"Time passes. Even when it seems impossible. Even when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly, in strange lurches and dragging lulls, but pass it does. Even for me."— Stephenie Meyer
Playing Catch Up has really been helping me through my ever growing TBR list. I'd like to welcome all other blogs to participate too! If you do, be sure to post your links in the comments section. I'd love to see your Playing Catch Up Reviews, and I'm sure others would too!! *wink*
Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy Romance/Retelling) Date Published: July 23, 2013 Publisher:Delacorte Press
In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...
In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.
As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.
Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay is quite an original retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I enjoyed the main characters quite a bit, and I loved how certain themes involving their appearances transpired as the story went on. It wasn't insta-love or even insta-attraction, which is a plus. Their friendship and trust grew over time. The story itself was slow at times, and I really wish it would have explained some things a little more. I needed more from the world building in general. What appealed to me most was the fact that "Beauty" and "Beast" were interchangeable. Both Isra and Gem, and even Bo if you think about it more, had aspects of Beauty and Beast within them. Their choices made them one or the other.
Check out my review of another book by Stacey Jay!
Stacey Jay is a recovering workaholic (or at least working hard at recovering) with three pen names, two small children, and a passion for playing pretend for a living. She’s been a full time mom-writer since 2005 and can't think of anything she'd rather be doing. Her former careers include theatre performer, professional dancer, poorly paid C-movie actress, bartender, waiter, math tutor (for real) and yoga instructor.
To learn more about Stacey Jay and her books on Goodreads.
Playing Catch Up has really been helping me through my ever growing TBR list. I'd like to welcome all other blogs to participate too! If you do, be sure to post your links in the comments section. I'd love to see your Playing Catch Up Reviews, and I'm sure others would too!! *wink*
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.
Every Day is the first book in the Every Day series by David Levithan. A is a genderless entity that hops uncontrollably into a different life every day. I though this story would be like a Quantum Leap kind of thing where A had a mission or helped people in each life. That was one of my favorite shows growing up. It wasn't like that.
A falls instantly in love with Rhiannon, and I'm not sure why. She seemed like a nice enough person, but she was hung up on Justin through a good portion of the story, so I never felt any actual chemistry from her towards A. As far as A? It could have been love. It also could have been obsession, and I can see how Rhiannon or the idea of her would be something he'd try to hang on to. There is a big thing missing in his life. Yes, I'm calling him a he for now. Don't jump all over me because I picked a gender, instead of awkwardly typing "A" over and over again. I digress... So, yeah. A has a big gap in his life where love should be, but since he's someone different each day, how can he truly find that along with so many other things we take for granted in every day life? It'd be pretty impossible. But, he became almost stalker-ish at times too. Not to mention once he starts re-finding Rhiannon every day, he leaves his host bodies in some form of trouble as he makes them skip school, or miss airplanes, and so on. Not an ideal situation for either party.
In the beginning, he respected the bodies he was in. I enjoyed when he'd think about "the body" and what it needed as a body or a person. Each body felt different. Each body looked different, sounded different, smelled different. Though A couldn't access the host's emotions, he sometimes felt different in certain bodies. As a life, they all had their own issues. Most didn't have the perfect life. This aspect of the story was spot on, as we never know what's going on in the lives of others, whether internally or externally. Some are more obvious than others, but we never truly know. Somewhere along the way he seems to lose this respect a bit.
With each new person A inhabits, it seemed like we got a new PSA on race, sexuality, immigration or whatever else. He's in a boy's body one day, a girl the next, an illegal alien, a gay guy, a transgender, a drug addict, etc. etc. Which yes, naturally, he'd be placed in all sorts of people. I totally get that, but I really felt like I was getting a pretty big spoon feeding of someone's agenda with each new day/host, and I've gotta say.... that probably turned me off the most. I read for fun. Not to be indoctrinated. I expected diversity, because that's a big part of the premise of this story, but it could have flowed naturally, and that would have been nice. Instead, it felt forced and redundant. All that effort was put into these little "life lessons", yet we still don't know what A actually is or why he body hops daily. Why just one day? Why just in the same general region? What was the point of this story in general? I don't think even A knows. There are so many more unanswered questions. Don't get me wrong. This author is clearly talented. His style is beautiful. I just wish he tried to give us more of the much needed details and a little less of the public service announcements. We need to know these details for the story to work. I'm filling in my own answers for things, but they are just guesses. I was hoping for answers in the next book, but it looks like it might be this same story from Rhiannon's point of view. So, will there maybe be answers in book three?
As I take Justin's books out of his locker, I can feel someone hovering on the periphery. I turn, and the girl standing there is transparent in her emotions--tentative and expectant, nervous and adoring. I don't have to access Justin to know that this is his girlfriend. No one else would have this reaction to him, so unsteady in his presence. She's pretty, but she doesn't see it. She's hiding behind her hair, happy to see me and unhappy to see me at the same time.
Her name is Rhiannon. And for a moment--just the slightest beat--I think that, yes, this is the right name for her. I don't know why. I don't know her. But it feels right.
This is not Justin's thought. It's mine. I try to ignore it. I'm not the person she wants to talk to.
"Hey," I say, keeping it casual.
"Hey," she murmurs back.
She's looking at the floor, at her inked-in Converse. She's drawn cities there, skylines around the soles. Something's happened between her and Justin, and I don't know what it is. It's probably not something that Justin even recognized at the time.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
I see the surprise on her face, even as she tries to cover it. This is not something that Justin normally asks.
And the strange thing is: I want to know the answer. The fact that he wouldn't care makes me want it more.
"Sure," she says, not sounding sure at all.
I find it hard to look at her. I know from experience that beneath every peripheral girl is a central truth. She's hiding hers away, but at the same time she wants me to see it. That is, she wants Justin to see it. And it's there, just out of my reach. A sound waiting to be a word.
She is so lost in her sadness that she has no idea how visible it is. I think I understand her--for a moment, I presume to understand her--but then, from within this sadness, she surprises me with a brief flash of determination. Bravery, even.
Shifting her gaze away from the floor, her eyes matching mine, she asks, "Are you mad at me?"
I can't think of any reason to be mad at her. If anything, I am mad at Justin, for making her feel so diminished. It's there in her body language. When she is around him, she makes herself small.
"No," I say. "I'm not mad at you at all."
I tell her what she wants to hear, but she doesn't trust it. I feed her the right words, but she suspects they're threaded with hooks.
This is not my problem; I know that. I am here for one day. I cannot solve anyone's boyfriend problems. I should not change anyone's life.
I turn away from her, get my books out, close the locker. She stays in the same spot, anchored by the profound, desperate loneliness of a bad relationship.
"Do you still want to get lunch today?" she asks.
The easy thing would be to say no. I often do this: sense the other person's life drawing me in, and run in the other direction.
But there's something about her--the cities on her shoes, the flash of bravery, the unnecessary sadness--that makes me want to know what the word will be when it stops being a sound. I have spent years meeting people without ever knowing them, and on this morning, in this place, with this girl, I feel the faintest pull of wanting to know. And in a moment of either weakness or bravery on my own part, I decide to follow it. I decide to find out more.
David Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.
To learn more about David Levithan and his books, visit his website.You can also find him on Goodreads & Facebook.
Playing Catch Up has really been helping me through my ever growing TBR list. I'd like to welcome all other blogs to participate too! If you do, be sure to post your links in the comments section. I'd love to see your Playing Catch Up Reviews, and I'm sure others would too!! *wink*
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Romance) Date Published: September 27, 2011 Publisher:Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is the first book in the Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin. I've been wanting to read this book for so long, and I can't believe I waited as long as I did. It's not what I was expecting, although I don't really know what I was expecting since the blurb gives you just enough to lure you in. Once I started, I couldn't stop though. Mara was such a fun and spunky character. I just loved her right away. Noah had to grow on me a bit, but he did.. in a big way. I liked how they teased, and taunted, and "hated" each other. I think Mara has more control than she thinks she does, and I don't think everything is her fault like she thinks they are. Unfortunately, I can't say what I do think about all that, because that'd be a spoiler. The story throws little teasers at you all throughout the book that give you hints to think about of whats to come as you read, and I think that's a big part of what makes it so hard to put down. I wanted to get to those parts. I couldn't sleep until I knew what was going to happen. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish this book, and I can't wait to get started on the next one.
WHEN I AWOKE, I FACED A WALL OF books. My eyes felt puffy and swollen with sleep and I rubbed them with my fists like a little girl. Lamplight from an alcove stretched across the room, reaching for my exposed legs at the foot of the bed.
Noah’s bed.
In Noah’s room.
Without any clothes on.
Holy shit.
I wrapped the flat sheet tighter around my chest. Lightning flashed, illuminating the roiling surface of the bay outside the window.
“Noah?” I asked, my voice shaky and hoarse with sleep. My last memory was the taste of that rank concoction Mr. Lukumi gave me to drink. The warm feel of it dribbling down my chin. The smell. And then I remembered cold, being cold. But nothing else. Nothing else. My sleep was dreamless.
“You’re up,” Noah said as he padded into view. He was limned in the light from his desk, his drawstring pants hanging low on his hips and his T-shirt hugging his lean frame. The light cast his elegant profile into relief; sharp and gorgeous, as if he’d been cut from glass. He moved to sit on the edge of his bed, about a foot away from my feet.
“What time is it?” I asked him. My voice was thick with sleep.
“About ten.”
I blinked. “It was almost two when the seminar ended, wasn’t it?” Noah nodded. “What happened?”
He shot me a loaded glance. “You don’t remember?”
I shook my head. Noah said nothing and looked away. His expression was even, but I saw the muscles working in his jaw. I grew increasingly uncomfortable. What was so bad he couldn’t—oh. Oh, no. My eyes flicked down to the sheet I’d wrapped around myself. “Did we—”
In an instant, Noah’s face was full of mischief. “No. You tore your clothes off and then ran through the house screaming ‘It burns! Take it off us!’”
My face flushed hot.
“Kidding,” Noah said, grinning wickedly.
He was too far away to smack.
“But you did jump in the pool with your clothes on.”
Fabulous.
“I was just glad you didn’t choose the bay. Not in this storm.”
“What happened to them?” I asked. Noah looked bemused. “My clothes, I mean?”
“They’re in the wash.”
“How did I—” I blushed deeper. Did I take them off in front of him?
Did he take them off?
“Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
I buried my face in my hands. God help me.
A soft chuckle escaped from Noah’s lips. “Fret not, you were actually very modest in your intoxicated state. You undressed in the bathroom, wrapped yourself in a towel, crawled between my sheets, and slept.” Noah shifted on the bed, and the oddest crunching came from underneath him. I looked, really looked, at the bed for the first time.
“What,” I asked slowly, as I eyed the animal crackers strewn all over it, “the hell?”
“You were convinced they were your pets,” Noah said, not even trying to suppress his laughter. “You wouldn’t let me touch them.”
Michelle Hodkin is the author of the Mara Dyer Trilogy, which was a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling series. The trilogy, which includes The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer, was described as “haunting and dreamlike” by Cassandra Clare and “darkly funny, deliciously creepy, and genuinely thoughtful” by Veronica Roth. Lev Grossman has called Hodkin “One of the greatest talents in Young Adult fiction.” The novels were praised by Romantic Times, MTV’s Hollywood Crush, and the Los Angeles Times, and books from the series appeared on several state reading lists. Additionally, The Retribution of Mara Dyer was selected as one of TIME.com’s Top 10 YA Books of 2014. Hodkin grew up in Florida, went to college in New York, and studied law in Michigan, before finally settling in Brooklyn last year.
Playing Catch Up has really been helping me through my ever growing TBR list. I'd like to welcome all other blogs to participate too! If you do, be sure to post your links in the comments section. I'd love to see your Playing Catch Up Reviews, and I'm sure others would too!! *wink*
Belles (Belles #1) by Jen Calonita Genre: Young Adult (Contemporary Romance) Date Published: April 10, 2012 Publisher:Poppy
Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she's ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls' lives forever.
Belles is the first book in the Belles series by Jen Calonita. I thought this was going to be more of a light, fluffy read when I picked it up, and it was, at times, but there was also a lot of depth to the characters and what their going through. The story is told from Izzy and Mira's points of view. Izzy is uprooted from her life and forced to live with her Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. This is a big change for her. Mira isn't handling it well. There is a lot of adjusting to be done by all, as this is a tough situation to be thrown into. There was a definite case of Mean Girls going on.. Southern Style of course. Insulting, rejecting, degrading, and humiliating a person all with complete politeness and a smile is a skill that can only be completely perfected in the South. (I can say that, since I live in the South. *wink*) These girls have the skill down to an art. I was furious at them at times. At the same time, sometimes they made me proud at how they overcame things and handled situations. Izzy stayed strong. I don't know how she did it. Mira probably had the most growth as a person. I feel invested in their lives now. It was a journey getting there, but, that was just part of this book's charm.
Winter White (Belles #2) by Jen Calonita Genre: Young Adult (Contemporary Romance) Date Published: January 1, 2012 Publisher:Poppy
Isabelle Scott and Mirabelle Monroe are still reeling from the revelation that they share more than just the roof over their heads. The media has pounced on their story, and while Izzie and Mira have each put on a happy public face, someone is leaking their true feelings to the press. It seems as if the world is watching their every move, but at least the girls have each other.
With cotillion season right around the corner, however, Izzie and Mira have barely had time to process their newfound sisterhood. Mira has dreamed of making her debut in a gorgeous white gown forever--now if only she had an escort... Izzie, meanwhile, is still struggling to find her place in Emerald Cove, which seems ever more impossible with EC mean girls, young and old, trying to keep her down. As cotillion preparations heat up, there are dance steps to learn, manners to perfect... and secret initiations to complete?
It's time for the gowns to go on and the gloves to come off.
Winter White is the second book in the Belles series by Jen Calonita. Izzy and Mira are adapting to all the changes in their lives pretty well I think. I like the friendship and sense of sisterhood that I'm feeling between the two now. Everything seems to revolve around the Cotillion this time around, and with the hazing and other activities, it's pretty funny. Savannah still needs to get over herself, but you'll love some of the situations she gets put in through the hazing. Maybe she'll learn something. Probably not. I love these books. They're light and fun in a lot of ways, but they are also serious when it comes to loyalty and family. I'm really enjoying getting to know these characters.
The Grass is Always Greener (Belles #3) by Jen Calonita
Amid preparations for Emerald Cove's extravagant Founders Day celebration and their own shared sweet sixteen, Isabelle Scott and Mirabelle Monroe are longing to break free from the tight constraints that come with being the daughters of a prominent public figure. When Izzie's estranged aunt, Zoe, breezes into town, the already uneasy family dynamic is turned on its head.
Izzie's finally found her footing in Emerald Cove by leading the Social Butterflies, her school's prestigious club, and she has no interest in getting to know yet another long-lost family member. But Mira, who's on a mission to try new things and make new friends, is drawn to Izzie's artsy aunt. And when Mira meets a handsome, brooding painter, her entire perspective on life begins to shift.
As tensions mount in Emerald Cove, Zoe's laid-back attitude appeals to both girls. But when she offers Izzie the chance of a lifetime, it's time to make a tough decision. What's more important: family or freedom?
The Grass is Always Greener is the third book in the Belle's trilogy by Jen Calonita. I love the family dynamic that is forming. It made me giddy to see how sisterly Mira and Izzy have become. Like the first two books, this one moved along quickly. I was surprised to see Mira and Kellen move on so quickly, especially since it didn't feel like there was real closure there but, I really liked Landon. He's a keeper. I know this is supposed to be a trilogy, but it felt like there was some unfinished business to still be wrapped up. There wasn't too much drama or plot this time around, but the story was simple and sweet. This was a fun little trilogy. I feel like I'm friends with these characters now, and I'm going to miss them.
It's no secret how Jen Calonita knows the inside scoop on Hollywood. A former entertainment editor at a teen magazine, Jen started out her career chronicling backstage life at concerts with Justin Timberlake and interviewing Zac Efron on film sets. It was her work in the entertainment world that inspired her first series, Secrets of My Hollywood Life. The six-book series about a teen starlet named Kaitlin Burke who grew weary of the fame game, but loved being an actress was published in nine countries. Jen's other young adult novels include Sleepaway Girls and Summer State of Mind (since she was a camp counselor as a teen), Reality Check and Belles, which is about two polar opposite girls who share one life-altering secret. Her latest young adult book, Turn It Up, is about a girls' high school acapella group.
In her first middle grade series, Fairy Tale Reform School, readers explore a school run by Cinderella's formerly wicked stepmother. The series (Flunked, Charmed, Tricked, and Switched, which will be released March 2018) are told from spunky young former thief, Gillian Cobbler. In Jen's other middle grade series, VIP readers get a diary-eye look at life on the road with the world's biggest boy band as told by their number one fan, Mackenzie Lowell. (If you're wondering where Jen got that idea, go back and reread the first paragraph of this bio!)
Playing Catch Up has really been helping me through my ever growing TBR list. I'd like to welcome all other blogs to participate too! If you do, be sure to post your links in the comments section. I'd love to see your Playing Catch Up Reviews, and I'm sure others would too!! *wink*
Kissing Coffins (Vampire Kisses #2) by Ellen Schreiber Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Romance) Date Published: July 26, 2005 Publisher:HarperTeen
Not far from Dullsville, someone's lurking in the dark. . . .
After meeting the handsome and shadowy Alexander Sterling, goth-girl Raven's dark world has a bright, new glow. But as in her favorite movie, "Kissing Coffins," Raven knows that love always has its complications, especially when Alexander has a big secret to guard.
When Alexander suddenly disappears, Raven leaves Dullsville to begin a dangerous search to find him. Can she stay safe, no matter who--or what--she encounters on the way?
Kissing Coffins is the second book in the Vampire Kisses series by Ellen Schreiber. There wasn't much that went on, but it kept my attention just enough. Raven still seems so much younger than what she is. She seems more junior high/middle school level. We learn a tiny bit of Alexander's history. How old is he anyway? Have we found that out yet, because I got the impression this time around that he was a lot younger than I previously thought. I still haven't seen much of his personality come out though. Other than appearances, why are these two so attracted to each other? I just don't think this series if for me. So far the books are short and entertaining enough if you need a quick read while you're on a plane or killing time, but they just haven't grabbed me as much as I was hoping.
Check out my review of the first book in this series!
Before I took pen to paper, I was an actress. I attended a local university majoring in theatre and spent a summer in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts where I learned about the Old Bard from amazingly talented teachers.
When I returned from London, I relocated to Chicago where I lived for five years. There, I graduated from the Second City Training Center and performed improv, Shakespeare, comedies and dramas--I even sang and danced on a cruise boat--without falling in Lake Michigan! A classmate of mine from Second City and I created and performed a two woman show for a year before I braved it alone doing stand-up comedy. It was during this time I began to write an adult novel about a rock star--I had always enjoyed writing...
Fast forward a couple of years along with a move home where I was performing stand-up at comedy clubs in the area. On a plane to LA to decide my fate-- to move to LA or not to move to LA that is the question, my big bro, Mark, coincidentally with the same last name as mine (author of PRINCES IN EXILE, DREAMS OF THE SOLO TRAPEZE and STARCROSSED) handed me a young adult book he found at the library he thought Id like to read during the flight.
As I read the book, I thought, I can do this!
I returned from LA, and instead of moving there, I wrote my story about the rock star as a young adult novel and called it JOHNNY LIGHTNING.
Mark, my writing mentor, edited JL for me. He was kind enough to send the manuscript to his publisher in Belgium--Facet--and they published it! In Dutch!
I was on a new life path!
I joined a writer’s organization (SCBWI) hoping I could get group insurance and in the back of their monthly mag they posted important publishing news. A fabulous editor named Katherine Tegen was joining HarperCollins and for a short time would be accepting “unsolicited manuscripts.” This means non-agented material. Since I didn’t have an agent at the time, this was big news.
I sent her Teenage Mermaid.
I few months later, I got the letter of a lifetime! I still have it framed on my wall. In 2001 Katherine Tegen at HarperCollins made me an offer I couldn’t refuse! Not only was HarperCollins going to publish TEENAGE MERMAID, but it was in a language I could read and book stores I could walk into!
I showed her my other books and HarperCollins also bought VAMPIRE KISSES and COMEDY GIRL. Katherine’s first year’s listing had already been filled so I was going on the 2003 releases. I had to wait two long years until they came out!
Talk about patience! But it was worth every minute I waited. :)
After Vampire Kisses was published, Katherine asked me for a sequel, and there begins the evolution of the series. I have her, my brother Mark, my parents, and of course all the fangtastic readers to thank for that!
Then in 2006 or 2007, Tokyopop and HarperCollins approached me about making a Vampire Kisses manga. I was escatic! Raven and Alexander came to life in three volumes and at least eight foreign editions. I loved reading manga and it was a dream come true to be creating one!
When I'm not writing about the love affair between vampire obsessed, goth girl Raven and her favorite mysterious dark-eyed hottie, Alexander Sterling, I enjoy working on my other novels, shopping for Hello Kitty items on Ebay and attempting to gain control of the remote from my husband. :)
To learn more about Ellen Schreiber and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
