Blog Tour: Stripped by Brooklyn Skye

 Welcome to my stop on the Stripped blog tour 

hosted by YA Bound.  

Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

Blurb:

“I like you.” His voice is low and soft, which I don’t deserve. I look away, down the rutted parking lot.
“Don’t... waste those words on me.”
He touches my cheek. “You just need someone to show you.”
“No.” I ease back again. “I don’t. So please, Torrin, stop trying to swoop in and save me. I don’t need saving.”

College freshman Quinn Montgomery will do anything to avoid the mistake her sister made—killing herself over a boy. But when she is forced into nude modeling at a local college to support her family after a bankruptcy, she begins to crack, just enough to let Torrin, the university’s top varsity oarsman, see that the real Quinn is not as feisty and unapproachable as she wants everyone to think. But letting someone in comes at a steep cost and, it turns out, Torrin is connected to Quinn’s family in more ways than she could ever imagine

Cindy's Review: I really liked this new adult novel. ;) Quinn is an amazing character, although she suffers the horror of her sister's suicide. Therefore, she throws away her love.  She doesn't want to fall in love. She gets a useless boyfriend man-whore, whose overprotective and a cheater. But at the same time, he's kind of sincere. But Quinn just uses Derek for reminding her no to fall in love. But then she meets Torrin. 

:D Torrin is hot. Let's see, he has muscles, he works out. Torrin ends up helping Quinn a lot. And of course, they end up falling for each other. Or Quinn tries very hard not to fall for Torrin. Torrin helps Quinn get through her hardship and learn something that she never tried. Being in love.  

Of course, everything is going fine....and Quinn is getting used to falling in love. Being a jealous girlfriend. Kissing. Hugging. Etc. Everything's going fine, until Quinn finds out Torrin's identity. That changes everything Quinn feels for Torrin. Honestly, I don't think it should, but it did. And Quinn gotta learn how to get over it. How to love again. She needs to learn how to be part of a family again.

The ending was fab~ It ended quite nice. ;D Right after my tears were my smiles. So that's great.

One really big part of this book, or a really big part of Quinn is when her sister killed herself. To Quinn, her sister is perfect, inside out. Her sister was her role-model. So she blamed her sister's death on her ex-boyfriend, Evan. Yeah. Funny how I remember Evan's name and not her sisters. Omg.  Therefore, Quinn claims that she will not ever fall in love. 

I admit, I did cry in the part revolving her sister. And especially that letter. It seemed that her sister tried really hard to become a role model for her. And I guess I can say, I'm proud of Quinn. From the beginning to the end, she changed. And she learned how to finally love again. 

I rate this a 9~ 

Author Bio: 

Brooklyn Skye is just your average awkward girl who's obsessed with words. She grew up in a small California town where she quickly realized writing was an easy escape from small town life.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Links: 

Goodreads
Amazon
B&N

Giveaway:

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Feature and Follow #18

Feature and Follow #18!

The hosts of this meme are Parajunkee and Allison Can Read. This week's features are The Bookish Confections and Picture me Reading.

Q: School is out! What is your favorite Summer Reading book?

A: Hmm..well. I don't really have one but I remember reading the whole Percy Jackson series last summer. And there's this one. Although I haven't read it yet, I heard it was really good. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Plus, I have to read this for English 

Honors. ;) So why not add a summer feel to it? Herher. Yeah. I don't really do seasons. I read all year long~  

P.S. Omg. I just remembered. Just a Summer Romance by Ann M. Martin. Absolutely loved that. I used to read it every summer. ;)

If you're a new follower, comment, and I'll be sure to follow you back~ ;)

Book Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall (Penryn & The End of Days #1)
by Susan Ee
Release Date: May 21st, 2011
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Genre: YA Fantasy 
Format: Paperback, 283 pages
Source: Liana
Get a Copy: B&N | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Locus Magazine, March 2012 Finalist for Cybils Bloggers Award for Best YA Fantasy & Sci-fi Book of the Year 2011

Cindy's Review: Yep. This one is another one of the Liana recommendations. ;D This book wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, it involves angels but there was a plot twist. I was really tired of reading about angels, or half-angelsfor that matter, who fell in love with a human. Although this one does have a similar idea, the whole plot thing is different.

"The sky flames like a bruised mango in vivid orange, red, and purple."
I really like this authors writing. She writes so poetic. And so good. ;D 

Penryn - The story starts at the end of the world, where angels are taking over Earth. Ruling Earth. Killing humans. etc. Penryn always thought angels were evil. She still does. When angels took her sister away, she would do anything to get her back. And that involves getting an angel as captive to give her information. 

"The rosy love I'm supposed to feel for her is slashed with black and splattered with gray."
Another example with how Susan's words are so artistic and beautiful.

......okay. I can feel an unfinished review. As much as I tried to like this book, I just can't get to like angels. They annoy me. Sorry guys. I'm sick and tired of angels, vampires, fairies, and anymore of those fictional supernaturals. I think I might need a break from them.

"Skyline Boulevard abruptly ends at Highway...."
Omg. Does this book take place in California? East Bay? Skyline is where my brother got married. LOL. And it leads to my summer school. hmm. But there's no highway 92 around here. 

Raffe -  Although Raffe does sound pretty hot.....

The rating: (1-10): 8
The storyline and plot wasn't so bad, just angels. UGH. 

Happy Reading~ 

Book Review: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian (Lux #1) 
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing 
Genre: YA Fantasy 
Format: Paperback, 335 pages
Source: Liana
ISBN: 978-1-6206-1007-7
Get a Copy: B&N | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don't kill him first, that is.

Book Review: So anything I get from Liana, she most likely gets from a recommendation. Sometimes, they're good, sometimes they're not. Well, most of them are good. Like 99% of it. Like I really really loved The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. I really like this book too, but Liana madxe it sound really high in her expectations. And the guy is really hot. But..... Anyways, sorry, Liana. I was supposed to give it to you asap, but I think you already forgot about it. LOL. 

"Careful there, Kitten. Dee would be pissed at me if you end up cracking your head open and drowning."

Yeah. He's pretty arrogant, alright. 

When I first looked at this book, I was like, ugh. The cover's not that pretty. Liana was like, "I heard the guy is hot, so I got to read this anyways." LOL. So I assume the guy is Daemon. The eyes totally makes sense. And well, the mustache and beard makes him look old.  The girl have pretty hair though. The background with the lightning signifies, that whenever Daemon uses his power, it's always causes this lightning thunder storm. And traces.

"I succumbed to the warmth of Daemon and the blissful silence."

I can sense that romance go *sparkle, sparkle

Daemon - So Daemon starts off as being a jerk. And he's kind of mean. But Katy falls for his hotness. And he falls for her too.  Apparently, Daemon likes walking on half naked, without a shirt on, so Katy can see his abs whenever she goes to his house, which is whenver. Daemon lives right next door to Katy. He is different from others. In fact, he's an alien. But his name sounds like demon. Or he's from another planet in another galaxy. That planet was a planet of light. The livings beings there are basically made out of light and they can travel fast, take forms, etc. Each have their own different power. Daemon just happens to be a very strong one. The light thing explains the Lux series.

"An ugly, hot feeling unfurled in my belly. He had a girlfriend."

Oooh. This's jealous. They're falling........in love.

There so much to explain in this book. I think I'm actually doing a summary. ;D   There happens to be a big group of Lux who crash-landed in Virginia. There are also Shadows from a nearby planet from Daemon's galaxy who hunts for lux, because they are jealous of their power. This kind of reminds me of 13 on Halloween and Shadow Slayer by Laura A. H Elliot.  

"I'm sorry I know such hideous bitches."

Haha. Dee cracks me up.

Dee - Daemon is overprotective of his sister, Dee. When a Lux use his/her power in front of a human, the human will be light up. Like a trace. It gives the shadows a huge advantage to find a lux since shadows can see the traces really well. The tracers remind me of the series about going back in time by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Ugh. Just move on.  So therefore, Daemon made it really hard for Dee to make friends. but Katy was persistent and somehow, she got close with both of them. 

"Because I'm not going to hold hands with you when I don't even like you."

You sure?... o.O

Yes, there is a romantic sparkle between Katy and Daemon, but from all the problems it cause, is Katy willing to ruin her world or should she just give up her lover? And you know they always choose the lover.

"Why are such an ass?

 Everyone has to excel at something."

Haha. Daemon is killing me! 

Katy - If you hadn't known already, Katy is the main character. She's the girl Daemon fell in love with. Right. Remember her? She was uprooted from her home and moved to Virginia by her mother. Her mother is a single mom whom takes care of Katy.....Yep. Story goes on. Girl meets hot guy. Girl falls in love. Boy falls in love. There's always a problem at hand.  OH yeah. One thing I really like about Katy, is that she is a book obsessed. Like me. She has a blog. She pre-order books. She fangirls over books. She's just like a typical blogger. But she got to be in a book. And she met Daemon.

"Either he was a perv or alien. Or both."

LOLz

I certainly thoroughly enjoyed Obsidian and I would love to finish the series. But Daemon, as cocky and awesome as he is, I just don't think he's the hottest guy in the world. But the plot was super awesome and I actually like Jennifer's writing style. When I think of hot guys and Liana at the same time, I just keep remember how she said "Hot gardeners  or hot guys too." Just because I can't imagine a hot gardener. Omg.

The Rating: (1-10): 9.2~ 

Happy Reading~ 

Book Review: The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy #2)
by Jennifer Nielsen
Release Date: March 1st, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 331 pages
Source: Karen
ISBN: 978-0-5452-8415-8
Get a Copy: B&N | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: A kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction. A king gone missing. Who will survive? Find out in the highly anticipated sequel to Jennifer A. Nielsen's blockbuster THE FALSE PRINCE!

Just weeks after Jaron has taken the throne, an assassination attempt forces him into a deadly situation. Rumors of a coming war are winding their way between the castle walls, and Jaron feels the pressure quietly mounting within Carthya. Soon, it becomes clear that deserting the kingdom may be his only hope of saving it. But the further Jaron is forced to run from his identity, the more he wonders if it is possible to go too far. Will he ever be able to return home again? Or will he have to sacrifice his own life in order to save his kingdom?

The stunning second installment of The Ascendance Trilogy takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of treason and murder, thrills and peril, as they journey with the Runaway King.

Cindy's review: The ending of the first book make me speechless. Gasping for air. I had a big 'ohmygawd' moment. Like what a surprise. Oh. And I interviewed Jennifer Nielsen. So excited! But she hasn't replied yet. ;( 

I love how the Transcendence trilogy covers match each other so. ;)  The False Prince showed a broken crown. And this one shows a broken sword. There was a scene in the False Prince with a broken crown in it. And there is a scene in The Runaway King with a broken sword.

Jaron - For some reason, I keep calling him Sage. I feel like Sage just suits him better. Maybe it's because I first met him as Sage. Or maybe I just don't really like the name Jaron. ;/  Jaron is cocky. And I mean cocky. He's a smart ass, with a mouth that can basically get himself murdered. But aside to being cocky, he's also witty. He would get himself out of is own death. But his personality, ( basically cocky + witty, but also brave ), would definitely walk him to his own grave. He sees a trap coming, he would want to walk right in the trap. His challenge is to get out. With his girlfriend safe in his hands.....

Imogen - Imogen wasn't a big part of The False Prince. She appeared in a few scenes. You can sense an interest in her through Jaron or Sage but that was it. Imogen I really don't know how to pronounce her name  appeared more in this scene. In fact, she may be the reason Jaron walks himself right into his enemy's hands. Literally. I'm not really a super big fan of the relationship between Imogen and Jaron. I just don't ship this couple, but I have to problem with it either. Jaron is just simply perfect.

I was impressed by how Jaron flips everything and played his enemy by using his enemy's friend's to kill his enemy. Yeah. I have no idea what I just said. Really.  Either way, let's just conclude this statement by saying JARON IS SUPER SMART> AND HOT. Okay. I really can't think of Jaron as hot. Like I feel like he's my brother at times. The Jaron character is definitely not based on hotness. The author does not mention his looks a lot. I really think it's his awesome personality.

Let's just say, Jaron is a fun entertainer and you'll most likely be falling in love with his witty comments and courageous adventures. 

;) Sorry no quotes for this review. I borrowed it from my friend who bought this book when it was first released. And I promised her I would finish it in one day. Oh and in case you're wondering why I took so long to read it, since I'm reviewing it now, I just take FOREVER to review it. LOL.  There was already a line of friends to read her book, but like I cut the line and got to read it first! ;) Cuz I was closer to her. And everyone knows I read fast, and the other people didn't complain since they know I read fast. haha. okay. yep. I'm such a show-off.

Oh yeah. And I really suck at summarizing books in a review. So I don't even bother. But somehow, I get A's in summaries for English. ;)

The Rating: (1-10): 9.6~ 

Happy Reading~

May Kindle Fire Giveaway~

 

This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER SPONSORED GIVEAWAY!

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

  Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

 
  Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors

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  Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). Ends 5/31/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock

Welcome to my stop of the Sweet Mercy Blog Tour

hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

You can find the tour schedule HERE. 

Blurb: 

Stunning coming-of-age drama set during the Great Depression and Prohibition.

When Eve Marryat’s father is laid off from the Ford Motor Company in 1931, he is forced to support his family by leaving St. Paul, Minnesota, and moving back to his Ohio roots. Eve’s uncle Cyrus has invited the family to live and work at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.

Eve can’t wait to leave St. Paul, a notorious haven for gangsters. At seventeen, she considers her family to be “good people,” not lawbreakers like so many in her neighborhood. Thrilled to be moving to a “safe haven,” Eve soon forms an unlikely friendship with a strange young man named Link, blissfully unaware that her uncle’s lodge is anything but what it seems.

When the reality of her situation finally becomes clear, Eve is faced with a dilemma. Does she dare risk everything by exposing the man whose love and generosity is keeping her family from ruin? And when things turn dangerous, can she trust Link in spite of appearances?

Cindy's Review: Sweet Mercy was a great read. I love historical fiction romances. They're just so fun to read. And I won't have to be disgusted if the main characters marries at age 18. LOL. 

I like how in the beginning of the book, Eve was a grandma, revisiting her home. I love how the whole story was like a story she was remembering or telling to her grandson. And I really liked the suspense the Prologue gave. Throughout the whole book, I was like 'Whose the grandpa?!?!?' 

In a way, Al Capone was a big part of this story. Even though, Al Capone only appeared for like 5 minutes in Eve's lifetime, he changed the way Eve thinks. Whenever there's a decision to decide, especially about bootlegging and gangsters, Eve thinks of Al Capone. 

I've only read two books about Al Capone, ever. And these two books just give me the image of Al Capone as 'a giant teddy bear' He just seems so   nice. But on there other hand, he's murderer. Yeah. I know. 

There were, to me, three guys as available candidates to Eve's husband. 

                           1) Marcus - Eve's first love
                           2) Jones - Eve's uncle's stepson I would say cousins, but it would be        
                                                disgusting if you didn't know.
                           3) Link - That one weird guy who keeps on appearing. At first, I was    
                                              like....ermmmm. Then I was like how old is this guy. Is he even   
                                              young enough to hit on her? Yeah I thought he was another one of
                                               those old perverts.

If I was smart enough to read the blurb, I think I would have found out, but yeah. I didn't look at the synopsis until now, when I'm typing, I'm finally reading it.

So for people who like some romance, because I thought the ending was really sweet and cute. ;D This book would be for you~ 

I give this a 9~

Author Bio:

Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy-Award winning novel Promises to Keep. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association “Book of the Year” in fiction for both All the Way Home and I’ll Watch the Moon. Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her “one of Christian fiction’s better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories.” Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina.

Links:

Barnes & Noble  

Amazon 

Bethany House

Website 

Facebook 

Goodreads

Happy Reading~