Cover Reveal: Conspiracy Girl by Sarah Alderson

Hello everyone! We're halfway through July now. Phew, time really flies fast! I remember when I just started my holiday... *cries*

Anyways! Take a look at what I have today: cover reveal of CONSPIRACY GIRL by Sarah Alderson! :)

Title: Conspiracy Girl
Author: Sarah Alderson
Publication date: February 19th 2015
Goodreads | Buy from Amazon

Everybody knows about the Cooper Killings – the Bel Air home invasion that rocked the nation. There was only one survivor - a sixteen year-old girl. And though the killers were caught they walked free.

Now eighteen, Nic Preston - the girl who survived - is trying hard to rebuild her life. She’s security conscious to the point of paranoia and her only friend is a French Mastiff bulldog, but she’s making progress. She’s started college in New York and has even begun dating.

But then one night her apartment is broken into and the life Nic’s worked so hard to create is shattered in an instant.

Finn Carter - hacker, rule breaker, player – is the last person Nic ever wants to see again. He’s the reason her mother’s killers walked free from court. But as the people hunting her close in, Nic has to accept that her best and possibly only chance of staying alive is by keeping close to Finn and learning to trust the person she’s sworn to hate.

Fleeing across a snowbound New England, frantically trying to uncover the motive behind the murders, Nic and Finn come to realize the conspiracy is bigger than they could ever have suspected. But the closer they get to the truth and the closer they get to each other, the greater the danger becomes.

To survive she has to stay close to him.
 
To keep her safe he has to keep his distance.

When I wake up the first thing I notice is that the whistling sound of the wind spiralling down the chimney has stopped. It feels as if someone has pressed a mute button on the world and I’m cocooned inside a warm dark cave. I have no desire to move out of it but then, with a start, I realise that the weight across my waist is Finn’s arm. We are both lying on our sides. He’s behind me and I’m curled tight against his chest, his arms wrapped around me as we lie under a nest of blankets. Beneath the faintly mildewy smell of the blankets rises the familiar smell of him and it makes me want to inhale, makes me want far more disturbingly to press myself closer against him.

A wave of heat washes over me as I recall him stripping my wet clothes off me last night and another wave of heat drenches me as I remember we’re both practically naked under these blankets. In fact, somehow the blankets have become twisted and Finn’s arm is lying against the bare skin of my stomach and our legs are tangled together. In the next second I become aware of Finn’s breathing in my ear, slow and steady. He’s still asleep. For a moment I lie there, holding my breath, torn between the desire to nestle closer to the warmth of his body and the need to tear myself out of his arms.

About the author:
 
Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and princess-obsessed daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home. After several months in India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where Sarah now spends her days writing by the pool and trying to machete open coconuts without severing a limb.

She finished her first novel, Hunting Lila (winner of the Kingston Book Award), just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they had reached Bali.

A third book, Fated, about a teenage demon slayer, was published in January 2012.

The Sound, a thriller romance set in Nantucket, was published in August 2013 and this was followed by the critically acclaimed Out of Control in May 2014.

She also writes New Adult romance for Pan Macmillan (UK) / Simon & Schuster (US) under the pen name Mila Gray.

You can find Sarah on facebook and at www.sarahalderson.com or follow her blog at www.canwelivhere.com

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Website

Squeaaaallll!! Beautiful cover and stunning blurb. I'm dying to get my hand on this book now. ♥ I think the cover resembles Sarah's latest YA book, Out of Control, more than her Lila series, but it's beautiful nonetheless. Yay for another contemporary thriller! :)

What do you think of the cover/book? Don't forget to add this book to your Goodreads shelf and pre-order it! Happy reading, and thank you for stopping by today! :)

Monday Muse: Negative Review

Happy Monday! I should have published this post loooong time ago but some things and others prevented me to do so. I’m very sorry. *bows deeply* Today, I’m going to talk about something that has been in my mind for a long long long time: negative review.

I don’t mind reading negative reviews, but writing it is another thing. Why is it hard for me to write negative reviews?

• I don’t know how to make it balanced. It’s very difficult not to rant about books I don’t like in my reviews.  
• Sometimes I am not capable of explaining clearly why I don’t like that book. Some problems I had were very minor and mostly related to the attitude of the main character or the illogical plots, but it’s hard to explain it in writing. There were times when it’s just the writing that ticks me off, or how illogical the plot is in my opinion.
• It takes me much much much longer time to write a negative review because I need to formulate my sentences carefully in order to stay polite yet true to myself.

I write negative reviews in order to provide constructive feedback and send warning for other readers who may not enjoy it, but not to discourage them from reading it or even tackle the author personally. 

Most of the time, I spend time checking Goodreads before I decide to buy a book. Sometimes negative reviews with strong cases make me even more interested to give the book a try. :)

How about you? Do you like reading negative reviews? How much does book review influence you? Feel free to share your thoughts! :)

Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Title: The Truth About Alice
Author: Jennifer Mathieu
Publication date: June 2014
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Goodreads | Buy from The Book Depository

From Goodreads:
Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party. When Healy High star quarterback, Brandon Fitzsimmons, dies in a car crash, it was because he was sexting with Alice. Ask anybody.  Rumor has it Alice Franklin is a slut. It's written all over the "slut stall" in the girls' bathroom: "Alice had sex in exchange for math test answers" and "Alice got an abortion last semester." After Brandon dies, the rumors start to spiral out of control. In this remarkable debut novel, four Healy High students tell all they "know" about Alice--and in doing so reveal their own secrets and motivations, painting a raw look at the realities of teen life. But in this novel from Jennifer Mathieu, exactly what is the truth about Alice? In the end there's only one person to ask: Alice herself.

A read along with lovely Pooja @ On Books! . It was a great pleasure to compare notes with you, hun! Check out her wonderful review HERE.

3.5 stars

Everyone knows that Alice Franklin is a slut.

She has slept with two guys in one night in someone else’s bedroom during someone else party. Her sexting caused the super famous and gorgeous Brandon Fitzsimmons aka the king of Healy High died in car accident. She had abortion not long after, and who knows whose baby belongs to! Alice Franklin gets a stall dedicates just for her – slut stall – where girls can write all the things they believe Alice has done. Because Alice Franklin is a slut, and everybody knows it.

But is she really?

The Truth About Alice is a powerful book about what rumors can actually do. Events in this book remind me of snowball effect. Things roll and they get worse and worse. Told in multiple perspectives from the famous cheerleader to finally Alice herself, this book was a short and enjoyable ride for me.

I love the multiple POVs the most in this book. It was awesome to get to know Alice from different characters first and slowly unveil why each of them keep their own Alice-related secrets. Some of those secrets actually took me aback, like Kelsie’s secret. Kelsie, the ex-best friend of Alice and a social climber, is one of the most intriguing character I’ve ever met. She’s horrible and made me so mad, but she was an interesting character to read.

I think the only underdeveloped character in this book might be Brandon, the dead guy. Every character describes Brandon as gorgeous, super funny, a bit of jerk but still so awesome, and it ticks me off a little because he’s not the person I see from the pages. If the author wants readers to have some sympathy to him, I think it would be better to show more humane side of Brandon.

While reading this book, I was also driven to think of the double standard in our society. While Alice is treated like a slut for allegedly sleeping with two guys in one night, Brandon with his never ending conquest of girls is treated like God instead. I think hypocrisy is one of the greatest themes in this book – people keep saying one thing while they act different.

All in all, The Truth About Alice was a thought-provoking book with great narrations. I also love the glimpses of hope in this book despite of how bad the situation is. While this book is not entirely flawless, it’s certainly worth reading.

The hard truth is I think I knew we weren’t going to be friends anymore the day after Elaine’s party when I read that text about her and Brandon and Tommy Cray. It sounds terrible and shallow and not at all like something the Kelsie Sanders I knew in Flint would have said, but I’ve spent too many years sitting alone in the cafeteria, and I just can’t handle doing it again.

And I won’t.

3 cups of tea!

A quick and enjoyable ride.

Cover reveal: All's Well That Ends Well by C.E. Wilson

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's presidential election day today so we have day off today yayyy. :) Anyways, I have the pleasure of sharing a beautiful cover to you guys:

Title: All’s Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare for Everyone Else #3)

Author: C.E. Wilson
Publication date: July 15th 2014
Goodreads | Buy from Amazon

From Goodreads:

When Hannah’s world falls apart after graduation, she finds that there are only two things from her old life that she can trust:  her best friend Constance, and her fascination with Constance’s cousin Benjamin.  But when Benjamin snubs her advances for superficial reasons, Hannah decides that she will have him no matter what the cost.  Hannah gathers a diverse group of allies to help her finally get what she’s always wanted.

In this YA retelling of William Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well, follow Hannah as she goes to the ends of the earth in her pursuit of the ungrateful Benjamin.  Are there limits to love and devotion, and is all truly well that ends well?

About the author:

C.E. Wilson is currently living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and her two dogs and two cats. They are all the loves of her life. When she’s not writing young adult fantasy novels, she enjoys writing short stories on her Deviant Art page. She loves to write stories involving giants and little people (also known as GT) and she can't decide what she loves more: horror movies or shoujo manga. On a side note, nothing helps her to write more than drinking some tea and watching The Twilight Zone.

Goodreads | Twitter

Such a gorgeous cover! I love the way they arrange the title. The color is very pretty as well. ♥

What do you think of the cover/the book? Go add the book to your to-read list now! Thank you for visiting, and I hope you're having a wonderful day! :)

This cover reveal is proudly hosted by:

Book Blitz: Our Kind of Love by Shane Morgan

Hello everyone! Today I have the wonderful opportunity to share Shane' Morgan's newest book: Our Kind of Love! It's a part of promo tour that I'm taking a part in. :) See excerpt & giveaway below:

Title: Our Kind of Love
Author: Shane Morgan
Release date: June 21st 2014
Publisher: TSW Books
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Reign is convinced that Nate is the perfect guy for her. That’s until Micah walks into her Mom’s restaurant looking for a job. Now Reign can’t seem to stop her heart from yearning for the guy with the mysterious sea blue eyes and melting smile.

Micah is all but perfect. He’s spent eight months in a juvenile detention center back in Colorado for his unintentional involvement in a crime. Now at nineteen and hoping to escape his ghosts, he lands a part-time job working at a seaside restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island where he meets the irresistible Reign. 

He can’t help the way he feels whenever he’s around her, but she’s already taken and Micah doesn't want to disrupt her life or get himself in anymore trouble. But then his attraction for Reign proves too strong to deny, and Micah finds that he just might discover a reason to stop running.

About the Author

Shane Morgan is a twenty-something bestselling author of Young Adult and New Adult Fiction. Currently living in the beautiful town of Narragansett, Rhode Island, Shane spends her days blogging, reading, and escaping in her stories.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

Squeal!! Such pretty cover. ♥ Take a look at the excerpt below! :)

 

 Sitting down on a park bench, I stare up at the colors of the fading sky. The bursting orange and yellows mix together like one big orgasm. I appreciate the natural beauty for a while, until something, okay, someone, more captivating graces my view.

A young woman, lost in thought, walks barefoot across the sea wall made of rustic red pebble stones separating sand from sea. With the poise of a gymnast, her body shivers with each step against the ocean breeze. Her cute blue dress with floral prints flares modestly just below her knees. She pays no attention to anything else around her, unaware of how my eyes are trained on her every move.

As the setting sun slants across her tanned legs, she pauses for a beat. Flipping straight light brown hair off her shoulders, strands falling elegantly down her back. I love long hair on girls; the smell—that’s if it’s clean, I’ve had instances where it wasn’t—the feel, and the texture. Caught up, I lean forward, my gaze fixed on nothing but her. Turn. How I wish she’d turn around so I could see her face. Even my heart begins to thud with anticipation.

Finally, as if hearing me, she twists, her attention riveted on something out on the street to her left. Oh c’mon, turn toward me. The sun will be gone in minutes. She swivels, fully around this time. I’m breathless as I catch a glimpse. She’s beautiful, but I don’t mean that in a shallow way. Something about her intrigues me.

So what am I doing? Why am I just sitting here watching her?

Snapping back to my senses, I spring from the bench and start to walk over to her, hoping she won’t run away when I tell her how angelic she is before my eyes. Jeez. That’s corny as Hell, but I don’t care. I have to talk to this girl.

I’m almost there when the loud beep-beep of a car draws her attention. She twirls and I stop in my tracks. A wide smile spreads across her pink lips, and like an idiot, I convince myself she’s actually smiling at me. Realization bites me on the ass when she hurries past me like I’m invisible, heading for the red jeep parked on the side of the street waiting for her.

She didn’t see me. Like seriously?

I stand in place and watch as she climbs inside the jeep, shuts the door, and the driver takes off. Now I feel like crap, because I wasted time and missed the chance to talk to her. I wonder if I’ll ever see her again.

With hunched shoulders, I walk up the sand onto the grass and sit back on the bench, dumping grains out of my flip-flops.

A lone gull scampers across the sand. A bright moon rises in the sky. I run my fingers through my already messy hair and start to laugh at myself. Dude, why did you get so riled up? That girl’s simply another pretty face. How many have I seen these last few months? Why should I care? We meet, hook-up, and I move on.

The last thing I’m looking for is a girlfriend. I’m a no commitments type of guy. None of them ever took the guilt away, anyway.

But it’s crazy how I feel now. From just one look, my gut says that girl is worth getting to know. Maybe someone I wouldn’t mind sticking around for.

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This book blitz is proudly hosted by:

Birthday Giveaway!

Hello everyone! I guess it doesn’t take much for you guys to guess what’s on the blog today. Today is my 21st birthday, and I’d love for you lovely readers to help me celebrate! :) Yes I'm a Summer girl! ♥ I feel young – yet so old – not so wise – but trying to. The line above doesn’t even rhyme or make sense but oh well who says I’m good in anything close to poem/stanza haha. :P

Anyways, enough Hilda blabbering! Below I offer you a list of my favorite books below and books I can't wait, courtesy of my awesomeness. I hope you'll love the book as much as I love it! If it's pre-order book, I'll pre-order it for you and have The Book Depository send it to you as soon as possible. One lucky winner will have the choice to pick one book from the list. :)

 

 

1. The giveaway is open INTERNATIONAL as long as The Book Depository ships to you.
2. Must be 13 years or older to enter.
3. The lucky winner will have option to choose ONE book from the list above.
4. The giveaway opens from today, July 6 until Wednesday, August 6.
5. Smile, because good things comes to those who spread happiness (yes, believe me your smile has that DAZZLING effect)! ♥ ;)


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<center> <a href="http://catchthelune.blogspot.com/2014/07/birthday-giveaway_6.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Catch the Lune!" src="http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc461/hilda4_7/birthdaybutton_zps697322b8.jpg"/></a></center>

Good luck to everyone who enters this giveaway! I hope to see you guys lurking around in Catch the Lune even long after the giveaway ends. ;) Thank you so much for entering. Have a lovely day, and you know the old wish: may the odds be ever in your favor! ♥

Review: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

Title: The Art of Lainey
Author: Paula Stokes
Publication date: May 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Goodreads | Buy from The Book Depository


From Goodreads:
"A satisfying and sweet story." -Publishers Weekly

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?

The Art of Lainey opens up in quite a dramatic way: Lainey breaking up with her boyfriend Jason in public, precisely in her own father’s coffee shop with everyone else watching. After spending days tearing up about the break-up, Lainey decides that Jason must have made mistake and resolves to do whatever it takes to get him back. With the help of ancient Chinese war strategy book, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Lainey and her friends/comrades create strategy to get their exes back. Who says that love is not war?

I am in the mood for something short and sweet, and The Art of Lainey comes in handy! It’s fun and cute. The plotline might be predictable, but we’ll still want to know the road to happy ending! Lainey may come off as very typical of teenager at first – ‘oh nooo my life ends after he breaks up with me’ case – but she has some great qualities that make me admire her. She’s very loyal to the people she loves, which is simply awesome. ♥

Lainey goes on a series of fake-dates with her childhood friend/colleague in work/comrade in getting back the exes thing, Micah, and their fake dates are just entertaining! Nothing beats chemistry between the two people who know each other from a long time. They banter back-and-forth, but you can feel that they actually suit each other. Micah has bad boy look with Mohawk and tattoos, but he’s actually a normal guy who is kind and thinks of his family above else.

If you’re looking for cute summer read, The Art of Lainey can be your perfect choice. I love the references to The Art of War. I may have taken some notes from it. *wink wink* This book reminds me of Disney movies sometimes, specifically She’s the Man – Lainey being a soccer goddess and having a bad boy hero with kind heart around – and I’d love to watch the movie version of this book. Give The Art of Lainey a go, and get ready to have your heart fluttered!

I stare at my tan fingers curled inside Micah’s pale ones as we head back into the stadium tunnels. I’m a little sweaty, and so is he, but it doesn’t feel nearly as weird as I thought it would to hold hands with another guy. Jason used to squeeze too hard sometimes and practically crush my fingers, but Micah’s grip is firm and relaxed. Kind of nice. It feels almost normal, really. Like, in another world, the two of us could actually be on a date.

4 cups of tea!

Cute and fun! Recommended for fluffy reading.