If I Die Young

When Caelyn Noel was diagnosed with asthma five years ago, it put a damper on things. Now, she’s sixteen and things are finally going her way. She has loving parents, the best friend ever, and the boy she has had a crush on since elementary school has finally noticed her. Then, she collapses in school one day. To her horror, she finds out her heart is failing and she must have a heart transplant to live. Caelyn struggles with her fear of dying and worries of having someone else’s heart. 

If I Die Young is approximately 45,300 words.

If I Die Young is recommended for grade 6 and up

This was such a great short read. I read it in about 3 hours. I bought it on Kindle for 2.99. 

*If you are a "crier" I highly suggest you read with a box of tissues.* 

Caelyn Noel is an ordinary teenager. Maybe not as active as some of her friends, due to asthma, but she still has the usual problems. Getting homework turned in, final exams, breaking up with her boyfriend. All of a sudden Caelyn is faced with some heart wrenching issues. She is in the last stage of heart failure and it has been misdiagnosed her whole life as asthma. Her heart is giving out and she is in desperate need of a new one. 
Her parents don't tell her she is going to need a heart transplant and she keeps asking the Doctor what else can you do. Her parents have asked the Doctor not to mention a heart transplant to her and for some reason he agrees. She knows they are hiding something from her, but never guessed it to be this big of a secret. 
She has a best friend Lindsay, and her parents but everyone else seems to disappear. She is lonely. She wants love. She has normal thoughts that I think every teen has even if not faced with heart failure. What if she dies without having found the love of her life? When she meets Austin Walker, she thinks that maybe she does have chance at love. Has she found her true love? 

"If I Die Young" is a must read for any young adult. It is a sweet yet heart wrenching romance and filled with Caelyn's life as she deals with heart disease and facing death. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Caelyn's situation is a bit terrifying, a lot for a young girl to go through, yet she soldiers on. I highly suggest you read it for yourself! 

After reading the Kindle version, I purchased it in paperback so that my kids will have it to enjoy when they are older. 

*Spoiler alert* 

There is one part in the story where she is faced with the decision to be put on a machine that breathes for you. I have to say this part really touched me. I balled. She thought this was the end of her. She said her goodbyes right there. But she didn't want to give up. She kept on trucking, not being able to speak. SHE NEVER GAVE UP! She was so close to death. As a parent I think if I ever have to face situations like this. I don't know how I would even begin to cope. She was strong for her parents.

You Are My Only

Emmy Rane is married at nineteen, a mother by twenty. Trapped in a life with a husband she no longer loves, Baby is her only joy. Then one sunny day in September, Emmy takes a few fateful steps away from her baby and returns to find her missing. All that is left behind is a yellow sock.

Fourteen years later, Sophie, a homeschooled, reclusive teenage girl is forced to move frequently and abruptly from place to place, perpetually running from what her mother calls the "No Good." One afternoon, Sophie breaks the rules, ventures out, and meets Joey and his two aunts. It is this loving family that gives Sophie the courage to look into her past. What she discovers changes her world forever. . . .

The riveting stories of Emmy and Sophie—alternating narratives of loss, imprisonment, and freedom regained—escalate with breathless suspense toward an unforgettable climax.

*Thanks To Negalley for giving me the opportunity to review this beautiful story!*

Oh wow! What a read! My words could never begin to describe the beauty and hope this story has. It alternated between two main characters, Emmy and Sophie. The story was just AWEMAZING! The way the author can describe things is stunning. Made me feel like I was right there watching it unfold. I read it out loud to my oldest daughter and the words just flowed off my tongue. My daughter doesn't usually like my style of books but she wanted more of this one as did I. This is not my normal genre of book but I am so glad I read it. This is the first time I have read Beth Kephart and I will for sure be reading her again. I think my only gripe would be I would like to know how Emmy and sophie felt at the end of the story. I would recommend this read. 

Inside The Outside

By the time Timber Marlow is fifteen years old, she has already killed three men. Despite the bloody and violent nature of their deaths, Timber is hardly a murderer, at least not in the traditional sense. She has lived her entire life as a cannibal within a cult tucked away in the San Bernardino Mountains called the Divinity of Feminine Reproach. The Divinity keeps itself isolated from the Outside, which is the mainstream society beyond its invisible borders. When the opportunity presents itself, Timber escapes into the Outside, bearing witness to some dark and unsettling truths about the world around her and the integral role she plays in it. But no matter how long she stays away, Timber finds out the past isn't as far away as she thinks it is. In this debut novel, laced with scenes of horrific violence and uplifting humanity, Martin Lastrapes has written a one-of-a-kind story about love, friendship, sacrifice and cannibalism.

Thanks to Martin Lastrapes for the honor to review this book for him. Also for writing it. I must say this is well deserving of 5 stars. Totally over and beyond what I usually read. LOVED LOVED LOVED it! AMAZING!

When you think about cannibalism, might gross you out but don't let that keep you from reading INSIDE THE OUTSIDE! Very well written. I never got bored or uninterested. I wanted it to keep going. I was sad when I was done reading it, not because the way it ended because I didn't want it to end. 

I totally loved this book. It was hard to read at times imaging what was laid out about cannibalism. Made me cry and laugh. I am not quite sure how to review this book with out giving spoilers. I want more, more of the same twisted story but also more of Martin Lastrapes amazing imagination and his talented writing. The way he can lay a story out I am in awe of. I recommend this read to any adult reader that doesn't have a weak stomach and enjoys a good warped, distorted story.

If I Tell by Janet Gurtler

Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure... people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a onenight stand between a black football player and a blonde princess. Having a young mother who didn't raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she's never fit in hasn't been easy. But she's been surviving. Until she sees her mom's new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever?

****First I must say thanks to netgalley and sourcebook fire for giving me the honor to review this book! **** I really liked this book. It was a great fast read. Took me a little to get into it, page 58 is where I got the feeling of where I didn't want to stop reading it, even though nothing really eventful happened. I think that is where the story started to come together for me. Anyway I would for sure recommend this read to any looking for a heart warming story. Jaz was bi-racial and she just wanted to fit in. She was always worried about what people thought of her. Something really tragic happened to her in the fourth grade that she kinda based her existence on. She has so many secrets. I think throughout the book Jaz realizes it is okay to talk to people about her troubles, it helps lighten her load in a sense. I want to read more of Janet Gurtler. This is the first book of hers I read and I really enjoyed it

FORBIDDEN

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

OMG I really loved this book. I was rooting for Lochan and Maya the whole way through. I mean really who cares they had true love and people should not say what is right or wrong based on their opinion. I am so sad about the way the book ended it made feel so sad. I just want them live happily ever after. I wanted them to run away together and live the normal life that they dreamed of. This is the first book I read of Tabitha Suzuma's I will for sure have to read more of her writing. Very well written. Characters and descriptions are fantastic. I couldn't put the book down. I never got bored. It took me 3 days to read is all. I highly recommend this book to anyone above the age of 16. There are a few graphic scenes but nothing pornographic. Nothing too bad. I really enjoyed this book, I wish it didn't leave me feeling so sad though.

~On a side note... It has been several months since I read FORBIDDEN and I am still thinking about it. I have to re read it. I would give 10 stars if possible. I HAVE TO GET MY HANDS ON TABITHA'S OTHER BOOKS! Like NOW :)

Every Other Day

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

This was a very different read for me. Was kinda like Buffy meets Supernatural, both WB, T.V. series.  It started out so confusing, I didn't understand what was going on. I think thats how the author drew me in though, I wanted to figure it out. There was so much going on. SO many different kind of creatures. A few inconsistencies. The middle and end got better. I think that Kali's friends  Skylar and Bethany were GREAT characters. I loved there constant arguing and bickering, it was funny and entertaining. There was a little bit of romance with Kali. I hate the cliff hanger, I am sure there will be a second book and I will read it. 

How exciting!

I just wanted to say... I am super excited. I am going to be receiving a few AWESOME ARC's for review. :) Here are a few that I am MOST excited about!

So thats an exciting list, right!? I am excited, there are a few more but we will save those for a different time. :) Happy reading!

First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky

Like his name, Gray is dark and stormy. Dylan, a girl always searching for what's next, seemingly unable to settle down, is the exact opposite: full of light and life. On the outside, they seem like an unlikely couple. But looks can be deceiving and besides, opposites attract.

What starts as friendship, turns into admiration, respect and caring, until finally these two lone souls find they are truly in love with each other.

But staying in love is not as easy as falling in love. If Dylan and Gray want their love to last, they're going to have to work at it. And learn that sometimes love means having to say you're sorry.

Wow, I am the first one to review this book, UMMM no pressure. LOL.

Dylan and Gray are very strong characters! This book has so much great life advice in it. Kudos to Katie for such a great imagination and writing ability. I love how Dylan "suffers from creative outbursts!" :)
One paragraph from this book really stuck with me and I relate to it so much in my own life.

" I think everyone's caught up in these tiny narrow minded-minded worlds and they're deluded enough to think their world exists in the center of the universe. Relationships only happen when it's convenient. You have to walk on eggshells for people because thats about how strong they are these days. And you can't confront people, because if you do, that brittle shell of confidence will crack. So we all become passive cowards that carry a fake smile wherever we go because God forbid you let your guard down long enough for people to see your life isn't perfect. That you have a few flaws. Because who wants to see that."

Who can't relate to that!

Although I understand why, I felt like Dylan was being selfish for choosing seeing the world & self discovery over her love for Gray. First off I think she is pretty well self discovered. And second she can do both. It isn't fair for her nor Gray to just let go when they have such a perfect love!

Katie is a new author, this is her second book. However she writes like she has been doing it FOREVER! I really really like her mind, her stories, the way she tells them pulls you in and sucks you up! I hope we get much much more from you Katie! Thanks for the HONOR to review your book! Wish it came out sooner. 

Enchantment, by Charlotte Abel

Sixteen year old Channie Kerns leads an idyllic life of seclusion and magic deep in the Ozark Mountains ... until her family is forced to flee for their lives.

They leave everything and everyone behind to start over in Louisville, Colorado. Magic is forbidden while they are in hiding, but Channie can't resist the temptation to enchant a group of local boys. When her overbearing parents catch her flirting with these "sex-crazed, non-magical delinquints,” they slap a chastity spell on her to protect her virtue.
The spell is triggered by lust, so just navigating the halls at her new school is an ordeal. She can't even touch a boy she's attracted to without blasting him with a jolt of magical energy that feels like a taser.

When Channie falls in love with Josh Abrim, a BMX racer with dangerous secrets of his own, she rebels against her parents and turns to dark and forbidden magic to break the chastity spell ... with disastrous results.

This book was so amazing. I loved the way the author was able to wrap me up in who "Channie" was and the true love she had with Josh. I am in awe. Every girl wants their prince charming to be just like Josh. This was the ultimate fairy tale! LOVED IT! Hope there is more to come! It made me cry and laugh and AWH and gasp. I really felt this story as I was reading it. A make your heart warm and tingle kind of love story! Thanks for giving me the honor to review it for you Charlotte!
This is for sure going on one of my best reads ever list! I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a feel good heart warmer!

Shattered Soul, by Jennifer Snyder

Hellish Nightmare...

If seventeen-year-old Seth Bradson were to describe his life in two words, those would be the two he’d choose. Seth prefers to cope with his crappy existence by spending his days in a drug-induced haze. But when Ali Carson steps into his life, Seth finds something he’s subconsciously been seeking—a new drug, one that consumes his mind unlike any other.

 Love.         

 In a moment of unforgivable weakness, Seth allows Ali to try crystal meth, his most addictive temptation. This single event begins the unraveling of both their lives and forces Seth to learn the definition of regret the hard way.

This book is the harsh truth of drug addiction. The Raw emotion this read made me feel was TENSE! The way MS. Snyder described the hit's and the smoke I think would make any addicts mouth water. I also think that this should be a must read book for teens, helping them to see that 1 time thats all it takes and you slip. Time runs out, it's to late. I read this book in one sitting, it is a short read but gave me some pretty powerful and tense feelings. The whole way through I was rooting for Seth and Ali, even though in my heart I knew what the out come would be. Strongly suggest this read to any one 14 years and up that thinks drugs might be fun and that they are invisible.

Annexed, by Rebecca Mckinnon

Friends or family?
Desire or responsibility?
She thought she'd made her choice.

Now, finding herself trapped in a world splintered from her own, Narissa is determined to return home. Learning that the means of crossing between realities has been lost, she vows to find the elusive gateway.

Narissa doesn't plan to make friends. She certainly doesn't intend to fall in love.

Faced with the decision, will she choose the life she wants, or return to the world where she belongs?

I am not sure how to review this book. It was a really good story. I think it will get more interesting as more books come out and my thoughts aren't left hanging. I would probably appreciate it better if I didn't have to wait for the next book... LOL! We all hate a wait, right. :) Overall good writing, good story, strong characters.  The Author is very kind too! :)

Endlessly, by C. V. Hunt

When Ashley walks into a shop run by the vampire, Verloren, they both get the surprise of their lives. Ash is about to learn that she's not just another pretty young woman, while Verloren is astonished to find himself falling in love. But how can a vampire love a human? And what if the human isn't as human as she seems? When Ash's true nature reveals itself, the entire power structure of the world's outsiders teeters on the brink of destruction. Verloren and Ash become more and more terrified as they grope their way toward the ultimate truth: that they hold the key to something much larger than their own survival.

I loved this read! I liked the aspect of not just one creature. It sucked me in and I would have read it in one sitting if not for my 3 kids needing me. I can't wait to read Legacy!

Paradise, by Jill S. Alexander

Paisley Tillery is the drummer for a country rock band. If they can make it to the stage at the Texapalooza music fest, then Paisley will be closer to her dream of a career in music and a ticket out of her small Texas town.

Drumming and music are what Paisley has always wanted. Until the band gets a new lead singer, the boy from Paradise, Texas. With Paradise in her life, what Paisley wants, and what she needs, complicate her dreams coming true.

This book was FANTASTIC! I loved the way the author described the beats and the timing. I really enjoyed this goodread. The ending was hard but and totally unexpected. I am super glad I won this book. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good heartwarming read. 

Akasha, by Heather Tregaskes

In 1880, superstitions in Nichole's small New England town are more like excerpts from the bible than cautionary tales. So, when a band of gypsies set up camp outside town the same day Nichole's mother dies, the town's people blame the death on a gypsy curse. At seventeen, Nichole is left an orphan and feared by friends. Not even the man she was betrothed to will speak for her. When one of the gypsies comes to claim her, the town hands her over with no remorse. It is only through the connection she feels for the man put in charge of helping her that she is able to accept her new life. Her trust in him turns to love, and the wounds of loss begin to heal. Until she discovers their secret...

My Rating

I totally loved this book! It sucked me until the end. I wanted more, I didn't want the book to end. (that's rare for me I usually want my book to be done so I can read the next one on my list). I didn't quite feel like the time (1880 I think) matched all of the scenes and the language. But this was a light read. It is a make your heart feel good story. It totally had the "AWE" factor. I Hope I can get my hands on the 2nd book soon... :) AMAZING. I don't feel like my words can give it justice.