Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Breathe

Author: Sarah Crossan

Publisher: Greenwillow

Pages: 400

Rating: 4 Breathtaking Stars!

Team: Alina!

Source: Thanks SO much to Krys over at Bibliopunkk for sharing her extra copy! Love ya, woman! :)

Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe...

The world is dead.

A glass dome houses the survivors of the Switch, the period when oxygen levels plunged and the free world withered. A state lottery meant a lucky few won safety, while the rest suffocated in the thin air. Now Alina, Quinn, and Bea are leaving the dome, walking straight into the heart of danger. They have only two days’ worth of oxygen in their tanks. What will happen on the third day?  

Welcome to The Pod—where its citizens are charged an air tax simply because they exist. They can’t play sports, dance, run or even have sex unless they’re a Premium—someone who can afford the extra oxygen to do all those things. 

Sick of feeling trapped and unable to breathe, Alina decides to join the Resistance—a group of people who want to breathe freely again. Outside of the Pod they have a secret meeting place, where they grow...SOMETHING(!)...illegally and where they train to breathe in less oxygen. And OH MY GOSH! I LOVED The Grove! It was so spectacularly beauteous and i want to live there! And i want Alina to live there because I loved her. She was so bad ass and totally my favorite character. Her & Dorian needz to getz togetherrrr! ;)

Then there’s Quinn, who’s a Premium and also a teenage boy—so I basically already automatically liked him a lot. And even though he comes from money, he’s considerate of everyone and very giving, which I also liked about him very much. And his crush on Alina was adorbs.

Quinn’s best friend, Bea, was probably my least favorite character. She was whiney and love struck and something about her just didn’t sit right with me. She grew on me as the story evolved but...she didn’t come close to Alina’s awesomeness.

Side note: Maude Blue is CRAZY. Read the book, you'll understand. :P

The only off-putting element about this book was that there wasn’t a ton of world building. I felt as though the basics were laid out but I would’ve liked more descriptions and information on them. Breathe was very character based, so I’m hoping its sequel focuses more on the world and its issues! (Which I have a very strong feeling that it will!)

Overall, Breathe was a cool dystopian story filled with great characters, crazy plotlines and an ending that’ll have you eagerly anticipating the sequel!

Hidden by Sophie Jordan

Hidden (Firelight #3)

Author: Sophie Jordan

Publisher: HarperTeen

Rating: 5 Fire Breathing Stars! (too lame? :P)

Team: OMG! I LOVE BOTH BOYS. I CAN’T PICK. I CAN NOT EVEN...JUST...BOTH! Team Wassian?? Yep. Team Wassian. 

Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....

Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy.~Goodreads

Holy. Freakin’. Amaze. This book was incredible and jam-packed with angst and romance and emotional turmoil and just wow! What a way to end the series!

Hidden surprised me in so many ways. Just when I thought Jace and her crew were safe, I was all, “WAIT! I still have 200 pages left! THEY AREN’T SAFE!! *dun dun *SOB* dun!*”

I was scared. I was happy. I was heartbroken. ANNND I had the sniffles at LEAST three times while devouring this book.

Sophie Jordan delivered breathtaking imagery and heart-stopping intensity with every flip of the page, once again her writing enchanted me. 

The characters were as amazing as ever and I’m SO, SO SAD to say goodbye to them. Especially Will (omg do you know how many daydreams I’ve had about him?? Ehem I mean...)

Jace was totally kick-ass and in charge but she also had moments where she broke down and I loved her even more for those. She had to make a lot of tough decisions in this book and handle some pretty effin' scary situations but she's a fire-breathing pro at them! 

Will was *sighs*...Will was still and will always be absolute perfection. He’s so effing loyal and supportive and trustworthy and gah! He’s just a handsome heavenly hero! I am so in love with this earth-bending boy! SO. IN. LOVE. ‘Nuff said.

But that’s not to say the other hero in the story doesn’t have a special place in my heart. Cassian was incredible in this installment as well. He proved himself to be just as loyal as Will AND just as self-sacrificing and just as caring. He deserves to be happy. I want him to be happy....With me...<3>

But I think the character who grew the most throughout the series was Tamra. She went from being a selfish-bitchy brat to someone who's kind and helpful and brilliant. Also her new love interest?!? Yum. They are so effing adorable together too! I WANT A TAM/DEGHAN SPIN OFF!! Please? :)

It’s always sad when a series comes to an end and the Firelight Trilogy makes no exception, but overall, I’m happy with how Hidden turned out! (I still wouldn’t mind a book 4, 5, & 6 though :P )

Team I’LL LOVE WILL AND CASSIAN FOREVERRRR!!

HELP IS HERE: Over You Giveaway + Break Up Kit

WINNERS:

Jaiden 

&

Stephie R. 

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Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus 

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 304

Guys. Guys. GUYS! I absolutely adored this book. And i freakin' LOVED MAX! She's pretty much the coolest MC ever! So i basically fan-girled super hard to Emma & Nicola and they were sweet enough to send me some signed copies! AND i HAVE TO SHARE THIS AMAZING BOOK WITH YOU GUISE! And i HAVE to throw in one of these bad boys too!

So, check out my review, check out the trailer and enter below! You know you want to! 

:P

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BOMB-SAUCE TRAILER!! 

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Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Carnival of Souls

Author: Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 306

Rating: 5 Striking Stars! 

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.~Goodreads

Carnival of Souls was the very first book I’ve ever read by Melissa Marr and to say I loved it would be an understatement.

It was brilliant, beautiful and brutal. It was frightening, exciting and surprising. It was absolutely fantastic!

I fell for all of the characters immediately. Usually when I read a book where the story lines switch between characters I end up picking favorites. And when I pick favorites I find myself wanting to get back to THAT character’s storyline ASAP, but in Carnival of Souls that NEVER happened. I adored Belias & Aya’s narrative just as much as I FREAKIN’ LOVED Mallory & Kaleb’s.

I also loved how the book switched between worlds. It was an awesome contrast that really added to the plot and showed how large the gap between Mal’s world and Kaleb’s world was. Aya, Belias and Kaleb all live in The City where the Carnival takes place and oh holy wow! The way Melissa Marr depicts every scene is absolutely stunning and puts you right into the action. You are at the fights, you see the gore and hear the roar of the crowd. You’re excited and nervous. You don’t know who is going to win and who is going to play dirty. The fights were just so freakin’ remarkable. Hands down, my favorite part of the story.

I also ADORE-DORE-DORED Mallory’s dad Adam. He’s a witch and he’s protective and he’s amazing. I wants to reads more about him!

Overall, Carnival of Souls weaves enough secrets, stolen kisses and stabbings throughout the pages to keep anyone EXtremely intrigued! 

I HIGHLY recommend this book and I cannot wait for its sequel, Theatre of Deceit!

THANK YOU SO MUCH KAREN FOR LETTING ME BORROW! Love, love, LOVE YOU! :)

Glass Heart by Amy Garvey (+ARC Giveaway)

Glass Heart (Cold Kiss #2)

Author:Amy Garvey

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 320

Rating: 3 Stars!

Wren can do things that other people can only dream of. Make it snow on a clear, crisp day. Fly through an abandoned tunnel. Bring a paper bird to life.

Wren knows her abilities are tinged with danger--knows how easy it is to lose control--but she can't resist the intoxicating rush. And now that she has Gabriel by her side, someone who knows what she can do--what she "has" done--she finally feels free to be herself.

But as Wren explores the possibilities of her simmering powers, Gabriel starts pushing her away. Telling her to be careful. Telling her to "stop." The more he cautions her, the more determined Wren becomes to prove that she can handle things on her own. And by the time she realizes that Gabriel may be right, it could be too late to bring him back to her side.~Goodreads

Cold Kiss was one of my absolute favorite books last year  

(I cried my eyes out and it pretty much shattered my soul)

so I was SUPER FREAKIN’ THRILLED to find out there was going to be a sequel! Although I didn’t quite love it as much as the first installment, Glass Heart is still a story worth reading!

Wren Darby is back and she’s as cool as ever; with her cupcake earrings and docs, she floats around town creating photographs out of thin air and making out with her cute boyfriend, Gabriel. 

And the one thing I love most about Wren? It's that she makes mistakes. And major ones at that. She also reacts to things in such a TEENAGE way that she’s so freakin’ relatable. When she wasn’t making out with Gabriel, avoiding her dad, annoying Robin with her big sister act or hanging out with Dar and Jess...she was hangin’ out with some new cronies. And they were...very...interesting....

The new characters, Bay and Fiona, are cool college kids that “play” with magic and encourage Wren to do the same...but in public. At times they seemed like fun but at others they were terrible influences and perhaps slightly dangerous? It was hard to tell! I found myself second-guessing their intentions with Wren every other chapter. Like I said, sometimes they seemed super cool and other times they seem like total creeps. Garvey kept me on edge with them!

Mr. Gabriel seemed to be the only levelheaded one in this book. He wasn't afraid to tell Wren that doing magic in public is wrong and perhaps here new 'friends' aren't friends at all. But he was also dealing with a lot of his own issues—some of which weren’t played out on the page. So I kinda felt that there was a wall between not only Wren and Gabriel but also me and Gabriel though out the book- which made me sad. 

Overall, Glass Heart was a good addition to the series! And i would love to read about Wren and the gang again! Here's hoping for a third ;) 

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Music Monday♫ : Chris Brown Edition ♥

Christopher Brown. UNFFFF! 'Nuff said. 

SOOOOOOOOO are you totes in love with him or are you TOTES IN LOVE WITH HIM!? :P 

Sound off in the comments or lemme know what you're listening to this week! :)

CRASH Blog Tour: REVIEW + Giveaway

Crash (Crash #1)

Author: Nicole Williams

Rating: 5 Stars!

Team: Jude Ryder

Buy: B&N/Amazon 

Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He's got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now. 

Jude's everything she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. Staying away, she's about to find out, is the only thing she's incapable of. 

For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love's about to become the thing that tears them apart.~Goodreads

Hilarious. Sexy. Intense.

Crash totally took me by surprise and hooked from the very first moment a certain sexpot crashed (literally) into our main character on the beach.

I absolutely loved Lucy! She’s a fixer at heart and she wants to help everyone; including screwed up dogs and screwed up boys. Lucy isn’t a pushover though, she’s also one tough chick and I was mentally fist-pumping her multiple times throughout the story. She’s not afraid to give the aforementioned sexpot

a dose of his own medicine or set him straight and call him out on all his shit. Her inner dialogue was hilarious and adorable and, yeah she’s awesome.

Then we have Mr. Sexpot Jude Ryder. And just like Lucy, after the moment they met, I was unable to stop thinking about him. He’s the epitome of a bad boy; cocky, sexy, mysterious, sexy, witty, sexy, protective, sexy, a little bit dangerous and did I mention sexy!? He’s pretty much a broken mess and you can’t help but wanna reach through the pages and hug his pain and past away and then kiss the shit out of him. Oorrr....maybe that was just me? :P

I seriously loved this book and the plot and the characters and all of their flaws and ZEEEEEP! I can’t want to “crash” into the sequel! :)

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About Nicole:

I'm a wife, a mom, a writer. I started writing because I loved it and I'm still writing because i love it. I write young adult because I still believe in true love, kindred spirits, and happy endings. Here's to staying young at heart *raises champagne glass*....care to join me? 

 Nicole's Blog * Twitter * Facebook
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Giveaway:

-ONE entry per household.

- Must be 13 years or older to enter.

- Winner has 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be chosen.

- Open to ALL.

- Giveaway ends Friday, October 19th, 2012 at 12:01am EST.

- Good luck!

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*Peeks From Behind Rock*

And i'm SUPER sorry i haven't been posting lately-I've been CRAZY busy! I'm currently working at my State Fair and by the time i get home i'm exhausted! Annnnd i haven't read a single book in, like, 3 weeks; that makes me want to cry. Annnd then next week i start school. NOOOOOOOOOOOO! 

But, i miss you guys. And i just wanted to tell you that you're all awesome. And i REALLY REALLY DO LOVE YOU! Tons and TONS AND TONS!! AND I hit 900 followers...which is INSANELY AMAZETASTIC!! 

I'm planning a Count-Down-to-1000 Giveaway! So keep checking back! :)

kay, byeeeeeeeeee!

Authors Are Our ROCK STARS Tour: Tahereh Mafi

Today I have the fantastic honor of hosting the brilliant mastermind behind two of the most sex-tastic and incredible fictional boys to ever exist...ever. Oh! And she also created a pretty kick-ass heroine too!

I’m talking about the one and only TAHEREH MAFI!! *CLAPS WILDLY* *CROWD ROARS* *twirls*

Tahereh Mafi is a girl

She’s 24. She was born in a small city somewhere in Connecticut and currently resides in Orange County, CA, where she drinks too much caffeine and finds the weather to be just a little too perfect for her taste. When unable to find a book, she can be found reading candy wrappers, coupons, and old receipts. SHATTER ME is her first novel.

* Author Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Tumblr *
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Tahereh is one of THE FUNNIEST and NICEST authors I have ever had the privilege of talking to via the twit! Many a times she has entertained my ideas of writing more naked Adam scenes and one time...one time she said she wanted to...wait for it....SQUISH HUG ME INTO A MARSHMALLOW!! Like how freakin’ adorable is she?! Yep, pretty much I'm kinda sorta absolutely in love with her and her brain. Not ashamed. :P

Shatter Me is an absolute favorite book of mine and Unravel Me still has me at a loss for words after finishing it over 3 weeks ago. YEP. THEY ARE THAT GOOD.

Why are Tahereh’s books so bomb, you ask? Well, because she is! And because of her ability to create a plot-line that twists and bends like gnarled tree branches— stunning dialogue that splashes  you in the face with its sadness and humor— passionate scenes that spark a heat between your fingers and her scary way of writing EMOTIONAL EMOTIONS that rattle your soul. Oh and of course, there’s Adam and Warner and Juliette and Kenji—AMAZING characters you can’t help but fall madly and deeply for!

And it just so happens....one of those very, very fine characters has decided to grace us with his undeniably charismatic and striking self this fine day...

That’s right, I’m talking about the ever confusing, totally arrogant, INSANELY attractive...Warner! Check out out interview below! 
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B: Let’s start this thing off with the most burning question on every
one’s mind: boxers or briefs?

W: I don’t see how this is any of your business.

B: Ooookay, then. *Clears throat* Um...I can’t help but notice the ring you’ve got on there. It’s very lovely; does it mean something special to you? Hold any kind of significance?

W: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

B: Riiiight. Okay, so Warner, surely you know you’re very attractive. And you could quite possibly have any girl in the world. (ME! ME! ME! PICK MEE! Or Jena! :P) So why are you so intent on Juliette?

W: Pass.

B: Huh...touched a nerve there me thinks. Speaking of which, do you feel as though Adam Kent is any type of threat to you? Whether that be physically, mentally or I don’t know, like, love triangle-y?

W: Adam Kent is an idiot.

B: I have to disagree. Adam is smart and sensitive and sexy but alright, you’re obviously not a fan. I know you’re not all bad though, I’ve heard through a very reliable source that you once helped a stray animal. Have you ever considered having a pet, Warner? I hear they make great companions.

W: Who have you been talking to? Where are you getting this information?

B: I know people, who know people. So how do you feel about having your story shared with the entire world?

W: What story?

B: Umm...nothing...never mind. Ooh! What’s it like to get shot?

W: It’s wildly inconvenient.

B: I bet. Ouch. Okay, so what was your reaction when you touched Juliette for the first time and you realized she couldn’t hurt you?

W: Do you make it a habit of asking such horribly invasive questions?

B: *Flushes* Sorry, Warner...Ok, last question, so your dad…how is it working for him?

W: Pass.

Ah, very talkative, that one. :P

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Wanna learn more about Warner? Be sure to check out this novella coming out this October! 

In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .

Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.

Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.~Goodreads

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tick, tick, tick, tick, tick
it's almost
time for war.

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