Gripped into Books

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Saving June
by Hannah Harrington

Pages: 322
Release Date: November 22nd 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Source: Onilne ebook
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository | B&N
Add it: Goodreads

‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.’
Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.
When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going California.
Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.
Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

My Thoughts
I struggled writing Saving June as a proper review. After hours of thought, I decided to take a different approach. And here I am, my thoughts as a letter. As this the best way I can completely express my ~~feelings~~ devotion.

Dear Hannah Harrington,

I have not the faintest idea where to begin but first, to express my need to say OH MY FRICKIN DAYS, you are amazing! Saving June is simply amazing. It's heartfelt, bewildering, outstanding and I am completely and undeniably in love with it.

Oh, the characters! I love how Harper's issues made her a stronger person. How she knew she could rely on her best friend Laney to do anything and go anywhere for her. But mostly, I'm thankful for Jake.

The events are simple yet extraordinary.
With settings as beautiful as the elegance of writing.
Saving June is just...
Uplifting.
Imaginative.
A M A Z I N G.

Thank you for blessing readers with this book.
I cannot possibly thank you enough.

Yours infinitely thankful,
Mia

ABC Reading Challenge: February GIVEAWAY!

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Here's to another month to the ABC reading challenge! For those of you that are unaware, it's where you read a book that begins with each letter of the alphabet from A-Z. Yes, I realise books starting with X Y or Z will be near to impossible to find but try your best! And if you do manage to hit 26 books, you're just awesome and you may just win a fabulous prize! More details of the challenge can be found here.

And here's the video April made for the challenege:

Now, for this month of February another giveaway is being held. You know you want to grab your hands on the prize... This time, it's held by the wonderful Cicely at Cicely Loves Books. To be able to have a chance to enter you need first be a participant of this challenge. To this you have to sign up for the challenge at this link.

After you've signed up just go over and fill in the form! But if you're already a participant just go ahead and fill in the form...

Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the March giveaway. It would be better if you follow by email so you don't miss it! Happy reading :)

Blog Tour: J D Sharpe, Author of Oliver Twisted recommends must reads for Teens!

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Oliver Twisted

by J D Sharpe

Pages: 274

Release Date: February 6th 2012

Publisher: Egmont Books

“FLESH, the woe-begotten moaned at Oliver, baring teeth which were ragged and black. “FLESH,” came another moan, and he turned to see two more woe-begottens behind. They began to shuffle towards him, barefoot – toes blue from cold, arms outstretched. The world according to Oliver Twisted is simple. Vampyres feed on the defenceless. Orphans are sacrificed to hungry gods. And if a woe-begotten catches your scent it will hunt you for ever. When a talking corpse reveals that Oliver will find his destiny in London, he sets out to seek the truth. Even if it means losing his soul.

Hi, it's great to be here on Grippedintobooks, thanks for having me! As my guest post today, I’ve been asked to recommend some teen reads.

When I started to think about this, I realised that many of the books I wanted to recommend were books that I read and loved as a teenager. I think the reason for this is that books we read when we are young have a way of shaping us and our reading tastes in ways that can’t really be appreciated until we are older.

So here are some of the teen books that shaped my reading DNA. First up is Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder. This book had a huge influence on my understanding of the world and people when I was a teenager. I almost did a philosophy degree because of it! I love this story for its clarity yet complexity and urge you to have a read – you won’t see the world in the same way afterwards, I promise.

Next is the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I read the books and listened to the radio plays and loved them both but for different reason. I’ve chosen these books for their sheer delight in the English language, general silliness and its cast of crazy characters.

I was a huge fan of Lois Duncan when I was younger. She wrote Stranger with My Face and I Know What You Did Last Summer. These were fab thrillers that would stick to your fingers as you raced through the pages.

And lastly, Judy Blume was another big favourite of mine. There was something amazingly honest and comforting about her writing. It’s exactly what you need when you’re a teenage girl trying to figure out the world.

So these are some of the books that shaped my reading DNA as a teenager but here are some more recent teen books that you should definitely add to your reading double helix if you haven’t encountered them yet!

Genesis by Bernard Beckett. This is an extraordinary book that fuses the exploration of complex ideas with fantastic thriller elements. The ending of this book bothered me massively but for all the right reasons.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. This book held me like a vice from the beginning and didn’t let me go once. The story is relentless and I felt exhausted by the end of it, battered even, but I loved every moment. Unhooking the Moon by Gregory Hughes. I read this with my book group and it really divided us. I absolutely adored it though and a lot of that is to do with the characters. I think the Rat is one of the most engaging, unique characters in children’s fiction –she’s one in a million.

15 Days Without a Head by Dave Cousins. I should admit right off the bat that I am the editor of this book and I’m mighty proud of that fact! Dave Cousins is a phenomenal new talent and 15 Days Without a Head will have you crying, laughing and wanting more. Happy reading....

Thank you J D for this interesting post! I haven't read any of these, so I really need to add them to my TBR list! And don't forget to add Oliver Twisted too :)

The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols

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The One That I Want
by Jennifer Echols

Pages: 320
Release Date: February 7th 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Online eBook
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Gemma can’t believe her luck when the star football player starts flirting with her. Max is totally swoon-worthy, and even gets her quirky sense of humor. So when he asks out her so-called best friend Addison, Gemma’s heartbroken. Then Addison pressures Gemma to join the date with one of Max’s friends. But the more time they all spend together, the harder Gemma falls for Max. She can’t help thinking that Max likes her back—it’s just too bad he’s already dating Addison. How can Gemma get the guy she wants without going after her best friend’s boyfriend?

My Thoughts
Somebody should kick me! Why have I waited so long to read a book by Jennifer Echols? No, Wait. It's not even that. I did read Forget you (which I loved just so know you). So the real question is, why after loving a book so so much by Jennifer Echols did I not grab another one of her books straight away?

Okay I'll spare you the answer but at least now you know you should if you haven't already, start reading something if anything by this amazing women.

We meet Gemma and when there's Gemma there's Addison. Her 'best friend' and so we are told. She's the very reason of the huge complication in this book. God. She's SO ANNOYING and ruins everything. Then we are graced with the presence of yummy Max and Conor. Ahhhhh Max! So when Gemma and Addison meet these guys things start to get really interesting...

And you know what else is interesting... oh and pretty cool? It's this entire majorette idea that's brought in as well. It's just this awesome dance that involves twirling around batons. Echols description of the routines never fails to please me!

Oh and she sure knows how to suffice my romance crave. Especially hot kissing ;)
Now to just fulfill my Jennifer Echols crave...

The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

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The Future of Us

by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Pages: 356
Release Date: January 5th 2012
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Source: For Review from Publishers
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

It's 1996 and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Facebook will not be invented for several more years. Emma just got a computer and an America Online CD-ROM with 100 free hours. When she and her best friend Josh log on to AOL they discover themselves on Facebook... fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what life has in store for them.
Josh and Emma are about to find out.

My Thoughts

It's no surprise I was excited to read this book! Being a Facebook fanatic and one of those people that has to check their Facebook constantly multiple amounts of the day, I just knew that I simply had to read it. It was about Facebook for goodness sake! I was very curious to see how Asher and Mackler would present us with Facebook at a time when no one knew of it's existence!

Emma and Josh are two teenagers that happened to stumble across this CD ROM that displayed something called Facebook. You can understand their perplexity when they found out about this at a time where technology was very limited and what's even more that it may relate to future events. Their future.

Emma. Emma. Emma. Two words. Annoying and whiny. Like, get a grip Emma! I wonder what Josh saw in her. But you should know that Josh is the best. I have no problems with him.

Asher and Mackler have made a seriously good plot here. It's interesting and something you can definitely get into. The things is, I liked reading it but I didn't love it. I just really think the plot could have been developed more and there were many times where there were good openings but then the idea gets dismissed!

Nevertheless, a good read and although The Future of Us didn't grab my entire liking I'm sure many of you guys would completely love it.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

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Everneath
by Brodi Ashton

Pages: 370
Release Date: February 2nd 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: For Review from Publishers
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists. Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smouldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen. As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

My Thoughts
Everneath revolves around the story of Persephone and Hades. I've read one other book before alike to the concept and hence being very familiar with it all. So as I had foreseen, I completely loved reading this book. I just knew Everneath would be just as beautiful and just as simple as the cover.

We meet Nikki who's life has turned upside down with her one wrong choice that left her in the Underworld. Poor Nikki. But as always there's always someone who rubs the salt on the wound. Cole. Don't even get me started on him. As alluring and hot he may be, he just is not worth rambling about. And then there's Jack. The guy that Beck had come back for. For six months. Six months she has to say goodbye properly.

Everneath starts up with Nikki and Cole. So you'll understand why I was drawn to him at first seeing as he's the first guy we meet but whatever. Nikki knows what she wants and what she's doing and that's what I like about her. She understands how her actions have affected the ones she love and she just has to make it right some how. Like with her family, her dad and Timmy. She really makes an effort. I love reading about those moments as they're just particularly sincere.

There's a roller coaster of events and so the events are truly interesting. I loved being in that suspense of what would happen next and how the story would end. Ashton has given us an alluring and brilliant read. Now, I so eager to read the book that follows!

New books released this February

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A new month brings new books!

Now in this February 2012, many thrilling books have been released, sitting in the bookstores waiting for people like you and me to pick up and indulge!

Here they are...

(All titles linked to Goodreads)

1st February 2012