Blog Tour: Addicted to You by Becca and Krista Ritchie

YES. That is all. ON WITH THE INTERVIEW!

Fiction Freak: What are your top 3 addictions?

Becca: television, television, and books :)

Krista: Diet coke, television, and books.

FF: Top 3 guilty pleasures?

Becca: Watching The Challenge on MTV, Real Housewives marathons, and my long-time crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

Krista: Constantly checking pop culture news on Entertainment Weekly, watching The Challenge with Becca, and those shows on ABC Family ;)

FF: What are you currently working on?

Becca: We're writing the sequel and novella for Addicted to You. And of course, blogging :)

Krista: Same. But I'm in the editing process for one of our YA books as well.

FF: What made you want to write a NA book?

Becca: She's always written "older" YA before NA ever revealed itself. *turns to Krista*

Krista: Me? Yes! I've technically never written anything YA and the books that I do write in that genre always have to be tweaked to fit the younger voice.

FF: How does it feel being both writers AND bloggers AND getting all this marketing done?

Becca: It's crazy! My day job also includes writing and marketing for television, so there's a lot to juggle. Plus, I have to go back to college this summer and finish my degree. It's a lot to take in, but I love that we're part of many different spheres.

Krista: Yeah, it is crazy! But in a good way. I'm excited and nervous and have a lot of feelings about stepping out as a writer. It's weird because we've always considered ourselves writers before bloggers, but many of you know us as bloggers before writers.

FF: Compare your favorite NA and your favorite YA, maybe?

Becca: Admittedly, I don't read as much NA as Krista. But I adored Easy and a favorite YA…that's just too hard. But I'll pick Anna and the French Kiss since they're both contemporaries. Totally different. Totally love them both. St. Clair anyone?

Krista: Easy is literally my favorite NA, so curse you Becca for stealing my pick, haha! But I love First Comes Love as well, which is technically an NA before the genre really exploded. I like My Life Next Door if we're going the contemporary route for YA. But I do have to agree with Becca, St. Clair is the best. Comparing YA and NA is difficult. Like Becca said, they're just different and amazing in their own way.

FF: Top 5 books read in 2013 so far?

Becca: Not all of these are 2013 releases but… Insignia by S.J. Kincaid, The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell, Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier, Insomnia by J.R. Johansson and Life after Theft by Aprilynne Pike

Krista: These are actually all 2013 releases: Reboot by Amy Tintera, Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins, Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, The Archived by Victoria Schwab, and The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd.

FF: Do you think the cover model looks a bit like Emma Watson too? Not just me?

Becca: You know, we're getting that a lot! I didn't see it at first, probably because we know what the model looks like in other pictures. But in this one, I can totally see the resemblance.

Krista: This is the comment we receive the most from everyone! And I agree with Becca. I didn't realize at first either.

FF: Replace this with any question you've always wanted to answer and ANSWER IT

Okay, lol! Krista came up with this one. Choose between living as royalty in Narnia forever or being a wizard in Hogwarts.

Becca: I'd go with being a wizard in Hogwarts, post-Voldemort age. I have a feeling I'd be in Hufflepuff and probably wouldn’t be able to produce a good Patronus to outlive book three. But wands are so much better than swords.

Krista: I'm choosing Narnia even though I'd love to be a wizard. First of all, you're going to eventually die, Becca. That's the cold hard truth. Me? I can go in and out of the wardrobe, reverting back to my younger self. In essence—I'd live forever. Bam!

Thanks Nikki!!

Addicted to You

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. 

**This is a New Adult book recommended for readers 18 and up**

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.

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Waiting on Wednesday

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Oh. My. Gosh. This. This. THIS! First of all, I ADORE that cover! It's just adorable and beautiful! Not to mention a love/hate relationship that's also a forbidden one! This just keeps getting better and better. And I LOVED Pivot Point and since it's by the same author...THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE. *bounces* 

Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton

Goodreads Blurb

I can’t weep. I can’t fear. I’ve grown talented at pretending.
Elizabeth Caldwell doesn’t feel emotions . . . she sees them. Longing, Shame, and Courage materialize around her classmates. Fury and Resentment appear in her dysfunctional home. They’ve all given up on Elizabeth because she doesn’t succumb to their touch. All, that is, save one—Fear. He’s intrigued by her, as desperate to understand the accident that changed Elizabeth’s life as she is herself.
Elizabeth and Fear both sense that the key to her past is hidden in the dream paintings she hides in the family barn. But a shadowy menace has begun to stalk her, and try as she might, Elizabeth can barely avoid the brutality of her life long enough to uncover the truth about herself. When it matters most, will she be able to rely on Fear to save her?

OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS BOOK. 

But instead of ranting to you, I would like to link several tweets of mine.

https://twitter.com/nikki_wang/status/313861405109538816

https://twitter.com/nikki_wang/status/313860439668817920

https://twitter.com/nikki_wang/status/313861696131301376

https://twitter.com/nikki_wang/status/313850454176038912

The idea of Some Quiet Place is original and too amazing for words! I absolutely loved meeting all the Emotions and Elements and seeing how their “jobs” affected their personality and I think that Kelsey Sutton wrote these characters perfectly.Then again, I’m sort of biased since I’m part of the Fear fan club!

Speaking of Fear, the romance(s). There was a love triangle, but it was far from annoying. Okay, I lie. It was absolutelyfrustrating whenever Elizabeth would choose Joshua over Fear. Sure, Joshua was sweet and adorable and all, but he was so…boring, compared to Fear. (It’s obvious, whose team I’m on, isn’t it?) Fear was definitely my kind of YA boyfriend—cocky, arrogant, sweet at times, and always there for her when she needs it. Also, paranormal abilities. Fear was such an amazing character who I loved.
What surprised me was that I honestly wasn’t sure, at first, who she would end up with. And, when I finally thought I knew who she’d end up with, it turned out to be the other guy. Which surprised me, but…well, no hints. But when you read it, I bet you’ll be able to tell my reaction immediately. It induced a lot of…strong feelings.

Elizabeth was a…well, I can’t really describe her. While she couldn’t feel the touch of Emotions, she still seemed to care about people. She was a strong character, though I’m not quite sure if that has to do with her or the fact that she didn’t feel hatred or humiliation or guilt or any of those. There really are no words to describe Elizabeth!
Joshua was, like I said, a sweet character who seemed to love our heroine and he was…understanding, in a way. But he also struck me as a bit naïve and I sort of wanted to kill him for taking Elizabeth away from Fear.
And I already pretty much described Fear, but let me say it again—he was absolutely one of my favorite YA guys ever. EVER.

I did not expect any of this. At all. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen and while a bunch of crazy theories were running through my head, none of them were even close! Here’s what happened—my eyes went wide and mouth my dropped open. My heart broke, then fixed itself, and then it went swimming in my stomach. It then started running to who-knows-what and promptly died. At least, that’s how I felt while reading Some Quiet Place. You guys, you guys, you guys. There are no words for the twists or the plot. And I also almost cried, which if you guys didn’t know, is pretty weird for me since this wasn’t a contemporary in any way.

The world building was magnificent too! How the Emotions and Elements were personified and how they lived on another plane, and how they could duplicate themselves so that they could attend every summons, and how their effects still lingered after. It was all ingenious! But I did have some questions—if the Emotions felt emotions, wouldn’t the others come? And how could they ignore some of their summons when there’s a rule that they can’t? There were a few world building holes, but otherwise I did love it! They didn’t really interfere with my enjoyment of this that much anyways.

Some Quiet Place has managed to climb its way up to one of my favorite debuts of 2013! It’s near perfect and one of those books I can’t stop recommending. I’m hoping everyone’s going to pick it up and squeal over Fear this book with me!

Pages: 350

Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural

Series: Some Quiet Place #1

Publisher: Flux

Release Date: June 8, 2013

Rating: 10/5 ABSOLUTE STARS

PODs by Michelle K. Pickett

Goodreads Blurb

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul. 
After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters. 
Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

PODs REALLY surprised me! I'm not quite sure why, but I just didn't expect much out of it. Maybe it was the "Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one" part, maybe it was because it sounded a bit typical. But PODs was actually a pretty wonderful read! It was entertaining and sweet and such a fun read!

The only things I didn't really like was how insta-lovey it seemed at first. They fell in love rather quickly, even though they both knew how falling in love in the PODs was a bad idea--but they barely resisted. Maybe this was because there were so many time skips. (More on that later) It was just so annoying to me. And the things they said! They sometimes made me cringe with the cheesiness. David said something along the lines of "I've wanted to do that since I first saw you" after they kissed. It was...hmm.

And to the writing. We actually start our story before the virus is announced, so it was weird. I honestly think it would've been better if we flashed back to the first 4 chapters. Somehow, though, Pickett managed to fit maybe 2 years into the story--which is pretty impressive! But it made the book a bit rocky because everything was rushed. Not to mention that there were so many time skips. We would go from day to day at first, then skip month by month, then to two months, then back to a day or something. 

There weren't many twists, but that wasn't to say the plot was kickass! It was. Just not as much as it could've been.

But ooooh it was still wonderful! Eva had so many adventures outside the "villages" (explained if you read the book" and I loved learning about her life in the PODs! It was, by far, my favorite part. Learning about our characters (though we have to say goodbye to some of them) was amazing and they each had such distinct personalities--though we didn't get to learn about some of our minor characters. Eva wasn't the easiest character to relate to but I loved her voice! She was such an adorable (headstrong) character!

But while each character had their own personality, we had to say goodbye to them too quickly. Eva meets and says goodbye to so many people, so it was a bit hard keeping straight who was who! 

This book actually reminded me a lot of End Games. It sometimes had that bleak feel to it that I loved and sometimes it seemed like such a fruitless race against time. PODs was definitely a great book that I recommend to apocalyptic fans! 

The ending was perfect, by the way.

Pages: 288

Genre: Post Apocalyptic/Sci-fi

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Rating: 3.5 CAN'T DECIDE BETWEEN 3 and 4

Weekly Recap

I got something SUPER EPIC, but I can't take a photo--and this is one of those books that NEEDS a photo. Well, photos. So next week.

In other news EEEP! DONE WITH SCHOOL! Except for this week of exams which sucks. But. Still.

September Girls by Bennett Madison
Introducing...me!
Development and Genres
General Fiction
Ethics and Non Fiction
Keeping it Real and Young Adult

Armchair BEA: Keeping it Real and Young Adult

How do I grow an audience? Honestly, I want to say that I post consistently and that they're recent books or soon to be released.

But the secret lies in giveaways half the time. Or, rather, the giveaways are lures, but it's the consistency that's the hook.
Giveaway Hops guys. Always go with the Giveaway Hops!

And how do I keep blogging fun? By knowing that I'm helping a favorite author help spread the word, or helping out a friend. And getting to recommend books? That's absolutely the best. I love it when someone tells me they bought a book because of my review. And my negative reviews? I hate reading bad books and, no matter how guilty I feel, I'll post my review and hope that I help someone find a better book instead of this.
Plus, the people are definitely a giant help. Twitter is my <3

As for YA? I read YA because it's so easy to connect to the characters as a teen myself. But I know I'm going to keep reading it. It has the perfect amount of romance, of action, of characters, of everything. And the books I think should be on every kid's shelf?

MG
ANY BOOK BY SHARON CREECH
The Percy Jackson Series!
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger!
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Neilson

YA
THE IRON FEY SERIES
Splintered by A.G. Howard
Venom by Fiona Paul
If I Lie by Cory Jackson
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Stolen by Lucy Christopher

And ermm...yeah. YA list is WAY longer than MG list.