Buzz Books 2015: Young Adult Spring

Buzz Books 2015: Young Adult Spring
Published by: Publishers Lunch Buzz Books

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was super excited to get my hands on this as it holds 40 excerpts from 2015 Spring/Summer books! Here are a few that sound good to me and are going on my wishlist:

99 Days by Katie Cotugno - From the author of How to Love comes another stunning contemporary novel, about a girl who returns to her hometown for 99 Days—to face the two brothers she loved and left.

Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything. She has every right to hate me, of course: I broke Patrick Donnelly’s heart the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

Day 12: Gabe wouldn’t quit till he got me to come to this party, and I’m surprised to find I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me. Eighty-seven days of summer to go, and history is repeating itself. The last thing I want is to come between the Donnelly brothers again . . . but the truth is, the Donnellys stole my heart a long time ago.

Kissing Ted Callahan (and other guys) by Amy Spalding- With a voice similar to MTV’s breakout hit “Awkward” and a set-up reminiscent of E. Lockhart’s The Boyfriend List, Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) is an addictive YA read about the soaring highs and embarrassing lows of dating in high school.

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie - Book One is about an “adorkable” teenager living in a haunted house. Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Sunshine Griffith and her mother Kat move to the rain-drenched town of Ridgemont, Washington. Sunshine and her mother have always shared a special bond, but from the moment they cross the Washington state line, Sunshine feels a mysteriousness she cannot place. And even if Kat doesn’t recognize it, Sunshine knows something about their new house is just… creepy. In the days that follow, things only become stranger, as Sunshine is followed by an icy breeze, and eventually, the child’s voice she hears on her first night evolves into sobs. She can hardly believe it, but as the spirits haunting her house become more frightening—and it becomes clear that Kat is in danger—Sunshine must accept what she is, pass the test before her, and save her mother from a fate worse than death.

Buzz Books Spring/Summer 2015

Buzz Books 2015
Published by: Publishers Lunch Buzz Books

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was super excited to get my hands on this as it holds 40 excerpts from 2015 Spring/Summer books! Here are a few that sound good to me and are going on my wishlist:

Gonzo Girl by Cheryl Della Pietra - Alley Russo is a recent college grad desperately trying to make it in the grueling world of New York publishing, but like so many who have come before her, she has no connections and has settled for an unpaid magazine internship while slinging drinks on Bleecker Street just to make ends meet. That’s when she hears the infamous Walker Reade is looking for an assistant to replace the eight others who have recently quit. Hungry for a chance to get her manuscript onto the desk of an experienced editor, Alley jumps at the opportunity to help Reade finish his latest novel.

After surviving an absurd three-day “trial period” involving a .44 magnum, purple-pyramid acid, violent verbal outbursts, brushes with fame and the law, a bevy of peacocks, and a whole lot of cocaine, Alley is invited to stay at the compound where Reade works. For months Alley attempts to coax the novel out of Walker page-by-page, all while battling his endless procrastination, vampiric schedule, Herculean substance abuse, mounting debt, and casual gunplay. But as the job begins to take a toll on her psyche, Alley realizes she’s alone in the Colorado Rockies at the mercy of a drug-addicted literary icon who may never produce another novel—and her fate may already be sealed.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll - As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.

But Ani has a secret.

There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.

The Reluctant Psychic by Suzan Saxman & Perdita Finn

The Reluctant Psychic
by Suzan Saxman & Perdita Finn
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Published by: St Martin's Press
Genre: Memoir, Supernatural
Rating: 4 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

We all, as children, had our imaginary friends and monsters in the closet. But for Suzan Saxman, those friends and monsters didn’t go away—and they weren’t imaginary.

From an early age, Suzan knew instinctively that she had to hide her true self. She couldn’t talk about the specters who haunted her, waking and dreaming. In bed with a childhood fever, winged beings guarded her; bullied and friendless at school, she ate lunch silently under the steps of St. Theresa’s with the ghost of a nun; paralyzed with fear, she woke each night to see a man with no eyes, watching her; and she kept watch at the window, every day, while her real father was at work and Steve, her other father, was with her mother. It was the 1960s in suburban Staten Island and she tried to hide it all—to silence the spirits, ghosts and her own developing abilities to tap into people’s futures. She tried to be a daughter her mother could love.

I love memoirs that are easy to read, yet get to the heart of the matter. The Reluctant Psychic is just that kind of memoir. It's about a very gifted oracle and not only the story of her life here in this incarnation, but those of her past incarnations. She has a knack for telling people what they need to hear and for staying in touch, lifetime and lifetime again with the same souls.

This book reveals her journey to the partial understanding of her gift, finding her soul mate, and her mistakes along the way. An excellent read if you are interested in what makes a psychic tick.

The Line Between by Tamsyn Bester

The Line Between
by Tamsyn Bester
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Published by: Tamsyn Bester - January 15, 2015
Genre: NA, Romance,
Rating: 4 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

There’s a fine line between love and hate, so fine that you don’t know you’ve lost balance until it’s too late. I’m not sure exactly when I lost my balance, all I know is that he was to blame. Dane Winters. The boy who’d spent most of his life hating me for reasons I never understood.

** ** ** ** ** **

It was no secret that I hated her, but only I knew why. She was off-limits. And then our separate worlds collided with one tragedy. It wasn’t her fault, I knew that, but I wanted her to hurt the way I did, and I needed someone to blame. She was an easy target. Kennedy Monroe. The girl I’d picked on all our lives. And the woman I barely tolerated. Until the line between love and hate was no longer visible…

Although I'm really not a fan of angsty novels, I really loved this one. Yes, there is a lot of back and forth, fighting and trying to one-up each other, but it didn't bother me. I liked it. It was written well.

Dane wasn't the easiest to like in the beginning. He did some very very mean things to Kennedy over the years and they weren't of the "I like you so I'm going to tease you" variety. They were downright nasty. So, when Dane and Kennedy reconnect in college, I wasn't so keen on her liking him just because their was crackling attraction between them. I understood why he didn't like Kennedy at first, but I was never really sold on the extent of the hateful things he pulled on her. And while I do believe there's a thin line between love and hate, I hated Dane more than liked him. He did, however, begin to grow on me.

Overall, I found myself cheering for Dane and Kennedy to get together. They were better working together than fighting each other to keep apart.

I really loved the secondary characters of Reid and Jade. I hope the author's next book is about their relationship. I'd totally read that.

Sparrow 59 by Devon Ashley

Sparrow 59
by Devon Ashley
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Published by: Devon Ashley - December 14, 2014
Genre: NA, Thriller, Mystery
Rating: 4.5 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Bourne Identity meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith for the new adult crowd.

Members of the CIA’s specialized team Sparrow were all murdered in one quick sweep. But when Samantha finds herself suspiciously spared and Drew missing, she doesn’t want to believe what the CIA claims – that Drew is not only alive and has defected from their organization, but is facilitating the deaths of prominent research developers worldwide. Now the only member of Sparrow who hasn’t been killed off, Samantha finds herself under serious investigation by association – and a prisoner within her own home.

Just when she’s on the verge of being labeled a murderer and a traitor herself, Drew activates a beacon only she can see, taunting her from across the world. He knows she’s watching, and she knows he could be gone forever if she doesn't oblige his silent request. With nothing left to lose and everything to gain, Sam goes rogue to track him down and clear her good name. But when she finally catches up to her partner of four years, he hasn’t a clue who he is or what he’s done, and the men chasing him down suddenly want to acquire her as well.

Frantic yet determined, Samantha is forced to protect a man she no longer trusts in order to learn why he went astray – and why his associates are determined to retrieve him. But is Drew really a victim himself in a much greater scheme, or will his memories prove lethal, leading Sam into harm’s way like a lamb to slaughter, ultimately risking the life of the only member of Sparrow he managed to save?

This is the first book in the Coalition series by Devon Ashley. I've never read anything by her anymore, but I'll certainly look into her other books, as she is an amazingly entertaining and informative writer.

I happen to love espionage, mystery and thrillers with a dash of romance, and this book had it all. The storyline kept me guessing and the pace was continuous, never slowing for a moment. Each character was drawn to 3-D life and I felt like I knew them and how they'd react to certain situations before even they knew what they were going to do.

The ending is intense, but the promise of the beginning of the next book has me excited. She can't put out the second installment soon enough for me!