7/31/2015

When You're Back By Abbi Glines

The future is bright for Reese Ellis. She has Mase Colt-Manning, the man of her dreams, and a family she didn’t know existed until her long-lost father arrived on her doorstep in Rosemary Beach. After growing up with a cruel mother and abusive stepfather, Reese is eager to get to know the caring and charming man who wants to be a part of her life. Everything is finally falling into place.

While Reese is visiting her new family in Chicago, Mase spends time with his “cousin,” Aida, who has worshipped him since childhood. Though they’re unrelated by blood, Mase and Aida have been raised to think of each other as family. But when Reese returns, she can tell something isn’t quite right with Aida, who clearly resents Reese and excels at manipulative little games. And though Mase is unsuspecting, Reese knows Aida doesn’t love him like a cousin should...

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There is little to say about this book other than that Abbi delivers another work of perfection. I am sad that this series is coming to an end, but Abbi certainly has not let up at all. This was the perfect ending to Mase and Reese's story. It has all the drama, romance, mess ups, and make ups that make this series great. The proposal scene was enough to make me swoon ten times over! 

There are some great twists and a shocking revelation about a certain character (Captain...Holy Cow! Didn't not see that coming!) that made for a great read and built anticipation for the upcoming installments. This book gets five giant stars from me!

Up Next...
The Best Goodbye - Captain's story: October 2015
Up in Flames - Nan's story: March 2016
Untitled book for Dean: December 2016

7/21/2015

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time—when not playing video games and avoiding Earl’s terrifying brothers— making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don’t make them for other people. Until Rachel.

Rachel has leukemia, and Greg’s mom gets the genius idea that Greg should befriend her. Against his better judgment and despite his extreme awkwardness, he does. When Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl must abandon invisibility and make a stand. It’s a hilarious, outrageous, and truthful look at death and high school by a prodigiously talented debut author.

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To be honest, I don't know how to feel about this book. I think that I am as indifferent to this book as Greg, the protagonist, was about writing it. Which to be fair, he is upfront about from the beginning about.

On the plus side, I found this book hilarious and on more than one occasion I found myself laughing out loud. Fantastic lines such as: "It was about the least fun social situation imaginable. If terrorists had burst into the room and tried to suffocate us in hummus, it would have been an improvement. This idea got me thinking about hummus. What is hummus, exactly? It’s basically a paste. Who eats paste? Especially a paste that resembles cat barf? You can’t deny the resemblance here. At least, when Cat Stevens barfs, it looks like hummus," appeared out of nowhere, adding unexpected humor at every turn. This is also not a "typical cancer book." In fact, Rachel, the girl with cancer, takes a secondary role and there is no typical romance story. Those hoping that this story will follow the likes of The Fault in Our Stars and Bright Side will be sorely disappointed. This book is NOTHING like what you would expect from the cancer genre.

However, because this book does not follow the norms that one would expect from this genre, I was left feeling like I missed the point. For one thing, Greg is a protagonist that doesn't change. Normally, you would expect the main character to start one way at the beginning of the book, and somehow different by the end. Not the case with Greg. He remains static throughout the entire thing. Because of this, I found him to be a far less interesting character than Earl and Rachel. He is exactly the same at the end of the story as he is at the beginning.

The only real emotion he shows is when Rachel is dying in the hospital, but it seems to be fleeting and has no real impact on him as a person. Time after time, he proves how self-centered he is by having no compassion for others and instead focusing on how the situation effects him. In the end, he attacks his only "friend" (he prefers to call Earl a "co-worker) over something that he had no control of and finds himself alone, which is what he wants. He gives up film, because he stubbornly refuses to pursue it and fulfill his promise to Rachel, but ends up flunking out of community college, only to begrudgingly take film up again a year later.

Because of the lack of character grow in the protagonist, I was unable to find a point to the story. Is the point that some people don't change no matter the circumstances? Is this light-hearted comedy mascaraing as a dark one? Is that what is lurking under the humor? If so, that is a sad and cynical (but true) way to view the world. I hope this is not the case and that there is just something I'm missing, but that may be my own faith in humanity talking...

Even after writing this review, I still can't form an opinion of this book. I cannot emphatically say "read this book," nor can I say "this book is a waste of time." I remain very much like the protagonist...completely indifferent.

7/20/2015

Inspiring You (Unraveling You #4) by Jessica Sorensen

Ayden knows it’s time to remember what really happened four years ago, so he can help save his sister. With the help of Lyric, he faces his past head on.

But dealing with the truth is difficult.

Will Ayden finally be free of his past so he can move forward to his future?

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This was a short and sweet ending to Ayden and Lyric's story. While I enjoyed the story, I was slightly disappointed by this one. I felt like events from the previous books really built up anticipation for some of the events in this final installment that just feel a little short.

For example, the supposedly highly risky memory treatment that Ayden considers undergoing in an effort to help find his sister. Spoiler Alert: Ayden undergoes the treatment. However, it does not turn out to be as dramatic as I would have anticipated. Another example (and another spoiler!!): Finding Ayden's sister, Sadie. Again, the build up to this event was so great throughout the whole series that I just thought the actual event would have been much more...something.

In the end, I was happy about how Ayden and Lyric's story played out, but felt this book lacked a lot of the drama and excitement that I have come to expect from a Jessica Sorensen novel. Having said that, I still think the series is worth the read.

There are two more books planned in this series. Up first is Sadie and Sage's story, Forget Me Not, followed by Iridescent, which is Fiona's story. I am excited for both and hope that these installments will bring back the drama I so love!

7/01/2015

Blog Tour ~ Finding Me (His #3) by Mariah Dietz ~ Review & Giveaway!


Chronicles of a Book Nerd is thrilled to host a stop on the Finding Me by Mariah Dietz blog tour. Keep reading for a synopsis, purchase links, excerpt, author spotlight, giveaway, and of course, my two cents!

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About the Book

I came here to escape. Leave the debris and avoid the inevitable truths.

Things are better.

Worse.

Different.

I’m finding me, but in the process I fear I’m forgetting those I have left, and the ones who have left me. Maybe I’m losing who I was.

Can I forget my past and move forward?

Can I forget him?





Purchase links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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Excerpt

Walking the short distance through the apartment and down to the parking lot, time slows down, allowing me to fixate on the fact that I look like a mess, and feel like I’m walking too straight. I slump my shoulders slightly to try and look more relaxed and then feel even more awkward, and straighten again and feel even more rigid.

He unlocks the truck with the press of a button and unlike he did when we rode in his Jeep together, he doesn’t come to open the passenger door. I’m still debating if I wanted him to when I notice a water bottle lying in the middle seat. It was mine. I carried it in here from the hospital Sunday. I never would have remembered it if I didn’t see it again, that entire night is sort of a blur, but at some point, someone had passed it to me while we waited for the doctor. I don’t remember carrying it out. It’s still mostly full, showing proof I barely touched it. Did I carry it out?

The truck starts with a soft rumble. It sounds so different than his Jeep. My mind turns with the gears. What do I say to the guy that was everything and is now supposed to mean nothing to me? This silence is unbearably uncomfortable. I can’t stop from guessing what he’s thinking. Is he wishing I wasn’t here? In his truck? In California?

“So, how’s medical school?”

Max’s head turns and his eyes focus on me for a second before he turns back to the road. I keep my attention on him, confused by his delayed response. Of all topics, this seems like a safe route. “I have my own set of flashcards.”

I smile out of relief more than humor. “I used the wrong set of flashcards to study for a test last semester.” I shake my head and release a short breath. “It’s amazing that I passed it.”

“I bet you got an A on the paper, didn’t you?”

I glance at Max and he’s looking at me. His head shakes and a soft chuckle mingles with the music. “You’re the smartest person I know. You’re astrophysicist material.”

“Says the guy studying to be a brain surgeon.”

“Neurosurgeon.”

My laughter fills the truck. It’s not even that his joke was all that funny, but having an easy conversation with Max makes laughing easier. Better. When my laughter fades into a smile I expect to feel the same stab of nostalgia I experienced earlier with the knowledge that I will miss this, but I don’t. I simply appreciate the moment, and attempt to stretch it. “Do you remember the Maximus flashcard?”

Max’s truck pulls into a parking spot, and he shifts into park before turning to me. “I remember everything.” His tone is solemn, but his face is relaxed. I keep his stare without abashment. I want to stay here and continue to draw out this moment. To feel this emotion that’s flushing through me, warming me, and filling me with something I have forgotten about. I don’t know how to describe it: it’s not the same comfort that I get from being around my sisters, or the adrenaline I receive when I reach that point while running; it’s a rightness, a completeness that makes my heart swell and my smile broaden. My head starts to race with interpretations of what this means, but a fog fills my thoughts because I know. My heart understands exactly what he’s saying to me … I think.

“I do too.” My admission makes me feel brave.

My phone rings, and we’re back in his driveway almost two years ago when his phone rang, back to where neither of us knows how to say the right thing to one another, but this time it’s both of us walking a gray tightrope, one that felt less intimidating to cross because I could see him at the other side.

His eyes close and he looks embarrassed, or possibly ashamed. It awakens old tendencies, making me question the reality of the moment. My phone rings again, and Max’s entire body shifts away from me. Opening the door, he climbs out in one fluid movement.

I don’t know if I can go out there and face him right now. I feel as though he’s rejecting me all over again, and it makes my eyes and throat burn.

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My Two Cents...

Overall, I thought this was a satisfying ending to this series. I can't even be mad at Ace for leaving anymore, which I totally was after reading the second book. While I can understand her need to flee and to stay away, it is so opposite of what my natural response to conflict is that I had to remind myself that she really was deserving of compassion. This book was also an emotional one, but it was different than the second book. The emotion was much more cathartic, for both the characters and the reader. Where as Ace ran from her emotions before, she faces them head on, and because of this she is able to move forward and resolve a lot of her insecurities. I also really like the incorporation of the letters from Ace's father. I got a little worried towards the end when Ace once again runs back to Delaware, but I did end up getting the happy ending that I was hoping for. 

This is a really good series. Be prepared for an emotional ride, but if you are able to stick with it, I don't think that you will be disappointed. This series speaks to so many things that we all can relate to - friendship, family, insecurity, fear, vulnerability, death, the art of living, home, hope, fate, and most importantly love. It was a bit of a battle for me to get through it, but in the end it was worth it. And isn't that how life works most of the time? The things that are truly worth it, are always worth the battle.


**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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About The Author

Mariah Dietz lives in Eastern Washington with her husband and two sons that are the axis of her crazy and wonderful world.

Mariah grew up in a tiny town outside of Portland, Oregon where she spent the majority of her time immersed in the pages of books that she both read and created. 

She has a love for all things that include her sons, good coffee, books, travel, and dark chocolate. She also has a deep passion for the stories she writes, and hopes readers enjoy the journeys she takes them on, as much as she loves creating them.



Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8474696.Mariah_Dietz 


His Series:

Becoming His
Barbes And Noble: http://bit.ly/1KUIgwv

Losing Her
Barnes And Noble: http://bit.ly/1GEtQBG

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Giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2015 Reading Challenge: A trilogy