Tag: Life

Posted in J. Sterling

The Sweetest Game (#3) – J.Sterling

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

18687611Synopsis

This is the third (and final) installment in Jack & Cassie’s story!

“It’s one hell of a sledgehammer to the chest when your baseball career comes to an end. It’s like you finally realize that baseball never loved you back. All the sleepless nights, the hours spent at the gym trying to stay fit, the conditioning, the training, the mental preparation, the holiday’s missed, the birthday’s passed, the memories you didn’t get to make with your family…all for what? It’s not like baseball lost any sleep over you. She didn’t stay awake for nights on end trying to figure out how to make you a better player. She didn’t care. Baseball’s a business. A sport. A game. And as much as my entire life has been wrapped up in it, it’s time to let it go.”
– Jack Carter

 4 out of 5 stars

My Review of The Perfect Game

My Review of The Game Changer

add-to-goodreads-button3

——————————————————————-

My Review

The Sweetest Game is the perfect conclusion and ending to an amazing, and frustrating series! (We all know what happened in The Perfect Game) Jack Fucking Carter is like marmite and you will either fall for him completely, forgive him for his mistakes or you will never see past them…

The third and final book is about family and overcoming situations they have no control over… You watch our favourite characters grow in themselves and together, watch them actually grow up, fall and stay in love, have arguments, start a family and watch their lives end in the sweetest way ever. The final installment cements the love of Cassie and Jack, cements that they truly are each others souls mates, that they would do whatever for each other, and i am so sad its over but so completely happy to have this series in my life, to know about this series.

J. Sterling has made us go through the motions but i wouldnt have it any other way. I loved all the trials and tribulations everyone went through, loved the drama, loved the banter, the love of their friends and family and most importantly, the love of Cassie and Jack overcoming everything that has been put in their way to challenge them.

I have to say, at the beginning of the book, when something big happens, i wanted to smack the living shit out of Jack. Okay, so i can understand why he was so down and depressed but to take it out on Cassie, to make her feel small, to make her so upset over his action. No, that was never okay for him to do and i really wanted to punch him and kick him in the balls and tell him to grow a pair. Okay, okay, he had a right to be down, but never take it out on the woman you love with everything and never act like a total bitch when all she was trying to do was understand and love you like hell.

But once he realized what he was doing, I, along with Cassie, learned to forgive him for his action. I could see how much he was affected by what happened, and why he was acting out and i knew he knew what he was doing yet he just couldnt stop it. But once they get back to being them, you can really see how strong they are as a couple, how in love they are and that they have found their one, regardless of how ‘young’ they were, love as no age limit.

I admired Cassie in this book. She would move heaven and earth for that boy, to be with him wherever he was and to since putting up with so much shit in the past two books, you knew she loved Jack that much to overcome it, to power through and just be with Jack. She gave up something she loved and you could see that although she was sad, Jack was more than enough for her and wherever Jack was, she was.

I loved watching them grow up, i loved seeing them through the years, seeing them still in such a strong relationship, still turning each other on like madness, still needing to touch and hold and be close to one another and still supporting each other. Cassie supported Jack with his baseball, seemingly putting her dreams on hold for him and now it was Jack;s time to get Cassie back to her dream. These two are a team and even if you cant see past the things in book one, you need to finish reading this series because i adored knowing their story, knowing what became of them and knowing where they are now.

It hasnt been an easy ride at all, but to come through so much, and with so much love for each other, you know that whatever challenges they come across they will deal with them together.

I also enjoyed Dean and Melissa’s journey too. From being best friends to hooking up and getting together – which we all knew would happen eventually. It wasnt a smooth ride at all…oh hell no it wasnt but they got there in the end and i loved that although it took years, they are really happy now and have everything they ever wished for…together.

I’m definitely sad their story has come to an end, but Jack Fucking Carter will always stay with me. I hope there will be spin-off series with the little kiddie winkles some day in the future. I loved reading the epilogue and i know that any kid of Jack’s and Dean’s will prove themselves and turn out to be just like their dads.

PS. Jack Fucking Carter is way HOTTER than Harry Fucking Potter 😉

Posted in Mancandy Monday

MANCANDY MONDAY – The place where the hot guys go!

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

tumblr_miteosbnHM1s715eao1_500

Every Monday, Blame It On The Book Lovers will be discussing their favourite book boyfriend of that week in a meme called MANCANDY MONDAY!

We all love book boyfriends, so Man Candy Monday is all about sharing the love…and the hot guys around by letting everyone know the book boyfriend you have been swooning over this last week, and why!

Once you’ve posted your mancandy on your own blog, come back and post the link. We all want to know WHO your mancandy is this week and swoon right along with you.

This week The Book Lovers is featuring Andrew Parrish – The Edge Of Never by J.A Redmerski

hhhhMy Andrew is Grey Damon

I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE Andrew Parrish. I freaking well adored him from the first moment he arrived on the page and how much he protected Camryn right from the start, even though he didn’t know her, he felt drawn towards her.

Andrew and Camyrn spark up a friendship and he teaches her how to live when they go on a roadtrip around the USA, not wanting to return back to their hometowns and wanting to forget everything in the real world for a little while. Andrew teaches Camyrn to live, to own her sexuality, to conquer her fears and her past and come out of her depression and confide in him about things she couldnt with her first love. He brings out things in Camyrn that makes her better. But Camryn does the same for Andrew too; they both push each other to be the best they can be and in turn, they both fall for one another.

I loved the closeness, the banter, the friendship that they both had together and then how they fell in love. They were made for each other and Andrew really lived for the moment and if you have read this book, you will see what happens in the end. You will sob and see exactly why Andrew wanted to spend time with Camryn and didn’t tell her what was going on as he didnt expect to find love.

Andrews tattoo and the story behind why he had it is amazing and i loved that he bared his soul about it and how he wanted his soul mate to have the missing parts tattooed on them so when they touched, they were in perfect sync.

So that is why Andrew is my mancandy this week. He isn’t perfect, he’s got a massive secret but he shows Camryn how to live and in turn, finds his soul mate.

grey-damon-bello

add-to-goodreads-button3

If you join in, leave your link in the comments so we can all see who you picked for your Mancandy 🙂

Posted in New Adult

One Tiny Lie (#2) – K.A Tucker

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

Tucker_One Tiny Lie coverSynopsis

Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents’ tragic death and Kacey’s self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would…and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.

Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?

As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows.

5 /5 stars

My review of Ten Tiny Breaths HERE

add-to-goodreads-button3

—————————————————

My Review

Because you’re not a one-night girl, Irish.” Leaning in to place a kiss on my jawline, he whispers, “You’re my forever girl.

*Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy in return for an honest review*

I bloody well loved Ten Tiny Breaths, as you can see from my review, so when I found out Livie was getting a book that was the GREATEST news ever. I literally could not wait for it because I wanted to see how Livie’s life would pan out and if she too, would find love and her obstacles in her life.

I was not disappointed in this book at all. When I picked it up, it was demolished in a matter of hours (not counting how I had to put it down to work) but I was just drawn into Livie’s life, wondering how it was going to end up, wondering about Ashton’s too. You really do feel for Livie and Ashton and that is why I love K.A Tucker’s style. You get sucked in, you have all these feels and you feel the same as the characters you are reading about. It’s hard not to.

Ten Tiny Lies is about Livie and her going off to college. Kelsey’s worried that Livie is going to crack and so she recruits Dr. Stayner to help Livie out, in his obscure ways.  Although Livie doesn’t want his help, she humours him and in the end, she talks to him every Saturday, doing everything he tells her to.  In turn, when she goes to college, she lets her hair down. She drinks, she makes friends and of course, she falls in love. And as I’ve said, not without complications.

Everything in her life is tipped upside down, she has no idea what to do because it’s the only thing she’s ever known. Just what is Livie going to it?

We first meet Livie in Ten Tiny Breaths. She really is the glue to her and Kelsey, especially after everything Kelsey did and went through. She is strong willed, she’s smart, she’s shy and she has her future all mapped out, she has since she was a little girl. But despite all this, she has yet to ‘crack’ under the pressure of everything and she is too grown up for her own good. Kelsey wants her to crack, to act like the teenager she is and to not just focus on looking after everyone, she needs to let loose a little, live a lot and find herself. Enter Princeton, new friends, a lot of alcohol and a whole lot of complications. What is Livie meant to do? Everything seems to be falling apart right under her.

You really do see Livie grow throughout One Tiny Lie. She is definitely a straight and narrow girl, hating to go off track and not knowing what is going to happen, but Princeton is slowly changing her and its scary. She wants to change but at the same time she doesn’t. It’s all shes wanted and known since she was a little girl. What is she to do if she can’t be a doctor?

I loved her journey though. She finds out who she really is, lets loose and lives a lot, makes new friends, gets drunk and gains a new crush in the form of Ashton.  But Ashton is just a little bit broken. Livie has always felt empathy towards people, feels that she can help them in some way and she really did want to help Ashton out, no matter how many times he seemed to push her away. Her determination to ‘free’ him is what I loved about her and she really does find who she is at the end.

Her journey takes her from a straight A’d student to a woman. We watch come out of her shy shell and transform. We see her develop strong feelings for Ashton, watch her deliberate over what the hell to do and literally change her life. Her lifestyle changes, her career prospects change and admitting that out loud is so scary she doesn’t want to, but she has to. She takes babysteps with the help of the amazing Dr. Stayner (What a babe) and he helps her every step of the way with his crazy ideas. But he always makes her see that whatever she does, her dad will always be proud of her.

Dr. Stayner makes Livie understand that you don’t need to plan every single detail of your life, that you should just let things fall into place. Life carries on regardless of if you plan it or not. He really was the father figure that I think Livie needed at that crucial time in her life.

From the get go I was infatuated with Asthton. There was just something about him that I was drawn to – from the way he overpowered Livie to stealing her Jell-o shot and kissing her. HOT HOT HOT! The cocky little bastard that he was. This is the start of a very complicated and back and forth ‘relationship’ between the both of them. They had the chemistry from the first moment but despite Ashton’s cockiness and smugness and flirtiness, he’s pretty damn broken up inside. He’s not ‘free’, and everything he does is a front he puts on in front of his friends and everyone in college.

He hides his private life away, not sharing anything with anyone yet he’s strong, and loveable and you cant help but want to smother him with love and help him through everything. To be the one to free him from his shackles.

He has everything you would want. A great car, goes to a great school, money but there is just someone that he wants but he just cant have her – Livie. No matter how many times he pushes her away, he cant let her go – he’s torn between telling her that she should be with Connor and wanting her to himself. But he’s hiding a massive secret from her, a secret no one, not even his best friend Connor, knows about. See what I told you about the fact that no one really knows anything about Ashton.

But bit by bit he kind of needs Livie to be his reason to be free, to breathe again, and hes there for her as much as she is for him, despite her not fully understanding everything. When you find out the reason why they cant be together, your heart will ache for Ashton. I cried and it pained me that he went through all of this and is still continuing to.

When everything does come out, my heart bled for Livie and Ashton. It was time for Livie to put herself first and take a time out, focus on exactly what she wanted in her life, and if she wanted Ashton in it or not. Her decision was not taken lightly but you could see why she chose what she did in the end. It was courageous of her and of course, she loved Ashton and she really needed to know the truth from him now. Before she fully ‘took’ him back.

They were both exactly what the other needed.

I’m going to mention Connor, as he’s in the synopsis but I really didn’t click with him. He was definitely a safe option for Livie and although he did seem to really like Livie, he just wasn’t really there for her throughout her confusion over her career, her failing grades and I just couldn’t understand why a boyfriend wouldn’t be there for his girlfriend. Thank god she had Ashton around to comfort her and be there for her. She made the right decision.

I was so glad to see Kelsey and Trent and everyone else from TTB cameo in One Tiny Lie. I had missed them so much and although we obviously see Kelsey more – still LOVE this girl and I still love the comments she comes out with, we get to see her and Trent all lovey dovey, which is exactly how we love them!! They deserve so much happiness after everything they have been through. Livie leaves Kelsey in the dark about everything until Livie cracks and returns home after that one revelation one night and tells Kelsey everything. It was so nice to see the two of them bonding and just being the amazing sisters we know them as.

In my opinion this is really what One Tiny Lie is about. Breathing again, freedom, finding who you truly are and being okay with that, with the changes in your life and falling in love and being loved back. Livie and Ashton complete each other. They show each other how to love and how to live and how to free themselves from everything holding them back. They both stole a piece of my heart and I really do hope that they get to be a part of book three – Cain’s book – because I would love to know what happens beyond the end for the two of them.

Please, if you have yet to read Ten Tiny Breaths and One Tiny Lie, grab your copies. These books truly deserve to be read and Ten Tiny Breaths was on my top 10 favourite books of 2012 and would I ever lie to you about great books? No!

Posted in Romance

Kept – Elle Field

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

17914601Synopsis

“Did she really just say that? I am fifteen again, except the reality is I am experiencing full parental horror, aged twenty-five. I want to die.”

Life hasn’t quite worked out how Arielle Lockley imagined it would. Becoming the next Coco Chanel was always her childhood dream, but she’s spent the past four years living a dizzying whirl of glitzy parties, luxurious holidays and daily shopping sprees – all paid for by boyfriend Piers – and not doing anything to make her Coco dreams happen.

When the recession hits, it’s not just the economy that takes a tumble and Arielle finds herself living back with her parents, on bad terms with Piers, and having a CV that’s as welcome as a pair of knock-off Jimmy Choos. And maybe it’s the location, but she’s also finding unwelcome thoughts of her childhood sweetheart are popping into her head…

What’s a girl to do? Can Arielle figure out what it is she now wants to do with her life and move on, or will she be doomed to spend the rest of her life dwelling over her worst mistakes, stuck listening to her parents’ embarrassing dinner table talk each night?

4.5 / 5 Hearts

add-to-goodreads-button3

————————————————————-

My Review

I’d like to thank Elle Field for sending me a copy Of Kept in return for an honest review.

Kept is the debut novel for Elle Field and I have to say, I was completely entranced by her book. Albeit, it took me a while to get into it, but when I did, I couldn’t put it down. I loved how Elle set the events of the story, letting us know what was happening before going back to explain how Arielle come to be in the position is in currently in.

I haven’t really read a romance book in a while; New Adult has taken over my life, so it was refreshing to read Kept, read the romance entwined within the book, instead of feeling my panicky self with all the angst that is wrapped up within NA. It was a breath of fresh air and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of Kept.

Ms Field has a way to keep you captivated, wanting to know more about Arielle’s life, wanting to know who she picks, how her life ended up that way and what she is going to do about it. You feel like you go on a journey with Arielle too, by the way she has so much drama and so much pain that she still has harboured inside from her younger years. She’s lost, she had dreams but she never pursued them. It’s a great chick-lit to read, you will laugh, tear up, root for Arielle, ponder over which guy she should be with all the while taking each step with her along the way.

We first see Arielle on the train. She has no money, no train ticket and just a weekend bag. She’s been kicked out of her house by her boyfriend Piers. She then takes us back to the beginning, how she met Piers, how they came to be, what shes been doing the past four years right up to that very moment on the train.

Throughout the book, you see the past and present of Arielle. How to came to where she is now, how it shaped her into someone she didn’t want to be. She had dreams, which took a backburner. She changed but now it’s all about getting her dreams back, she just needs to figure out what she wants to do, and how to go about it.

Piers, her boyfriend, dotted on Arielle but after a bad day, he loses it and kicks her ‘lazy’ ass out. The only place she has to go is her parents house and she doesn’t even want to step foot back in New Forest, it holds too many memories.

But after some guidance, from Piers, her parents and a special fairy godmother, she is trying to get her life back on track, trying to show everyone and herself she can pursue her dreams and make them a reality. Baring in mind she hits some bumps along the way, bumps from her past and it makes her head all fuzzy but in her heart, she knows the right guy is waiting for her, she just needs to sort herself out first.

So what does Arielle do? You’ll have to find out yourself.

I really loved the character of Arielle. Albeit she is a pain in the ass at the start and she is spoilt when you are taken back into the past four years of her relationship with Piers. She see that although she started off strong and spunky and independent when she first met Piers, over time she became a former figure of herself, spending Piers money, buying expensive clothes and holiday and not even bothering to thank him. This is the tipping point for Piers after a stressful day and he kicks her out. You see her vulnerable side break through, with no money, nowhere to really go and with no jobs under her belt, shes lost.

BUT over time, she begins to think about her future, having to work through her past and present, with some advice from her best friend Ob. She has to fight her past, working through her demons from her old teenager boyfriend Noah, who broke her heart. She goes on a journey, transforming herself into someone that everyone can be proud of. She overcomes her past, figures out her present and how to stand on her own two feet without anyone’s help and it made me so proud of her to do this, without anyone’s contributions. In the end she turns back into the independent woman that everyone knew she was, she just lost her way.

What can I say about Piers? I realllllly liked him. He is a gentleman, makes a lot of money and truly loved and cared for Arielle. How they met will have you giggling and what he says to her will make your heart melt. She really is everything to him and he just wants to care for her. BUT, and this is a big BUT, he is one of the reasons that Arielle has never worked during those four years. Because he tells her he will provide for her.

I’m kind of conflicted over him when he kicked her out, because it was his idea for her not to work (If I was told not to work, I would FIND work and not spend his money) and then he calls her selfish and lazy for not having a job. Bit hypercritical don’t you think? But then I can see his point of view, as she became selfish and ungrateful by his generosity. I don’t blame him for needing some time apart from Arielle. She wasn’t the girl he fell in love with.

Despite all this, he still loved her and wanted her back. The time did all the difference to him and to Arielle and he was always there to support her from afar. I think this is why I was rooting for him till the very end.

The supporting characters are brilliant. I completely loved Ob and I do hope that he will have his own book. I’d love for him to find love, seeing as he is married to his job. He made me laugh, he gave some good advice and you can always find him down the pub 😉 Even though he and Arielle haven’t talked for years, it was like they were never apart and that is why I love friendships like this. Arielle and Ob definitely are the best friends despite years apart.

I think my favourite scene is when Arielle is redesigning the shop. That is all I’m going to say but she proves her worth, proves she can do it and proves that with a bit of spunk you can achieve anything you put your mind to. This is one of the reasons I was so proud of her. She took something that was empty and transformed it into something that was popular around New Forest. It was something she loved and was good at. She found her worth.

Kept is a great chick-lit novel. You will be laughing, swooning, rooting for Arielle and end up so proud of her. It was refreshing to read something other than NA and if you need a book to get over the angst, then Kept is definitely the book for you. It has everything to keep you entertained and hooked and Elle Field, I will definitely be checking out more of your books when they are written!

Posted in Cover Reveal, New Adult, Romance

COVER REVEAL + BLURB: April Showers – Karli Perrin

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

I am SUPER EXCITED to share the cover and blurb with you. Karli has become a good friend in a short amount of time and I love that she asked me to be a part of this reveal for her because she had been teasing me with snippets from April Showers and to be honest with you, from those short paragraphs I am already NEEDING to get my hands on this book and fall even more in love with Isaac. Yes, I have dips on him. Sorry guys 😉

So without further ado, here is the big reveal 😀 (And i LOVE LOVE LOVE this cover. Kissing in the rain? Swooooon)

Young hugging couple kissing under a rain, in passion

Title: April Showers
Author: Karli Perrin
Expected Release Date: May 2013
Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17831683-april-showers
[This is a self-published title so no pre-order purchase links will be available prior to publication.]

Synopsis

What happens when your head and your heart pull you in completely opposite directions?

April Adams is about to find out the hard way.

When April enrols at Manchester University, it feels like a whole new life. New city, new house, new friends…new crush.

Isaac Sharpe is the hottest guy on campus – with an even hotter reputation. After a chance meeting, April quickly finds herself wrapped up in all that he is. But what if all that he is isn’t what it seems?

Caught up in a battle between what she wants and what she thinks she needs, April meets Lukas Roberts. Lukas is the security blanket that she craves so desperately, and she finds solace in their friendship – but what happens when she finds more than she bargained for?

April has always been a big believer of fate, but will she learn that she’s in control of her own destiny before it’s too late?

Join April as she embarks on a life changing journey of love and loss, which will have you laughing and crying until the very end.

—————————————–

Links

Blog link: http://karlijperrin.blogspot.co.uk
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17831683-april-showers
Twitter: @karli_uk
—————————————–

So what are you all waiting for? Go add April Showers to your TBR list because it is definitely added to mine 😀

 

Posted in YA

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

11870085Synopsis

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind,

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

My Review
“It would be my privilege to have my heart broken by you.” ~Gus

Hazel, at 13 was diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer and was prepared to die. But at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs…for now. She still lives with cancer but it’s kept at bay.

Now sixteen, Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tanks and continues to use the medical miracle to keep the tumours at bay. The Doctors have told her she could live for a long time, but she doesn’t have a normal life. Until one boy came and change her life around.
One evening at a cancer kid support group, she meets Augustus Waters. He’s gorgeous, in remission and is in to Hazel. They become friends fast and begin to spend their time together. Their journey together is much needed and they both feel at ease together. Spending time with Augustus has Hazel examining everything in her life. From her sickness, to health, to life and death and how it will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

This book review is going to go a little different today. I have such a book hangover with The Fault in Our Stars that for the first time ever I woke up crying because of it. Baring in mind, I finished this book around 1am (UK time) and went straight to bed, still thinking about the book and trying to stop my tears. Whenever I now think about this book, tears well up in my eyes and I have to do everything not to cry.
So yes, a different review today. I’m going to use GIFs to express my feelings for this amazing book because I don’t have the words right now to comprehend how much this book got to me.

I went into this book kind of blind sighted. I had downloaded TFIOS many months ago and now have I only got around to reading it. I knew it was about two cancer patients but other than that, I didn’t re-read the synopsis, I wanted to go in not knowing what was going to happen. But even if I did read the synopsis, the whole book caught me by surprise. I couldn’t put it down and I was tearing up at parts that weren’t sad, just happy, if you can say that.

THIS was me at the end and as I’ve said, whenever I think about this book.

Props to David Tennant!

Hazel and Augustus were a delight to read. Yes, they spoke like they were so much older than 16/17 years old, but it’s because they aren’t your normal teenagers. Hazel, albeit is still alive with the medical miracle pills, is still carrying cancer around with her. The tumours may have shrunk but for how long? How long until this pill will stop? Having spent 3 years with cancer, its under her skin, in the literal sense. Its not going away and she has to live with the fact that its terminal. Although the Doctors tell her she could live for a long time, she thinks of herself as a grenade. That could go off any second. It was heartbreaking that she thought that about herself.

Shes had a lot of growing up over the years, and its made her see life, especially her life differently. She’s not like us ‘normal’ girls, who can run around for hours on end. No, shes tethered to an Oxygen tank to help her breathe as her cancer has attached itself to her lungs. Although she lives her life normally, there are many thing shes cannot do without the cancer stealing her breath away or filling her lungs with fluid. But despite all this, shes a great character to read, who goes through a journey of self-discovery and a journey that she can do ‘normal’ things. I was so proud of her walking up the steps at the Anne Frank memorial because she pushed herself and was determined to make it up to the attic. Although it caught her breath, I smiled that she had made it up there, because of her strength and determination to prove she could do it.

(I love J-Law)

Augustus stole my heart from the get go. He was so grown-up before his time but he still had that teenage feel about him, much like Hazel. Of course, having cancer is going to make you grow up and think about the world and how you fit in differently, but together, it seemed that they could do anything. I would have liked him to sound like a 17 year old though, because at times, I just wanted him to act like he was a teenager (yes he played video games) but he was so grown up in the way of his speeches that sometimes, it annoyed me. But other than that, he was defiant in the way he was. He said things bluntly, he never held back and he was confident in how he wanted to be with Hazel, about how much he loved her and didn’t want to hide it.

Even in pain he was using humour to hide it. He seemed to brighten up Hazel’s life day by day just by spending time with her and being with her. He was brave and when he said this line to Hazel:-
“I lit up like a Christmas Tree, Hazel Grace.”
I was a gonna. Tears streaming down my face. Gus was a great, big part in Hazel’s life and they both loved each other dearly and to think that everything could change just tore me apart.

(I love Santana)

He and Hazel just seemed right together. They seemed to both feel the same way about the world and in terms of their own cancer. They were weird together (Their parents words) and seemed to go through a journey together, trying to see where they fit in this world. I loved how much they cared about one another, would make each other happy and it filled me with joy that they were just…together.

It is beautifully written, you cannot fault that at all. John Green has you hooked from the get-go and the only time I put it down was when I went out for a couple of hours with some friends but then I picked it right back up when I came back home. I felt so many emotions throughout this book. And when it got to the pivotal point, that’s when everything went to pot and I couldn’t stop crying. This has only happened once when I can’t stop crying and that was with The Edge Of Never- J.A Redmerski.

It’s a great book and a fantastic read. You will feel so many emotions throughout this book. You all really need to grab a copy and experience the awesomeness of The Fault In Our Stars. It’s about cancer, it’s about love, it’s about discovery, about death and it’s heartbreakingly good!

I definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Posted in New Adult

If You Stay (Beautifully Broken #1) – Courtney Cole

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

17032328Synopsis

24-year old Pax Tate is an asshole.
Seriously.

He’s a tattooed, rock-hard bad-boy with a bad attitude to match.

But he’s got his reasons.

His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with guilt although he doesn’t understand why. What he does know is that he and his dad are left alone and with more issues than they can count.

As Pax grew up, he tried to be the kid his father always wanted; the perfect golden boy, but it didn’t work. His dad couldn’t overcome his grief long enough to notice and Pax couldn’t keep up the impossible perfect façade.
So he slipped far, far from it.

Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the ugliness, the black void that he doesn’t want to deal with. If he pretends that the emptiness isn’t there, then it isn’t, right?
Wrong.

And it’s never more apparent than when he meets Mila.
Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air to his hardened frown, the beauty to his ugly heart. He doesn’t know how to not hurt her, but he quickly realizes that he’s got to figure it out because he needs her to breathe.

When memories of his mother’s death resurface from where he’s repressed them for so long, Mila is there to catch him when the guilt starts making sense. Mila is the one…the one who can save him from his broken troubled heart; from his issues, from the emptiness.

But only if he can stop being an asshole long enough to allow it.

He knows that. And he’s working on it.

But is that enough to make her stay?

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

My Review

Pax is a 24 year old ‘fuck-up’. He’s a bad boy with a bad attitude to match but he’s got his reasons for acting like an asshole all the time.

When he was seven, his mother died, and it’s left Pax with a hole in his heart and guilt that he doesn’t know where it has come from. Due to his mother’s death, his dad uprooted them away from his childhood home and as the years have gone on, he and his dad have many issues that they just haven’t sorted out and since trying to be the perfect son and getting nothing back from his dad, Pax slipped, slipped so far that he began to use drugs, alcohol and girls to deal with his past.

But there is still an emptiness that fills his heart, no matter how hard to tries to pretend it’s not there.

Then he meets Mila and shes like this breath of fresh air. She softens his heart. He knows deep down the line he’s going to hurt her, but he’s going to try his damn hardest not to because he needs her.

But when the memories of his mother’s death resurface, Mila is there for him when the guilt becomes too much, but he’s retreated back into his asshole state, as it’s the only way he knows how to survive. Will Mila stay around or will it be too much for her to cope?

HOLY MOLY! I freaking loved If You Stay and I was so glad that I downloaded it. I had seen the hype around this book on Twitter and knew I had to get my hands on it. I love the whole bad boy/good girl love affair and I was totally indulged in the story right from the beginning. It was totally a bold move to open the book that way, but by hell it caught my attention (I read it on the train, my eyes were wide open and I was hoping no one was watching me) and from then on, I was hooked right until the very end.

If You Stay has so much packed into the plot that it’s hard not to feel for the story and all the characters involved. It’s not a story I have ever read before and I salute Courtney Cole for it. It’s got a raw feeling to it, with how both Mila and Pax go on about their lives before they meet. Pax is rough around the edges, whereas Mila sees everything in the world through her artist mind, seeing colours and beauty where there is none. I think that is why these two were so perfect for one another. They blended both of their different colours together and created a new one, just for them.

I loved Pax. He was fucked-up yes, but at the start, with how he handled life – well it was the only way he knew how. How to get through his day. His void was alcohol and drugs and when his life was in danger, it took that moment to make him see just how close he was to death and how he needed to do something because next time he really could be dead. And that’s how Mila fits in. When he was with Mila, it was like he had a new lease of life. He didn’t want to be the old him; he wanted to change for the better, for himself and to prove he’s not a fuck-up like everyone thinks of him. Mila was his ray of sunshine. The one person he could rely on and make him feels things he hadn’t for a long time.

Mila was a great character. She worked hard, she ran a successful business, she helped out at her parent’s restaurant and she really did see the best in everyone but she was closed off. She didn’t want her heart to be broken like it was when her parents died. But then there was something about Pax that she never really felt with any other guy. Mila wants to take that risk with Pax, even though she’s on guard with her heart, but Pax tries so hard for her and you can really see how easy it is for them both for fall for each other.

I really enjoyed the dual narratives. They really divulged into their fears, their feelings and their emotions; not just about themselves but about each other too. It was great to read their progress during their relationship from both Pax and Mila and of course, how deep they both fell for each other, through their struggles and the drama that surrounded them.

I loved their story, their journey to becoming the people they ended up being together. Mila helps Pax with his childhood memories that have enclosed and forgotten for years and even though their relationship struggled as Pax was hurting and didn’t know how to handle it, Mila never gave up on him, wanting to help him through the pain.

There are so many scenes that I absolutely loved reading about, but the one that had me giggling and really wanting to do is the naked painting. You could feel the emotions pouring off the characters and through the kindle over this scene and it was hot as hell.

So readers, if you like bad boys with a past, good girls who fall for said bad boy, a road to recovery, deep, dark secrets of the past and of course, scenes of a sexual nature then download your copy now and get reading If You Stay. I guarantee you will fall in love with this book too!

Posted in Family, Suspense

The Seeds of a Daisy – Alison Caiola

Posted on by Z. Elizabeth

17194127Synopsis

From the outside looking in, Lily Lockwood, popular star of the hit TV show St. Joe’s, has it all. Recently nominated for an Emmy, her star is definitely on the rise. She shares her gorgeous Malibu beachfront home with her even more gorgeous actor boyfriend. Perfect, right? Not so much! Within a matter of just a few days, it all falls apart. The wind is knocked out of her when she finds out that her boyfriend, on location shooting a western, is riding horses all day and his curvy co-star all night. Before Lily can catch her breath, she gets word that her mother, best-selling author Daisy Lockwood, is in intensive care after a near-fatal accident. Lily flies across the country to be by her side. The girl, who has a hard time deciding if her Chai Latte should be Grande or Venti, is now faced with making crucial life and death decisions. While rifling through Daisy’s papers, she comes across shocking information about her mother that threatens to shake her very foundation. Lily embarks on a journey of self-discovery and closure as she seeks to unlock the mysteries of her mother’s past.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

My Review

Lily Lockwood seems to have it all. She’s a famous actress on a TV show called St. Joes, she’s got the perfect boyfriend, her mother is her best friend and she’s just become nominated for an Emmy. All seems completely perfect to her. BUT within a few days everything turns upside down. Her boyfriend is cheating on her with his busty co-star and her mother, best-selling author Daisy Lockwood has been in a fatal car accident and is in a coma. Everything has fallen apart and now Lily has the crucial decision over what to do. While trying to sort out Daisy’s papers for the hospital, she discovers things about her mother’s past that she never knew of and it takes her on a journey of self-discovery and closure as she starts to unlock the secrets of her mother’s past.

The story starts off with Lily at her mother’s hospital bed, sobbing and asking her to wake up. As she waits for the doctors to tell her the news of her mother’s condition, Lily begins to reflect on her life and relationship with her mother, who brought her up single-handedly and supported and helped her into the Hollywood world – always being there for Lily throughout everything in her life. As the days pass by, and with tests and operations being done on her mother, Daisy’s close friends come to be with her and Lily to await the news of Daisy’s condition and to support Lily.

I really felt for Lily, because Daisy, although her mother is her best friend and the only person that she can lean on, and for her to be in a coma – it was so sad to read as she just wanted her to be okay and wake up. My mum is one of my best friends too and I would be completely lost without her if anything happened to her, which I’m sure everyone can relate to as well, so yes, I definitely felt for Lily having to go through this. As much as she’s a famous TV star, she’s still a scared, vulnerable little girl inside; scared about what is happening to her mum.

Although this book is focused on Lily and her self-discovery, it’s all centered on Daisy, You never get to read Daisy speaking in the present, but you do in the flashbacks and stories that Lily thinks about throughout the book. You do get a feel that you know Daisy as her voice is pretty strong and even if she is in a coma, I did fell like I knew her, regardless of her not speaking. You also get to know more about Daisy in her diary entries, which Lily finds and reads. They give Lily and the reader an insight into Daisy’s childhood – one that she has never told Lily. You find out many a secret about Daisy and there’s a huge shock of a secret which I was not expecting at all!

It was great to see the supporting characters coming to the hospital to visit Daisy and support Lily throughout the ordeal of the accident. The friends were completely special to read about and definitely felt like a small family to Lily and Daisy to me. Her Auntie D, who is childhood friends with Daisy, was such an amazing character to read. She was there for Lily when she was younger and is still there for Lily years later. Her and Daisy have been through a lot in their past and they are still best friends to this day. It was brilliant to see so much support and love coming from Donna, even when she was hurting because her best friend was in a coma. You can see that Donna will always be there for lily, no matter what happens.

Alison’s writing style comes to life. You can see she has really researched all the hospital scenes and the jargon used in this book. She writes about a colourful and lovely mother-daughter relationship that you just want for yourself and it’s the bond of the two that really gels this book together. It’s the heart of the book. It seems exceptionally realistic, especially the hospital scenes as you could really feel yourself acting the way Lily was with the Doctors (Who was a bit of an arsehole) and just wanting to know what was happening with her mother. I felt every single emotion she conveyed and this book actually got me thinking about if I was in Lily’s position. The story really did make Lily stronger, in a way, and really make her see life as being precious. It’s a great book to read and I would definitely recommend it as it was difficult to put down once I started it!