Blogtober Book Review: This Heart of Mine by C.C. Hunter

Summary:
A new heart saved her life—but will it help her find out what really happened to its donor?
Seventeen-year-old Leah MacKenzie is heartless. An artificial heart in a backpack is keeping her alive. However, this route only offers her a few years. And with her rare blood type, a transplant isn’t likely. Living like you are dying isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But when a heart becomes available, she’s given a second chance at life. Except Leah discovers who the donor was — a boy from her school — and they’re saying he killed himself. Plagued with dreams since the transplant, she realizes she may hold the clues to what really happened.
Matt refuses to believe his twin killed himself. When Leah seeks him out, he learns they are both having similar dreams and he’s certain it means something. While unraveling the secrets of his brother’s final moments, Leah and Matt find each other, and a love they are terrified to lose. But life and even new hearts don’t come with guarantees. Who knew living took more courage than dying?
Review:
I loved everything about this. This Heart of Mine was so sweet and heart wrenching all at the same time. I really loved just everything about it. We follow a girl that needs a heart transplant which is a tough story in itself. But when we see her get the heart of the twin to the boy she likes. Things get complicated.
The search for whoever killed Matt’s twin Eric. I totally called who the killer was after like 50 pages. But knowing didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the mystery and the suspense of Matt and Leah trying to figure out what happened. These two were so sweet together. I just adored them. They were both a little insecure, but not annoyingly so. They’re in high school so a little insecurity was understandable. I loved their relationship and the growth they go through together.
I also really loved Leah’s relationship with her best friend Brandy was my favorite. All too often, girls get boyfriends and ditch their friends. This didn’t happen. I loved how supportive Brandy was even when she was uncomfortable with all of the medical stuff.
Overall, I don’t know why people aren’t talking about this book. I loved every page. This was a fantastic young adult novel that talked about really important things. If you like contemporary books, this is one you need to read.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

In Another Life by C.C. Hunter

GoodReads Summary:
Chloe was three years old when she became Chloe Holden, but her adoption didn’t scar her, and she’s had a great life. Now, fourteen years later, her loving parents’ marriage has fallen apart and her mom has moved them to Joyful, Texas. Starting twelfth grade as the new kid at school, everything Chloe loved about her life is gone. And feelings of déjà vu from her early childhood start haunting her.
When Chloe meets Cash Colton she feels drawn to him, as though they’re kindred spirits. Until Cash tells her the real reason he sought her out: Chloe looks exactly like the daughter his foster parents lost years ago, and he’s determined to figure out the truth.
As Chloe and Cash delve deeper into her adoption, the more things don’t add up, and the more strange things start happening. Why is Chloe’s adoption a secret that people would kill for?
Review:
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. I requested this book because I’m a fan of other books by this author. I was interested to see what else she was writing. In Another Life is scheduled to publish on March 26th, 2019. I also was drawn in by the cover. I’m a huge fan of simple but colorful book covers.
So, the actual storyline was super interesting. Chloe discovers who her biological parents may be and the big mystery is to figure out if she is the girl that went missing all those years ago. I thought this was really intriguing. It was paced well, slowly giving us all the answers. Creating suspense, but not in an annoying way.
I liked Chloe a lot. A girl with too many responsibilities. Her mom has just gone through cancer treatments and has finally been deemed cancer free. Her parents went through an awful divorce. She has the weight of the world on her shoulders. And she holds it up pretty damn well. She’s funny. She stands up for what she thinks is right. She does the best she can each day.
I didn’t love her relationship with her mom. I understand her mom is going through a lot but she should have gotten her shit together way sooner. She’s constantly badmouthing Chloe’s dad which is totally unacceptable. As a child of divorce, this really upset me because that’s a huge no-no. She also can’t seem to make it out of bed most days. She makes promise after promise to Chloe and doesn’t follow through with any of them. This means that Chloe ends up parenting her mother most of the time. I liked her after she got her shit together but it never should have gotten to the point that it did.
I really liked Chloe’s dad. He was pretty shitty at the beginning. Not really being the best dad he could, but he did his best to be better. I liked that he made the effort over and over even when Chloe wasn’t being receptive. He knows that he messed up, but he doesn’t want that to mean he loses his little girl. I’m a total sucker for Daddie/daughter relationships.
Now…Cash. I totally didn’t like him at first. He was weird and even a little creepy in the way that he got himself involved with Chloe. I understand why he did it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I thought we were going to have a case of extremely unnecessary secret keeping but Cash told Chloe the truth pretty quickly which I was happy about. I ended up really liking their relationship. They help one another to be better. They were really good for each other, both pushing the other to try to move out of their comfort zone. They just worked really well together.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a little cheesy at times, but I liked the story. The characters kept me interested and entertained. I’m definitely going to be buying this once it is released.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

 

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Series I’ve Given up on

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week is top ten series I gave up on or do not plan to finish. This is going to be a bit of a challenge for me because I rarely give up on books. So let’s see what I can come up with this week. Okay, so after coming up with an insufficient list I’ve decided I’m going to do a few series that I will definitely be finishing, but haven’t managed to get around to it yet.

1. House of Night by P.C and Kristen Cast – This series just had so many books. It got to the point where it was hard to keep up with the story and when new books came out. So I just stopped trying to stay on top of it. Now they’re coming out with books again and I just don’t think I’ll ever get around to rereading them all.
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – I read the first four books in this series. I borrowed them from Antonia’s mom. But I ended up losing the fourth book and by the time I bought a new copy she had caught up to me and needed the books back for her to read them. I may eventually pick this series up again, but I have no real burning desire to do so anytime soon.
3. The Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn – These books were another series that I had a hard time keeping up with. There are so many books and I just lost track of which ones I’ve read and still need to read. I may pick them up again because I did really like the books, but it’s not high on my priority list.
4. The Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson – Once again, too many books coming out to keep track of. I will eventually read these again because they’re easy mystery reads but it won’t be anytime soon.
5. The Princess series by Alexa Riley – I just was not impressed by these books. I think I only read the first and part of the second before giving up.
6. The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard – The final book in the series came out recently and I’d like to reread the whole series. When am I going to do that? Eventually, my TBR list seems to just keep growing instead of getting smaller.
7. The Talon series by Julie Kagawa – Again, the final book in this series was finally released and I’m planning to reread the entire series, eventually.
8. Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld – A few weeks ago, I learned that the third book, Nexus, was released sometime last year and I didn’t even realize. So I need to buy this and get around to finishing the series.
9. Millennium series by Stieg Larsson / David Lagercrantz – Literally just now while looking for books to add to this post learned that another book has been released in this series. I will read it, but when I get around to it and who knows when that will be.
10. Shadow Falls series by C.C. Hunter – I finished the main series of these books; I actually own all of them. But there’s a few spin-off series with other characters that I haven’t managed to get around to reading yet, but I definitely plan to.

This is my top ten for this week! What series have you given up on?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Favorites in Genre X

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post giving our top ten on different topic. This is hosted by THE BROKE AND THE BOOKISH. This weeks topic is Top Ten All Time Favorite Books in Genre X. I thought this was a really interesting topic and I really had to think about which genre to pick. The genre I came up with isn’t technically a genre, but I’ve decided that I’m using it anyway. I’ve decided on my top ten all time favorite vampire books. Here’s what I came up with:

1)Twilight by Stephenie Meyer– The fifteen year old reader in me is putting this on my list. This was the book that started my love of paranormal books. I have great memories enjoying the pages of this saga.

2)Bloodlines by Richelle Mead– If you’ve read any of these books you know why this is on my list. I’m obsessed with this series and I can’t wait for the next to come out.

3)The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead– Vampire Academy came in a very close second to Bloodlines. I love both stories.

4)Evernight by Claudia Gray– This is another addition from fifteen year old me. I got really attached to this series when I was younger.

5)The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa– I just love anything Kagawa writes. I love the Blood of Eden series. I’m also beyond excited for The Forever Song to come out this April.

6)A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands– Really of the Argeneau novels are included with this. They’re on the more trashy romance novel side, but hey who doesn’t love a good romance novel every now and then.

7)Shadow Falls Series by C.C. Hunter– Shadow Falls has more than just vampires, but I wanted it on this list because I loved reading the Shadow Falls series. I flew through the books, loving every page.

8)The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts– These also have more than just vampires but these books were exciting and fun and crazy.

9)Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz– Cruz put an interesting and unique twist in her vampire series. I put off reading the series for quite a while because I knew I needed to read them all together.

10)The House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristen Cast– I wasn’t a huge fan of this series toward the end. The last one is coming out this year and I might give them a try again.

These are my top ten all time favorite vampire books. What are yours?

Keep on reading lovelys, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – To Be Read Spring 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/ in which we answer a weekly topic with our top ten. This weeks topic is Top Ten books at the TOP of my spring 2013 to be read list. Here’s mine in no special order.

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green – I’ve read this book countless times. It’s my all time favorite book and I like to reread it frequently. And I’d like to do that again soon because this book is fantastic. If you haven’t read it, you need to as soon as humanly possible.

2. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare- This book hasn’t come out yet. But I’ve read the first two in the series and I just all around love Cassandra Clare’s books.

3. Light by Michael Grant – Another book that isn’t out yet. With five already out in the series, I’ve been dying for the final book in the Gone series. Amazing books and I’m excited to see how everything turns out finally.

4. The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa – I absolutely loved reading The Immortal Rules, the book written before this. It sucked me in, and I’m hoping the squeal has a similar affect like all her books.

5. Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter – I read the first three or four in this series in less than a week. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be another book in the series coming out after this one. But I’m still super excited to know what happens next, even if I have to deal with waiting for the next again.

6. Spellcaster by Claudia Gray – I’m not overly excited about this book. It’s the first in a new series by Gray. I read her last series and enjoyed them. So, I’m giving her new one a chance too.

7. The Host by Stephenie Meyer – I’d like to read this again before I go see the movie. But every time I try I just lose interest really quickly. I’m definitely going to try again and maybe get through it.

8. The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen – I’ve kind of slowly fell away from reading Johansen’s books. So, in honor of the three new Eve Duncan books coming out this year, I’m going to start reading them again. This is the first in the Eve Duncan series.

9. Born in Fire by Nora Roberts – I have a goal to read all of Nora Robert’s trilogies. This is a book that’s been sitting on my shelves for what seems like forever. So I think I’ll finally give it some loving.

10. Jack and Jill or 1st to Die by James Patterson – I haven’t decided if I’m going to start the Women’s Murder Club series, or the Alex Cross series first. They’re both series that I own some but not all of the books. I think I’ll end up starting 1st to Die first because I own more books in this series.

Well, now that I just want to read all these books right now. These are my top ten to be read on my spring 2013 list.
What are yours?

Keep on reading lovelys, Amanda.