The Dead List

Hey everyone!  I'm so happy to be a co-blogger with my awesome best friend Jocelyn :)  Here's my first review.  You'll see that I like to write a long review most times, but I want to make sure you get a good idea whether or not you want to read the book!  So here it goes...

The Dead List by Jennifer L. Armentrout                                             

There's not much of a description for this book because it's best to go in blind (not taking the easy way out here haha).  I do have a little bit of description later on, but here's what Jen said on her website:

"The Dead List is a full standalone novel, coming in at roughly 93,000 words. It’s a Young Adult Romantic Suspense Yes. Lots of Romance. Sort of like Don’t Look Back, but a throwback to movies like Scream and the sort of campy fun ones. Think I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Scream. But with more romance.

That’s all I’m going to say about the book. I think a blind read is something different. A little fun."

This book was a free book released by Jen on Wattpad as a thank you to her fans for their support and love. She released a couple chapters at a time, so this was unlike any book I had read before. However, I think this was such a fabulous way to release/read this novel. I honestly believe that my love for The Dead List was even more simply because the tension and suspense could build slowly while I was waiting for the chapters to be released. Anyone who knows me knows that when it comes to Jen's books, I basically devour them in one sitting. She just has such a wonderful way of writing that makes me never want to stop. So with this new experience, it made forced me to slow down and savor each chapter.

Our main character is Ella, who was best friends with Gavin, Penn, and Jensen when they were younger. But time has made them grow apart, and all we know is something tragic happened with Penn. Gavin and Ella remained friends, but they tried dating, and it just didn't work. So now, they're growing apart too. Soon, Ella is attacked, but manages to get away when she is saved by none other than Jensen. However, soon scary, terrifying events start occurring, and she doesn't know what to do, except turn to Jensen.

Ella was a great main character, and very original. She was snarky, witty, but still very human. I appreciated that Ella never went all crazy, take-charge, "let's find out who is behind all of this." She was smart and reserved. She went through her days being more careful and learning self-defense. Ella took what was happening, and let it make her stronger. She was never weak or too scared (well not anymore than what a normal person would be with everything that happened in this book). Jensen was absolutely fabulous, and anyone who knows Jen knows that she writes a sexy boy very well. Trust me, you'll easily fall in love with Jensen. The one thing that I loved about his character in general was his strength, both physically (a girl can admire a hot imaginary boy can't she?) and emotionally. He was there for Ella when she needed him, and helped her at every step to get through things. I loved watching Ella and Jensen's relationship bloom and blossom throughout the book. It was a nice build and didn't feel rushed at all.

One of my favorite parts was the suspense. I had my suspicions while reading, and the person (or is it people...I won't spoil it) behind the murders was definitely on my list (see what I did there?), but I was still shocked by the ending. This book had me on the edge of my seat while reading, and I just never wanted to stop. Jen is such a fantastic writer, and takes you on the ultimate thrill ride with this novel. I loved not knowing what to expect, and each chapter offers twists and turns that you will never see coming.

I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of Jen or suspense/romance. Do not miss out on this freebie because you will definitely regret it if you do!

Happy reading :)

New Co-Blogger!

Hey everyone! So, I brought on a new blogger to share my blog with! It's not a stranger or anything, she is one of my best friends in the world! Her name is Cassie! She loves reading just as much as I do, and she loves YA and New Adult! Her goodreads challenge is insane - she wants to read 200 books and she is already almost half done.

So - funny thing, Cassie and I were friends for a year and a half BEFORE we both found out we were huge reading fans! One time we were in class together and I noticed she had a Rune on her notebook and ever since then we have become even more amazing friends! Cass and I just graduated college with the same major and are even going to grad school in the same field. The sad thing is we are attending different grad schools :(. So I figured reading and blogging will keep us close even though we aren't still physically close! We will be alternating blog posts on here so you'll get to know her too! Co-blogging is becoming more and more popular, so I think it'll be perfect for us and i'm so glad for her to be posting with me!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine  and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

The Unquiet: Mikaela Everett 
Publication Date: September 22nd 

For most of her life, Lirael has been training to kill—and replace—a duplicate version of herself on a parallel Earth. She is the perfect sleeper-soldier. But she’s beginning to suspect she is not a good person. 

The two Earths are identical in almost every way. Two copies of every city, every building, even every person. But the people from the second Earth know something their duplicates do not—two versions of the same thing cannot exist. They—and their whole planet—are slowly disappearing. Lira has been trained mercilessly since childhood to learn everything she can about her duplicate, to be a ruthless sleeper-assassin who kills that other Lirael and steps seamlessly into her life.

This book looks so unique! I don't even know what genre I would be able to classify it under. It looks freaking awesome! I hope it's as good as I think it's going to be. 

Maybe Someday

Maybe Someday: Colleen Hoover 

At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be.

Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.

If anyone can make me love contemporaries - it's Colleen Hoover. Her books make me laugh and they make me cry and I honestly don't even think about the genre they're in. I could care less that they are contemporary. Maybe Someday was nothing short of spectacular and I'm beginning to wonder how Colleen Hoover can write such amazing stories that don't just pull on my heartstrings, they break them completely! 

"Never in all my life and and in all my years of living in a world of silence have I wanted to hear something

 as much as I want to hear her sing right now. I want to hear her so bad it physically hurts."

So you all know how much I love Ugly Love. I loved Miles and this book is no different with Ridge. Ridge is sexy and sensitive and I actually think I may like him even more than Miles. More than anything in this book, Colleen Hoover tackled disabilities. It was handled in such a sophisticated and nonjudgemental manner, that she really hit the nail on the head. After this book, I'm so much more impressed with her. I am just in awe that she made such diverse characters in Maybe Someday and it didn't once seem like the characters were poorly stereotyped. With that being said, I feel like doing a fan cast for this one because I loved the cast and fan casts are fun! :) 

"For her I bend, for you I break"

This book isn't only lovely, it teaches you that disabilities aren't always weaknesses. I recommend this to fans of any genre! It's not as sexual as Ugly Love, but it's just as beautiful. Colleen Hoover writes masterpieces and I hope she never ever stops writing books because I don't think I could ever grow tired of them! Another winner for Colleen Hoover! It is so hard to put how much I loved this book into words without spoiling anything, so please just read it! If you haven't picked up a Colleen Hoover book yet, I highly encourage you to do so - you won't be disappointed! 

Hayden Panettiere as Sydney

Daniel Sharman as Ridge: 

Odeya Rush as Maggie: 

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by  Jill at Breaking the Spine  and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

A Madness So Discreet: Mindy McGinnis 
Publication Date: October 6th 

Grace Mae knows madness.

She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.

When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

I think a lot of people have been anticipating this book! Insane asylums are something that really intrigues me and I think that books about them are so interesting. I can't wait till this comes out! 

Velvet

Velvet: Temple West

First rule of dealing with hot vampire bodyguards? Don't fall in love.

After losing both her parents before age seventeen, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before the terrifying encounter with a supernatural force. Then, she learns that her hot bad-boy neighbor, Adrian—who might have just saved her life—is actually a half-demon vampire.

Suddenly Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart?

I freaking love vampire stories. It is no secret that I'm still super obsessed with The Sookie Stackhouse novels, even though the series is over now :(. I love everything about the vampire genre, except I've never actually read Twilight. I don't have anything against it, but I just never really picked it up. However, I do know that paranormal books aren't for everybody! I'm pretty particular with vampire stories just because my expectations are so high after the Sookie series. 

"Maybe actually punching someone in the face instead of just wishing 

I could punch someone in the face would make me feel a little better."

So - why am I particular about vampire stories? I just like the original folklore surrounding vampires. You know - they can't go out in the daytime, they are sensitive to silver, a stake through the heart kills them, superhuman strength, etc. It's hard to find fun vampire novels that have all of these things because  I guess it's pretty inconvenient for the storyline if main character's can't go out in the daytime. Velvet didn't really follow the original folklore of vampirism, which kind of bothered me. Adrian is the vampire bodyguard. He can go out during the daytime - but he did have superhuman strength and needed blood to sustain himself. There was really no mention of silver or stakes, but maybe just because it was a topic that really didn't have an opportunity to present itself. Anyway, I just feel like books that say a character is a vampire but they just do all the things humans do is kind of useless, like a pretend vampire or something. 

There were a few things that I'm still kind of confused on. Caitlin would have these nightmares, but we never really figured out why. It kind of seemed like they only started after the whole demon thing was brought up but I wish there was more explanation about them. It is a series, so maybe that will be explained more in the upcoming books. Another thing I was confused on was Adrian's brother, Julian. Julian kind of seemed to hate humans in the beginning, but by the end he was not really minding Adrian and Caitlin together. Was there a turning point for him or did he just not really care anymore? OMG Adrian's other brother Lucian was so freaking cute. I guarantee you'll love him if you read this! He was a young vampire so he really didn't feel any hate towards humans and didn't understand why they couldn't be friends with them. 

"'Hi'. I returned, and climbed into the passenger side. 'You're still a vampire?'

'Yep.'

'Cool, yeah, just checking.'"

This book was super fun. That's not really the first thing that comes to mind when you think of vampires and demons, but it honestly really was. Even though the vampires in this book weren't my all time favorite, it was still a great read. Caitlin and Adrian was a blossoming romance, and it wasn't really insta-love either. It was a great paranormal romance! I was never bored, which is really important for me when reading a book. If you liked Velvet, I guarantee you'll love the Sookie Stackhouse series! It's like Velvet but New Adult-y and the vampires follow the original myths without it becoming too monotonous. I definitely think that I'll be continuing with the Velvet series, especially because it ended on a little cliff-hanger! Will you be reading Velvet? Do you have a favorite vampire book series? 

Beautiful Disaster

Beautiful Disaster: Jamie McGuire 

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand. 

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

Ah, I'm sorry I haven't been on in a week! I graduated college last Saturday, and moved Sunday to where I'm attending grad school. I started grad school this past Monday so I've been pretty busy this week! However, I did get a chance to finish Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. I was in the mood to read New Adult and I've heard so many mixed things about this book that I wanted to give it a try! Abby's description definitely reminded me of myself a little bit, since I wear cardigans all the time and don't drink haha. 

"I need to hear you say it. I need to know you're mine. 

I've been yours since the second we met."

After reading it, my feelings about it are sort of all over the place. In theory, Travis could have been a great character. His constant mood changes, while erratic and dangerous, still made for a good story. A lot of people didn't seem to like that part of the book - but I think it was my favorite. I don't think all characters should be written the same, and I like characters who aren't perfect. I think that you can still like this book without condoning the behaviors of a guy like Travis. I felt there were holes in Travis's character, though. A guy who spent his entire life sleeping with different girls and not respecting them will not fall in monogamous love with someone in the matter of so few days. If you know a guy like this, then you have to know what I mean. Another thing I didn't like about Travis was his tribal tattoo. My ex-boyfriend had a tribal tattoo, I always hated it. It doesn't make you look tough, just kind of stupid. (No offense to any tribal tattoo lovers out there). That didn't sway my opinion of this book, just Travis's character, haha. 

The biggest problem I had with this book was how unrealistic it was. Like, EVERY college has campus security. However, the college here just seemed to find a way around it whenever it was convenient to the storyline. If this were a real college, Travis would have been kicked out during his lunch room fights. Another thing that bugged me was just how back and forth things seemed to go with Travis and Abby. Like how many times can a couple fight and get back together in the course of a book and it still be interesting? Well, read this book and you'll find out! 

"-It's over. Go home.

You're my home."

While this book wasn't my favorite New Adult book, I did enjoy it. When I pick up a New Adult book, I really just want fun and sexiness and I think that I definitely got that out of this book. Despite being unrealistic, it still managed to capture my attention and I wanted to keep going till the last page. I will probably not read Walking Disaster, which is the same book told from Travis's perspective. There is just something about reading the same storyline that really bores me. However, I do think I'd like to read Beautiful Oblivion, which is the story of Travis's brother and a girl named Cami. Did you ever read Walking Disaster or any of the other Beautiful/Maddox Brothers books?