Splash into Summer Giveaway Hop!

Oops. Sorry this is going up late - The kiddo's have been sick all week and it slipped my mine.

We are giving away an ARC of one of my favorite reads this year - Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti.

• All our regular rules apply 
• Contest Ends 5/31
• Fill out form to enter

Follow the hop!

One Moment Review

Title: One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Release: June 2012 by Egmont
Synopsis:

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

The latest novel from the author of The Tension of Opposites, One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.

Kristina McBride's writing intoxicates me - I can't think of a better way to explain the feeling I get after reading just a few lines. She has enticed me and makes me feel for characters I don't even know - I am hooked and I NEED to know what has happened. I can't help myself.

One Moment is told from Maggie's point of view; Maggie is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Amnesia because of something that happened moments before her boyfriend Joey died. Joey had made that jump a thousand times before - so why was this time different?  As Maggie struggles to come to terms with the death of the boy she loves and regain the last few seconds they had together; new alarming information about Joey starts to come forward... maybe he wasn't the perfect guy every thought he was.

Maggie is a very hard character to get attached to; you don't really know anything about her - just pieces here and there. Joey was her life. Usually that would aggravate me, but I liked that about her character, it made her issues more believable to me. The one problem I did have with Maggie was, how blind she was - I figured out “the secret" early on and wanted to shake some sense into her.

One Moment is a raw emotional read about love, loss and forgiveness. As you take this daunting journey with Maggie you will find yourself wondering how you would have handled the situation. I am not sure I could have been as forgiving as Maggie.

"Waiting on" Wednesday: Unspoken

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking  the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


This week we are waiting on... 

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

WHY WE WANT IT:
I seriously love Sarah Rees Brennan's writing -  she breaks boundaries, she takes risk and she makes you laugh the whole time. I can't wait to see what she is does with her next series.

Teaser Tuesday: The Unquiet

Teaser Tuesday is weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should be Reading

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

• Share the title & author.

My teaser this week comes from:

The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

Sometimes, when I dream, the deadliest moment in my life happens all over again. That's when I'm given the chance to do things differently.

Updating PTB

Hey wonderful PTB Readers!

As you can tell we're updating PTB.  We're not 100% yet after the craziness that happened  with the blogger update, but we're getting there. Please let us know what you think of our new design, what features you've seen on other blogs that you'd love to see here on PTB any anything else you might want to tell us in the feedback/comments.

We love hearing from you!

Cover Crazy: One Moment

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme started by Tawni at The Book Worms and is now being hosted by Page Turners! 


This week I am crazy about...

One Moment by Kristina McBride

Picture covers always grab my attention - it makes the story feel more realistic to me. The One Moment cover definitely stood out, I loved the coloring, its gives it a very neutral feel and makes the ripples stand out. The ripples along with the title really drew me in, how just that one thing causes the other reactions. 

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

The latest novel from the author of The Tension of Opposites, One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you

What cover are you crazy about this week?

City of Lost Souls Review

Title: City of Lost Souls
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publish Date: May 8, 2012, Simon and Schuster
Synopsis:

Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

This is such a hard review for me to write because I’m such a huge fan of Cassie’s and I love every one of her books. I really do. It bothered me to read some of the more critical reviews of City of Fallen Angels. I know it hurt to watch our beloved characters have to go through even more trials and pain, but aren’t those the very best stories in the end? Well, City of Lost Souls, is such a perfectly written story that I think even the strongest critics will have to agree with me.

You see, Cassie turns up the comedy in such a truly funny way that I found myself literally laughing out loud (not just “HA-ing” or giggling). The sarcasm and gentle jabs between the characters are so sweet and exactly what I’ve grown to expect from them. Here’s an example featuring Isabelle and Simon (from chapter 7: A Sea Change):

     “Can you tell me a story?”
      He blinked. “What kind of story?”
     “Something where the good guys win and the bad guys lose. And stay dead.”
     “So, like a fairy tale?” he asked. He racked his brain. He knew only the Disney versions of fairy tales and the first image that came to mind was Ariel in her seashell bra. He’d had a crush on her when he was eight. Not that this seemed like the time to mention it.
    “No.” The word was an exhaled breath. “We study fairy tales in school. A lot of that magic is real—but, anyway. No, I want something I haven’t heard yet.”
    “Okay, I’ve got a good one,” Simon stroked Isabelle’s hair, feeling her lashes flutter against his neck as she closed her eyes. “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”

See what I mean? And then, Cassie gives us these lovely scenes that make our hearts ache as we realize that all of the characters have matured and the world is a much more complicated place for them. There’s a bittersweet moment with just about every one of the pairings. And I won’t even mention my favorite scene in Venice on a boat…

As if all that isn’t enough, Cassie blurs the lines between Team Bad and Team Good. Oh yeah, she does it and does it well. You will be swayed by the baddest of baddies. For those who hate a cliffhanger ending, oh just you wait…you get my favorite kind of ending, a soft landing before the inevitable has to happen in the next book. I have nothing else to add except – this, THIS is exactly how a series should be written.





Our Over All Rating:




First let me just say I totally agree with Sophie's comments above.  But I wanted to add a little bit more and talk about the audiobok. 
Cassandra Clare has stepped it up with both her writing and her story telling in City of Lost Souls.  The story is emotional, full of detail (SOOO many clues! I'm now DYING for Clockwork Princess and City of Heavenly Fire), and ties together all three series (Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices) in amazing Cassie fashion.  And even though this is the middle book in the second trilogy, it doesn't have that middle book feel.  It totally could stand on its own and propels the story forward. 
City of Lost Souls picks up right where City of Fallen Angels ends.  Clary, Izzy, Simon, Alec and the whole gang are working to figure out whats going on with Jace and how they can set everything right.  Clary is also dealing with the fallout of what happened with Jace and the Angel at the lake.  (Yeah I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible for the rest of the series.)  It was a blast reading how Cassie was able to bring everything together in such a way that didn't feel like a cop-out and felt true to the story.  I also enjoyed getting more Magnus.  He's an amazing character who spans the two existing series with a beautiful story line that I'm DYING to know how it all plays out.  
I have actually not "read" a single Cassandra Clare novel, I've listened to them all on audiobook.  Molly Quinn is back for another Cassandra Clare audio and she continues her streak as an amazing narrator.  Only thing missing was having Ed Westwick back reading the male character parts, but that's just a little personal preference hehe (LOVE Ed's reading voice).  But Molly does a great job of bringing life to each character and doesn't over play the voices.  The audio had me feeling like I'm a kid again having someone read me a story, which I think, is the best compliment for any audiobook and narrator.  
If you're considering a re-read of Cassandra Clare's books, try them on audio.  All seven books are amazingly well done and I think you'll pick up on some details and ideas that you might not have picked up on while reading the story.