Seven Weeks to Forever by Jennifer Farwell

As apparently I am still living let’s begin!

Title: Seven Weeks to Forever

Author: Jennifer Farwell

Publisher: Booktrope

Publication Date: January 8, 2015

Genre: Young Adult

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N

Synopsis:

Cassidy Jordan knows she’ll die a few weeks after her eighteenth birthday, and she can’t wait. This is her second time here, and she knows what’s waiting for her in The Life-After–the place most mistakenly call “the afterlife.” Getting back there is supposed to be easy: she just has to find nineteen-year-old Riley Davis and help him get his life on track. By the time she finds him, though, she has only seven weeks to help him. Riley will die too young if she fails, and she’ll never see The Life-After or this life again.

But no one told her helping Riley would mean dating him; she hasn’t dated anyone since the love of her first life caused her death the last time she turned eighteen. When Cassidy realizes she’s falling for Riley, she’s faced with a choice: give him the life he’s meant for and leave when it’s time, or give up eternity for the true love she’s never had, knowing Riley will die the same way she did in her first life and that her entire existence could end at any time.

Opinion:

When I first stumbled upon this book I was kind of iffy about as I only knew the synopsis but reading some of the excerpts (specifically the one below) made me really want to get into it. You can trust that I will be picking up this book when I get the chance and probably enjoy reading it. Jennifer Farwell has given us promises of star-crossed lovers and choices that are hard to make that any reader who loves romance is bound to enjoy.

Excerpt:

I take a few breaths, trying to clear my mind. We walk for three blocks in silence before I get my bearings and finally find my voice.

“Thank you,” I tell him. I swear I hear him snort.

“Yeah, no problem.” He sounds put-out and doesn’t even try to hide it. If he recognizes me from the concert last night, his face doesn’t show it.

We walk a few more steps, then he stops so abruptly that I almost plow into him. He drops my hand.

“Do your parents know you’re out roaming the city in the middle of the night?”

His jaw is set, and I’m pretty sure that’s irritation I see on his face. Well, that’s interesting. I wonder if getting mad at strangers is something he does a lot.

“My parents died when I was six.” I regret my words the instant they leave my mouth. Surprise replaces the irritation in his eyes, and then I see exactly what I didn’t want to see. He’s uncomfortable now. Talking about death seems to do that to people. Discomfort isn’t exactly what I was going for, but maybe I shouldn’t care. It’s better than being lectured.

“I’m sorry.” His eyes drop to the sidewalk and stay there.

“Don’t be.” I start walking again.

“Do you make a habit of walking alone down dark streets at night, this close to bars and people drunk out of their minds?” he calls after me.

Oh, joy. Here we go again.

I stop and turn around. He sounds angry, and a quick check of his energy shows me little red sparks shooting everywhere. Yup, that’s definitely the color of anger.

“I got to town a week ago. What am I supposed to do, leave a breadcrumb trail to my house and stay there until new friends magically show up at my door?” I stop talking when something occurs to me. He’s out here alone, too. I put my hands on my hips and glare at him. “Why are you giving me a hard time, anyway? I don’t see you working the buddy system for safety.”

He narrows his eyes. It’s completely the wrong time for me to notice that they’re this incredible shade of deep brown, lit up with little golden flecks here and there. I didn’t notice his eyes last night, but they sure have my attention now.

Stop staring, I tell myself. Easier thought than done.

“I’m a little bigger than you,” he tells me. I still can’t tear my gaze away from him and I think he’s noticed, because he’s staring right back. I feel warmth run through me and am about to check my energy when I realize energy has nothing to do with it. The heat is in my cheeks. Curse him, I’m blushing.

AUTHOR BIO:

Jennifer Farwell has been writing since the day she picked up a navy blue Crayola as a toddler and began scribbling on her parents' freshly painted white walls. She's the author of SEVEN WEEKS TO FOREVER and ROCK STAR'S GIRL. When not writing novels, she can often be found at a Kundalini yoga class, cheering on the L.A. Kings during hockey season, or curled up with a good book. Her love of storytelling led to completing a Bachelor of Journalism degree and a Master of Arts degree in English, both from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. She grew up in Thunder Bay, Canada, and now lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Pico.

Find Jennifer!

Website: http://jenniferfarwell.com

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Twitter: @jennfarwell

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Tsu: http://tsu.co/JenniferFarwell

Tumblr: http://jennfarwell.tumblr.com

Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/jenniferfarwell

Born at Midnight by: C.C. Hunter

Title:  Born at Midnight
Author:  C.C. Hunter
Genre:  Romance, Paranormal/Supernatural, Mystery, YA/Teen
Age:  13+
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Summary:  (Taken from the Goodreads Website)

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…  

Reaction:

Ahhh, finals are over and there is more time to read, can life get any better?  This is the epitome of a perfect, light, summer read.  Heck, this book is set at a summer camp for supernaturals!  I finished this book in a day and I loved every minute of it!  It was funny, mysterious, romantic, and fantastical!  I've been wanting to read this series for a long time and finally Cait gave me the second book, so I thought it was about time to start reading this series.  I went out and got the first book and now here we are.  I seriously loved this book...okay, enough ranting and onto the characters.

Characters:

Kylie Galen:
I've read multiple reviews where it has been said that Kylie is a whiner and that nothing gets done in the book, but I beg to differ.  Kylie is going through difficult times and she reacts about the same as every other teen would:  she becomes cold, angry, and distant.  She blames people and gets angry.  I don't blame her!  Kylie is also strong mentally and even though she isn't exactly "accepting" of new ideas she has enough of an open mind to entertain supernatural possibilities.  But, the thing that I liked best about Kylie was the fact that she was a very good friend to pretty much everybody and she is very forgiving.

Derek and Lucas:
They were both awesome!  Can Kylie end up with both of them?  Is that even possible?  Derek is very kind and respects Kylie's wishes about staying just friends, which is really rare in male leads which makes me like Derek even more!  Lucas is very mysterious and shares a past with Kylie, he is sort-of brooding and more of a bad boy type, but he is actually very kind and is never mean to Kylie!  I also thought Lucas was awesome!  Urg!  Why do they both have to be so kind and perfect!  Sheesh, C.C. Hunter please don't make me choose! 

Miranda and Della:
Can anyone ask for better friends?  I absolutely loved Miranda and Della!  They were the best friends that Kylie could ever ask for and they even set aside their differences to keep Kylie happy and even ended up friends in the end.  I hope in future books that there are no big tiffs in this friendship, because that would make me very sad :(

Holiday:
Holiday runs the Shadow Falls Camp, and even though Kylie doesn't trust her right away they end up becoming very close friends.  Holiday is only a bit older then Kylie and they have a lot in common.  Like most other characters in this story, Holiday is very kind and tries her best to help Kylie find out who she is and help her feel at home!  Please, please, please let nothing happen to Holiday, she is my favorite character!

Overall:

I love, love, loved this book!  I can't imagine a cuter, funnier book to read at the beginning of the summer!  Some people say that there is a big cliffhanger at the end of this book, but I didn't think that, that was the case.  Personally, I thought the book wrapped up rather nicely and I'm very excited to get into the next book in the series!  I recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal, romantic, or funny reads.

Listening to the Wicked soundtrack on repeat -Terantum

Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman

Was I expecting a happy ending? Because if I was then I screwed up, majorly… And there goes my happiness for the rest of the week.

Synopsis: Watch what you say because you never know when your offhand comment can ruin someone's life but never ever try to do it on purpose; the consequences would not be fun at all. The last thing Lara needed in her life was Christian, a pretty boy with seemingly nice words until he shows his true colors… all on her Facebook wall for the world to see. When she decides the do the worst thing imaginable and try to take her life the world around her, and the people in it, start to take a nosedive straight into the pavement.

Opinion:

I found exactly TWO people in the book that I actually liked. TWO! And it wasn’t the main character. To add to that the 8th grader was smarter than every. Single. Adult. In. This. Book. The book basically summed up to this: girl gets jealous of other girl, other girl is just minding her own business, original girl is going to get revenge and cyberbully her with the help of her mom, other girl almosts commits suicide. That is the ENTIRE plot of the book and that’s all you need to know.

Please, PLEASE, let me make a suggestion. If you want to read a good book go elsewhere there are millions of other you can get emotionally invested in and not want to burn by the end of it just not this one.

Wait what!? Yeah, I said that and I meant it.

I disliked this book so much I decided to make a list of books you can check out instead of this book:

Paper Towns by John Green (DFTBA for the win!)

Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy (Wonderful book about an Afghan girl and learning)

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars… it was terrible....

Finally back after a 20 day break due to the most chaotic end of year stuff! Cait out!

Omni by Andrea Murray

Spend anytime here at SweetEnd and it won’t be hard to tell that we are AVID fans of Sci-Fi and fantasy. No surprise there, who doesn’t enjoy those genres? Well this time I bring you an amazing book, Omni by Andrea Murray, a sci-fi, dystopian novel sure to knock your socks off and cause to either get up and applaud for characters or for it to become the biggest book worm that becomes stuck in your head since Hunger Games.

Without further ado let’s get the analyzing to begin:

Title: Omni (Book 1 of the Omni Duology)

Author: Andrea Murray

Publisher: Booktrope

Publication Date: April 28, 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi

      Amazon ~ Barnes & Nobles ~ iTunes ~ Goodreads

Synopsis: They will risk everything, even challenging the all-seeing eye of the Omni government. But will the prize be worth the cost?

Seventeen-year-old Pierce is a Drudge, the lowest social stratum in society.  For over two years, he’s hoped—prayed—that his upcoming aptitude test will finally free him from his virtual slavery and give him a chance at a better existence.  When he rescues Harmony, an Artist and member of the most successful stratum, his life takes an unbelievable twist.

With his gallant act and good looks, he becomes a media sensation.  Every stratum in society seeks his membership for their publicity, but as he becomes closer to Harmony, Pierce realizes what fame in Omni is truly like. His choices will not only affect him but Harmony as well. The life Pierce thought he wanted may not be worth the cost to either of them.

(Taken from the actual description of the book so you know it’s legit. :) )

Opinion:

You’re here for honesty so here’s my take on this book: at time I felt like the book was very rushed and didn’t allow time to the reader to actually take a breath and calm down making it a binge-readers best best, but despite that you can tell early on that Andrea Murray, the wonderful author of this book, is a master at character development and within a few pages of just meeting a character you can a real tell of what that character is like without having to play the guessing game. You should also know that Omni is a modern/futuristic retelling of the relationship of Helen of Troy and Paris (trust me, Paris is a wonderful guy who in this story is known as Pierce.)

I was inthralled with this book from beginning to end because frankly the plot is so interesting; a boy who has everything to lose saves a complete stranger from a really abusive guy and gets rewarded for his kindness but frankly people are dicks, and it isn’t long before people start to beat and threaten him over this. Pierce is what I would imagine to be perfect guy, that he has no second thoughts about sacrificing his happiness so others can be happy. He’s pretty amazing that way. Now I would tell you more but I feel like I would just ruin this precious jewel of a book so trust me on this and get your hands on this book immediately. If you're anything like me you will love it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Credits:

For some hilarious book reviews you should check out http://sweetendbook.blogspot.com/

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A Cold Legacy by: Megan Shepherd

Title:  A Cold Legacy
Author:  Megan Shepherd
Genre:  Horror, Thriller, Retellings, Romance, YA/Teen
Age:  13+
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Summary:

(no summary due to spoilers)

Reaction:

I've waited so, so long for this book that I nearly popped a vein when my brother picked it up for me at his school library.  Thanks baby bro for that, by the way!  Anyways...I thought this was a really good end to the series.  There were no cliffhangers and I was satisfied about what happened to Juliet and her "band of misfits" (because, let's be honest, that's pretty much what they are)  There was a lot of death, but this book didn't have as much gore as the other books in this series.  I really liked the retelling of Frankenstein and thought Megan Shepherd really stayed true to the original tale, but while making it her own story at the same time.  Seriously, please pick up this series if you haven't already (I've reviewed the other books in the series as well, if you want to go check them out).

Characters:

(I'm not going to talk about individual characters due to spoilers, read the series if you want to find out more)

All these characters went through some serious character growth!  Especially Juliet and Lucy. 

Overall:

This book was fantastic!  Pick it up, read it, cry over it, repeat.  If you are still alive and breathing, I don't know why you haven't read this series yet!

And that's the end -Terantum

Zodiac by Romina Russell

On a scale of 1 to 10 how willing are you to cry your eyes out? Keep in mind one means no crying whatsoever, you don’t believe in emotions, and ten means give me a sob story and I’ll take it like a crying babe. If you said 5 or more then stay tuned and seriously consider this book if you want your eyes to water.

Synopsis:

A long time ago the 12 Zodiac signs were united and at peace. Together the 12 houses protected the universe. That was until the 13th house came along and played with that trust and broke it; now no one can trust anyone else besides their own house. That is until Rhoma Grace comes along and is named the next Guardian of Cancer despite her idea of self worth of this position. War is coming, beware the 13th sign.

Opinion:

For months I’ve had all my friends raving to me about how cool this book was and that I should read it, mind you at the time we originally had an ARC for it through our school library, and I never took the time to actually grab it and read it. I actually regret not reading this book sooner. Its so cool and I can guarantee you will enjoy it. It puts you through so much emotional trauma but the end is so satisfying that you could be happy just reading it as a standalone, not that I suggest it because you got plot to finish! It also deals with a pesky love triangle and solves that issue by the end instead of having to wait a few books.

The best thing about this book though was Rhoma Grace. She’s like every other teenager out there, she doesn’t think she is as amazing and worthy as she truly is, and for that I commend the author for not romanticizing that about teenagers or for people in general. Everything in the story seemed genuine and actually considered, not just added to be cool, but had a purpose.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars. If you want a genuine book that means something PICK THIS BOOK UP AND ADD IT TO YOUR TBR LIST!!!.

Credits:

For some hilarious book reviews you should check out http://sweetendbook.blogspot.com/

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by: Sarah J. Maas

Title:  A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author:  Sarah J. Maas
Genre:  New Adult/YA/Teen, Romance, Fantasy, Retellings
Age:  15+
Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

Summary: 

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.  (Taken from the Goodreads website)

Reaction:

Before we start this thing I need to give my appreciation for two things:  #1 the beautiful cover of this book, which so happens to perfectly represent what happens.  #2  how amazing of a writer Sarah J.  Maas is.  I am not even exaggerating when I say that she is my second favorite author of all time (the first being J.K. Rowling, duh)  I've read everything Sarah J. Maas has published and all of it is fantastic!  Now, let's begin...THIS BOOK WAS SO AMAZING, GO OUT AND READ IT NOW!!!!!!!!!  Sorry, *cough, cough*, I overreacted there for a second.  This book is just that good.  The romance, action, and fantasy are just so on point!  And the retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" is both original and beautifully done without being overbearing.  Now, onto the characters.

Characters:

Feyre:
Sarah J. Maas always writes the best strong willed, kick-butt heroines.  Feyre is not afraid to stand up for herself and for what is right.  She also isn't a whiner; she always puts herself last and her friends and family first.  Can I please just meet Feyre?  She is just so cool.

Tamlin:
Swoon!  I love you Tamlin!  Tamlin is also a strong character who knows what's right and what's wrong.  He has lived a long time (a hard long life) and doesn't let that influence his actions.  He is flawed, but...it just makes him a more perfect character.  Tamlin and Feyre's relationship is not insta-love, but develops over time and over trust.  I just love these characters!

Overall:

Why haven't you read this yet?  Please go to your local bookstore or library and pick this up.  If you are interested in strong heroines, romance, fantasy, or retellings, I guarantee that you will love this book.  I seriously just don't have any words for how good this book is, so you're just going to have to go by instinct and by my ranting. 

17 days of school left  -Terantum