. Anna and Etienne from Ana and the French Kiss. They're beyond sweet!

7. Ash and Meghan from The Iron Fey. Ah who wouldn't want a price?

8. Kiara and Carlos from The Perfect Chemistry. I love all Fuentes brothers but for girls Kiara is my top pick.

These last two are on this place just because of the end of their stories. But still I loved them so much

9. Anna and Abel from The Storyteller. You both are still on my mind.

10. Ty and Gemma from Stolen: A Letter for my Captor. To say that their story changed my views would be understatement.

As always I'd love to see your picks. So link them up.

Until the next time,

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

Buy the book at Amazon

Author's Facebook

Book summary: 

On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.

A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood. 

She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.

An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains. 

Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince. 

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

       Unfortunately I must admit that I've neglected the vampires lately. Well mostly stories started to look all the same and that annoys me. It happened with contemporary and other genres. Only fantasy is still there to keep my imagination alive. But still that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy nice vampire story.

       But I found myself in the vampire world once again. The story starts with Sofia, the girl who is still between all the crossroads in life and when the one person disappoints her - it hurts a lot. But when the things couldn't get any worse she got kidnapped. Soon she finds herself captivated in the dark place, really dark. So dark that it haven't seen the sun in centuries  Her kidnapper is member of Novak family. That family is the eldest vampire family in the world. Now the time has come and their prince who has been sleeping for years is awake. Derek has to "catch up" with the world and at the same time battle with his needs, feelings, family... Sofia is there to help him, but some things even he can't control.

      This book I've got from the author for review. Thank you Bella. Honestly I had no expectations as such, which is a good thing, because I found myself enjoying this story a lot. It was a fast and really interesting read. I must admit that now I'm really curious about the rest of the story. I want to meet Sofia better as well as the world she discovered. Then there is Drake, who is I must say is an interesting character.

Rating: 4 stars.

Until the next time,

Quote of the Week: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Hi. Recently I've read Just One Day by Gayle Forman and I really liked it. My review will be up in next couple of days and until then I wanted to share few really nice quotes from this book. So here they are.

You have to fall in love to be in love, but falling in love isn't the same as being in love.

I realize then that its not enough to know what someone is called. You have to know who they are. 

Part of me knows one more day won't do anything except postpone the heartbreak. But another part of me believes differently. We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day.

Until the next time,

(Blog Tour) Red Zone by Sherry Hayes

It's eight day of Red Zone blog tour - second book in Daniels Brothers series by Sherry Hayes. Warning - 18+ romance novel.

Book summary

After a case ended badly for Rebecca Carson, she’s losing her mind sitting around her apartment waiting on her superiors to allow her to return to work. Since she was a teenager, the only thing she’d ever wanted was to join the FBI. Now that dream was in danger.
Gage Daniels has made a pretty good life for himself. A nice house. A career he loves. As a professional football player, he’s used to getting almost everything he’d ever want with just the snap of his fingers. This includes women. A well-timed smile is usually all it takes to attract the opposite sex, especially in Nashville.
When a stalker threatens Gage, the team owner calls an old friend, Rebecca’s ex-partner Travis Hansen, to help protect his star quarterback and find the person responsible. Hansen offers Rebecca the job, and she jumps at the chance. It’s work, and it will get her out of her apartment. How bad can it be?
Posing as Gage’s girlfriend, however, isn’t as easy as it seems. The man is relentless. Rebecca must work to protect Gage while staving off his advances. She’s there to do a job, nothing more. The last thing she wants is to be another notch on a hotshot athlete’s belt.
As the stalker continues to up the ante, Rebecca finds it harder and harder to keep her distance from Nashville’s star quarterback. He isn’t what she expected in one of the city’s most notorious playboys. Now all she has to do is keep him safe until they can find his stalker, and hope she doesn’t lose her heart in the process.

Guest post

Sherri explains her love of football, and her favorite football team.

I grew up watching football with my dad. He was a diehard Cleveland Browns fan. Every Sunday, we’d sit in front of the television and watch the game.

My favorite player back then was number twenty-one, Eric Metcalf, followed closely by Bernie Kosar. It was the eighties, and back then the Browns were making the playoffs almost every year. I remember one time an announcer saying they were the winningest team to never go to the Superbowl.

That was a long time ago, of course, and I don’t always find myself sitting in my living room on Sunday’s screaming at the T.V. screen, although I do still watch football fairly often. My husband is a forty-niner fan, so whenever they’re on, he has the game on, and I usually end up watching most of it even if I’m in the other room trying to work.

While I still root for the Browns today, I’m not as dedicated a fan as I used to be. I catch games when I can, and if the Browns are playing I still cheer for them.

I’m not as emotionally invested as I used to be. It’s rare for me to yell at the television now-a-days. While I have my favorites, in the end, I like to watch a good game. There is nothing like sitting on the edge of your seat, your heart pounding, as the clock ticks down to those final seconds.

Author's bio

Sherri is the author of four novels: Hidden Threat,Slave (Finding Anna Book 1), Need (Finding Anna Book 2), Behind Closed Doors (A Daniels Brothers’ Novel), Red Zone (A Daniels Brothers’ Novel), and a short story, A Christmas Proposal. She lives in central Ohio with her husband and three cats. Her mother fostered her love for books at a young age by reading to her as a child. Stories have been floating around in her head for as long as she can remember; however, she didn’t start writing them down until she turned thirty. It has become a creative outlet that allows her to explore a wide range of emotions, while having fun taking her characters through all the twists and turns she can create. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found helping her husband in his woodworking shop.

Buy the book:

TWCS 

Until next time,

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

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Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Author's 

Website / Blog / Twitter

Book summary:

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, Time Between Us is a stunning, spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new voice in YA fiction.

        I must admit that I've read only few books about time traveling and that's why I wanted to read this book in a first place. Then later after reading some amazing reviews I knew that I had to read it.

        Time Between Us is a story about Anna and Bennett. At the beginning of the book we meet Anna - the girl who lives in 1995. One regular morning she was like any other day running in park but this morning she sees a guy. After she turns around he is gone. Strange thing is that he was watching her and then suddenly gone. Even though she tries to forget about it but then she sees him a school. She asks him why he was watching her and he swears that he hasn't seen her before. At that point I was wondering where is the time traveling in all this cause the seemed like a regular contemporary story. Well soon enough I discovered more.

        I've read this book maybe a month a good. At that time it was an sweet and enjoyable read. You can read it in one sitting. I've heard some things about the sequel and no I'm not for it. Some things aren't supposed to be continues like this story. I'd love to read another book by Tamara Ireland Stone even if it was about time traveling, but please some another story.

Rating: 4.5 stars.

Until the next time,

Waiting on Wednesday (#30)

Hello. It's time for another Waiting on Wednesday. As you already know it's a meme created by Breaking the Spine. So here is what we have for you today.

Glass' pick

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Expected publication: June 4th, 2013

Tanja's pick

How do you know where to go when you don't remember where you came from?

Kyla's memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

Or so she thought.

Kyla shouldn't be able to remember anything. But she can - and she's beginning to realise that there are a lot of dark secrets locked away in her memories. When a mysterious man from her past comes back into her life, she thinks she's on her way to finding the truth. But the more she learns about her history, the more confusing her future becomes...

Expected publication: April 4th, 2013

We'd love to see what are you waiting for!

Until the next time,