Category Archives: Realist Fiction

Blog Tour

December 6, 2013 posted by Nichole

The Kiss Off (The Kiss Off #1) - Sarah Billington

WARNING: Sexual references, occassional coarse language.

When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global.

A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she’s along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn’t as easy as she had hoped.

Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.

The Kiss Off was surprisingly adorable. I was really nervous when I read the synopsis. I thought that the whole song/band/contemporary feel to the book would give it too much of a cheese factor. I have to say, though, I was pleasantly surprised. It was really cute! There were moments that the book did have a cheese factor, but I feel that contemporary fans are really going to love this one!

What really stands out to me is that The Kiss Off made me laugh out loud and giggle like a little kid. Hell, I think I even snorted once. It was flipping funny! I don’t usually have those kinds of emotions when reading books, so it was awesome! And that lasted throughout the whole book. I was constantly laughing. Sarah Billington definitely knows how to create an entertaining read.

My major complaint with The Kiss Off is that it’s a little bit too dramatic for my personal taste. I found myself getting tired with all the relationship drama and who was dating who and who was on the outs and fighting and breaking up. That drama lasts throughout the whole book, which is something that I didn’t really care for. BUT….the synopsis can pretty much tell you that it’s a drama filled teen contemporary novel. So, I knew what I was getting myself into ahead of time. I’m not the biggest contemporary fan…so that stuff doesn’t always appeal to me. However, I think that contemporary lovers are going to go crazy over the drama! And, if I’m being honest, it was kind of interesting drama. I mean…it wasn’t really realistic…but it was kinda cool reading about this song writer/youtube pop star who was dating a real pop star. I mean…it was really interesting.

As far as the characters go, I did really love Poppy. I thought she was hilarious. I also really liked Poppy’s friends. There were some characters in the book that made me wonder why they even existed. Not everyone in the book was a hit for me. But I think that those characters are each going to be loved in their own way. Personally, I wasn’t too hooked on either of the love interests. I thought that they were both jackasses…but I think that was intentional. And let’s be honest….every teenage boy is a jackass at some point in time. (Sorry, guys!)

Overall, I really liked The Kiss Off. I thought that it was a super cute read that younger readers and contemporary lovers are going to enjoy! I have to say that I’m shocked that this one is an Indie book. I’ve never been able to say that before….but I’m not quite sure why this one hasn’t been published. It was really cute!

Pages: 260

Format: Ebook

Publication Date: April 1st 2013

Publisher: Billington Media

Rating: :

Book Reviews

November 22, 2013 posted by Nichole

Red by Alison Cherry

Felicity St. John has it all—loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.

Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:

I know your secret.

Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say “strawberry blond.” Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school.

Felicity isn’t about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred?

When I first started Red, I was curiously hooked. It was such a weird concept to a book. Normally that’s not something that I would want to read about, but I mean, seriously, I was just so oddly fascinated. For those of you who haven’t heard about this book before, Red is about a town that is mostly populated by red heads and they pretty much rule the town. If you’re not a red head, then you’re pretty much an outcast from the rest of society. Felicity is the main character in Red, and she has a deep dark secret that nobody else knows about. She’s not a really a red head. She’s been dying her hair since she was a toddler, and if her secret gets out she will no longer be the beloved, popular girl that she is today. Things get even more tricky when a brunette finds out Felicity’s secret and starts to blackmail her.

Red is a light, quirky book that’s just a feel good type of read. It definitely has a cheesy middle grade quality to it, but I was often able to overlook that vibe. The characters were very sweet and cute, but also very dramatic and annoying at times. As for the plot…yes…it was cheesy. It’s definitely not going to be a book for everyone. But it was oddly adorable.

Now for a couple negative notes. I didn’t like the characters very well, especially the main character, Felicity. They were a bit too dramatic for my taste. I enjoyed that it wasn’t the typical boy meets girl and falls in love contemporary feel, but I do wish that there would have been a bit more seriousness to it and less……cheese. I feel like I’m saying that word a lot. I also had a really hard time reading about Felicity’s mom and boyfriend. I found their scenes to be very offensive, and I skimmed through them.

There were a lot of aspects of Red that just didn’t make sense. I don’t think that the younger crowd will pick up on the flaws, but I think that they will bother the older crowd a lot. At first, it didn’t bother me at all. As the story progressed, though, I found that those flaws were becoming super annoying. There are just some things that could never happen. I like my contemporary to be more on the realistic side. This one was more on the imaginary world side.

A little over halfway through Red, I started to find it way too cheesy, predictable, and uncomfortable. Some of the scenes were a little too hard for me to get through. I don’t like feeling so embarrassed for the main character that I have to skip a scene altogether. I ended u skimming a large portion of the book, because I pretty much knew everything that was going to happen. I got to the point where I just wanted to get to the end and see that my predictions were correct.

Overall, I think that Red is a great book for younger readers. It’s light and cute. It reminds me of some teeny bopper show that could be on TV. Is it for the older crowd? Mehhhh. I don’t think so. The writing is really good, but I feel that it might be a little TOO young for the older YA crowd.

Pages: 320

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Published: October 8th, 2013

Rating: :

Book Reviews

November 14, 2013 posted by Nichole

DNF: Stir Me Up - Sabrina Elkins

Cami Broussard has her future all figured out. She’ll finish her senior year of high school, then go to work full-time as an apprentice chef in her father’s French restaurant, alongside her boyfriend, Luke. But then twenty-year-old ex-Marine Julian Wyatt comes to live with Cami’s family while recovering from serious injuries. And suddenly Cami finds herself questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Julian’s all attitude, challenges and intense green-brown eyes. But beneath that abrasive exterior is a man who just might be as lost as Cami’s starting to feel. And Cami can’t stop thinking about him. Talking to him. Wanting to kiss him. He’s got her seriously stirred up. Her senior year has just gotten a lot more complicated…

Stir Me Up is a very difficult review for me to write for several reasons. 1) I DNF’d it. I did a lot of skimming 2) I love the cover 3) Jenner L. Armentrout recommended it. But my DNF came down to several reasons, which I’m about to discuss!

My main problem with Stir Me Up was that I despised the main character Cami. Honestly….Cami acted like an MG character. I didn’t associate her with a 17-18 year old. She whined constantly, she was full of drama, and she was hyper and uber sensitive 99% of the time. Now….it wasn’t that long ago that I was 17. And, yes, I acted like an idiot more than once, but I was pretty mature for a 17 year old. And, honestly, I didn’t meet many people my age who acted as immature as Cami. I honestly just couldn’t stand her.

Then we have Julian, and this is where the book got difficult for me..well…more difficult. See, I really like Julian’s character. I actually thought that he made the book. But…and yes…here it is….I thought his whole disability problem..you know…not having one of his legs…made for a very……awkward….NA book. Maybe if it had just been a YA book, then maybe it would have been fine. But it was really kinda gross reading about a 17 year old girl getting it on with a 20 year old guy who lost one of his limbs and had psychological damage. I wasn’t into it at all. I think that this is one of the only books that my face scrunched up on steamy scenes. I’m sorry…I’m just not into that. There’s nothing wrong with having a disability or anything, but it was very awkward.

I honestly did not care for the whole cooking aspect of this book. It didn’t really go with the story and it made it very choppy and bumpy. And if at all possible, it also made Cami even more annoying. There were just too many aspects to this book. I like that Cami had a side job and a boyfriend…and basically just a life. BUT….it was just too much.

Another complaint I had with this book were the parents. I couldn’t stand them. I though they were awful people, and I just couldn’t bring myself to read any scenes that they were in. I skimmed a lot during those parts, because I would just get so angry at the situation. A lot of the stuff that they said and did would just never go down in my house, and it just wasn’t an environment that I was very familiar with. I know it’s silly, but parents can play a huge role in if I like a book. If I don’t like the characters parents, I’m probably going to be skimming sections. I have firm beliefs about what parents should and should not do, and it just makes it awkward and uncomfortable for me to read. That doesn’t say anything against the writing. I’m sure that’s a good think that the author can bring out such emotions in me. But…no…I just couldn’t do it.

Overall, I didn’t much care for this book. Obviously, since I didn’t finish it. At first, I wasn’t going to write a review on the blog for this one, but I just felt that I had a reviews worth to say about it. I think that it’s going to be a hit or miss with people. I think it just comes down to preference. But it just wasn’t for me.

Pages: 268

Publication Date: October 1st, 2013

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Rating: DNF

Book Reviews

November 11, 2013 posted by Nichole

Never Too Far (Too Far Trilogy #2) - Abbi Glines

He had held a secret that destroyed her world.

Everything she had known was no longer true.

Blaire couldn’t stop loving him but she knew she could never forgive him.
Now, she was back home and learning to live again. Moving on with life… until something happened to send her world spinning once again.
What do you do when the one person you can never trust again is the one that you need to trust so desperately?

You lie, hide, avoid, and pray that your sins never find you out.

Warning: This review contains some spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.

Never Too Far was a very sad read for me, because I adored the first book in the series, Fallen Too Far. This book was very predictable and very cheesy. The characters lost all of the appeal that they had in the first book, and I just could not get into it. Never Too Far takes off right where it left off in Fallen Too Far with Blaire shunning Rush and her moving back to Alabama. And low and behold….she gets pregnant. You know what? That was a stupid plot. I’m sorry, but it was. I guessed that Blaire was going to get pregnant in the first book, and I was hoping beyond hope that it just wouldn’t happen. Not only did it happen, but it didn’t come across very well in the book. I wasn’t a fan of it at. all.

I’m trying to decide my biggest problem in this book, and I can’t choose between the pregnancy, Blaire, or Rush. Honestly, I want to say that it was Rush, but it’s a close call. Where Rush was edgy and had a snarky, sarcastic quality about him in the first book, he was a complete pushover who begged and cried during every second of this book. I didn’t get excited over any scene because what was there to get excited about? The whole damn thing was just depressing…and Rush was quite frankly making me feel a bit ill inside.

On the other hand, Blaire…I couldn’t even read Blaire’s thoughts. I did a lot of skimming in this book and most of those parts involved her. Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine. That’s all she did. Pooooor me. I’m Blaire, I’m pregnant, and I don’t want to tell the one guy that I truly love. Boo hoo hoo. Poor me. That’s what the whole damn book was about. And when they finally got back together, which you knew they were going to, it was more of the same damn thing. Ohhhhh, I don’t want to hurt Blaire cause she’s pregnant. Ohhhh…I don’t know if I should get back together with Rush. I’ll say yes now and then change my mind a million and one times. COME ON! There’s not even that much drama in real damn life! The whole thing just gave me a damn headache.

The pregnancy thing was really stupid. I’m actually pretty annoyed that I already went ahead and bought the 3rd book because it’s just going to be more of this shit. Now they’re engaged and they’re getting married and going to have a baby. And, oh, yeah, Rush is a billionaire so everything is just going to be damn fine. Blaire is only 19! What kind of message is that sending to young people? FYI…you shouldn’t get married that young. There’s nothing wrong with it if that’s what you really want, and I’m not trying to offend anyone, but I just think that was a horrible message to send to young people. Like I said..headache. Not helped by the fact that I JUST finished this book, and I need to rant.

Not only those three things, but all of the other characters in the book were annoying and unrealistic. I’m sorry, but they didn’t live in a small town. Everyone knew everyone’s secrets and bowed down to help Blaire even before they knew about the pregnancy. Most of the guys in the book seemed very feminine…and just…unrealistic. All the voices eventually started blending together because everyone just sounded the same as everyone else.

Will I eventually read the 3rd book? Well, yeah, because I bought it. But I might not have read it if I hadn’t already bought it. I’m really shocked that this was the sequel, especially after how good the first book was. I’m just really disappointed /=

Pages: 200

Publication Date: February 25th 2013

Source: Ebook

Rating: :

Book Reviews

November 7, 2013 posted by Nichole

Fallen Too Far (Too Far Trilogy #1) - Abbi Glines

To want what you’re not supposed to have…

She is only nineteen.

She is his new stepfather’s daughter.

She is still naïve and innocent due to spending the last three years taking care of her sick mother.

But for twenty-four year old Rush Finlay, she is the only thing that has ever been off limits. His famous father’s guilt money, his mother’s desperation to win his love, and his charm are the three reasons he has never been told no.

Blaire Wynn left her small farmhouse in Alabama, after her mother passed away, to move in with her father and his new wife in their sprawling beach house along the Florida gulf coast. She isn’t prepared for the lifestyle change and she knows she’ll never fit into this world. Then there is her sexy stepbrother who her father leaves her with for the summer while he runs off to Paris with his wife. Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous. He is also getting under her skin. She knows he is anything but good for her and that he’ll never be faithful to anyone. He is jaded and has secrets Blaire knows she may never uncover but even knowing all of that…

Blaire just may have fallen too far.

I picked up Fallen Too Far because the cover is smoking hot. I’ve been in a huge New Adult phase lately. I’ve been stockpiling all I can get on my Nook. Fallen Too Far is one of the best New Adult books that I have ever read. It’s about Blaire who is from Alabama and has just up and moved to Florida to live with her father after her mother’s death. When she gets there, though, her father has run off to Paris and the only person in the house is her stepbrother, Rush. He decides to let her move in with him for one month until she can get a place of her own and during that time…well…..sparks…and heat…fly.

Blaire was an awesome main character. I think I fell in love with her the very first time she drew a gun on someone. She was tough, edgy, strong, and she stood up for herself and what she believed in. Normally these types of books are all about push over girls, and I was really intrigued that Fallen Too Far pretty much avoided that for the most part. Toward the end of the book, Blaire definitely got on my nerves a little bit more. That probably happened within like the last 4 or 5 chapters.

Rush. O.M.G. Rush. Tongue Piercing. That is all I have to say about him. No, no..I’m kidding. Well, not about the tongue piercing….Anways *ahem* Rush was just too steamy and hunky not to fall in love with. He is definitely an edgy and punkish type of character. Like in all of the New Adult books that I have read, that side of him disappeared by the end and was replaced by a more sensitive side. That is going to highly appeal to some girl, but I HATE reading about sensitive male characters. It’s just not something I’m into. Again, though, that didn’t happen until the very end of the book.

Fallen Too Far is definitely steamy and may not be appropriate for younger teenagers. It’s definitely New Adult contemporary, but it does have some sexual scenes included in it, which is pretty standard for New Adult. I would definitely say that this book is more for the older crowd.

I loved this book. I read it in about 6 hours and it kept me up late at night. I found the book to be well-written and the story to be addicting. I thought that I might run across some problems, because I was a little hesitant with the step siblings romance plot, but it really didn’t bug me. I don’t think that it will bother anyone else, either. It was just a really good book and the romance was everything that I could have hoped for. YOU NEED to go read this book!

Pages: 188

Publication Date: December 14th 2012

Source: Ebook

Rating: :

Contemporary

October 28, 2013 posted by Nichole

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence #1) - Jessica Sorensen

There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.

Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe.

For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.

Now he can’t stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved.

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden was a very difficult read for me, because I loved the cover and I just really wanted to read it! I have been in a huge New Adult craze lately, and I’ve been chomping at the bit to get my greedy hands on all of it. This one was a bit of a disappointment, though. The writing wasn’t all that great, the characters weren’t that lovable, and I was a bit uncomfortable in several spots. There are a lot of people out there who adore this series, though, so maybe I’m just the odd one out.

There are a lot of uncomfortable scenes in this book. Child abuse, bulimia, rape, bullying, and other forms of self-abuse are major topics in this book. The synopsis kind of hints toward maybe one or two of those topics, but I really felt like they were pushed on me out of nowhere. If you have any triggers, this might not be the book for you. I ended up having to skip several scenes, because I didn’t feel very comfortable reading them. Contemporary lovers might end up really enjoying this book because those topics are so realistic. I wasn’t a fan of having all of those topics forced into one book. I felt that it took away from the characters and made the story really awkward and uncomfortable to read.

I didn’t like either Callie or Kayden, which made it a bit difficult since they are the main characters. Callie was very reserved, kind of boring, very whiney, and very dependent on Seth and Kayden. Kayden was not nearly manly enough for my taste. I tend to lean toward tougher bad boy types, and I especially 100% need that in my New Adult books. He just seemed way too weak for my taste. It’s very difficult for me to say this, because I understand that both Callie and Kayden both have emotional and mental issues. In reality, this is probably how both of them would act. I also know that I would probably have nothing to do with either of them in real life. So I think it just comes down to taste.

Not only was I not a big fan of the characters or topics, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. There wasn’t one scene where I was blown away. I have two other books to read by Jessica Sorensen, and I have to admit that I’m not all that excited now. I really need to relate in some way to my characters and to have big emotional scenes that really just tear at my heart. I didn’t have that. I just…didn’t care for this book.

Overall, I probably would not recommend this book. Contemporary lovers may enjoy it, but I just thought that it was pretty bland, and it just wasn’t for me.

Pages: 336

Publication Date: December 13th, 2013

Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “In the existence of our lives, there is a single coincidence that brings us together and for a moment, our hearts beat as one.”

Book Reviews

October 22, 2013 posted by Nichole

DNF: Indigo by Gina Linko

A gift?

A curse?

A moment that changes everything. . . .

Caught in an unexpected spring squall, Corrine’s first instinct is to protect her little sister Sophie after a nasty fall. But when Corrine reaches out to comfort her sister, the exact opposite occurs. Her touch-charged with an otherworldly force and bursting with blinding indigo color-surges violently from Corrine to her sister. In an instant, Sophie is dead. From that moment on, Corrine convinces herself that everyone would be better off if she simply withdrew from life.

When her family abruptly moves to New Orleans, Corrine’s withdrawal is made all the easier. No friends. No connections. No chance of hurting anyone. But strange things continue to happen around her in this haunting, mystical city. And she realizes that her power cannot be ignored, especially when Rennick, a talented local artist with a bad-boy past, suggests another possibility: Corrine might have the touch. An ability to heal those around her. But knowing what happened to her sister, can Corrine trust her gift?

Last year I fell in love with Gina Linko in her book, Flutter. I was naturally excited to read Indigo. The cover looks awesome, the synopsis sounds cool, and I’m always up for a paranormal fantasy book. I didn’t end up loving this book. I ended up DNF’ing it half way through for a couple different reasons. 1) This is not really a paranormal fantasy book 2) the characters and 3) the connection.

Goodreads has Indigo listed as young adult/fantasy/paranormal. The very first thing that should have been listed is contemporary followed by realistic fiction. Now, I want to point out that the writing was amazing. I don’t think Gina Linko can even write something that is bad. However, I’m not the biggest fan of contemporary…something that I’ve never been shy to admit. There are some contemp books out there that I love, but for the most part I don’t care for them. Indigo focuses heavily on Corrine’s pain over losing her little sister and coming to terms with it and moving on with her life. There is a paranormal aspect of the book, but it’s soooo minor. It’s there…but it’s not there.

As for the characters, I didn’t really connect with any of them. Corrine bugged the crap out of me. She whined constantly and a big majority of the book was dedicated to just her thoughts and her grief. I know that’s a huge part of what the book is about, but it got old. I was so tired of Corrine being down all the time. I was annoyed that there wasn’t a bigger paranormal aspect of the book. I just couldn’t handle the total sadness that envelopes this book.

I’ve pretty much covered the connection problem. I didn’t relate to the plot or the characters. It really just wasn’t for me. Again, though, the writing IS beautiful. And I think that Indigo is going to highly appeal to contemporary fans. I mean….if you love contemporary…GO GET THIS BOOK. You’re probably going to end up bawling your eyes out or something and love this book forever. I can totally see that happen. But if you’re going into this book expecting a huge paranormal read, you’re gonna be disappointed.

Pages: 304

Publication Date: October 22nd 2013

Publisher: Random House Children’s

Source: EARC provided by publisher

Rating: N/A due to DNF