REVIEW | Under My Skin

Series: N/A
Author: Laura Diamond
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, realistic fiction
Publish: April 12, 2016
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Bookish Brit Adam Gibson is one wonky heartbeat away from a fatal arrhythmia. He's torn between wanting to live and knowing that someone else must die in order for him to do so. He needs a new heart.  

Adam stops talking to his friends, refuses to meet kids at his new school, and shuts his parents out entirely. His days are spent wondering if can cope with having a dead man's heart beating inside his chest, or if he should surrender to the thoughts of suicide swirling around in his head.  

And then a donor is found.  

Outspoken artist Darby Fox rarely lets anything stand in her way of achieving her goals. She also happens to be the twin sister to a perfect brother with good looks, good grades, manners, and the approval of their parents - something Darby has never had.  

Darby's always had bad timing. She picks the worst time to argue with her brother Daniel. In a car with bald tires, on an icy road in the freezing cold, the unthinkable happens. In a split-second, everything changes forever.  

When life forces Adam and Darby together, undeniable sparks fly, and a deep connection is made. But the secret inside of Adam may be the thing that pushes them apart forever.

REVIEW | The Manifesto on How to be Interesting

Series: N/A
Author: Holly Bourne
Genre: young adult, contemporary, realistic fiction, romance
Published: August 1, 2014
Publisher: Usborne Publishing
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Apparently I'm boring. A nobody. But that's all about to change. Because I am starting a project. here. Now. For myself. And if you want to come along for the ride then you're very welcome.

Bree is by no means popular. Most of the time, she hates her life, her school, her never-there parents. So she writes. 

But when Bree is told she needs to stop shutting the world out and start living a life worth writing about, The Manifesto on How to be Interesting is born. A manifesto that will change everything... 

...but the question is at what cost?

REVIEW | Every Exquisite Thing

Series: N/A
Author: Matthew Quick
Genre: young adult, contemporary
Publish: May 31, 2016
Publisher: Headline
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

From Matthew Quick, bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook, comes a heartfelt, unconventional and moving novel for readers who love John Green and Annabel Pitcher.

Nanette O'Hare is an unassuming teen who has played the role of dutiful daughter, hard-working student, and star athlete for as long as she can remember. But when a beloved teacher gives her his worn copy of The Bubblegum Reaper - the mysterious, out-of-print cult-classic - the rebel within Nanette awakens.

As she befriends the reclusive author, falls in love with a young but troubled poet, and attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, Nanette learns the hard way that sometimes rebellion comes at a high price.

A celebration of the self and the formidable power of story, Every Exquisite Thing is Matthew Quick at his finest.

[REVIEW] Everything, Everything

Series: N/A
Author: Nicola Yoon
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, realistic fiction
Published: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

My Disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I'm allergic to the world. I don't leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He's tall, lean, and wearing all black - black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. 

Maybe we can't predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It's almost certainly going to be a disaster. 

[REVIEW] How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend

Series: N/A
Author: Allyson Valentine
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, realistic fiction, chick lit, humor
Published: June 12, 2014 (first published June 6th, 2013)
Publisher: Speak
Purchase: Amazon

With the perfect plan to get the guy, what could possibly go wrong? 

Nora Fulbright is the most talented new cheerleader at Riverbend High. She may have been a friendless overachiever in the past, but this year Nora is determined to transform from social larva to full-blown butterfly. Even if it means dumbing herself down. But when Adam moves to town and steals Nora's heart with his ultra-smarts, she devises a plan to wow him with her intellect. Every move she makes getting closer to Adam is move complicated, and she quickly loses control of her strategy. Can Nora prove that she's not a complete airhead while keeping her image in check? 

[REVIEW] Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Series: Dash & Lily #1
Author: Rachel Cohn (@RachelCohn); David Levithan
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, realistic fiction, humor
Published: October 11, 2011 (first published 2010)
Publisher: Ember
Purchase: Amazon

 "I've left some clues for you.

If you want them, turn the page.

If you don't, put the book back on the shelf, please." 

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions? 

"Another surefire hit from the creators of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist." -Booklist

[REVIEW] Cherry Blossom Baseball

Series: A Cherry Blossom Book #3
Author: Jennifer Maruno
Genre: middle grade, historical fiction, realistic fiction, sports
Published: December 5, 2015
Publisher: Dundurn
Purchase: Amazon

Is pretending to be someone else the only way Michiko can fit in? 

Michiko Minigawa’s life is nothing but a bad game of baseball. The Canadian government swung the bat once, knocking her family away from a Vancouver home base to an old farmhouse in the Kootenay Mountains. But when they move into town, the government swings the bat again, announcing that all Japanese must now move west of the Rockies or else go to Japan. 

Now in Ontario, Michiko once again has to adjust to a whole new kind of life. She is the only Japanese student in her school, and making friends is harder than it was before. When Michiko surprises an older student with her baseball skills and he encourages her to try out for the local team, she gives it a shot. But everyone thinks this new baseball star is a boy. Michiko has to make a decision: quit playing ball (and being harassed), or pitch like she’s never pitched before. 

[REVIEW] My Heart and Other Black Holes

Series: N/A
Author: Jasmine Warga (@jasminewarga)
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, realistic fiction, mental illness
Published: February 10, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Purchase: Amazon

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There's only one problem: she's not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a selection called Suicide Partners, Aysel's convinced she's found her solution - Roman, a teenage boy who's haunted by a family tragedy, is looking for a partner. 

Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other's broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. 

This is a gorgeously written and compulsively readable novel about the transformative power of love, heralding the arrival of an extraordinary new voice in teen fiction, Jasmine Warga.

[BOOK JOURNAL] The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Series: N/A
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance
Published: December 2, 2014 (first published April 1, 2014)
Publisher: Algonquin Books

"Funny, tender, and moving, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry reminds us all exactly why we read and why we love." - Library Journal, starred review

A.J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and how his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over - and see everything anew.

"This novel has humor, romance, a touch of suspense, but most of all love -  love for books and bookish people and, really, all of humanity in its imperfect glory." - Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child

[REVIEW] Damage Done

Series: N/A
Author: Amanda Panitch
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, mystery, thriller, realistic fiction, suspense
Published: July 21, 2015
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Purchase: Amazon

"In the vein of E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Panitch’s novel delivers a heart-pounding, emotionally charged story." --SLJ 

22 minutes separate Julia Vann's before and after. 

Before: Julia had a twin brother, a boyfriend, and a best friend. 

After: She has a new identity, a new hometown, and memories of those twenty-two minutes that refuse to come into focus. At least, that's what she tells the police. 

Now that she's Lucy Black, she's able to begin again. And her fresh start has attracted the attention of one of the hottest guys in school, a boy who will do anything to protect her. But when someone much more dangerous also takes notice, Lucy's forced to confront the dark secrets she thought were safely left behind. 

One thing is clear: The damage done can never be erased. It's only just beginning. . . . 

In this deliciously twisted contemporary thriller, family can be a real killer. For fans of We Were Liars and readers who love unique multiple perspectives that leave clues like breadcrumbs until they reach the stunning conclusion.

[REVIEW] The Secret Ingredient

Series: N/A
Author: Stewart Lewis
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, realistic fiction, chick lit, family, LGBT, coming of age
Published: June 10, 2014 (first published June 11, 2013)
Publisher: Ember

Olivia doesn't believe in psychics. But the summer before her senior year in high school, she meets one in an elevator.

This summer will be pivotal, the psychic warns. Please remember - all your choices are connected. 

Olivia loves her life in Silverlake, Los Angeles, but lately, something's been missing. And after getting this strange advice, her world begins to change. A new job leads her to a gorgeous, mysterious boy named Theo. And as Olivia cooks the recipes from a vintage cookbook she stumbles upon, she begins to wonder if the mother she's never known might be the secret ingredient she's been lacking. 

But sometimes the things we search for are the things we've had all along. 

[REVIEW] P.S. I Still Love You

Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before #2
Author: Jenny Han
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, realistic fiction, chick lit, 
Published: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Shuster

Lara Jean didn't expect to really fall for Peter.

They were just pretending. Until they weren't. And now Lara Jean has to learn what it's like to be in a real relationship and not just a make-believe one. 

But when another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean's feelings for him suddenly returns too. 

Can a girl be in love with two boys at once? 

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Lara Jean is about to find out that falling in love is the easy part. 

[REVIEW] Alice's Portrait

full tour schedule can be found at CBB Book Promotions

Series: the Lockwood Legacy #3
Author: Juliette Harper
Genre: adult, romance, contemporary, realistic fiction, mystery
Published: April 9, 2015
Publisher: Skye House Publishing
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords

A year after Kate, Jenny, and Mandy Lockwood inherit The Rocking L, the sisters try to concentrate on their collective and individual futures. In the previous book in The Lockwood Legacy series, Baxter’s Draw, the women made startling discoveries about their father’s secrets, but are mistaken in their belief that everything has now come to light. In Alice’s Portrait, the ghosts of Langston Lockwood’s past once again confront his daughters, forcing them to re-evaluate their understanding of their father and of what it means to be a Lockwood.

[REVIEW] Falling Into Place

Series: N/A
Author: Amy Zhang
Genre: young adult, contemporary, realistic fiction, mental illness, romance
Published: September 9, 2014
Publisher: Greenwillow Books

She would be an object in motion that would stay in motion, even if it meant flattening everything in her path.

Inertia, force, mass, gravity, velocity, acceleration... cause and effect. Liz Emerson doesn't understand any of it. But I do. I understand how we fall. Where we fall. Why we fall. I understand her sadness and loneliness and silence, her shattered heart. It doesn't have to be this way, does it? It wasn't always this way, was it?

Stay alive, Liz Emerson, stay alive.

[REVIEW] Baxter's Draw

Series: the Lockwood Legacy #2 
Author: Juliette Harper
Genre: adult, romance, contemporary, realistic fiction, mystery
Published: February 8, 2015
Publisher: Skye House Publishing
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords

Kate, Jenny, and Mandy. The daughters who inherited Langston Lockwood’s millions and his mysteries. In this, the second book of The Lockwood Legacy, the women uncover not just the secret of Baxter’s Draw, but the secret of their father’s hidden life. Return to the Rocking L for the next part of the sisters’ journey to discover the truth about their family and to understand their own roles in The Lockwood Legacy.

[WAITING ON WEDNESDAY] Made You Up

Series: N/A
Author: Francesca Zappia
Genre: young adult, contemporary, realistic fiction, mental illness, romance, 
Expected Publication: May 19, 2015

Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar. 

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.  

Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.

[RELEASE EVENT] Tripp

Series: the Life Series #2
Author: Kristen Kehoe
Genre: young adult, new adult, romance, realistic fiction, 
Published: April 17, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

Because there are two sides to every story… 

I’ve never been the guy who shied away from taking the ball. I’m an athlete; I thrive on the court, and I thrive in life because I don’t shy away from taking chances. 

Except that one time. 

Except with Rachel. 

I fell in love with my best friend when we were ten, and she almost put her fist in my face when I tried to defend her against a fifth grade bully. I didn’t tell her that day that I loved her, or any of the ones following, because she had proved she didn’t need me, and even at a young age, I knew the opposite was true for me. 

I needed Rachel with every breath I took, and it scared the ever-loving crap out of me 

Being the mature young man I am (cough), I tried to ignore it. I dated someone else; I stayed Rachel’s friend and watched her from afar because when you love someone who has the potential to break you into a million unrecoverable pieces, that’s what you do.  You watch from afar and you never reveal your true feelings because it’s safer to hide them than to admit them. 

Until it’s not. Until the day you take a step forward and alter both of your worlds completely, only to discover that you’ll never, ever be over her. 

This is my story – my story of Rachel and everything I did and didn’t do, everything I said and forgot to say, and everything I felt before and after we made our biggest mistake and walked away from each other. 

She told her side – now it’s my turn. I’m including our past, holding nothing back from her ever again, so she better be ready for me. 

Mature Young Adult 

 ***This is the companion novel to LIFE INTERRUPTED (The Life series Book 1) released January 2014. It can be read as a standalone, as it is different from Rachel’s story.

[WAITING ON WEDNESDAY] The Secrets We Keep

Series: N/A
Author: Trisha Leaver
Genre: young adult, contemporary, realistic fiction, mystery, suspense, family
Expected Publication: April 28, 2015

A girl takes over her twin sister's identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters. 

Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world. 

When—after a heated argument—Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy's life was full of secrets. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options—confess her deception or live her sister's life.

[WAITING ON WEDNESDAY] Every Last Promise

Series: N/A
Author: Kristin Halbrook
Genre: young adult, contemporary, realistic fiction, death, suspense, chick lit, drama
Expected Publication: April 21, 2015

Perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson and Gayle Forman, Every Last Promise is a provocative and emotional novel about a girl who must decide between keeping quiet and speaking up after witnessing a classmate's sexual assault.

Kayla saw something at the party that she wasn't supposed to. But she hasn't told anyone. No one knows the real story about what happened that night—about why Kayla was driving the car that ran into a ditch after the party, about what she saw in the hours leading up to the accident, and about the promise she made to her friend Bean before she left for the summer.

Now Kayla's coming home for her senior year. If Kayla keeps quiet, she might be able to get her old life back. If she tells the truth, she risks losing everything—and everyone—she ever cared about.

[TEASER TOUR] Baxter's Draw

Series: the Lockwood Legacy #2
Author: Juliette Harper
Genre: adult, romance, contemporary, realistic fiction, mystery
Publisher: Skye House Publishing
Published: February 8, 2015
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords

Kate, Jenny, and Mandy. The daughters who inherited Langston Lockwood’s millions and his mysteries. In this, the second book of The Lockwood Legacy, the women uncover not just the secret of Baxter’s Draw, but the secret of their father’s hidden life. Return to the Rocking L for the next part of the sisters’ journey to discover the truth about their family and to understand their own roles in The Lockwood Legacy.