Top Books I've Read On Recommendation

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Books I've Read on Recommendation.

When I started reading again, I was mostly getting whatever books Holly passed down to me. That being said, I've had some majorly great books recommended to me. These were mostly recommended to me when I first started reading again because once I started blogging my TBR list exploded and most of those are books that I've found on my own or through Goodreads. Regardless, I still have some friends that will throw recommendations my way these days. I just don't always get to them as quickly as I used to.

1. The Key (True Reign, # 1) by Jennifer Anne Davis - Recommended by Holly
2. Unbreakable (Unbreakable, # 1) by Rebecca Shea - Recommended on FB by Colleen Hoover
3. 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker - Recommended by my friend, Kay
4. Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, # 1) by Richelle Mead - Recommended by Holly
5. City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, # 1) by Cassandra Clare - Recommended by Holly
6. Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths, # 1) by KA Tucker - Recommended by Holly
7. The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, # 1) by Suzanne Collins - Recommended by my friend, Lacy
8. Divergent (Divergent, # 1) by Veronica Roth - Recommended by my friend, Lacy
9. V is for Virgin (V is for Virgin, # 1) by Kelly Oram - Recommended by Holly
10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, # 1) by JK Rowling - Recommended by my friend, Lacy
11. Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, # 1) by Becca Fitzpatrick - Recommended by my friend, Paula
12. Twilight (Twilight, # 1) by Stephenie Meyer - Recommended by Holly
13. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, # 1) by Sarah J Maas - Recommended by Holly

What are the best books that you've read based on recommendations? Let me know!

Upon Further Review: Believe Tiny Limits

Upon Further Review is an original feature here at Somewhere Only We Know. I have always loved re-reading my favorite books, and I wanted a way to incorporate re-reading into my blog. Thus From the Ashes and Upon Further Review were born. From the Ashes is where I re-read a book that I have never reviewed before and finally review it. Upon Further Review is where I re-read a book that I've already reviewed and see if my original rating stands or not. This is also the time for me to discuss any new revelations that my latest re-read has brought to my attention.

*So I’ve been in a bit of a reading funk lately, right? October was not a good reading month for me. And so I thought that re-reading some books that I already knew what to expect, how they end, and that I knew I would enjoy would be a great way to motivate me and move me out of my reading slump. (*Disclaimer: I did re-read Ten Tiny Breaths well before the reading slump began, but I just hadn’t typed an Upon Further Review post about it and felt like this was the perfect time to include it.)Here's my original review of Believe, my original review of Ten Tiny Breaths, and my original review of Pushing the Limits.

Believe (True Believers, # 3)

By: Erin McCarthy

Published: January 21st 2014 by InterMix

232 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Robin used to be a party girl… until she got black out drunk and woke up in bed with her best friend's boyfriend. Now she's faced with being THAT girl, and couldn't be more disgusted with herself. She can't even tell her friends the reason for her sudden sobriety and she avoids everyone until she meets Phoenix—quiet, tattooed, and different in every way that's good and oh, so bad…

Phoenix is two days out of jail when he meets Robin at his cousin's house, and he knows that he has no business talking to her, but he's drawn to her quiet demeanor, sweet smile, and artistic talent. She doesn't care that he's done time, or that he only has five bucks to his name, and she supports his goal to be a tattoo artist.

But Phoenix knows Robin has a secret, and that it's a naïve dream to believe that his record won't catch up with them at some point. Though neither is prepared for the explosive result when the past collides with the present…

Believe was my favorite from the True Believers series by Erin McCarthy. I loved the way that Robin’s big secret was beginning to be set up at the end of Sweet. And more than anything, I liked seeing a character make a terrible mistake, feel remorseful, and then work towards making things as right as she could. Trying to be redeemed.

The Robin from before this epic mistake is not a Robin that I would have related to at all. I never was a partier and still don’t even really enjoy being around others who are drinking. So I wouldn’t have been able to connect to her. But I most certainly can relate to someone who makes a big mistake, feels awful about it, and then tries to do what she can to fix it.

Phoenix is the perfect counterpart for Robin. Phoenix has made his fair share of mistakes as well. Being fresh out of jail and all. Yet the reason why he went to jail isn’t even one of the things he would consider a mistake. Either way because Phoenix understands, he’s able to offer Robin what she needs—acceptance and forgiveness. He was an easily likeable leading male for this book.

Upon my re-read, I did focus in on how quickly Robin and Phoenix’s relationship progresses. They’re declaring love for each other and moving forward on a physical level at a ridiculous pace. But you know how things like time don’t always translate on paper. I initially rated this book 4 Stars, and the whole point of my Upon Further Review features is to see if this rating still stands for me or not, and well…it does. Believe deserves every one of those 4 Stars. I mean it has to say something that it hasn’t even been a year since my first read through of this book and I’m already pulling it out for a re-read, right?

Have you read Believe? What did you think? Would you consider re-reading it? Let me know!

Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths, # 1)

By: KA Tucker

Published: December 11th 2012 by Papoti Books

262 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

After picking up In Her Wake, which is Trent’s version of the Ten Tiny Breaths events, I was dying for a re-read of this book. And re-read it I did--in like a day. So essentially, even though In Her Wake is slightly different, I’ve still experienced Trent and Kacey’s story in some form or other THREE times in the last year. I don’t feel like I have anything else to really add to my original reviews of either Ten Tiny Breaths or In Her Wake, except to say that even after experiencing this story as many times as I have, I still feel like Ten Tiny Breaths deserves the 4.5 Stars that I originally gave it. Knowing what I now know about Trent’s perspective, Ten Tiny Breaths was even deeper, and where his motives and actions didn’t make sense before, they do now. I highly recommend this book.

Have you read Ten Tiny Breaths? What did you think? Is it worthy of a re-read for you? Let me know!

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, # 1)

By: Katie McGarry

Published: July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen

384 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--So wrong for each other …and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

So I originally read Pushing the Limits a little over two years ago, right? And I loved it. So much so that I couldn’t even really discuss it at the time in any kind of intelligent way. I only seemed to keep repeating “READ THIS BOOK!” Well I always planned to re-read it, but with blogging and reading books for review sometimes books that I want to read for pleasure get pushed to the side, and that’s doubly true for books that I want to re-read. But since I’ve been in this reading funk, I just really wanted to read a book that I knew what to expect and knew I would love. I didn’t want unpredictable. I didn’t want being able to see any train wrecks yet be powerless to stop them. I just wanted to get pulled into a good book and love every minute of it.

And thank goodness, that is exactly what happened for me during this re-read of Pushing the Limits. Because I was able to relax with the story since I knew what to expect and what was going to happen, I was actually able to appreciate Katie McGarry’s writing style better during this read through. I was able to see that she gives you enough information without spelling things out for you that you can begin to form ideas about the characters without being given their entire backstories up front. I was able to see that just picking one word can change the meaning of a sentence (e.g. the difference between using the word walk/stalk/strut) and the impression that the sentence makes. I was able to see that just a sentence or two of description is all that’s needed for me to paint a picture in my head of the scene surrounding these characters. Brilliant.

I will say that Noah’s marijuana usage was more of an annoyance to me in this read than in the first—and it bothered me in the first read as well. It just seemed like he was constantly talking about it almost. Also, I didn’t pick up on this in my first read through Crash Into You (and I can’t remember who said it in a review that I saw), but yes Isaiah’s drug use was entirely too easily explained away in Crash Into You. Of course, I was paying close attention to that in this read of Pushing the Limits. While Isaiah didn’t seem like the instigator, he definitely didn’t seem like he was as anti- as he tells Rachel in Crash Into You. But for me that’s just a minor annoyance.

I totally forgot that Pushing the Limits brought tears to my eyes the first time I read it until I went back and re-read my original review of it. But I say that it did, so I believe myself! (HA!) And that happened this time too. You’ve got to know that a book is really good if it can make you cry (or almost cry) during a second reading. If the emotion is that raw even when you know how the story ends, then that’s some good writing.

I originally gave Pushing the Limits 5 Stars, and I can uncategorically say that I still agree with that rating. I’m so glad that I was able to re-read it. And it only took me about two days to re-read it as well. That’s how much I was hooked even the second time. Plus Breaking the Rules is coming up in about a month (at the time of writing this review--I've since actually finished it) and I’m dying to get my hands on it. So I’m glad that I was able to get a refresher before picking that one up.

Have you read Pushing the Limits? What did you think? Could you see yourself giving this one a re-read? Let me know!

Also, please tell me you guys got what I did with the title of this blog post!

*My reading slump really went from October through November. December was definitely a better reading month for me. I usually type my reviews as soon as I finish a book, but I'm scheduled ahead on blog posts anywhere from a month to three months out.

In Her Wake - Review

In Her Wake (Ten Tiny Breaths, # 0.5)

By: KA Tucker

Expected Publication: September 1st 2014 by Atria Books

256 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Before you knew him as Trent in Ten Tiny Breaths, he was Cole Reynolds—and he had it all. Until one night when he makes a fatal, wrong decision…and loses everything.

When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy. Normally, he’d be able to lean on his best friends—the ones who have been in his life since he could barely walk. Only, they’re gone. Worse, there’s the shattered body of a sixteen-year-old girl lying somewhere in a hospital bed, her entire life ripped from her because of a case of beer and a set of keys.

Everyone assures him that they know it wasn’t intentional, and yet he can’t ignore the weight of their gazes, the whispers behind his back. Nor can he shake the all-consuming guilt he feels every time he thinks of that girl who won’t so much as allow him near her hospital room to apologize. As the months go by and the shame and loneliness festers, Cole begins to lose his grip on what once was important—college, his girlfriend, his future. His life. It’s not until Cole hits rock-bottom that he can begin to see another way out of his personal hell: forgiveness.

And there’s only one person who can give that to him…

I wasn’t 100% sure what In Her Wake was going to be. I knew it would be from Trent’s POV, but I wasn’t 100% sure if it was pre-Ten Tiny Breaths or more of a retelling of Ten Tiny Breaths or a mixture of both. In Her Wake is a true prequel. This is Trent, where he was and what he went through, from slightly before the car accident until he follows Kacey to Miami. And honestly, I really appreciated that. I like for a book to be what it’s advertised to be.

In Her Wake isn’t a happy book though. As we know from Ten Tiny Breaths, Trent and Kacey are both involved in the same car crash. They’re both also the sole survivors from the vehicles they were in. Trent and his friends were drinking at a college party. Trent was supposed to be the designated driver, but he ended up drinking that night. He didn’t get behind the wheel, but he did let his best friend Sasha behind the wheel impaired. Granted, Trent wasn’t aware of how impaired Sasha was. Kacey was in the car on her way home from a rugby game with her parents, her best friend Jenny, and her boyfriend Billy. So I went into In Her Wake knowing that the accident was coming and knowing some of Trent’s actions that follow the accident. But what I didn’t really expect or prepare for was how deeply sad Trent’s story would be. It’s so easy to judge from afar. To see people’s mistakes and judge them—condemn them for it—especially if we’re collateral damage and hurt in the process. What I’ve learned from reading books that show both characters’ POVs is that I’m a lot more lenient with a character if I can see inside their head. In this case, Trent is so deeply broken after the accident. He feels so much guilt. It will never bring back those who didn’t survive the accident, but it also doesn’t make him less than human. He is still a person who is struggling and needs forgiveness.

Man, I feel like these characters are real. I feel like this is a story that’s happened in real life. I know that there are people out there who have experienced very similar events in their own lives. And it’s a testament to KA Tucker and her writing that it does feel so real to me. One of the best compliments that I can give to In Her Wake is that it planted within me the desire to re-read Ten Tiny Breaths so much that I have actually done just that. I’ve neglected all my reading responsibilities, and the backlog of other review books that I desperately need to get to, in order to re-read a book I’ve already experienced (and loved). I’m a re-reader anyway—when I can find the time—but In Her Wake made me decide to MAKE time.

I will say, that even though Trent came off a bit unhinged and cuckoo in Ten Tiny Breaths when Kacey found out who he was, In Her Wake probably didn’t help that any. I had no idea how much stalking Trent actually did. Seriously. I mean I’m not sure I can blame him—being obsessed with trying to make the life better of the one person who you had a hand in taking everything from--but he crossed some major creep boundaries lines. I can see where readers who struggle with this type of male character will not respond to this well at all. BUT, that didn’t bother me really.

In Her Wake gets 4.5 Stars from me. I didn’t all out cry, but I got a little misty-eyed. I don’t think In Her Wake was quite as good as Ten Tiny Breaths, but since I’m doing a re-read, I’ll be able to report back on that in more detail later. I’m also not sure why In Her Wake was classified as a novella since it’s around the same length as Tin Tiny Breaths. Have you read In Her Wake? What did you think? Let me know!

Five Ways to Fall - Review

Five Ways to Fall (Ten Tiny Breaths, # 4)

By: KA Tucker

Expected Publication: June 24th 2014 by Atria Books

256 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Purple-haired, sharp-tongued Reese MacKay knows all about making the wrong choice; she’s made plenty of them in her twenty-odd-years. So when her impulsive, short-lived marriage ends in heartbreak, she decides it’s time for a change. She moves to Miami with the intention of hitting reset on her irresponsible life, and she does quite well…aside from an epically humiliating one-night stand in Cancun with a hot blond bouncer named Ben. Thank God she can get on a plane and leave that mistake behind her.

Football scholarship and frat parties with hot chicks? Part of charmer Ben Morris’s plan. Blown knee that kills any hope of a professional football career? So not part of the plan. Luckily Ben has brains to go with his knockout looks and magnetism. After three long years of balancing law school with his job as a bouncer at Penny’s Palace, he’s ready to lead a more mature life—until his first day of work, when he finds himself in the office of that crazy, hot chick he met in Cancun. The one he hasn’t stopped thinking about.

If Ben truly were a smart guy, he’d stay clear of Reese. She’s the boss’s stepdaughter and it’s been made very clear that office romances are grounds for dismissal. Plus, rumor has it she’s trouble. The only problem is, he likes trouble, especially when it’s so good-looking…

Nash (which I haven't reviewed yet) was the perfect book for me to help with my reading slump a while back. But after I finished it…well…it was over. I needed something else along the same lines. I literally got approved for Five Ways to Fall the next day after finishing Nash, and Five Ways to Fall was the perfect book for me to follow up with. I have to say that when I read the description for Five Ways to Fall I wasn’t excited about reading about Reese’s recently dissolved marriage. Too many marriages end in divorce, it’s really sad. But KA Tucker did the same thing to me in One Tiny Lie. She took a topic that I don’t typically enjoy reading about and wrote it in such a way that I couldn’t complain. That’s what she does. I should have known better.

Reese is sassy. She’s snarky. She doesn’t play by the rules. She’s always marched to the beat of her own drummer. She has multiple piercings, tattoos. She rides motorcycles and has a knack for getting caught red-handed (for people who have read Five Ways to Fall--see what I did there?). She loves passionately and hates just as well. So it’s no surprise that she gets married quickly, loves him passionately, and is devastated when the marriage ends abruptly. It’s also no surprise that she’s bitter and wouldn’t mind to see her ex-husband suffer just a little of the same pain that he’s caused her. At the same time, she’s pretty much given up on the idea of men and dating.

Ben, we know really well from all of the previous books. He’s a player, and he’s never tried to hide it. He’s completely upfront with Reese about wanting a good time and a good time only. No strings. No commitments. No feelings. Reese has no issues with that because she wants the same thing. And they slowly become friends. Despite the tension and obvious attraction between them, any attempts at more than friend-zone appropriate behavior is essentially spoiled time and time again. I loved this. To be so open to a lack of commitment, Ben and Reese’s relationship built so slowly. The slow build up made their relationship all the more believable. I would never have bought their relationship--considering the backgrounds of both--if they had come on hot and heavy from the very beginning.

Both Reese and Ben have some major background baggage. Reese’s father dropped her off at a diner when she was little and her mother has tried to change her into what she wants her to be all the while bouncing from marriage to marriage trying to climb the social ladder. Ben’s father has been an alcoholic for a long time--cheating on Ben’s mother and neglecting his family. These two had a lot to overcome and it’s no wonder they both have commitment issues with these parents as their only examples of what committed and “healthy” marriages should look like. Five Ways to Fall was not what I was expecting it to be, but that’s completely a good thing. It was better and more than I was expecting. Despite KA Tucker’s three previous books as proof that she wouldn’t steer me wrong, I somehow doubted. I’m not a doubter anymore and I can’t wait to read more by her. Unfortunately, Five Ways to Fall is the last planned book in the Ten Tiny Breaths series. I seriously hate that because I want more KA Tucker, but also because with each book she’s introduced other characters that I would like to know more about. She could keep writing in this series for eternity and I would be happy.

Like Ten Tiny Breaths, Five Ways to Fall was one of the least graphic books I’ve read in the new adult genre. One Tiny Lie and Four Seconds to Lose I remember being a bit more graphic, but I was impressed with Ten Tiny Breaths and Five Ways to Fall. I have a lower graphic tolerance than some so this was a bonus for me.

My favorite quotes:

I’m going to puke. I’m going to puke doing a facedown starfish if I don’t get up right now.

Mr. Cuervo and I—and all his Mexican cousins—are no longer on speaking terms.

“All out of the kindness of your heart?”
“Definitely for an organ of mine,”…

“Have you always loved yourself this much?”
“I had an awkward year in ‘ninety-nine, but I got over it quick,”…

Five Ways to Fall gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read Five Ways to Fall? What did you think? Let me know!

Waiting on Five Ways to Fall

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Five Ways to Fall (Ten Tiny Breaths, # 4)

By: KA Tucker

Expected Publication: June 24th 2014 by Atria Books

256 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

( Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Purple-haired, sharp-tongued Reese MacKay knows all about making the wrong choice; she’s made plenty of them in her twenty-odd-years. So when her impulsive, short-lived marriage ends in heartbreak, she decides it’s time for a change. She moves to Miami with the intention of hitting reset on her irresponsible life, and she does quite well…aside from an epically humiliating one-night stand in Cancun with a hot blond bouncer named Ben. Thank God she can get on a plane and leave that mistake behind her.

Football scholarship and frat parties with hot chicks? Part of charmer Ben Morris’s plan. Blown knee that kills any hope of a professional football career? So not part of the plan. Luckily Ben has brains to go with his knockout looks and magnetism. After three long years of balancing law school with his job as a bouncer at Penny’s Palace, he’s ready to lead a more mature life—until his first day of work, when he finds himself in the office of that crazy, hot chick he met in Cancun. The one he hasn’t stopped thinking about.

If Ben truly were a smart guy, he’d stay clear of Reese. She’s the boss’s stepdaughter and it’s been made very clear that office romances are grounds for dismissal. Plus, rumor has it she’s trouble. The only problem is, he likes trouble, especially when it’s so good-looking…

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Top Ten Books I'd Recommend to My Sister

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Books I'd Recommend to My Sister.

So my sister is a reader, but we're not typically on the same page with genre. She's a big fan of James Patterson, Mary Higgins Clark, Nicholas Sparks, etc. She leans more toward adult books than young adult, and she hates all things paranormal, dystopian, or post-apocalyptic, which rules out 60-70% of the books that I read. SO, if I could recommend 10 some (because I know I can't stick to ten) books to my sister to read so that we could have some books in common to talk about, I'd recommend the following (all contemporary reads because I'm not going to recommend something I know she'll hate):

1) Slammed by Colleen Hoover - Because Colleen Hoover rocks!

2) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Great book!

3) Hopeless by Colleen Hoover - See reason for number 1!

4) The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen - I think Jessica Sorsensen is a perfect author for my sister.

5) The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen - See number 4!

6) Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen - See number 4 again! (review coming soon)

7) The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay - One of my favorite reads from last year!

8) Ten Tiny Breaths by KA Tucker - Really digging this series so far.

9) Rule by Jay Crownover - Just because this series is about tattooed guys. What's not to love?

10) Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry - One of my favorites from last year and book 3 is a favorite from this year.

11) Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham - Because she loves Lauren Graham as much as I do, and because this is actually similar to something I think she would read normally.

12) If I Stay by Gayle Forman - Great book. Also a favorite from this year.

13) Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles Just because.

14) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - Another favorite from this year. (review coming soon)

15) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - This one might be a stretch, but I really enjoyed it.

What books would you recommend to my sister based off what I said above and my recommendations? Let me know!

One Tiny Lie - Review

One Tiny Lie (Ten Tiny Breaths, # 2)

By: KA Tucker

Published: June 11th 2013 by Atria Books

336 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.

Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant [jerk] who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?

As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows.

I'm horrible about not reading the description of a book before I jump in and start reading it. I do this on purpose. I don't want to know too much information before I start reading because I want my experience of the book to be as authentic as possible. But that causes me to miss sometimes crucial information. In this case, I thought One Tiny Lie was following Kacey's story from Ten Tiny Breaths. So needless to say, I started out a bit confused, though it didn't take long to figure out that One Tiny Lie was about Livie instead of Kacey.

I always found myself relating to Livie while reading Ten Tiny Breaths. Though she doesn't have a huge role in that book, it was obvious that she's the sister who keeps it together while the other one falls apart. I just see myself being the same way. People can fall apart around me, but I have to keep it together. Obviously, that doesn't mean I'm better than them, it just means we respond differently. Livie's way of coping is only slightly more healthy than Kacey's, but it still needs tweaking.

Can I just say that I love Dr. Stayner! If he were a real psychiatrists, I think I'd sign up to do some therapy with him immediately. Great character. But let's get back to Livie.

Livie's made it to Princeton. Her father, who as we know from Ten Tiny Breaths died in a car accident, also went to Princeton. She's got a plan to make her Daddy proud and follow in his footsteps and this path that they dreamed up when she was younger. Straying from that path is not an option, but that's exactly what Dr. Stayner pushes her to do. Try new things. Meet new people. Find out what she really wants out of live. Find herself.

Livie meets Ashton early in the book, and he's everything that she needs to stay away from. Yet he brings out emotion and passion out of her like no one else can. There's one problem...Ashton isn't single. While the very idea of cheating has me running for the hills and most relationships are "complicated," KA Tucker explored this concept in a way that didn't leave me feeling like vomiting. That doesn't mean I approve of some of the behavior between Livie and Ashton. I wanted to smack them both at different points throughout the story.

While there were some aspects I didn't love, the cheating and some cliches with Ashton's character, KA Tucker handled these in such a way that didn't have my rolling my eyes every two seconds or wanting to throw the book across the room. As a matter of fact, I really couldn't put it down. I was supposed to be participating in a paranormal read-a-thon (Fraterfest) when I started and finished One Tiny Lie, but I just had to read this book.

One Tiny Lie easily gets 4 stars from me. Have you read One Tiny Lie? What did you think? Let me know!

Ten Tiny Breaths - Review

Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths, # 1)

By: KA Tucker

Published: December 11th 2012 by Papoti Books

262 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

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Goodreads description--Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

I picked up Ten Tiny Breaths because my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love, who has very similar reading tastes to my own gave this one 5 stars. So yeah...there was no question about whether or not I was going to read this one.

There are some parts about Ten Tiny Breaths that weren't completely original. We've got the character with the tragic past. Kacey was in a car accident with a drunk driver that killed her parents, her boyfriend, her best friend, and the drunk driver of the other vehicle. The only survivors were Kacey and a passenger from the other vehicle. Kacey and her younger sister Livie then move in with their aunt and uncle, but eventually the need for them to leave arises and so they do. Kacey's background wasn't new territory, but old territory isn't always bad if it's done well. And that's basically what I felt about Ten Tiny Breaths--anything that could be considered a cliche just didn't bother me as much as normal because it was so well done.

Because Kacey was actually involved in the accident and witnessed it all, she's a little more screwed up in the head than her younger sister Livie. Kacey's attempted to cope using drugs and sex in the past, but Livie has begged her to quit such behavior. Livie is terrified of losing Kacey too. And while being the younger sister, sometimes Livie is the one that seems like she's got her head on straight and is taking care of Kacey. Kacey has transferred her coping from those past attempts into kickboxing. This has been two fold. It's a way for Kacey to take out her anger on the bag, and it allows her to keep her body, once mangled from the accident, in tip top shape. Other than being a complete nut case (not really), Kacey's a really strong character. And what I love most about her, is even though she might get angry about some stupid things, she's quicker to forgive than she realizes.

Trent is hot. There were moments when he doesn't quite make sense to me, but I wonder how much of that is because of his own past that's not really revealed until closer to the end of the book. Although, the further I got into the story, the more predictable his secrets were.

Also, I feel like this is worth mentioning: while Ten Tiny Breaths does qualify for the New Adult genre, it was much less graphic than others that I've read--which is a huge plus for me. If you're a little wary of this genre, I recommend this one as either an introductory read or just as one that goes just a bit further than YA.

Ten Tiny Breaths wraps up on the pretty side, and maybe just a little too nice to be believable. However, I think this is the ending that any reader would hope for. I couldn't put Ten Tiny Breaths down. And despite being signed up for a read-a-thon that focuses on paranormal creatures, I MUST read the sequel, which focuses on Kacey's younger sister Livie, next.

I'm easily giving Ten Tiny Breaths 4.5 Stars. Have you read Ten Tiny Breaths? What did you think? Let me know.

P.S. I think this is a great cover for this story as well. Very fitting IMO.