ARC Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski (March 3, 2015)
352 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Source: I won a free ARC on twitter from @FierceReads! Thanks Macmillan! **This didn't affect my honest review.
Purchase:Barnes & Noble|Amazon|The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

MY REVIEW

This is one of those reviews that I wouldn't be able to write without using a crazy amount of GIFs to express my true feelings. I want to give The Winner's Crime the proper justice that it deserves. Pictures are worth a thousand words right? So I went that route. This isn't so much of a review as much as a list of my emotions dealing with the relationship between the two main characters while reading. My heart raced, my heart bleed, my heart stopped beating and began again. (Yes, I am being dramatic, just go with it.)

As always I was nervous to begin reading a sequel of a book I loved, but I took a deep breathe and cautiously began.

The novel started off strong, although somewhat gruesome with graphic details of a torture scene, but really I was just excited to read a book that once again stared the characters I love, Arin and Kestrel. Yet... the relationship between these two love birds was beyond frustrating. I wanted a little less pain and a little more hope.They drove me insane.

The tension between Arin and Kestrel was suffocating. Even though I did love their chemistry and the pair's tension kept me interested and on edge, I was really mostly just...

I still loved all of the plotting and strategy of Kestrel's doing.

But all I wanted. All I NEEDED. Was for Arin and Kestrel to be truthful to each other.

Every time I thought I was going to get some relief from my frustrations with these two while reading...

It never quite went how I wanted.

Then the novel began to wrap up and I still wasn't satisfied. I was starting to run out of pages. I could barley breathe, I couldn't read fast enough.

Then the ending happened!! I have to wait how long for the next book?!?

I had a Love/Hate relationship with The Winner's Crime, but It was still a wonderful read. Anything that made me this emotional/invested deserves at least a four star rating from me in my book.

Even though I was frustrated throughout most of the book, I can say with certainty that the writing was superb. Well done Rutkoski.

I know I mostly just talked about Arin and Kestrel's relationship in this review, but it was the main thing going on in The Winner's Crime. I of course was also interested in the strategic game of who will rule all, but it was so in the background that I don't have much to say on that topic except that I liked the intrigue and that I look forward to see what is going to happen next.

Library Loot #30

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

** I think perhaps I didn't need to get any more books from the library this week (I still have several from the last time I got books from the library at the beginning of the month), but I did anyway. No regrets.

MY LIBRARY LOOT

1. I know what I will be reading as soon as I finish my current book!

2. It came! It is finally here!

3. I'm hoping I like the sequel more than the first book.

4. I hope this is as good as the synopsis makes it sound.

5. & 6. I read the first book in this series and it was so much fun that I had to get the other books.

7. I'm going to finally try out a Colleen Hoover book. I promised a friend I would give it a whirl.

Review: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

The Burning Sky (#1) by Sherry Thomas (2013)

464 pages

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Source: My blogger bestie got me this one for Christmas!!

Purchase:Barnes and Noble|The Book Depository|Amazon

Goodreads Summary: It all began with a ruined elixir and a bolt of lightning.

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's been told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training.

Guided by his mother's visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission—and her life.

The Burning Sky—the first book in the Elemental Trilogy—is an electrifying and unforgettable novel of intrigue and adventure.

MY REVIEW

The Burning Sky BLEW ME AWAY. It started off strong and ended strong. I am going to have to say that if you are a fan of books with magic in it and you haven't read this, then you really really should do that as soon as possible. I am now going to fangirl all over this book. Sorry, not sorry, but this book is so freaking awesome.

My favorite thing about this whole novel is the MAGIC. From the elemental magic to the every day spells, this novel is full of wonderful magic that just makes me wish harder than ever that I was magical. I wanted to live in this world oh so badly while reading it. I don't even want to tell you about all the awesome magical things you are going to discover when you read this because I know you will be reading this (if you haven't already), and therefore I don't want to take away from your reading experience. Aka: Read this book.

My second favorite aspect of the novel would have to be the characters. They are hands down some of the best characters I have ever encountered. Titus and Iolanthe are wise in their own ways and admit when they don't know something. I think they make a fabulous pair. It is almost comical how formal/proper they both are with each other at first, but that does change a little throughout the story at a natural pace, especially considering all they go through together. They are just so complex and you can't help but care for them. I felt EVERYTHING when it came to these characters.

My third favorite thing about The Burning Sky would have to be that there are no info dumps. Instead the author incorporates end notes into the book. I loved them. So every time the author wanted to elaborate on a spell, or a little piece of history, etc. she would use an end note. Brilliant. Unique. I loved it.

Did I dislike anything about The Burning Sky? I honestly don't think that I did. Not a single thing comes to mind. I am sure it wasn't perfect, no book is, but for whatever reason I simply just enjoyed this book to the max. I was never bored and completely immersed in the world.

Well, I feel like I have gushed enough over this book for now. I think it is time for me to start wrapping up this love fest of a review. Just in case you are still wondering (although I'm sure you are not), I would have to say, with 100%certainty, that I recommend The Burning Sky to everyone. Before I even finished this book I ordered the second one from the store. No joke. I NEED MORE. I can't wait to read it.

I Feel Like Gabbing Today

**I have no idea how often I will post this feature or when exactly I'm going to post it. This is a work in progress. I do however know that I want to share with you the very random thoughts that pop into my head. Many are bookish thoughts and many are not. I feel like I don't have enough discussion type posts on the blog so I am giving this a whirl. Today I will feature a list of my randomness.

1. I just finished writing a three star review and it was painful. Very painful. I have the WORST time trying to think of things to say about a book that I just liked but didn't love or hate. Please tell me I am not the only person with this problem.

2. Right now I am three books ahead of my goodreads reading challenge and I am flying high! It feels so good. I am on a reading frenzy. I couldn't be happier.

3. So far this year I am keeping up with my reviews. I really hope I stay on top of things at least for another few months.

4. As my friend's wedding grows nearer I become busier and busier. My calendar for the month of March and April is filling up fast.

5. My husband and I just celebrated the fact that it has been 8 years since we first started dating! That is a long time folks, but I guess time flies when you are having fun. :)

6. I am trying so hard to have more of a presence on Twitter and I think I am doing pretty good so far, but I still want to be better.

7. I am trying so hard to be healthier this year, but trying to find motivation to work out when it is freezing here is hard work. I just want to snuggle under a blanket and read. Heck, even getting ready to go into work when the weather is bad is a challenge. I have noticed that I am a whole lot more active when it is nicer out, especially since I love going on long walks with my husband when the weather is nice. I am counting down the days until spring begins!

8. I LOVE my part-time job at the library, but I wonder if one day I will ever actually get a full-time grown-up job. For right now I am going to continue to love it and be thankful for my job and use the free time I have to write more. My real goal: to be published by the time I am 30.

9. I am trying to figure out a new monthly feature for my blog about book covers, but I have yet to really pin down exactly what I want to do with this idea. All I know is I love book covers. I love talking about them. I love fangirling over them. I love reading posts about them. Therefore, I have no idea why I don't do some kind of cover post on my blog every month.

Review: Landry Park by Bethany Hagen

Landry Park (#1) by Bethany Hagen (2013)

384 pages

Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian

Publisher: Dial

Source: Ireceivedthis one for my birthday last year.

Purchase:Barnes and Noble|The Book Depository|Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Downton Abbey meets The Selection in this dystopian tale of love and betrayal.

In a fragmented future where the United States is ruled by the lavish gentry, seventeen-year-old Madeline Landry dreams of going to the university. Unfortunately, gentry decorum and her domineering father won't allow that. Madeline must marry, like a good Landry woman, and run the family estate. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers the devastating consequences her lifestyle is having on those less fortunate. As Madeline begins to question everything she has ever learned, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself and David at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty - her family and the estate she loves dearly - and desire.

MY REVIEW

I have the worst time writing three star reviews. I think it is because I don't feel strongly about the book one way or another, in this instance I just thought Landry Park was pretty good.

I can see why the blurb said this is a good book for Downton Abbey fans, but only in the sense that basic things are the same, such as there being a huge class issue (although we don't get to interact much between both sides), everything seeming to be about money, and that there is a house that is precious to our main character. Yet I still really didn't get any Downton vibes while reading, and if I am being honest this was one of the main reasons I picked up Landry Park to begin with.

Now I'll shine a little light on our somewhat forgettable main characters. Madeline is smart, yet spoiled.She is hard to connect with, but she is a decent MC. David tries to be the kind of bad boy that you are supposed to want but can't have, and yet he doesn't quite pull it off for me. I did however care about the people the gentry were treating so poorly.

Although Landry Park started out with an interesting mystery, it rarely managed to hold my attention on a constant basis while reading. I tended to run out of interest here and there and although Landry Park usually pulled me back into the story, I was sad that it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. On the other hand, the ending was a flurry of crazy and kind of messed up stuff, so I am interested to see what is going to happen next. Sign me up to read book two.

Landry Park isn't a bad book. It just wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. I could have used a little more action and some stronger characters that I could connect with.

ARC Review: The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

The Sin Eater's Daughter (#1) by Melinda Salisbury (Feb. 24, 2015)
320 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: I grabbed a free ARC copy at ALA Midwinter 2015. This didn't affect my honest review.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

Goodreads Review: Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she’s engaged to the prince, Twylla isn’t exactly a member of the court.

She’s the executioner.

As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month she’s taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla’s fatal touch, avoids her company.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he’s able to look past Twylla’s executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla’s been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen.

However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla’s problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

MY REVIEW

My first thought: What is a Sin Eater? (I'm going let you read the book to find out the answer to that question.) It's kind of crazy and kind of awesome.

The Sin Eater's Daughter absorbed me into its pages. I started reading this book with the high hopes that it would be different/unique. It did turn out to be different, then kind of mundane, and then different again. There was a lot of cute moments and some dark ones too, even a few pretty shocking ones. Basically, I had a lot of mixed feelings while reading this book, but there was one area in which my feelings were constantly positive, the intriguing characters.

I liked Twylla from start to finish. I felt for her. I was curious about her life. I actually fancied every character, each interesting enough to keep me reading. I become smitten with Twylla's new guard and I became convinced that there is something more to the prince (and pretty much all the characters) than Twylla chooses to believe.

Surprisingly I felt like The Sin Eater's Daughter was in huge part a romance, which wasn't what I was expecting. The ending was really the only big part of the book (besides a few other small instances) that contained a good amount of action and suspense, the only time it didn't feel like it was prominently a romance to me. There was one other thing about this book that just didn't sit well with me, a small something that I just can't put my finger on, but it is why this book is only getting a 3.5 star rating from me. The Sin Eater's Daughter is a really good book and shouldn't be bypassed, it just didn't hit "great" status for me.

My Last Thought: Yes... I will continue to read this series.

The Best Day Ever: ALA Midwinter 2015 Recap & Giveaway

I attended my first ever big book conference event almost two weeks ago and I LOVED IT. Here is a little peak into my day at ALA Midwinter 2015. I try to keep it kind of short because if I talked about my reaction to every book I received or tell you about every single wonderful blogger I met or every person who worked for all my favorite publishers that I met this post would be never ending.

MY DAY @ ALA MIDWINTER 2015

6:00 a.m. - I wake up super early for a Saturday, or really any day for me. I hate life until about five minutes later when my husband reminds me that today is book heaven day!

Me! Ready to hit the road.

7:30 - I am ready to go and my husband and I make it out the door when we actually planned to. That is very rare with me. Unless I am going to work I am usually always running just a couple minutes late.

8:30 - My husband (he came to help carry books, because he too likes reading, and because I was kind of scared to go by myself) and I are all registered and waiting impatiently for entrance into the ALA Midwinter 2015 exhibit hall. I had one main goal when I first entered the hall - grab a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses.

9:00 - I do manage to get a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses and I die and go to heaven!! Success! My main mission is already accomplished.

9:10 - I see a copy of the sequel to Every Breath and I start freaking out. I grab a copy and start waving it in the face of the very nice lady standing at the Tundra publishing booth asking her if this is the second book to Every Breath and if I can take it and that I love it and that it was the best Christmas present ever etc. Basically there was a lot of failing and the nice woman listened to me and talked about the book a little more before I stumbled away in a haze of excitement.

Ashley, Me, Nicole

9:15 - I FINALLY meet my blogger bestie in person! Nicole from The Quiet Concert is a human being. Phew! We spent pretty much all day together and it was glorious. I also got to meet Ashley, her co-blogger, who is super sweet and hung out with Lindsey from A Bookish Sinister Kid. All three of these ladies were very lovely. :) I also met a lot of other bloggers (Brittany, Gillian, and a few others. I was a little overwhelmed, don't think I forgot you I just can't get all the names straight in my head.) and they were all nice and awesome. It was so cool meeting so many book bloggers in person!

9:25- We are all on a mission and we set off for a very intense search of all the best ARCs we can find and to learn about new upcoming books. It was fun and intense and I loved it. Nicole is really good at talking to the different publishers. We continue to do this for quite some time. I even got a lot of random new authors to sign my books. It was great talking to so many bookish people about books. :D

11:00 - We dump all of our wonderful finds from our first round in our suitcases at the coat check and go back out onto the floor.

12:00 p.m. - We eat a quick lunch and then go on a mission to get a finished copy of The Red Queen. Once again, we succeed!

1:00 - I meet the author of The Girl on The Train and get a finished signed copy of the book. My husband even waits in line and snags a copy as well for me to gift to my mom.

1:30 - I start waiting in line to meet Meg Cabot! I meet a sweet lady behind me and have fun chatting with Ashley.

Me & Meg Cabot!!!!

2:05 - I meet Meg Cabot and it is awesome. I totally fangirled hardcore. She is so NICE! This had to be the highlight of my day.

2:30 - My blogger buddies head back to their hotel and my husband and I decide to do another lap around the exhibit all floor. I'm glad we did since we didn't make it back Sunday due to the weather.

5:30 - Meet up with Nicole, Ashley, and Lindsey for a nice dinner. We got to talk some more and we ate DELICIOUS food. It was very nice.

7:30 - On our drive to drop Nicole, Ashley, and Lindsey off at a blogger meet up (we skipped this so we could get home before the big snow storm) I enjoyed the most wonderful conversations. My favorite would have to be whether we thought our waiter should have been a ninja or a vampire (he was super sneaky). Nicole and I were obviously on the same side of that argument. I would rather have a vampire any day. :)

7:30 - I say goodbye to Nicole, Ashley, and Lindsay. :( I am now officially beyond tired so my husband brings me home.

8:00 - We get home and I get a second wind of energy. I immediately dig out all my pretty books and pet them, and put them in piles, and fangirl over them all over again. Although I got mostly YA books, I did get a few adult books because I like to read those as well.

I know it is a big haul, but I don't really get a lot of ARCs normally so I may have gone a little crazy. I am already doing one giveaway now and I am planning to have some more in the future. I also promise to read and review as many of these lovelies as I can. :)

11:00 - I pass out from exhaustion after a very long but very wonderful day.

GIVEAWAY

I grabbed a copy of Lying Out Loud (a companion to The DUFF) by Kody Keplinger and since I haven't even read The DUFF yet I figured I would give it away to one lucky blog follower that would appreciate this gem a little more than me. :) This giveaway is only open to US residents since I have to pay to ship this myself. So sorry. Please no cheating, I will be checking the entries.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Premeditated by Josin L. McQuein

Premeditated by Josin L. McQuein (2013)
336 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Source: Ireceivedit as a gift from a friend a long while ago.
Purchase:Barnes & Noble|The Book Depository|Amazon

Goodreads Summary: A week ago, Dinah’s cousin Claire cut her wrists.

Five days ago, Dinah found Claire’s diary and discovered why.

Three days ago, Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan.

Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair.

Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator’s camouflage.

Today, she’ll find the boy who broke Claire.

By tomorrow, he’ll wish he were dead.

MY REVIEW

Premeditated didn't turn out to be as great as the synopsis lead me to believe it would be so please excuse my very brief review.

What I Liked

• The first page. My thought after reading it: "Well... s***."
• There was an interesting family dynamic going on that I couldn't help but be drawn into.
• I liked the writing.
• The characters were all pretty good.
• I did like the dark humor.

What I didn't Like

• The big ending/reveal was soooo predictable. I figured it out when I couldn't have been more than half way done reading the book, I was actually probably only about 1/4 of the way through the book when I figured it out, I don't remember the exact point.
• I felt like Dinah was mostly all talk and no action, nothing like what the synopsis implies.

Bottom Line: I don't regret reading Premeditated and it wasn't necessarily a bad book, I just feel that the synopsis was a little misleading.

TTT #32 - Romances I Do Want/Don't Want in My Books

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Give me LESS of these types of romances in my books
1. Insta-Love - I am over it. I am more partial to a slower building romance or friendship. Not just, "I saw you and you were pretty and I said hi and then I knew I loved you. The end."
2. Love Triangles - Unless it is expertly well done, and I don't feel like the author is just using it because they can, and if it actually MAKES SENSE then I think they are okay. BUT for the most part I'm not a fan.
3. Characters Not Sharing Their Feelings - I know every relationship has its ups and downs, but when characters just refuse to actually talk about something and then it leads to a horrible miss-communication,a break-up, or worse, drives me insane!
4. A Dark Past - I like romances to be complicated and such but a lot of the time I just want one (particularly New Adult books) that doesn't have such damaged characters. I think overall I just prefer romantic comedies, a romance that offers a lot of cuteness and a lot of laughs.

Give me MORE of these types of romances in my books
1. Hate to Love -A book that has two people that annoy the crap out of each other or happen to be sworn enemies, but they end up falling in love anyway in the end... sold.
2. Best Friends to Love - Who doesn't love a romance where the characters discover the deeper feelings they have for their best friend?
3. Kissing - I am not asking for full blown sex scenes, but some steamy kissing... I can't get enough of that. It is also very frustrating when it takes so freaking long for a couple to kiss even though they already admit they like each other, that is just ridiculous. I like to shout at them "Let's get a move on folks and kiss already."
4. More Uniqueness- I'll take just about anything that is out of the norm.

How do you like your romances in your books?

Review: The Accidental Assassin by Nichole Chase

The Accidental Assassin (The Assassins #1) by Nichole Chase (Nov. 2014)

354 pages

Genre: Adult/Romance

Source: I bought a copy for myself.

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Ava McKenzie is a creature of habit. Life is passing her by and she has nothing to show for it. She’s had the same job since she started college, she orders the same dish every time she goes to her favorite restaurant, and only reads books from authors she knows. There is nothing new or surprising in her life… until her best friend marries a man from London. When her newlywed friend asks her to house-sit while she honeymoons, Ava jumps at the chance. She thinks this could be the very thing she needs to shake up her life. Ava throws herself head first into her new lifestyle; she wants to try everything, go everywhere, and never get stuck in a rut again. Of course, offing a man in a car garage hadn’t been one of the things on her list to try.

Owen Walker spends every day in a new place with a new case. As one of the most renowned assassins in the world, he has his choice of marks—and he’s never failed in a mission. When a new hit takes him back to his hometown, he looks forward to spending time somewhere familiar. What he isn’t expecting is to help an attractive, confused American woman find out how she’s ended up on a hit man’s list.
As Ava and Owen dodge bullets, will they be able to escape their undeniable attraction to each other? Or will all of that chemistry blow up in a shower of hot and dangerous sparks?

MY REVIEW

Let’s talk about how much I enjoyed reading The Accidental Assassin shall we? I was never bored, usually laughing, and loving every second of my time with the loveable main characters.

Ava and Owen are a great couple who have a good amount of chemistry that I couldn’t get enough of. Ava is down to earth and pretty easy going. I love how she seems like a real person. She is trying to make something of life and live it to its fullest. Owen is an assassin, taking out only bad people, and is usually on his own. Then one day Owen and Ava’s worlds collide and Owen becomes less lonely, and Ava really begins to understand what it means to take risks and try new things. We get to watch these two find love while partaking in car chases, dodging bullets, and basically just trying to stay alive.

The Accidental Assassin is a unique romance full of action. I’m glad this book is part of a series, because I want some more assassins in my romance books! I was sad when the book was over because this book was just too much fun.

Basically I’m telling you to read this. The synopsis doesn't deceive. It is as good as it sounds.

The Bookish Report

Here are all of the top bookish stories, blog posts, pictures, and videos I found this past week. I put this post up every Sunday so come back again next week for more bookish awesomeness.Click away and enjoy your Sunday!

Fun Bookish News

Check out the winners from the 2015 ALA You Media Awards.

Harper Lee is publishing a second novel, Go Set a Watchman. This was big news this week.

The Barnes & Noble blog once again made me laugh with their post about how books can help you with your new year's resolutions.

I need ALL of these bookish things.

I love taking online quizzes and I know deep down that you do too. See which YA Character would be your BFF. It turns out that my BFF would be Christina from Divergent.

J.K. Rowling answered some tricky HP questions, and since I can never have too many HP news... here is what Google Maps would look like if it had aMarauder’s Map Plug-In.

Fellow Book Blogger Posts

Parajunkee - Book Blogger Checklist Infographic

Bookmark Lit - New Guest Post Feature Announcement: Inside and Out& Read Bait: Private School

Bookish - All About Book Blogging #1: How to Request Free Books for Review

The Novel Hermit - Holy, Mother Cover! Dragon Theme

The Quiet Concert - Some Burning Questions Related to Blogging

The Perpetual Page-Turner - Spreading Kindness

Photo of The Week

Video of The Week

Review: Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown (May 2014)

288 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Little Brown, Books for Young Readers
Source: I won a copy of the book a long while ago from She’s Got Books on Her Mind as part of a blog tour. A big thanks to She's Got Books on Her Mind and the publisher!

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Jersey Cameron has always loved a good storm. Watching the clouds roll in and the wind pick up. Smelling the electricity in the air. Dancing barefoot in the rain. She lives in the Midwest, after all, where the weather is sure to keep you guessing. Jersey knows what to do when the tornado sirens sound. But she never could have prepared for this.

When her town is devastated by a tornado, Jersey loses everything. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she's sent to live with relatives she hardly knows-family who might as well be strangers. In an unfamiliar place, can Jersey discover that even on the darkest of days, there are some things no tornado can destroy?

In this powerful and poignant novel, acclaimed author Jennifer Brown delivers a story of love, loss, hope, and survival.

MY REVIEW

I loved it. I cried. I laughed. I felt the pain. I felt the love. I felt the desperation. I felt the hope.

Torn Away blew me away. Talk about a survival story that will do more than pull on your heartstrings. I don’t know if it is because I live in the Midwest or what, but this book just spoke to me.

I knew from the moment I read the first page that Torn Away was going to be emotional and that reading it was going to hurt. Torn Away gives us an up close experience of what it feels like to live through a tornado and the after affects of its wrath. From the sirens going off to the minute after it passes, to a week later, this novel touches on all of that.

Jersey survives a deadly tornado that hits her small town in Missouri, but her fight to survive during the tornado was only the beginning. In Torn Away we see what happens to a teenager when one tornado changes her life for good. The author got me to care so much about Jersey that my heart bled for her while reading. I wanted her to have a happy ending, heck, I just wanted her to find people that loved her and treated her right. Whenever her luck would get worse, I would pray that sooner rather than later her luck would finally change for the better. I got PISSED at the a**holes in this book. When you read this book you will get to meet these horrible people for yourself. Jersey grabbed my heart and never let go and I’m glad she didn’t.

The most important thing I took away from this book, what exactly it means to lose “everything.”

Torn Away is a beautifully written novel about a young girl just trying to figure out how to survive in a world where she loses the most important people to her. Read Torn Away if you haven’t yet, especially if you are already a fan of this author. I read this book in one day and I will read it again, once my heart as time to heal.

Library Loot #29

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

** I didn't get any books from the library last month! I participated in Put The Library on Hold for the month of January. I did it and I felt good about reading so many of my own books, BUT now that my ban from the library has been lifted I may have gone a little crazy this week even though I just grabbed a whole bunch of ARCs at ALA Midwinter. Well, if I don't get around to reading the library books it isn't a big deal. They are free after all.

MY LIBRARY LOOT

1. I have been waiting for this sequel. I loved how cute and fun the first book was.

2. This one sounds too good to pass up.

3. Because. Fairy tales.

4. This is my short story pick for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.

5. I loved Anna and The French Kiss.

6. I am really getting sick of eating the same things over and over again.

7. For my own Outlander Series Reading Challenge.