Blog Tour: Six Months Later by Natalie Richards

Goodreads Blurb

Chloe didn't think about it much when she nodded off in study hall on that sleepy summer day. But when she wakes up, snow is on the ground and she can't remember the last six months of her life. Before, she'd been a mediocre student. Now, she's on track for valedictorian and being recruited by Ivy League schools. Before, she never had a chance with super jock Blake. Now he's her boyfriend. Before, she and Maggie were inseparable. Now her best friend won't speak to her.
What happened to her? 
And why can't she remember?

The only thing you should know about this book is that I was in a thriller high/mood for a week after reading it. It was just that good.

It's no surprise that I'm in love with amnesia books, and Six Months Later was no exception. It leaves us exactly like our main character--lost, confused, and, if it's written well, right next to the heroine collecting the clues. That's the thing I loved most about Six Months Later. It was so brilliantly written that we had all these clues and pieces, but you just never knew how to piece them together until you could slowly, ever so slowly, figure it out with Chloe. It seemed like everyone had something to hide, and when you have no idea what happened to yourself, it's hard to figure out what's happened to others.

The plot was definitely filled with twists I definitely didn't expect. I could never have guessed anything that happened and all I can say is that the ride was intense. My heart was beating frantically (legit, in my notes, I wrote "Heart. Beating. WHAT." and I was just so desperate to figure out what had happened to Chloe and the rather sinister plot and mastermind behind it all. Six Months Later is a bit on the creepy side, and completely on the thrilling side.

We have a cast of some pretty awesome characters, especially Chloe. What I loved about her is that she came to logical conclusions, conclusions I probably would've made in her situation. There was no overlooking the obvious thing or somehow snatching onto some ridiculous idea. She's a character you just connect with and can't help but love with her sass and feel for with her clear cut desperation in the beginning.
The rest of the characters were unique in their own way with their own little quirks and I loved reading and meeting new characters. And God knows it was fun (if a bit frustrating) trying to figure out whether he or she was in on what happened to Chloe.

And yes. Yes there is romance. Yes there was a bad boy. YES I DID LOVE IT. It was such a sweet, hesitant romance and I just fell for Adam more than once. It wasn't rushed in any way and the way they treated each other was so...tentative. It was adorable and cute and it's just something you have to love!

Six Months Later is a brilliant read and a heart racing thriller. It exceeded all my expectations and, basically, blew my mind. Unexpected and beautifully written, Richards gives you hints one by one, but never the full story until the end.
It's one I have to recommend to you. And your friend. And your sibling. And your mom. Does your pet read?

Pages: 336

Genre: Thriller/Contemporary

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: Oct 1, 2013

Rating: 7/5 stars

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Fiction Freak: How did you come up with the plot?

Natalie Richards: Oh man, it's so cliché these days, but it's totally true.  I dozed off at work one day a few years ago (I know--Way to stay classy, Nat!) and I dreamed that I was looking out my office window on a warm summer afternoon.  In the dream, I blinked.  When I opened my eyes it was dark and snowing outside the window.  It was so creepy that it woke me up and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  What if you fell asleep and woke up months and months later?  What if you weren't asleep at all?  So, that's where it all started.

FF: If you were stuck in Chloe's shoes, you would've...

NT: Depends on which part of the book you're asking about.  Because for the Adam scenes...ahem.  Well.  Let's go with the beginning scenes, shall we?  :-)

You know, I want to be a cool zombie-apocalypse-prepared kind of chick and say I'd determine my bearings, assess my phone records, get all Jason Bourne about it, right?  But I totally wouldn't.  I would lose my ever-living mind.  No joke.  Pacing, hyperventilating, possible banshee-worthy wailing.  It would be epic. Panic would not be a big enough word for the kind of humiliating depths I'd sink to if I woke up with dirt under my fingernails and several months of my life gone.

FF: What prompted you to write a thriller? (That knocked my socks off by the way!)

NT: AW!  You're so lovely -- thank you!  I can't tell you how much your comments and kindness have made me grin.

I've always been a fan of a good thriller.  I wanted to see if I could write one that somehow tangled a romance into the creepy and scary stuff. So, the idea of it was always there, and when I started playing with the concept of falling asleep and losing time, the characters started sliding into place.  Chloe, Adam, and Maggie sealed the deal for me.  I was hopelessly lost in this book after they came along.  No way could I have stopped writing it. 

 

FF: What six months would you love to forget?

NT: Wow.  Amazing question.  I thought a lot about this, I admit it.  Initially, I was tempted to mention some of the tougher things I've been through in my life, but the more I thought about it, I realized I wouldn't want to lose those memories.  I think the hard things in life have a lot to do with who we are.  I tend to think we need those memories, even though they hurt. 

That said, I did spend six months of my life waiting tables on third shift at an all-night pancake house.  I wore a maroon polyester skirt and a really tragic hair bonnet.  I'll give you a moment to consider the kind of customers that might be in search of eggs and bacon at three o'clock in the morning.  Yes, it was every bit as bad as it sounds.  So, if I have to chuck some memories, let's take those. 

FF: If there was anyone you suspected was brainwashed, it would be...

NT: Ah, geez.  Now you're really going to get me in trouble!  LOL! 

I did know a girl when I was fifteen who went a little crazy.  She was a year or two older than me, but a good friend.  Pretty, smart, liked to goof around.  She took a three-week trip across the country.  When she returned she informed me--no joke--that she was planning to move there to marry a boy she'd met.  This wasn't something she was thinking about or dreaming, she was seriously researching ways to pack her stuff and head west.  It was...certifiable the weirdest thing I've ever experienced.  She thought she'd fallen in love.  I was pretty sure she'd fallen alright--and she clearly hit her head very hard when she landed.  Fortunately, she came to her senses, but for a couple of weeks that girl was a Stepford Wife.  Way creepy.

FF: In your life, who would be the evil mastermind behind everything?

NT: Well, in reality, I'm definitely the evil genius.  Minus the genius.  And mostly only a little evil, because I have a huge guilt complex that makes me apologize profusely and feel wretched for any actual evil deeds. 

But I'm boring, so can I pick who I'd want as an evil mastermind?  I'm kind of thinking Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory.  Okay, maybe he's not exactly evil, but he could go there.  He's also a super-genius, with extensive comic book and science fiction knowledge, so I'm thinking he would be a great schemer.   Also, he's really fastidious, so he might clean my house.  Bonus!

Nikki, thank you so much for hosting!  You have been amazing -- welcoming me into the blogging community and embracing Six Months Later with so much enthusiasm.  Thanks so much for your support and for having me.  It's been beyond lovely to be here!

But of course! J AND IT’S LOVELY TO HAVE ALL YOUR AWESOMENESS.

Author Bio

Natalie D. Richards won her first writing competition in the second grade with her short story about Barbara Frances Bizzlefishes (who wouldn't dare do the dishes.)  She later misplaced her writing dreams in a maze of cubicles and general office drudgery. Natalie never forgot about Barbara or those dishes, and eventually she found her way back to storytelling, following the genre of her heart, teen fiction.  When she's not writing or shopping her manuscripts, you can probably find her wading through the towers of dog-eared paperbacks that have taken over her bedroom. Natalie lives in Ohio with her amazing husband and their three children, who inspire her every day to stick with her dreams. 

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Week of a Fiction Freak

This is going to be a short post 

So I think from now on Week of a Fiction Freak is really just going to be updates on my life and book hauls and whatever. Today I'm not doing a book haul since I didn't get much actually, and I'm not sure if there'll be one next week since (EEP!) I'll be posting recaps of TWO events. 

So I'm joining NaNoWriMo this year and I'm SUPER excited! Buddy me @ Nikki_Wang (because I have no creativity) and let's hope I don't get too discouraged! I'm anxious for November but I also have NO CLUE WHAT STORY I'M DOING. I decided between these two ideas already but the other keeps nagging at me.

So I have a question.

Should I write a rather emotional contemporary or a Beauty and the Beast retelling?

And are you doing NaNoWriMo? How have your experiences been? o_O

RECAP

Blog Tour: Unhinged by AG Howard

Waiting on Wednesday

Hideous Love by Stephanie Hemphill

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Goodreads Blurb

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .
But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

In all honesty, Fangirl didn't sound like my kind of book. But after reading Eleanor and Park, of course I had to give it a try. I mean, with all the feels I had then...well Fangirl was bound to give those feels too right?

Yes. Yes it was.

Cath was such a real and complicated character. She's, quite possibly, the most relatable character I've read in quite a while. Cath's one of the ultimate fangirls, something we book nerds can definitely relate to. But it's not just that. She, like so many other characters, is trying to find who she is without her sister, her twin. She's trying to figure out her life and watching her grow as a character was so heartwarming. She dealt with familial issues, romantic issues, academic issues, but throughout it all she tried to keep her head up and her shoulders back. She made her mistakes and she tried to fix them without losing herself, something that was way harder than she expected. And she was awkward so many times. She was (as we bloggers so often say) a brilliantly flawed character.

And then. There were our other characters. They were all so well written and so...well I'm going to use that word again. They were so real. And seeing how they helped Cath along their way, how they each showed her different things, it was, well, enlightening. And it was so realistically written and so well done, I couldn't help but fall in love with their story.

Levi was by far my favorite character (I think I love him more than Cass actually!) He was so adorable and so sweet. He made me want to strangle him when he made some...not so smart decisions, but he always redeemed himself in the end. I couldn't help but fall in love with this sweet, unbelievably flawed boy who's lanky and tall and goes out of his way to make everyone, from babies to the elderly, feel special. He's officially made it to my list of Top Ten YA Boyfriends. And my friend, that's something very hard to accomplish.

There's something about the way Rowell writes her stories. They have a simple concept, but the way she writes them makes the story flourish into something that's hilarious and heartbreaking in a way that can only be described as subtly sad. The writing is beautiful and gorgeous and so Rowell.

To sum up the review in one sentence? I fangirled over Fangirl. It's enthralling and it's so raw and it shows how we fanatics are! It's sweet and hilarious, yet heartbreaking at the same time. While it's not a perfect book, the flaws make it as amazing as it's characters and it's a book that you can't stop from falling in love with. It's stunning and endearing and something I absolutely must recommend!

FANGIRL WITH ME.

Pages: 405

Genre: Contemporary/NA

Series: Standalone

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: Sep 10, 2013

Rating: 5 stars

Hideous Love by Stephanie Hemphill

Goodreads Blurb

An all-consuming love affair.
A family torn apart by scandal.
A young author on the brink of greatness.
Hideous Love is the fascinating story of Gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home only to find herself in the shadow of a brilliant but moody boyfriend, famed poet Percy Shelley. It is the story of the mastermind behind one of the most iconic figures in all of literature: a monster constructed out of dead bodies and brought to life by the tragic Dr. Frankenstein.
Mary wrote Frankenstein at the age of nineteen, but inspiration for the monster came from her life-the atmospheric European settings she visited, the dramas swirling around her, and the stimulating philosophical discussions with the greatest minds of the period, like her close friend, Lord Byron.
This luminous verse novel from award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill reveals how Mary Shelley became one of the most celebrated authors in history.

There were a lot of things about Hideous Love I didn't quite expect, and I can't quite say that's a good thing.

Hideous Love was written in verse, something that surprised me, but pleased me. At first. But as I read on, it wasn't as well written as I'd hoped. Verse isn't something you can pull off easily, and I'm afraid Hemphill didn't manage to reach that level yet. While the writing was quite gorgeous and poetic (as it should be. Since--Mary Shelley!) and amazing, the characters came off as flat and it was a tad confusing. And, no matter how beautiful the writing, it couldn't really make the rest of the book interesting.

I really admire how Hemphill tried to make her life seem fascinating and interesting, but it just didn't really stand out to me. It was, essentially, an autobiography written in verse--and I'm not generally a fan of biographies. There wasn't enough to really keep me enthralled. She had a love affair, she had kids, she had money problems, family problems. But they were all just glossed over, the book written like it was. It may have been more interesting written in prose, maybe, but instead it came out as dull and boring.

And then the characters. That's another thing about writing in verse--it's hard to get a feel for the characters, and that's exactly what happened here. While Mary Shelley wasn't exactly a flat character, she was hypocritical, catty, and possessive, making her a distinctly unlikable character. While I did empathize with her at times, it still irritated me and I couldn't really get over that feeling.

But the main reason I disliked her, really was the romance. Twenty five pages in, the words "I love you" are pretty much spoken, and that's fast--even for insta-love. We didn't get to see the progression as they fell in love. It took maybe two poems for them to fall in love. Add to that the fact that he happens to married at the time...and, well, we get a jumble of hot mess.

It's an outstanding premise, really, but the book just doesn't have the same allure after a few chapters. It wore me down until I honestly didn't want to open the book. Something that really disappoints me, since I was so excited to start!

So while it does sound amazing, I wouldn't recommend this, though I will admit--it'd be a lot cooler to read as "research" since it does stick to the facts and is written in quite beautiful verse!

Pages: 320

Genre: Retelling/Historical

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Oct 1, 2013

Rating: 1.5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

You can’t change your DNA…even when it says you’re a murderer.

When Davy tests positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome, aka “the kill gene,” she loses everything. Once the perfect high school senior, she is uninvited from her prep school and abandoned by her friends and boyfriend. Even her parents are now afraid of her—although she’s never hurt a fly. Davy doesn’t feel any differently, but genes don’t lie. One day she will kill someone.

Without any say in the matter, Davy is thrown into a special class for HTS carriers. She has no doubt the predictions are right about them, especially Sean, who already bears the “H” tattoo as proof of his violence. Yet when the world turns on the carriers, Sean is the only one she can trust. Maybe he’s not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

There is no freaking way I'm not getting this ASAP. I mean, you guys.  A freaking murder gene, Sophie Jordan, and I already love the romance. UGH. And I LOVE the cover and her hair! That's like perfect and totally awesome and I can not wait for this and OMG HYPERVENTILATING UNTIL IT'S RELEASE GIMME NOW.

Blog Tour: Unhinged by A.G. Howard

Hey y'all! SUPER excited to be on this tour! Anita always comes up with the most fun tours, so I definitely recommend checking out the other posts! (You can find the schedule at the end of this post)

That is all

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Thanks for dropping by tour stop #2! 

Today, Alyssa is tweeting with Wonderland’s enigmatic wisdom keeper, Morpheus, about the meaning of Thanksgiving in the human realm.

Splintered Fan Art by Rivka http://rivkast.com/gallery/

A moment ago, she explained how humans celebrate the holiday. Now let’s drop in on their tweet-versation, already in progress…

If you ask me, they'd better keep their eyes on Red. I don't think she's bluffing.

That's it for today. If you're up for leaving a comment, let us know what's on your list of things to be thankful for this year. Also, be sure to enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win one of 12 UNHINGED ARCs.

Tomorrow on the third stop, rumor has it Morpheus plans to smuggle in an excerpt of UNHINGED. ;) Hope to see you there!

About the Book

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.
That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.
As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.
If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

Author Info

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

When she's not writing, A.G.'s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

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Giveaway
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Schedule

10/21/2013         Pages From My Thoughts            

10/22/2013         Fiction Freak      

10/23/2013         The White Unicorn

10/24/2013         Icey Books          

10/25/2013         The Cover Contessa        

10/26/2013         Book Hounds   

10/28/2013         Reading Teen     

10/29/2013         Book Haven Extraordaire 

10/30/2013         The Lifelong Bookworm                

10/31/2013         Two Chicks on Books  

11/1/2013            Fiktshun               

11/2/2013            I am a Reader