Book Review: Emmy & Oliver - Robin Benway

Title: Emmy & Oliver
Author: Robin Benway
Genre: Young Adult - Romance, Coming of Age
Amazon:  http://amzn.com/B00O11DMOU

Blurb (from Goodreads):
Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

My Review:
This is another one of those books that sucked me in from the moment I picked it up. Had my weekend been a little less scheduled out this surely would have been a 1-dayer..but life does happen and I didn’t want it to pass me by, so I kept to my schedule (and maybe lost a little bit of sleep to finish).

What I Loved: I absolutely love the friendship between Emmy, Caro, Drew and Oliver in this book. Yes, Oliver is finding his way back into the friendship – but the camaraderie is still there. They are funny, sarcastic and just perfect together. Emmy and Oliver deals with some pretty tough issues, probably more than any one group of friends would normally have, but I really enjoyed how these four friends rely upon each other to get through, and yet they still have their problems; both personal and with each other.

I really loved Emmy and Oliver’s relationship, how it started and grew. At first I was hurt (probably as much as Emmy) when it seemed like Oliver didn’t really know her very well when Oliver came back, but it was nice to see them come together. The interludes of Emmy and Oliver’s childhood were fun as well!

Honestly, reading this book felt a bit like watching a movie – I loved the writing style!

Not So Much: There is a part of me that wishes that instead of this book being mostly about Emmy and Oliver, that it was opened up more to include the entire group. I really wanted more of Drew and Caro’s thoughts through the whole thing, and to see more behind the scenes of their homes and lives; they had just as many issues to deal with. Clearly, this would have changed the title of this book all together, but I really just loved the group as a whole so it was natural to just want to see more of all of them.

While I did say that reading this book felt like watching a movie, I did feel like the “action” was a little eh, so/so. I LOVED the friendships and growth and really found the book fun, but if this were a real movie, the story arc would be a little flat with a bit of a pitch at the climax.

The Verdict:  

 

 

  

This book is appropriate for mature teenagers. The setting is the last year of high school, and they are dealing with appropriate issues. There is, however, quite a bit of cussing and some alcohol in this book. Overall though, I do recommend Emmy and Oliver. It’s a great coming of age book!

Book Blitz: Thirst, Blood of my Blood - R. P. Channing

240+ Pages
WITH BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS

~ Kira Sutherland ~

After a near fatal accident (and getting cheated on by her 'boyfriend'), and beating up the lead cheerleader (with whom the boyfriend cheated...), and being labeled as having 'issues' in her school because she, uhm, sees ghosts, Kira is left with two choices:

1. Continue her 'therapy' (where she's told the ghost is a hallucination and also gets her legs ogled too often...)

Or

2. Go to Starkfield Academy, a boarding school for "Crazies and Convicts" (as the social media sites call them.)

She chooses the latter...

~ Cory Rand ~

Cory Rand has not had an easy life. His mother died in a car accident when he was twelve, and so did his mother's best friend...sort of. You see, Janice made a promise to take care of Cory just before she died, and so she lingers. Undead. A ghost that watches out for him.

Brought up in an abusive home, Cory quickly falls into a life of disreputable behavior. After his third offense (which was prompted by a girl, as usual - he has a weakness) he's left with two choices:

1. Be tried as an adult and share a cell with a guy named Bubba (he thinks...)

Or

2. Go to Starkfield Academy, which Cory is pretty sure is run by vampires. But, hey, at least he'll get an education.

He chooses the latter...

It's at Starkfield that Kira meets Cory Rand, a boy with an insatiable Rage who sees ghosts, too. As well as other things, other things from his past, things that confuse him, things like fire and witches and demons.

Things he's always ignored.

Until now.

Genres:

Young Adult Romance

Paranormal Romance

High School

Vampires, Demons, Witches

Dark Fantasy

Horror

Buy Links

Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018M5GTLI

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B018M5GTLI

Kindle Unlimited

$20 Amazon Gift Voucher Giveaway

At the back of the book there is a giveaway link. Once the book hits fifty reviews on Amazon, one of those reviewers will win a $20 (US Dollars) Amazon Gift Voucher!

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

-1-

The Puppy Eyes 

My life was perfect.

      I had the perfect shoes and the perfect friends and I lived in the perfect house. My nails were perfect and my hair was perfect (except on Sundays, it was always windy on Sundays) and I had the perfect clothes. My lips were a perfect red and my hair perfectly straight. My eyeshadow was perfect, my hips were...okay, and my waist...well...also okay. Nothing was wrong in my life. 

     But then there was Jack.

     Jack was a problem.

     He needed to go. I mean, when you’re dead, you’re dead! I had told him this endlessly. Somehow, Jack didn’t get it. I mean, I felt sorry for the guy. Sure. Being stuck between this life and the next. But just because I found him, does that mean I needed to keep him?

     I think not!

     Sadly, when Jack got that look in his eyes, that weary, almost teary (if his tear-ducts worked) look, I melted. I just couldn’t send him away. Not even Jack knew where he would go after he died. 

     Would he, like, die? As in — dead, nada, kaput, finito, gone, no more? Bye bye, sayonara, ciao, hasta la vista baby and all that?

     I couldn’t have that on my conscience. No way. 

     I lay on my bed, wondering what to do about him. “Jaaaaaaack,” I hollered. 

     “Jaaaaaaack!”

     Still no answer.

     “Jack!”

     Jack...materialized.

     His eyes rolled down to the ground. He was making those puppy eyes again. “Jack, I told you not to do that. I told you not to play on my sympathies.”

     His puppy eyes became worse. 

     His skin was gray and, well, dead.

     “Oh, brother,” I said. “I have to do something about you. If mom finds out I have another ‘imaginary friend’ — at my age — well, I’d die of embarrassment. But, like, really die. Not like you.” I wondered about this. Would I die? Was Jack a freak accident, or did all people live on like him? Think of the cemeteries...

     The idea excited me somewhat.

     “What would you have me do, Miss Kira?”

     “Knock off the Miss Kira crap. I told you it’s just Kira.”

     “Yes, Miss Kira.” 

     The dead. There’s just no reasoning. 

     “Fine, Miss Kira it is then.” Rover barked like a lunatic in the garden. No one else might be able to see Jack, but I was sure my dog could. 

     “I have to do something about this,” I mumbled.

-2-

The Rat

     Mike knocked on the door before I had time to leave the house. Mike was the guy I thought (at the time) was perfect.

     “Who is it?”

     “It’s me, baby.”

     Baby, urgh — I wasn’t his baby. I dated Mike because he was the quarterback, because girls are supposed to like the quarterback, because it’s just so darn perfect to be seen with the quarterback, like we’re brainwashed into thinking these things from the first romantic doll set mom buys us.

     This was my previous life.

     “Mike.”

     “Uh-huh. Gonna let me in?”

     So you can try rub me up and then complain when I don’t let you? This, dear reader, was the big problem with Mike. The second we first kissed, his hand went way too far south for me to be comfortable — and I pulled back.

     Mike suddenly wasn’t so perfect. 

     “Uhm, I was just on my way out,” I said.

     “Kira? C’mon, open the door.” He sounded upset. “Is there someone in there with you?”

     Boys. As if.

     I didn’t know much about love (nothing, actually) but I knew this wasn’t it. 

     “Uhm, now’s not the time, Mike.” 

     “C’mon, Kira, what’s going on?” He banged harder. 

     When in doubt...lie. I opened the door a crack. “There’s a dead rat in the house, Mike. Been here for days. I gotta go get some detergent and stuff to handle the stench.”

     Mike stepped back. He peered through the crack of the door. 

     “It’s really bad,” I said. 

     “I’ll drive you.”

     “I’m afraid the smell” — I stuck my armpit to my nose — “has found its way all over me. I’ll drive myself.”

     “O — okay. Fine.” And then he grinned like he wanted something. “Later? My place?”

     Urgh. “Uhm, sure...er...later. Not sure when though.”

     “Six.”

     I fought the urge to roll my eyes. According to girls at school, he was apparently so damn good looking — theoretically. But for me personally, he did nothing. Moved nothing. Twisted nothing. “Look, I gotta go, Mike. I gotta — ”

     “Kira.” His eyes grew stern. “You’ve been avoiding me...”

     Bingo! Well done contestant number one! And what have you won? A brain!

     I tilted my head. “Mike, look, this...rat — I need to deal with it. We’ll talk later, okay? Bye.” I closed the door, not waiting for an answer, and peered out the peep hole. Mike hung around for a second, shoulders wide and eyes glaring straight at me through the door. Could he see me? Did he know I was looking at him?

     He kicked something off the ground, and I had the distinct impression he mouthed the word Bitch before leaving. But I wasn’t sure...

-3-

The Mack

     “Roll down the window, Jack.” Jack was recently dead, so he still had a smell about him. (Which only I could smell...)

     I had purposely skipped breakfast. Maybe Jack would help me lose weight. I was (still am) a little wide, although it had never stopped guys flirting with me. I know how to dress. 

      But I could be skinnier. 

     Lucy Rogers was skinny. All bones and no boobs. 

     Charlene Carverton was a babe. Cheerleader. Big chest (which she pushed out generously with a push-up — if only guys knew). Toned thighs. Charlene only dated college boys (back then), which I still think is pretty gross for a girl her age. 

     “He’s not for you,” Jack said out the blue.

     “Hmm?”

      “This...Mike — he’s wrong for you, Miss Kira.” For all Jack’s faults (mainly, being dead), he has a good heart. Factually, probably it’s why I kept him around at first.

     “You think I don’t know that?”

     “Then why don’t you dump him?”

     I braked at a stop sign. Looked left and right. “Because I’d look like an idiot. I flirted with him and showed interest, and one kiss later I can’t stand the sight of him.”

     “So dump him.”

     “It’s not that simple. Kids at school — they can be vicious. I have to let it fade slowly. If I drop the bomb on him, I’ll never hear the end of it through senior year.”

     “And you care?”

     Yes, I did. Forget Guantanamo, schools are rough. “You don’t understand, Jack. Maybe school was different in your day. But in mine, well, we walk through metal detectors.” 

     “Schools weren’t too different in my day.” I noted the sadness in his voice.

     “You okay?”

     “I’m dead.”

     Right. “You miss...your life?”

     Jack shrugged. “I like being with you, Miss Kira. And I don’t remember much of my life. I think I’m in limbo.”

     “Limbo?”

     “Yes, like I have some unfinished business. If only I could remember...what...it is...” He scratched his head. 

     “Any ideas?”

     “Well, it can’t be love. If it were love, I’d be a vampire. That’s who teenage girls fall in love with these days.”

     “A vampire? That’s just what I need — two undead beings stalking me.”

     “I feel I have something to do around you, Miss Kira. I don’t know what, but something. Something important.”

     I looked over at him. “Me?”

     I was still looking at him when I missed the stop sign.

     The Mack truck drove straight into us.

Author Bio

R P Channing started writing three years ago, but never published anything even after churning out over a million words of fiction. Thirst: Blood of my Blood is the first book he dared to publish. When asked why, he said, “Because it’s the first thing I wrote that my wife actually enjoyed reading.” When not hammering away (most literally) at his keyboard, he can be found buried in a book, reading anything from romance to horror to young adult to non-fiction to comedy.

Author Links

Website
http://blog.rpchanning.com

Twitter

https://twitter.com/RPChanning

Amazon

http://amazon.com/author/rpchanning

Book Review: The Avery Shaw Experiment - Kelly Oram

Title: The Avery Shaw Experiment (Science Squad #1)
Author: Kelly Oram
Genre: YA - Romance, Coming of Age

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 
When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically.

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

My Review:

Knock another book off the TBR list!!!

So I might be on a little bit of a Kelly Oram kick, since right around the holidays she marked several of her books down to $.99.  Over the last couple years I've grown kind of fond of nerdy-love books....I'm pretty sure Cassie Mae is mostly to blame for this...seriously if you haven't checked out Cassie's How To series - get on that...now!  (I digress) So since I've been into the nerdy books lately (not nerdy books...books about nerds...you know what I mean...) when I was reviewing the books on my TBR, Avery Shaw seemed pretty appealing.

What I loved:  I don't know why I'm a sucker for "best friend romances" but I kind of am.  But I really loved that this one wasn't your typical best-friend romance.  This book was more about unrequited love, and who else to be the perfect love interest after heartbreak than the ever-handsome older brother?!  I have to admit, even while reading the beginning of this book, the pair didn't seem to be a great match, but of course Kelly Oram did not let me down.

I think what I'm finding I love about Kelly's writing is how she throws in bits of humor here and there.  I really need to start using the highlighting feature in my books so I can share a few - but she has more awesome one liners than most! 

Not So Much:  I'm not sure when this happened, but I'm beginning to not be a fan of the insta-love type scenario.  That isn't exactly what happens here, but I wasn't a huge fan of how quickly Grayson's head was turned by Avery.  I think, personally, I would have preferred a more gradual 'ah-ha' moment for both of them.  But, like I said, that's just me.

The Verdict:    

This is a solid YA book, clean and fun.  It makes you laugh, and gives you the "sigh" worthy ending. Oh, the ending was fantastic by the way, but that's all I'm going to say. :)

Cover Reveal: Star Dust - Ali Winters

And now I present to you the cover for Star Dust by Ali Winters....

Book Blurb:
A case of mistaken identity triggers a reign of terror.

A Star Princess of Soleis, bound by tradition, is forced to fulfill an arrangement made prior to her birth. During the masque for her coronation, Oriana meets a handsome stranger, but soon finds out he is not who she thought.

Prince Lucian, unfamiliar with the treaties of the Universe, must restore the reputation of his world and prove his kingdom is not behind the attacks.

No one knew an innocent mistake could lead to the destruction of the solar system. Worlds are conquered, lives torn apart, and destruction reigns, while Oriana, unknowingly, holds the key to salvation.

Now, a Princess who needs saving must save herself, the man she loves, as well as the rest of the Universe, before it is destroyed beyond repair.

Follow Author Ali Winters:
f: www.facebook.com/authoraliwinters
t: @aliwinters_
i: www.instagram.com/authoraliwinters
e: authoraliwinters@yahoo.com

Guest Blog Deathcat Sally - P.S. Brooks

Please welcome Patrick, our guest for the day, he is an illustrator/author and would like to talk about his new book, Deathcat Sally. Included in the post are some fantastic graphics that can be found in the book, all created by Patrick, himself.

*******************************************************************************

Title: Deathcat Sally
Author: P.S. Brooks
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Publisher: Vanguard Press
ISBN: 978-1784650049
Release date: 21st January 2016

My name is Patrick S. Brooks and I am a children’s illustrator represented by www.advocate-art.com. I’d like to give some information about my upcoming YA novel ‘Deathcat Sally.'

I wrote the book due to a nerve injury in my neck which left me unable to illustrate for several years as it affected my right hand. The story was inspired by a lucid dream I had while I was volunteering at the local RSPCA looking after a large group of cats. During writing the novel, my father died from lung cancer, my grandmother died from septicaemia and my mother was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy. Much of the book was cathartic and a reflection upon events at the time. For some further information about the story behind the book and why I wrote it, please visit my website www.psbrooks.com/novels.

Synopsis:
After seventeen-year-old Sally Rancher knocks over a cat named Zachary, it's only the start of her nightmare. Trying to help, Sally is hit by a truck. Waking from a coma, she sees that half of Zachary's spirit is fused to her shoulder and he can talk. Able to communicate with animals, Sally finds when she falls asleep or becomes unconscious, both Zachary and her are pulled into No Man's Land – a dark, spine-chilling realm filled with vengeful animal spirits. As No Man's Land becomes ever more twisted and terrifying, Sally and Zachary become pivotal in solving a mystery that concerns not only them, but all life on the planet. If only Zachary could keep his mouth shut for more than five seconds, they might have some chance. Who… or what… is responsible?

Here is an excerpt of when Sally and Zachary meet The Neighbourhood Watch – a group of helpful animals who enter her house:

Sally thought she’d heard from the entire group, and it wasn’t until she moved her feet and brushed her toes against something furry that she looked down and remembered the Lion Head rabbit resting on the carpet.

‘Watch it!’ the young female creature called out. ‘I’m drowning in my angst here.’

‘Oh my gosh!’ Sally moved back. ‘I forgot you were there!’

‘Might as well be invisible,’ the rabbit moped. ‘I’m always the least important in these meetings.’

‘Now, Twinkle,’ Amber tactfully began, ‘you promised you were going to stop being moody if we brought you tonight.’

‘I’m not moody!’ Twinkle responded, agitated. ‘I’m misunderstood.’

The rabbit looked up to Sally. ‘They never listen to me – I’ve got issues and they never take me seriously.’

‘Is that so?’ Sally tried not to smile and spoke understandably, as though she was talking to a sulking child. ‘What kind of issues?’

‘Oh, lord,’ Sherlock begged, ‘don’t get her started. We’ll never hear the end of it.’

Twinkle licked Sally’s hand, glad that someone was taking notice of her for once.

Flossy, who’d been asleep for the last nine minutes, looked down at what was going on without her knowledge or consent and became furious.

‘She’s my owner, fuzz-neck!’

‘Isn’t it past your bedtime, brat?’ Twinkle cried out.

Lowering his head, Zachary put both paws over his ears as a high-pitched girlish argument broke out between the depressed rabbit and the hyperactive guinea pig.

‘My ears!’ he called in agony. ‘Now there’re two of ’em! Make it stop, for the love of all things holy!’

Sally picked up Twinkle in one hand and put her right next to Flossy. ‘Look, I can keep you both on my knee if you get along, okay?’

The two creatures eyed up one another in a moment of jealousy, then saw Sally’s serious expression and nodded.

‘Well,’ said Snowy, ‘think that’s everyone introduced then.’

The blackbird hopped onto the top of Sally’s head. She looked up as he spoke.

‘Me you already met. I knew you was in some kinda screwed up trouble, so I put in a good word to the fellas and broads in my considerable social network, to see what we could do for youse.’

Sally lay back as Crowther perched on the settee.

‘Look, everyone, honestly I’m really glad you went to all the trouble to get here and introduce yourselves, but I… I don’t know if this is something you can help us with.’

She didn’t even know where to begin, but started to talk regardless.

‘Every time I fall asleep – even when I’m not tired… we find ourselves in a deserted city called No Man’s Land, full of crazy animal ghosts who want to tear me to pieces.’


Sally traced back to the incomplete message in the building.

‘I think No Man’s Land could be a realm for lost spirits. There’s something else there too. It’s not an animal – but it’s not human either.’ She saw their worry. ‘Don’t think my body and mind can take much more.’

Snowy changed stance, looking like he was in deep thought, perhaps trying to solve a riddle.

‘We need to get to the source of all of this,’ he said. ‘What exactly led to Zachary appearing on your shoulder and how long ago was it?’