30 May 2014

Book Review / The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.


Published:     7th September 2013
Publisher:  Grand Central Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Bought


My Review   (5 out of 5)

What I loved about this story...

As with every single Nicholas Sparks book I have every read (and that's all of them!), this latest book from him definitely did not disappoint.  This book was full of emotion, tragedy and happiness - all rolled into one!

One half of the story, you have the story of Ira who is trapped in his car after having a car accident on a lonely road.  He starts hallucinating and sees his wife Ruth, who died many years ago.  Along the story, we see Ira remember bits and pieces of his life including meeting Ruth and how they built a very precious collection of paintings.  I found this part of the story very heartbreaking and heart warming at the same time.

The other half of the story is with Sophia and Luke.  Sophia attending college and trying to forget my ex and Luke who is a bull rider with a death wish.  For this part of the story, I really loved the way that these two characters met, the way that they both have issues that they need to work through and loved following them throughout the story trying to deal with those issues and interact with each other as well.

As usual with a Nicholas Sparks book, he saves a 'big reveal' until the end, which I won't spoil, but it definitely did not disappoint.  I was completely gripped into this story from the start right until the very last word.

What was not fond of with this story...

Loved this book completely, I couldn't possibly think of anything that I didn't like!


About the Author


As a child, Nicholas Sparks lived in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska, finally settling in Fair Oaks, California at the age of eight. His father was a professor, his mother a homemaker, then optometrist's assistant. He lived in Fair Oaks through high school, graduated valedictorian in 1984, and received a full track scholarship to the University of Notre Dame.

After breaking the Notre Dame school record as part of a relay team in 1985 as a freshman (a record which still stands), he was injured and spent the summer recovering. During that summer, he wrote his first novel, though it was never published. He majored in Business Finance and graduated with high honors in 1988.

He and his wife Catherine, who met on spring break in 1988, were married in July, 1989. While living in Sacramento, he wrote his second novel that same year, though again, it wasn't published. He worked a variety of jobs over the next three years, including real estate appraisal, waiting tables, selling dental products by phone, and started his own small manufacturing business which struggled from the beginning. In 1990, he collaborated on a book with Billy Mills, the Olympic Gold Medalist and it was published by Feather Publishing before later being picked up by Random House. (It was recently re-issued by Hay House Books.) Though it received scant publicity, sales topped 50,000 copies in the first year of release.

He began selling pharmaceuticals and moved from Sacramento, California to North Carolina in 1992. In 1994, at the age of 28, he wrote The Notebook over a period of six months. In October, 1995, rights to The Notebook were sold to Warner Books. It was published in October, 1996, and he followed that with Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), and Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), Three Weeks with my Brother (2004), True Believer (2005) and At First Sight (2005) all with Warner Books. All were domestic and international best sellers and were translated into more than 35 languages. The movie version of Message in a Bottle was released in 1999, A Walk to Remember was released in 2002, and The Notebook was released in 2004. The average domestic box office gross per film was $56 million -- with another $100 million in DVD sales -- making the novels by Nicholas Sparks one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood.

The film rights to Nights in Rodanthe, True Believer and At First Sight have been sold, and Nicholas Sparks has written the screenplay for The Guardian, though he has not offered it for sale at this point.

He now has five children: Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie, and Savannah. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and children.

His ancestry is German, Czech, English, and Irish, he's 5'10" and weighs 180 lbs. He is an avid athlete who runs daily, lifts weights regularly, and competes in Tae Kwon Do. He attends church regularly and reads approximately 125 books a year. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually.


Author Website:  http://nicholassparks.com/

Best wishes

Debs :-)
Continue reading Book Review / The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

28 May 2014

Book Review / Goddess by Laura Powell

Strikes. Starvation. Riots. Britain is at breaking-point and Aura is blind to it all. The Cult of Artemis is the only home she’s ever known. 

Enclosed in its luxury lifestyle, the unrest gripping the country seems to belong to a distant world. Her dream is to serve the Goddess and taking a vow of chastity and obedience seems a small price to pay. 

But days before Aura is due to be initiated as a Priestess, she meets Aiden, the rebellious son of a cult insider, whose radical ideas and unsettling charm force Aura to question everything – and everyone – she knows.


Published:     10th April 2014
Publisher:  Bloomsbury
Goodreads :  Click here

Author Website: Click Here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher


Follow on Bloglovin


MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...

I was really excited about this book, firstly because of the author Laura Powell.  Last year I had read Burn Mark by her and really enjoyed her writing style.  When I heard that she had written something new I was very excited to see what it was all about.

I really enjoyed the secrets aspect of this story.  You have the main character Aura who we see at the start following what she has always known and following the rule book.  She then meets Aiden and from then everything in her life changes.  Aura's journey through discovering herself, discovering secrets from her family and discovering possible conspiracies made me want to keep turning the pages until the very last.

What I was not fond of with this story...

If I had to be honest, the topic of gods and goddesses is a very touch and go area for me.  Depending on the story and how the topic is covered depends on whether I get on with it or not.  

With this story, there were aspects that I didn't follow but that was probably purely because I am not too familiar with gods and goddesses etc but please do not let that influence you in any way.  It is a really great story with great twists and turns. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Laura Powell grew up in rural Wales and now lives in West London. 

She wrote her first book while studying Classics at Oxford and worked in publishing for five years before leaving to concentrate on her writing.

Continue reading Book Review / Goddess by Laura Powell

27 May 2014

Waiting on Wednesday - Bleed Like Me by C Desir

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.


Expected Release Date:   7th October 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.



Seventeen-year old Amelia Gannon (just "Gannon" to her friends) is invisible to almost everyone in her life. To her parents, to her teachers--even her best friend is more interested in bumming cigarettes than bonding. Some days, the only way Gannon knows she’s real is by carving bloody lines into the flesh of her stomach.

Then she meets Michael Brooks, and for the first time, she feels seen to the core of her being. Obnoxious, controlling, damaged and addicting, he inserts himself into her life until all her scars are exposed. Each moment she's with him is a passionate, painful relief.

But as the relationship deepens, Gannon starts to feel as if she's standing at the foot of a dam about to burst. She's given up everything and everyone in her life for him, but somehow nothing is enough for Brooks--until the ultimate test.

A piercing, intimate portrayal of the danger of love so obsessive it becomes its own biggest threat.
Continue reading Waiting on Wednesday - Bleed Like Me by C Desir

Book Review / The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown



An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe. An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.

While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci—and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.

Published:     1st March 2004
Publisher:  Corgi Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 2,  Robert Langdon
Source:  Bought


MY REVIEW    (5 out of 5)

What I loved about this story...

I had watched the movie of this story, with Tom Hanks in it, so many times I thought it was about time I read the book and I was glad that I did.  It definitely did not disappoint both in respect of being better than the movie and in respect of giving me newly found respect for the movie now that I had read the book.

The story in the books is virtually the same as the story in the movie so there were no hidden surprises, what I had expected to happen did and the 'grand reveal' at the end was just as good in both the movie and the book.

By far the best aspect of this book is the suspense and build up.  You have this scene at the beginning where the curator has been murdered and the way that he chose to deliver his final message before death, which starts the book off with a piece of a massive puzzle that gradually comes together, piece after piece, as the story goes on. 

What I was not fond of this story...

I have to be honest and say that there is absolutely nothing I could say under this heading, I loved this book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dan Brown is the author of numerous #1 bestselling novels, including The Da Vinci Code, which has become one of the best selling novels of all time as well as the subject of intellectual debate among readers and scholars. Brown’s novels are published in 52 languages around the world with 200 million copies in print.


In 2005, Brown was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine, whose editors credited him with “keeping the publishing industry afloat; renewed interest in Leonardo da Vinci and early Christian history; spiking tourism to Paris and Rome; a growing membership in secret societies; the ire of Cardinals in Rome; eight books denying the claims of the novel and seven guides to read along with it; a flood of historical thrillers; and a major motion picture franchise.”

The son of a mathematics teacher and a church organist, Brown was raised on a prep school campus where he developed a fascination with the paradoxical interplay between science and religion. These themes eventually formed the backdrop for his books. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he later returned to teach English before focusing his attention full time to writing.
Brown is currently at work on a new book as well as the Columbia Pictures film version of his most recent novel.

Author Website:  http://www.danbrown.com/
Continue reading Book Review / The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

21 May 2014

Waiting on Wednesday - Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine




Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.


Expected Release Date: 5th August 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.



There are whispers of a ghost in the slaughterhouse where sixteen-year-old Wen assists her father in his medical clinic—a ghost who grants wishes to those who need them most. When one of the Noor, men hired as cheap factory labor, humiliates Wen, she makes an impulsive wish of her own, and the Ghost grants it. Brutally.

Guilt-ridden, Wen befriends the Noor, including their outspoken leader, a young man named Melik. At the same time, she is lured by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her … for a very long time.

As deadly accidents fuel tensions within the factory, Wen must confront her growing feelings for Melik, who is enraged at the sadistic factory bosses and the prejudice faced by his people at the hand of Wen’s, and her need to appease the Ghost, who is determined to protect her against any threat—real or imagined. She must decide whom she can trust, because as her heart is torn, the factory is exploding around her … and she might go down with it.

Continue reading Waiting on Wednesday - Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine

14 May 2014

●● Waiting on Wednesday - Servants of the Storm by Delilah S Dawson ●●


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.


Expected Release Date: 5th August 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

A year ago Hurricane Josephine swept through Savannah, Georgia, leaving behind nothing but death and destruction — and taking the life of Dovey's best friend, Carly. Since that night, Dovey has been in a medicated haze, numb to everything around her.

But recently she's started to believe she's seeing things that can't be real ... including Carly at their favorite cafe. Determined to learn the truth, Dovey stops taking her pills. And the world that opens up to her is unlike anything she could have imagined.

As Dovey slips deeper into the shadowy corners of Savannah — where the dark and horrifying secrets lurk — she learns that the storm that destroyed her city and stole her friend was much more than a force of nature. And now the sinister beings truly responsible are out to finish what they started.

Dovey's running out of time and torn between two paths. Will she trust her childhood friend Baker, who can't see the threatening darkness but promises to never give up on Dovey and Carly? Or will she plot with the sexy stranger, Isaac, who offers all the answers — for a price? Soon Dovey realizes that the danger closing in has little to do with Carly ... and everything to do with Dovey herself.
Continue reading ●● Waiting on Wednesday - Servants of the Storm by Delilah S Dawson ●●

13 May 2014

Book Review / The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe

So many secrets for such a small island. From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the world’s wealthiest teens, the hushed truths of this strange, unfamiliar land begin calling to her—sometimes as lulling drumbeats in the night, sometimes as piercing shrieks.

One by one, unanswered questions rise. No one will tell her why a line is painted across the island or why she is forbidden to cross it. Her every move—even her performance at the school dance—is graded as part of a competition to become valedictorian, a title that brings rewards no one will talk about. And Anne discovers that the parents of her peers surrender million-dollar possessions to enroll their kids in Cania Christy, leaving her to wonder what her lowly funeral director father could have paid to get her in… and why.

As a beautiful senior struggles to help Anne make sense of this cloak-and-dagger world without breaking the rules that bind him, she must summon the courage to face the impossible truth—and change it—before she and everyone she loves is destroyed by it.


Published:     14th January 2014
Publisher:  BenBella Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, The V Trilogy
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher


My Review    (4 out of 5)

What I loved about this book...

I was definitely intrigued when reading the blurb (above) to this book.  I have to admit that I have a weakness for stories about family secrets and this one just screamed out to have a lot of them.   First off, let's just talk about the cover.  It is so spooky and the way that the girl is walking towards what I can only guess is Cania Christy and seeing a single light on in the top window.  Spooky to say the least.  I have always found that to draw me into reading a book the first place I look is obviously the blurb which tells you about the story but the second is always the cover.

This is one of those books that has a lot of build up at the beginning that leads to a 'big reveal' nearer the end of the book.  The big reveal in this book did not disappoint.  I spent a lot of the book up to nearer the end point wondering where this story was going but when it came to that big reveal, I did have to take a moment to sit back appreciate it in all its glory.  It was definitely one of those wow moments for me as I definitely did not see that coming.  

What I was not fond of with this book..

As I mentioned, there is a lot of build up in this book towards the 'big reveal' and I have to be honest and say that I did get a little bit bored with the build up at times and did wish for something else to come along and surprise me,  but unfortunately for me it didn't.

Summary...

A really great read with a fantastic twist near the end.  A lot of build up at the beginning but the ending is definitely worth the wait!


About the Author



Joanna Wiebe is represented by literary agent Jason Anthony of Lippincott Massie McQuilkin. The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant - the first installment in the V Trilogy - is published by BenBella Books.

Author Website:   http://joannawiebefiction.com/

Best wishes

Debs :-)

Continue reading Book Review / The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe

11 May 2014

Book Review / A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Sun, sex, and ... step-brothers.

Another sizzling story from Hamilton High.


Whitley Johnson's dream summer of shopping, partying and tanning on the beach has just turned into a nightmare. Because Dad didn't tell her he doesn't live by the beach anymore, or that he's no longer a bachelor. He's picked up and moved to a tiny, lame town called Hamilton and gotten himself a fiance. A fiance whose son just happens to be what's-his-name from last week's drunken graduation party one night stand. Just freakin' great.

As if the summer couldn't get worse, Dad seems to forget Whitley's even there. She doesn't fit in with his perfect new country club family, and Whitley does what any kid lucky enough to go all summer unsupervised does: she parties. Hard.

So hard that she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a younger future step-sister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't 'do friends') and a smoking hot, sweet guy who isn't her step brother (yet) and who actually seems to care for her. It will take all three of them to convince her that they're not phoneys, and to get Whitley to get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.


Published:     6th February 2014
Publisher:  Hodder
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

My Review  (5 out of 5)

What I loved about this book...

Wow and I mean WOW!  This book was so amazing I really don't know where to start.   

Ok, let's go.  First let's talk about the main character.  Whitley is so out of control at the beginning of the story and I really can't blame her given her situation at that time.  The way she reacts to situations throughout the book are both emotional and funny (and believe me sometimes at the same time).  I loved the way that her character progresses through the book and watch how she deals with things that are thrown into her path.  

What made this book great for me was the relationships between each of the characters, including Whitley, and how they develop throughout the book.  The people that I thought would have been not very nice turned out to be the opposite and one character, in particular, really surprised me but I won't say who as I don't want to spoil the story for you. 

 
What I was not fond of with this book...

I'm only adding this point here as it was a negative point to a character but was not necessarily a negative point against the story as a whole.  I really did not like Whitley's Dad.  His personality was one that seemed to just change when he met someone new, treating Whitley completely different to what he had done in the past and completely disregarding their relationship in its entirety, choosing just to go to work and let others deal with his child.  Grr..... 

In summary...

A hilariously fantastic read with great emotional depth in most of the characters... Add this book to your shelf now..... :-)


About the Author



"I always felt like the 'ugly girl' in high school, so when I was introduced to the word during my senior year, I knew I was the Duff. The idea of writing a book with DUFF as the title started as a joke, but when I realized that my friends felt like Duffs, too, I knew I had to write this story!"
   —Kody Keplinger on her inspiration for THE DUFF, her debut novel
 
Kody Keplinger was born and raised in rural western Kentucky. She always enjoyed writing and began working on "novels" when she was eleven. She wrote her first published work, THE DUFF, during her senior year of high school. Since then, Kody has written two other novels, SHUT OUT and A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTMARE.

Kody currently lives in NYC and writes full time. She enjoys Thai food, Converse tennis shoes, and way too much television.

Kodya writes for YA Highway, a blog devoted to the young adult publishing industry. She is also a featured writer for Poptimal.com, a popular pop culture blog, where she reviews TV shows and movies.

Author Website :  http://kodykeplinger.com

Best wishes

Debs :-)

Continue reading Book Review / A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

8 May 2014

Book Review / A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke

The deeper the water, the darker the secrets

There were so many times I thought about telling you the truth, Eva. What stopped me was always the same thing…

When Eva’s husband Jackson tragically drowns, she longs to meet his estranged family. The journey takes her to Jackson’s brother’s doorstep on a remote Tasmanian island. 


As strange details about her husband’s past begin to emerge, memories of the man she married start slipping through her fingers like sand, as everything she ever knew and loved about him is thrown into question. Now she’s no longer sure whether it was Jackson she fell in love with – or someone else entirely…

The truth is, it was all a lie . . .


Published:     27th March 2014
Publisher:  Harper
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher




My Review  (10 out of 10)

What I loved about this story...

I have to say that Lucy Clarke is fast becoming one of my favourite authors of all time.  Her first book, the Sea Sisters (check out my review here - click here) was a phenomenal read for me.  

First of all, I love the way that Lucy Clarke structures this story.  There are quite a lot of characters in this story and usually I do find it hard to keep up with characters if there are loads in the story but the way that this story is structured and the descriptions of each characters and their particular circumstances made it so easy to remember each character and their story, alongside the main story of this book.  

Not many books really surprise me with plot twists.  This book completely pulled the wool over my eyes until very near the end with its plot twist.

I absolutely loved the main character of this story, Eva.  You see her at the beginning of this story sad that her husband had tragically drowned and her grieving process.  When she decides to meet her husband's estranged family and she learns new details, that for me was when I really saw her character change and from then on for the rest of the story I loved to watch her process these new details and see how she deals with them.  


What I was not fond of with this story...

I loved this book and there was absolutely nothing that I disliked.

About the Author


Lucy Clarke has a first class degree in English Literature, and is a passionate traveller and diarist. 

She has worked as a presenter of social enterprise events and a creative writing workshop leader. Lucy is now a full-time novelist.

Her debut novel, The Sea Sisters (UK), was a Richard and Judy Summer 2013 Book Club choice, and was published in ten countries.
Lucy is married to James Cox, a professional windsurfer, and together they spend their winters travelling and their summers at their home on the south coast of England.



Author Website:  http://www.lucy-clarke.com/


Best wishes

Debs :-)
Continue reading Book Review / A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke

7 May 2014

●● Waiting on Wednesday - My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal ●●


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.


Expected Release Date: 10th June 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy?

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss—the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died—is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn’t a suicide as everyone assumes. She can’t remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she’s worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend.

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she’ll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made—good and bad—that led to her last kiss.
Continue reading ●● Waiting on Wednesday - My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal ●●

5 May 2014

Series Review: The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden & The Redemption of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen


From the bestselling author of The Secret of Ella and Micha comes a mesmerizing novel of fate, friendship, and the healing power of love . . .

THE COINCIDENCE OF CALLIE AND
KAYDEN

For Kayden, suffering in silence was the only way to survive. If he was lucky, he could keep his head down, do as he was told, and make it through the day. But one night it seemed like his luck-and his life-might finally end . . . until an angel named Callie appeared just in time to rescue him.

Callie has never believed in luck. Not since her twelfth birthday when everything was taken from her. After the worst was over, she locked up her feelings and vowed never to tell anyone what happened. Now, six years later, she continues to struggle with the painful secret that threatens to consume her.

When fate lands Kayden and Callie at the same college, Kayden is determined to get to know the beautiful girl who changed his destiny. Quiet and reserved, Callie still fears letting anyone else into her world. But Kayden is certain that Callie has come back into his life for a reason. And the more he tries to be a part of her life, the more he realizes that, this time, it's Callie who needs to be saved . . .


The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden (Book 1)
Published:     19th March 2013
Publisher:  Sphere
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, The Coincidence
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

The Redemption of Callie and Kayden (Book 2)

Published:     6th August 2013
Publisher:  Sphere
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, The Coincidence
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher


My Review         (7 out of 10)

I really enjoyed this series, so far.  I have to be honest from the start and say that this is not normally the type of book that I would pick up.   One of my things I do not normally like in a book is too much sex and not enough story.  Just from the cover of these books, I had the initial impression that this book would be one of those stories. 

What I loved about these books...

These books completely surprised me.  Yes they did contain some elements of 'sexiness' but the story had a great mix of drama and enough suspense to keep me reading until the very end.  What I loved the most was the characters, especially the main characters and how they progressed through the story.  Callie, in particular, was my favourite character to follow.  A lot of emotional turmoil between the two characters and individually, which gave the story so much depth for me and made me enjoy it even more as the story progressed. 


What I was not fond of with these books...

I wasn't fond of the 'sexiness' in this book but don't let that dissuade you from reading this book if that is something you like.  Sexiness in books is not really my thing but for my reading goals for 2014 I am trying to branch out and try new things and revisit old genres etc that I haven't been fond of in the past to see whether I have a change of heart.  These were books that I wanted to try because I liked the sound of the story (and did enjoy that part of these books) but sexiness is not really my thing. 
 

About the Author



Jessica Sorensen is the author of The New York Times and USA Today Bestsellers, The Secret of Ella and Micha, The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, and Breaking Nova, which are New Adult Contemporary novels.  She also writes Paranormal series, including the Fallen Star Series, Shattered Promises, Darkness Falls, and the Death Collectors. 

She loves writing and reading and is an avid watcher of TV series The Vampire Diaries and Modern Family.  An immense music lover,  Jessica immerses herself in her music as she writes.  She has a broad taste in music, and a list of favorite songs that goes on for miles!  

A few of her current favorite bands are Chevelle, Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Brand New, Death Cab for Cutie, Flight 409, and Nirvana.  Some of Jessica’s favorite “watch it over, and over again” movies include Anywhere but Here, Juno, Pride and Prejudice, The Hangover, and Bad Teacher.

Author Website:  http://jessicasorensen.com/about-jessica/

Best wishes

Debs :-)
Continue reading Series Review: The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden & The Redemption of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

1 May 2014