Interview and Review-Racing Savannah

In 2011 I read a debut novel and I just loved it.  Every few months since December that author, Miranda Kenneally, has released a new book in the series.  They're not sequels but companion novels, and they're so much fun I'm thrilled to say that I have Miranda here on the blog today!  Below is my review of her NEWEST novel, Racing Savannah, the fourth book in the Hundred Oaks series.  Please help me welcome Miranda to the blog, and I might even do a giveaway, so make sure to leave her lots of comments!  Miranda's answers are bold and my responses to said answers are italicized.

Interview;

1.  You write contemporary companion novels, do you ever get the urge to write a sequel?

Honestly, not really. I like Happily Ever Afters or "HEAs," and the last thing I want to do after giving my characters happiness at the end of the book is to take it away from them in a sequel. Book plots require drama and I only want to put my characters through so much. 

Excellent point.  I don't want them to go through any more drama!

2.       This is the first book that you’ve written that doesn’t have some kind of time label to go with the chapters.  Why is that?

When I was first drafting the book, I did have a time label - I wanted to show Savannah working up to a big race. But then I realized that she wasn't even a jockey at the beginning of the book - it was something she would work up to. In that regard, I knew it wouldn't make sense to include a time stamp if she didn't even start training for a race until the middle of the book.

Makes sense to me!

3.       Which of your characters is your favorite to write?

That is a tough question! No one has ever asked me this before. I'd say it's a tie between Sam Henry and Will Whitfield. Both of those ridiculous boys have so much to say.

4.       Have you ever thought about writing a short story/scene from one of the boy’s POV?

I have! I've written from the perspective of two of my book boys while trying to figure out their motivations. I wrote from Matt's POV in Things I Can't Forget. It took a while to get to know him, and it wasn't until I put him in a "fake past" scene in which he attended high school with Kate that I discovered they knew each other at camp when they were kids. I've found that if you can't figure out a plot, take your characters and put them in a new situation to discover new details. And I wrote several chapters from Jack's perspective when writing Racing Savannah. I discovered a lot about what I DID NOT want Jack to be. When I first started writing from his POV, he was very snobby and lazy. I knew I had to change that asap.

Now the question is can we ever SEE those scenes. ;)

5.       Each of your books has a…I don’t want to call it a theme, because that’s not it (although I do feel that they all have themes), there’s an activity that runs throughout them all, a sport (or in the case of Things I Can’t Forget it’s summer camp), why did you choose to do that and what can we expect for book five?

I love sports and I love strong girl characters who are working towards "something." For book 5, which is called BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE and comes out in July 2014, the main character is training to run a marathon on behalf of her boyfriend who died before he could run the race.

Wow, that sounds really awesome.  And don't we all love a strong girl character? 

6.       After the Hundred Oaks series is over what can we expect to see from you?

No idea! I haven't even figured out what Hundred Oaks 6 is about. I am thinking Hot Lifeguards, but I don't know. I would like to write adult contemporary romance, but I'm not sure I have the right voice for it. 

What do you guys think I should write?

Well I think that Hot Lifeguards would make an AWESOME book.  So...that.  Or at least something with a hot boy in it!  Ohh, maybe even a book told from a boy's POV!

7.       What book/series do you wish you wrote?

GRACELING, FIRE and BITTERBLUE by Kristin Cashore. 

I've only read the first one, but I did enjoy GRACELING very much.  

8.       If you could have dinner (or lunch or breakfast or tea) with any three authors throughout all of history which three would you pick?

Lisa Kleypas, JK Rowling, and Melina Marchetta. A girl-power lunch over Mexican food!

Is there really anyone who WOULDN'T like to meet JK Rowling?  

9.       And last but not least what are some books you would recommend (they can come out any time, future or past)?

2013 books I've enjoyed include STIR ME UP by Sabrina Elkins, A LITTLE TOO FAR by Lisa Desrochers, SEX AND VIOLENCE by Carrie Mesrobian, JUST ONE YEAR by Gayle Forman, and a 2014 book I blurbed and loved is BOYS LIKE YOU by Juliana Stone. 

I've read STIR ME UP and A LITTLE TOO FAR.  I have to check out SEX AND VIOLENCE and JUST ONE YEAR.  And I have to look up BOYS LIKE YOU!  Thanks so much for answering all of my questions Miranda!

Thanks so much for having me!

Review;

Most of the time sequels to contemporary books don't work all that well, because then the author has to put the character(s) through more hell so that there's still a plot, but when the novel has a companion (or two or five) I'm almost always down.  Very few people write amazing companion novels, and aside from Stephanie Perkins and Katie McGarry no one does it better than Miranda Kenneally.  Each of her books is a completely independent novel but the characters from her previous ones that pop up always add that much more to the book and I just love it.  Each of her book also has a sort of...central activity, which I enjoy reading about.  This one is, obviously, horse racing.  In 3 out of 4 of her novels she's written about something pretty foreign to me, and after I finish reading one I feel like I could go talk to someone who knows what they're talking about and actually hold mine own (although in reality that probably wouldn't end well).  And each of her novels also have a...I guess you could call it a theme or an underlying message.  They all center around the main female character and they're important messages that people need to learn or be reminded of.  Sure, the novels are relatively light and fluffy, but there's depth to them in a way that not all light books have to them, which is important.  There's also the fact that Miranda writes some pretty damn swoon-worthy boys and some pretty kick-ass/take no crap girls.  Basically I love her books, and since they're not actually sequels you can read them in any order.  That and they come out in paperback first thing so they're more affordable!!!  If you've never given Miranda's books a chance I recommend you go out and find one, or buy this one when it comes out (Miranda is also pretty cool too).  The story and characters are great and the little cameos are THE BEST.  I can't wait to see what happens in the next book and I hope to see some of my favorite characters for a page or two along with the new characters I'm sure I'll love.

Out December 3, 2013

4.5/5 dust spirits

*Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Review-The Liar Society

When this book first came out I bought it for two reasons.  One, Kimberly Derting blurbed it, and if she liked it I'll read it.  Two, the dead best friend sending emails had the same name as me, so I had to see what was going on there.  I'm not sure what I expected when I picked up this book, but for some reason I thought it would be more...suspenseful.  Don't get me wrong, it is, I just didn't seem to connect with the suspense like I sometimes do.  My heart didn't pound, my breathing didn't increase, and so on and so forth.  Other than that I really liked it.  I have to admit it took me some time to finish this book because of classes and NaNoWriMo, so my memory on some specific details is a little foggy, which is why when I try to remember what grade Kate was in I come up short.  She did seem a little immature at some points, but given that she just lost  her best friend I'll give her a break.  The who-done-it part of the mystery didn't really surprise me as much as I would have hoped, but even knowing that the book was a more private-school type scene, I was surprised at some of the things that happened.  In truth the ending was a little disappointing, just in how it all turned out and in the fact that it maybe dragged on just a smidge too long, but seeing as it was setting up for a second book I can let that slide.  The whole email thing also has me a little confused because it comes up in the later books, so I'm curious as to how that will work out in the end as well.  Hopefully I'll be able to dig into the second and third book soon, although with the crazy number of books on my shelf that might not happen.  Fans of prep-school murder mysteries will enjoy this slightly lighter story of a spunky, bright haired heroine trying to uncover the truth about the death of her best friend, and although it deals with murder I think it would be appropriate for a higher-level younger reader as well, which is always a plus.  It and it's sequel are out, and book three comes out on the 3rd of December, all out in paperback, so this would make a lovely gift for an avid reader.

4/5 dust spirits

Review-Fangirl

I've been having trouble getting into books lately so I asked the internet what I should read and the overall consensus was that I needed to read Rainbow Rowell's newest novel.  I snagged the e-book when it was on sale so I decided that I would see what all the fuss was about.  The idea of this novel was rather surprising to me because it's about fanfic, which, although I don't read personally several of my good friends do, so that was really fascinating for me that it was part of a novel.  All over the internet I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about Rowell's YA novels, and so far I've only met one bookseller who wasn't a fan of Eleanor & Park so she has yet to read Fangirl, which is pretty amazing is you ask me.  Personally I'm not a fan of fanfiction, I mean, it exists and I know that it does, and I have no problem with it, I just don't bother to read it, although the fact that Rowell made it such a big part of the novel was a brave choice.  Maybe because of that reason I didn't find the novel as amazing as everyone else had been saying it was.  Not that it wasn't good, it was.  It was cute and funny and made me smile but it wasn't anything amazing when it came to writing or characters in my opinion.  Yes, I applaud Rowell for doing something different and for writing a character who is insecure but not overly so, and that has an interesting life and real-life problems, but it just didn't hit a major chord with me like it seemed to with everyone else.  Quite honestly the part I loved most about the book was the character development throughout the story, because that's what I think the major point was, Cath becoming more independent and grown up.  I do hope that I will be able to get this book for a friend of my when Christmas rolls around because I think she might appreciate it a little more than me.  Basically the boy is cute, the fanfic is interesting, and the characters are fun, but I wasn't blown out of the water.  I will be reading Rowell's first YA novel some time soon-ish (I hope) because I have high hopes for that one as well.  Fanfic fans will probably love this book, along with those of you who like realistic novels that are very much rooted in what I would have to say is modern culture.  Bravo Rowell, you did something amazing with this book and I hope that you continue to push boundaries and play with words because you have a real talent.

4/5 dust spirits

NaNoWriMo Giveaway

As you all know I'm going to attempt NaNoWriMo this year (writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days) and I decided that I would promote the event by doing a giveaway.  All three of the novels that I'm giving away were  NaNo novels (that doesn't mean that what got published in the end was anywhere close to the finished NaNo product, but the plot/characters stemmed from the story) and all of them have great ratings.  You don't have to follow the blog/facebook page but it does help me run these contests.  You also don't have to tweet/facebook about it but I would love it if you did because that gets the word out.

The first giveaway is for two books that are already out and have been out for quite some time (two people will win, one book each), and it's open to anyone who wants to enter.  You do get an extra entry if you're participating in NaNo this year but it's not necessary to enter.  The Night Circus is a lightly used hardback copy and Cinder is a new, signed paperback.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The second giveaway is ONLY open to those of you who are participating in NaNo this year and the prize is really fancy.  You'll have a chance to win an ARC (advanced copy) of Side Effects May Vary, which isn't out until March of next year.  All you have to do is leave a link to your NaNo profile via the rafflecopter (the accounts are free and are a great way to connect with other people in your area and all over the world participating in the event).  If you guys want to friend me my profile is here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Each book will come with swag provided by other authors who also wrote novels during NaNoWriMo and then had them published.  Authors include Jill Hathaway, Julie Murphy, Marissa Meyer, Teri Brown, Megan Bostic, and Suzanne Lazear.

Review-Crash Into You

Just last year a crazy talented writer came onto the scene with her debut contemporary novel Pushing the Limits and there is no doubt in my mind that since that no matter what she writes (it could be mutated bunnies killing the bee population and dooming the world) I will read it.  When I asked for an ARC of this book and it showed up in the mail I basically freaked out.  Katie has always somewhat pushed the limits (pardon the pun) when it comes to what she puts her characters though, they experience REAL danger and REAL problems.  I have to say that in this book she NAILED the real problems, and she took one that is so overlooked and made it a huge part of the story.  The main female character, Rachel, suffers from anxiety/panic attacks and for me this was HUGE because it's SO underrepresented when it comes to literature and television.  We talk about depression all the time now, but anxiety is basically the other side of the depression coin, and it makes me sad that it's never talked about.  Katie does such a great job at making it real and serious, which is something so many people just don't understand.  On the flip side Katie also sprinkles the book with those swoony moments that she's become famous for in her books.  If it's possible I think she's made NOT kissing even sexier than *cough* other things *cough*.  In this book we really get to look into Isaiah's life and see so much more of him than we did in the first two books in the series.  He grows SO much in this book and I just love it.  BOTH of the characters grow, and we meet some really great new characters too.  We've seen the three main characters from Pushing the Limits find someone they love and next year we get to see a new character get a shot at a happy ending, but I wouldn't object to seeing a few more characters from this book get their shot as well.  Maybe if we all love them enough Katie will give them a shot.  Regardless of what ends up happening I'll be happy with anything Katie gets to write/publish, and should she stop with four books in the series I'll still be elated because she's already slated for another series to hit shelves next year.

Out November 26, 2013

5/5 dust spirits

*Thanks to Harlequin Teen for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

In Which I Talk About NaNoWriMo

Unless you've had your head stuck under a rock for the past few years you've probably heard of something called "NaNoWriMo" or "National Novel Writing Month".  If you don't know what it is let me explain, basically it's when you write a novel (50,000 words) in a month (November 1-30).  Every year thousands of people sign up and try to knock out a novel in thirty days.  My friend has been doing it for quite a few years and this year I decided I was going to give it a shot too!  This means that I might not be around a ton in the upcoming month.  50,000 words in thirty days is quite a few, and I really have no idea if I'm actually going to finish (well, actually it's called winning) but I'm gonna try my darnedest to do so.  I hope that I'll still have time to read as well, but with homework and college classes I really can't promise anything.  Maybe this book might even turn into something more, but first I'll have to actually write it.  

If you've decided to take up the challenge too then let me know and we can hopefully all write (or procrastinate) together, and it not maybe take the month of November to celebrate some authors who got their start as NaNo authors!  Cinder by Marissa Meyer and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern are both NaNo novels that were published and are HUGE hits!

Wish me luck and if you are embarking on this journey too I wish you luck as well!

Review-The Naturals

If you know anything about me then you know that I'm a fan of all of those crime shows on TV.  CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Criminal Minds, you name it I've probably seen at least one episode.  For years I've been fascinated by the intricate workings of the psychopathic mind so when I heard about a book that revolved around a girl that can profile and then goes to work for the FBI I was hooked.  Recently I had been in a reading slump and I decided to jump ahead a little and start a book that I was almost positive would catch my attention, and I was right.  I was sucked into this story from page one, the research that Barnes must have done had to be extensive and the parts from the killer's POV just filled me with glee.  If there's one thing I love it's reading a book where you get to look into the killer's thought process, and you get to do that numerous times in the book.  The whole plot was a lot like a teenage version of Criminal Minds, although it was kept more PG vs the TV MA because it's for teenagers.  Would I have liked a little more blood?  Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, that would have been nice, but this isn't a slasher novel, it's about science, or well, depending on who you talk to it's science.  And the ending surprised me!  Well, who the killer was surprised me.  Basically I just adored this novel, and I'm really happy to find that it's going to be the first in at LEAST a two book series.  Criminal Minds and Lie to Me fans will eat this book up, along with fans of one of my all-time favorite book series The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting.  It has that same spooky feel without the paranormal element to it, which in a way makes it all the more real.  Hopefully book two comes out sooner rather than later because although the ending is tied up there are lose strings floating around that I want to see tied up, and of course there needs to be more killers.  I also hope that the books do well and Barnes will decided/be contracted to write more than two, because I would love to see more of these books out there to enjoy, even it's just me that reads them.

Out November 5, 2013

4.5/5 dust spirits

*Thanks to Disney-Hyperion for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review