First Comes Love
Author: Katie Kacvinsky
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
 (May 8, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-0547599793

Like his name, Gray is dark and stormy. Dylan, a girl always searching for what’s next, seemingly unable to settle down, is the exact opposite: full of light and life. On the outside, they seem like an unlikely couple. But looks can be deceiving and besides, opposites attract. 


What starts as friendship, turns into admiration, respect and caring, until finally these two lone souls find they are truly in love with each other. 


But staying in love is not as easy as falling in love. If Dylan and Gray want their love to last, they’re going to have to work at it. And learn that sometimes love means having to say you’re sorry.

I don’t know where I have been, but I hadn’t even heard about this book until I received it in the mail.  I am not sure if there is much buzz going on about it, but I thought I would give it a try and see if it might be a beautiful gem hidden in the bountiful amounts of young adult books on the market right.

The start was okay.  The middle was okay. The ending was okay.  That about sums up my feelings for this book.  While I liked reading about Gray and Dylan, it wasn’t as great as I was hoping.  It is the typical opposite’s attract theme with characters that are on completely different ends of the personality spectrum.  We have Gray who is basically a recluse and has no desire whatsoever to experience friendships or relationships.  He is the classic loner with secrets he is reluctant to share.  I won’t spoil the book and tell you the secrets, but I will say it is a classic secret that has been used plenty of times to form a character.

Then we have the hyper and overly energetic Dylan.  To say she is a tomboy personality is a good comparison due to the fact that she dresses like one and doesn’t care too much about what other people think about it.  She is not into the make-up or any of the frilly things most girls her age is into.  I wasn’t a huge fan of her mainly because she was completely out there at times for me and it wasn’t much of an appealing character for me.

The pace of the book wasn’t too bad.  It is set up during the summer in Arizona.  Dylan is a free spirit and has decided to come to stay at her recently out of the closet Aunts house.  She meets Dylan on campus during summer school and has been watching him for a bit now.

While many teens and adults will more than likely enjoy this story,  I for one have grown tired of the same old plot line.  It could be my reading taste at this time, so I won’t hold it against the book.  It did have some good things about it which elevated it to just an okay read for me, just not one I would like to read again.

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Source: ATWTGenre: Young Adult
Publisher: Dial
 (June 14, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-0803736993

SUMMARY:

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”


The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?


A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

Talk about a book blowing you away without any warning!  I absolutely loved this book!  I admit, the story did start off a little slow and I was hesitant for the first few chapters.  Once you get past those first few though, the book takes off and doesn’t let go.

I so wish I had a family like the Garrets’ living next door to me when I was a teenager.  They were so full of love, fun and all around wholesome goodness that you couldn’t help but fall in love with each one of them.  Samantha was even a wonderful character since she didn’t fit the bill of spoiled rich girl that she could have been made out to be.  I loved how she worked like a normal teen and didn’t let her family money make her too good for Jase.

The romance between Sarah and Jase started off as a friendship that quickly grew into a sweet love story.  I love the pace the author took with it.  The teen romance was not rushed, but grew into a beautiful relationship that is hard to find in young adult books lately.  Jase is the perfect example of how a young man should be with his behavior, courtesy, feelings and actions.  The side characters were fun and surprising as well.  You will find yourself cheering and loving the underdogs and being thrown down a different path with the initial favorites.  I will say that I think the author handled the character of Tim.  Tim had many problems that made you want to loathe him, but I ended up falling hard for him as well.

When an unexpected and tragic event happens though, Samantha and Jase find themselves facing real problems in their relationship.  They will have to decide if the truth is best, or if they need to separate and take a different road.  I do wish the author though would have given the readers just a little bit more about the fallout and how things were handled once the decisions are made.

I cried, laughed and read late into the evening just to read about Jase and Samantha.  I wanted more and hated seeing the last page.  This is the type of book that makes you want to turn right back around and read it again just so you can have more of the characters and their life on the pages.  A stunning and beautifully written young adult book that will even be a favorite among the adults.

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Under A Vampire Moon
Argeneau Family #16
Source: Publisher
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Avon
  (April 24, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-0062100207

Christian Notte’s story, the sixteenth book in the Argeneau series is set on an island paradise called St. Lucia. 


After a bad relationship and an even worse divorce, Carolyn decides to go on a long overdue and much needed vacation with the ‘girls’. Only the rest of the vacationers didn’t get the memo. Around every corner there seems to be another couple celebrating their honeymoon or anniversary and the few single men she does see are far too young to even consider, including an irresistibly attractive rock violinist she meets. It’s really too bad he’s so young but in the end it doesn’t matter because according to his cousin, Giacinta, women in general aren’t Christian’s type. 


But there’s a catch, Christian needs Carolyn’s help. He needs her to be his beard (to play the part of his fake girlfriend) for the week to appease his ‘machismo’ family. Carolyn just can’t seem to say No and decides to help Gia’s cousin. The only problem is that being around Christian and acting like they are a loving couple is wreaking havoc on her emotions. Carolyn’s thoughts keep drifting back to places they shouldn’t, like kissing his full lips or feeling his broad shoulders under her fingertips… good lord, she’s in trouble.

This is the book that Argeneau fans have been dying for!  The author finally gives the fans the happily ever after for Christian Notte.  Christian is the son of Marguerite and Julius.  When the married couple are on their honeymoon in St. Lucia, they run into Carolyn who is out celebrating her soon to be divorce.  Marguerite instantly knows that Carolyn is the perfect mate for Christian since she has an knack for matching up immortals with life mates.  Julius calls Christian and his cousins out to St. Lucia to perform as a substitute band at the villa they are staying at.

Carolyn finds Christian attractive, but she is hesitant on dating him due to the fact that he looks to be in his mid-twenties while she is in her forties.  She does not want to look like a cougar to everyone.  What Carolyn doesn’t know is Christian is older than he appears since he is an Immortal.  To ease Carolyn’s fear of dating an older man — and to get her comfortable around Christian — his family comes up with the idea of pretending he is gay and have Carolyn pose as ‘beard’.  Carolyn thinks Christian needs her to pretend to be his girlfriend to keep his family on the down low of being gay.

While I am huge fan of Lynsay Sands, I have to say I was a little disappointed in this book.  Yes, the humor and fun is still part of the story, but I expected so much more for Christian and his life mate.  I wanted action and drama so I could be swept away in the romance.  Unfortunately, the romance fell flat for me and I never could bring myself to enjoy Carolyn’s character.  While the family dynamics were humorous and fun to read about with the cover-ups and last minute ploys,  I just didn’t feel that the author gave it her all with Christian’s story.  Plus the ending was so rushed when Carolyn found out the truth that it felt as though the author did a rush job on it to get it finished.

While I agree with recommending this book if you are a die hard fan as I am, don’t expect it to blow you away and be a favorite of the series.  Expect laughter, some romance thrown in, and an odd cast of characters.  Not bad, but definitely not my favorite of the series.

Okay book, but it left me wanting more!

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*