Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross

Title: Whatever Life Throws at You

Author: Julie Cross

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Life loves a good curveball…

Seventeen-year-old Annie Lucas’s life is completely upended the moment her dad returns to the major leagues as the new pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. Now she’s living in Missouri (too cold), attending an all-girls school (no boys), and navigating the strange world of professional sports. But Annie had dreams of her own—most of which involve placing first at every track meet…and one starring the Royals’ super-hot rookie pitcher.

But nineteen-year-old Jason Brody is completely, utterly, and totally off-limits. Besides, her dad would kill them both several times over. Not to mention Brody has something of a past, and his fan club is filled with C-cupped models, not smart-mouthed high school “brats” who can run the pants off every player on the team. Annie has enough on her plate without taking their friendship to the next level. The last think she should be doing is falling in love.

But baseball isn’t just a game. It’s life. And sometimes, it can break your heart…

There is nothing I love more than a sweet contemporary with a kick-ass girl and swoon-worthy guy. I'm always on the lookout for just that kind of story. So when I heard about Julie Cross' Whatever Life Throws at You, I knew it was going to be right up my alley. And it totally was and I just tore through this book.

Annie Lucas was perfectly happy staying in Arizona. She went to school, kicked ass in track and even had a scholarship lined up for college even though she had a year left of high school. But when her dad gets the opportunity to get back to professional baseball as a pitching coach, she knows she can't stand in his way. Even if it means moving across the country to Kansas City, Missouri. When she gets there, the first person Annie meets is Jason Brody, the completely off-limits new rookie pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. Annie couldn't be farther from the type of women Brody is usually seen with. But you can't fight attraction, even if it could result in her dad killing them both. 

Whatever Life Throws At You is a book I randomly came across a while back. It sounded like something that I would enjoy so I promptly added it to my Goodreads "to read" shelf, like I do for dozens of other books. But then I saw someone tweeting about it last week and was reminded it of it. I quickly checked and it was available for my e-reader so I figured, why not? Honestly, I couldn't be happier about that random decision. I loved every page of this story. It didn't take long for me to get caught up in Annie and Brody's story. It was just so fun and happy and sweet. It was just a great romance read that was perfect for the mood I was in at the time. But I also loved the sport element that was present throughout the story. Whether it was seeing the behind the scenes of a professional baseball team or being at Annie's track meets, I just loved how sports were integral to this story. At times, it even felt like baseball was a character in the book. But not enough of one to overshadow the actual characters who, FYI, I loved.

If there's one sport I can relate to, it's running. All through middle and high school I ran cross-country and track competitively. So right off the bat (baseball pun not intended), I could relate to that aspect of Annie's character. But beyond that, I loved Annie's drive, how she wasn't afraid to go for what she wanted, even if it sometimes meant she acted before thinking things all the way through. Annie was just an all around great character and I loved getting to read this story from her perspective. And there's nothing I enjoyed more than seeing her interact with Jason Brody. If you haven't already met Jason Brody, you are missing out. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't exactly think much of him at first. He very much came across as that stereotype you have of a young professional athlete. But once the layers started being pulled back, I just loved him more and more. Let's just say that I would happily let him whisper to me in Spanish to calm me down in the middle of a tornado warning. And needless to say that I loved seeing Annie and Brody's relationship go from friendship to something more.

Julie Cross's Whatever Life Throws At You is a fun and adorable contemporary romance, perfect for sports lovers. It was exactly what I was in the mood for when I read it, and I would strongly encourage you to do the same. Odds are, you won't regret it.

Waiting on Wednesday (67)

For those who don't know, Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where book bloggers showcase books they are particularly looking for to. For the next few weeks, I'm going to be doing this a little differently. Like I did last year, each week I will be talking about books that are coming out early next year from different publishers. Up this week are January 2013 releases coming from St. Martin's Griffin.

Vortex by Julie Cross
January 8, 2013

Julie Cross's Vortex is the thrilling second installment of the Tempest series, in which the world hangs in the balance as a lovelorn Jackson must choose who to save.

Jackson Meyer has thrown himself into his role as an agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats. Despite his heartbreak at losing the love of his life, Jackson has proved himself to be an excellent agent. However, after an accidental run in with Holly--the girl he altered history to save--Jackson is once again reminded of what he's lost. And when Eyewall, an opposing division of the CIA, emerges, Jackson and his fellow agents not only find themselves under attack, but Jackson beings to discover that the world around him has changed and someone knows about his erased relationship with Holly, putting both their lives at risk all over again.

Though I had my issues with the first book, Tempest, it ended on a really interesting note that left me wondering what would happen next. It was the kind of book where it took me a while to get into it and I started liking it right before it ended, so I'm really interested to see where Julie Cross is going to take the story in Vortex.

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

January 15, 2013

Anna remembers a time before boys, when she was little and everything made sense. When she and her mom were a family, just the two of them against the world. But now her mom is gone most of the time, chasing the next marriage, bringing home the next stepfather. Anna is left on her own--until she discovers that she can make boys her family. From Desmond to Joey, Todd to Sam, Anna learns that if you give boys what they want, you can get what you need. But the price is high--the other kids make fun of her; the girls call her a slut. Anna's new friend, Toy, seems to have found a way around the loneliness, but Toy has her own secrets that even Anna can't know.

Then comes Sam. When Anna actually meets a boy who is more than just useful, whose family eats dinner together, laughs, and tells stories, the truth about love becomes clear. And she finally learns how it feels to have something to lose--and something to offer. Real, shocking, uplifting, and stunningly lyrical, Uses for Boys is a story of breaking down and growing up.

Right when I read the summary, I knew that I just had to read Uses for Boys. It honestly sounds like it has the potential to be a great story, and one that will no doubt have my heart breaking on more than one occasion. I honestly can't wait to be able to read this one.

Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel

January 29, 2013 

Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human--and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss. 

With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead…

I cannot even begin to explain how long I have been waiting for Stolen Nights. I absolutely loved Infinite Days when I read it over 2 years ago and I have been (im)patiently waiting for the second book. Though I feel a reread of Infinite Days may be in order so I know what's going on when I pick up Stolen Nights. 

So these are the January titles from St. Martin's Griffin I'm eagerly awaiting. From all these posts the last few weeks I feel like January is going to be an awesome month for books. Be sure to come back next week to see what books I'm waiting on from HBG & Disney-Hyperion!

Tempest by Julie Cross

Title: Tempest (Tempest #1)

Author: Julie Cross

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: January 17, 2012

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Of all the books coming out this month I think Julie Cross' Tempest is probably the one that has gotten the most hype. It feels like I've been hearing about this book for the longest time. When I finally started reading it, I had really high expectations. Most of those were met but there are still some elements that I would have liked to be different.

While he just seems like a spoiled rich kid from Manhattan, Jackson Meyer is a little more than that. Jackson can jump through time. He can't travel very far back and nothing he ever does in the past changes the present. So he doesn't worry about it too much. But when strange men barge in to his girlfriend Holly's dorm room pointing guns, things change. Holly gets shot and Jackson finds himself two years in the past and unable to get back to the present to save Holly. Stuck in the past, Jackson digs around and discovers that everything in his life may not be exactly as it seems, especially where his father is concerned. And when he discovers the truth, everything in Jackson's life changes, both in the past and in the present.

This book has been getting hype for the longest time an the movie rights were sold long before the book was scheduled to be released. Based on that alone, I had very high expectations going into the book. And then I kept reading positive reviews which only served to raise my expectations even more. So all that to say that the bar was set very high. And so I started reading and I found myself getting frustrated with the book. It was definitely a slow start and a little confusing. But I kept reading and eventually things picked up and became clearer. And I also found myself enjoying the book more and more. By the end I really liked it and things were getting interesting. Hopefully the next book will start right where this one left off and jump right in to the action.

It took me a really long time to figure Jackson out. It may have had something to do with the fact that she constantly had to change his identity based on what time he was in. But once I finally figured him out, I kind of liked him. His only fault was that he had a bit of a one-track mind at times. All he could seem to focus on was Holly when there was so much else going on. Holly, both 007 and 009 Holly, was someone I could really get along with if she really existed. She seemed genuine and in a refreshing twist, wasn't boy crazy. Though my favorite character was probably Adam. He was an absolute nerd and I loved him for it. Whenever he said something I just couldn't help but smile. It's hard to say anything about the other characters without revealing too much. All I will say is that Jackson's father was the one who surprised me the most.

Tempest was an enjoyable read and one that suggests the rest of the trilogy holds a lot of promise. While I was not disappointed per say, I expected more from the book and I hope to see more action and development in future installments.