Review: On the Fringe by Courtney King Walker

On the Fringe by Courtney King Walker

Genre: Coming of Age, Young Adult

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Claire is struggling to overcome the murder of her childhood friend and secret crush, Daniel. Everyone else seems to be moving on with their lives, but she's still trying to cope. The fact that she finds herself alone and drowning on her 16th birthday isn't helping. Neither is thinking she sees Daniel's face in murky water as she mysteriously resurfaces. But something happened during those four and a half minutes that will make her realize it was not just her imagination. As Claire and Daniel try to grasp a possible reconnection, other grudge-holding beings have plans of their own. Now, the two of them have to decide if their fleeting relationship is worth the possibility of Claire being trapped on the fringe forever. Beautifully told, On the Fringe intertwines fresh ideas about devotion, revenge, and the consequences that come with life and death.

Many readers categorize this book as Paranormal but though it did have ghosts and the paranormal element. I found it more about a book with a moral about friendship and how it’s one of the greatest things in this world.

Claire is part of a group of four, her older brother, his best friend Daniel and Daniel's little sister. The four are childhood best friends and were inseparable. Until the day Daniel is murdered and their troupe of four shatters as Claire’s older brother drowns himself in College work, and Daniel’s sister finds it hard to look at Claire without crying about Daniel.

One day, Claire finds herself drowning and dies for a few minutes before Daniels ghost saves her. This lets Claire into a place they call “the Fringe” where she can see things that weren’t there before. In her struggle to fight the loneliness and the loss of her secret crush and best friend, Daniel. She is haunted by his killer.

The book itself, isn’t the in depth paranormal type with a back story about how ghosts came to be or anything like that. This is the mildest form of paranormal and comes with a beautiful story about overcoming a best friends death and the hardship of going back to the way it once was.

4 out of 5 date trees

Review: Deadly Cool (Deadly Cool #1) by Gemma Halliday

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Thriller, Murder, Teen

Buy Links: Book Depository / Amazon / B&N
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Synopsis:

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name.

But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim.

Review:

Deadly Cool was one of those really talked about books of 2012. It was something that was buzzing all around the book blogging community and being part of that community it was hard not to get caught into the web of book buzz. From the looks of the cover itself it looked a lot more mature but the contents weren’t.

Where do I start… ah yes. Let’s start with the plot of the book. The book was about these two teen girls finding a dead body of another teen girl in the room of a teen boy. Then the two teen girls set out to figure out who the killer is to save the name of the teen boy. Yeah, original right? (sarcasm intended). It may be kind of new in the genre. But it isn’t in a bigger scale. What is new now-a-days? All the new ideas are well, not exactly new.

The plot didn’t do much for me. It was light, extremely predictable and well, not very ‘wow’. But good news for parents, this book is very clean. There was minimal swearing, not much blood and not really much to go around in the romance department. So, this is a safe read for you teens.

As for the writing style, like I said above, it was clean. The swearing have been censored, the descriptions, inner monologues were all adequate to the genre. The characters on the other hand, didn’t bother me much. They can be obnoxious at times, but other than that. I think they’re pretty great characters to follow.

Overall, Deadly Cool was an interesting read. I don’t think I’ll be reading the next two books in the trilogy. But the book was still an enjoyable read with a predictable plot, and characters you’ll like.

3/5 Stars

Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Genre: Realistic Romance, Teen, Drama, Contemporary Romance

Format: Paperback

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Synopsis: 

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Review:

If I could count the books I’ve read that actually had realistic events, events about everyday life, and heartbreaking moments between family, friends, and lovers. They can be counted with both my hands. Yes, I tend to stay away from books that show you how life is for some people because well, I read to escape reality and to dive into fantasy and the supernatural. Because I know they’re not real and they rarely remind me of how hard life is for other people.

So, I took a chance and read Pushing the Limits, which is about Echo who almost lost her life to her mentally ill mother and Noah who is thrown into the foster system that separated him and his brothers when his parents past away in a fire.

Honestly, it’s refreshing to read something new once in a while, though this is still teen. But it's a book with depth and raw emotion. It’s not really teenage angst caused by petty things like a break-up with a week relationship. But real depression caused by memory loss, death, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

I loved the main characters, they were easy to like and form an attachment to. Then there are the antagonists they have in their normal lives, which were their parents, the foster system, teachers, etc.

The best thing about this book was that it was captivating. No matter how many times I had to put it down because of work or the need to sleep. I just couldn’t and the facts that held touchy topics like a bi-polar parent, death in the family, the foster system, mental illnesses and many other themes.

I absolutely loved the writing style; it was clean, crisp and had a perfect balance of detail and dialogue. The parts of the books that really touched me, was the scenes between Noah and his brothers. They were separated by the foster system and Noah wants nothing more than to take back his brothers from their foster parents before they force his brothers to forget about him. If I was separated from my younger and older sibling, I wouldn’t know what to do.

Overall, I loved the book. It was a Contemporary Romances that really stood out amongst hundreds that were released in 2012. It is heart-wrenching and beautiful.

4.5/5 stars

ARC Review: Dragonfly by Leigh T. Moore

On Amazon

Dragonfly by Leigh Talbert Moore  
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook from Author

SYNOPSIS:

Three bad things I learned this year:
-People you trust lie, even parents.
-That hot guy, the one who’s totally into you, he might not be the one.
-Things are not always how they appear.

Three good things I learned this year:
-Best friends are always there for you, even when they’re far away.
-That other hot guy, the one who remembers your birthday, he just might be the one.
-Oh, and things are not always how they appear.

Anna Sanders expected an anonymous (and uneventful) senior year until she crossed paths with rich-and-sexy Jack Kyser and his twin sister Lucy.

Pulling Anna into their extravagant lifestyle on the Gulf Coast, Lucy pushed Anna outside her comfort zone, and Jack showed her feelings she’d never experienced... Until he mysteriously withdrew.

Anna turned to her internship at the city paper and to her old attraction for Julian, a handsome local artist and rising star, for distraction. But both led to her discovery of a decades-old secret closely guarded by the twins’ distant, single father.

A secret that could permanently change all their lives.

Be watching for Undertow, Book 2 in the Dragonfly series, coming July 18!

REVIEW:

Leigh Talbert Moore, a wonderful indie author that continues to grow with every book she writes. I was so happy when she asked me to read her fourth book that I emailed back with a yes in big caps and tons of exclamation points. I didn't even have to read the synopsis, I knew what I would be reading would be as good and even better than her previous books. Yes, I have become a fangirl. The squealing kind too.

Dragonfly is simply written. I like Leigh's writing style because it's clean, straight-to-the-point and smooth. Her style sometimes can be deep and with so much depth and other times it would be just too crisp. It was almost perfect but when I read this book, I get lost sometimes like I'm missing a few details or it seems like there were details cut out. I would have the book a lot more, if the author wrote more on the surroundings, the rich and glamorous world of the Kysers. Some details were there but I felt that there needed to be a little bit more of it - so I  could get myself in there along side Anna and the rest of the characters.

The characters are extremely realistic, starting with unconfident and naive Anna to the deep and dark secrets of the Families of Fairview. It's a mystery all wrapped around this huge web of cover-up stories mainly surrounding the Kysers. Jack and Lucy Kysers transferred into Anna's school and befriends her. Anna goes through this mood where she relishes in the excitement of how posh and rich the Kysers are. But then there is Jullian, the handsome artist and old friend of Anna that she is secretly in love with but now that Jack is in the picture, she is unsure what her feelings are for Jullian. And this back and forth between the two is simply ridiculous. I hate love-triangles with a passion. The main thing that really made the situation better was when Anna started snooping around to why Jullian has never really known his dad or who he is and why his mom never spoke about him. And then there is the mystery about the death of Mommy Kyser. Like I said, it's a whole web of mysteries Anna starts snooping around to figure out.

The verdict is that I loved the book. Leigh is growing so much as an author that this book had a lot more story behind it, a lot of realistic moments, a lot more glamour and depth. Her writing style is improving and she's getting sneaky with her plots! And I absolutely love that. The only thing I would change would be to add more color to brighten it up a bit, if you know what I mean and perhaps, a little more unpredictability. I might have figured out the mysteries already but I won't be completely sure until I read the next book in the series and I am so looking forward to that. 

4.5/5 Stars

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Release Week Special! Dragonfly is only 99 cents June 6-8!

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"Dragonfly swept me off my feet! Once I started reading this book it kinda sucked me into the story and I had a hard time putting it down." 
--Stephanie, My Thoughts... reviews

Five Stars! "Angst, longing, jealousy, mystery, secrets, love triangles, sexy scenes! Could you even ask for more? Well you can because it is also very well-written and fast-paced. Great book to dive into poolside, but I will warn you may get so swept up in it you may end up with some sun burn. So I STRONGLY suggest you invest in some sunscreen as well as a copy of Dragonfly." 
--Nichole, Goodreads reviewer

 "I truly enjoyed this one! I thought the characters were intriguing, the mystery and story were interesting and definitely have ME WANTING MORE!!!!!!!" 
 --Mandy, The Romance Bookie

  “Gossip Girl meets VC Andrews in this contemporary family saga. Love, lies, and betrayal become the new normal when Anna enters the world of Jack and Lucy Kyser.”
  –Magan Vernon, international bestselling author of The Only Exception
  

Falling in Love Changes Everything…

“C’mon,” Julian said, helping me stand. “Let’s blow off this party and catch a movie or go to Scoops. This isn’t our scene.” I shook my head. “I just really want to go home.” The tears were trying to start again. “Can I just go home now?” “Sure,” he said, holding my cheek. I took a limping step, and he stopped. “Does it hurt to walk?”  My leg was throbbing. I nodded, looking down, and before I realized what was happening, he was lifting me in his arms.  “Julian, wait,” I held his shoulders. “I’m too heavy!”  “It’s okay,” he said, walking on. I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. I didn’t feel like fighting. Gentle pressure against my temple, and he’d kissed me. “You’ll get over this,” I heard him say under his breath.

Get Dragonfly today:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes

Leigh Talbert Moore is the author of the popular young adult romantic comedy The Truth About Faking, its companion The Truth About Letting Go, and the mature YA/new adult romantic suspense novel Rouge, a Quarter Finalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

She is an award-winning journalist and editor, who has also worked in marketing and public relations for many years. Her writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the southeast and Midwest U.S., and she runs the popular writing-craft blog That’s Write.

A southern ex-pat and beach bum, she currently lives with her husband, two young children, and one grumpy cat in the Midwest.

Connect online:

Facebook | Amazon Author page | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads

Read excerpts of her books on Wattpad and Figment!

* * *

Enter to #WIN a Kindle Touch loaded with all FOUR of Leigh's books AND an exclusive eARC of Undertow; A signed, print set of Dragonfly and Undertow, or ebook sets of both!  

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Review: The Truth About Letting Go by Leigh Talbert Moore

Title: The Truth About Letting Go
Author: Leigh Talbert Moore

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
Format: ARC eBook from Author

Buy:  iTunes | Kobo | Amazon | B&N




Ashley wants to smash everything in her once-perfect life.
Charlotte wants to walk in Ashley's seemingly charmed shoes.

Colt wants to turn Smalltown USA on its ear--with Ashley at his side.

Jordan wants to follow his heart... but Ashley is the one sacrifice he never expected to make.

Ashley Lockett has always followed the rules. She's always done the right thing, played it safe, gone to church. And then her ideal life is shattered when her dad dies suddenly.

Fueled by anger and grief, she vows to do everything opposite of how she lived before. She rejects safety, rules, faith, and then she meets Jordan.

Jordan has big dreams, he's had a crush on Ashley for years, and he's a great kisser. But he's also safe.

Enter Colt. He is not safe, and he's more than willing to help Ashley fulfill her vow.

Leigh Talbert Moore always manages to write with a hidden message. This book is no different than her other work. The Truth About Letting Go gives you a sense of hope, tells you never to hide, numb or run away from the pain. But to accept it and let it go. Because that's the only way, you'll ever be able to move on.

Ashley Lockett is a popular, beautiful cheerleader, who went through a life changing tragedy. Her life went from perfect to horrid in the span of 6 months. Now, all she wants to do is numb out the pain with just about anyone. But then a rule-breaking athlete, Colt, rolls into town and he does everything in his power to make her his partner in crime. And together, Ashley does stupid things she never saw herself doing. Stupid things, she knows she'll regret.

Ashley is a likeable protagonist, and by default, the protagonists always annoys me one way or another. After her fathers death, Ashley becomes very self-destructive, irrational and all together stupid. She made bad choices in the worst time of her life and I can't blame her for making them. I just can't help but feel irritated by her when she cluelessly vandalizes things around her with a horndog like Colt. They may have steamy intimate moments but honestly, if I was her bestie, I'd knock her out of her stupidity and save her from the regret she'll surely be feeling when her head clears out.

Jordan and Charlotte are the new people in Ashley's life, that actually makes her face reality about her dad, her family and well, life. They're obviously the two people that she's better off with than Colt. But she doesn't want to be "safe", she wants adrenaline and a whole lot of rule breaking. And again, I'm annoyed at her stupid choices.

Ashley, eventually snaps out of her self-destructive phase and the journey of how she went from perfect to horrid then to acceptance is full of heartwarming, thrilling, and even swoon-worthy scenes.

To sum it all up, This book, tells you The Truth About Letting Go. The journey it takes you starting with the tears, the pain, the anger, the regret, the despair, the acceptance, and ending with letting go. Leigh portrayed the message loud and clear with appropriate characters, the friendship and the love story that helps Ashley recover from the heartbreak of losing a parent. An unputdownable contemporary romance filled with heart-wrenching moments, and a beautiful message that will make you cry as you go through the book with the protagonist.

Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

 

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Title: The DUFF
Author: Kody Keplinger
Genre: Teen, Young Adult: Contemporary Romance
Format: Hardbound
Buy: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository




Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Somehow, I am oddly drawn by books that have female protagonists with a sharp tongue. They're haters, they complain about those around her and bottom line... She doesn't stick around people who are intolerable to her. Though these qualities can be very discouraging in real life. But in a book, the authors always make them not so bad and not so good. A combination that is almost too perfect that one can't help but keep on reading. Bianca Piper is that cynical protagonist I'm raving about.

Bianca Piper is the DUFF amongst her two best friend. The DUFF can be defined as a friend amongst a closed circle of girls who are so pretty that they over shadow this DUFF, or in full form, The Designated Ugly Fat Friend. It's a mean term but it's a term that is actually used in real life. Surprising enough, her friends are not dense air heads who only think about boys, popularity and being beautiful. Her friends Jessica and Casey are the sweetest bunch ever. This is a definite plus for me.

The book started off really quick two to three chapters and you will be hooked. I loved how fast-paced the book was, I loved it even more when it drove me off the railings here and there. Bianca is one impulsive girl and she will drive you nuts in a good way.

I've read a lot of teen books and by far, the realistic romances are my favorites. And The Duff definitely has this. Though Bianca might be using her romance with the schools playboy as a way to escape real life, I can't help but rave about that too.

I am so impressed with the authors writing style, she was 18 when she wrote this book and I adored her concept, characters and everything else that came along with the book. Only thing I would change about the book was how abruptly it ended. Maybe if that part was less predictable and more smooth, the book would have been even more amazing. Everything else about this book was absolutely addicting! I simply couldn't put it down. If I had the time and patience to read a book twice, I would do it starting with The DUFF.

Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

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Title: Easy
Author: Tammara Webber
Genre: New Adult, Young Adult: Contemporary Romance
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

Easy is an exceptional read. It is my first Tammara Webber book and it will not be my last. This book is one of the best Young Adult Contemporary Romances I have ever read. Books like these make me hope that there are many more like it out there, either from the same author or similar authors who have the similar writing styles.

What's different about this book is the fact that Webber chose to begin with an event that changes her characters life. And from then on, the reader is hooked. Keeping the balance between slow and too fast is difficult and can even drop the books level a bit. Webber had this slight problem. But recovered really quickly with yet another awesome addition to the plot.

The romance adds the spice and the realism of the story brings out the authors skills and ability to entertain their audience and communicate the message (if any) she's trying to give out. I loved all the characters. Each one of them made a significant part in the book, no matter how small of a character they seem to be.

Overall, Easy is an amazing read filled with heart-warming moments, romance, action and realistic college atmosphere. I'm looking forward to reading more from Tammara Webber.

Review: A Breath of Eyre (Unbound #1) by Eve Marie Mont

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Title: A Breath of Eyre (Unbound #1)
Author: Eve Marie Mont
Publisher: K Teen
Genre: Young Adult: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult: Paranormal, Young Adult: Historical Romance, Teen
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon / The Book Depository / Barnes & Noble

In this stunning, imaginative novel, Eve Marie Mont transports her modern-day heroine into the life of Jane Eyre to create a mesmerizing story of love, longing, and finding your place in the world... Emma Townsend has always believed in stories-the ones she reads voraciously, and the ones she creates. Perhaps it's because she feels like an outsider at her exclusive prep school, or because her stepmother doesn't come close to filling the void left by her mother's death. And her only romantic prospect-apart from a crush on her English teacher-is Gray Newman, a long-time friend who just adds to Emma's confusion. But escape soon arrives in an old leather-bound copy of Jane Eyre...

Reading of Jane's isolation sparks a deep sense of kinship. Then fate takes things a leap further when a lightning storm catapults Emma right into Jane's body and her nineteenth-century world. As governess at Thornfield, Emma has a sense of belonging she's never known-and an attraction to the brooding Mr. Rochester. Now, moving between her two realities and uncovering secrets in both, Emma must decide whether her destiny lies in the pages of Jane's story, or in the unwritten chapters of her own...

Jane Eyre is my all-time favorite novel. It was the only thing that kept me company when I was in my pre-teens. It was the book I relied on. I couldn't get enough of the movie and tv adaptations that I decided to search around for retellings and re-adaptations of the novel and I found A Breath of Eyre. I was ecstatic and thrilled about my find that I bought it immediately. The moment it arrived, I started reading it and I knew I couldn't stop.

Emma Townsend is a lonely teenager who confides herself in Jane Eyre's world. And when disaster strikes in reality her whole world turns upside down and she's thrown into the fantasy that is Jane Eyre's shoes (literally). She lives out Jane's life for her. She teaches Adele, chats with Mrs. Fairfax and falls in love with her employer, Mr. Rochester. Her image of reality and fantasy slips a little the first time she makes it to Jane's world. But when she returns to reality, she wants nothing more than to escape back to the illusion of Jane's world. By illusion, I don't mean Emma is crazy and is seeing things. Each time she's in Jane's world, she's in a coma in reality. As she explores her feelings in Jane's shoes, the author changed my whole outlook of my childhood best friend Jane and my childhood crush, Mr. Rochester.

She portrayed Jane Eyre as a feminist that stupidly fell in love with a controlling monster who married his wife, Bertha for money then drove her into a state of loneliness and depression. This eventually drove her so insane and violent that he locked her up like an animal just because he didn't want to deal with her. If I think about it long enough, it may look that way if we sat in Bertha Mason's place. But honestly, what happened to the bi-polar-ness that drove every female in Bertha's family insane? Bertha Mason is self-destructive, and Rochester did what every man would do in that era: lock her up because they were afraid of a mental illness that they did not understand. I see no harm in Mont's perception of Jane Eyre, after all everyone is entitled to their own opinions. And this particular opinion can be a real eye-opener and I tip my hat to Mont for her concept twist.

The unique twist, the emotional and dark characters, the romance, the fights and interactions that were realistic, brought this book together pretty well. Despite all the copy-paste from the original Jane Eyre book, I still found myself loving this book, if not whole-heartedly but sincere enough to say that I adored the message that came with it: Appreciate and be grateful of the people who love you in reality because people in fantasies are just scripted, unreal and well... an illusion. Nothing beats reality, even if reality beats you.

Review: The Truth about Faking by Leigh Talbert Moore

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Title: The Truth About Faking
Author: Leigh T. Moore
Publisher: Smash
Genre: Young Adult: Contemporary Romance, Teen
Format: eBook for Review
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Jason just wants a date with Harley.
Harley just wants a date with Trent.
Trent's still getting over Stephanie.

When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

The Truth About Faking (TTAF as we call it on social networks) is one of those books I'll read as an eBook and then get the paperback just to show it off on my shelf and to fellow readers. It's a fluffy and a cute book for teenage girls or girls in general. I know for sure some moms would like this.

The book starts with Harley thrown in an accident where she meets a new addition to the town, Jason. He's cute and accurately described as 'hot' throughout the entire book. And when Harley gets home she's on the phone with her best friend, plotting how to get another guy from school, Trent, to ask her out. I found their plan to get Trent cute and funny. It made me think about what I would do to get a guy to ask me out. Anyways, things happen, Jason interferes and ruins Harley's chances with Trent and now Jason and Harley have to fake date to make Trent realize he wants her. I know, its a typical highschool move but it was so fun to read.

Some characters were great and fun to read about, like Jason and Ricky, while the rest were just infuriating! I didn't like Shelly (Harley's best friend) much. She is so oblivious to Harley's feelings sometimes that she doesn't realize she's hurting her. Best friends are supposed to be attentive towards each other. Well, I'm just glad she stopped being infuriating towards the end. I also didn't like that woman who hates Harley's mom and constantly finds a way to ruin everything for her, just because of a job her husband didn't get. Childish much?

I enjoyed reading about Harley, her life, her struggles, etc. Moore wrote a great character all girls can connect and relate to. I felt Harley's pain and happiness throughout the entire book and that connection just kept me reading all the way to the end.

The best part of the book is the messages that it holds. The book had many messages, all telling you things like 'not to judge without knowing the whole story', 'somethings are really not what it seems', and my favorites would be : 'If you want something, get it. There's no point in wasting time pondering the what if's'. There are many more in the story but I'll let you guys figure them out yourselves.

The Truth about Faking is a wonderful, fluffy, fun, and page-turning romance that'll make you squeal, laugh, smile, frown, cry and most of all, it'll make you turn those pages faster because it's just that good. Leigh Talbert Moore you are an awesome author! Don't stop writing! :)

Review: Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

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Title: Keep Holding On
Author: Susane Colasanti
Publisher: Viking
Genre: Young Adult: Contemporary Romance, Teen
Format: Hardbound
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble 



A romantic and empowering book about bullying

Noelle's life is all about survival. Even her best friend doesn't know how much she gets bullied, or the ways her mom neglects her. Noelle's kept so much about her life a secret for so long that when her longtime crush Julian Porter starts paying attention to her, she's terrified. Surely it's safer to stay hidden than to risk the pain of a broken heart. But when the antagonism of her classmates takes a dramatic turn, Noelle realizes it's time to stand up for herself--and for the love that keeps her holding on.

Many books out there seem to be either telling you a story or teaching you a lesson. But this one stands out as one of the few books that tell you something meaningful and in plain words. It's telling you to "Keep Holding On".

No matter how bad you have it right now. Life is not worth giving up abruptly by your own hands. Susane Colasanti tells us a story about Noelle Wexler. A young high school student going through the toughest time being bullied every day of her life. If not by people in school but by her mother at home. The story starts out with the usual type of bullying, like name-calling, throwing food at you, laughing at you, etc - Until something bad happens to the popular girls and then they blame the loser kids by torturing them till they have nothing to lose but their lives. Things become violent, and life threatening and thats when you've got to finally stand up for yourself and let people know you are not to be trampled on any longer. This is exactly what Noelle Wexter did.

The book is uplifting, but sad with a lot of angst in it. It's an inspiring book that tells you how true friends and boyfriends act. How they won't hide you because they're embarrassed of you. Or lie for you because you're the only poor kid in school. It tells a story about domestic life of a young teenager and the single mom who neglects her child so much that her daughter is suffering from malnutrition and hunger.

Keep Holding On is the perfect read to inspire you out of a lonely, tough life that you can't live in anymore. It tells you to believe that this is just a phase in your life that you will come out of stronger than ever. It tells you to believe that you're life isn't over yet. It tells you to believe that you will be happy, you will be treated well, you will be everyone's equal and not an outsider or a loser, and finally, it tells you to believe that you will have everything you always wanted as long as you Keep Holding On.