For What It's Worth


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Taking a little time off…and a few book recommendations before I go

I’m going to be taking the rest of August off from the blog. Before I go, I have a few books that I would like to recommend…


Love Is a Number by Lee Monroe
Source: ARC provided by publisher for review
Buy it! Love is a Number

16116112-1When her beloved boyfriend Huck dies, Eloise is wrecked. All she has left of him are the texts that he sent: short, succinct - but full of love.

They keep Huck alive. And so Eloise texts him back as if he can receive her messages from beyond the grave. She never expected to get a reply ....

Dan is travelling South America in one last hurrah before university and real life kick in.

He's ready for love, but not of the casual kind. He's not met a girl that's set his world alight. But he's ready for her when she decides to make an appearance. One night on his travels, Dan discovers an abandoned phone.

He pockets it, then forgets about it. He never expected it to ring ... ~ Goodreads

Thoughts: Love Is a Number is more about the journey than the destination. It is lighter on the romance, focusing more on coming of age and overcoming grief as the story follows both Elosie and Dan’s lives. It was odd to read a romance where there was little interaction between the characters at times but their romance was all that much sweeter because of the slow build up. They connected when they were both ready for it.

I had more than a few issues with this story at times. Particularly the extreme shallowness and outright cruelty of some characters, but then for some reason I was also charmed by Dan & Lo's journeys and how they intersected.

Fans of The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight and This is What Happy Looks Like – both by Jennifer E. Smith should enjoy this one.

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This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Source: ARC Provided by publisher for honest review
Release date: September 17, 2013
Buy it! This Song Will Save Your Life

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together. ~ Goodreads

Thoughts:

“You think it’s so easy to change yourself.”

”You think it’s so easy but it’s not” pg. 1


Elise is shy and feels invisible. She makes a bold effort to change who she is so she can fit in but of course the right clothes and perfect hair don’t necessarily equate to popularity in the cut throat world of high school. This book struck so close to home for me that it was almost painful for me to read at times.
I was Elise. I actually experienced some of the things that happened to her.

This book is so honest and true and I love how it didn’t sugar coat anything and let Elise stumble her way to finding herself and learn what is really important in life. She makes mistakes. There are consequences and just maybe she finds herself along the way.

As you can tell from the title, music is an important part of this story. That was just icing on an already delicious cake.

*******

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For an adult UF read, I highly recommend Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews (Goodreads) This is the 6th book in the Kate Daniels series and you really need to start at the beginning. It’s a slow build but each book goes deeper and doesn’t let the status quo stand for long. Magic Rises pushes the characters to their limits and leaves us desperate to read the next book. This was a very emotional read and my favorite of the series.

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Looking for a good New Adult book? Then I would recommend Off Course by Sawyer Bennett (Goodreads) This is for people who like really angtsy NA. Practical, good girl Renner and bad boy Irish rockstar Cillian set off nuclear sized sparks when they’re together. I liked both of them and Cillian is a much better guy than he thinks he is. A little too good in fact as he tries to save everyone around him at the expense of poor Renner. I wanted to smack him upside the head a few times but this was a really nice story with great characters. I just wish there weren’t so many grammatical errors to distract me. 

Enjoy your summer everyone! While I won’t be posting I do hope to have time to visit and comment my favorite blogs! See you in September Smile

25 comments:

  1. Have a great rest of the month! Any fun plans? I really want to read the Leila Sales book. I've heard from lots of other people too that it's great.

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    1. I am going to a book event (AAD) but I just ned a break lol

      Hope you're having a nice summer Alison.

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  2. I hope this hiatus will do you a world of good.
    I have This Song Will Save Your Life in my NS list...but I guess I'll have to put it in my TR one :). I'm sure it will struck close to home for me too, and besides...being a radio personality, I can relate to the DJ thing a little.

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    1. Me too! I need some downtime :-)

      I used to date a dj in High School too so there was so much I could relate to in this book. I hope you like it.

      You don't live in the US right?

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    2. Tuscany...Italy! *waves flag* And I used the word "personality" but it's not like I'm huge, since I'm only working for a little private station.

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  3. Have a nice time off! I took off the first two weeks and will be taking off the 19th to 3rd :) I just need a break too!

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  4. Have a great time off! Some great book recommendations (I loved This Song Will Save Your Life and Magic Rises!).

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  5. Oh moves that book up the reading pile ( this song will save your life) . Enjoy your vacation :) xoxo

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  6. Enjoy you time off and YES to recommending This Song Will Save Your Life. God that is an AWESOME book:)

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  7. I'm going to miss you, Karen. But I am happy you're taking some time off. It's good to recharge. I hope you have fun at AAD.

    This Song Will Save Your Life sounds so good. And I'm happy you enjoyed Off Course!

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  8. The first two look really good. Enjoy your August and I'll see you soon!!!

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  9. Have fun! And I will see you in September

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  10. Have fun on your bloggy vacay! I am so going to have to pick up a few of those...

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  11. Wishing you all the best for a great break.

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  12. Well, trust me to try to get back into blogging just as you're leaving for the month, hah. But yay, I'm glad to hear you loved the new Kate Daniels (so did everyone else, it seems)! And I am looking forward to SONG as well.

    Have a fantastic break, Karen. Eat lots of bad-for-your-body-but-heavenly-for-your-soul food.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  13. Ah, I would like to read This Song Will Save Your Life! I just finished a book like that, that hit so close to home that it was a bit painful to read at times... but I guess that makes it all the more realistic and that's a good thing. Hope you've been enjoying your time off, Karen!!

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  14. Have a wonderful relaxing break -- I am taking Labor Day weekend off and I can't wait!

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  15. Love is a Number sounds SO good and I should get a move on and read This Song Will Save Your Life - I've had a copy since BEA.

    Enjoy your time off!

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  16. Enjoy your time off!!! :)) Thanks for the tips!!

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  17. Have a nice rest of the month! I'll be heading to World Con this wednesday so I have the time off...luckily I prescheduled stuff and April will hold down the fort!

    I totally thinking about getting This Song Will Save Your Life...glad you liked the cake.

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  18. Hope you have a great break from the blogosphere. Sometimes that's just needed. I'm currently on vacation right now, but still trying to do some blog stuff.

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  19. This Song Will Save Your Life has been on my radar for a while now and I can't wait to finally pick it up. I've heard nothing but great things so far. Love Is a Number is new to me, and although it isn't without its fair share of issues, it sounds like quite a charming story. Thanks for sharing, Karen! Enjoy the rest of your time off. :)

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  20. THE SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!!! I love all of Leila Sales' novels.

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