ARC Review: Two Summers

Title: Two Simmers
Author: Aimee Friedman
Publisher: Point
Format: Paperback ARC
Pages: 368 pages
Expected Publication: April 26th, 2016
ISBN #: 0545518075

ONE SUMMER in the French countryside, among sun-kissed fields of lavender . . . ANOTHER SUMMER in upstate New York, along familiar roads that lead to surprises . . . When Summer Everett makes a split-second decision, her summer divides into two parallel worlds. In one, she travels to France, where she’s dreamed of going: a land of chocolate croissants, handsome boys, and art museums. In the other, she remains home, in her ordinary suburb, where she expects her ordinary life to continue — but nothing is as it seems. In both summers, she will fall in love and discover new sides of herself. What may break her, though, is a terrible family secret, one she can't hide from anywhere. In the end, it may just be the truth she needs the most. From New York Times bestselling author Aimee Friedman comes an irresistible, inventive novel that takes readers around the world and back again, and asks us what matters more: the journey or the destination.

Let me start off by saying how excited I was when I received this ARC, I knew exactly when I wanted to read it and couldn't wait to get to Florida and Spring Break to do so.  I'm so glad I waited to do so, mainly because it was the perfect vacation read.  Two Summers is a story about a girl who had two different paths should could have taken and this wonderful book shows how her summer would have played out with each path. In this book it shows that making a split decision can alter all the events to come. All Summer did was either answer a phone call or not answer that phone call. That was all that it took to change her course.

In the end Summer still finds out a huge piece of information that ends up changing her life, no I'm not going to give what it was away, but you as the reader pretty much get to see how she handles it in both perspectives. I really enjoyed the writing style, author Aimee Friedman wrote a complex story that drew me in right away, one where I couldn't wait to read the next chapter just to see what was going to happen to Summer.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book is that it took some real life situations and showcased them in a way that it felt real.  The author didn't sugar coat them and to me that makes Two Summers as amazing as it is.

My only complaint about Two Summers is one that I have a lot when reading and that is that it ended.  I wanted to know more, I wanted to know how the relationships that she either built or had tumbled and almost crashed continued to grow.  The way the author ended the story though was fantastic. I have to say that I would, if given the chance to pick, I would have wanted her to stay where she was and take the class.  That story line really appealed to me. (Again I'm not giving anything away. No Spoilers on this blog.)

I highly recommend Two Summers by author Aimee Friedman, it's being released today and I hope you all go get your copy.  Especially those that like the contemporary light reads.  It's a perfect story to read this summer!

So seeing as I've pretty much sung this books praises, I'm pretty sure you can guess what kind of rating I'm going to be giving Two Summers.

I hope you all go get your copy of this book and I want to thank Scholastic INC and Point for sending me this ARC to review.

Here at Ali's Bookshelf we accept books in exchange for a honest review. The book above came from the publisher. We also use Book Depository Affiliate links at times.

Teaser Tuesday #92

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

 Um, isn't he supposed to be able to tell me that? "It's not about dropping a class. It's more than that." I make a sweeping motion in the air with my arms, as if overwhelmed might be best portrayed as a puppet show.

So what did you think of this little snippet from The Possibility of Now?  I'm super excited about this book, so far anyway.  Oh and I know it was more than two sentences, I can't help it.  Anyway, what are you reading right now? Care to give me a little tease, if so leave it below in the comments or link me to your post.  I would love to see what you're reading and possibly add a few new books to my TBR!

It's Monday...What Are You Reading?

This meme started with J Kaye's Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.  It's a meme where you share what you read last week, what you're currently reading and what you plan on reading that week. 

This Past Week I Finished: 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

This Week I Plan To Read: 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 

 Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

 A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (2016 TBR Challenge Book Club Book) 

 Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions.

Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores an amazingly intricate multi-universe where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of all.

I've been wanting to read both of the above books for awhile now, so I'm super excited to read both of them.  What are you reading this week? 

Review: Lover Unbound

Title: Lover Unbound
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: Signet
Series: The Black Dagger Brotherhood #5
Date Published: September 25th 2007
Format: Paperback
Pages:  502 pages
ISBN#: 0451222350

 

In Caldwell, New York, war rages between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers—six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Now the cold heart of a cunning predator will be warmed against its will... Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous, son of the Bloodletter, possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a pretrans growing up in his father's war camp he was tormented and abused. As a member of the Brotherhood, he has no interest in love or emotion, only the battle with the Lessening Society. But when a mortal injury puts him in the care of human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels him to reveal his inner pain and taste true pleasure for the first time—until a destiny he didn't choose takes him into a future that cannot include her...

I know I've said this several times now, well at least 5 times, that I love J.R. Wards books and The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is my favorite. This however is my least favorite of the five I've read so far, not that I didn't enjoy reading it.

If I'm being honest, the whole time I was reading this one I wanted to scoop Vichous up and hug him.  He's been through so much. Seriously, some of the things his so called father did to him makes me want to kick the crap out of his dad.  So much abuse.  It's what makes him so messed up, have to admit I figured it was something like this though, reading how he was in the other books, I knew there had to be a really bad reason why he acted the way he did. 

I will say this as well, it was really hard to put this book down, the story was so gripping.  I think the thing I didn't like about this book was the ending, it left me growling at my book and at first I thought, I'm done with it all, but that's so not true.  I'll continue reading the series, I love it too much to stop!  It was a bit hard to push through the story. (That's the main reason I'm giving it a lower rating.  It's also the reason why my review is a bit shorter than normal.)

I would recommend the other J.R. Ward books to those who love her writing and the fantastic and hot vampires that she writes, but this is my least favorite of them so far.

 So with all of the above said, you can probably guess what I'm about to give Lover Unbound.

 Here at Ali's Bookshelf we accept books in exchange for a honest review, the book above though I bought for myself and ended up reviewing it. We also use Amazon Affiliate links at times

Teaser Tuesday #91

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

Will endured all this attention in near silence, answering Nathan's questions with a yes or no, so indistinct sometimes that I wasn't sure if he knew what he was saying. 

I'm loving this book so far, it's already made me cry a few times and I know I'll be crying a bunch more.  I've already been warned.  

So care to give me a little teaser of what you're reading, if so leave a comment below or link me to your teaser Tuesday in the comments below.  

Hope you all have a great Tuesday! 

2016 Reading Challenge Update

I haven't posted an update like this in awhile and thought it would be nice to let everyone, including myself where I stand with this years reading challenges.

This year I only signed up for two challenges, well three if you count the Goodreads one, which for today's post I'm not counting.  Anyway, let's talk about the challenges and how I'm doing so far.




The first challenge is the 2016 TBR Challenge, it's hosted by Bookish Lifestyle. I've tried this challenge in the past and to be honest I've failed miserably.  So this year I'm determined to at least reach my goal.  I have so many books that I've been dying to read, but haven't had the chance.  So this is my year to complete this challenge.

So far I've read: 7 books on my list! 

The Second challenge I signed up for this year is the 2016 Netgalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge, which is hosted by Falling for YA.  This is my first year participating in this challenge, but I have a lot of books that I really need to get to.  That's the main reason I signed up for this one.  I haven't gotten to read many of them yet though, but I plan on changing that in May.

So far I've read: 3 Books 

I've actually gotten a few more books read than I had initially thought when I started writing this post.  Which of course makes me smile! 

Are you participating in any challenges this year? If so, how are you doing on your challenges?

Life Update!

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm going to be going on vacation with my kiddos this week and wont be able to posts any posts.  Sometimes we just need to take a small break to recharge our batteries so to speak and Spring Break with my kids sounds like the perfect break to me.  I will have pictures and possibly video for you all to see when I get back! 

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you all have a great week! 

PS: I will be reading during the vacation so there will be some reviews posted as well when I get back.  I'm bringing three books with me and will be reading on the beach! ;) 

Characters That I Would Like To Talk To In Real Life

As you might know Ali Talks is a post I really enjoy posting here on the blog.  It's one where I can talk about many different topics varying from books, blogging, to every day stuff. Today I'm going to talk about the book characters that I would like to know and talk to in real life.  

  Today it's time to talk about those characters that we wish were real and we could sit down and actually talk to.  I've complied a list of 15 characters that I would love to talk to right now. 

These are in no certain order, honestly I'm not even sure which one I would want to talk to the most, they are all amazing in their own right. 

15. Blue from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: I would enjoy getting to know a few characters from this book, each and everyone of them are very interesting, but Blue stands out to me.  She's so strong and willing to help others. 

14. Beth from Attchements by Rainbow Rowell: Each of the characters in this story are very interesting as well.  I think I would have a blast with Beth though.   

13. Courtney from Broken Dreams by Kelly Elliott: Courtney cracks me up in both Broken and Broken Dreams.  She's the kind of friend that I would love to have.  The sarcastic friend who is always there for you no matter what.  Yep I would love to talk to her. 

12. America from The Selection Series: The Selection series is some of my favorite books and America is one of the most amazing main characters that I've ever read.  She's fierce and enjoys helping others.  Really enjoy her take on life and would love to talk to her in real life. 

11. Rayden from Heart of a Lion by Stephen Zimmer: This is a book that I enjoyed from the beginning.  Rayden is one bad ass female character.  Probably the most bad ass character I've read in a long time.  She's one of those characters that I would love my own daughter to read about and look up to.  She's one that no matter what, she keeps going.  Rayden is strong and resilient! The author is trying to get this character into a tv series and I really hope he gets that chance.  I know I would love to watch the show.  To help support this CLICK HERE!

10. Charlotte from Beckoning Light: Charlotte is one of those characters that you never forget, no matter how long it's been since you've read the book.  I will say she is one of my favorite female characters of all times. So to get to ask her questions about everything would be amazing! 

9. Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: Yep another one of Rainbow Rowell's characters, what can I say I love all of her books.  Cath is one of those girls that love fantasy books and you all know that's one of my favorite genres. 

8. Addison from Pivot Point by Kasie West: Addison can see what might happen if, I always wondered how that would be.  Would it make it easier or would it make choices harder. That's what I would have to ask first, if she was real that is. 

7. Beth from Dark Lover by J.R. Ward: Beth is a character that I loved so much while reading.  She's seriously one charter that I wanted to keep reading about, thank God there's more books in the series.  She's so strong and really cares about the people she calls family! 

6. Ana from Incarnate by Jodi Meadows: What can I say about Ana that I haven't already said in tons of other posts her on the blog.  She's the type of person that I would be able to talk to for days and still have more questions. 

5. Ponyboy from The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton: The Outsiders is one of my all time favorite books! All the characters are some of my favorites of all the books I've ever read.  Ponyboy though, I really connected with while reading.  He's stronger than he even realizes.  I almost added Dallas Winston to this list as well, so he gets an honorable mention! 

4. Ian from The Host by Stephenie Meyer: All I'm going to say for this one is he is my favorite character in this book.  I love how sweet he was to her even though he knew she was different and not like him. (Great now I want to go re-read the book!) 

3. Anna and Bennett from Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone: I would love to talk to both of these two about time travel.  In this book she meets Bennett who can go between time! They meet and fall in love.  Love this book so much. 

2. Wade from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Can I just say one word for my reasoning. Okay two, Ultimate Gamer!! 

1. Harry, Hermione, and Ron (Okay plus Ginny, Luna and the rest) from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: You all should have seen this coming.  I love every character from Harry Potter series.  I could talk to all of them for hours on end about everything magical and Hogwarts.  Oh and muggle stuff too! 

I really enjoyed writing this post! There are so many characters that would be fun to talk to in real life.  If you would like to see more of these type of posts here on Ali's Bookshelf, please let me know in the comments and tell me which character you would like to talk to in real life.  

Ten Bookish People You Should Follow

Top Ten Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, it's one that I haven't done in a long time, but wanted to bring in some new content for you all.  It's mainly a topic based top ten post where I'll be answering the question and showing off some books.  So if you would like to know more about this meme, CLICK HERE. 

These aren't in any certain order, but here are 10 bloggers/bookish people that you should be following. So this post took me some time to actually come up with.  I have so many blogs and Booktube channels that I subscribe too and so many that I would love to share with you, so it was hard to only pick 10. 

Youtube/Booktube

 (I split my list between 5 booktubers and 5 bloggers, I also didn't share the big Booktubers that everyone follows. You should already know about them!)

 1. Between Chapters- Really love how original some of her content is.

2. Benjaminofthomes - He's one of my favorites and sort of big in the booktube world, I love his videos and how much he loves indie books. 

3. Booksandquills - Her videos are very enjoyable to watch and her channel isn't so bogged down with idle chit chat.  She really enjoys talking about books. 

4. Chapterstackss - I enjoy this channel because she doesn't only talk about books.   

5. perpetualpageturner - Love watching her channel, you can see how passionate she is about a book. 

Bloggers

 1. The Geeky Bloggers Book Blog - I love all her ideas and reading her blog is a joy! 

2. Genie in a Book - Some fantastic discussions! 

3. Stuck in Books - I really enjoy reading this bloggers reviews

4. Word Reveal - All around general love of this blog! 

5. The Broke and the Bookish - Well let's see, this meme actually came from her! 

So there's my list for this week, what are some of your favorite bookish people? I would love to find new people to follow.  Please leave a comment below with your favorites!  

 

 

 

Teaser Tuesday #90

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

It was like an alien had landed. Really, it was that weird.  Like an ancient creature from another planet had crashed into Katie's day.  She should have been at home studying, not sitting on a plastic chair in a hospital corridor trying to make conversation. 

Yeah I can't seem to just post two sentences lol.  Anyway, this book is fantastic so far!  (I'm only a few chapters in though, so we shall see.)   So care to give me a little teaser of what you're reading, if so leave a comment below or link me to your teaser Tuesday in the comments below.  

Hope you all have a great Tuesday!