Book Review: Upside Down by Lia Riley

Upside Down (Off the Map #1)

Lia Riley

NA, Contemporary, Romance

e-ARC from Netgalley

See on: Goodreads

Buy links: Amazon

 Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she'll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.

Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He's never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime . . . or if they were meant to live a world apart.

Book #1 in the OFF THE MAP series

In the beginning, I try to dampen down my dislike for the main characters. I'm not really sure why, but they, Talia and Bran, have my blood simmering. I guess it's because they try to run away from their problems. They shut down in their own way. They shut others from knowing them and leaning on other's support. And yet, as the story progresses, they begin to open up and learn to depend and share. In that, they found each other. 

Over time, I got to find the good things in both of them. I like Talia's no-nonsense attitude. She would take no crap from Bran as she wants him to give it to her straight. If things aren't working out on Bran's end, she would say so and leave Bran's sorry butt. I also like how Bran retained his character til the end. Bran is a first-class donkey (I'm trying to tampen down my swearing so it's donkey) and he remains that way til the end. What I like is that Bran tries hard. He tries hard to stop being a donkey especially to Talia. 

Overall, it just showed how both characters are imperfect yet perfect for each other. The book did not show how, when you're in love, you immediately turn into Prince Charming or Snow White. It just showed how hard it is to cope from things of the past and the importance of letting people in your life and helping you out. 

If you have read, cried over, loved and worshiped Miles Archer and Tate Collins story, Upside Down would be right up your alley.

I

 Lia Riley writes offbeat romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound pretty sweet.

She and her family live in Northern California.

Author links:
 Website ll Twitter ll Goodreads

Blog Tour: Paranormal Keepers by Jen Naumann!

Title: Paranormal Keepers
Author: Jen Naumann
Publication date: March 11th 2014
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

BUY LINKS:
Amazon |  B&N

Everyone thinks Harper Young killed her boyfriend. No one will say it to her face, but the signs are everywhere.

It’s almost been a year since Gavin was torn from Harper’s arms and brutally murdered. The police wrote it off as a freak accident, deciding Harper’s strange testimony was given under duress. But she knows something unnatural was involved and refuses to stop looking until she finds his killer, even if it means her reputation as a senior is ruined. Even if it means there really are monsters living among us.


With the discovery of the mothmen, witches, vampires and all the creatures she always suspected were out there, Harper finds herself amidst a complex bundle of unseen heroes who call themselves "Keepers", sworn to keep the secret of the paranormal creatures that walk this earth. As she tries to understand what’s so special about her that she’s able to break an old Keeper law, Harper has a baffling vision of kissing a mysterious guy before a blade is brought down on him. Before she can get a handle on her future, she becomes central to a battle between the questionable “heroes” and the evil she’s been training to fight, leaving her to wonder if there’s any way to change the fate that has been foretold before it’s too late.

I really liked the beginning and intro of this book, especially after introducing the wonderful Gavin. I was hooked with their relationship. They have a connection with each other even though they’re still young. After the death of her boyfriend, it was exciting to see what would happen next. Since her friends turned on her and she was cast out, it was interesting to see if she will get her revenge. She never stopped looking for clues as to what or who killed Gavin. The only friend she has is her online friend Vhunter. 

I was disappointed with the preceding events. It became like a cliché thing. Here is the secret world of paranormal and she goes to this Academy of people who knows about the paranormal world or IS a paranormal. The classes were also a bit like HP. Witchcraft 101, Handling the Undead. 

Another thing, I wasn’t really hooked with Dexter. 

I’m more of a fan of Gavin or Professor Davies.

Nonetheless, I liked it. I would like to see what happens to Harper. Will she learn how to fight? What happened to Gavin, Sofia and Leo? A box full of mysteries was opened at the end and it made it exciting for the second book.


I guess the lesson here is that never let peer pressure let you do things you don’t want to.

Jen Naumann grew up in southern Minnesota as an addict of such flicks as Indiana Jones and The Goonies until she discovered John Hughes, and spent her high school days locked away writing love stories with a sci-fi twist. Married to a farmer in southern Minnesota, she tries to follow the madness of her four active children while balancing an imagination that never shuts down. As the author of CHEATING DEATH, SHYMERS, AND PARANORMAL KEEPERS, she writes stories with strong female leads who have a good sense of humor and tend to fall in love despite their better judgment. For more on Jen visit her website www.JenNaumann.net.

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Book Blitz: Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry!

Title: Breaking the Rules
Series: (Pushing the Limits #1.5)

Author: Katie McGarry 

Release Date: 12/08/14

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

A summer road trip changes everything in this unforgettable new tale from acclaimed author Katie McGarry.

For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes her so... different. It means seeing cool sights while selling her art at galleries along the way. And most of all, it means almost three months alone with Noah Hutchins, the hot, smart, soul-battered guy who’s never judged her. Echo and Noah share everything — except the one thing Echo’s just not ready for.

But when the source of Echo’s constant nightmares comes back into her life, she has to make some tough decisions about what she really wants — even as foster kid Noah’s search for his last remaining relatives forces them both to confront some serious truths about life, love, and themselves.

Now, with one week left before college orientation, jobs and real life, Echo must decide if Noah's more than the bad-boy fling everyone warned her he'd be. And the last leg of an amazing road trip will turn... seriously epic.

Available for Pre-Order:
     

Books in the series:
(covers linked to Goodreads)
   

“Me and you,” I whisper, hoping my words will sink into her subconscious, beyond where she overthinks. “It’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Echo’s hand glides over mine, and she links our fingers together. “You like disturbing my sleep, don’t you?”

I kiss her shoulder, permitting my lips to linger on her soft skin. Guess I did wake her. “Just keeping things straight between us.”

“In my sleep?” Damn, I love that groggy voice.

“You argue less that way.”

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, katielmcgarry.com, follow her on Twitter @KatieMcGarry, or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.

   

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Book Review: Santa's Little Helper by H.D. Gordon

Santa's Little Helper

H.D. Gordon

Paranormal, Horror

See on Goodreads

Buy links: 

Amazon

 He shows up in a white box, with a bright red book under his arm... He wears a jolly grin and hat, a suit with gold bells and green yarn... He watches you for Santa, or so his red book claims... But though his grin is jolly, he's not here for fun and games...

The children have been chosen, such precious little souls they are... And may the Gods be with them, if they wish to make it very far... For Santa's Little Helper does not say, but knows important things... He knows when you've been bad or good, and what monsters stalk your dreams... He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake...He's picking out his presents...He's got some souls to take.

**ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review**

Is it really weird of me to want to see one of----
Yeah, I'll be taking back and putting a hold on that thought.
I'd really rather not see one.

Santa's Little Helper reminds me of the cute little elves we see in the movies.

They're so cute right?
Well, get ready to have your images shattered, only to be replaced by something that will and can possibly haunt your dreams forever (or for at least a little while).

Unassuming yet utterly disturbing, the little doll is truly something you wouldn't want to get for Christmas. Unluckily enough, four children where chosen to get the doll. The reason of their choosing, for me, is still a little bit unclear even when I've already finished the book. Moving on, the doll brings terror not only to the children but also to their families. It has caused so much pain, both physical and psychological, that it blurred the line between fantasy and reality.
 
Santa's Little Helper shows the power of imagination. So believe, even for a little bit, the supernatural and paranormal and prepare yourself. You might not know but right at this moment, somebody, or rather, something, has already put you on it's naughty list.

H. D. Gordon is the bestselling author of THE ALEXA MONTGOMERY SAGA, THE JOE KNOWE SERIES and THE SURAH STORMSONG NOVELS. She is a mother, a poet and a self-proclaimed philosopher. She is twenty-five years old and lives in the northeastern United States.

Author links: 

http://www.hdgordonbooks.com 

http://twitter.com/hd_gordon 

https://www.facebook.com/HDGordonauthor