Wednesday 7 November 2012

Live Through This by Mindi Scott

From Goodreads: From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a mom and stepdad who would stop at nothing to keep her siblings and her happy.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now that Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

In this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel, Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect.


I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this book deals with abuse – there is a very touching post on the author’s website detailing her reasons for writing the novel – and I found it to be a very honest and intelligent portrayal. I’m sure there are many readers who could be experiencing something similar and this goes a long way in showing how it’s not as black and white as people often believe it to be.

I really love Mindi Scott’s writing style and how quickly I get into the mind of her characters. Straight away, I found myself in Coley’s world – as uncomfortable as that was. You get to feel her confusion, how repulsed she is with herself, how embed the need to hide what is happening to her is, how much she blames herself and, at the same time, how much she does care and love the person doing this to her.

I admit I had a very clear idea in my mind after the opening chapter who I thought Coley was referring to – but I quickly started to feel a very strong sense of unease once I realized I had been mistaken. I don’t want to go into too much detail here because I think that might be too much of a spoiler – but I thought this aspect was cleverly done. What I also loved about this is that Mindi Scott shows how this situation is not clean cut. There is no violence, no movie style monster of pure evil – but it doesn’t change the fact that Coley is a victim here. She doesn’t ask for what happens to her and she is not responsible for it either. You can see how desperately Coley wants to believe it doesn’t happen – that it’s just a nightmare and not real – and she holds on to that.

I really loved Reece and the sweet relationship that builds between the two of them. I also adored Noah too – they have such a great friendship and he just cracked me up. The storyline involving Alejandra was good – was Coley punishing herself or blaming Alejandra for not seeing the truth? I think it was a clever way of showing that what was happening to Coley was beginning to affect other areas of her life – she was finding it harder to pretend it wasn’t happening.

I have to admit I felt like I needed a bit more at the end. In terms of Coley’s secret I felt the story ended on a positive note, but at the same time I wanted to follow that thread and see it unfold. I would definitely like to know what happened next – just to have a little bit more closure.

Having now read and loved both this and her previous novel Freefall I am really excited to see what Mindi Scott writes next!

 

Monday 5 November 2012

Kiss Off Blog Tour (Review, Info and Giveaway Link)

For Review: Sarah Billington
Published: May 2012

THE KISS OFF DESCRIPTION

When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global.

A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she's along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn't as easy as she had hoped.

Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.


I really loved this – it’s sweet, funny and I adored the romance! Perfect for fans of Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway or Awkward by Marni Bates – I wholeheartedly enjoyed it!

I loved Poppy and her friends. All three of them shine in the story – the sensible Vanya and the slightly mad Mads – you could see how the three of them are such great friends. And I loved both Cam and Ty – I liked that the author doesn’t make Poppy’s choice an obvious one!

Plus the story is seriously funny in places. Poo Bum’s first appearance is absolutely hysterical, as is Poppy’s dads reaction to her thinking she’s being cheated on! The family dynamic is awesome – I loved it! They tease each other but obviously love each other to death too.

The romance is awesome as well. Although I would have liked to have gotten to know Ty a bit more I did really (really) like him. I also liked Cam too - he seemed sweet (and you come to realise that he might not be the bad guy after all). Ty’s story, and Poppy brush with fame makes me even more convinced I would hate it! I did love Ty’s ‘grand gesture’ though (*swoons*) And, of course, I loved the ending (I squeed a little) and it made me extra excited for the next book. I can’t wait to catch up with these characters.

Seriously good fun!

 
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You can Add The Kiss Off to your TBR list on Goodreads!  And here is information on the sequel!

THE KISS OFF 2 DESCRIPTION:

The money's in! Poppy's royalties for penning the accidental hit song The Kiss Off that shot her boyfriend's band to super-stardom are in and she knows EXACTLY what she's doing with it.

THE KISS OFF 2 will include:

A road trip with an unexpected passenger.
Camping.
The realization too late that she doesn't actually like camping.
Sunburns.
A concussion.
Accidental topless swimming.
Paparazzi punch ups.
A news-worthy (yet totally false) love triangle.
Obsessed fan girls.
A stalker.
And an overwhelming request from someone super-famous.

THE KISS OFF 2 is coming 2013.

Add The Kiss Off 2 to your TBR list on Goodreads!

And here is some information on the author, Sarah Billington:

AUTHOR BIO

Sarah Billington is an Australian writer and editor who likes to write stories with love, laughs, suspense and zombies. Sometimes all in the same story. Her favouritest thing to write about are those horrendously awkward moments that come with being a teenager. Or a human being. Sarah was extremely accident-prone and klutzy as a kid and teen, so her cup runneth over with experiences of horrendously awkward moments to draw from in her writing. Thankfully, she has grown out of her klutziness. Mostly. She is, however, still an embarrassment.

She loves a variety of random things, which include Swing Dancing, Ice Hockey, Roller Derby and is a bit obsessive about paranormal investigation shows and channel E!.

You can find Sarah online at the following links:

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKITY LINKS!

Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Official Website
Official Blog

Fancy buying yourself a copy? 

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Smashwords
Omnilit – The Kiss Off ebook only
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository – The Kiss Off paperback only
Fishpond – The Kiss Off paperback only

And there is a giveaway on Goodreads!  Just click on the link below to enter :)

GOODREADS PAPERBACK GIVEAWAY (ENDS DEC 07)



Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Kiss Off by Sarah Billington

The Kiss Off

by Sarah Billington


Giveaway ends December 07, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win


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