January Reviews - Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Falling in love can feel like poetry. Or it can feel like a slam to the heart.


Colleen Hoover’s romantic, emotion-packed debut novel unforgettably captures all the magic and confusion of first love, as two young people forge an unlikely bond before discovering that fate has other plans for them.










Synopsis:
Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she's losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbor Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her.


Not long after a heart-stopping first date during which each recognizes something profound and familiar in the other, they are slammed to the core when a shocking discovery brings their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together and the forces that tear them apart. Only through the poetry they share are they able to speak the truth that is in their hearts and imagine a future where love is cause for celebration, not regret.

Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. She released her debut novel, SLAMMED, in January 2012 and the follow-up novel, POINT OF RETREAT, in February, 2012. Both books have been optioned for film as of October, 2012.

If you want entertaining, stay away from her Twitter and visit her blog, instead. www.colleenhoover.com


Reviewer - Tiffany N.

Title/Author – Slammed by Colleen Hoover

5 Stars

The story was about how you face obstacles in your life. How you lose people that mean a lot to you, but still have to be strong for other people. How you fall in love with someone and then find things out about them. Sometimes it may ruin your relationship. Slammed was based on two people that fell in love before they knew anything about each other. For example, love at first sight. After they found things out about each other, they had to call it quits. At a certain point in the book, she thought her mom was seeing someone, it turns out that it was just a friend that was helping her with her chemo treatments. Lake begins to take care of her mother while she had lung cancer. When her mother dies Lake is left to take care of her little brother, finish school, and go on to college.

I really enjoyed this book. My grandma died of lung cancer last October, so this book really touched me. I was the same way. I was too worried about everything else to even notice she was getting sick. It’s hard to lose someone that is really close to you. You face obstacles alone by having to be strong for everyone else around you. So, that’s why I really love this book. Plus, it is kind of romantic. 

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January Reviews - The Modified by C. A. Kunz

Synopsis:
Kenley Grayson is all too familiar with these questions.

After Earth is thrust into its first intergalactic war with an unknown race called the Bringers, our military forces begin to suffer heavy losses. Desperate for a solution, the Allied Federation issues a worldwide draft for every able seventeen year old to enlist. As Kenley turns seventeen, she finds herself thrown into the very war that took her older brother's life.

This year's draft is a little different than in the past though. A new program, known as the Magnus Project, has been introduced, and only the best and brightest qualify. Kenley is amongst a select few whom are chosen to join this elite group of soldiers, and as a part of this project, undergoes a modification procedure that leaves her and her peers endowed with powers beyond their wildest dreams.

As Earth continues in its struggle against the Bringers, Kenley is transported to a high-tech training facility, the Magnus Academy, to prepare for the major battle that lies ahead. It's here that she meets the California heartthrob, and son of a legendary war hero, Landon Shaw. As unexpected feelings toward Landon begin to develop, Kenley wonders if this is the right time or place for romance to bloom, especially when those feelings start to interfere with her training.

With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Kenley is constantly reminded of how important she and the rest of the Magnus cadets are to the fate of humanity. She is one of the Modified, Earth's last line of defense against utter destruction.

Carol Kunz was born in New Ferry, England. Her interest in the supernatural was first sparked upon meeting a ghost at the age of eight. As a teenager, she was always fascinated by the mythology behind vampires, werewolves and witches. Being an avid reader, Carol finds it easy to spend several hours wrapped up in a great fantasy novel.

Adam Kunz was born in Newport News, Virginia. Growing up, he was a huge fan of creature features and books about things that go bump in the night. When he is not busy writing, Adam enjoys his job at a certain theme park in Orlando, Florida as a décor consultant. This job brings him face to face with all sorts of nightmarish creatures, especially when he decorates the haunted houses for the park's annual Halloween event.

Carol and Adam currently reside forty-five minutes away from each other in the sunny state of Florida.


Reviewer: Carrie C.

Title/Author: The Modified by C.A. Kunz

5 Stars

Kenley and her best friend, Joey are drafted into the same war against the Bringers that killed her older brother, Dylan. But this time, it's a little different. A new program, known as the Mangus Project, has been formed, and only the best and brightest are qualified. Kenley, along with another select few, undergoes a modification procedure that leaves her and her peers endowed with powers beyond their wildest dreams. In the midst of her training, she begins to develop feelings for the California heartthrob and son of legendary war hero, Landon Shaw. The mission for saving Earth becomes a little more personal.

I really enjoyed this read and I can't wait for the next one. I would describe it as a science fiction adventure. Kenley is the best Fortification Division student in the Mangus Academy, and Landon is the best Strike Division student in the Mangus Academy. Together they make the greatest team not only against the Bringers, but also against the Allied Federation when they tried to take over. If you love action and adventure you'll love this.

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January Reviews - Awaken by Sarah M. Ross

Synopsis:
Lucy Donovan was supposed to have a weekend of fun in the sun, celebrating her upcoming graduation from college. In a split second, everything changed. A drunk driver ended Lucy’s mortal life. Lucy opens her eyes to a world she never imagined possible and a new destiny: as a Patronus, a guardian of spirits. Adjusting to her new role and abilities while negotiating this confusing realm will test her limits and push her further than she ever dreamed she would go. From wayward spirits who don’t want her help to soul stealing vampires, and even a stuck-up British royal, Lucy must brave them all to save one spirit she can’t bear to lose. Further complicating her confusing life is an inexplicable yet growing connection she feels to a member of her team, Max, whose mysterious behavior leaves her both confused and intrigued. Waking up dead was just the beginning of her problems. Lucy’s death is about to become the greatest adventure of her life.

I started my obsession with reading at an early age, getting in trouble for sneaking BabySitter Club and Nancy Drew books into math class in elementary school. I would read any fiction book I could get my hands on. I knew it was an addiction when instead of grounding me from TV or music, my mom would take away my books as punishment (The Horror!). My love of all things paranormal was inspired by my good friend Laurie, who convinced me that books with vampires, witches, and all things shifter were amazing. After a little reluctance, I gave it a shot with the Sookie Stackhouse books, realized she was right, and the rest was history.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, graduated from The University of Pittsburgh with my degree in English, and taught 8th graders to love reading as much as I do for several years. I will always be a proud member of the Steelers Nation, but I couldn't take the cold and moved my frozen tush to Florida where I now live with my family and two cats. You will find me now with my trusty Kindle in hand and toes in the sand!

When I'm not writing or reading, I am probably partaking in my favorite vice: sunbathing. I know it's wrong, but I love the feeling on the hot sun on my skin and could lay in it for hours. I do live in Florida for a reason!


Reviewer: Crystal H.

Title/Author: Awaken by Sarah M. Ross

5 Stars

Lucy Donovan was a college student who was about to graduate.  Well, at least she was until a drunk driver ended her mortal life.  Lucy opens her eyes to a world that she never imagined was real, to learn that all of the stuff from the vampires to the werewolves is true.  Further complicating her life is the undying pull that she feels toward her fellow team member Matt, whose mysterious behavior leaves her both confused and intrigued.  For Lucy waking up dead was the least of her problems.

Personally, I thought that this book was an amazing thrilling look into the paranormal world that has me dying to see what was going to happen next.  Two thumbs up to Sarah M. Ross.

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January Reviews - Becoming by Raine Thomas

Synopsis:
Every three years, Amber Hopkins explodes. Okay, not a blown-to-smithereens explosion, but whatever it is always hurts like hell and leaves her life a shambles. She’s already worked her way through five foster placements, and she’s doing whatever she can to avoid getting blasted into a sixth.

As her eighteenth birthday approaches and she feels the strange and powerful energy building, disaster looms. When the inevitable explosion occurs, her life gets its biggest shakeup yet. She’ll not only learn how her fellow foster and best friend, Gabriel, really feels about her, but she’ll discover that she isn’t really without family.

To top it all off, she’ll finally find out why she’s having the power surges: she isn’t entirely human.

Amber must Become, transitioning to another plane of existence and risking the loss of the most important relationship she’s ever had. Her choice will impact the future of an entire race of beings, and will pit her against an enemy that will prey upon her doubt to try and take her very life.

Kind of makes the explosions now seem like a cakewalk.

Raine Thomas is the award-winning author of the exciting and original series of YA fantasy/romance novels about the Estilorian plane. She followed her life-long passion for all things literary and earned her bachelor's degree in English with a focus in Creative Writing from Georgia State University, then her master's degree in Humanities from Central Michigan University. Having grown up in places such as Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando, much of her writing reflects these settings.

Raine is a hopeless romantic with a background in the fields of mental health and wedding planning...two areas that intersect far more than one would think. Her years working with children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral challenges inspired her to create young protagonists who overcome their own conflicts. When she isn't writing or glued to e-mail or social networking sites, Raine can usually be found vacationing with her husband and daughter on one of Florida's beautiful beaches or crossing the border to visit with her Canadian friends and relatives.

Reviewer - Erika L.

Title/Author - Becoming by Raine Thomas

4 Stars

The Becoming is the first book to a trilogy. In this book Amber has been to many foster homes in her life because she was found as a newborn. She never could stay in a foster home for long because every three years she would have an outburst of some kind. After finally finding her way to Mrs. B’s home, she met Gaberiel- who is also a foster child that Mrs. B took in. Gaberiel helped Amber with her outbursts and they ended up falling in love with each other. For her birthday Gaberiel took Amber to Alaska. There they found out that Amber was the eldest of 2 other sisters (triplets). Come to find out her outburst was an outcome to her not being entirely human. She was half Elphresti. She couldn’t stay on Earth, and was forced to go to her home place with Sky, Olivia and Gaberiel. Gaberiel was not human either nor was he aware of it. On the new planet the sister found out they each had powers and obstacles.

I really loved this book. It was entertaining and out of the ordinary. In this book you were always wondering what was going to happen next and it always had a twist. The ending left you wanting to read the others to find out what happens next. I am planning on reading the other 2 books as soon as I can!

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