Review- I Know It's Over

Title: I Know It's Over
Author: C. K. Kelly Martin
Published: 23 September 2008
Pages: 244
Rating: 4/5

Description from book:

Pure. Unplanned. Perfect. Those were Nick's summer plans before Sasha stepped into the picture. With the collateral damage from his parents' divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing he needs.

All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sash at the beach in July. Suddenly he's neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn't mind in the least. But Nick's world shifts again when Sasha breaks up with him. Then weeks later, while Nick's still reeling from the breakup, she turns up at his doorstep and tells him she's pregnant, and with his emotions and hopes crashing in around him, Nick finds himself struggling once more to understand the girl he can't stop caring for, the girl who insists that it's still over.

My thoughts:

I very much enjoyed this book. It was so raw while being perfectly simple and straightforward at the same time. It screams pure honesty. Most books I read are young adult novels which means authors and publishers cater towards teenage girls and write from the perspective of a female. What makes this story unique is that it's a pregnancy story, told from the guy's perspective.

It was refreshing to see all these emotions and thoughts going on within a guys head, knowing that even though he was not the one who could possibly give birth, his life was going to change forever. It showed just how affected he was by the whole situation which is something I feel like I rarely see from men. In a perfect world with a happy ending, these two would have gotten back together for the sake of the child and become a family the best way they knew how. But this book told reality, knowing that most teenagers who become pregnant end up having an abortion.

This book was beautifully written and instilled with a sense of reality, that while heartbreaking at times, was a welcome change from my usual reads.

It's Monday! What are you reading? (21 March 2011)

It's Monday! What are you reading is a weekly event hosted by Book Journey. For more information, follow the link and visit her blog!

Last week I read:

I Know It's Over by C. K. Kelley Martin

Birth Marked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Currently reading:

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Also reading this week:

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

What are you guys reading this week?

In My Mailbox (9)

In My Mailbox is a weekly even hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren! For more information, hop over to her website and check it out.

This week I got

From the library:

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

From Netgalley:

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

I was pretty lazy today and I didn't feel like taking any pictures. But yesterday I drove a couple hours to the closest Borders so I could get some great deals at a closing store. I think I bought out the YA section (haha) while staying under my $100 budget! I am so excited to share some of those with you next week!

I hope you guys had some great mailboxes this week!

Book Blogger Hop (2) and Friday Follow

The book blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word. This amazingly fun weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books! Follow Friday is hosted at Parajunkee's View! Hop on over and join the fun!!

This week's question for the hop is:

Do you read only one book at a time, or do you have several going at once?

It really depends on what time of the year it is, but for the most part I only read one book at a time. When I was in school, I would read a fun book while I was trying my best to keep up in my textbooks, as well. But now that I've recently graduated, I don't have that problem anymore! But I do carry multiple books with me just in case I finish one and I need another one to occupy my time. Now that I have a Nook, I have been more likely to be reading more than one book at a time, but there is still just something about having a book in my hand, turning the pages and having that weight in my bag. It's somewhat comforting (don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Nook).

This week's follow questions is:

How did you come up with your blog's name?

Well that is an easy one. One of my absolute favorite bands is Death Cab for Cutie and I was listening to one of their new albums Narrow Stairs. As I was listening to the amazing 8 minute song that is "I will posses your heart", I came across the lyrics: "I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me. It's like a book elegantly bound but in a language that you can't read just yet." How awesome are the lyrics to this song!!!! Death Cab for Cutie have been and always will be musical geniuses. I couldn't do anything less but name my blog after them! It's so great that writing this post has made me want to listen them (swoon).

Review- Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

Title: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
Authors: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Published: 26 October 2010
Pages: 260
Rating: 4/5

Description from the book:

Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

My thoughts:

While writing in the red notebook, Dash and Lily seem like they could be the perfect couple. They aren't afraid to be completely honest with each other....as long as it's all written in the notebook. When it comes to books that don't fall into the category of paranormal or supernatural, I like them to be realistic and true to how the world works. So when I first started reading this book, I was thinking how realistic is it that a random red notebook placed by an off the wall teenage girl will be picked up by a quirky yet persnickety teenage boy who happens to know someone she went to elementary school with. The odds are pretty slim in a huge city such as New York. Although I was enjoying the story I was still skeptical that it would turn out to be an impractical love story.

My earlier mindset shifted immediately when Dash's ex-girlfriend started talking about how no one ever really lives up to the perfect person that lives inside our heads, the person we think we will love the most. Suddenly, this book became grounded and concrete and hit a nerve in me. Do we not always compare whomever we are dating with the perfect person inside our heads? I really liked this part because it made Dash think about the expectations he had for Lily.

What I love even more about this book is that when they do finally meet, they don't even hit it off right away and they both have to do some work just to make the first stages of their friendship last. Cohn and Levithan turn the most exciting, impossible scavenger hunt into a realistic love story that allows you to choose how it ultimately ends.

Waiting on Wednesday (12)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

This week I chose Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz because Blue Bloods is one of my favorite series. I also chose it because my mom has recently started reading the series and she texted me, demanding that I send her books 4 and 5 and that she will go through withdraw until they arrive.

Synopsis provided by Amazon:

After their beautiful yet brief bonding ceremony in Italy, Schuyler Van Alen and Jack Force are forced to separate. To fulfill the Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler travels to Alexandria to search for Catherine of Siena and the Gate of Promise. But Schuyler quickly discovers that everything she believed about the Gate to be wrong. Meanwhile, Jack makes the difficult decision to return to New York to face his twin and former bondmate, Mimi. But instead of a bitter reunion, he is faced with a choice for which there is no good option.

Mimi, with the most unexpected travel companion in Oliver Hazard-Perry, jets off to Egypt to search for Kingsly Martin, her long lost love. With all roads leading to Hell, Mimi learns that not all love stories have happy endings. But she'll have to put her own feelings aside if she's going to save her crumbling Coven.

I am so excited for this next adventure in the Blue Bloods saga and I have loved, loved, loved them since book 1. Released October 4, 2011.

Review-Siren

Title: Siren

Author: Tricia Rayburn

Published: 13 July 2010

Pages: 377

My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis provided by GoodReads:

Vacationing in Winter Harbor, Maine, is a tradition for Vanessa and Justine Sands, and that means spending time with the Carmichael boys. This summer, Vanessa is determined to channel some of her older sister's boldness, get over her fear of the ocean, and maybe turn her friendship with Simon Carmichael into something much more.

But when Justine goes cliff-diving after a big family argument, and her body washes ashore the next day, Vanessa is sure that it was more than an accident. She is more certain of this when she discovers that her sister was keeping some big secrets and Caleb Carmichael has gone missing. Suddenly, the entire ocean front town is abuzz when a series of grim, water-related accidents occur, with the male victims washed ashore grinning from ear to ear.

Vanessa and Simon team up to figure out if these creepy deaths have anything to do with Justine and Caleb. But will what Vanessa discovers mean the end of her summer romance, or even life as she knows it?

My thoughts:

This book took me completely by surprise. It was so good and written so well that it was really hard to put down. What I love even more are all the secrets that are uncovered throughout the book. Just when you think that you are finally getting a handle on what is going on, another secret is revealed. Even all the small side characters had lots of personality and were very entertaining.

This is only the second mermaid or siren book that I have read and I'm really liking this aspect of the supernatural. Sometime I just get so bored with vampire and werewolf books. I also haven't read many fairy books either but I can definitely say that I'm on board with the sirens.

Overall this was a pretty good read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good supernatural story.