Saturday, May 30, 2015

'Between the Lines' by Quevina Scarver


Blurb: 

Two years after exchange student Ailbe O'Rourke arrives, the friendship he and Isla formed takes a turn, but admitting that she has developed stronger feelings for him could not only jeopardize the friendship they share, but his ability to remain with the family.

Rejection is not something 18-year-old Isla is ready to chance, but denying her feelings will leave her wondering about what could have been.

Carrying such a heavy burden already, Isla's dilemma becomes even more complicated by a secret no one would have imagined to be true.

Read an excerpt:
I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I laughed hysterically at myself. My face was covered in paint and blood from my hands. Why this was funny? It was funny because if I couldn't laugh right now then I was afraid I would cry. I may not have spoken words, but I poured my heart out to my canvas and now my heart was aching from not being closed up in a little box. Through my laughter tears flowed and blood dried up on my hands and I stood there belted over in laughter. 
“Are you okay?” I heard a voice through the door. It was Ailbe. Of course it would be him, Grayson slept with headphones on most of the time. 
“Yes.” I said through the door, but it had come out shaky from the crying. I had stopped laughing but I hadn’t stopped crying. 
“Can I come in?” 
“I said I was fine.” I tried to snap, but it came out strained. 
“Then open the door and let me see for myself.” I unlocked the door and he stepped back. 
“You don’t look fine.” 
Tears dripped down my face and my clothes were a mess and my hair was all over the place. “Well I am.” 
He looked at my bleeding hand. “You’re bleeding.” 
“I know. Glass is stuck in my hand.” Now that he was looking at me I didn't feel weak, I was able to stop crying and my voice was strong again. 
He stepped forward and reached for my hand and I pulled it away. “Let me look at it.” Hesitantly I gave him my hand. “How did you get glass in your hand?” 
“Does it matter? Why did you come over here?” I said drily. 
“Well I heard someone laughing at three in the morning, so I was concerned.” I didn't realize it was so late; I had been down in the basement since about eleven when I got home. Grayson and I didn't stay there talking to Andrew until then, but I wanted to drive around a little while and just think in silence. 
“Well I’m fine.” 
He picked a tiny piece of glass out of my hand. “No you’re not. Have you seen yourself? You have blood and paint all over your face. Your hand probably has hundreds of pieces of glass stuck in it. You are not okay.” 
“Please don't act like it matters to you.”

http://amzn.to/1HW0QG7


About the author:

Quevina Scarver was born and raised in Long Island, New York. For a few years a young age she moved back and forth between Florida and New York by choice to be with each of her parents. Around the age of 11 she began to write poetry as a way to express her feelings. For years she would only write poetry until 2009. After the birth of her son, Quevina, took to reading more and more, until one day sentences and ideas started to randomly come to her. The only way to get them out was to write. It wasn't until 2011, after moving back to New York again, that she decided writing was what she wanted to do with her life. In 2014 she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree for Creative Writing. Ever since she has started writing she realized it was a true passion of hers and took it upon herself to attend school to try to learn more of the process.

Friday, May 29, 2015

'Extraordinary (Light vs. Dark)' by Janene Murphy


Blurb:

In Book 1 of the Light vs. Dark fantasy series...

Alina Nichols thinks she’s just a regular teen until she’s forced back into a world she can’t remember. Is she a Light Warrior? Can she help The Light defeat The Dark? No one is sure. If only there was more time. There isn’t. The Dark is on the move and heading straight toward them. Its fiercest soldier, Darryn, has power like no other and he’s bent on total destruction.

So who is Alina? No one wants to know more than she does. She keeps looking to others. But soon she discovers some questions in life can only be answered from within.

Read an excerpt:
Prologue

Darryn was born with a head full of hair, black as the bottom of a well. His nose? Not the cute button seen on newborns but a long one with an upturn at the end. As for his chin, it was already angular with a cleft poised to deepen later. None of his features resembled that of a baby. Darryn had the look of a man. 
Most striking of his features were his emerald eyes. Large and deep, they had a penetrating gaze. The doctor said his eyes could pierce a person’s soul. 
That gave his parents the first clue. 
In the hospital, soon after Darryn’s birth, the nurse presented him to his parents. Nestling the blanketed bundle in her arms, his mom brushed a soft finger over his cheek. Darryn responded by opening his eyes. He gave her a long, meaningful stare. 
“We’ve been chosen,” she said. 
“He’s been chosen,” his father replied. 
They knew the infant’s purpose. Darryn knew it, too. For the next sixteen years he studied, trained…calculated. 
This story, however, isn’t about Darryn. Not yet. It’s about Alina. She was born a few minutes before Darryn in a town not too close, but not too far, away. Her eyes were not green but brown, like the bark of a tree. They seemed to hold no magic. In fact, nothing about Alina seemed special at all, inside as well as out. She was just a baby, with simple baby thoughts. She knew nothing of Darryn or his purpose. In fact, she knew nothing for a very long time. 
And that, unfortunately, put Alina at a dangerous disadvantage.

Buy links:


AUTHOR BIO:

Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, Janene Murphy currently lives in Iowa with her husband and three kids. Her website, Moms are from Mars, reaches readers in over 160 countries.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

'Scales (Falling in Deep Novella)' by Pauline Creeden

scales tour banner

ScalesVerona is a bottom feeder. She is the one mer in her clan who is considered the ugliest and least intelligent. Growing up with the constant bullying and abuse wasn’t the worst of what her kind had in store for her. At seventeen years old, she must now endure “The Reckoning.”

The scales will measure her worth to her clan. Will she endure thirty days as a land-walker to gather information and knowledge to appease her clan and return a valued member? Will she wait three years, until she is twenty, and find a mer of her kind to accept her and marry her? Or will she suffer exile for the rest of her life?

Genre: YA



Buy on Amazon Available May 26th



Pauline CreedenPauline Creeden

Pauline Creeden is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. In her fiction, she creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.


Follow Pauline Creeden:

Thursday, May 14, 2015

'My Best Friend's Brother (Book 1)' by Chrissy Fanslau


BLURB:

When Lilly announced that her estranged brother is coming to live with her, Adonia was shocked—she had no idea her best friend even had a brother! Adonia doesn’t have long to process this revelation before Lilly jets off to vacation in sunny Florida, leaving her alone for weeks. Adonia doesn’t know how she’s going to pass the time, but that changes one morning when she’s sitting in a local book store and spots the sexiest guy she’s ever seen. Little does she know, he’s spotted her too.

His name is Luke, and he’s smokin’ hot—so hot that Adonia has dubbed him a Greek god!

Luke sweeps her off her feet, beats the tar out of her jerky ex-boyfriend at school, and is a perfect gentleman—what’s not to love about her Greek god? He’s an award-winning skier and Olympic hopeful, and he’s fallen in love with HER! But between stolen kisses, moonlight skiing and heated whispers, Adonia has the feeling Luke is keeping secrets. When she tries to get him to share, Luke clams up. Not knowing what to do, Adonia decides to back off, but has no idea that everything is about to come crashing down around her.


Her love for Luke is about to be tested beyond any relationship she’s ever had! Will their love survive the test? Or will Adonia end up with nothing, just as she was starting to think she had everything?

- CONTENT WARNING This book contains non-graphic sexual content and some strong language. -


Read an excerpt:

My Best Friend's BrotherCopyright © 2015 by Chrissy Fanslau


Dad was at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee and flipping through his beloved Writer’s Digest.
“Good morning,” he said, without looking at me. 
“Morning, Dad.” I fell into my seat and practically inhaled the golden brown omelet, plump with melted cheddar and overflowing with mushrooms. “I’m going to the mall today,” I announced, silently hoping he’d let me. Sometimes Dad’s just in a stay-at-home kind of mood, but today he seemed passive. I think I’ve earned it, spending all of Saturday doing homework.
He chewed his food, his eyes glued to the magazine. “Sure, sweetie,” he mumbled.
I smiled and finished my breakfast.
“Don’t you have homework, Adonia?” Sullivan mocked in Dad’s direction.
I rolled my eyes. 
Sullivan has brown hair that hangs halfway down his neck, which he parts down the middle and tucks behind his ears. His eyes are hazel and his mouth is too big for his face—no surprise! He teases me about everything, and even became friends with Jake after the break up. The little pest invited him over to play video games and kept me cornered in my room. 
I shot him a look. Luckily, Dad hadn’t even looked up.
“Jake’s coming by today,” Sullivan informed me, looking for a reaction.
“So? I’ll be at the mall all day.” I took a sip of orange juice. “You know, I can hear your music all the way over here,” I said loudly, hoping Dad would lecture him again. But Dad still didn’t look up, and Sullivan pointed at me and laughed noiselessly. 
 “What do you two want for dinner?” Dad asked lamely, still reading.
Sullivan slammed his fists on the table. “Lasagna!”
Dad looked bewildered. “Lasagna? For the third time this week?”
I shook my head and rinsed off my plate.
“Be back by nine,” Dad said. I turned and looked at him. “It’s a school night!” he briefed. Then he buried his head back in his magazine.
I sighed, walked to the front door and put on my sneakers.
“And keep that cell phone on!” he insisted from the kitchen.
I stepped into the chilly Alaskan air, headed for Mom’s silver Jeep Grand Cherokee. She lets me drive it while she’s away. She’s in Australia until late November, doing research on the Aborigines.
I cranked the engine and sat waiting in my seat. The car reeked of vanilla. I adjusted the automatic leather seat and carefully backed out of the long driveway. It was overcast out, like it’s going to snow. I’m not a fan of driving in snow, but it’s better than not driving at all. I haven’t crashed a car yet, and I’ve been driving since sixteen.
For a Sunday, the mall was pretty dead. It’s not a huge mall by any means. It has a pet store, a book store, a food court, a couple clothing stores, a Halloween shop, a music store, a movie theater, and an arcade. If you have lots of interests, you can spend a good day there. I’m particularly fond of the book and pet stores, though I couldn’t buy any pets there anyway, because pets are big no-no’s with my parents, especially Dad. When I get my own place, I’m buying a puppy before I even fill the fridge.
Upon entering the bookstore, I was greeted by a tall, nerdy clerk. He knows me. I’m one of the regulars.
I usually spend a while in there, browsing the young adult novels.
Classical music played over the loudspeaker, and the place smelled incredible—there’s nothing like the smell of ink and paper! At least, not for bookworms like me there isn’t!
I seated myself at the base of a bookshelf in the back of the store and looked through some books. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I’m one of those people that do—I like to see what the guys portrayed inside look like, and read through the book briefly. I’m not into naughty books, but I’ll have to admit, I am seventeen, and I am curious.
I spent a good hour reading, ignoring all the passersby and the loud giggly girls—as I call them—who walked in and headed straight for the adult romance novels. You know, the books with the half-naked men and extremely content women on the cover? Those novels. 
The girls gathered around in a circle, whispered loudly, read and pointed and giggled, and this would—on some days—go on for about thirty minutes straight. This time, though, they went on for nearly an hour, about twenty or so feet from me, laughing wildly. It annoyed the hell out of me.
I skimmed through a book titled Love at the End of the Day, which seemed like another I’m-going-away-to-college-and-I’ll-miss-you kind of book. The kind that depressed me in more ways than one, because I too was facing the uncertainty of college. And—what’s worse—I had no one to say goodbye to, because I was single.
I closed the book and sighed uneasily. My focus turned suddenly to a guy dressed in loose black jeans and a white muscle shirt. He wore a silver chain around his neck, held a black leather jacket, and strolled through the aisles in search of something. His hair was golden blond, split down the middle like Sullivan’s, but far shorter, leveling off at the top of his ears. He stopped in an aisle in the center section of the store, between me and the giggly girls. I thought he stopped in the travel section, but I wasn’t sure. Not until he picked up an atlas of Alaska.
I watched him curiously for some time. I hoped he wouldn’t look my way, because I stared like he’s a Greek god or something.
This guy is seriously hot! Too hot to even live here!
He eagerly skimmed the atlas. After some time, he bent over, put it back on the shelf and picked up another. He stood back up and looked through it, and when he tilted his head my way I got a glimpse of his eyes. His eyes are a light crystal blue, unlike any I’ve ever seen before! They’re incredible! Too hot for words!
I jumped and practically juggled my cell phone when it rang. Looking around sheepishly, I hit the green talk button.
“Hi!” It was Lilly.
“Hi,” I breathed softly. And I nearly choked on my spit when I saw him eyeing me! His head was slightly turned my way.
“We need to get together. I’m leaving in the morning,” Lilly said, preoccupied in the background. “Do you want to meet at the ice rink? It’s been a week and I won’t have any practice for another three.” Chatterbox Lilly has a tendency to go off on tangents. This time I couldn’t catch it all because a Greek god distracted me.
His eyes alternated between me and his book, though each time our eyes met, he looked away. “Lilly,” I hissed so he couldn’t hear me, “there’s a seriously hot guy in here.”
She stopped talking to her mother in the background. “What? I didn’t hear you.”
I turned my head toward the bookshelf so he couldn’t read my lips. “There’s this guy in here, and he’s really, really HOT.” I turned my head in time to see him stick his nose back in the atlas. “Did you hear me?” I asked in my normal voice.
“Yeah,” she uttered, “something about a hot guy. So go talk to him!”
“I don’t know...” I was always the shy type.
“No, you should. Where are you?’
“At the mall,” I replied. Then I remembered. “Hey, how’s your brother?” Please mention his name!
“Oh, he’s good,” she breathed. “He met Burke this morning, because Burke was on a business trip much of the weekend,” she said, going off on another tangent.
The giggly girls grew noisy, so I pressed the phone hard against my ear to try to make out what she was saying. I couldn’t catch most of it.
“Are you there?” is the next thing I heard.
“Yeah,” I breathed. “Can you come by the mall?”
“I’d like to, but I’m packing. Can you come by here? When I finish, maybe we can go skate?”
I was about to say yes when a smile formed on his lips. He was still looking at the atlas, but it felt like it was directed at me. I bit my lip, trying to decide—best friend or drop-dead gorgeous hot guy? Ugh, decisions! But what kind of a friend would I be if I refused to see her before she left on vacation? “I’ll be right—”
She cut me off. “Someone’s on the other line, how about I call you in a few hours, okay? I think it may be my brother, probably lost already. He’s been out all weekend in some cheesy rental! I just hope it’s not that dumb jock again!”
“Um, okay.” I was going to ask if she wanted me to drop by, but she hung up.
I put my phone away and looked at the giggly girls. They’re all pretty short—not that I’m tall or anything—two brunettes and three blondes. All between fourteen and sixteen. One of them pointed to him, the others checked him out and whispered back and forth like sixth-graders.
Annoyed, I stuck my nose back in the book. When my eyes wandered a few seconds later, he was looking at me, plain as day!
He gestured to the giggly girls with his head, made a bit of a face and smiled.
My shoulders sunk toward my feet and my mouth formed a grin. He’s looking at me! Naturally, I tried to contain myself—I’ve imagined things like this before. Yes, I’ve imagined gorgeous, literate guys checking me out, when they’re merely zit-faced losers with braces, dirty hair and the inability to formulate a sentence.
Need I remind you, the guys at school are not much to look at?
His attention shifted away from me. He put the atlas back on the shelf and pulled out another. Yup, I’d imagined it! But I found pleasure in watching him anyway, so I did.
There’s a term for that—it’s called stalking, right?
Before I could stalk much longer, he put the atlas down and very coolly strolled my way.
I pretended not to notice. I didn’t want to look dumb when he’d pass by me. That’s happened before, too, and not with a guy this hot. 
My eyes fixed to page sixteen. I waited in suspense.
No one passed by. My breath stopped when I looked up: There he was.
“Good book?” he asked with a half-smile.
“Uh-huh,” I uttered, unable to find my voice.
He cocked his head and looked at the cover. “Love at the End of the Day,” he read, straightening his head and nodding as if that answered his question. “Going to buy that?”
I glanced toward the front of the store, where the clerk sat in a rotating chair, blowing a bubble and lost in a book. My eyes met the Greek god’s. “I don’t know. Should I?”
He shrugged. The giggly girls laughed loudly, but he blocked my view of them. “You could buy it and have lunch with me. Or you can leave it and have lunch with me…” The corners of his mouth rose into a seductive smile. “Or, you can bash me over the head with it for asking.” He grinned.



http://amzn.to/1Hk1RaR

Rave reviews!
My Best Friends Brother is a fun, witty romantic comedy that can be enjoyed at pretty much any age—whether you’re a teen or way out of high school! It’s one of those rare books that encompasses pretty much everything a good YA novel should consist of. You will not be disappointed, and once it’s over, you’ll be reaching for the sequel, BOOK OF LUKE, due out this fall!


AUTHOR BIO

Chrissy Fanslau is a bestselling illustrator, crafter and writer of witty young adult fiction. She lives in Alaska with her wonderful husband, their brilliant daughters and Max the giant malamute.

Available YA books: Life with Jesse Daniels, My Best Friend's Brother (My Best Friend's Brother, Book 1)

Upcoming books: Book of Luke (My Best Friend's Brother, Book 2), Spirit Guide

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/ColdSnapBooks

Website:
www.ColdSnapStudio.com

Blog:
www.ColdSnapStudio.Blogspot.com

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

'The Ungoverned' by Jaq C. Reed


Book Description:

Hot New Dystopian sets pace for summer reading!

Ara is Code Yellow.

In a world of assignment, there is no choice. Ara lives, works, and breathes under the rule of the Governance. It’s a race against time, as every minute is counted down off her clock of life.

The annual cull of the population threatens her friends, family; everyone close to her. Missteps lead to questioning and torture.

She is genetic perfection; the impure of the Nation are cast out and terminated. Mingling with anyone outside of Rank brings with it the possibility of code collision and termination. The Code keeps everyone, including Ara, under complete control of the Governance. Until she becomes unCoded.

From a life of drudgery, Ara unwittingly becomes the face of revolution. With the forbidden love of the Governor’s son and the Cull looming, can she save her friends from torture? Can she save her family from certain death? Can she save herself?

http://amzn.to/1HdRa6K

About the author:

I grew up in a Rural Community. I spent my hours outside since I was a child, running barefoot, AlWAYS, until my mom caught me cutting the grass with barefeet. The green grass stains gave it away. From then on I wore shoes to cut the grass... And in the winter. Our winters were brutal, hitting minus 40 regularly. My dad would slave us in the summer to supply our own wood for the furnace, and we would garden in the summer. I spent the winters reading. I have always loved Sci-Fi and Fantasy. By the time I was 18 I was ready for a city and off to college I went. I spent a few years having too much fun, then a few years working, some continuing years with children, and developed a deep mourning for the kind of life I had been privileged to have growing up. A deep sense of connection to nature came back to me. I live now, telling stories and sharing my life with a couple feral kids, a blind greyhound and a very fat cat. And I'm still terrible at housework.

Visit her on Goodreads and Facebook.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Read an exclusive excerpt from 'Out of Control' by Sarah Alderson


Out of Control

by Sarah Alderson


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

When 17-year old Liva witnesses a brutal murder she's taken into police custody for her own protection. But when bullets start flying, it becomes clear that Liva is not just a witness, she's a target.

Together with a car thief called Jay, Liva manages to escape the massacre - but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun two killers who will stop at nothing to find them.

When you live on the edge, there's a long way to fall.

Read an Exclusive Excerpt:
The boy’s jaw works angrily, his eyes dart once around the room, taking me in with a narrowed look of suspicion before the cop barks something at him that gets his attention. It’s only then that I notice the handcuffs. He hunches over, almost as if he’s trying to hide them from me. I stare at him more closely, wondering what he’s been brought in for. Then I remember we’re sitting in the homicide department.

‘Name,’ the cop demands.

‘Jaime Moreno,’ he answers quietly, spelling it out. He says it with a slight Spanish inflection so it sounds like Hay-may. As the policeman writes it down, the boy looks over at me briefly and I see something flash in his eyes – pride or anger, I can’t tell which. Maybe it’s both.

‘You’ve been read your rights,’ the cop says now. ‘You got one phone call, Moreno. If I were you I’d use it to call your momma and tell her you ain’t gonna be home for a while.’ He stretches, reaches for a pencil. ‘You know, you could make this go a whole lot easier if you started talking.’

He pushes back from the desk, freeing his belly, stands up and stretches. ‘I’ll just go and see if a cell’s opened up.’

Once he’s gone, the boy stays sitting there, his shoulders slightly hunched, his jaw working overtime. His lips are pressed together tightly and his hands are clenched in his lap as if he’s praying. I almost feel sorry for him. Then I see the board of open murder cases on the wall in front of me and my sympathy magically evaporates. I hope if this boy’s guilty they lock him up and throw away the key.

http://amzn.to/1G1p281


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sarah is the author of Hunting Lila (winner of the Kingston Book Award), Losing Lila, Fated, The Sound, Out of Control and Conspiracy Girl (all Simon & Schuster).

Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the nonprofit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home (a journey that was documented on this blog and which is shortly to be published as a book).

After almost a year spent travelling the world, they settled in Bali where they lived for five beautiful years before the vagabonding urge became too great and they decided to embark on Can We Live Here part two. They are currently located somewhere between India, London, Canada and the US.

As well as writing young adult novels and screenplays, Sarah also writes adult fiction for Pan Macmillan (Simon & Schuster in the US) under the name Mila Gray.

Her first adult novel, Come Back To Me, was published in June 2014. The second, This One Moment, will be out in August 2015.

Links:
Website http://sarahalderson.com/

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/sarahjalderson

Twitter http://www.twitter.com/sarahjalderson

Instagram http://instagram.com/sarahaldersonauthor

Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarah-Alderson/e/B004Z2L0FI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Blog http://canwelivehere.com/

Sarah will be awarding $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn commenter and a signed copy of her new book, Conspiracy Girl, to a second randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour (US/Canada only on books). Follow along for more chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Review of 'The Evolution of Lillie Gable (Eastbrook #2)' by Kristen Otte


The Evolution of Lillie Gable (Eastbrook #2)

Young Adult Contemporary
Date Published
: March 31, 2015

Meet Lillie Gable- high school sophomore, outgoing, beautiful, athletic, and funny...

She is the life of any party. Her boyfriend, Jake, is a smoking hot senior, and Lillie is on track to be a starter on the varsity girls' basketball team this year.

But trouble looms behind the façade. Lillie's home life is a wreck. Her father is hiding a secret, and Lillie is determined to find the truth, even if it tears apart her family.

While she searches for the truth about her father, the last thing Lillie needs is a feud with Angela Barrett, the brass, bleached blonde senior who is the queen of the rumor mill. Angela is determined to ruin Lillie's reputation because she has set her sights on Lillie's boyfriend, Jake.

Heartbroken and humiliated, Lillie can't return to the life she once knew. Does she have the strength and resolve to forge a new path now that everything is changing?

Read an excerpt:
It was almost ten, and Jake needed to go home, but she didn’t want him to leave her in the empty house.

“I have an idea,” he said. He threw on his T-shirt and stood up. “We both don’t want this awesome summer to end, so I think we should have one more day of summer.”

“What are you saying?” Lillie asked.

“Let’s ditch school tomorrow. We can spend the day at the beach. It will be quiet because everyone will be at school, and we get to have one more day at the beach,” he said. Excitement was written all over his face.

“Ditch? I don’t know, Jake,” she said. She loved his impulsiveness, but ditching school could get her in serious trouble.

“It’s the first day. You know nothing happens on the first day. Teachers aren’t paying attention to who should be at school and who isn’t there. It’s the perfect day to ditch. We’ll leave at the same time we should be heading to school. Your parents won’t have a clue. They aren’t around ever.” He grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes. “C’mon, it will be lots of fun.” She turned her gaze from him and mulled over his argument. He’s right. The first day of school is pointless.

“Okay. Let’s do it,” she said. He grinned, gave her a big hug, and lightly kissed her lips.

“I’ll pick you up first thing.” He turned and walked out the door. Lillie locked the door behind him. She turned off the lights before heading upstairs. She brushed her teeth, set her alarm, and collapsed on her bed. The silence overwhelmed her. She switched on her television so she could sleep.

**My thoughts**

Lillie is one messed up girl. She is trying to juggle her popularity, a relationship, a best friend, a worst enemy, a basketball team, and horrible family craziness. You couldn't pay me to go back to school to deal with that kind of drama again. As a result, Lillie keeps getting herself into trouble. I think readers can learn some good lessons, just as Lillie is forced into learning a lot of life lessons.

I cringed at a lot of her decisions. I am grateful I didn't have to deal with as much crap when I was in high school. I worry about kids who are in school now, especially with the added problems of social media and camera phones. I pray that kids who are confronted with similar situations have someone to whom they can reach out for help.

The book was an easy read and went by quickly, though I felt like it was a little flat at times. It was almost as if I was being told a story, instead of really being shown the story. I didn't quite connect to Lillie and all of her emotions. That being said, I wouldn't write it off, because it does adequately chronicle Lillie's evolution, as denoted by the title. Perhaps younger readers will relate to it better than I did. I best related to the setting of the book (Cleveland, Ohio), as I am also originally from Ohio. I am also now curious to read the first book in the series, that tells Rachel's story. Rachel is Lillie's best friend, and she has interesting secrets in her own life. 

http://amzn.to/1EutSFz

About Kristen Otte


Kristen Otte is an author who calls Cincinnati, Ohio, her home. Her mission is to bring joy and laughter to people young and old with stories. She writes books for children, teens, and adults. In her free time, she can be found running, reading, coaching basketball, playing board games with her husband, or walking her crazy dogs, Zelda the Pug and Peach the Boston Terrier.

Learn more about Kristen and her books at kristenotte.com.

Website: kristenotte.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkristenotte

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kristenotte1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kristenotte

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/KristenOtte