NA review: Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross

Title: Whatever Life Throws at You
Author: Julie Cross
Series: N/A
Acquired: Bought
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release date: 21st October 2014

When Annie Lucas' dad is offered a job he can't refuse, her life is completely changed. She was too young to remember him as a ball player but being a pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals is the perfect job for him... even if it means moving to Missouri. 

Annie's new life means being at an all girl's school with a uniform, doing homework in the locker room and trying to stay away from Jason Brody, the Royals' newest rookie pitcher!

Review
I was a massive fan of Julie Cross' Tempest series but I had no idea she wrote contemporary young adult novels so I was surprised when I came across this one. 

In Whatever Life Throws at You Annie Lucas's dad ends up taking a fantastic job as a pitching coach for a baseball team which means they have to move and start over somewhere new. Annie doesn't mind though as she and her dad are super close and she wants him to do something amazing. Annie was a really good protagonist and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her and her life. She's 17 but acts a lot older and I think this has got a lot to do with having to grow up without a mother and her dad knowing she's responsible. Annie always thinks about the consequences of her actions and about others around her which I liked about her. She wasn't a silly teenager who would do anything for a boy. 

Annie finds it hard to not notice Jason Brody, especially when she first meets him in the locker room! At the beginning of the book it becomes clear that he's not what he first appears to be. At first you think he's a smooth talking player but there's so much more to him than that. Brody is this sweet and caring guy who people tend to think badly of due to his past but it was so good to see him prove people wrong. 

Something that I love in books is people actually getting to know one another before a relationship starts and this is exactly what we get with Annie and Brody. They are not defined by their feelings for one another. Instead, Julie Cross gives them both fantastic personalities that you cannot help but love and make them shine on their own before they do together. Annie and Brody spend a lot of time getting to know each other before anyone acts on their feelings. 

However, the chemistry between Annie and Brody was always there and it was smoking hot. The tension throughout the book was amazing. Due to the early friendship between the two characters, there is a lot of playful banter which makes things both fun and funny at the same time. Each character gives as good as they get and the build up to anything happening was quite dramatic and full of suspense. 

Whatever Life Throws at You is not just about Annie and Brody though. There is so much more going on than that which is what made this book so good. It's refreshing to read something that isn't just about a relationship or sex. 

I'll definitely be looking out for more like this from Julie Cross. 

YA review: Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry

Title: Nowhere But Here
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Thunder Road #1
Acquired: Review
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Release date: 26th May 2015

Seventeen year old Emily loves her life with great parents, good friends and living in a safe neighbourhood. But, she has a biological dad who she's curious about, even if she doesn't want to admit it. Instead of being her dad he chose life as a member of Reign of Terror, a motorcycle club.

An unexpected visit turns into a stay Emily never thought she would do and nothing is what she thought it was; not her dad, not the club and certainly not Oz, the guy she seems to be stuck with. 

Review
Katie McGarry is one of my go to authors. I have loved every single book in her Pushing the Limits series so I couldn't wait to get my hands on her new series. 

Protagonist Emily comes from a pretty conservative family but she knows that her biological father is a member of a motorcycle club. She's intrigued and curious about him but doesn't want to admit that in case she hurts her mother and father. Honestly, Emily came across as a bit bland to begin with. She has a normal life, normal friends and a normal family if you don't count her absent biological dad. That was the most intriguing thing about her to begin with and I wanted her to have a bit more to her than that. 

Luckily, Emily really comes into her own over the course of this book. Unexpected circumstances force her to spend time with Eli, her biological dad and the club he belongs to. She soon proves that she is someone not to be messed with and she is actually quite feisty... not what I was expecting at all. As the story panned out I found myself liking Emily more and more for proving me wrong. 

The Thunder Road series is very different from Pushing the Limits for many reasons, not that it's a bad thing. In fact, it's a really good thing. Honestly, some of the subject matter in the Pushing the Limits novels is quite depressing and there are many broken families. What I loved about this book was the sense of family and community within Reign of Terror. Emily doesn't really understand what she's told about the club and how they are with one another but Katie McGarry really shows this throughout the whole book. 

Oz was a part of that family and the one made to look after Emily while she was in town. I loved Oz from the beginning. He had that smoking hot bad boy thing going for him but through his narrative, you could also see there was a hell of a lot more to him than that. I think a lot of that came from being so close to the club and knowing what it meant to be a part of it all. When it came to Emily, he knew things he shouldn't about her but was also torn because of everything else he thought he knew about her. Oz was a pretty perfect main male character for me as he had everything I could possibly want. 

In regards to the plot, Nowhere But Here has a hell of a lot going on. Not only do we have to learn of Emily's real story, the truth about her dad and a million other things but there is some serious drama and heartbreak in these pages. I was not expecting to feel so much while reading this one and I just could not put it down. McGarry's writing is utterly addictive and I cannot get enough of her books. This one is absolutely fantastic!

Blog tour: The Confectioner's Tale by Laura Madeleine

Title: The Confectioner's Tale
Author: Laura Madeleine
Series: N/A
Acquired: Review
Genre: Adult
Publisher: Black Swan
Release date: 23rd April 2015

It's 1909 and Guillerme du Frere is about to start his new life working on the railways of Paris. He leaves his family in Bordeaux to do better for himself but he never imagined the life he was about to find. 

In 1988 Petra Stevenson is struggling with her PHD thesis but when a photo of is found in her late grandfather's possessions with the words 'forgive me' and 'Clermont' written on the back. Instead of writing her thesis, Petra is determined to find out what her grandfather did. 

Review
It's no secret that I'm a bit obsessed with books set in Paris so I jumped at the chance when I was offered The Confectioner's Tale for review. 

The Confectioner's Tale alternated between two different time lines, one set in 1909 and one set in 1988. In 1909 Guillerme du Frere is embarking on a new adventure while in 1988 Petra Stevenson is determined to uncover a family secret. The two times are very different but the story is weaved together perfectly. 

Within moments of arriving in Paris, Guillerme's life is changed completely. In the busy station he accidentally knocks into a beautiful woman with amazing blue eyes. Before he knows it though he's up on his feet and whisked off to start his new job working on the railway. When his first pay check arrives, Guillerme and his friends go for a night on the town which unexpectedly leads him straight back to the beautiful woman at the Patisserie Clermont. From here, Guillerme's life in Paris changes once again and a love affair begins. 

Laura Madeleine's descriptions of Paris are absolutely magical. As a working man Guillerme does not live a glamourous life but Madeleine makes his life seem like one big adventure which had me hooked. There is a wonderful mix of the working class and wealthy families of Paris. At times we get dirty, dusty streets where men work and then we also get Patisserie Clermont which is completely different. Having been to Paris myself I could imagine what certain places were like.  I was glad that the book started with Guillerme in 1909 rather than Petra in 1988 because it really got me gripped to the story. 

We then have Petra Stevenson's part of the story which is set in 1988. A biography is being written about her late grandfather and she finds a mysterious photo with only the words 'forgive me' and 'Clermont' written on the back. Petra and her grandfather were really close so she has no idea what he could have been asking forgiveness for. The secret takes over her life really and she pushes aside her PHD work in order to find out more about the photo. I have to be honest and as much as I liked reading about how Petra and her research, I did prefer reading about 1909 more. It wasn't that this part of the story was bad in any way, I just felt like Paris had more magic about it. 

The Confectioner's Tale is a book with so much mystery, intrigue and excitement and Laura Madeleine has written it exceptionally well. 

Be sure to check out the other posts on the blog tour which you can see below!

2nd wedding anniversary

This year John and I will be celebrating two years of marriage on 30th September. Last year we went to London for a few days to celebrate. We couldn't afford to do anything amazing as we were doing a lot to the house but this year I wanted it to be different. As we got married in America I wanted to go back there although not to Florida again. 

This year we are going to New York!!

It was a bit hit and miss as to whether or not we could go due to how much it would cost but after some fantastic advice from a friend at work, the holiday is booked. We're not actually staying in New York though but we're staying in Newark instead. It cut the holiday price in half which is the only way we've been able to afford it. 

Neither of us have ever been to New York and we're both stupidly excited! I go straight into planning mode when I know we're going on holiday because there's just so much to do. 

We're on a bit of a budget with this holiday so I need to figure out how to have an amazing time in NYC without spending too much (not including shopping, of course)! It will be tricky but we're both doing everything we can to earn some extra money at the moment so we can get some attractions booked and paid for in advance. 

For those of you who have been to NYC, what must we do while we're there?!

YA review: Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry

Title: Breaking the Rules
Author: Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #1.5
Acquired: Bought
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Release date: 1st January 2015

Noah and Echo are having an epic summer road trip before Echo heads off to college. She needs time away from home and she needs to spend time with the one guy who will never judge her. But, the road trip turns into something else entirely and instead of bringing the couple together, it threatens to push them apart. 

Review
Echo and Noah have been one of my favourite couples in a young adult series in such a long time so going into this book was a bit nerve racking!

Echo and Noah are on the road trip of a lifetime and they are enjoying some much needed time away from everything back home and concentrating on each other. Katie McGarry writes some really wonderful and beautiful scenes which really capture how Echo and Noah feel about each other. They are breathtaking together and are put into some pretty amazing situations during the beginning of the book. 

However, their summer is running out and this brings up questions about the couple's future and where they are heading. Each character has some pretty major insecurities because of their pasts and they both have problems talking to each other about what's going on in their heads. While Echo and Noah are a pretty solid couple at times, their lack of trust in one another annoyed me a little bit. After everything they had already been through I was hoping that they could trust each other a bit more instead of keeping things to themselves. 

A large proportion of this book focuses on family and what that can mean to someone. Noah has issues with his family, as does Echo and these things come back to haunt them both. The things that have happened before with family members have a huge effect on how Echo and Noah approach different situations and it was hard to see them act in the ways they did. This book raises a lot of questions about what a family really is and who is part of that family. 

Breaking the Rules is very busy plot wise. As previously mentioned, Echo and Noah have a lot going on and an unsure future ahead of them. They both have dreams that they want to pursue but they are so different. Noah is a musician while Echo is an artist and their dreams are threatening to pull them in different situations. It was heartbreaking to see these two struggle with their feelings for each other and want they wanted out of life, especially when they both thought those things didn't work together. 

Breaking the Rules is a highly emotional read but a must for fans of the series and of Noah and Echo. 

NA review: Trust In Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Trust In Me
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Wait For You
Acquired: Bouught
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Release date: 26th November 2013

When Cameron Hamilton wants something, he's used to getting it, especially when it comes to women. But, when Avery Morgansten literally crashes into him, she does not fall for his charm and his amazing blue eyes. She's different and he wants her. Now, if only he can get her to admit that she wants him too. 

Review
Trust In Me is a retelling of the first book in this series, Wait For You which was one of the books that got me hooked on the new adult genre. It seems that a lot of books are told from the female's point of view so I couldn't wait to read this from a male perspective. I really liked Cam in the original book but I felt like I was missing quite a lot from him.

Cam is a confident guy and definitely someone who goes for what he wants. Avery Morgansten comes crashing into his life and she's very unexpected. The minute they run into one another, he can't get her out of his head and it frustrates him that she doesn't seem affected by him at all. Avery is like no one else he's ever been with and it seems like she won't ever be interested in him either. I really liked reading about how Cam felt about Avery and how he couldn't get her out of his head. This is exactly what I was missing in Wait For You. 

However, I didn't think that Trust In me added much else to the original story. There are a couple of additional scenes which were great but I didn't feel like I was reading something new. This was really unfortunate because I was looking forward to this book so much. I think that a retelling should be able to work as a stand-alone, which this one does but it should also have something to offer readers of the original book. I read Wait For You a long time ago though (2013) so I really didn't remember too much about the story. In this case, I didn't mind re-reading the story but if I had read these books closer together, I would have been even more disappointed. 

Trust In Me is a nice addition to the series although it could have been much better. 

Series wrap up - Bloodlines 4, 5 & 6

My wonderful husband bought me the final three books in the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead for my birthday last month. It had been a very long time since I read the first three books though and I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to get back into the series. Boy, was I wrong! After picking up book 3, The Fiery Heart I was hooked once again and I read all three books within a couple of days. 

Protagonists Sydney and Adrian are trying to find their feet in their secret relationship. Adrian is a Vampire and Sydney is an Alchemist which really means that they shouldn't be together, especially in the eyes of the Alchemists. These two characters are the reasons why I started reading this series in the first place. Sydney is so different and the last three books really see her coming into her own and realising that she can be her

own person and not what other people think she should be. Then there's Adrian who is just wonderful. He didn't have the best reputation in the Vampire Academy series but he's so different in these books and he turns into someone I loved!

The romance between Sydney and Adrian was pretty awesome. Each character has so much to overcome before they can finally be happy together and their journey of discovery is such a good one to discover. There are also many more romances in the last three books of this series though. A whole host of other characters are finding their own feet in the relationship department and while some are just a nice back story, some are much more important to the overall plot of the series. Richelle Mead writes fantastic chemistry between her characters and I think that's partially why I love her books so much. 

A lot happens plot wise over the course of these final three books so it's kind of hard to write about. However, I will say that I loved the changes in the dynamics of vampires and Alchemists. The things that happen affect the way a lot of people see the world and the changes are definitely for the better. Another thing I loved was the development of human magic. This added a whole other dimension to the story and it was something that made it stand out to the first three books. 

The Bloodlines series is very different from the Vampire Academy series but equally as enjoyable. I absolutely loved the final half of the series and I really couldn't put each book down once I'd started.