New and Improved Blog!

As you can tell, my blog has changed! And I LOVE it. Jenn from the Cutest Blog on the Block team customized this for me! She was absolutely fantastic and very sweet! I'm super happy with it and I hope you guys like it too!

Callum and Harper by Fisher Amelie! (Video Review)

Doing something COMPLETELY different today! I made a video review! It's pretty long because I ramble and such but I hope you guys like it!

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Details:

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Number of Pages: 355

For ages 15+

"Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey.

Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the 'eighteen disease' with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they're forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably.

So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.

But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can't ever be acted upon because they're both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B.

And, oh, how lovely Plan B's can be.

Well, except for the psycho from Harper's past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there's the little issue that neither of them knows they're in love with the other.

Needless to say, Callum & Harper's life just got a bit more complicated." -Goodreads

4 Diva Crowns!

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Well, hopefully you guys don't think I'm TOTALLY insane after watching that! I thought it was pretty fun! Let me know!

Hope your week is filled with *sparkles!*

Emmalee by Jenni James (Review)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Number of Pages: 230

For ages 13+

"Sometimes love is blind.

Emmalee Bradford thinks she’s an expert at matchmaking, and she won’t rest until all her friends are as happy as she is. Especially Hannah, the girl she’s decided to make popular. Everyone loves Emmalee's advice--everyone, that is, except her annoying neighbor Chase Anderson, who has taken it upon himself to "fix" her.

This modern version of Jane Austen’s Emma is the hilarious journey of a girl who believes she knows all about love. But when it comes to recognizing the perfect guy for her, Emmalee is absolutely clueless." -Goodreads

I had read some of the other books in the Jane Austen Diaries series and really liked them and I thought I would try this one out! And I think this one is probably my favorite!

What I really love about this book the most was that it was super sweet and cute and adorable and everything you could ever dream of being a contemporary romance, but it was also light and didn't weigh you down with a whole bunch of crud. Like an angel food cake! Yum! I think that's the perfect analogy for this book. An angel food cake. We'll just go with that. And if you don't like angel food cake... Try to picture something else because I've got nothin' else. One creative analogy is my limit.

In the beginning, Emmalee was one of those girls that you pretty much couldn't stand. She thought she was all that and a bag of chips. But throughout the story you can really see how she progresses. All with the help of *sigh* Chase... Goodness gracious that boy is fantabulous. And super intelligent. I loved how he cared about everyone's feelings. He was just an all around awesome guy. But don't you worry, there'll be a whole paragraph about him comin' up. I won't leave you guys hangin'. I mean, do I ever?

Even though Emmalee annoyed me to no end, I absolutely loved her. She had everything right at her fingertips, but once you got to know her and read about her, she really was down to earth. Like when she hangs out with Hannah, and they talk about books for hours. I could totally relate to that one. ;) I do that pretty much everyday... With myself? ... I have Twitter! ...There we go.

I feel like we never do get the point of view of the popular girl. It's always about the average girl who turns out to be not so average and about how she takes down the popular girl and gets the guy! But with this story, we got a look at the life of the popular girl. And we learn that sometimes the attitude they give off isn't intentional. ...Sometimes it is... More like most times, but there are times where it isn't! This happens to be one of those times!

So you know that guy Chase I mentioned above? Chase Anderson? Yeah, that one....

OH MY GRAVY. OH MY GRAVY. OH MY GRAVY. Guys... For cereal. How can I explain this to you without sounding like the stereotypical teenage girl that I am? Should I look on thesaurus.com? Because I honestly can't figure out how to describe the amount of swoony-ness this boy is. ...My computer literally just crashed and I'm pretty sure it was getting stressed out by all of the craziness I am. Thank goodness for auto-save, am I right? I'm sure you guys are probably thinking, "WE GET IT. BUT WHY IS HE SO SWOON WORTHY, JEWELZ?!" And I'm sure you were yelling like that. Don't you worry! I can answer this question for you! Well, he has sparkly blue eyes... What? .... Wait, you need more?! ;) He also tries to help Emmalee. Sometimes this didn't work out too well, but he always had what was best for her in mind. He just wanted her to be the best that she could be. Also, when they were younger, he made her promise him she would call him her knight after he pretty much saved her from drowning. ....HOW ADORABLE IS THAT?! Are you guys swooning yet? Need I say more? ...This paragraph just doubled in size.

This book makes me want to go back and re-read Pride and Popularity because I did not even realize that the two characters from that book were in this one! Say what?! That book was super good too!

Also: I found it absolutely adorable that every paragraph started with a pick up line. ;D

Hopefully, by now you're all like, "I MUST BUY THIS BOOK AT ONCE!" ...Why is is that everything I have you guys say is in all caps? It's because I'm a capsaholic. But anyways, this book was absolutely fantabulous and I loved it so very much. This review escalated quickly. So sorry to any new readers who now think I'm absolutely insane! But in reality, I am. I recommend this lovely read to lovers of light, sweet romances! This will not disappoint! 5 out of 5 diva crowns!

I hope that everyone has a FANTASTIC New Year and a great week! :) Thanks for reading!

Shot Through the Heart by Nicki Burnham (Review)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Number of Pages: 154

For ages 13+

"At Eastwood High, love is a battlefield.

Two guys, two girls, two thousand dollars, and one epic water gun battle.

Senior year? It's all about Senior Assassin, a yearly water gun tournament where the last team standing receives a cool two grand. Connor wants nothing more than to split that prize with his best friend, Josh. When their mission is put in jeopardy by Molly--thanks to her crush on Connor--Josh comes up with a plan to thwart her, one that involves his sister, Peyton...

Peyton's deepest desire is to score entry to MIT. She's working her tail off to achieve her goal, but when she's dragged into Connor and Josh's water gun tournament, their antics threaten to leave her high and dry. As Peyton's forced to choose between chemistry class and chemistry with Connor, will the super student and the super athlete discover they have more in common than they imagined?

One thing's for certain: When Connor, Peyton, Josh, and Molly load their weapons, someone's bound to get shot through the heart." -Goodreads

Finals are coming up and a WHOLE BUNCH of craziness is happenin' right now, so I haven't been able to read as much as I would like to. :( BUT I did have time to read this quick read and I NEED to review somethin'! I can't leave you guys hanging!

I ARORED this book! It was super adorable and sweet and made me get the teenage girl giggles... Connor is super swoon worthy and Peyton is hilarious and Josh is just... well, Josh. ;)

I don't know what it is about story lines where the brother's best friend falls for his sister that I love so much but I usually absolutely love them. And this was definitely one of them. This book got straight to the point, and that's something I loved about it.

Peyton is one of those girls who is very serious about her grades. And I kind of feel like Peyton in a way. I'm super serious when it comes to school, and I'm pretty much miserable if I get a bad grade. I really connected with her and saw the struggles she was going through. Something else that I loved about her was that even though school was a huge part of her life, that didn't stop her from having fun or joking around. Her personality was spectacular. I felt like I really was in the head of a teenage girl, even though I don't have to read a book to do that. But the things she was feeling definitely felt genuine!

Can we just have a moment of silence to swooooon over Connor?

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....

....

HE IS SO SWOONY.  That's about all I can say... Just joking! I mean, come on, there's more to a guy than his swoony-ness... Right? Anyways, I loved that he was a nerd under all of that cuteness. That he was really interested in good grades and such. That's my kind of guy. And he cared about girls' feelings. Instead of totally blowing Molly off when she was showing signs of "flirtation" he tried to let her down gently. Of course, that didn't really work out... but all ended well! ;) Poor Connor was a little clueless when it came to fixing things with girls. Girls are pretty difficult to begin with... Am I right? ;)

Something that I really liked was that Connor and Peyton had known each other almost their whole lives. It gave a lot more stories between the characters and gave the characters a lot more confusion. Plus, HISTORY! That's pretty major. They were starting to see each other differently. The romance between them was absolutely adorable and I couldn't get enough.

I was almost pulling my hair out in part of this book with Peyton. GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GIRL. Why must you question someone like Connor? I, of course, could see where she was coming from, but I was getting frustrated with some of the decisions she was making.

Then there's Josh, Peyton's brother, who is quite the handful. And little did he know that trying to create a rumor about his sister and his best friend would actually cause them to like each other. When he came down to business, Josh was a sweet brother. He cared about Peyton's feelings.

This book was light read that uplifted you from all that heavy reading. It was fantabulous and sweet and reviewing it makes me want to re-read it again... If you're looking for a quick contemporary romance this book is the one for you! 5 out of 5 diva crowns! :) You must read it!

Hope everyone has a FANTABULOUS week, and if you're like me and have finals or super hard tests or just something difficult in general coming up, GOOD LUCK and happy studying! Hope your day is filled with *SPARKLES!*

Cover Reveal/Author interview: There by Denise Grover Swank!

I'm super excited to reveal this cover to you! Not only because it's my Mother's book but because I absolutely love it! I've read the early version of THERE and LOVED IT! I can't wait until it comes out so all of you can read it to!

If anyone wants to see a reference to the book cover of the first book, HERE, here it is:

So without further ado, the cover reveal of THERE!

***drum roll, please...****

 *DA DA DA DUMMMMM!*

The front:

And the back: 

Isn't it FANTABULOUUUUUS? I love it... I got super excited when my Momma sent me a picture of it  when I was at school. ;) It pays to have a mother who's an author.

I also interviewed my Momma and asked her a couple of questions about the cover!

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*Who is the cover designer and how did you find her?*

Nathalia Suellen created the cover for both HERE and THERE. I knew I wanted a more artistic cover than I had used for my two previous books. So I searched around the internet and found  Nathalia on Deviant Art. I emailed her about purchasing a picture she had in her gallery to use for the cover of HERE. She told me it would be less expensive to create one from scratch, so we did. I LOVE Nathalia’s work. I highly recommend you visit her website http://intro.ladysymphonia.com/  or on Deviant Art http://lady-symphonia.deviantart.com/

*How much say did you have in the cover design of THERE?*

While I gave Nathalia a general direction and idea about what I wanted for HERE’s cover, I had a lot of input on the design concept for THERE.

*What did you incorporate from the cover of HERE to the cover of THERE?*

I’d been thinking about the cover for THERE for several months before I approached Nathalia about starting the designing process. I knew I wanted Julia on the cover and I wanted her in a puddle of water, like she is in HERE. I liked the barren forest on HERE because it reflected Julia’s world (It was fall and the leaves were falling) and Evan’s world (The trees were dead) and I wanted another barren background. I wanted the two boys on the cover again, but I wanted them on separate sides.

*Are there any elements of symbolism in the cover of THERE?*

There’s quite a bit of symbolism on the cover of THERE. On the cover of HERE, Julia is looking down and in a white dress, but on THERE, she’s in a black dress and looking the opposite direction, in a more active stance. She was depressed and trying to find her way in HERE, but in THERE she’s more proactive and tries to take more control of her situation. She’s moving toward the danger and toward Reece and Evan.
The puddle of water on both covers symbolizes the joining of both worlds, the reflection symbolizes both Julias being present at the same time. Julia’s reflection on HERE is her white dress, but on THERE, her dress is black and the reflection is her white dress. In THERE, the other Julia’s memories begin bleed in hers. The reflection of the opposite shows 1) Julia is not the same girl she was in her world—she’s stronger and 2) she’s slowly losing herself to the Julia of Evan’s world.
The ruins in the background represent Evan’s world, but it also represents Julia’s life. It’s falling apart around her.
The storm brewing beyond the ruins represents the chaos in Julia’s life as well as the chaos of the world she’s now living in.

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THERE will be released December 24th so make sure to watch out for that! If you haven't read HERE, the ebook is on sale for 99 cents until Friday, November 30th! So if you're lookin' for a bargain there's your chance!


OR you can enter to win one of five autographed print copies of HERE in a Goodreads giveaway!

Places you can find HERE:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Here-On-the-Otherside-ebook/dp/B0064S8D9W
B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/here-denise-grover-swank/1107091759?ean=2940013553217
TBD:  http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Here-Denise-Grover-Swank/9781466394575
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Here/book-Vnv8yg9YK0uN4hV598RtvA/page1.html?s=za8DVZqrWUCKp3LFSdUrNg&r=1
Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/103327

Hope your days is filled with *SPARKLES!*

The Truth About Faking by Leigh Talbert Moore (Review)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Number of Pages: 328

For ages 13+

"Jason just wants a date with Harley. 

Harley just wants a date with Trent.
Trent's still getting over Stephanie.

When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?" -Goodreads

When I read the description for this book I thought it sounded absolutely adorable. And there's just something about the fact that a plan can change a person's feelings that makes me get all happy and excited. And yes, indeed, this plan sure did. I had so much fun reading this book!

Harley lives in one of those small town places where EVERYONE knows everyone's business. And may I just say, I would not enjoy living in one of those towns. But then Mr. Jason comes in and turns everything upside down. He is so swoony. Seriously. And I'm sure everyone's like, "Big surprise. This is Julia, for crying out loud." BUT COME ON. Who doesn't enjoy a book about a swoon worthy guy? Will someone please tell me?

Harley is the reverend's daughter which causes for a lot of stereotypes. I mean, the first thing you think about when you think of a reverend's daughter is crazy and rebelling. So she's got a lot of stuff to live up to. But all Harley wants is to date Trent, which I think is totally not as good as Jason, but of course she doesn't see that until later. I'm not gonna lie I thought Harley was a complete and utter idiot for a little bit because she was totally missing out on Jason for Trent, but things got better!

Jason was fantabulous. You could pretty much categorize him into one word and that would be it. He was quirky and different but he was also STINKING GORGEOUS. And those are my favorite guys to read about. The kind that aren't all suave and smooth but beyond adorable and know just the right thing to say at the most random times. I also loved how confident he was. He wasn't arrogant or cocky, he was confident. And there's a difference, people. He also liked Harley for her. And he was always there when she needed someone to talk to.

And then Harley has no idea what to do because she's been crushing on Trent for forever and she's starting to really like Jason. And we all know the better decision is Jason, DUH. But poor Harley doesn't. I wanted to step into that book shake the girl, and say, "CHOOSE JASON. CHOOSE HIM OR I WILL." But that didn't happen. Because you can't step into books. If you could I wouldn't be here right now. Harley also has to deal with the fact that everyone's gossiping about her mother and her mom's new massage student. This girl has got some confusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! And if you follow me on Twitter you saw that I was a little bit frustrated with all of the New Adult coming out. I know it's a VERY popular genre, but I'm not in my late teens yet and I'm not aloud to read New Adult. And it's super hard to find a good YA contemporary romance that's for teens my age. This one was PERFECTION! I was super happy to read it. If you're looking for a sweet romance that's filled with swoon worthy moments, this one's your book! 5 of 5 diva crowns.

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend and that they have an even better week to come! Hope it's filled with sparkles and fantabulousness!

Rise of a Rector by Heather McCorkle (Review)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 344

For ages 14+

"With graduation~and the hell of the last two years~behind her, Eren is hoping to finally explore her relationship with Aiden and deepen the bonds with her Society. But it seems there's no rest for a soon-to-be legendary Mayan warrior of the apocalypse.

From the green hills of Ireland to the jungles of Mexico, and deep into lands unexpected, Eren and Aiden will stop at nothing to discover all they can about their rare power in an attempt to alter destiny. Learning about ancient secrets that no one can remember proves to be more than challenging with Eren seeing old ghosts at every turn though. Worse yet, behind the ghosts lies something darker and far more deadly than any of the trials she has endured so far.

In the jungles of Costa Rica entire villages are dying inexplicably. Near the carnage live a group of channelers who are hiding a thousand year old secret, one that could change the very fate of the planet. But the ghosts of Eren's past have other plans, plans to seize the thread of destiny~and Eren~and manipulate both."

I was so happy to find out the next and final (*sob*) book of this awesome series was out! I have absolutely loved the past books and I knew to expect that this one would be just as good! Once again Heather has left me on the flippin' edge of my seat for the majority of this book. For cereal.

The book starts off with the whole gang together. Caitlin, Fane, Aiden (*swooooon*), and Eren. I was super excited to jump right back into the world of this book. Because it's so much fun! :) I mean, of course there are times when it's not so fun because we need conflict... DUH. But still, it's fun. ;)

The romance between Aiden and Eren is still beyond adorable and makes me get the warm fuzzies every time they have a *moment* so don't worry, no disappointment there! And in case any one is wondering if Aiden is still his swoon worthy self, because I know every one is, uhhh... YES. Most definitely. He's so stinkin' sweet. Like, seriously.

 This book was more action packed than the last two, and surprisingly, I didn't really mind. I'm not much of an action loving girl, but I think that since there were little things in between I was okay with it! But the suspense? Killed me. So. Much. Suspense. So much. You don't know if so and so is dead or if so and so is coming back to get them or if everything is just gonna crumple into a million little pieces and the whole book will be over. Yeah. That feeling. But that's probably one of the reasons I love books like this so much. Keeps ya on your toes!

The little tidbits with Fane and Caitlin's relationship made me super happy. It was nice to know they were working out just as well as Eren and Aiden! There were also moments between them that made me laugh. Just because Caitlin has such a bold personality compared to Fane. It causes some fantabulous moments.

This book was pretty different compared to the other books. Setting wise, at least! Instead of staying in one set setting the characters when to an array of places. It was pretty cool to be able to travel all over the place with the characters and experience everything through their eyes. Well, Eren and Aiden's at least.

The ending was SO AWESOME. I was melting into a puddle of happiness. I can't tell you anything because of COURSE I'm gonna make you read it, but Aiden does this thing that was super adorable and made me really happy and... YEAH! Read it! I feel like there's lots of exclamation points in this review, but what're you gonna do?


I'm sure you predicted already the number of diva crowns this book was gonna get but unless you didn't.. I give this book 5 diva crowns for being so fantabulously amazing. Perfect book to end this amazing series. I recommend this book to urban fantasy lovers who also like some romance mixed in. You will be happy with what you read! :)

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I may possibly post an essay I'm having to do in English about the psychology of a main character in the book How To Save a Life by Sara Zarr in the near future. So if I do, watch out for that! If you don't want to read stuff like that then.. I guess.. don't read it? Ha ha! Do what ya want! Don't mind me. ;)

Anyways, thanks for reading, everyone! Hope your weeks are filled with *sparkles!*