Category Archives: Ya Romance

Excerpt: Underground by Alice Rachel [Giveaway]

undegroundUnderground
(Underground, #1)
By: Alice Rachel
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: Oct. 30, 2015
Genre: Distopia YA Romance

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Love is a taboo, a mere fantasy— foreign, unreachable, and dangerous.

Raised in a society where women have no rights, seventeen-year-old Thia Clay holds little hope for a bright future. When her parents sell her into marriage to elite member William Fox, Thia slowly gives in to despair. William is nothing but a cruel, selfish young man with no other interest than to serve his own.

Born illegally and forced to hide from the authorities his entire life, nineteen-year-old Chi Richards is an active member of the Underground—a rebellious group seeking to overthrow the government.

Chi only has one goal—to rescue his parents from the work camp they were forced into.

Meeting Thia was never part of the plan, and neither was falling in love with her.

If caught in their forbidden relationship, Thia and Chi could face a death sentence, and when devastating secrets surface from Chi’s past, Thia has to rely on her instincts to make a choice that could save her or destroy her forever.

 

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Excerpt: Love Charms and Other Catastrophes by Kimberly Karalius [Giveaway]

lovecharmsLove Charms and Other Catastrophes
(Grimbaud, #2)
By: Kimberly Karalius
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: May 17, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Goodreads

Aspiring love charm maker Hijiri Kitamura was excited to come back to Grimbaud for her sophomore year-until she learns about the upcoming charm making competition. Grimbaud has just started to recover from the tyranny of Zita’s love fortunes and it would be too easy for the winning charm maker to take Zita’s place. The only solution is for Hijiri, with the support of her friends and fellow rebels, to win the contest herself.

Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done, especially when Love itself has decided to meddle in Hijiri’s life. Concerned that it’s favorite charm maker has given up on finding a boyfriend of her own, Love takes matters into its own hands and delivers the perfect boyfriend to her in a giftwrapped box…literally.

 

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Review: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

Walk the Edge
(Thunder Road, #2)
By: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds.

Smart. Responsible. That’s seventeen-year-old Breanna’s role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully’s line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas “Razor” Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don’t belong. But when he learns she’s being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it’s time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he’ll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she’ll help him seek answers to the mystery that’s haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they’re both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they’re going from here.

 

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Review: Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

neverNever Never
(Never Never, #1)
By: Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
Publisher: Self-published
Published: Jan. 7, 2015
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:
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Goodreads

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen.

Complete strangers since this morning.

He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget.

 

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Review: Did I Mention I Love You? by Estelle Maskame

loveyouDid I Mention I Love You?
(The DIMILY Trilogy #1)
By: Estelle Maskame
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: Dec. 1, 2015
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:
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Goodreads

When sixteen-year-old Eden Munro agrees to spend the summer with her estranged father in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California, she has no idea what she’s letting herself in for. Eden’s parents are divorced and have gone their separate ways, and now her father has a brand new family. For Eden, this means she’s about to meet three new step-brothers. The eldest of the three is Tyler Bruce, a troubled teenager with a short temper and a huge ego. Complete polar opposites, Eden quickly finds herself thrust into a world full of new experiences as Tyler’s group of friends take her under their wing. But the one thing she just can’t understand is Tyler, and the more she presses to figure out the truth about him, the more she finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn’t – her step-brother.

Throw in Tyler’s clingy girlfriend and a guy who has his eyes set on Eden, and there’s secrets, lies and a whole lot of drama. But how can Eden keep her feelings under control? And can she ever work out the truth about Tyler?

 

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Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

MLNDMy Life Next Door
(My Life Next Door, #1)
By: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Published: June 14, 2012
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:
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Goodreads

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.

As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase’s family embraces Samantha – even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha’s world. She’s suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

 

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Review: Mia and the Bad Boy by Lisa Burnstein

25446202Mia and the Bad Boy
(Backstage Pass, #2)
By: Lisa Burnstein
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
Published: May 19, 2015
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:
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Goodreads

This good girl’s about to meet her match…

Ryder Brooks is living the dream—he’s famous, loved by millions of girls, and miserable. All he really wants is to write his own music, not Seconds to Juliet’s sugary sweet pop. In order to do that, though, the “bad boy” of the band will have to play by the rules. And that includes behaving with his new—and super cute—über-good-girl tutor.

Mia Reyes is in fangirl heaven. Tutoring her favorite member of her favorite band? It’s a dream come true…until it turns into a complete nightmare. Ryder is nothing like she thought. He’s crude, arrogant, and pretty much a total jerk. And the worst part? She’s roped into pretending to be his girlfriend so that no one finds out he’s being tutored. Fake kisses, plenty of PDA, and even sharing his hotel room…

But sometimes even the baddest of bad boys needs a little redemption.

 

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Review: Last Year’s Mistake by Gina Ciocca

21825486Last Year’s Mistake
By: Gina Ciocca
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:
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Goodreads

Before:
Kelsey and David became best friends the summer before freshman year and were inseparable ever after. Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke, and everything around her crumbled—including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey’s parents decided to move away, she couldn’t wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn’t ready to let her go…

After:
Now it’s senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David’s family moves to town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey’s second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never truly let him go. And maybe she never wants to.

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Review: One of the Guys by Lisa Aldin

22957535One of the Guys
By: Lisa Aldin
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release Date: Feb 10, 2015
Genre: Contemporary YA
Rating:
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Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Tomboy to the core, Toni Valentine understands guys. She’ll take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests over manicures. So Toni is horrified when she’s sent to the Winston Academy for Girls, where she has to wear a skirt and learn to be a “lady” while the guys move on without her. Then Toni meets Emma Elizabeth, a girl at school with boy troubles, and she volunteers one of her friends as a pretend date. Word spreads of Toni s connections with boys, and she discovers that her new wealthy female classmates will pay big money for fake dates. Looking for a way to connect her old best friends with her new life at school, Toni and Emma start up Toni Valentine s Rent-A-Gent Service. But the business meets a scandal when Toni falls for one of her friends–the same guy who happens to be the most sought-after date. With everything she’s built on the line, Toni has to decide if she wants to save the business and her old life, or let go of being one of the guys for a chance at love.”

 

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Review: Cipher by Aileen Erin

21943833Cipher
(The Shadow Ravens, #1)
By: Aileen Erin
Publisher: Ink Monster
Published: Oct. 14, 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Rating:
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In the not-too-distant future, the color of your helix tattoo shows exactly how your DNA was modified—green for super-smart scientists, black for pumped-up warriors, white for the immortal Seligo—but Cipher’s red helix is a death sentence. It’s a sign of unstable DNA, which is probably the reason she can manipulate electricity.

When she was eight years old, Cipher made the mistake of showing her uncle the tattoo. In return, he killed her parents and tried to kidnap her.

She’s been on the run ever since, and twelve long years later, Cipher is tired of hiding. Survival isn’t enough anymore. She wants her life back.

Hacking into the Citadel mainframe is a huge risk, but it pays off when she finds a database on red helixes. Before she can copy it, she loses control of her power, charring her last processor, and the only person in the Arizona Voids that can get her back online is her oldest friend, Knightly. She hasn’t seen him in person since she started running, and Knight 2.0 is fully upgraded with a six-pack and knee-melting smile.

For a girl like Cipher, trust doesn’t come easily, but Knight makes her yearn for a life she knows she can’t have, especially when every secret she reveals endangers them both.

 

1thoughts
Cipher’s helix tattoo is red which means that since she was little, she’s been on the run. She’s learned a lot of tricks that have kept her alive over the years. But when a hacking job calls too much attention to herself she has to put her trust in a group of guys who are not only part of the military that hunts her kind, but they also share the same mysterious raven tattoo that Cipher has.

I thought this was going to be a sci-fi young adult story but it’s really more of a romance novel that’s set in the near future. There isn’t a lot that’s actually futuristic, aside for the whole helix tattoo thing. I was also a little disappointed that the romance overshadows everything. The story is in both Cipher and Knight’s POV. These two met when they were little kids and unknowingly kept in contact via online. Knight has been Cipher’s computer part supplier. Meanwhile, Knight has actually been looking for Cipher (aka Emma) because his secret mission is to save the red helix’s and he’s had a soft spot for his childhood friend throughout the years. So when they meet each other they instantly fall in love. I mean, we are like two days in and there’s talk about marriage. I don’t know. I was really thinking there would be more sci-fi but that was not the case.

If you are looking for a kick-ass sci-fi story, this is not it. I think those who would enjoy the story the most would be anyone who’s looking for a young adult romance. Unfortunately for me, when I picked this book up, I was looking for a kick-ass sci-fi story.

 

1favequote“Well, why don’t you shit in one hand and wish in the other. Let’s see which fills up faster.”

kRISTIN