Book Review - Eleanor & Park by Raimbow Rowell

Book Blurb

Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.
Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.
Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

My thoughts

WOW! This book was everything I was looking for.  It gave me butterflies, my heart was fluttering  and at times it made my heart ached really bad/  So many emotions came to life while I read this story.  

In this book, it's 1986 and Eleanor's life isn't simple. Being the oldest of five children she is forced to grow up too fast.  Her current situation is undesirable.   Having an asswipe of a father has made her life a living hell.  Her mother has a blindfold for this abusive person and does not want to face reality.  Her family moves to a new house with her stepfather in which she is forced to share a room with all her siblings making adolescence ten times worse.

On her first day of school, she meets Park a half Korean kid with green eyes that without a choice shares his bus seat with her. Sharing this seat is the trigger for our story.  As the days goes by our two main characters begin a journey into their own world in which they realize they are very much into each other.

My Thoughts…

This is a truly beautiful love story of self discovery and pure love. I fell head over heels for Park.  He was such a good boy with a massive heart he deserved Eleanor and much more.  I was rooting for him from the very first time.

One of my favorite scenes is when Park sets his forehead against hers. She didn’t know what to do with her eyes or her hands. “Nothing before you counts,” he said. “And I can’t even imagine an after.”

Sadly, as Park and Eleanor learn the hard way, sometimes not all first loves are

THis is one of the best f an arts i have found (I LUVS IT!)

 About the  Author…

Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

More at rainbowrowell.com.

Deity by Jennifer Armentrout Review & Giveaway

"History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time. "


Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner... and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate...



I wanted to share my love for this book with an ebook giveaway.  This contest is open internationally and I will purchase the ebook for the winner.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Summary

We find our heroine Alex at a crossroads in her life.  The last installment of the series she had killed a pure and Aiden had used compulsion to cover the deed.  Even though she is back on Deity Island she is not safe.  Someone is plotting to get rid of her before she becomes and Apollyon.

Now that she had chosen Seth, everything has become a routine.  Training is the priority and Alex has shut off herself from everyone else in order to survive the death of her best friend. 

Aiden is still part of her life but he remains a Sentinel and somehow due to everything that has happened he is assigned to be her guard.  As the famous saying “while the cat is out the mice will play” or something like that.  Seth is gone to New York to investigate why the elixir is not working on the half bloods… Aiden and Alex become close and things happen.  I’m just going to leave it at that.

My Thoughts

This book was the best of the series by far.  Once I began my journey I could not put it down.  I needed to know what would happen to Alex.  I am Team Aiden the whole way but somehow Seth had grown a little space in my heart. 

I won’t spoil this story for you guys but oh so many surprises and turns I didn’t see coming and that is why I love Jennifer Armentrout writing style.   She keeps you guessing and unexpected bombs are thrown at you.

Let me tell you guys the only advice I will give you is to be ready for the ending.  It is such a cliffhanger that I was pacing back and forth in my room trying to swallow that I had to wait another year to read what will happen next.

This book was friggintastic and I give it five hearts.

 

About the Author

USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.

Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

Love Unscripted by Tina Reber Book Review

Love Unscripted (love # 1) by Tina Reber

http://tinareber.com/

Paperback, 668 pages

Published March 6th 2010 by CreateSpace

ISBN -

1451533969 (ISBN13: 9781451533965)

Edition language - English

original title - Love Unscripted

series - Love #1

 

http://tinareber.com/

  

Ryan Christensen just wanted to be an actor. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that accepting a role in an unknown film would toss his career into overdrive. His new fame has cost him dearly; anonymity is no longer an option. His fans stalk him, the paparazzi hound him, and Hollywood studios all want a piece of him. Despite all of that, Ryan Christensen craves the most basic of human needs - to have love in his heart and privacy in his life.

Taryn Mitchell, the story's protagonist, is a realist. She's been feigning contentment, running the family pub in Seaport, Rhode Island, while quietly nursing her own internal heartaches. Her feet are fairly glued to the ground and she doesn't buy into all the hype that has descended on her tiny, coastal town. In her world, men are safe if they're kept at a distance.

Fate has other plans for these two when their paths cross one sunny afternoon. A group of female fans has attacked him, leaving his shirt torn, his face cut, and Ryan in obvious distress. Bonds between them form from the most dramatic of circumstances while jealousy, insecurity, and the stress of his celebrity life try to tear them apart.

Through all the tabloid lies, secrecy, and pressure, can Taryn's peace and Ryan's high-profile insanity live together in harmony

Here is a preview for the book: http://tinareber.com/love-unscripted/

My Summary

Taryn is a resourceful woman.  She owns her own business (a Pub) and is an entrepreneur in many other business projects.  She may not have blood relatives but she has a very close circle of friends that are her family.  Recently healing a wounded heart she has sworn off men and focused on her work.

In the beginning we see a Taryn that works very hard for her business and is constantly harassed by her friends to give another guy a chance.  Seaport is usually a quiet place but has been recently sent to the pits due to a major movie star that has been filming a movie there.  Tons of fans have been coming into town following this big stars steps sending the town in a frenzy. 

Roads are blocked, swarms of women screaming and crying and all for Ryan Christensen.  Taryn doesn’t get what all the fuzz is about and she might be the only woman that has not seen any of his movies.  Having no choice the TV’s on her pub are constantly changed to follow the news and updates about Ryan and every girl around her drools over him.

She knows he is handsome, she can see it but she does not understand why someone would obsess so badly over a human being. 

One day just as she was getting ready to open her bar a stampede of women runs after a man.  The poor guy has broken clothes and looks scared as hell.  Luck has really played a big one her time because Ryan Christensen ends up hiding in her bar for dear life.

My thoughts

This book was simply breathtaking and different from any other book I have read.  To see the transformation of these two characters was to witness a miracle.  I thought their relationship would be a train wreck but with ever page turn I fell in love with Ryan and Taryn.

I cannot wait for book 2.  The cliffhanger at the end left me wanting more.  I also like that this book was really long and I dragged it as much as possible because I didn’t want it to end.

I give this book 5 out of 5 hearts and strongly recommend it.

Tammy



Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire Book Review

Beautiful Disaster by: Jamie McGuire

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and 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.

 My Summary...

Abby Abernathy has a deep dark secret and that is the main reason she has moved to a new place to start college.  She tries so hard to keep her image she is taken by surprise when she meets Travis Maddox.  A man full of anger and raging hormones who seems to have every walking female in Easter University drooling over him.  

Abby refuses to be another girl and simply treats him indifferently making him even more attracted to her.  She becomes a challenge.  But life has plans for them as they only become the best of friends and with each other only become their best.

My thoughts...

Okay this was such a roller coaster of emotions.   I absolutely loved the book and let me tell you it keeps you guessing till the end.  It is a mature book with adult content and I suggest a NC17.  

I absolutely love this story and could not put it down.  I needed to find their happy ending and everything in the story kept me on edge wanting even more.

The characters are intriguing always and once I started reading I wanted to know more about them.  Abby's secret is the reason the way she is and her past simply won't stay away.  It keeps haunting her and I'm sure if we see a sequel that past will re appear again.

Travis is  a dark person and love extreme fighting.  If you don't like curse words, blood and violence then this book is not for you but you will miss out on  a great story. 

I give this story 4 out of 5 hearts

You will want to keep an eye on this story as it will possibly hit the big screen.  To find out more about this click here: http://www.examiner.com/article/beautiful-disaster-movie-rights-optioned-by-warner-bros

I f you want to find out more about the author please click here: http://www.jamiemcguire.com/