Book Review: Pieces of You (Shattered Hearts #3) by Cassia Leo

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: May 3, 2013
Publisher: Gloss Publishing
323 Pages

"Sometimes letting someone go is the ultimate act of love."

In Relentless, college student Claire Nixon and surfer Adam Parker each had a painful past too heavy to carry alone. Claire tried to push Adam away, but Adam's relentless pursuit of her heart and her secrets made her walls come crumbling down.

But now Claire's attending college a hundred miles away from Adam. With their new relationship already hanging by a thread, Adam is sent to Hawaii on business.

And Claire's first love, rock star Chris Knight, is back in her life.

Chris wants his ex-girlfriend back. Both he and Claire know that only Chris has the power to mend the final missing piece of Claire's shattered heart. But Claire's strength is tested as she is forced to confront the demons she's been running from for more than a year.

Now Claire must choose between a long-distance relationship with Adam and a second chance at true love, family, and home with Chris.

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I don't get it. To quote Patrick Verona:

 

Source

Ugh.

 

This series is really love triangle to the max. Every book it's back and forth between Chris, Adam, Chris, Adam, Chris, Adam...how about no one?
 

Shattered Hearts is definitely a series where you have to read each other otherwise they won't really makes sense. Pieces of You picks up right where the last book ended. However, once again nothing gets solved and Claire is a mess. I honestly think I would like this series better if Claire could just act like a person. Don't get me wrong, I understand that she's had a horrible past and I feel bad for what she went through, but just because she comes from a bad place doesn't mean I'm going to listen to her whine and feel bad for her present situation.
 

That being said, I honestly don't understand how two guys are sooooo in love with her. She's pretty much just stringing them both along, running to the other when one hurts her. It's unfair to the guys and just a shitty move all around. If you can't pick one, just be alone. Not that the boys are super amazing either. I mean, I like Chris to a point but just a little possessive. And then there's Adam who has extreme anger issues that Claire even commented on how he scared her! On top of that, I don't think the author understands how to separate the two relationships from each other. They both can't live without each other, both make her feel like no one else can, both she will love forever. Really? You expect me to believe that at the age of, what, 20, that both of your relationships are the 'end all, be all' of epic proportions? Everything is so overdramatic in this series, from the breakups to the hookups to everything in between. No one is living, it's just DRAMA!.
 

Source

 

So why do I keep reading these? Well, I'm invested now. I need to see this train wreck out. Also,  have this problem where I can't not finish books/series because there's a part of me that thinks it just may get better. I really just want Claire to grow up and face up to her mistakes instead of constantly running from them. And I want both guys to leave her alone, cause come on, she's obviously a mess who can't make a decision. Make it for her. Move on.

 

Cover Reveal: Mythical (Mystical #2) by Michael Weekly

Book Blitz: Mystical (Mystical #1) by Michael Weekly

Teaser Tuesday 5/24

                              

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted MizB at Books and a Beat!

To participate, all you have to do is:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can ad the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

 

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And maybe...maybe it wouldn't get better. Rider had said nothing lasted forever, but some things, some scars, ran too deep to ever fade away.

Chapter 27, page 344

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer Armentrout

 

What are you reading this week?

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Cover Reveal: Olivia Decoded (Olivia Twisted #2) by Vivi Barnes

             

Today we are happy to join Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours, Entangled Teen and Vivi Barnes in the reveal of Vivi's upcoming novel, Olivia Decoded (Olivia Twisted #2).

Olivia Decoded (Olivia Twisted #2)

by Vivi Barnes

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Publisher: Entangled Teen

320 Pages

The long-anticipated follow-up to Olivia Twisted is an action-packed thriller full of romance, intrigue, and of course computer hacking.

Eight months after Jack left her on her balcony, Liv is now happily settled into life with her grandfather and a senior at the uppity Dalton Academy. When she receives roses and an expensive bracelet on Valentine’s Day, she suspects Jack is behind it. But when the gifts begin getting creepy, she enlists his and Sam’s help to discover who the stalker is.

Jack is busy helping Nancy run the Briarcreek home, which is also now home to the displaced girls of the defunct escort service, including Maggie, his ex-girlfriend. When Nancy tells him someone is hacking into their house accounts and stealing money, Jack puts Micah on duty to discover who’s behind it. He’s shocked when they discover that the hacking is traceable to his computer—and that it was used to purchase an expensive bracelet—the same one someone sent to Liv.

Jack and Liv must work together to figure out who is stalking her and setting him up as a thief in his own house and put a stop to it for good.

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 Olivia: He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care.

At least at this moment, I don’t care.

Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Liv might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Liv and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…

Z: I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta. It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl.<

Except that she’s not.

Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted.

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Big thanks to Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours and Entangled Teen for allowing Book Jems to join them in this release! We are so looking forward to reading the book, and we just absolutely adore the cover!

 

Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
335 Pages

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

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“You can be Han Solo. And I’ll be Boba Fett, I’ll cross the sky for you.”

To say this book was adorable doesn’t quite cut it. It’s more like the relationship between Eleanor and Park was adorable but everything around them was a nightmare. Which I feel gave this book an emotional depth that wouldn’t have been there if it had just been a story of first love. And I felt that way all the way up until the end.

Eleanor has had a hard life. After upsetting her stepfather one day, her mother leaves her at a neighbors house to let him cool off. A year later, Eleanor is allowed to live with her family again. If you can really call it living. A family of 7, I believe, living in a two bedroom house with an alcoholic/abusive stepfather and a mother who’s too scared to do anything about it. They barely have money for food or clothes. That plus Eleanor’s weight and eccentric style make her an easy target when she starts a new school.

Park is the complete opposite of Eleanor. His family is together and intact, loving – even if his father is constantly pushing Park to be more. Even though he’s half Korean, Park is accepted for who he is. He has friends and has a very easy going attitude about everything. He loves comics and martial arts. And he’s not too sure about Eleanor when she steps on his bus.

They agreed about everything important and argued about everything else.

Rowell captures first love perfectly. From the awkward glances to the small touches to the butterflies that all lead up to the confusing feelings. Every aspect of that is covered here. And that’s what drove the book for me. I adored everything about Park – his family, his hobbies, the way he loved, just everything. Eleanor was a little harder for me to warm up to but I believe that’s just because of her harsh exterior. I felt for her, I really did. And I wanted to strangle her mother because what kind of mother just watches her children get treated the way they were? She lost all respect from me in the first few pages. I mean, she left her kid with a neighbor for over a year and during that time, moved away.

The underlying story of abuse was there throughout the entire book. And Eleanor’s stepfather, just ew. When the depths of his grossness are revealed, I felt icky. Like I needed a bath to get away from him. But when all that is revealed, that’s when I felt the story started falling apart. And it was literally just in the last few chapters. The ending was very unsatisfying for me. I’ve read some articles of the author talking about why she ended it the way she did, but it still doesn’t sit well with me. There’s too many questions. Too many open plot points. And then just the frustration of not knowing. Like literally, what the hell happened? I get wanting the readers to take away their own ending but I just feel…I don’t know, shorted. I didn’t even need a happy ending, just an ending.

 

Friday Finds 5/20

Wow, can't believe May is almost over! It's that time again. Time for Friday Finds hosted by Babs over at Babs Book Bistro. So what did I find this week?



Dang! That's a lot of book finds in a week. Most of them came from recommendations from friends, but not going to lie, I've been waiting on Problem with Forever for awhile now and did a little happy dance when it showed up at my door.

Friday Finds showcases the books you 'found' and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list...whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library - wherever! (they aren't necessarily books you purchased).

What did you find this week?

 

Teaser Tuesday 5/17

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted MizB at Books and a Beat!

To participate, all you have to do is:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can ad the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

 

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I opened the drawers of the vanity searching for a scarf or something to cover the bruise peeking over the collar of my blue tunic, but then paused and glared at myself in the mirror. He'd acted like a brute and a savage, and if he'd come to senses by this morning then seeing what he'd done would be minimal punishment.

 

Chapter 22

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are you reading this week?

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