Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Books, Simon & Schuster
Expected Release Date: October 15th 2013
Pages: 448
Source:Publisher

1990: Betty Dean is moving from her home in small town Guernsey to her new apartment in grungy Soho, London.A move she hopes brings new friends, a big career break, and perhaps even true love. Following her dreams in bustling, grungy nineties Soho, shes ready for whatever life has to throw at her. Or so she thinks
Before the move her grandmother Arlette passed away, leaving her a few thousand pounds in her will. Except..if she can track down a lady named Clara Pickle, then Clara will get the large sum of money. Betty starts her search for Clara

In 1920s  London Arlette,Bettys grandmother is starting her new life in a time of post-war change. Beautiful and charismatic, Arlette is soon drawn into the hedonistic world of the Bright Young People. But two years after her arrival in London, tragedy strikes and she flees back to the country for the rest of her life.
In an old letter, Betty learns more about a man she never heard of before, but who meant the world to Arlette, and this leads her to more detailds about this mysterious Clara Pickle. Beside her search, she starts to learn more about her rockstar neigbor across the street, who she starts babysitting for. And she makes friends with a CD seller who has a stand next to her apartment. And with one of the two men a romance slowly begins...

Before I Met You just blew me away! What a book! From the first page I was hooked. It had two fantastic main characters living in different time periods, and some even fabulous side characters.
This book gives up its secrets slowly, bit by bit and it made me want to keep coming back to read it and find out more. I loved how Betty's search for this mysterious Clara Pickle unfolded, and how as a side story she got a romance with..oh no I won't tell as that is too much of a spoiler, but it is one of the two men in the story. Lisa Jewell did a great job of recreating the 90's vibe in Betty's part of the story and gave a realistic view of the edgy part of Soho in which she lives.
Arlette's story was also fantastic, altough it ended so very sad as she couldn't be with the man she loved so much, just because he was black. And when they finally could be together he had such a tragic end.With a beautiful cast and two very emotional and moving storylines, Lisa Jewell has written a gem here.. I absolutely recommend Before I Met You!!!

Confessions of a Hater by Caprice Crane

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date:August 27th 2013
Pages: 368
Source:Publisher
Age Range: Young Adult

Hailey has just moved with her parents to Hollywood, Los Angeles. When she is unpacking, she finds a box of stuff that belongs to her sister Noel who is away at college. In the box is an old  journal of Noel. Her sister was always one of the most popular girls, and while reading Noel's diary, which is filled with ''how-to be-popular-tips, Hailey gets the inspiration: she will use all of the advice in Noel's journal to finally become on of the popular girls at her new highschool,West Hollywood High. And Noel's advices seem to work!! She immediately catches the eye (due to her fabulous outfits of course) of Skyler Brandt, the queen bee of the school with a little posse of minions in tow of her fabulous-ness. The little clique has its own sets of rules, for example: when the girls will shop individually and want to buy something, they first have to send a picture of the item to Skyler, who decides if its a yes or no, or maybe she should have it first.

Those little rules start to irritate Hailey, who steps out of the little group of haters, and starts to sit at lunch with an unpopular girl, Anya. Haileys new neighbor guy Always warned Hailey that Anya is a real psycho, but Anya starts to turn out like a true friend for Hailey. Hailey discovers why Anya is having a bad name at school, which dates back to an event between Anya and Haileys neighbor. Beside all the stuff at school, Hailey has to deal with some not so nice things at home too.. and she has to face some very unexpected twists of fate that go on between school and her home life and will turn her life upside down another time.

I think I have another favorite author after reading Confessions of a Hater. Wow, this book was fast and FUN! It had a plot twist at almost every page with made that I just couldn't put this book down! Caprice Crane gave Hailey one of the most fun, spunky but also very realistic teen narrator voices. Everything was just so real, and I recognized a lot from my own high school time, when I had some popular friends, but all of a sudden, they let you down if you don't follow their rules. Hailey was amazing, she misses her sister Noel who is away at college, and at the end of the book, the dramatic turn in her family life has such an unexpected twist of fate which was just  tragic for Hailey, but somehow it was also hilarious how crazy things can go al of a sudden. Caprice Crane is making her YA debut with this book, and I think it couldn't be a better one! This is the book you can't miss this summer!! Confessions of a Hater will be hit bookstores this August!

You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date:June 4th 2013
Pages: 368
Source:Publisher
Age Range: Young Adult

The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There'd be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.

Now sixteen, Justine doesn't feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, feels like a disappointment.
But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what's on film. They've all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else's eyes...

The thing that made this book for me was the characters. I absolutely loved all of the main 'support' cast: Keira, Rory, Felix and Nate were all great and whilst Justine was the main character, I got to watch the other characters grow just as much. It's very rare that I'll find a book where the support characters develop as well. I also loved reading about the support cast's relationships with each other, for example Nate and Felix, Rory and Keira as well as Nate and Keira.I loved that each one of the five had their own set of issues; none of them were perfect. Most of them struggled with how to be themselves at an age where appearance can be everything. Or is that every age? Some of them had family issues, internal struggles etc. Overall it was a pretty nice story about teens ''five year later. It was not the most original, but it kept me interested till the last page!

 

The Longest Holiday by Paige Toon

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Release Date:April 25th 2013
Pages: 400
Source:Publisher

Laura heads of from the UK on a plane; she is traveling with her two best friends to Key West, Florida. Laura is escaping her life at home, that is now on the brink of a crash: by accident she discovered a message on facebook, sent by a woman to her soon -to-be husband Matthew The woman announces in the message that she just discovered she is pregnant of Matthew, just a week before Laura and Matthew are going to be wed. Is now everything over between them?

When they arrive in Key West, a carefree holiday of fun, cocktails, and partying in the local bars begins.
And its there that Laura meets Leo, a Cuban scuba diver. They fall in love but it all starts and goes very slowly as Laura doesn't want to rush anything after all the mess with Matthew. But just as everything seems to fall into place, the Key West holiday comes to its end. But Laura doesn't want to go home. She is just not ready for it yet,. Her two friends say farewell and step back on the plane, while Laura travels to Leo's house. There she meets Leo's brother and family and they seem to be a perfect fit. But then Matthew stands in front of her all of a sudden..

The storyline was so captivating and fresh, I was hooked from the first chapter and so it soon became clear that this was going to be a book that you can’t put down. I loved how unpredictable the book was there was no way of predicting what was going to happen next. The author also puts a pretty shocking twist towards the end which I never saw coming. The end was so Original, I never have read an end like this, wow!

I remember that I found the previous book I've read by Paige Toon a bit slow, but this one made up for that, it just rocked and had everything I want in a good book. I think I will tell too much details and spoilers if I make this review any longer, I will just end by saying this book made me hungry for what is coming next by this fabulous author. I highly recommend,this perfect book for this summer!!!

The Wish List by Jane Costello

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Release Date:April 1st 2013)
Pages: 496
Source:Publisher

There are six months left of Emma Reiss's twenties. . . and she has some unfinished business. Emma and her friends are about to turn thirty, and for Emma it's a defining moment. Defined, that is, by her having achieved none of the things she'd imagined she would. Her career is all wrong, her love life is a desert and that penthouse apartment she pictured herself in simply never materialised. Moreover, she's never jumped out of a plane, hasn't met the man she's going to marry, has never slept under the stars, or snogged anyone famous - just some of the aspirations on a list she and her friends compiled fifteen years ago. As an endless round of birthday parties sees Emma hurtle towards her own thirtieth, she sets about addressing these issues. But, as she discovers with hilarious consequences, some of them are trickier to tick off than she'd thought...

Altough I had the idea that the storyline would evolve around Emma's wish list, I found that the story was hopping from here to there. which bothered me to be honest. The story circled mostly about two other topics,: her job at a childrens tv program, that is in danger because it gets less and less audience, and her love life, in wich she has to choose between to guys. It just another chicklit where everything goes different as planned in the life of the main character, and how she is going to deal with that fact. On the cover Cosmopolitan quotes that ''If you like Sophie Kinsella, you''ll love Jane Costello'' . I think this is comparing apples and eggs: this story missed the sharp and fast plot twists and humor of Sophie Kinsella,. It was an okay in between read for me!

Giveaway;new paperback edition Age Of Desire by Jennie Fields

For fans of The Paris Wife, a sparkling glimpse into the life of Edith Wharton and the scandalous love affair that threatened her closest friendship

They say behind every great man is a woman. Behind Edith Wharton, there was Anna Bahlmann—her governess turned literary secretary, and her mothering, nurturing friend.

When at the age of forty-five, Edith falls passionately in love with a dashing younger journalist, Morton Fullerton, and is at last opened to the world of the sensual, it threatens everything certain in her life but especially her abiding friendship with Anna. As Edith’s marriage crumbles and Anna’s disapproval threatens to shatter their lifelong bond, the women must face the fragility at the heart of all friendships.

Told through the points of view of both women, The Age of Desire takes us on a vivid journey through Wharton’s early Gilded Age world: Paris with its glamorous literary salons and dark secret cafés, the Whartons’ elegant house in Lenox, Massachusetts, and Henry James’s manse in Rye, England.

Edith’s real letters and intimate diary entries are woven throughout the book. The Age of Desire brings to life one of literature’s most beloved writers, whose own story was as complex and nuanced as that of any of the heroines she created


MarjoleinBookBlog and Penguin USA are giving away a copy of the new paperback edition of Age Of Desire! How to win: send an email to marjoleinbookblog at gmail dot com with your name and adress. You can get an extra entry if you share this contest on your blog. (include the link) or if you become a follower of my blog. The contest is open till June 25 and US only.

Appointment in Samarra by John O' Hara

Publisher: Penguin Classics
Release Date:April 30th 2013
Pages:240
Source:Publisher

Appointment in Samarra is the first novel of author John O' Hara, published for the first time in 1934.Set in the fictional Pennsylvania town of Gibbsville, Appointment in Samarra follows the self-destruction of one Julian English, over three days at Christmas, 1930.  A well-to-do man of 30 years, English owns a Cadillac dealership, has a college education, is member of all the best clubs, and is married to Caroline; a woman he loves and a woman that loves him.  But behind the seemingly perfect life, lives a man who is not so happy with his life., Julian breaks with polite society and begins a rapid descent toward self-destruction.

I had no Idea what to expect of this novel, having never heard of it, or it’s author.
While enjoying Appointment in Samarra, I had the feeling I was watching a movie on TCM. I found the storyline nice, but it had also a very depressing side. But, I enjoyed reading every minute of it as I love books and movies set in the 30's.The characters are all totally believable, and the portrait of the social dynamics of small town Pennsylvania in 1930, just at the beginning of the Great Depression, is totally convincing – obviously I have no idea what it was really like, but O’Hara certainly does, and the pettiness and social fronts ring true for the time, and for people in general. And it reads very well – O’Hara certainly could write and seems to have a great ear for conversation, and I think it fully deserves four stars!

The Truth About You And Me by Amanda Grace

Publisher: Flux
Release Date: September 8th 2013
Pages: 264 
Source:Publisher
Age Range: Young Adult

Madelyn Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she's so gifted that she can attend college through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets Bennet. He's cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she's endured - and missed out on - in order to excel academically and please her parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she's falling in love.
There's only one problem. Bennet is Madelyn's college professor, and he thinks she's eighteen - because she hasn't told him the truth.
The story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to Bennet - both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.

I am so glad I picked this book to read! I just loved everything about it: At first, the way it was written. Amanda Grace had Madelyn tell the story of her forbidden love with her professor in letters to him, which Madelyn seems to have written after their romance has ended in, it seems, a tragic way. The story about their secret romance was highly entertaining and just very gripping, it had me hooked till the last page! You just know as a reader that their relationship is doomed, but oh, it was such fun to read!It wasn't hard to sympathize with Madelyn, she is a very real, well-drawn character. She is a typical sixteen year old and that comes out in her obvious immaturity. I didn't buy that the teacher, Bennet, didn't know something was off. And that was another neat part of the whole story. He was pretty immature, too, and he knows that what he is doing is so, so wrong.This book was honest, realistic and beautiful. With that said, it still broke my heart. Beautiful story, well done Amanda Grace!!

Blog tour: How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: April 23rd 2013
Pages: 309
Source: Publisher
Age Range: Young Adult

Grace and Kya have been best friends ever since Grace moved in next door, and absolutely nothing can change that. Even when Kya acts out and seems to only care about herself, Grace is always there to help Kya pick up the pieces of her life. Grace knows Kya is dealing with issues from what had happened to her years before, and she knows Kya needs Grace there for support. How far, though, is Grace willing to let Kya go before finally realizing their friendship may not be as strong and unbreakable as she thought?

How I Lost You is a story about how friendships between teen girls, that seem (and they hope) to last forever, can break slowly. I speak from my own experience that when something big happens, which can be anything, the friendship can go two sides: upwards or downwards. Grace and Kya are always together, they're been friends for years, they've made plans to be together after high school and to be friends forever. But something big and secret hangs over them, weighing one of them down, and the other could be forced to make the hardest decision: to stick with her, even though it could mean being pulled down into her dark world, or to let go and live her life, continuing with her dreams.

My opinion about this book: Overall I thought it was okay, be it not the most orginal, and I found the pace of the story rather slow.It reminded me a bit of a Sarah Dessen novel, as it was somewhat in the same style. The characters  where realistic, I liked the moments when Grace realizes that the friendship between her and Kya is becoming a toxic friendship. I experienced this in my own life a few times and I must say that the author painted a realistic picture of this situation! Altough I didn't find it the most original story, I had a nice few lost hours with this book, and would recommend it to all those who have lost a dear friend of theirs.  
                                              

You Review: Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike

My review of Life After Theft, the new YA novel by New York Times Bestselling Author Aprilynne Pike is now published on the blog of American Book Center for their You Review, program click here to go to their site to read the review!