Jessica Samuelsen's Blog, page 28

Feature & Follow – Favorite Book World

Hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can read. 

This week’s prompt:

Favorite book world:

Narnia from Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

What is your favorite book world?

Review – Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

Sleepless in Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love, #1) by Sarah Morgan
Series: From Manhattan with Love #1
Published by HQN Books on May 31st 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 464
Source: Purchased Amazon
Goodreads
Amazon

USA TODAY

bestselling author Sarah Morgan introduces a sizzling new trilogy about three best friends embracing life—and love—in Manhattan 

Cool, calm and competent, events planner Paige Walker loves a challenge. After a childhood spent in and out of hospitals, she's now determined to prove herself—and where better to take the world by storm than in the exhilarating bustle of Manhattan? But when Paige is let go from the job she loves, she must face her biggest challenge of all—going it alone. 

Except launching her own events company is nothing compared to hiding her outrageous crush on Jake Romano—her brother's best friend, New York's most in-demand date, and the only man to break her heart. When Jake offers Paige's fledgling company a big chance, their still-sizzling chemistry starts giving her sleepless nights. But can she convince the man who trusts no one to take a chance on forever?

Paige Walker lives life to the fullest because Having been at death’s door as a teenager due to a heart problem does that to a person. She has her life all planned out until she unexpectedly loses her job. Surrounded by her friends and brother for support, she’s afraid to ask for help. Jake Romano her brother’s friend was her first love and has been keeping her at a distance all these years after she proclaimed her love to him. She is surprised when he suggests that she start her own business and even helps out. Will Jake be able to keep his distance and will Paige be able to keep her heart in check?

In an Oyster Shell – It was a light-hearted romance.

The Pearls – I loved the chick-lit vibe of this story. I loved all the chick-flick references. It was overall a heart-warming light read. That I thoroughly enjoyed.

The plot was interesting. A small town girl trying to make it in the big city. A girl who has been protected her whole life and wants some independence. I love how the main character picks herself up from losing her job and makes a way for her and her friends.

The romance was really sweet. The play of the main character and the love interest was riveting. I liked the push and pull of this romance.

The Sand – It was a good book. It had a few intimate scenes.

4 pearls!


About Sarah Morgan

USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes contemporary romance and her trademark humour and sensuality have gained her fans across the globe. She has been nominated 4 times for the prestigious RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America and has won the award twice. Sarah lives near London, England, and when she isn’t reading or writing she loves being outdoors.

Look out for Sleepless in Manhattan, the first book in Sarah’s brand new series set in New York City and coming in 2016.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

ARC Review – Spindle by Shonna Slayton

Spindle by Shonna Slayton
on October 4th 2016
Genres: YA, Retelling
Pages: 400
Source: Publisher

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Goodreads
Amazon

Set during the Industrial Revolution, Sleeping Beauty's happily ever after isn't the end of the story...

In a world where fairies lurk and curses linger, love can bleed like the prick of a finger.

Briar Rose knows her life will never be a fairy tale. She’s raising her siblings on her own, her wages at the spinning mill have been cut, and the boy she thought she had a future with has eyes for someone else. Most days it feels like her best friend, Henry Prince, is the only one in her corner…though with his endless flirty jokes, how can she ever take him seriously?

When a mysterious peddler offers her a “magic” spindle that could make her more money, sneaking it into the mill seems worth the risk. But then one by one, her fellow spinner girls come down with the mysterious sleeping sickness—and Briar’s not immune.

If Briar wants to save the girls—and herself—she’ll have to start believing in fairy tales…and in the power of a prince’s kiss.

Briar rose is working hard to make ends meet so that she can keep her three siblings out of the orphanage. An opportunity arises that she can use a magic spindle to make her work go faster at the mill. She takes the chance and girls in the mill start getting sick. Briar is sucked into the reality that fairies are real and she’s right in the middle of their tale that started along ago with Aurora also known has sleeping beauty.

In An Oyster Shell – This book was phenomenal.

The Pearls – Historical Fairytales? Who ever heard of such a thing. That’s what this author writes. She’s written two others that I am going to have to check out Cinderella’s Dress and  Cinderella’s shoes. Spindle was written in 1890 during the industrial revolution. I loved it. I am not usually a historical fan but you blend it with fairytale and it really works. I enjoyed it immensely. So I am looking forward to reading her other books.

As part of being set in the Industrial Revolution. There was a lot a talk about woman’s suffrage and prohibition. It was cool to experience those things in fiction. The reader gets to see the struggles of the characters especially the women who didn’t have a lot of rights. It touched on the reality back then that a husband had control over everything voting, the rights to the children. A very different world from what we know. I learned a lot.

The retelling part was great. I love how the author took roots of the original tale and carried it out through the generations. She really made it her own story but it reflected sleeping beauty most magnificently.

The romance was sweet. I liked how she had her eyes on someone but couldn’t see what was right in front of her. The romance was unexpected for the character though as the reader you get to see bits of it along the way.

The Sand – It was perfect.

5 pearls!


About Shonna Slayton

SHONNA SLAYTON writes historical fairy tales for Entangled TEEN. Cinderella’s Dress and Cinderella’s Shoes, set in the 1940s are out now. Spindle, a Sleeping Beauty inspired tale set in the late 1800s, will be out October 2016.

She finds inspiration in reading vintage diaries written by teens, who despite using different slang, sound a lot like teenagers today. When not writing, Shonna enjoys amaretto lattes and spending time with her husband and children in Arizona.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Blog Tour with Review – Extraordinary October by Diana Wagman

Extraordinary October by Diana Wagman
Published by Ig Publishing on October 18th 2016
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 264
Source: Xpresso Book Tours

I received this book for free from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Goodreads
Amazon

October is an ordinary girl. From her plain looks to her average grades, there seems to be nothing special about her. Then, three days before her eighteenth birthday, she develops a strange itch that won’t go away, and her life is turned upside down. Suddenly, she can hear dogs talk, make crows fly, and two new and very handsome boys at school are vying for her affections. After she starts “transplanting” herself through solid rock, October learns that she is not ordinary at all, but the daughter of a troll princess and a fairy prince, and a pawn in a deadly war between the trolls and the fairies. Now October will have to use all of her growing powers to save her family, and stop a mysterious evil that threatens to destroy the fairy world.

In the fantastical vein of authors such as Julie Kagawa and Holly Black, Extraordinary October takes us on a magical journey from the streets of Los Angeles to the beautiful and mythical underground fairy kingdom.

October has learned to accept that everything about her is ordinary. That is until a few days before her eighteenth birthday things start to change. She gets an embarrassing itch at school. She starts to notice strange things like animals talkings. She comes to find she is everything but ordinary heir to the throne of the troll and fairy kingdom. When she turns eighteen will she take the thrones that are rightfully hers?

In an Oyster Shell – An imaginative urban fantasy that was fun to read.

The Pearls – 

I chose to review this book because it had such an interesting premise. An ordinary girl who turns out to be the daughter of a Fairy Prince and a Troll Princess. I love fairy stories and the interaction with a troll was too enticing to pass up. The execution of this book was well done.

The plot was good. It had a nice flow to it. There was a strong opening, middle and end. The end was very satisfying. This is a great stand alone.

I liked the setting of LA and the fairy troll world. I like how the author blended the two together seamlessly.

The Sand – 

There was some repetition of ideas and phrasing that got redundant after awhile.

4 Pearls!


About Diana Wagman

I have always written and always wanted to be a writer, but didn’t think I could make a living at it. So I became a mime. (You can imagine what my father had to say about that.) I worked on the streets of NYC with two partners, stopping traffic in front of the Met and annoying tourists. When, to my great surprise, that didn’t work out, I returned to school in film–thinking screenwriters made a living. And when I had ten scripts and my agent had stopped returning my calls, I wrote a novel. I did it just because I wanted to love writing again and not think about selling or casting or marketability. That novel was Skin Deep, and it’s a testament to writing from your heart that the first person to read it, bought it. I’ve been trying to write from the heart ever since.

Amazon

Friday Coffee & Bookish Speaks – Glossaries in Books

Today I am drinking a fresh roasted coffee from Papua New Guinea with cream.

What are you drinking?

Today’s topic is a little weird. I don’t think books have glossaries very often.  I’ve come across two books that start out with a glossary. I have to say that I wasn’t a fan. To me, a glossary in the front of the book means there’s going to be a lot of terms the author is going to expect me to come back to the glossary. I don’t want to do that. My feeling is that if you need to define something do it in the story. It may seem a little harsh but that’s my opinion.

One of the books I DNF because it was so ludicrous starting with the glossary. The other book was really good and I went back and read the glossary it added to the story. I felt that I didn’t need it to get through the book.

I think if there is going to be a glossary it should be in the back. I find glossaries in the front of books daunting. I like when books don’t have glossaries but I’m coming to understand that some authors feel they are needed. On rare occasion, they might be necessary.

What do you think about glossaries in books?

Feature & Follow Series everyone seems to love

Hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can read. 

This weeks prompt:

What is a series that everyone seems to love and you don’t.

There is a couple out there but one of them is Hunger games. I couldn’t get into it.

What is a series you couldn’t get into that everyone seemed to love?

Review – White-Hot Hack by Tracey Garvis-Graves

White-Hot Hack by Tracey Garvis-Graves
Series: ,
on June 7, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 264
Source: Purchased Amazon
Goodreads
Amazon

Their love story began in Heart-Shaped Hack. Join Kate and Ian for the thrilling conclusion in White-Hot Hack.

When cybercriminals doxed undercover hacker Ian Bradshaw and forced him to flee, he begged Kate Watts for forgiveness and vowed never to hurt her again. He also convinced her to marry him, and when their idyllic summer on Roanoke Island comes to an end, the newlyweds relocate to a secluded home deep in the heart of Virginia’s horse and wine country. Ian still struggles with boundaries, but he keeps Kate’s lingerie drawer filled with surprises, and there’s no shortage of number-six kisses. There’s even a fast, new car to replace his beloved Shelby.

Ian promised Kate that life with him would never be boring, but spending her days picking out paint colors and going to Pilates isn’t going to cut it. Meanwhile, Ian discovers that building a white-hat security firm from the ground up seems harder the second time around, and he might have underestimated how much he’d miss the undercover work he walked away from. To make matters worse, the hacktivists are threatening national security, and the task force could really use Ian’s help.

Kate and Ian have always worried that their past would catch up to them, and when faced with the biggest showdown of their lives, they must capitalize on the one thing they excel at most: teamwork. Ian claims no one is a better hacker than him, but in order to triumph, he’ll have to prove it. And if he can’t, he risks losing the woman whose heart he worked so hard to hack.

This is the second and final book in the Kate and Ian series. The first book, Heart-Shaped Hack, can be read as a standalone.

Kate and Ian are back in this sequel to Heart-Shaped Hack. The couple is now married and keeping their identities a secret deep in horse and wine country in Virginia. Kate quickly grows tired of picking out paint chips and other decorations. She convinces Ian to let her help him build up their business. Ian is reluctant though he agrees. Kate convinces Ian to go back on the task force. As they get their life in order will their pasts catch up to them and destroy all they are working for?

In an Oyster Shell  – There were a lot more intimate sex scenes in this book and I was super disappointed though the rest of the story was really good.

The Pearls – This was a great conclusion to the story. I felt at the end the story was complete and I was really happy with it.

The conflict in this story was multi-faceted and riveting. There were several subplots at play that kept me on my toes turning page after page.

The characters were dynamic. I love Kate and Ian. They have great chemistry and you can’t help but root for them. There was a great surrounding of supporting characters as well.

The Sand –  I had to skim a good part of the book because there were so many sex scenes. I understand they were newlyweds but it didn’t mean I wanted to be privy to all the intimate details. It’s not my style I prefer a more clean romance.

3 Pearls!


About Tracey Garvis-Graves

Tracey Garvis Graves is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. Her debut novel, On the Island, spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into twenty-nine languages, and is in development with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film. She is also the author of Uncharted, Covet, Every Time I Think of You, and Cherish. She is hard at work on

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Review – Beautiful Chaos by Alex Tully

Beautiful Chaos by Alex Tully
on June 13th 2016
Genres: YA, Romance
Pages: 344
Source: Kindle Unlimited

I received this book for free from Kindle Unlimited in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Goodreads
Amazon

While most seventeen year-olds work part-time delivering pizzas or whipping up frappuccinos, Brady O’Connell’s job is a little less conventional. Helping his dad with the family ‘business’ is a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly, especially when thousands of dollars are being exchanged. There are rules to be followed, timetables to be kept. But when his best friend Jay gets backstage concert tickets, and business interferes with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet their favorite band, Brady decides to break the rules, just one time.

And one time is all it takes to send his life spinning out of control. When an envelope full of cash ends up in the wrong hands—specifically in the hands of a pretty red-head named Vivienne—things get messy in a hurry. Where Vivienne goes, a whole lot of chaos seems to follow.

But sometimes…chaos is a beautiful thing.

From the author of Hope for Garbage comes another fast-moving, emotionally-charged tale, full of plot twists that will keep you guessing, and true-to-life characters you will root for. Most of all, this is a story of first love—crazy, chaotic first love—love that hits us hard, and never lets go.

Brady O’Connell helps his dad with the family business. One night he decides to cut corners and go to a concert with his friends. An envelope he was supposed to deliver ends up in the wrong hands of a girl named Vivienne. Brady tries to get the envelope back but chaos always follows Vivienne and they have to go on a hunt for the envelope. As they search Brady gets to know Vivienne and there is more to her than meets the eye.

In an Oyster Shell – The concept of the book was interesting and there was tangible character growth.

The Pearls – I liked the concept of the book. I liked that Brady stuck with his dad after his parent’s divorce. You don’t see that too often in books, often it seems the kids stay with the mom. He helps his dad with the “family business” which is essentially helping collect on bets. A parent that lets his kid get into that kind of business is different.

There was great character growth seen in the book. Especially with the dad, he’s basically a stay at home person and due to conflict that arises, he sees the need to change and get out more. This helps his son to be more responsible for being his own age instead of taking care of the parent.

The Sand – I wasn’t very excited reading this book. It didn’t catch my interest above just reading it to read it. I wasn’t particularly wowed.

3 pearls!


About Alex Tully

Alex Tully lives outside Cleveland with her husband, two teenagers, and a golden retriever named Trooper.

When she’s not writing or doing mom stuff, she loves to read (actually Audible) and Netflix (or Amazon Prime) binge. She is also a huge Cleveland Browns fan – laugh if you must :)

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Review – Crush Dilemma Dear Aubrey Book 1

The Crush Dilemma by Susan Hatler
Series: Dear Aubrey, #1
Published by Hatco Publishing on July 14, 2016
Genres: YA, Romance
Pages: 198
Goodreads
Amazon

Teen geek, Poppy Pinkleton, is adding some spice to her senior year of high school: A year of psychological experiments that will 1) Earn her three units of college credit; 2) Give her an outlet to say what she wants, when she wants; and 3) Will NOT include her parents telling her to be the “bigger person.”

How, you ask? Poppy’s gotten the green light from Mrs. Peterson, the newspaper head, to write an online advice column for the school. She’s found the perfect name for her alter ego: Aubrey. It means someone who rules with “magical wisdom.” She’ll be in control of her online experiment, online identity, and divvy her wisdom to the masses while tracking the results for her mini-thesis. Now, protected by a secret identity, she’s got the popular crowd clambering to know what she thinks about fashion, homework, and eek . . . even sex! And the best part is, her parents and best friends don’t know anything about it. Finally, she can let loose a wild side and speak her mind—right or wrong, without having to meet anyone’s expectations.

Soon, however, dishing out advice leads to more than Poppy can handle on her own and she must make a choice. Hide behind her alter ego or take the chance that everyone, including the new boy at school, will like her for everything she is.

Poppy Pinkerton is a teenage geek. She’s afraid to speak her mind and make waves. She comes up with the idea for an advice column that becomes a psychological experiment to give her college credit. This is perfect because her dream is to be a psychologist. She starts the column under the alias Dear Aubrey. Dear Aubrey becomes her ultra ego and she’s everything poppy is not poised and speaks her mind. Will Poppy be able to keep her to worlds from colliding?

In an Oyster Shell – I always love a YA underdog book and this fits the bill, I really enjoyed this book.

The Pearls –  The concept was fabulous. A geek girl who gives advice to the popular kids whose ultra ego becomes popular. It’s fantastic! I loved loved loved this book.

The characters were well developed and likeable or despicable respectively. I feel bad for Poppy having a name like Poppy Pinkerton I could empathize with her. My maiden name got made fun of a lot in school. I felt Poppy was super relatable.

The romance was really sweet. I like the conflict that surrounded it. Poppy was completely oblivious.

This was a really fun book .

The Sand – Towards the end there were quite a few typos that made for some confusion.

4 Pearls!


About Susan Hatler

SUSAN HATLER is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, who writes humorous and emotional contemporary romance and young adult novels. Many of Susan’s books have been translated into German, Spanish, French, and Italian. A natural optimist, she believes life is amazing, people are fascinating, and imagination is endless. She loves spending time with her characters and hopes you do, too.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Sunday Post September 25

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at the  Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

The weather is cooling down here in the Northwest. It’s a bright sunny day today but it’s getting rainier and rainier by the week.

This Week In Review – Click image to go to review

Giveaways – 

This week’s discussion is stand alones vs. series.

Coming Up – 

Reviews – 

Question of the Week – What new shows are you watching this fall? I started watching Designated Survivor with Keifer Sutherland.

Have a great week!