Rise (Salvaged #2) by Stefne Miller (& bookmark giveaway!)

Publisher: Tate Publishing

Source: Author

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 380

Rating: A+

Attie Reed has finally found some happiness after the accident that took her mother’s and best friend’s lives and nearly destroyed hers. But that doesn’t mean life is going to get easier. She may not have nighttime monsters to fight, but her world is about to spin wildly out of orbit.

In the captivating, highly anticipated sequel to Stefne Miller’s Salvaged, Attie is faced with the challenge of fitting in at a new school while figuring out her next steps. Riley continues to fight with her and for her as she encounters difficult battles. He has been her protection, but he can’t protect her forever.

When Attie’s father finally comes back into her life, she is faced with her most difficult decision yet: to stay in Oklahoma and keep the life she has made or return to New York to repair her relationship with her father and allow herself to heal. What happens will define who she is and who she will become. Can she fight this battle alone and Rise? Or will she continue to fall out of orbit and be lost forever?

As you guys might remember, I reviewed Salvaged close to a year ago! I gave it an A+... very well deserved. I loved everything about that book and I'm so pleased to say I feel the same way about it's sequel, Rise.

I really missed all of the characters from Salvaged, so as you can imagine, I was thrilled to be able to reunite with them. Attie, was real and relatable as always. And Riley, oh Riley, he was just as incredible and lovable as I remembered. Stefne made it really easy to dislike certain characters and then end up sympathizing with them towards themiddle/end.

I loved every piece of this book, even the heartbreaking ones. While I was reading the heartbreaking, gut wrenching parts... I became a little angry with Stefne for tearing my heart in half and making me do the ugly cry. Yes, you read it right, the ugly cry.

(Borrowed from http://fransunny.tumblr.com/)

I kind of looked like that mixed a little with this.

Along with the ugly cry, I even yelled at the book. Actually less of the book, more of Attie herself. "No, no, no! What's wrong with you?!" I remember things along those lines that coming out of my mouth.

This isn't the kind of book you read, enjoy, and then forget about a month later. I have a feeling I'm always going to remember these characters and feel the need to visit them once a year even if I already know what happens in the story.

While I was satisfied with the end of Rise, I did feel it was a little rushed. Call me selfish, but I guess I wanted to see more of the characters towards the end. Maybe I needed a little more closure just because this is (I think) the end of the Salvaged books. Other than that, I really have no complaints about this book.

Bravo, Stefne Miller. I can't wait to read Collision (new novel) and hopefully fall in love with totally new characters that will help me (try) to move on from Attie and Riley.

Oh yeah! The giveaway! I have seven signed bookmarks to give away to you guys. I originally had 10 but I was selfish and really wanted to keep one for myself! Then two of my friends who read Salvaged stole one each for themselves and refuse to give them back.

The way I'm going to do this is first come, first serve. Leave a comment with a way to get in contact with you. You can leave your email, or if you don't feel comfortable enough leaving that, leave another way for me to contact you such as Goodreads or Twitter.

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Source: Bought (B&N)

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 268

Rating: A

Megan is used to moving from place to place — it's typical for an army brat. But she drew the line at South Korea. She insists on staying in the States to finish her last two years of high school. So her parents made arrangements for Megan to live with their friends, the McGowans...and the McGowans' 7 sons.

Turns out, living with 7 boys might as well be a foreign country! The boys are messy. They are cliquey (who knew?). And worst of all, two of the oldest boys are H-O-T. (A problem considering they are supposed to be Megan's "brothers.") Megan is definitely in enemy territory. She needs to win over the boys' hearts without totally crushing her own.

And when Megan starts falling for one of them, sibling rivalry takes on a whole new meaning....

What is a girl to do?

This book has been sitting on my shelf for more than 4 YEARS. How crazy is that? I really wish I would've read this book sooner because it's absolutely freaking adorable. The whole idea of a teenage girl having to move into a house full of a bunch of (cute) boys (some whom happen to be close to her age) really got me pumped. Who wouldn't be excited about that?! It's a total dream for most teenage girls.

Most of the time reading this book, it had me laughing out loud and gushing over how cute these McGowan boys were! I loved getting to know each of them and how there was more to them than just a cute face.

Was Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys a little fluffy? Yes. Predictable? Kind of. Was it hard to enjoy this book because of those qualities? PFT, NO!

What I liked most about this book is that it was such a breath of fresh air compared to all of the other books I've been reading lately. Why?

1. Stand alone novel. This was a nice change of pace because there wasn't a huge cliffhanger where I felt forced to go buy the next book immediately.
2. Light. I've also been reading quite a few books that make me cry like a wimp and make me seriously depressed. Don't get me wrong, I love a good cry now and then but sometimes all I was is some entertainment. I don't want every book I read to be life changing and magnificent.
3. Contemporary. I really need to start reading more contemp books because there's so many different types of vampires, zombies, witches (etc.) that it's starting to confuse me!

I could probably put down about 10 more reasons why this book was such a breath of fresh air for me but 3 seems like a decent amount :) and if those reasons and my review doesn't get you to pick this book up, I don't know what will.

Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Source: Borrowed from Bri

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 367

Rating:

Rules Are Different Outside The Society

Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the
Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by the Society to his sure death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of a rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again.

Matched and Crossed. I started and finished them both in the same day. To say that I was sucked in would be an extreme understatement. However, as to what I was sucked into, I am still not sure. It might have been the way the Society was run or maybe I was wondering about how the love triangle would play out. I don't know, and I probably never will.

Crossed is written from two points of view, Cassia's and Ky's. It seemed like it would be a great thing, especially since I had struggled through Matched wondering what Ky was thinking. I was excited to be inside of his head! But that excitement quickly turned to irritation.

Yes. The book was different. New characters were introduced (although I still don't know how I feel about Indie) and a lot of information about older characters was learned. However, since both Cassia and Ky get to have their points of view, some of the information seemed redundant. Ky would learn one thing, then a few chapters later, so would Cassia. I just wanted to yell at the book that I already knew that! It was frustrating to be reading about the same thing. I understand that both characters needed to have their input, but enough is enough.

There is also a lot of backstory that I never found. Indie, Eli, Hunter... After I was finished with the book, I still felt like there were a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied up. And I know that this is not the last book, but I certainly hope that all of my questions will be answered in the next one. I feel like there will be some strings and I will only ever to be able to guess about some things...

While they are in the same trilogy, it is difficult to compare Matched to Crossed. Matched takes place inside of the Society, and Crossed takes place outside of it. The challenges are different, as are the people. It brings a new element to the story, being out of the control of the Society, but the wild is not enough to change the general concept of what is going on.

If you have read Matched, I definitely recommend reading Crossed. There's no point to give up in the middle of the trilogy, but I don't think that this is one book that I will be raving about to my friends. I'm looking forward to reading Reached simply because I want to know how everything ends up. (Uhm, Xander, anyone??) But that's pretty much it. This book met my standards of mediocre, because that was where they were set after I read Matched.

Hey! I'm Katie!

Hey everybody!

This is my first post, so I'm kinda really excited about it!

Anyway, about me. I'm nineteen and I'm currently at college, majoring in Public Relations. I just switched over from Nursing, so I'm super pumped to finally be getting into something that I really like. I am a super nerd. I love Pokemon (Squirtle and Pikachu are my favorites), Naruto, and Team Starkid. I have a ridiculous obsession with eyeliner. And I have a super bubbly personality!

I love to read! Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be part of this. I'm one of Briana's sorority sisters (and I love her to death<3) I can't wait to actually get to write a review! I'm reading a ton of books right now, so be prepared! I don't have a favorite book or series for that matter, so I'm open to reading anything.

I hope I can meet some awesome new blogging friends. So... just talk to me. Email me. Whatevs. Haha. But no, really. Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to review, or if you just want to say hi, that's cool too!

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

Publisher: Harper Collins

Source: Bought (Barnes and Noble)

Edition: Hardcover

Pages: 487

Rating:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

Before my review, I have an interesting story to tell... This past semester in college, I took a class called Young Adult Dystopian Literature; what a dream, right? (The only downside was it was Saturday at 9 AM...) Prior to the beginning of classes, I emailed the professor and asked her which books we would be reading because I was ridiculously excited for this class just like any other YA book lover would be. She threw a few titles out like The Hunger Games, Feed, Uglies and more, but was also taking suggestions. At the time I hadn’t heard anything but amazing things about Divergent, so I figured I would recommend that book along with a few others that I had really wanted to read. Luckily, she took Divergent into consideration and chose it as a book for the class!

Now that story time is out of the way… I loved this book. Everyone in the class really appreciated that I chose to recommend this book because they all loved it just as much as I did! Even the male students (who didn’t seem to enjoy many of the female-narrated books [Uglies, Matched]) really enjoyed this one. I think the main reason I enjoyed this book was the non-stop action. I hardly ever read books with this much action in them (besides The Hunger Games,) and I really think I should read more because it had my adrenaline pumping constantly.

You didn’t think I was going to forget to mention Four did you? He’s the second main reason why I loved this book so much. I dare you to read Divergent and not get butterflies for this . I swear it’s got to be almost impossible. By the way, now that Four's real name has been revealed, am I required to call him that? I’ve grown to love the name Four and am having a hard time parting with it.

I hope everyone that’s reading this review takes this sincere recommendation I’m giving to you right now, and go buy/borrow/beg for this book. I can almost guarantee that you won’t regret it and if you do, I give you full permission to yell at and slap me for hyping this book up for you.

I plan on being one of the first people in line to get an autographed copy of Insurgent at BEA and need to prepare myself on being professional, and not a crazy fangirl. Even though inside my head the only thing that will be going on is "OMG VERONICA ROTH IS SIGNING MY BOOK. MY LIFE IS COMPLETE."

Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Source: Bought (B&N)

Edition: Hardcover

Pages: 366

Rating:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Before I read this book, I expected to demolish the entire thing in one or two sittings. Granted, I'm attending college right now and am extremely busy with other classes, but this did not and would not (if I weren't in college) have happened. I liked a lot of things about the book; the atmosphere, the characters (Oh My Ky. But I'll get into that later...,) and generally the world that Ally Condie created. I felt like something was still missing though, which was what kept me from racing through it.

I think what was the least appealing to me was the plot. I wanted there to be more action throughout the book and also a bigger climax! I feel like Ally built up my emotions for some crazy cliffhanger (which is totally what I was craving) that didn't happen.

The characters... well from my statement above, I'm sure you can already tell that I'm in love with Ky just as much as the next girl. When I think of Ky, I think of a bad boy in reverse. He comes across as a good guy but on the inside he hides secrets which peaks Cassia's interest, and my own. I think the main reason I fell in love with him was the temptation and inability to have any type of intimacy with him, kind of like how Edward and Bella's relationship was in Twilight. (Don't worry, I'm not comparing the two stories, just the temptation that these two main characters bring to the plate.)

The whole world Ally Condie created was so interesting and creative! I actually got to read this book because of my English class, and we discussed how the world she created could definitely be an Utopia opposed to a Dystopia, which is totally true! When I sat down and really thought about the book afterwards, it seems nice to not have to make any decisions for yourself. I know a lot of stress in my life comes from making decisions (what to major in [in college,] how to approach different situations, etc.)

Anyway, I'm going to wrap this review up and get excited to read the next book (Crossed) which is sitting on my bookshelf as I type (even though I won't be able to read it for a while, due to textbooks!)

GIVEAWAY: Hades (Halo #2) by Alexandra Adornetto!

Hi everybody! It's giveaway time :)

I've been given the opportunity to host a giveaway for the newly released HADES by Alexandra Adornetto, the sequel to HALO. I have not read either book yet but I most certainly will since they both sound absolutely fantastic! Here are the giveaway rules:

• You do not have to be a follower of BAM Book Reviews but it would be appreciated if you guys would follow!



• This giveaway is only open to residents of the US and Canada. Sorry guys!

• If you are a follower, you will get an extra entry but don't bother lying! Your entry will be completely deleted if you do.

Here's the description and trailer for HADES:

Bethany and Xavier are even closer since battling Jake Thorn and his evil influence (in Halo) and Beth and her angel siblings must still protect Venus Cove from the Dark Forces. When a party game – a séance – inadvertently releases Jake from the Underworld, he disguises himself and tricks Beth into taking a ride on his motorcycle. When the highway opens up and swallows them, Beth learns too late that she’s now a prisoner in hell. What happens to angels there? As her archangel brother, Gabriel, her sister Ivy, Xavier, and her best friend, Molly search for her, Beth must weigh Jake’s bargaining for her freedom: one night with him, and she will be released back to Earth. Can Jake be trusted in this wager?And is he also using Beth to engineer the fall of the archangel Gabriel? Xavier has already lost one love – when Jake tricks him into thinking that Bethany is dead, his grief and anger result in a betrayal that will leave Bethany –and readers – wondering if he is so good after all. It will be up to Beth to use everything she’s learned about her powers as an angel – and about love -to free herself and those she loves from the clutches of Hades

Click HERE to enter and good luck! :)

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (April 2008)

Source: Received from author for review

Edition: Hardcover

Pages: 356

Rating:

With her mother ill, it’s up to fifteen-year-old Ruby Jacinski to support her family. But in the 1940s, the only opportunities open to a Polish-American girl from Chicago’s poor Yards is a job in one of the meat packing plants. Through a chance meeting with a local tough, Ruby lands a job as a taxi dancer and soon becomes an expert in the art of “fishing”: working her patrons for meals, cash, clothes, even jewelry. Drawn ever deeper into the world of dance halls, jazz, and the mob, Ruby gradually realizes that the only one who can save her is herself. A mesmerizing look into a little known world and era.

Ten Cents a Dance is a very fun and light read and I knew immediately that I would enjoy this book because I've always been interesting in the jazz era. I really like the plot of the story, it was unique and interesting and it definitely kept me captivated. Ruby is a likeable character and her charisma with the neighborhood bad boy is enticing.

Fletcher's writing ensures that you can fully picture and imagine the jazz music, the dancing, the costumes and everything in between, which allowed me to fully appreciate the novel. Ten Cents a Dance is a perfect book to read during summer and it reminds me of the movies Grease and Dirty Dancing (amazing movies!), so if you enjoy jazz era dancing, high class clubs, lowly gangs and much more then Ten Cents is the perfect book for you :) There's really nothing bad about this book, while it might not be super amazing, it is definitely worth a read. It's an exciting book, something fresh and different from all the paranormal romance novels out there!