Saturday, October 31, 2015

Bookish Lifestyle Digest: October 2015

Hello, lovelies! Welcome to Bookish Lifestyle Digest - something we'll be putting together at the end of every month to highlight our recent favorite reads and recap any posts you may have missed. We also include an About My Life section in an effort for you to get to know us better. Don't forget to tell us in the comments some things that happened to you over the past month so we can get to know you guys better too!


Updates for 2015 TBR Pile Challenge:
  • Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige was voted our November Read Along! Be sure to check out the schedule and let us know if you'll be joining in!


Every week, starting Friday and ending Sunday night, you can pop over to Bookish Lifestyle to link up your blog posts for the week. Please feel free to link up your bookish posts (book reviews, guest posts, author interviews - but please, no memes and mailbox posts, there are many separate linkys for that already!), lifestyle posts (product reviews, parenting tips, travel posts, personal posts - anything!) and giveaways (both bookish and lifestyle!) - we want to see what cool stuff you've shared with the world recently! Be sure to check out some other links while you're here - let's get social!

Evie


Book Reviews

Andrea



Series:
Standalone
Genre:
Young Adult, Horror, Suspense
Website:Dawn Kurtagich

Goodreads
Review:
Three students: dead.
Carly Johnson: vanished without a trace.

Two decades have passed since an inferno swept through Elmbridge High, claiming the lives of three teenagers and causing one student, Carly Johnson, to disappear. The main suspect: Kaitlyn, "the girl of nowhere."

Kaitlyn's diary, discovered in the ruins of Elmbridge High, reveals the thoughts of a disturbed mind. Its charred pages tell a sinister version of events that took place that tragic night, and the girl of nowhere is caught in the center of it all. But many claim Kaitlyn doesn't exist, and in a way, she doesn't - because she is the alter ego of Carly Johnson.

Carly gets the day. Kaitlyn has the night. It's during the night that a mystery surrounding the Dead House unravels and a dark, twisted magic ruins the lives of each student that dares touch it.

Debut author Dawn Kurtagich masterfully weaves together a thrilling and terrifying story using psychiatric reports, witness testimonials, video footage, and the discovered diary - and as the mystery grows, the horrifying truth about what happened that night unfolds.

Book Reviews
I Wish . . .

Discussion Posts
Blogging Through Life {Andrea's Socratic Seminar}

About My Life in October
Wednesday Addams and Herman
New job = new schedule. I've had a bit of a rough time adjusting to my new schedule at work. Leaving earlier, getting home later, etc., but I think (a month later) I'm finally getting the hang of it!

Halloween (hey, that's today)! I love Halloween. The dressing up (both me and seeing the cute kid costumes), the atmosphere, the books, and the movies. I read many scary books this month, but it was definitely The Dead House that got to me the most. If you haven't read it yet, read it now!





Jessica



Series:
Sharing You #1
Genre:
New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Website:Molly McAdams 

Goodreads
Review:
To be posted October 27
Twenty-three year old, Kamryn Cunningham has left all she’s ever known and moved to a small town where no one knows her name, who her parents are, or her social status in the horseracing world. Months after opening her own bakery and evading attempts of being set up by her new best friend, she meets Brody. Kamryn fights the instant pull between them because there’s a detail she can’t dismiss. Brody’s married.

To say that twenty-six year old, Brody Saco has had a rough marriage would be an understatement. After marrying his pregnant girlfriend, he spends the next six years in a relationship filled with hatred, manipulation and guilt involving a tragedy that happened five years earlier. When he keeps running into his sister-in-law’s best friend, Kamryn, he can’t ignore that she makes him feel more with just one look than his wife ever has; and soon he can’t continue fight his feelings for her.

When staying apart proves to be too difficult, Brody and Kamryn enter a relationship full of stolen moments and nights that end too soon while they wait for Brody to file for divorce. But the guilt that comes with their relationship may prove to be too much for Kamryn, and Brody might not be strong enough to face the tragedy from his past in order to leave his conniving wife.

Features
Busy September {Musical Musings}
Obsessive October {Musical Musings}

Promotional Post
Undaunted by Ronnie Douglas {Excerpt}

About My Life in October
School has literally taken over my life. I swear, I am not exaggerating. A majority of everything I've been doing lately has been school related. Studying, taking quizzes, studying, taking tests, studying, writing a paper (that nearly killed me), and DID I MENTION STUDYING. Every time I think I'm at a l point where I'll have more time to do other things, something else school related gets piled on. It's stressful and annoying, but we are getting SO CLOSE to the end of the semester. Then I'll definitely have an entire month to read and blog and do everything but study. It'll be GREAT.

Guess what I haven't been doing much of? READING. And it makes me so sad. I really need to carve out more time to read in November because not reading... ugh. I hate it.

Texas has been experiencing some crazy weather lately. Flash flood, thunderstorm, and tornado warnings galore. Surprisingly, we haven't had a power outage due to all this yet. (*knock on wood*)

My flight to Apollycon is figured out! I don't go to events that involve serious travel. The farthest I go is Dallas, and even that is super rare. So the fact that I'm working out a trip for Apollycon in February just has me SO EXCITED! As we all know, I adore Jennifer L. Armentrout. So I'm looking forward to the event and getting The Power and seeing the slew of other amazing authors that will be attending (Kristen Ashley! Molly McAdams! Rachel Harris! Katie McGarry! I think Alexandra Bracken is on the list, which had me freaking out because The Darkest Minds is one of my all time favorite books. And so many more!) PLUS, I get to see Val (my co-blogger at StuckInBooks) and my katue (@PolishedPage on twitter)! It's going to be loads of fun! :)

One second to mention that my love and adoration for The Voice is holding strong (which you already know if you've seen this month's Musical Musings post). I am 100% Team Korin this season. Fingers crossed for her, y'all!

Debbie


Reviews


 
Most Popular
Book Review
Most Popular
Product Review
http://evie-bookish.blogspot.com/2015/10/arc-book-review-giveaway-ice-like-fire.html

http://evie-bookish.blogspot.com/2015/10/old-factory-natural-soy-wax-candles.html

Tell us - what went on in your month?! What were some of your favorite books this month? Favorite posts from either your blog or others? What are some new (or old) and noteworthy things we should know about? Be sure to leave a link!

Book Review: Within These Walls by Ania Ahlborn

Genre:
Adult, Horror, Thriller, Paranormal
Publication.Date  April 21st 2014
Pages:464
Published By:  Gallery Books
AuthorAnia Ahlborn

Within These Walls on Goodreads
My review copy:Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Where to get:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476783748/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1476783748&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/within-these-walls-ania-ahlborn/1119883936?ean=9781476783741 http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781476783741



From indie horror author and bestselling sensation Ania Ahlborn, this brand-new supernatural thriller questions: how far would you go for success, and what would you be capable of if the promise of forever was real?

With his marriage on the rocks and his life in shambles, washed up crime writer Lucas Graham is desperate for a comeback. So when he’s promised exclusive access to notorious cult leader and death row inmate Jeffrey Halcomb, the opportunity is too good to pass up. Lucas leaves New York for the scene of the crime—a split-level farmhouse on the gray-sanded beach of Washington State—a house whose foundation is steeped in the blood of Halcomb’s diviners; runaways who, thirty years prior, were drawn to his message of family, unity, and unconditional love. Lucas wants to tell the real story of Halcomb’s faithful departed, but when Halcomb goes back on his promise of granting Lucas exclusive information on the case, he’s left to put the story together on his own. Except he is not alone. For Jeffrey Halcomb promised his devout eternal life…and within these walls, they’re far from dead.
(Goodreads)
“To wonder meant to want, if only in some small way.”

“Every mother has the miraculous ability of momentary blindness.” 
“That kind of loss came with a lot of guilt, and guilt made people defensive.”
“Life is hard. Death is easy.”
“Marriage did strange things to people. It could have been World War III in that kitchen, but if there was coffee, two mugs would always be served.”
“She’d crossed her fingers for so long they had fused together like the branches of a tree.”


“It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from sight and afterwards return again. Nothing is dead. People feign themselves dead, and endure mock funerals and mournful obituaries, and there they stand, looking out the window, sound and well in some new disguise." —Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's like a screwy mix of The Following (the TV show) with the Skeleton Key, cherry-topped with some heavy-ass existential dread and drenched in human's most basic fears and darkest nightmares. I absolutely loved it!

       True-crime writer Lucas Graham is on the edge of failure. He knows he has to do something and he has to do it fast, or his life will crumble to pieces and he'll loose his daughter forever. When death row inmate Jeffrey Halcomb contacts him with the exclusive opportunity to write down his story, Lucas grasps at the chance, packs up and moves from New York to Washington state. Jeffrey Halcomb is the infamous cult leader and mass-murderer who lured his faithful followers to death. Now, this deranged and horrifying human being wants Lucas to tell his story, but he will only talk if Lucas agrees to stay at Halcomb's farmhouse - the murder-scene. Lucas is determined to turn his fate around and desperate enough to accept Halcomb's eccentric conditions. He'll do anything to capture the true story of Halcomb's slaughtered lambs who were promised the eternal life in peace and love. Little does he know, that promise did not go entirely unfulfilled...

     Ania Ahlborn's writing style is truly something different. A curios mixture of intensely morbid and dazzlingly poetic. Her prose is magnificent and creative, and so incredibly substantial, it fills you up with feelings and thoughts. It's not a wordy style at all, Ania gets straight to the point. She chooses her words carefully - it is obvious, for each of her words carries weight and makes you pause and consider its meaning. Short sentences deliver strong punches. This is a very powerful writing style, thoroughly atmospheric and evocative. So many writers get caught up in long descriptions and meaningless dialogues - and that can be particularly damaging for horror books, because you really need to focus on the feelings and creepy events to be able to scare the reader. Ania's descriptions make your skin crawl. They're not gruesome, though they're definitely vivid and mesmerizing. She makes it all too easy for you to picture the creepy ghost reflected in the washroom mirror,  the creaky rooms of the old house, or the abandoned orchard. And the isolated, foreboding setting only adds to the disquieting atmosphere of the book. 

    This is a modern classic in the making. It's scary, but in that sticky and crawly kind of way that really gets under your skin. Ahlborn flavor of horror is not the cheap, B-style, in-your-face type of horror, it's more of a subtle, nagging, deeply unsettling fear-fest filled with sadness, existential dread and failure. The story becomes more chilling and more eerie with every page turned, and the ultimate twist at the end, elevates it to a whole new level of terrifying. 
     In a genre filled with contrived, unoriginal dramas posing as thrillers, Within These Walls truly stands out. It's genuinely creepy and emotionally affecting. Ahlborn pulls you in with her sticky, flavorful writing and keeps you in shackles all the way to the end. And once you reach the end, you wish you could go back... This book stays with you long after you turn the last page. Whether it's a good or bad thing, is up to you to decide.





Friday, October 30, 2015

Toddler Toy Review: Best Choice Products Bump and Go Action Learning Train


About Best Choice Products Bump and Go Action Learning Train :

Best Choice Products presents you the Smart Train. This colorful train has many ways for your baby to have fun. It has lights and sounds that will keep your baby amused and entertained for hours. Your baby will smile and laugh watching the train's eyes move and its mouth open as it rides around. The train comes with colorful blocks that your baby can place into the shaped holes. It even has a fun phone game on top of the train so your baby can make all their important phone calls free of expense. The train is also equipped with a Bump and Go moving function that allows it to keep moving even if something were to get in front of its tracks. Your baby will find endless enjoyment watching the lights of the chimney and listening to the melodious music of the Smart Train. 
We purchase our products directly from the manufacturer, so you know you're getting the best prices available. 

FEATURES: 
  • Helps babies learn their ABC's and shapes while having fun, 
  • Bump & Go feature allows it to change directions and run when it bumps into something, 
  • Equipped with lights and sounds to amuse your baby, 
  • Facial features (eyes and mouth) move as it rides around, 
  • Includes phone game on top of the train. 

SPECIFICATIONS: 
  • Product Dimensions: 7"x 3.5"x 5.5", 
  • Weight: 0.5 lbs, 
  • Color: Main color red. 
  • PLEASE NOTE: Our digital images are as accurate as possible. However, different monitors may cause colors to vary slightly. Some of our items are handcrafted and/or hand finished. Color can vary and slight imperfections in the metal work are normal and considered evidence of the hand-finishing process, which adds character and authenticity to those items.
(http://bestchoiceproducts.com/collections/kids-corner?page=4    https://www.facebook.com/BestChoiceProducts  https://twitter.com/bcproducts  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013TRXOXA?ref_=cm_cr-mr-title

My Thoughts


What a fantastic toy! And the amount of detail and thought that obviously went into developing it is truly impressive - just look at how well-made it is, with even the silver pipes on the side to make it more realistic!


This battery-operated interactive toy is wonderful for children who are ready to learn about shapes and colors, as well as simple counting and first ABC. The train has color-coordinated slots for letters A, B and C on one side, and numbers 1, 2 and 3 on the other. Your child will learn to recognize and match the shapes in order to get the plastic elements inside the wagon. My daughter is a bit too young for this just yet (18 months old), but she is already trying! At this point, she hands me the elements and demands I put them in myself, or allows me to guide her hand. And she's thrilled with the results! Thanks to this train, she also learned to say "open", when she wants me to open the back door so she could take the letters and numbers out.

The direction on the box states that this toy is designed for children age 3yo and up, so that is something to keep in mind when purchasing. The plastic elements are small enough to potentially be a choking hazard, so I never allow my daughter to play with the toy unsupervised. She is a quick learner, though, and I hate to hold her back, so we often play with the toy together, even though she's only 18 months old now.

When turned on, the train moves around happily. It seems to have some sort of sensor that allows it to recognize when it bumps into obstacles. It then easily turns and changes direction. There is a big yellow face on the front - the eyes are blinking and moving around, and the mouth is opening and closing (as if it's laughing). On top of the wagon there is a dial phone - a nice touch!

It's a colorful, well-designed toy, that keeps my child entertained and happy. She's fascinated by the loud melody and choo choo sound, and she is having plenty of fun matching the shapes. I can see that she's starting to connect the dots on her own now, which makes me extremely proud!

I think this is a very beneficial toy worth adding to your child's toy collection. Personally, I think it's a gem!

Disclaimer: I received a free sample of the product in exchange for my honest review.


Thursday, October 29, 2015

Throwback Thursday Book Review: Oxford Whispers by Marion Croslydon

Some of you may know that I originally had my own blog, Beauty but a Funny Girl, prior to joining Bookish (now Bookish Lifestyle). I was thinking the other day about all those reviews I left behind when I transferred and thought they should get some love too - no matter how badly written and newbie they come off! So I present to you: Throwback Thursday Reviews! Every once in a while I'll post an old review from Beauty but a Funny Girl, unedited in terms of content, with the exception of any spelling or grammatical mistakes. It's definitely going to be fun and interesting to see how my tastes and writing style have changed over the years!


Series:
The Oxford Trilogy #1
Genre:
Young Adult, Romance, Ghosts, Paranormal
Publication.Date:October 8, 2012
Pages:370 (Kindle)
Published By:  Carlux Publishing
Website:Marion Croslydon 

Oxford Whispers on Goodreads
My review copy:
Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Where to get:
 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/entice-jessica-shirvington/1109328757 http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781402271281

Madison LeBon is dead set against the dead.

Her fresh start at Oxford University is a brand new beginning. She finally has a chance to turn the page on her psychic powers and cumbersome voodoo heritage. Snakes, dolls, ghosts, and spirits: Farewell…

Not quite.

When the tragic lovers in a painting—the subject of her first history class—begin to haunt her, she must accept her gift before life imitates art. The lovers warn her against their own nemesis, a Puritan from the English Civil War. Unfortunately, said nemesis is now going all homicidal on Madison.

College becomes more complicated when she falls hard for Rupert Vance, a troubled aristocrat and descendant of one of the characters in the painting. With the spirit of a murderer after her, Madison realizes that her own first love may also be doomed…

(Goodreads)

Originally posted February 2, 2013 on Beauty but a Funny Girl

I love when present day characters have to solve mysteries of the past. While the story of Peter, Sarah, and Robert wasn't a mystery, per se, our present day characters had to figure out what happened because there wasn't an exact record. The who-did-it was pretty obvious, to me anyway, but I liked uncovering the when and the why aspects.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the Madison and Rupert romance. I wanted them together, yes, but it was a subtle longing. More like a "oh good" than a "you get her!" thing. Part of me feels like to they were forced together by the author and then made it work. Kind of like an arranged marriage. The parents tell the children they will marry each other and down the road the newlyweds eventually fall in love with one another. Also, the first time the were intimate with each other (I use intimate because their underwear stayed on), was kind of weird. It was...odd. But I'm not a 22-year-old virgin who has an issue with the undead, so who am I to judge?
I liked the plot and I was definitely hooked by what was going to happen. I could NOT figure out who Peter was and that was great. I would constantly go back and forth between this character and the next. Sometimes I would think "It's so obviously so-and-so" and then something else would happen and "Oh, it's not so-and-so, it's blah-blah!" And then, "Nope, it's that-one. Definitely that-one" and I'd be right back to so-and-so." I love when an author does this. I hate knowing right away who the villain is when it's supposed to be a mystery. It's much more fun to play the guessing game.
I enjoyed the fact that Croslydon would time jump between the present to the 1650s with Sarah, Robert, and Peter. As readers we just weren't finding out the knowledge through Madison, but through the past itself. Personally, it lends a lot more to reading experience getting to see these things than being told them third-party through another character. I also like that "The Wounded Cavailer" by William Shakespeare Burton is a real picture. It makes the plot a lot more interesting when fiction and non-fiction combine in such a way. 
 
Read this book. It kept me interested and I couldn't wait to get home from work to continue on with Madison's story. I looking forward to reading Oxford Shadows, due out May 6, 2013. Not just because I get to revisit the characters themselves, but hopefully Madison will have accepted her lot in life and learned to work with it rather than against it. Also, it has to do with the Tudors and I love my some royal scandal - especially when Henry VIII is involved. 


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Against All Odds by Patricia Vanasse {Book Review & Giveaway}



Genre:
Young Adult, Fiction
Publication.Date  Sept 25th 2015
Pages:313
Published By:  Pants on Fire Press
AuthorPatricia Vanesse

Againsr All Odds Goodreads
My review copy:From the author in exchange for an honest review


Where to get:
 


Sometimes boy meets girl, and the stars align, and their future is laid out neatly before them. Together forever. Meant to be. But Max and Loren are not one of those couples.

Seventeen-year-old Max DuPont is on the verge of becoming a ward of the state and foster kid. Contrary to expectations, Max is not from the "wrong" side of town. He's from a good home in a nice neighborhood, but his mother left after his father lost his job and turned to drinking. Max has been struggling to keep his head above water ever since. All he wants is to survive his senior year, play hockey, and move on to college. When his dad lands himself in jail, Max has no choice but to accept an offer to live with his father's do-gooder attorney, Mr. Larssi. The only contingency is that Max must stay far away from Larssi's beautiful teenage daughter Loren.

Loren is aware that she's had every opportunity in her young adult life—at least, that is, every opportunity her parents designed for her. She excels in academics at a competitive prep school, she never parties, she never dates, and she's a budding ballerina and major hopeful for a Juilliard scholarship. But since her best friend Lily died tragically three months ago, Loren is lost. She knows just how precious life is. But she has no idea how to make the best of it. How can she live—really live—with obsessive parents breathing down her neck…and inviting the only guy who never noticed her to live right under their roof?
Loren's first step in living her own life might be to get Max to notice her. Max's only chance at a solid future without foster care is to keep his distance from Loren. But their chemistry is undeniable. And they can't fight the odds forever



She follows the Ten Commandments like she'll burn otherwise. I used to see it like that too, but not anymore. I want to make mistakes and grow from them. I want to take risks and soar when I'm on top. Even if I fail, it's better than being the pathetic person who has never taken a risk.     
Every single muscle in my body is fueled by the adrenaline gushing through it. And every one of my senses are heightened. I not only can smell the freshly watered grass beneath me. I can hear Amy praying "Ave Maria" like she is holding a rosary between her hands. This is the most stupid thing I've ever done in my life, but also the most amazing sensation I have yet to experience. I've never felt so alive. 




This was an incredible story about two young adults who are lucky enough to find each other, two souls who are meant to be. This is also a story about becoming an adult, dealing with family drama and learning how to express yourself to the people who love you the most. Told by Patricia Vanaeese, who has a unique style of writing, it takes us on a journey with Max and Loren who both have different goals that are important to them but find that they share an unmistakable attraction that just won't be denied..


Seventeen-year-old Max DuPont is assigned to Mr. Larssi's care by a social worker when his father is sentenced to a local rehab for driving under the influence. His mom walked out on them a few years back with no hint as to if or when she'd return. Max has been helping his dad with the bills and keeping himself fed while his dad just continues to drink. Mr Larssi offers Matt an out and a place to live so Matt doesn't have to go into foster care. The only thing Mr Larssi asks of him is to stay away from his daughter, Loren. As soon as Matt takes a look at her, he knows this is going to be much harder than he planned.

Loren is a smart, and prepared to go after her dream of dancing once she graduates but she is really struggling with the death of her best friend. She doesn't know how to cope with this loss.Never knowing how to express her pain, Loren is just trying to get through each day. Loren is very attracted to Max and she doesn't understand why he keeps his distance when she is sure he feels the attraction too. 


I read this book in one sitting as once I started I couldn't leave the story without knowing what was going to happen next. Patricia did a great job with the details of this story as well as letting Loren and Matt's characters grow as the story played out. This isn't something I see very often in young adult literature. The characters are usually complicated right from the beginning or they don't' grow as much as you'd like them to by the end of the novel. 

I can not wait to see some more from this author, she really knows how to hook the reader in. 




ABOUT THE AUTHOR





      Patricia Vanasse was born and raised in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. Now she lives on a beautiful island in the Pacific Northwest. She has been through Culinary Arts, Psychology, Law School, and now has finally found her passion in creative writing. She also loves traveling, cooking, and is an avid reader. Her strength- believes that everything is possible. Her weakness- an obsessive relationship with caffeine. Connect with Patricia on her Website 


Win an ecopy of "Against All Odds" By Patricia Vanasse 

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Sharing You by Molly McAdams (Review)

Sharing You (Sharing You, #1)

Genre:
New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publication.Date  July 1st, 2014
Pages:336
Published By:  William Morrow Paperbacks
WebsiteMolly McAdams

Sharing You on Goodreads
My review copy:Bought

Where to get:


Twenty-three year old, Kamryn Cunningham has left all she’s ever known and moved to a small town where no one knows her name, who her parents are, or her social status in the horseracing world. Months after opening her own bakery and evading attempts of being set up by her new best friend, she meets Brody. Kamryn fights the instant pull between them because there’s a detail she can’t dismiss. Brody’s married.

To say that twenty-six year old, Brody Saco has had a rough marriage would be an understatement. After marrying his pregnant girlfriend, he spends the next six years in a relationship filled with hatred, manipulation and guilt involving a tragedy that happened five years earlier. When he keeps running into his sister-in-law’s best friend, Kamryn, he can’t ignore that she makes him feel more with just one look than his wife ever has; and soon he can’t continue fight his feelings for her.

When staying apart proves to be too difficult, Brody and Kamryn enter a relationship full of stolen moments and nights that end too soon while they wait for Brody to file for divorce. But the guilt that comes with their relationship may prove to be too much for Kamryn, and Brody might not be strong enough to face the tragedy from his past in order to leave his conniving wife.

(Goodreads)

"One thing I've learned in my life and my line of work is that life is short, and I know that I don't know you yet...but I know I couldn't be able to live with myself knowing I walked away from the only person who's made me feel alive in years, the only person who's made me feel--whatever the hell this is--ever. Tell me I'm not alone in this," I pleaded.
His breath washed over my mouth, and my lips parted in anticipation. I watched his eyes darken as the movement caught his eye. His chest rose and fell heavily as the air thickened around us, and I was close to begging him to kiss me. The hand at the small of my back pushed me closer to his body and the thumb at my jaw stopped moving--and I swear I stopped breathing until his eyes snapped back up to mine and realization hit them.

"Sweet dreams, Kamryn."
What was happening to me? And what happened in the entryway with Brody? My heart was still beating fast, and I swear I could feel his hands on my arms. The way his gray eyes had captured mine and held them, making it feel like time stood still, was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. This was fairytale shit, this kind of thing didn't happen in real life.

Except, it just had.



I love Molly McAdams. Her stories are my addiction, and she's one of my auto-buy authors. Whatever she writes, I am so in. BUT... I have to admit, Sharing You was a book I hesitated to pick up. Since it's obvious that this novel deals with cheating, I was pretty much like NOPENOPENOPE at first. But then I ran out of Molly McAdams books to read while waiting for her next and figured why not? I was so curious. So I picked up Sharing You, and I am so very glad I did.

There aren't many things that can make me automatically hate a book, but cheating is one of them. I absolutely HATE cheating. Like, I cannot even tell you. I am the most jealous reader in the world, and I get so incredibly twitchy when something that even FEELS like cheating is going on. I just can't deal with it, and that can ruin a book for me. So when I say that I am glad I picked up Sharing You, trust me, y'all--that's saying something.

While Sharing You does deal with technical cheating, in that Brody is married when his and Kamryn's relationship begins, it doesn't really give off a cheating vibe. Why? Because Brody and his wife (her name's Olivia, and I hate her so much) don't have anything that feels like a marriage. It's on paper, but it's not in the way they interact. It's not in the way Brody thinks. Honestly, it's more like Olivia's an annoying, evil ex-girlfriend that will not go away. I felt zero sympathy for her. I ended up not faulting Brody for getting into a relationship with Kamryn, either.

And I also ended up completely enjoying their story.

So what I'm trying to say here is: If you're skipping Sharing You for the sole reason of not wanting to read a story that involves cheating, I recommend giving it a shot. Especially if you've read other books by Molly McAdams (Taking Chances, anyone?). I wasn't bothered by this aspect of the book once I got into it and Brody and Kamryn's relationship developed, so I have high hopes others will be able to look past it, too.

NOW THAT I SAID THAT, let's talk about everything else...

The writing of Molly McAdams strikes yet again, drawing me in and keeping me flying through the story. It was so well written, particularly the relationship between Brody and Kamryn. It was passionate and fierce, and I was rooting for them from the moment they met. They had a bumpy road, but watching them work through it and love each other regardless...that sank deep into my heart. I think that's a big part of what made this story a winner for me--it hit me in the feels, and I seriously LOVED it.

The story is told in dual POV between Brody and Kamryn, which was especially effective here, showing both sides to the complicated situation they were in. Nothing was simple with them--other than that they loved each other beyond words, which was so beautiful. They had to work to be together, and seeing what each of them went through and struggled with through this made the entire journey even more worthwhile.

Deep, passionate, and complex, Sharing You is a love story that packs a punch. Molly McAdams has written another addictive story that I fell in love with, and I cannot wait to get my hands on another! But if you haven't given this one a go yet, I definitely recommend picking it up.



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