REVIEW: Seeking Havok by Lila Felix

Book Summary

Her life is just as messed up as her name.

All she wanted was a friend---one that knew her and not her circumstances. She needed somewhere to call home. Hers was an open door for countless men looking for the services her mother offered them. She camouflaged herself against lockers and blackboards to avoid the stares and whispers at school.

And then she found Cal...and Fade.

Cal lives like Frankenstein, rising at night to work and just trying to make it until dawn. He avoids most relationships, afraid of the things he will be asked to do. He moonlights as Fade, a radio station DJ who spends hours counseling his peers on their troubles. It was all mundane until Jocelyn called the station.

Cal and Havok pursue a friendship.

Jocelyn and Fade pursue a relationship beyond the confines of the radio waves.

But when Havok disappears, Cal will find that Havok has been guarding a lifetime worth of secrets. And when Fade and Jocelyn’s all night phone conversations cease, he finds a link between them he never saw coming.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Havok doesn’t live the life of a normal eighteen year old. Growing up with a promiscuous mother is not what any girl has ever desired. But that is the hand fate has handed her. She lives a life of loneliness and spends her time looking after a mother that doesn’t care one bit about her. Her only saving grace is the wonderful friends she has found in life. So when she meets Cal she knows that nothing but a friendship can happen between them and he can never find out about her situation. But when danger surrounds Havok she must choose between suffering with her mother of letting Cal into her world and her heart.

Cal is also living a lonely life. He spends his days sleeping and his nights at work and has no social life. That is until the day he bumps into Havok. He is blown away when he realizes that Havok isn’t like his groupies. Cal can be just Cal with Havok, instead of the person many girls swoon over, including his terrible ex-girlfriend.

What starts off as a friendship between these two lonely souls turns into a love so pure and so compassionate that you can’t help but immerse yourself in their story. Cal and Havok struggle with secrets throughout their relationship but that never takes away from Cal’s protective and loving nature. He fights for Havok like no one has ever done for her. He shows her what it is to truly be loved and needed in a beautiful way.

Seeking Havok will have you so connected to the characters that you will feel like you are entangled in their story. Havok and Cal are pretty great characters and their stories had me skipping dinner and wishing for work to be done just so that I could continue reading. The only reason this is a 4star is because I had a very hard time getting over the excessive use of the work "but". It got a little frustrating after a while. Aside from that I didn’t really find a flaw with this book.

Pick it up and prepare to be sucked into Seeking Havok!

HAPPY READING!!

REVIEW: Vain by Fisher Amelie

Book Summary

If you’re looking for a story about a good, humble girl, who’s been hurt by someone she thought she could trust, only to find out she’s not as vulnerable as she thought she was and discovers an empowering side of herself that falls in love with the guy who helps her find that self, blah, blah, blah...then you’re gonna’ hate my story.

Because mine is not the story you read every time you bend back the cover of the latest trend novel. It’s not the “I can do anything, now that I’ve found you/I’m misunderstood but one day you’ll find me irresistible because of it” tale. Why? Because, if I was being honest with you, I’m a complete witch. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a friend using, drug abusing, sex addict from Los Angeles. I’m every girlfriend’s worst nightmare and every boy’s fantasy.

I’m Sophie Price...And this is the story about how I went from the world’s most envied girl to the girl no one wanted around and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Sophie is a pretty shitty person. She uses everyone around her and only cares about herself. She lives an uninhabited life and doesn’t care who she has to stomp on to get her next high or low. When a night of partying turns into a disaster Sophie is not ready for what’s coming next. Fed up with their daughter’s reputation and antics, Sophie’s parents decide to ship her off to Africa. A journey that changes everything within the course of a few months. Her new home is not posh and wonderful like LA, and partying is not an option. With the guidance of her new bosses, her new job, and Ian, Sophie soon realizes that she is the creator of her destiny.

Africa is not anything like LA. There is poverty but there is also a group of malicious humans that murder women and their young. Sophie must come to terms with her new world and learn to accept that her life is changing. No longer does she crave her old life. She lives for waking up to the laughs of her students, the warmness of her peers, and a man that shows her just how much she deserves to be loved.

This leads me to the romance in the book. Three words, it was wonderful. I enjoyed the building relationship between Sophie and Ian and loved the tension at the beginning. I found Ian to be pretty incredible and his decision to stick with Sophie was really kind. There were moments where these two were frustrating but they didn’t outweigh the moments where their love and friendship blossomed.

I can’t say enough how much this book captivated me. To be able to have a small peek into the real world problems in Uganda was heartbreaking but eye-opening. The struggle and the realness of this story had me turning page after page and ignoring everything around me. It focused on real issues, had characters you connected with, as well as a wonderful love story imbedded into its pages.

You should pick up this book and expect to tune out the world as your delve into Sophie’s journey.

HAPPY READING!

REVIEW: Sparrow by Sara Mack

Purchase Link:  AMAZON

Book Summary

When Kyle Dayton was seventeen, he lost his heart to Addison Parks.

It was easy to do. After spending countless summers of boredom with his grandmother at Buhl Lake, Kyle’s world turned upside down the minute Addison appeared. She was unlike any girl he had ever met; she was confident, out-going, and honest. She was beautiful inside and out, and she accepted Kyle for who he was ~ a young man without direction. They shared an amazing summer and, despite living miles apart, Kyle felt sure they had a future.

Until she vanished without a trace.

Where did she go? How could she disappear without saying a word? Was everything between them a lie? Unable to answer his own questions, Kyle had no choice other than to bury his memories and move on with his life. Eight years later, his hard work to forget is threatened when he is forced to return to Buhl Lake. Faced with reminders of Addison, Kyle wonders if he will ever discover the truth.

Little does he know it is about to be revealed.

Sparrow is the story of finding love, losing it, and the uncertain journey to reclaiming it again.

*Due to language and suggestive scenes, Sparrow is recommended for ages 17+

First thank you to Sara Mack for providing an ARC of sparrow to read and review.

Sparrow tells the love story of Kyle and Addison. After meeting at the lake when they were sixteen both feel a connection that transcends time. But after a lovely summer together everything ends abruptly. Kyle's world is turned upside down and he lives his life wondering what happened with Addison. 

Years later when Kyle and Addison are brought together by certain circumstances, Kyle is adamant to get the answers to the questions he has had for a long time. When those questions are answered and a friendship is formed the story takes a turn. What starts as a friendship turns into so much more and eventually they must face reality. As adults they have to face the reality of the screwed up situation they are in and the fire they are playing with. 

As an avid fan of Sara, I wish I could rate this higher and say that I obsessed over Kyle and Addison's story. Sadly, I cannot. I thought their story was sweet. They fell in love and never fell out of it. They had a few "bumps" in the road but those were solved pretty neatly. My issue wasn't with the story itself but with the disconnect with the characters. I didn't feel any connection to Kyle or Addison and wasn't immersed in their story like I wish I could have been. 

Surprisingly,  I found myself more interested in the secondary characters lives, then in the protags. I think Sara did a wonderful job of providing a little background for her secondary characters in the book. I was particularly interested in Jen and look forward to maybe reading more about her.

Overall,  Sparrow was a good read. Although I'm rating this 3 stars,  I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a sweet and light read.

Also, if you haven't checked out Sara's Guardian series, I recommend you do.  

HAPPY READING!

~BLOG TOUR~NEW RELEASE & EXCERPT: Breaking Free by SM Koz

Title: Breaking Free

Author: S.M. Koz

Release Date: August 1, 2014
Purchase Links: AMAZON (FREE on AUGUST 1st)

Synopsis: 

Kelsie Sullivan’s life has changed forever. The once outgoing cheerleader has a secret to hide. The car accident that killed her best friend Jenna? She caused it. 

With an absent father and unforgiving stepmother, Kelsie has nowhere to turn. She manages her guilt and grief with razor blades. The fleeting release she experiences becomes an obsession and soon she can no longer hide it. Once her cutting is revealed, Kelsie’s parents enroll her in a Wilderness Therapy program designed to rehabilitate troubled teens, but North Carolina is a world away from California. 

Kelsie fights against everything the program has to offer until she befriends JC, a boy with a tortured past of his own. He’s also the only one who is able to ease her pain. The two grow close, but quickly discover that nature—both human and elemental—can easily rip them apart.

Disclaimer: This book contains adult language, sexual themes, and explicit self-harm behavior. Parental discretion is recommended for those under 15 years of age.

ADD TO GOODREADS

~MY REVIEW~

~TRAILER~

~EXCERPT~

~About the Author~

SM Koz was born in Michigan, but moved to North Carolina for college and never left.

She enjoys traveling, camping, hiking, photography, reading, spending time with foster kids who call her house home, and learning new things. When she’s not creating online training for pharmaceutical companies (her day job) or writing, Koz can be found at the local community college taking courses on various topics ranging from digital art to HTML to desktop publishing. Next in line are auto mechanics and cake decorating.

Being trained as a veterinarian, it’s not surprising that Koz and her husband were recently told they have a mini-zoo with their two dogs, fish, cockatiels, and foster cats. In the past, they have also had parakeets and a snake. Other than the fish, all the animals were acquired through rescue organizations, something Koz wholeheartedly supports.

Breaking Free is Koz’s third original novel and fifth overall, but the only one she feels compelled to publish at this time. Her hope is that individuals who struggle with cutting may be inspired by Kelsie’s story and find the strength they need to begin the healing process.

Connect with SM Koz: Facebook    Twitter