Unbreathable: Review (w/ Giveaway)

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Cover & Synopsis

One hundred and fifty years ago, Earth was destroyed, and the remaining humans fled to the dusty red planet of Jutaire, where the only oxygen is manufactured, food is scarce, and death strikes often.
 
When Lissa's father discovers Earth still exists, she accidentally inhales the toxic air of Jutaire, and in one breath, discovers she isn't quite human. 

Her father hangs for his discovery, and Lissa knows the Chancellors will come for her, for she saw the Earth that night too. With nothing to lose, she sets out to expose the truth. It isn't long before she meets Julian, a beautiful boy who can breathe the toxic air like she can - and shows her that the Jute, the original inhabitants of the planet, are more tangled in their lives than she knows.

But the Chancellors are only pawns in a greater game - one where the Jute control everything. Worse, the Jute plan to leave Jutaire for Earth, but to get there, they need her. And they'll stop at nothing until Lissa is in their clutches, even if they kill every human in the process. 

The race for Earth has begun.

Thoughts

Okay, so here's where the world may think I'm a partial reader. I kind of am, but I am definitely honest with my feelings about the books I read. Now, that being said, Hafsah is a very dear friend of mine -- almost sister-like! Although, with our age difference, I could be her mother...even though she is so much more mature than I! I did receive an early copy of this book to read. Receiving the early copy, the ARC, and being friends with the author have not persuaded my decision, thoughts, or rating for this book.

I am not a big feedback person and I'd never make it as a Beta reader. However, I remember telling Hafsah that I "liked it!" when I finished reading UNBREATHABLE months ago. Hafsah, who is full of thought and words, was not impressed with that answer. Hehehe! I hope I can satisfy the answer in this "review."

Lissa (who I pronounce as Lisa and think that Hafsah named after me...hahaha!) is our main character. She makes some discoveries as the book moves along. Some HUGE discoveries! Lissa keeps unveiling more and more of the treachery that is the Jutaire government? Royalty? Whatever you want to call it. Royalty, really. You just don't know about the royal mess until you get farther into the book.

There's so much to find out about Lissa!

Now, let me get to Julian. Julian. I could just stop right here and say, "Julian!" and y'all would just have to read and find out. I need Julian and Lissa to kiss. I asked Hafsah when I could read more about them. I need them to be happy. And kiss! A lot! You just need to know that Julian is a rebel, helps Lissa, and needs to kiss Lissa. :)

UNBREATHABLE is a well-written story with a thought-out plot. The reader can tell than the author planned each step along the way. I honestly thought the story had a seamless flow. All of the surprises that seemed to come all came at a pace...until the ending. 

The ending. Dear, Lord! That ending needs for me to have a next book in my hands...like yesterday! Earth. Lissa and Julian. The Jutes. The Earthlings. So much that can happen!

Rating

UNBREATHABLE definitely falls in between the "Absolutely Loved" and "Amazing" categories!

About the Author

Hafsah Laziaf was born on the east coast on a hot summer day in 1993, raised on the west coast and is now stuck in the middle – in Texas – with more books than she can read. She’s the designer behind IceyDesigns and the blogger behind IceyBooks.

UNBREATHABLE is her debut novel.

Blog / Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Everyone should be picking up a copy of this book to read. It will release on October 29. It will be available through Amazon and The Book Depository!

For now, The MerpSquad is giving away a couple of copies!

• US residents have an opportunity to win a paperback copy of Unbreathable plus some swag!
• International readers have an opportunity to win an ebook copy of Unbreathable!

Enter the Rafflecopter below! Make sure to follow the rules so you don't disqualify yourself. That'd be sad!

(Pssttt! You could also win a copy of UNBREATHABLE from my October New Release giveaway post here! Enter both! Show Hafsah and the MerpSquad some love!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Cutting Room Floor: Book Blast (w/ Giveaway)

Synopsis 

Behind-the-scenes secrets could turn deadly for Desmond and Riley

Life in the Heights has never been easy for seventeen-year-old Riley Frost, but when she's publicly dumped and outed at the same time, she becomes an immediate social outcast at her high school. So Riley swears off romance and throws herself into solving the shocking murder of her favorite teacher, Ms. Dunn.

Riley turns to her best friend, budding filmmaker Desmond Brandt, for help. What she doesn't know is that Dez has been secretly directing her life, blackmailing her friends, and hoping his manipulations will make her love him. When his schemes go too far, Dez's web of lies threatens to destroy both of their lives.

  

About the Author

Dawn Klehr began her career in TV and though she’s been on both sides of the camera, she prefers to lurk behind the lens. Mostly, she loves to get lost in stories –in film, the theater, or on the page – and is a sucker for both the sinister and the sappy. She’s currently channeling her dark side as she works on her next book.

Dawn lives in the Twin Cities with her funny husband, adorable son, and naughty dog. The Cutting Room Floor is her debut YA novel. 

Website

  

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amateur Angel: Review

Title: Amateur Angel
Author: Karri Thompson
Source: Purchased ebook (Amazon)

Goodreads Summary & Cover:

Only 18-years-old, Ashley is no ordinary teenager. Not only is she dead, but upon her death, she mistakenly enters the wrong line in the afterlife, a line meant for trained, guardian angels. With a pair of wings on her back, Ashley is sent to Los Angeles to replace another angel whose "assignment" was none-other-than Cannon Michaels, a current member of the band Sendher, the sexiest man alive, and Ashley's celebrity crush in life.

Thoughts:
So, what happens when you die suddenly and there isn't anyone guiding you to the correct line in Heaven? Well, you get in the wrong line, of course!

Just graduating high school, turning 18 and on her way home for her surprise party, Ashley has a car accident and dies. Once in Heaven, her Guardian Angel vanishes and she has no clue what to do. She gets in the line she is directed to, but is scared out of it and ends up in the wrong line: the trained Guardian Angel line.

As soon as Ashley hits LA, she realizes who she is matched with: the newly 21 year old Cannon Michaels...her celebrity crush!

Since Ashley has no training and accidentally lands in the Guardian Angel line, she has to find guidance along the way. Between a massage therapist's Guardian Angel and mostly Cannon's friend and manager's Guardian Angel, Will, she learns mostly what to do. Kind of.

As the story develops, Ashley finds out that Cannon is a big ol' jerk. He's still hot and she loves him, but he's a jerk. There are a couple of moments when Ashley sees a different side of him, but the details as to why he does the good things are never explained. However, all of the bad...definitely explained!

Ashley has to learn how to control her flying, to touch things, to touch things without sending them flying across the place, to keep her wings from knocking over things, to keep her emotions calm, and to stay out of the way of touching Cannon.

All of her uncoordinated moves had me giggling. There were a whole lot of "Poor Ashley" comments that popped in my head. This book also had me tearing up a bit. There's so much that happens with Cannon. The way he was feeling, his actions, and how Ashley would "talk" to him, were just emotional for me.

Ahhh, and a cliffhanger ending! I feel so tortured!

Rating:

I hope that Karri continues this series. I will definitely read more. This book was fun and different!

Review: The Summer I Became a Nerd

Title: The Summer I Became a Nerd

Author: Leah Rae Miller
Source: Won from a blog giveaway! (Hooray!!!)
Challenge: Standalone Reading Challenge

Summary & Cover:

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Thoughts:
Straight up? I adored this book!!! These sweet, coming of age, figuring out yourself, loving the adorable boy books are totally up my alley!

Maddie was a great main character. In the beginning of the book, she found out just how hard it would be to be a nerd growing up through middle and high school. So she'd never be made to feel awful about her love for comics and all things nerdy, she became what she thought she had to be: a popular cheerleader hanging with other cheerleaders and dating the football player.

When Maddie ran into Logan, they instantly had that thing. That connection. That whatever you want to call it. It wasn't instant love. No, no. Even though Maddie dated the football player, she knew who Logan was and had always thought he was "adorkable" and cute. Likewise, Logan had liked her since 9th grade, when he moved to Natchitoches.

Logan went along with her hiding herself from who she really was, but helped her embrace it by inviting her into his life and activities. She fit right in and loved it! But how was she supposed to enjoy doing all of those things, and hang out with this super adorkable boy while she was avoiding her friends and her boyfriend? How could she be a nerd, but stay popular and not become a laughing stock?

The path of figuring out who she was and who she wanted to be was hard for her. She figured herself out and had some great advice from her parents, brother, Logan's mom, and his friend, Dan. (Dan was funny!)

Rating:

Completely my kind of book: nerds and adorableness adorkableness!

Review: The Year of the Great Seventh

Title: The Year of the Great Seventh (Tropic of Cancer #1)
Author: Teresa Orts  Website / Facebook / Goodreads
Source: ARC from author for honest review. The thoughts in this post are mine and have not been persuaded by anyone.
Release Date: July 6, 2013 on Amazon for US

Goodreads Summary & Cover:

Sophie has always felt out of step-an outsider, even amongst friends in her high school with all the hype about celebrity culture. Her life in L.A. seems to have been already written for her, but when her junior year starts, it all takes a drastic turn. When she crosses paths with the school's heartthrob, Nate Werner, they fall for each other in a way neither can understand. What they don't know is that by giving in to their desires, they are unlocking an ancient Egyptian prophecy that threatens to return Earth to the dark ages. To undo the curse, Nate and Sophie embark on an adventure that takes them across the country. But their quest is not only to save the world as they know it. It is also a fight for their very survival. Behind the scenes, there are those that are counting on them to fail.

Thoughts:
 When the author, Teresa Orts, emailed and asked if I would be interested in reading her book and reviewing it, I was kind of shocked. I had never had an author email me with that question before at that point. My initial thought was, "Oh, no! I don't know what to say! I don't know how to say no." However, when I read the synopsis, I was intrigued and was eager to read it at that point.

I'm sorry to say that I put it off and put it off. I really didn't mean to do that! My apologies to Teresa for taking so long.

A big reason that I'm sorry that I put it off for so long is because I did enjoy the story. I liked the Egyptian mythology and that Sophie was trying so hard to find out what was happening to Nate. It took a bit of time, resources, a trip, and someone knowing about the prophecy to help them to figure it out. They were definitely on a mission to save themselves and the world...before time ran out.

There was one issue for me with The Year of the Great Seventh that kind of held me back from completely loving the book. Sophie became absolutely obsessed with Nate after her friends spotted him looking at her and she had a little "vision" type thing happen. In the beginning of the story, they had never communicated and she didn't admit to her friends that she kind of crushed on him. She barely even admitted it to herself! Shortly after that, almost every paragraph talked about how much she liked him and couldn't stay away.

I'm just going to chalk that up to the prophecy and not just insta-love. Sadly, it was a distraction for me.

Alas! Other than that one issue, the rest of the story was entertaining. I like that they were trying to figure out what was happening and how to fix it. The trip to New York was fun for me to read. The plot was great! The plot twist was even better! I was not expecting THAT to happen! I was also not expecting a cliff-hanger at the end. Darn you, Teresa Orts!!! *shakes fist* I really need Book 2. Right now. Okay?

Also, so y'all know, the cover is from a scene in the book. Sophie and Nate are not Hollywood stars, but they do attend a big movie premiere for Sophie's friend, Megan. The cover captures that part so well and I love that's what was used for the cover. It's when they were "officially" together and letting her friends know.

Rating:

The Year of the Great Seventh gets 3 1/2 Mickeys (stars)! I did like the book and was on the verge of really liking it. If I could have had more of the writing from the second half of the book during the first half, it would have been a 4 star, maybe even 4 1/2 stars. The "Sophie obsessing over Nate" bit took a bit away for me. I really did still enjoy the book, though! This is definitely a book worth giving a chance!

April is Awesome - Post 4

Hello, lovely readers! I have been enlisted to help Ruby at Ruby's Reads announce some new books during her APRIL IS AWESOME event!

Who: Well, me, obviously--Ruby from Ruby's Reads

What: April is Awesome--a month-long celebration of books that will be published during the awesomest month of the year! Author interviews and guest posts, excerpts and giveaways, I’ve got a lot planned!

Where: Ruby's Reads, of course!

When: The entire month of April!

Why: Because it's my birthday month and I wanted to celebrate in a big way. 

Today's Book Announcement is another Debut

The Loop Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble
by Shandy Lawson Website / Facebook / Twitter
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Books

Ben and Maggie have met, fallen in love, and died together countless times. Over the course of two pivotal days—both the best and worst of their lives—they struggle again and again to resist the pull of fate and the force of time itself. With each failure, they return to the beginning of their end, a wild road trip that brings them to the scene of their own murders and into the hands of the man destined to kill them.

As time circles back on itself, events become more deeply ingrained, more inescapable for the two kids trapped inside the loop. The closer they come to breaking out, the tighter fate’s clutches seem to grip them. They devise a desperate plan to break free and survive the days ahead, but what if Ben and Maggie’s only shot at not dying is surviving apart?

Come back tomorrow for the start of the giveaway! Someone will win one of the four books I featured this week!

April is Awesome - Post 1

Hello, lovely readers! I have been enlisted to help Ruby at Ruby's Reads announce some new books during her APRIL IS AWESOME event!

Who: Well, me, obviously--Ruby from Ruby's Reads

What: April is Awesome--a month-long celebration of books that will be published during the awesomest month of the year! Author interviews and guest posts, excerpts and giveaways, I’ve got a lot planned!

Where: Ruby's Reads, of course!

When: The entire month of April!

Why: Because it's my birthday month and I wanted to celebrate in a big way. 

Today's Book Announcement is a DEBUT NOVEL: (and it sounds freakin' AWESOME!!!)

Taken Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble
by Erin Bowman Website / Twitter
Release Date: April 16, 2013 (TODAY!!!)
Publisher: HarperTeen

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends…and he’s gone.

They call it the Heist.

Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive.

Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side?

Come back each day this week to see a new book featured. On Saturday, a giveaway will go up for a chance for someone to win one of the four books I will be showing off!