Leap of Faith Blog Tour

Can true love be built on lies? A teen on the run seeks relief and redemption in this gripping, romantic read. Leah Kurtz has finally found a place to call home, a town where she and baby Addy can live in peace, far from the drug-infested place she grew up. Chris is one of the best parts of her new life, the only person who’s ever made her feel safe. And now that she’s found him, there’s no way she can tell the truth:

Her real name is Faith, not Leah. She’s seventeen, not nineteen. And the baby isn’t hers—Faith kidnapped her.

Faith’s history catches up with her when a cop starts asking questions and Chris’s aunt spots her picture in the newspaper. She knows it’s time to run again, but if Faith leaves, she’ll lose Chris. If Chris is in love with a lie, though, did Faith ever really have him in the first place?

Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Reading Maggie Stiefvater's writing is akin to dreaming. Maybe I just tend to live and breathe in the books I read and this book is indeed about dreams, but that's what this book felt like.  A dream.  Every element of a dream, too.  From the enchanting visuals to the nightmarish monsters.  With her hypnotic words and her magical story, Stiefvater kept me engrossed and spellbound throughout the entire sequel.  She was able to transport me to a world I had never before seen but could clearly imagine through her expert storytelling.  I just love how perfectly she words everything.  A touch wasn't just a touch it "was a whisper in a language she didn't speak very well."  So beautiful! 

I loved that this book centered around Ronan who is so interesting and dynamic.  I was riveted with having a closer look into his thoughts and emotions because he has so much substance under the tip of his iceberg.  His character growth was stunning to witness.  Actually, all of the characters develop wonderfully.  Gansey, Adam, Blue, and Noah.  I saw sides of them that I was happy to discover they had.  Some surprising, and some I was hoping to find.  And the new character to come into Henrietta was just as interesting as the story.  The Gray Man was difficult to understand, but intriguing to follow and I enjoyed discovering what kind of person he was.  

If there's one thing this sequel was about, it's secrets.  Everyone has them and many of them come out in this sequel.  "Sometimes, some rare times, a secret stays undiscovered because it is something too big for the mind to hold.  It is too strange, too vast, too terrifying to contemplate."  The secrets uncovered in this book were both amazing and terrifying to discover.  Some of them were relieving and some were a complete shock.  But I treasured every discovery because I loved getting to know these characters more intimately.  I'm certain there are a lot more secrets left to be revealed and I can't wait to read them in the next installments.  Loved!

Review by Mary Munar 

P.S. 

a conversation between my friend, my brother, and myself:

<my friend begins to ask me what book I am reading and I answer describing "The Dream Thieves" and the premise revolving around Ronan.>

friend: Is there a love story?

brother: Of course, there's a love story.  She doesn't read books without romance.

friend: Haha! Is there a love story?

me: Duh! Of course, there's a love story!

<I continue to describe Blue and the prophecy of her true love.>

friend: Oh! That's sounds pretty interesting!

<brother nods approvingly>

conclusion: Romance makes books more interesting!

Crown of Midnight & Fangirl End of Summer Giveaway

Mary, Rainbow and Me (Jenn). Mary made shirts for all of us!

Hi everyone! Hope you all are enjoying your summer as it comes to a close. Our summer has been filled with trips to the beach, potlucks, Vegas, the  Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z concert, The Color Run, a Dodger game, Roman Holiday at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, trips to Disneyland, books galore, author events (We finally met Rainbow Rowell at Book Soup in West Hollywood), and of course movies!


Did you all see The Mortal Instruments?! We met the cast on their last mall tour stop at the Americana at Brand, it was crazy! Fans were dressed up in their shadowhunter gear and waited in the sun for hours just to get a glimpse cast, some lucky fans received wristbands and were able to meet the cast. I totally missed work for the event and it was worth it.

So yes, our summer was pretty amazing and we look forward to the rest of the year, not to mention my husband's and my vacation to Boston and New York in just two short weeks!

As we close in on summer and head into fall, we'd like to host a giveaway for you. I asked Mary what was her favorite August read and OF COURSE it was Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, just like mine, if we could use one word to describe it, it would be epic. Read Mary's review here. And just like twinsies, our favorite upcoming release is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Fangirl is so magical, Rainbow is magical, and our full review will post on Tuesday.

Good luck and happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess

 If you're looking for a fun book about best friends and trying to survive life after college in a big city, then you're in for a treat! And it's set in New York! What's not to love? Brooklyn girls is about a young woman, Pia, who moves into a house with four friends and begins her adult life.  Along the way, there are boys, job-hunting, parties, pranks, and just about everything that goes along with being in your early twenties in a big city.  I immediately loved the five girls who share the house.  Their bonds with each other are something I treasure with my own set of girls.  They're different in so many ways and each one of them brings something to the table.  I know this book is the beginning of a series and I am so excited to keep reading them and follow these women as they grow into their adult lives.  Reading this book was like listening to a good friend.  I felt like I knew Pia and I connected to her and all of her struggles.  It shows how well Gemma Burgess knows what it's like to be young and finding your own way. I caught myself thinking plenty of times that these girls could easily fit into my own social group.  The things that they say and do reminded me a lot of how my friends and I are. The funny anecdotes and situations were very relatable and I felt like I could have lived them and have already lived some of them.  
 The characters are written really well, too.  Burgess writes amazing characters. They're so likable and interesting.  I fell in love with all of them, independently and as a whole.  I can't wait for the series to continue so that I can get to know all of them even more.  Loved it!

Review by @marymunar 

5/5 Stars

Add Brooklyn Girls on Goodreads.  

Author: Gemma Burgess - follow her on Twitter.
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 2, 2013
Series: Yes
Genre: New Adult

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge Giveaway

Hi everyone! This month we participated in the Clean Sweep Challenge hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer & The Windy Pages. In addition to the mini challenge listed below, I have challenged myself to reading old and new ARCS this month. It has proven to be a little difficult as many anticipated releases came out this month. Fortunately, I had some awesome reads so far. One of the books took a lot more time than usual to finish. I wanted to savor every word and it took my almost two weeks to finish reading it.

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge: May 2013

Springtime, la la la la springtime. Mary and I are participating in Clean Sweep ARC Challenge hosted by Kimberly of The Windy Pages and Kimba  The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. (There should be a procrastinator challenge as I am late on posting this!)

Speaking of procrastination, we have some lovely ARCS on file and I've decided to read an armful of ARCS I've had on hand. By the end of May, I will challenge myself to read the ARCs pictured below as well as some choice ones from Netgalley and Edelweiss.

All in all, I think it'll be fun and it'll encourage me to broaden my scope. So far this year, I've been partial to contemporary novels and it'll be nice to get back into some fantasy, dystopian and paranormal.

We'll host some challenges and four winners will be able to choose some of the ARCS pictured above. There is still time to sign up, just click on Kimberly or Kimba's links.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Pitch Dark Days Event in Huntington Beach

On Monday, Jenn and I, along with our favorite photographer (Jose aka Jenn's super cool husband) attended an author event for the Pitch Dark Days Tour at Barnes and Noble in Hungtington Beach, CA. Brodi Ashton (Everbound), Cynthia Hand (Boundless), Tahereh Mafi (Unravel Me), and Veronica Rossi (Through the Ever Night) were kind enough to talk about their books, answer questions, and sign our copies.

Young Adult Giveaway Hop

Hi there and welcome to our first ever participation in a hop! (I hope we're doing it right!) Anywho....we wanted to showcase some 2013 YA books that we're super excited about. Winner will get to choose one title by one of the YA authors listed below. Thanks for stopping by! :) 

Review & Giveaway - Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

After reading/inhaling Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, which I loved, I had very high expectations for the author's upcoming young adult release Eleanor & Park; and, sure enough, I was far from disappointed.  Rowell has a special talent for putting realistic and seemingly ordinary characters in a new light where they can shine and grow without changing who they really are or what they stand for.

Review - The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The word amazing isn't enough to describe The Sea of Tranquility. The story unfolds and you just fall in love with these characters who are broken and in time mend themselves together, or try to at least. 

At first when I read the book, I thought it was going to be a good, light, love-hate read, but it was that and so much more. The Sea of Tranquility made me feel things, when Nastya hurt, I was hurt, when she was surprised, I was surprised, when she laughed, I laughed.

The end of third chapter threw me for a loop. I didn't get it at first, the story is written so well that it concealed something very important, which of course is revealed.

Natsya dropped hints of what demons she lives with day in and day out. It's terrible what has happened to her and by the middle of the book, we have enough to piece together some of the horrific details.

The story switches back and forth through Natsya and Josh's POV.

Josh lives a "hard life", he really does, without the Leighton family, he would pretty much be alone. Natsya basically  forces herself in this force field that he has created himself, which is difficult because they both have their guard on. They don't want to let the other one in, but they're so drawn to each other, that it's inevitable. Josh really transforms and he opens himself so much to her and doesn't know if he should regret the simple expectations that have implanted themselves into his everyday life.

Drew is a character that gets to you, I thought I had him pegged in the beginning book, I really did. I just didn't know how his role was going to play out or how significant he would be, but I fell in love with him too.

I don't want to give anymore away, but really, I just can't stop replaying scenes in my head. Remembering those special moments they shared make me smile, I'm really big on wishes.

I read the book at 11 PM last night, slept around 4:30 AM, woke up around 9:30 AM and didn't stop reading until I was finished which was around 11:30 AM. I absolutely love this book, I was not frustrated at all with the mystery surrounding both characters. The story was well paced and flowed incredibly well, even when situations were rocky, you read through them and experienced what the characters experienced. The Sea of Tranquility had everything you could hope for in a contemporary romance.

The last two words of dialogue are what get me. I went full circle and I cried happy tears. The Sea of Tranquility will stay long with you after you've read the last page. You'll want to go back, reread highlighted or dog-eared pages and fall in love all over again. Believe me, after I collected myself, I immediately went on Goodreads and starting "liking" all of my favorite quotes. You might also be itching to bake something or eat some ice cream.

I really can't wait to read more by Katja Millay.

Review by Jenn
5/5 Stars

Author: Katja Millay - follow her on Twitter.
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: September 5, 2012
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 362

Buy the book!

Review & Giveaway - Throne of Glass.

Mary and I inhale fantasy reads but oh wow, we couldn't get enough of Throne of Glass. I highlighted so many lines from the book just so I could go back and reread them. We were so excited when one of our favorite bookish friend told us Sarah Maas was going to be at Vroman's in Pasadena. Check out our pics from the event, read Mary's gush-worthy review and don't forget to enter our giveaway.

Romance Writers of America (RWA) invade Anaheim, California

On Wednesday, July 25, we attended the RWA Annual Conference at the Anaheim Convention Center. The RWA is an network and organization of over 10,000 dedicated romance writers.

Author Event - to fangirl or not to fangirl

If you love contemporary YA then you're no stranger to the magical Jennifer Echols and the amazing Simone Elkeles. I've read and loved every book they've published. They're not from the west coast, so when we found out that they were scheduled to be in Anaheim this week, we decided to go! I absolutely can't believe it!

Review: Pushing the Limits

“I WON’T TELL ANYONE, Echo. I promise.”
Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone TOUCHED ME like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins?
His DARK BROWN EYES shifted to my covered arms. “You didn’t do that—did you? It was done to you?”
No one ever asked that question.
They stared.
They whispered.
They laughed.
BUT THEY NEVER ASKED.

Pitch Dark Days Post - II (Pictures Only)

Hi there! Here are the pictures, as promised! Enjoy!!

Dark Days Tour - Huntington Beach

Mary and I are literally right here at Barnes & Noble in Long Beach. I know I say this a lot, but I seriously didn't think we'd ever get a chance to meet Veronica Roth! She's here, along with the awesome Aprilynne Pike (Wings), Dan Wells (Partials) and S. J. Kincaid (Insignia). Unfortunately, we had to drive like 80,000 miles to get here and sort of missed the beginning part of it, but at least we made it.

A Beautiful Giveaway - closed

K. Garcia & M. Stohl at the 3rd Street Promenade in So Cal.

Beautiful Creatures is a book series written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. We have had the most amazing luck because we've seen these authors so many times at different events. They are so cool and funny in person and it's great that we were able to meet them. We also love Ethan and Lena, I know most people might already have these books, but the giveaway includes AUTOGRAPHED COPIES and a wristband (the wristband was given to use by the authors after my husband asked a question. Always ask questions at book events).

Review - A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young

This review is for A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young, it is the sequel to A Need So Beautiful, so if for some crazy reason you haven't read A Need So Beautiful go and read it! Then read my review of A Want So Wicked.

Greek Week Review - Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.
Henry's first wife, Persephone. (Summary found on Amazon)

Review: Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance. Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for. (Summary as found on Amazon)