Blog Tour: Within by Clare C. Marshall

"Trinity Hartell’s life changed after the accident. Left with irreversible brain damage, she becomes a burden to her mother, a cause for heartbreak for her boyfriend Zack, and a flattened obstacle for her jealous best friend, Ellie.

But then she starts writing. Perhaps it’s a coincidence that the psychotic, murderous protagonist of her novel bears a striking similarity to the charming Wiley Dalton, a mayoral candidate in the upcoming election.

Or, perhaps not…"


This book wasn't really what I was expecting, but I was somewhat surprised by how much I liked it in a hatred sort of way. Confusing I know, but you'll understand in a little bit.

The story is definitely original in its plot and characters. There are a number of twists in this book; it's sort of like a roller coaster. One minute I'd be in this heart-wrenching scene and the next I'd want to slap characters. (Yeah, I'm talking to you Ellie and Mrs. Hartell!)

The story does start off a bit slow and I did have to wait a while to really understand where the plot would go, but it wasn't anything that deterred me from reading. This brings me to the characters. Marshall was able to create an interesting array of characters that kept the story going. My only wish was that they were a bit more developed. I never really felt the best friend connection between Ellie and Trinity. Even after the accident, I found myself repeatedly screaming in my head, "How are you her friend?!" Alternatively, I did feel the love Zack had for Trinity even though there was little development in their story line as well. I believe it was due to how emotional Zack was throughout the book. His feelings always seemed to jump out from the pages and grab a hold of me.

The most enticing part of this book was the mystery of the plot. I never really understood what was going on until the latter half of the book. Dalton was one crazy psycho, and I'd really wanted to know more about him and where his story really stemmed from. Marshall did a great job writing a suspenseful yet heart-breaking plot that kept me reading to the last page.

Though different from what I first expected, this creepy page turner is for anyone who's looking for an intriguing love triangle with a twist. My only wish would be for the story to continue to get more into the lives of Trinity's family and friends. I'll definitely be watching out for Marshall's future projects! Thanks again to Faery Ink Press and Clare for letting me be a part of this amazing blog tour.

Book Tour: Tempest by Julie Cross

"The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun. 

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. 

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities. 

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him. 

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world."

Krystal over at Live to Read is hosting a fun little arc tour for Tempest! Luckily, I got to be a part of this cool little crowd of folks on the tour and got my chance to read it this past week. The best way I could describe this book is The Time Traveler's Wife meets The Butterfly Effect.

I liked the whole science fiction meets love story idea, but I could've used a little more of a love story personally. The time travel aspects seemed to be a little too much for me, and oddly enough made the story drag sometimes. The overbearing theme didn't help me get into any of the characters for the most part. One of the characters that made me sigh pretty much right away was Jackson's best friend, Adam. I can't stand a character written for convenience, and I think that's exactly what he was. It was hard to believe that there just happened to be a friend who understood the space time continuum pretty well.

I will say Cross had a good handle on her ideas of time travel. It was interesting to see a slightly different take on the idea than we usually see. As a start to a trilogy, I hope to see a bit more development into characters as we jump deeper into the story. If you're into the whole jumper aspect, this story will definitely keep you reading!

Book Notes: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

"Starting over sucks. 

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up. 

And then he opened his mouth. 

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me. 

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don’t kill him first, that is."

I've been patiently waiting for this book to come out, so I was crazy excited when I was able to get a copy off NetGalley a while back. I mean hello, what's not to like about hot looking aliens? Though I love me some alien eye candy, I'll be honest; this book fell below my expectations.

I know a lot of people love the idea of a character being a book blogger, but it came off kind of cheesy to me. It was fun to see little shout outs to different memes and know what the character was talking about, but a part of me couldn't help being bothered by it at the same time. Other than that, I found Katy to be fairly realistic and enjoyed reading about her.

Daemon. I wanted to like him, really, I did. He was a hot, douchebaggery(It's a word, just go with me.) mess. As I read though, there was just something missing about him for me to put him up on my list of potential literary boyfriends(Don't pretend you all don't have one, I know you do). I think a lot had to do with the characters going so back and forth with their emotions.  Though I had my issues, I enjoyed Katy and Dee's relationship most about the book. Dee was probably my favorite character because she was so cute and bubbly.

Overall, there were some great scenes written in the book. Armentrout definitely has a way with words when writing action and steamy scenes. I will say that I was a bit confused by the ending with the way it was worded, but I wouldn't say it was something that ruined the book by any means. Being a huge alien fan, it isn't a book I would read repeatedly, but it was a fun getaway read.  If you're looking for a thriller Roswell-esque type of book, Obsidian would be right up your alley!