Monday, May 16, 2016

Blog Tour: The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Problem with Forever
by
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: Young-adult, Contemporay, Romance
For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.

Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.

It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with the lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory faces a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard. 


"Forever was something we all took for granted, but the problem with forever was that it really didn't exist."
I thought this was going to be too cheesy to handle kind of contemporary romance. I didn't realize I was in for a treat on this book. The problem with forever was... Wow. The first contemporary romance book I've read from JLA. Everything I've read from her always has a touch of paranormal and fantasy, and boy was I blown away.

"Words were not the enemy or the monster under my bed, but they held such power over me. They were like the ghost of a loved one, forever haunting me."
Mallory Dodge, had a tough childhood. She's an orphan. She never got the chance to knew who her real parents were and knew the reason why they gave up on her. She grew up in a lifeless home who adopt children just to get the money but doesn't really give a crap on the adopted child. To say that it was horrible was an understatement, it was traumatic. She lived on a house where the supposed to be father of the house is a drunken bastard who beat a child for being a pain in the ass and a mother who is always too numb and too low on drugs. It was the reason why speaking, or giving voice on her thoughts was so hard for her. It was until the Rivases stepped on the story and adopted Mallory and treated her as their real daughter that she gets to have her second chance in life.
"Our story was something straight out of an Oprah special or an ABC Family movie. Unreal. Saying thank you would never be enough after everything they had done for me."
However, the scars from her past was still there to haunt her, restricting her to speak her mind freely. She believe that she's defective, something that needs to be fixed and she's afraid it will stay forever.

Then come the characters. If you've been reading JLA's book for quite sometime now, I'm sure you'll agree with the fact JLA's character was usually kick-ass, physically strong and dependable. I'm afraid you won't meet that kind of character in this book, because Mallory, the MC, is a weak character that has suffered traumatic events growing up. Speaking, which should have been as easy as breathing for some people except ofcourse if you're mute, was something hard for her.

"My name is Mallory… Dodge." I drew in a deep breath, speaking to no one. ''And I like… I like reading. And I don't like… I don't like who I am."
Characters like her are usually a pain to read POV's with, but with Mallory, I can't help but sympathize with her and be proud with the growth she had throughout the events of the book.

Now comes Rider. This is one thing I can say is very familiar with JLA's book, because just like the hero from most of her books, Rider is a swoon worthy character. He's mysterious and handsome and strong, he's Mallory's savior growing up, but of course, beneath he's hotness hides a scared and soft and troubled boy who is also looking for love and people who have faith in him.

The Problem with Forever is different to what I'm used at reading from JLA a good different. She nailed the contemporary and emotional part of this book. It's obvious that the author made a thorough research about anxiety, traumatic experiences and even about adoption. The feelings involved were real and raw and heart-breaking. I guess I'll just have to end this review by sharing one of my favorite quotes from this book.

"Love scared the hell out of me. I didn't want the heartbreak."
This book was more than a story of a lost love that was eventually found again, but I still picked this quote out of hundreds of quotable ones because it personally hits me. The problem with forever will teach its readers, how to accept past as part of present and how not live with denial and regrets. Truly heart-touching and heart warming. Do I need to say it? Of course I highly recommend this to everyone!


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# 1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.

She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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Sunday, May 8, 2016

Book Review: In This Life by Christine Brae

I have already posted my review of this book on my Goodreads two months ago. There was quite a drama that happened when the author's fans started attacking my review for it being "nasty" and "class-less". They never commented back after I replied back and after a lot of my friend came in to my defense which I really appreciated, so that was the end of it.

I guess, I'am putting this short introduction here to.... I don't know, maybe to warn you beforehand that my review will have a lot of cussing on it because this book stirred a lot of emotion from me as a reader. So if you liked and loved this book, just turn back now and run far away on this review, because I won't be changing or editing my original review and there's a chance you'll get offended and it will end up with me ruining your day. You've been warned.

In This Life
by 
Christine Brae
Genre: New-Adult, Contemporary, Romance


Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,
They’re in each other all along.
RUMI

It starts out so simply. Anna runs away to Thailand, drags her best friend Dante with her and spends a few weeks away, taking on other people’s problems while getting away from her own. She meets the enigmatic Jude Grayson, and for as long as it’s clear to both of them that it ends when they leave, she thinks she’s got the perfect fling planned out.

Or does she?

Anna returns home to find that her life is no longer the way it once was, and that she can’t stop thinking about him. She learns through tragedy that nothing she’s ever believed in has turned out to be true. The worst part? The people she loved were keeping a secret from her. And that no matter what she does, no matter how hard she fights against it, every path she takes keeps leading her back to Jude. 

This is a story about love, found in a faraway place by two very unlikely people. It is also a story about friendship and loyalty and fighting for what you have despite the illogical mystery of fate. With the struggle between morality and guilt, faith and acceptance, there comes a learning that even the best-laid plans are powerless against the alignment of the universe.


From the beaches of Thailand to the streets of New York, three friends, Anna, Dante, and Jude will learn the hard way that once providence steps in, there is nothing in the world that can change what is truly meant to be. 



EDIT:

What a disappointment. I knew there was something fishy when people are suddenly reacting badly to a review I wrote 3 weeks later. I forgot to add that this book was gifted to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Well, I didn't know that my honesty will be a big deal. Now I have one more reason to add why I hated this book.

I originally said that I'd love to try more books from this author, that I won't be closing my door because I love the writing style.I'am taking that back. This will be the first and the last book. Because I'am going to close my door forever. I was being fair, but I was still called out. *smh Well, we can never please everyone after all.

Original Review:

Oh Dear. This was messy.

The only strong point of this book I believe was the writing style. It has a hint of melancholy that creeps right into you. Not to mention those twist and turns(only on the first half) that amused me. However, the characters were so cheesy and dramatic that even the only thing I actually liked in this book lost its appeal on me.

"It is a story of a girl who loved two men in her life. It wasn't a love triangle; she wasn't confused nor was she apologetic."
In other words, this girl, our heroine is a selfish bitch. She doesn't want to loose both her first love whom she met 5 years ago and fell in love with in the span of 10 days and her best friend who helped her throughout the hardships of her life, the one who stayed when her first love didn't. It is not an easy choice, I know that much. But there if there's anything I learned in this life(I mean, literally, not this book LOL. I just have this overwhelming need to emphasize that.), is that there is no easy choice, so this girl should just suck it up and learn how to let go of the other person because you can't fucking love both 2 men at once in the same level. It's unfair and selfish and cruel.

"I wasn't ashamed to declare with confidence that it was possible to love two people at the same time. They were ensconced in two very different compartments of my heart-the smiles they elicited, the feelings they caused- they were distinctive to each one and divergent to both."
I really really want to understand and really thought this over. After all I have never really been in love in my life, but no matter how much I think about this, I just can't agree with it. Either, you love someone as a friend or a family or love him as a man, romantically. Because there is no way in hell it's alright to fuck with both of them because you "both" love them. And oh, by the way that quote was a shit, because this is definitely a love triangle for me, unless I've been wrong about the meaning of love triangle all this time.

Then there's Jude. This two really suit each other because while Anna was a drama queen, Jude was the drama king. What a perfect couple. Jude is a possessive asshole and a selfish bastard who always tries to be on a safe side. He's willing to give up on something only if he can get something in return- aka Anna's love.

"I certainly didn't think that this was the right time and place to remind her that if I had my way and if she loved me, I would give it all up."
Bullshit. If you can't give up on something because of your own reasons, be man enough to at least give up something because it didn't deserve the half attention you were giving it and no one, and nothing deserves to be a second choice, thrown and put aside when you realized that this wasn't what you really wanted all this time.

"This book is a testament to that time, that darkness and the hope that was never realized. It is a lesson learned-that fate is fate and what's meant to be will be. "
I'm sorry but that one was a total bullshit too. This book meant to teach us about fate.. I do not agree. I think this book is more of how you have to stand up on the choices you made. No matter how bad or good they are. That sometimes, along the way, you'll get to hurt people and even yourself but you still stand up and continue to live because life really does go on. Fate does not have anything to do with that! Just stop make it seem sound better or more appealing than it really is.

Really I could spend the whole day ranting about this book, but I thought it wasn't needed. I believe that this book can be enjoyed by people who have the same belief and standpoint with the author, it just so happen that we have different beliefs in life when it comes to Love and Fate. I'm more on the realism side than the romanticism one you see.

If you love overly drama and cheesy books, you might actually love and enjoy this book. This is my first Christine Brae book and was really looking forward to it, too bad this book just wasn't for me. But I'm sure that this isn't going to be my last Christine Brae book, I'd love to try and read more from this author in the future, not going to close my door.

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Christine Brae is a full time career woman who thought she could write a book about her life and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. Christine is the author of The Light in the Wound, His Wounded Light and Insipid. Her new book, In This Life, is set to release in January 2016.

When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.

Christine is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin Literary Management.



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