Love Story by Jennifer Echols: A Review

From Goodreads (http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1305684651l/9470371.jpg) I do not own, but am only using for review purposes.

Title: Love Story

Author: Jennifer Echols

Source: Library

Publisher: MTV Books/Gallery Books/ Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Publication Date: July 19, 2011

Review from Goodreads (which I also do not own but am using for review purposes only):

  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.

Genre: Another hobby contemporary YA romance. This time the hobby is having a multi-million dollar horse farm, darlin', in Kentucky. BTW, this book is set in Erin's first year of college, so it may be considered a New Adult-ish book.

Cover: Echols gets good covers, I think. They're good for YA contemporary. Yes, they do show faces, but I can forgive them because I can easily forget the faces and insert ones I desire in my head. No worries, but they are nice mood setters.

Plot: Ok. You know how sometimes romance, YA or not, movie or book, can just be a big ol' knot you have to untangle to get to the end? Well this book is a hell of a knot. It's even a meta-knot because the book layers the MFC and MMC's writing assignment about each other for a creative writing class all throughout the turmoil they're going through. There's LOTS of ups and downs. Relationship, family, mental, creative writing. You may need to brace yourself. It's very much a soap opera kind of drama, with more elevation seeing as there are literary bits thrown in. Hmm…

Romantic Element: I love me a good drama, but there's a lot going on here. Erin and Hunter have a history before the book starts and the drama ensues, and sometimes, I felt like that history was too much preceded. They had so much going on before hand that I felt I had already missed something important. At times. Other times, Echols hit the drama well, and I wanted to keep reading. So, by the end, I'm not sure if I can say I liked the romance as much as I just watched it unfold.

Overall: Echols can write. If you haven't read her Going Too Far, OMG you are missing out. That book was YA romance royalty as far as I'm concerned. Love Story, I had huge hopes for it, some which were met and some were missed. This book is tons of drama of the freshmen debutante and the help variety, and if that sounds like something you could get into, you'd like the book. For me, it took a while for me to get into the book, but eventually I did. However, the end didn't feel like an end, which you'll see if/when you read it.

So what do you all think? Something you'd dig? Not dig? Dig a little? Let me know below!

And now to leave you with a song to write by, "Lighthouse" by Wishes and Thieves. I heard about them on GhenetMyrthil's blog, and they have a really cool vibe. AND their EP is free. SAY WHAT?!? I know. I got it here. Awesomeness.

PS. The Book Rat giveaway of my book Glittering Ashes ends today, so hop on over to Misty's blog and enter if you haven't (if there's still time).

Also, be sure to check out my interview on Melissa Bradley's blog Melissa's Imaginarium. 

Big thanks to Misty and Melissa for having me!!! <3

Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation in exchange for this book review, although there are several Amazon affiliate links within this post.

Updates and Interview

Hi peoples!

Sorry I've been M.I.A. Don't you hate when business interferes with everything you want to do? Sheesh.

Well, I have some updates. Today, there's an awesome possum interview with me on Melissa Bradley's blog, Melissa's Imaginarium. Sooo if you have a hankerin' to learn more about me, Glittering Ashes, and maybe my writing process, you can check out the interview there. Thank you, Melissa for having me :)

Also, Don't forget that there's still time to enter yourself in to win a copy of my book Glittering Ashes on Misty's Book Rat blog here. It's open until September 26th, I believe. So fill out the form like a neato person and try your hand at winning, won't you?

I wanted to give a shout out to C.D. Meetens who was kind enough to mention me and Glittering Ashes the other day on the One Little Spark blog. Swoon. It made my day (and Kelley York's who has a super cool looking book coming out called Hushed). Thank you bunches!!!

And, lastly, I also seemed to have won another award, this time from Michelle Helene. YAY :) Thank you much!! Check it out:

Isn't it gorg'?

I know I'm supposed to pass it out, and I want to, but I also don't want to bug people, and since I love my commenters, I want to offer this one to all of y'all who take the time to come here and listen to me blather on :) So feel free to grab it, and I hope everyone who comments takes the time to check out all of the other people who take the time to comment on here. I know I check out everyone, and I almost always like what I see. 

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Too Lost in You" by the Sugababes. Because, why not? <3 lol

Happy Reading and Writing, y'all :)

Awarded Muchly

Hi, everyone!

Today, I'm doing a factoid blog post in honor of my little ol' blog receiving 2 blog awards! Woottttt lol. Carrie Butler (who has an awesome blog with artsy blog button giveaways and the occasional vlog-like thing) was sweet enough to give me The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award, and Carrie AND Lady Gwen (who is awesome and a runner and has a great blog) gave me the Versatile Blogger Award this week. Color me happy and flattered and awed and stoked, all at the same time lol.

Check them out in all of their awardy glory:

Now, both of them require me to list some fun facts about myself, so I'm going to do as Carrie did and give 10 facts for all instead :)

1. I feel antsy if I don't read a book in a given period. It's like a necessary vacay for me :)

2. When I was in high school, I wore a ring on each thumb, and I would worry them constantly. When I finally decided to take them off, I felt like I didn't have my blankie anymore :)

3. I have had stitches twice in my life, one for my bottom lip and one for when I was little and almost chopped the edge of my finger off when a porch swing pinned it against a ledge. Heebies, I know, I have them too lol

4. I played the clarinet for most of my life, but I haven't played it since high school. (P.S. it was the bass clarinet in my late high school years).

5. I want to learn how to play the acoustic guitar. And I want to doodle one like Maggie Stiefvater did here. Gorgeous.

6. I'm a "have a few really good friends than a lot of acquaintances" person for the most part.

7. I like painting my fingers dark colors when I'm feeling antsy or dramatic. 

8. I have SO many goals that I can't commit to just one. I'm a serial anti-monogamist when it comes to dreaming.

9. I make up weird dances when I'm running on too little sleep. And I name them.

10. I hate negativity or drama, unless I'm watching it on TV. 

Mmk, that was fun. lol. I hope I didn't bore anyone. Now I'm supposed to pass it on to several other awesome people, but I want to do something different with these awards. I see a lot of blogs on a regular basis. A LOT, and it's always hard to tell who has already gotten what award and whether or not the person even wants to receive these things, so I want to change it up. 

I have such awesome followers that I want to give these awards to any of my followers that really want them. I would love to see y'all's fun facts when I stop by, so if you feel so inclined, take these awards and brandish them proudly on your page. Think of it as my follower appreciation gesture :)

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "All That We Needed" by the Plain White T's. It's an upbeat Friday song, which is just we needed. Ha. I couldn't help it. 

HUGE reminder: If you haven't already, please stop by Misty's Book Rat blog to enter in for a chance of winning my book Glittering Ashes. And as a favor, if you could mention the giveaway on your blog, I would <3 you something crazy. I really want to get the word out about my book, and I can't do it without all of y'all's help. Thank you, muchly. 

Updatin' and Review of Eve by Anne Carey

Hey, peoples :)

First off, thank you for all of the well wishes. You guys (and I may have mentioned this before) are awesome, and I really appreciate you all taking the time to stop by and say hi, even when I was off babysitting for sickies and crossing my fingers I wouldn't catch the sniffles as well.

I want to remind everyone to stop my Misty's blog Book Rat to see my guest post and to enter in for a chance to win a copy of my book Glittering Ashes. I want there to be tons of entries, so please help me with that and put your magic hats on for a chance of winning it. <3

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled blog post. Today is a review day (and psst, tomorrow is another blog award day because Carrie Butler is awesome possum. Thanks, Carrie!)

 Photo is from Goodreads (http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299396299l/9297774.jpg). I do not own it, and it is only used for review purposes.

Title: Eve

Author: Anne Carey

Source: NetGalley

Publisher: HarperTeen/HarperCollins

Tentative Publication Date: October 4, 2011

Blurb from Goodreads (which I do not own but am using for review purposes only):

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

The Genre: Apocalyptic YA romance. There's been a world plague; disturbing future and romance ensue. Series beginner, I'm sure.(Update: It's a beginner of a trilogy. Cooool beans, y'all.)

The Cover: I like it. I always like covers with actual people that don't show their faces. Faces ruin everything for me. They're never right, or what I have in my head (in my head, they're always cuter). So I like that this title chose to go with the bridge and that font. I'd pick it up based on this cover, wouldn't you?

The Plot: I was worried going into this one. Another YA future tale? Sigh. I had low hopes, but this one had a intriguing beginning that kept me going, even if it did get slow in the middle. Eve was a decent character, slightly weak at times, but good when she needed to be. Some parts were frustrating, but I know those are loose ends that will be tied up in subsequent titles in the series. It's definitely the beginning of the series, so expect some things to be left to be resolved later. There's enough action to keep you moving, and I wasn't bored. In fact, I wanted to get back to reading it when I stopped. That's saying something.

The Romantic Element: Caleb is a good guy. Carey makes it easy for you to like him and cheer for him. There are enough dramatic bits and heart-wrenching bits to make the romance worth reading.

The Carry-on Factor: As this is the beginning of a series, there are things left to wonder about in the next book. I'm sure tons of people will be clamoring to read Eve 2 and 3 and so on. I wouldn't be opposed to read them either lol. It's an interesting take on the storyline of the world gone all crazy.

Overall: I wasn't disappointed by Eve. It kept me entertained more than some other titles I've read that fit the apocalyptic bill. If you liked The Forests of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan or Hollowland by Amanda Hocking (<3ed), this may be up your alley as well. 

Soooo who's excited about this one? Let me know below if you're jonesing for it. 

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Say It Like You Mean It" by Matchbook Romance off of their Voices album. It's an Amazeballs CD.

Happy Reading and Writing, y'all!!!

Disclaimer: I did not receive compensation in exchange for this review. However, there are several Amazon affiliate links within this blog post. 

7 x 7, Baby

Hi, everyone :) First off, I want to thank everyone for the well wishes for my sickie in the house. I have all of the best blog people :)

On that note, I feel completely weird about me not being able to blog hop the past couple of days, today included. I'm about to run out to take said sickie to a doctor's appointment so I can't run around and say hi like I want to. But I will, and I really appreciate you all's comments, so please keep them coming :)

Today, I want to give a special thanks to Krista who has a great writing related blog called I Take the Pen, which you all should check out. She was nice enough to give me this award:

I'm supposed to match a blog post of mine to each descriptor with a link and then give the award to some awesome people. So here goes!

Most beautiful: Most Wanted Book Plots: I'd like to seemore of these please: because I asked for books matching certain criteria, and I received so many responses from so many nice people wanting to help me. It was a beautiful thing.

Most Helpful: I'd say Writtle Me Your Writing Tools, because I gave some people new tools to use with their writing.

Most Popular: According to Blogger, my post popular post right now is 1st Campaigner Challenge. It had a lot of traffic from other great campaigners

Most Controversial: Decision Made/YA sub-genre roll call: Because I announced there my "controversial" decision to self-publish Glittering Ashes

Most Surprisingly Successful: that'd have to go my "most popular" post too, 1st Campaigner Challenge. I couldn't believe all the nice responses!

Most Underrated: It's IFI time!: This was a mini post directing you to an awesome cartoon about the writing industry. It was early on in my blogging career, and I doubt that many people heeded my words about it's greatness lol

Most Prideworthy: I AM NOW (self) PUBLISHED: GlitteringAshes: Because this is the post where I announced Glittering Ashes being launched into the universe :)

That was fun. Thanks again, Krista! Now to give it to well-deserving peoples.

Hmmm….How about:

J.L. Campbell at The Character Depot

The East Coaster at Published in a Year

Jen at A Book, a Girl, a Journey

Becca at Nerd Girl Reads and Writes (an absolute fave of mine since before I started this blog)

Alicia Gregoire at Slice of the Blog Pie

So be sure to check all of these blogs to see their own links, and even if they've already done this award, they will still be directing you to even more awesome people. 

 Psst, Don't forget to stop by The Book Rat for a chance to win a copy of my book Glittering Ashes!!!

Now to leave you with a song to write by...I chose "Wine Red" by The Hush Sound. I know I just did the Hush Sound, but choosing "Lighthouse"  by them somehow got "Wine Red" stuck in my head all of last night. I sang the opening like I was receiving gold coins to do so all around the house. My poor fiance...

Giveaway on Book Rat

Hello, peoples!

This is going to be  short and sweet post because I'm just dropping in. (I'm taking care of a sickie in my house with the flu). I'll be back to commenting on Friday's comments and checking out everyone's blogs really soon :)

But, before I go, I want to tell y'all some awesome news. You all have a another chance to win Glittering Ashes !!! Misty at Book Rat (an awesome possum review blog) was nice enough to let me do a guest post on her blog today, and everyone who fills out a form on the post is entered in a chance to win my book. I'm excited, and you tooootally should be too lol. Tell all of your friends, neighbors, passers-by, bosses, family, acquaintances, and complete strangers all about it! (newspaper boy style, "Extra! Extra!" is what I recommend.) Ha.

So be sure to stop by, seeing Misty's awesome blog, and fill out the form to enter for a chance to win Glittering Ashes   here.

And I have to leave you with a song to write by, "Lighthouse" by The Hush Sound. <3, it's a creepy little lovely sounding story, no?

Happy reading and writing!!!
Oh, and don't forget, Glittering Ashes is available on Amazon in paperback now as well :)

Review: The Sweetest Thing

 I do not own this picture. It is from Goodreads and used for review purposes only (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QgaTZrVdL.jpg)

Title: The Sweetest Thing

Author: Christina Mandelski

Source: NetGalley

Publisher: Egmont USA

Publication Date: 05/10/2011

Blurb from Goodreads (which I do not own but am only using for review purposes):

In the world of Sheridan Wells, life is perfect when she's decorating a cake. Unfortunately everything else is a complete mess: her mom ran off years ago, her dad is more interested in his restaurant, and the idea of a boyfriend is laughable.

But Sheridan is convinced finding her mom will solve all her problems - only her dad's about to get a cooking show in New York, which means her dream of a perfect family will be dashed.

Using just the right amount of romance, family drama, and cute boys, The Sweetest Thing will entice fans with its perfect mixture of girl-friendly ingredients.

The Genre: This is a contemporary hobby/romance YA. It's heavy on Sheridan's love for cake decorating with romantic complications and emotional turmoil and decisions. No magic, just buttercream.

The Cover: I think the cover is pretty cute. It definitely matches the book, and I almost prefer that they did this as opposed to having a cake on the cover, because they talked up Sheridan's Cake Girl skills so much that if I had actually seen what they consider to be awesome cake-wise, I may have been disappointed. So, this is the safer, colorful alternative.

The Plot: This is definitely a chick flick teen novel. I picked it up because I'm a foodie TV watcher, and an entire book about cooking shows and a girl fanatical about cake decorating sounded neat to me. The food elements of the book were HUGE, with lots of romantic complications, but there was a big emotional element with Sheridan and her less than perfect family issues. My warning, though, the reader will see a lot of chick-flick-like woes and complications. It can run a little predictable as far as the romance is concerned, but that's kind of what you sign up for with a chick flick. If you want an easy breezy book that will have the necessary train-wrecks of complications that move the plot along, this book would fit the bill. Another thing worth considering is the fact that there is a religious element to the book that I wasn't expecting. It's not preachy, but it is present, in the Catholic but Baptist friendly variety.

The Romantic Element: There is a love triangle, but it's more frustrating than anything else. One of the guys, you'll know who, is great and honest, and makes the book readable, and the other…is…not so great, but the reader can understand the appeal.

The Carry-on Factor: As a sugar sweet romance, The Sweetest Thing delivers exactly what you'd expect, and tons more in the emotional department. It has all the workings of a Lifetime foodie movie for YA, plus family drama that set it apart from other books. I hadn't read a book with a mother like The Sweetest Thing had, that's for sure. And Sheridan can be a frustrating character, but it's done purposefully. As someone who watches cake shows, I knew everything Sheridan was talking about, but it could be new info for those who are interested in cakes, but haven't watched shows about them.

Overall: I can see the appeal of this book. It's sweet; it has lots of ups and downs, and when you think it's getting too frustrating on Sheridan's part, another character will try to balance things out and right the madness. I hadn't read something like this before, and I'd say it's a good read for someone in 9th-11th grade or someone who wants a breezy read that tries to pack a emotional punch (or several). 

***

For some good news, I just won Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly from For the Love of Contemporary. Woot. (FYI, the blog is/will be the bee's knees for all YA sans magic). 

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Emotion" by Destiny's Child. Because I like the song, and it matches this book sad for sad. lol.

Happy Friday and Happy reading/writing and such!!!

P.S. I did not receive compensation in exchange for this review, but there are several Amazon affiliate links within this post.