May 13, 2015

Review: Shadows and Secrets (13 to life #2) by Shannon Delaney

Summary-

Nothing's simple when you run with werewolves. Jess Gillmansen thinks she's seen it all but her eyes are about to be opened to even more danger and a reality far more paranormal than she's suspected. With Jess's realization that the Rusakovas' mother is still alive and imprisoned, the group's choices become harder and trust more important. Lines are drawn and relationships change as the broken Rusakova family struggles to reunite long enough to free their mother and people who Jess always just took to be normal people show themselves to be much, much more.

Review-

The book is one that I can say I truly liked. When i first started to read it It took me about a week to get about 50 pages in. But after that I finished it in 3 days. When I had free time my face was in the book. causing most people to think I'm a nerd. It surprised me because I wasn't suspecting the turn of event that happen.

Publisher-St. Martin's Griffin

Reviewer Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviewed by~Destiny Bethel (Student at Franklin High School)

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!!

Summary-

Nova Reed can't forget him-Quinton Carter, the boy with the honey-brown eyes who made her realize she deserved more than an empty life. His pain was so similar to her own. But Nova has been coming to terms with her past and healing, while Quinton is out there somewhere, sinking deeper. She's determined to find him and help him . . . before it's too late.
Nova has haunted his dreams for nearly a year-but Quinton never thought a sweet, kind person like her would care enough about a person like him. To Quinton, a dark, dangerous life is exactly what he deserves. And Nova has no place in it. But Nova has followed him to Las Vegas, and now he must do whatever it takes to keep her away, to maintain his self-imposed punishment for the unforgivable things he's done. But there's one flaw in his plan: Nova isn't going anywhere . .

Review-

Brutally honest and real, Saving Quinton is an excellent book for teens to learn exactly how drug addiction can change lives, not just their own but the lives of others around them. Nova and Quinton are star-crossed lovers who meet one summer and fall for each other. Both characters have had people very close to them die in tragic circumstances. Where Nova took the high road, Quinton let his guilt drown him in drugs, very heavy drugs. This book/episode details the demise of Quinton as he loses himself in the world of drugs: prostitution, theft, drug-dealing, guns, and violence.

This book is number two in the Nova and Quinton Series. Book one, Breaking Nova, really should be read first. All of the books are stand-alones but the reader is going to get very involved in this series (like I did!) and will want to know the backstory. So read them in order! Definitely a five star because author Jessica Sorensen draws her readers in and makes them feel the same roller coaster of emotions that her characters are feeling--and THAT is good writing!

Publisher-Grand Central Publishing

Reviewer Rating: 5 STARS!!!

Reviewed by~Cindi

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!!

Summary-

Following the death of her best friend, Iris and her family move to Oregon for a fresh start in this middle-grade story of miracles, magic, rain, hope, and a hairless cat named Charles.

Sixth-grader Iris Abernathy hates life in Corvallis, Oregon, where her family just moved. It's always raining, and everything is so wet. Besides, nothing has felt right since Iris's best friend, Sarah, died.
When Iris meets Boris, an awkward mouth-breather with a know-it-all personality, she's not looking to make a new friend, but it beats eating lunch alone. Then she learns that Boris's very existence is a medical mystery, maybe even a miracle, and Iris starts to wonder why some people get miracles and others don't. And if one miracle is possible, can another one be too? Can she possibly communicate with Sarah again?

Review-

Iris, an 11-year-old girl, has just moved to Oregon from California after her best friend, Sarah's, death. She's in a state of depression and denial so her parents move the family in order to help her heal. Unfortunately, starting a new school in a city that is more rainy than sunny makes Iris retreat into herself and believe that her friend's ghost is with her. Iris becomes friends with a boy she thinks is a freak solely because she's lonely. When she finds out he's some sort of miracle child, according to the Vatican, she begins to be more friendly. She believes that if she can find out that miracles are real, then her best friend's ghost could actually have followed her to Oregon.
There is not a lot of action. Basically, the book follows Iris as she hangs out with her hairless cat, Charles, who is her best friend, goes to a new school, learns to play Magic with Boris, and helps her father raise baby chicks. There is a very good life lesson in the story, though, that makes it a four star book. Iris finally understands that life changes, perhaps miracles happen, and despite tragedies, we all go on living the best we can.

Publisher-HMH Books for Young Readers

Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewed by~Jordan Clubbs

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!!

Summary-

Serena knows a few simple things. She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.
Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.

Review-

This is one of those books that make you feel sad when it's over. Luckily, it's only the first in Janeal Falor's Mine series so I have more awesome reading to look forward to. The story takes place in Chardonia, a mythical city where women are so devalued that they have less status than an animal. They are used and abused for any reason or no reason at all. Unfortunately, the men are mostly warlocks so punishment is inventive and brutal.

Most of the women are submissive in Chardonia are submissive, those that aren't become outcasts. Our heroine, Serena, eldest of fourteen sisters and daughter to a particularly evil and brutal man, begins to question why these laws are in effect and why women aren't equal to men. While she is exploring the possibilities of women's rights, she is falling in love with the 'barbarian' from another country who has worn Serena in a magic tournament.
Falor packs this book with magic, mystery, action, adventure, love, and a subtle look at inequality between the sexes. You Are Mine was such an excellent read that I devoured all 359 pages in two days. Besides a fantastic plot, tormented heroine, and hot, hulking hero, the writing was phenomenal. Falor certainly knows how to entertain! Five stars!

Publisher-Chardonian Press

Reviewer Rating: 5 STARS!!!

Reviewed by~Cindi

Thank you to the author for her donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!

It's Monday! What Are YOU Reading?

This is a fun meme that allows bloggers to get an idea of what everyone else is reading and perhaps help to find our next must-read. So check out what WE are reading and tell us what YOU are reading!!

Lora is Reading:

Inheritance

(Southern Son: The Saga of Doc Holliday, #1)

by Victoria Wilcox
......

The name Doc Holliday conjures images of the Wild West and the shootout at the OK Corral, but before he was a Western legend he was a Southern son, born in the last days of the Old South with family links to the author of Gone with the Wind. Now this amazing story is told for the first time in a trilogy of novels entitled Southern Son: The Saga of Doc Holliday. The story begins with Inheritance, set during the turbulent times of the American Civil War, as young John Henry Holliday welcomes home his heroic father and learns a terrible secret about his beloved mother. Inheritance is the first novel in an epic tale of heroes and villains, dreams lost and found, families broken and reconciled, of sin and recompense and the redeeming power of love.

(goodreads summary)

......

Cindi is Reading:

The Invisible
(Brokenhearted, #2)

by Amelia Kahaney

......

In the riveting sequel to the reimagined superhero story, The Brokenhearted, Anthem Fleet takes on a powerful new villain and makes some startling discoveries about her family and her past that will forever change her.

Taking up where The Brokenhearted ended, the sequel finds Anthem Fleet attempting to return to a normal life after an experimental surgery that left her with a bionic hummingbird heart and a terrifying new strength. But she can’t shake her suspicions about her father’s connection to the Syndicate and she can’t ignore the cries of help in the crime-ridden city of Bedlam. She finds new promise in her relationship with Ford, but after his lifesaving surgery, the Ford Anthem knew slips away.
When a mysterious new group called “The Invisible” starts attacking the privileged North Siders, Anthem has to step up and be the New Hope that Bedlam needs, or Bedlam will fall…once and for all.

Publishers Weekly called The Brokenhearted an “atmospheric, adventure-laced debut” with “graceful world-building, strong characterizations, and an enveloping plot.” (goodreads summary)

May 5, 2015

Review: See Jane Run by Hannah Jane

Summary-

I know who you are.

When Riley first gets the postcard tucked into her bag, she thinks it's a joke. Then she finds a birth certificate for a girl named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary hidden inside her baby book.
Riley's parents have always been pretty overprotective. What if it wasn't for her safety...but fear of her finding out their secret? What have they been hiding? The more Riley digs for answers, the more questions she has.
The only way to know the truth? Find out what happened to Jane O'Leary.

Review-

I loved this book. It had an unexpected twist. I did not expect her brother to kidnap her nor for her to be sheltered from the situation she was in.

Publisher-Sourcebooks Fire

Reviewer Rating: 5 STARS!!!

Reviewed by~Student at Franklin High School

Thank you to the publisher for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review

Summary-

Beautiful Lily Branson learns that her wayward father has lost his Wyoming cattle ranch in a card game to handsome cowboy Jack Sinclair, no less! When a series of deadly winter storms sets in, Lily and Jack must work together to save the cattle—as well as their hearts.

Review-

I've always loved a good historical romance, especially those set in the West--cowboys, Indians, settlers, farmers. Reading about the hardships fought and lands won usually makes a reader appreciate the civility that we live in now. Falling Softly is a historical romance set in the West with an unusual twist. Lily Carteret, the heroine, is mixed race. Of Barbados and British heritage, Lily is beautiful, brave, strong, and on her own in the Wyoming Territory. Her alcoholic father has lost his ranch in a poker game and is now the bookkeeper for another rancher.

Luckily for Lily, she doesn't have to fight a lot of racism. The other people living on the ranch are French, Indian, American, and British. The ultimate melting pot of nationalities that characterized America during the 1800's. As Lily tries to help her father stop drinking, she must also figure out what her new role in this wild country will be. While doing so, she becomes the glue that holds the ranch hands together during an unusually harsh winter.

Very well-written, well-researched, and entertaining story. I hope that our readers will grab a copy of Softly Falling and enjoy it as much as I did.

Publisher-Cedar Fort Publishing & Media

Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewed by~Cindi

Thank you to the publisher for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book Program in exchange for a honest review!!!

Fabulous Spring Giveaway

Waiting On Wednesday

Sooooo....what books are we waiting on here at RFYF? The school year is ending and many students will be graduating soon. In honor of our readers who may be heading to high school or college next year, we chose books that are all about new starts and fresh beginnings!!

Lois Lane: Fallout
......

by Gwenda Bond

Release Date: 1 May 2015

Publisher: Switch Press

Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. An Army brat, Lois has lived all over—and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas in the middle of one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Fly straight. As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won’t be that easy. A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They’re messing with her mind, somehow, via the high-tech immersive videogame they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and her new snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it’s all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screenname, SmallvilleGuy.

(goodreads summary)

Wild hearts
......

by Jessica Burkhart

Publish Date: 5 May 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Enjoy Wild Hearts and the other standalone titles in Bloomsbury's contemporary If Only romance line centered around an impossible problem: you always want what you can't have!

Brie Carter's father's land development business has taken her family all over the world, but as soon as they arrive at their new home in Lost Spring, Wyoming, the town turns out to protest. They don't want a new hotel if the resident mustang population will be displaced or hurt as part of the deal. Then Brie meets Logan, a gorgeous local who has a special connection to the mustangs, and she is immediately drawn to him . . . and the horses. However, with Logan's father leading the protests and Brie's father refusing to budge, it's clear that their parents are heading towards an all-out war. Can Brie and Logan find a way to save the mustangs and be together? Or is their love doomed from the start?

This new title in the If Only line is the perfect summer read and proves that love flourishes in the wildest places!

(goodreads summary)

April 28, 2015

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

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!
Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Please don't call me Mr. Trent." He laughed. "We're the same age, and I wet my pants at your house once. I threw away the Princess Jasmine panties your mom sent me home in, so I still owe you a pair."

p. 49