Review: Not Pretty Enough + Excerpt + $40 Amazon GC Giveaway!

Genre: Contemporary YA Comedy
Release: 1st August
Author: Jaimie Admans  
Purchase: Amazon


“New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Lloyd Layton will know I exist. He once said three whole words to me, so this is obviously progress. If I don’t get a proper conversation out of him soon, then I’ll take my top off and streak through the cafeteria, because nobody could fail to notice these boobs.
2. I will not get expelled for streaking through the cafeteria.”

Those are the words that begin her mission.
Chessie is fourteen, not pretty enough, and very much in love. Lloyd Layton is hot, popular, and unaware of Chessie’s existence.
Her goal is clear: to get Lloyd to love her as much as she loves him, and she has exactly one year to do it.
As Chessie’s obsession with Lloyd reaches boiling point and she starts to spin a web of lies that spiral out of control, Lloyd turns out to be not quite the prince she thought he was. Can Chessie avoid the gathering storm before things go too far?"

Not Pretty Enough is a contemporary young adult comedy suitable for ages thirteen and over.

Book two in the series will be released early 2014.

Excerpt


I hear the words, “Sir, I don’t get this,” come from the seat next to me. This is very strange because it sounds like Lloyd’s Welsh accent, but Lloyd is some kind of genius and always gets maths stuff. I risk a glance towards him, and sure enough, he has his hand in the air and is beckoning for Mr Griffiths to come over. Wow, I think. Lloyd doesn’t get this, and I look like I do. He must be so impressed.
 
But Mr Griffiths is a bit busy. He is bending over Cole’s work, shaking his head and muttering. He looks at Lloyd distractedly. Then he looks at me. Then he says a terrible, terrible thing.
“Ask Francesca to explain it to you, she knows what she’s doing.”
Oh, crap. Why can’t we be doing something easy?
I immediately go to put my hand up to object, but Mr Griffiths has gone back to Cole’s work, and Lloyd is looking at me expectantly.
 
Okay, deep breath. All I have to say is one simple sentence. All I have to say is, ‘actually, I don’t really understand it myself,’ and all will be well. The teacher will come over and explain it to both of us, and Lloyd will ask me what I’ve been writing in my book for the past twenty minutes, and I might have to admit that it mainly involves CC loves LL doodled in various fancy handwriting with my new pen. So instead I say, “Sure, I’ll explain it to you.”
 
He nods and smiles at me, and I wonder how the hell I’m going to get out of this one.
I close my own book and glance nervously around the class. Everybody has their heads down, concentrating on their work, except for Leigh. She is resting her head in her hand and staring longingly at Ewan, who is working obliviously. It’s pathetic. It’s obvious to the whole class that she’s yearning for him. God, I hope it’s not that obvious that I like Lloyd. I mean, Leigh is practically drooling on the desk over Ewan. At least I don’t drool on the desk. Not very often, anyway.
 
“Well,” I say, leaning over to look at Lloyd’s book and turning a page, just as he goes to move the book closer to me. Our hands brush together and I pull back startled by the intensity. Our hands brushed! And there was electricity! This is meant to be!
“So,” I say, wondering what to do next. “This is algebra…” This is ridiculous. He knows what bloody algebra is. I rest my pen against my top lip and try to look intelligent and seductive at the same time. Lloyd still has an expectant look on his face. Except, I’ve obviously rested the pen too high up my lip, and it’s tickling my nose. Really tickling now, and…
 
“Atchooooo!” I yell, a sneeze catching me by surprise. Oh my god. I’m aware that every person in the classroom is staring at me.
“I’m sorry,” I say, holding up my hand. “I just…” Oh no. 

“Atchooooo!” I sneeze again. “Atchoooooo!” I grip my nose firmly between my thumb and my finger. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that is the best way to stop sneezing. Or is that hiccups? Either way, it doesn’t work. It just makes me want to sneeze more. “Atchooooo!” I yell again. Oh God, this is so embarrassing. Why do I have to have a sneezing fit on the one day I am sitting by Lloyd Layton? It’s highly unlikely that I will ever be lucky enough to sit by Lloyd Layton again; I get my one big chance to impress him, and what do I do? I sneeze.
 
“Atchooo!”
 
Oh God. Now my nose is running. I’m still gripping it with one hand, and frantically feeling around in my bag for a tissue with the other.
 
“Atchooooooooooooooo!” It comes again, and this time something so horrible happens that it’s like being in slow motion. A huge lump of snot, my snot, straight out of my nose, flies out of my nostrils, and goes zooming up into the air, turns around, and like a giant pancake, starts plummeting back down to earth, to land smack bang in the middle of Lloyd’s textbook.
 
Oh. My. God.
 
“Ugh!” Lloyd yells and pushes his chair back so fast that he nearly falls off it.
 
Oh my god. What do I do? What do I do? My face has gone so red I must resemble a lobster, and when my hand finally closes around a tissue in my bag, I have no idea what to do but lean over and wipe the snot from Lloyd’s book, and deposit the offending tissue back into my bag. I’m so embarrassed I could die. And to make things so much better, Mr Griffiths is laughing like he’s never seen anything funnier in his life.




Review

The cover is so beautiful. If I knew nothing about this book then I would think he would have a heartbreak element to it because of the title and the look on her face... if you get what I mean....

Anyways...Wow! Let me just say... WOW. Chessie reminded me of those really crazy fangirls that are so out of control. The writing and the scenes was so very well written that I lost count of how many times and buried my head in my hands due to me cringing for her or just wondering why?

Chessie is a very impulsive person who was blinded by the idea of love to this guy who was apparently hot and swoon-worthy. She put herself through torture and total embarrassment for this guy. I mean, no matter how hot a guy is, you have to think about yourself first! It was so embarrassing for me to read and if she was a real person, I can't really imagine how she felt.

This is a story that anyone can really relate to I guess. Um, I don't really know if this book is going to attract male readers but this book is definitely great for a female.
Since she is around the same age as me, I can really connect with her- ish- kinda- a bit....

I felt she was really dumb at times and her really stupid decisions led to other people around getting hurt. For me as a reader, some of the decisions she makes are absolutely hilarious and I felt really sorry for her.

This book is quick and fun to read. It can make you feel the character's emotions even though you are not experiencing it first hand.

I was going to talk about the ending but I think that will give away the whole story so I'm just going to say that I'm really pleased with the ending but kinda frustrated at the same time. I really don't know why.

There is going to be a sequel to this book and I'm really excited to see what's going to happen next and how the relationships are going.

 
About the Author

Jaimie is a 28-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese & onion crisps. She has been writing for years but has never before plucked up the courage to tell people. Afterlife Academy is her third novel and she hopes you enjoy it. There are plenty more on the way!

Find Her!

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter 

GIVEAWAY!
$40 Amazon GC + swag

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I'm part of a book tour so please hop on to another blog to explore more about the book and the author.
Thanks x 

Sept 16

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The Love of a Good Book - Review
Stay Bookish - Review
Musings of a Blogder - Review
Literary Meanderings - Guest Post
Fox Tales - Interview
Books & Tales - Excerpt
Unputdownable Books - Excerpt

Sept 17

Sheli Reads - Review
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Crawling Over the Pages - Review
Books and Cake - Review
Living a Different Fairytale - Review
Krystal's Enchanting Reads - Guest Post
Writers and Authors - Interview
Reader Girls - Excerpt
Sab The Book Eater - Excerpt

Sept 18

Tishylou's World - Review
Jess Time To Read - Review
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Books Books Books - Review
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Georgia Beyers Book reviews & Blogs - Review
Cu's Ebook Giveaways - Excerpt
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! - Excerpt

Sept 19

The Bookish Confections - Review
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Brooke Blogs - Review
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random jendsmith - Review
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Mostly YA - Review
My Seryniti - Review
Jess Resides Here - Guest Post
Cosmochicklitan - Guest Post
alwaysjoart - Excerpt
Jody A Kessler - Excerpt

Sept 20

A Bookish Escape - Review
The Serial Reader - Review
Kats Read - Review
On Emily's Bookshelf - Review
Life with Lesley - Review
Stacey J. Mitchell - Review
jennyinneverland - Review
Sarah Elizabeth's Bookshelf - Review
Mom's Focus - Review
Amy Bookworm - Page 99 Test
Reviewing in Chaos - Excerpt

Sept 23

Read-A-holicZ - Review
Mera's YA Book List - Review
Bookcomet - Review
SBookLover Reviews - Review
Reads and Thoughts - Review
Ramblings of a Diva Booknerd - Review
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Bookworm in Boots - Review
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Indy Book Fairy - Guest Post
A Dream Within a Dream - Excerpt

Sept 24

Lauraslittlebookblog - Review
Love, Literature, Art and Reason - Review
Island Lovelies Book Club - Review
Ramblings of a Daydreamer - Review
Mom in Love with Fiction - Review
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frustrated yukky mommy - Review
A Little Bit of R&R - Guest Post
Bookmarks, Spoilers and Happily Ever After - Dream Movie Cast
Rose & Beps Blog - Excerpt
Literary Chanteuse - Excerpt

Sept 25

The Bookish Panda - Review
pretty in pink book reviews - Review
Letter Trails - Review
The Escapist - Review
Pink Polka Dot Blog - Review
Oops! I Read A Book Again - Review
Words and Tea Bottles - Review
Hot Off the Shelves - Review
Mommasez... - Review
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Such A Novel Idea - Review
Mom with a Kindle - Excerpt
Deal Sharing Aunt - Excerpt

Sept 26

A Diary of a Book Addict - Review
Rebbie Reviews - Review
Butterfly Feet Walking on Life - Review
Incandescent Enchantments - Review
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Amy Bookworm - Review
Paperback Princess - Review
Paranormal Sisters - Interview
Mythical Books - Excerpt

Sept 27

Bianca2b - Review
paranormal book club - Review
Jany's Book Club - Review
Room for Reading - Review
The Fantastical World of Wonders - Review
scandalous Book Blog - Review
Shawna's survey - Review
Sher A. Hart - Review
Me, Bookshelf and I - Review
Faerie Tale Books - Guest Post
random jendsmith - Guest Post

Book Review: The Exemeus by Folami and Abeni Morris

The Exemeus

Genre: YA Fantasy

Age: 12-adult

Published: Jan. 3rd, 2013 by Royal Colours Ink

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon

Authors' Website

"Her short life was devoted to love and to hate. Love of the man who stole her heart, hate for the man who stole the world. Murdered by the government she swore to destroy, she's been given another chance to make it right. But to save the planet, she needs the help of the most powerful mystic the world has ever seen—unfortunately he hasn’t been born yet.

In a world where fear is the only currency, Dephon has committed the ultimate crime: inspiring hope.

His only goal is to make it safely through ninth grade, but on a post-apocalyptic Earth run by the Treptonian government, it isn’t that simple. Heir to a legendary power, Dephon Johnson is the only threat to the government’s rule. And on Trepton, all threats must be eliminated. When hundreds of assassins are dispatched to neutralize him, Dephon is forced to fight back. His only chance of survival is to enlist the aid of the greatest warrior the world has ever known. The only problem is, she's been dead for 13 years."

Let's start off by talking about the book trailer. I thought it was really cool and the illustrations of the city was just...wow. The only thing, is that the music kinda ruined it all. It was like those music that they played in those old action movies. They could've used a more futuristic and dark type of music to make the person feel more excited about the book. But anyways- on to the book.

It was really great book! It was really descriptive and painted very clear images in my head. The plot moved quite fast and their were always new twists and turns. Before I started to read this I thought it was the typical book of girl from past meets boy from the future and they fall in love but it is forbidden... blah blah blah. I have to say that this book is really original and is so different from any previous books I've read before. The book contains magic, war, time travelling, dictatorship? and pure action and yes, nearly all fantasy books contain an element of that albeit, I have to say this book is a breath of fresh air. 
To be honest, I thought that the dystopia genre would be like the next cliche just like the vampire genre... *cough cough twilight cough* No offence to Twihards?? Is that what you call them?? Twilight did kill the whole genre. Now future movies, books or tv shows relating to vampires won't cause as much hype as it did before as it will be compared to Twilight- it may be due to how good Twilight was or how sickly and crappy Twilight was, but it would always be compared to Twilight. 

I actually thought that it was fantastic how it was acutally a boy who was the main protagonist of this book because usually it is always the girl. I mean I'm all for the girl or woman saving the world but it does become old if it gets repeated over and over again. 

Although, I loved how the whole story went to the past when Hyalee and Singletoon was actually doing loads of acting. I really didn't get to know Dephon or his realationship with his dad and how he feels about his mum. So, maybe for the next book, there might be snippets of them. God... I hope so.

Also, I don't know what year Dephon is living (did I miss it out??? oops) but I thought that the authors could've made a clear contrast between the time Hyalee and Singletoon were younger and the present time where Dephon is a teenager because, it kind of felt all the same... if you get were I mean. I didn't feel freedom that people had in the past or the atmosphere of the US when Dubleton took over... (he did take over right??) So yeah....

Basically, I loved this book so much. It was a shame that I didn't get a proper physical copy cos I would've hugged it but I have my phone which the e-copy is on right now so I would have to make do. I'm really happy at the end of when there is FINALLY some action for Dephon and cliffhanger isn't as huge as other books that I've read but, I have so many questions right now... it's killing me!!!
I seriously can't wait for the next book.  Is there a next book.... there has to be a next book.....

but seriously... you should read it!

Check out the blog tour that starts on August 25th to the 31st of August as you can see down below.

 

Book Review: The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

Final Cover
Click on the cover to go to the Goodreads' page!

Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy, Romance

Age: 12-adult

Published: 1st May 2012
Publisher: Amulet Books

Purchase: Amazon| Book Depository


"This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance.
On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears."

After reading the blurb, it didn’t excite me at all and I wasn’t compelled to read this book. Since I have the ARC, the cover was boring, dull and it put me off reading the book but, the final cover I’ve seen is beautiful!

 

The story starts out really, really slow and it wasn’t very interesting at all and I did find myself skim reading.

 

Lena is a good girl and quite irritating at times. She was impulsive, kind of ungrateful, disloyal at times and was completely blind! It was so clear how she was being manipulated but she didn’t see it and that caused a whole lot of trouble- for her and other people who were her friends and allies. The bad guy might as well have had a tattoo saying ‘I’m the bad guy..Yes me!!!!!’ on his forehead. That was how obvious it was! It made Lena being fooled quite unrealistic.

 

I would say that my favourite characters from this book was Jimson and Mrs Mumbles (the cat). Jimson was loyal and quite sweet, to be honest. He was optimistic about everything (most of the time!) and it was adorable to see how he saw the beauty in Lena, even though she had quite unique and unusual characteristics.

Mrs Mumbles was a very unique cat. She was loyal and very protective of the people she loved. In my opinion, cats in reality do not behave in this manner at all.

 

At the end, much more interesting things were happening, like Lena slowly developing as a person and heroine but, it was a shame that the book only made me interested at the end.

 

This book does emphasise how in society in 1800s or even now, people who are different can be treated as outcasts .They haven’t been given a chance to show who they really are and people assume things about them because of stereotypical views.

 

I think this book had an very original plot that I’ve never read before but, the author could’ve added more action and made the heroine more strong and independent in the beginning. Also, there was barely any romance at all! Just a few glances and a near kiss... not really romance. Finally, I think other people would enjoy this more than me as I felt this wasn’t exactly my cup of tea.

 

 

 



Book Review: Parallel by Lauren Miller

"Two worlds. Two separate identities. Two guys.

A collision of parallel universes leaves 18-year-old Abby Barnes living a new reality - every time her parallel makes a new decision. Never-without-a-plan Abby is forced to cope with the consequences of waking up in a life she has no memory of creating.

With chapters that alternate between our world (Here) and the parallel one (There), Abby's Here comes complete with a Yale address, a new roomie, and birthday blind date with a super-hot lacrosse player. In the parallel world, Abby's still navigating senior year class schedules, college applications, and her relationship with Astronomy Boy at her high school.

This story explores the nature of identity, the role of cause and effect in young lives and the defining power of choice"

Let's start off with the cover.
Since I live in the UK, I have a completely different cover to the US (and maybe Canada.... I dunno...)

                                                 UK Cover                                   US Cover

And to be honest, I love the US cover so much more. It's eerily beautiful and fits the fantasy genre. Whereas, the UK one..... well..... what can I say about it? I really don't like it. I didn't understand why the cracked glass was there as I don't understand how it fits anywhere in the story and even though the colour of the title is suppose to stand out, it's too much!! The pink is just there and is even emphasised with the black outline. No!
I basically think they could've worked more on the UK Cover.... just saying....

Anyways, I thought the whole plot of this book was intriguing so it encouraged me to pick it up and borrow it from my library. (See! I don't judge a book by its cover!) At first, it was going great until the moment she's 'living in a new reality.' Then it just spiralled from there. I was perplexed throughout the whole thing. I got confused which one was the 'our world' and 'parallel world.' So basically, I just pretended I understood it and read it to the very end!

Apart from me being confused for the whole book until the near end when, I nearly pieced together the whole concept of the parallel world and our world. The book was really good!

Abby always had a plan for her life and she pretty much has a very good best friend who always sticks by her. I pretty much applaud Abby. If I was her, I would be freaking out!

There are two/three potential boyfriends for Abby... I'm definite on 2.... I don't know about the 3rd one. Read it and you might understand what I'm going through at the moment. This is like the first time I'm literally feeling mind-boggled over a fiction book.... EVER. I'm confused over how many worlds there is. First Abby is in another life. Then to the end of the book, she switches between two different worlds....like WTF.... I'm so bloody confused....I'm sorry. This is stressful. I'm gonna read another book that is going to make me all fuzzy and not baffled.

So yeah, I kinda do want you to read this book as it is intriguing and I want to see if anyone else is in the same situation that I'm in. I really don't know what to rate this book but lemme see.......

Book Review: The Year of the Great Seventh by Teresa Orts

I received my copy through the Goodreads First Reads in exchange for a honest review.

The cover doesn't show much. At first, I thought it was all about celebrity life and stuff like that but reading it... not so much. This book contains Egyptian Mythology and lots of history but, maybe next time have a very exotic, ancient Egypt-ish cover...maybe...

I found that Sophie was a very likable character and that I could really relate to her (apart from all the supernatural things going around her.) She started off as a girl who is in love with history and has set her heart on NYU while everyone else is laid back but, hyped up about celebrity culture.

Nate was an adorable character. He was a gentleman and you'll probably won't find a real life boy like him... well you might but at my stage of life, boys... meh
He hasn't always had cheerleaders in life supporting him but I guess you can say lots of girls fall for him... even old women. He is quite vulnerable in a way and that makes his relationship with Sophie even more cute!

Throughout the whole book, we kinda knew who was the bad guy so, I think in the next book there should be some twist that will shock the living daylights out of me.

I think the plot revolving around History and Ancient Egypt is very original and is very different to other supernatural books. (Is this book supernatural?)

There is quite a cliffhanger at the end and I would love to see what happens next in Book 2.

Rating: 3.5/5

  

   

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Review: Just One Day- Gayle Forman

From the blurb---------

A whirlwind day in Paris...
A chance at true love...
Heart break is waiting just around the corner.

This story starts when Allyson is in Stratford-upon-Avon which is in England and is the birthplace of Shakespeare. She is a sheltered girl who doesn't get involved in drinking or breaking the rules. She is about to go to college or uni but, after graduation her parents send her off to tour Europe. She then meets Willem, a Dutch guy who helps her expand her horizons. She ditches staying in London for a few days to go to Paris with Willem and they explore.

Even though you can sense their chemistry between them from the start they lose each other. I can't say much as it'll spoil the book for you but, just after when they have a night of passion, Willem goes missing and Allyson is heartbroken and is a mess when she enters college. She plans to do medical school but she gets mostly low grades so, with the help with her counselor, she is in classes that connect to her.

A year after, she goes back to Paris to try to find Willem.

I found this story so beautiful and poignant. Just like the blurb says "story of love, loos and learning to live again." There is a major cliffhanger and I absolutely hate it. So many questions!!!

Anyways, Just One Year is coming out in October I think..... Well, it's coming out soon. So excited and I really recommend this book if you want a love story that has a hint of sadness. (Not a hint but not a lot as well) Here's the cover of the sequel. So beautiful... (wipes a tear)

Book Rating: 4.5/5

Review: The Longest Holiday

Laura has been married to the man of her dreams for seven months but then finds out that a week before the wedding, Matthew made a terrible mistake on his stag do.

Laura escapes with her 2 friends to Florida's Key West and over there is full of cocktails and fun and they are surrounded by very good looking men but, Laura is not feeling it and who can blame her?

Meanwhile, her husband tries to apologizes to her but that doesn't work out.

Laura meets Cuban scuba diver, Leo and he is a mysterious guy- Laura instantly feels chemistry between them.

When the end of the holiday approaches, Laura doesn't want to go home.

I thought that Matthew was an asshole (excuse me for the language.) I mean he was still in a relationship with Laura and he just liked the 'attention' and that led to him down the road to being a father but he did really love Laura and he committed one mistake and that ruined everything.

Since Laura is the main character, you obviously have to like her and if you have read Chasing Daisy then you would know that her first boyfriend was Will and that Will dumped her for another girl a few weeks or days before his death. Her love life is sad. I thought that Leo was kind of compatible with her and that he made happy again. The result of Matthew's mistake can never be forgotten and the presence of the mistake can hurt Laura too much.

I thought this book was exciting and you can't help but empathize with each character. Great romance story. Always a Paige Toon fan and loved how every book she writes, link with each together some how.

Book Rating: 4/5