Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Genre: social issues
Series and Book #: none
Pages: 245
Synopsis:

How far would you go?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seemed determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far…and almost doesn’t make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge—and over….

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Jennifer Echols first novel was a stunner! The characters were complex and the romance was sizzling. Going Too Far set my expectations for her other novels very high.

Meg wasn't just your average bad girl gone good. She had reasons for her actions, and she didn't speak those reasons until the middle of the novel. John was also much different than I expected him to be. Just like Meg, he had reasons for his attachment to the bridge and his staying in his small town. Each deal with their reasons differently, Meg falling into her reputation as the messed up chick and John becoming an officer. They both helped each other see their predicaments from different perspectives, making the novel not just about their romance but also about dealing pain, fear, and loss.

Overall, I've read reviews of Jennifer Echols books before, and I had high expectations for all of her novels. I read Going Too Far first, because it is her first novel. I was relieved when I finished reading and had a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach, so happy for Meg and John. Jennifer's first novel was a winner, and I'm going to be anticipating any other novels she dishes out.

The Cover: LOVE IT! PERFECT! Goodness, I've always like Jennifer's covers. They portray the books so well!

Releases: You Have Seven Messages, Blood Wounds, Fateful, & So Silver Bright

You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis

It's been a year since Luna's mother, the fashion-model wife of a successful film director, was hit and killed by a taxi in the East Village. Luna, her father, and her little brother, Tile, are still struggling with grief.

When Luna goes to clean out her mother's old studio, she's stunned to find her mom's cell phone there—charged and holding seven unheard messages. As Luna begins to listen to them, she learns more about her mother's life than she ever wanted to know . . . and she comes to realize that the tidy tale she's been told about her mother's death may not be the whole truth. 


Blood Wounds by Susen Beth Pfeffer

Blood can both wound and heal . . .

Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother. Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? But as Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she also keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear apart all she holds dear.


Fateful by Claudia Gray

Eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, troubled family she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.

Her single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously. . . .

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now her, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.


So Silver Bright (Theatre Illuminata #3) by Lisa Mantchev

All Beatrice Shakespeare Smith has ever wanted is a true family of her own. And she’s close to reuniting her parents when her father disappears. Now Bertie must deal with a vengeful sea goddess and a mysterious queen as she tries to keep her family—and the Theatre Illuminata—from crumbling. To complicate it all, Bertie is torn between her two loves, Ariel and Nate. 

Daily Dose (33)

Daily Dose is a weekly meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly where we share inspirational photos we've found on the World Wide Web.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Genre: social issues
Series and Book #: none
Pages: 221
Synopsis:

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the “Great Perhaps” (Francois Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

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John Green's first novel (I think) was stellar. His poetic writing, his choice of words, and his metaphors all collaborated to form this amazing story of a plain boy falling in and out of love with a colorful girl.

Miles (but I shall call him Pudge) was like an average kid with a unique hobby: reading the biographies of famous persons and learning their last words. But his life is terribly boring and he chooses instead to go to Culver Creek, where he meets the Colonel, Takumi, Lara, and, of course, Alaska Young.

Alaska was in my opinion the main character of this novel. She was wild, uncertain, emotional, funny, helpful, and she was extremely loyal to all of her friends. But she had ghosts in her past and she was a trainwreck from time to time, and Pudge's feelings for her change so often, but in the end he really loved her. Pudge himself was a great character, and he went with the flow, but it wasn't until After that he really stood up for himself. Alaska's world changes him in so many ways, taking him from this uncaring kid into a guy who's discovered so much, that it's unbelievable he's still a teenager.

Overall, Looking for Alaska is one of those books that you can read again and again but still be surprised and still be enlightened. Sometimes it felt as if John took some things over the top, but most of the time I thought and thought and thought. I didn't know books could make you think this much. If you haven't read any John Green novels, read them. And start with this one. Because as crazy and wild as it is, it's beautiful all the same.

The Cover: Once I finished the novel, I got the symbolizm of the cover more than I had. I like this cover. Very fitting for the book.

Release: Stay with Me by Paul Griffin

An urban romance that will capture your soul, break your heart, and restore your faith in the human spirit

Fifteen-year-olds Cece and Mack didn't expect to fall in love. She's a sensitive A student; he's a high school dropout. But soon they're spending every moment together, bonding over a rescued dog, telling their secrets, making plans for the future. Everything is perfect. Until. Until. Mack makes a horrible mistake, and in just a few minutes, the future they'd planned becomes impossible. In this stark new reality, both of them must find meaning and hope in the memories of what they had, to survive when the person they love can't stay.

I've never actually read anything by Paul Griffin. and as much as this sounds like a wonderful romance, I don't see myself reading it anytime soon. But if I see it on a library shelf, I'll be sure to pick it up.

Cover Love: The Mercy Series by Rebecca Lim

As I was reading the amazing, lyrical novel Mercy [insert link] I kept noticing the many different covers the novel has received. And all of them are very beautiful.

Mercy Cover #1

So, this is the cover my copy had. I think it fits the book well because as much as the story has a beautiful voice, it's very dark.

Mercy Cover #2

This is the cover I used in my review, and it's the only cover theme that I've seen used in each novel of the series. I love it because it shows Mercy looking very much like the beautiful angel she's supposed to be, but I also don't like it because it looks like she's a beacon for good when really, she's probably not one of the nicest people you'd ever meet.

Mercy Cover #3

This cover is very lovely, much like the other two, but I don't think it has anything to do with the story. Water's hardly ever mentioned, and it looks as if she's underwater. But I love how the skirt looks like it's made with feathers.

Exile Cover #1

This is the sequel to Mercy, and you can see that it looks a lot like Mercy Cover #2. I don't like it that much, though, because the model doesn't remind me of what I think Mercy looks like. Not one of my favorites.

Exile Cover #2

This cover reminds me of exile, really. The bright white nothing, and Mercy standing at the center of it all.

Muse Cover #1

This is the third novel in the Mercy Series. Again, you can see that it resembles Mercy Cover #2 and Exile Cover #1. I think it's so pretty, because of the lovely model and the light obscuring part of her face. But I dislike the pink. I think it might throw off a reading enthusiast looking for an angel novel. Because from what I've read so far, Mercy isn't all about happiness and love. It's also about pain, darkness, and sacrifice.

Muse Cover #2

My favorite part of this cover are the feathers falling out of her hair. It's my favorite out of all seven of the series's various covers. As much as it is lovely, I think the model covering her face gives the slightest clue that it's not all happy, but is also dark.

Well? What are your favorites?

Mercy (Mercy #1) by Rebecca Lim

Genre: paranormal
Series and Book #: Mercy #1
Pages: 280
Synopsis:

A fallen angel haunted by her past. Yearning for her immortal beloved. Forever searching for answers. Who will show her Mercy?

Mercy has lost herself. She can’t count how many times she’s “woken up” in a new body, and assumed a new life, only to move on again and again. During the day she survives in the human world on instinct and at night her dreams are haunted by him. Mercy’s heart would know him anywhere. But her memory refuses to cooperate.

But this time is different. When Mercy wakes up she meets Ryan, an eighteen year old reeling from the loss of his twin sister who was kidnapped two years ago. Everyone else has given up hope, but Ryan believes his sister is still alive. Using a power she doesn’t fully comprehend, Mercy realizes that Ryan is right. His sister is alive and together they can find her. For the first time since she can remember, Mercy has a purpose; she can help. So she doesn’t understand why the man in her dreams cautions her not to interfere. But as Ryan and Mercy come closer to solving the dark mystery of his sister’s disappearance, danger looms just one step behind. Will Mercy be able to harness her true self and extraordinary power in time?

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Mercy was a unique angel novel because Mercy didn't even realize she was an angel. During the entire novel, she was clueless as to who she was and that was the half of the story. Mercy was trying to find herself along the way of finding Lauren, Ryan's kidnapped sister whom she volunteers to help him find.

Mercy's voice was haunting, sarcastic, and strong. It was lyrical, honest, and unemotional, speaking of facts and things that were, never letting emotion get in the way. She was a girl who wanted to get her new "body" over with and move on to the next, hoping that she'd eventually find who she was. But with each person she took residence in, she tried to help them discover that they were better than they thought themselves to be. Especially with Carmen, the body she inhabits when she meets Ryan.  

I thought the kidnappings were clever because they let Mercy discover who she was as a person as well as what she was. Mercy knows that she's something special, something inhuman. She reflects upon much of this, especially in her dreams when her and the mysterious Luc speak to one another. She also grew closer to Ryan, who she felt a strong attraction to beyond her understanding. I must say, the final scene of this novel was incredibly well written. I don't quite know how to explain it, but Rebecca ties the last few knots between Mercy and Ryan, and then lets Mercy go. It was insanely frustrating and I'm going to be scouring the shelves for the next in this series!

I didn't like how this book seemed to drag out certain sentences, as if the characters were thinking before they spoke. I found that unrealistic, because usually I don't think before I speak, and I would guess plenty others don't either.

Overall, this was a novel with an incredible main character who I believed to be something different completely. She didn't understand pop culture, but knew Latin as if she'd spoken it every day of her life. She was amazed by emotions, and the powers she discovered while she was investigating Lauren's kidnapping. Rebecca's novel was amazing and perfect for a dark, rainy day, when you'll believe that there are more things than you can possibly see.

The Cover: I believe this may be the UK version, but I still think it's beautiful.