Review: Wait For You by J. Lynn♥

Wait For You by J. Lynn
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Format: ebook, 332 pages
Publisher: Avon
Series: Wait For You #1
Source: Edelweiss

Description from Goodreads:
Some things are worth waiting for…

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for…

How do I explain how I feel about Wait For You? Because I'm seriously not sure about this right now. First and foremost I should tell you this: it was awesome. But that's a vague statement. WHY is this story so awesome?

First, the characters. Jen's writing is wonderful, but I love her characters the very most, and Wait For You was no exception. Avery was somewhat annoying to me in the sense that she spent so much time running from everything. She didn't face things and that bothered me, especially when it affected her relationships with people. A certain person in particular, actually. Hehe. But other than that, I liked Avery more and more as the story went on and I learned more about her. Then I understood her better and her decisions didn't grate on me as much. CAM. Then there is Cam. Just thinking about Cam right now makes me giggle. He is kind and funny and I want him to be real so I can touch him. I mean...heh. He bakes cookies and has a pet turtle named Raphael. I swear, JLA writes some of the best guys. Other than our two main characters, there are supporting characters that I enjoyed so much. They were amusing, and I always like seeing interactions with friends. Couple-y things are fantastic! But it's nice to see regular interactions with other people, too. Oh, and I'm talking both Cam AND Avery's friends here. I liked them all.

But my love for this book goes beyond the characters, obviously. The writing. I don't know how Jen does it. I'm thinking it's some supernatural-type explanation because really. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? She writes the best dialogue, she writes the best kissy scenes, she writes the best awkward scenes, she write the best... I actually have a long list of this in my head right now, but I'm guessing you get my point. Her writing pulls you in and keeps you there with a freaking chokehold or something. But it's the most lovely chokehold that ever existed.

The story. Honestly, not much surprised me about this book. I knew what Avery's secret was and it wasn't incredibly difficult to guess what Cam's issues were. This is one of those cases, though, where that doesn't matter. Because the story is written well and the situations are still so incredibly interesting. Plus, Cam and Avery's story is super sweet, even with the heavy topics strewn within. They work through it and it is magnificent.

Overall, Wait For You is a terrific book that will make you feel all tingly inside. It was the first contemporary book I read by JLA, but goodness knows it will not be my last. I loved it! And I am so excited for Trust in Me and Be With Me. More Cam and then more awesome. Lots and lots of awesome. Eeep!

♥Jessica(:

First Excerpt of FIRE & FLOOD by Victoria Scott!

All members of the V Mafia (and the awesome people who signed up to help with this) got a super cool email yesterday with the VERY FIRST EXCERPT OF FIRE & FLOOD inside! Obviously I'm going to share it with you. I mean, come on. Of course I'm showing you the awesome. You need this in your life.

I can't even explain to you how much I adore Fire & Flood. It's a seriously kickass book, I can tell you that. So much cool stuff, and the Pandoras are some of my favorite things ever. Which means I did such a happy dance when THIS excerpt landed in my inbox...eeep!

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott--Excerpt #1

 

I drove across the US of A, left my family without an explanation, and now I’m either too late or there was never anything here to begin with. F my life. Rearing back, I kick the door as hard as I can. Then I wrap both hands around the door handles and release a noise like a wild banshee as I pull back.

The doors swing open.

I’m not sure whether to celebrate or freak out. I decide to do neither and slip inside. As I walk around the inside of the museum, listening to the sound of my footsteps echo off the walls, I imagine I am moments from death. It’s sad, I think, that this is all it takes to break my sanity.

Two curling flights of stairs bow out from the first-floor lobby, and red and white tiles cover the floors. There are gilded picture frames everywhere. So many that I think the placement of the frames — and not their contents — is the real art. Everything, absolutely everything, smells like wax. I mosey up to an abandoned reception desk and leaf through the glossy pamphlets littering the surface. I hold one of the pamphlets up to my nose. Yep, wax.

I glance around, having no idea what to look for. Will there be a sign like at school registration? Students with last names A–K this way?

On my left, I notice a long hallway dotted with doors on either side. Nothing looks particularly unusual. But when I glance to my right, I spot something. There’s a door at the end of the corridor that has a sliver of light glowing beneath it. I’m sure it’s just an administration office, one where someone forgot to flip the switch. But I’ve got nothing better to go on, so I head toward it.

I pause outside the door, wondering if I’m about to get busted for B&E. Then I turn the handle and find myself at the top of another winding staircase.

You’ve got to be kidding me. What is this, Dracula’s bachelor pad?

I’ve watched a lot of scary movies, and I’ve learned nothing good is ever at the bottom of a winding staircase. Pulling in a breath and preparing myself to be eaten alive, I head down. My shoes are loud against the steps. So loud, I imagine they are intentionally trying to get me killed.

 

When I reach the final few stairs, I ready myself to look around the bend. My heart is racing, and I secretly pray the worst I encounter is an angry janitor with a wax addiction. I turn the bend — and my eyes nearly pop from my skull.

The enormous room is perfectly circular, dotted with candles to light the space. Surrounding the walls are rows and rows of dark, rich mahogany bookshelves. A large round table stands in the center of the red-and-white-tiled floor. The room is spectacular, but what it holds is so jarring, my ears ring.

Across every shelf, every spot on the table, every tile on the floor — are small sculptures of hands. And in a few of those hands — the ones still performing their duty — are eggs. There are only nine eggs left, it seems. For a moment, I imagine how amazing it would have been to see each hand holding an egg, but it’s enough just to see these nine.

The eggs seem to dance in the candle flame, and as I move closer, I realize why. The surfaces of the eggs are almost iridescent, their colors changing depending on how you look at them. They are different sizes, too; some as big as a basketball, others as small as a peach.

I don’t need the device in my pocket to tell me what my gut already knows.

This is the Pandora Selection Process.

~~~

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Release Date: February 25, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic

Description from Goodreads:
A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own.

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?


*flails* What'd you think?!

♥Jessica(:

Top Ten Books I'd Love to See as TV Shows/Movies

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

 

TV/Movie adaptations! This isn't something I always put much thought to while reading, but if I were to see news that these were becoming a thing, I'd happy dance around my living room.

 

My Top Ten Books I'd Love to See as TV Shows/Movies:

 

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

 

This whole series would make some kickass movies or a supremely kickass TV show. It was one of the first ones to come to mind when I saw the topic for this week--so long as they cast a super gorgeous Christophe, and he better have an irresistible accent. I will stand for no less.

 

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

I'm trying to keep this one off lists until more people have read it, but this was literally the first book that came to mind for this. It would be such an epic movie, for real. Those Pandoras! Tella being all bubbly! And oh sweet baby goodness Guy Chambers... *dies*

 

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

It would be so cool! Bennett on the big screen? Yes, please. And then there's that time travel thing.

 

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I know this one is already sort of happening, but it has to be on the list anyway. This series is so near and dear to my heart. This would be awesome, especially if it made it all the way to Origin? Awwww, man.

 

Don't Die, My Love by Lurlene McDaniel

 

I love Lurlene McDaniel's books, and I can totally see them turning into Nicholas Sparks-ish movies. I mean, this book makes me cry EVERY. TIME.

 

The Collector by Victoria Scott

I can see this as a TV series. Dante being his badass self, collecting souls, and then (ideally) liberating 'em. ;)

 

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

I have two reasons for this:

1) Amy's (and Avi's) shenanigans would be so fun to WATCH.

2) There are few things I wouldn't do for Avi to be real, even if it's only for me to ogle on the big screen.

 

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

This is one of those books that has a really cool premise that could have been done better, but I can't help but love it nonetheless. And I have my fascination with werewolves. And a love for Riley. *shrugs*

 

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Wouldn't this be so freaking awesome?! You CANNOT tell me that it wouldn't.

 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

A movie that will mess with your mind! That's always fun, eh?

 

Wow...I'm already at ten. I thought this would be a lot harder to do than it was. Umm... runner up is Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I was torn between Mara and UtNS on that last one.

 

What do you think of my picks? What would you have put on your list? If you participate in TTT, be sure to link me up so I can see!

 

♥Jessica(:

Stacking the Shelves #6 ♥ I HAVE ORIGIN!!!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

 

So I may or may not have gotten something awesomely exciting (for me) this week...

 

 

And I may or may not have spent a good amount of time fangirling about it in my video this week...

 

 

 

Books Mentioned:

Forever Innocent by Deanna Roy

A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers

Unchained by J. Lynn

Hooked by Catherine Greenman

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray

Death and Mr. Right by Kendra L. Saunders

Whisper Falls by Elizabeth Langston

Extracted by Sherry D. Ficklin & Tyler H. Jolley

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

Authors/Bloggers Mentioned:

Tiffany King

Victoria Scott

ARCycling

 

What do you think? Link me to your hauls and tell me things! :)

 

♥Jessica(:

A Bunch of Things I've Been Meaning to Tell You

I've been meaning to do an update-type post for a while now. There are a bunch of things I've been meaning to tell you, and a few questions I've been meaning to address in a blog post because...well, why not?  But as I'm sure you've figured out, I am perpetually lazy, so I've been putting it off. And putting it off. And... Yeah, you get the point.

BUT TODAY I'M DOIN' IT!

You may already know some of this stuff. But there are some people who don't know, so I'm letting them in on the shenanigans.

I blog over at YA Bound. This is the part where some of you are like "DUH." But I never did make an official post announcing this, which was something I'd intended to do. I've mentioned it in a video or something, I think. But that doesn't matter--I'm telling you now. Originally I posted over there on Saturdays, but the ladies over at YA Bound (and those "ladies" includes me, which makes me want to happy-flail!) are working on something fun for Saturdays. So I'm either going to post Fridays or Sundays. I'm not sure which, but I think I'm leaning towards Sundays. Does it matter to you? Let me know! Because I suck at making decisions. I need your input! Oh, and I participate in Swoon Thursdays, too. Those are always great, so you should check those out. If you wanna follow because you freaking rock, you can click HERE to head over to YA Bound real quick :)

I also blog over at Bookish. I DID make a post for this, so I'm just reminding you/telling people who maybe missed the post. For more info on this, click HERE!

I'm Victoria Scott's assistant! It was already known that I'm Victoria Scott's Super Fan (which doesn't mean much other than I fangirl a lot), but over the summer, she was looking for an assistant intern person. I applied, went through interviews, and apparently said something right because she picked me. So, WOOT! For more info on the assistant thing, you can click HERE. It's just a post introducing me as V's assistant. You may have already seen it. If you're one of the people who commented on her post, you rock and I think you're awesome. You made me smile so hard, for real.

I'm making videos now! Okay, so "making videos" is a wee bit of a stretch. I film myself rambling about books and Victoria Scott's face, then post it on YouTube. Then I put the video here on the blog for you to see. You can check those out whenever! I posted one on Tuesday, and I do Stacking the Shelves now, so I predict most of those posts will contain videos.

How do you know if you've won one of my giveaways? In case you hadn't noticed, I don't announce winners. At all. In any way, shape, or form. There are several reasons why I don't, one of which being the lazy thing. But if I don't announce them, how do you know if you've won? Within two days of the giveaway ending, I email the winner. So far, the winner has replied within a couple of hours and claimed their prize almost every time. One time, though, the winner took a bit to reply, so I tweeted about it. I didn't give away the person's name or anything (because if I'm not going to announce winners, I'm sticking with it through and through), but I tweeted that if you'd entered my giveaway to check your email. Within an hour the person responded. So, moral of this story? Follow me on Twitter. Or don't and just keep an eye on my tweets for a few days after my giveaways end. But I have a point here--how do you know to stop checking? You see the "Current Giveaways" section on my right sidebar? Probably your favorite part of my blog, eh? ;) Well, when the winner has claimed their prize, I take the giveaway off that list.

Does that make sense? So, when the giveaway isn't listed on my sidebar, that means the prize has been claimed, funzies taken care of, and that's it for this time around.

Is it Just a Booklover or Just a Book Lover? Technically, it's Just a Booklover. That's how I spell it; that's how I've always spelled it. However, I'm not picky about it. If you prefer to spell it Book Lover, then go for it. They're both me, as far as I know.

What's going on with my reviews? (Yes, someone seriously asked me this.) A majority of my reviews are written in a specific format:

- A paragraph or two of intro, sometimes three if I have more to say
- Character Rundown
- Plot
- Romance (or something to that affect. Sometimes it'll be Relationships)
- The Ending
- Overall

But recently, I've been writing reviews in regular paragraphs. Which apparently is weird? I don't think it is. I made the outline thing (which isn't as original as I'm about to make it sound--lots of people use outlines in reviews) as a way to guide me through a review. Because sometimes? I don't know what to say. And having the structure can be helpful. But other times, I like to just...write. Recently, I've been more in the mood to run with whatever I typed. That doesn't mean I'll never use my outline thingy again. I don't think I really intended to make it mandatory for me to write a review that way. It was simply what worked for me at that time, so I did it that way.

I think the big thing is that my character rundown was fun? No matter what, I always comment on the characters in reviews, though. Their names just aren't bolded. So...yeah. I know a majority of the people are going to read this section about the reviews are going to be like "Okay...I didn't know it mattered." And it probably doesn't. I don't think it does. But someone was curious, so why not?

I'm back in school. School started last week for me. I'm a senior this year! Normally, going back to school would prompt me to be like "I'm going to slow down" and blah blah blah. But I'm not doing that this year. Because I never really end up slowing down. And I don't WANT to. The only time I might would be around exams, but we have time until then, and I'll let you know when it happens. I only bring the school thing up for three reasons:

1) I may take a little longer to respond to emails, tweets, etc. I don't check that stuff at school. Occasionally I check my email, but it's even more rare for me to reply if I DO check at school.

2) If you email me on a Thursday, chances are I won't reply until Friday. I only noticed this around the end of last school year, but I tend to let emails on Thursday sit in my inbox until Friday, when I have more time. That probably falls into the lazy category. It's not too big of a deal, though. And it isn't e definite thing. It's not a definite I WILL NOT REPLY, it's just a warning that I might not. Thursdays are usually the days I'm starting to wind down because Friday starts the weekend finally, thank goodness. You know?

3) Sundays are iffy for me, too. This isn't a lazy thing, though. This is a family thing. I tend to go to my brother's house on Sundays. Which means I'm away from my computer. I bring my Kindle (of course), but I prefer to reply to emails on the computer because then I don't have autocorrect trying to act like a know-it-all. I tend to be ALL OVER Twitter, however. So you can totes still say heeeeey! :)

More videos? I probably should have had this up in the "I'm making videos now!" section, but this kind of goes with the school thing, so I waited. I was thinking about maybe doing one video every week. Maybe. I'm not SURE what the videos would be about, but I think it could be a good way to do something that's not the same old same old every day, plus I like the video thing. They're fun to make, despite the fact that technology hates me. If you would watch the videos I make, let me know! And if you have any ideas for what you want me to awkwardly ramble about, let me know, too!

Are you or are you not doing memes? Technically, I do Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday, and Stacking the Shelves. I don't do all of these every single week. Partly because that's three out of seven days of the week solely for memes. I can (and do) post more than just a meme on any given day, but still. Another part of why I don't post them every single week is I forget. That mostly goes for WoW, but sometimes TTT, too. StS gets put on hold sometimes because I make the videos, and if I get only one book in a week, I'd rather wait until I have more to SHOW you in the video. And another reason I sometimes don't do TTT is because I can't always think of ten things to list. Sometimes I'm completely lost on what to list. So I skip that week and move on with my life. I LOVE TTT, though.

Sweet baby goodness, this post is long. I'm pretty sure this is all I've had to say, though. If you read all of this mess, thank yoooou! I'll try not to condense all updates from now on, so the update posts are not soooooooooo long like this one.

I asked a few questions in this post I'd love if you answered for me!
- Does it matter to you whether I post on Fridays or Sundays over on YA Bound? If you have any input on this, let me know!
- If I posted more videos, would y'all like that? And more importantly, would you watch them?
- Do you have any ideas for things you'd like me to talk about in the videos?
- Or, going beyond videos, any posts you'd like me to do in general? I'm by no means an expert on anything, but is there anything you'd like to hear my two cents about?

All right, y'all let me know!

♥Jessica(:

Every Shattered Thing by Elora Ramirez Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway!)

 

 

Every Shattered Thing by Elora Ramirez

Release Date: August 27, 2013

Format: eARC

Source: Inkslinger PR in exchange for an honest review

 

Description from Goodreads:

Stephanie fights reality every day. The voices inside, the ones declaring her worth, deem her broken, used and dirty. She is an object. A toy. Something to be tossed aside when bored. Who will believe her if she whispers the truth about her wrecking ball of a family? Eventually, her secret explodes and the person who means the most to her knows just how shattered she is and why she's so afraid. But rescue is closer than she realizes. Hidden in plain sight, her horror hasn’t been ignored by everyone. Racing against the truth of what she faces, forces are joining together and developing a plan to free her from the hell in her own backyard. And while she’s at her lowest point, she’s hit with the beauty of love at any cost - redemption in the face of ruin. Will it be enough?

*Warning: Contains mature content that may not be suitable for younger audiences*

 

This is one of those heavy subject books that seems so interesting when you first see it, then you pick it up and actually start reading and kind of remember that yeah, you actually have a heart. And it doesn't just swoony-swoon over Guy Chambers. It cares about things. And it actually CAN care about a female MC, even when you don't necessarily like her a whole lot.

 

I don't particularly like Stephanie. She was boring to me. But I'm not even going to try to pretend I exactly know what it's like to live her life. Through her eyes, though, it was extremely frustrating. It's not even like her predicament was a huge secret. And...just...FRUSTRATION.

 

But, you know what? I like this book. Because it CAN frustrate me for an actual, logical reason that makes me THINK. I'm a firm believer that when a book gets into my brain this much because it portrays serious issues that well, then it's something worth paying attention to.

 

Honestly, it's not my favorite novel addressing something serious like this, but it IS a good one. It held my attention and curiosity, and it told a story that I'm glad to have read. The writing wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad, either. I just felt that the vocabulary was somewhat out of place at times. Words were used in such a fashion that they didn't feel entirely real, like something Stephanie or Kevin or maybe even Jude would say if they were people I knew in real life.

 

Okay, not that I've mentioned both Kevin and Jude, I'll tell you this--no. No love triangle. Jude is a father-figure to Stephanie and I think he's great. I adore Kevin, too, but actually in a book boyfriend way for him. I think Stephanie is so, so lucky to have both of these people in her life, as well as Emma. I thought Emma was awesome.

 

Overall, I would definitely recommend Every Shattered Thing if you can handle the dark premise and it's something you enjoy reading. Rest assured, Elora Ramirez does a superb job at doing this topic justice.

 

About the Author

Elora Ramirez lives in Austin, Texas with her chef-husband. At the age of four, she taught herself how to read and write, cutting her teeth on books like Dr. Suess and writing anywhere she could find the space—including her Fisher Price kitchen set, the pages of picture books and Highlights Magazine. Since then, she's grown to love the way words feel as they swell within her bones. Writing holy and broken is her calling, and pushing back the darkness and pursuing beauty through story is her purpose. She loves hip-hop, wishes she lived by the beach and cannot write without copious amounts of coffee, chocolate, and her husband's lavender liqueur.

 

Author Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

Giveaway

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

♥Jessica(:

September TBR ♥ A Video of Jessica Being Awkward

So some bloggers do posts every month to sum up their month or show what's to come on the blog and whatnot. Other bloggers do vlogs for this.

I chose to do a vlog.

This is that vlog.

 

And that is it. COMMENT THINGS. (I'm really not helpful today, am I? *sigh*)

 

Also, I heart you! Also, Fangirl still makes me happy-dance!

 

Also, Victoria Scott...I think I've said enough for today, actually...

 

*hides*

 

♥Jessica(: