Fool Me Thrice by Carley Esprit-Philip

Series: N/A

Author: Carley Esprit-Philip

Page Count: 192
Published: January 28th, 2015

 Publisher: Createspace

  4 Stars ★★★★

I received a copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for a review. 

In this book, the author gives a raw and deeply personal account detailing the events that unfolded during an interval of her life. Emotional and honest, the reader learns of all the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the gifts and losses that she endures.

This memoir was refreshing to read. It was sincere and offered me new perspectives on things I hadn't known much about before.

The author made me care about her story from the beginning. I had to continue reading because I wanted to know about what she had been through, how she had handled conflicts and the lessons she'd learned.

I like how the author was brutally honest about her relationships. She gave me insight on open relationships and the pros and cons of pursuing one. She did not censor her experiences; she often wrote about her partners and their time together with erotic language. 

It was interesting that she chose to include texts, emails, and other messages as part of her story. Through these messages I learned more about her and the people around her.

This book did get very emotional at times, especially when dealing with tough subjects such as mental illness. It pulled at my heart, to say the least. The personal language and brutal honesty made me feel like I was experiencing her struggles with her.

Sometimes I was confused as to what was going on, however later on in the memoir I would gain a better understanding of the previous events and their significance to the author's life. There were some typing errors, and sometimes words were without spaces between them so two would be together. While this got annoying at times, it did not diminish the memoir's over all appeal.

In summary, this book was very much worth my time as I gained insight and perspective from the author's experiences. I feel that the author is very brave to put all this out in the open for anyone to read. I appreciate this because very few people are truly honest as she was in this memoir: unafraid and unashamed.

I recommend this memoir to readers of non-fiction, and to those who would like to learn more about open relationships, especially ones including both opposite and same sex partners.

Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe

Series: N/A

Author: Megan Crewe

Page Count: 241
Published: September 15th, 2009

 Publisher: Henry Holt & Co

  4 Stars ★★★★

Cass can see and communicate with ghosts. That's how she learns of everything that's going on with her peers, and her secret behind calling them out on it. When Tim, a popular boy mourning the loss of his mother, comes to her for help, she is wary at first. She strikes a deal with him; she will help him contact his dead mother if he tells her all the dirt he has on the "popular" crowd, including her ex-best friend. What she doesn't expect is to actually start caring about the living again. I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did! It was a unique YA book, great for those who want a break from romance novels, and a captivating read. I also found it very emotional at times. I like how the author made sure to make the reader aware of Cass' relationships with her living family, dead family, living friends and dead friends very soon in the novel. This made me want to keep reading, to see how these relationships would be affected. It made me care about Cass and her story. I recommend this book to those who love YA and paranormal, but who want a break from romantic books.\\

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Beautiful Cover(s) of the Day!

L.J Smith is famous for writing the Vampire Diaries books. The Night World novels are another one of her captivating series, 10 books in total, now compiled into three omnibus books and one yet to be released. Their covers are undeniably intriguing with their gothic edge and simple colour schemes. I find that book series with covers such as these, a different colour scheme for every book, tend to catch my eye easily and side by side the covers tend to compliment each other.

The blurb

"Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.
Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.
Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder."

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Taken by Norah McClintock

Series:N/A

Author: Norah McClintock
Page Count: 176
Published: October 1st, 2009

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers

  4 Stars ★★★★

Girls have been going missing, and one of them was found dead. Stephanie is warned not to go out at night because she could fall victim to the criminal who is abducting these girls.

She doesn't listen.

After being abducted she awakens in an empty cabin. With no idea where she is or when her abductor will return, she needs to come up with a plan to save her life.

This book was short yet exciting. The reader is able to understand Stephanie as a person and I was cheering her on for the whole book, hoping that she'd make it home safe.

I liked the flashbacks to when Stephanie had spent time with her grandfather in the woods. This added to my understanding of who she was and I rooted for her even more.

The author had me constantly guessing who had abducted Stephanie. Had it been somebody she knew, or a complete stranger? Would she live? Would people believe her if she lived, or would they think she'd just ran away like she had before?  This was a short and relatively simple book, but it was very enjoyable.

I recommend this book to readers of suspense fiction, YA, and to those looking for a short, romance-free book.

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Haven by Kristi Cook

Series: Winterhaven

Author: Kristi Cook

Page Count: 401
Published: February 22nd, 2011

 Publisher: Simon Pulse

  4 Stars ★★★★

Violet McKenna can see the future, but she keeps her ability secret for fear of being thrown into a psych ward. She enrolls at Winterhaven when she moves from her hometown, and finds herself in a school filled with students who possess abilities similar to hers.

She soon meets Aidan and finds herself drawn to him, as many others are as well. However he shows an interest in her too, and soon Violet begins to suspect that something is different with Aidan, and that his life may be in danger.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was suspenseful. I was always wondering what the characters were hiding and what would happen next. Were they lying to each other? Did they really care about each other, or were they just getting close so that they'd be able to strike?

I liked the romance in this book. Violet and Aidan really had chemistry and they complimented each other well. Their feelings for each other were true and though they faced trials and pain, they always found their way back to each other. I also appreciated the lack of a love triangle and the development of the romance.

The only complaint I have about this book is that there were times when I felt like it was too Twilight-esque. Certain conversations were very similar to the ones found in the Twilight novel and I feel that they could have been revised or phrased differently to take away this literary deja vu, so to speak.

I recommend this novel to readers of YA paranormal romance looking for a book with a strong heroine and complex conflicts amongst characters who grow stronger through tough situations.

Find Haven on Goodreads