Book Review: Because of You

** I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review **

I really wanted to like this book. The blurb immediately drew me in, and I'm a sucker for a love story. 

Seven years ago, Maddie came home to find both of her parents dead. The killers were still in the house, so she ran and hid. She recognized one of the intruders as her best friend's father, and the chief of police. Maddie's aunt and uncle recognize the danger she's in, so they whisk her away from her hometown and get her out of Chief Hadley's sphere of influence.  Hurt and confused, Maddie doesn't even say goodbye to her best friend Kyle before she leaves. 

Kyle writes to Maddie, and calls her, confused about why she disappeared. How can Maddie explain to him what she saw? Would he even believe her if she tried? Her aunt and uncle convince her to cut Kyle out of her life thinking it will help protect her and help her move past her parents' murders.

Everything is going according to plan until Maddie goes away to college. Kyle attends the same school. They are repeatedly thrown together and Maddie eventually runs out of excuses for trying to stay out of his way. Sparks fly, and they become inseparable again. Things get complicated when Kyle's family begins to see Maddie as a threat. Maddie is forced to choose between breaking her own heart by cutting Kyle out of her life a second time, or keeping the few loved ones she has left safe.

Given that I received an ARC, I'm willing to let all the grammatical errors slide--and there were many. There was also a lot of redundancy, like the word opportunity used twice in the same sentence. Maddie also seems to feel everything in her thighs. Excited? Thighs tingle. Kyle walks by? Thighs tingle. A virgin immediately having such sexual reactions to everything seemed very out of place to me. There were a lot of side plots that went unresolved also. Like Gina and her drug problem and enabler boyfriend. And Gina's rape(s) at various parties that went unreported without any repercussions for the rapists. I know that it's tragically common for that to occur, but it was swept right under the carpet in the book as well, and I feel like Gina deserved better than that. Everything else was tied up in a quick chapter at the end. All of the important bits like justice for Maddie's parents were glossed over. The ending felt very rushed. Overall, I was very underwhelmed.

Two out of five stars.

Release Day for Because of You

BECAUSE OF YOU, by ReShelle Workman

Genre: Contemporary-Romance

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Release: January 18, 2016

Cover Artist: The Cover Lure

Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

There’s a first time for everything… and sometimes that means a first time at a second chance.

It’s been seven years since Maddie Martin’s parents died. Their killer wasn’t just a random stranger, but her best friends’ father. Kyle Hadley. The boy she’s been in love with since she was old enough to understand the emotion, the boy she promised all of her firsts to. Worst of all, Kyle’s father got away with it, and Maddie hasn’t seen Kyle since.

That changes on her first day of college. Seeing Kyle again brings back all of her childhood feelings of friendship and love for him, but it also brings back the anger, sorrow, and pain she’s been trying to bury because of his father.

Kyle Hadley has no idea why Maddie quit talking to him, especially when he needed her most. But he got over it, refusing to waste his life mourning the only girl he ever loved. There are too many women, too much of life to experience to bother thinking about Maddie. Except he does. And when he sees her again, he knows it.

But there are problems beyond Kyle and Maddie and their old feelings. The two of them are in danger and one or both might end up dead.

About The Author:

RaShelle Workman is the author of the popular Blood and Snow series. She loves to reinvent fairy tales readers can sink their teeth into. Her stories include vampires, werewolves, witches, aliens, and creatures of her own creation. Her books: Sleeping Roses, Exiled, Beguiled, and Dovetailed have foreign rights contracts with a Turkish publisher. RaShelle is also one of the co-founders of IndiePUBCon. Currently, she lives in Utah with her husband, three children, and their three dogs.

Visit www.rashelleworkman.com to join RaShelle’s EXCLUSIVE mailing list and be entered to win a signed paperback copy of Blood and Snow volumes 1-4 (Special Edition). And be sure to like her Facebook page for all the latest news: https://www.facebook.com/rashelleworkman.

Find the author Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.

Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

The Loss of an Icon

I wasn't born when Lennon was shot, but my older sister remembers.  She says my mother sobbed when she heard the news, mourning his loss as if he was a friend or brother.   I always found it odd that she could be so affected by the death of a man she had never met, a man that was oblivious to her existence entirely.

And then I read the news this morning.  David Bowie is dead.  The Goblin King is gone.  As I scrolled through my Facebook feed, reading tributes to a lost icon, I wept.  I played his music in the car as I ran errands, and I wept.

With his death, a small part of me has also been lost.

He was my first celebrity crush, with his tight gray pants and drag queen makeup.  I worshipped him. I tried to be swept away to his goblin kingdom, but the words didn't work for me.  The magic only belonged to Sarah.

  I memorized the Labyrinth soundtrack, quoted the lines every time I watched the film.  I tried to imitate his eye makeup, always falling miserably short of the mark.  In my prepubescent confusion, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to be him, or marry him.

The part of me that dreamed I could grow up to be him is gone forever.  That piece of me, the one that held onto the hope that we would meet one day, and instantly become best friends, has withered away.  It left an emptiness I hadn't realized was possible.

So, I get it. Like my mother, I find myself sobbing in my kitchen, not just because the world lost a great man, but because I miss the part of me that went with him.

R.I.P. Mr. Bowie 

8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016

Book Review: Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

I absolutely loved The One and Only Ivan, so I was stoked when I saw that Katherine Applegate had another book out. I didn't even read the blurb regarding what is was about. I just grabbed it from the library and carried it home, and then I read it in an hour...You read that right. I just sat down and devoured it.

Jackson's family is struggling to even make it from paycheck to paycheck. Most of the time, they don't.  His dad is sick, but still works as much as he is able.  His mom has three part time jobs and is always looking for more work. Jackson and his sister Robin are hungry, and they've had to sell most of their things, even their bed frames. Jackson is old enough to know things are bad, but his parents try to hide their financial problems from him.

Jackson meets Crenshaw for the first time on the first night his family has to spend in their minivan. Crenshaw is a giant black and white cat that loves to stand on his head. He gives Jackson someone to talk to and company when he's feeling more lonely than he ever has before.  After fourteen long weeks of living in the van, Jackson's family gets an apartment and Crenshaw disappears.

Things go great for about four years, and then cupboards run empty and the power gets shut off. Jackson thinks he's too old for an imaginary friend, but Crenshaw reappears just as things get really tough for Jackson's family.

This story is about friendship, ann hardship, and telling the truth, but most of all about love. It was unbelievably touching, and I can't wait until my son is old enough to share this book with him. Pick this book up and give it a read. You'll love it, and that's a fact.

Five out of five stars

First Review of the New Year

My review of this book is a bit overdue, as I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The book was released last month, but December was a bit of a blur, and reading fell to the wayside amidst all the holiday hubbub.

Find Me if You Dare is the sequel to Catch Me When I Fall. Kayla's father is an evil warlock named Tamesis who wants nothing more than watching the world burn.  Her boyfriend, Daniel, is a Protector, a holy avenger that fights Nightmares and demons to keep humans safe. His love for Kayla has eclipsed everything else and he will stop at nothing to keep her safe, especially from her own father.

Tamesis plans to unleash an apocalypse on Earth, purging it of human life so supernatural beings can come out of hiding. He needs four magus to act as the horseman of the apocalypse. He has three of them, but Kayla is the fourth and most powerful.  In an effort to bring Daniel and Kayla out of hiding, Tamesis begins releasing the horsemen.  Pestilence is first, in the form of a plague that sends any of those it infects into a coma.  Some wake in three days and continue their lives as if nothing ever happened.  Most of the infected never wake. Those that survive become carriers, their blood lethally infectious to any who haven't been exposed. The second horseman is War, and Tamesis has more than just the magus and Nightmares on his side this time.  Other supernatural creatures, like vampires, join him and ravage human cities and towns, laying waste to much of the world.

Daniel is torn with indecision. He wants so desperately to keep Kayla safe, but he'll never forgive himself if he stands by while Tamesis destroys the rest of humanity.  The decision is ultimately Kayla's.  She chooses to train with another magus as well as the protectors, honing her battle skills with magic as well as physical weapons in case her father somehow saps her magical abilities. As she grows stronger, Daniel begins to worry that he's going to lose her.  Either her father will force her to fulfill the dark destiny he has planned and then kill her once she's no longer useful, or Kayla's magic will grow so strong that she's able to defeat Tamesis, but she loses herself to the dark power needed to make victory possible.  It's possible that if Daniel can be a strong enough for her that she won't succumb to the darkness, but his love might not be strong enough to save her. For the world's sake, he hopes it is.

The second novel in Vicki Leigh's series keeps the action moving at a quick pace.  Daniel's english is of the British variety, so there may be some bits that have awkward wording, but it doesn't effect the reader's enjoyment of the story. I'm interested to see where the final installment of the trilogy leads Daniel and Kayla.

Three and half out of five stars.