Book Reviews & Stories by Danielle
It’s that time of the week again when I participate in WWW Wednesdays hosted by Should Be Reading. To participate in WWW Wednesday, you need to answer three questions.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Penguin Random House is holding a #GiveaBook campaign this holiday season with a goal of 25,000 books that will be donated to a U.S. child in need.
Simply post or tweet #GiveaBook on Facebook or Twitter between 11/19/2014-12/25/2014 and Penguin Random House will donate up to 25,000 new books to Save the Children.
“First, I had to remember how to breathe. Then, I had to learn how to survive. Two years, three months and sixteen days had passed since I was the Rowe Stanton from before, since tragedy stole my youth and my heart went along with it.
When I left for college, I put a thousand miles between my future and my past. I’d made a choice—I was going to cross back to the other side, to live with the living. I just didn’t know how.
And then I met Nate Preeter.
An All-American baseball player, Nate wasn’t supposed to notice a ghost-of-a-girl like me. But he did. He shouldn’t want to know my name. But he did. And when he learned my secret and saw the scars it left behind, he was supposed to run. But he didn’t.
My heart was dead, and I was never supposed to belong to anyone. But Nate Preeter had me feeling, and he made me want to be his. He showed me everything I was missing.
And then he showed me how to fall.”
***
Rowe Stanton was a teenager trying to overcome her past. Going to college seemed like the perfect place to start over and finally move on from a horrible tragedy that has consumed her. She didn’t want it to consume her any longer, so she took a chance, but the road wasn’t going to be easy.
I’m not going to give away what happened to Rowe, but I will say it’s something that would be difficult for anyone to go through and get over. It would require a lot of therapy to move forward and I personally would have a hard time trusting the world around me. This was true for Rowe as well, but she took a chance with herself and a young man named Nate Preeter.
Nate Preeter was a star baseball player and wanted by many of the girls attending McConnell University, but he became infatuated by Rowe when he bumped into her in the dorm hallway. He wanted to get to know her, so he made sure he could.
This book really explored the inner emotions of a girl who’s gone through something very tragic and how those feelings mix with her feelings for Nate. Sometimes they didn’t mix well. Sometimes they did. It just made their relationship that much more special. He was able to break through her concrete wall.
I think Rowe is an amazing character. Not only was she going through a lot of psychological issues, she was also transitioning into college life. That is hard in itself. Trying to acclimate into college life isn’t always easy, but Rowe was able to do it on top of everything else. Just barely.
As always, the best part is seeing another love story unfold. I’m a hopeless romantic and can’t get enough of love stories and truly enjoyed how Rowe and Nate’s relationship grew.
This Is Falling is one of those books you can’t put down. It keeps you wanting more. Fortunately, you will get more in Ginger Scott’s You and Everything After, which released this month. This book follows the character Ty Preeter, who’s Nate’s older brother. I just purchased this book and can’t wait to read it, especially if it’s anything like This Is Falling.
FAVORITE QUOTES
“I’m stuck between wanting to let go and wanting to honor everything he was to my life, wanting to prove that I was his until the very end.”
“Every little thing – sometimes the tiniest things – makes me love her more, and I’m in so deep now, I know I won’t make it back out whole.”
“You are the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. You are the face in all of my dreams and the smile I see when I close my eyes.”
OVERALL RATING
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ginger Scott is a writer and journalist from Peoria, Arizona. She is the author of five young and new adult romances, with her sixth title, You And Everything After, set to release Dec. 5, 2014. This is the sequel to This Is Falling.
Scott has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns.
When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Scott is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).
Social Media Links: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads
Publishing Company: Ginger Scott
Release Date: August 29, 2014
Genre: New Adult, Romance
“Lia Riley made New Adult readers fall in love with her breakout debut, Upside Down. Sideswiped, the second of her series, made readers clamor for more. Now, with INSIDE OUT, Lia Riley brings her evocative Off the Map series to a stunning conclusion.
When Talia first moved from California to Australia to study abroad, she never dreamed she’d find the love of her life. Bran understands her like no one ever has before. And despite the numerous challenges they’ve faced, they’ve always managed to figure out how to stay together. But this time they’ll face their toughest hurdle yet. Is their love strong enough to keep them together?”
***
*PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
Inside Out was my all time favorite book of the Off the Map series. I tend to love books that are set in California and contain love, romance, and a little naughtiness.
This book is about love. It’s about family. It’s about letting go of your fears and embracing the world around you. It’s about believing in yourself against all odds.
Lia Riley has really taken Bran and Talia’s relationship to another level with this last installment of the series. When Talia contracts malaria during her short time with the Peace Corps, Bran immediately comes to her aid, flying all the way to Africa. He was there when Talia finally woke from her coma.
Bran helps Talia relocate back to California when her father insists that she recover in the states. Living under the watchful eye of Talia’s father was tough, but the toughest part for Bran was getting Talia to open up again. After returning to California she became very distant and thought of herself as a failure, but Bran was patient with her and knew that it would take time for her heart to open again. Thankfully she did.
This book explores the relationship between Talia and Bran, but also the relationship she has with her parents. And I can’t forget to mention a certain perverted creature named Chester.
Everything has come full circle since they first met in Upside Down, book one of the series. They’ve gone through so much and helped each other grow throughout each book.
***SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS***
Now for the number one reason I love this book! Drum roll please….
Talia and Bran get engaged at Yosemite National Park in California. Why is this so significant you ask? Well, it just so happens that my fiancé proposed to me in Yosemite as well. Yosemite is one of my favorite national parks. I couldn’t believe that I was able to say “yes” to the man I love overlooking beautiful Yosemite Valley with a view of Bridal Veil Falls, which is mentioned in the book.
Once it was revealed that Talia and Bran would be taking a trip to Yosemite, I jumped up to tell my fiancé. I was so excited! I just knew that Bran had something planned and couldn’t wait to find out how it ended.
And with that I want to share a picture from when my fiancé proposed in Yosemite.
Thank you to Lia Riley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for allowing me to read a copy of this book for an honest review.
Favorite Quotes
“She makes me want to be the best version of myself.”
“She’s it for me, forever, the last girl I’ll ever love.”
“One day, you’re sleepwalking through life, and the next you meet someone who wakes you up. A person who makes you want to try to dig in for your best self.”
Giveaways
Take a chance at winning the Inside Out Prizepack! You seriously can’t miss out on this giveaway. This awesome prize pack includes the following:
In addition, I have been given an extra digital copy of Inside Out to give away via Net Galley. All my fellow Net Galley users please take advantage of this giveaway!
Overall Rating
About the Author
After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturing heroes (because c’mon, who doesn’t love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.
Buy Links: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, GooglePlay, Kobo
Social Media Links: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Tumblr
Publishing Company: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Release Date: December 2, 2014
Genre: New Adult
Check out my reviews of the first two books in the Off the Map series.
It’s that time of the week again when I participate in WWW Wednesdays hosted by Should Be Reading. To participate in WWW Wednesday, you need to answer three questions.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
In honor of the holiday, I wanted to share 5 things I am thankful for this year.
1. My wonderful fiance
2. My family and friends
3. Being healthy and happy
4. Having a full-time job
5. Being able to write and read freely
What are you thankful for?
It’s my first time participating in WWW Wednesdays hosted by Should Be Reading. To participate in WWW Wednesday, you need to answer three questions.
Stories Unfolded 