"The Storm" by Virginia Bergin - Blog Tour, Excerpt, and Giveaway!

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to be part of this blog tour put on by Sourcebooks Fire!  I've read both books in this series, and they are freakin' awesome!!! Everybody needs to meet Ruby, she is one of a kind!

The Storm

By Virginia Bergin

September 6, 2016; Tradepaper, ISBN 9781492621003

Book Info:

Title: The Storm

Author: Virginia Bergin

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Summary:

Some people walk in the rain. Some people die.

Ninety-seven percent of the population is dead. And the killer rain keeps falling. Ruby’s not sure she can make it on her own much longer. So when a chance encounter leads her to a camp with the last boy she may ever kiss (it’s not easy to date during an apocalypse), Ruby gratefully accepts the army’s protection.

But safety comes with a price: If Ruby wants to stay, she must keep her eyes—and her mouth—shut.

Except Ruby stumbles across a secret she can’t possibly keep. Horrified, she flips out and fights back—only to make the most shocking discovery of all…

Goodreads Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25835474-the-storm

Buy Links:

Amazon- http://ow.ly/7DHo303ZJsk

Barnes&Noble- http://ow.ly/Oxn8303ZJDM

BooksAMillion- http://ow.ly/c5un303ZJK9

Indiebound- http://ow.ly/GpNk303ZJQq

About the Author:

VIRGINIA BERGIN works as a writer for TV, eLearning, and corporate projects. Most recently, she has been working in online education, creating interactive courses for The Open University. She lives in Bristol, England. Visit her at www.virginiabergin.com.

Social Media Links:

Website: http://virginiabergin.com/

Twitter: @VeeBergin

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Virginia-Bergin-Author-307548002740038/

Excerpt from The Storm by Virginia Bergin:

From Chapter 7

At this point in time, there are a number of things I don’t really get. But these are only the things I know I don’t get, and not the things I don’t know I don’t get, which are, unfortunately, to be revealed.
I dragged Saskia into that ice-­cream van myself. No one helped. No one tried to stop me. Crying, dog tired (don’t think about dogs)—­no, dead tired (don’t think about death)—­very (that’s OK) tired, very hungover, very ill, and very aching-­all-­over, I drove that stupid ice-cream van toward the army base. It was the only place I could think of where there would be medical help, and I took the only route I knew to get to it: highway, turn right at Swindon.
I was on the same highway I’d once driven along with the Spratt, when we sang and played silly games—­as you do when you’re trying to take your mind off an apocalypse-­type situation. And I realized a dreadful thing. That journey? It was the last time I’d laughed. I had smiled since. I had smiled pretty hard last night. Grinned witchy grins. But that journey? It was the last time I had laughed.
In an attempt to block out thoughts about the disappearance of my own laugh, I tried to find other things to think about—­but I didn’t much want to think about a single thing. Except…why had Saskia even turned up looking for me in the first place? Why would she—­why would anyone?—­leave the Camp of the Useful: the army camp where you’d be protected and taken care of? Where everything was surely…tickety-­boo, as my grandma would have said.
It was the one thing I probably should have asked her about, and now I couldn’t ask her about it, and no explanation I could come up with seemed remotely plausible:
EXPLANATION #1: Saskia is a kindhearted girl who really likes me and was so worried about whether I was OK she left the army camp.
Comments:
EXPLANATION #2: Saskia had ditched the Spratt, and she had come to beg my forgiveness.
Comments:
EXPLANATION #3: The Spratt had ditched Saskia, and she had nowhere else to go.
Comments:
EXPLANATION #4: Ruby, she kept trying to tell you something and maybe you wouldn’t have to be dreaming up explanations if you’d listened.
Comments:
There are no comments because I have nothing to say about any of my own explanations. It was almost enough to make me want to stop the ice-cream ambulance and go and shake Saskia back to consciousness for just long enough to get the truth out of her, but only a monster would do such a thing—­and I am not a monster. Thinking bad thoughts is not the same as doing bad things, and plenty of people who think they think GOOD thoughts do TERRIBLE things. (They used to call it “politics” or “religion” or “teaching mathematics.”) All I do is drive an ice-cream van.
When we finally arrive at the gates to the army base, there is a camp of useless people, like me. There are cars; there are caravans—­fires burning, people sitting out under tarps…people wrapped in blankets and duvets that tumble from their shoulders as they rise to their feet, laughing and…hooting, jeering, and cheering.
I remember that I am a witch-­fairy driving an ice-cream van.
Ahead of me, at the gates, electric lights in the dusk burn so brightly, I am blinded, and I stop long before I have to, blinking, dazzled. My head hurts.
I am getting into this base. I am getting Saskia into this base.
THUMP!
A fist against my window. I see a face—­a woman’s face.

Also by Virginia Bergin:

H2O

Summary:

.27 is a number Ruby hates.

It’s a number that marks the percentage of the population that has survived. It’s a number that means she’s one of the “lucky” few still standing. And it’s a number that says her father is probably dead.

Against all odds, Ruby has survived the catastrophic onset of the killer rain. Two weeks after the radio started broadcasting the warning, “It’s in the rain. It’s fatal and there’s no cure,” the drinkable water is running out. Ruby’s left with two options: persevere on her own, or embark on a treacherous journey across the country to find her father—if he’s even still alive.

Buy Links:

Amazon- http://ow.ly/k5cs303ZLig

Barnes&Noble- http://ow.ly/7a2y303ZLYq

BooksAMillion- http://ow.ly/tWMj303ZMbR

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Rafflecopter Giveaway Link for 1 Copy of H2O and back-pack/survival kit

Runs September 6-September 19 (US & Canada only)

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: "The Boyfriend Bet" by Chris Cannon

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains multiple PDAs, after-school detentions, and gambling on the side. Warning: betting on a boyfriend is bad for your health. Zoe Cain knows that Grant Evertide is way out of her league. So naturally, she kisses him. Out of spite. Not only is Grant her brother’s number-one nemesis, but he has zero interest in being tied down to one girl. She’s shocked—and secretly thrilled—when they start spending more time together. Zoe’s brother claims Grant is trying to make her his “Ringer,” an oh-so-charming tradition where a popular guy dates a non-popular girl until he hooks up with her, then dumps her. Zoe threatens to neuter Grant with hedge clippers if he's lying but Grant swears he isn’t trying to trick her. Still, that doesn’t mean Grant is the commitment type—even if winning a bet is on the line.

 

My thanks to Entangled Teen Crush via Netgalley for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped to. There were a few things I liked, and the potential was there, but with more attention to detail and some actual chemistry between the two main characters, it could have been a lot better.

The one area where this book really excelled is with the banter between Zoe and Grant. Chris Cannon wrote some great snarky and funny scenes between the two of them, which had me snort-laughing from time to time. I also really enjoyed Zoe's friendship with Delia. The two of them kind of reminded me of myself and my best friends in high school. These positives weren't enough to get me to fall in love with this book, though. 

The plot meandered a lot. There were things that happened or were mentioned that didn't serve a purpose, like the whole cake baking fundraiser thing. I liked that Zoe was working together with Delia on something, and that they seemed to take this project seriously, but in the end, there was no real reason for any of it to be in the book. 

There were also a lot of details that needed to be fleshed out more. For example, Zoe and Delia transfer to this exclusive private school in their junior year. If they really are "hicks" - the book's description, not mine - then how can their families afford it? Zoe's father and grandfather died in a car accident, so how can her mom and grandmother keep the farm running? Do they even live on a farm? That's the impression I was given, but then what do they grow? And why doesn't Zoe ever have to help out? Zoe's grandmother had some cute moments, but what does she do other than crochet and shoot stuff off the back porch? 

And as far as the connection between Zoe and Grant? I just couldn't buy into it, at all. I was more interested in Delia's growing relationship with Aiden than I was with whatever was going on with the two main characters, and you know that's a bad sign when the best friends are more interesting than the main players! I'll be honest, I didn't really like Grant all that much. I thought Zoe could do better. I didn't want them to end up together, and isn't that supposed to be the point of a romance novel?

My rating: 2.5 stars

Blog Tour: "Daring the Bad Boy" by Monica Murphy

Hey, everyone! I'm so excited to be a part of the blog tour for Monica Murphy's new YA Romance! I've got an excerpt and review for you, but first, here's a bit about the book:

Truth or Dare was never this much fun... Annie McFarland is sick of being a shy nobody. A session at summer camp seems like the perfect opportunity to reinvent herself—gain some confidence, kiss a boy, be whoever she wants to be. A few days in, she’s already set her sights on über-hottie Kyle. Too bad her fear of water keeps her away from the lake, where Kyle is always hanging out. Jacob Fazio is at Camp Pine Ridge after one too many screw-ups. Junior counseling seems like punishment enough, but the rigid no-fraternizing-with-campers rules harsh his chill. When a night of Truth or Dare gets him roped into teaching Annie how to swim, she begs him to also teach her how to snag Kyle. Late-night swim sessions turn into late-night kissing sessions...but there’s more on the line than just their hearts. If they get caught, Jake’s headed straight to juvie, but Annie’s more than ready to dare him to reveal the truth. Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains references to drinking, sexual situations, adult language, and an intense bad boy hero who will melt your heart.

Excerpt:

Annie

“Don’t forget to pack extras of everything,” Mom stressed, her voice high, her entire demeanor anxious. She really didn’t want me to leave, though she was the one who’d suggested I go to camp in the first place. And I guess I can’t blame her, since I am her only child, but it’s just for a few weeks—I had to be wait-listed, and when a spot opened up for the second session, I begged my parents to let me go. 

But with the way she’s fretting over my leaving, I realize she needs to cut the umbilical cord sometime. At least I’ll be outside getting fresh air, not stuck in the air-conditioned house with my nose in a book. That’s how I usually spend my summers. 

Well, no more. 

Not that there’s anything wrong with reading, but…it was my escape, my safe place. I’m tired of living in someone else’s imaginary world—I want to live in my world for once. But it’s hard making a new impression on people you’ve known your entire school life, some of them since preschool. 

To them I’m quiet little Annie McFarland. The girl who cried so hard on the first day of kindergarten that she blew a bubble of snot out her nose. The girl who was so petrified to perform in the third-grade Christmas play that her knees literally knocked together and everyone could hear them. The girl who had a major crush on Wade Johnson in sixth grade and wrote him a heartfelt Valentine’s Day poem—and he shared it with all his friends. 

I endured their teasing for the rest of the school year. Sixth grade was definitely not my favorite year. 

Yeah. I could go on and on. 

I’d just finished my sophomore year, and while everyone was busy pairing off, being social, actually doing something with their lives, I was stuck. Stuck in my quiet shell, stuck with the nerd-girl label, stuck as the teacher’s pet. I hated it. 

More than anything, I was beyond ready for a change. 

“Extra T-shirts, extra shorts.” Mom ticked off the items with her fingers, her gaze meeting mine. “Extra, um, feminine products.” 

My cheeks went hot. “I’ve already packed extra everything.” I waved a hand at my open but mostly stuffed duffel bag. 

“Okay, good. Good. Wouldn’t want you to run out of necessities. Though I fully plan on sending you care packages. And there’s parents’ weekend, too, so I can always bring you whatever you might need.” Mom was rambling. A sure sign she was upset. 

“Mom.” I went to her and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I don’t leave for another twenty-four hours. It’s not time to cry yet.” 

“I’ll just miss you.” She brushed a stray hair away from my forehead, her gaze soft. “You’ve never left us like this before, for this long. A whole month, hundreds of miles away. With strangers.” She stressed the last word. 

That was my favorite part of the plan. Being with strangers, people who don’t know the real me. I could totally reinvent myself. Be whoever I wanted to be. I could demand they call me Ann, tell them I’m the most popular girl at my school, and win the attention of all the hot boys within hours of my arrival. 

Though I doubted any of that would really happen. Just because I’m with people who don’t know me doesn’t mean my real self won’t make an immediate appearance. It’s hard for me to open up to new people. Plus, I really don’t like it when someone calls me Ann—I think Annie’s a much cuter name. And I’ve never gotten the attention of a hot boy in my entire life. Well, I have—hello, Wade Johnson—but that was unwanted attention. That I’m great at. 

I’d like to change that particularly annoying trait of mine. 

Okay, I’m not drop-dead gorgeous with a bubbly, flirtatious personality, not by a long shot. I’m not a hideous troll, either, but come on. Hot guys have never noticed me—unless they’re six and I’m blowing snot bubbles out my nose. Or I write really bad poetry that makes adolescent boys howl with laughter. And that’s not the way I want boys to notice me. 

“I’ll be fine,” I reassured Mom, offering her a smile in return, which somehow only seemed to upset her more. Her chin got all wobbly, and she yanked me into her arms, holding me close. I let her smother me with Mom love for a few minutes before I disentangled myself from her embrace. “Seriously, it’s going to be okay. I’ll write you and Dad as much as I can.” 

“Which shouldn’t be very much at all. I want you to meet new people and try new things. You need to stay busy and have fun. Don’t worry about us.” She wagged her finger at me before her hand dropped to her side. “I know you feel a little stifled here, so this will be good for you.” 

Mom understood. She always had. We moved here when I was two, back to Dad’s hometown; he felt right at home because he was home. Mom, on the other hand, was still considered an outsider, and they’d always treated her that way. So she knew what it was like, to feel like you didn’t fit in. She understood my problems at school, when Dad always blew them off. Not that he was mean about it. 

He just didn’t get it. “It’s going to be great,” I told Mom with a genuine smile. My heart did a funny little flip in the center of my chest and I breathed deeply, telling myself everything really would be great. 

Going to camp was going to change my life. 

Jake 

One month earlier 

“You’re going. I know this is a last-minute decision and you’re probably pissed that you have to leave tomorrow, but too damn bad, Jacob. You’re out of here.” Dad’s voice was firm, simmering with anger. His eyes blazed with barely withheld fury as he glared at me. He was super pissed, but what else was new? “And that’s final. No arguments, no defiance, no threats that you’ll run away. The second you leave this house without my permission, I’m calling the cops. And they will lock you up. Thanks to your latest mishap, that’s guaranteed.” 

I stared at him, my arms crossed in front of my chest, my jaw clenched so tight I felt like I could crush my teeth into powder. My uncle’s summer camp held good memories. Back when I was a kid and had no cares in the world, and my main priorities had been swimming in the lake and hanging out with friends. 

But those days were a long time ago. 

Now I didn’t want to go back. There was no point. I was a different person. Not just older, but freaking wiser. 

Well. Maybe not wiser. I kept fucking up, like I couldn’t help myself. That latest mishap Dad was talking about? Stealing hubcaps off fancy cars in the middle of the night with my so-called friends. We’d been drinking. I’d been dared. The moment the cops showed up, they all bailed on me. Every last one of them, and I was royally busted. They booked me like a real criminal, taking my photo, getting my fingerprints. I’d nearly pissed my pants I was so scared. 

Never let them see it, though. Just kept my mouth shut and glared at everyone. When Dad showed up to bail me out, I almost went weak with relief. I believed I was home free—until he got me into the car and proceeded to yell the entire drive home. 

That was the first clue that I’d have to finally pay for my sins. 

Dad went with me to my court appearance and asked to speak to the judge. I thought he would plead my case. Tell the scowling middle-aged woman with glasses perched on the tip of her nose that I really was a good kid. I just needed another chance. 

Nope. Dad chucked me so far under the bus, I still have tire marks across my stomach. He told the judge I was a screwup, a failure, a disappointment, and that he was afraid for my future. He then promised her if she gave me community service, he’d make sure I did my time by working at my uncle’s summer camp under strict supervision. 

She’d agreed. 

And now here I am, going to camp and having to work with a bunch of asshole kids who’ll give me nothing but crap over the next two months. The only thing that was giving me hope? The possibility there would be plenty of pretty counselors with a bad-boy fetish. I’ll be willing to fulfill whatever fantasy they have, as long as we can do it on the down low. My uncle gets one whiff of me doing something wrong, and I’m a dead man. I’ll end up in juvenile hall or, worse, in freaking jail. My dad’ll make sure I pay for my mistakes. 

“Fine,” I muttered, dropping my head so I didn’t have to look him in the eye. Seeing the disappointment there, all the anger and frustration, I couldn’t take it anymore. “I’ll go.” 

His deep sigh of relief was loud, and hearing it didn’t make me feel any better. We sat in the living room, Dad in his recliner, me on the couch. I let my arms drop to my sides and took a deep breath, glancing around the room. It was small, narrow, no pictures on the wall, no homey touches. A total bachelor pad, Dad had told me when we moved in to the place, like that was going to appeal to fourteen-year-old me. 

After Mom died, Dad sold our house—too full of memories, he’d said, his expression pained—and we rented this shitty little two-story condo. A temporary move, he’d reassured me. The place was old but centrally located in single-dom paradise. As in, there were plenty of divorced women who lived in this complex who were hot for my dad. 

And it sucked. Mom’s dying had completely messed with my head. But Dad’s moving us away from the only home I’d ever known had pushed me over the edge. The more trouble I got into, the more attention I received. It didn’t matter if it was bad or good; at least someone was looking at me. Acknowledging me. Telling me I mattered. 

Sort of. 

“Spending the summer with your uncle Bob is just what you need,” Dad said, his expression softening, the anger slowly dissipating because I didn’t protest or get angry. Why fight it? At least at camp, I’d have some freedom. 

I’d be working my ass off and under Uncle Bob’s thumb all the time, but what else could I do? 

“Though just because you’re surrounded by a bunch of young girls doesn’t mean you should touch any of them.” The pointed look Dad sent my way almost made me want to laugh. 

Almost. 

“They’re off-limits. Forbidden. The campers, at least. You have to follow your uncle’s rules. The counselors, they’re your peers, but I wouldn’t recommend you messing around with any of them, either. You don’t need the distraction.” He paused. “You mess up once, and you’ll end up in juvie. 

Understand?” I nodded. Whatever. I’d mess around with whoever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I’d freaking need the distraction so I wouldn’t lose my mind having to work for Uncle Bob all summer long. 

“You’ll get out of here.” Away from my friends. “You’ll meet new people.” Who aren’t my friends. “You’ll earn a little money and save it up.” So I can buy my own cigarettes or weed or whatever I want and not have to ask for cash from you. “And you might learn a thing or two.” 

Yeah, right. 

But instead of saying any of that, I nodded like I agreed and stood, finally meeting his gaze. His eyes weren’t blazing with so much frustration anymore, and I felt like I’d jumped over the first hurdle. “I’d better go pack, then,” I told him, and left the room. 

Never looked back once, either.

 Thanks to Entangled Teen Crush for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was super cute and I really enjoyed my time with it. There's a bit of angst and drama, and maybe a few things I would change or fix up, but overall, it was just what I was looking for to lighten up my summer TBR list.

With the dual POV, we get both Annie's and Jake's thoughts, which seemed to work well here. I really liked Annie and Jack, and found myself empathizing with them both, although I have to say I became more attached to Jake than I was expecting to! He has done some bad things, but really, it's pretty evident from the beginning that he has a heart of gold. Annie, on the other hand, frustrated me occasionally, what with her trying to get together with Kyle all of the time. I wanted her to give her head a shake, but considering how completely inexperienced she was with boys, I was able to forgive her lapse of judgment. She went to camp to learn and grow and to come out of her shell, so in a way it was good that she had a crush on Kyle first, just to figure out that he wasn't really the one for her.

I do wish that there was a bit more description of the day to day workings of the camp - did Annie really spend a month learning how to make lanyards? Likewise, I wanted to know more about how Annie's relationships with the girls in her cabin developed. It felt like one minute everyone was ignoring Annie or ditching her to drown, and the next they were giving her makeovers. There just wasn't enough explanation to take me from point A to point B, so I didn't really believe the change in attitude there.  In contrast, Annie and Jake's relationship felt really well developed, so in that regard I was quite satisfied.

So, if you're looking for a sweet, summer romance to melt your icy heart (haha!) don't hesitate to pick up "Daring the Bad Boy" - I guarantee you'll have a hard time NOT falling for Jake and Annie!

My rating: 3.5 stars 

About the Author:  Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is a traditionally published author with Bantam/Random House and Harper Collins/Avon, as well as an independently published author. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance. She is also USA Today bestselling romance author Karen Erickson. She is a wife and a mother of three who lives with her family in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere, along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through many angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA. 

Website: http://monicamurphyauthor.com 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5934418.Monica_Murphy 

Twitter: @MsMonicaMurphy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monicamurphyauthor/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MonicaMurphyauthor 

Newsletter: http://monicamurphyauthor.us6.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=f1ced7b830&id=f985eea9cd

Buy Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30332862-daring-the-bad-boy?ac=1&from_search=true 

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daring-the-bad-boy-monica-murphy/1124207006?type=eBook 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Bad-Boy-Monica-Murphy-ebook/dp/B01JGMCCGM 

Entangled Teen: http://entangledpublishing.com/daring-the-bad-boy/ 

"The Debt" by Karina Halle - Release Day Blitz and Excerpt!!!

       

   Her life changed in an instant. And he's the only one who could have prevented it. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Pact and The Lie comes a new standalone contemporary romance about those McGregor men. Jessica Charles shouldn't have even been in London when the unthinkable happened. She should have been back at home in Edinburgh, perhaps hanging with her boyfriend, having drinks with her sister or doing yoga with her group of friends. She should have been going on in her normal, dependable life as always. But on that fateful day in August, when a mentally-ill ex-soldier opened fire in public, Jessica's world changed forever. Now single and crippled from the gunshot wounds, Jessica finds herself scared and alone, losing faith in herself and humanity with each agonizing moment that passes. That is until a stranger enters her life. A stranger who makes her live again. Keir McGregor has always been the strong, silent type. Throw in tall, dark, and handsome and you've got pretty much the perfect Scotsman. Except Keir is anything but perfect. He's got a past he's running away from and a guilty conscience he can't seem to shed. But the more time he spends with Jessica, the more he falls in love with her. And the more his secret threatens to tear them apart. He may have been a stranger to her. But she’s never been a stranger to him.    

iBooks | Kindle | Kobo | Nook

Excerpt:

“You’re not going anywhere,” he says. “Sit. I’ll get you another drink.”  

“It’s getting late,” I say feebly but I sit down anyway, my leg giving a protest of pain.   

“You need something for that?” he says, noticing my wince.   

“The scotch will do fine,” I tell him quickly, not wanting him to make a fuss. “But really, I should go.”   

“Why?” he asks from the kitchen. I hear the top pop off the bottle, the slosh of liquid in the glass. “Where do you have to be?”   

I have to think about that for a moment. He comes over and holds out the glass. “I won’t keep you here if you don’t want to be here. But if you do want to be here, you don’t need to make any excuses.”  

I take the glass from him, holding it delicately in my fingers. He stands over me, a massive wall, waiting for some kind of response.  

“I just…” I begin. “I…” I take a sip for bravery. Swallow. “I’m not very good at this.”

“Good at what?”  

“At…this. Being with a man.”  

When he doesn’t say anything to that, I look up at him. He’s got a peculiar smile on his face, his brows raised. “You call this being with a man?”  

I clear my throat, feeling my cheeks grow hot. “I mean. I’ve told you before –”  

“Yes, how you don’t do relationships, how you don’t do sex.”  

“I never said I don’t do sex,” I remind him quickly.  

His eyes never stop searching my face. “Then what is it? What are you afraid to say?”  

I have the sudden urge to flee and I know it must show because he suddenly points at me and says, “Don’t you dare say you have to go again. I want you to go back to what you said, that you’re not good at this. What is this? Us? You and me? There’s nothing mystifying about you and me, Jessica. You know quite well how I feel.”  

I stare at him in shock. I do? “How?”  

He looks off with an air of impatience. “I invited you to dinner, you turned me down.”  

“But then you said just as friends.”  

“And I meant it. But there are different types of friends. It’s up to you to decide what kind we are.”  

I put my drink down with a clunk. “Holy pressure.” And now it’s not just my face going hot but my entire body, flushed from head to toe.  

“You’re on fire, little red,” he says, his gaze skirting over my limbs in such a hungry way I can almost feel them on my skin. “I have to say, I like this look on you. Hot and bothered.”  

“Back with the innuendos again,” I comment but my voice is weak.  

“No, no innuendos this time. You came looking for me tonight not because you wanted to confess but because you want something from me. What is it? What do you want from me? What do you think I can give you?”  

Jesus. This is so utterly unnerving. His words slice right through me, his eyes still peeling under the layers, trying to get at something I’m not even sure of myself.  

If I lie, he’ll know. I can only be honest with him.  

“I want…” I take in a deep breath, my eyes breaking away. “I want…company.”  

“Company?” He sounds surprised.  

I nod. “That’s the truth. I’m lonely. And I’m afraid. And I’m tired of being both those things. I want to be with someone who makes me forget who I am. You make me feel fearless in a way I didn’t think possible.”  

There. That’s the truth. Most of it. It hangs in the air, thickening the tension like flour to stock.  

He sits down next to me, has a mouthful of Scotch. “Wow,” he says, running his hand over the beard on his jaw. “And here I was thinking you wanted my cock.”  

I burst out laughing. So does he, a big wonderful bellow. The tension in the room eases up a notch.   

“Sorry,” I tell him when I catch my breath. “I guess they can both mean the same thing.”  

He sucks in his lip briefly, his eyes taking a lustful turn. “If you want it to.” We stare at each other for a few heavy beats. Then his focus trails back to my gaze and he says, “Why don’t you stay over?”   

And there I have it. The chance to know what those full lips would feel like on mine, what his skin would taste like. I swallow hard.                      

  Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Racing the Sun, Sins & Needles and over 25 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books. Halle is represented by the Waxman Leavell Agency and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK. Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle, on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.com and sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more. 

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Review: "Love, Rosie" by Cecilia Ahern

Sometimes you have to look at life in a whole new way... From the bestselling author of PS, I Love You comes a delightfully enchanting novel about what happens when two people who are meant to be together just can't seem to get it right. Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S. She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while on the rebound from Alex. Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn't done with them yet.

Thanks to Hachette Books via Netgalley for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

So, let me start off by saying I liked this book, I really did. Unfortunately, I expected to love it, so I was a bit let down by the fact that I didn't. 

In the end, it was just an okay read for me.

First of all, I didn't really love the format. Sometimes it was a bit confusing. Other times I felt like I wasn't getting enough information. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but the whole letter writing/card sending/email thing didn't work for me. I would have preferred a more traditional style of story telling in this case, because although we get a decent glimpse inside Rosie's brain, she's the only one I felt any attachment to. Rosie often frustrated me to the extreme, so it would have been nice to feel some connection to Alex, or Ruby, or any of the other characters in the book, just to give me a break from the constant Rosie-ness of it all. 

Aside from the lack of connection to the characters, I also felt the book dragged on too long. Seriously, by the time it's all said and done, we're talking about forty some odd years of letter writing! I wanted to scream, "Come on, Rosie and Alex! Get your crap together and figure it out already!" I guess I was losing patience, you could say.

However, there were some extremely funny moments! The one that comes to mind is when Rosie meets some thugish men at a pub. I haven't seen the movie version yet, but I'm crossing my fingers that this is one incident that gets translated to the big screen, because it had me in stitches!

All in all, I am glad to have read this book, and I would like to read more by this author. I also have big hopes for the movie version, because, hello? Sam Claflin, anyone?

My rating: 3.5 stars

Review: "Breaking Sky" by Cori McCarthy

In this high-flying, adrenaline-fueled debut thriller, America's best hope is the elite teen fighter pilots of the United Star Academy Chase Harcourt, call sign "Nyx," is one of only two pilots chosen to fly the experimental "Streaker" jets at the junior Air Force Academy in the year 2048. She's tough and impulsive with lightning-fast reactions, but few know the pain and loneliness of her past or the dark secret about her father. All anyone cares about is that Chase aces the upcoming Streaker trials, proving the prototype jet can knock the enemy out of the sky. But as the world tilts toward war, Chase cracks open a military secret. There's a third Streaker jet, whose young hotshot pilot, Tristan, can match her on the ground and in the clouds. Chase doesn't play well with others, but to save her country she may just have to put her life in the hands of the competition.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

To be honest, I was not expecting much from this book. The synopsis made me think that "Breaking Sky" might come off a bit silly, so in that regard, I admit I was pleasantly surprised. I still feel that no matter how hard or demanding the training might be, there's no way teenagers would make competent fighter pilots. I mean, adult fighter pilots must put in thousands of hours to get as good as they are, so even if we're talking about the most mature, genius teenagers in the country, they're still not going to have the experience behind them to fly and fight like an adult. But, if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to get past this issue, then you might really enjoy this book. 

I was also expecting "Breaking Sky" to be all "rah rah USA", which I'm quite pleased to say that it was not! As a Canadian reader, I was surprised and excited to see that Canada (and two Canadians!) played a fairly significant role in this story, but that's all I'm going to say on that for fear of giving too much away.

I think there are definitely areas that could use improvement. Most of the characters were developed quite well - I especially enjoyed Pippin and Sylph - but I felt I didn't get to know a whole lot about Tristan. I also wanted to know more about why Chase hated her father so much. We're given a bit of backstory, but I don't think it was fleshed out enough to really make me understand the depth of Chase's feelings. 

Overall, though, I enjoyed this book and the writer's style. If you're looking for a fast-paced, young adult read with a kick ass heroine in an alternate future, "Breaking Sky" could be exactly what you're looking for.

My rating:  

Review: "The Summer After You and Me" by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Sunbathing, surfing, eating funnel cake on the boardwalk—Lucy loves living on the Jersey Shore. For her, it's not just the perfect summer escape, it is home. And as a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in over Memorial Day weekend, crowding the shore and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Lucy wants more from love than a fleeting romance, even if that means keeping her distance from her summertime neighbor and crush, Connor. Then Superstorm Sandy tears apart her barrier island, briefly bringing together a local girl like herself and a vacationer like Connor. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm. And day after day, week after week, Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and broken home. Now with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley for the free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my first book by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski, and I really enjoyed it. The pace was perfect for a summer beach read, the writing was great, and the characters resonated with me. But, right off the bat, I think there should be a disclaimer in the synopsis stating that there is a bit of a love triangle. You know, like a "heads up" type warning label or something, because I know many readers seem to hate that whole trope. For me, the love triangle worked okay here - it was quite evident, at least to me, who Lucy would end up with, and it seemed necessary that Lucy work through her feelings for both boys in order to figure out what she really wanted for her future. So yeah, it worked, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time what I was getting into.

I quite liked Lucy. The ups and downs she went through with her friends, her brother, her parents, and even Connor, seemed realistic to me. I liked how she was working towards her career goals by getting volunteer experience in her field. Lucy also went through many plausible disappointments during this book, like having to move out of her house while it was being renovated after the storm, and figuring out a back up plan after her summer job plans fell through. I was especially interested in the dynamic between Lucy and her twin brother - I liked how she found out from her parents, and Connor, among others, how what she perceived was completely different from how other people saw the situation. Lucy always felt that she was trying to keep pace with her brother, but in reality, things were quite different.

There was one character that felt a bit extraneous, an older, male university student.  I'm not really sure why he was added in the mix, except to offer help to Lucy when she needed it. I never quite bought his motivations, and I kept waiting for him to start hitting on Lucy or take advantage of her in some way. Maybe that's the skeptic in me, but he didn't seem to serve much of a purpose here. My opinion would be to get rid of this guy altogether - he added nothing to the plot that couldn't be developed in some other way.

If I'm going to be completely critical here, I would have liked to learn more about Connor, as well. Most of what we learn about Connor is through flashbacks, and from Lucy's observations of him from afar.  There were some sweet moments between the two of them, and I did like Connor, I just wish that he hadn't been held at arm's length so much. I feel like the author only scratched the surface of him, if you know what I mean!

But, other than those minor criticisms, this book was a fun read and a great one to start my summer with!

My rating: 4 stars