Impossibly Love by Shane Morgan: Excerpt

The first kiss – Branden’s POV

Moya’s eyes widened when I spun her around to face me. It was obvious what I was about to do and I knew very well she wouldn’t let it happen without a fight. Her attempts at being freed were futile as my hold increased the more she squirmed in my arms.

      “Let go!” she demanded.

      I blew hard, eager to drown myself in the sweetness of her lips. Dismissing her protest—and the little voice at the back of my head telling me not to—I shoved my mouth to hers and kissed her hungrily.

      Moya lifted her hands to my chest and pushed tentatively, and just as fast they began to lower. I knew she couldn’t resist the deep passion evoking between us. Finally, she yielded, and I wrapped my arms even tighter around her as Moya parted her lips and allowed me to enter.

      We groaned as our tongues collided, touching each other wildly as if the kiss was not only our first but our last. Moya placed her hands on my lower back, touching me sensually with her fingertips as she worked her way up my spine. She caressed the back of my neck, and then combed her fingers seductively through my hair.     

      By the time the kiss ended, we were both panting, trying to breathe steadily.

      Moya wobbled as she backed away. “I have to get to class,” she whispered shakily as if under a trance.

      I released her with regret and watched as Moya turned and started up the path, staggering along the way.

      Afterwards, I dragged my thumb lightly along my lips, eyes fastened on Moya as she walked away. I could still feel the heat of her skin on mine, giving light to a fire of pleasure that threatened to make my hands shake in memory of her taste.

      Motivated by the promise of her presence, I walked up the path as well, following behind the girl I was indisputably falling hard for and fast.

Release date: October 29th, 2013
Publisher: TSW Books
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Available in Paperback, Kindle

Synopsis

All Moya Douglas wants to do is study hard, maintain her scholarship, and make her mother proud while attending college. She doesn't have time for a boyfriend or going on dates arranged by her best friend. Moya doesn't believe in love. And she has no intention of ever finding it. 

Branden McCarthy is determined to change her views.
A selfless romantic who's had his heart broken in the past, Branden is fascinated with Moya's personality and hopes to develop something real with her—a connection so strong it'll open her heart. But just when things start to work between the two, Branden’s secret threatens to get in the way.

Will Moya finally do the impossible and give love a chance with Branden, or will fear keep them apart?

About the author

Shane’s love for writing started the moment she picked up a Nancy Drew book. At a young age, she began writing short stories, divulging in a variety of genres; from comedy, drama, to horror and romance. She’s quite intrigued by the otherworldly or things otherwise deemed “impossible.”

Wordpress | Goodreads

Book Review: Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Book: Just One Year
Author: Gayle Forman
File Type: Hardcover
Release Date: October 10th, 2013
Publisher: Dutton children's
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

synopsis: When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought. . . .

The romantic, emotional companion to Just One Day, this is a story of the choices we make and the accidents that happen—and the happiness we can find when the two intersect. 

I have to admit. This entire year, I've been on a reviewing slump. My only explanation is that I haven't felt like reviewing for a while now. I guess it's sad but sometimes you just can't help it.

Then there have also been some books which have just compelled to me pick up my hand and type. They were beautiful. They were honest. They were books I loved and can't get enough. They were books that affected me on the deepest level possible and then there were books that I simply despised.

Just One Year was a beautiful book in my opinion. While I was reading the book, I could just imagine walking through all those places Willem visited. I even had a 'OMG. I HAVE BEEN HERE!' moment when I read about Willem's journey to India. Mumbai is an over-populated vibrant city and Just One Year made me fall in love with that city all over again. I love a novel that has travelling as one its pivotal themes because it evokes this sense of wanderlust in me. It makes me fantasize more and more. It makes me love a place that I haven't had a chance to visit before. It gives me hope that ONE DAY, I would get the chance to visit one of these places and experience that city or town or village. This feeling is another shade of love and I just can't help but thank Gayle Forman for it.

I've felt this slumpi-ness before. I remember reading Code Name Verity and thinking that damn, I just need to write and that ended my slumpi-ness at that point of time. I'm not saying that Just One Year ended that slumpiness for me. I just feel that it was powerful enough to make me want to get up and just write.

Willem's journey was so much like Allyson's and it was also so very different. Willem was this interesting character who majorly pissed us girls off with his 'bye bye' act in Paris. Now that I think about it, Willem was a pretty looney character right from the very beginning. You could clearly see that with his 'I've loved girls but haven't been in love with a girl' theory and you know, lots of other things, like his random wandering and the 'yo! stranger.I flipped you the coin, now lets go on a joy trip to Paris because you want to for JUST ONE DAY.' Don't you see the pattern? Something was wrong Willem. I, as reader, ignored his crap because he was beautiful..and honest..and pretty..and philosophical..and DUTCH. And then I read that sneak peak.

And then, promptly.

I got mad.

Listen Gayle forman, if you think that I love cliffahngers then you're wrong. Because I've been dying. I've been dying to know what happened to Willem and what led him to just disappear like that! *breathes*


It's okay, Gayle. I forgive you. You wrote a beautiful novel.

I loved Willem's journey much more than Allyson's. There was this one phase or rather an entire section in Just One Day when the book just fell flat and it was boring. That was the Allyson in depression time. And it sucked. Now as for Willem? Never a dull moment. This guy was fantastic. His journey was one of self-discovery too but I loved watching him grow. I loved how he settled into his own skin. I loved how he grew. I loved him. I think that Willem is a pretty deep guy. He just needed that direction and I loved how he discovered 'his' direction.

Romance has always been my undoing and Just One Year incorporates a beautiful love story amidst its pages. I love how things come full circle. I love how history unmakes you and how it also, along the way, remakes you. History is forever because in the end, it does repeat itself and I think that THIS was the beauty of Just One Year, it remade every character. I saw most of them in a different light.
Finding yourself and life-changing actions always fascinate me. There are those What ifs I love thinking about. There are those if onlys I love wondering about. I love it. I love this introspection. I think that any book which makes you introspect yourself is an achievement for that book in itself. I wouldn't say that Just One Year would do that for you. Or it may just do that or maybe it already has or probably hasn't. It still is a given that this book year is a visual treat and a certified beauty and in some level or the other, it will touch you.

I leave you with just two words:

double happiness.

Those who've read this book would definitely get it and those who haven't, can be ready to get blown by the entire idea of it.

The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company     
Publication date: March 1st 2014
My rating: 2.5 stars

Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.Aidan planned on being a 'lifer' in the army and went to Iraq straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life.When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all?

What to say about the book which doesn't have a correct information the blurb? Aidan was not in Iraq but in Afghanistan. If I did make a mistake, please feel free to correct me. 

Based on the cover and title you would say it's about a summer romance between two wounded souls. Well, that's not completely correct. The characters are in fact going to school and there is no summer in this book (except for the title). And the cover is a fail cause it doesn't match the book, at all. Don't get me wrong, I like the colors and the picture itself it just doesn't batch with anything I read. 

Kate's still hung up on her preppy ex when she meets Aiden, a nineteen year-old 'veteran'. Together they try to use each other to forget their problems. Kate's struggling with type 1 diabetes and Aidan losing his right arm and PTSD. Thrown in there's some family drama I won't bore you with. Nothing significant. 

Can't say I was disappointed with TSIFY. That would mean having some expectations. This is the second J.Perry book I read and I think it will be the last. It just wasn't for me. I didn't think it was raw enough for me consider the heavy themes in the book. It was too light for my taste. 

Impossibly Love by Shane Morgan: Trailer Reveal

Release date: October 29th, 2013
Publisher: TSW Books
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Available in Paperback, Kindle

Synopsis

All Moya Douglas wants to do is study hard, maintain her scholarship, and make her mother proud while attending college. She doesn't have time for a boyfriend or going on dates arranged by her best friend. Moya doesn't believe in love. And she has no intention of ever finding it. 

Branden McCarthy is determined to change her views.
A selfless romantic who's had his heart broken in the past, Branden is fascinated with Moya's personality and hopes to develop something real with her—a connection so strong it'll open her heart. But just when things start to work between the two, Branden’s secret threatens to get in the way.

Will Moya finally do the impossible and give love a chance with Branden, or will fear keep them apart?

About the author

Shane’s love for writing started the moment she picked up a Nancy Drew book. At a young age, she began writing short stories, divulging in a variety of genres; from comedy, drama, to horror and romance. She’s quite intrigued by the otherworldly or things otherwise deemed “impossible.”

Wordpress | Goodreads

Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher: Synopsis Reveal

Title: Mud Vein

Author: Tarryn Fisher

Expected Release Date:   December 2013

Cover reveal organized by: Shh Moms Reading

Synopsis

When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat…and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free.

About the author 

I am a real life villain, truly. I drink sick amounts of Starbucks. Most of the time my hair smells like coffee. I was born in South Africa, and lived there for most of my childhood. I moved to Seattle just for the rain. Rome is my favorite place in the world so far, Paris comes in at a close second. I read and write more than I sleep. When I was eleven, I wrote an entire novel about runaway orphans, using only purple ink. I am addicted to Florence and the Machine and will travel to see concerts. I love scary movies and giraffes. I spend way too much time on Facebook. Meet you there?…

Facebook / Twitter / Author website / Goodreads   

Words cannot describe how excited I am for this book to come out. I adore Tarryn's Love Me With Lies trilogy and I have no doubt Mud Vein will slay as well. If you've been living under a rock for the past two years and you never heard of these books, please, Goodreads and Amazon are your friends. 

Tour Stop: Eliza Crewe and 'Why I Write Paranormal'

Please welcome Eliza Crewe here on YA Fanatic!

I love all kinds of fiction (especially the speculative kind) but I think I’m drawn to paranormals/urban fantasies in particular for a few reasons.  

First, because kickass heroines are the norm.  

I like epic fantasies and historicals and science fiction too, but I feel like no single other genre has the same high-concentration of female bad-assery that paranormals/UFs do. I mean, there are all kinds of emotionally/mentally tough heroines in other genres, but sometimes its nice to imagine a girl who gets to be as physically strong as the dudes, and I think that’s most often found in this genre.  And as fun as kickass heroines are to read, they’re even more fun to write. My main character in Cracked, Meda, eats tough guys for breakfast--literally.

Second, the voices in my head sound like friends. 

Because paranormals & UFs typically take place in the modern world, my characters’ voices sound like people I know.  My characters can reference current events and pop-culture (and make fun of them) like any of my friends would.  Plus, when you spend hours talking to yourself every week, you feel slightly less crazy if you don’t have to do it in a made up accent.

And lastly, because they make boring days exciting. 

Paranormals/UFs introduce the possibility that there’s magic everywhere, I just can’t see it--at least not yet (I’m obviously the Chosen One and they’re on their way with my magic powers and crown.  Any day now...wait for it….). Especially during that hell-on-earth known as high school, I loved to imagine the possibility that everything wasn’t quite as it seemed, that I could be more than I seemed. Rationally I knew these hidden worlds weren’t real (of course I did…), but it was nice to imagine.  I love the other spec fic genres, but they are all clearly elsewhere--UF’s and paranormals take place here.

What about you?  Why do you read and/or write paranormals?

Cracked by Eliza Crewe

Publisher: Strange Chemistry     
Publication date: November 5th 2013

Meet Meda. She eats people.
Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.
They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.
Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.
The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

Eliza Crewe always thought she’d be a lawyer, and even went so far as to complete law school. But as they say, you are what you eat, and considering the number of books Eliza has devoured since childhood, it was inevitable she’d end up in the literary world. She abandoned the lawyer-plan to instead become a librarian and now a writer.

While she’s been filling notebooks with random scenes for years, Eliza didn’t seriously commit to writing an entire novel until the spring of 2011, when she and her husband bought a house. With that house came a half-hour commute, during which Eliza decided she needed something to think about other than her road-rage. Is it any surprise she wrote a book about a blood-thirsty, people-eating monster?

Eliza has lived in Illinois, Edinburgh, and Las Vegas, and now lives in North Carolina with her husband, her hens, her angry, talking, stuffed dwarf giraffe, and a sweet, mute, pantomiming bear. She likes to partially-complete craft projects, free-range her hens, and take long walks. Cracked is her first novel.

A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers

A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers

Publisher: HarperCollins     
Publication date: September 17th 2013
My rating: 3.5 stars

Have you ever gone just a little too far?
Lexie Banks has.
Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.
But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

Everyone who's talked with me about books knows I love to read about the twisted side of romance. Anything forbidden-I'm in! It doesn't take much to make the blood flow faster in my veins. When I saw Lisa was writing a new adult novel and it was about a girl getting it on with her stepbrother and a soon-to-be-priest I was like Whaaat?  She was writing young adult novels! I wasn't the huge fan of her Personal Demons trilogy. Sorry. But she can write for an older audience! Especially bedroom scenes. 

A Little Too Far is more on the adult side of new adult with detailed parts with sex. I can't stop grinning while I'm writing this. I'm truly surprised Desrochers made the switch to the blooming NA market. 

Book starts of with Lexie complaining about her cheating ex to her hot stepbrother, Trent. They end up having sex so my perverse mind was enjoying the hell out of if. After the act they're not sure how to proceed with their relationship. Lexie leaves for Rome shortly after and meets Alessandro after her confession in the church. Alessandro is a deacon and has a soft spot for Lexie. 

I was rooting for Trent from the start cause in my opinion they were the better match and my sick brain ships it so hard. Alessandro was a small distraction. I'm sure Desrochers can find him someone else to be with. After getting a glimpse in the end of the book I'm happy with the choice she made. 

It wouldn't hurt to have more diverse sex scenes. Sure the book was ridiculous, but which NA book doesn't have a couple of mishaps? It was still far better than most. So, if you're in the mood for some sexy times, pick this book up. It will be a fun ride! 

Monthly To Read List: October 2013 + September recap

Want to know which upcoming October new releases I'm really excited to read? I'm going to pre-order Allegiant while it's still cheap. Just One Year has been pre-ordered months ago. I can't fool around with Gayle Forman.

October New Releases:

I'm so sad Allegiant and Bold Tricks are the final pieces of puzzle in two incredible stories I couldn't get enough of, even though Insurgent was disappointing. I've been a fan of these books since forever. I'm planning to get the audiobook of Unbreakable. The wonderful Candice Accola is the narrator. Give me more Simone Elkeles and Lucy Christopher! They haven't released anything in awhile and I'm getting impatient. Luckily, the wait is almost over. Horde is another must have! I might check Perfect Ruin and Teardrop, depending on the reviews. 

September was another slow month here on, YA Fanatic with Devyani studying and me working. It's hard to find the time to read and write review every few days. But I'm trying to stay active and post as much as I can. 

Zemira's reviews:

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton

After Eden by Helen Douglas

Then there was a series overview:

Ashes by Ilsa J.Bick

Devyani's reviews:

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J.Maas

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake