Monday, October 10, 2011

New Releases October 10th– October 16th




 October 10th 

Bunheads by Sophie Flack


October 11th 




Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday


Devoted (Elixir #2) by Hilary Duff

Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

Just Your Average Princess by Kristina Springer

Without Tess by Marcella Fleischman Pixley


October 13th


Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe




Sunday, October 9, 2011

In My Mailbox #37

The idea of In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren and is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs.

Bought:  


 Ups...spotlight on (because the awesomeness of this book totally requires one!) 



Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins  (Read it. Loved it. And yes, my finger is in exactly the right spot!) 



E-ARCs (Netgalley)


Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder 


Dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman


Crave by Melissa Darnell

 

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Book Review: Past Perfect by Leila Sales




Title: Past Perfect
Author: Leila Sales
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publishing Date: October 4th 2011
Length:
320 pages
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.
Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present, and her new crush seeming all too off limits, all Chelsea knows is that she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it….

Summary by Goodreads 





PAST PERFECT tells the story of sixteen-year-old Chelsea Glaser who is a part of Essex Historical Colonial Village.

This novel is all about life in the past of two historical sights and villages. The characters are interpreters and have to represent the lives of their historical counterparts. Playing a role and knowing the script sounds like an easy task…until it is confronted with the real life of the 21st century.

Beside their roles, both historical villages have a feud in common. PAST PERFECT is about a war between these two villages which is very entertaining. The jokes and pranks both villages come up with are so funny.

Then Chelsea is on the warpath with love. There are two boys to occupy her and the readers thoughts with. It was nice to see her torn between her ex boyfriend and falling for someone who is strictly forbidden. One love is the more rational, the other is build on false memories and extenuations. I expected PAST PERFECT to circle around the relationship between Chelsea and Ezra in some way and I am pretty satisfied in which way Leila Sales solved it.

Chelsea is our protagonist and I liked the features of her personality. What annoyed me a bit about her was her way of clinging to her ex-boyfriend all the time, analysing his every move.

Some sequences displaying the historical living are too much for my taste, but still they are needed to build up an authentic setting and plot. 

Read PAST PERFECT, it's a cute new contemporary romance! 





1) we want to be ice cream conniseurs
2) of a very authentic setting
3) enemies aren’t supposed to fall in love…theorethically
4) of a funny set of pranks
5) every girl should own a trampoline





4/5 **** PAST PERFECT- A charming and funny novel about finding love in the past century of modern America.

I immediately liked Leila Sales writing. It is youthful and has many jokes, comparisons and funny enumerations included. PAST PERFECT feels like its very own part of the YA novel history.






* Check out Leila’s debut novel MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS!

* Read an excerpt of PAST PERFECT here.

* For further information visit www.leilasales.com .

* Thanks to Simon & Schuster for allowing me access to their e-galley!




 

Friday, October 7, 2011

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Book Review: Swim the Fly (Swim the Fly #1) by Don Calame




Title: Swim the Fly (Swim the Fly #1)
Author: Don Calame
Publisher: Templar Publishing
Publishing Date: May 2011
Length: 336 pages
Genre: YA, romance, comedy
Source: Publisher

Three adolescent boys with a single goal: see a real-live naked girl. The result? Razor-sharp, rapid-fire, and raunchy, of course. And beyond hilarious.

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time — quite a challenge, given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt's other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team.

Summary by Goodreads  





SWIM THE FLY… LOL…

I’m glad Don Calame’s wife made him write this book, she seems to know her husband’s humour all too well and had the right believe that others would immediately fall for it. This girl fell for your husband’s writing and the three boys who want to see a real life naked girl. What a funny premise!

Matt, Cooper and Sean’s attempts to see a real life naked girl are awesome. Throughout the entire novel I felt entertained and often had to laugh out loud. You won’t believe what these boys go through to get their girl!

Matt’s voice is fantastic, you simply have to like him. He wants to succeed so badly, that the joke’s often on him.
Several strings of action are interwoven, like Matt wanting to swim the fly, his attempts in love, the boys’ hunt for a naked girl and even Matt’s Grandpa Arlo has something  going on.

The plot of swimming and getting the girl is well balanced. I would want some more romance, but since it’s such a boyish read I totally accept the fun and action focus.

Don Calame applies a youthful writing and the voices of his characters are realistic. SWIM THE FLY is a hilarious book and the jokes totally hit my humour nerve, though the parental advice is definitely justified.

I can’t wait to read the sequel to SWIM THE FLY which will be told from Coop’s point of view! I love Matt, but Coop’s the real head of witty and dirty talk. The story being told from his POV, promises to be even more fun.




1) of a guy’s best first kiss ever
2) of the prettiest girls in town
3) of the Community Center incident
4) of adventures, dares and a ton of fun
5) it’s the way that makes achieving a goal worth it




4,5/5 ****/* SWIM THE FLY- It’s hilarious. It’s crazy. It’s dirty! Right up my alley.

This novel makes me want to be a boy! Sounds weird, but Matt, Sean and Coop are just too hilarious. SWIM THE FLY is all about friendship, fun and boyish dares! Boys will love it, but girls even more ;)




* Don’t forget to check out BEAT THE BAND, the next novel in the SWIM THE FLY series!

* Read an excerpt of SWIM THE FLY here

* Click here to watch the SWIM THE FLY book trailer. 

* Visit www.doncalame.com for further information. 

* Thanks to Templar Publishing for sending my a review copy!