Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards

Goodreads Blurb

Weeks after his crucifixion and rebirth as Phoenix, Ash Fisher believes his troubles are far behind him. He and Natalie are engaged and life seems good. But his happiness is short-lived when he receives a threatening visit from Purian Rose, who gives Ash an ultimatum: vote in favor of Rose’s Law permanently relegating Darklings to the wrong side of the wall or Natalie will be killed.
The decision seems obvious to Ash; he must save Natalie. But when Ash learns about The Tenth, a new and deadly concentration camp where the Darklings would be sent, the choice doesn’t seem so simple. Unable to ignore his conscience, Ash votes against Rose’s Law, signing Natalie’s death warrant and putting a troubled nation back into the throes of bloody battle.

First, I must squeal for one paragraph. I am sorry.

OMG. THIS WAS SO....ACK!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT AN ARC OF THIS. AND HOW GOOD THIS IS. WOW. THE WAY THIS WAS...ACK. BE STILL, MY HEART. THIS IS SO AMAZING.

That was like 1% of it, but I thought I'd better get on with the review, yeah?

Okay, I absolutely have to acknowledge the romance in this. The action and the rebellion were amazing of course, but the romance! Ash and Natalie and Elijah...and Giselle, but she appears and disappears quickly. (Thank God!) My heart broke so many times for Ash and Natalie. There's a giant twist that just changes everything between all of them, and I swear my heart dropped all the way through the Earth and made a beeline for China. I just...can't imagine. Natalie and Ash are so devoted to each other, every few pages I had to stop and smack a friend on the arm (whoever was closest to me. They can prove it.) and squeal! It was just so amazing, the way you could clearly see how in love they were. It's like a less messed up Romeo and Juliet! And Elijah. Elijah. How could you?!

Like I said, the action was definitely amazing itself. What Black City lacked, Phoenix definitely made up for it! There was definitely a lot more moving around than in Black City and there was definitely a lot more danger--and that's saying something! With President Rose a looming threat and both Sentry, Lupines, and citizens looking for them, Ash and Natalie were definitely in a fix. And yet, they somehow managed to survive it...until a giant betrayal I could never have expected!

Bringing me to another thing. There were a lot of betrayals I couldn't imagine, but with their lives' on the line, I guess some people forget to be selfless! But the first betrayal was a bit predictable. The second? Well. I think I may have died on the spot!
Phoenix was a book that while, at first was a bit slow, but quickly went uphill after the first few chapters or so! It's pacing was brilliant and I absolutely adored it!

Definitely not experiencing Sequel Syndrome or anything like that, Phoenix definitely surpassed my expectations and definitely beat Black City in the long run! Anyone who loved Black City will definitely adore this! Just like it's first book though, it's definitely one of those dystopias that the word dystopia perfectly describes!

Pages: 368
Genre: Dystopia/Romance
Series: Black City #2
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Rating: 5 stars

Book Haul + Weekly Recap

Oh my gosh. I totally went to Barnes and Noble the DAY of the release, but THEY DIDN'T HAVE SWEET PERIL! I die. I DIE. But I did come away with a pretty paperback of Catastrophic History of You and Me!

Publisher

Wake by Amanda Hocking (x2)

Lullaby by Amanda Hocking (x2)

Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Bought

Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Umm...I now have 3 copies of Wake and 4 copies of Lullaby and I expect a giveaway soon (by soon I mean in August because I AM SCHEDULED. MWAHAHAHA) Excited for The Naturals! Already read Chosen at Nightfall!

AH-MA-ZING. LOVED CATASTROPHIC. Review to come!

Weekly Recap
Speechless by Hannah Harrington
A YA GIVEAWAY!
White Lines by Jennifer Banash
COVER REVEAL

Cover Reveal: Addicted to You by Becca and Krista Ritchie

So I don't normally do cover reveals. And I rarely post about New Adult books. But I've beta read for these two amazing writers and I love their stuff! So I JUMPED at the chance to help promote their self-published NA! And the cover is seriously GORGEOUS.

Are you ready?

Are you sure?

ABSOLUTELY SURE?

I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I love how the blue pops out against the background, I love the font, I love the picture, and the girl sort of reminds me of Emma Watson.

Addicted to You
Two addictions. One lie.
No one would suspect shy, Lily Calloway’s biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.
Loren Hale’s best friend is his bottle of bourbon. Lily comes at a close second. For three years, they’ve pretended to be in a real relationship, hiding their addictions from their families. They’ve mastered the art of concealing flasks and random guys that filter in and out of their apartment.
But when they go on a family boat trip, surrounded by open seas and limited male bodies in sight, Lily’s confronted with a big fear. Only one guy onboard can fill her addiction, and she’s sworn off going there with Loren Hale ever again.
Now the only person who can truly help her, can barely help himself. 

About the Authors

Becca Ritchie is a carnivore of pop culture, television, film and of course YA and NA books. While in college, she worked at The CW television network and put her vampiric knowledge to good use, blogging about hit series and swooning over actors’ abs. When she’s not blogging, she writes novels and has teamed up with her twin sister for their New Adult novel ADDICTED TO YOU. Available July of 2013.

Krista Ritchie is the mind behind popular trading website YA Book Exchange and created Nawanda Files, a book blog that also features books into movies news. When not pouring over entertainment news and the newest releases, she spends her time conducting research in a genetics lab. She’s happy to join forces with her sister, harnessing their twin powers to produce the first in a New Adult series.

Giveaway
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Contact
YA Review Blog
Website
Krista's Twitter
Becca's Twitter

White Lines by Jennifer Banash

Goodreads Blurb

Seventeen-year-old Cat is living every teenager’s dream: she has her own apartment on the Lower East Side and at night she’s club kid royalty, guarding the velvet rope at some of the hottest clubs in the city. The night with its crazy, frenetic, high-inducing energy—the pulsing beat of the music, the radiant, joyful people and those seductive white lines that can ease all pain—is when Cat truly lives. But her daytime, when real life occurs, is more nightmare than dream. Having spent years suffering her mother’s emotional and physical abuse, and abandoned by her father, Cat is terrified and alone—unable to connect to anyone or anything. But when someone comes along who makes her want to truly live, she’ll need to summon the courage to confront her demons and take control of a life already spinning dangerously out of control. 

I never am good with gritty books, really. I honestly find it completely ridiculous how characters in these books run run away, do drugs, or just become antisocial because of their troubles. But then, I'm so young I barely know anything about real problems. I think this book made me rethink my stand on this. My thoughts on the ridiculousness, that is.

White Lines...it's one of those books that, while isn't literary-perfect, it still manages to pull on you somewhat. Cat's hasn't had the easiest life. Her mother abused her, her father doesn't seem to care, and she's practically alone in the world. All she knows now is partying, but how far is she willing to go for a little thrill that only holds empty promises?

I'll definitely give it to Banash, she knows how to capture the gritty world of downtown. Almost everything is messed up and throughout the book, things are just slowly, slowly, spiraling down for Cat. She's not a smart character and she copes with her problems in the worst ways possible. She's completely f*cked up, and she has her ups and downs. She's so shockingly real. She tries to cope, and tries to escape, and that's a bit familiar, isn't it? Giovanni, Alexa, everyone. They may not be model characters, but they were fleshed out well enough.

I almost never talk about the writing style, but I have to. It was just gorgeous. The prose told the story beautifully and it was easy to understand. It was stunning writing and I definitely love Jennifer Banash's style. There's just a certain feel to it that makes you fall in love.

The plot was slow at times, though, and I almost put it down maybe halfway in? It definitely got more interesting later on for me, and I was aching to know how this sad story would end. And...wow, did it end. It almost felt too...not fitting. How (SPOILER. SORT OF) everything just fell into a sort of happy ever after. (END)

The romance also seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't seem to really...advance the plot as much as I thought it should've. So there was that.

All in all, I'd recommend it for fans of historical fiction, especially Out of the Easy by Ruta Septys, or Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith if you've had the luck of reading that early!

Pages: 304
Genre: Historical/Contemporary
Series: Stand alone
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: April 4, 2013
Rating: 3.5 -->4 stars

Spring Fling Giveaway

FIRST OF ALL. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ERIKA. EVEN THOUGH SHE WON'T READ THIS POST. BUT STILL. She should totally read more books, but you know, whatever.

Oh. This starts on May guys. Sorry for exciting you too early. Also, no WoW tomorrow since I want this to be the top post and blah. Also, my laziness. Hey, I only have so much time!

About time I had another one of these suckers. Not to mention, I have a two month goal thing for school that I have to accomplish by the end of April and mine was to reach 1000 followers. What? I'm horrible at goals!

You can win a book from the list and please please please read the Terms at the bottom. Also, don't cheat. I will find you and hunt you down. (I'm kidding. Probably)

HERE IS THE LIST OF WHAT YOU CAN WIN. Most are ARCs. Some are not. Heehee.

List
Unremembered by Jessica Brody
Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Nameless by Lili St. Crow
Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone (ARC)
The Innocents by Lili Peloquin
Through to You by Emily Hainsworth (ARC)
Crewel by Gennifer Albin (ARC)
Natural Born Angel by Scott Speer (ARC)
Lullaby by Amanda Hocking (SIGNED)
Every Day by David Leviathin
Lost Code by Kevin Emerson
Fated by Alyson Noel
Mystic by Alyson Noel
The Last Academy by Anne Applegate
Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt (ARC)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also
http://fiction-freak.blogspot.com/2013/04/teen-book-con-recap-and-giveaway.html

BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. FOR A COST OF $19.99 + shipping...
No, just kidding. I don't know. I'm in a weird mood. Must be Spring and allergies.
Check out more giveaways here!

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Goodreads Blurb

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret
Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.
Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.
But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.

I was in a book slump for DAYS before I read this. I mean, I read great books, I did! But I felt detached from every single one and I wasn't as hooked as I usually am with books that had that level of action-packed. So it was pretty ironic that what broke it was a contemporary book that was more emotion than action!

"Hate is...too easy," he says.

And this was emotional. Whether you became angry with her, then sympathizing, then wanting to cry, you feel so much emotion and isn't any emotion better than devoid of any? But I've gone through a range of emotions reading this book and the internal turmoil hasn't stopped. Everything was jump started by one little slip of a drunk tongue, and all for the better. Chelsea finally knows who she is without Kristen and her label, what love is, and she finds friends who finally accept her for her. We get to experience all of that in a way that just...touches you. (Do I use that phrase a lot?)

(..) like he's so completely sure of what he's saying.

Leading us to characters. This has possibly the most dynamic character I've ever read. In the beginning I could barely stand Chelsea--she's one of those cliche popular mean girls, BFF with the Queen Bee and the biggest minion of them all. She couldn't see how she was just being used and I was so frustrated with her. But over the course of the book, she changes dramatically into a relatable character who we can understand. And even when Chelsea regretted her choice of doing the right thing, I understood her. Doing what's right is never easy, but she did it anyways. No one can blame her for having her doubts. And that's when I was sold. 

I've been dying to get my hands on Saving June for a year now, and I'm definitely getting it now that I've seen a bit of Harrington's work! Her characters are just so heartfelt and so real.

Love.

And the writing is one I can easily relate with. This is the voice of a real teenager, in all honesty--I don't know about the rest of you, but I definitely think like this at times! The voice of this story is just wonderful, and what's even more wonderful is how this story is told. 

This book is stunning in it's subtle way, exactly as it should be. And I definitely hope I read more books like this--a bit dramatic, a bit emotional, and a bit beautiful.

Love takes courage.

Pages: 288

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: Harlequin TEEN

Release Date: Aug. 28, 2012

Rating: 5 stars