Friday Finds: Contemporary, Paranormal, LGBT, Dark Themes…A Little of Everything! (October 12, 2012)

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Should Be Reading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

Some weeks I add several books to my list. I’ll be limiting my Friday Finds posts to 5 books each week. Those that don’t make this week’s list will be on next week’s. So many books, so little time!

The Brothers Bishop by Bart Yates

Goodreads | Amazon

Why I Added It: This was recommended to me by my awesome critique partner because of its similar themes to my WIP, Brotherly Love.  The reviews for this book are spectacular, which makes it very intimidating to me.  I want to read it, but I fear I will be so blown away I’ll want to trash my WIP.

Summary:

Tommy and Nathan Bishop are as different as two brothers can be. Carefree and careless, Tommy is the golden boy who takes men into his bed with a seductive smile and turns them out just as quickly. No one can resist him – and no one can control him, either. That salient point certainly isn’t lost on his brother. Nathan is all about control. At thirty-one, he is as dark and complicated as Tommy is light and easy, and he is bitter beyond his years. While Tommy left for the excitement of New York City, Nathan has stayed behind, teaching high school English in their provincial hometown, surrounded by the reminders of their ruined family history and the legacy of anger that runs through him like a scar.

Now, Tommy has come home to the family cottage by the sea for the summer, bringing his unstable, sexual powder keg of an entourage – and the distant echoes of his family’s tumultuous past – with him. Tommy and his lover Philip are teetering on the brink of disaster, while their married friends, Camille and Kyle, perfect their steps in a dance of denial, each partner pulling Nathan deeper into the fray. And when one of Nathan’s troubled students, Simon, begins visiting the house, the slow fuse is lit on a highly combustible mix.

During a heady two-week party filled with drunken revelations, bitter jealousies, caustic jabs, and tender reconciliations, Tommy and Nathan will confront the legacy of their twisted family history – the angry, abusive father and the tragic death of their mother – and finally, to the one secret that has shaped their entire lives. It is a summer that will challenge everything Nathan remembers and unravel Tommy’s carefully constructed facade, drawing them both unwittingly into a drama with echoes of the past…one with unforeseen and very dangerous consequences.

 

Things I Can’t Forget by Miranda Kenneally

Goodreads | Amazon

Why I Added It: I’ve read Catching Jordan and I have Stealing Parker on my shelf waiting. I love the idea of companion books: seeing minor  or new characters from the same universe have their own story.

Summary:

Companion to Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker.

Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different…

This summer she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He’s the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt…with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy…

 

Ever by Jessa Russo

Goodreads | Amazon

Why I Added It: I seem to be on a “girl in love with a dead guy” kick lately, but I like “in love with my best friend” stories also, and this sounds like it might have a love triangle as well.

Summary:

BOOK ONE in The EVER Trilogy

Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.

Of course, it doesn’t help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.

Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.

Some girls lose their hearts to love.

Some girls lose their minds.

Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.

 

The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar

Goodreads | Amazon

Why I Added It: Now here’s a different sort of paranormal romance — genies! That alone made me want to read it. Something fresh and new.

Summary:

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.

Margo McKenna has a plan of attack for everything, from landing the lead in her high school musical to dealing with her increasingly absent parents. But when she finds herself in possession of a genie’s ring and the opportunity to make three wishes, she doesn’t know what to do. Especially since Oliver–not blue-skinned, not bottle-dwelling, but a genie nonetheless–can see more than what she’s willing to show him. With one peek into her mind, he can see the wishes that even Margo herself doesn’t know she wants.

But Oliver comes with more than just mind-reading abilities, a flair for magic, and the prettiest eyes Margo’s ever seen. Someone from his past is hunting him–someone bent on killing him, along with all the other genies in the world, for the sake of honor. And as Margo soon discovers, it will take more than three wishes to save him.

A whole lot more.

Sand & Water by Shae Connor

Goodreads | Amazon

Why I Added It: Straight-to-gay (or maybe he’s bi?) romances intrigue me, plus this reminds me of a fan fiction story I never finished writing, just in a different setting.

Summary:

Widower John McConnell gets along fine raising his daughter on Georgia’s Tybee Island, though he wouldn’t exactly say he’s happy. Haunted by the memory of his dead wife, John hasn’t considered dating again until he meets Bryan Simmons in the park. It isn’t long before John realizes that what he feels for Bryan could be something real, but how will he know he’s ready to move on?

As John soon discovers, Bryan carries some heavy emotional baggage of his own. With John’s help, Bryan starts to put his demons to rest, and together they lay the foundation for a relationship. It looks like they might finally leave their tragedies behind them-until John takes a misstep that could turn a magical night together into their last.

 

 

Friday Finds: 4 Romances, 1 Writing Craft book (October 5, 2012)

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Should Be Reading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

Some weeks I add several books to my list. I’ll be limiting my Friday Finds posts to 5 books each week. Those that don’t make this week’s list will be on next week’s. So many books, so little time!

 

Twin Sense by Lydia Sharp
[cover not revealed yet]

Why I Added It: I’ve been following Lydia’s blog for a while now and am looking forward to reading a book from her. I love the voice in the summary, and young adult with a gay theme is always something that catches my eye. Usually I go for gay boy characters, but perhaps it’s time to broaden my horizons and try some lesbian characters. 🙂

Goodreads Summary:

two boys + two girls = one big mess 

As girlfriends of the Taylor twins, Layna and Sherri have only been friends by association. But when Sherri breaks up with Keith (for real this time), and Kevin gives Layna a promise ring (whoa, what?), Layna’s whole world spins off balance. She avoids Kevin’s unwelcome pressure to commit by spending more time with Sherri.

Without the twins around, Layna and Sherri are tempted to go beyond friendship status. Then Keith tries to win Sherri back, and Kevin apologizes for rushing Layna. Now she’s stuck inside a double-trouble love quadrangle that has her reaching for the consolation cheesecake. The only way to sort out this mess is to make an impossible choice—between the one she wants and the other one she wants—or she might end up with no one.

 

 

Send by Patty Blount

Why I Added It: Romance with a redeemed bad boy. Also, it tackles a very relevant teen topic: cyber-bullying, but from the (former) bully’s perspective rather than the victim’s.

Goodreads Summary:

It’s been five years since I clicked Send.
Four years since I got out of juvie.
Three months since I changed my name.
Two minutes since I met Julie.
A second to change my life.

All Dan wants for his senior year is to be invisible. This is his last chance at a semi-normal life. Nobody here knows who he is. Or what he’s done. But on his first day at school, instead of turning away like everyone else, Dan breaks up a fight. Because Dan knows what it’s like to be terrorized by a bully—he used to be one.

Now the whole school thinks he’s some kind of hero—except Julie. She looks at him like she knows he has a secret. Like she knows his name isn’t really Daniel…

 

 

Passing Shadows by M. King

Why I Added It: Originally I was intrigued by the protagonist  murdering his abusive father, but the devoted boyfriend sealed the deal. Sounds like an angsty romance novel, which usually isn’t my thing, but there are some thematic similarities between this and my WIP and it’s important to know what’s already out there so you don’t unknowingly repeat something.

Goodreads Summary:

After serving six years for murdering his abusive father, Tommy Hawks is released from prison. He moves back in with what’s left of his family and tries to negotiate a new life with them and his partner, Brett, who has stood by him through everything. But moving on isn’t so easy.

For six years, Brett Derwent sacrificed any chance of a normal life: he spent his college fund on defense lawyers, drove hundreds of miles to visitation days, and had his love letters read by strangers and his phone calls monitored by jailers. Now he and Tommy are faced with the monumental task of starting over as adults when they hardly had the chance to begin together as teens.

Resentment simmers just below the surface, but so do gratitude and guilt. Brett and Tommy need to give each other the time and space to discover who they are individually, and Tommy especially needs the opportunity to stand on his own—even if that means another separation.

 

 

Breaking Faith by M. King

Why I Added It: I discovered Passing Shadows first, then learned that it’s a sequel to Breaking Faith. Like Passing Shadows, there are similar themes to my WIP.

Goodreads Summary:

Soon-to-be medical student Brett Derwent thinks he has everything all planned out. That is, until he meets Tommy Hawks. Over the course of one incredible summer in Northern Montana, this easy-going, kind-hearted guy turns Brett’s life upside down…but Tommy isn’t everything he seems.

Brutalized by his violent father, desperate to protect his mother and four siblings, and terrified of losing the love he never expected to find, Tommy is pushed to the edge.

When Tommy’s father is found dead, Brett must face some impossible questions: how much is he willing to sacrifice for Tommy, and will having faith in him be enough?

 

 

Fiction First Aid by Raymond Obstfeld

Why I Added It: I found this in the library, but didn’t have a chance to do more than flip through a couple chapters. What I did see looked very good, despite the “Get Rich Quick” feeling of the subtitle (Instant Remedies for Novels, Stories and Scripts).

Goodreads Summary:

Just like a first aid manual, this reference quickly offers writers easy-to-follow steps and specific remedies for fixing the parts in their manuscripts that “just aren’t working.”

2012 Fall Into Reading Challenge

2012 Fall Into ReadingKatrina, at Callapidder Days, is once again hosting the awesome Fall Into Reading challenge. The idea is to choose a list of books you want to read between the start of Fall (September 22nd) and the start of Winter (December 21st).  And then read them!

Waaaay back in January, I set a goal to read 50 books in 2012.  At the time, it felt like a goal that would require quite a bit of stretching to reach.  Well, here I am on September 22 and I only have to finish 8 more books to complete my goal.

So that’s my goal for Fall Into Reading : 8 books.

That’s the easy part.  The hard part is choosing which 8 books!

Here’s a tentative list, in no certain order, pulled from my to-be-read list.  Honestly, I’ll be really surprised if these end up being the 8 books I read.  But it’s a start!








 

Friday Finds: 5 More Books to Read (September 21, 2012)

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Should Be Reading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

Some weeks I add several books to my list. I’ll be limiting my Friday Finds posts to 5 books each week. Those that don’t make this week’s list will be on next week’s. So many books, so little time!

 


Flawed by  Kate Avelynn
Links: Goodreads | Amazon
Why I Added It: It has some similar themes to my WIP, though very different in other ways. I was pleasantly surprised to see a novel with this kind of premise from a young adult publisher.

Goodreads Summary:

Sarah O’Brien is alive because of the pact she and her brother made twelve years ago — James will protect her from their violent father if she promises to never leave him. For years, she’s watched James destroy his life to save hers. If all he asks for in return is her affection, she’ll give it freely.

Until, with a tiny kiss and a broken mind, he asks for more than she can give.

Sam Donavon has been James’ best friend — and the boy Sarah’s had a crush on — for as long as she can remember. As their forbidden relationship deepens, Sarah knows she’s in trouble. Quiet, serious Sam has decided he’s going to save her. Neither of them realize James is far more unstable than her father ever was, or that he’s not about to let Sarah forget her half of the pact . . .

 


Unspoken by  Sarah Rees Brennan
Links: Goodreads | Amazon
Why I Added It: The premise is intriguing — being in love with a boy who may or may not be imaginary.

Goodreads Summary:

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

 

Letting Go by  M.J. O’Shea
Links: Goodreads 
Why I Added It: I read Coming Home and this is  a spin-off or companion to that book.

Goodreads Summary:

Drew McAuliffe has lived in the small town of Rock Bay most of his adult life. He’d like to be happy, but not at the cost of having his private life under his nosy neighbors’ microscope, so he keeps his bisexuality under wraps.

After a messy breakup that caused him to pack up and move to Astoria, on the Oregon coast, Mason Anderson decides to avoid drama of the romantic kind. All he wants is to start over—alone.

But Drew and Mason were meant to meet. The long looks and awkward half hellos chance offered were never going to be enough. But when they do finally come together on the worst night possible, misconceptions and problems from their pasts get in the way. Until Mason learns to trust again—and until Drew learns to let go of who he thinks he is—a real connection is nothing but a pipe dream.

 

Take Me There by Carolee Dean
Links: Goodreads | Amazon
Why I Added It: I like bad-boys-with-a-heart stories, and this one leaves a bit of mystery that makes me want to know more.

Goodreads Summary:

Dylan has a bad-boy past and a criminal record. He knows that rich, beautiful Jess is way too good for him—but she has always been the one person who sees through his tough exterior and straight to his heart, and he has been hopelessly in love with her from the first time they met. He would change his life for a chance with her.

But trouble follows Dylan wherever he goes, and a deadly mistake soon forces him to hit the road and leave his dreams behind. He’s on the run and in search of answers—answers to questions he wishes he’d never asked.

 

What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang
Links: Goodreads Amazon

Why I Added It: Another very intriquing premise. Reminds me of The Host a little bit.

Goodreads Summary:

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Amazon links are affiliate links.