Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards [Excerpt + Giveaway]



Title: Gone Too Far 
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Genre: Mystery 
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: January 6th 2015 

Summary: 
Keeping secrets ruined her life. But the truth might just kill her.Piper Woods can't wait for the purgatory of senior year to end. She skirts the fringes of high school like a pro until the morning she finds a notebook with mutilated photographs and a list of student sins. She's sure the book is too gruesome to be true, until pretty, popular Stella dies after a sex-tape goes viral. Everyone's sure it's suicide, but Piper remembers Stella's name from the book and begins to suspect something much worse.
Drowning in secrets she doesn't want to keep, Piper's fears are confirmed when she receives an anonymous text message daring her to make things right. All she needs to do is choose a name, the name of someone who deserves to be punished...
Buy It ... 

Excerpt:
Late. So late. I slam the car door behind me and race across the parking lot. My hair is tangled in the strap of my messenger bag, my shoes are untied, and I have no idea how I’m going to get to my locker without getting caught. I have to try because I need those chemistry notes.

Technically I needed them last night when I’d actually had the time to study for my midterm, but I didn’t think it was a big deal. I know the materials and I figured I could do a little last-minute cramming during first period homeroom. It was a decent plan until my phone battery died, taking my morning alarm down with it. Now I’ll be lucky to catch the last ten minutes of first period.

I hop the curb and slow as I slide into the shadow of the ancient brick school. It’s probably not classy to barrel through the door like an escaped convict. Of course, it probably wasn’t classy flying into the parking lot doing Mach 2 either.

I check my barely charged phone for the time as I climb the first step. My foot slips on something halfway up the stairs. It’s like hitting a patch of ice. I lunge gor the handrail and jerk myself upright, glaring down at the thing that tripped me –a dropped notebook.

Nothing special. It’s a plain, spiral-bound pad, the kind you can get at the drugstore for less than a buck. Pretty much worthless, excerpt I know it’s probably chock-full of notes. Notes seomone will need during midterm week.
Oh, fine.

I snatch the notebook off the steps and shove it into my bag. Lost and Found is going to have to wait though. It’s in the student store, which is on the opposite side of the school.
About The Author:  
 
At seven, Natalie D. Richards wrote about Barbara Frances Bizzlefishes (who wouldn't dare do the dishes.) Now she writes about awesome girls, broody boys, and all things dark and creepy. Natalie lives in Ohio (Go Bucks!) with her techno-wiz husband, three amazing kids, and a seventy pound dust-mop who swears he's the family dog. Her psychological thriller, Six Months Later, will be released in October 1, 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire. Until then, you'll probably find her writing her next book or trying to wade through the towers of dog-eared paperbacks that have taken over her bedroom.


Giveaway: 

Review: White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout


Title: White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements, #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Paperback, 400 Pages
Published February 2014
Add it on Goodreads!
Summary: One kiss could be the last.Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul. But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne… it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.
Amber has been getting on me to finally start this book for a long time, and at long last I managed to wade through enough of my TBR pile to get up to this book. And I'm so glad that I did. I'll sheepishly admit that this is my first JLA book ever, even though I met her at BookCon in 2013 and she was the sweetest thing.

This GIF from by friend Rachel at A Perfection Called Books perfectly explains Amber's reaction to finding out that I had never read a JLA book before. (And then of course, she promptly fixed that.)

At first, I figured that this book was going to be just like every other paranormal romance book in the world. But the concept of the Wardens/gargoyles versus the demons was something I've never really read before (instead of, rather, vampires versus werewolves, etc.....), so I was curious from the start.

And I'll say it right now so you don't have to wade through my review searching for it: Roth is perfect. And gorgeous. And hot. He reminds me a lot of James Stark from the House of Night series, and although that series isn't the greatest around, Stark is pretty much like Roth in the sense of the dreamy guy character. And I hate Zayne. He seems like a little rat to me, always going and telling on Layla to his father with the excuse of doing it for the "greater good"...yeah right, buddy.

As for Layla herself, although I loved this book a lot I was a bit confused about how Armentrout painted her as the shy, dainty little thing one minute and then this brave and cocky and fierce girl the next. I don't know if that was her intention, but I got mixed feelings on the mental age of Layla. (Clearly she's seventeen, which the reader finds out. But mentally, she goes from acting like she's six to acting like she's twenty six.)

The ending of this book was certainly what hit me right in the feels. (And don't worry, I promise not to spoil anything for you.) I'm not big on giving out 5/5 star reviews for just anything, but White Hot Kiss deserved the five star review it was given because I really did love it. I was crying actual tears at the end, and here's an excerpt of the text messages I barely managed to send to Amber after I closed the book:

Me: Done
Me: Tears
Me: LOTS OF TEARS
Amber: I sobbed
Me: LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF TEARS

Actual tears were rolling down my face to the point that my sister had to ask me if I was okay because it seemed pretty funny.

All in all, White Hot Kiss was a fast-paced, sexy read with lots of tears and a definitely prominent emotional rollercoaster! I'm glad that I finally started The Dark Elements and that I can at last say I am a reader of JLA. :-)


My Rating: 

Stacking the Shelves #11: I didn't spend all my Christmas money

Stacking the Shelves is a book meme created and is being hosted every Saturday by Tynga’s Reviews. This is the chance to showcase all the books you have bought and added to your shelves!




I found this Indie book store near my doctor's office and I had to stop in to check it out. I found these on the half price book shelf because they were a little scratched up. (They weren't bad though!) So I got them all for $30. Getting my stitches out and then getting books for half price was a pretty great day! 



Read: 
Emancipated by M.G. Reyes (3 Stars)
Illusionarium by Heather Dixon (3 Stars) 
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (5 Stars)
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider (4.5 Stars)
**Reviews coming in April/May**

Reviews: 
The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

Other Posts:

Blog News: 
We got a new layout! The old one was so blah and we needed a change to bring in the New Year. 

So, how did this week go? What did you get? 


Review: The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

Title: The Book of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #1)
Author: Amy Engel
Genre: Dystopia 
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Publication Date: November 11th 2014 
Add it to Goodreads / Order it on Amazon

Summary: 
After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual. This year, it is my turn. My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power. But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy. Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…
The Book of Ivy was everything I was hoping it to be and more. I mentioned to my parents that I wanted this book but I didn't expect them to remember and give it to me for Christmas. So, while my siblings where opening their presents I was diving into this dystopian world. 

I struggled in the first few chapters because it was slow, which was necessary for the world building. But it quickly picked up. Amy created a dystopian world that was easy to picture as well as an amazing set of characters. The Book of Ivy wasn't you typical dystopian though. It was different, it wasn't a world that is so built up with new technology and evil dictators, but a world like our eerily own. 

The characters were exceptionally well done. I loved seeing the growth of the characters from the beginning of the novel to the end. Ivy started out the book as a girl on a mission and all through out it we can see that she begins to question her orders and whether doing what she told is the best choice or not. Bishop was perfect. He is my new book boyfriend. He isn't actually perfect, he has his faults of course. Amy created characters that I was able to fall in love with as I read. 

The romance in this book was amazing. I haven't read a book with a slow burn romance in it in a long time. The slow burn with the romance worked well with the story, considering Ivy went into their marriage with the plans on killing him. She never planned on falling in love with Bishop. 0

The Book of Ivy is one of my favorite reads of 2014. (This review was written before New Years!) That is hurts my heart that I have to wait a year for the next book in the series. The cliff hanger was painful, and left me almost in tears for both Ivy and Bishop. 


Rating:

Blogging Goals of 2015 + 2015 Reading Challenges

2014 was a great year for us, but it was also the most unorganized! We decided to start blogging again, and we really didn't set goals for ourselves to meet since we were caught up with getting back into the swing of things. In 2015, we've set some goals that we hope to accomplish  by December 31st, 2015. 

Our 2015 Blogging Goals:
  • Review (almost) every book we read
  • Go to more book-related events (namely, BEA!)
  • Make an effort to request print ARCs
  • Start Featuring Authors (Especially 2015 Ones!)
  • Post more about what goes on in our lives/get more personal with everyone!
  • Host tons of giveaways
  • Amber: Read 200 Books
  • Jessica: Read at least 100 books!
  • Participate in at least 20 Book Tours
  • Create (or take part in) a brand new meme!
  • Comment back more (We think everyone struggles with this!)
  • Read More Books Off Of Our TBR (Start bringing that number down!)
  • More "Let's Talk" Posts
  • Reach 75,000 Page Views
  • Reach 500 GFC Followers
  • Reach 1,000+ Twitter followers!


Amber: I joined one challenge last year, and it only lasted for three weeks. So this year I joined 3 challenges that will last from January 1st - December 31st! 


Ever since I started reading ARCs I have read a lot of debuts and I love supporting these authors! (Jessica - I want to get in on this one, too!)
Goal: 20 Debuts


Falling For YA

90% of the ARCs I review are from NetGalley and Edelweiss and they end up building up! 
Goal: Platinum (75 Books)



Fantasy is one of my favorite genres. But I tend to read more Sci-Fi so this will help that problem a bit! 
Goal: 50 Books

2015 Reading Challenge

We're also doing this super awesome 2015 Reading Challenge with our good friend Drew over at Endlessly Reading!

What are your goals for 2015?