April 24, 2012

Review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard


WanderloveIt all begins with a stupid question: Are you a Global Vagabond? No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path. Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward. But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.


Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Published: March 13, 2012 by Delacorte books for young readers via Netgalley
Source: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and thoughful review.
Purchase:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble

My Thoughts:

I have to say this; I loved the raw and beautiful writing style of the author. Her words were magical and I just wanted to hang on to every word I read and savor it.

Bria Sandoval has just graduated high school and is trying to figure out what she’s going to do with her life; she’s also dealing with having her heart broken. Bria and her two best friends decide that they needed a break and should travel to Europe in the summer before starting college. Her friends end up backing out and Bria finds herself booking a trip with the Global Vagabond Tour group for a three week excursion traveling the ancient Mayan ruins.

This is where Bria’s journey begins, she finds herself traveling to a foreign country alone to prove that she can do things on her own when everyone else doubts her. After the break up, Bria feels as if she has lost her way and what defines her as an individual. She’s trying to figure things out as she travels amongst strangers in Guatemala from city to city.

An unfortunate event introduces Bria to Rowan, a seasoned backpacker who invites her to a party at the island he’s staying at. This is where everything changes for her, she somehow finds herself ditching the Global Vagabond tour group and accompanying Rowan and his sister backpacking city to city.

She’s lost what defines her as a person, she’s lost her love for art and everything she holds dear to herself. This book was so much more than just a book about a girl traveling it’s about finding yourself and that things happen for a reason although you might not necessarily know what they are at the time. It’s about discovery and learning that you can overcome even what seems to be the hardest thing to deal with in your life at the time.

After reading this book, I wanted to do two things;
a.       Pick up a backpack and go backpacking across Central America, even though I'm definitely not in my twenty's anymore.
b.      I felt inspired to do something more, to not give up on something that I might love just because the circumstances aren’t right.

I absolutely adored this story; there was so much in the back story. The descriptions of her travels were beautiful and captivating. When Bria described locations I wanted to reach out and touch it, I wanted to take a deep breath and smell the air that she talked about. The author definitely has a way with words and painted the most beautiful story.

This book deserves 5 out of 5 stars.

Teaser Tuesday (20)


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Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at 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! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

April 9, 2012

Cover Reveal: Greta and The Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs


Okay, So I'm really excited about sharing this cover reveal with you because first this book sounds fantastic and it has all of the elements I love in a good book, fantasy, mystery and Greta sounds kind of kick-ass being as she is a bounty hunter. 

Second, the cover is gorgeous and has definitely caught my attention with the mythical kind of hazy background in contrast to the brighter color in the girls jacket.


Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs
Entangled Publishing
Release Date: November 13, 2012

While trying to save her brother four years ago, Greta was thrown into the witch’s fire herself, falling through a portal to a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every ogre, goblin, and ghoul has a dark side that comes out with the full moon. To survive, seventeen-year-old Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young Goblin King, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her determination to escape. But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. The full moon is mere days away, and an ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…

Now that you have read the blurb, doesn't is sound fantastic?

Add this book to your Goodreads here.
You can pre-order the book at Barnes and Noble.

About the Author:
Chloe Jacobs is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having jumped around to practically every Province of Canada before finally settling in Ontario where she has now been living for a respectable number of years. Her husband and son are the two best people in the entire world, but they also make her wish she'd at least gotten a female cat. No such luck. And although the day job keeps her busy, she carves out as much time as possible to write. Bringing new characters to life and finding out what makes them tick and how badly she can make them suffer is one of her greatest pleasures, almost better than chocolate and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.

Also, in September I will have a special excerpt of the book on my blog, don't forget to stop by then.

April 2, 2012

Review: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens


The Kingdom (Graveyard Queen #2)Deep in the shadowy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies a dying town…My name is Amelia Gray. They call me The Graveyard Queen. I've been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I'm coming to think I have another purpose here.Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I've discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town—this withering kingdom—and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth.   ~Goodreads





The Kingdom (Graveyard Queen Series) by Amanda Stevens
Published: March 27, 2012 by Harlequin Mira via Netgalley
Source: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and thoughful review.
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble



My Thoughts:


There’s something about Mrs. Steven’s books that make them so hauntingly beautiful.Maybe it’s the words she uses or the emotions that come across the page clear as day but, there something there that makes me want to drop everything and read her books as soon as it’s released.

I loved The Restorer, the first book in the Graveyard Queen Series it was definitely one of my favorite books in 2011 and this book is no exception. The world building is fantastic and unlike other ghost stories I’ve read, this book will definitely have you sleeping with the lights on. The words seem to come to life and give off this scary and mesmerizing emotion that you can’t shake. I want to keep reading the book but yet at the same time I am afraid to find outwhat will happen next.

The story is the continuation to The Restorer and it follows Amelia Gray to another restoration job in Asher Falls. From the minute Amelia arrives she know ssomething is off kilter, everyone there is mysterious and strange. Amelia sets off to start her restoration project but she instead finds herself entangled in a mystery that is much older and deeper than she could ever imagine.

The story definitely takes creepy to another level. The writing is captivating and once you find yourself pulled in to Amelia’s world it’s hard to disentangle yourself from it. If I thought that the idea of ghost feeding off of your warmth and energy was frightening it does not compare to what lurks after twilight in Asher Falls. I loved that we learn more about her family, and at times I feel really bad for Amelia because she really has no one to confide in about what she’s going through and she’s utterly alone.

The story was definitely fast paced and pulled me along for a crazy and at times terrifying ride, whenever I thought that maybe I had figured out the plot I was thrown a curve ball until the last minute. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

4.5 out of 5 Stars.
 
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