Book Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Title: Losing Hope
Author: Colleen Hoover
Kindle, 321 pages
Published: July 8th, 2013
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: YA - Contemporary Romance
Source: via Netgalley

In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo 

  I'm going with the Goodreads rating system with this one because it was fucking hard to rate it. 2 stars on Goodreads means "it was okay," and that it was. I'm not particularly happy nor sad with this one, but I guess I didn't like it more than I liked it.

  I was really scared to read Losing Hope because I didn't like Hopeless that much, but I decided to read it because most people preferred this book to the first one. After reading this book, I found that I am the opposite. I found Hopeless better than Losing Hope because at least that book held my attention and made me feel things.

  I felt really detached to Losing Hope. I couldn't connect with Holder and I felt like there were too many narratives instead of scenes and conversation. My mind was screaming "You should be feeling hurt and sad and mad in these scenes, damn it!" but my heart didn't feel a single thing. I don't why - maybe it's me, maybe it's the book, but it just didn't work out for me.

  I found myself skimming the pages instead of drinking it all in like I should have. The only things that I could fully read were Holder's letter to Les, the conversations, and the ending. Don't get me wrong, the writing and word-choice is still amazing. In fact, the ending was so beautifully written that I loved it so much.

  Colleen Hoover is a favorite author of mine, but I just have to admit that Losing Hope and Hopeless are not for me. I don't even know why I don't like this book. *sobs* 

2.5 stars. Ah, it's okay. 

Welcome Kim, my NEW co-blogger!

At long last I have a new co-blogger! YAY! *claps excitedly*
Her name is Kim and she's the owner of the blog, Divergent Gryffindor. While running her own blog, Kim will be helping me out a lot around my blog and she has also offered to review books here as well. Which is great since I feel my blog lacks in reviews often. In fact, she has already started scheduling posts, one of which will be out tomorrow. :)

I would love for everyone to give Kim a warm welcome! 

MEET KIM

Hey guys, I'm Kim! Believe it or not, I used to hate reading when I was young. It wasn't until the 5th grade that I started becoming an avid reader. I used to love reading vampire and supernatural books, although after blogging on my own blog, Divergent Gryffindor , I found that the genre that I truly love is YA contemporary romance. I am a person with many hobbies. Aside from reading, I also like to crochet, write calligraphy or typography, play with wire, and binge-watch tv series. I am a 2nd -year college student majoring in both AB Psychology and BS Advertising Management. I am based in the Philippines, although I am nearly pure Chinese. Weird, huh? 

Connect with Kim at: Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || Blog

Attention AUTHORS & PUBLISHERS:

Kim is now a full-time reviewer as well as I am. You are more than welcome to request a book review via Kim by emailing me and stating somewhere in the email that the review request is for Kim (only or also). Make sense? I sure hope so. Also, you can find a list of what types of books Kim reviews on the review Policy Page under mine.

If you have any questions please email me. 

I am so very excited to have Kim aboard! My goal is to make my blog fun again and have more interesting content. It's hard to run a blog all by my lonesome. hehe =D

Thanks for reading!

Release Week Blitz: Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout + Giveaway!

The Epic Finale in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s

Dark Elements Series...Who Will She Choose?

Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust.

Don't miss the conclusion to this stunning Young Adult Paranormal series filled with danger and romance published by HarlequinTEEN. 

Grab your copy today! 
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | IndieBound | Kobo | BAM

Some loves will last ‘til your dying breath 

Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust. 

Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin—the deadliest of demons—has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her…including her best friend. To keep Sam from a fate much, much worse than death, Layla must strike a deal with the enemy while saving her city—and her race—from destruction. 

Torn between two worlds and two different boys, Layla has no certainties, least of all survival, especially when an old bargain comes back to haunt them all. But sometimes, when secrets are everywhere and the truth seems unknowable, you have to listen to your heart, pick a side—and then fight like hell…

Purchase at:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | IndieBound | Kobo | BAM

“Armentrout is a major talent…I just can’t stop reading!”

--New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter

“Armentrout works her magic with swoon-worthy guys and a twist you never see coming.”

--#1 New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines on White Hot Kiss

EVERY LAST BREATH Excerpt

“Oh my God!” This time my hand connected with his arm. “You’re going to be in so much trouble, Roth! So much trouble.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Defended myself.”

“Defended myself.” I mimicked him, bopping my head back and forth. “You can’t just go around killing Alphas, Roth!”

“You killed those angels?” Stacey asked, so I guessed she did remember them.

He sent her an innocent grin. “Well, I didn’t, but…”

“Roth!” I shouted, backing away before I started choking the ever-loving life out of him. “This is not a joke. You—”

He was damn fast when he wanted to be. One second he was several feet away from me and the next he was there, clasping the sides of my face. He lowered his head so he was eye level with me. “There are rules, Shortie.”

“But—”

“Rules that even the Alphas have to abide by. They cannot attack me without physical provocation. If they do, they tick the Boss off, and then the Boss retaliates in a way that makes what the Lilin could do look like child’s play. I’m not just some random demon. I’m the Crown Prince. They took a swing at me, and I defended myself. End of story.”

But he had provoked them—maybe not physically, but he wasn’t an innocent bystander in this. As the shock ebbed, there was a different kind of bitter pill to swallow. What if Roth had gotten his rules wrong? What if more Alphas were even now on the way to avenge their brethren?

“I’m going to be okay.” His eyes held mine as he stepped closer, lining his booted feet up with mine. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise.”

“You can’t make that promise,” I whispered, searching his gaze intently. “None of us can.”

His hands slid back and he curled his fingers in my loose hair. “I can.”

Those two words were like throwing down a gauntlet to the whole universe. I lowered my gaze as he dragged my hair back, tucking both sides behind my ears. It was then, as he slowly withdrew his hands, that I remembered we were not alone.

I jerked back and my gaze collided with Zayne’s. For a moment, I let myself really see Zayne. I hadn’t almost killed him. I had almost done something much, much worse than that. When a Warden lost their soul, they turned into a horrific creature. I knew that for a fact, because I’d seen what had happened to a Warden after their soul had been taken from them. I’d almost done that to Zayne, and he was still here, standing by my side.

A hole opened up in my chest as I saw the keen wariness in his stare. My stomach twisted something awful and I opened my mouth, but I didn’t know what to say. My heart and head were suddenly tearing in two very different directions. Fortunately, I didn’t get the chance to say anything.

“I leave you alone for a few hours, and you let Thumper fry and eat an Alpha.”

Yelping, I spun around as Stacey screamed. Cayman stood in the center of the destroyed living room. He’d come out of nowhere. Poof. There. He wore dark trousers and a white dress shirt he appeared to have gotten bored with when it came to buttoning it up, and his blond hair was loose around his angular face. When it came to the demon pecking order, Roth had once explained that as an Infernal Ruler, Cayman was middle management. He was kind of like the demon-of-all-trades, and I had a feeling he was more than just a…um, coworker of Roth’s. Whether Roth claimed it or not, they were friends.

“That was quick,” Roth commented, folding his arms across his chest.

Cayman shrugged. “It’s a sign of the times, man. It’ll probably be on some Alpha’s Facebook wall within the hour.”

Alphas had Facebook accounts?

 And don’t miss the first titles in the Dark Elements Series!

BITTER SWEET LOVE

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | BAM | Kobo

WHITE HOT KISS

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BAM | iBooks ** IndieBound | Kobo

STONE COLD TOUCH

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | IndieBound | Kobo | BAM

About The Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Jennifer @

 Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

 # 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post: Danny Goes to the Beach by Andrew Joyce (written from his dog's POV)

Hi everyone! I would like to welcome author Andrew Joyce to the blog today! He will be doing a fun and exciting guest post! Enjoy!

My name is Andrew Joyce and I write books for a living. Beckie has been kind enough to allow me a little space on her blog to promote my latest book, Molly Lee. It’s averaging 4.9 stars on Amazon. It is also available in paperback. Please check it out.

I would love to tell you all about it, but instead, I have to turn the writing duties over to my dog whose name is Danny. You see, he can be pretty insistent at times. We recently had some excitement in our lives and he can’t wait to tell you about it. For what it’s worth, this is a true story. And when you are finished reading it, please click on the link to my book and check it out. Danny is not the only genius in our household.

Danny Goes to the Beach

What a time I had yesterday! I went to the beach with my human.

Good morning, I’m Danny the Dog, teller of tales, bon vivant, all around good dog and lover of hotdogs. And oh yeah, my human’s name is Andrew. Now that you know the players, on to my story.

I like to wake Andrew up early and take him for his walk before it gets too hot. And I like our walks because there’s a whole lotta good sniffing out there. But yesterday it was Andrew that roused me from a sound sleep. I was dreaming of hotdogs. I was about to bite into a big, fat juicy hotdog when he shook me awake. I almost bit him.

Anyway, he told me we were going to the beach to watch the sun come up. When we walk, I lead the way, but when we go to the beach, Andrew drives the car because I don’t have a driver’s license. Can you believe it? Florida doesn’t give dogs driver licenses! I emailed the governor about this injustice, but I haven’t heard back from him yet. I know that not having thumbs would be problematic, how would I grip the steering wheel. But I figure I’ll worry about that after I get my license.

Sunrises, and sunsets for that matter, don’t do much for me; they have no scent, you can’t smell them. So what’s the big deal? But I allow Andrew to take me to the beach because I have my own agenda. I love to bark at other dogs. The beach we go to is secluded, and dogs are not allowed (another email I must send to the governor). However, dogs take their humans there in the early morning and as long as everyone is gone shortly after the sun comes up, there’s no trouble. And it’s a good thing for the human cops because if there was trouble I’d bite them.

So we get to the beach and Andrew sets up his folding beach chair. He’s such a wuss; can’t he just sit on the sand like everyone else? Me, he ties to a palm tree. Then he waits for the sun to come up. What does he think, it’s not going to come up unless he watching?

As I said, I have my own reasons for being there, so I start my nose a twitching. I can smell another dog from a mile away. If I were a super hero, I’d be known as SUPER SNOOT. I would sniff out my nefarious nemeses and bring them to justice. I think I’d look cool with a cape. I look good in blue, so it would be blue with a big red “D” emblazoned right in the middle of it. Danny the Dog, mild-mannered dog by day, SUPER SNOOT by night! I like the sound of that.

I digress, back to my story.

So Andrew’s getting excited because the sun is coming up (what a surprise!). And I’m sniffing for dogs when all of a sudden I detect something good, as in chicken-bone good. So I put my super snoot to the ground and start my search. Of course, being SUPER SNOOT I find the bones right away. They were only a few inches under the sand. But before I take one of those delightful bones into my mouth, I give Andrew a surreptitious glance to make sure he isn’t going to ruin my fun. I needn’t have worried, his attention was on a red ball coming up out of the ocean, turning the clouds a bright pink and orange; some clouds were still purple. So he was engaged. That’s when I bit into the first bone. CRUNCH! At the sound, Andrew turned and saw my find. I didn’t know the old guy could move that fast. He was out of his chair, and before I could do anything about it, he had my whole stash. At least I had half a bone in my mouth and he wasn’t going to get that.

The short of it is, I distracted Andrew from his precious sunrise. He took my bones, and I didn’t get to bark at a single dog. What a bust! On the ride home, I didn’t go over and lick his face as I usually do. I was mad at him and he was mad at me. But when we got home all was forgiven and he gave me a hotdog. That’s why I keep him around.

My next adventure will be published in SUPER SNOOT Comics. Look for it at your local comic book store.

Want to find out more about Andrew and his novel, Molly Lee?

Then check out the links below! 

Andrew's Web Site | Facebook | Andrew's Blog | GoodReads

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Smashwords

Thank you Andrew and Danny for stopping by! *pets danny*

I hope everyone enjoyed this post and as always, Happy Reading!

#FF | Follow Friday #32 | Favorite Movies!

Hi everyone! It's been a long while since I done a FF post so I thought today would be a great day to start doing them again. I used to do them every week when I first started blogging but ended up stopping. Anyhoo, this weeks question is about another one of my passions, MOVIES!

Happy Friday!

This week's question is:

What is your favorite movie? – Suggested by A Kernel of Nonsense

This question is a hard one for me since I have so many favorite movies, so I am going to divide the question up into parts. I will be telling my favorite movie(s) for all of my favorite genres. 

In horror, my favorite movie series is Paranormal Activity.

In comedies, my favorite movies are The Change-Up and Nutty Professor 1 and 2.
In Animation, my favorite movies are Frozen, Big Hero 6, and The Little Mermaid
In Drama, my all time favorite movie is Titanic! I watched it 16 times in the theaters when it first came out. 

In Sci-Fi or fantasy, a few of my favorites are The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, and Predestination.

If you decide to follow me (which would be awesome if you did) please follow via Bloglovin or GFC. Anyway is fine really and all ways can be found on the right sidebar. :) Be sure to leave me a comment with a link to your blog so I can visit you back and follow back as well. 

To all new followers and all of my old ones (YOU ROCK) happy friday! Hope you all enjoy your weekend. I'm planning one spending some time by the pool with a book. XD

DOUBLE Book Review: Yolo Juliet by William Shakespeare & Brett Wright // srsly Hamlet by William Shakespeare & Courtney Carbone

Title: Yolo Juliet

Author: William Shakespeare & Brett Wright
Hardcover, 112 pages
Published: May 26th, 2015 
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA - Graphic Novels > Retelling
Source: via publisher

Romeo and Juliet, one of the greatest love stories ever told . . . in texts?!

Imagine: What if those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays!

Two families at war.

A boy and a girl in love.

A secret marriage gone oh-so-wrong.

and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. ;)

tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, checking in at certain locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens.

A glossary and cast of characters are included for those who need it. For example: tl;dr means too long; didn’t read.

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo | Indiebound

Today's generation is all about technology. Cell phones, e-readers, tablets, computers and many other devices we use to have fun, communicate and live. Have you ever wonder what it would have been like if hundreds of years ago we had this same technology? 

YOLO Juliet does just that! The beloved classic tale by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet gets bumped into the 21st century now being told by text messages. Yes, you heard right, text messages as well as fun little emoji's we often use. Hmm...I wonder if Romeo has the new iPhone? 0_o 

The story of Romeo and Juliet has been a fan favorite of mine for a long time. I read the book in HS and really enjoyed watching the Leonardo Dicaprio version of the movie. I could quote the book word for word. I totally loved reading YOLO Juliet, in fact, I read it twice cover to cover. I really enjoyed how the story was being told from such a fresh and unique perspective. I mean texting is now even more popular than picking up the phone and calling someone. To take such an amazing story re-told many times throughout history and give it a massive "upgrade" is not only a fantastic idea but one that will not soon be forgotten. The younger generation will enjoy reading this book, as well as us older kids. ;)  

One of many of my favorite parts of the book is the emoji's used throughout the book. Many of them are used to display who is who in the book and what certain words mean. For instants, a means "kill". The  would be used instead of the word. Also, the story itself was not written in the classic Shakespeare wording, like: 

What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

would become:

what's the point of names anyway? srsly, you could call a

 a different name, and it would

just as sweet.

All in all, YOLO Juliet is a super fun remake of one of Shakespeare finest works. I loved every second of it. If you're a fan of this classic tale and love texting then this book is right up your alley! 

Romeo & Juliet + Cell phone = AWESOMESAUCE! 

Totally EPIC! One of the best books I have read. A MUST read!!

---

Title: srsly Hamlet

Author: William Shakespeare & Courtney Carbone

Hardcover, 128 pages

Published: May 26th, 2015 

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Genre: YA - Graphic Novels > Retelling

Source: via publisher

Hamlet, one of the greatest stories ever told . . . in texts?!

Imagine: What if Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, and the tragic Ophelia had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays!

A kingdom on the brink of war.

A stolen throne.

A boy seeking revenge.

and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. ;)

tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, checking in at certain locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens. 

A glossary and cast of characters are included for those who need it. For example: tl;dr means too long; didn’t read.

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo | Indiebound

srsly Hamlet also has the same idea using cell phones to tell the story but this time the book being retold is HAMLET. Now I myself have never read the book/play. Of course I have heard of it before, I think everyone has. So this was all new to me. A whole new set of characters all of which I know nothing about. This for me was good and bad. Bad because some of the story I didn't understand until I got more into the book, which was a little confusing because of the emoji's being thrown into the storyline. And Good because I got to finally read Hamlet and it turns out I really enjoyed it. The romance, the war between each other, betrayal and most of all a lot of death. Like basically everyone dies at the end of the book. x_x 

Besides all the doom and gloom, I ended up totally liking the book and I think others will too. Being told through cell phones gives the story so much more character and easier to understand. It's a fun little read for kids who want to get into the classics or even adults who grew up reading them. I definitely recommend, srsly Hamlet it each and everyone one of you! (as long as you don't mind depressing endings...ha!)

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.