-Review- The Day Before by Lisa Shroeder

The Day Before by Lisa Shroeder
Release Date: 5 June 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 307

Purchase: Book Depository | Amazon

Amber’s life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself. Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he’s also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets. The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she’s drawn to him. And the more she’s troubled by his darkness. Because Cade’s not just living in the now—he’s living each moment like it’s his last. Told in verse and brimming with raw emotion and pure romance, this is a gracefully woven tale of life-changing secrets and unexpected friendship.

The reason I bought this book was due to the fact that I recently stumbled upon Lisa’s blog and I wanted to read more novels written in verse as they intrigue me and I find them to be some of the most moving and emotionally relatable books.

Shroeder makes clever use of her lyrical writing style in order to draw the reader in as she makes clever use of poetry and letters in order to tell the story—this is what truly set this book apart from any others I have ever read before, for me. The letters sent to and from various characters in the book told the back story while the poetry or rather; the verse told the story that was happening in the present and the story becomes all the more interesting when the two finally merge in a sense(they both become the present). I know what I’m saying may sound strange but if you were to read this book I’m sure you’d understand what I mean.

Shroeder’s writing was lyrical and simple, this was a quick read and I think she did a great job! Along with the great verse, came a relatable story about two teenagers. Although I’m sure people of any age can enjoy The Day Before as we all want that one day in which we can do anything we wish, however this story becomes somewhat tragic towards the end.

The one thing that I did not like about this book was the fact that the poems seemed a little short for me, but they served their purpose in telling the story that the author wanted to convey which is great despite my personal feelings.

I loved the fact that this book had musical references in it as I am a music student myself and could relate to Amber and Cade; music is something that they both feel is very important and I feel that way too! The Day Before is definitely a book you should check out as it is emotional and fun to read all at once.

-Stacking The Shelves- 1

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, that spotlights the books we have recently received.  Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

This post is going to be a bit of a catch up post as I haven't posted anything about the books I have received recently. I am so glad that I have the opportunity to read such awesome books and be able to receive/buy them.

Received Lately:

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins(my review)
Trafficked by Kim Purcell

Rapture by Lauren Kate
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare(my review)
When The Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellison

Fated by Alyson Noel
The Day Before by Lisa Shroeder

A special thanks to HarlequinTEEN for providing me with the following eGalleys:

What did you receive this week?
Comment below with a link to your Stacking The Shelves posts and I'll be sure to check them out!

-Feature & Follow- 5

Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to connect book bloggers; in turn allowing them to connect with other readers, gain new followers and most of all to be social in order to make some new friends. This meme is hosted byParajunkee & Alison Can Read.

Q: What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch?

A: I think I would network more and review as many books as possible right off the bat because that's what we're all here for-- spreading the word about some of our favorite books and sharing our thoughts.

Happy Friday!

-Review- Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Release Date: 1 May 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Softcover

Pages: 447

Purchase: Book Depository | Amazon

Embrace the Forbidden 

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels. Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna. Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Sweet Evil; Wendy Higgins' debut was impressive. It exceeded my expectations and blew me away as I found it to be quite addictive and a really fun book that was far too interesting to put down!

Wendy's writing was simple, yet it was effective. The characters she wrote about were unlike any other I've ever read about. For instance; I was so unsure about Anna as a character. She wasn't weak and dependent upon somebody else, yet she wasn't the most outspoken character either. She was average I guess. She was awesome to read about though and I cannot wait to read the next book; Sweet Hope, to see where this story goes.

I don't usually read the blurbs of books. I judge them by their covers and I know that's not a good thing. But for some reason I was tempted to read the blurb for this book after I had read the first line. I then figured out it was about angels, I immediately rolled my eyes at the thought of having to read another book about angels and demons. But Sweet Evil was something so much more and the concept of this book was absolutely brilliant and original in my eyes. It was extremely well executed.

As I previously mentioned this book exceeded my expectations. HarperTeen is and always will be one of my favorite publishers(I hope to maybe work there someday), I hadn't read a book produced by the publishing house in a while and this book reminded why I fell in love with the publisher's books and authors in the first place.

This book was published after being discovered on Inkpop; a community which I was too part of and it was interesting to see someone get published through such an awesome publishing house in an unusual way. I am so happy that this book was published!

Sweet Evil was an awesome book that I hope everyone reads! I look forward to more from Wendy Higgins as she improves and becomes all the more awesome. This was a fantastic debut, filled with hot romance, deception, angels and demons of sorts, as well as forbidden love like you've never seen it before!

-Waiting on Wednesday- 23: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

 Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live. All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

I am one of Melissa Marr's biggest fans; I have loved every single book she has written so far and love her world building. I believe that this book will not disappoint as the blurb itself sounds so good! 

What are you Waiting on this Wednesday?

Leave a link and I'll be sure to check out your posts!

-Review- Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry
Release Date: 31 July 2012

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: eGalley

Pages: 384

Purchase: Book Depository | Amazon

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked. So wrong for each other...and yet so right. No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

 Pushing The Limits was an intense read that did not fail to let me down, it exceeded my expectations and interestingly enough surpassed them. At first I did not think that it would be as gripping as it was, but I was shocked to find that I couldn’t stop reading.

The story followed two broken teenagers and told each of their stories from separate points of view. Noah and Echo’s stories are intertwined and made this book so much fun to read, it was great seeing two people with problems become one and they could be themselves and didn’t have to present a perfect version of themselves to the other. McGarry’s writing made it clear that the character’s thought differently, her clever use of voice was well executed. I did sometimes find that Noah’s story got to be a bit boring, but kept reading.

Noah and Echo both went through a lot throughout the book, character development was definitely evident. It is not an easy thing to do—show how characters change, and McGarry did a great job at doing so in a paced and reasonable manner.

Echo and Noah were two characters that jumped off of the pages, they were damaged and were extremely relatable in some way. Each of the situations and stories were touching and heartbreaking.

I myself found that I could not pinpoint a villain in the story due to conflicting emotions, I think that readers can take away their own heroes and villains at the end of the book, I am still undecided. The outcome I had expected did not turn out to happen which was saddening and a surprise at the same time.

This book was great and I cannot wait for everyone else to read it so that I can discuss it with some of my fellow readers. Pushing The Limits is definitely a book you should add to your To Read piles!

-Feature & Follow- 4

Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to connect book bloggers; in turn allowing them to connect with other readers, gain new followers and most of all to be social in order to make some new friends. This meme is hosted byParajunkee & Alison Can Read.


Q: Do your reading habits change based on your mood? Do you read a certain genre if you are feeling depressed or happy?


A: Yes they do, but they do not change due for emotional reasons, but rather the type of genre I feel like on a certain day and quite often I'll experience the emotions the characters feel, from within the book.

Happy Friday!