Time For The Next Step Of My Life!

You guys, tomorrow is the day -- it's the day that I finally move in to college and start the next chapter of my life at my dream school!

I'll still be around to blog, of course -- but my reading may slow down a little bit. Amber and Emily are both staying home for school so they'll have more time to read and review, so while I may be the occasional pop-in, they'll be here full-time.

But this is it. Tomorrow starts the beginning of what I've been waiting for for the longest time, and I couldn't be more excited about it. I'm excited for all of the new classes, the new friends and teachers, the new experiences, and (most importantly) the new bookstores!

So with that said, I just wanted to pop onto the blog today to share my excitement. I can't wait to see where both I and The Book Bratz are headed!!

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Breaking Through by Juliana Haygert

Breaking Through
Juliana Haygert
(Breaking #3)
Publication date: August 22nd 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

From the outside, Hilary Taylor has it all—beauty, money, a caring family, good friends—but inside she’s struggling, full of fears. Events from the past forever changed her, and though years of therapy have helped, she still has a long way to go…. No matter how much progress she’s made, Hil isn’t sure she’ll ever be able to trust men again. Especially one who sees her as nothing more than a pretty face. But Hil knows it’s time to face her fears, and the best way to do that is to start small.
To Guilherme Fernandes life is about three things: polo, parties and pretty girls—only one of which he takes seriously. Gui is too focused on his polo career to waste time on relationships, however he can’t help but be intrigued by the beautiful yet troubled Hil. So when she decides she’d like to learn more about horses, Gui is happy to find himself in the right place at the right time. But what was supposed to be a one time thing, soon turns into a weekly date.
As Gui helps her discover a new found love for horses, Hil’s guard begins to crumble. The more support Gui offers, the more she wants to accept…and the more the lines of friendship blur. Despite knowing better, Hil can’t help it as Gui slowly breaks through the walls she’s built. Now she has to decide if she’ll stop him there, or if she’ll finally let her fear go and allow Gui to reach for her heart.
Companion novel of Breaking Free and Breaking Away. Can be read as a standalone. Genre: NA contemporary romance. Warning: strong language, sex scene, mentions of rape and domestic violence.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / GooglePlay

Grab book 1 – Breaking Free – FREE for a limited time only!

—

Author Bio:
While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in North Carolina and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram / Newsletter

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We'd like to thank the lovely ladies over at XPresso Book Tours for allowing The Book Bratz to be a part of this tour! :-)

Cover Reveal: She Runs Away by Jessica Calla

Today on The Book Bratz, we teamed up with BookFish for the cover reveal for She Runs Away by Jessica Calla! It's Book 2 in the Sheridan Hall Series and a follow up story about Ben, whom you may remember from She Laughs In Pink. And stay tuned for a giveaway!!

The Cover

...






...







...







...










...






.....

Title: She Runs Away (Sheridan Hall Series, Book 2)

Author: Jessica Calla

Genre: New Adult

Release date: November 15, 2016

Publisher: BookFish Books

Cover Artist: Anita Carroll at Race-Point

Blurb:

After tragedy strikes New Jersey University's Sheridan Hall, freshman quarterback Ben Riley’s stable, normal life is turned upside down. Sidelined from playing the game he loves and on the verge of losing his scholarship, Ben wants nothing more than to escape the chaos of college and return home to rural Pennsylvania and his family.

Yet, there’s something that keeps him from running. Or someone. A cute blonde he had a chance with but blew off for all the wrong reasons.

Megan Smith has secrets. Secrets that have burned her in the past. Secrets she’s unwilling to share with anyone at Sheridan Hall—especially Ben, her sexy, rough-around-the-edges floormate who broke her heart in a matter of days after moving into Sheridan. Meg decided early on that it’s easier to live life on her own than to share her secrets and let people in.

Meg runs, and Ben follows. But sooner or later, the clock on their chance at love will expire. With inner demons dragging them both down, they must find a way to stop running and trust one another or risk losing their perfectly matched love forever.

Preorder She Runs Away!

 

About the Author

Jessica Calla is a contemporary romance and women's fiction author who moonlights during the day as an attorney. If she's not writing, lawyering, or parenting, you'll most likely find her at the movies, scrolling through her Twitter feed, or gulping down various forms of caffeine (sometimes all three at once).

Jessica is a member of Romance Writers of America, involved in the Contemporary, Young Adult, and New Jersey Chapters, and is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. She recently became the oldest marketing intern ever at BookFish Books, and was named a Young Adult mentor for the FicFest writing contest. A Jersey girl through and through, she resides in the central part of the state with her husband, two sons, and dog.

Find Jessica on Twitter (@jess_calla) or at her website (www.jessicacalla.com). She loves to make reader and writer friends.

There is a cover reveal wide giveaway for the cover reveal of She Runs Away. One person will win a $25 Amazon gift card!

Here is the link to the rafflecopter giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that we've shared this awesome cover, we can't wait to share the book! See you in November (just in time for Christmas--YAY)!

We'd like to thank BookFish for allowing us to be a part of this cover reveal! :-)

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR From Before I Started Blogging That I STILL Haven't Read Yet

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish!

This Week's Theme: Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR From Before I Started Blogging That I Still Haven't Read Yet!

Oh boy, this is about to be an interesting one. Time to dive deep into my TBR on Goodreads...

(Ranked as #1 being the oldest one sitting on the list!)

1. Seven Minutes in Heaven by Sara Shepard



2. The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse



3. Destination Unknown by Amy Clipston



4. Hooked by Catherine Greenman



5. A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier



6. The Here and Now by Ann Brashares



7. The Taking by Kimberly Derting



8. Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman



9. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell



10. Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour



Okay, so basically this week's Top Ten Tuesday reminded me of all of the awesome books I put aside that I need to pick up and read IMMEDIATELY. 

Have you read any of these books? If so, tell me your thoughts on them in the comments down below! 

Until next week... :-)

Review: Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee

Title: Gemini
Author: Sonya Mukherjee
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Hardcover, 336 Pages
Published July 2016

Summary: Seventeen-year-old conjoined twins Clara and Hailey have lived in the same small town their entire lives—no one stares at them anymore. But there are cracks in their quiet existence, and they’re slowly becoming more apparent. Clara and Hailey are at a crossroads. Clara wants to stay close to home, avoid all attention, and study the night sky. Hailey wants to travel the world, learn from great artists, and dance with mysterious boys. As high school graduation approaches, each twin must untangle her dreams from her sister’s, and figure out what it means to be her own person. 

This book was featured in one of my Waiting on Wednesday posts, and I was super excited to finally get my hands on it. First of all, I think the cover design (especially all of the dark, pretty colors) is gorgeous. I definitely have a little case of cover lust with this one. 

I found it interesting to see how conjoined twins live their lives. It's mentioned in the book how rare of a genetic mutation it is, so it goes without saying that I don't know any conjoined twins personally. It was interesting to see how both girls functioned, went to school, sat at desks, slept at night, etc. Even though some people may look at the girls and pity them, both Clara and Hailey seemed to make the most of their situation, and actually made it work and enjoyed each other's company. When situations got tough, they worked through them together, and it was really inspiring to see such a strong sibling bond like theirs. (Personally, I don't know if I'd be able to stand being so close to my sister all of the time. I love her, but I think we'd definitely kill one another.) 

Another thing that I liked was how different Hailey and Clara's personalities were. Hailey was more of the pink-haired, go-out-on-a-limb-and-be-daring artist type, while Clara was more shy and fascinated with space. So even if the girls were conjoined, they were their own separate people in a way, and it helped to distinguish them and added a little bit of diversity to the story. 

One character that I wasn't crazy about was Max. There wasn't much of a backstory to him, and at times he acted like a total jerk, and I don't think his preexisting conditions excused that. 

*Skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read this book yet, because there are some spoilers ahead!* The ending of the story personally didn't make much sense to me, which is what kept me from giving it a higher rating. A cheesy Lady Gaga flash mob? Really? <-- An actual excerpt from the notes I took while reading the book. You're also left with so many questions -- what do their parents say when they find girls? What school to they end up going to? What happens with Hailey and Alek? Even Max (although I don't like him)? What happens after the flash mob -- do they all just disperse and act like it didn't happen? I was left with so many questions, and it was really frustrating. 

All in all, I thought Gemini was an interesting book. It told a story of two girls dealing with a struggle that I could never imagine, and somehow still finding a way to appreciate everything around them and make it work -- as cliche as that may seem. I enjoyed the story and would definitely be open to reading more stories by Sonya Mukherjee in the future.

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Up In The Treehouse by K.K. Allen

Up in the Treehouse
K.K. Allen
Publication date: July 19th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

I wanted to tell him all my secrets, but he became one of them instead.
Chloe Rivers never thought she would keep secrets from her best friend. Then again, she never imagined she would fall in love with him either. When she finally reveals her feelings, rejection shatters her, rendering her vulnerable and sending her straight into the destructive arms of the wrong guy.
Gavin Rhodes never saw the betrayal coming. It crushes him. Chloe has always been his forbidden fantasy–sweet, tempting, and beautiful. But when the opportunity finally presents itself, he makes the biggest mistake of all and denies her.
Now it’s too late . . .
Four years after a devastating tragedy, Chloe and Gavin’s world’s collide and they find their lives entangling once again. Haunted by the past, they are forced to come to terms with all that has transpired to find the peace they deserve. Except they can’t seem to get near each other without combatting an intense emotional connection that brings them right back to where it all started . . . their childhood treehouse.
Chloe still holds her secrets close, but this time she isn’t the only one with something to hide. Can their deep-rooted connection survive the destruction of innocence?

* * Some sexy time and light swearing * *

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes

—

EXCERPT:

My entire body ached the moment I tried to move, so I stopped trying. I groaned and peeled an eye open, trying to understand why this morning felt so different from all the others.

When I saw the matching sets of green eyeballs peering over the ladder, one glaring and one questioning, I wanted to scream, but the air in my throat went the other direction. I gasped and propelled myself backward into the furthest corner of the alcove.
“Do you think she’s homeless?” asked Eyeballs Number One.
Eyeballs Number Two shook his head as he scanned my body. “Maybe she ran away from home.”
“Yeah, or maybe she’s a troll that lives in the woods. Are we supposed to feed her?”
“I didn’t bring any food. Did you?”
One of the boys threw his eyes around the room, as if afraid to look away from me for long. “No. We should tell dad we need a fridge.”
“And how will we keep it cold, moron?”
“Hey! I’m not a moron!”
While the boys fought, I managed to creep forward until I gripped the edge of the bed with every intention to slip down undetected.
But Eyeballs Number One saw me and placed an arm out across the other boy’s body. “Shh. She’s moving.”
My grogginess cleared, replaced by a rush of adrenaline as I stared back at the twin boys—the boys whose treehouse I’d snuck into the night before. At this realization, I straightened with a jolt. “I-I have to get home.” Panic seized my chest knowing my parents would be frantic looking for me.
Eyeballs Number Two nudged the other. “She has a home, bro.”
I bit my lip to hide my smile, happy they no longer considered me a possible troll. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—” I didn’t know why I was about to lie, so I stopped myself. I totally meant to fall asleep there. I just didn’t mean to get caught.
“Wait!” one of them called as I headed for the ladder. I turned to see the curious one staring back at me with a sincere expression. “Are you okay?”
All I could do was nod. How could I tell two boys I didn’t know the reason for invading their sanctuary—that I had been watching them for weeks, envious of their home in the woods? Instead of saying another word, I found the ladder and moved down it, missing the last few steps in my haste. The moment I hit the ground, I accepted the impact with a grimace and took off at a sprint through the woods and toward my bedroom window. I climbed inside just as I heard my mom calling me for breakfast.

Author Bio:
Hi all! I'm K.K. Allen, Contemporary Fantasy & New Adult Romance author of the Summer Solstice series (Enchanted, the Equinox, and the Descendants), as well as the short story, Soaring. Look for my upcoming New Adult Romance, Up in the Treehouse, OUT NOW!!
I currently live in Florida with my ridiculously handsome son, Jagger. I've always had a passion for reading and writing, so sharing my work with you all is beyond exciting. Thank you all for checking out my page. I hope you'll give my books a shot, and definitely look out for more from me. This train ain't stoppin'. ;)

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We'd like to thank the lovely ladies over at XPresso Book Tours for allowing us to be a part of this event! :-)

Review: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Title: The Rest of Us Just Live Here
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Hardcover, 343 Pages
Published August 2015

Summary: What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

I read this book a few weeks ago, and let me just say, I thought this idea was genius. It was something I'd never read before, a concept I never even considered -- when I'm reading books about characters that are the prophets, the chosen ones, the ones who save the world, what about everyone else in that story? All of the "regular" people? What are their lives like while all of this stuff is happening around them? It's an interesting concept, and not one I've seen explored before, which made the story that much more entertaining.

I personally found the narrator, Mikey, to be hysterical. He was sarcastic and witty, and it was interesting because normally I find it harder to get into the head of the male narrators. (Being that I'm a girl and all, sometimes it's hard to relate.) But I related to Mikey and his crappy luck with the universe very well, and he made several witty comments throughout the book that got an actual laugh out of me.

However, there were a few things about this book that I wasn't so crazy about, which kept me from giving it a higher rating. I felt that the story had no set plot, and it wasn't really going anywhere. Looking back on it, I couldn't really tell if there was any real purpose or plot to the story other than all of them graduating high school and living alongside those who save the world.

Also, what was going on with Henna? That girl could just not make up her damn mind. One minute, she was all in love with Nathan, then didn't like him, and then Mikey, and then didn't like him, and suggested maybe they were meant to be, and then they weren't, and so on. Like girl, you need to sit down and map out your life and get some things straight before you keep breaking hearts and being indecisive with everything you do. 

I felt that the book felt weird and a bit off, but I liked it. It was a little strange, set in a middle of nowhere town with a bunch of regular people alongside some weird supernatural stuff happening. It definitely made for a good story.

The only other thing that I didn't like was that I was left with too many questions at the end. What happens to Jared? Mikey? His family? Henna? The entire world? How does school treat everyone -- do they go to school? Does their father seek help? What the heck was going on? A very good book will tend to leave the reader with a few pressing questions, but nothing too important (unless it's left off on a cliffhanger, of course, but this was a standalone novel from what I've gathered and the way everything was wrapped up). This book left me with way too many and left me feeling a little unsatisfied as a reader.

All in all, The Rest of Us Just Live Here was an interesting story that I found funny and highly entertaining. It explores a whole new concept that, as a reader, I'm certain you'll find fascinating and enjoy. If you're looking for a light, humorous read, I definitely recommend this book -- and I'm looking forward to reading more from Patrick Ness! :-)

Review: The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: The Problem With Forever
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Hardcover, 474 Pages
Published May 2016

Summary: For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime. Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day. It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with the lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory faces a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard. 

Amber and Emily are huge Armentrout fans, and I tend to like her romance novels that aren't centered around fantasy and sci-fi, mainly because I'm more of a contemporary reader. So, needless to say, The Problem With Forever was a great fit for me, and I enjoyed reading it.

As the summary explains, Mallory has some severe PTSD after a bad foster home experience, in which she was always trained to be as quiet as possible. Fast forward years later, Mallory is finally ready to start her life over again with a new, loving family, and she even goes on to try high school for the first time. She's ready to put her past behind her, forget it all, and start anew after years of practice, reconditioning, and therapy.

There's just one problem. Rider, the one big piece of her past, walks right back into her life again.

So, yeah. Lots of drama.

Onto what I felt about the book!

First of all, I was totally in love with Rider from start to finish. He may have been a bit dumb at times (but, let's be real here, most boys tend to be...), but he was overall such a sweet, caring, protective character. His affection for Mallory won my heart over from pretty much the beginning. Also, hearing about the horrible past that he and Mallory had to endure was shocking, heartbreaking, but also uplifting in a way, knowing that they found their way out of those troubles and into a life better than either of them could've imagined. 

It was interesting to watch Mallory's development throughout the story. She started off as a shy, insecure girl who could barely speak a single sentence without stumbling. As the story went on, she began to branch out more, and got more comfortable with her friends (and Rider, of course), and managing high school in general.

*Major spoilers ahead so please skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read the book yet!* Okay, so that big death definitely shocked me. I was NOT seeing that one coming. It was the best kind of plot twist, because I didn't see it coming at all, even though it ripped my heart apart and made me super sad.

The one thing I wasn't crazy about with this story was the ending. It seemed like a bit of a cliche to me, even if it IS a romance novel and should end that way. (Don't worry, I won't spoil it for you, so you can keep reading.) Even if it was what I was expecting to read, it took the fun out of it a little bit. I would've liked a bit different of an ending, but that's just my opinion.

All in all, The Problem With Forever was an interesting read about overcoming challenges and finding love with an important figure in your life when you least expected it. There were definitely some plot twists in this story that threw me, and (on the other hand) some parts that I predicted and felt were a little cliche, but overall I felt the story was solid and I'd definitely classify this with one of Armentrout's better works.