Honey, I'm hooome!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long absence. I've had a really full August, with relatives visiting and playing tourist, summer cleaning (and I feel my body protesting so bad even now, 4 days later *sighs). Also, I've been doing some research for my dissertation and I've had little time for anything else. I have some free time on my hands now and I'll be able to post and schedule posts in advance, so it's all good :D

Hope you had a great summer, full of fun and reading and good news *hugs everyone*.

Cover Reveal: Trust in Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout

It’s Wait for You as you’ve never seen it. Trust in Me lets you in on Cam’s side of the #1 New York Times Bestselling story.

Cameron Hamilton is used to getting what he wants, especially when it comes to women. But when Avery Morgansten comes crashing into his life – literally – he finally meets the one person who can resist his soulful baby blues. But Cam’s not ready to give up. He can’t get the feisty and intriguing girl out of his head.

Avery has secrets, secrets that keep her from admitting the feelings Cam knows she has for him. Will persistence (and some delicious homemade cookies) help him break down her barriers and gain her trust? Or will he be shut out of Avery's life, losing his first real shot at the kind of love that lasts forever?

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Wednesday Chatter #2: Characters Not Showing Their Age

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks

 

Over the years I've read a number of books where I couldn't feel like the characters where acting or talking or thinking according to their age. Either they are adults acting like children or kids/teenagers that make me believe they're way older than what the story first tells us.

This bothers me a little, because it's confusing and it pulls me out of the story a little. How can I fully relate to a character if I'm not even sure his age is real? Every single time I read about a character like this, I'm reminded about the Weasley twins trying to enter the Tournament.

Luckily it seems some authors decide to "age" their characters, so they appear much older than they really are. I don't think I've read books in which characters act like they're a lot more younger. It would be a little too awkward if that happened.

Don't get me wrong, if the "don't act like your age" thing has something to do with the plot, then I'm okay with it. Think spies. But if it's something that has nothing to do with the actual story then I'm confused. A five year old shouldn't talk like a ten year old, a teenager shouldn't be acting like someone in their mid-twenties and so on. And it's not about those moments or scenes where sometimes the brain decides to go offline for a few precious moments/hours. I've had those too and I think everyone has those moments. And I'm not talking about geniuses either. I'm talking about constantly not believing the characters have the age they supposedly have.

What actually confuses me the most is the why behind this. Is it a choice made by the authors to make their characters act like this (symbolism maybe?) or is it just an "oops"?

What do you think about this? Does it bother you? Or do you ignore it?

Book Blitz: Camp Boyfriend by J.K. Rock

Camp Boyfriend (Camp Boyfriend #1)

by J.K. Rock

Release Date: 07/02/13

From Spencer Hill Press

Summary from Goodreads:

The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.

They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.

But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?

Available from:

   

"Fun, romantic and giddy, Camp Boyfriend brings real romance to summer camp with grace, humor and passion." - Carrie Jones, New York Times Best-selling Author of the NEED series


Exerpt:

…Seth continued to grip my hand. “Please hear me out, Lauren. This will only take a minute.”

“Fine. But just for a minute. That’s it.” I plunked down on the rooftop and swung my legs over the edge, back hunched, arms crossed.

All around us slept campers in lean-tos. By the moon’s low position, I guessed it was well past midnight. An owl hooted from a nearby pine, then took flight in a blur of white and grey.

“Strix varia,” Seth breathed behind me. “Must be after a frog. Look at him dive.”

I tracked the bird to the river. The current made a soft shhhhh sound as it flowed over and around rocks and boulders. I’d forgotten how much I loved this time of night- the peaceful, natural feel of it.

Seth’s shoulder brushed mine as he lowered himself beside me. Goosebumps broke out on my skin, every molecule in my bloodstream screaming to life. I took a steadying breath.

He wrapped an arm around me. “Cold?”

I shook my head and edged away. “You said this would take a minute, so…?”

His finger pressed against my lips while the other hand pointed. My eyes widened at the sight of a portable field telescope set up to our left. Stargazing. As science geeks, it’d always been one of our favorite things to do together. I couldn’t believe he lugged the collapsible apparatus on the trip. Given the limited gear we were allowed to pack, he’d made some sacrifices to have this moment with me.

“C’mon.” Seth scrambled across the roof, peered into the eyepiece, and focused the lens. He looked up. “Last year we talked about seeing the Perseids together and tonight’s a good clear night for viewing. I didn’t want you to miss it. Have a look.” He remembered this meteor shower that only an astronomer would love. My heart leaped. Say no, I told myself sternly in spite of its sudden jump.

“Okay,” came out instead.

My eyes flew to the sky. I hadn’t forgotten about the meteor shower and our promise to watch the skies together, but I’d put it out of my mind when I brought Matt to camp. But now… this was science, right? We could be nerds for a few minutes without acting on our hormones, couldn’t we? This was exactly what I needed. To rediscover my passion for astronomy, a part of me that I’d ignored all year, mostly because my dad had checked out of my life.

And didn’t that make me a lot like Matt—spiting myself to get back at my dad for ignoring me? I felt ashamed of myself and my pettiness.

Now, I knelt behind the telescope and looked down into the eyepiece. My breath caught at the otherworldly view. A streak of white light shown against an onyx sky dotted with twinkling stars. Behind it blazed another stream of periwinkle and azure blue. Wonder filled me. I was transported, aware of the vastness of life and my tiny place in it. The familiar, otherworldly feel brought back my Aerospace Scholar ambition and memories of planetarium trips with Dad.

I grabbed Seth’s hand, wanting him to share this amazing moment. But then his arms wrapped around me and he stared into my eyes, the stars reflected in his gaze.

Our breaths synchronized. He exhaled against my temple, making my chest flutter. I turned to tell him I had to go. But before I could speak, his lips captured mine.

My feelings for Seth rushed back with a pull as unstoppable as gravity itself. We tumbled against the roof, every nerve-ending awakening at his familiar touch. He was fantasy come to life. A forgotten dream remembered.

Seth pulled back and looked down at me with his expressive eyes. “I’ve missed you so much, Lauren.”

“Me too,” I admitted.

He rolled us over so that I was on top. My hair hung down like a curtain, the dark strands blotting out the world….

About the Authors:

J. K. Rock is the writing partnership of sisters-in-law Joanne & Karen Rock. Separately, they write adult romance. Together, they dream up Young Adult books like CAMP BOYFRIEND, the first in a three-book series. The summer camp stories continue with CAMP PAYBACK (4/14) and CAMP FORGET-ME-NOT (8/14), plus bonus free novellas in between stories. Visit http://campboyfriend.net to learn more about the series and the free prequel novella, CAMP KISS, which you can download here.

***Author Links***

Author Website / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads / Karen's Twitter / Joanne's Twitter / Facebook

***GIVEAWAY***

Grand prize - Signed copies Amanda Ink's SUN, Jennifer Armentrout writing as J. Lynn's FRIGID and JK Rock's CAMP BOYFRIEND. Also included, advance sneak peek copy Laurie Halse Anderson's THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY and Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian's FIRE WITH FIRE, plus an "I <3 my Camp Boyfriend" tee shirt, friendship bracelets,  'I <3 Camp' temporary tattoos, and a bookmark with the download code for CAMP KISS.

Three other winners will receive $10 Amazon gift cards

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Obsessed With Covers #10: These Broken Stars, The School for Good and Evil

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

I love her flowing dress and the stars make the entire cover look magical.












These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

It's been a while since I've seen a truly beautiful cartoonish cover. I like the contrasts in this cover. How the white swan (and, maybe, the good girl) is on the same side as the haunted-looking castle, while the black swan is on the side with the pretty castle, bathed in sunlight. Makes me really want to read that book.

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1) by Soman Chainani



What about you? Do you have some pretty covers to share?

Book Review: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Author: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Series: N/A
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 26th 2010
My Rating: 3.5 cups
Source: NetGalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

I have to confess that I find it very hard to review this book. I am a bit confused by the book. On one hand I liked it enough to finish reading it, on the other hand I was left a little disappointed.

What I liked most was the idea of a book of dares. It's actually the reason I requested this book from NetGalley. I saw the title, read the blurb and realized I've never read a book like this before. And I did enjoy that part of the book. Going places, doing things (completely innocent things, by the way) just to get one step closer to the finish line. It was a very interesting adventure.

Another thing I liked was the fact that Dash and Lily have very different views on Christmas, life, love. I don't think that they had a lot of things in common. And that's the thing that I liked about them. They're opposites, but they sort of click sometimes.

What disappointed me was the fact that I didn't believe Dash and Lily were teenagers. I think it's safe for me to say that teenagers don't speak in such big words. I actually found myself looking in the dictionary a few times. And, in some ways, I felt that it was pulling me out of the book. As much as I found the characters cute and interesting, the fact that I didn't believe in their age was the thing that kept me from enjoying this book completely. I actually thought that maybe they're in their early twenties or they're just about to finish college or something.

Overall:
I really wanted to completely like this book. But the big words and the somewhat philosophical way most teenagers talked in this book kept me from it. However, if that doesn't bother you, then you will find this book very enjoyable.