January & February Wrap Up!

Hey all! I've finally found some time to catch up on blog things now that I have internet & set up for the uni year. The last week has been extremely busy for me spending the last two days before coming back to uni in Sydney because of the VA fan event held a Kino & the Sydney Premiere of Vampire Academy! I was very lucky to actually met Zoey & Lucy at the fan event & got a signed copy of VA! I have no idea what was going on that week because I won these things & surprising the hell out of me because I never win anything!

I loved the VA movie it had everything it had to have & left out things that weren't need in the movie. While it was rushed at times it was still a great movie adaptation and I cannot wait to see it again next week!

Signed VA copy, VA movie pass & Me and Sunny from A Sunny Spot on the Pink Carpet!

My best friend & I at the VA movie & Me with Zoey & Lucy at the VA fan event!

Now on to the crazy amount of books that I have bought/recieved/won! 

Review Books:

• Tape by Steven Camden
• Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
• The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
• Dead Silent by Sharon Jones
• Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

Thanks to Bloomsbury, Harper Collins, Hachette & Allen & Unwin!

Physical bought books:

• The Naturals by Jenn Lynn Barnes
• My Life Next Door by Huntly Fitzpatrick
• How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jenn Doktorski
• If I Lie by Corrine Jackson
• Paper Towns by John Green
• Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
• My Sweetest Escape by Chelsea M. Cameron

Books I've won:

• Take a Chance by Abbi Glines (Thanks Pavan for the competition!)
• Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead (Thanks Penguin Teen Aus for the comp at the VA fan event!)

E-books:

• Love in Bloom #1-10 by Melissa Forster
• The Trouble With Goodbye by Sarra Cannon
• Sweet Rome by Tillie Cole
• Colorado Mountain #1-6 by Kristen Ashley
• The 'Burg #1-4 by Kristen Ashley 
• Heaven and Hell by Kristen Ashley
• Play It Safe by Kristen Ashley
• Own the Wind by Kristen Ashley
• Abandon by Cassia Leo
• Fall by Rachel Van Dyken
• More than Him by Jay McLean
• Fair Catch by Cindy Anderson
• Perfect Summer by Katie Graykowski
• True Believers #1-3 by Erin McCarthy
• Remembering Us by Stacey Lynn
• Trouble by Samantha Towle
• Pieces of Me by Erica Cope
• Broken by Kelly Elliot
• Cherished by Kelly Elliot
• Believe by Kelly Elliot
• One Night With Him by KS Smith
• Sweet Serendipity by Jenna Pizzi
• Second Chances #1-3 by LP Dover
• Fixed #1-3 by Laurelin Paige
• Wilder #1-3 by Jill Shalvis
• Surrendering to Us by Chelsea M Cameron
• Thoughtless by SC Stephens
• In Too Deep #2-5 by Casey McMillin
• Connections #1-2 by Kim Karr
• Broken at Love by Lyla Payne
• By Referral Only by Lyla Payne
• Wicked Ink Chronicles #1-2 by Laura Wright
• On Dublin St #1.5, 2.5, 3 by Samantha Young
• In The Deep by Samantha Young
• Sentinel by Jenn L Armentrout
• Without #1-2 by CJ Azevedo
• Unforgettable You #1, 1.5 by Beverly Kendall
• Infinity #1-3 by Layne Harper
• My Side by Tara Brown
• The Single Lady Spy #1-2 by Tara Brown

And that is all the books that I've gotten over the last two months! Also currently read 91 out of 200 books on my Goodreads Challenge! (Yes, I am aware that I am crazy okay?)

Keely xx

Review Time #54

Covert Interview by Missy Marciassa

After growing up feeling like the unwanted leftovers of her parents’ divorce, Elle Paquet is finally an independent adult when she graduates from college to become an Information Scientist (the 21st century term for Librarian). What’s her first “adult” decision? She nixes her ten-year plan of going to grad school and marrying her college sweetheart to go work for the CIA and see how things turn out with hot agent Preston Raddick.

While Elle’s formal education may be over, life lessons are only just beginning. Preston teaches her a tough lesson about what a fling is and what it isn’t. Meanwhile, the CIA wants to know if she’s merely interested or truly committed to the agency. And are her skills up for the job? When Elle is given an assignment that tests her loyalty to her family and endangers herself and her loved ones, she learns that affiliation with the CIA means excitement can turn to danger at the drop of a hat, just as love can turn to heartbreak. Life as an adult is far harder than Elle ever imagined as she wrestles with unforeseen complications and new opportunities.

Covert Interview is about the unpredictable turns life can take.

I loved Covet Assignment and reading Covert Interview was no different. What I loved about this book we got to see a stronger side to Elle who is no longer relying on others to keep her safe which is great. Preston shows Elle what a fling exactly is & takes off on an assignment to who-knows-where doing who-knows-what.

Elle is now a CIA analyst on a 90 day probation period and isn't working out at Langley. Instead her cover is that she works for the Library of Congress helping Univeristy Libraries in D.C, Norfolk and Charlotte. The great thing for Elle is that she is dong something she loves whilst still doing data analyst things for the CIA. In Norfolk she meets a JAG lawyer Lyle in speed dating (yea I know) and sparks up at relationship with him when she is in Norfolk because her fling with Preston is over (I am not happy about this). 

With only a few people knowing that she actually works for the CIA, she has to make sure that what she says stays hidden & safe. When a mission hits close to home for Elle she has to decided whether or not that this is the right job for her, making her second guess everything. 

The opening scene really sets the tone of the work with analyst Elle being targeted like she was a field operative she wants what is best for her & her safety. I loved seeing Elle grow as a character and trying new things (i.e. speed dating) it was also great to see how well she bounced back from heartbreaking decisions. The ending made me really excited for the next Covert book: Covert Cover Cracked!

Thanks Netgally & Missy Marciassa!

Rating: 4 to 5/5

Keely xx

It's a VA giveaway!

Hey everyone! Sorry about the MIA lately but it is that time of year to head back to uni, along with moving & having no internet but I am back (or will be more next week)! 

On Thursday the 20th of February the Australian VA movie premiere will be happening and I have been lucky enough to win a double pass + 2x copies of the VA movie soundtrack! I was so surprised to win this and I cannot wait for Thursday! Also somehow (no idea how this is all happening, the stars must be aligning because I win nothing all the time!) I have won a chance to meet Zoey Deutch & Lucy Fry at a Penguin Teen Aus event at Kino in Sydney on Wednesday! 

Yes so I was very lucky yesterday! But since I won two copies of the VA soundtrack and I only need one right? I'm hosting a giveaway! Now this giveaway is AUS ONLY because I am a poor broke uni student who cannot afford overseas postage, however INTL people look out for my 2nd blogoversy I might be possibly doing a giveaway that everyone can enter!

Rules:
- Must be an Australian resident 
- Must be over 13 with Adult consent
- Must reply to the winner email in 48 Hours

Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

EARTH. FIRE. AIR. WATER.

Nick Merrick is stretched to breaking point. He's trying to keep his grades sky-high or he won't get in to college. He's trying to keep his brother's business afloat or the Merricks will be out on the street. He's trying to keep the secret of where he's going in the evenings from his twin brother Gabriel - or he fears he'll lose his family. And he's trying to keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who is his 'girlfriend's' partner.

And then Quinn takes to hanging around his sworn enemy, and an Elemental Guide is counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers. Storms are brewing. On all sides.

SECRETS IN THE WIND. DANGER IN THE AIR.

Brigid Kemmerer you have done it again, pulled me into a fantastic story, worry my heart out for Nick and made me want to hug him and not let him go. If you've read Breathless and I'm pretty sure you already have & it not Aussie's it is in the start the Australian version, you Nick is dealing with a lot.

Secret was a fantastic new addition to the elementals series, since Nick is my favourite of the Merrick Brothers and after reading Nicks novella Breathless I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his own book. We get the perspectives of Nick and Quinn and we follow them in two different journeys in Secret Quinn’s home life has gotten worse and without having Becca so much anymore she has nowhere to go and no one to talk to.  Nick is dealing with a lot his family, the guides, Quinn and now his sexuality this is bringing him to breaking point. Through Secret  we see that they are both dealing with a lot of things that don’t fully focus on the guides that are trying to kill them.

Nick doesn’t know what to, who to talk to, how his twin will react to the news, how Michael will react about him wanting to go to college and Nick failed a test, Nick who has never failed before failed a physics test. Nick is spending a lot of time helping out Michael way more than the other brothers on jobs & finances, he is worries about Quinn and now with Adam he doesn’t know who he is anymore. I really liked the character of Adam and how well he contemplated Nick together the characters lose control which makes Nick worried even more because he likes control. Adam just wants what is best for Nick and is supportive and helpful for him, which made me like Adam a whole lot more.

Quinn in the first three books has been my least favourite of characters but after Secret we get to see more of what Quinn is facing and why she has such a tough exterior because on the inside she is broken and scared. Since her and Becca had a falling out she has no one to turn to and with Nick spending time with Adam and helping his family, she has no one to turn to until she meets Tyler. Yes this is the Tyler who has had a vendetta on the Merrick Brothers who still blames Michael for the death of his sister when really if they hadn’t chased after she would more than likely still be alive. But Tyler is hiding a secret which is revealed at the end of Secret which makes you question a lot of things that seem to already have answers to.

Apart from Nick and Quinn and there love interests, Michael was the best supporting character by far. Once he learns about Nick being gay & how he is feeling about all the pressure that he has been facing which is great. This also got me 100x more excited to read Michael’s book Sacrifice especially with the ending. The ending is where we get the continuing plot of the guides that have been following the Merricks from day one and this time it is much worse than before.

Secret is for those of you who have loved following the journey of the Merrick boys and with the final book coming if you haven’t read this series start!

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the review copy of Secret!

Rating: 5/5

Keely xx

The Problem With Crazy Cover Reveal!

  

Title: The Problem With Crazy
Author: Lauren K McKellar
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Cover Design: Berto Designs
Release Date:  February 13, 2014

The problem with crazy is that crazy, by itself, has no context. It can be good crazy, bad crazy . . . or crazy crazy—like it was when my ex-boyfriend sung about me on the radio.

Eighteen-year-old Kate couldn’t be more excited about finishing high school and spending the summer on tour with her boyfriend’s band. Her dad showing up drunk at graduation, however, is not exactly kicking things off on the right foot—and that’s before she finds out about his mystery illness, certain to end in death.

A mystery illness she is likely to inherit.

When your whole life goes from adventure and ecstasy to sad and suicidal, what’s the point? Not knowing who to love, and who to trust . . . where does it end?

The Problem With Crazy is a story about love and life; about overcoming obstacles, choosing to trust, and learning how to make the choices that will change your life forever.

*A portion of sales from this book will be donated to a Huntington’s disease-related charity (details TBC)

ADD TO GOODREADS

Join the release day event, complete with prizes, fun, games, and a partridge in a pear tree on February 13.

Sign up today: http://bit.ly/1cSoON4

Gypsy Rose placed a series of cards on the table, one after the other. They were brightly coloured, garish-looking things, full of shapes and objects, some of which I recognised and some of which I didn’t.

“Is there anything specific you want to know?”

The words stuck in my head.

Yes, when is my dad going to die?

Sure, will he remember me at all?

Okay, let’s start with am I going to have a mental illness and lose control of my words and movements?

“Oh you know, just general stuff.” I smiled vaguely and bit my lip.

Lauren K. McKellar is a writer and editor of fact and fiction. She has worked in publishing for more than eight years, and recently returned to her first love: writing books that make you feel.

Lauren loves to write for the Young and New Adult markets, and blogs with Aussie Owned and Read, as well as vlogging with the YA Rebels.

In her free time, Lauren enjoys long walks on the beach with her two super-cute dogs and her partner-in-crime/fiancé.

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

WEBSITE

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Keely xx

Review Time #53

Almost Dead by Kaz Delaney

A glitzy whodunit set amongst the Gold Coast elite and a hilarious romance between Macey Pentecost, the privileged teenager with a social conscience who just happens to see ghosts, and the good-looking surf champion Finn.


Macey's life has been turned upside down. Her mother has left, her father is absent and her two best friends (her brother Seth and his girlfriend Willow) are MIA. On top of that Macey is being visited by ghosts who need her help to 'move on'. But as wild as all that sounds, it's all under Macey's control until a rakish, good-looking spirit called Nick turns up ... in her bedroom!

Nick's a spirit with spirit who insists he's not dead, he's astral travelling and has a message for Macey: someone is out to get her. Macey's biting wit has got her in trouble before, so she's not surprised but when the threatening notes start turning up, she's seriously shaken. Does someone want her dead?

It's all rather disturbing but she's finding it hard to focus on who could mean her harm with the annoyingly handsome surf god Finn turning up at the most inopportune times and a father with a rather large surprise of his own.

Is it a case of bad timing? Or are these things somehow connected? And if they are, what on earth should she wear when she's solving the mystery?

Almost Dead is the new YA book from Kaz Delaney it is also some what of a companion to her other YA book Dead, Actually with some of the characters re-appearing. We follow Macey who for the last month has been seeing spirits and this time this spirit is insisting that they are still alive.

Nick is the lead singer of the band Pashton that Macey slammed on her blog about the lyrics not being original etc. and now Nick is in a coma after a car accident and people are starting to blame Macey. Nick knows Macey is in trouble but doesn't know who is doing it and wants her to have help from Finn his cousin.

Macey really has a bad week this in this book, her mother leaves her father, she finds out that her dad has another family so she has a half-sister and someone is stalking her. With her best friend Willow and her brother together out of the country she has no one to turn to now that she knows about her father's other family.

Finn is a champion surfer laid back, portrayed as a beach bum but knows how to look after a girl. He helps Macey through everything that she is going through and also knowing that Nick is around makes him feel slightly better.

The girls at Macey's private school are your typical snobby rich kids and Macey doesn't trust any of them. Even when they start hanging around because of the stalker. The relationship in this book progress a lot between the girls and Macey, Macey and her sister and the destruction of the relationship between Macey and her father which eventually is back to normal mainly because Macey is quite stubborn. They all play an important part in the story as the book goes on.

The revelation of the stalker was quite a shock even when I already had guessed who one of them was. It is a great story keeps you guessing and it being set in Australia was another great perk! Almost Dead is a different YA paranormal romance set on the Gold Coast which sucks you in until you have finished the book completely!

Thanks to Allen and Unwin Australia for the review copy!
Rating: 4/5

Keely xx

Seeking Her Extract Blast!

Hey everyone! Something different today with an extract from Seeking Her (Losing It #3.5)!

Jackson Hunt gets his turn in this Finding It prequel novella …

Jackson Hunt hasn't been out of the military for long, but he needs to get a job and find a sense of normalcy if he is going to keep his demons at bay. The job that falls into his lap, though, is anything but normal.

Becoming bodyguard (and babysitter) to spoiled rich girl Kelsey Summers isn't exactly what he had in mind, but it's a chance to travel, to get away. The catch: Kelsey's father doesn't want her to know she's being followed.

She's vibrant and infuriating, exciting and reckless, mysterious and familiar. When Jackson sees her falling into the same patterns he suffered years ago, he decides it's time to stop watching and help her instead. But getting to know Kelsey is more difficult than he thought, especially because the more he knows her, the more he wants her.

You can find the extract right here!

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Links:

Website: http://coracarmack.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoraCarmack

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoraCarmackBooks

Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6535659.Cora_Carmack

SEEKING HER Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17873497-seeking-her?ac=1

I am super excited for this book after only starting the series at the end of the year I am hooked

Keely xx