Maybe Someday

Goodreads Summary 
At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

My Thoughts
I am currently sitting on my bed with tears in my eyes because of this book. The Goodreads summary does not do it justice. I thought I was safe to read this. I was so wrong. This book was an emotional roller coaster that left me confused, angry, and completely torn. 

I am so glad that the book description doesn't give away the big reveal. It happens really early on and is an integral part of the story. It also makes thing really interesting.

I loved the characters in this book. Sydney is awesome. I wanted to be her friend and she could have used a good girlfriend in this book. She's strong, but has been thrown far too many curveballs to remain whole.  Ridge is a mystery inside a gorgeous package. He's not just a typical musician. Warner is a sweetheart in a sleazeball's body. I wish we got to know Brennan a little more. The relationship between him and Ridge was interesting to hear about, but I wish we witnessed more interaction between the two. Maybe in a companion novel? ;)

There were times when I wanted to throw my e-reader at a wall because the characters were driving me crazy. There were moments where I had to physically clear the tears from my eyes in order to continue to see the page. This book wreaked havoc on my emotions, but that's what kept me reading. I knew that Ridge had to have his reasons for being so frustrating. I knew they had to be really good.  They were, but I still hated to love him. 

If you haven't read anything by Colleen Hoover yet, you should. You could start with Maybe Someday.

 

The Unbound (The Archived #2)

Goodreads Summary 
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

 Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she's struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn't easy -- not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she's really safe.

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She's sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. And unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she'll lose everything, not only her role as Keeper, but her memories, and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels?

With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance, and horror, The Unbound delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feel like two sides of the same coin.

My Thoughts
I read The Archived back in January and you can read about my thoughts here.

The Unbound picks up a few weeks after The Archived ends and already Mackenzie has a lot to deal with. She has her job as a Keeper, she has to appease her parents, be a high school student, and deal with terrible nightmares. This poor girl can't catch a break.

I can't tell you how much I loved this book. I loved it more than the first one. I found myself questioning decisions Mac made, but then putting myself in her shoes realized that she probably made the right choice. I would have gotten myself killed...or worse. She's so smart and brave in this book that I can't help but be proud of her.  I think Da would be too.

Summer ends and Mackenzie has to go to a new high school and with school comes a whole group of new characters. Cash is a guy you can see her with. He's sweet and funny; he just isn't Wes. Cash's sister is a bit of a bitch. I'm sure she has her reasons (I think she's in love with Wes), but she just didn't give Mac a chance. Amber quickly becomes an ally for Mac and I'm glad she had a girlfriend again. Lastly there's Gavin. He reminds her of her kid brother Ben. I loved these kids. They were a great group that you just want to be friends with...even if you finished high school many many years ago.

The Unbound keeps you on your toes. It keeps you interested. I hope Victoria Schwab gets the chance to write a third book because I am really interested in what else this world has to offer.

Red at Night

Goodreads Summary 
In Red at Night, Stella and Jonah are total opposites. She's the girl with purple hair from the wrong part of town. He's a high school senior who hangs with the cool crowd. Until a car accident leaves him haunted by guilt, and Jonah starts spending time at Stella's favorite refuge…the local cemetery.

Stella knows she should keep her distance—after all, she spent her girlhood being bullied by Jonah's friends. Once he's sorted out his tangled emotions, Jonah won't have time for her anymore. Too bad she's already fallen for him.

What Did I Think of This Book?
This book is a part of a Harlequin series about remarkable women. You can find more information about the Harlequin series, their charity work, and the other stories at HarlequinMoreThanWords.com. 

I really really liked this short read. Some days a girl just wants a quick, sweet story to brighten her mood and this definitely qualifies. Red at Night is a rich meets poor story it isn't like some of the generic stories out there. Katie McGarry has a knack for writing characters that you can connect with no matter where you come from.  She seems to get the complexities of being a teenagers as well as being from two different worlds. Plus I loved the idea of these two meeting at a cemetery; it's a brilliant meet cute if you ask me.

Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle #1)

Goodreads Summary 
 Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him--and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.


Here's What I Thought 
 This book was the perfect combination of humour and action. In the acknowledgements I noticed someone said it was a mix between Legally Blonde and The Terminator. I thought it was more Legally Blonde and the Bourne movies. Although Harper is described as being really smart, she also says the most outlandish things. Maybe it was because she was stereotypically southern, I'm not sure. Her banter with David was also ridiculously funny at times. Those two really knew how to get under each other's skin. 

Harper was the perfect mix of spoiled southern brat and type A overachiever.  Her life felt a little like a checklist and when her world changes she tries so hard to hold on to her old life. It was too endearing to be annoying. She felt that she had to be absolutely perfect after what happened to her sister. 

David Stark. I wish his last name wasn't Stark. That was a little too Iron Man for me. Anyway, David runs the school newspaper and has been using it to drive Harper crazy for years. They have fought since kindergarten, but only he knows the real reason and it's not what you think. ;)  He was the perfect combination of sweet and nerdy. 

I loved this book and I am really happy that I bought it. I just hate that we'll have to wait at least a year for the next one. 

Happy reading!

 

Infinite (Newsoul #3)

Goodreads Summary 

DESTRUCTION
The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.

FLIGHT
Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.

CHOICE
The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all.

With gorgeous romance and thrilling action, the final book in the Incarnate trilogy offers a brilliant conclusion to the compelling questions of this fascinating world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions.

Thoughts?
The third and final book in this series contained more action than the first two books combined.  We finally got to meet other creatures like centaurs, rocs, dragons, and a troll. I was so excited to see how the characters interacted with the different creatures. It was really interesting to see how Ana reacted differently to the different species than her reincarnating friends.

Ana and Sam's relationship was tested in Infinite and that was heartbreaking. You could physically feel how isolated they both felt. The situation gave Ana a chance to get closer to Cris which was nice. 

I don't quite understand the ending. Well I don't quite understand how the ending came to be. That's all I'll say without giving anything away.

At the end of the day I really liked this book and this trilogy in general.

April 8th Book Haul

I have been really interested in reading Rachel Hawkins' Rebel Belle (released today), so I ran to my local Chapters today to get myself a copy and I may have picked a couple other books.

I love adding new book to my shelf!

In my last haul I picked up Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals, but couldn't find the third book in the series...today I could. I was so happy to be able to bring Perfect Scoundrels home. If you haven't checked out the Heist Society series yet than you should. It like a cross between Ocean's Eleven and Lola and the Boy Next Door.

The last book I picked up was The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston. I have been wanting to read this book for a really long time, but couldn't get my hands on a decent e-copy. I couldn't take not knowing what happens in it so when I saw it on the shelf I picked it up.

Reviews for Rebel Belle and The Rules for Disappearing will be up shortly. I will have to do a re-read of the Heist Society books and when I do I will probably blog about it as well.

Have you read any of these?

Comment below telling me what I should read in April and May.  :)

Elevated

 Goodreads Summary 

The last person seventeen-year-old Eleanor Livingston wants to see on the elevator—let alone get stuck with—is her ex-boyfriend Travis, the guy she's been avoiding for five months.

Plagued with the belief that when she speaks the truth, bad things happen, Elly hasn’t told Trav anything. Not why she broke up with him and cut off all contact. Not what happened the day her father returned from his deployment to Afghanistan. And certainly not that she misses him and still thinks about him everyday.

But with nowhere to hide and Travis so close it hurts, Elly’s worried she won’t be able to contain her secrets for long. She’s terrified of finally revealing the truth, because she can’t bear to watch a tragedy befall the boy she still loves.

My Thoughts  
This book was not at all what I was expecting and I couldn't be happier about that. You read the summary and think it will be a girl complaining (probably internally) about her ex, but it was so much more than that. Elly has been through so much and has been holding it in. She fears telling Travis will hurt him too. 

This book held my attention from the very first page. I was thrown a little that it was written in verse because I haven't read anything like that since Ellen Hopkins novels (check out her work too!). It takes no time to get used to it though and it makes for a really quick read. 

If you want to read something a little different than check this out. Elly's conflict with herself was heartbreaking. She clearly loves this boy, but has been so hurt she doesn't know what to do with her feelings anymore. Give Elly a shot.