Cover Reveal: Liar, Liar, Hearts On Fire

Today's cover reveal is a fun one! I think Liar, Liar, Hearts On Fire sounds like an awesome read so I'm happy to share the cover with you today. Jennifer Zane's novel will be released on January 16 so mark your calendars!

Here's what the book is all about:

Violet Miller is a teacher savoring her summer break until she's been called in as emergency reinforcements—of the dating kind. She volunteers to help an old flame by pretending to be his girlfriend. In Alaska. At a family reunion. Since the guy is a handsome, lumberjack-sized doctor she's never quite forgotten, faking a relationship won't be hard work.
 Mike Ostranski is a desperate man on vacation. His mother wants grandchildren and sees a crazy Alaskan woman as a candidate for daughter-in-law. Mike needs Violet by his side to deflect the lady's advances.
 A week in Alaska as boyfriend and girlfriend should be easy for them. They grew up together, even had a brief fling. What could go wrong?
 Everything. 

Doesn't it sound awesome?

Now, here's the cover!

It's totally not what I'd expect but I think it'll work. What do you think? Do you think this is a book you'd like to read?

Holiday Blog Tour: Hidden + Author Interview

Welcome to the holiday blog tour for Catherine McKenzie's latest novel, Hidden! This was one of my favourite books of 2013 and Catherine is one of my all time favourite authors so I'm so excited to be a part of this tour. In today's post you'll find an interview I did with Catherine and a repost of my review of Hidden (originally posted in June). Have you read this one yet? I know it's not out in the US yet but Amazon.com tells me it should be released in April. I hope you enjoy today's post!

Books Etc.: Your novel Arranged (my favourite!) is being made into a short film. Tell us about this experience. How did you find out about it? How involved are you in the production? What was it like spending a day on the set?

Catherine McKenzie: Yes, it is! In fact, as I write this, I've just gotten back from the set in Toronto. What an awesome experience - seeing my first novel being brought to life, even in a small way was surreal and exciting and just plain fun. I've known about it for a while - the producers had to buy the option on the film and then get their financing, and I had read the script months ago. I'm not involved in an active way (i.e. not writing the script or anything) but the producers are nice enough to keep me up to date and to have me on set.

BE: What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

CM: Gosh, that's a hard one. I'm not sure if someone told me this or I just realized it, but learning to write when you're not inspired is I think the best advice I have.

BE: What’s your writing routine like? Is there a particular place or time of day that suits you best when it comes to writing?

CM: I don't tend to have much of a routine these days - I need to get one of those - but I find that either in the morning or in the hour or so after dinner are usually my best times.

BE: Do you create outlines for your novels or are you a write by the seat of your pants author?

CM: Much more by the seat of my pants, though I had to outline for HIDDEN given the more intricate plot lines and multiple points of view.

BE: Do you find yourself giving your characters qualities that you or people who are close to you have?

CM: I do sometimes give them qualities I have - exaggerated, usually - but I try not to do that for people I know. At least not intentionally!

BE: This year you pledged to read 52 books in 52 weeks. I love that idea. Your choices cover all sorts of genres but do you have a favourite genre to read?

CM: I find I kind of go through genre phases. Sometimes it's non-fiction. Sometimes it's detective fiction. Sometimes novels. Depends on my mood, really. That has been one of the hard parts of the project; having to read within some confines as opposed to whatever I feel like, but it's mostly been fun.

BE: What’s next for you? Are you working on another novel now?

CM: I should have a fun project coming out sometime in the first half of next year (sorry to be vague but still wrapping up the details), but I can say that fans of Spin will (hopefully) be pleased. (Blogger Note: Ooh, I cannot wait to hear more about this!)

Most readers look forward to many new books throughout the year but they usually have that one book they can't wait to get their hands on. For me, the book I was most looking forward to in 2013 was Hidden by Catherine McKenzie. I have read and loved Catherine's previous three novels and am constantly recommending them to others. I was curious to see if her fourth novel lived up to my expectations...it did! I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen next in this fantastic novel.

Here's the synopsis:

When a married man suffers a sudden fatal accident, two women are shattered—his wife and someone else's—and past secrets, desires and regrets are brought to light.
While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Not one but two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son and contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother—her ex-boyfriend—Tim.
With Tish’s co-workers in the dark about her connection to Jeff outside the workplace, she volunteers to attend the funeral on the company’s behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life. Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, our personal choices and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

One of my favourite things about this novel was that it is told from three different perspectives - Jeff, Tish, and Claire. It's all told in first person and you'd think it'd get confusing but it doesn't. Though, I admit, it did take me until I was about three quarters into the novel before I realized what the (clever) indicator was: different font for the first few words in each chapter. I think it takes real talent to be able to keep each thread both separate and connected, and to know which scenes to repeat from different perspectives and which to only touch on once. I think McKenzie did a fabulous job of telling the story from each perspective and I loved reading the inner thoughts of each character.

I really wasn't sure how things were going to end up by the last page and I loved that. What makes this even better is that even when I thought everything was all sewn up, McKenzie threw in a little twist. Admittedly, I'm not sure if I particularly likes how it ended but I know that was the right way to conclude the story.

As with McKenzie's previous novels, she's given us some fabulous characters. They are in no way perfect (hello, this story deals with a possible affair) but that's what makes them so awesome. They're real and relatable and so much fun to read about (er, perhaps fun is the wrong word to use when one of the characters is actually dead...). Even with the potential of a couple of affairs, you'll still fall in love with the characters and want the very best for them.

Catherine McKenzie has, once again, delivered a fantastic novel. Hidden will definitely make my top ten favourites list for 2013 and will be another novel I push on everyone who is looking for a good book to read. Friends, prepare yourselves!

*An ARC of this novel was provided by HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.*

Top Ten Tuesday: My Winter Reading List

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

Like any blogger, my list of books to read is kind of insane. Every month I write down the titles I want to get to that month and, if I'm lucky, I get through half of them. One problem is that I keep adding to the list! And, of course, right now I want to read as many Christmas books as possible (you'll see a few on this list). The titles on this list are from the aforementioned list and are all books I plan to get to in December/January. They may not be new releases but I want to get them read as soon as I can! What do you plan to read this winter?

Don't forget to check out their blog for a full list of everyone participating this week!

Home for Christmas - Cally Taylor
This is my pick for this month's Taking It Off...the Shelf feature. What better time to read a Christmas book that's been sitting on my shelf since earlier this year?

Just One Day - Gayle Forman
This one's a bit of a cheat because I'll have read it by the time this post goes up (it's due at the library today). I'm curious to see what all the hoopla is about and since Jamie (of The Broke and the Bookish and The Perpetual Pageturner) is always talking about it, I figure it should be a good read. More YA!

Merry & Bright - various
I am SO excited about this chick lit Christmas anthology. Some of favourite authors and ladies have contributed. My review goes up on the 20th as part of a tour so stay tuned!

Sugar Spun Sister - Anna Garner
I adore Anna's books (she also publishes under Libby Mercer) and I cannot wait to read her new series. My review will be up on the 19th!

The Parisian Christmas Bake Off - Jenny Oliver
I got this one off Netgalley and it sounds so adorable! Can't wait to dive in.

How To Fall In Love - Cecelia Ahern
This one just published in October but I still haven't had the chance to read it. I'm hoping I finally have the chance to get to my ARC this month! I know my mom is looking forward to reading it too!

The Gift - Cecelia Ahern
More Cecelia! I got this one out from the library last week because I haven't actually read it!

The Holiday Gig - Erin Brady
Erin just emailed me last week about reading her Christmas themed story and I'm really looking forward to it!

Shy Town Girls: Ivy - Katie Leimkuehler
This one's going to be my next Novel Escapes read. It's actually the second in a series but I've been assured that I don't have to read the first book. It sounds great!

Lock and Key - Sarah Dessen
This is the last Dessen reread book for the I Eat Words challenge. It's been so awesome rereading all of Dessen's novels this year with my best friend.

Review: Recovered

I have previously read and enjoyed the first two books in Amber Polo’s Shapeshifters’ Library series. As I noted in both reviews, Retrieved and Released here and here, I wasn’t sure that I’d like this fantasy series that revolved around librarians who could turn into dogs and had to battle evil book hating werewolves. It sounds crazy but it totally works. I happily agreed to read the latest novel, Recovered, and while I did enjoy it, I didn’t like it quite as much as the others.

Here’s the synopsis:

Bliss D. Light was just an ordinary children's librarian until one day she discovered she could grow a tail. Now her life is filled with more magic than any of the fairy tales she tells the children who gather at her feet at the Shipsfeather library. Like many of the other residents of Shipsfeather, Ohio, Bliss is a dogshifter, and her newly discovered ability to change from human form into that of a sleek white greyhound has left her yearning to know more about her true heritage. The answer to all her questions, she is certain, lies with the dogshifters' long lost Library of the Ancients and, undeterred by the fact that thousands before her have searched, she sets out to find it.
Accompanied by her best friend Harry, a disgraced werewolf/dogshifter mongrel, and hotly pursued by the evil werewolf team of Sybilla and Blaze, Bliss's quest takes her across the sacred sites and ancient mounds of the American Southwest. Though kidnapped by dogcatchers, sold into racetrack slavery and forced to fight wolf dogs to survive, Harry and Bliss never lose sight of their goal-or each other. Because the only thing more important than finding the ancient lost treasure might just be preserving what they already have found: an unlikely love that could be the first step toward bringing two ancient enemy races together.

I think my main issue with this book was that I really didn’t like Harry in the first two stories so I found it hard to root for him in this story. I’m as guilty as some of the dogshifters because I could see, as Bliss and some of the other dogs/librarians did, that he really was trying to reform and become more in touch with his canine ancestry. But I just couldn’t get over how much of an evil twit he was before. I also didn’t connect as much with Bliss, for some reason or another. I’m a huge character person so when I don’t fall in love with the main characters it can sometimes be hard for me to fall in love with the rest of the book.

Getting some more background on the shifters and werewolves was very interesting though. We get to learn more about what the bad werewolves are doing and what kinds of jobs they have as well as finding out that there are actually good werewolves out there. Polo has created a whole, incredibly unique, 

I really liked the part where Bliss ends up being adopted by a bookstore owner and she helps turn the store around while also dealing with the bookstore cat. I wish that she had gone straight there instead of being shuffled around (I don’t want to say much and totally spoil the story!) after being captured because I really enjoyed reading about her life at the store.

Overall, Recovered was a good addition to the Shapeshifters’ Library series by Amber Polo. I’m not totally sure if it’s the final book, as some ends didn’t seem to be totally tied up, but I think it could be a fitting conclusion. I really enjoyed getting to know these shapeshifting librarians and think other book and fantasy lovers would too!

Happy reading :)

*A copy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: A Christmas to Remember

Warning: the following is a phrase you’ll probably hear often from me over the next few weeks. I love Christmas and I love holiday themed anthologies. When I got a Netgalley email telling me I could read the short story collection A Christmas to Remember I immediately went on the site to download it. The collection features stories by Jill Shalvis, Kristen Ashley, Hope Ramsay, Molly Cannon, and Marilyn Pappano - a nice combo of familiar and new to me authors. Some of the stories thrilled me more than others but as a whole this anthology was immensely enjoyable.

Here’s the description of all the stories:

Curl up with this heartwarming Christmas collection!
Jill Shalvis, Dream a Little Dream: Melissa has kept every man at a safe distance-especially firefighter Ian, a sexy friend with sexy benefits. But Ian secretly longs for more. Luckily, 'tis the season for giving love a chance.
Kristen Ashley, Every Year: Holidays don't come easy for Shy and his brother, Landon. But with the magic of Christmas, along with a little help from Tabby and her family, the Cage brothers are about to get the gift of a lifetime.
Hope Ramsay, Silent Night: Down on her luck and evicted from her apartment, single mother Maryanne hopes to start over in Last Chance. When the snow begins to fall, it looks like her baby might literally spend Christmas Eve in a manger. And Maryanne might celebrate the holiday with a handsome stranger.
Molly Cannon, Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas: Lincoln is a bachelor who's set in his ways-until a professional organizer dressed up as Mrs. Claus changes his life, one tip at a time.
Marilyn Pappano, A Family for Christmas: War widow Ilena doesn't mind spending Christmas alone. But when a new doctor blows into town with the winter wind, will she get her secret Christmas wish?

Anthologies can be a funny thing. Sometimes the best story is the first, the one by the author with the biggest name on the front, or sometimes one of the others sneaks up and grabs you – in a good way. In the case of this collection, Jill Shalvis’ short story, “Dream a Little Dream”, was great and really set the bar high for the following stories. I read a few Lucky Harbor books a couple of years ago and I’ve always wanted to read more. After reading this sweet, sexy, but heartfelt story set in the adorable small town, I plan on checking out at least a few more Lucky Harbor books in the new year. Plus, Shalvis wins the year by having a character who spells her name the same way I do. Trust me, this is a very rare thing. In my entire 26 years of living I have personally met only two people who spell it “Kaley” as well, not including the hot actress (but how cool would it be to meet Kaley Cuoco? :) )

The next two, Kristen Ashley’s story, “Every Year”, and Hope Ramsay’s, “Silent Night”, didn’t thrill me too much, unfortunately. Ashley’s needed just a bit more framing (when and how did the couple get together?) and…something…to make it work as a standalone. It had a lot of heart though, I’ll give her that. Ramsay’s was sweet and I did like the farmhouse aspect but it just wasn’t one that will really stick with me.

Molly Cannon’s story, “Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas”, was so much fun. I found myself giggling out loud at some of the things Dinah said to provoke Lincoln. They were just the cutest oddball couple and I loved it. Plus, there was a super sweet surprise at the end for Dinah, not what you’d expect, that makes you fall in love with Lincoln just a little bit more.

Finally, “A Family for Christmas” by Marilyn Pappano really tugged on the heartstrings. I cannot imagine having to go through what Ilena did, losing a husband to the war before he could meet – or even know about – his son. Pappano should be commended for really making Ilena’s feelings come through the page and making me, the reader, understand how she can be feeling what she’s feeling. Plus, reading about Jared with little baby John was just too sweet.

I liked that Christmas played a large role in each of the stories. Sometimes it was about making a new family and new traditions, sometimes it was about finding your way back to your family. But family definitely played a huge part in all of the stories and I loved that. To me, Christmas means spending some quality time with your family, whether blood related or handpicked, while enjoying the festive spirit and so much good food. And two of the stories/author introductions referenced over stuffed stockings and placing each family member’s stocking where they would be seated on Christmas morning. My family does that too and it made me smile, knowing that others do the same thing.

Overall, A Christmas to Remember is a winner when it comes to holiday romance short story collections. It was cute, funny, sweet, heartfelt, and sometimes a little sexy. Maybe if you’re really good Santa will place it in your very own overstuffed stocking. Just don’t forget to put it on your list!

Rereading Sarah Dessen: What Happened to Goodbye

Another month, another I Eat Words Sarah Dessen Read/Reread Challenge read! Check out this post that explains the details about the awesomeness that is this challenge. This month my best friend Sandy and I reread Dessen's second latest book, What Happened to Goodbye. I was so-so on it when it first came out so I wondered if things had changed over the past two years. I'm not sure they changed a lot but I do think I enjoyed reading this more the second time around.

Synopsis:

Who is the real McLean?
Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out.

About the Story
Main  Character: Mclean Sweet

Age: 17 (or 18...not really sure. She's a high school senior.)
School Year or Summer?: School year.

Boy: Dave Wade

First description of the boy: "...it was a guy in jeans and long hair, wearing a faded flannel shirt, beat-up Adidas on his feet." (page 12)

Crushable?: Definitely.

Big Secret?: Not really.

Heavy Storyline?: Not super heavy. Fairly average divorced child life.

Parents Together?: No.
Sibling(s)?: Twin half siblings, who are toddlers.

Takes Place In: Lakeview but Colby gets some attention.

Cameos: Jason from The Truth About Forever plays a fairly large role in this one and I loved that! We got to see what he's been up to. The Last Chance in Colby is frequented once again. Heidi and her store from Along for the Ride show up as well. Jump Java is mentioned, which is where Dexter's bandmade and Scarlett (from Someone Like You) work in This Lullaby. On page 53 there's a mention of a boy and girl listening to and talking about music - they're Annabel and Owen from Just Listen.

About the Book

Released: 2011

Epigraph?: Yes, song lyrics. "Break away from/what you've known/You are not alone/We can build/a brand new home/You are not alone" Ben Lee, "Families Cheating at Board Games"

Format (of the copy I read): Hardcover.

Own?: Yes.

Signed?: Yes.

Read or Reread: Reread.

Age when first read: 24.

New cover vs older cover: New - for purely aesthetic reasons. The older one makes more sense but the new one is just nicer to look at.

My Thoughts

It was an interesting experience rereading What Happened to Goodbye this month. Apart from the latest Dessen book, The Moon and More, which just came out this past spring, this was the last Sarah Dessen book I read. This book was only released two years ago so, of course, I already have a review up on this blog. I haven’t reread it yet…partly because this challenge is all about a fresh look and partly because my internet isn’t working as I type this into a Word document so I couldn’t look at it even if I wanted to. So, because it was such a recent read, I found that I remembered a lot more about it. Not just the big picture but the little side stories. It was still a great reread though and I think I loved it more this time around.

One of the things I loved about this book the first time around was the basketball element. I played basketball all through elementary and high school and did intramurals in university. It’s not a sport that you’ll find in a lot of books (that honour belongs to football) and I think that’s another reason why I enjoyed it. Basketball is both a big part of the story and not. We see more of the absence of the sport than actual games (though those are present too) since Mclean and her dad have an unspoken agreement not to mention the sport or how, in a roundabout way, their association with it turned their lives upside down. I also liked that the basketball storyline is a little bit of Dessen herself coming through the pages. She lives in Chapel Hill, which is where the University of North Caroline is. She is a huge UNC fan. I may not watch basketball (weird, I know) but I enjoy how into it Dessen gets.

Mclean is an interesting character. She’s really unsure about who she is and where she fits in. And I don’t think that’s because she had been changing her personality over and over and over again for the past two years, along with moving towns and changing schools multiple times. I think her parents’ divorce really rattled her (which is completely understandable...I speak from experience). She was old enough to understand how romantic relationships really work but not quite mature enough to get why sometimes marriages fail. So she does what’s absolutely expected: she blames her mom, Katherine, for cheating on her dad and ruining their lives. It was hard to read the scenes with Mclean and her mom because I knew Katherine truly wants what’s best for Mclean and wants to be in her life, like she used to be. I absolutely understood Mclean’s anger but I wished she would realize how important it is that both of her parents loved her and wanted her in their lives. That doesn’t always happen. Anyway, back to Mclean being an interesting character...I think she's great. She's your average teen. That might sound boring but this shows how awesome Dessen is. She can take an average teen girl with a few problems that are fairly common and make her completely compelling and interesting. I always used to recommend Dessen at the bookstore I worked at because of this...every teen girl can find something to relate to in Dessen's characters no matter what their own life situation is. Love it.

Speaking of love, the romance in this story is downright adorable. I loved Dave and how he could tell that he needed to move slow when it came to Mclean (she was like a bunny who would be easily spooked). He was funny, smart, but down to earth. And what he does at the end with the town model? Swoon. I would have totally fallen for him if he had been around when I was 17. Actually, funny, smart, and down to earth describes my boyfriend pretty well and I started dating him at 18... :)

*pauses for a reread of my first What Happened to Goodbye review*
*realizes the review wasn't actually much of a review and isn't very helpful*

Right! So I apparently really don't have a lot of things to say about this novel that I haven't already talked about. Basically, it What Happened to Goodbye is a great book but it's not one of Dessen's best, in my opinion. Read on to find out what Sandy thought. As usual it's a lot more heartfelt and poetic than my review :)

Sandy's Thoughts

It seems as though I have been very fortunate in my love for Sarah Dessen novels. They happen to be published just before I go on vacation with my family. Oddly enough our usual vacation spot is Virginia Beach, located not too far from North Carolina where Sarah Dessen lives and gets the inspiration for the towns in her novels. I feel very connected to her novels because of this and What Happened to Goodbye is no exception. This particular book came out just two days before my birthday in 2011. I got the book and waited two months to read it while on vacation of course. Being in a beachy atmosphere while reading a beachy book is wonderful. I have fond recollections of both Goodbye and Along for the Ride because I read them in an area I felt they were connected to.

In 2011 I persuaded my family to visit Chapel Hill, North Carolina to see the U-town that Sarah Dessen describes. It was amazing! We had a fantastic trip and even saw the Flyleaf bookstore where she does a lot of readings. That same year Kaley scored a fantastic opportunity through a contest to meet Sarah Dessen in Toronto while she was doing a book tour for What Happened to Goodbye. It was very exciting and meeting her in person was a thrill. She is a wonderful, down to earth person, much like the characters she writes.

Mclean’s story is compelling from the very beginning. As a reader, you find yourself constantly asking, “who is this girl?” Mclean seems to be wondering the same thing. Change is a powerful force, everybody reacts to it in a different way. Some people resist the change, some embrace it, some try to hideaway from it and others overcompensate to try and keep the change from happening.

After her parents divorce Mclean goes into escapist mode. The world she has become familiar with has shattered so she creates a new one. The only problem is she doesn’t stop at just one. She continually changes herself by going from one town to another and creating a different persona for herself based on the feeling she gets about her surroundings.

When the epic love story she thought her parents had implodes she buries the hurt and resentment and tries to move on as a new girl. New life, new school, new girl. It works for a while but a while is all she needs. She uses these new personas as a means of escape. Her old name and identity remind her of the “perfect” life she has lost. She tests each new “Sweet girl” out to see which one fits the new life she has been dealt. The truth is that none of them really fit because none of them are real. Parts of them are but knowing that none of it is permanent makes it hard for anything about her to be truly real.

Her emotions about the life she left behind can only be ignored for so long before she and her parents have to deal with them. She blames her mother for all of it and that of course puts a lot of strain on their relationship. Trying to respect a parent when you disagree with what they do is really hard. The actions of her mother ripped Mclean from the world she knew best and she is left to find a way to cope with the world she is left with. The personas help her to do that. She explains it perfectly, “all those clean, fresh starts had made me forget what is was like, until now, to be messy and honest and out of control. To be real.” (Page 237) She can find control in the uncontrollable and that helps her to survive.

She seems to just be killing time, waiting for a time when she can be herself again, or just know what it means to be herself. Mclean is not meant for the perceived perfection of the Peter Hamilton life but she needs more roots than her father’s life can giver her. Enter Dave Wade, the ever-surprising boy next door and her unlikely knight in somewhat nerdy armour. He saves her from the second time they meet and he continues to be a constant force in her life. She meets him at the perfect time, another fresh start but she is tired of being someone else and needs to get back to being a new version of the Mclean she was before the divorce, even if she doesn’t recognize that. She makes friends, makes plans, adapts and adeptly inserts herself into the lives around her. Still holding back but becoming bolder and bolder and more her real self. I love Dave Wade and the way he subtly incorporates Mclean into his life with very little pressure and a lot of honesty.

I really enjoy the character of her father Gus. There are very few strong father/daughter bonds in Sarah Dessen’s novels. Most of her parental interactions happen between the daughter and the mother or female figure. In What Happened to Goodbye, Mclean’s father is a huge part of the story. His job dictates their whereabouts, the people she interacts with, the projects she gets involved in and even her true identity. Deep down she is a daddy’s girl. They shared a love of basketball and she has a knack for organizing both their lives so he can be a restaurant consultant and she can stay with him. He has a big impact on her life in the past, present and possible future. Their relationship is refreshing and interesting to read. (Blogger note: I absolutely agree. I adored their father/daughter relationship.)

Mclean begins to want a beginning, middle and end while living in Lakeview, instead of just the clean slates she had been used to manipulating. Nothing had gone to plan but she still made friends and had a budding life without the fake persona she wanted to create. Since the divorce she had made sure to only have beginnings and never stay to the end. “(The beginning) was the part with all the promise, the potential, the things I loved. More and more though, I was finding myself wanting to find out what happened in the end.” (Page 279). Having constants in people or a place like Luna Blu help her to see what she had been missing in those other towns. She finds her real self, the basketball loving friendly girl she was always meant to be. Mclean discovers that she wants an end, or at least the chance to find out what happens after goodbye.

Next month

It's coming, friends. The final month of the Sarah Dessen (re)read challenge. The last book is Lock and Key. I don't remember a whole lot from this one so I'm really excited to reread it.

Top Ten Tuesday: 2014 Releases I'm Dying To Read

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created by the lovely folks at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they're "particularly fond of lists" and since I also enjoy lists, I've decided to participate in this fun feature.

Can you believe it's December already? This means, in the book blogging world, that it's time to look back at the best books of the year and forward to the books we can't wait to read. That's what this Top Ten Tuesday list is all about...the 2014 releases we're dying to read! There are so many books coming out next year but we don't even know about half of them. I'm sure this list will change throughout the year (and some will seem familiar as I mentioned them in my sequel list from a few weeks ago) but for now these are the ten books I can't wait to get my hands on - in order of release and links lead to Goodreads. What books are you looking forward to?

Don't forget to check out their blog for a full list of everyone participating this week!

I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star - Judy Greer (April 8)
You may not know Judy Greer's name but you know her face. She's played the best friend in movies like 13 Going on 30, 27 Dresses, and The Wedding Planner. I'm really looking forward to seeing what she has to say in this book!

Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins (May 13)
Do I really need to explain how much we're all anticipating this release? It's been pushed back and fingers crossed May 13 is the actual date. I can't wait to read Isla's story!

The One and Only - Emily Giffin (May 20)
I love Emily Giffin so, of course, I'm looking forward to her new book. It should be interesting to see what the cover will look like since she's with a new publisher now. Hopefully it keeps some of its Giffin-ness!

Take Me On - Katie McGarry (May 20)
I've fallen in love with the Pushing the Limits series and I'm looking forward to this story. It features West, brother of Rachel from Crash Into You.

Landline - Rainbow Rowell (July 8)
Rainbow Rowell had a big year in 2013 with two amazing YA novels. I still haven't read her first adult novel, Attachments (I know, I know...what's wrong with me? I do own a (signed!) copy now though. No excuses.) but I've heard super fabulous things. Here's hoping this adult book, with a hint of magic, is just as good!

The Book of Life - Deborah Harkness (July 15)
This is the third and final book in the All Souls trilogy. I feel like I've been waiting for FOREVER for this last book and I cannot wait to see where Harkness takes us.

Untitled Cormoran Strike - Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) (August 1)
I was pleasantly surprised by The Cuckoo's Calling (review here). I think Rowling has created a solid and interesting adult series and I'm looking forward to seeing where Cormoran and friends end up next.

Pride & Prejudice - Curtis Sittenfeld (2014)
I just recently read Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope (review to come in a few days) and I ended up really liking it. Pride and Prejudice has a soft spot in a lot of hearts, including my own, so fingers crossed Sittenfeld does an amazing job. (For more info on this project visit The Austen Project's website.)

S.E.C.R.E.T. Revealed - L. Marie Adeline (2014)
Adeline is great at cliffhangers but that means I NEED to know what happens at the end of this series. It's a really great erotic series and she's created some fantastic characters. The fact that the author is Canadian and so nice is really just icing on the cake!

Right Click - Lisa Becker (late 2014)
This is a series that started out slow for me but I absolutely adored the second book, Double Click, and I really cannot wait to find out what happens to everyone in this final book. Write faster Lisa :)