Room on the Shelf

Ok…once you’re done drooling at the gorgeousness of that cover, join me in the next paragraph. 😉  I’m not normally a huge novella fan, but this?  This was the novel version of a perfect snack—sweet and salty, and so delicious it leaves you checking to make sure nobody is looking before licking the plate and scavenging for dropped crumbs. Read on for my full review! “I concentrate on the music, on the feeling of freedom that comes from letting my body move, on the possibilities ahead. Pushing away the thoughts that the music will end, that I will need to face reality, that this feeling of happiness will disappear.” I cannot (without spoilers) count the ways in which these thoughts, which run through Emilia’s head at the beginning of the story, encapsulate A Summer Like No Other.  With her characters and soul-touching words, Elodie Nowodazkij creates a beautiful blend of YA and NA—innocence on the verge of revelation. Emilia is lonely, searching for love and yearning for discovery on so many fronts, and just naïve enough to think that she possesses the power to fix all that is wrong in her world. “If only I could reach the top. If only I could…

Unbound, the first book in The Guardian Legacies series by Emily Goodwin is the introduction to teenage medium Anora Benson. Though she’s always known she is a medium, Anora soon discovers a whole world of beings she never knew existed and powers she didn’t know she had.  Read on for my review! I was torn on the rating for this one. On the one hand, it had beautiful cover art and an amazing story concept. I even found it hard to put down for about the first quarter of the book. But then, as much as I wanted to credit the positive qualities of the story, a few negative aspects began to weigh me down. From the start, I was frustrated that I couldn’t get a good feel for what this book wanted to be, and honestly, I began to suspect that the author wasn’t quite sure either. At times, the innocence of characters and blatantly sophomoric dialogue (like when Ethan asks Anora, “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”) spoke for this book as an innocent YA Paranormal love story.  However, the open discussion of sex, drugs, and alcohol, and the fact that, by the end of the story, Ethan and…

Hanover House by Brenda Novak is the thrilling prequel novella to the author’s new Hanover House chronicles, Book 1 of which releases in September 2016.  It gives us the history of Hanover House’s founding psychiatrist, Dr. Evelyn Talbot, and sets the stage for the opening of the new facility (which will house the United States’ worst psychopaths and serial killers) in a remote town in Alaska.Read on for my review! After 3 days of torture, Jasper Moore had slit her throat and left her for dead–and it wasn’t as if he’d been a mere stranger. He was her high school boyfriend, someone she’d trusted enough to give her virginity. While I’m not normally a huge fan of novellas and prequels, I found Hanover House to be an enjoyable read. It was quick (I read it in one sitting), and actually managed to both effectively set up the world of the Hanover House chronicles and delve fairly deeply into both the history of Dr. Evelyn Talbot and the mindset of a psychopath. But, oddly enough, even when he was angry he didn’t look overtly dangerous, didn’t look much different than the middle school teacher he’d once been–before his wife stumbled upon the body he’d…

It’s release week for the latest in the Chasing the Dream series from Elizabeth Briggs, and I’m helping her celebrate! (If you haven’t read my review yet, you can do so here.)Now, read on for an intro to More Than Fashion, as well as a giveaway! More Than Fashion by Elizabeth Briggs Chasing the Dream #3 Publication Date: July 30, 2015 Genres: Contemporary, Romance Buy it now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks Google Play | Kobo | All Romance Smashwords | Order A Signed Copy They’re enemies who will do anything to win…including each other. When pre-med student Julie Hong wins a spot on a fashion design reality TV show, she celebrates by picking up a hot English guy in a hotel bar. But too many drinks leads to a night of embarrassment and a major hangover, and wow is she glad she’ll never see him again. Until the show starts, and he’s on it too. Julie quickly realizes she’s out of her league among the other designers, and Gavin Bennett, with his cocky grin and sexy accent, is her biggest competition. Julie can’t decide if she wants to kiss him or kill him. Or both. After she’s almost…