Here are the new releases for this week! There are a few worth mentioning: Remy, book 3 in the Real, Raw & Ripped series by Katy Evans, Crash Into Me, book 3 in the Pushing the Limits series by YA author Katie McGarry, and the final season of Breaking Bad.
Enjoy!
BOOKS (26th November)
ADULT BOOKS
Black Widow Demon(Demon Outlaws, #2) by: Paula Altenburg
Passionate and
headstrong, half-demon Raven is nearly executed on the orders of her
fundamentalist stepfather. She escapes from the burning stake using the
gifts of her otherworldly heritage and the help of a mortal stranger
named Blade. Now she’s set on revenge, and only quiet, intense Blade
stands in her way.
A retired assassin weary of the weight of his
past, Blade has crossed the desert to seek out a new life. His journey
is interrupted when his conscience demands he help Raven find an old
friend who can help her. Saving her from her need for revenge and
delivering her into the hands of loved ones means he’s one step closer
to redemption.
But as Blade’s sense of duty becomes something
more and threats, both mortal and immortal, stalk the woman he can’t
abandon, he could very well fall back into the life he’s trying so hard
to escape.
Rell has lived in the
Shadow World for thirteen years as a Demon Bane, the formerly vivacious
young woman now the demonic enemy of the immortal Bringers. But when she
is given the chance to become human again—and a full-powered Bringer—Rell isn’t sure if it’s better to be a demon in the Shadow World or to risk her life for her humanity.
For
two years Siban had been tortured in the Bane prison, only to fall in
love with the beautiful demon who helped him escape. Tormented by the
thought of never seeing her again, he maintains a life of solitude. So,
when Rell’s human body is rescued from the Shadow World, he will do
anything to be with her—even if it means challenging death to become a
Bringer too.
But once their Bringer transformations and training
are completed, Siban and Rell must join a mission to go deep in the
Shadow World to rescue others trapped by the Demon Bane King. And what
they discover destroys everything they knew about the Demon Bane. The
lovers must learn to trust themselves, each other, and their new powers
if they’re going to make it out alive.
Down Range (Shadow Warriors, #2) by: Lindsay McKenna
Trained to kill, but built for love
Captain
Morgan Boland is at the top of her game, as is her former lover, Navy
SEAL Jake Ramsey. Then a military computer selects them to partner in a
special op. The mission can't be compromised by their personal history
and they have truckloads of it.
But the Afghan assignment might
provide the discipline they need to finally get it together outside the
bedroom, that is. A lot has happened over the two years since they last
went their separate ways. And there's way more to Morgan than Jake has
ever given her credit for.
Trouble
just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm,
sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his
military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is
his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust
has plenty to do with it too.
With her brother presumed
kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so
much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized
crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars
no one else sees.
Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...
I'm sure this has already been circulating in the blog world for a few days now, but since I am a huge fan of Katie McGarry'sPushing the Limits series, I just had to share my excitement with everyone over the new cover art for the third and final novel, Crash Into You. Here it is:
My Thoughts:I think I squealed like a happy little piggy when I saw this cover! Not just because Katie McGarry has been one of those lucky authors to get amazing cover treatments for her novels in the past, but also Crash Into You is going to be Isaiah's story, a character that has been my favorite throughout the whole series. So I've been anxious to see how they were going to portray him on the cover. He loves his cars and has tats (although I wish they showed his piercings, but let's not be greedy!) so I think they did a great job. Now let's just hope the story can live up to its hype! November can't come quick enough!
Check out my reviews for books 1 & 2 in the Pushing the Limits series by Katie McGarry!
Title: Dare You To(Pushing the Limits, #2) Author:Katie McGarry ISBN: 0373210639 Reading Level: Young Adult Genre: YA Contemporary Romance Theme(s): child abuse, addiction Length: 480 pgs Binding: Hardcover Published: 28 May 2013; Harlequin Teen Buy:amazon.com Synopsis:If anyone knew the truth
about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and
seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all
costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose
between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds
herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school
that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who
shouldn't get her, but does....
Ryan Stone is the town golden
boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not
even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant
dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who
couldn't be less interested in him.
But what begins as a dare
becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly,
the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the
girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring
herself to want it all..
My Rating:
My Review: What can I say about Dare You To without my review sounding redundant? From some of the reviews I have already read, I think other die hard Katie McGarry fans are walking away from this highly anticipated sequel feeling the same way I do.Dare You To confirms a few things. One, Pushing the Limits, book 1 in the series, was not a fluke. Some authors write amazing debuts but have trouble delivering the same impact with their sequels. I'm happy and relieved to say that Katie McGarry won't be going anywhere but to the top. After reading Dare You To, there is no doubt that she is an amazing writer, that she knows how to write characters so well that they feel like they are right in front of you, and most of all, she has the ability to evoke strong emotions. In Pushing the Limits, I was in a constant state of tears and felt a heaviness in my chest. In Dare You To, I felt a range of emotions, everything from exasperation, frustration, to outrage. However, there were a few minor issues I had with the book that kept me from giving it a perfect 5 star rating.
First, here are a few things I loved about Dare You To. I like that Katie McGarry used alternating point-of-view to tell Beth and Ryan's story. Considering the fact that they are so different and that McGarry had a huge job to do in convincing us readers that they belong together, it was almost essential to use this so we can get in both of their heads. Because let's face it. If you've read Pushing the Limits, then most of you, like me, wanted Beth to get with Isaiah. So being able to get to know Ryan personally and to see how Beth truly felt about Isaiah did help me to cope with the fact that this was Beth and Ryan's story, not Beth and Isaiah's.
As she proved in Pushing the Limits, McGarry has no problem pushing boundaries. There are so many authors out there that take on controversial topics but fail in the execution because they are too worried they might offend someone or they feel they need to tone it down for fear that publishing companies will pass them by. Not McGarry. When she commits to a tough topic, she runs with it and stays true. Beth's story is not easy breezy to read-- she has had a very rough childhood. Imagine growing up with alchoholic/drug abusing parents. Imagine your own mother telling you that she hates you, that it's your fault that your father left. Imagine watching your mother get beat over and over again by different boyfriends and then they start beating on you. It would mess up any child. So Beth curses, and she smokes weed to take the edge off and to forget painful memories. Does this mean she is a horrible person? Absolutely not. But if you think this book sugar coats anything, you are wrong. If you are sensitive to cursing, drug use, drinking, and sexual situations, then I suggest you toughen up and go into this book with an open mind. Because this is where Katie McGarry truly shines as an author. She brings a gritty, realistic quality to her writing, just like NY Times & USA Today's Best Selling Author Simone Elkeles is known for in her Perfect Chemistry series. And this is why teens and adults alike are dawn to their novels time and time again.
Lastly, I can't move on until I mention one more important factor that Katie McGarry is a master at and that is creating memorable characters. I know I and other reviewers keep going back to where it all started, book 1, Pushing the Limits. Here is the dilemma. If you are just jumping on board and haven't read book 1, a part of me rather you just read Dare You To first. Sounds weird I know, but I think I myself would have had a much easier time accepting Beth and Ryan's relationship without knowing what happened between Beth and Isaiah in book 1 (oh and trust me, there is a scene in book 1 that is burned on the back of my eyelids that had me thinking WITHOUT A DOUBT that Beth and Isaiah would be together). But then on the other hand, to fully understand Beth, and who she considers her family--Isaiah and Noah, you need to go back to the beginning. That being said, I love that Katie McGarry added in a few scenes with Isaiah and Noah (my heart was pounding when they came to Beth's rescue earlier in the book) and most of all, that one scene with Noah and Echo. This couple burned up the pages in Pushing the Limits and I think the author knew how much fans were hoping for a little Noah and Echo action. There definitely was a scene stealer and that was when Beth took Ryan to one of her kind of parties. In the back yard, Noah was lying in a hammock with his girlfriend Echo and when Noah noticed Ryan staring too long at her, he threatened him to keep his eyes to himself. So incredibly sexy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will see more of them in book 3.
Now to what I had issues with. It's sort of hard for me to focus on just one thing that bothered me about Dare You To. I feel like it is the culimination of a bunch of little things that caused me to drop my rating down to 4 stars. A part of me may still not be completely sold that Beth belongs with Ryan, but that doesn't mean by the end of the book I think she belongs with Isaiah. Sounds weird, I know, but I guess as much as Ryan is a likeable, relatable character with his own set of issues, he just isn't as memorable like Noah and Isaiah are. The heat that I felt between Noah and Echo is not the same thing I felt between Beth and Ryan. But if I sit back and think about it, every relationship is different and so is how love is expressed with other couples. Some people love widly and passionately while love grows slowly and quietly with others. So who am I to say that what Beth and Ryan feel is wrong?
My major issues lie with things being left unresolved between certain characters. Without divulging too much, things with Ryan and his dad felt...unfinished. I know that in real life, not everyone has perfect relationships with their parents, so I wasn't expecting a fairytale ending. But we never really get to learn why his dad feels the way he does about his oldest son, Mark, and Ryan. Enough said about that because I don't want to spoil anything.
Beth's relationship with her Uncle Scott and his wife, Allison, also fell a little flat for me. I wanted to find some redeeming qualities for Allison, Scott's wife. Yes, there is the little scene at the end where it looks like Beth and Allison may have buried the hatchet, but we never really get to know her. I get that Scott himself had a rough childhood and the easiest way for him to keep the demons away was for him to move away and be with someone who wouldn't remind him of his troubled past. But I would also like to think that Allison has a big enough heart that she would love Scott, shady past and all. Unfortunately, most of the book she acts like an uppity b*tch!
Now to Beth's uncle, Scott. We learn that Scott didn't have an easy upbringing himself and he knows what it's like to struggle. Beth remembers when her uncle used to wear baggy pants and talked like a gangster. So what bothered me was all the stipulations he put on Beth when she comes to live with him. I get the no drinking, no drugs, even no smoking cigarettes. But making her change her clothes (she likes to wear ripped jeans and tank tops, like that is a crime!) and not allowing her to buy black hair die??? I wouldn't even consider Beth "goth" but trust me, I work in a school and I see kids wearing worse clothes than ripped up jeans. My point is, I think Scott and Allison spent way too much time on Beth's outward appearance rather than focusing on her inner issues. Scott obviously knows she has been through some major trauma. And when you find out one of the reasons why Beth likes to die her hair black...my heart really did hurt for her. I guess what I am trying to say is, I was waiting for a huge heart to heart conversation between Scott and Beth but it really never happens. I wanted Beth to finally break down and let out all of that pain because keeping that sh*t in is nothing but poison.
Dare You To is a solid sequel that really leaves no doubt as to how talented Katie McGarry truly is. Even though I felt there were a few things left a bit unresolved, I can somewhat accept that because life doesn't always fix itself right away. It may take years before Ryan's father finally comes around to accepting both his sons' choices. It will probably take a lot of time for Beth to break the chains of guilt and responsibility she has had on her shoulders, and Ryan will have to find patience because Beth still has a lot of issues to sort out. I myself have to remain calm and patiently await Crash Into You, book 3, which is Isaiah's book. Because I'm not going to lie, things were left unresolved between Beth, Isaiah, and Noah as well. For thematic reasons, I get why because it is a given that Isaiah has to work out his feelings for Beth and I am sure she will make quite a few appearances. But I can't help but feel that Beth owes Isaiah, Noah, AND Echo an apology. There were quite a few times when I wanted to shake her because the boys wanted a better life for her, they loved her that much. And how many times does Echo have to prove herself to Beth? But we never get that moment of epiphany from her. But I just have to keep reminding myself that it's going to take time for Beth to sort out her issues. After all, how can you recognize and accept love if you can't respect and love yourself?
Synopsis:So wrong for each other...and yet so right.
No
one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl
with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on
her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible
night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to
normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the
black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude
and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could
never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the
secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet
the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to
ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk
for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.
My Rating:
My Review: Have I died and gone to heaven? That's sure what it feels like after reading Katie McGarry's debut novel Pushing the Limits. The book's premise sounded exactly like something I would enjoy, after all, I love misunderstood bad boys and the good girls that grow to love them. Let's face it, not every author is good at writing bad boys, unless you're NY Times best selling author Simone Elkeles, writer of the sizzling hot Perfect Chemistry series. So you can imagine my hesitance going into Pushing the Limits.
Pushing the Limitswas not what I expected, in a good way. For example, based upon the synopsis, I automatically assumed the abuse that Echo suffered was from her "jock" boyfriend. I don't know why, but I had it in my head that maybe one night they were at a party, he slipped something in her drink (or attempted to get her drunk), and tried to molest her which resulted in the "freaky" scars on her arms and loss of memory. Boy was I wrong about everything. The plot itself is way more complex than that which is one of the things I absolutely love about this book.
First and foremost, when I started reading, I didn't expect the chapters to alternate between Echo and Noah. I love this technique because I enjoy being able to get into the heads of more than one character. Plus, it gave me the heads up that this story wasn't going to be just about Echo which again, I just assumed based on the book blurb. This is just as much as Noah's story as it is Echo's. And while I was blown away by Echo's dysfunctional family dynamic, it was Noah's relationship with his brothers and best friends that had me shedding some tears. I think the less I say about the actual plot of both of their stories will be more beneficial for you as the reader, so I am just going to leave it at that.
I also like how the author explored the different views on grief and the depth of Echo's therapy sessions. It's revealed pretty early that Echo had an older brother named Aires, who died while on active duty. He was her world, her rock when things got crazy at home. She used to keep him company while he worked on restoring a classic car and when he died, it became her passion: she wanted to fix the car up in her brother's honor. Echo's father, on the other hand, thinks it is a stupid idea and rather sell the car. Some people rather forget when they are grieving. I also give the author tremendous credit for writing about mental illness, memory loss after a traumatic experience, and how it not only affects a teen's home life, but that of their social life in a school setting. Let's face it, kids can be cruel; I see it every day as a teacher. In general, students are either trying to look cool, or trying to blend in so they don't draw unwanted attention. If a rumor about someone starts to go around school, most rather believe it than go up to the person in question and find out the truth for themselves. Sad but true.
McGarry is also great at writing secondary characters. I absolutely fell in love with Isaiah who is Noah's best friend and "foster" brother. While Beth annoyed me a bit, one particular scene that I will not spoil changed my view of her greatly. There were still scenes where she made me roll my eyes, but I get where the attitude comes from. Since I am on the topic of Beth, I recently found out that Katie McGarry will be giving Beth her own book. At first I was doing cart wheels because...well, let's just say there is major chemistry between Beth and Isaiah. So of course I thought, awesome, the author is going to write Beth and Isaiah's story. But when I read the little sneak peak at the end of Pushing the Limits...I'll let you be the judge of it. If it's going where I think it's going, that really sucks, but I am willing to give McGarry a chance since Pushing the Limits really did blow me away. She knows her characters better than I do, so I guess she has something up her sleeve! I'll just have to trust her on this!
This book should definitely be filed under Mature Young Adult. McGarry does not hold back on cursing, sexual situations, and some drug use. If these things bother you, then this book isn't for you. But just be aware that Pushing the Limitsis so much more. These things just add to the realism of the story. I truly commend her for tackling controversial topics, even some I haven't mentioned in this review, such as the Foster Care system and the affects it has on children, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Like I said before, I am a huge Simone Elkeles fan and the biggest compliment I could give Katie McGarry is that Pushing the Limits reminds me so much of Elkeles' novels. Yet she is able to create her own voice, her own style. I look forward to Beth's story next, and hopefully Isaiah's after that!
