"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #77

I'm finally to the end of my Summer 2017 ARCs and this "WIR"-Wednesday I'm finally getting to read the ARC that has been sitting on my TBR-pile taunting me since I received it...

The Dazzling Heights (The Thousandth Floor #2) by Katharine McGee

Blurb:

The sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Thousandth Floor

New York, 2118. Manhattan is home to a thousand-story supertower, a breathtaking marvel that touches the sky. But amidst high-tech luxury and futuristic glamour, five teenagers are keeping dangerous secrets…

LEDA is haunted by memories of what happened on the worst night of her life. She’ll do anything to make sure the truth stays hidden—even if it means trusting her enemy.

WATT just wants to put everything behind him…until Leda forces him to start hacking again. Will he do what it takes to be free of her for good?

When RYLIN wins a scholarship to an upper-floor school, her life transforms overnight. But being there means seeing the boy whose heart she broke, and who broke hers in return.

AVERY is tormented by her love for the one person in the world she can never have. She’s desperate to be with him… no matter the cost.

And then there’s CALLIOPE, the mysterious, bohemian beauty who arrives in New York, determined to cause a stir. And she knows exactly where to begin.

But unbeknownst to them all, someone is watching their every move, someone with revenge in mind. And in a world of such dazzling heights, just one wrong step can mean a devastating fall.

The sumptuous second book in the bestselling Thousandth Floor series has all the drama, romance and hidden secrets that landed the first book in this series at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Why I Requested This Book | What I Think So Far:

I requested this book because The Thousandth Floor was my breakout favorite book of 2016. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Hell, I didn't expect to like it at all, but The Thousandth Floor, with its' city-like supertower and amazing futuristic technology, blew me away. I couldn't get enough so I knew I had to get my hands on The Dazzling Heights as soon as I could. Luckily for me, I got an ARC and I started reading it yesterday. With everything going on yesterday (it was a busy day), I only got to the fourth character (the book is divided into different characters instead of chapters) but so far it is as easy to get wrapped up in as The Thousandth Floor. I can't wait to see what is going to happen to the characters in this one! 

Book Review: When It's Real by Erin Watt

When It's Real by Erin Watt

Blurb:

Under ordinary circumstances, Oakley Ford and Vaughn Bennett would never even cross paths. 

There's nothing ordinary about Oakley. This bad-boy pop star's got Grammy Awards, millions of fangirls and a reputation as a restless, too-charming troublemaker. But with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley needs to show the world he's settling down—and who better to help him than Vaughn, a part-time waitress trying to help her family get by? The very definition of ordinary. 

Posing as his girlfriend, Vaughn will overhaul Oakley's image from troublemaker to serious artist. In return for enough money to put her brothers through college, she can endure outlandish Hollywood parties and carefully orchestrated Twitter exchanges. She'll fool the paparazzi and the groupies. She might even start fooling herself a little. 

Because when ordinary rules no longer apply, there's no telling what your heart will do…

My Review:

19-year-old Oakley Ford has a problem. He hasn't brought out a new album in two years and he's losing followers on social media by the thousands. He's dying to change his sound and work with his dream producer but all the producer sees is another pop star who isn't serious about music or life. 

Insert Vaughn Bennett - a regular girl who's just trying to work hard to help support her family after her parents died two years earlier in a car wreck. Oakley's PR team have thought of the perfect solution - a made-for-publicity relationship with a "normal" girl so people will start thinking he's getting serious about life and music again. Vaughn is hesitant. She has a boyfriend, W, who she adores even if he is pressuring her to have sex with him. And okay, she can't stand the stupid Youtube videos W and his friends make. But they want her to pretend date Oakley Ford - the guy who cheated on his last "girlfriend?" Are these people crazy? But when Vaughn hears what Oakley's management team are willing to pay her she has no choice. Her family needs the money. 

Everything has been carefully planned - from Vaughn's fake breakup with W to her meet-cute with Oakley on Twitter to the beginnings of an unbelievable-if-it-weren't-true romance - except for one thing: Vaughn and Oakley can't stand each other. Oakley can't believe he's stuck with the one girl in the world not falling at his feet and Vaughn thinks Oakley is an arrogant self-entitled jerk. This will never work. Or will it work too well?

When what starts out as a carefully orchestrated publicity stunt begins to turn into the real thing, will Vaughn and Oakley's relationship survive the Hollywood fishbowl of paparazzi, online haters, and fame whores looking to sully Vaughn's name to make one for themselves? Or will Oakley's fame tear them apart?

At first, I was afraid I wouldn't like When It's Real as much as I've loved Erin Watt's Royals series. I was afraid Oakley was being made out to be like a Justin Bieber-type, but as I allowed myself to dive deeper into Oakley and Vaughn's story I realized I couldn't be more wrong. I loved When It's Real, every single minute of it!

While Vaughn did slightly remind me of Ella from the Royals Series, I found her struggle to balance friends, work, relationships, and helping her sister Paisley care for their younger brothers to be genuine and relatable. 

Oakley, meanwhile, transformed from a self-absorbed jerk into a decent guy as he began falling for Vaughn and I loved his friendship with Ty and the way he, with Vaughn's help, began to mend his rocky relationship with his mother. Erin Watt portrayed what we sometimes forget about celebrities: that they're just people too. People that make mistakes and deserve some sense of privacy. What they do for a living doesn't mean we have the right to invade every aspect of their life and the normal things we take for granted are things they rarely get to truly enjoy. 

I easily fell for Vaughn and Oakley, enjoying the chemistry they tried to deny, hurting for Vaughn as she dealt with W - who was a total creep - and when the trolls on social media said horrible things about her and celebrating with both of them as they fell in love and learned from each other about what really mattered. 

Overall, if you love hate-to-love romances with a dash of humor and characters that will ruin you (in a good way), When It's Real is a contemporary young adult novel that you'll definitely want to toss in your beach bags and take with you this summer because you won't want to put it down! 

My Rating:

4.5 of 5 Stars!

When It's Real is available today, May 30, 2017, from Harlequin Teen! Grab your copy now:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Add to Goodreads

Book Review: Divine by Leanne Rathbone

Divine (The Revelations Series Book 2) by Leanne Rathbone

Divine
The Revelations Series
Leanne Rathbone
May 20, 2017
YA Paranormal / Fantasy
eBook

Blurb:

What do you do when you discover that your entire life has been a lie, that you were living solely to serve the purpose of another?

Seventeen year old Grace Ayre is heartbroken. She's still reeling from the devastating loss of two people whom she loved and the realization that her life has never really been her own.

Lies and deceptions are all she's ever known but now the truth is out. The world she thought she knew is only half the story, and the more she hears from the other side, the more she realizes she is nothing more than a clueless little girl. She must reach her eighteenth birthday in order to fulfill a prophecy and end a war that has raged since the dawn of time. There's just one problem...the Guardians are standing in her way. As a band of despicable assassins without conscience, they will stop at nothing to end Grace's life and prevent the prophecy from being realized.

If she thought falling hard for a demon was her biggest problem then she was sadly mistaken.

Turning eighteen has never been so important. Join Grace as she continues her journey of discovery in Divine: Book Two of The Revelations Series.

My Review:

I was really eager to read Divine after reading and loving Grace last year. Admittedly, it's been a long year filled with a lot of other books but the beginning of Divine confused me. The last I remembered Tyler was the only fatality of Grace's showdown with the Guardians at the church. And I didn't think she was with Dan. So when the story begins and Grace is living in a flat with Dan with bits and pieces of her memory gone I actually thought maybe I was losing things. So I reflected back and no, I'm not crazy - we left off with Grace very much in love with Nate. 

As Grace's memories begin to resurface she struggles with the feeling that Dan isn't who she really wants - but it isn't until she runs into a stranger that seems crushed that she doesn't remember him that things finally start to unravel and the truth begins to shine through, clearing things up for me as a reader. 

It was easy to get caught up in the story as Grace learns more about herself and the prophecy, as well as the truth of Lucifer, God, and the Guardians and the need to find out what's going to happen next keeps the reader engaged. Will the Guardian's strike again? Where is her mother, do they have her? Will Grace be able to control her power? 

At the same time, although I understand that it was hard for Grace to come to terms with her future and people wanting her dead, her naivety kind of annoyed me at times. And the way the story was written, where the author uses "?!" quite a bit at the end of sentences sounded like the character was a bit ditsy. It also lost a little something with me that Grace got so wrapped up with sleeping with Nate once they'd started - it was like a kid with a shiny new toy. 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story - it still reminds me of Lauren Kate's Fallen series which I read and loved as a teenager and I think the story overall is a cool idea which I know that readers will love. I just didn't quite love Divine as much as the first book. 

Would I read the final book in the trilogy? Yes, because I want to know how it all wraps up.

To summarize, Things I liked about Divine:
- Hearing more about Dan and Nate's past and getting to see him in a different light because I admit, I didn't like Dan in Grace.
- Grace learning more about the prophecy and the roll she'll play in the battle between Lucifer and God.
- The action in the story. 

Things I didn't like about Divine:
- Grace's naivete.
- The over-usage of exclamation points and "?!"
- (Slightly) the beginning of the book because it confused me from where it left off in book one.

My Rating:

3.75 of 5 Stars!

#BookMail Thursday #22

Last week I was lucky enough to get a few different ARCs to review. One was a physical ARC and three were eARCs. I also picked up two freebie books by an author I love and an author I've been meaning to read. Here's what I found in my mailbox (or email inbox) this week...

Physical ARC:

The Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee (Harper, 08/2017)

eARCs:

Divine by Leanne Rathbone (Self-published 5/20/2017)

Secrets of Skin and Stone by Wendy Laine (Entangled Teen 6/5/2017)

Kiss Me, Kill You by Larissa Hardesty (Entangled Teen, 6/12/2017)

Freebie books:

Sharing Rylee by D. Kelly

Mateguas Island by Linda Watkins

June Waiting On:

Signed Copies of:

- Roar by Cora Carmack

- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

- The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

- Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh

-Obsidian and Stars by Julie Eshbaugh

-Sexy Stranger by Kendall Ryan

After this I'm forcing myself to cool it on book shopping. I'm not sure it's a good idea to do a Kickstarter for my upcoming fantasy novel, CurseBreaker so I'm going to try to save up to pay for the Kirkus Review and other extras I want for CB out of my own pocket. 

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #76

I'm in the land of ARCs this week as I try to catch up on some of the review copies I've received. This "WIR"-Wednesday I'm reading...

Kiss Me, Kill You by Larissa Hardesty

Blurb:

Emmy Duivel believes in true love: heart-stopping kisses, candlelight dinners, and a connection that lasts forever. But not the kind of kisses that land your date in the hospital. Emmy always knew she was different, but not in the supernatural sense. Not in the succubus sense.

Paul Andinn had only one job: watch over Emmy and make sure she doesn’t expose the supernatural world. It should have been easy, but the moment he looked away, she kissed that boy, and everything changed.

He should be more upset. But he can’t. Not when he’s falling hard for her.

Why I Requested This Book:

I've been intrigued by the idea of succubus in the YA Genre since writing about Arianthe in my Eternals Trilogy. The very idea of being a teenager and wanting to date and kiss boys but then being cursed with the ability to land your date in the hospital - or worse - is a perfect monkey-wrench to throw at a teenage girl so when I read about Kiss Me, Kill You I jumped at the opportunity to request an eARC. I just started reading last night and since it's an ARC I don't want to give away too much before my final review but I'm liking the story so far!

{Release Day Blitz} Sexy Stranger by Kendall Ryan

I'm back to remind you that the sexy, not-to-be-missed enemies to lovers standalone novel, Sexy Stranger by Kendall Ryan hits bookstands today! 

Sexy Stranger

By Kendall Ryan

Standalone, Contemporary Romance

Release Date: May 23, 2017

About the Book

From New York Times Bestselling Author Kendall Ryan comes a sexy and sizzling, enemies-to-lovers romp with bite.

He's rude. Arrogant. And too hot to handle.

And she's stranded with him for an entire week.

He knows the sexy stranger doesn't belong in his small town, but he's determined to keep her there. The second she opens her smart mouth, he wants to swap a whole lot more than insults with her.

She’s got a secret. But he’s got his own agenda.

Buckle up.

"A steamy and red-hot enemies-to-lovers romance like I've never read before!" - Beneath the Covers Book Blog

"It was FREAKING FANTASTIC! Sexy, charming, and full of witty banter, I couldn't get enough of Luke and Charlotte!" - Shayna Renee's Spicy Reads

Scoop up your copy today:

Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia | Amazon Paperback | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Add to Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She's a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she's appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras

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{Book Review Tour} Sexy Stranger by Kendall Ryan

Sexy Stranger by Kendall Ryan

Sexy Stranger

By Kendall Ryan

Standalone, Contemporary Romance

Release Date: May 23, 2017

Blurb:

From New York Times Bestselling Author Kendall Ryan comes a sexy and sizzling, enemies-to-lovers romp with bite.

He's rude. Arrogant. And too hot to handle.

And she's stranded with him for an entire week.

He knows the sexy stranger doesn't belong in his small town, but he's determined to keep her there. The second she opens her smart mouth, he wants to swap a whole lot more than insults with her.

She’s got a secret. But he’s got his own agenda.

Buckle up.

"A steamy and red-hot enemies-to-lovers romance like I've never read before!" - Beneath the Covers Book Blog


"It was FREAKING FANTASTIC! Sexy, charming, and full of witty banter, I couldn't get enough of Luke and Charlotte!" - Shayna Renee's Spicy Reads

My Review:

When Charlotte Freemont walks into What the Cluck one Sunday morning Luke Wilder knows one thing for certain: she's not from Shady Grove, Texas. And outsiders never stick around. But he'd have to be blind not to be attracted to the beautiful brunette with the smart mouth.

Charlotte just wants her Audi to get repaired so she can be on her way to her new life in LA with her friend Valentina. After the recent disastrous end of her last relationship, the last thing she's looking for is a rude hick that makes her blood boil - even if he is completely sexy. 

With nothing better to do, Charlotte quickly finds herself spending extra time with Luke, his twin brother Duke, and their sister Molly.  When an offer to help Luke with a marketing strategy for his family's whiskey distillery turns into a private tasting sparks fly and neither one can deny the chemistry between them. 

But will a short fling between sexy strangers be enough?  What will happen when Luke begins to see that Charlotte isn't like the other women that have walked out of his life? Will he have the courage to ask Charlotte to stay? Or will his fear of letting someone in cause Charlotte to slip right through his fingers? And how will he handle it when Charlotte's past comes knocking at the door?

First of all, Sexy Stranger was the first book I've read by Kendall Ryan but let me tell you - it definitely won't be the last! Sexy Stranger was addicting, cute, and oh so sexy! I was hooked from the first page with the easy storytelling and witty writing.

I loved the names of all the businesses in Shady Grove and the town itself made you wish it was a real place you could visit. Charlotte and Luke were both strong characters and the chemistry between them leaped right from the page.  

My only concern was that the relationship between Charlotte and Luke almost developed a little too quickly for me in the beginning. One minute they couldn't stand each other then the next they wanted to rip each other's clothes off. Sure, the timeline of the story meant they didn't have a lot of time together but can someone really go from dislike to lust within the span of a day or so? But perhaps I'm just being a skeptic. 

I also really loved Duke and Molly. I'm left wondering if in the future they'll get books of their own. I'd really love to see them both find someone that's right for them! 

Overall, I have no major (or even minor) complaints about Sexy Stranger. It was a fantastic read and I look forward to reading more by this author. This is one book you should definitely place at the top of your To-Be-Read list!

My Rating:

5 of 5 Stars

Sexy Stranger by Kendall Ryan is out tomorrow, MAY 23, 2017! Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Add to Goodreads | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia | Paperback

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She's a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she's appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras

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Book Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Blurb:

Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places. 

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.

My Review:
Have you ever seen a movie preview and it looks good, but then they really start promoting it and when you finally see the movie its not what you were expecting or hoping for?

That was ACOWAR for me. The ending of ACOMAF was agonizing - I wanted to find out what was going to happen so badly and then I had to wait a whole year for ACOWAR to come out, which was excruciating. But I let the excitement build, I bought into the hype, I preordered three different copies, and worst of all, I sped through other amazing books while waiting for ACOWAR to arrive in the mail.

And on May 3rd, the day after the release when I received two of my copies, I eagerly began reading. Now, two weeks later I just can't do it anymore and it makes me want to cry. I'm stopping at page 320.

Why, you ask? Because I am so unbelievably bored.

Let's start at the beginning (and I'll try not to be too spoilery):

Back in the Spring Court with Tamlin: 
I was expecting that Feyre would make Tamlin pay for what he'd done. I wanted her to torture him and make him suffer. Did I get that? No :( it was pretty unexciting. She turned his people against him. Big whoop. I mean I loved what she did Ianthe but Tamlin got off way too easy. And I also expected him to put up more of a fight. I never did see him reenter the story because I stopped before that.

Return to the Night Court, Rhys, and the Inner Circle:

Is it just me or is Rhys completely boring in this book? I know, I know.. you're hating me right about now. I'm hating myself. But he just wasn't as good in this book. He was kind of a pushover when it came to Feyre, just kind of... soft. Where was the cockiness and the swagger? I saw hints, but it wasn't the same.

Nesta & Cassian: Are they mates? I never got that far so I don't know but dammit I just wanted them to hop in the sack and put everyone else out of their misery.

Elain: Possibly the most depressing character of all. Seriously, someone get the girl some uppers! I felt so sorry for Lucien as Elain sat staring out a window whining that her human fiance wouldn't want her anymore. Hell, I wouldn't even have minded if she'd gotten with Azriel!

Ok, mini rant over... Basically what it boils down to is that I've read and loved three novels by SJM: ACOTAR, ACOMAF, and Empire of Storms (because I'm reading that series in reverse). SJM was a major contributor to me falling in love with the High Fantasy genre in the first place.

Maybe the excitement and the pacing of EOS ruined me but this book really seemed to drag. As far as I got, there were a few sections of action, but mostly it was stagnant and inactive. Instead of the story progressing it was repetitive: Feyre trains with Cassian, Feyre trains with Azriel, Feyre has fairly boring sex with Rhys (more on that later), Feyre coddles Elain and squabbles with Nesta. Yawn. Where was the action? Where was the adventure? Did SJM really cram all the epic battle scenes into the end and I just not get there?

Back to the sex scenes - I know a lot of people say SJM's scenes are too steamy but I disagree. For me they usually pack the perfect amount of heat - but hey, I'm 24 and I like it dirty. But in all honesty I found the sex scenes in ACOWAR to be rather dull and again repetitive. There was no heat for me.

Overall, I had so much excitement riding on this book and in the end I was left feeling let down and disappointed. Feeling like my fandom let me down. Will I read another SJM book in the future? Probably. I need to see how the TOG series ends. I just need a break after ACOWAR.


My Rating:
2.5 of 5 Stars

Why Writing 2 Books A Year Is Good for My Writing Process

Writers work at all different paces. I learned that recently at the Afternoon with the Authors event at the Shawano Library. 

Some writers can sit down on a Friday and have a fifty-thousand-word manuscript completed by Monday morning, others spend years working on the same project. 

Over the past ten years, it has taken less and less time for me to complete a writing project. The Haunting Love took me a little over a year to complete. Finding Elizabeth and Out of Darkness were on and off the back burner for 2 years, during which time Out of Darkness had three different versions before I reached what it finally became. 

But after that, I finished Into the Light in one month, during NaNoWriMo 2015 and Through the Fog was written in 3 months hard-writing time. Eternal Fire was shorter in length, only taking 6 weeks to write and then CurseBreaker poured out of me last NaNoWriMo.

Now I'm working on my seventh full-length novel (eighth major writing project), Headless, which I am on track to finish (hopefully) by the end of June. This will make it another 3-month project.

I've fallen into a pattern. I've learned that two major writing projects a year is what works best for me and for my writing project. In the spring I can commit more time to writing one project, then rest up over the end of summer and start planning that big push, the big NaNoWriMo project as fall begins. That way I don't push myself too hard, I keep up with my publishing deadlines, and I don't feel the burnout as much. 

Burnout is the one thing I, as a writer, fear. I admit it, I'm a workaholic. When I'm not writing, I'm blogging, when I'm not blogging I'm reading a book to review. I work on promotion, writing, and publishing during the day when able, then stay up, sometimes until 2 am or later writing again. But I figure, at this pace, I can give myself plenty of downtime throughout the year. 

It's all about finding what's comfortable for you. Don't feel the need to push yourself to compete with another writer who's working at a different pace. It's your story, and although it's occasionally fun to be competitive (like during NaNoWriMo), in the end, it's about writing something that can be shaped into a publishable product in the end. 

Are you a writer? What is your average time spent working on a project? Do you have more than one project going on at a time? Let me know in the comments! 

#BookMail Thrusday #21

This #BookMail Thursday is nearly as awesome as the week I got my Apollycon book order! Its like Christmas came early! Here's what was in my mailbox this week...

Signed copies of:

- Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

- Unknown by Wendy Higgins

- Unrest by Wendy Higgins

- The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine

Star Lights & Bookmark for the When It's Real Preorder Incentive

I also got...

My author copy of Through the Fog (Eternals Trilogy #3)

June Waiting On:

Signed Copies of:

- Roar by Cora Carmack

- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

- The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

- Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh

-Obsidian and Stars by Julie Eshbaugh

Thinking of Buying:

A physical copy of Sexy Stranger by Kendall Ryan (I had an eARC

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #75

It is my goal to finish ACOWAR by Friday night, Saturday morning at the latest but there are no guarantees when competing with my writing schedule. So since I'm still reading ACOWAR, this "WIR"-Wednesday I'm giving you a preview of my next read, an awesome looking e-ARC I just got from Entangled Teen...

Secrets of Skin and Stone by Wendy Laine

Blurb:

Something is wrong in Hidden Creek. The sleepy Alabama town is more haunted than any place fiend hunter Grisham Caso has ever seen. Unearthed graves, curse bags, and spilled blood all point to an evil that could destroy his gargoyle birthright. The town isn’t safe for anyone, and everyone says fiery Piper Devon knows why.

Piper wants to leave Hidden Creek behind. She’s had enough of secrets—they hide in the shadows of her room and tell her terrible things are coming. Too-charming city boy Grisham might be her only chance to save herself.

To survive, Piper and Grisham have to shed their secrets and depend only on each other. But what lurks in Hidden Creek still might take everything away from them, including each other.

Why I Requested This Book:

I'll confess, part of it was because of the awesome cover but the blurb really sounds interesting. I've only read two other books with gargoyle characters but both of those were great and I'd like to see this take on them since they're not something you see a lot of in paranormal or fantasy fiction. 

The 13 Reasons Why Phenomenon

The "13 Reasons Why" Phenomenon: Learning Tool To End Bullying or Glamourizing Teen Suicide?

You've seen it on Facebook News, Skimmed articles on Buzzfeed and Yahoo, Heard news reports and even heard Dr. Phil bash it: the Netflix Original Series, 13 Reasons Why based on Jay Asher's novel of the same name. 

But is 13 Reasons a haunting series about the consequences of bullying or a glamorization of teen suicide? Viewers are divided. 

 Do you want my honest opinion? Do you really? 

You do? Cool!  - I watched the show starting the night that it premiered on Netflix and continued by watching 2-3 episodes a night until I got to the end. And it hooked me. I had to keep watching to see what the next tape would reveal. Personally, as I also read the book after I watched the series, I liked the show better than the book. It had way more meat to it. The book was like an empty shell. 

But did the show make me want to commit suicide? I mean, I may not be a teenager anymore but 24 isn't that old. The answer? Hell no! To me, although yes, Hannah does commit suicide, the show wasn't really about suicide at all. It was about bullying. 

Maybe I saw it that way because I was bullied in my early teen years, but for that reason, the show spoke to me. Let me be straight with you, I have never been suicidal in my life. Never. Not one single thought of ending it all. I fit onto the other end of the spectrum, I fear death in a find-me-Edward-Cullen-to-bite-me-and-make-me-immortal type of way. I'm not kidding. I'm literally terrified of death - to the point that if I even think the word death for too long I start hyperventilating and having a panic attack. But enough about me. 

Here are a few reasons I think the "13 Reasons Why glamourizes teen suicide" notion is a bunch of b.s.:

1: The book first came out ten years ago. If it made it so glamorous to commit suicide as a teen, why has it been on and off the best-seller list for the past 10 years and nobody took issue with it before?

2: Anyone with half a brain could see that Hannah had issues long before any of the events listed on the tapes. The book and the show both hint at issues at her previous school and her family obviously was having issues too, so in a way most of the "reasons" she listed were nothing but excuses to blame someone else for her decision.

3. Tagging on point 2, none of the "reasons" Hannah gives (save for maybe tape 12 and even that isn't enough of a reason) are enough of a reason for me (remember me? fear of death girl?) for someone to kill themselves. Um, a guy said he felt you up to the guys at school? Another guy said you had the best ass in the class? You made out with a girl and some guy took a picture? A guy published a poem you wrote that he thought was great in his newspaper? Seriously? Even in my teen years, I would have laughed most of that crap off (or been flattered in the case of the poem). 

4. If Hannah's parents (or the critical parents taking issue with the show) had paid a little more attention to their child and found out what was going on at school - maybe taking the teachers/school/parents of classmates  to task when the crap was going on then their child wouldn't have thought the only solution was to commit suicide. I mean I'm not a parent, but come on. In this day and age parents aren't like how my grandmother raised me. They're not like the parents of my classmates when I was in elementary school. They're so preoccupied with their own crap - their search for a new man/woman in their life, drama at work, having time with their friends being priority #1, etc. that they really have no idea what is going on in their kid's life. And most of the time they don't care. And seriously, before you jump on me for that comment, I'm speaking from experience here. I've seen a lot of parents like that so I'm not making it up.

5. This isn't the only book with a teen suicide subject matter. In that case, you should probably go after Gayle Foreman's I Was Here and Albert Boris's Crash Into Me as well. 

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I'm not trying to trivialize or downplay depression or suicide in any way. I'm really not. Someone very close to my heart struggles with both of those issues and my heart breaks for that person constantly. Loving someone that is depressed or suicidal is hard. You feel helpless like you're powerless to do anything except try to be there for them in any way you can. 

If you or someone you know battles depression or suicidal thoughts please, please consider seeking professional help or telling someone close to that person (a parent, teacher, loved one, etc) what's going on. They may be mad at you now, but it is the right thing to do. Through it all, remember that people do love you and would be devastated if you were no longer there and if it's someone you know is suffering make sure they know that every chance you get. 

You never know what may make a world of difference in a person's life.