Book Review: Haven Creek by Rochelle Alers

Haven Creek 

By Rochelle Alers

Release Date: May 28, 2013

Source: Publisher

Summary: Home is where the heart is. 

Architect Morgan Dane has always lived according to a plan, crossing off her achievements one by one. But when she's offered her dream job-the restoration of historic Angels Landing Plantation on beautiful Cavanaugh Island-Morgan's life takes an unexpected turn.

Carpenter Nathaniel Shaw once took a big chance on commitment-and lost. Needing the healing comforts of home, he returns to Haven Creek to join the family business. Nothing in the small town has changed-except for Morgan Dane. The wallflower he knew in high school has grown into a beautiful woman . . . and stirs feelings Nate isn't sure he's ready for.

Together Nate and Morgan find a happiness neither could have predicted. But when secrets from the past come to light, their budding relationship is threatened. Will they play it safe, or risk their hearts to build a life together?

Review: Rochelle Alers' books are so sweet, so I was super happy to have the chance to take a break from the more serious books I've been reading and relax with the inhabitants of Haven Creek. 

Morgan is an architect whose number one priority is her job. When she's offered the chance to restore Angels Landing Plantation, she immediately jumps on the chance. But for the restoration she needs a skilled, reliable carpenter, so she goes to Nate for help. Nate, the guy who was four years older than her and who she was madly in love with all throughout high school. Now that those days are long gone and Morgan isn't the same awkward teenager as she was then, Nate feels things for Morgan he never thought he could feel again after his nasty divorce from his model wife. Nate and Morgan grow closer, but can they really learn to let someone into their heart after the devastating heartbreaks they've felt in the past? 

Like I said, Rochelle's books are incredibly sweet and this one is no exception. You can't help but fall in love with the small town these characters live in and their southern charm is so adorable. I loved the flirty banter Nate and Morgan had, because it helped things stay light and cute in their relationship. Things didn't develop too fast, but at just the right pace, so their relationship was believable and fun to follow along. 

Not only was the relationship aspect of the novel great, but it actually had a good storyline with great secondary characters that had stories of their own to add to the novel. So even though Nate and Morgan are spending time getting to trust each other, the lives of all the other people in the town are still going on and we're able to get a glimpse of what's going on with them as well. 

So overall, I loved this book. It was a quick, cute read that I just couldn't get enough of. If you're in the mood for something light and romantic, I'd definitely recommend picking up a Rochelle Alers book! You won't be disappointed!

Book Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

The Beautiful and the Cursed

By Page Morgan

Release Date: May 14, 2013

Source: Publisher

Summary: After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.

Review: Wow. I had never heard of this book before, so when it showed up on my doorstep, I wasn't really sure how it would turn out. When I read the summary, I was really intrigued because it a) takes place in Paris in 1899 and b) is about gargoyles coming alive as living creatures. Needless to say, I knew this one would be unlike any other book I've read. 

After an accident gone horribly wrong, Ingrid's family leaves for Paris, where her mother can open a gallery in an old abandoned abbey her brother had scouted out before the rest of their family arrived. When they get there, though, her brother is nowhere to be found. The only person who seems to know anything is Luc, one of the workers of the abbey and a handsome boy with many secrets of his own. Ingrid goes to try to find out what happened to her brother, and enters a dark world where she discovers some secrets about herself along the way. 

I absolutely loved this book. Who would have thought that gargoyles could be so cool and incredibly irresistible? Not only was the action and the whole world of demons and angels really enticing, but the added romance was the perfect touch to make this story impossible to put down. 

Ingrid's character was great and I loved how she was vulnerable, yet could hold her own when it came to uncovering who she really was as a person. Add to the fact that her brother is missing and hellhounds are trying to kill her at every corner, and you get a fierce girl who will do anything for her family. Not only was Ingrid a great character, but I loved her sister Gabby, Luc, and Nolan. I especially loved Luc and Nolan because they really cared about the girls and they were so cute about protecting them. 

The whole 1899 society of this book made it so great with the rules of society that Ingrid and her sister were expected to follow. And it's in Paris! Ingrid's environment was definitely a great aspect of the novel. You can't help but get lost in their world and I was definitely on the edge of my seat at the end. The whole gothic element was awesome and I just couldn't get enough of it. If you're a fan of the darker historical YA books, you should definitely check this one out! You get monsters, demons, angels, unexplained powers, and a little bit of romance added to the mix. What more could you ask for?

Stacking the Shelves (51)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where bloggers share what they got throughout the week!

From Publisher

 

I got some really good ones this week! I haven't heard of any of them, but they all sound like fantastic reads. The last two are actually the third and the second books in their series, so I don't know if I want to go into them right away or check out the previous books from the library first. I guess I'll have to see if it makes sense as a stand alone or not!

From Half Price Books

Of course, as soon as I get home for the summer the very first store I visit is Half Price Books. I sold back some textbooks that my school wouldn't buy back and picked up these two books to take home with me! I love Anne Stuart's books and Miracle on Regent Street has been on my TBR list for awhile and I was so excited to find it for only $2! So I can't wait to dig into these :)

That's it for me! What did you all add to your shelves this week? 

Literature for London

This Sunday, I'm leaving for London and I could not be more excited! Flying to a foreign country, though, means spending a lot of time in a plane and waiting for those planes. I fly out from Columbus at 1pm and after changing flights and going through layovers, I don't arrive in London until 6:30 the next morning. Since I have a ton of downtime, I made sure to have some books planned to read while waiting to arrive in the wonderful city of London. So I chose The Hobbit, Faking It, and A Kiss at Midnight to keep me company on my travels. 

I'm really excited to get into these books because they're all three from very different genres and I've been dying to read them. I saw the movie The Hobbit and thought it was so good, so I can't wait to read the book. I absolutely loved Losing It by Cora Carmack, so when I got an egalley of the second book, I was ecstatic (I'm bringing my nook, which makes traveling a lot lighter without having to pack a million books!). And isn't the cover of the book gorgeous? Last, but certainly not least, is A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James. I've read two of her books and loved them, so I'm really excited to read her historical romance based on the fairytale of Cinderella. 

Hopefully these books make the flights go by quickly so that I'm in London before I know it! Do you guys have any books you like to read while taking trips? 

Follow My Book Blog Friday (88)

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

Question: School is out! What is your favorite Summer Reading book? 

Answer: 

If we're talking about summer reading for school, then Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was definitely my favorite book I had to read for school over the summer. We had to read three books the summer before my Junior year for AP Lit and this one was by far my favorite. 

 

If we're talking about for fun reading, I love reading fun chick-lits and YA during the summer. Last summer I read my first Colleen Hoover book and it was awesome. Also, I always read some Nicholas Sparks, Sophie Kinsella, Susane Colasanti, Stephanie Perkins, and Jennifer Echols in the summer. They're books are perfect for laying out and spending the entire day reading. And then there's the awesome historical romances that I love by authors like Eloisa James, Vicky Dreiling, and Teresa Medeiros. I can't wait to read the new releases of these authors this summer :)

Giveaway: Impostor by Susanne Winnacker

Hello everyone! I'm super excited to share a pretty awesome giveaway with all of you! I have one hardcover copy of Impostor by Susanne Winnacker to giveaway to one of my lucky followers! Here's more about the book...

Impostor

By Susanne Winnacker

Release Date: May 28, 2013

Summary: Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late? 

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. 

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

Giveaway Details

One lucky winner will receive a copy of Impostor by Susanne Winnacker. Just fill out the rafflecopter below! US only. Giveaway ends 5/23

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For more information on Impostor, check out these links below: 

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Indiebound

Goodreads

Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day

By Gayle Forman

Release Date: January 8, 2013

Source: Library

Summary: A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

Review: Ever since this book came out in January, I've been seeing review after review just raving about how amazing it is. And it has a Goodreads rating of 4.17, which is pretty dang good for a YA contemporary novel. AND add in the fact that it's about a girl who travels to Europe and I knew I had to get my hands on it. What do you know, just as expected, I loved it!

Allyson expected to have the time of her life on her European trip with the teen tour group her parents signed her up for, but she's been feeling disappointed in the reality of the countries she sees during the entire trip. When she meets charming Willem in their last city, though, she feels the spark she's been yearning for the entire time. So she goes off to Paris with him and spends the most fantastic day exploring Paris, only to wake up the next morning with Willem gone and no idea where she is. Over the next year and back home in college, Allyson can only think about Willem and the person she was with him, and her normal life just doesn't seem good enough. Allyson uses Shakespeare, travel, and some newfound friends to get out of her funk and finally find out who she really wants to be. 

Oh my goodness, this book was good. I was expecting a book about a girl who spends a glorious day in Paris and that's it. But you get SO much more. Allyson's character is so relatable in the fact that she doesn't know how to be the outgoing party girl and really doesn't know how to make friends in college. So acting wild and carefree with Willem really leaves an impact on how she thinks about her life. Who wouldn't relive that day over and over again in their minds? 

I absolutely loved the travel in this book as well. Allyson's trips were pretty realistic instead of being about people who up and decide to travel to Europe at the drop of a hat. Allyson's trips take planning and it's fun to be able to anticipate her adventures along with her, just waiting to see what will happen next in her life. 

And oh boy, what an ending! Did Gayle Forman really leave us with that?!? I'm so excited for the next book now because I HAVE to know what happens next! I could not stop reading this book and the fact that the next book is from Willem's point of view makes me insanely excited. Why do I have to wait until October though? I don't know if I'll be able to make it without going crazy!