Title: Unteachable
Author: Leah Raeder
Narrator(s): Grace Grant
Series: n/a
Length: 9 hrs 49 mins
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio
Publication Date: August 19, 2014
Source: from publisher
Purchase: Amazon |
Barnes & Noble |
Audible
Maise O’Malley just turned eighteen, but she’s felt like a grown-up her entire life. The summer before senior year, she has plans: get into a great film school, convince her mom to go into rehab, and absolutely do not, under any circumstances, screw up her own future.
But life has a way of throwing her plans into free-fall.
When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their chemistry is immediate, intense, and short-lived. Which is exactly how she likes it: no strings. But afterward, she can’t get Evan out of her head. He’s taught her that a hookup can be something more. It can be an unexpected connection with someone who truly understands her. Someone who sees beyond her bravado to the scared but strong girl inside.
That someone turns out to be her new film class teacher, Mr. Evan Wilke.
Maise and Evan resolve to keep their hands off each other, but the attraction is too much to bear. Together, they’re real and genuine; apart, they’re just actors playing their parts for everyone else. And their masks are slipping. People start to notice. Rumors fly. When the truth comes to light in a shocking way, they may learn they were just playing parts for each other, too.
Smart, sexy, and provocative, Unteachable is about what happens when a love story goes off-script.
I had no idea what this book was about, but I kept seeing it pop up on my feed a few months ago as buzz for the title grew. Then I read the synopsis and decided the book wasn't for me, not with my aversion to squicky situations like teacher-student relationships. But I just kept seeing this book everywhere, and practically all of my friends were raving about it. So, me being me, I caved to the hype when I was offered a review copy of the audiobook.
And I can honestly say that the buzz was deserved. The fact that the student is eighteen and the legal age of consent in the state where the story takes place did much to assuage my doubts, as did the fact that when they realized their positions, they tried to step back from what was happening...even if that did only last like two seconds. Also, this book is hotness personified. I'm not a prude...I don't need fade-to-black sex scenes. Nor am I a fan of erotica, of those novels that feature too many details in said scenes.
Unteachable reaches a happy medium when it comes to describing the couple's most intimate encounters, though admittedly, it probably wasn't the greatest idea to listen while at my desk at work. ;0)
I'm not always the biggest fan of the new adult genre, but I feel like this novel was honest and gritty in a way that most new adult novels I've read haven't been. Maise isn't an innocent virgin testing the waters; she's an 18 year old woman who knows what she wants and goes after it. She expects Evan to be just another in a string of random hookups in an attempt to fill the daddy-sized hole in her life. But Maise and Evan have a genuine connection, one that remains even after the deed is done.
I'm not opposed to a much younger woman being in a relationship with a much older man. I've tested those waters myself and I found them to my liking until I realized I still felt like the mature one out of us both. Sure, it's a bit creepier in the case of this novel because Evan is nearly double Maise's age
and he's her teacher, but I'd have liked to see that aspect explored a bit more. We got to see their connection but what about all of those things that made -- or
should have made -- these two characters so unsuitable for each other? Maise even had an older, wiser sage-like figure to extol the virtues of this type of relationship while also serving as proof that they're not likely to work out. And instead of showing the ugly side of things, the story wraps up rather picturesquely, with Maise having her cake and eating it, too. Not that they don't have their problems and those problems aren't taken into consideration -- they do and they are -- but it was a tad unrealistic how easily things worked themselves out...for everyone.
This is only my second experience with a novel narrated by Grace Grant, and I thought that having only just recently listened to the other one would make it hard to distinguish the characters she voiced, but on that count, I was wrong. While this character is a bit similar to the last one she portrayed, especially in her awareness of her sexuality and the way that she knows what she wants and goes after it full-tilt, I never reverted back to thinking of Grace's voice as anyone's but Maise's. Her inflections and intonations made each character sound different and stand apart, even the most minor characters. I thoroughly enjoyed her performance of
Unteachable.
This novel really surprised me. I wasn't expecting to like it nearly as much as I did, even despite the hype, but I'm glad that I did because her
next novel sounds just as good. Maybe better. And probably just as hot, if that synopsis is to be believed.
About the author:
Leah Raeder is a writer and unabashed nerd. Aside from reading her brains out, she enjoys graphic design, video games, fine whiskey, and the art of self-deprecation. She lives with her very own manic pixie dream boy in Chicago.
(And she still writes pretentiously lyrical fiction.)
Find Leah:
Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
{Audiobook} Review: Black Iris by Leah Raeder
Author: Leah Raeder
Narrator(s): Grace Grant
Series: stand-alone
Length: 11 hrs 33 mins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Source: audio received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
This book, much like Unteachable, was very much out of my comfort zone. It's also not for the faint of heart. This is a story of revenge, of turning the tables on bullies, and some serious shit goes down before it's all over with.
If you have a morsel of humanity in your being, you will feel for what Laney suffers through. And once you know the whole story, you'll want revenge on her behalf because it is so twisted and vial and repulsive what these people did to her. Being picked on is terrible in and of itself, but these people messed with her head and her whole world. And when the motive for doing so is revealed, I wanted those people to pay for their actions more than ever.
This story is going to push some buttons because all it does is push you to your limits. I've read LGBT books before, but never one like this. And while the romance(s) in this book are so beyond anything I've read before in this particular genre -- more intense, more graphic, more everything -- I still found it beautiful in a chaotic, crazy way.
And the revenge plot line, on top of an unreliable narrator, pushed this story over the edge. The manipulating and the plotting and the violence. If the romance was intense than this aspect was acute in its execution. I've never been more afraid for the villain to get his comeuppance because when Laney goes on the attack, she's out for blood.
I loved Grace Grant's narration of Unteachable, and I appreciated her narration of this novel even more. She's not shy about getting into the story and owning the characters. In my review for Unteachable, I said, "Her inflections and intonations made each character sound different and stand apart, even the most minor characters," and I feel the same towards her narration of Black Iris. I feel as though only this narrator has the capability to represent Leah Raeder's characters. Her characters and stories are just too powerful and intense for any old narrator to do the job.
Despite driving me from my happy place, I loved this novel. Raeder's characters have considerable strength and the way the story just wraps around itself until you're only found when you're completely lost...I can't even. At this point, it's pretty much a given that I will read any and all of Leah Raeder's novels, no matter what they're about.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Top Ten of 2014: Best Book Boyfriends of 2014
We are SUPER excited to look back on 2014 with the ladies from Reading YA Rocks, Two Chicks on Books, Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, and Tales of a Ravenous Reader. They've put together a blog hop of sorts, looking back on the books we read in 2014 and looking forward to the ones we'll read in 2015. They've got some fun topics lined up, but today's is the BEST BOOK BOYFRIENDS OF 2014. (You can check out the full week's line-up here.)
Jen's Picks:
All of them. Every single one of them is mine. =)
Okay, not really...so, here are my top ten:
Honorable mentions: Tarver and Flynn from This Shattered World, Morpheus from Unhinged, Malachi from Chaos (Guards of the Shadowlands series), and Ronan from Blue Lily, Lily Blue.
April's Picks:
Have you met any of our picks yet? Are you participating in this look back on 2014? If so, share a link and we'll stop by to check out your picks, too!
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
{Audiobook} Review: Unteachable by Leah Raeder
Author: Leah Raeder
Narrator(s): Grace Grant
Series: n/a
Length: 9 hrs 49 mins
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio
Publication Date: August 19, 2014
Source: from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
I had no idea what this book was about, but I kept seeing it pop up on my feed a few months ago as buzz for the title grew. Then I read the synopsis and decided the book wasn't for me, not with my aversion to squicky situations like teacher-student relationships. But I just kept seeing this book everywhere, and practically all of my friends were raving about it. So, me being me, I caved to the hype when I was offered a review copy of the audiobook.
And I can honestly say that the buzz was deserved. The fact that the student is eighteen and the legal age of consent in the state where the story takes place did much to assuage my doubts, as did the fact that when they realized their positions, they tried to step back from what was happening...even if that did only last like two seconds. Also, this book is hotness personified. I'm not a prude...I don't need fade-to-black sex scenes. Nor am I a fan of erotica, of those novels that feature too many details in said scenes. Unteachable reaches a happy medium when it comes to describing the couple's most intimate encounters, though admittedly, it probably wasn't the greatest idea to listen while at my desk at work. ;0)
I'm not always the biggest fan of the new adult genre, but I feel like this novel was honest and gritty in a way that most new adult novels I've read haven't been. Maise isn't an innocent virgin testing the waters; she's an 18 year old woman who knows what she wants and goes after it. She expects Evan to be just another in a string of random hookups in an attempt to fill the daddy-sized hole in her life. But Maise and Evan have a genuine connection, one that remains even after the deed is done.
I'm not opposed to a much younger woman being in a relationship with a much older man. I've tested those waters myself and I found them to my liking until I realized I still felt like the mature one out of us both. Sure, it's a bit creepier in the case of this novel because Evan is nearly double Maise's age and he's her teacher, but I'd have liked to see that aspect explored a bit more. We got to see their connection but what about all of those things that made -- or should have made -- these two characters so unsuitable for each other? Maise even had an older, wiser sage-like figure to extol the virtues of this type of relationship while also serving as proof that they're not likely to work out. And instead of showing the ugly side of things, the story wraps up rather picturesquely, with Maise having her cake and eating it, too. Not that they don't have their problems and those problems aren't taken into consideration -- they do and they are -- but it was a tad unrealistic how easily things worked themselves out...for everyone.
This is only my second experience with a novel narrated by Grace Grant, and I thought that having only just recently listened to the other one would make it hard to distinguish the characters she voiced, but on that count, I was wrong. While this character is a bit similar to the last one she portrayed, especially in her awareness of her sexuality and the way that she knows what she wants and goes after it full-tilt, I never reverted back to thinking of Grace's voice as anyone's but Maise's. Her inflections and intonations made each character sound different and stand apart, even the most minor characters. I thoroughly enjoyed her performance of Unteachable.
This novel really surprised me. I wasn't expecting to like it nearly as much as I did, even despite the hype, but I'm glad that I did because her next novel sounds just as good. Maybe better. And probably just as hot, if that synopsis is to be believed.
Monday, April 8, 2013
{Event} Victoria Scott Signing & The Collector Release Party + Giveaway
2013 is the Year of Dante!!! In addition to hosting a review stop (complete with giveaway!) on the 2013 Belongs to Dante Tour, I also had the opportunity to attend The Collector Release Party on Saturday. I just love Victoria Scott to death. She's just so funny and sweet and an overall awesome human being, and even better? She's a Dallasite like myself! The second I found out she'd be doing a signing here, I knew I had to
rearrange my schedule so that I could attend.
There were cupcakes and a raffle and general merriment, but sadly, I couldn't stay long. I'd had a ru-heally long day, thanks to getting up at 5am for that 5k run my sis conned me into signing up for, plus I had to get home to my kiddo so my husband could get to his plans for the night. But don't think I didn't consider it when V invited us to attend the adult release party at Dragonfly at Hotel ZaZa! :D
And thanks to spending the entire day with my sis, I am **THIS** close to getting her to agree to be my co-blogger. We're still working out the arrangement and there are stipulations, but I am so excited! If Dante had told her to do it sooner, she probably would have jumped at the chance. He is that good! =)
And, being the awesome person that she is, Victoria signed an extra copy of The Collector for me to giveaway right here:
Thanks for entering, good luck & happy reading! And in the words of Dante, POW! =)
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Official Cover Reveal: The Liberator by Victoria Scott
I have yet another awesome cover reveal for you guys today! I've only just started my eARC of The Collector, but I'm already dying to get my hands on a copy of the sequel. Lucky for us, it comes out later this year! No waiting an agonizing twelve months (or more!) between books! :D And I just so happen to get to help with the cover reveal:
Hey guys! While I can't reveal many details yet, I will say this book was enormously emotional to write. More action, new characters, higher stakes, and a whole lot of sexy. I hope you enjoy reading the next chapter of Dante Walker's story!
By the way, Dante wants me to tell you..."Things only get darker from here, doll. Might want to hold my hand for this."
Eeek! Look at that unholy hawtness! And Wendy Higgins blurbed it! I am so friggin' excited for Victoria!!! And in case you're not familiar with this series yet -- improbable but not entirely impossible, I suppose -- here's the skinny on Dante...I mean The Collector:
Author: Victoria Scott
Series: Dante Walker
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: April 2, 2013
Website: http://www.dantewalker.com/
Stealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:
Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.
Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.
She currently lives in Dallas with her husband, Ryan.
Find out more about Victoria & her books:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | YouTube
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday: The Collector by Victoria Scott
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's WoW selection is...
Author: Victoria Scott
Series: Dante Walker, book #1
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: March 12, 2013
Website: http://www.dantewalker.com/
Stealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:
Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.
Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.
Why I'm waiting: Dante Walker. Dante Walker. DANTE WALKER! :D Sure, he sounds like every other bad boy with swagger, but when you couple that with soul reaping? That's a recipe for fun times! =) I just love that reapers have become the new paranormal hot commodity. Sooo many possibilities...
Friday, August 3, 2012
Website Reveal: DanteWalker.com [The Collector by Victoria Scott]
Oh, boy, do I have a treat for you guys today! Not only did I get to bring you the HAWT cover for Victoria Scott's upcoming novel a little while back, but now I get to help with the reveal of Dante Walker's very own website! Who is Dante Walker, you ask? Well, the short answer is, he's the smokin' hot main character from The Collector, due out in March. The long answer? Well, let's just say I have the key to helping you figure that out.
The website doesn't go live until Wednesday, August 8th, but because Dante likes to be naughty, he's letting a few of us in on the secret early. He let slip the password for early viewing, and though his mouth said don't, his eyes said something else entirely. But I'm getting sidetracked here. Want the password so you can get a sneak peek at his site and start stalking him like the rest of us? I can do that. :0)
But first, why don't you make sure you add his story to your TBR? Just click on that little button below his insanely hot cover.
From the man himself:
Done swooning yet? Yeah, you're not even close, trust me. Just wait till you get inside his head. You're already a goner, I can tell. I'm going against my better judgement here, but you asked for it. Just go to this website and enter the password you see below:
You heard what the man said. There's enough of him to go around, so send your friends to the site so they can meet Dante, too.
Enjoy! ;0)
Friday, June 1, 2012
Official Cover Reveal: The Collector by Victoria Scott
First, let's meet the author:
Victoria Scott is a YA writer with a die-hard affection for dark and humorous books. Her work is represented by the fabulous Laurie McLean of Larsen-Pomada literary agency. She has a master’s degree in marketing, and is a member of the Writers’ League of Texas and Teen Shiver.
Her first YA book, THE COLLECTOR, will be published by Entangled Teen in 2013. And her short story, FOUR HOUSES, is available now through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
She currently lives in Dallas with her husband, Ryan.
And now, the moment you've been waiting for! Drumroll, please...
Author: Victoria Scott
Series: Dante Walker
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: March 2013
Website: http://www.dantewalker.com/
Stealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:
Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.
Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.
What unholy hotness is this, you say? You want more, you say? How's this for you:
I think fans of Lisa Desrochers' Personal Demons series are going to LOVE this one! What do you think of the cover? Think you'll be clamoring to get your hands on a copy of The Collector?
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starryeyedjen
- I work with numbers by day, and I'm a mommy and avid reader by night. I'm a self-proclaimed Spreadsheet Queen, and I'll read anything you put in front of me. I seriously love all the books! And I adore audiobooks, too!
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