[Blog Tour] Review: Deeper by Robin York + Giveaway


Deeper (Caroline & West #1)
by Robin York
Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: January 28th 2014 by Bantam
Source: ARC from InkSlinger PR
Purchase here: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis:
In this New Adult debut by Robin York, a college student is attacked online and must restore her name—and stay clear of a guy who’s wrong for her, but feels so right.

When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear, hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defense and punches her ex to the ground.

West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger—even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.

They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re “just friends,” their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself—and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.

When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.
Review:

I was immediately intrigued by this book the instant I read its synopsis. I might have judged Caroline a bit instantly also after reading it though (shame on me!). With the recent influx of the same case here in my country, I can’t help but think: why would girls let guys, even if he’s a significant other, to take private pictures/videos of them together? If you don’t want others to see it, then why do it all? It was a simple but effective prevention to that. With that, I guess you can already assume my non-existent experience when it comes to this kind of relationship. That said, after reading Robin’s Deeper, I can proudly say that I have learned something and I am very thankful for Robin for making me realize what I didn’t understand by reading this book.

Caroline is a character that’s very easy to sympathize with. What happened to her is an unimaginably terrible thing to happen to anyone. She has an ambition in life. She wants to go to law school and be a judge, but after what happened, how can people possibly respect her anymore? One mistake and her dreams all came tumbling down. Her actions afterwards were all understandable and I can’t blame her for them but I couldn’t help but feel sad for her. I kept cheering her on. Nevermind that she couldn’t hear me. The girl needed all the support she could get! And this is where West enters the picture. West is not the most sanctimonious guy out there and if I were Caroline, I’d run the opposite way at the sight of him – or not. Actually, nevermind about his dirty record and drug pushing activities. The guy is extremely hot! And really, he’s not so bad. He is, in fact, a really good person. I love that there’s more to him than just a smexy guy. He has his own personal battles to fight and it’s really cute that he loves his sister so much.

Deeper is a thought-provoking novel that will take you in a roller coaster ride of emotions. Did I mention it’s hot? I am just so happy that Caroline finally opened up to West. West is such a wonderful guy and I know he’s going to take care of Caroline. I’m really rooting for these two. I love them so much! The intimate scenes between them are S-C-O-R-C-H-I-N-G! And the character development? Astounding. The romance is slow burn and it was a joy to watch them grow closer to each other. But really, what I love the most about their relationship is that they started off as friends. Heck, even their friendship started off on a rocky path. So you can really see the remarkable development in their characters and relationship alike. There is a slight cliffhanger but I have faith in these characters and I KNOW that everything is going to work out for them in the end.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Disclosure: An advance reading copy was provided to me for an honest review as part of the Deeper Blog Tour. No compensation of any kind was received in exchange for this.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author


Robin York grew up at a college, went to college, signed on for some more college, and then married a university professor. She still isn’t sure why it didn’t occur to her to write New Adult sooner. Writing a
s Ruthie Knox, she is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary romance, including RITA-finalists About Last Night and Room at the Inn. She moonlights as a mother, makes killer salted caramels, and sorts out thorny plot problems while running, hiking, or riding her bike.

5 Chapter Reveal of Be With Me (Wait for you #2) by J. Lynn



Be with Me (Wait for You #2)
by J. Lynn
Kindle Edition, 299 pages
Expected publication: February 4th 2014 by HarperCollins
Links: Amazon | B&N

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wait for You

Do Teresa and Jase have a real shot at getting together or will life get in the way?

Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year—she's in love with her big brother's best friend, but he hasn't spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, life-changing kiss. Then she got out of a terrible relationship. Now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It's time for plan B: college. And maybe she'll have a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he's not telling anyone—especially not his best friend's incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn't have time for a relationship. But it doesn't help that all he can think about is kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.

As they're thrown together more and more, Jase and Teresa can't keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they're willing to risk to be together and what they're willing to lose if they're not. . . .

5-chapter Reveal



About the Author

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, W
est 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, working out, 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.

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



Avalon Release Day Launch + Excerpt + Giveaway

I am sooo very excited for today because it's Avalon's book birthday! Woot! I was lucky enough to receive an advance digital copy of this last month and I love, love, loved it. (Will post my review of it soon.) I can't wait for you guys to read it because I just know you're gonna love it!

About Avalon

Avalon (Avalon #1) 
by Mindee Arnett
Hardcover, 432 pages
Publication: January 21st 2014 by Balzer & Bray
Purchase: Amazon |  B&N | Books-a-million | Indiebound | Google Play | Kobo | iTunes

Synopsis:
A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly.

Excerpt


Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

YA Author of THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR, a contemporary fantasy coming March 5, 2013 from Tor Teen (Macmillan) and AVALON, a YA sci-fi thriller coming Winter 2014 from Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins). Represented by the fabulous Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary. Addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space.

Cover Reveal: Model Position by Kitsy Clare

Hey there! I have another cover reveal for you! I'm really loving this one. I love the combination of the monochromatic image and the blue fonts. So simple yet eye catching. I want this on my shelf! 



Model Position by Kitsy Clare


Synopsis (From Goodreads)

For Sienna, love and art are perilous games. Is she ready to take that gamble?

Sienna is a beautiful, talented artist poised on the precipice of soaring into the glamorous, yet cutthroat Manhattan art scene.
Dave Hightower is a hooked-up, handsome heir to the hippest gallery in NYC, Gallery Hightower.
Erik is the live drawing model with his sizzling green eyes fixed only on Sienna.

Three’s a crowd, so Sienna must make a choice: date Dave and ride the fast track to landing a show at Gallery Hightower and hobnobbing with the art glitterati, or follow her heart and take a chance with Erik, the stunning male model who’s stealing her heart. But Erik has some worrisome secrets, and who in their right mind would make live modeling their career?

Dare Sienna throw away her chances of hitting it big to follow her heart?

About the Author


When Kitsy Clare isn’t creating stories on her favorite Mac Air, she teaches speculative fiction and creative writing workshops. She also loves to draw, travel, read spicy romance, sci-fi and all kinds of thrillers. She divides her time between New York City and her studio in the Catskills, where she enjoys the sounds of birds, bullfrogs and the random coyote.

Kitsy Clare is the pen name for her new adult romance. She also writes young adult fiction using her real name, Catherine Stine. Her YA futuristic thriller, Fireseed One won finalist spots in both YA and Science Fiction in the 2013 USA Book News International Book Awards. It was also granted an Indie Reader Approved notable stamp. Her YA Refugees, earned a New York Public Library Best Book. Ruby’s Fire, the new companion novel to Fireseed One, is receiving high praise from reviewers. She’s a member of SFWA, SCBWI and CBIG. She can be found on www.catherinestine.com, www.catherinestine.blogspot.com, and https://twitter.com/crossoverwriter

[Review Tour] A Little Too Hot by Lisa Desrochers + Excerpt + Giveaway


A Little Too Hot (A Little Too Far #3)
by Lisa Desrochers
ebook, 284 pages
Expected publication: January 21st 2014 by William Morrow Impulse
Source: Publicist/InkSlinger PR
Purchase here: Amazon | B&N | iBooks

Synopsis:
If you play with fire…

Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen’s club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny’s: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.

Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he’s got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming.

Because Harrison Yates isn’t who he seems to be. And his secret will probably get her killed.

Pre-order A LITTLE TOO HOT for an exclusive alternative chapter written in the hero's POV!


Review:

Honestly, this book should be called Way Too Hot instead of A Little Too Hot because it’s more fitting that way. Sam works as an exotic dancer so it’s only natural that the book is filled with sexy but the second setting doesn’t really showcase a lot of them deliberate steamy scenes. The second part is so much tamed compared to the first part. However, the interactions between Harrison and Sam are always effortlessly sexy, be it when they’re flirting, arguing or talking seriously. The tension is so palpable and I loved it! Although it’s also quite annoying sometimes because I was rooting for them so much and I want them to just kiss and make up already!

At first, the story comes off as clichéd: An exotic dancer falling in lust with an incredibly hot and mysterious guy who always gives the girl the special attention. I felt like I already knew where the story was heading, but then Lisa drops this plot twist that left me with my jaw hanging. Mind you I was at a coffee shop while reading this and I could barely contain myself from grinning and bouncing on my seat out of excitement for fear that others might mistake me as crazy.

I fell in love with Sam the instant I met her. I read this first before A Little Too Far so I had no idea who the characters are, but even with that, Sam already exuded a likable aura. Sam’s breakup with Trent broke her. She partied constantly and eventually got kicked out not only in school but from her home as well. I love Sam’s feisty attitude. She is confident and independent even though she’s clearly lost. She compliments Harrison very well. Harrison is very masculine (read: HOOOOT!!!) and he gives off the impression that’s trustworthy. The secondary characters are also fun! I enjoyed them really well. I was a bit skeptic about Jonathan at first. He’s a womanizer who comes off as a jerk and he has a girlfriend but still flirts with other girls, but his loyalty to Sam gradually warmed up to me and I ended up liking him in the end.

A Little Too Hot is filled with pleasant surprises and a mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. It has an interesting set of characters that you will immediately get attached to. Not to mention the romance is H-O-T! I really love that the hotness here is not overdone so it doesn’t feel forced. It’s done with the right amount of touching and teasing! Also, guns. There are guns here and people shooting! I know I shouldn’t get excited at the thought of people gunning down each other but it’s been a long time since I read a purely contemporary novel with this kind of action so thank you, Lisa!

A Little Too Hot is part of a series of companion of novels so it’s alright whichever book in the series you read first since it’s a standalone. However, you’ll get more inkling of Sam’s background if you read book one before this.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publicist via InkSlinger PR as part of the A Little Too Hot blog tour for free in exchange for an honest review.

Excerpt


Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Lisa Desrochers is the USA Today bestselling author of A LITTLE TOO FAR, courtesy of A LITTLE TOO MUCH (Nov 12, 2013), and A LITTLE TOO HOT (Jan 21, 2014). Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).
HarperCollins, and companions,

She lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Cover Reveal: Cowboys & Kisses by Sasha Summers

It's been a long time since I last read a book that's set in Texas and word knows how much I love books with that setting so I'm really excited for Sasha's Cowboys & Kisses. Can't wait for the hot boys and even hotter accent! 


by Sasha Summers
Paperback
Expected publication: February 10th 2014 
Published by InkSpell Publishing
Synopsis:
Allie had big plans for the future. Falling for a cowboy wasn’t part of it.

1. Get out of Black Falls Texas – aka Redneck Hell
(Graduation was eight months away. After that, she was out of there.)

2. Avoid Wyatt Holcomb at all costs.
(Except he was everywhere and kind of hard to ignore since he was hot—and a really nice guy.)

3. Avoid her parents.
(Shouldn’t be too hard to do since her father hated her and her mother pretended nothing was wrong.)

4. Stop thinking about Wyatt.
(Which would be a lot easier if he wasn’t so sweet… and he’d keep his shirt on.)

5. Decide what she really wants.
(Instead of holding onto the past and the guilt.)

Maybe falling for a cowboy could work after all?

About the Author


Sasha is part gypsy. Her passions have always been storytelling, history, romance, and travel. She writes lyrical romantic fantasy, steamy contemporary romance, sci-fi romance, and young adult romance. Her first play was written for her Girl Scout troupe. She's been writing ever since. She loves getting lost in the worlds and characters she creates; even if she frequently forgets to run the dishwasher or wash socks when she's doing so. Luckily, her family is super understanding and supportive.

[Blog Tour] Review: London Falling + Giveaway


London Falling 
by T.A. Foster
Paperback
Published January 2014
Source: InkSlinger PR
Purchase here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Synopsis:
It’s London’s senior year and she only needs one class to graduate. She just didn’t expect her final assignment: fall in love.

Communication 224 has a reputation for giving out the most unique projects of the semester. When London James and Beau Anderson signed up for the class they had no idea they would be paired up together, much less spend an entire semester working on their final grade.

Professor Garcia tasks them to produce a study on the hit reality show, Love Match, a show about strangers falling in love on over the top dates. London and Beau decide to debunk the popular show’s fantasy portrayal of romance. Determined they can date the entire semester and not fall for each other, the classmates share blogs about their dates and start a website where everyone can follow their dating experiment.

Is staying out of love as easy as it seems? Headstrong and success-driven London discovers there might be more important things in life than an A.
Review:

Much as I’m not a fan of reality TV, I found the concept of it for London Falling really charming and even more so because it’s coupled with the equally charming characters of our two protagonists. The dynamic between Beau and London is the most fun to watch from the moment the two met for the first time. The witty dialogues and jokes also make this for a much lighter novel than most NA's these days. I love that I can just sit back, smile and relax while reading this instead of stressing myself out because of the drama. It doesn't mean to say that London Falling has no depth though for it just doesn't dwell much in dark pasts and other life aspects that are commonly seen in heavy realistic fiction.

I found myself breezing through London Falling not only because the story is exciting for me but also because it's so easy to read. The dialogues are light and they all feel so natural that they just flow through and before I know it, I'm almost done reading the book. The characters, major and secondary alike, are fun to read about most of the time but they are not ones without flaws and sometimes their decisions are hard to justify. It wouldn't also hurt to have more prominent growth in the characters. I loved the friendships in this book though and I especially liked Nina among the secondary characters. Professor Garcia seems cool as well and I would love to have even more of the professor in the book.

Another thing I enjoyed about London Falling is the *ahem* sexy scenes, lol. Beau is already sexy in his own right but when with London, the sexiness seems to intensify. Talk about tension! Really, T.A. knows how to tease. *wink* I also like that London and Beau’s characters are opposites – this kind of pairing never ceases to make me happy and T.A. knows how to work it!

London Falling is a story about friendship, life, love and decision-making. It's a short, fun and easy read with a fast paced plot, great setting and an interesting set of characters that you won’t be able to help but root for.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Disclosure: An advance reading copy was received for free for the London Falling blog tour. No compensation of any kind was received in exchange for this honest review.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author


T.A. Foster is a Southern girl whose heart and spirit are connected to the beach. She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children and two canine kiddos.

Her long love affair with books started at an early age, and as soon as she was able, she transformed imaginative stories into words on paper.

T.A. has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing or planning her next beach trip.

[Blog Tour] Review: Where You'll Find Me + Giveaway



Where You'll Find Me
by Erin Fletcher
Kindle Edition, 211 pages
Published January 7th 2014 by Entangled: Teen
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Purchase here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes 

Synopsis:
When Hanley Helton discovers a boy living in her garage, she knows she should kick him out. But Nate is too charming to be dangerous. He just needs a place to get away, which Hanley understands. Her own escape methods—vodka, black hair dye, and pretending the past didn't happen—are more traditional, but who is she to judge?

Nate doesn't tell her why he's in her garage, and she doesn't tell him what she's running from. Soon, Hanley¹s trading her late-night escapades for all-night conversations and stolen kisses. But when Nate¹s recognized as the missing teen from the news, Hanley isn't sure which is worse: that she's harboring a fugitive, or that she's in love with one.
Review:

Where You’ll Find Me is a very fast-paced read. With only a little more than 200 pages, it still managed to weave all the threads together and unfold the mystery quite wonderfully. I love that it started right off the bat and didn’t dwell too much in the unnecessary.

Initially, I had mixed feelings about Hanley and Nate’s first meeting. On one hand, it was interesting and smile-inducing. Hanley’s reaction afterwards, on the other hand, was not something I’d expect from someone who found out that she has a stranger living in her garage. But also at the same time, this is where the story got even more interesting – which is practically only a few pages from the first one – so you can see how I had such a hard time trying to put down this book. I was immediately curious about Nate. Nate is so very secretive that even I was quickly drawn to his mysterious past. I wanted to know what brought him to Hanley’s garage especially since he didn’t seem like a street person at all. It was this mystery combined with the different dynamics that got me absorbed in this book.

I loved that Erin covered not only the romantic relationship between Nate and Hanley, but as well as friendship and familial relationships. I’m a huge romance junkie and the relationship that I’m almost always interested in books is the romantic one, so it was very much surprising how I came to love the other dynamics almost more than the romance itself.

Apart from that, we also get to witness the remarkable growth in the characters. The synopsis makes it sound like a light and easy read, but it’s really far from that. This story has depth and both our characters have so many stories to tell. Nate and Hanley are both troubled by their own personal demons and they handle their problems in different ways but in the end, they learn to supplement what the other is lacking and together they overcome the obstacles that came with them.

I always tell myself that I don’t like stories with so much drama in it and I will still try to avoid them if possible but at the same time, what I love the most about this type of stories is how the characters stand up after falling so many times. I love the happy feeling I get when the characters finally get the happiness they deserve. Where You’ll Find Me comes with a beautiful story and wraps up with an equally wonderful ending. I know some people have mixed feelings about it but I’m thankful for Erin for including it! Where You’ll Find Me is Erin’s first novel but this surely won’t be the last of her that I will read.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Disclosure: An advance reading copy was received for review for the Where You'll Find Me blog tour. No compensation of any kind was received for this honest review.  

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Erin Fletcher is a morning person who does most of her writing before sunrise while drinking excessive quantities of coffee, believes flip-flops qualify as year-round footwear, and would spend every day at the beach if she could. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics (which is almost never useful when writing books) and lives in North Carolina.

Goodreads | Website | Twitter





Click here to view the full schedule of the tour.

Manga Mondays (4): Shaman King, Volume 20 [Mt. Osore Le Voile arc Part 2]

Manga Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Alison @ Alison Can Read 

Shaman King (Shaman King, Vol. 20)
by Hiroyuki Takei
Original Title: シャーマンキング (Shaman King)
Demographic: Shonen
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural
English, Paperback, 210 pages
Published January 6th 2009 by VIZ Media LLC (first published January 6th 2004)
Purchase link: VIZ Media 

Volume Summary:
We continue to look back to the past, when Yoh and Anna were bound together and Matamune sacrificed himself to save them. But in the present, Yoh seems to have sacrificed his chance to become Shaman King, and Ren still lies unconscious. Will Lady Jeanne keep her end of the bargain and save Ren's life?




Warning: Spoilers ahead!

This is the second time I'm writing this review. I first wrote it on notepad but my laptop suddenly died on me so it all got lost. :( Anyway, volume 20 picks up right after volume 19, when Anna finally decides to go with Yoh to the temple to pray, though she was extremely reluctant, scared that she will accidentally summon an oni (ogre-like demon) most especially since it was New Years and there will be thousands of people praying in the temple, thus it will be inevitable to sense their emotions such as worries, hope and fear.

In volume 20, the readers finally understand the true reason why Matamune was sent to accompany Yoh to meet Anna. It’s because Anna’s situation greatly resembles that of Hao’s. Hao is the major villain in the series who was first born 1000 years ago and is reincarnated every 500 years in time for the Shaman fight. Hao was Matamune’s master, the one who gave him the abilities he currently possesses, and the one Matamune killed due to his evil intentions to humanity. This has never stopped plaguing Matamune’s thoughts and though Hao became evil in the long run, he was still the first person to show compassion to Matamune. It’s revealed that the reason why Matamune travelled and read a lot is because he is looking for a way to forgive himself from everything he had done to the master he loved so greatly.

I love that this arc also establishes the connection between Anna and Hao and why it is only Yoh who holds the key to defeat him. Both Anna and Hao have the reishi and the only difference is that Hao can control the onis while Anna can’t. It was mentioned in one of the chapters in SK that the reishi is born from loneliness. Everyone becomes lonely at some point in their lives, but how much loneliness does it take for that power to form? Anna was abandoned by her parents in Mt. Osore because they were scared of her powerful shamanic abilities. How does it feel like to be resented by everyone including your own family? To know exactly what they’re thinking and feeling about you? The reishi also has the power to absorb other people’s feelings so it’s not only Anna’s feelings that she’s handling. Every hate, fear, worry, greed… she knew all of these because she felt all of them.

This is where Yoh comes into the picture. Even though he knew that Anna will call forth an oni, he still took her to the temple. In another perspective, this can only look as idiocy; waiting for a tragedy to happen. But in Anna’s perspective, this is a big deal. For the first time in her life, she found someone who’s not scared of her abilities, someone who’s willing to believe in her, trust her. Yoh showed her love.

This is read from RIGHT to LEFT

I don’t know if Yoh realized it but he’s definitely bluffing there. He hardly escaped the small oni Anna summoned before and the other one before that. And I think she also knows that there's so way Yoh can defend her from her oni. But like I said, bluff or not, this is huge for Anna. The thought that someone, for the first time in her life, is willing to be by her side and help her go through her curse finally broke the walls she carefully surrounded herself with.

Even when the oo-oni (giant oni) materialized, Yoh didn’t leave her side. He fought it no matter if it’s a lost cause. Even if saving her means sacrificing an important friend to Yoh. This is also what Matamune wished he should’ve done to Hao a long time ago. He thinks that if he only believed in Hao and stayed by him as a friend, he would’ve been saved. Instead, Matamune killed him and until now, he’s still drowning in regrets. But by sacrificing himself to save Anna, maybe he can finally let go of all those regrets and move on.

In this volume, we find out that the bear claws necklace that Yoh is wearing in the whole course of the series originally came from Hao who then gave it to Matamune so that he can retain his spirit form. When his spirit died, the necklace remained and Yoh promised that when he becomes powerful enough, he would use it as a medium to call his spirit back again. Thinking this and looking back at the events in SK, I can’t help but feel sad; only knowing now that the necklace holds such important memories and promise.

Also, something I noticed about this backstory is that it’s narrated by Yoh. I initially thought this was narrated by Anna because it looked like she started the flashback, but it’s really Yoh who’s narrating it. It’s so rare that he shows affection for Anna so just by knowing that he’s thinking of his feelings for Anna and Matamune makes my heart so damn happy.

I keep telling myself that volume 19 is my favourite volume in the series, but whenever I read volume 20, I can’t help but cry. It has so much feels! Those two images are actually from volume 19 but it wouldn’t have made sense if I included them in the review of previous volume because this is where everything comes into place.

Rating:  5/5 stars

Teaser Blitz + Giveaway: A Little Too Much by Lisa Desrochers

Hey all! I'm really excited for today because I'm presenting you a smoking hot teaser from Lisa Desrochers' A Little Too Much. This is the second book in a series of companion novels, A Little Too Far. I've already read the first, A Little Too Far, and the third, A Little Too Hot, and I love, love, loved them both! Stay tuned for my review of A Little Too Hot soon as I'll be participating in its blog tour!

About the Book


A Little Too Much (A Little Too Far #2)
416 pages
Published November 12th 2013 by William Morrow Impulse
Purchase links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

Teaser 


About the Author


LISA DESROCHERS is the USA Today bestselling author of the A Little Too Far series, courtesy of HarperCollins, and the young adult Personal Demons trilogy from Macmillan. She lives in Northern
California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. Find her online at www.lisadwrites.com , on Twitter at @LisaDez, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LisaDesrochersAuthor.





Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy New Year!


Hey guys! Just want to greet you all a Happy New Year! It's officially 2014 here in the Philippines, exactly 1:05am as I'm writing this and I'm dead tired already. I can't believe 2014 is here now. Looking back at the previous year, it's almost scary how it flew by so quickly! I wasn't even able to catch the countdown or watch the fireworks displays, gee. Anyhow, hope you guys have a fun new year! Don't forget the countdown and the fireworks and most especially, do not forget to jump. Happy New Year, everyone! :)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 

Blog Template by BloggerCandy.com