Happy Book Birthday : The Young Elites

It's here! It's here! It's finally here!

The Young Elites by Marie Lu comes out today! We can finally stop waiting around and get to reading this book!

This book is described, by Marie Lu herself, as a mix between X-Men, Assassin's Creed 2 and Game of Thrones. If that doesn't get you excited or instill some curiosity in you then I don't know what will. It sounds so good! Everyone go get this book ASAP. I haven't even read it yet and I'm still recommending it to each and every one of you.

Also, if you can't tell already, my expectations are really high.

Now, lets take this moment to do a happy dance in celebration of this book release.

Kindle eBook Giveaway : Recipes and Road Stories

So today I'm hosting my very first giveaway ever!! I'm kind of excited. This giveaway is sponsored by the publisher who has graciously offered a kindle ebook copy of the book for me to give to one of you guys. I should probably tell you what book, huh?

The book is called Recipes and Road Stories and is co-authored by two sisters, Hannah and Caroline Melby, who have toured the country performing bluegrass and progressive country music. The book is a collection of stories from their adventures on the road, along with various recipes and loads of photographs.

Here's a little more about the book and its wonderful authors.

Recipes and Road Stories by HanaLena

By the time Hannah was in the 11th grade and Caroline was in the 7th grade, the Melby sisters were touring the country in bluegrass bands, with Hannah on fiddle and Caroline on mandolin. Today the sisters are the front persons of a very popular Nashville-based country music touring band named HanaLena.

The sisters, who grew up in Starkville, Mississippi, performed from an early age—Hannah is now 28, Caroline is 24—evolving from bluegrass to progressive country as they perfected their songwriting and
performance skills out on the road. In 2008 they won the “Best New Act in Country Music” competition at the Colgate Showdown in the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville—and took home a check for a cool $100,000 presented by country music star LeAnn Rimes.

Do they ever have some great stories to tell about coming of age on the concert trail! Recipes and Road Stories blends touching and rollicking road stories with an assortment of tasty recipes, and then tops everything off with plenty of exciting photographs. Also contributing recipes are friends they made on the road, including Rhonda Vincent, a 5-time Grammy nominee who has been called the “Queen of Bluegrass,” and Claire Lynch, who is the reigning Female Vocalist of the Year for the International Bluegrass Association.

So check out the book on Goodreads and make sure to enter the giveaway below. The giveaway will run till the end of the month (October 31st).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1) : Review

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Rating: ★★★★

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

I really liked the way the story was told. We see everything from Belly's perspective and it's her narration that is telling the story. The story just flows so nicely which is a huge plus in any book. There are also flashbacks to different moments during previous summers that serve a purpose in better explaining the story and provide background into the relationships that are presented.

I found Belly to be very realistic. She didn't get annoying as she very easily could have gotten.She also did not come off as two-dimensional which is very easy to do when you're telling the story of a girl who has a crush on this guy who doesn't even notice her in that way. I loved that the story wasn't all about the romance and it wasn't about Belly pining over Conrad. This summer for Belly is the one where she kind of grows up. She's no longer that little girl and she experiences some of the real world for the first time. I loved hearing the story through her because of how relatable I found her character to be.

Conrad and Jeremiah are the two brothers. Conrad is the bad boy. He's a strong and silent type and it's hinted that he has a lot more going on that what is visible on the surface. Jeremiah is kind of the opposite. He's very bubbly and friendly and super likable.

I really appreciate the fact that this book wasn't a sappy romance novel. I don't like sappy romance, I like realistic romance and this is realistic romance. Having said that, it's not like the whole book is about romance. A lot of it focuses on Belly and her growing up a little bit and dealing with something very real and very tough, later on in the book. 

I read this book because I'd heard some reviews on it and I love contemporary so I thought "Why not?" I am so glad that I read this book because it was a really good contemporary story. It's what great contemporary is made of, if you know what I mean. I'm excited to follow the story of these characters a little more in the sequels and see where they go. Jenny Han, I will most definitely be reading more of your writing.

If you're looking for a quick, nice contemporary read, definitely try this one.