Once upon a Read-a-thon Update (1)

So far I've read and reviewed two books, and have only posted a review for the first because the second will be scheduled for next week's Lisa Schroeder Week. The two books are...

I'll check back later, guys!

LiLi

Giveaway: Love Story by Jennifer Echols

She's writing about him. He's writing about her. And everybody is reading between the lines..

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

Two winners will receive a copy of Love Story by Jennifer Echols.

All you have to do to enter is comment below with your email address! Giveaway ends the 20th of July, midnight EST. Open to US residents only.

LiLi

Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson, #2) by Darynda Jones

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Press (August 16, 2011)

ISBN-10: 0312360819

ISBN-13: 978-0312360818

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire, is back in this sexy, suspenseful novel of supernatural shenanigans.

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do? Here is your signpost for the most hilarious read of the summer: Second Grave On The Left.

Review:

Only a week after the exciting and hilarious happenings in First Grave on the Right, Jones throws Charley Davidson into another tantalizing case with an aspiring U.S Senate candidate, a dated missing-persons file, and each person who could have known what happened dropping dead like flies. Knowing that she has to find Reyes soon before he decides it's too dangerous to keep his corporeal body alive, Charley takes on both cases and does everything in her Private-Investigator-and-Grim-Reaper-Power to solve both before it's too late to help either.

Famous for her one-liners, funny in an catch-you-off-guard kind of way, Second Grave on the Left left me laughing with a splash of tears that made the renown Charley Davidson more of an endearing and confident character all-around. More of an insight was shown of Charley's character, demonstrating how she's not really human just by her reactions whenever she's in danger or feels threatened. A calmness sort of takes over her that she subconsciously realizes has to do with the fact that, though she may currently be in a dangerous situation, the best thing to do is think analytically of what she should do to avoid the worst possible outcome--or her death, whichever.

The re-introduction to all of the old characters was something I enjoyed reading immensely. If there were ever a cast of characters I enjoyed reading more about, they're definitely the ones. Cookie was as auspicious and helpful as ever, Garret flirting and determined, Reyes the hottest of all man- and hell-kind, and as for Charley's family....I could never get enough of her Uncle Bob--Ubie to Charley--and her father made a rather significant appearance that, in the end, was quite tearful.

While the writing style was absolutely engaging and characters a thrill to read, the first look we have into the more sinister world that Reyes promised would soon come in the last book was a bit of an understatement but it was also the first development of Charley's true powers. Darynda Jones nailed it again with this audacious sequel that promises more development of the main character and more action in general. I am thoroughly ecstatic for the third book in the series to release and more PI-and-Grim-Reaper-Power.

Grade: B+/A-

Source: Publisher

LiLi

Teen Book Scene: Songbird by Angela Fristoe

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Little Prince Publishing (June 25, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0615470491
ISBN-13: 978-0615470498

There are defining moments in life when everything changes. For Dani Mays, it was the day she witnessed her father kill her brother. Now seventeen years-old, she still hasn't put it behind her.

After Jace's death, she bounced between her alcoholic mother and foster homes, until she found a permanent place. And a reason to stay: Reece Tyler. He's her best friend, yet Dani wants more from Reece.

Faced with possibly losing Reece, Dani struggles to define his place in her life and escape the memories of her brother's death and the influence it has over her choices. Even as she weaves the pieces of her heart back together, the past becomes more than a memory when a former foster brother reappears and Dani begins receiving threatening phone calls.

Review:

Dani has always had to deal with the death of her older brother, including the memory of her abusive father shooting him right in front of her. Jumping through foster homes was no picnic for her, and when she finally settled down in one that was perfect enough to be called home, she still had to deal with the constant reminders of the past haunting her. Being putting through hell at such a young age steeled Dani and prepared her in a sense not known to most children her age for harsh reality. Having the innocence of childhood robbed from her, she took solace in her best friend and the love she found in his protectiveness of her. Reece Tyler became Dani's rock in fifth grade and has been nothing more for the following seven years. When all their history finally intensifies their friendship and Dani can't hold back anymore, it's Reece who's put in the hot seat.

Soon after he makes his decision the unexpected reappearance of a forgotten foster brother stirs up what was left of Dani's inner peace. An ensuing love triangle begins to form, one of the most endearing you'll ever read.

At first, as I was reading through Dani's history I thought she was a bit naive when it came to making relationships and processing their progress. However, it became obvious that her tendency to categorize the people in her life into particular roles is her rational thinking trying to make sense of what state her life is in and dealing with it. Everything truly came down to how the connections and emotions built up when she was little and with her fractured family affected her future daily life. Both of her relationships with Reece and Colin really made Songbird an engaging book to read because through Dani's eyes it was like a chain reaction. The author made it seem like all the people Dani loved were connected in a way. That in turn made the book more approachable because of the reader's ability to relate with the main character.

Songbird was easily was one of those touching tearjerkers that has a strong main character to root for till the very end. Fristoe's writing style was uncomplicated and easy to follow along as the flashbacks were multiple and interspersed throughout the book. The plot itself made you predict numerous outcomes for the ending but  it was what caught me most off guard and was most satisfying of all.

Grade: B

Source: Teen Book Scene

LiLi

Get Rid of Books Summer Challenge (1)

For this challenge, there's not much to it except just to get rid of books that are just essentially cluttering your house. To follow the guidelines, I wanted to keep track of all the books I giveaway. Mind you, Sarah is definitely going to be beat me because she has more books to giveaway but I'm not going to give up so easily. :P

Books I've given away so far:

• 2 Copies of Stork by Wendy Delsol
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• Forever by Judy Blume
• Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt
• Tan Lines by K. Applegate
• The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti
• Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti
• Almost Final Curtain by Tate Hathaway
•  Dark Descendant by Jenna Black
• Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I will be updating this list as time goes on, it might even be the same post. Stay tuned!

LiLi