DNF Review: Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Dualed (Dualed #1)
by Elsie Chapman
Publication date: February 26th 2013 

You or your Alt? Only one will survive.
The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.
Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

DNF Review: Dualed by Elsie Chapman, was dual. I found it really difficult to get into, for many different reason. One, was I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. It was really stiff and impersonal. Another, is the main character, West. She reminds me of a lot of other YA characters, like the author meant for her to be a strong, kick-ass character. But she really just came off like she was playing dress up. I guess it just wasn't believable, to me.

Another problem was the world building. When I started this book, it was like I just skipped to the middle of the book. You probably only got one page of set-up to get you "caught-up" then that's it really.

As of right now I don't know if I want to finish it. Maybe I'll decide to pick it up after a while.

Rating: DNF

Waiting on Wednesday #20: Parallel by Lauren Miller

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Parallel
by Lauren Miller
Publication date: May 14th 2013

Abby Barnes had a plan. Get into a great college, major in journalism, and land her dream job at a major newspaper. But on the eve of her 18th birthday, she's stuck on a Hollywood movie set instead, wishing she could rewind her life. But the next morning, she’s in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. A collision of parallel worlds has left Abby living a new reality every time her younger parallel self makes a new decision. Forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go on her plans for the future and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that’s finally in reach.

New Releases: January 22,2013

My top pick:

The Archived (The Archived #1)
by Victoria Schwab

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.
Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.
Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.
In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes {Goodreads}

Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand {Goodreads}

Ravage (Deviants #3) by Jeff Sampson {Goodreads}

Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton {Goodreads}

Cinders & Sapphires (At Somerton #1) by Leila Rasheed {Goodreads}

Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1)
by Veronica Rossi
Published: January 3rd 2012

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.
A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

"She looked up. "A world of nevers under a never sky."
She fit in well then, he thought. A girl who never shut up." 

I honestly can't name one thing I didn't like about Under the Never Sky. I loved the characters. The romance. The plot. And the writing.

To be honest I had no interest in reading this book. But then I saw a teaser Tuesday with one small quote and was just like, okay I'll read it. So I did! And I am really glad.

I enjoyed so much of Under the Never Sky. It's not a typical dystopian novel I've read before. Dystopian books always annoy me at some point in the book, and it usually takes me a bit to get into them. But Under the Never Sky was neither annoying, nor did it take me long to get into. I actually forgot it was dystopian, which is good, since it's not my favorite genre.

Under the Never Sky really exceeded my expectations. I loved about everything. The characters were amazing. The adventure was enjoyable and the romance was as close to a YA book can get to perfection! It wasn't rushed at all. It progressed rather nicely. As did the entire book!

"She absorbed the terror and beauty of him and his world. Of every moment over the past days. All of it, filling her up like the first breath she'd ever taken. And never had she loved life more." 

Rating: 4/5

Waiting on Wednesday #19: Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Dirty Little Secret
by Jennifer Echols
Release Date: July 16th 2013

From the author of the “real page-turner” (Seventeen) Such a Rush comes an unforgettable new drama that follows friends-turned-lovers as they navigate the passions, heartbreaks, and intrigue of country music fame.
Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.
Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again…

New Releases: January 15,2013

My top pick:

Level 2 (The Memory Chronicles #1)
by Lenore Appelhans

Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).'I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories ... I've wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.'
Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.
Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt {Goodreads}

Vortex (Tempest #2) by Julie Cross {Goodreads}

Touch of Death (Touch of Death #1) by Kelly Hashway {Goodreads} 

Gates of Paradise (Blue Bloods #7) by Melissa de la Cruz  {Goodreads}

Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) by Beth Revis {Goodreads}

January New Release Giveaway Hop

A lot of good books releasing this month! I am giving away one of the books below!

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No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop

This hop is hosted by Kathy at I Am A Reader Not A Writer.

January 15th to 21st

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Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway, The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

The Edge of Never
by J.A. Redmerski
Release date: November 15, 2012
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart. Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.
With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.
But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?
Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for 17+ – Adult Contemporary Women’s – New Adult Fiction

 "If anyone's delusional about how love works, what real love feels like, it's the majority of the adult
population." 

Holy crap! This book, guys! All the freaking feels!

New adult is quickly becoming my favorite genre. This book made me laugh, cry, laugh and cry at the same time. It was just everything I could have asked for!

The Edge of Never is about a girl named Camryn Bennett, who has been through a lot and is searching for something. So she up and leaves not knowing where she's going, and buys a bus ticket. Then we have Andrew Parrish *sigh*. His dad is sick, so he takes a bus to go visit him. That's where Cam and Andrew meet. The story takes off from there.

This is a beautiful story of two people who both have their pains to overcome. And they help each other overcome that. The characters in The Edge of Never were realistic and honest.

The romance in The Edge of Never moved at the right speed! They start as
strangers on a bus, gradually move to friendship and then love. All the while you get to see this. I loved watching them go from just friends to falling in love. It was heartbreaking and at the same time it was beautiful!

I did not know what I was getting into with The Edge of Never. I never expected it to make me cry the way it did. But I am so glad I read this book. The Edge of Never easily goes on my top favorite books of all time! No joke, this book was incredible.

There were so many moments that made me smile and laugh! One of them being, while Cam and Andrew are in Walmart, hilarious!

We head over to the medicines and there’s a middle-aged couple standing in front of the cough syrup, reading the labels. Andrew says casually, without lowering his voice, "Babe, did you find that yeast infection stuff?"
My eyes spring open and I freeze in front of the Tylenol.
He removes a small box of Advil from the shelf.
The couple pretends not to have heard what he said, but I know they heard him.
"I mean are you even sure that's what's causing the itch?" he goes on and I’m literally melting from the heat in my face.
The couple does glance over this time, covertly.
Andrew is grinning his ass off at me from the side, pretending to be reading labels.
I want to smack him, but instead, I play him at his own game.
"Yeah, baby I found it," I say as casually as he had. "What about you? Did you see if they have extra-small sized condoms?"

Towards the end of The Edge of Never is when it really starts getting emotional. At one point, after the twist, I just start crying and wondering why authors can be so cruel. Then I turn the page and I just start laughing and crying at the same, because I just didn't see it coming. At this point I'm just an emotional disaster.

I am in awe of this story and the characters. It had all the elements I look for in a book; Funny, emotional, great characters, and some sexiness!

The Edge of Never is a book I would read over and over again and never get tired of it! Needless to say if J.A. Redmerski comes out with any more books I will be the first to pick it up! I could not recommend The Edge of Never enough!

"Just because one person's problem is less traumatic than another's doesn't mean they're require to hurt less."

Rating 5/5

Giveaway: (1) Signed paperback copy of THE EDGE OF NEVER, (1) Kindle or Nook copy, (1)
sterling silver custom book pendant necklace $200 value. Open to United States and Canada
only. If you would like to offer the tour giveaway, please use the Rafflecopter code below. You
will need to copy/paste it into the html (text) tab when creating a post.

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Faeries & Fantasy Giveaway Hop

Young Adult Faeries & Fantasy Giveaway Hop
This years hop is co-hosted by Gabrielle from The Mod Podge BookshelfJanuary 8th to 14th

If you already have one from above, you can pick another book in it's series.

EX. If you have Hex Hall already you can pick Demonglass or Spell Bound, ect.

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Don't leave your email in the comments.

New Releases: January 8,2013

My top pick:

Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2)

by Veronica Rossi

It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.
Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?
In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

Just One Day (Just One Day #1) by Gayle Forman {Goodreads}{Purchase}

Doomed by Tracy Deebs {Goodreads}{Purchase}

Blood Prophecy (Drake Chronicles #6) by Alyxandra Harvey {Goodreads}{Purchase}

Crash (Visions #1) by Lisa McMann {Goodreads}{Purchase}

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff {Goodreads}{Purchase}

Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum {Goodreads}{Purchase}

Rise (Nightshade Prequel #2) by Andrea Cremer {Goodreads}{Purchase}

Broken by A.E. Rought {Goodreads}{Purchase}