Review: Come Back to Me by Mila Gray

Title: Come Back To Me
Author: Mila Gray
Series: n/a
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: December 8th, 2015
Source: received for review from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In this heart-wrenching tale of love and loss, a young Marine and his best friend’s sister plunge into a forbidden love affair while he’s home on leave.

When a Marine Chaplain knocks on her door, Jessa’s heart breaks—someone she loves is dead. Killed in action, but is it Riley or Kit? Her brother or her boyfriend…

Three months earlier, Marine Kit Ryan finds himself back home on leave and dangerously drawn to his best friend Riley’s sister, Jessa—the one girl he can’t have. Exhausted from fighting his feelings, Kit finally gives in, and Jessa isn’t strong enough to resist diving headfirst into a passionate relationship.

But what was just supposed to be a summer romance develops into something far greater than either of them expected. Jessa’s finally found the man of her dreams and Kit’s finally discovered there’s someone he’d sacrifice everything for.

When it’s time for Kit to redeploy, neither one is ready to say goodbye. Jessa vows to wait for him and Kit promises to come home to her. No matter what.

But as Jessa stands waiting for the Marine Chaplain to break her heart, she can’t help but feel that Kit has broken his promise…

Riley or Kit? Kit or Riley? Her brother or her boyfriend? Who’s coming home to her?

I love a forbidden romance story, so when I saw this, I knew I had to read it. I typically stay away from the New Adult genre because it doesn't always ends well but this time it did.

I will say, this book is full of sexy times. Like, lots of it.. so if you're into something steamy, Come Back to Me does the trick. Along with that steam, comes a plot line. I know!!!! Imagine that. Though it's a bit generic, it's still a story none the less, and I can appreciate that. It's how New Adult should be. (I'm not actually 100 percent sure this is deemed as New Adult, but I've seen it shelved as that a few times so I'm going by that as well as my thought's after reading it) No fade to black here, ladies.

So you have the classic... "girl has had a crush on her brothers best friend for years and he finally notices me" story line. I kinda love stories like that. I used to have the biggest crush on my friends brother, which is kinda similar, but he never noticed me. Well, he noticed me, but not in the way I wanted. lol. I might have stalked him a little but not in a creepy way.

I really liked the romance between Jessa and Kit. I didn't feel like it went to fast, because of the fact that they have known each other for so long. They had great chemistry, and I found myself smiling often.

There wasn't much I didn't like about Come Back to Me. There are some things that kept it from being 5 stars for me though, the Character depth could have been better I think. I can't say much without spoiling, but I would have liked to know the character on a deeper level.

Other than that, it's a pretty good read! :) I liked how it all wrapped up. I think there is a book that follows her best friend, but I only saw that on amazon on PB. So not sure if that's a self pub maybe. It looks like this was published before Simon Pulse put it out. I guess I should have done more research before writing this. lol. I will check it out though, should it ever become available for Kindle.

About the author:

Mila Gray is the pen name for Sarah Alderson, author of Hunting Lila, Losing Lila, The  Sound, Fated and Out of Control.

Originally from London she has lived in Bali for the last four years with her husband and daughter.

As well as writing young adult fiction under the name Sarah Alderson and adult fiction under the name Mila Gray, she also writes screenplays.

Find Mila:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: come back to me, contemporary, mila gray, military, new adult, reviews, simon pulse

Review: I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Title: I'll Meet You There
Author: Heather Demetrios
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: February 3, 2015
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

For me, it's always hardest to review a book I absolutely loved because there's practically no adequate way to express my feels. This is the third novel I've read by Heather Demetrios, but it is by far my very most favorite. It's so raw and earnest and impassioned, and it left me with all the feels. I'm not as new to contemporary novels as I once was, but I am picky as hell, even now. But my finicky, romance-loving heart adored this novel, and I'm pretty sure most everyone who reads it will feel the same way.

The characters in I'll Meet You There are so flawed, so perfectly imperfect. And even if I hadn't shared similar circumstances, I would still have found them easy to relate to and care for. Living in a small town, far from civilization, can really suck. You make do and do what you have to in order to survive and hopefully one day leave that dreary existence. Or you don't. And that's what these characters face, what they've been facing and hoping for practically all their lives. Mistakes are made along the way, but it's hard to fault the characters for them when you know how much of an effort they're putting in to make it out of there.

“I loved taking these pieces and making them part of a whole, giving them a place to belong. More beautiful than when they started.”

I love that we don't just get to know the characters through their narration and dialogue, but also through their interactions with friends, each other, and in Skylar's case, her art. She creates these beautiful collages from scraps of paper that make up her life, and it's her ticket out of Creek View. Josh is still trying to decide where his future is headed, whether it's back to the Marines he goes or if the world holds something more for him. His struggle is seen through short snippets of his thoughts in between Sky's chapters, and these are some of the most raw, heartfelt sections of the book...at least they were for me.

These two characters barely knew one another before this summer, but once Josh returns to Creek View, it's obvious he's a different person than when he left. He attempts to maintain the bravado of his cocksure youth, but it's taking a toll on him, and the only one who doesn't seem to expect something from him is Skylar. The two develop a comfortable friendship as they work together at the motel, but it's obvious that something more is growing between them, and it was one of the most poignant, beautiful, and utterly realistic relationships I've read in YA. Not to mention sexy.

“The Josh I grew up around, with two legs and an ego that couldn’t fit through the door? I didn’t love him. I didn’t even always like him.” One corner of his mouth turned up. “This is who you are. The real you.” I rested my forehead against his. “And I want you so fucking bad.”

From a distance, this story reminded me of Something Like Normal by Trish Doller, with the flawed love interest who'd recently returned from a stint in the military overseas and was dealing with some really difficult stuff as a result. But I think it's the author's emotional attachment to her story that makes I'll Meet You There that much better. Not saying Doller didn't have the same attachment, just that it shone brighter from these pages as Demetrios laid her characters' hearts bare. Plus, there are the acknowledgements and author's notes that made it all the more evident how special this story was to Demetrios. Still, if you enjoyed Something Like Normal, you'll love this story...and the opposite holds true, as well.

I'll Meet You There was an emotional read, and it was genuinely difficult to read at times, especially during those portions Josh was narrating, but the end result is a story that I'll hold as a favorite for a long time to come. This review doesn't even begin to do the book justice, but it's a start.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

When she's not traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, Heather Demetrios lives with her husband in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, she now calls the East Coast home. Heather is a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real, which Publisher's Weekly calls “[An] addictive yet thoughtful debut” about reality TV stardom. She is the author of EXQUISITE CAPTIVE, a smoldering fantasy about jinn in Los Angeles and what Kirkus called in its starred review "an intoxicating, richly realized realm of magic, politics, spirituality and history" (#1 in the DARK CARAVAN CYCLE). She is also the author of the upcoming I’ll Meet You There (Winter 2015). I’ll Meet You There is a love story about a young combat veteran and a girl trapped in their small town, both struggling to escape the war at home. Heather is the founder of Live Your What, an organization dedicated to fostering passion in people of all ages and creating writing opportunities for underserved youth. She is proud to have an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. You can always find her on Twitter (@HDemetrios), ogling the military dogs she wants to adopt (but can’t because her NYC apartment is way too small). Find out more about Heather and her other books at wwww.heatherdemetrios.com and www.darkcaravancycle.com.

Find Heather:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | YouTube

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Labels: beautiful covers, contemporary, favorite authors, favorites, heather demetrios, i'll meet you there, macmillan, military, post hs ya, summer, tough subject

Judging a Book By Its Cover: I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

We so borrowed this idea from Sara at Forever 17 Books, who got the idea from an article on Babble called Judging a Book by Its Cover: A 6-year-old Guesses What Classic Novels Are All About. Basically, it's about getting a child's perspective on the story inside the book based on just the cover art. It can be hilarious, but it can also be enlightening.









This week, the girls are working on the following book:

Title: I'll Meet You There
Author: Heather Demetrios
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: February 3, 2015
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

Behold, the girls' attempts at recreating I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios...

Aubrey's masterpiece & guess:

Aubrey says:

"I think it was about people going to a hotel and spending time in the pool."

LoL, I can see where she got that idea. I haven't read this one yet but I hope to soon. Jen said it was really great, so it's gotta be worth checking out. :)


Katie's artwork & thoughts:

Katie says:

"Two people meet each other, and they might be friends when they meet. And those two people see a sign and they want to go to the motel."

Ah, the innocence of youth. Or is it just that I'm incapable of dragging my mind out of the gutter? :P Either way, Katie's guess is pretty good. Except that they don't want to go to the motel...they work there. =) I'll Meet You There is already one of my favorite reads of 2015...it brought all the feels, and I still can't stop thinking about it. Loved this one SOOOO much! I hope you'll stop by next week to check out my review!


Have you read this book or do you plan to? What do you think of the girls' artwork and their thoughts on the story's premise?

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Labels: aubrey, beautiful covers, contemporary, cover art, favorites, heather demetrios, i'll meet you there, judging a book by its cover, katiebug, macmillan, military, post hs ya, summer, tough subject

{Audiobook} Review: Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

Title: Rites of Passage
Author: Joy N. Hensley
Narrator(s): Khristine Hvam
Series:  n/a
Length: 10 hrs 28 mins
Publisher: Harper Audio
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Source: audiobook received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out. At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.

When I first saw this book pop up on Edelweiss, I passed on it. I saw my friends snagging it and I saw it mentioned on Goodreads again and again, and still I passed. I just didn't think this was going to be my kind of book. The cover did nothing to disprove that theory, either. I even think that the first time I read that summary, I was under the impression that the story was a dystopian, what with the mention of a secret society and such.

Boy, was I ever wrong. I should have guessed that it was more military-geared based on the cover, but even that alone wouldn't have piqued my interest the way all of the reviews from my fellow bloggers did. So, when I was offered a chance to review the audio for this novel, I jumped at the chance, especially when I realized that Khristine Hvam was the narrator. She's one of my very favorites, having narrated many, many of the audiobooks I've listened to over the last few years, and it would have to be one terrible story for me not to enjoy her portrayal. As it stands, I loved this book that much more because of Hvam's narration. I felt everything as Sam experienced it: the betrayals, the injustice, the pull toward Drill. I don't think I could love this story more because of her excellent performance.

I enjoyed the military aspect of this story, though it wasn't my favorite part. I actually considered going into the Air Force right out of high school, but school had already been so regimented for me that I decided I needed a break and a chance to be a normal teenager, at least for a little while. Sam, on the other hand, was raised in a military family. She ate, slept, and drank the military regimen from the time she could walk, and she's still doing it. After a family tragedy and a dare that she couldn't back down from, she's joining Denmark Military Academy as part of the first class to allow females into their program. And not many are happy about this development.

Sam is such a fierce, determined character, not badass in that she's perfect at everything she attempts. But every time she doesn't succeed or doesn't do her best, she picks herself back up and tries again. I think that's the sign of a true heroine...one who doesn't have an easy go of it but continues just the same. That determination of Sam's instantly booted her to my list of favorite characters. Sam is constantly bombarded with reminders that very few people want her at the DMA and many will go to great lengths to see her fail or to get her to quit. She's pretty stiff competition for a lot of the male recruits, and that does nothing to help her situation.

But not everyone and not every recruit is against Sam. There are three other female recruits in the program, though the allusions to female solidarity that I've seen in some reviews kind of boggle my mind. These girls should have stuck together and rooted for each other's success, but instead, some are no-shows, some give up, some let the bullies win, and some join the other side. She did have one true female supporter along the way, and she was probably the most important to begin with. However, Sam has a few male friends in the academy, too, ones who understand unity and working as a company and not for their own advancement, and they make the experience slightly less taxing for Sam.

Rites of Passage is pretty brilliant. The author takes the military experience, feminism, and a secret society and meshes them to create this absolutely intriguing story. And then she goes and creates this totally swoon-worthy romance that is scorching hot, not because it's forbidden but because it's so genuine and the love interest has Sam's best interests at heart. He's not a bad boy. He's not a douche. He's just her Drill Sergeant, and he's not afraid of a strong female who's willing to prove herself, no matter what.

My only complaint about this book is that I think part of my copy was missing. I am usually a fan of an open ending, but after all these characters had suffered -- for their own dreams and for each other -- well, I just hoped for more of a resolution for them. Not necessarily a happy ending, mind you, but at least a real hint at what their future held.

Rites of Passage will go down as one of my very favorite debuts of 2014, one of my favorite audiobooks of the year, and probably the best representation of the military experience I've read to date.  I'm really hoping there will be a sequel or some kind of novella, at least, to provide a more resolute ending, but as it is, this is still one of the best books I've read all year. I absolutely loved this story. Many thanks to all the bloggers who reviewed it and pushed me to give it a chance!

GIF it to me straight:

Book, I salute you!

About the author:

Joy N. Hensley is a former middle school teacher. She used to spend her twenty-minute lunch breaks hosting author Skype chats for her students. Once upon a time she went to a military school on a dare. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two children, finding as many ways as she can to never do another push-up again.

Find Joy:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: contemporary, favorite narrators, favorites, harper-collins, joy n. hensley, military, must-read, reviews, rites of passage, tough subject

Review: Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

Title: Rites of Passage
Author: Joy N. Hensley
Series: n/a
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 9th, 2014
Source: Received from Publisher via Edelwiess
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty...no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out. At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust...and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.

I really loved this book. I kind of knew I would just from reading the the description. You see, I went right to basic training after high school. Reading Rites of Passage brought back so many memories of those times. If I wasn't writing this review on the fly, I'd scan some pics to share with you. I wasn't Alpha company like Sam, but I was Bravo, and when I was sent to Fort Sill, OK for basic, I was part of the first female group to receive training there. Now, we weren't the first female soldiers on base or anything but it was an adjustment for the Drill Sergeants. They had never dealt with training us dainty things.. so I could relate.

There wasn't any kind of secret society trying to get us out like there was for Sam though. And let me tell you that shit pisses me off. I loved to hate some of the uppers in this book. Sam, I adored her. And there is so much she's going through. There is a reason she signs up to do this, and its rather heartbreaking. 

While I found a little of the secret society stuff to be a bit over the top, it was very interesting and kept me on my toes, just waiting for the next bad thing to happen. 

What really kept me picking up this one was the slow burn sexual tension that develops between Sam and her Drill Sergeant. Now keep in mind, this is a military academy, so when you think drill sergeant, we aren't talking about adults. I know some readers shy away from stuff like that, so I want to point out that he's no a pedo, he's an upperclassman. And oh my.. I wanted him for myself. I had old man Drill Sergeants. *boring* They were funny though. My fav one used to yell "What the Fuck Chuck!" all the time. 

I would definitely recommend Rites of Passage. I really enjoyed it. :) 

About the author:


Joy N. Hensley is a former middle school teacher. She used to spend her twenty-minute lunch breaks hosting author Skype chats for her students. Once upon a time she went to a military school on a dare. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two children, finding as many ways as she can to never do another push-up again.

Find Joy:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: harper-collins, joy n. hensley, military, reviews, rites of passage