These Things About Us Review

Last night, or maybe really early this morning, I finished These Things About Us by Laura Beege.  This is one of those books that I feel like such a butt about because it has taken me an embarrassingly long time to get around to it.   Upon some perusing of the internet I found that this book is basically unavailable, but I said I would review it, so I’m going to.

This book had an interesting story line.  Our main character is Tony, a girl running from her past in search of her mother.  Tony no longer wants to be associated with who she was before and believes that by being straight laced and dressing completely unlike herself she can successfully start anew.

Tony might have had a prayer of doing so until she walked into The Dirty Dungeon, which I momentarily thought was a strip club, but thankfully I was wrong.  The Dirty Dungeon is a pub owned by Alex and run by himself, his two sons, Trace and Wes, with the help of waitresses that typically fall prey to Trace’s charms, sleep with him, have a falling out with him, and leave, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Tony goes into the pub hoping to find a pay phone and a phone book, which she finds, but before she can leave, Wes takes mercy on her and gets her a job working at the pub with a room as payment.  Upon seeing Tony Trace gags and runs away.  Trace and Tony have a very, very weird tumultuous. . . acquaintanceship for most of the book.  I honestly spent a lot of the book completely disliking Trace.  There were moments when I was like Trace isn’t so bad, but a lot of the time, before I knew what his beef was, I really detested him.  After finding out his story, I felt for him, but I didn’t feel like that excused his actions.

As the story goes on, we get to see Tony struggle with who she is, who she thinks she is, and who she wants to be.  She finally accepts who she is and that was pretty fantastic.

There were some things that were confusing to me in the story.  Sometimes word choice would trip me up for a minute because the word in the sentence wouldn’t be the correct word for that instance like, asserted as opposed to averted.  I was also confused about a person’s waist or midsection being referred to as their “mid,” which makes some sense, but the first time you read it that way it can give a person pause if they aren’t used to it.  I was also confused as to the purpose of some of the characters, specifically Wes.  Wes was such a nice guy, and I thought he was a great character, but then out of the blue BAM he’s a jerk and that’s the last we see of him.

Overall, the story was okay.  I liked it, but I didn’t love it.  I think I would have felt better about it had it been loner and a bit more fleshed out with more resolution as to Trace and Tony’s relationship, Tony and Wes’ friendship, and if Tony ever gets out of this mess she got herself in with her noble intentions.  If you’re able to find a copy of this book anywhere I think it’s worth a read.

What am I Reading??

Hey guys!

I’m currently reading Get Lucky: A YA Anthology by various authors (including two of my favorites, Ginger Scott, Cassie Mae, and Kelly Oram!), The Hard Count by Ginger Scott, and These Things About Us by Laura Beege.

So far I’ve only read the first story in this anthology, and it was really good.  The first story centers on MacKenzie, or Mac as her friends call her.  Mac doesn’t have a happy home life, but is blessed with a great surrogate family because of her friendship with Emma and Jesse, Emma’s attractive, but unattainable older brother.  Mac is something of a tennis fiend and is well renowned in their area, as is Jesse.

Mac’s mom is a homewrecker.  She likes to keep up appearances though so she always acts like she loves Mac so much, but Mac knows it’s just an act.  Her mom is on to what is soon to be husband number five. . . who is still waiting for his divorce to finalize.

Mac has always had feelings for Jesse, but because she doesn’t want to mess up her relationship with the rest of his family should he not return her feelings, or if something went wrong, she’s been hiding them.   One night she sneaks away with from a party Jesse has thrown to attend a party that for a rival school that has been thrown by the daughter of her mother’s newest conquest.  Things at the party go awry when the cops are called, and Jesse ends up coming to get Mac, at which point feelings are shared.

I really liked this first story, and I hope that I like the others just as much!  I have really high hopes for the Ginger Scott, Cassie Mae, and Kelly Oram stories!

I haven’t gotten past the first chapter of The Hard Count yet, but I plan to remedy that soon.  In the first chapter, we meet Nico, who at this point is ten.  Nico lives in the rough part of town.  His brother joined a gang in order to gain protection for their family after shots were fired through their living room window into a wall.  Nico’s best friend moves away, and isn’t allowed to come visit him on the weeks when Nico is unable to visit.  His mom wants to move away, too, but he doesn’t want to go; he would rather stay in the place that he loves, even though the environment is dangerous.  Nico is being approached by the man that recruited his brother, but Nico doesn’t want any part of it.

So far, this book reminds me of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, but I’m sure it won’t for long.  I’m excited to get to read more of this book!

I received These Things About Us from the author in exchange from an honest review.  I honestly feel like a huge butt that it has taken me this long to get around to reading it.

I’m over half way into the story and I still don’t like the love interest, Trace, and I’m not sure how I’m going to end up liking him, because so far he seems like a bipolar, poop canoe.

This story is about Antonia ‘Tony,’ searching for her mother in London.  She’s tried to reinvent herself from the person she used to be, but it doesn’t seem to be sticking.  One night, she stumbles upon a pub that thankfully has a phone book and pay phone.  The bartender, Alex, takes mercy on her and providers her with food and drink on the house while she waits for the phone to free up.  The other bartender, Trace, looks at her, gags, and leaves.  With her feelings bruised, she ends up at the payphone trying to contact her mother, but none of the numbers she calls belong to her mother, or the person at that number doesn’t answer the phone.  In poor spirits, she goes back to her food preparing to leave and find a place to stay, when conveniently enough another man, Wes, makes an appearance, and after some talking he is able to procure a room for her as long as she’ll work in the pub.

Trace and Wes are brothers and they couldn’t be more different.  Where Wes is friendly and calm, Trace is antisocial and has a short fuse.  Tony cannot stand Trace or his string of loud, sexual partners that keep her up all night with their screaming.  The longer she searches unsuccessfully for her mother, the closer she gets to Wes, and the more drawn she is to Trace.  She starts to uncover some humanity in Trace, and she recognizes things in him that she also sees in herself.

So far, the book is okay.  This isn’t my favorite book of all time, and like I said before, I’m not sure what could possible happen in the next eighty pages that might endear Trace to me, but we’ll see.  I feel bad for Tony; her mom abandoned her, and her dad is just a real piece of work.  Tony is trying to leave her past behind her, but it isn’t working out the way she wanted.  She wants to be viewed as the quintessential “good girl” and always feels uneasy when she has to wear or do anything that doesn’t perfectly fit that mold.

Here’s hoping that Trace actually is redeemable!  I don’t want to do that thing where I fall for the jerk, even if this is just fiction.

Happy reading!

DeereReaderGirl

Death, Doom and Detention

Hey guys,

I’m not going to lie, it has been probably two years since I read Death and the Girl Next Door, the predecessor to Death, Doom and Detention by Darynda Jones, so I went into this book not having a real clear grasp on what it was I was coming back into.

Lorelei is lying to her best friends about her visions.  She claims to no longer have them, but that isn’t the truth.  She also recently found out that as a child she was possessed by a demon. . . a demon that’s pretty much the devil’s right hand man.  She isn’t speaking to her grandparents after they told Jared to stay away from her and she caught them in various lies.  If you haven’t read the first book you’re probably thinking, “Big deal.  A boy has to stay away from her.”  Or you might even be wondering why.  Jared is Azrael, the angel of death.

I’d tell him to stay away from my granddaughter if I was them, too.

Things in Riley’s Switch are getting, as Brooke puts it, fuzzy.  Lorelei’s visions are getting worse, and now all of the local supernatural entities have fled the town, because a big bad is coming.  In an effort to have some semblance of normalcy and a break from Brooke constantly trying to bring on visions, Cameron’s smothering protection, and having to be around Jared nearly constantly when she can’t be with him, Lorelei sneaks out to a party.  Honestly, everything goes downhill for Lorelei and company from there.  Jared disappears and Cameron cannot find or sense him, a new, possibly supernatural student shows up, and students that were once friendly start acting strange.  We later find out that all of these things are connected and the big bad that was coming on is the beginning of the war that Lorelei is supposed to stop. When they finally do get Jared back he just seems off.  He claims that he’s fine and has no memory of what happened, but it becomes obvious rather quickly that there is something wrong with Jared, which eventually leads to quite the knock down drag out fight between him and Cam.

Throughout the book Lorelei would go on and on about how she was so upset at her grandparents keeping things from her, which I can understand, but instead of trying to bridge that gap and trying to have an open dialogue running with them she shuts them out and acts like a brat.  I would have been mad, too, but I could never imagine doing that to my parents.  Another thing I didn’t like story-wise was how Cam and Jared were constantly silently communicating with each other and Lorelei was completely out of the loop.  CONSTANTLY.  She eventually started feeling all

I mean, it makes sense to me that if you’re protecting the person who is supposed to save everyone she should be allowed to be in the loop, but that’s just me.  I feel like a lot of the time when you have that sort of situation the reader eventually starts to pick up on things that the MC is missing, but this time that wasn’t really the case; it took a long time for me to be able to start connecting the dots, and that’s abnormal for me.

The story ends on somewhat of a good note, but it’s also somewhat stressful and sad.  Once I was able to really sit down and focus on this book I got through it quickly, but it seemed to drag on.  There were at least two chapters after what I felt like could have reasonably been the end of the book.  I understand why the other two chapters were there, but it seemed like the book would never end.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love Jone’s Charley Davidson series, and I enjoyed this one, but it left me wanting.  If you have read any of Darynda Jone’s other books then I would read this one as well, but so far this trilogy is following the law of trilogies pretty hardcore.

Happy reading everyone!

In Your Dreams

We all have at least one author whose books we will buy ASAP just because it is that author, whether we know what the book is about or not.  Ginger Scott is one of those authors for me.

I recently decided that I had to have hard copies of all of Ginger Scott’s books, and one of the first ones I bought was In Your Dreams, one of her most recent releases.

In Your Dreams is a part of the Falling series, and while it isn’t my favorite book of hers it is still phenomenal!

 

Going into this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I knew Casey as Houston’s best friend.  We met Houston and Casey in The Girl I was Before and I already knew that Casey could be very. . . trying.  I knew that he was a deejay and that he was a loyal friend, but I wasn’t sure what else there was to him.  We find out right away that Casey and his father don’t have the best relationship; Casey doesn’t want to follow the secure path that his father has planned for him and their relationship is strained to say the least.  After a surprise encounter with his dad, Casey receives the shock of his life; a video from Houston of a girl singing a song about him, about what a jerk he is.  The problem?  He has no idea who she is.

Murphy hates attention, but she loves to sing.  Trying to conquer her fears she’s been playing open mic nights, performing her anthem about Casey.

When Houston shows up at one of the open mic nights, Murphy knows the jig is up.  Having gone to high school with Houston and Casey she knows they’re friends and has a good idea why Houston is there.  It isn’t long before Casey comes knocking, and Murphy wants none of it, expecting him to be the same devil may care player he was in high school.  Surprisingly enough, Casey doesn’t want to start anything with her; he wants to help her with her music.

What they’re doing is all business right?  Wrong.  Both of them having feelings they don’t want to acknowledge and try not to act on.  Through a series of events each going from bad to worse where Casey is concerned, Murphy softens her heart to him and starts to let him in, but will that be a mistake?

When Casey and Murphy grow closer, things go really well, there isn’t any of that stupidity of another girl getting in the way.  The craziness going on in Casey’s life coupled with Murphy’s anxieties, and Murphy believing he understands where the song “In Your Dreams, Casey Coffield” came from things begin to get tenuous.

Casey is constantly battling the feeling that all he is is some sponge, or a jerk.  He knows that where music is concerned he is powerful and fierce, but in other aspects of his life, he seems to feel inadequate.  His father made it very clear that Casey was a disappointment, and even though their relationship is negative, Casey carries that with him everywhere.  One thing that he really struggles with is not being too much of the jerk version of himself.  The first time that Casey goes to find Murphy, Houston advises him to be “a little less Casey.”  Casey knows he’s a jerk, and for a while he wears that hat as if it’s the only thing he can be.  Casey’s forced jerk nature in combination with his feelings of inadequacy and other negative feelings about himself leads him to feel unworthy of Murphy, no matter how he feels about her.

Throughout the story we see both characters grow.  Casey becomes selfless, putting Murphy’s dreams above his own desires, and when the situation calls for it, he finally steps up in his family even though the situation is not ideal.  We see Murphy go from mostly quiet and anxious to a person that knows her value and worth, that will fight for what she wants, and won’t sit quietly while people trounce all over her.

I truly, truly enjoyed this book.  There were topics covered in it that hit close to home for me, and in some cases were painful and evocative, but in a good way.  I also liked how, as in most of her books, Scott deals with anxiety of some sort.  She is so accurate and real in her dealings with anxiety, that for a person like me who does suffer from anxiety it makes the characters all the more real and easy to relate to.  I was very concerned towards the end of the book that we weren’t going to get a HEA, but I was proved wrong, happily enough.

I would definitely recommend this book, as well as all of Ginger Scott’s other books!  I sure hope you check them out!

Where in the World Have I Been??

Hey guys!

Sorry for my absence!  Life got crazy for me!  I got a full time teaching job and I didn’t give up my part-time bookstore gig, I’ve been taking classes to get my Lutheran Teach Diploma, and I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education in May.

My plan now that I’m back is to catch up on the books that I said I would review, because I feel like a big jerk that it has taken this long.  I’m excited to share what I’m reading and what I’ve been reading with you guys!

Happy reading!

DeereReaderGirl

Wicked Restless Release Day Blast

 

Join us in celebrating the release of WICKED RESTLESS by Ginger Scott!

WICKED RESTLESS

Very Mature YA Contemporary Romance

Scheduled to release: October 20, 2015

Goodreads

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Restless-Harper-Boys-Book-ebook/dp/B015UFJP5U/

Google:

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=8xucCgAAQBAJ

iBooks:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/wicked-restless/id1044896250?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wicked-restless-ginger-scott/1122718400

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/wicked-restless

BLURB:

Andrew Harper grew up in a house marked by tragedy. His older brother Owen did his best to shelter him, but you can only be protected from life’s pain for so long. Eventually, you end up just feeling numb…and isolated.

Loneliness was the one constant in Andrew’s life. Until one girl, met by chance in a high school hallway, changed everything. Emma Burke was a mystery and all that was beautiful in this world, the only air Andrew ever wanted to breathe. She took the lonely away, and filled it with hope and color, and Andrew would do anything to keep her safe, happy and whole.

But sometimes, what feels good and right is what ends up hurting us the most. And when Andrew and Emma are faced with an impossible decision, Andrew is tested to see just how far he’s willing to go for the girl who owns his heart.

Cuts are deep.

Scars are left behind.

And revenge beckons.

When Andrew finally gets his chance, in college, five years after his first love broke him completely, he finds out old feelings don’t really disappear just because you say you hate someone. The more he tries to avenge all that he believes he lost, the more he uncovers the real story of what happened years before.

Love is wicked. But a restless heart is never satisfied beating on its own. Can Andrew and Emma make it right before it’s too late, or will the ties that bind them now destroy their only chance at a future?

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4a501259536/?

About the Author:

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling author of eight young and new adult

romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How

We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, Wild

Reckless and The Girl I Was Before.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she

often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot

quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has

been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than

15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors,

scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work,

visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a

baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce

Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona

Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college

sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).

Social Media Links:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GingerScottAuthor

Twitter: @TheGingerScott

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/thegingerscott/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GingerScottAuthor

Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GingerScottAuthor/posts

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GingerScott

Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com

Wicked Restless Cover Reveal

Check out this gorgeous cover and excerpt for WICKED RESTLESS by Ginger Scott! Don’t forget to add it to your TBR!

WICKED RESTLESS

Very Mature YA Contemporary Romance

Scheduled to release: October 20, 2015

Goodreads

BLURB:

Andrew Harper grew up in a house marked by tragedy. His older brother Owen did his best to shelter him, but you can only be protected from life’s pain for so long. Eventually, you end up just feeling numb…and isolated.

Loneliness was the one constant in Andrew’s life. Until one girl, met by chance in a high school hallway, changed everything. Emma Burke was a mystery and all that was beautiful in this world, the only air Andrew ever wanted to breathe. She took the lonely away, and filled it with hope and color, and Andrew would do anything to keep her safe, happy and whole.

But sometimes, what feels good and right is what ends up hurting us the most. And when Andrew and Emma are faced with an impossible decision, Andrew is tested to see just how far he’s willing to go for the girl who owns his heart.

Cuts are deep.

Scars are left behind.

And revenge beckons.

When Andrew finally gets his chance, in college, five years after his first love broke him completely, he finds out old feelings don’t really disappear just because you say you hate someone. The more he tries to avenge all that he believes he lost, the more he uncovers the real story of what happened years before.

Love is wicked. But a restless heart is never satisfied beating on its own. Can Andrew and Emma make it right before it’s too late, or will the ties that bind them now destroy their only chance at a future?

EXCERPT:
“Alright, Harper. Who’s the target tonight?” Trent leans over me, startling me out of my trance, grabbing my next beer and taking it for his own.“Hey, dickhead,” I say. He holds up a hand and orders another one, sliding it to me. “I’m pretty sure it’s your turn this time.”

His face falls and his complexion turns green. Trent and I have this game we play with one another. It started as a drunken dare a few months ago, when he goaded me into taking a girl home from Majerle’s Pub. I’m not suave; I don’t have great pick-up lines. I usually wait for girls to hit on me. I wait for easy. When Trent dared me, I came up with my own set-up—I stole a girl’s wallet. I returned it to her later, pretending I’d found it. She was so grateful she spent the rest of the night sitting on my lap, her arms looped around my neck, her lips sucking on my skin, her hands soon finding their way in my pants.

That first girl taught me to never bring any of them to our apartment. I go to theirs now. It’s easier to leave then it is to kick someone out.

“Fine, I’ll go. But next time, I get to pick your girl,” I say, tipping my beer back to drink what’s left before leaving the bottle on the bar behind me and pointing at my friend.

“Dude, whatever. You know it’s your turn anyway,” he says.

“My choice next time,” I remind him as I walk backward. I know it’s his turn, and I also know he doesn’t really like taking the dare. Trent’s too nice, and he usually ends up dating the girl for weeks after. He doesn’t like to be an asshole. Or maybe he just doesn’t like people to say bad things about him. Maybe there’s no difference between the two.

I couldn’t give a shit what people say about me. Let ’em talk.

I make one pass through the crowded bar, letting my eyes roam over the dance floor and the tables that line the back wall on the way to the bathrooms. It’s a Friday night, so there are lots of girls here. It’s the middle of the semester, too, so they’re all ready to party—no finals to worry about. There’s one group that seems like an easy target, a blonde on the end who keeps trying to talk the others into dancing. I hover around the restrooms waiting for my shot, and when she finally drags the group of girls with her out to the dance floor, I walk back through the crowd, passing their table.

So easy.
Their wallets and purses are all piled in the center of the table except for a red bag looped over the back of a chair, the ID sticking out of the top. I drag my hand along the bottom of the table, and as I pass the red handbag I grab the small plastic card poking from it, tucking it into the sleeve around my palm. I glance up to make eye contact with Trent, and raise the corner of my mouth in a smirk.

“Dude, you are so slick at this. Seriously, if you flunk out of the engineering program you should just turn to a life of crime.”

I slide into my stool and look away from him. I know he was just saying words, but the joke doesn’t sit well with me. I have a chip on my shoulder. It’s my fucking chip, and I earned it. He also doesn’t know how many nights I walk that line with Harley, fixing bets that are illegal in the first place. Trent just thinks I like the workout boxing gives me.

“Well…let’s see it? Who’s the lucky lady?”

I pull my sleeve loose from around my wrist and let the card slide out, flipping it over while I drink what’s left of my beer, and that’s when karma slaps me like a bitch.

She’s older. Of course she’s older. She’s twenty-one, too. But she looks…older. She also looks the same. Nobody looks good in an ID photo. Emma Burke looks like a dream. Her brown hair is just as I remember it, long waves around her bright pink cheeks, lips that stretch into this sensuous smile. I don’t know if it’s sensuous to anyone else, but to me, it sure as fuck is.

It’s also cruel. I swear to god she’s mocking me in her picture, her eyes shining through and looking at me, calling me stupid, telling me what a chump I am for thinking I was some sort of hero or something.

She’s slapping me in the face for being good and decent to her.

Don’t worry, Emma. I won’t ever be good and decent to you again.

Pre-release Teaser blitz beginning Sept 22

Review tour: Oct 19-24

Release Day Blast: Oct 20

Promo Event: Oct 25-Nov 7

SIGN UP!

About the Author:

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling author of eight young and new adult
romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How
We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, Wild
Reckless and The Girl I Was Before.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she
often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot
quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has
been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than
15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors,
scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work,
visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a
baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce
Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona
Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college
sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).

Social Media Links:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GingerScottAuthor
Twitter: @TheGingerScott
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/thegingerscott/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GingerScottAuthor
Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GingerScottAuthor/posts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GingerScott
Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com

The Girl I Was Before

 

Thank
you for joining us in the promotional tour for The Girl I Was Before, by Ginger
Scott. Be sure to check out all the excerpts, teasers, posts, and giveaway!

THE GIRL I WAS BEFORE (Falling #3)

 NA Contemporary Romance

Scheduled to release: June 23, 2015

Goodreads

Amazon

Google Play

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

I’m the selfish one. I suppose that’s the nicest thing people say about me. I’ve heard the other things, too. “Paige Owens is a pretty girl with nothing else to offer. She’s just a good time at a party. She’s stupid, heartless, cold and useless. All she cares about is getting a guy to look at her. Why would anyone want to be her friend?”

Some of those things are true. Others were true. They’re all hurtful.

None of it matters.

I’m ready to make the hard choices. I’m ready to face the consequences. I’m ready to be the girl I was before, and I’m done being the one who lost her way.

I’m ready to become the girl Houston Orr sees when he looks at me.

Houston isn’t a star athlete. He doesn’t play in a band. He’s never going to be president, and his life is so far away from simple and easy it isn’t even funny. He wasn’t part of my plan. But I’m starting to think plans are overrated, and maybe our stories are what we make them. And mine depends entirely on me, and the choices I make…starting now.

Houston is my fairytale. He’s perfectly imperfect. He’s poetry and life. He’s truth and heartbreak, all rolled up in a tall body with dark hair, broad shoulders and green eyes that lull me into submission. He’s nothing I ever thought I wanted, but the very thing I need. He’s the only guy I’ve ever really loved, and he thinks I’m a princess. I fell into him, and now I’m holding on.

But sometimes life takes away our ability to choose. Sometimes…things aren’t in your control. Sometimes, it hurts to be selfless. My only hope is that when it comes time to choose, I get it right.

Welcome to my once upon a time and wish for happily ever after.

 This book was fabulous.  It wasn’t my favorite Ginger Scott book, but I loved it, just like I’ve loved all the others.  I didn’t think I would ever like Paige, let alone root for her to succeed, but this book changed my mind.  Not only did I like Paige, but on some level I understood her and I felt for her.  I know that I’ve done things I’ve instantly regretted and things I wish I hadn’t done and could take back, and I’m sure everyone else has as well.  Paige was trying to redeem herself throughout this whole book.  She didn’t want to be that girl she used to be anymore.  She wanted to be better.  She wanted to be herself and not cow down to other people anymore.  I was so impressed by her backbone, but on more than one occasion I just wanted to shake sense into that girl.  She could make really frustrating, cringe-worthy choices sometimes.  I also really loved Huston.  I was sure I would like him, but wasn’t sure what to make of him at first.  He really impressed me.  There were moments where I felt like, “Dude!  You could do better than Paige,” but I was still really happy with how things ended.  I would definitely recommend this book and the rest of the series.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Ginger ScottGinger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling author of eight young and new adult

romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How

We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, Wild

Reckless and The Girl I Was Before.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she

often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot

quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has

been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than

15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors,

scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work,

visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a

baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce

Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona

Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college

sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).

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The Girl I Was Before

THE GIRL I WAS BEFORE (Falling #3)

 NA Contemporary Romance

Scheduled to release: June 23, 2015

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BLURB:

I’m the selfish one. I suppose that’s the nicest thing people say about me. I’ve heard the other things, too. “Paige Owens is a pretty girl with nothing else to offer. She’s just a good time at a party. She’s stupid, heartless, cold and useless. All she cares about is getting a guy to look at her. Why would anyone want to be her friend?”

Some of those things are true. Others were true. They’re all hurtful.

None of it matters.

I’m ready to make the hard choices. I’m ready to face the consequences. I’m ready to be the girl I was before, and I’m done being the one who lost her way.

I’m ready to become the girl Houston Orr sees when he looks at me.

Houston isn’t a star athlete. He doesn’t play in a band. He’s never going to be president, and his life is so far away from simple and easy it isn’t even funny. He wasn’t part of my plan. But I’m starting to think plans are overrated, and maybe our stories are what we make them. And mine depends entirely on me, and the choices I make…starting now.

Houston is my fairytale. He’s perfectly imperfect. He’s poetry and life. He’s truth and heartbreak, all rolled up in a tall body with dark hair, broad shoulders and green eyes that lull me into submission. He’s nothing I ever thought I wanted, but the very thing I need. He’s the only guy I’ve ever really loved, and he thinks I’m a princess. I fell into him, and now I’m holding on.

But sometimes life takes away our ability to choose. Sometimes…things aren’t in your control. Sometimes, it hurts to be selfless. My only hope is that when it comes time to choose, I get it right.

Welcome to my once upon a time and wish for happily ever after.

About the Author:

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling author of eight young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, Wild Reckless and The Girl I Was Before.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).

Social Media Links:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GingerScottAuthor

Twitter: @TheGingerScott

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/thegingerscott/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GingerScottAuthor

Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GingerScottAuthor/posts

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GingerScott

Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com

Nowhere But Here Blitz

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Release Day Launch for Katie McGarry’s NOWHERE BUT HERE! NOWHERE BUT HERE is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance and is a part of Katie McGarry’sThunder Road Series, published by Harlequin Teen. Grab your copy today!!

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About NOWHERE BUT HERE:

An unforgettable new series from acclaimed author Katie McGarry about taking risks, opening your heart and ending up in a place you never imagined possible 

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she’s curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn’t mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They’re the good guys. They protect people. They’re…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club’s most respected member—is in town, he’s gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it’s his shot at his dream. What he doesn’t count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

NOWHERE BUT HERE Trailer:

From Oz’s Point of View. Set up: Emily has been separated from her parents and after a long night of worrying, her emotions and exhaustion catch up to her and it causes Oz to have his first fluttering of emotion for Emily. 

 

WIND BLOWS IN FROM THE NORTH AND A FEW pieces of Emily’s dark hair sweep across her face. One min­ute Emily’s a bright flame, then a gust snuffs out her light. Her body sways like a top at the tail end of a spin and I lunge forward.

Emily’s knees give out and her eyes roll back into her head. I catch her inches before she crashes onto the porch. She’s light as I swing her into my arms and her head circles onto my shoulder, reminding me of one of those rag dolls Violet used to play with when we were kids.

“Emily!” Eli’s on top of me, attempting to yank her out of my arms. “Open your eyes.”

Her eyelids flutter, but remain closed as her hand limply clutches my shirt. Eli rams his arms underneath mine and he makes Emily a rope in a tug-of-war. I should let her go. I should want to let her go, but then Emily goes and screws it up for me. “Oz.” 

It was a damn whisper, but I heard my name on her lips and so did Eli. His eyes flash to mine and Cyrus’s words repeat in my mind. That girl trusts you. And screw us both for that.

“She’s exhausted,” I say. “Hasn’t slept at all tonight.”

Eli’s expression hardens as he glares at me. I’ve seen Eli throw a coma-inducing punch for less defiance and I readjust the sleeping girl in my arms. A reminder if he decks me now, he’ll be putting his daughter at risk.

Temporarily surrendering, Eli cups Emily’s face in his hands and angles her toward him. “Emily, please open your eyes.”

She does. It’s barely a crack and they’re completely glazed.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Eli affirms.

“I want my mom and dad,” she mumbles.

“You’ll see them tomorrow.” Eli pushes a strand of hair from her cheek. “You’re safe here. I promise.”

She rejects Eli by curling into me. Her head fits perfectly in the crook of my neck and I loathe the wave of protective­ness that rumbles through my body. Emily’s fingers tighten their grip near my shoulders and the impulse is to shield her from the guys gawking at this intimate scene. Yeah, this is club business, but Emily never asked for any of this.

About Katie McGarry:

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON,  BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

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