Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Waiting On Wednesday #42

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Beginning Of Everything by Robyn Schneider
Publication Date: August 27th 2013

Goodreads Summary:

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes? 

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

I love the title  the yellow cover with blue writing and I'm quite interested in knowing the story of the boy with a pretty name, Erza! I have a feeling I'm going to like this book. 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 
Happy waiting! :P


Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Book Blitz/ Extravaganza- Come What May by Faith Sullivan

Hello, everyone! Today, I have for you all a lovely Book Blitz/ Extravaganza post for my reading buddy and author friend Faith Sullivan's book, Come What May, book #2 of the Heartbeat series, which releases today. So happy Book Release Day to Come What May!
I am absolutely looking forward to reading the series and hope to get to it soon. Until then, Faith has a great excerpt and a cool giveaway! 

TITLE: Come What May (Heartbeat #2)
AUTHOR: Faith Sullivan


EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: June 4, 2013
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
AGE GROUP: New Adult



BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Adam is through with love.

He unravels blaming himself for what happened with Katie.

His final moments with her echo through his nightmares.

She owns him body and soul.

To dull the pain, Adam invites a string of women into his bed. Fueled by alcohol and desperation, his meaningless hook-ups provide little comfort. When he closes his eyes, it's Katie he sees.

The only one who helps to ease his guilt somewhat is Jada. But as his new ambulance partner, Adam considers her off limits. He doesn't want to get seriously involved with anyone, much less her. Yet he can't stop fantasizing about the feel of her caramel skin against his.

Despite his intentions, Adam's bond with Jada deepens as they respond to a series of emotional calls. Their mutual attraction becomes undeniable. But how can he give his heart to Jada when it still belongs to Katie?

EXCERPT:

But I’m unsure of where this is going. Is he trying to open up or just making idle conversation? Whatever it is, it’s not enough for me. I crouch, hanging my legs over the side. A cool breeze issues from the waterfall. Its hypnotic rhythm is so relaxing. I can stretch out right here and fall asleep. I lean back on my elbows and close my eyes against the sun. So I’m startled when something smacks me in the face.

It’s Adam’s t-shirt. He’s standing before me in nothing but his jeans. “Care for a swim, Jada?” Laughing, he peers over the edge. All I see are the broad lines of his back. It doesn’t get any sexier than that.

“You’re going to jump into that tiny little pool of water?” My pulse is racing, but somehow I keep my voice steady.

“No, we’re going to climb down together. But you’re going to have to lose some of that clothing first.” His gaze runs across the length of my body, and I’m on fire.

“If you think I’m going to strip down…”

I shut up when I realize he’s bending over me. “Well, you can rid yourself of these muddy shoes for starters.” He undoes the laces and gently slips them off. My breathing gets heavy when his fingers slide up to remove my sock. He doesn’t stop there. On his knees before me, his touch glides up my leg as he rolls the cuff of my pants.

“That takes care of the bottom half. Now what about the top?” I ask brazenly. I’m fighting to regain control of the situation, but it’s a lost cause.

He pulls me up with him, and our bodies are so close together. He grips my waist and I start to get dizzy. Drawing me in, I’m surprised when he tugs at the fabric of my shirt, untucking it in a series of quick motions. His actions cause my chest to rub against his. My legs get shaky and I think I’m going to have to grab onto him for support. But I resist and somehow keep my hands to myself. Slowly, he unfastens the last two buttons and ties the shirt at my waist. His fingertips linger over the exposed skin of my midriff. His touch is driving me wild. I can’t take much more of this.

Stepping back, I feel so exposed even though I’m not showing that much skin. He’s practically naked in front of me and he doesn’t seem embarrassed at all. It’s like he wanted to bring me to some secluded spot in order to seduce me. Was this his plan all along? I’m so confused. Nothing is ever clear with him. It’s impossible to figure out what’s going through his mind and why he’s practically taking off my clothes in the middle of the woods.

And that’s the problem. I kind of like it. His unpredictability keeps me guessing, and I’ve never been so turned on. I’m practically panting before him, wishing his hands would explore every inch of me. But for some reason, it seems like there’s an invisible barrier separating us. He teases me but doesn’t take it further. And all that does is make me want him more. I’m not the type to pursue a guy, but I’d put myself out there for him if I knew that was what he was after. But what if it’s not? We do have to work together, and things can get really awkward between us if I’m wrong.

A shadow of a frown crosses his face when he sees me back away from him. Whatever was happening in that moment is over—I can’t tell if he’s disappointed or relieved. His chest rises and falls as he clenches his fists. The sheer masculine beauty of his sculpted torso is right in front of me. Yet he appears so fragile. Like one hasty word from me will break him. We’re so close. If only I knew his true intentions. Is he just playing with me or is he after something more?

“C’mon, let’s cool off.” But I can’t allow myself to get that close to him again. My thoughts scatter just picturing him against me in the water. With my inhibitions lowered, I’ll be too tempted. If I let down my guard and give into him, I’ll only regret it later when he acts like nothing’s changed between us.

“Nah, you go ahead. I’m just going to stick my feet in.” The creases in his brow deepen, but I don’t stop. “If I have any hope of salvaging this uniform, I don’t think it’ll take any more wear and tear.” It’s the lamest excuse ever, but it’s all I have to go with.

“Suit yourself.” He’s pissed as he makes his way down the rocky incline. He doesn’t even wait for me. What girl wouldn’t want to fool around with him in the water after all that? Who would ever turn him down?

Only me.
RANDOM THINGS ABOUT AUTHOR FAITH SULLIVAN:

- She was so much smarter as a teenager.

- She's a slow reader.

- She tends to like a book more for its characters rather than its plot.

- She appreciates people who are genuinely kind and come through when you need them.

- As a creative person, she's not always fun to live with, but she keeps things interesting.

- She misses the days when all she had was a rotary phone that didn't even have an answering machine.

- She's a child of the 1980s, and a teenager of the 1990s.

- She loves her dog.

- She likes to travel and see new places - when her limited budget allows.

- She thinks in another lifetime she lived in the UK somewhere by the coast.

- When she feels an emotion, she feels it deeply. It's a curse.

- She has an overactive imagination. Writing helps alleviate that problem.

- Nine times out of ten, she believes a good book trumps reality.

AUTHOR LINKS:


GIVEAWAY:

In another super cool giveaway by the generous author, enter for a chaance to win a $25 Amazing Gift Card! 


Thank you for stopping by and happy reading! 




Teaser Tuesday #42


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

Here's my teaser:
This girl isn't anything like any girl I've known. This girl is . . . 
"She's cute." Gavin's voice jerks me out of my thoughts. I look over at him and he's leaning against the bar next to me, watching me watch Lake. "What's her name?" He turns around and orders two drinks from the waitress.
"Layken," I say. "And yeah. She is cute."
-This Girl (Slammed #3) by Colleen Hoover

Goodreads Summary:

There are two sides to every love story. Now hear Will’s.

Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling Slammed series has brought countless readers to their knees with a whirlwind of love, passion, and heartache. 

Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.

In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from hispoint of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.

What's your teaser this Tuesday? 
Happy reading! 


Monday, June 03, 2013

Review- When Strangers Meet.. by K. Hari Kumar

Goodreads Summary:

What happens when an irritating but lovable wise-cracking 'Stranger' called Iyer meets a frustrated and arrogant teenager, Jai, on a fateful day in a congested room at the metro station? Catastrophe!!!
Meanwhile, Pathan never had the pleasure of happiness in his life yet he thanked Allah for every second of it... 
Abandoned by fate and friends, surrounded by responsibilities and poverty... This hard-coated man from the city of Delhi knew only thing and that was to keep faith in Allah... Now he is set on a journey to turn around his fate...

The tale from the Iyer's past will change Pathan's present and Jai's future... And trust me... 
Sometimes all it takes is a stranger's tale to change the track of your life...

Three Men... One fateful day... and a Story of a Lifetime...


REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of When Stangers Meet.. by K. Hari Kumar from Srishti Publishers & Distributors in exchange for an honest review. We thank the publishing house for the book!

K. Hari Kumar's When Stangers Meet..  is the tale of three men, Jai Sharma, Krishnaprasad Iyer and Hussain Ansari, who find themselves in the same situation and how that one situation changes their lives. The book is divided into three parts-  The Runaway, Iyer's Story and Revelations. 
When Strangers Meet.., as a story, is quite decent and okay as it comes with a good and much appreciated message. The only and major problem I had with the book was the writing. 
Yes, I have said before that I am not one to judge. I don't hold any prestigious and respectable degrees in the English language, but I have read quite a lot of books and by now, even I can point out a well written and not so well written book. When Strangers Meet.., unfortunately, fell under the latter category. 
Considering the fact that I began this book freshly after finishing a beautifully written novel by the same publishing house, I was disappointed and irritated by the rather mediocre writing. The language was very "today", but it was way too colloquial for a book. Literally every second sentence ended with an exclamation mark. The italics font was used for no reason at numerous places. And what I did not understand was, This. Yes, This. Every word after the first comma in a sentence started with a capital letter. And I have no idea why. Or maybe it was meant to be that way. 
Anyways, the quite so-so writing aside, like I said, the story was quite good. 
Jai is like any typical metro college kid. He loves his music, has his own dreams and is pressurized to do what his parents want him to do. Hussain, the humble tea stall owner is a wonderful person at heart and I would have loved to read more about him, his family and their daily struggles. Krishna... Well, Krishna was the epicenter of When Strangers Meet.., bringing along with him, his life journey and story that makes and breaks quite a few things. 
I loved how author K. Hari Kumar managed to capture, in a very subtle and perhaps unknowing manner, the true current Indian situation where the rich are becoming richer and the poor, poorer. It's easy to ignore the part, but the fact, for me, was hidden right there. And I loved the reality of it. In general, the situational reality of the story was quite solid. 
Had I not skimmed the last few pages beforehand, the unexpected ending would have left me feeling devastated and hollow, but I was prepared and so, all was good. 
Overall, with some editorial improvements, When Strangers Meet.. has the potential to be a good read. For me, the story was really good, but the writing... Okay. I know I have been mean, but oh well... A little writing research would have helped. 
My rating is somewhere between 2.50 to 2.75 but since the story was really good, I'm rounding it up to a total of 3 owls, which means that while I did have some issues with the book, I enjoyed it. I've seen many good reviews for the book and they're all right in saying that When Strangers Meet.. is a light and fun read with a moral worth knowing. 

RATING:





Sunday, June 02, 2013

Review- Cloudwalking by A.Meredith Walters

Summary-

While Clay and Maggie were falling apart...

Daniel and Rachel were falling in love. 

Rachel Bradfield has loved Daniel Lowe for most of her life. She has had to sit quietly by while he throws his feelings away on a girl who doesn’t deserve them. Rachel knows she can be everything he needs.

Daniel has always known Rachel was special. She is one of his best friends. But what Daniel doesn’t realize is that the girl he has known forever might just be the one he really wants.

Love pulls two people together, while tearing two others apart. As Daniel and Rachel discover the beauty of first love their best friend loses her heart to the deepest darkness. Unable to hold Maggie together, Rachel and Daniel find out that love doesn’t have to hurt and that it can change your life.

Review-

Cloudwalking is Rachel and Daniel's story who are Maggie's best friends from Find You In The Dark. You can find my review of Find You In The Dark here. Cloudwalking takes place parallel to Find You In The Dark so if you haven't read that first, please do as this one contains major spoilers. I had been looking forward to Rachel and Daniels' story since I finished Find You In The Dark and I picked this one up right after cause I just had to know what happened of all that tension between them.

Rachel has loved Daniel for most of her life. He and Maggie were the two pillars of support in her life. When everything seemed to be going wrong she knew Danny and Maggie would always be there for her just as she would go out on a limb for them. I really liked Rachel. She was a sensible, sweet yet shy girl. You could see how badly she was pining after Daniel from so long and she so badly deserves her happy ending.

Daniel has always seen Rachel as his best friend. But lately his best friend brings out the feelings which no other girl has been able to make him feel. Daniel has seen how his mother cheated on his father and how it ended up destroying him and he doesn't want to mess it all up with Rachel. Daniel was a good guy. He lacked in showing his emotions to Rachel but you could see how much he cared for her. He was fierce and  protective about his girls and that made him a really nice guy.

All throughout the novella you could see the push and pull between Rachel and Daniel. The book goes from dual point of views which was awesome. All that angst and tension comes to a satisfying end. When Daniel says "There is no Daniel Lowe without Rachel Bradfield" it made me fall just a little bit in love with him. This book doesn't have that much substance. Its a really short yet enjoyable read which can be read after Find You In The Dark.


Read-along Kick-off: The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi

Hello, all! 
As most of you know by now from our Immortals of Meluha India only giveaway, Janhvi and I were lucky enough to go for an Author Interaction and Book signing by author Amish Tripathi. 
Since then, his novel, the National Bestseller, Immortals of Meluha, has been on our TBR pile. 

Along with our fellow Indian blogging buddies, Ankita @ Booklok Coffee and Kartik @ MeBookGeeko, we will be having a Read-along for the same book which will last for the entire month of June and we will be joined by many more Indian readers.



The schedule of the Read-along can be read from the banner below! 


We will be reading one chapter per day, so those of you who wish to join us somewhere along the way, please do. It'll be easy to catch up. 
Also, if you need to buy the book, use the following links, buy the book and join us! 


A discussion post will be up on each of the host blogs every Sunday. Do stop by and join us! 

Also, when tweeting, follow us all, @ankita0112, @justjanhvi, @MeBookGeeko and @SarikaP8 use the hashtag #IoMReadalong.

I hope to see you all at the Read-along! Happy reading, everyone! 
Thank you for your support! 





Saturday, June 01, 2013

Review- Find You In The Dark by A.Meredith Walters

Summary-

Maggie Young had the market on normal. Normal friends, normal parents, normal grades...normal life. 

Until him.

Clayton Reed was running from his past and an army of personal demons that threatened to take him down. He never thought he had a chance at happiness.

Until her.

Maggie thought their love could overcome anything. Clay thought she was all he needed to fix his messy life. 

That together, they could face the world.

But the darkness is always waiting. 

Sometimes the greatest obstacle to true love is within yourself.

Review-

Find You In The Dark was one of the most unique books I've ever read. Before starting it I knew that it had a totally dysfunctional relationship but I totally underestimated just how fucked up the whole situation was going to be. It was like watching a train wreck where you're helpless to do anything but watch the destruction. And destruction was what Maggie and Clay's relationship was.

Maggie Young is a normal girl living a normal life. She has average grades, loving parents and two best friends who love her. But she is tired over the monotony which has taken over her life. Things are going fine for her, just not great and she's losing interest in everything. That is, until Clayton Reed comes into town.

Clay is a loner. He doesn't talk to anyone, doesn't make friends and goes out of his way to avoid bumping into Maggie after their first time. Maggie is even more intrigued by him. When they finally become friends after Maggie's persistence. Maggie, for the first time in her life feels alive with him. Even though she knows ditching her friends and lying to her parents is wrong she finds ways to hang out with Clay. But his erratic behavior and mood swings confuse her. Until she finds out his secrets.

Clay and Maggie together were good but they had a ton of flaws which needed working on. The angst, drama, jealousies and anger issues kept on coming between them. But inspite of all of this you could see how their love for each other was genuine. Maggie just wanted what was best for Clay. But Clay's imbalance and Maggie's denial kept messing things up for them. There were moments when everything seemed perfect but it was all just on the outside.

Some of the decisions which Maggie made were definitely stupid because I thought she had all the support of her family and friends if she's just asked for help. But I guess love makes you do crazy things and Maggie and Clay both did a hell lot of crazy things. The book goes from Maggie's point of view and I loved getting to know her best friends Rachel and Daniel. I am so looking forward to their story in Cloudwalking. Find You In The Dark was an intense, heart breaking and a gut wrenching read but I still have hope for the next book.