Tour Stop: Second Kiss by Natalie Palmer + Review

Did you uy miss me!? Yes, I know, I know. It’s been a while since we’ve had a blog tour around here, but better late than never, right?

Today we are starting of Natalie Palmer’s blog tour for her book Second to No One with a review.

A few things before we head that way…

What do you say we learn a little bit about Natalie first? This is what she has to say about herself:

I am a writer. But more importantly, I’m a mom, which is the best thing I could have ever hoped for in my life. I have three kids who amaze me every day with their little quips of humor and intelligence.  I can’t really applaud myself for how great they are, though, since I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing when it comes to mothering children.  But the fact that they’re turning out so awesome and I’m the one that hangs out with them all day makes me feel pretty good about myself.

I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah where I was spoiled to have the huge Wasatch Mountains in my backyard.  I graduated from the University of Utah with a major in English Literature but that’s boring.  The exciting part was when I met and fell in love with the boy of my dreams. He wasn’t my first or second kiss but he was by far my favorite and it didn’t take us long to figure out that life could never be as good apart as it was together. So we got married and have been living happily ever after ever since.

When I’m not attending to my homemaking and writing duties I love to exercise because it’s the only time that I have an excuse to listen to my music uninterrupted and as loud as I want.  I love all different genres of music but I run extra fast when I hear Dashboard Confessionals, Cold Play or Owl City on my iPod.  Besides music I love anything that has to do with water including but not limited to drinking it, skiing on it (in liquid or powder form), basking in the sun while boating on it and (these days) lazily dreaming while my kids play in it for hours on end.

So there you have it. I’m a wife, mother, writer and iPod blasting mermaid.  While my husband works his brains out I take care of our kids and conjure up storylines and characters and romantic turns of events.  And someday, if we’re lucky, we’ll be as happy as we are now.

Now, and before you run away on me let’s talk about the book!

What you need to know first is that Second to No One is the sequel to Second Kiss, the most adorable book in the world. So before you go thinking about reading this one do check Second Kiss first, because for one you would be totally lost and, second, it’s beautiful!

I fell in love with Second Kiss instantly (you can read my review here, by the way), so when I found out about a second book I went head first, and it did not disappoint.

Now it’s cover and blurb time!

“Things change. People change. Jess and I weren’t above it.”

Gemma’s first year of high school isn’t starting out the way she hoped. Jess is back from California and before she can memorize her class schedule their summer romance comes to a screeching halt. To add to her misery the gorgeous new girl in school also has eyes for Jess and despite Gemma’s unfailing attempts to win him back she keeps finding herself alone.

But when a late night car crash lands her a three month grounding and twenty hours of community service she discovers that there’s more to life than just romance and boyfriends.

Unpredictable and heart wrenching, Second to No One is the perfect continuation to the magical beginning of the Gemma and Jess romance.

Tour Stop: The Last Witch by Debbie Dee

Title: The Last Witch

Author: Debbie Dee

Publisher: Dolce Books

Pages: 248

Book Description:

For generations the Incenaga Witches have been forced to use their power to fulfill the wishes of others until they are drained of their magic and left to die. Desperate to protect his infant daughter – the last surviving witch – Emmeline’s father escapes with her to the forests where he vows to keep her hidden from the world and from the truth. Sixteen years later, Emmeline is discovered and finds herself in the grip of a traitor who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it means abusing her power until she dies. She is taken to a distant country and told she must marry the Crown Prince or her own country will be overtaken, its people slaughtered. But what sort of prince would marry a witch? And why would she be the difference between war and peace? As she fights to regain her freedom, she is faced with a choice between a prince who offers a lifetime of security and a common gamekeeper who has no idea of her power, but offers his heart. But who can she trust when her power can be used against her?

Review: What I Didn’t Say by Keary Taylor

Book: What I Didn’t Say

Author:  Keary Taylor

Published: April 2012

My Rating: 4/5

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Book Description:

Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat.

His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He’s been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it’s too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.

When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he’ll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn’t limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she’ll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she’ll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn’t say before, even if he can’t actually say it.

My Review:

What I Didn’t Say was a touching, lovely book, that I’m completely recommending. It makes you think, in a very what-have-I-done-with-my-life-so-far kind of way. It makes you reflect –or at least it did me –and appreciate what you have, because there is someone else out there that doesn’t.

Review: Notes from the Blender by Trish Cook & Brendan Halpin

Book: Notes from the Blender

Author:  Trish Cook & Brendan Halpin

Published: May 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Book Description:

Declan loves death metal–particularly from Finland. And video games–violent ones. And internet porn–any kind, really. He goes to school with Neilly Foster and spends most of his classroom time wondering what it might be like to know her, to talk to her, maybe even to graze against her sweater in the hallway. Neilly is an accomplished gymnast, naturally beautiful, and a constant presence at all the best parties (to which Declan is never invited). She’s the queen of cool, the princess of poker face, and her rule is uncontested– or it was until today, when she’s dumped by her boyfriend, betrayed by her former BFF Lulu, and then informed she’s getting a new brother–of the freaky fellow classmate variety. Declan’s dad is marrying Neilly’s mom. Soon. Which means they’ll be moving in together.

My Review:

Eeek!

I just finished reading Notes from the Blender and I’m grinning so hard my cheeks hurt and I’m actually tearing up too. Damn, it was good.

In Notes from the Blender we follow Declan and Neilly.

Declan is a teenage boy obsessed with metal music, he wears black all the time, he plays way too many video games and is a little bit of a pervert. In a completely hilarious way. He doesn’t have many friends, and that probably has more to do with his choices than with him being socially awkward, because I never felt he was. Other than making sex jokes all the time. Okay, so maybe, just maybe he was. A little.

Neilly is in the popular crowd. She has a popular boyfriend, a best friend, goes to lots of parties. She’s beautiful and you know, the usual. She is a little self-centered too, but we forgive her.

So how do this two completely different people get mixed up together? Easy, get his dad to knock her mom up and you’re set.

Yes. So now Dec’s dad is marring Neilly’s mom. And they are having a little “devil spawn.” Their lives ger turned upside down. New house, new family, new people, new everything. Which means they are moving in together. And above it all Neilly just lost her best friend and her boyfriend all in the same day. And Dec can’t stop having not-so-sisterly-thoughts about Neilly, or feeling like his father is trying to replace his mother (who died in a car accident when he was nine) and/or him.

Notes from the Blender was hilarious. I don’t come across many books that make me laugh out loud like this, actually I think only one book made me actually laugh-laugh, if you know what I mean? And this one did too, not to that extent, but I found myself grinning most of the time. Dec is incredibly hilarious with his inappropriate comments and all.

“A bond that he will always treasure. I was being raised by a human greeting card.”

But, surprising enough, it actually made me cry too. I know, what a mess! But I couldn’t help but feel for Dec so much! He was used to being just him and his dad and then all of a sudden he’s having a stepmother, and two step-sisters (with one yet to be born)? It was understandable he would miss his mother, and I hurt for him.

Notes from the Blender is told from both Dec and Neilly’s point of view, so you get to understand and feel for these two characters, and see how they grow and learn to accept each other and what life was throwing at them. I don’t know if I should classify this as a light read, given it made me cry, but it’s more on the humor side, I assure you. Dec just got to me a little more than it should have, probably.

“I had a terrible epiphany at that moment. I had thought that I didn’t understand girls because I never got near them, but here I was, sitting in Neilly Foster’s kitchen eating ice cream with her, and I had no fucking idea what made her mind work. So it wasn’t proximity that was the problem. It was that they were fundamentally unknowable.”

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Book: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Published: December 2010

My Rating: 4/5

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Book Description:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris – until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he’s taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near – misses end with the French kiss Anna – and readers – have long awaited?

My Review:

I’m so glad I read Anna and the French Kiss. I need to read more books that draw you in and make you grin so hard your cheeks hurt. I need to read more books that are this sweet, that leave you with this sense of happiness that’s not easy to shake. Because that’s how this book made me feel. Happy.

It had its fair share of broken hearts and misunderstandings, but nothing can rival to the joy you feel when you finish reading it. It was sweet, and cute, and perfect.

Review: Breathe (Sea Breeze #1) by Abbi Glines

Book:  Breathe (Sea Breeze #1)

Author:  Abbi Glines

Published: May 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Book Description:

Sadie White’s summer job isn’t going to be on the beach life-guarding or working at rental booths like most kids her age. With her single mother’s increasing pregnancy and refusal to work, Sadie has to take over her mother’s job as a domestic servant for one of the wealthy summer families on a nearby island.

When the family arrives at their summer getaway, Sadie is surprised to learn that the owner of the house is Jax Stone, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world. If Sadie hadn’t spent her life raising her mother and taking care of the house she might have been normal enough to be excited about working for a rock star.

Even though Sadie isn’t impressed by Jax’s fame, he is drawn to her. Everything about Sadie fascinates Jax but he fights his attraction. Relationships never work in his world and as badly as he wants Sadie, he believes she deserves more. By the end of the summer, Jax discovers he can’t breathe without Sadie.

My Review:

Wow. What a great book. Breathe was an easy and light read. Such a sweet love story.

Seventeen-year-old Sadie is stuck working in her mother’s place during her summer vacation. Jessica’s pregnancy and complete lack of common sense, made Sadie the grown up in their home, and as such it’s her who has to provide their meal every day. While working in her mother’s place —cleaning rich people’s houses —isn’t completely horrible. Granted, it isn’t how Sadie wanted her summer vacation to go either. But luck is (sort of) on her side, as she ends up working at teen-rock-star-Jax-Stone’s home, of them all.