Top Ten Tuesday

 Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Best Beach Reads

For this week's Top Ten Tuesday, we've been asked to list our top ten beach reads. I'm choosing to define that as the books I would choose to read, should I have nothing but two weeks or so to sit on a beach, drink margaritas and read. Since the sun will be shining, the booze will be flowing and the waiters will all be hot and shirtless (What? It's MY dream!), I want to stay in a happy mood. So, these books are all books that make me happy for one reason or another.

1. Twice Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires #3), by Chloe Neill - This is my favorite book in one of my favorite series. Besides the fact that Ethan and Merit have a moment, the book is full of hot shifters - bonus!

2. Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1), by Jeaniene Frost - This is the book that started it all for Cat and Bones. And for me, too. I love this series, and although I love all the books, the first one is the best. From Cat's first VERY memorable line to Bones to the incredible end, this book is pure magic.

3. Obsidian (Lux #1), by Jennifer L. Armentrout - Daemon is snark and hot
sexy goodness rolled into one, and although I love he and Katy together, he was so fun and interesting when he kind of hated her.

4. The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3), by Richelle Mead - I spent the first two books in the Bloodlines series trying desperately to like Sydney. In The Indigo Spell, I succeeded.

5. The Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6), by Richelle Mead - This is a big, intense book. But, Rose was at her best in it, and the ending is just amazing. An amazing ending to an amazing series.

6. The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1), by Julie Kagawa - The first book I ever read by Julie Kagawa started a teeny obsession with her. I'll read anything she writes, and it all started with a fairy tale.

7. Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1), by E. L. James - Do I really need to explain why this book makes me happy??

8. Twisted Perfection (Perfection #1), by Abbi Glines - Woods is, like, the perfect boyfriend. He has a serious hero complex, and I love that about him.

9. Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood #3), by J. R. Ward - I know lots of bad stuff happened to Zsadist. It's a very dark and deep book. But, Z's reawakening at the hands and attention of Bella is utterly amazing. And the ending is one of the best book endings ever.

10. Wicked Cravings (The Phoenix Pack #2), by Suzanne Wright - This was such a fun book. The werewolves and the pack mentality are really cool, and the love story is so sweet and hot. There is so much to love about this series.

NEW ADULT MONDAYS: Ten Tiny Breaths

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths #1), by K. A. Tucker
Published December 11, 2012
Publisher:  Atria Books
Format: e-book - obtained from NetGalley
Genre:  New Adult Contemporary Romance
To Buy:  Amazon  * Barnes & Noble * Book Depository

Rating:  4 STARS

(From Goodreads) Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

Ten Tiny Breaths had emotion wrapped in feels and served with a side of intensity. For a new adult book, the gut-wrenching back story was one of the tougher ones to read about, which made the characters' journey to contentment all the more satisfying when I reached the end. 

Kacey is a tough cookie, and it's no wonder given the car crash that she survived four years earlier. the crash that also claimed the lives of her parents, her BFF and her boyfriend. She's made a move to Miami with her little sister to try and put the past behind her, but all she's really doing is some major avoidance. And then she meets Trent who manages to bust open her carefully placed composure. 

It was very hard for me to like Kacey. Because of her past, she's distant, hardened and just plain mean a lot of the time. On one hand, you have to forgive her for that. The crash she was in was horrible, and I would imagine that that would totally mess with anyone's psyche. But, I really like to connect with the characters I read about in some way, and I found it hard to connect with Kacey. 

I guess that's a sign of some good writing here by K. A. Tucker. Maybe a little TOO good. The characters in the book - Kacey's new friend Storm, her sister Livie, and even her eventual boyfriend Trent - also found it hard to connect with Kacey. Usually, I endear myself to characters through their internal monologue. But, Kacey's thoughts were just as self-destructive as her actions, and that made her hard to like. 

Trent was an enigma. He was very secretive and exorbitantly patient with Kacey (who knows why - she was not very nice to him for a very long time). You knew there had to be a reason why, and fairly early on in the book, I had a guess as to what that reason was. I liked Trent well enough, but for some reason, he didn't seem very colorful or alive to me.

Toward the end, when Kacey's and Trent's world inevitably comes crashing down around them, THAT is when both these characters started to become amazing. When all was revealed and they both got over themselves, I was intrigued and beguiled by both of them. The epilogue was perfect and the absolute best ending to the story. 

The side characters were one of the best parts of Ten Tiny Breaths. Storm was funny and surprising. Ben and Cain were so likeable and intriguing - I can't wait to read their stories. But, first Livie's story. Stay tuned tomorrow for a review of One Tiny Breath... (psst... it's a 5-star review!) 

BEA Newb No More: A Recap Part II & Wait For You Giveaway

Friday, May 31
Again with the butt crack o'thirty. Although it took Jen and I a bit longer to get going this morning, we again hit that 6:20 a.m. ferry and arrived at the Javits around 6:45. After checking our large rolling suitcase, which we shared each day, we got in line to get in to the children's author breakfast. I was very excited for this, because Octavia Spencer, Mary Pope Osborne, Rick Riordan and Veronica Roth were speaking. Talk about an all-star line-up!

Upon entering the event hall, we saw our chairs draped with Heroes of Olympus t-shirts, copies of The Case of the Time Capsule Bandit by Octavia Spencer and Divergent by Veronica Roth on our chairs and a cool Magic Treehouse mug by our place settings. But, before the breakfast started, Jen and I were on a mission. I'm not ashamed to say that we totally stalked Megan Spooner and Ami Kaufman, waiting for them to arrive so that we could deliver the secret password and receive these cool necklaces from their book These Broken Stars. Finally, mission accomplished!

The speakers were all amazing. Mary Pope Osborne read some letters she's received from kids over the years. Rick Riordan reminisced about first getting published and what his life has been like since. And Veronica Roth talked about the importance of remaining humble and appreciating constructive criticism.

Mary Pope Osborne, Rick Riordan and Veronica Roth

 After breakfast, we hit the floor. I met Susan Dennard when she signed my copy of Something Strange and Deadly. Immediately after, I got in line an hour early for the Harlequin Teen Hour. Good thing, too, because when the signings started, it looked like this:

The long wait was worth it! I got to meet Katie McGarry, Amanda Sun, Julie Kagawa and Elizabeth Scott. It was so exciting!

Katie McGarry

After picking up our copies of Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout, who wasn't able to be at BEA due to a family emergency, I met Denise Grover Swank, Liliana Hart, Sylvia Day and Mari Mancusi.

This was the longest day for us, but for me anyway, it was the most productive. I met more authors and came away with more books today than any of the other days.

Day 2 Book Haul

Saturday, June 1
For our last day, Jen and I slept in an extra hour and took our time getting to the city. We got in line with Jessica from A Midsummer Nights Read and enjoyed passing the time with her and her cousin. When the doors opened, Jen and I split up right away with her going to the Harlequin booth and me heading to get in line to meet Sylvia Day again and get my copy of Entwined With You. While in that line, I realized I was right in front of Yara from Once Upon a Twilight!

Me and Yara

My wait ensured that I would miss the signings for Reboot and The Ward, which bummed me out. But, not stressing about the books that got away is part of the BEA game, and a part I had to learn quickly. I did manage to meet Jonathan Maberry and Cora Carmack, which was so cool.

Cora Carmack signing Faking It

Then, toward the end of the day, as I was wondering through the HarperCollins booth, I decided to just put myself out there and ask if they had any copies of Reboot or The Ward leftover from their signings. The amazing publicist I spoke with turned around, reached in a cabinet and handed me a copy of BOTH books, saying they were the last ones they had. I think I nearly hugged her, which would've been totally unprofessional. But, in my head, I was thinking, "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!"

Jen and I hopped in the car then and drove home where we engaged in much book petting and started nursing a severe BEA hangover.

Day 3 Book Haul

SO... interested in a BEA book giveaway? They say that caring is sharing! So, for my first post-BEA giveaway, I'm offering a signed copy of Wait For You by J. Lynn/Jennifer L. Armentrout.

 

I may even throw in some swag! Unfortunately, I have to limit this giveaway to my US peeps due to shipping charges.  So sorry, international friends - I'll have something for you soon! Fill out the Rafflecopter for a chance to win this awesome new adult book that isn't due out in hard copy format until September!

a Rafflecopter giveaway