Book Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
My rating: 5.0/5.0
Publish Date: July 16, 2013

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Where my book came from: I read this through Scribd.com subscription service


My Review:
Dangerous Girls is a book that can inspire all kinds of reactions. First and foremost, I loved the suspense, the movement from the present to the past and back and the fact that the characters were true to teenagers. The book is disturbing and even more so that it was ripped from the headlines. But overall I absolutely loved this book, if not the subject matter (dealing with the murder of a teenage girl, but then I picked it out). :)

Ms. Haas does an amazing job developing the characters through flash-backs where you get to see when and how Elise and Anna became friends, how Anna ended up with Tate and how they all ended up on vacation together. Obviously some of the characters are not as fleshed out, but the important ones are (Anna, Elise and Tate). And besides the characters, the author really makes you feel in this book. Outrage at the murder, outrage at the fact that Anna is being tried and outrage at how certain things happen during the trial.

I spent the book truly wondering who did it. Yes I had my suspicions. But when it was all said and done, I still didn't see it coming even though I was right. I thought it was plotted well and I never found my interest level waning. Every time I put the book down I picked it up again as soon as I could (have 7 1/2 minutes while waiting for macaroni to cook for kids, great reading time!)

Ms. Haas really scores with her writing, making Dangerous Girls intriguing, horrifying and also an interesting story of friendship and justice. If you love a good suspenseful young adult novel, then this is a great one to pick up.

About Dangerous Girls:
It's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations.

As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine...

Challenges:
New Author
Outdo Yourself

***I read this book through my Scribd.com subscription service.  I was not compensated in any way for this review. ***

Book Review: Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
My rating:  5.0/5.0
Series: Never, Never #1
Publisher: Hoover Ink
Publish Date: January 7, 2015
From: my Kindle shelf

My Review:

Amazing. That's what I think about Never Never. I love Colleen Hoover so I knew this was a must buy for me when I first saw it. And buy it I did. Then I read it, trying to take my time, but I couldn't help rushing because I had to know what happened next. Then it ends and I already miss Silas and Charlie and cannot wait until April. You mean I have to wait until April?

Seriously a concept where two teenagers seem to lose their memories, both at the same time is just amazing as I mentioned before. Watching them navigate through life and learn what they can and fake what they can just to get by is very intriguing. I loved getting to know them as they get to know themselves or their new selves. And the mystery. Who are various people and why did this happen. The romance, turns out not only did Charlie and Silas know each other but they seemed to be destined for each other since birth. But was their love enough for both of them?

Lots of questions and a few answers are provided in this book and I cannot wait until the next installment. I am very invested in both characters and want to know more.

Is it April yet?

About Never, Never
Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen.
Complete strangers since this morning.
He'll do anything to remember. She'll do anything to forget. 


Challenges:
Outdo Yourself
Contemporary Romance

***I bought this book and all thoughts in this review are unsolicited.  ***

Thoughts on Genres

I've been reading since I was a kid, but it's only been in the last 10 years or so that I have noticed the trends in the book industry and it really just came to me when I thought about my reading habits in the shower the other day.  Is it just me or can you solve the world's problems when you are in the shower and not singing at the top of your lungs (Take Me To Church and Uptown Funk are my current favorite shower songs, but I have been known to belt out some Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert)?  I frequently find answers to problems I've run into at work, how to handle something with the kids and yes even a blog post :)

So here's what I have noticed:

Mystery and suspense are always around and contemporary romance as well for me.  I'm not a big non-fiction reader but I know that is always around, but I'm talking about my reading habits.

Somewhere around 2002-2003, the vampire/paranormal craze hit romance.  I read as much as I could get my hands on.  The Dark Hunters series by Sherilyn Kenyon, Anita Blake by Laurell K. Hamilton, the Carpathians by Christine Feehan and so many others, but it's been 10 years and it's hard to remember.  But somewhere along the way this fizzled out and I've looked through my Kindle library and there are so many series I haven't read yet, but I'm not feeling it at the moment.

Romantic Suspense also really came into play shortly after I went on the paranormal reading spree.  It was really big and while it very much is still around, there was a true heyday somewhere around 2005 or so.  Dee Davis, Mary Burton, Jayne Krentz, Elizabeth Lowell and Nora Roberts were some of must reads (and still are).

Also the general fiction genre took off with the likes of Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, Elizabeth Berg, Emily Griffin, Elin Hilderbrand, Lisa Scottoline and many others.  I have enjoyed and still enjoy books by these authors.  I can count on a heartfelt story that feels real.  And while I love a happy ending, I don't mind an occasional unresolved or not as happy ending.  That said the ending of several Nicholas Sparks (who is a local author for me) tick me off.  But that's another blog post.

As the paranormal started to fizzle for me (too much of it for me, maybe) Young Adult seemed to be hitting it's prime. The Twilight series bridged the gap for many of us not-so-much-young adults.  We were reading paranormal so it wasn't a stretch to go read Twilight, I mean it had vampires.  Sparkly ones at that ;)  Then it was Harry Potter.  And the Hunger Games.  All YA became popular but I would say the Hunger Games trilogy ushered in the post-apocalyptic genre which is still going to some extent but I am seeing more people getting tired of it.  I admit that it hasn't piqued my interest as much after I finished the Divergent series.  There are still some great books out there, but I think I'm burnt out on it.  Somewhere in there was the paranormal ability and angel books, like The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and the Fallen series by Lauren Kate.  There were also serious books and alternate reality seems to be popular and just plain contemporary. I honestly wish there had been this much YA when I was a young adult, but I'll enjoy it at 40.

While I feel YA is still going strong, it ushered in edgier books centered around kids finishing high school and in college.  An age group that wasn't really in many books before.  Romance seemed to pick up around 25-40 and suspense was usually older characters.  So these edgier books centered around this new age group (17-24) became New Adult.  This genre was mainly launched by independent authors like S.C. Stephens, Jamie Mcguire and Abbi Glines to name a few and now all of them are published by major publishers. Yay for them!  I have been working my way through Abbi Glines' Rosemary Beach and Seabreeze series.  They have been great.  I also love anything by Jamie McGuire.  The Beautiful Disaster series of books have been excellent and I have read the first Maddox brothers book and have purchased the second one.  Love these!  Some other of my favorites are Jennifer Armentrout, Colleen Hoover, Rachel van Dyken and too many other authors to mention.  But I'm seriously  loving this genre right now which is what led to me thinking of this post because I wonder what will come after this.

And we can't forget erotica.  Yes it's always been there, but the Fifty Shades of Grey books really ushered in women being less ashamed to be seen reading it.  I remember the year it was really popular being in Myrtle Beach for a girls' weekend and you could look around the pool, everyone was either reading a Fifty Shades book or a Hunger Games book.  LOL!  But this brought Cheyenne , Jaci Burton and many others to the forefront and while there were some books that seemed to copy the Fifty Shades of Grey model, there were many refreshing new ideas and great books. I don't see this genre going away but it's faded a little.  I'm thinking with the movie coming out next weekend that it may be revived.

And along the way I have stayed true to reading contemporary romance from Nora Roberts, Kristin Higgins, Lisa Renee Jones, Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Lori Foster.  These authors are timeless and seem to move with the times keeping their books fresh and interesting and of course full of love, conflict and of course a happy ending.  Yes it's a formula, but it's a formula that works and these authors and many others bring a freshness to it that make it fun, serious, mysterious and hot.  Romance is the biggest selling genre with a good reason.

Finally is the Mystery/Suspense/Horror genres for me.  I started reading heavy as a teenager with V.C. Andrews (I was in the height of the Dollanger family books), Stephen King and Dean Koontz.  Stephen King and Dean Koontz are still must reads for me.  I've added J.D. Robb, Michael Connelly, John Sandford, Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline (she's both mystery and general fiction), James Patterson (yes he's my guilty pleasure, but that's another blog post as well).  There are many others in this genre as well. 

After writing this post, I think I will make a series of posts with authors I have discovered and loved over the years. 


And just to clarify, I in no way think these swings through genres are bad.  Variety is wonderful.  I love each and every genre and love to see authors do great.  I love to see new authors on the scene and enjoy my favorites.

What are your thoughts about the progression of reading fads/binges that you have participated in. 

What is your favorite genre of the moment?

What would you like me to talk about from my perspective?  I am going to get back to reviews, but I like sharing my feeling as well. I know I enjoy reading posts on what the bloggers think about reading.  I'll also share my bookshelves and my reading habits in more depth.  But I would love to hear from you as well.  If you have a blog post about any of these topics or your reads from 2014, let me know, I love to read these and may have missed them.

2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I've  been reading more and more nonfiction books each year (my favorites are interesting memoirs and running books, but I read just about anything).  So the Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by The Introverted Reader is a great one to challenge me to continue reading nonfiction.

The Challenge:  Read any non-fiction book(s), adult or young adult. That's it. You can choose anything. Memoirs? Yes. History? Yes. Travel? Yes. You get the idea? Absolutely anything that is classified as non-fiction counts for this challenge.

I always like levels in my challenges, so here are mine:

Dilettante--Read 1-5 non-fiction books

Explorer--Read 6-10

Seeker--Read 11-15

Master--Read 16-20

This challenge will last from January 1 to December 31, 2015. You can sign up anytime throughout the year.

I am not limiting the challenge to bloggers. You can also link to a review you wrote on another site, such as GoodReads or LibraryThing.

Crossovers with other challenges are acceptable, and feel free to read your books in any format you like.


I'm signing up at the Seeker Level, so come back and check out my progress.

***I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***

2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

I love a TBR pile reading challenge so this one hosted by Bookish is perfect for me.  Each year I strive to read more off my shelf, virtual or real, so this challenge helps me try and read more of my books.  The challenge is hosted by Bookish and will have read-alongs and wrap-ups alternating months.  Make sure you check out the sign-up post for more information.

Challenge Guidelines

1. The challenged will run from January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015. The sign up link below will remain open until January 16, 2015 at 11:30am.
2. Anyone can enter! You don't have to be a blogger, just as long as you review the book you've read. You can review on your book on your blog, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc.
3. Any genre, length, or format of book counts as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your self for some time. Short stories and novellas do count! The only stipulations that the book must have been released in 2014 or earlier. No 2015 ARCs or 2015 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed.
4. On the 25th of every other month (see schedule below), we will post a wrap-up for the previous two months. These posts will be done by one our bloggers and will contain new linkys for you to add your own wrap-up posts. If you did not sign up by January 17, this is where you can sign up as well.
5. To help you tackle your TBR piles we will also be hosting Read-A-Longs on months that do not have wrap-ups. Voted on by challenge participants, Read-A-Longs will have two post dates: the first half of the book and the second half. Please note: You do not have to take part in our Read-A-Longs to participate in the TBR Pile Challenge. You can participate in all of them, some of them, or none of them. This aspect of the challenge is entirely optional.
6. There will be two giveaways - July and December. Giveaway details will be explained once the giveaway post goes up. We don't want to overwhelm you with too many details now  :)
7. You don't have to follow Bookish to join the challenge, but you do have to follow us to be entered in the giveaways.

How many books are you planning to read for this challenge?

1-10 A Firm Handshake

11-20 A Friendly Hug

21-30 First Kiss

31-40 Sweet Summer Fling

41-50 Could This Be Love?

50+ Married with Children

I plan to read at the Could This Be Love level. I think I should be able to read 40-50 of my own books. Come back here and see how I'm doing :)

1. Sometimes It Lasts by Abbi Glines (on my ereader since 2013)
2. Kiro's Emily by Abbi Glines (freebie from December 2014)
3. Tidal by Emily Snow (have had the audio since early 2014)
4. Enforce by Rachel van Dyken (bought December 2014) 
5. Forever Too Far by Abbi Glines (bought December 2014)
6. Bad for You by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from mid-2014)
7. Hold on Tight by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from mid-2014)
8. Take a Chance by Abbi Glines (bought 2014)
9. One More Chance by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from 2014)
10. Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines (review audiobook from 2014) 
11. Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb (from audible credit several years ago) 
12.  

Currently Listening: Tidal by Emily Snow

Tidal by Emily Snow

Obtained From: Simon & Schuster Audio for review

Why I chose this one: I am very into New Adult and this sounded interesting

Date Started: Jan. 2, 2015


About Tidal:

From New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Emily Snow: Hollywood starlet Willow Avery is out of rehab, with only one chance left to redeem herself before she’s officially on every director’s blacklist……At least, that’s what her parents and her agent are claiming. She doesn’t really give a damn if she never makes another movie—she just wants to get on with her life, get back to her friends, and find her next escape. But Willow is broke. And whether she likes it or not, acting is the only job she knows how to do.

When she accepts the lead in a beach drama, set in Hawaii, Willow meets Cooper, the gorgeous Australian surfer who’s been hired to train her for her new role. With the bluest eyes she’s ever seen and the sexiest accent she’s ever heard, Cooper’s different from the men she’s used to. He doesn’t want to use her. And he refuses to let her fail.

But when an old friend re-enters Willow’s life—a friend whose toxic presence reminds her of the painful memories and deadly habits she’s tried so hard to suppress—Willow will have to choose between the girl she was and the person she’s becoming…or she may lose the man she’s starting to love.
 

Currently Reading: Misbehaving by Abbi Glines

Misbehaving by Abbi Glines

Obtained From: Edelweiss
Why I chose this one: I've been making my way through the Sea Breeze series and loving it

Date Started: Jan. 1, 2015

About Misbehaving:
An unexpected affair leads to mind-blowing harmony in this Sea Breeze novel from New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines.

Jason is sick of living in his rock star brother’s shadow. So when he ships off to Sea Breeze, Alabama, he’s looking for a much deserved escape and a chance to blow off some envious steam. Falling for the local bad girl was definitely not the plan. But as the new duo enjoys some naughty fun in the Alabama sun, Jason learns that even though Jax is the musician in the family, he’s not the only brother who can rock someone’s world.