Review - Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

When a group of high school sophomores in one homeroom class get their flu shot, they never dreamed that one of the side effects would be telepathy.  Of course when a group of teenagers are able to read the minds of others and each other, you are going to have lots of fun and drama.  It's all fun and games at first, then the realization starts and they learn that some thoughts are life changing and really should not be broadcasted to everyone.

This was a really fun story to read.  It is told from the POV of 'We', which may sound weird, but it really works for this book.  The characters are realistic and the story line flowed well.  I would recommend this book to any young adult, but really anyone would enjoy this fast and fun story.

4 out of 5 stars

Contemporary teen fiction with romance, secrets, scandals, and ESP from the author of Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have).We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.

So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening. ~Goodreads

Publication Date: March 11, 2014

Age Range: 12 and up
Grade Level: 7 and up
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press (March 11, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385737386
ISBN-13: 978-0385737388

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Harry Potter Postage Stamps

Happy Friday Ya'll! We made it.....YAY!

Not only do I collect books, I also collect postage stamps...which like books, is becoming a very expensive hobby! But, unlike books, stamps are much easier to store:) I could not resist getting these......they are so cool!

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Happy Reading!

Review - Forbidden: The Soulkeepers by Lori Adams

Sophia St. James is  17 years old and moves to New Hurst, Connecticut with her father from Los Angeles.  Once moved, she makes good friends with a totally fun and witty group of fellow classmates.  Among these friends is Michael.  Michael is a (sexy) guardian angel who starts to develop feelings for Sophia, which is highly prohibited and as much as he tries to deny his feelings, you just can’t stop love.  Of course, no story would be complete unless you add a sexy bad-boy demon tossed into the mix.  This demon is Dante and after decades of searching, he has finally found the soul of his former lover, which happens to now reside in Sophia, and he will do everything in his power to reunite with his lost love.

In Forbidden: The Soulkeepers, Lori Adams has managed to create an awesome story packed with forbidden romance, good vs. evil and paranormal adventure.  There is so much to like in this book!   It grabbed my attention from page one and never wavered.  The characters are likable and the dialogue between them made me laugh as I was reading the story.  The only thing I did not like about this book is that I have so many questions that were left unanswered at the end and now I have to wait for the next one to come out.

Forbidden:  The Soulkeepers (book one) is due to be published April 15, 2014 so be sure to check it out!

5 out of 5 stars

*I received a copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

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Lori Adams gives New Adult a haunting paranormal twist with the first novel of The Soulkeepers, a series that blends ancient legends and new myths with an enchanting mix of thrills, humor, and high drama.

When Sophia St. James learns that she’ll be moving from Los Angeles to a podunk town somewhere in Connecticut for her senior year of high school, she isn’t expecting an otherworldly encounter. But there is more to Haven Hurst than meets the eye: it’s home to a family of Guardian Angels, and she is the only one who can see them in spirit form. Sophia soon realizes she wants to see much more of Michael, an irresistible yet volatile Guardian who seems drawn to her too.

As Michael battles his forbidden desire for the beautiful young newcomer, one of Hell’s most notorious Demon Knights arrives. Handsome and charismatic, Dante has come to claim the reincarnated soul of his lost lover trapped in Sophia. Cursed with the demon of Persuasion living inside him, Dante will use his seductive charms to lure Sophia into a dangerous game that ends with the kiss of death—unless Michael, who has captured Sophia’s heart, can now capture her soul. ~ Goodreads

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Review - Seven Unholy Days by Jerry Hatchett

What do you get when you combine a story about a failing power grid,horrific mass murder, government corruption, and a crazy psychopath determined to strike world-wide destruction? Add a hero or two and you have a great story that will keep you on edge the entire ride! Good characters and intense action made this a very fast paced read, so much that I did not want it to end.




"A simple glitch in a power grid heralds the beginning of a madman's scheme to bring about a biblical apocalypse. Written in a staccato style that will leave readers breathless and flipping pages long into the night, Hatchett's...novel, SEVEN UNHOLY DAYS, is a thriller not to be missed!" NYT & international bestselling author James Rollins

Matt Decker is a celebrity geek, designer of the nation’s futuristic new power grid and a hero for lowering electric bills across the land. He’s a talk show favorite, rich, and living the American dream. Until the power fails, everywhere, throwing the techno-dependent United States into chaos.

Decker’s “impenetrable” systems have been breached in the worst way, and it’s just the beginning. The country is under attack from Abraham Hart, an eccentric and unstable man with nearly unlimited resources, a man who believes himself to be a bizarre hybrid of Christ and Antichrist. Hart delivers a new attack each day as he works his way through his own personal version of Revelation’s famed seven seals, and he makes it personal between him and Decker ~Goodreads

Review - The Night is Alive by Heather Graham

MIDNIGHT IN SAVANNAH…

It's a city of beauty, history…hauntings. And one of the most haunted places in Savannah is a tavern called The Dragonslayer, built in the 1750s. The current owner, Gus Anderson, is a descendant of the original innkeeper and his pirate brother, Blue.

Gus summons his granddaughter, Abigail, home from Virginia, where she's studying at the FBI Academy. When she arrives, she's devastated to find him dead. Murdered. But Abby soon learns that Gus isn't the only one to meet a brutal and untimely end; there've been at least two other victims. Then Captain Blue Anderson starts making ghostly appearances, and the FBI's paranormal investigation unit, the Krewe of Hunters, sends in Agent Malachi Gordon.

Abby and Malachi have a similar ability to connect with the dead…and a similar stubbornness. Sparks immediately begin to fly—sparks of attraction and discord. But as the death toll rises, they have to trust each other or they, too, might find themselves among the dead haunting old Savannah! ~Goodreads

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Although I have read many books by Heather Graham, The Night is Alive is my first Krewe of Hunters experience.  Since I really was not confused by the characters the entire time, I feel this can definitely be read as a stand-alone novel.   This was a well-paced story full of mystery, romance and ghostly appearances.  I was guessing ‘who-done-it’ the whole time, but when the murderer is finally revealed, I had that ‘of course I should have known that’ moment.  

Ms. Graham is an awesome story-teller, and although I really am not all that interested in pirate things in general, this story kept me interested until the end.  

3 out of 5 stars 

Review - Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie

A perfect society where everything is stress-free and perfect.  The citizens don't have to worry about their food choices, their career path or the future spouse.  Everything is chosen for them by the 'Society'.  Everyone is healthy and at age eighty you get the pleasure of dying.  Sounds just perfect...right?  Cassie has always trusted this system, but after her Matching ceremony, she starts to discover that the perfect world she lives in is not so perfect.

I really enjoyed reading Matched and can't wait to begin the second book Crossed.  I really had hoped that the relationship between Cassie and Ky would have developed a little bit more, but it was just enough to entice me to read the second book.  This was indeed an intriguing dystopian romance story and I recommend it to anyone who loves this type of genre.  

4 out of 5 stars.....definitely worth reading!

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Blurb from Goodreads:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Age Range: 12 and up
Grade Level: 7 and up
Series: Matched (Paperback - Trilogy) (Book 1)
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (September 20, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 014241977X
ISBN-13: 978-0142419779

January Wrap-up

The first month of 2014 has come and gone and boy was it a crazy month!  With the holidays finally over, trying to get back into the swing of things was quite the challenge.  I usually don't make any New Years Resolutions, but the one thing I do try to do is challenge myself to read a certain amount of books.  My goal this year is to read at least 100 books.  I will hopefully read more, but you never know when life will get in the way and book reading has to be put off...I know, sad but true.  For the month of January, I read 28 books.  Some were really good and some were just okay.  So to wrap-up the month of January, here is what I read:

In the After by Demitria Lunetta 
Legend by Marie Lu
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Champion by Marie Lu
Pawn by Aimee Carter
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Gated by Matt Drabble  
Miss Polly had a Dolly by Willow Rose
It's Just a Dog by Russ Ryan
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Crewel by Gennifer Albin
Altered by Gennifer Albin 
Invisible by D.R. Fuller
Fire Country by David Estes
Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Dark Wolf by Christine Feehan
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
Forager by Peter R. Stone
Taken by Surprise by Jessica Frances
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Taken by Force by Jessica Frances 
One Second After by William R. Forstchen
The Haunting Season by Michelle Muto 
Fugitives From Northwoods by Chris Bostic
The End by G. Michael Hopf
Ruined by Tracy Wolff 

Looking at my stack of books to read, February looks like it will be pretty amazing as far as reading is concerned.

Happy February and Happy Reading!