A Short List of New Adult Book Recommendations

New Adult books can be the best amount of sexy and riveting. Unfortunately, there's always those ones that need tossed - at a wall, in the trash, into space, etc. 

I've come up with a list of New Adult recommendations; each of these books has a great main character, with a hunky love interest.

Beautiful Disaster

Jamie McGuire

(Beautiful #1)

Publication Date: May 2011

Paperback, 416 pages, Atria Books

Genres: Contemporary

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

INTENSE. DANGEROUS. ADDICTIVE.

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

My Thoughts

I’m sure every NA fanatic has devoured this book. And that’s awesome, because to be frank, it is awesome. If you haven’t started reading the NA genre yet, this is a great book to get started with. It’s fun, sweet, and intoxicating all at the same time.

The Edge of Never

J.A. Redmerski

(The Edge of Never #1)

Publication Date: November 2012

Paperback, 426 pages

Genres: Contemporary

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?

My Thoughts

This book was a mystery. Going in I had no idea how this whirlwind of a NA was going to work out, but I enjoyed myself immensely. The characters are given so much detail, from their minute quirks to their larger issues, each kept me reading.

Flight

Alyssa Rose Ivy

(The Crescent Chronicles #1)

Publication Date: August 2012

Paperback, 268 pages, Createspace

Genres: Paranormal

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Sometimes you just have to take flight.

A summer in New Orleans is exactly what Allie needs before starting college. Accepting her dad’s invitation to work at his hotel offers an escape from her ex-boyfriend and the chance to spend the summer with her best friend. Meeting a guy is the last thing on her mind—until she sees Levi.

Unable to resist the infuriating yet alluring Levi, Allie finds herself at the center of a supernatural society and forced to decide between following the path she has always trusted or saving a city that might just save her.

My Thoughts

This book has a great premise! The supernatural creatures are incredibly unique, and the way that Allie gets to be a part of their world is so funky and strange that you just can’t help but want to keep reading.

The Bane of Every Book Nerd's Existence (aka Reading Slumps)

 Books just don't hold my attention as much. Not in the last few weeks anyway. And that makes me super angry. I've been telling myself not to buy ANY books until I've read a few of the ones that I already have, but I just can't find any that capture my attention. I've picked up four different books and stopped each one less than 20 pages in. It's sooooooo frustrating!

Right now, I'm in the mood for contemporary, something I don't own a lot of. And to make that even harder, I'm super interested in teenage pregnancy stories. (I know, totally random.) But, like I said, I own none of those.

So, I wanted to see what you guys do to try and nudge your way out of a reading slump. Do you re-read old favorites? Read a short book? Just work through it? Please, tell me your bookish secrets.

*Note: The above images do not belong to me. They are linked to their respective sources.

I'm BAAAAACK!

Kudos to my awesome readers for sticking with me through this terrible posting slump. I do, however, have an excuse for not blogging in the past few weeks.

...

...

 ...

I got my first real job. And yes, I've had jobs before, but this job is a lot tougher than my last two. Instead of answering phones and writing articles, I'm making sandwiches. 

That's right, I work at SUBWAY!

Who knew putting meat, cheese and veggies on a sandwich could be so time-consuming?!

So thanks for sticking with me! I'm going to get myself in gear now and think up some posts for the next few weeks. TTFN!

New and Pretty YA Covers of 2015

I'm just going to share some very beautiful images with you today. Feel free to drool and/or covet deeply.

I haven't read the first two books in the series yet, I don't even own them, but these covers are so amazing. I don't even like the color red, but this is gorgeous.

Ignoring that ugly Cover Not Final thing in the corner, this cover is hunk-a-licious. It's definitely better than Erased's cover - that boy was too young looking, but this one, he's just right...

I don't know 100% what this book is about, I read the description, but I can't remember. Do I care though? Nope. It's got lasers and people running. I must have it.

This is another one of those series that I haven't started yet. But I will. Eventually.

So. Freakin'. Pretty. That is all.

This is just lovely. I want it very much. What can I say? I'm a sucker for girls-in-pretty-dresses books.

Shimmery light? Check. Pretty silvery font? Check. Gorgeous skyline? Check. On my bookshelf? Unfortunately, no check... yet.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I hoped that this thing was coming out this fall. Sadly, it doesn't release until 2015. What. Is. Life.

Yeah. Yeah. So I haven't read the first book. That doesn't mean I can't pet the loveliness that is this work of art.

It's creepy. And I like it. And once again, I haven't read the first book.

I really don't understand these covers. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy their aesthetically pleasing qualities, though.

Butterflies on book covers. How original. Not. While I'm not a huge fan of the butterfly itself, I still really love the font and the colors. Plus, it's by Rachel Vincent.

 There's some 2015 releases and their magnificent cover art. Which book's cover do you like the most? Sound off in the comments.

Review: Incubus by Jennifer Quintenz

Incubus

Jennifer Quintenz

(Daughters of Lilith #2)

Publication Date: June 2013

Paperback, 316 pages, Secret Tree Press

Genres: YA, Paranormal

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Braedyn Murphy used to think nothing important ever happened in her sleepy town of Puerto Escondido. But that was before she learned she was a descendent of Lilith, the mother of all demons. Now Braedyn fights to protect humanity from the Lilitu - the beautiful, souls-stealing daughters of Lilith.

As she fights the Lilitu, Braedyn must also fight her growing love for her boyfriend Lucas - because even a simple kiss could end his life. Their only ray of hope is an angel’s offer to make Braedyn human, but it’s an offer she can’t accept until the world is safe from the Lilitu.

Braedyn knows she’s a key player in this ancient war... but she’s not ready to believe she just might be humanity’s best hope of surviving the final battle for Earth.

My Review

Things are gettin’ demon-y up in here. Braedyn and her assorted crew are back and are getting ready to prepare for the big showdown, but there’s a pesky incubus in the way.

This story, much like the first one, contains contemporary issues with a lot of paranormal aspects thrown in. Does that make sense? I’ll explain. Braedyn is trying to survive high school, and a bully, who we’ll get to later, a boyfriend, old and new friends, and a creepy teacher. Then you throw in her Lilitu background and things get crazy up in here.

Braedyn is a physically and mentally strong character who is able to portray her story in a believable manner. I think Braedyn’s a real depiction of a teenager. Even though she’s pretty much a sexy succubus, she still has her insecurities and doubts. And of course there’s the fact that she has to keep her make out sessions with her smoking HAWT boyfriend as short as possible. That brings me to Lucas. I still am in a serious lust relationship with this man-child. I did kind of feel that Lucas needed a tad more development, but his and Braedyn’s relationship was definitely given more room to grow and flourish in this book.

Braedyn’s friends played a large role in the story, for which I was pretty excited about. It did keep the Guard characters in the background a little more than I would I have liked, however. I enjoyed all of the characters’ page-time, nonetheless.

The plot of the story was a tad bit predictable. Once I was about halfway through I knew what was going to happen. Although, Quintenz did manage to have me doubting myself with the minor twists and turns that were thrown in. Especially the thing with Amber. Didn’t expect that at all.

All in all, Incubus is a great sequel with the potential to lead to a pretty epic conclusion. If you want a paranormal read that isn’t about vampires, werewolves, angels and all the other overly popularized monsters, Incubus and its predecessor, Thrall, are the books for you.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the author. This in no way altered my opinion/review.

Firelight by Sophie Jordan Book Trailer

The World of Book Blogging and Its Similiarities to Booktube

I've been watching Booktube videos for about a year now. They're fun, entertaining, and oftentimes they express frustrations or other emotions that are just too hard to express on a blog post.

I was watching amandapearl2books's video and I was thinking about how this applied to me. I don't idolize the Booktube community, I know that they're just people who have their own set of hopes, dreams, fears, etc. But then I realized, some of the issues that she discussed are relevant in the blogging world. And that's the world that I am really a part of. 

I've been blogging for quite a while. Years, actually. And I don't have a lot of fame and followers like other blogs. (And that's perfectly okay, because I love each and every one of my followers.). I do constantly find myself wondering if the lack of comments that I get on a post is because I don't have a high-quality blog. There are other, higher-scale blogs out there that look fabulous and get so much attention. I can't afford to have my blog designed by anyone, yet I've found myself saying that, "If I pay for an update, maybe I can get more comments."

The only times people actually want to talk to me on my blog are when I do meme posts. And that's because I put my link in the Linky-thing. Hardly anyone actually comments on the posts that I spend a lot of time thinking about, or the reviews I take the time to write.

I know this is kind of a whiny post, and if people do read it, I might get some flak, because I'm just as guilty for going on a website and only commenting because there's a giveaway or something. It's just some food for thought, and now I can stop idolizing the bloggers who I wish I was, and just be the blogger that I am.

Waiting on Wednesday: Kiss Kill Vanish

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

Kiss Kill Vanish

Jessica Martinez

Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Hardcover, 432 pages, Katherine Tegen Books

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Valentina Cruz no longer exists.

One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio’s arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split-second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind.

She doesn’t know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio’s love, was real.

She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can’t run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangles the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth.

My Thoughts

Killer boyfriends? Count me in! I have no idea what’s going to happen in this book, besides the obvious, and I want to know about Emilio sooooo badly. Someone give me this book!

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Claudia Gray's Books - UNCOVERED

Let’s be honest with each other, sometimes we judge a book by its cover. Sometimes we don’t even judge a book by its jacket cover, but by its insides.

And, to be even more honest, sometimes a book lover just needs to stare at the prettiness that is underneath the dust jacket. So I decided to UNCOVER all of Claudia Gray’s books. And now you may look at the nakedness below.

 Books with their clothes:

 

Books without their clothes:

 

Gorgeous, right? The prettiness just makes me want to re-read the Evernight series and start Spellcaster (but I can't because I want to wait and just marathon the entire series when it’s out. *sigh*).

What other books should I UNCOVER for your viewing pleasure?