Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Publisher: Harlequin Teen    
Publication date: January 28th 2014
My rating: 4 stars

Life. Death. And...Love?
Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.
But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.
Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.
Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

I've said this and I'll say it again. Elizabeth Scott is an excellent author. Family issues are always more important than getting a new boyfriend in her stories and I admire that. When I read she teamed up with Harlequin Teen I was so happy because it seems that S&S didn't promote her books at all. I remember when Miracle came out and I didn't even know it was released for months. Not until I was looking for some recommendations and stumbled upon it. 

Emma's mother died but machines are still keeping her alive because she is pregnant. Emma is angry at her stepfather for picking the baby instead of her mom. They had a great relationship and it all changed the day her mother died. Not they hardly talk and when they do, they fight. Emma's best friend is her only solace. She keeps her occupied, away from all the negative thoughts she has about her mother. Emma is still thinking about Anthony, her ex which wasn't even an ex but things change fast when she sees the local druggy, Caleb in hospital. 

At times I was really angry at Emma because of the way she acted towards her stepdad when he was clearly still in mourning. She was either snapping or ignoring him. Sure, he pooled away from her and was more concerned about this unborn son but still... He was so nice and he did love Emma like she was his daughter. In spite of her lashing out I couldn't shake the thought what I would do in a similar situation. Would I try to calm down or blame everyone else for the things they weren't even responsible for? Who knows. 

Emma and Caleb's relationship blossomed with time and they actually had a lot in common. They both lost someone important. Caleb turned out to be a pretty decent guy. It's not every day we get to read about a guy blushing in front of girl. Most are confidant and popular which got old pretty fast. 

Elizabeth developed great minor characters like Emma's talkative best friend who hates gadgets, even the smart ex, Anthony. 

If you enjoy reading heartbreaking stories with 'the light in the end of the tunnel' then you can't miss Heartbeat. It will make you cry at least 3 times and it will make you smile. Another Elizabeth Scott hit! 

Book Review: Crown Of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Book: Crown of Midnight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
File type: paperback
Release date: August 15, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

synopsis: 
An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. 

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

I started loving this book as soon as I came across this:

"Her lovely dresses and ornate clothes were gone, replaced by an unforgiving,close-cut black tunic and pants, her hair pulled back in a long braid that fell into the folds of that dark cloak she was always wearing..."

You see, when I met Celaena Sardothien, I thought that she was the most vain and stupid 'assassin' that I had ever come across. In fact, if you think about it, there was nothing really assassin-y about her. All she cared about was how pretty she looked and how ugly everybody else were. There was this one time when I actually found her badass, but even that moment was quickly overpowered by her absolutely mental attitude.

And now? I guess, we never really got to know her. It makes sense. It was the first book. If Ms.Maas had played all her cards right at the start then would Crown of Midnight be CROWN OF MIDNIGHT?
Because holy hell, this book is absofreakinglutely fantastic. There were so many times when I kept on wondering if I was reading the sequel of the previous book or some other random book. Seriously. This was so unexpected.

At this stage, even if there were any flaws, I don't think I noticed any one of them because I was so busy picking up my jaw from where it fell on the ground. I think I was in this perpetual state of gaping and gawking throughout the entire book. There were those twists. There was Chaol (OMG, you girls. I know WHAT you guys were talking about. *fans herself*). Then there was Celaena. I think I have even started to like Dorian as well. But, Celaena stole the show.

She was so BADASS. I can't even begin to tell you how much my insides were quaking whenever she went into her assassin mode.

"It was war upon them all. Let them tremble in fear at what they had awoken."

I loved this Celaena. I loved her choices, her decisions, her thoughts, her ideas because they made sense. I understood why she did what she did and there was never a moment when I felt that I needed to scream at her. She was so so good.

Chaol and Dorian. I remember not finding either of them appealing in Throne Of Glass. Given a choice, yes, I would have always gone with the captain but, like I said before, I never found any of them appealing. They were these characters that had been placed there for the sole purpose of a love triangle and I just couldn't bring myself to care about them. And now? HOLY CRAP. Dudes, where have you been?
Chaol and Dorian are very different from each other. While Dorian may come across as a person who's much softer in his demeanour, it's safe to say that it was Dorian's and not Chaol's decisions and ideas that I thought were much more rational. Chaol on the other hand, is all man and awesomeness. IF Chaol enticed your hormones in ToG then in CoM, he will entice your soul. I just..I just...I just don't know what more to say?

It really is hard to write a review about something you truly truly love because sometimes what you feel is so hard to explain and put into words. There were so many things in Crown of Midnight that had me shaking and jumping. I love me some actions and it was full of it. There were so many mysteries and so much of love, that I still get a bit choked when I think about it. Many times during the book when I was doing my side business of guessing the storyline, I just kept on wondering if everything was as predictable as it seems, but NO! Ms. Maas made sure that she twists you in her coil of awesomeness every which way and that you love it! And love it, I did.

Everything is so much better in this one. EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL. I never want to let go of this book. This book has raised the bar to such an extent that if the third book doesn't outdo this one then I would be left heartbroken.

You made me like you Celaena. I want you to make me love you. I want to love you. For all I know, I probably do.

My review is such a hotch-potch of thoughts and emotions. I start writing about something and then I start remembering my experience with the book and then I start thinking about something else and then I start writing about that! So I apologize if this review seems a tad incoherent.

Did I tell you how much I loved the characters? I think I already did. But I have so many emotions right now and I just do not want to stop. No character was perfect. They had their good and bad days and when they felt happy, I genuinely felt elated but when it came their misery, I swear, my heart broke every single time with each and every blow. Did I mention the storyline? I think I did that too! I just want you all to know that this was one hell of a blockbuster and that if you didn't read this one then you will be missing out on a very successful book.

If you are a person who was initially very skeptical about reading this one? DON'T BE. Forget your apprehension and just dive into it. And for those who loved it, you're all bookie-clairvoyants. You just knew that this was going to be awesome.

"We'll never be a normal boy and girl,will we?" she managed to say. "No", he breathed, eyes blazing. "We won't."

*sighs*

DAMN YOU 2014.

Monthly To Read List: September 2013 + August recap

It's that time of the year! September has arrived and it bringing so many exciting new releases. I only pre-ordered Fangirl but I'm going to order The Dream Thieves soon and I won The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. Here are the new September releases I'm going to read for sure.

September New Releases:

I know this is a lot of books but keep in mind it's September we're talking about. It's the biggest book month, in my opinion.Fingers crossed I'll have enough time to read at least half of them. You can click on pictures for more info. 

Like every year, I have a lot of work to be done around our house so I don't have plenty of time to read. Most of the time audiobooks've been my saviors. I put my headphone's on whenever I'm working and I did read a lot of urban fantasies, again. I've read 29 books in August! Oh,wow. :O But I didn't review most of them because I'm usually so tired I can't wait to fall asleep. Here's the link to my GR challenge if anyone's interested in what I've been reading. 

Zemira's reviews:  

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Devyani's Reviews:

The Sound by Sarah Alderson

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend by Cassie Mae

Stacking the Shelves

I haven't posted StS since early August. Didn't have much to share since I was waiting for my books to arrive. But here's my latest haul. I got some wonderful books.

WON:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

BOUGHT:

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J.Maas

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

FOR REVIEW:

If I Die & Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond

Skulk by Rosie Best

Thank to MiraInk and Strange Chemistry for the books!