Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) by Amy Spalding

Title: Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys)

Author: Amy Spalding

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist meets Easy A in this hilariously realistic story of sneaking out, making out, and playing in a band.

After catching their bandmates in a compromising position, sixteen-year-old Los Angelenos Riley and Reid become painfully aware of the romance missing from their own lives. And so a pact is formed: they’ll both try to make something happen with their respective crushes and document the experiences in a shared notebook.

While Reid struggles with the moral dilemma of adopting a dog to win over someone’s heart, Riley tries to make progress with Ted Callahan, who she’s been obsessed with forever—His floppy hair! His undeniable intelligence! But suddenly cute guys are popping up everywhere. How did she never notice them before?! With their love lives going from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye, Riley and Reid realize the results of their pact may be more than they bargained for.

Cute romances that get compared to Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Easy A automatically get added to my TBR. Ad to that a blurb by Stephanie Perkins and I am sold. And that’s how Amy Spalding’s Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) found itself on my radar.

Until Riley and Reid caught their bandmates in a compromising positions, neither one of them thought much about their lack of experience when it comes romance. Now, both of them decide that it’s time to do something about it. Together, Riley and Reid make a decision: they are both going to put themselves out there and document the results in a shared notebook, that way they can both learn from the experience. But things don’t exactly go as planned. Reid ends up with a new dog while Riley is struggling to make progress with longtime crush Ted Callahan. Instead she finds herself with two other prospects. And before either one knows what’s happening, Riley and Reid’s love life take off in a way they never planned.

I remembered when I first heard about Amy Spalding’s Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) and immediately wanting to read it. Fast-forward a few months when people start reading it, and all the reviews coming in were just making me want to read the book that much more. So I was excited when I finally got a copy for the book. And I had certain expectations when I started reading. And I’ll be honest and say that those expectations weren’t fully met. I definitely got a really fun story. I got sucked in right away, curious to see where their plan would lead Reid and Riley and what kinds of situations they would get into. I also really enjoyed the way the story itself was told, split between chapters from Riley’s perspectives and excerpts from the notebook they shared their experiences in. Most of the time, those notebook excerpts were from Reid’s perspective so it was really great to get some insight into his character as well. What I wasn’t completely sold on, was the romance, which makes me a little sad because that’s a part of the story I had definitely been looking forward to. By the end of the story, I was a little more on board with it, but there was a large portion of the book I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

As much as I might have had my issues with the romance throughout the story, I really liked Riley. Her voice was great. I loved reading about her slight neuroses when it came to figuring out what exactly was happening (or not happening) in her love life. She was just a really fun character to read about and she was the perfect voice for this story. It was fun to see her with the different guys she went out with, and her passion when it came to music. The one aspect of Riley’s character I struggled with for a while was her feelings for Ted Callahan. For a while, I just didn’t really get it. I mean, Ted seemed like a nice enough guy, but compared to the way Riley would talk about Milo and Garrett, the other two guys she ended up going out with, I just couldn’t seem to understand the obsession with Ted. And maybe that was sort of the point? That it started out more as an obsession than feelings based on actual interactions with the person. The more I read, I the more I got on board with the relationship between Riley and Ted because I could see her realizing that she was going from being “obsessed” with someone form afar and actually liking them from who they are. But even by the end of the book, I still felt like I was only just getting a handle on who Ted was and I would have wanted to find out more about him. And maybe that’s it, I feel like I didn’t get to know Ted enough for me to really fall for him the way Riley does.

Amy Spalding’s Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys) was a fun and quick read. Though it wasn’t quite the story I hoped it was going to be, I still found myself enjoying the story as I was reading it. 

Blog Tour - Play On by Michelle Smith + Giveaway

Title: Play On

Author: Michelle Smith

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / B&N / IndieBound

In the small town of Lewis Creek, baseball is everything. Especially of all-star pitcher Austin Braxton, who has a one-way ticket out of town with his scholarship to a top university. All that stands between him and a new start is one final season. But when Austin starts flunking Chemistry, his picture-perfect future is in jeopardy. A failing grade means zero playing time, and zero playing time means no scholarship.

Enter Marisa Marlowe, the new girl in town who gets a job at his momma’s flower shop. Not only is Marisa some home-schooled super-genius; she’s also a baseball fanatic and more than willing to help Austin study. As the two grow closer, there’s something about Marisa that makes Austin want more than just baseball out and out of Lewis Creek—he wants a future with her. But Marisa has a past that still haunts her, one that she ran all the way to South Carolina to escape.

As Austin starts to peel back the layers of Marisa’s pain, it forces him to look beyond the façade of himself and everyone he thought he knew in his town. What he sees instead is that in a small town like Lewis Creek, maybe baseball isn’t everything—maybe it is just the thing that ties them all together. 

I am a complete and total sucker for any book that involves sports. I will read pretty much any and all books that someone recommends if they feature sports in some way. I wish that were an overstatement, but it really isn’t. So Michelle Smith’s Play On? Totally up my alley.

Baseball has always been a part of Austin’s life and he knows it’s the only way he’s ever going to get out of Lewis Creek. He has it all planned out, so long as he gets through this final season, his scholarship is guaranteed. But with his chemistry grade dropping, Austin’s baseball future might not be as sure a thing as he thought. Falling chemistry would mean spending the baseball on the bench. And just when Austin is starting to get desperate, he meets Marisa, the new employee at his mom’s flower shop and chemistry genius. What starts out as simple tutoring, quickly becomes more as Marisa and Austin spend more time together. And much to his surprise, Austin quickly realizes he might want more than to just leave Lewis Creek and play baseball. With Marisa, he can see a future he never considered before. And that future is the one he wants.

I thought I knew what I was going to get when I first started reading Play On. I was totally expecting a cute romance story with baseball. And I was all over that. Because, hello, romance AND sports? This book had my name written all over it. So I started reading and I was getting all the adorableness I had come to expect from the description. And then I got to finding out about Marisa’s past as hinted at in the synopsis. And that’s when I went from liking Play On  to full on loving it. What you will not guess from reading the synopsis is that Play On deals with mental health in a way that felt completely realistic and organic. As a reader, I wasn’t hit over the head with the mental health aspect of the story. Instead, it was woven in throughout the story. As hard to read as some parts were, it just felt natural in the greater context of the story. Yes, there were some serious subject matters being dealt with, but never idd it make the story feel heavy. And that’s why I loved this story so much. Not only was the romance and adorableness completely on point, it dealt with mental illness in a completely realistic way.

How do I even begin to explain how much I loved Austin. I mean, he’s a baseball-playing, Southern momma’s boy. What was there not to like? It took absolutely no time at all for me to fall for his charm. He was basically the embodiment of all my weaknesses when it comes to book boyfriends (and real boys, if I’m being completely honest). So basically I loved Austin and I loved his voice. Reading his story, he just felt so completely genuine. And sweet. And goofy. And adorable. And kind. And considerate. And supportive. Austin was basically all I wan in a book boyfriend. Which I’ve said already, but that’s the point. Austin was great. And that was especially true when I saw him interacting with Marisa. These two were just so completely adorable together. Reading about them, I just had this big goofy smile on my face, I just couldn’t help it. Even in the more serious moments, I loved the way Austin and Marisa were together. They did their best and were there for each other as best as they could. Basically, they are one of my new favourite couples. I should also mentioned that I loved so many of the secondary characters. Even if they weren’t as big a part of the story, they all felt fully fleshed out. Would it be getting my hopes up to ask for a story about Jay and Brett? Because I would so totally read that. Or one about Eric. 

In case you couldn’t tell, I totally LOVED Michelle Smith’s Play On. This story was absolutely perfect. It was a mix of adorable, heart-warming romance and just the right amount of serious. I really couldn’t have asked for a better story. And I want more, plain and simple. 

About the author:

Michelle Smith was born and raised in North Caroline, where she developed a healthy appreciation for college football, sweet tea, front porches, and a well-placed “y’all.” She’s a lover of all things happy, laughs way too much, and fully believes that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.

Michelle lives near the Carolina coast with her family

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Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark

Title: Finding Mr. Brightside

Author: Jay Clark

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Release Date: March 24, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Abram and Juliette know each other. They’ve lived down the street from each other their whole lives. But they don’t really know each other—at least, not until Juliette’s mom and Abram’s dad have a torrid affair that culminates in a deadly car crash. Sharing the same subdivision is uncomfortable, to say the least. They don’t speak.

Fast-forward to the neighborhood pharmacy, a few months later. Abram decides to say hello. Then he decides to invite her to Taco Bell. To her surprise as well as his, she agrees. And there real love story begins.

It doesn’t usually take much for me to read a book. Well, for me to be interested in reading any given book. If it has a premise that sounds like something I would enjoy, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll end up reading the book. Most of the time, I come out the other end having read an enjoyable story, and that’s exactly what happened with Jay Clark’s Finding Mr. Brightside.

Abram and Juliette have lived on the same street their whole lives, but that’s the only thing linking them together. That’s until her mom and his dad have an affair that ends with both of them killed in a terrible car crash. That was almost a year ago, and Juliette and Abram have avoided each other since. How do you talk to the person who related to the person who ruined your family? But one night, Abram decides to strike up a conversation with Juliette when they cross paths at their local pharmacy. An unlikely friendship is struck that night. And before Abram and Juliette know it, that friendship is becoming something else entirely.

The thing about Jay Clark’s Finding Mr. Brightside is that it’s really short. Like barely over 200 pages short. So when I first got the book, I was kind of curious as to how this story was going to work. How everything the synopsis promised was going to be able to take place in such a short span of time. I was even a little afraid that everything would feel rush and that the romance between Juliette and Abram wouldn’t feel genuine because of it. In the end, though, I shouldn’t have worried too much because everything worked out just how it was supposed to and the story didn’t feel rushed in the least. Yes, it was fast-paced, but it worked nicely in the greater context. And I really liked the fast-pace of the story, the constant switching back and forth between Juliette and Abram’s perspectives. It kept me guessing and kept me flipping the pages to see how their story would turn out. And it was just really fun to read how these two people came together in the face of the tragedy that connected them.

Abram and Juliette could not have been more different from one another. Where Juliette is all about following the rules and structure in her life, Abram much prefers just going with the flow and seeing what happens. Really the only thing they have in common is the fact that their parents had an affair together, and that’s not really sometime you want linking you to something else. But they became friends in spite of it all and I loved seeing that relationship develop, how each of them had a positive influence on the other, getting them out of the sort of funk both of them had been in since their parents’ deaths. Abram and Juliette complemented each other. They just worked and I was so happy when they both realized it as well. Even if they weren’t always willing to admit it to themselves and each other. And at the end of the day, they were just kind of adorable together.

Jay Clark’s Finding Mr. Brightside was a fun and lighthearted story. Though it was fast-paced, it didn’t take away from the story’s heart and the romance was right on point. If you’re in the mood for something short and fun, this is the book for you.

Cover Reveal - Chasing River by K.A. Tucker

We have been dying to share this Cover Reveal for K.A. Tucker's CHASING RIVER with you all! CHASING RIVER is a New Adult Romantic Suspense novel, and the third novel in K.A. Tucker’s Burying Water Series, published by Atria books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster. CHASING RIVER is set to be released July 7, 2015! If you haven't had a chance to check out this series yet now is the time!

To celebrate, BURYING WATER, with an excerpt of CHASING RIVER, is just $1.99 for the month of April!!
Grab BURYING WATER and BECOMING RAIN while you wait for CHASING RIVER!

About Chasing River

Add CHASING RIVER on Goodreads!

Armed with two years’ worth of savings and the need to experience life outside the bubble of her Oregon small town, twenty-five-year-old Amber Welles is prepared for anything. Except dying in Dublin. Had it not been for the bravery of a stranger, she might have. But he takes off before she has the chance to offer her gratitude.

Twenty-four-year-old River Delaney is rattled. No one was supposed to get hurt. But then that American tourist showed up. He couldn’t let her die, but he also couldn’t risk being identified at the scene—so, he ran. Back to his everyday life of running his family’s pub. Only, everyday life is getting more and more complicated, thanks to his brother, Aengus, and his criminal associations. When the American girl tracks River down, he quickly realizes how much he likes her, how wrong she is for him. And how dangerous it is to have her around. Chasing her off would be the smart move.

Maybe it’s because he saved her life, or maybe it’s because he’s completely different from everything she’s left behind, but Amber finds herself chasing after River Delaney. Amber isn’t the kind of girl to chase after anyone.

And River isn’t the kind of guy she’s want to catch.

Pre-Order CHASING RIVER today!

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And don’t forget BURYING WATER and BECOMING RAIN, the first two books in this thrilling series…

About BURYING WATER

The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.

Left for dead in the field of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crochet but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

BURYING WATER is just $1.99 for the month of April!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | IndieBound

About BECOMING RAIN

Luke Boone doesn’t know exactly what his uncle Rust is involved in but he wants in on it—the cars, the money, the women. And it looks like he’s finally getting his wish. When Rust hands him the managerial keys to the garage, they come with a second set—one that opens up the door to tons of cash and opportunity. Though it’s not exactly legal, Luke’s never been one to worry about that sort of thing. Especially when it puts him behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 and onto the radar of a gorgeous socialite named Rain.

Clara Bertelli is at the top of her game—at only twenty-six years old, she’s one of the most successful undercover officers in the Washington, DC major crime unity, and she’s just been handed a case that could catapult her career and expose one of the West Coast’s most notorious cart theft rings. But, in order to do it, she’ll need to go deep undercover as Rain Martines. Her target? The twenty-four-year-old nephew of a key player who appears ready to follow in his uncle’s footsteps.

As Clara drifts deeper into the luxurious lifestyle of Rain, and further into the arms of her very attractive and charming target, the lines between right and wrong start to blur, making her wonder if she’ll be able to leave it all behind. Or if she’ll even want to. 

Get your copy of BECOMING RAIN today!

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About K.A. Tucker

Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

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Blog Tour - The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre + Excerpt & Giveaway!

Title: The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things

Author: Ann Aguirre

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Release Date: April 7, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo / B&N

Sage Czinski is trying really hard to be perfect. If she manages it, people won’t peer beyond the surface, or ask hard questions about her past. She’s learned to substitute causes for relationships, and it’s working just fine…until Shane Cavendish strolls into her math class. He’s a little antisocial, a lot beautiful, and everything she never knew she always wanted. 

Shane Cavendish just wants to be left alone to play guitar and work on his music. He’s got heartbreak and loneliness in his rearview mirror, and this new school represents his last chance. He doesn’t expect to be happy; he only wants to graduate and move on. He never counted on a girl like Sage.

But love doesn’t mend all broken things, and sometimes life has to fall apart before it can be put back together again…

Until I picked up The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things, I had only read Ann Aguirre’s New Adult titles. Her YA books just hadn’t appealed to me until now. But The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things sounded like it had the potential to be a total “me” book. And I am more than happy to report that I was absolutely right. 

Sage has spent the last three years trying to be as perfect as possible. She’s afraid that if she’s anything less, her aunt will send her back to state care and she’ll lose everything she’s worked so hard for. Being perfect also means people won’t look at her too closely, they won’t figure out that she has a past she wants to keep hidden. And Sage would have kept it up right until she graduated if Shane Cavendish hadn’t walked into her math class. Shane isn’t like the other boys at school and Sage immediately feels drawn to him. But Shane isn’t interested in a relationship. He just wants to keep his head down and play guitar. He just needs to keep it together until graduation. His expectations are low and he never expected Sage. Soon, Sage and Shane will learn that keeping it together and being perfect isn’t all that matters, and that sometimes imperfections are the best thing that can happen.

As I’ve already mentioned, until recently I had only read Ann Aguirre New Adult books and I really enjoyed them. But as far as her YA was concerned, I just wasn’t interested. The stories didn’t sound like something I would enjoy, and that was that. But then I heard that she was writing a YA contemporary story and it immediately got added to my TBR. And with good reason. When I found out more about The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things, it sounded like a book that had the potential to be a total “Emilie book.” So I started reading. And at first I started rethinking my assumptions. But then I got completely caught up in the story. I couldn’t put the book down. The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things was addicting, plain and simple. The romance was just how I like it. It put a smile on my face and warmed my heart, but it also wasn’t always warm and fuzzy. But that was just fine with me because it fit with the characters and what I knew about them. And really, as much as I loved the story and the romance, Sage and Shane were the real reason I loved this book as much as I did.

Sage confused me a little at first. And kind of annoyed me to be honest. But that’s because I didn’t know her and her whole story yet. The more I read, the more I started to understand her, to realize that the Sage she presented to the world wasn’t the real Sage, but instead the one she thought she needed to be. So once I started seeing who the real Sage was, I quickly changed my mind about her. She was flawed and I loved that about her. And I loved that in Shane she found someone who was just as flawed as her and wanted her and all her flaws. I won’t lie, I was totally expecting Shane to be your typical YA brooding bad boy. That’s the feeling I got when I read the book’s description. But that wasn’t who Shane was and I can’t say I’m exactly disappointed by that. I loved that Shane was actually a nice guy disguised as a bad boy. It made peeling back the layers of his personality that much more interesting. And it made me want to root for him and Sage so badly. Because they both deserved someone who would accept them, flaws and all, and would love them for it.

It should go without saying that I loved Ann Aguirre’s The Queen of Bright and Shiny Thing. This story ended up being so much more than I thought it was going to be. And from now on, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more contemporary stories from Ann Aguirre. Because I will read them all.

Excerpt

The sophomores can’t hear us down the table, as it’s loud in here, but I pitch my voice low just in case. “Basically, Ryan was never my boyfriend. He just let people think we were together. Because I’m an idiot, I didn’t guess why.” Those last words come out bitter.

“So why did he do that?” I head all kinds of nuances in his voice, questions, doubts.

Here’s where it gets tricky. “It’s complicated. He lied to me, though, and that’s what I can’t just get over. Maybe someday we’ll be friends again, but for now…” I shrug.

“Friends?” He repeats.

“Yeah. Friends.”

“So he didn’t break your heart.” He sounds relieved.

“Did you want him to?”

“I was afraid he had. That maybe you were talking to me…” His eyes cut away from mine.

“Because I was trying to make Ryan jealous? Not my style.”

I want to say, OMG, Shane, you think I’m a dude magnet? I’ve been Ryan’s sidekick, his not-girlfriend so long, that I have no idea what this or what I’m doing. But I love it.

“I’m not looking for drama,” Shane tells me.

I understand the reason for the pronouncement immediately. Ryan’s watching us from across the cafeteria, but he won’t be shoving Shane into any doorjambs or cornering him in the boys toilet. In some ways, his silent, wounded eyes are worse. I can tell he feels horrible and that he misses me, but what am I supposed to do? After what I’ve learned, I don’t want to be his girlfriend, which is what he was shooting for when he made his big confession. I feel like I hardly know the guy, and that hurts most of all.

“There won’t be any.”

“I just…I can’t afford any trouble,” he says softly, not looking at me. “Any more, and I’m off to juvie until I’m eighteen.”

Possibly he thinks this will scare me off. But I have my dark side, too. The staff at the group home pulled me off an emotional ledge years ago, so I know what it’s like to feel completely out of control, doing stuff you know deep down is a terrible idea and yet you cannot stop. I study the rigid line of his shoulders. “Did you put that post-it on my locker?” I ask.

He’s dead silent, but his eyes answer where his lips do not. I see the yes written in aquamarine.

In this moment, I want to kiss him so bad it hurts.

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