Earlier today I posted about a controversy surrounding a soon-to-be released YA novel, The Continent.

A short time ago Harlequin Teen, the imprint publishing the book, tweeted this statement.

Translation: since none of us in the editing department actually has any non-white friends who could've told us better, we really fucked this one up to be damned, so now we're making her rewrite the entire book to cover all our asses.  Peace.  One love.

Wonder what all those basement dwelleing jackholes talking smack about black women anyone having issues with the book have to say now?

This review is also available on my blog, Bows & Bullets Reviews

A heartbeat is the only thing keeping Emma's mom alive. She's brain dead with no chance of recovery. She's only being kept "alive" to support the life of the infant growing within her. This was Dan, Emma's stepdad's decision, and Emma is beyond angry at him and the rest of the world for this. She just wants to talk to her mother. She knows her mom could help her sort out her emotions, but that's never going to happen. Then she notices Caleb Harrison. He's the town bad boy and the old Emma never would have cared. The new Emma notices something familiar in his eyes, a grief that no one else seems to understand. And being with Caleb makes her feel alive again, finally. She doesn't spend every second with him consumed by the longing to discuss her issues with her mom again. As they days tick by and the countdown to her dead mother's c-section continues, Emma has some hard decisions to make and some terrible realities to come to terms with. Can she make the best of it or will she continue on her downward spiral?

I don't know that I could handle Emma's situation as well as she does. She is incredibly close to her mom and her step-dad and then her mom dies and suddenly all Dan (her step-dad) cares about is his unborn child. Emma is no longer a consideration where her baby brother is concerned and her opinion is unwanted and unnecessary. And she's forced to go and see her dead mother every single day. Every day she has to look at her dead mother's corpse as she incubates a tiny life inside her. A life that Emma can't help but resent. This little thing is responsible for her mother's death. Her mother was a high risk pregnancy because of her age. Her mother only got pregnant again because Dan wanted a baby and it killed her. So how is she taking it? Not well, as you can imagine. This former straight-A, goodie two shoes suddenly doesn't care about anything. She doesn't do her school work or even pay attention in class and she spends her afternoons staring at her ceiling grieving the loss of her mother and Dan's betrayal. She flat-out ignores Dan and his attempts to fix the situation. This irritated me at first. It seems childish. But the further in you get, the more you can't help but side with her. Dan is doing his best, that is true, but sometimes you're best isn't enough, is it? The further in you get, the more you realize that he doesn't chase after her when she walks away. He doesn't beat down the door she locks him is face. He tries, but he isn't giving it his all and Emma knows that more than anyone.

I loved Caleb almost instantly. He completely understands Emma's plight and his own might be worse. His little sister died a few years back and his parents credit it as his fault. It isn't really. She got hit by a car while riding a bike and she wasn't wearing a helmet so she was gone instantly. How they believe it was his fault is beyond me. He wasn't driving the car that hit her and he certainly didn't encourage her to ride in the road with no helmet, but they act like pushed her in front of the car. They are downright cruel to him. He lashes out in the only way he knows how, drugs and crime sprees. That's how he got that bad boy reputation. He's incredibly sweet to Emma and they connect in a way that neither of them expect. He is there for her in a way that no one else is. Even Emma's best friend, who sticks by her despite the drastic personality change, doesn't quite understand what she's going through. But Caleb does and he makes a point to be there for her when she needs him.

This heartbreaking story had me from minute one. It's written in short chapters that I flew through to find out what happened next. You want to see that confrontation between Emma and Dan. When you get there, trust me, it's better and worse than you imagined. You just want things to work out for her and we know they want. I know we are all secretly thinking that this is fiction and her mom can wake up, right? But she can't. She won't. Her mom is truly dead and the baby is the only reason she is on life support. This little baby, the one Emma was so excited for, is suddenly the enemy. Emma can't see how this could possibly be what her mom would want. Dan can't see how Emma would believe her mom would want them to do anything less. And their perspectives can't seem to mesh. Emma is steadfast in her beliefs and so is Dan, but something has to give. The ending is bittersweet and fits the novel perfectly.

This is my first Elizabeth Scott novel. I can honestly say I'll be grabbing any and all of her books that I come across for cheap. This was heartbreakingly amazing. While you see all the reasons she should get over it and move on and love her baby brother, you can't help but sympathize with Emma. This poor girl just can't seem to go back to who she was before. If you are looking for a happy, snarky novel, this isn't it. What you get here is so much deeper and more raw. It's a captivating story and one I'm glad I got the chance to read!

****Thank you to Harlequin Teen for providing me with an eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review****

Firstlife by Gena Showalter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am a huge fan of Gena Showalter and her White Rabbit Chronicles. I haven’t had the chance to read any of her other books, but do have quite a few in my collection. When I learned of Firstlife being released, I was super excited to read such a unique book that held me captivated until the very end. I’ll be honest, I was a little confused about the whole firstlife and everlife worlds and the afterlife. There were so many elements happening at once that I was little muddled about what would happen and when, spirits or humans or none.

Tenley Lockwood or Ten to her friends, is a seventeen-year-old girl that has been incarcerated for the past thirteen months. She is an inmate at the Prynne Asylum and is counting down her days until her release on her eighteenth birthday. Ten is a numerology girl, everything she sees, reads and thinks has a formula of numbers in it.

Ten’s story:
17 = years of age – existed
1 = boys she’s dated
2 = friends she’s made and lost since being in the whack shack
2 = lives she’ll live
2 = number of choices she has for her eternal future (1. Do as her parents say; or 2. Suffer)

There are two realms, Myriad: boasts about autonomy, bliss, indulgence. Firstlife is a stepping stone to the Everlife. Everything happens for a reason and when they experience 2nd death, death in the Everlife, their spirit returns to Earth to fuse with another spirit. They are willing to negotiate a contract to win over a human.
Troika: structure, constant study, absolute conformity. Firstlife matters as much as Everlife. Fate is a myth. When they experience 2nd death, they enter the REST, never to be seen by human or spirit again.
The two realms are complete opposites and have been at war with each other for centuries.

There is also another realm, a 3rd spirit realm, THE REALM OF MANY ENDS. This is where nightmares come to life and is where you are sent when you haven’t made a choice between Myriad or Troika, you are classed UNSIGNED.

Ten is an UNSIGNED and the asylum is meant to be neutral territory where it’s the doctors job to “persuade” you to choose. Everybody knows though that Dr Vans can be bought and they don’t care how the job gets done as long as they have their desired result.

It appears that Ten is extremely important to both realms and they have sent their best labourers to “convince” Ten to choose their realm. The problem is, Ten has no intention of choosing and seems to be developing feelings for both of them.

Which side will Ten choose? Why is Ten so special to both realms? Does The Realm of Many Ends truly exist? Will Ten ever truly be at peace?

Firstlife is a great introduction to the series and the characters within. I loved Ten and Killian, Bow too is a fun and entertaining character. Even though I was a little confused with the realms, it was certainly an action packed adventure that everybody can fall in love with. It has a little of something for everybody, including romance. Fantasy lovers should definitely give this a go.


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I won this book in a giveaway and I am so glad I am finally getting to it.

Reading the synopsis of this book I knew it had to be good filled with teenage drama like no other.

I did not want to put this book down once I started it as it was that good. Chelsea can not keep a secret to save her life. When at a party she sees two guys doing something and she ends up running downstairs in the middle of the party telling her best friend and those around her. Because of her doing this it sets a chain of events that has Chelsea learning that words can hurt others even if you don't mean them two. What she saw that night wasn't that bad but what happens afterwards is what makes Chelsea feel guilty. Two guys at the party Warren and his buddy decide to hurt one of the guys and because of that Chelsea feels as though she needs to tell the cops the truth. This makes her become a rat and the bullying starts. 

After this has occurred she feels as though she needs to take on a vow of silence for how long she doesn't know. Just that she doesn't want to hurt others by saying things she shouldn't say. Hey I know some people that should do this now a days.

When Asha befriends Chelsea she realizes that she doesn't need to be hanging out with the so called popular kids they aren't all that fun. Asha and her friends are in a way carefree and are truly happy minus what happened to their friend. 

In the end Chelsea learns to forgive herself as the one person she hurt most of all has slowly forgiven her. She learns to find her true self and it was awesome to see Chelsea learn a hard lesson and grow as a teenager. This was a book I really could not put down and I was a bit sad to see it end. The drama, the oh wow moment, the teen romance (which isn't anything graphic) it all blended in perfectly. 

I plan to read more by this author I like her writing style and the way she can capture your attention. 

Summary: An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible.

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

Title: Nowhere But Here
Series: Thunder Road #1
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Released: 1st June 2015
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Format: eGalley
Source: via Publisher on NetGalley - thank you

Well, …………. I’m at a loss! When I finished reading this, I couldn’t think of enough adjectives to describe how much I loved this book. I haven’t read a young adult for a while and was a fan of Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits series, but gee, I NEED more of Thunder Road. The characters were strong and variable, the intrigue surrounding Emily’s story was compelling and I was kept speculating throughout. I thought it may be predictable, but the further I read the more my assumptions changed.

Emily is a seventeen year old that will have her world turned upside down and all because her biological dad sent a message. Her top three awful moments of her life so far are:

1.       Meeting her biological father at ten;
2.       Breaking her arm in three places at nine; and
3.       Falling into a hole and being trapped there overnight with a dead body at eight.

Emily believes her stepdad is superman, her own superhero and she thinks the world of him. Eli, her biological father, didn’t want anything to do with her or her mother when she became pregnant as a teenager. They fled Kentucky and haven’t been back, that is until the message from Eli. Now they are all torn.

Emily, Jeff and her mum are travelling to Kentucky and have to face Eli and his biker family. She is curious and has only seen him once a year for the past seven years. Does she have a whole other family there? What and/or how do they live? What do they do for a living?

OZ is seventeen and just graduated high school. He’s has dreamed his whole life of joining the family business since he could walk. Reign of Terror. This motorcycle club is a legit legal club that has a security business attached to it. It’s a dangerous lifestyle though and Oz is champing at the bit to get on the road and protect his dad.

Emily feels so out of place walking into the wake and looking for Eli. With bikers everywhere, her fear escalates and being in a funeral home to begin with has her anxiety at the max. Emily surprises Eli with her presence and then chaos ensues. The Reign of Terror princess has returned.

Emily’s now in danger. Oz is given the task of keeping Emily safe and their attraction is immediate. Even though they hate each other, the connection cannot be denied.

Who is after Emily and why? Why does everybody know the family secret except for Emily? Will Oz accept that Emily is part of the family? Why is her mother so against bikers?

Discover the secrets that surround Emily and if she will finally uncover the truth. Young love, intense loyalty and protective alpha males, strong female protagonists and action are all contained within. Nowhere But Here is absolutely a must read for all young adult readers. It was a lot of fun and the tension between Oz and Emily was amazing, the forbidden love component added to the intenseness and I am desperate to read more from this series. Who will be next?

“The club is a brotherhood, a family. It means belonging to something bigger than yourself.”

"I came here Emily Catherine and I'm leaving here Emily Star and I don't know how to reconcile the two worlds."

Check out the trailer:

About the Author

Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings and reality television, and she is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Pushing the Limits is Katie's debut novel with Harlequin Teen.