DON'T TOUCH ME.

A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford
Release Date: Already released! (February 22, 2011)
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Format: Paperback, 419 pages
Source: Won from Justin's Book Blog!
Description from Goodreads:

Eden didn't expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own.

And that's only the beginning of the end.

This book drew me in for a few reasons. First, the description is AMAZING. Second, I have heard many, many, many good things about this book. (The most prominent of these good things came from Kreag at I Devour Books.) And lastly, this book was more than 400 pages. What can I say? I like it when books are long enough to not end the day I start them. When adding all of this up to create my expectations for this book, I'd say that they were pretty high. I mean, I REALLY value other people's opinions when it comes to what I should and should not read. I am super happy to say that my expectations were certainly met, if not exceeded.

I thought this book would be based heavily on the whole "love" angle. Lots of books are, so really that's a realistic assumption. And I was half right. Love was somewhat important in this book, but it was not what made this story. The love had to be there, yes, but it was not really the main focus. We paid much more attention to Eden's predicaments with the Fallen and the other Siders than we did to her feelings for Az most of the time. Still, the author swooped in at just the right times to push Az back into our minds so we don't forget him.

Oh, the issues faced in this book. They thoroughly amused me and held my attention for all 400 pages. I remember how I was nearing the end of the book and hoping for more pages to magically appear so the book would not end. If that is not a sign that a book was great, I don't know what is.

Character rundown: Eden. I liked Eden! I loved how independent she was, not really reliant on her love interest like a lot of other heroines are in YA books. She does things for herself and controls what she wants to and doesn't care about anything else, and I love that. A kick-booty girl who actually takes charge. Oh, how I have waited for a girl like her in a book. Now, Az. OH, AZ. I adore Az, as I usually do with the guys in books. I love how he puts Eden first and doesn't give up on her. I tell you, it is things like these that melt my heart and win me over EVERY TIME. And it never gets old. Last, I'll say a few things about Luke. I have to admit that I swoon for Luke. The way he is described, he is a true heartthrob. I love that he is 100% evil, though. Kind of balances out his beauty. And his love. Yes, evil people find love as well. Or at least, I assume he loved her. That's what I got from certain happenings in this book. ;)

As a whole, this story was purely gorgeous. Yes, I described a STORY as gorgeous. Because this one really was. I am immensely glad I got this book, and I encourage you all to read it, if you're into the whole fallen-angels thing. . . . On second thought, even if you're not. I say anyone should give this book a try because it is not your everyday angel story. It's different, and I enjoy that! It's always nice to mix up the angel story that is so common these days.

Okay, that's it, Friends! Before I bid you all good day, though, I want to send a thousand thanks to:

Justin from Justin's Book Blog - DUDE. I love your blog! I visit, like, every day. And I tend to comment a lot. But still, your blog is on my list of favorites. Thank you so much for this book!

and

Kreag from I Devour Books - Because you're just awesome. Seriously, your best friend badge is ULTRA shiny right now. Yeah, even shinier than mine. That is an accomplishment, my friend. Thank you for being first to steal my blog button!

All right, now that's really it, folks. Thank y'all for reading my reivew and visiting my blog!

Stay safe until next post, Friends!

♥Jessica(:

Teaser Tuesday! (5)

Do you want to participate in Teaser Tuesdays? It's simple and hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. All you have to do is:

-Grab your current read

-Open to a random page

-Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

-BE CAREFUL NOT T INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

-Share the title & author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Yes, it is TEASER time!
Today, I decided to give you a teaser from a book I read in less than a day. Yeah, it was THAT good. So, I was going to give you a couple of sentences that made me laugh, but they may not be as fun unless they're in context. Instead, I'll give you a couple OTHER sentences said by the same swoon-worthy character. They are said by a boy named Robbie *SWOON* Needless to say, I'm on his team ;)

"'I'm sorry... Good morning, Sofia,' he said sweetly, but I could still hear the slightest bit of sarcasm in his voice. 'You and lover boy over there should probably get up if you don't want to be late for school.'" ~Chapter 8, Redheads are Soulless, Heather M White

**NOTICE that this is quoted from an ARC, therefore may change at any time. It's not set in stone, people, though it leads up to some GREAT lines . . . **


My review for Redheads are Soulless will be up on Thursday, so be sure to stop by and learn more about this AMAZING book!

Please feel free to leave links to your own teasers and whatnot, and I'll try to check them out!

♥Jessica(:

PASSION♥

 

Passion by Lauren Kate
Release Date: Already Released! (June 14, 2011)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format: Hardcover, 420 pages
Source: Borrowed from Monica at Cover Analysis :)

Description from Goodreads:
Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

Sweeping across centuries, PASSION is the third novel in the unforgettably epic FALLEN series.

Passion was one of those books that I read because I had to to get to the next book in the series. I really liked the first book, despite the boring beginning, and I truly enjoyed the second book, even though there was so much petty arguing that really got too repetitive. So I decided to read this book because I seriously want to read this whole series. I was SO excited to read this book. I think I expected too much. Either way, I have to admit I was disappointed by this book.

The thing about this book was that it was so boring, in my opinion. There were some parts that caught and held my attention, yes, but those were not as often as I would have liked them to be. Another thing about this story was that a lot of it was very scattered. We just kept on getting sent to random places at random times and I couldn't understand why. I mean, yeah, Luce wanted to see "proof" of her and Daniel's love, but that doesn't seem a good enough reason to jump through time repeatedly. For most of this book, I didn't feel like there was a main plot holding everything together. My point here: we had to wait too long for explanations. Being confused or half of the book - more or less - is not the way to hold my attention.

All that said, this book was not COMPLETELY horrible. I did like seeing into some of Luce's past lives and learning about Cam's past. I liked to see Daniel's past self, too, because I DID have some serious doubt as to their "love" until I read this book. Before it seemed very much like lust misconstrued as love. I'm pretty confident in the love now, though. (I just want to point out that even though I was doubtful, I wasn't really questioning the love between Daniel and Luce becasue I thought this concept was sweet and I tend to be an optimist when it comes to these kinds of things.) Also, there were some completely heartfelt moments in here that I loved. Not as much as I'd like, but still, some were there.

Character rundown: Luce. I. Do. Not. Like. Her. At. All. I really really really do not. She just grates on my nerves. So whiny, and ignorant, and DOUBTFUL. I mean, I'm allowed to have doubts about Daniel; it's my job as a reader to do so. But Luce should have been 100% sure of him the whole way through. I don't see any reason for her to really not be. I find it almost amusing how skeptical Luce is about Daniel, and yet she trusted Bill so completely in this book. Grr. Daniel. OH DANIEL. I really like Daniel. I don't know why, but I do. It's probably because of his strong love for Luce. That kind of thing always gets me. Cam - OH CAM. I swear, this book is so incredibly hard for me to pick a team for because Cam is so amazing, yet Daniel just has the feeling that I wish Cam did. Cam never fails to make me laugh, either. Never a bad thing, that.

Lastly, Bill. The whole Bill situation really disappointed me for Luce's sake. How could she be so unintelligent? You'd think she'd have grown some common sense in her brain and not be so quick to take a random being for his word. Plus, I wonder if Luce realizes that a WINK is NOT a yes, or even an answer for that matter. And "sure" isn't exactly a yes either. I knew who Bill was from the moment he showed up, at page 82 or something. I did like Bill, though. He was a good comedic relief in all of Luce's irritating-ness. I'm glad he was in this book, because otherwise, I may have taken FOREVER to read this book.

All in all, I'm just glad I got through this book so I can read the next one when it comes out in June. I'm going to a Lauren Kate book signing, so I needed to get this out of the way. I have high hopes for the next book, though, especially now that we get to see all the characters again. I missed them in this book. Honestly, the only way I even read this book as fast as I did was the motivation to just finish it so I could move on with my life. Well, that and because I don't want to keep Monica's book for TOO long.

Okay . . . yeah, that's it, Friends. Thank you for reading my review, and thank you so much to Monica for letting me borrow Passion! I highly doubt I would have gotten to read it by the time of the signing in June if not for you. Consider your best friend badge extra shiny for today!

Be sure to come by again tomorrow for a wonderful teaser of Redheads are Soulless by heather M White. I read that whole book on Friday night, and LOVED it. I cannot wait to tease you with some sentences from there!

See y'all soon!

♥Jessica(:

Showcase Sunday! (1)

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky from Books, Biscuits, and Tea! This is where I (the blogger) tell y'all (the blog readers) about the wonderful books I got this week! For more information about Showcase Sunday, you can click HERE. (I am not participating in IMM anymore, for reasons we have all heard about. I will support these types of things, and that is all I have to say on the matter.) Now let's see what I got this week!

(Just click on the covers to go to the Goodreads page!)

FROM THE LIBRARY (Usually my main book source - I love that place!):



Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors. I LOVE Suzanne Selfors. She is one of those authors that I will read pretty much anything by (as long as it's YA).

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder. I've read a few good reviews on this book, and it looks really good. So I thought :what the keck," and grabbed it from the library. I think I'll like it. I suppose we'll all see, yes? ;)

Diabolical (Tantalize #4) by Cynthia Leitich Smith. I never read the first book of this series - Tantalize (my library does not have this book). I HAVE, however, read the two books after that - Eternal and Blessed (my library DOES have these books). I really enjoyed those books, so I am SO glad my library got this book so I could read it. Plus, this author is from Austin!

A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian. I TOLD you I'd read another one of Siobhan's books! And now here I am about to live up to my word. We shall see what I think about THIS book as well, yes?

IN THE MAIL:

I didn't get any books in the mail this week, but I DID get a gorgeous jumbo Remembrance bookmark from Michelle Madow.

BOUGHT:

I honestly think this one deserves a drum roll because I am INFINITELY elated to have gotten this book this week. Ready for it? *Drumroll*

The Selection by Kiera Cass!!!!!!! I swear, I was at Barnes and Noble, and this book was, like, calling to me. Does that make me sound crazy? It probably does, but those of us who LOVE books have probably experienced this before. Even if you haven't, you could probably at least UNDERSTAND what I mean here. I picked up this book and just KNEW I'd be taking it home with me. Now I can't wait to get to it on my TBR list. I think I may have to bump it up a bit, seeing as how this book is mocking me from my TBR pile right now.

All right, that's all I got this week! Thank y'all for checking out my post, and please feel free to leave links to your own weekly haul posts and whatnot!

Until next post, Friends!

♥Jessica(:

Yes, Girls Play Football, Too ;)

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
Release Date: Already released! (December 1, 2011)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Paperback, 281 pages
Source: Bought

Blurb from Goodreads:

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starting position... suddenly she's hoping he'll see her as more than just a teammate.              

This book made me so happy. There was so much more to it than I thought there would be before I started reading it. Looking at the description, this book seems to be just a book about a girl who plays football and then gets confused when she falls for a teammate. This book is so, so much more.

The relationships in this book are riveting. The team, how well linked and familiar they are with each other, made me smile so many times. I love it when people have bonds like that. And, speaking of bonds, the friendship between Jordan, Carter, Henry, and JJ was one of those that made me wish I could be included. They've got each others' backs when it comes down to it, and nothing can really change that. Narrowing it down a bit, the relationship between Jordan and Henry was so obvious, yet so unique. I'll talk more about this later, though. I'll talk about Jordan's relationship with Ty then, too.

But first, Jordan's relationship with her dad. What I truly loved about this is that it added more depth to the story. It added a conflict, but not a desperate one. You know those random problems that are sometimes thrown into stories just to add something? This is not one of them. It is genuine and rational and made this story that much more interesting to read. I loved watching their relationship evolve throughout the book. That kind of thing makes my heart melt.

Character Rundown time! Jordan. Believe it or not, I REALLY liked Jordan. She has guts that I know I wish I had. And she's confident, but not in a witch-with-a-b kind of way. More of in a . . . quarterback way. Yes, this makes perfect sense. She knows where she stands and doesn't let anyone or anything change that. I was proud of Jordan's arc in this book. Her mind became wider and she dealed with her problems in a way that didn't make me want to slap somebody, which is always a good sign.

Ty. Oh, Ty. He started off as the super amazing gorgeous guy I was kind of happy Jordan had. But then he changed. We learned more about him, saw different sides of him. It's nothing too dramatic, but still - neediness can only last for so long. Now, Henry - OH HENRY. I was on Henry's side from the very beginning. It was sort of obvious what would happen between him and Jordan, but there were certain aspects of this . . . revelation that threw me for a loop, so it wasn't over-predictable. I adore Henry. (I seriously love the word "adore.") He is just . . . I can't even find words to describe him. Sweet, maybe. But that barely skims the surface of his amazingness. Certainly attractive, but then again - I would expect nothing less ;)

My point: definitely some characters worth reading about. Oh, and JJ, too. He had me laughing so much. And Carter. I think I should have saved the word "sweet" for him. I think the word was INVENTED for him. So much love here.

The ending. Such an open ending. And I don't mean that in a way that left me wanting. I mean that in the sense that the end of this book felt free. Yes, FREE. If you don't understand what I mean, just know that this is a good thing and get your hands on this book and read it!

All in all, I am immensely glad I chose to buy this book (along with Divergent) with my Easter money. Catching Jordan was worth all $8.99 + tax. I reccommend this book to any girl who wants to read about a confident female lead who can actually stand up for herself. And to anyone who wants to read a super-amazing contemporary that is NOT just the same-old story of boy-meets-girl, they fall in love. So much more to this book. AH, I love it!

Thank you for reading my review, and be sure to check out my other ones and visit again to see more!

Until next post, Friends!

♥Jessica(:

Dude, it's Friday! (+Winners!)

So, I've been gone for a few days. I KNOW you're all wondering where I was, because y'all probably missed me terribly ;) Well, Friends, my computer does not like me. At all. So it decided to have trouble and we had to fix it. But now it's fixed, and I'm back, and we're all happy again. And it's Friday! The very best day of the week! (In my opinion, anyway.)

All right, now that you know where I've been, it's time for me to announce the WINNER of my giveaway! What giveaway, do you ask? Well, I had a very nice giveaway during the Capture Blog Hop for a nice author named Brina Courtney. I gave away one ecopy of her book Reveal, and another ecopy of her book Capture. So, who won these wonderful things? Well, the winner is . . . . *drum roll*

Sherlyn!

I've e-mailed Sherlyn, and if she doesn't reply within the next two days, I will pick a new winner. Thank you to everybody for entering my giveaway, adn be sure to keep visiting my blog! I have lots of great things in the works!

Now, for other things . . .

Y'all remember Jana, right? The amazing person who designed my blog button and just continues to be one of the awesomest blogger friends I have? The one whom I gave a shiny best friend badge to recently? Well, this week, I did a guest post on her blog! She asked a bunch of bloggers about what their book would be like if they were to write one (I was among these bloggers, obviously) and is now posting what the bloggers said each month. I had the serious honor of being the first response she posted! So, if you want to check it out, you can do so HERE. I LOVE the picture she added, and how she highlighted the main points of my answers. I think Jana may be a bit of a genius.

Okay, so I know you are all probably wondering what I'm going to do concerning posts. I've missed a few I was supposed to have posted (which you'd know if you've glanced at my left sidebar, but if you haven't you know now) and am someqhat behind. SO, here is what you can expect from me in the next few days (I'll also post this on my sidebar):

5/5 - REVIEW of Catching Jordan

5/6 - Showcase Sunday!

5/7 - REVIEW of Passion

5/8 - Teaser Tuesday! (I haven't picked what book yet, but I KNOW it'll be a great teaser, regardless)

5/9 - REVIEW of A Touch Mortal

And that's all I have planned for now! When I have further plans made, they will be posted on my sidebar.

All right, Friends, that is all I have to share with you today. I'm sorry I've been absent the past few days, and thank you so much for checking out/following/supporting my blog!

♥Jessica(:

(LATE) Teaser Tuesday! (4)

I am aware that this is late, but I REALLY wanted to give y'all a teaser of this book I finished reading a couple days ago. It was AMAZING, and I'll have a review of this up tomorrow (Thursday) night.

Do you want to participate in Teaser Tuesdays? It's simple and hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. All you have to do is:

-Grab your current read

-Open to a random page

-Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

-BE CAREFUL NOT T INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

-Share the title & author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Now what is this phenominal book I've been reading? Well, let's see, shall we? (And I am also aware that this is only one sentence. But I thought this would be an amazing teaser and it's a long sentence, so it all works out.)

"For what it's worth, Dad says, running his fingers over the picture, "I've never seen anyone run faster than Henry after you hurt your knee last week." ~pg. 263, Catching Jordan, Miranda Kenneally

All right, that's my teaser! NOW, y'all should go checkout my GIVEAWAY I have going on! You can win ebooks AND/OR signed paperbacks/$15 Amazon giftcard!

(If you missed the link to the GIVEAWAY, you can click HERE to get there!)

Keep your eyes out for my review of Catching Jordan on Thursday, Friends!

♥Jessica(: