Review: The Last Word by Lisa Lutz

The Last Word (The Spellmans #6)
by Lisa Lutz

Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary, Humor
Publication: July 2013
Format: ebook, 352 pages
Source: NetGalley
Connect: Website | Twitter | Facebook

The latest installment of the New York Times bestselling Spellman mysteries, finds private investigator Izzy Spellman on the verge of losing everything.

Isabel Spellman is used to being followed, extorted, and questioned—all occupational hazards of working at her family’s firm, Spellman Investigations. Her little sister, Rae, once tailed Izzy for weeks on end to discover the identity of her boyfriend. Her mother, Olivia, once blackmailed Izzy with photographic evidence of Prom Night 1994. It seemed that the Spellmans would lay off after Izzy was fired for breaching client confidentiality, but then Izzy avenged her dismissal by staging a hostile takeover of the company. She should have known better than to think she could put such shenanigans behind her.

In The Last Word, Izzy’s troubles are just beginning. After her hostile takeover of Spellman Investigations, Izzy’s parents simply go on strike. Her sister, Rae, comes back into the family business with questionable motivations. Her other employees seem to be coping with anxiety disorders, and she has no idea how to pay the bills. However, her worst threat comes from someone who is no relation. Within months of assuming control of the business, Izzy is accused of embezzling from a former client, the ridiculously wealthy Mr. Slayter, who happens to have Alzheimer’s, which Izzy and he are diligently trying to keep under wraps. Not only is Slayter’s business and reputation on the line, but if Izzy gets indicted for embezzlement, she’ll lose everything—her business, her license, and her family’s livelihood. Is this the end of Izzy Spellman, PI? The answer makes The Last Word, hands down, the most thrilling book in this bestselling, award-nominated series.

Oh well. I’m not sure how to begin. I love the Spellmans and have been looking forward to read this one. I was really worried that this might be the last book in the Spellmans series. I didn’t want the series to end. I love every single of Spellmans book. I’ve reread them a few times because I thoroughly enjoy them.

In The Last Word, Izzy has taken over the management and her employees (her mother and father) decided to boycott work. She found out that she is being investigated by the FBI for embezzlement from her benefactor, Mr. Slayter. Her sister, Rae is starting her own side business as a CRS (Conflict Resolution Specialist) which involved blackmail and other things. Her brother, David, is a stay at home dad to his daughter, Sydney. 

I love reading about Izzy and her dysfunctional family. There are tons of laugh-out-loud moments as well as serious ones. Mostly I love them because I can never grow tired of them. I love watching them going through changes and grew up. Well, maybe Izzy hasn’t grown up much, but she learned a lot about responsibility. (I can’t believe how Rae is now all grown up! I still remember her in the first Spellmans book). I didn’t really like how the book ended. It wasn’t the kind of ending I was expecting, but I can’t deny that it was a good ending.

*I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

On Tour: Mounting the Whale by Colleen McCarty - Q&A & Excerpt

Colleen McCarty is now on tour with CLP Book Tours with her book, Mounting the Whale. Please visit her tour page for more blog stops.

Mounting the Whale

by Colleen McCarty

Publication:  December 2013

Connect: Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads

Purchase | Trailer | Read Free Sample

"Cartel got me, tell mom"

The siblings, drowning in their own problems, are forced to focus on the task at hand: a half-cocked rescue mission that involves a borrowed yacht, a favor from a notorious drug kingpin, and a shocking reunion none of them expected.

When the family decides to sneak into Mexico, mother Cybil is forced to deal with a rival CEO whom she's developed feelings for in secret. Her only son, Tom, is willing to risk bodily harm to save Janine while his other sisters, Carlyle and Valerie, suspect that the kidnapping is less than legitimate.

The long sea voyage tests the limits of the family's already frail bonds. Dark secrets of infertility, drugs, gambling and extreme taxidermy begin to float to the surface. But nothing compares to what they begin to learn about their missing sister.

If they're going to make it out alive, they have to recognize they're fighting the same battles and facing life's greatest challenges: love, loneliness, and the struggle to find a place in the world.

Amidst all the chaos, the Pierce family is brought face-to-face with the ugliness of Janine's addictions, the truth about their mother's fortune and the most terrifying question of all: Can you really save someone who doesn't want to be saved?

Excerpt  

“Hello,” Carlyle answered the phone as she walked out of the television studio. 

“Me again. Found something.” Marius was curt and Carlyle could picture him reading from a lit computer screen. “I found this undercover blog—Blog Del Narco, it’s amazing. It’s written by someone inside a cartel that operates out of Progreso. They’ve been putting up journal entries every few days about what it’s like to work in the cartel, and the writer even names people—big important people—in the ring. This person says Diego Malecón is the Don—er, the boss. They call him El Toro. He—El Toro—is pretty bad news. It looks like he is the main source for most of the cocaine and heroin in the Miami area. 

He’s actually a Cuban, but he runs drugs by boat which is why he likes to be in Progreso—easy access to water.” 

“So you think this guy is connected to all of this somehow?” 

Carlyle’s heart was blocking her esophagus. 

“I don’t know. Most cartels run out of border towns like Laredo or Juarez. Even Tijuana. He’s the only one I can find who has any connection to the Progreso area. It’s pretty smart, really, he’s bypassing a lot of bloodshed by taking everything to the water.” 

“But he has to go a hell of a long way out of the way.” Carlyle knew from managing some of the Nature bar distribution channels that the goal was to get the product to its destination in the fewest amount of steps. The Yucatan was a long way from Miami. 

They paused and Marius wasn’t sure if he should continue. “Here’s the strange thing. This blog—it’s gone dark for the last three days.” He was silent, waiting for his words to sink in. 

“Three days ago… but you said you got the email yesterday.” 

“Yeah, but let’s say she’s the leak—or the blogger, or whatever—they find out and they are going to kill her. She barters with them and tells them she has a rich family, yada yada yada, they settle on asking for a ransom in return for her swift exit of the organization. That could take a few days—getting the plan together and all that.” 

“Maybe. I don’t know if Janine is the ‘undercover blogger’ type. 

Last time I saw her, her hands were shaking so much I doubt they could rest on a keyboard.”

 Q&A with Colleen McCarty

1. Please introduce yourself and your book.

Hi, I'm Colleen. I am a mom of one, a wife of...well, also one, and a dog-mom to two. I write what I would consider literary fiction with a thriller/crime bent. My first novel just came out in December. It's called Mounting the Whale. It tells the story of an affluent, self-made family who believes their sister has been kidnapped by a drug cartel in Mexico. 

2. What inspired you to write this book?

The idea came to me while dealing with some personal family drama. I am a control freak through-and-through--I think most writers are--and it was very frustrating to me that I could not control the people around me. They were making choices that I maybe didn't agree with--choices related to drugs and alcohol. I wanted to play out the story in my mind, looking back now, I think I needed to play it out to learn that I can't control anyone but myself. 

3. Can you see yourself in any of your characters?

I see myself in all of them! As much as writers are control freaks, we are also schizophrenic. If we see an intriguing person on the street we speculate about what it might be like to be that person. We imagine ourselves as twenty different people before breakfast. However, as much as they are me, my characters are their own people now too. 

4. What's the thing most lacking about yourself right now?

Wow, tough crowd! I tend to set extremely outlandish expectations for myself and then crumple when I fail to fulfill them. So, you know, just regular mom stuff.

5. Grade your book. How many stars out of a perfect score of 5 stars? Please give the reason too.

I'm going to go with 4 stars. I actually really love this book, but I think I rushed it a bit and didn't give the writing enough space. I shouldn't have been in such a rush. But once it was done, I was so excited to share it with the world! 

6. What are you working on right now?

I'm still promoting, but am in the process of laying out a new book. Cuba. Human Trafficking. Revolution. Intrigue. Need I say mas?

7. Anything you would like to say to your readers?

I just want to thank anyone who's taken a chance on the book, it's an enormous compliment. To take the time to read someone's book is peering into their soul and I thank you. 

Author Bio:

Colleen McCarty is a graduate of the University of Tulsa and an entrepreneur. She and her husband own Tulsa restaurant Mod's Coffee and Crepes. She's been featured onEntrepreneur.com, and in the Wall Street Journal. This is her first novel. Though Colleen has ghostwritten books for CEOs and New York Times Bestsellers, this is her first foray into publishing her own work. Colleen lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband, daughter and two large dogs. Follow her writing at colleen-mccarty.com.

Review: The Cuckoos of Batch Magna by Peter Maughan + Q&A

The Cuckoos of Batch Magna
by Peter Maughan

Genre: Contemporary, Humor
Publication: First Published March 2004
Format: Kindle Edition, 308 pages
Source: ARC
Connect: Website

When Sir Humphrey Miles Pinkerton Strange, huntin' shootin' and fishin' Squire of Batch Magna, goes to his reward (doubtless to find God as true-blue British as his more recent but equally worthy ancestors), his rambling but rotting estate passes to distant relative Humph, a hapless dollar doodler in New York.With $$ in his eyes, Humph decides to make a killing by transforming the sleepy backwater of Batch Magna into a theme park image of rural England - a vacation paradise for free-spending US millionaires.But while the village's threadbare businessmen see the plan as a windfall, the tenants of the estate's dilapidated houseboats are above any consideration of filthy lucre and stand their ground for tradition's sake . and because they consider eviction notices not to be cricket.Each disgruntled faction sees the other as the unwelcome cuckoo chick in the family nest!So, lead by randy pulp-crime writer Phineas Cook and Lt-Commander James Cunningham DSO, DSC and Bar, RN (ret) - a man with a glass eye to suit every occasion (and all painted with naval battle scenes where the Union Jack flies triumphant) - the motley crew takes on Wall Street . broadside to broadside.

I received a copy of this book from the author to provide an honest review.

Truthfully, The Cuckoos of Batch Magna wasn’t really the kind of book that I’ve always read. But I decided to give it a try, when I heard that this was going to be a humorous book. 

Sir Humphrey inherited an estate in England from his distant relative whom he never met. He wanted to turn the estate into a theme park, but the villagers were against it. When Sir Humphrey met and came to know the villagers, he began to like them.  I love how the villagers each have an interesting personality, like the Commander and Phineas. And I think it’s exciting to see how Humphrey came to like the village.

I have to admit that at first I was a bit confused on what the book was about. And the synopsis wasn’t really helping. I thought that there were too many characters introduced in the earlier chapter. But as the story progress, I found that the story wasn’t that bad. It was quite an enjoyable read, even though it wasn't my cup of tea.

Q&A with Peter Maughan

Q: Please tell us about this book

It's a Kindle edition called The Cuckoos of Batch Magna. It's what might be described as a feel good book, set in the mid-1970s in a river valley in the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. The death of the  squire of the village leads to the title and what's left of his estate being left through the ancient law of entailment to a distant relative. And so it is that Humphrey Strange, or Humph, as he likes to be called, an amiable short-order cook from the Bronx, finds himself most remarkably to be the 9th baronet and squire of Batch Magna. Manipulated by his Uncle Frank, a small-time Wall Street broker with his eye on the big-time, and a new girlfriend with her eye on the title, Humph is persuaded he  has plans for the old place: the entire estate is to be turned into a theme-park image of rural England - a vacation paradise for free-spending US millionaires. 

The tenants of the  dilapidated houseboats on the estate's stretch of the river are given notice to quit - and it's then that Humph's problems begin. 

Each faction sees the other as the cuckoo in the family nest, so led by randy pulp-crime writer Phineas Cook and Lt-Commander James Cunningham DSO, DSC and Bar, Royal Navy (ret), the motley crew run up the Union Jack and battle ensign and prepare to engage. 

Q. Can you tell us about the journey that led you to writing?

Well, I started out as an actor, and worked as a fringe theatre director and as a script writer (scripts for pilot films for independent film companies). I had quite a few short stories and non-fiction writing on the English countryside published, and a novel  seemed to be the next logical step. And I was helped by that background – actor, director, script writer, I am all of those when writing. I write the script, see the scene through the eye, as it were, of the camera, and then act it out on paper.

Q. What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Getting down on the page – I write in longhand first –  what I, the director, ‘see’. Somerset Maugham said that there were three rules when it came to writing a novel – the  trouble is, that no one knows what they are. Well, as far as I am concerned, there is one rule that if not kept will leave your story on the page, when it should take on a second life in the imagination  of your reader (because reading should also be creative; should be more than mere intellectual comprehension). And it is this: you must ‘see’ the scenes you are writing – or, to put it more actively, you must ‘watch’ them happening, as they happen (particularly necessary I think for thrillers and crime novels, and noticeable when it’s absent).

Q. Do you have a musical playlist you listen to while writing? If so, what kind of music?

No. I need silence. I need to concentrate, to fully see and hear that life on the other side of the camera (‘Quiet please!’ on the set.)

Q. What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

I don’t think I have one. I’ve read about other writers arranging their pens or paper in a certain way before starting, and can only wonder at their evident neatness.  I write in a blitz of paper, yesterday’s work waiting to be typed up, scraps of character details, bits of dialogue, notes on future scenes, etc.     

Q. Do you plan any subsequent books?

The Cuckoos of Batch Magna is the first in a planned series. I have two sequels finished and waiting their turn – and that particular hiatus is, in part, the reason I left my last publisher to go solo.

Q. Please tell us your latest news (book-related or not!).

Interest (and so far it is only that) shown by a UK independent film company in the novels.

Q. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Yes: thank you. And to add that I have had quite a few references in reviews and other feedback to Batch Magna being a place people have enjoyed visiting and were reluctant to leave.  I find that extremely satisfying, the thought that I have taken those readers out of themselves, given them, as feelgood books/films should, for that short while another  world to live in. That, as a writer, will do me.

Review: The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

The Future of Us
by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Time Travel, Young Adult

Publication: January 2012

Format: Paperback, 356 pages

Source: Own

Connect with Jay Asher: Website | Facebook | Goodreads
Connect with Carolyn Mackler: Website

It's 1996 and very few high school students have ever used the internet. Facebook will not be invented until several years in the future. Emma just got a computer and an America Online CD. She and her best friend Josh power it up and log on - and discover themselves on Facebook in 2011. Everybody wonders what they'll be like fifteen years in the future. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

I was very excited to read The Future of Us after reading the summary. I was intrigued by the idea of finding about your future through the internet. 

Emma just got a computer. When she and her best friend, Josh, logged on into the computer, she found out about Facebook and their life in 2011. I think it is interesting to see how a small action that Emma and Josh took could alter their future. It was fun reading this book in both Emma and Josh’s POV. But mostly, I enjoyed reading it in Emma’s POV. She wasn’t a likeable character, but I thought she sounded more… human. It was interesting to see how she was going to change her fate when she assume that she wasn’t going to be happy with her future husband. Then, starting from that, she continued to try and changing her future to be better, to be perfect. But in the end, nothing can really satisfy her. 

The Future of Us is a fun, quick read that you can finish in one sitting. I think anyone who was a 90’s kid with a computer back then would find this one nostalgic.

On Tour: Bitter Pill by Stacey Kade - Q&A & Excerpt

Stacey Kade is now on tour with CLP Book Tours with her book, Bitter Pill. Please visit her tour page for more blog stops and a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card, a signed copy of Bitter Pill (US/CA only) or an eBook copy of The Ghost of Goth by Stacey Kade!

Bitter Pill  by Stacey Kade

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publication: October 2013
Connect: Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads | Blog
Buy the Book: Amazon

The truth is a bitter pill...

Rennie Harlow is having a bad year. She had a handsome husband, a good job, and a renovated condo in Chicago. Now, thanks to one "exotically beautiful" paralegal, she’s divorced, faking her way through a writing career, and living above her hypochondriac mother's garage back in Morrisville, the small town she couldn't leave fast enough at eighteen. On top of all of that, she just found Doc Hallacy, the local pharmacist, dead behind his counter. And the worst part is, he's the third body she’s stumbled across this year.

Jake Bristol has lived in Morrisville his whole life. A former bad boy turned sheriff, he doesn’t believe it’s just Rennie’s luck or timing that’s the problem. He thinks she’s too nosy for her own good. The last thing he needs is her messing around with his murder investigation so that she can freelance for the Morrisville Gazette. But as they both delve deeper into Doc's death, they find that things don't add up. This isn't a robbery gone wrong or the work of a desperate junkie. Someone has a secret they're killing to keep. The only question is—who's next?

Q&A with Stacey Kade

1. Please introduce yourself and your book.

Hi! I'm Stacey Kade. I'm here today to talk about Bitter Pill, which is my amateur sleuth chicklit mystery. Rennie Harlow is kind of my grown-up version of Nancy Drew, only her life isn't nearly as picture perfect and pulled together.

After a horrible divorce, Rennie fled back to the small town where she grew up, to find new direction and to live over her mother's garage. (Well, the "live over her mother's garage" was more just a by-product of moving home than an active choice.) Now she's in love with someone she can't really have, and she keeps stumbling over dead bodies and getting pulled into the ensuing investigations, quite unintentionally.

2. What inspired you to write this book?

This is the only book out of all mine that was inspired by a dream, believe it or not. I woke up from a nap with the phrase, "Pharmacists know all our dirty secrets," floating through my brain. Combine that with homesickness for the small town where I lived in grade school, and that was the start of Bitter Pill. It's so weird, I know. :)

3. Grade your book. How many stars out of a perfect score of 5 stars? Please give the reason too.

Hmmm. You know, I don't think an author can ever satisfactorily judge his/her own book. We're too inclined to judge our work both too harshly and not harshly enough. There's no possibility for an objective perspective. So, I'm going to leave it up to the readers to decide.

4. Is there something you can be uniquely proud of?

In general, you mean? I make really good Christmas cookies. From scratch. I can also quote damn near all of the 1984 movie, Ghostbusters. Tell me that's not a marketable skill.

5. What are you working on right now?

Right now, I'm working on first pass pages for The Hunt, which is the second book in my young adult Project Paper Doll series.

6. Please say something to your readers?

Thank you for reading! :) I love telling stories and appreciate every opportunity you give me to spin a tale and try to entertain you. 

 Excerpt

Bristol rubbed his face wearily, then stared at me, his warm brown eyes too intense. “How do you get yourself into this? The first person found on the scene is usually a viable suspect for the murder. But not in this town, not with you.” 

“I can’t help it, it just happens.” I tried not to sound too plaintive. 

“No, Rennie, lightning strikes just happen.” He shook his head with a tight smile. “You are a walking disaster.”

Stung, I shoved the thermos lid back at him, sloshing coffee onto the leather interior, and jabbed my car keys into the ignition. “Screw you, Bristol.”

He sighed. “Rennie…”

“What?” I jerked the gearshift into reverse.

He started to say something then shook his head. “I’m going to need you to come in to make an official statement.”

“Not till this afternoon.” I lifted my chin defiantly, daring him to challenge me. “I have to get home to explain to my mother that she’ll have to wait for her prescription and then I’ve got an interview with Gloria Lottich.”

“Fine. We’ve already got your prints on file, so we can rule out anything you touched.” His mouth tightened and he hesitated for the slightest of seconds. “We’re going to need your shirt.”

“What? Why?” I looked down at myself and saw, for the first time, a splotch of blood shaped like a tear drop on the stomach of my pale blue t-shirt.

“Crime lab will want to make sure that’s Doc’s blood and not the killer’s.”

I swallowed hard, struggling against the urge to pluck the fabric away from my skin. “So, I’m just supposed to drive home topless? This is Morrisville. There are laws about how long Christmas decorations can stay up. You’re telling me there are no ordinances about half-naked driving?” I asked, discomfort setting my tone a little too close to rude.

He walked back to his squad car, tossing out the remains of the coffee in the thermos lid on the way. He returned with a paper bag and a bright blue bundle of fabric. The fabric, a t-shirt, he handed to me, while he held onto the bag.

I put the car back into park and unfolded the t-shirt. The front had a small patch of writing over the left side in the shape of star. Morrisville Sheriff’s Office, it read. Interdepartmental Softball League. I flipped it over to look at the back. Bristol 17.

“Your softball shirt?” I asked. God help me, despite the circumstances, I loved the idea of his name on my back, his shirt against my skin. Bad, Rennie. Bad, bad.

He shrugged. “Unless you have a better idea.”

I shook my head. He stood and turned his back toward the window, blocking the view from the side of the car. That helped, but it didn’t keep anyone from looking through the windshield. I sighed. Oh, well, what little I had, they were welcome to see. Besides, Deputy Sheffey appeared to be occupied with taking notes anyway, and the first curiosity-seekers on the scene had their attention focused on the pharmacy door, now blocked off with crime tape.

I yanked the bloodied shirt off over my head, silently thanking whatever voice of caution in my brain had urged me to wear proper undergarments this morning. Much to my chagrin, bras were more wishful thinking on my part than a strict necessity. However, it would have been nice if the voice of caution had also recommended a little more time on my hair this morning—I could feel it standing up in messy spikes, like a blonde tumbleweed on top of my head. Very attractive.

I thrust my arms through Bristol’s t-shirt. The familiar smell of him, the clean scent of his clothing, surrounded me. I tugged the rest of the shirt down into place, loving the feel of it against my skin even as I knew it was wrong. After all, Bristol’s shirt smelled good, like him, because it had been recently laundered…by his wife, Margene.

Without thinking, I bumped his arm with the back of my hand to let him know I’d completed my wardrobe change. As usual, he’d rolled his shirt sleeves up, revealing tanned and strong forearms. I jolted slightly at the warmth of his skin against mine, and my heart flipped up and twisted in my chest, like a paper cutout on a string in the breeze.

Bristol turned around and opened the paper bag. I dropped my bloodied shirt inside.

“So, how’s Margene?” I asked Bristol, as I always did when I started having trouble remembering he was married.

His face closed down, like he’d shut some internal door against me. “Fine.” He didn’t really sound surprised at the strange conversation twist I’d thrown him. “Getting ready for the Garden Show.” He closed up the top of the bag with precise, crisp folds in the paper.

“Right,” I said. Margene had been more than happy to settle into her role of Mrs. Sheriff, second only to Mrs. Mayor, Gloria Lottich. Margene and I’d also gone to school together, although she was a couple years younger than me. She’d moved to town in the seventh grade when her father took a job at the propane factory. By her junior year in high school, she’d worked her way up from trailer trash to co-captain of the varsity cheerleading team, second only to Laura Brown. Apparently, Margene’s ambition had limits. Word was, she’d caught wind of Jake’s upwardly mobile plans as soon as he’d returned to town from the Army and she’d trapped him with her reportedly magnificent thighs. Chelsea was born barely inside of wedlock, and then all Margene had to do was sit back and wait while Jake’s star kept rising.

“And Chelsea?” I asked.

“Finishing fifth grade in a couple weeks.” He frowned at me, highlighting those marvelous wrinkles near his eyes.

Time to change the subject again. “What about Max?” I asked.

“Max,” he repeated with a frown.

“Yeah. Editor of the Gazette, nosiest human being alive?” I waited for some flicker of recognition from Bristol and got a grim nod. “He’s going to want details for a story. Time of death, potential motives, the weapon…”

Bristol frowned. “I don’t want to share any of that information with the public just yet. Incidentally, I think you’re right about the cane being the murder weapon.” His eyes dropped to the phone in my lap. “I don’t want that part in the paper, got it?” He rubbed his face, the stubble on his chin making a rasping sound against his hand. “I’d rather not have anything in the paper just yet.”

I shook my head. “Max is sitting right over there.” I pointed at the Gazette office. “It’s not like he can’t see it for himself. You know him, he’ll print something. Better he get most of the facts from a reliable source.”

“You run all of it past me before anything hits the printer,” he said.

I made an exasperated sound. “We’ve been through this before. I get the lecture from you about responsible media. Then I turn around and get the freedom of the press speech from Max.” I glowered at him. “I should put the two of you in a room together and let you duke it out.”

Bristol’s mouth twitched upward in a smile. “Wouldn’t be fair.”

“Why not?”

“Max could convince a snake to go vegetarian. I just have a gun.”

I pretended to consider his words. “True enough. I guess my money’s still safe on Max.”

“Oh, ha, ha.” 

I smiled at him reluctantly. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

Author Bio:

As a former award-winning corporate copywriter, Stacey Kade has written about everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps. But she prefers to make things up instead. She's the author of two YA series from Hyperion: The Ghost and the Goth trilogy (The Ghost and the Goth, Queen of the Dead, and Body & Soul) and Project Paper Doll trilogy (The Rules, The Hunt, Book 3 TBD).

Stacey lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and their two retired racing greyhounds, Tall Walker (Walker) and SheWearsThePants (Pansy).

Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite (The Selection #2)
by Kiera Cass

Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: April 2013 by HarperTeen
Format: Paperback, 323 pages
Source: Own
Connect: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Iléa.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

The Elite by Kiera Cass is the second book from The Selection series. I didn't really like the first book, but I wanted to give this series another chance. I wanted to see America matured just a little bit. I wanted to know more about the rebel. I mean, the series does have a good premise. But after a few pages into the book, I was disappointed. Mostly with America. I didn't like her character. She can't make up her mind and she sounded very selfish in this book. The only scene that made me like America a little bit was the part where she defended her friend in public. But that was it. 

I was really happy when the rebel made their appearance, even though just for a little while. I was hoping to see more of them. I wanted to know why they rebelled against the kingdom. Will I read the next book of the selection, The One? I might. I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about this series. I didn't like the characters and plot, but I still wanted to find out what happen at the end. I wanted to know the kingdom's history. It would be really interesting. I just hope that The One would be slightly better than The Elite.

Best of 2013 Giveaway Hop (INT)

Hosted by Bookhounds & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer 

December 11th to December 18th

So... I know that I haven't been a good blogger/reader this year. I haven't read many books, and when I did, I didn't post my review right away. Joining this giveaway is my way to apologize for my recent disappearance. One lucky winner will get the chance to win:

A Paperback of INK by Amanda Sun. I haven't read much book which was published in 2013. But I did enjoy Ink by Amanda Sun. Here's how to enter the giveaway:

• To win this book, all you got to do is to read the rules and then, fill in the form below. Easy right
• Please enter your contact details in the form below to enter this giveaway. Easy
• This is an International giveaway. As long as The Book Depository ships to your location.
• One entry per person, please
• Winner will be notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.
• I'm not responsible for any lost package.
• Have fun! And good luck :)

Be sure to check out the other giveaway stops on this blog hop:

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