Review- Heartbeat by Faith Sullivan

Goodreads Summary:

Katie and Adam are afraid of love.

She carries the scars of a first kiss gone terribly wrong.

He uproots his life to flee the stinging betrayal of an ex.

When trust is no longer an option, all romance is suspect.

As a young paramedic, Adam rescues people for a living but cannot save himself. Katie, just out of high school, struggles with a tortured home life she cannot escape. 

Everything changes when Katie hops into the front seat of Adam's ambulance. Overwhelmed by what they are feeling, neither possess the confidence to make the first move. They walk away from each other, full of regret. 

To find her, Adam risks his future. To be with him, Katie sacrifices her security. 

Little do they know, what little time they do have, is being measured by a heartbeat that is slowly dying out.

REVIEW:

No. No, no, no. It just cannot end that way. I love love love abrupt, cliff-hanger and even sad endings and I know that when everything is going fine something bad is about to happen and yeah, life is like that. But the way Heartbeat ended... 

Oh my God! I just cannot get over it. I don't know what to think of it. I don't know what to make of it. Hell, I don't even know how and why and when it happened because it happened so quickly. I don't even want to bring myself to accept it. Yeah, I don't know. 
When I read what author Faith Sullivan had to say about Heartbeat on Goodreads, I completely agreed with and loved what she had to say. After that, I immediately knew it was a book I had to read. I had prepared myself for the ending but when I actually got to it and read Katie and Adam's story, it was devastating and heart-breaking. 

This review is going to be short, because honestly, there isn't much to say about the story. You have to read it to find out what happens. The characters, however, have a lot that can be said about them. 

Katie lives with her dad who doesn't give a damn about her but still wants to keep her under his eyes and watch her every move and her grandmother, who is a very sweet and warm lady. Katie and her grandmother live a rather sad life and are as good as jailed under the the roof of Katie's father's house. I know that for most readers, Katie will appear to be way too innocent and naive in today's day and age. But in some way, I could completely relate to her and understand her. She has a golden heart. What happened to Katie shouldn't have happened but life is like that and even though I am unsure what to feel about it, I loved how unexpectedly realistic it was. 
Adam has left his hometown because his ex girlfriend was cheating on him. He is pursuing his studies in paramedics and drives the hospital ambulance. His brother Brian and his parents are very helpful. Adam, as a guy, was very kind and supportive. He too, just like Katie, has a heart of gold. 
Together, Katie and Adam were a joy to read about. I loved how they both basically reflected the exact same feelings for each other since the first time they met. 
Overall, like most books that end the way Heartbeat did, I don't know how to put my feelings in place. 

Author Faith Sullivan's writing is systematic. The dual points of views, as always, were necessary and favourable to read. Faith has a way of showing the real picture by amalgamating truth and reality and I admire the author for just that. Life truly is not a bed of roses and neither is it fair. 

I'm really looking forward to know more in the upcoming books of the Heartbeat series, Come What May and I Am Yours and I am counting on Faith's promise to give the readers a detailed explanation of everything. 

RATING:

Feature & Follow #43

Feature and Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Today's question is:

Q: Activity: Spine Poetry. Create a line of poetry with your book spines (take a picture). Not feeling creative? Tell us about your favorite poem.

My answer:

My creativity kinda sucks so I took Sarika's help for this one. She, uh, almost completely did it. This is our first time doing it so hope we got it right. :)

Follow us and we'll follow back!

Happy Friday everybody! :)

Review- A Shade Of Blood by Bella Forrest

Summary-

Having been delighted by the Christmas best-selling debut, A Shade Of Vampire, readers are begging for more. 

In A Shade Of Blood, Bella Forrest transports you deeper into a unique, enthralling and beautifully sensitive story.
Prepare to be lost in its pages…

When Sofia Claremont was kidnapped to a sunless island, uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet, she believed she’d forever be a captive of its dark ruler, Derek Novak.

Now, after months of surviving an endless night, the morning sun may soon rise again for Sofia. Something has possessed Derek’s heart and he offers her a gift no human slave has ever been given in the history of his cursed island: escape. 

High school, prom and a chance to move on with her life now await her. 

But will she be able to forget the horrors that steal her sleep away at night? … and the feelings that haunt her for that tormented prince of darkness?

Review-

A Shade Of Blood is the sequel to A Shade Of Vampire. You can find my review of A Shade Of Vampire here. A Shade Of Vampire ended on a cliffhanger where the characters were at crossroads so I was pretty excited to see what happened next with Sofia and Derek. I did again enjoy A Shade Of Blood but not as much as the previous installment.

A Shade Of Blood starts right at the point where we were left off in A Shade Of Vampire. Sofia was kidnapped to a sunless island known as the Shade. Even when she believed she'd be held captive forever she was given a chance at freedom by none other than the ruler, Derek. Sofia has fallen for Derek but she knows that there is only one chance at freedom and so she takes it.

Sofia was still the same sweet and determined girl as in the previous book. I liked her but after going through so much I would have liked to see the naivete in her fade a bit. I felt there were times when she was too innocent and she gave in way too easily to Derek and Ben for that matter. Being the second book in the series, you are much more familiar with the characters now and can easily predict how each one behaves.

Now Derek, I did not like at all. All the good which was inside of him came because of Sofia and as soon as Sofia is not there he's on a path to self destruction. He did a lot of despicable things in this book and he will have to work hard at redemption. What I really didn't like though was the love triangle which began between Derek, Sofia and Ben. Ben annoyed me even though I felt bad for him. It has all just made things more complicated.

We also get short glimpses into what's going on with Derek's brother and twin sister. I really would like to see how their story arcs move forward because the actual plot lies with them I feel. The story does move at a good pace and several other revelations relating to the Shade are made. All in all it was a good book, but it felt slightly repetitive to me and not as unique as the first book.

*Note: This book was provided by the author for an honest review. We thank the author.

Cover Reveal + Giveaway - A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers

Summary-

Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother.In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for better part of the last few years…and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to Confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt…and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy on the eyes deacon…only eight months away from becoming a priest. As Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

Preorder-

Giveaway-

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The cover of A Little Too Far looks amazing and the story sounds fantastic too!

What do you think of it?

Waiting On Wednesday #43

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

The Marriage Merger by Jennifer Probst

Publication Date: July 30 2013

Summary-

Her sisters have found wedded bliss with their wealthy,

wonderful dream men, but not Julietta Conte. She’s stayed
on terra firma as top executive of the family’s corporation,
La Dolce Famiglia bakery. Work is her passion, and her
trendy Milan apartment her sanctuary . . . until Sawyer
Wells, a masculine masterpiece in a suit, lures her out of
hiding with an irresistible offer: an exclusive partnership
with his international chain of boutique hotels.

Julietta’s been burned before—and trusting her brother-in-
law’s friend, whose powerful gaze alone has her
rethinking the best use of a conference room, is the
riskiest proposition. But with a once-in-a-career chance
to take the bakery global, will she mix stone-cold business
with red-hot seduction?

I love Jennifer Probst's books and I'm super excited to know Sawyer and Julietta's story. You can find my review of the first book, The Marriage Bargain here.

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday #43

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:

Bianca groaned. "I'm supposed to stay out of trouble, remember?"

"Trouble has a way of finding you, whether you're home or in Everafter."

"Are you saying I'm a troublemaker?"

"I'm saying that magic will find you, no matter where you are."

-Glass Forst by Liz DeJesus (from ARC)

Goodreads Summary:

When joined together, Cinderella's slippers grant the wearer her heart's desire. But whose wish will be granted?

When Cinderella’s glass slipper is stolen, Queen Felicia sends her faithful steward Terrance to the real world to retrieve his love and witch-in-training, Bianca Frost. The power of the glass slipper, when paired with its mate, and in the wrong hands, could ruin peace in Everafter. Bianca must gather every bit of magic she has learned in the past few weeks to find the slipper and protect her new love. Together, Bianca, Ming, Prince Ferdinand, and Terrance venture deep into the heart of Everafter to seek clues as to who has stolen the slipper and why. Along the way, they uncover what happened to the Seven Dwarves after Snow White married the prince, but also learn the awful risk of tampering with black magic and the high price that must be paid for magic, even when used for good.

Bianca and Terrance’s relationship is put to the test. Through the pain of suffering and loss, Bianca must determine if following her gallant boyfriend into his faraway world is in fact her heart's desire.

What's your teaser this Tuesday? Link me up so I can come see!

Happy reading and have a great week ahead. 

Review- Rewrite Redemption by J. H. Walker

Goodreads Summary:

She’s sixteen. He’s seventeen. They don’t know each other…at least not yet.

She has a secret and her whole life revolves around keeping it. Every few months and with little warning, she simply disappears, pulled into the past for hours or even days. She’s terrified it will happen in front of someone, changing her life forever. So far, the only witnesses have been her parents, and that didn’t end well. She has no control over it and no idea why it happens to her. 

She wants answers.

He has answers—at least he understands what’s going on. He has a secret, too. He’s part of an organization that goes back in time to rewrite reality. But he also has a problem. He broke the organization’s number-one rule by altering his own timeline. As punishment, he’s been blocked from time travel, which is most unfortunate. Because the changes he made to his timeline, accidentally resulted in disaster for his family. A disaster he’s now prevented from repairing. No one can travel beneath the organization’s radar except a Shadow. But they’re rare, so rare he’s never even met one.

Then he moves to her town.

This is a YA romance with paranormal/sci-fi elements.

REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of Rewrite Redemption from author J. H. Walker in exchange for an honest review. We thank J. H for the book!

Rewrite Redemption is the story of two people who have an affinity with tress. 

On the one hand, Autumn Jones or A.J is a rather 'uncool' person in school, but in actuality, she hides her very own secret. She suddenly disappears- out of nowhere and to anywhere. Along with her friends, Lex and Ipod (cool name, huh?) who are also her family, she tries to unravel the mystery behind her sudden disappearances, her ability of drawing power from tress and her very own existence. 

Constantine, on the other hand, is a normal boy, and he too, has secrets of his own. He, like A.J, can draw power from trees, can time travel and he holds answers to all of A.J's questions. 

When the two meet at school, instead of the regular run of the mill flying sparks, it's more accidental consequences. The two take a long time to even speak with one another and circumstances bring them together in such a situation that the only option they have is to use their abilities in tune and in sync with the others' and help each other. 

Both A.J and Constantine were very well developed characters. A.J was shy and sweet. Her curiosity and frustration over the confusion about her abilities was understandable. Constantine was a cool guy with a warm heart and deep burrowed secrets of his own. A.J's friends Lex and Ipod were strong characters on their own, who had their own problems as well, and I loved the intimacy between the three. A.J, Lex and Ipod are the only family either of them had and it showed in the strength, loyalty and trust of their friendship. 
The romance between A.J and Constantine was slow and very, very sweet. As a story, Rewrite Redemption was quite fascinating and interesting. 
The only problem I had with Rewrite Redemption is that I had serious problems getting into it. I know that fantasy novels require an in depth description of almost everything that goes around and the same was seen in Rewrite Redemption, which, for me, only gets boring and I tend to drift off. 
When I started reading the book, I kept asking myself whether the protagonist is male or female and I got no answer. It was nearly at the point when I was 25% in that I realised the book is from alternating points of views. I felt that it would have been better to mention the point of view at the beginning of each chapter. 
For an already supremely lengthy book like Rewrite Redemption, some parts for me were very unnecessary. Like I said, I could barely concentrate and found myself flipping back and forth between pages to know what was going on and where I was. 
Other than that, author J. H. Walker's writing was pretty nice. It was systematic and the descriptions were well put down. Obviously writing an interesting novel requires a lot of effort and it showed that the author has worked very hard for her first book. 
Had I been able to kick off this book with a faster pace, I would have loved it. But unfortunately, I couldn't and so I didn't. I found the length and too much details very boring. Nonetheless, this was an interesting book that almost all people who've read have loved. It was quite a fascinating read. 

RATING: