In My Mailbox (64)

In My Mailbox
IMM is a weekly meme hosted and created by Kristie at The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

Won from Bookmac
~ARC of Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman

Won from The Bookologist
~Signed! Delcroix Academy by Inara Scott

Bookmooch
~The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper
~The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler and bookmark

Late Birthday Present from Aunt, Uncle and Cousin
~Arkansas Razorbacks hoodie (My cousin Chip goes there.)
~Wallet
~Chocolate covered Pecans

~~~~~~~~~~

So that's everything in my mailbox for this week. Sorry I didn't do a vlog but I had the SAT early this morning and literally got no sleep whatsoever prior. I just laid in bed awake for hours on end trying to sleep and then freaked when I saw I had to get up. Despite that, I feel like I did fairly well on the test. Needless to say, I collapsed in bed as soon as I got home and took a very loooong nap so no time for vlog. Will try and do one next week though, promise. Hope you all got some great goodies in your mail this week. :D

Review: Chasing Brooklyn

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub. Date: January 5th, 2010
Pages: 412
Age Level: 14+
Source: Won

Synopsis via Goodreads
Restless souls and empty hearts

Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.

Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca's ghost begins leaving messages, telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.

As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.

Review
Chasing Brooklyn is the latest masterpiece keenly crafted by the talented Lisa Schroeder. Tender and chilling, this story is filled with raw and genuine emotion that will tug at your heartstrings relentlessly.

Both Brooklyn and Nico were very lovable characters that I felt equally connected to. Each of them are dealing with the same losses but in different ways and I liked seeing the situation presented through two different perspectives. Brooklyn was in love with Lucca and is still trying to get past the loss. When Gabe dies, she feels a sense of guilt because of a promise they had made to each other after Lucca's death to be there for each other. For Nico, Lucca was the favorite son, the perfect one. While he loved his brother and misses him, a part of him is also angry at being the one left behind in his brother's shadow. He is also dealing with anger towards Gabe for not being able to pull through. While, at times, understandably confusing for Brooklyn and Nico, there relationship grows and they realize just how much better off they are having the other there for them. I found there relationship and the growth of it to be very authentic and I got to say, I just adored Nico! *swoon* He was so sweet and considerate, as well as strong and supportive. Gabe and Lucca's roles as the haunters was very eerily depicted and satisfyingly weaved into the story, helping make Chasing Brooklyn all the more riveting.

Chasing Brooklyn was a fast, but well paced story, not to mention haunting and poignant. Something I really loved about Chasing Brooklyn was how much longer it is compared to Far From You and I Heart You, You Haunt Me as I felt I really wanted more from the others, despite still enjoying them. Because of it's longer length, I was able to indulge in it and connect to the story and characters more than ever. Another aspect I liked was how Chasing Brooklyn subtly tied to I Heart You, You Haunt Me, which I recently finished before starting this.

Schroeder's writing was just as impressively fluid and captivating as ever before. I positively relished getting to have the alternating perspectives with this one.

The ending was so lovely and perfect for this book. You could really see, by the end, how far Brooklyn and Nico had come since the beginning.

All in all, Chasing Brooklyn was a powerful and amazing read! I could not help getting pulled down deep into Brooklyn and Nico's lives and, I confess, I didn't even want to come up for air. Honestly, this is definitely my favorite of Schroeder's books so far and I would highly recommend it as well as the others. I am looking forward to Schroeder's next book and to re-reading this one in the future.

Grade
Characters: A-
Writing: A
Plot: A-
Ending: A
Enjoyment/Likability: A-
Recommendable: A+

Overall: A

Cover: A-

Noteworthy Passages: Kiss in the Dark

Kiss in the Dark by Lauren Henderson
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pub. Date: April 13th, 2010
Pages: 247
Series: Scarlett Wakefield, #3
Age Level: 14+
Source: Bought

Synopsis via Goodreads
With Dan McAndrews's murder finally behind her, Scarlett has high hopes for a fresh start at Wakefield Hall Collegiate, the elite English boarding school her grandmother runs. Unfortunately, those hopes are dashed when her nemesis, the infamous Plum Saybourne, is transferred to the school. Plum wastes no time turning Scarlett’s impressionable classmates against her.

Scarlett has dealt with Plum’s nasty schemes before, and she can handle her archenemy very nicely, thank you—until Plum sets her sights on Scarlett’s best friend, Taylor, and new boyfriend, Jase. Then Scarlett is more than willing to fight for what’s rightfully hers.

Things only get worse after Scarlett becomes entangled in a mysterious death on campus. Scarlett is compelled to investigate because she wants to protect someone close to her. She never imagines that she’ll uncover secrets related to her parents’ fatal accident so many years ago. . . .

Noteworthy Passages

Scarlett, Taylor, and Jase; pg. 103
"It's an hour before last-lesson bell," I say. "She can't get back here till then."
"Oh yeah?" Taylor says grimly. "What is she hasn't got a class scheduled, and your grandma tells her what happened to her niece, and she decides to come back here and check that we're not drinking her booze and photographing the penguins doing freaky stuff to each other?"
"Penguins?" Jase mutters in disbelief. He looks into the living room. "Blimey," he says, taking in the scene. "Hardcore."

Scarlett and Jase; pg. 115
"She just keeps digging till she gets to you," I mumble furiously. "I didn't really want to hit her, but she was going to slap me first and--"
"It's okay, Scarlett. I don't think you're some sort of violent psycho, I promise," he says hugging me. "My dad used to say all kinds of stuff, but that girl could make a nun so angry she'd brain her with a crucifix."

~~~~~~~~~~~

I found both of these passages absolutely hilarious and hope ya'll were able to get a laugh out of them as well. If you'd like to know more on my thoughts regarding this serious, I have included links to my review of Kiss in the Dark and the two books before it. All of which should be SPOILER FREE.

Review: Kiss Me, Kill Me (Book #1)
Review: Kisses and Lies (Book #2)
Review: Kiss in the Dark (Book #3)

As always, thanks for stopping by and remember, your comments are greatly appreciated. :D








PLEASE NOTE: This is a feature hosted here at my blog in which I present you with selected passages or quotes that I deem Noteworthy from a book I've just reviewed. My hopes are of course, that these passages will make you want to pick the book up and read it. This feature was started and created by me in January in hopes of making my blog more unique. That being said, I would like to kindly request that you do not use this feature as it was intended to be for my blog only and is not a meme. If you see some one else using it, please know it is without my permission. Thank you.

Review: Kiss in the Dark

Kiss in the Dark by Lauren Henderson
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pub. Date: April 13th, 2010
Pages: 247
Series: Scarlett Wakefield, #3
Age Level: 14+
Source: Bought

Synopsis via Goodreads
With Dan McAndrews's murder finally behind her, Scarlett has high hopes for a fresh start at Wakefield Hall Collegiate, the elite English boarding school her grandmother runs. Unfortunately, those hopes are dashed when her nemesis, the infamous Plum Saybourne, is transferred to the school. Plum wastes no time turning Scarlett’s impressionable classmates against her.

Scarlett has dealt with Plum’s nasty schemes before, and she can handle her archenemy very nicely, thank you—until Plum sets her sights on Scarlett’s best friend, Taylor, and new boyfriend, Jase. Then Scarlett is more than willing to fight for what’s rightfully hers.

Things only get worse after Scarlett becomes entangled in a mysterious death on campus. Scarlett is compelled to investigate because she wants to protect someone close to her. She never imagines that she’ll uncover secrets related to her parents’ fatal accident so many years ago. . . .

Review
Kiss in the Dark is the engrossing third installment in Lauren Henderson's witty and suspenseful mystery series for young adults.

Scarlett is just as funny and realistically portrayed as always and while I did feel she continued to grow as a character, Taylor is the one who really stuck out to me. Towards the end of Kisses and Lies, the tough and ever intimidating Taylor showed me a slight glimmer of vulnerability. This aspect of Taylor is taken a step further in Kiss in the Dark and while it actually broke my heart to see her go through what she did, it really helped deepen her character. Also, it is in this particular book that I really got to know Jase better. I found that I was able to grow to really like him as a romantic interest for Scarlett though I can't deny that a part of me is still hung up on Callum from Kisses and Lies. As for Plum, well the Wicked Witch of England is back and nastier than ever. Of course, Scarlett is also stronger than before and has learned how and when to take Plum down a notch, which is always immensely entertaining. A couple of new characters we are introduced to are Jase's mother as well as his demented, mean ole hag of a grandmother, both of which were an important addition to the plot.

The Scarlett Wakefield series has seemed to get more suspenseful and less predictable with each book. Kiss in the Dark was truly the most edge-of-your-seat and twisted book in this series thus far. It also had a darker and more serious edge, compared to the previous two, that I found very refreshing. The involvement of old family secrets really made this book even more intriguing for me. I've continued to be in love with the Wakefield setting and I found the writing was just as well done as usual.

The ending had me wanting to cry. Honestly, I'm a bit tired of books with peachy keen endings and Kiss in the Dark provided me with a much needed change of pace via it's teary end. Not only that, but it also has me ready to go all ninja to get my hands on the fourth book.

All in all, Kiss in the Dark may very well be my favorite book in this series so far. If you don't try these books I'll have to send the coppers to arrest you. :P Seriously though, for anyone out there looking for a great YA mystery series, this one is a must. I can definitely see myself reading them again and I can't wait for the release of Kiss of Death!

Grade
Characters: B+
Writing: B-
Plot: B+
Ending: B+
3rd in Series: B+
Enjoyment/Likability: B
Recommendable: B

Overall: B/B+

Cover: A (My favorite so far for the series!)