[Book Review] Mind Games by Kiersten White

Mind Games 

Kiersten White

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

Overall Score: 4 Stars

After Fia and Annie's parents died in a car accident, they were taken into a special school that counted as very influential and promised Annie to do some tests to try and get her vision back. The school ended up being not what they have hoped for and was only made for girls with special abilities like sidekicks and those who can see the future, like Annie. After finding out that Fia had perfect instincts, the management decided to use her in some bigger plans. Fia lost hope in herself because of the things she did and the only thing that kept her in the school was Annie. She couldn't leave Annie. She had to protect Annie. 

This book was probably one of the most exciting books that I've read in awhile. It was full of action, emotions, love, and true feelings that were very touching. I 'm a little confused about the way the book ended but I guess I have to read the second book for this. I honestly just can't figure out if Annie ended up being dead or not. Like WTF! But overall I loved it and cannot wait until the second book. Must-read!

[Feature & Follow Friday] #4

This weeks Question:

Q:  Give us a sneak! What are you reading? Tell us about a fun or fail scene in your current read.

Love love love this question this week! I actually just started to read a new book and about 20% into it and still can't figure out if I like it or not. It's called "Chasing Beautiful" and about a girl who recently got her heart broken. The scene that I just finished is her and the guy who broke her heart - yeah totally humping each other!! And the book explains it as "On the Wall while putting one of her legs on this shoulder and making the other wider". I don't know why, but that scene was pretty hot. I felt like I just rushed through it. And yes, I was at work while I was reading it and was defiantly blushing! 

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[Book Spotlight] Plus One

Plus One
Brighton Walsh

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Carina Press

Date of Publication: May 6, 2013

Amazon     BN

Book Description:

Olivia hates the singles scene, so when her best guy friend, Ian, offers to be her plus one to a series of weddings she has to attend, she agrees. Although she doesn't want to complicate their lifelong friendship, she can't pass up the chance to have a steady date without the dating drama. What she doesn't expect is to now find Ian so incredibly sexy.

When Ian sees his old friend Olivia dolled up for wedding #1, the boyhood crush he once nurtured transforms into smoldering attraction. It doesn't take long for their no-strings arrangement to turn physical. But as Olivia's desire to stay "just friends" becomes clear, Ian's feelings are deepening. In the time they have together, how will Ian convince Olivia that one plus one can make for a lifelong pair?

Short Excerpt

Given how their afternoon had unfolded, the heat that ricocheted between them throughout the evening really shouldn't have been a shock. Olivia had felt Ian’s want since she'd emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a sleek, fitted, black dress. Through the wedding ceremony, tucked into his side as his arm rested innocently against the pew behind her, she thought she'd burst at the feel of his finger tracing her bare shoulder. It had been a mindless touch, something she hadn't even been sure he'd been aware of, and yet it had set her entire body aflame.

And now. Now, she was pressed against him as they danced, his hand touching her bare skin thanks to the low, open back of her dress. He held her close, closer than he ever had before, and even though she was two martinis into the night, she still found herself tongue-tied.

His fingers slowly slid up her back, following the line of her spine, and though she tried to hold it in, a shudder ran over her body. Her nipples hardened, and a tingle grew low in her belly. All from a single caress against her bare back. Jesus, if an innocent touch like that had her wet and ready to go, what would happen if he stroked her not so innocently? 

She looked up into his eyes to find him staring directly at her. His eyes bounced over her face, no doubt taking in her heated cheeks, eyes heavy with desire, and parted lips. He pulled her close, and brought their clasped hands up toward her face. He brushed a single finger down the line of her jaw, and instead of moving away, swept his finger over her lips. It was scarcely a brush of skin on skin, but she moaned. It was low and breathy, and barely loud enough for her to hear, let alone Ian. Yet she knew the exact moment he did.

His eyes, scorching with a want she knew all too well, bored into hers.

“Liv.” He managed to convey so much want and need with that single word.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, and tried to not sound breathless when she answered. “Yes?”

Ian’s finger was still on her lip, caressing it back and forth, and his focus switched between her mouth and her eyes. When he didn’t say anything more, she couldn’t take it any longer. Her tongue darted out, lightly brushing against his finger. With their eyes locked, she took the tip of his finger into her mouth and sucked gently.

“Jesus Christ.” It was a low rumble, spoken under his breath, but she heard it clearly. With a soft pop, she released his finger, her eyes imploring him.

About the Author :

Brighton Walsh is a storyteller at heart. Whether through words or pictures, she's been weaving tales for as long as she can remember. After decades of cultivating her writing, she finally decided to give life to the voices in her head and set forth to write her first novella. Love is her first love, and writing about it is a dream come true. When she's not writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a steamy book or partaking in some retail therapy. She lives in the Midwest with her swoony husband and two energetic kids who (fortunately) know nothing about the naughty things she puts down on paper.

Find her online at www.brightonwalsh.com

https://twitter.com/writeasrain_

http://www.brightonwalsh.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6548902.Brighton_Walsh

https://www.facebook.com/brightonwalshwrites

[Book Review] Why My Love Life Sucks by Shevi Arnold

Why My Love Life Sucks? 

Shevi Arnold

Gilbert Garfinkle is the ultimate tech geek. He has a compulsive need to take apart, figure out, and fix things; and he dreams of one day fixing the world. But a funny thing happens on the way to the future. Gilbert encounters the one thing he'll never be able to figure out: a gorgeous, teenage vampire girl named Amber, who wants to turn Gilbert into her platonic BFF--literally forever! This leaves the ultimate geek pondering life's ultimate question: "Why me?"

REVIEW

When I first saw the book cover, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, yeah sure there was a robot-looking thang on the cover and it looked cute but I had no idea if I would like it. When I read that it was supposed to be a book about a geek who turned into a vampire, I just HAD to read it! And I've seen some buzz around about this creation and was getting very curious.

Reading this book was actually enjoyable! Gilbert Garfinkle turned out to be super adorable geek that doesn't really know how to act around people, specially around pretty girls. I wish I could have actually seen his face when a beautiful Amber wanted him to walk her home and then bit him. Turning into a vampire changed everything. All that planning with college and how to get away from his bitch-mother was all for nothing and now Gilbert had to figure out how to get over this. If only this gorgeous Amber would stop stalking him and making him even more confused!

Hands down, a must read! Author did an amazing job with scenes, details, and the atmosphere of the whole book. It's often very hard to keep up with events, specially if it's in the humor category but Shevi really did it! And I felt like she really made sure that the reader connected with the story and related to some characters. Loved it! 4 stars

AUTHOR BIO

Shevi Arnold writes funny. She can't help it. She's been writing funny since she was a kid, cracking up her class and her teachers with her humorous essays.

In high school she studied sitcoms when she was supposed to be doing her homework, and in college she took a couple of courses in comedy and clowning, as part of her degrees in English Literate and Theater Studies. She just had to find out what made something funny.

Eventually she cracked the code, and that led to jobs as a political cartoonist, a comic-strip magazine editor, and an arts-and-entertainment writer specializing in children's entertainment and, of course, comedy.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

[Book Excerpt] Wide Awake by Shelly Crane

Wide Awake

Shelly Crane 

A girl. A coma. A life she can't remember. When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital. Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

EXCERPT

He smiled that Mason smile that set me on fire all over. Then he put one hand on the other side on the hospital bed and the other lifted toward my face. I waited, bated breath, gulping, sweaty palms, fluttering eyes, the works. His face got so close before he stopped. I thought he had decided against whatever he was doing he waited so long. I began to pull back in disappointment, but he reached behind my neck gently and pulled me to him. The barest of touches was the best way to describe our first kiss. It wasn't really a kiss at all. His bottom lip barely brushed my top one. When he leaned back and opened his eyes, he must've seen the confusion and frustration in my face.
He chuckled. "I just had to taste that coconut…" he licked his lips, "but I don't want to kiss you when you've been angry at me and I messed up our date." He said 'date'. Like…a date. "I want to kiss you when if we go another second without it, one of us will combust."
My breaths were raging. I tried to calm myself. "I…" I failed.
"I want to give you back your first kiss, the one that jerk stole from you. And I want it to be something that even a coma can't make you forget."

AUTHOR BIO

YA author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read.
Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.

Author Links:

Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter 

 

 

[Waiting on Wednesday] S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher

Expected Publication: May 7th, 2013

First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.

But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie's looping scrawl.

Lizzie’s reputation is destroyed when she's caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn’t deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie's own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High—and she might not be able to pull herself back out.

Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for—even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.

CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS BOOK!!! 6 more days and I will be able to read it. I honestly this I would love this. The whole high-school-turning-against-you theme always leads to drama and drama is what, ladies and gentleman, I am craving! -drools-

 

[Book Blitz] Flight by Lindsay Leggett

Flight

Lindsay Leggett

The first rule of survival in the Underground: When you’re outside, keep your eyes on the skies. Ace Harpy Hunter Piper Madden is used to danger, but the death of her brother slams the brakes on her high-torque lifestyle and leaves her broken and confused.

On the run from the dictating Elder Corporation, she’s eventually found in the quiet undergound city of Ichton and asked to work for the Corp on contract to quell a new and frightening Harpy threat.

Enter the discovery of horrifying Corporation secrets, Harpy attacks, and a new friendship with the strange Asher, and Piper’s days become anything but boring.

Then, a chance encounter leaves Piper privy to a dangerous secret, ad as she and Asher team up in an effort to unravel the truth, the secrets they uncover beneath the ancient walls of the dead city will spark their world into a grand-scale war.

EXCERPT

It always starts like this. My vision starts to blur and the depth of the dirty brick walls plummets into a single plane, like I’m staring into an abyss that never ends. Pins and needles prick their way over my body and I fall backward, sinking through layers of sticky black sludge. I land with a thud and David is before me speaking urgently. His eyes are lined with confusion and anger.
“Piper, I don’t like what you’re doing. Please, for the sake of our mother and our friends, put an end to it now,” he says to me. We’re at our place in the mountains, the stars peering onto us like frail paper lanterns. I look at him seriously, my hand over my mouth, mind reeling at what he’d said.
“You don’t understand, David. I love him,” I reply, feeling tears brim my eyelids.
“… … ….” David’s lips are moving, but the noise coming out of his mouth is like raw static.
“I can’t hear you. What’s going on?” I ask. He looks like I just slapped him in the face.
“I can’t believe how selfish you are! “… … … ” He shouts, then comes the static again.
“David, I think there’s something wrong right now. I haven’t done anything!” I cry frantically, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. He brushes me off and gives me a hard stare.
“People are going to get hurt, Piper. I need you to understand that!” he shouts.
“I don’t understand, David!” I plead, “How are people going to get hurt?”
I hear more static come from his mouth, but he doesn’t seem to notice, he just keeps talking, clearly thinking he’s telling me something important. Frantically, I look around for a clue as to what is going on. When I turn back to him, David’s face starts to deteriorate and his body fades away to dust.

AUTHOR BIO

Nearly every writer struggles to put together information about themselves, perhaps because we’re so used to detailing the lives and ways of others. For the most part I am a writer, editor, photographer, and all-around artist living in the wilds north of Toronto, Ontario. I thrive on the juxtaposition of beauty and grit, enjoy urban crawls, indie everything, and time well-spent in the woods.

Author Links:

Website / Goodreads / Twitter