Author Archives: Kristin

Review: Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles

12 October, 2013 10:00 am , 5 Comments ,

13065327Wild Cards
(Wild Cards, #1)
By: Simone Elkeles
Publisher: Walker Books
Published: Oct. 1, 2013
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Rating:
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After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain–people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

 

1thoughtsSo you’ve heard of books that revolve around a romance between step-siblings but what about a guy and his step-aunt? Yup, you read that right but it’s not what you think. You see, Derek’s father recently robbed the cradle when it came to choosing a his new wife. So when his father is deployed, his step-mom decides to give up their house and move back home during the deployment. However, when Derek gets kicked out of boarding school, he has to pack up and go with her to meet his step-family for the first time. That’s when he meets his step-aunt, Ashtyn.

I really enjoyed the characters in this story. Ashtyn has been playing football since freshman year and she’s really good at it. She’s also the only chick on the football team. So of course, life isn’t easy for her. She gets hazed a lot when it comes to other teams. After all, when it comes to football, a women’s place is to be on the sidelines with pom-poms in her hands. So the fact that she earns the never ending respect of her teammates and coach says a lot. However, she still has to show the colleges and scouts that she is just as good as any of the guys out there.

Derek is you typical broken bad-boy. Since his mother’s passing, he’s been spiraling out of control. He gave up everything that he was working for and turned to causing trouble at his boarding school, which in turn ends up with expulsion. One thing that I would was interesting is that he was a very strange health nut. Spinach banana smoothies for breakfast, no prepackaged foods, no high fructose corn syrup, his body is his temple and he treats it as such. For some reason, the way he portrays himself is so against his eating habits. I don’t know why I gravitated to that part of him so much but I did. He definitely had some quirks that counteracted his impulsiveness.

“My grandson is a wild card. I can’t keep up with him. One day he’s moving to Texas, the next he’s going back to California. For all I know he’ll end up here in Chicago.”

The story is predictable but I definitely enjoyed it. It was fun to read through the drama and watch the two of them come out on top. Not to mention the story was pretty hilarious. The author definitely has a sense of humor and incorporates that beautifully in the story. I found myself chuckling at a lot of parts in the book. I will definitely be keeping up with this series.

 

1favepart“Seriously, Ashtyn, I bet my left nut you wouldn’t even notice if I got your dog fixed.”

“Your left nut?” I ask. “Why not your right one? Guys never say they’ll bet their right nut, only their left. Why is that?”

“Because all guys know their right nut is the dominant one, so bettin’ the left one is a safe choice.”

kRISTIN

 

Posted in: YA Romance

Review: One Thousand and One Nights by Ruth Browne

11 October, 2013 10:02 am , 2 Comments ,

18464765One Thousand and One Nights
By: Ruth Browne
Publisher: Ever After
Published: Sept. 30, 2013
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:
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Sheri spends her days fighting zombies and her nights chained to a wall, earning her every breath by telling stories to her captor Aleksy—stories that make them both forget the ruined world. Sheri could put up with the conditions—at least she knows her sister is safe in the community Aleksy leads—until she realizes she’s falling for him…even though he wants her dead.When Aleksy allowed Sheri and her sister into his compound, he didn’t know about the zombie bite on her back. It’s only a matter of time before she turns into one of the rising dead and threatens their existence, but Aleksy has a secret need for Sheri and her stories. For everyone’s safety, he chains her to his bedroom wall, hoping for just one more day. But how long will the community allow Aleksy to ignore his own rule: always kill the infected. Always.

 

1thoughts

In a world where the undead roam the streets, there are very few people who are still alive. Sheri is one of them but because she’s been bitten previously no one trusts her. Just because she hasn’t changed yet doesn’t mean that she won’t. So, she’s sent out on dangerous missions by herself and upon arriving to her “people”, she’s chained to the wall of the “King’s” chambers.

I was really hoping that this would be a good gritty zombie story. Yeah, I know, the girl who’s all about romance wanted horror. Not that the Stockholm syndrome wouldn’t have been a bonus but I was looking for a novel to get me in the Halloween spirit. This one just didn’t work for me. I felt like it was part of a previous story that I had not read. The author takes the readers back in time periodically throughout the story to try to make the characters more than 1-dimensional. We go back to when Sheri is picked up my the “King” and we even get glimpses of her life when the zombie apocalypse happens but I just didn’t really connect with it. I think had this been a full length novel (like I originally thought), the author could have taken the time for more character development as well as laying out more of the post apocalyptic world. Instead I felt like the story was a bit rushed and I didn’t connect at all with the characters.

I wish I had known that this was a short story (50 pages) prior to requesting it on NetGalley because I am not a fan of short stories. So that is totally my bad. So I will say that if short stories are your thing and you want something that is a mix of erotic horror, than you’d probably really enjoy this. The author’s writing was good and if she ever writes a full length novel spin off of this book, I’d definitely give it a try.

 

1favequote“You know what’s worse than being alone? Being chained to the wall like a dog.”

kRISTIN

Posted in: Paranormal Romance

Excerpt: Almost Demon by AJ Salem

10 October, 2013 2:07 am , Leave a Comment ,

18586128Almost Demon
(Chamber One of the Sigil Cycle)
By: AJ Salem
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: Oct. 31, 2013
Genre: Paranormal YA

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The last thing Gemma Pope expects to study in the after-school book club is demon etiquette but that is exactly what she has to do to succeed as a summoner and save her hometown.

Since taking the blame for the car accident that claimed the lives of her twin brother and two of her best friends, she s been seeing things. Dark shadows, opaque, menacing, multiplying.

The clock starts ticking when the local mild-mannered librarian suffers a psychotic break and pulls a gun on her reading circle. People are dying in disasters and wars all over the world. Gemma s dad is getting weird, her classmates are becoming violent, and the darkness surrounding Harrisport is getting thicker.

Does she trust hot English Lit teacher Mr. Flynn or Ian, the mysterious new kid in town, who has knowledge beyond his years and access to other dimensions?

It is only when the gates to hell are opened, that Gemma learns who her real friends are.

Discover what lies just beyond the veil of humanity in the sleepy town of Harrisport.

 

Excerpt
The loudspeaker interrupted and let out the single tone meant for school-wide announcements. There was some reverb followed by a pert female voice.

“Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. This is Principal Kelly speaking. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all back to another productive year of higher learning.However, we must all take a moment to reflect on those who will  not be returning to these halls. Please join me, as well as the esteemed members of the faculty, in a memorial dedication in honor of three shining stars that were extinguished too soon in a senseless car accident: Mimi Yin, Jenny Goodwin, and Brian Pope. We will commence before first lunch in the auditorium. There are also additional counselors on staff this week for anyone who needs it.”

My pulse sped up to a break neck speed. I couldn’t believe it.

“Freak!” I felt something wet hit the side of my cheek. I wiped off the wad of paper encased, no doubt, with a million germs, and kept my eyes on my planner.

“All right then. Let me call roll before you all run out of here.” The familiar drumbeat of panic began throbbing in my head. No way was I going to survive the assembly.

“Gemma Pope.”

“Here,” I replied.

I looked up at the clock perched above the threshold and groaned. It was only forty-five minutes into the school day and I was already fuming. Someone could have warned me about the production the school was going to make, starring my dead brother.

 

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AJ Salem was born in Haifa, Israel to parents who immigrated from the other side of Dracula’s mountain. She was just a toddler when her family picked up and made the big move to New York where necessity had her learning English from Sesame Street and weekly trips to the public library where her mother encouraged her to stock up on books.

When she isn’t writing or reading, AJ is rearing her four children, crocheting and watching too much British Television.

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Posted in: Excerpt, YA Fantasy

Spotlight: Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson

8 October, 2013 3:40 am , Leave a Comment ,

17834834Once We Were Brothers
By: Ronald H. Balson
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Griffin
Published: Oct. 8, 2013
Genre: Thriller

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The gripping tale about two boys, once as close as brothers, who find themselves on opposite sides of the Holocaust.

Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser is convinced he is right and engages attorney Catherine Lockhart to bring Rosenzweig to justice. Solomon persuades attorney Catherine Lockhart to take his case, revealing that the true Piatek was abandoned as a child and raised by Solomon’s own family only to betray them during the Nazi occupation. But has Solomon accused the right man?

Once We Were Brothers is Ronald H. Balson’s compelling tale of two boys and a family who struggle to survive in war-torn Poland, and a young love that struggles to endure the unspeakable cruelty of the Holocaust. Two lives, two worlds, and sixty years converge in an explosive race to redemption that makes for a moving and powerful tale of love, survival, and ultimately the triumph of the human spirit.

 

 
authorBalson Author Photo

Ronald H. Balson is an attorney practicing with the firm of Stone, Pogrund, and Korey in Chicago. An adjunct professor of business law at the University of Chicago for twenty-five years, Balson now lectures on trial advocacy in federal trial bar courses.

A few years ago, Balson was hired by his Chicago law firm to represent it in a case centered in southern Poland, the location of his book. For the next four years, he made multiple trips back and forth, and while there, he interviewed witnesses, studied documents and came to know more about the town of Zamosc. He learned that, during the World War II years, the Polish culture and country were destroyed and “sadness still pervades” there.

Balson started his own publishing company, Berwick Court, in order to self-publish his book, and as word of mouth spread, Once We Were Brothers became a runaway bestseller. St. Martin’s Press Griffin will now be publishing the trade paperback edition this October 2013.

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Posted in: Uncategorized

Review: Scorch by Gina Damico

7 October, 2013 11:17 am , 2 Comments ,

13316241Scorch
(Croak, #2)
By: Gina Damico
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: Sept. 25, 2012
Genre: Paranormal YA
Rating:
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Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby is a teenage grim reaper with the bizarre ability to damn souls. That makes her pretty scary, even to fellow Grims. But after inadvertently transferring her ability to Zara, a murderous outlaw, Lex is a pariah in Croak, the little town she calls home.

To escape the townspeople’s wrath, she and her friends embark on a wild road trip to DeMyse. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, it feels like a prison to Lex. Her best chance at escape would be to stop Zara once and for all—but how can she do that from DeMyse, where the Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to Zara’s killing spree?

 

1thoughtsWe pick up shortly after Croak left off. Lex is still dealing with the loss that took place in the previous book. She’s not the same old snarky Lex that we’re used to. She’s reserved, quite and a bit sulky. However, it doesn’t take long for her to start to return to her old self, but she will never be the same. Not to mention she still has a killer she has to catch and the townsfolk of Croak have turned not only against her, but her uncle (who’s mayor) as well.

The way the synopsis reads I thought that they would be on an adventure from the get go but that’s not the case. In fact they don’t actually head off to DeMyse until the last quarter of the book. The whole beginning of the book is the fallout of what took place in the last book as well as developing a little bit more of the story and mystery.

Again, Gina is amazing when it comes to creating interesting characters. We get two new characters added to the ranks of reaper, Bang and Pip. Bang doesn’t talk, instead she signs in her own way (not ASL) and Pip… well he’s a motor mouth. He talks a mile a minute and doesn’t have an off switch. The two new characters definitely added a little something to the table. Plus, we get King Tut! I mean… how many books have you read where King Tut is in it? I bet you didn’t know that he could bench press a camel named Lumpy? HAH! See that right there is why you must read the book. Gina is one crazy chick and her awesomeness shows in her writing.

Again, she leaves us with another cliffhanger. However, it works because it ends this chapter in their lives and starts a new journey in the next one. However, there are a lot of questions left unanswered and I for one will be tuning in to Rogue to see what happens next. Gina has skyrocketed to one of my top fave authors with the two books that she’s wrote. I love the way she creates a story, doesn’t get bogged down with mundane details and give her characters so many various personalities that you wish they were real so that you could try to befriend them. Seriously, I want a psychotic Lex as my friend.

 

1favepartThere were so many freaking favorites that it was hard to choose just one but alas, I went with a Mort, Lex, Driggs combo. You see, since Lex and Driggs are dating and they are a pair of hormone driven teenagers, Uncle Mort and installed cameras throughout the house so that he can make sure there’s no hanky panky taking place.

“‘Hot today, huh?’ he shouted one evening before dinner, popping his head into the living room as Lex and Driggs dove to opposite ends of the couch. ‘Better cool down soon.’ He grinned and made one of those two-fingered I’m-watching-you gestures.”

 

Previous reviews from Croak
Croak

kRISTIN

 

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy

Review: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

6 October, 2013 8:35 am , 2 Comments ,

38619Magic Bites
(Kate Daniels, #1)
By: Ilona Andrews
Publisher: Ace
Published: April 1, 2007
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…

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Posted in: Urban Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: Unspoken by Jen Frederick

4 October, 2013 10:39 am , Leave a Comment ,

17876866Unspoken
(Woodlands, #2)
By: Jen Frederick
Publisher: Pear Tree LCC
Publlished: Sept. 13, 2013
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:
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Whore. Slut. Typhoid Mary.

I’ve been called all these at Central College. One drunken night, one act of irresponsible behavior, and my reputation was ruined. Guys labeled me as easy and girls shied away. To cope, I stayed away from Central social life and away from Central men, so why is it that my new biology lab partner is so irresistible to me?

He’s everything I shouldn’t want. A former Marine involved in illegal fighting with a quick trigger temper and an easy smile for all the women. His fists aren’t the danger to me, though, it’s his charm. He’s sliding his way into my heart and I’m afraid that he’s going to be the one to break me.

Impulsive. Unthinking. Hot tempered.

I allow instinct to rule my behavior. If it feels good, do it, has been my motto because if I spend too much time thinking, I’ll begin to remember exactly where I came from. At Central College, I’ve got fighting and I’ve got women and I thought I was satisfied until I met her.

She’s everything I didn’t realize I wanted and the more time I spend with her, the more I want her. But she’s been hurt too much in the past and I don’t want to be the one to break her. I know I should walk away, but I just can’t.

 

1thoughtsAM lost her virginity during her freshman year after a night of drinking and partying. Since that day, she’s been labeled a slut by just about everyone on campus. Guys from the lacrosse team are going around saying they hooked up with her when they really haven’t and even a couple of guys have tried to take advantage of her thinking that she’s easy. So AM only goes on campus for classes and then hightails it out of there. She figures, if she’s not seen by her peers, the rumors will go away and people will leave her alone, but so far that hasn’t happened yet.

“If you were a guy, your conquests made you a god. If you were a girl, you were the conquered, no better than a toy.”

Bo’s followed his friend Noah everywhere. Into the Marine Corp, overseas, even to Central College. Last year when they arrived at CC, he had a class with AM. He tried to engage her but she shied away from him and gave him dirty looks. So now that she’s sitting right next to him in Biology, he’s determined to get to know her. The only problem is, she’s a bit prickly towards him and he’s not sure why. However, by making himself her lab partner he’s guaranteed to spend time with her and will hopefully figure out what makes this recluse tick.

“I didn’t mind taking chances, but I wasn’t stupid. I also knew I needed to spend more time with her. If a man in a desert finds a pool of water, he doesn’t leave until he’s lapped that fucker dry.”

I started reading this book and got about 25% through it before I decided to buy and read the first story. It’s not that this story can’t be read as a stand alone but I knew that I’d enjoy the story a lot more if I went back and read the first book. You see the first book focuses on Noah and his now girlfriend and Bo is in there a lot. So you get a sense of who Bo is before he meets AM and you realize how much he’s changed since meeting her.

I liked the pace that the author kept through the entire book. I was never bored or overwhelmed at any time. It was basically a story about a girl who overcomes her bullies and rises above the gossip. I really enjoyed the story and I cannot wait to see who’s story pops up next.

 

1favequote“You know how it’s all about God and country over there in Afghanistan. Well, when you find someone like AM, what you felt about the cause, about being a patriot, is like ating eggs from the MRE pack. Dry, tasteless, meaningless. It’s nothing. I’d kill for her and, I’ll learn to walk away.” -Bo

 

Previous reviews from Woodlands
Undeclared

kRISTIN

Posted in: New Adult

Guest Post with Theresa Romain

3 October, 2013 12:40 am , 9 Comments ,

Badge_SeasonForScandal_TheresaRomain

author
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Historical romance author Theresa Romain pursued an impractical education that allowed her to read everything she could get her hands on. She then worked for universities and libraries, where she got to read even more. Eventually she started writing, too. She lives with her family in the Midwest, where she is working on her next book. This September, she’ll begin a new historical romance trilogy with IT TAKES TWO TO TANGLE. In October, her third holiday historical romance—SEASON FOR SCANDAL—will be released.

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Cover Reveal: Ruined by Jus Accardo

1 October, 2013 12:01 am , 3 Comments ,

Ruined_500Ruined
By: Jus Accardo
Publisher: Embrace
Release Date: Nov. 11, 2013
Genre: New Adult

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Hell is looking for a way to break loose…

Jax lost the genetic lottery. Descended from Cain, the world’s first murderer, he’s plagued by a curse that demands violence in exchange for his happiness. He left everything behind, including the girl he loved, but thriving on the pain of others is lonely… And it’s killing him.

After a series of heartbreaking losses, Samantha put rubber to pavement and headed for college as fast as her clunker could carry her. But she can’t outrun her problems. When an attack at school drives her back home, she’s thrown into the path of a past—and a guy—she’s been trying to forget.

Sam strains Jax’s control over his darkness, but running isn’t an option this time. Someone—or, something—followed her home from school: a ruthless monster with a twisted plan centuries in the making. Forced together to survive, and fighting an attraction that could destroy them both, Jax and Sam must stop a killer bent on revenge.

 

authorCopy of JusAccardo

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing. Jus is the bestselling author the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing and is currently working on the first book in a new adult series due out summer 2013. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

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Posted in: Cover Reveal

Review: Tragic by J.A. Huss

30 September, 2013 7:46 am , 1 Comment ,

17404203Tragic
(Rook and Ronin, #1)
By: J.A. Huss
Publisher: Science Future Press
Published: May 20, 2013
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:
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Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera.

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

 

1thoughts

Rook just lost her job and only has $10 to her name. Well actually she HAD $10 but she decided to throw caution to the wind and buy a fancy coffee with it instead. While enjoying said coffee, a business card for a modeling gig dings her in the head. The model at the next table over clearly doesn’t want it, so Rook decides to stop by the place indicated on the card before heading back to the homeless shelter for the night. When she gets there she finds out that if she signs a contract to do the photo shoot, she will not only be walking away with thousands of dollars but they will put her up in an apartment for the duration of the shoot. The shoot’s headline is “TRAGIC” and they are quick to offer her the job when they see her. It’s really a no-brainer for her on whether she’s going to take the job or not.

“She’s a blackbird sitting in a tree staring out at the world, daring the wind to come and knock her off the swaying bough.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting into before I read this. I saw that is was on sale for $0.99 and bought it. I had no idea what kind of photographs she’d be taking or the world in which she’d be living in. Neither, apparently, did Rook. She’s pretty innocent when it comes to all this modeling business and it takes her a little bit to warm up to the erotic shoots. It also doesn’t help that due to her past, she’s not very trusting when it comes to people. But now she finds herself in an unknown world, needing to trust total strangers in order to make it through to the end.

I was immediately sucked in by Rook’s life. I’ve never read a J.A book before but now I understand why people go crazy over new releases by her. She has a way of detailing everything without putting it into too many words. It’s as if you’re right there with Rook going through what she’s going through. I liked that the book was written in both Rook’s and Ronin’s point of view. So we could get the full spectrum of what was going on instead of it being one sided. Rook is definitely someone who is self-reliant and doesn’t cling to those around her. Life has dealt her a crappy hand and she’s not one to throw in the towel when things get too hard. Rook was a great main character to read about.

I may be new to J.A’s books but she’s made a fan of me with this book. I cannot wait to read more of her work.

 

1favequote“And I sit on the couch, absently flipping though channels, wondering how the fuck I just blew this whole day with a conversation about fruit baskets.” -Ronin

kRISTIN

Posted in: New Adult