Never Never by Brianna Shrum: Book Review and Book Trailer

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

Never Never

Brianna Shrum

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Synopsis: James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.
When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.

But grow up he does.

And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.
This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.

Except one.

My Thoughts 5 Stars


Gosh, where do I start? I first heard of Never Never because I’m part of the Sunday Street Team lead by Nori @readwritelove28. I ended up getting an interview with Brianna you can read here! 
But, my interest didn’t really happen until someone had suggested I make a book trailer for Never Never! So, I did!
THEN, I got really excited about this book! I found out there is a romance between James Hook and Tiger Lily! YES!
So, I bought Never Never and I am so glad I did.

Why?

Never Never explains HOW James Hook came to Neverland. To be honest, this is completely heart breaking. From the beginning all the way through the book I was very emotionally attached to James and the difficulties he would undergo BECAUSE of Peter. 
Peter is the devil. Seriously, he’s so evil, selfish, arrogant and scary. 

Everything that James loves, Peter and the Lost Boys try to take away.

I never would have pegged myself as someone who would want a child dead, but I will never see Pan in the same way ever again and I wanted him dead so hard.

Neverland!

I LOVE the world building in this book. Neverland was created and built out of dreams and it exists to create the dreams of children.

Many things you visualize when you think of Neverland such as the mermaid lagoon, the forests, Tiger Lily’s tribe, the sea, the pirates, the fairies are all there BUT the world is also alive. Everything in Neverland has it’s pulse connected to Peter Pan. His moods, and even his presence effect how it looks and even how people feel. This was fascinating.

Romance! 

This was one of the reasons why I was so excited about this book. I love seeing Tiger Lily’s character brought more to life than we’ve seen in the book, play and movies. She’s always there, but not given any spotlight time.

  • Tiger Lily is strong, speaks truth and she and James are so HOT together. Just saying. 

The Writing Style

This was one of my favorite aspects of the book. James is young, 11 or 12 when Peter convinces him to come to Neverland. The book reminded me so much of a classical fairy tale in it’s style. It was gorgeous to read.

The writing also matures throughout the book because James begins to grow up. The book starts off almost middle grade in content but progressively moves more and more mature in violence, romance, and other adult content. I wouldn’t say it goes over the top in any way but I wouldn’t let my kids read it until they were teens.

But, as for me, YES LOVED IT!

Side Characters

To me, all good books have great side or secondary characters. This was true of Never Never. When James was with the Lost Boys, he builds friendships with them and some more than others. I loved how they truly seemed and acted like children.

Mermaids: The mermaids were very cool in Never Never. They were beautiful, playful but also a bit sinister. Much like a lot of things in Neverland.

The pirates! Yay! We get the pleasure to meet many pirates aboard The Spanish Main, Hook’s ship. Starkey is James’ first mate and he’s always there to set Hook straight when he’s making or about to make a foolish choice. Smee is also here and is a delightful character.

Hook

Never Never is such a perfect book to help us understand how James Hook became the infamous Captain Hook. SO many different events in his life alter who he is, how he feels, and how he thinks. He’s a complex character who has stolen my heart. I will forever love James Hook.

No Peter Pan experience is complete without reading Never Never! 

It developed a character who was given an opportunity to tell his story, one in which deserves to be told.

I loved this book to pieces and I will forever encourage everyone I know to read it. I was emotionally invested throughout the entire book. This story was truly was life changing.

Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR!

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Click the link for more info and join in!

There are MANY great books coming out this fall. Here are the Top Ten Books for my FALL TBR!
1. Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
2. Dreamstrider by Lindsey Smith
3. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler 
4. Winter by Marissa Meyer
5. This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee (I actually took a break from this book because I was struggling to get into it. So, I’m hoping to dive back in and finish)
6. Half Bad by Sally Green
7. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (Thanks to my #otspsecretsister for buying this for me!)
8. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
9. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (Thanks again to my #otspsecretsister for this book!)

 

10. Soundless by Richelle Mead
Fall Books I already read and LOVED:
  • Queen of Shadows
  • Illuminae
  • Six of Crows

What about YOU?


Never Never Release Week Blast! Top Ten Villains PLUS GIVEAWAY

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

Never Never
Brianna Shrum

Release Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Synopsis: James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.
When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.

But grow up he does.

And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.
This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.

Except one.

Top Ten Villains According to Brianna!

I am OBSESSED with villains, so I HAD to pick Top Ten Villains, clearly. We’ll say top 10 besides Captain Hook, because…well…obviously…In no particular order…*drumroll*

TOP TEN VILLAINS

1) The Darkling—Grisha Series (Forever and ever and ever)

2) The Jackal—Red Rising

3) Loki—Marvel

4) Bellatrix LeStrange—Harry Potter (Because for REAL)

5) Irial—Wicked Lovely Series

6) Lucille Bluth—Arrested Development (You could also make a strong case for Mallory Archer)

7) Magneto—X Men

8) Hannibal Lechter—Silence of the Lambs

9) Scar—The Lion King

10) Darth Vader—STAR WARS

Where to Find & Buy! (Trust me, you want it!)

Goodreads link

Amazon
B&N
Book Depository
Kobo
IndieBound

Author Bio:

Brianna Shrum lives in Colorado with her high-school-sweetheart-turned-
husband, two boys, and two big, floppy hound dogs. She thinks chai tea is proof of magic in the world, and loves all things kissy, magical, and strange. She’d totally love to connect with you. You can find her saying ridiculous things on Twitter @briannashrum

Website: http://briannashrum.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/briannashrum
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brianna.r.shrum?_rdr

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Sunday Street Team INTERVIEW: Never Never by Brianna Shrum

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

Never Never

by Brianna Shrum

Synopsis (GR):
James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.

When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.

But grow up he does.

And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.

This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.

Except one.

Interview Questions:

1. What made you want to write a retelling about Captain James Hook?


I’ve always had a real soft spot for the villains in stories. *coughs in the general direction of Loki, The Darkling, Scar* And really, who doesn’t love pirates? 😉 So I got to thinking about him and wondering what on earth a sophisticated, powerful man like that was doing in a world full of children he hates? What possibly could have happened to make his life turn out this way? And BOOM. Never Never was born.


2. What kind of research went into developing this book and the world behind Never Never?


I read Barrie’s Peter Pan…a LOT. I also re-watched some of my favorite Peter Pan retellings (oh no! and excuse to watch HOOK over and over again!). Beyond that, it was a whole lot of sitting there, staring off into space, trying to come up with as many bizarre dream-like things as I could that would fit into the dream world of Neverland.


3. What message do you want your readers to know about Never Never?


I’d like people to know that it’s about magic and pirates and adventure, yes. But above all, Never Never is about childhood. About what happens to a person when it’s stolen, what happens when you stay there forever, what happens to magic and dreams when you’re small, and when that childhood is gone.


4. If you could live in Neverland, what would you want to be?


A pirate, for SURE. I could plunder and pillage chill on the ocean AWAY from Peter Pan, and occasionally try to steal James from Tiger Lily. 😉 (Though if that wasn’t an option, I’d totally settle for his first mate, Starkey.)


5. What was most challenging or most fun about writing Never Never?


The most challenging thing was staying *very* close to the original story when the book moves from origins story to a direct retelling. Painting James as the protagonist when he’s doing all these pretty objectively dastardly things was…tough, particularly because I didn’t want to skip past any of the nastiness J.M. Barries has him do in the original. I wanted it to be the ACTUAL Pan story, with all the events Barrie gave us, just from a different angle. Tricksy.


6. How long did you take you to write this book?


It took me about 8 weeks to draft. (Good old NaNoWriMo giving me a kick in the pants.)


7. What does your writing process look like?


A lot of it looks like this: *sits at computer, stares* I dream up characters and a situation for a while, let them kind of run about in my head, and then I’ll draft a chapter to get a voice. Then I do a rough chapter-by-chapter outline and go back and draft! (Drafting is my FAVORITE. Death to revising.)


8. Are there any songs that inspired this book, or you, while writing it?


I actually have a terrible time listening to music while writing (though when I was revising, I lived off the 2003 Peter Pan soundtrack). The two songs I think sum up the book, though, and that I’ve listened to a lot, are “Brightly Wound” by Eisley, and “Bad Blood” by Bastille.


9. When did you want to become an author?


I fantasized about it when I was tiny, writing poetry with my grandpa in 2nd grade. But I never saw it as attainable. I thought it was a total you-must-know-someone impossible career, until I decided to go for it (and learned that I was quite mistaken) after I saw The Hunger Games in theaters for the first time, and left inspired to write a book. (Thanks, Suzanne Collins!)


10. What is your next project?


I’m co-writing a dark, villainous fantasy with my brother right now, actually! It was originally VERY loosely inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, but it’s moved pretty far away from that now. Now it’s just villain-y. And magicky. 🙂
~Thank you Brianna for stopping by my blog! Sarah~

About the Author:

Brianna Shrum lives in Colorado with her high-school-sweetheart turned husband and her two little boys. She’s been writing since she could scrawl letters, and has worked with teens since she graduated out of teenager-hood, either in the writing classes she taught, or working with the youth group. Brianna digs all things YA, all things geeky, superhero-y, gamery, magical, and strange.

Her debut YA, Never Never, releases in September of this year. Her second YA, How to Make Out, releases in Fall 2016. She’d totally love to connect with you, so come say hi on her website or Twitter!

Visit her Website at briannashrum.com
Follow her on Twitter @briannashrum

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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: ARC Review + Book Trailer

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)

by Leigh Bardugo

Release date: September 29, 2015

Goodreads Summary:
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first. 

My Thoughts – 5 Stars



I was given a copy of Six of Crows by my wonderful friend Sara @thehidingspot. Thanks Sara!

I never originally planned on reading this book. However, I was given this arc by a friend and I actually got excited about it! 

I only “liked” Leigh’s Grisha Trilogy. Hands down her writing is amazing but the story-line fell a bit flat for me. So I wasn’t necessarily going to seek out this new series set in the same world.

BUT…it was amazing!

Why?
  • Great characters and character development.
  • An exciting story that was unpredictable to the very end.
  • Humor
  • Intense Moments
  • Unique Romances
The Story:
The story is set in the same world as The Grisha Trilogy but takes place in the city of Ketterdam on the island of Kerch. Ketterdam is a very gritty city that definitely has the “bad part of town.” This part is where our main characters are living. 

Kaz is part of the Dregs gang and is given a proposition that would bring in a ton of cash! And Kaz is always motivated by money…and also a personal vendetta that is revealed throughout the book. He recruits five other member to help him in the biggest heist of his life. 

The story CONTINUALLY kept me guessing. I would think one thing was going to happen…and then NOPE, something completely different! I love books that aren’t predictable!

The Characters:
To be honest, the characters probably are the best part of this book. The story-line is fairly straightforward, but each of the main characters, Kaz, Nina, Inej, Jesper, Matthias, and Wylan all are unique in their special abilities but also in personality.

Nina and Jesper are hilarious and wish they were my best friends.

Kaz and Matthias are the hotties who are also slightly (or more than slightly) terrifying at times.

Leigh does a great job weaving in backstories of all these characters that draws you in as the book progresses. 

Romance:
This book has romance but in a wonderfully unique way. It’s hard to put in words without spoiling but I would say that love is a battle in this book. It’s not all gushy, it’s a fight. I loved that.
Overall:
Six of Crows originally was a 4.5 star rating for me, but as I’ve reflected over the week after reading, I’ve grown to love each character more and ended up changing it to 5 stars. I think Leigh’s writing is masterful in execution and character development. The book leaves you longing for book 2 which is always a great way to end any book.

Book Trailer!


I had made a book trailer for this book, so take a look!

Sunday Street Team: INTERVIEW with Jessica Verdi on What You Left Behind

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

What You Left Behind
by Jessica Verdi


Synopsis (GR):

Jessica Verdi, the author of My Life After Now and The Summer I Wasn’t Me, returns with a heartbreaking and poignant novel of grief and guilt that reads like Nicholas Sparks for teens.


It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college.


The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions. Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?


“Ryden’s story is a moving illustration of how sometimes you have to let go of the life you planned to embrace the life you’ve been given. A strong, character-driven story that teen readers will love.”—Carrie Arcos, National Book Award Finalist for Out of Reach


About the Author:

Jessica Verdi lives in Brooklyn, NY, and received her MFA in Writing for Children from The New School. She loves seltzer, Tabasco sauce, TV, vegetarian soup, flip-flops, and her dog. Visit her at http://www.jessicaverdi.com and follow her on Twitter @jessverdi.

INTERVIEW

Thanks for having me on your blog, Sarah!

Questions about the book:

1. What was the inspiration behind What You Left Behind? Did you know someone who died of cancer?
The idea for What You Left Behind was sparked by an article my husband sent me about a teenage girl who had cancer and was pregnant, and wasn’t allowed to make her own decision of whether she wanted to abort her pregnancy and continue her cancer treatments, or stop the cancer treatments and have the baby. Her parents chose for her (they chose stop cancer treatments and have the baby) and she died a couple days after giving birth, leaving the baby to be raised by her boyfriend. This isn’t exactly what happens in the book, but the issue of choice is one that is very important to me, so I wanted to write about that. And of course I was completely interested in the single teen dad grieving the loss of his girlfriend story. I do know people who have died of cancer, and my husband is also a cancer survivor, so it’s a subject that’s never too far away in my daily life.

2. Why did you decide to write a book from a male point of view? Was it difficult?
I actually started drafting the book as a dual narrator (Ryden and Meg) story, while Meg was still alive. About 75 pages in, I realized that wasn’t the way to go at all (it would have been about a billion pages long, haha), and that this story should really be told by Ryden, and begin in the middle of his journey. I actually found writing from a boy’s POV easier than writing from a girl’s. I think, because he’s a boy and I’m not, I may have subconsciously felt more freedom to just take his character wherever it needed to go, because, since we were already so different, there was no element of “me” clinging to him. No “Well, I would or wouldn’t do that,” etc.

3. What was the most challenging aspect when it came to writing this book?
There were a lot of challenging issues in writing this book, from figuring out where it should start (as I mentioned above) to dealing with all the heavy emotional elements of grief and guilt and helplessness. But I’m glad I stuck with it.

4. What was the most fun part of writing this book?
I love the mother/son relationship in this book, and so writing the scenes where Ryden’s mother is present was lots of fun.

5. What message do you want readers to walk away with?
I’m not sure I have any “message” at all, in that sense, other than to keep going, keep trying your best, take the hard stuff one day at a time, and remember to take joy in the good stuff.

Questions about writing:

1. What does your daily writing schedule look like?
Because I have a full time job as a Senior Editor at a romance novel publisher, I don’t have much time to write during the week. So I try to set aside Saturdays and Sundays as writing time. It’s hard to have to work seven days a week and essentially not have a weekend, but I’d go crazy if I didn’t have time set aside to write, so I make it work. I have to write at home—I find myself too easily distracted when I try to write in public. My brain tends to be freshest in the morning, so I start early and write write write until I’m fried. If I start in the afternoon, I’m usually less productive.

2. How do you plan out your books?
I usually use index cards to outline—I write each plot point, both big and small, whatever comes to mind, on a card, and then arrange them into an order that, when written out, would sort of resemble a book.

3. What is it like working alongside of the publisher?
I love it. It’s so encouraging to be working with people who love your book as much as you do, and who are working tirelessly to get it out into the world. Every step, from the developmental editing to the copy editing to the design and the marketing and so many other things, would be completely overwhelming (and maybe even impossible) without the help and support of the publisher.

4. Why did you become an author?
I became an author because I love telling stories. I was an actor for a long time before I started writing, and it was frustrating because I always had to wait to get cast in something in order to be able to do my art. But with writing, you can do it on your own terms—no permission necessary. It’s an incredibly inspiring and freeing feeling.


5. Do you have any news for your next project you can share?

Nothing official that I can share just yet, but I will say I’m working on books in two new genres—one is a fantasy YA co-written with an author friend, and one is an adult book that I’ll be writing under a pen name.

Thanks Jessica!!!

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NEW Book Trailer: Sword and Verse by Kathy Macmillan

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

Sword and Verse

by Kathy MacMillansa

Raisa was only a child when she was kidnapped and enslaved in Qilara. Forced to serve in the palace of the king, she’s endured hunger, abuse, and the harrowing fear of discovery: everyone knows she is Arnath, but not that Raisa is a Learned One, a part of an Arnath group educated in higher order symbols. In Qilara, this language is so fiercely protected that only the King, the Prince, and Tutors are allowed to know it. So when the current Tutor-in-training is executed for sharing the guarded language with slaves, and Raisa is chosen to replace her, Raisa knows that—although she may have a privileged position among slaves—any slip-up could mean death.

That would be challenging enough, but training alongside Prince Mati could be her real undoing. And when a romance blossoms between them, she’s suddenly filled with a dangerous hope for something she never before thought possible: more. Then she’s propositioned by the Resistance—an underground army of slaves—to help liberate the Arnath people. Joining the rebellion could mean freeing her people…but she’d also be aiding in the war against her beloved—an honorable man that she knows wants to help the slaves.

Working against the one she loves—and a palace full of deadly political renegades—has some heady consequences. As Raisa struggles with what’s right, she unwittingly uncovers a secret that the Qilarites have long since buried…one that, unlocked, could bring the current world order to its knees.

And Raisa is the one holding the key.

Book Trailer

I had seen this book around for a while but after talking to Nicola from Queen of the Bookshelves I got even more excited about this book. Kathy Macmillan has been super friendly on Twitter and was helpful in letting me know the inspirations behind Sword and Verse.

Here is the Pinterest Page Kathy created.


Fun Facts from Twitter:

Pronunciations: Kathy said she’d add a full list to her blog.
It seems most authors have some sort of music soundtrack while writing:

Imagery inspiration! I loved this!

Follow Kathy Macmillan on Twitter @kathys_quill

Add to your TBR! 

Amazon:

Goodreads:

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1)

by Renee Ahdieh 


One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end. 


My Thoughts 2.5 Stars


Wow, you probably are like, WHAT? Are you crazy? Well, I suppose perhaps because, gosh, I did NOT like The Wrath and the Dawn.

Why you might ask?

1. Sharzhad. I found Shazi extremely annoying. She rubbed me the wrong way right from the beginning when she was arrogant enough to think she could survive the night when no other woman had. Her little trick did seem to work but still she was so confident that she would be ok. This seemed unrealistic to me. All the characters including a boyfriend was also convinced that if anyone could survive it would be Shazi. I didn’t like her character.  She did get better throughout the book but it was a bit too late for me to make a real connection.

2. The love triangle. Ugh, this love triangle made me crazy. Tariq was super annoying and also really full of himself. How could one boy save a girl from a palace heavily guarded? I could not connect with his character at all.

What I did like:

Yes, there were a few things I liked.
1. The writing. There is no arguing here, Renee’s writing is fantastic. I could easily see, hear, smell and taste everything in the world building.
2. The food. My favorite thing, to be honest, was the food. It sounded so delicious.
3. Khalid. I suppose Khalid was my favorite character. He seemed to be the most interesting of them all and his reactions to situations seem appropriate.
4. I did enjoy the chemistry between Khalid and Shazi.
5. The diversity! Yay! This was one of my most anticipated books this year in part to the diverse setting.

Sadly, The Wrath and the Dawn did NOT work for me. I found the characters annoying, the plot not that exciting, the mystery to be unsatisfying.

I am okay with being the black sheep of the crowd but am sad to say that this didn’t live up to my expectations.

With any black sheep read, I would still strongly suggest you to read it. Most people LOVE this book. It just wasn’t for me. 

Unpopular Opinions Book Tag!

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

The Unpopular Opinion Book Tag was created by The Book Archer. I was tagged by Karina. Thanks!

Popular Book or Series you didn’t like.

There is a lot to say here but these were my biggest disappointments this year. I wanted to DNF both The Storyspinner and An Ember in Ashes but I trudged through it. The Wrath and the Dawn also was such a let down for me. I did NOT like the characters. My review to come tomorrow.

Popular Book or Series that everyone else seems to hate but you love.

The Witch Hunter seems to be getting a bit of a mixed review. HOWEVER, I LOVED this book. It was one of my favorites this year. It’s hilarious, which was unexpected, and I loved all the characters.

Love Triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with.

One word: Nikolai

Popular book genre that you hardly reach for.

Contemporary. I’ve had a couple this year that I’ve LOVED, but I usually have no desire to read them.

A popular or beloved character you did not like.

Draco Malfoy. I am not a Draco fan. He’s a coward, a jerk and I don’t really get the love for him. 

A popular author that you can’t seem to get into.

John Green. I read The Fault in our Stars with was okay, but I have ZERO desire to read any more of his books. 

A popular book trope that you’re tired of seeing.

Enough said. I normally don’t mind them, but they’re starting to bug me. 

A popular series that you have no interest in reading.

I’ve NEVER been interested in reading this series. The covers kinda weird me out.

Show/Movie Adaptation that you like Better than the book

It’s so rare to have a movie that is better than the books but hands down, I loved these movies way more! The Startdust movie is AWESOME and the book was so confusing that it made me not want to read anymore of Neil Gaiman’s books…
I Tag:
Molly @ Innocence Walker
Kim @ Dreaming in Libraries
Stephanie B. @ Chasm of Books
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Blog Tour: Bounce by Noelle August PLUS Giveaway!

Posted on by Sarah K - The YA Book Traveler

Title: Bounce
Author: Noelle August
Series: Boomerang #3
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release Date: August 25, 2015
Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
This final chapter in the fun and steamy New Adult trilogy by Noelle August (authors Veronica Rossi and Lorin Oberweger) features two aspiring musicians who must choose between their careers…and their sizzling attraction for each other.
Playing the occasional club gig just isn’t cutting it for twenty-two-year-old cellist Skyler Canby, who’s trying to support herself and her mother back home in Kentucky. Persuaded by her best friend Beth to accompany her on an audition for the first feature film launched by Blackwood Entertainment, she figures why not? Beth’s a shoe-in for the lead, but maybe Skyler’s newly dyed pink hair will help her stand out enough to score a small speaking part.
Never in her wildest dreams does Skyler imagine she’ll land the lead role or that she’ll have her shoes knocked off her feet by the kiss her audition partner, Grey Blackwood, plants on her—a kiss that feels very real and not at all “acted. ”
After throwing a party that causes thousands of dollars of damage to his older brother’s home, reckless musician Grey Blackwood gets roped into working off his debt on the set of his CEO brother’s newest project. Grey spends his days fetching coffee and doing odd jobs around the studio, but he lives for nights when he performs with his band. He knows if he can stay focused, success as a singer is just around the corner. But that’s tough with a distracting pink-haired girl occupying his every waking thought.
Skyler and Grey have every reason to resist each other. But, like a song neither of them can get out of their minds, they have no choice but to go where the music takes them.

My Review

Bounce is the third book to the wonderful Boomerang New Adult series by Noelle August (which is a pen name for Veronica Rossi and Lorin Oberweger). I am a huge fan of Boomerang (book #1) and Rebound (book #2) because they’re fun, sexy and have characters that feel real.  
There are many great things about this series in general. 
1. Realistic Dialogue: Many books I’ve read this year have unfortunately made me cringe because the characters are saying things you know people in real life would never say. This is not a problem whatsoever in these books.
2. Well developed main and secondary characters: Another aspect about this series are all the characters are unique and well written. They all have been thought out and feel real.
3. The character’s voices: Since Veronica and Lorin each take a main character, this is extremely helpful in both point of views sounding like different people. In some books this is problematic. 
4. Humor: One of my favorite things about the Boomerang series is the humor. Not only is this fun but so many characters are charming and become endearing.

Bounce

Bounce is book 3 of this series and I was looking so forward to knowing more about Grey, Adam Blackwood’s younger, edgier, brother. Adam was the main male character in the second book Rebound. Grey is a musician, 19, a party-er, sexy, but also extremely irresponsible.  
Adam, his “business entrepreneurial” brother wants to help Grey to make some sort of life for himself.  But, Grey just wants to make his band into the next big thing. Grey becomes indebted to his brother because of some reckless behavior so he has Grey work off this debt by doing whatever he needs for his film.
Adam is also is looking for the perfect actress to play opposite a famous actor named Garrett . This is where Skylar comes into the picture. She and her best friend Beth go and audition for this Jane Austen’s Emma retelling. 
Skyler meets Grey at the audition and is attracted to him but not necessarily insta-love like many books can be. This is one thing that I think many people will appreciate is the lack of insta-love. There definitely is an attraction, especially on Grey’s side, but Skylar finds Grey a bit young and immature at first. In fact she really tries to put him aside and move on.
Skyler comes from a co-dependency background with her mother. Her dad is traveling musician who isn’t around very much and a lot of the weight of helping her mother falls on her. 
Through various circumstances Skyler and Grey end up spending more time together and their own adventure begins. It’s full of up and downs. 
My favorite things:

  • The actor Garrett, who plays the lead actor in the film, is HILARIOUS! He’s actually my favorite diva, fun loving guy who is instantly lovable. LOVED him! 
  • The music. Both Grey and Skyler are musicians and I always am fascinated by authors who can write sound and music through only using words.
  • The chemistry between Skyler and Grey. It is undeniable, there is definitely chemistry there. However, because of the story-line they don’t spend as much time together as I would have liked. They take a long time to tentative their potential relationship.

My personal issues:
Grey – Sadly, I found Grey’s character to be very selfish, short tempered and a bit too much for me to become attached to. However, after some reflection I believe that Veronica did a fantastic job writing him because Grey comes from an early childhood neglect and abuse situation. His easily offended, quick tempered, and irresponsible. These are all attributes that can be attributed to someone who has come from this situation. My real problem with this is I have a close family member who grew up in a very similar way. And all the “having to walk on egg shells” because the person will blow up at you is something I’ve had to deal with many times. Because of this, I felt more like the mom wanting to disciple Grey for his behavior and I had a hard time seeing him as the “love interest” of the story. Being annoyed at the character because of personality flaws and feeling the need to set them straight as a parent would doesn’t work very well when I’m supposed to find him attractive. So, unfortunately for me, I had a hard time liking Grey. He does experience growth throughout the book, which is good because I couldn’t handle it if he didn’t.
Overall:
Bounce was my least favorite book in this series. I loved Boomerang and Rebound much more. But as always, I highly recommend this series to everyone. It’s fun, sexy, and has wonderful characters. I gave Bounce a 3 out of 5 stars. 
About the Authors:
Question: What do you get when friends pen a story with heart, plenty of laughs, and toe-curling kissing scenes? 

Answer: Noelle August, the pseudonym for renowned editor and award-winning writer Lorin Oberweger and New York Times bestselling YA author Veronica Rossi, the masterminds behind the Boomerang series. You can visit them atNoelleAugust.com, @Noelle_August, and facebook.com/NoelleAugustBooks.

Don’t miss the first two in the series! Boomerang and Rebound.

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