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Book Blitz: “Knowing Jack” by Rachel Curtis + Book Giveaway!

Knowing Jack by Rachel Curtis
Publication date: January 17th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

I am not a slut, although I’ve been called one often enough. Yeah, I spent three months screwing one of my college professors, but I was crazy about the guy. Then he broke up with me.

I am not a bitch, although people like to say I am. I kept our relationship secret. I’m not responsible for telling the university administrators about it, but a lot of students still blame me for getting their favorite professor fired.

I am not a drama queen, although everyone thinks I am now. When I got a few nasty messages, I just deleted them. When I got the threat, I assumed it was someone being stupid. I still think that’s all it was. My parents worry, though, so they hired me a bodyguard. Now Jack follows me around, intimidating everyone who approaches me and looking obnoxiously hot.

This is what I am. I’m Chloe. I’m a twenty-year-old art history major. Kind of shy, although I pretend not to be. Stubborn enough to stay here for my senior year, even though everyone hates me.

And I’m stuck with Jack.

He calls me “Princess,” but I’m not a princess either.

Knowing Jack is a New Adult contemporary romance and includes adult content and language. The plot of the book is fully resolved at the end, but the last page includes a hanging teaser for the next book in the series.


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About the Author:

Rachel is a writer, a teacher, a romance reader, and a dog-mom. She loves animals and art and hot men with soft hearts under a tough exterior. She tries to write love stories that feel real, even in unlikely circumstances.


TWITTER | FACEBOOK | WEBSITE

Excerpt:
I
put down my coffee cup so I can bristle at this comment instead of laugh—which
is what I really want to do. “That wouldn’t be very bad-ass. And I’ve got to
say you don’t have much leeway on that account. You don’t have any cool
fighting skills. You haven’t been a SEAL. You haven’t been in jail. You don’t
have a tattoo. Not very bad-ass, are you?”
He
starts to laugh but then his expression changes strangely. He reaches over and
pulls my blanket up over my shoulders.
“Why
did you do that?” I let the blanket drop, mostly to defy him.
He
lets out a breath as his eyes lower to my chest and then jerk away abruptly.
I
glance down to where he was looking and discover that I’m not exactly proper.
One of my straps has fallen off my shoulder and the neckline of my tank is
drooping dramatically, revealing more cleavage than is entirely appropriate.
Plus, my nipples are super-tight and poking out through the fabric.
I
jerk the blanket up over my shoulders again. My body doesn’t have such
standards, though, and it’s getting all excited about the idea of Jack seeing
me like that.
Okay,
we were having a conversation. Think about that. Think about that—and not about the way the tension
in Jack’s body makes me want to run my hands up and down him.
I
have no idea what the conversation is even about. I can’t think about anything
except Jack and his big body and his strong hands and his rough jaw and that
deep, hot, knowing look in his eyes.
And
now I’m jumping off the couch to put up my coffee mug. Better to do that than
to do what I’m really wanting to do.
He’s
standing up when I return to the living area.
“Where
are you going?” I ask, stopping abruptly.
“I
was going home. Bill is outside, and you’re perfectly safe.”
“Oh.”
I don’t really want him to go, but that’s kind of hard to admit. “I thought you
might show me some bad-ass moves.”
“I
thought you said I wasn’t a bad-ass.”
“Well,
you’re more bad-ass than I am. You could show me how to protect myself.”
His
eyes are focused on my face with a strange intensity, as if he’s having to
fight to keep them there. “If someone comes after you, princess, then your best
move is to run.”
“But
isn’t there some special way martial arts way of me knocking them out?”
“You’ve
been watching too many movies. The best way to protect yourself is inflict the
most damage with the least amount of effort.”
“So
how do I do that?”
“Go
for his balls.”
I
frown. “Oh.”
“I’m
serious. His balls or his eyes or his nose. Wherever he’s vulnerable. Wherever
you can get to with a hard part of your body.”
“I
don’t have hard parts to my body.” Yeah, I know that sounds stupid, but this
guy really throws me off and I can’t make my mind work the right way.
He
smiles in that knowing way he has and steps over closer to me. “You don’t have
many,” he murmurs, that delicious rasp in his voice again.



GIVEAWAY! OPEN INTERNATIONALLY!


happy reading!

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Speed Review: “The Moment Before” by Suzy Vitello













Title: The Moment Before
Author: Suzy Vitello
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary
Release Date: January 14th, 2014

Other Books by Author: Unkiss Me 

Published by: Diversion Books



With thanks to Diversion Books for the eBook galley copy of this novel! As always, my reviews are non-bias and fair.




“Don’t get me wrong. I loved my sister. I never, not once, wished her dead.”
Brady and Sabine Wilson are sisters born eleven months apart, but they couldn’t be more different. Popular Sabine, the head cheerleader dating the high school hunk, seems to have all the luck, while her younger, artsy sister “Brady Brooder” is a loner who prefers the sidelines to the limelight.  
After Sabine dies in a horrific cheerleading accident, grief unravels Brady and her family. Once recognized for her artistic talent, 17-year-old Brady finds herself questioning the value of everything she once held dear. Her best friend betrays her. Her parents’ marriage is crumbling. And the boy everyone blames for the accident seems to be her only ally in the search for answers in the wake of her sister’s death. As an unlikely friendship emerges, Brady learns more about Sabine – and love – than she bargained for.

 The premise instantly attracted me to the story. It looked a little like The Sky Is Everywhere meets a Susane Colasanti book, so I was intrigued to see if my good vibes were right about The Moment Before.


def: a “speed review” is a new feature on Pretty Little Memoirs consisting of shorter reads and eBooks that I’ve read in a quick and event-filled review

Not only is this an incredible coming-of-age story with quirks, but the characters and plot are so strong that almost instantly, I was reading more and more and the time just passed so quickly when I was enveloped in The Moment Before‘s world. 

Brady is such an intriguing, powerful character who not only has to come to terms with the death of her sister, but now that that event has ricochetted her life values around and things she used to believe in and her thoughts about elements of her life, are all changing along with her changes in herself. Brady also has to look at the side of the story that could prove that she didn’t know her sister; Sabine, so well, after all, with secrets surrounding her.

Brady was portrayed so well and as close to a real-life teenager as possible. She was angry for her sister dying, she was annoyed with her sister for no longer being alive and being able to hide under that shadow of being the younger sister of the popular cheerleader. But she was witty and likeable, too. Although she didn’t have that much self-assurance in herself and I think she just liked to please other people other than putting herself first, she was extremely selfless in that way. 

Connor was likeable (ish), like Brady, and although they were a good combination of characters apart, something about them, just like the turn in events nearer the end, made me see that they could be good together. But all Brady can think at first is: this is the guy who killed my sister, because that’s all they know…at that time. He wasn’t so much of a character I connected with a lot, just like Martha or Nick. I really wasn’t a fan of Martha. I thought all along that Brady deserved a better friend, 100%. 

BUT saying that, just because I didn’t like some of the other characters, I liked Brady and because she was the main character, I loved this book. Seriously. It was the perfect coming-of-age story, mixed with emotion and friendship/relationship dramas. Just an all-round amazing read. 



Have you read The Moment Before?

What did you think? 

Tell me in the comments or at @LittleMemoirs on twitter!
happy reading!
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Book Review: “Aberrant” by Ruth Silver

  

Title: Aberrant (#1)

Author: Ruth Silver
Genre: Young Adult – Dystopian
Release Date:  September 23rd 2013
Published by: Patchwork Press
With thanks to Patchwork Press for the eBook galley copy of this novel! As always, my reviews are non-bias and fair.


AUTHOR SITE | TWITTER  | GOODREADS

In the future dystopian
society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers
its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for
everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question,
including the government’s match in marriage and “The Day of the
Chosen”, a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children
as natural means hasn’t existed in generations. Following her eighteenth
birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood
best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment
and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she’s arrested and
thrown in prison. 
The only crime committed, her existence. Olivia is
unlike the rest of the world born not from “The Day of the Chosen.” The
truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one
simple fact would destroy the perfect system.

With Joshua’s
help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together
they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and
new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they
reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in
order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large
expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts
an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a
world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.

Unique dystopian premises always catch my eye and Aberrant sounded like mix between The Hunger Games and maybe with a dash of Divergent in there somewhere with the whole “perfect system” element, so I was super eager to read this.

 The world that Ruth Silver created in Aberrant had me hooked instantly. 
The beginning was a very light and steady introduction to the dystopian world, the characters; Olivia; the main character and Joshua; her childhood best friend and future “match” to be married to when she turned eighteen. But unknown to her, Olivia isn’t like the others and is quickly thrown in jail for being brought into the world differently to everyone else and not from the Day of the Chosen. Joshua soon helps her escape and together they go on the run for answers and seek refuge in a new beginning together. 
The rules in each town, like Haven and Cabal alike, are very different. So when Olivia and Joshua reach the town of Haven, the system is quite different to get used to and to stay, they have to adapt to this new way. But they are forced to stay knowing that the government is plotting to destroy her and then her secret and Olivia will be gone forever, so you’ll see just why Aberrant is so addictive once you know how these surprising elements keep creeping up and mixing up the appeal with every new unveiling.

I can’t imagine living in a world where everything is selected for me; like absolutely everything–things that make us individuals. It was believable and unpredictable, fast-paced and enthralling in addition. There was strength in the core of the plot, with it’s captivating premise and overall package of promise and connectivity to the characters was great, too.

 Olivia was the main character in Aberrant, and although the story is very much about her and how this secret of who she truly is being released into the public knowledge, I couldn’t connect with her fully. I was still mesmerized by the plot and it’s structure, and although Olivia was a perplex and interesting character, on a level of 1 to 10 I probably connected with her around a 6, which is still understanding her to some level. Nevertheless, her and Joshua were a great team of characters that I felt is quite rare to read of in a book.

 Overall, Aberrant is a quick-paced and surprising novel for fans of all the best Dystopia out there at the moment, including Ally Condie and Suzanne Collins. I was very impressed and loved reading Aberrant. It was one of those books that is just really easy to get into and leaves you with a feeling that you’ve read an amazing story at the end. 
Loved it.

 

Have you read Aberrant?

What did you think? 
Tell me in the comments or at @LittleMemoirs on twitter!
happy reading!
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“Girl’s Day Out” by Jeanette Battista {Review & New Book Alert}

 
Jeanette Battista; author of “Leopard Moon” hits another *perfect* score with her new novel; “Girls’ Day Out”! You will not be disappointed…
 
Here’s a little about “Girls’ Day Out”…
 
All T wants is a break from her day job. After months of fighting angry demons and keeping humans oblivious to the Underworld, she needs some time off. Her solution is brilliant: A girls’ day out, full of shopping, massages, and mani-pedis. Luckily, she has a friend to bring along—her business partner, J. Unluckily, J wants nothing to do with T’s plan.

T manages to drag J along, promising a day full of pampering and relaxation. But the Underworld has different plans. When T and J are attacked by a pack of demons, their girls’ day is ruined and replaced by something much more sinister: A life-or-death investigation into the person—or demon—who wants them dead.

 
Does that sound awesome or what?!
Check out everything I thought about this stunning new release in my praising review below! 


Okay, so Girls’ Day Out was so much fun to read! It was mythical and creative, with magic on every page; in the words and in the story world. It’s hard to choose who stood out more for me; T or J, but they were both very independent in their own ways and had traits and inside-words that seemed to bounce of each other, making them a good team.
I loved reading all about the Underworld, because even in a shorter novel, I like there to be a good description of what I’m reading so I can pictured it in my head; and I could with Girls’ Day Out.
It was humorous at times, witty and spooky, making it a lovely read for an afternoon. (Once I started reading this one afternoon, I could not stop.) Exquisitely written and crafted, Girls’ Day Out is an incredible story I’m sure any YA, or Adult reader would love. I just wished it was longer!

I loved Girls’ Day Out, and I gave it an amazing four shiny stars (or cats in my case, ha ha).

 

happy reading,
xo Becca

 Want to know even more about Jeanette’s book? Then your answers are right here on Goodreads. You can also buy it here on Smashwords, or gift it to a friend! Already read “Girls’ Day Out”? Tell me what your favourite parts were in the comments! 

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