Review: Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala

Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala

• Pub. Date: January 03, 2012
• Publisher: Harper Teen
• Pages:299
• Goodreads/Amazon/Book Depository

Joy delamere is suffocating.

From asthma, from her parents, and from her boyfriend, Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. She can take his cruel words, his tender words . . . until the night they go too far.

To escape, Joy sacrifices her suburban life to find the one who offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, to its rules of survival, and to love--a world she won't easily let go.

Set against the backdrop of the streets of Seattle, Holly Cupala's power-ful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the ways to redemption. But above all, it is an unflinching story about the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength.

First Line: Slyt. Slyt.

Review: Joy is suffocating. She has had enough near death experiences to where her family has become obsessively overprotective of her. Then comes along Asher who seems great at first but then emotionally abuses her which soon leads to physical. All this is wearing Joy down until one day she comes across a boy who offers her an option which she didn't think she had.

Joy fakes her own abduction and pretty much runs away to Seattle where she finds Creed the boy who told her if she needs him he is there. And she meets his street family May and Santos. All the characters were very well written and we learn about each of their hardships and inner battles. Cupala also kept it very realistic as far as the street life goes and what it means to be a runaway. We met all kinds of people from pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, addicts and the list goes on.

My only issue with this book was the ending. For a book so intense the ending wrapped up too quickly and perfectly. I guess I just expected more.

 Overall this book took me by surprise it had been sitting on my shelf for months and it's another one of those books where i'm cursing myself out for not picking up sooner.  Cupala not only creates a story so gripping about Joy's struggle to find strength in herself to live a life that she wants but she also bring attention to the teen homeless population and all the horrible things they are really dealing with in real life. 

Review: Love Unscripted by Tina Reber

Love Unscripted by Tina Reber

• Pub. Date: First Published March 6, 2010 /Ebook- Sep. 12,2012 / Paperback Jan 1,2013.
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Pages: 592
• Series: Love #1
• Amazon/Goodreads

Ryan Christensen just wanted to be an actor. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that accepting a role in an unknown film would toss his career into overdrive. His new fame has cost him dearly; anonymity is no longer an option. His fans stalk him, the paparazzi hound him, and Hollywood studios all want a piece of him. Despite all of that, Ryan Christensen craves the most basic of human needs - to have love in his heart and privacy in his life.

Taryn Mitchell, the story's protagonist, is a realist. She's been feigning contentment, running the family pub in Seaport, Rhode Island, while quietly nursing her own internal heartaches. Her feet are fairly glued to the ground and she doesn't buy into all the hype that has descended on her tiny, coastal town. In her world, men are safe if they're kept at a distance.

Fate has other plans for these two when their paths cross one sunny afternoon. A group of female fans has attacked him, leaving his shirt torn, his face cut, and Ryan in obvious distress. Bonds between them form from the most dramatic of circumstances while jealousy, insecurity, and the stress of his celebrity life try to tear them apart.

Through all the tabloid lies, secrecy, and pressure, can Taryn's peace and Ryan's high-profile insanity live together in harmony?

First Line: " You never know which way the wind blows" was on of my fathers favorite expressions.


Review: I am obviously going to be the odd one out in my opinion on this book seeing how it got so many incredible five star ratings on goodreads, one of the main reasons why I picked it up also I had to know what all the hype about this book was and well...I didn't see what the hype was about. I sadly did not see what others saw in Love Unscripted and really just did not like the book at all. 

The book is close to 600 pages it was actually more but I guess it got edited down since I'm reviewing the version I got from netgalley. Anyways it's like the climax didn't even happen until about the eighty percent mark until that point not much was happening. Now I did like the book and was interested in the characters until Taryn and Ryan hooked up. Once they got together the book went downhill for me, it was the same thing over and over, Taryn wondering why Ryan is with her since he is so famous and can have anyone he wants, and then the crazed fans stalking them. It was all just so repetitive, they could have easily taken another 200 or so pages out of the book.

Not to mention the two main characters just felt so unrealistic to me, their conversations bugged me it was so cheesy and corny, and I didn't feel the chemistry between the two. I guess if the writing was better, with believable dialogue, and characters who didn't annoy me so much I might have given this book a better rating. Overall I just had a bad experience with Love Unscripted and it bugs me even more because obviously I didn't see what so many people loved about this book. Anyways just because I didn't like it I'm not going to sit here and tell you not to pick it up because I'm the minority when it comes to this book and my feelings for it, more then likely you will enjoy it.

Review: And By The Way ( A Butterfly Novel) by Denise Deegan

And By The Way (A Butterfly Novel) by Denise Deegan

Publisher: Hatchette Books Ireland
Pages:325
Format:Paperback
http://denisedeegan.com/

"At Strandbrook College, we are Kids Of. Kids of diplomats, media stars, musicians, artists, actors, oh, and wealthy people who aspire to all of that. I'm the kid of a rock star. Means nothing to me.


When Mum died, six months ago, I didn't just lose her, I lost my dad - to work. The only thing he does now is annoy me. He hires people like 'The Stylist' who wears bullets in her belt and makes him look like a hobo. Seriously.


But 'The Rockstar' isn't the only person who drives me mad. There's David McFadden, a guy in my class who could have helped but didn't. Now, it's too late. I don't want his help. Because I'm not going to trust anyone, love anyone, rely on anyone. That way I'll never be hurt again.
If only I could solve the problem of Rachel, my best friend, who won't let me pull back just like that. Even David McFadden won't stay out of my face. But I'm not going to fall for his blue eyes, his windswept hair or the plaited leather on his wrist.


And when he says he wants to help, I'm sure as hell not going to listen...."

Review: This book was amazingly good. It's about a sixteen year old girl named Alex who is dealing with the passing of her mom, and if that isn't enough she also has a famous "Rockstar" for a dad, only problem is he stopped being her "father" quite some time ago.


I found this to be a very fast read, a page turner to be exact. Alex's troubled emotions and struggles were right on key with what a teenager may go through when they have lost someone very close to them.


There was also a bit of romance which I did enjoy. David McFadden played a major role in the growth of our main character Alex. Their relationship was very refreshing. No love at first sight. The relationship actually grew in a realistic fashion.


 There were some very heavy material covered in this novel but Deegan was also able to keep it balanced by adding some light fun moments. I have to admit the conclusion was very abrupt, I wish there was a little more to it than the way it wrapped up. Overall this was a great book.I can't wait to read the second in the series " And For Your Information."

Review:Soul Mate by Ronald Lewis Weaver

Soul Mate by Ronald Lewis Weaver

• Pub. Date: June 2010
• Publisher: QuestFiction Entertainment, LLC
• Format: Paperback , 236pp
• 
  

"TEACHER + STUDENT = DISASTER. OR DOES IT? Claudia de la Rosa, is a starry-eyed innocent with book-learned wisdom who has just arrived in the glamour-charged world of Beverly Hills to become the high school English teacher of Lance Van Arden. At first, neither Lance nor Claudia understand that the odd connection they both feel in the presence of each other is anything more than Claudia's respect for Lance's emerging talent as a writer and Lance's need for a mentor. Both resist the mutual attraction because they share the conventional wisdom that anything more would be wrong. But destiny collides with established rules as mutual dreams and twists of fate propel them together. Lance and Claudia's steamy and blissful private world collides with social norms and stirs up parental suspicion. Because of their courage and an absolute certainty that they are soul mates having some greater purpose as yet undiscovered, they become modern-day folk heroes when that remarkable purpose is revealed and their tale becomes public knowledge. Their perilous adventure is nudged along by Marco Cerasuolo, a flamboyant sophomore with prodigious psychic powers whose spirit guides, Daniel and The Bear, offer hints and cryptic riddles

"

My Review: Soul Mate was a love story that went against society norms and crossed over to forbidden love. 26 year old Claudia is a new teacher at a Beverly Hills high school. It just so happens 18 year old Lance Van-Arden son to Roberta and Edward who happen to be incredibly rich and well respected in the society of the rich and famous is in Claudia's class as her student. 

A steamy love affair starts up between the two. They know it is wrong, and try to end it but that is before they have the same dream where they are in some type of ritual being binded by blood,waking up to cuts on their wrist which they only dreamed about and add Lance's psychic friend Marco to the mix= Lance and Claudia believing they are soul mates.

I was glad to see that the student in the relationship was 18 and not underage but it did get some getting used to the idea of a student teacher relationship. I did like Lance's character and wish Weaver would have went deeper into his character,instead of him just being portrayed as the horny 18 year old kid who has a different girl every week, and than all of a sudden discovers he is  deeply in love with his teacher.

I couldn't stand Claudia at all. I found her highly annoying. Crying whenever she got the chance.I guess it would make sense why she was attracted to an 18 year old, she had a maturity level of a teenager not a grown woman.

Soul Mate also had a mix of the supernatural in it. Lance had a friend name Marco who was psychic. I personally thought he was an interesting character. He tapped into his psychic abilities to help Claudia and Lance decipher their relationship and the dream they had which made them believe they were soul mates. But overall the whole psychic/supernatural part of the plot seemed out of place to me.

I would have to say the way the book ended was also unrealistic.