Half in Love with Death
by Emily Ross
Publisher: Merit Press
Release Date: December 18th 201
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

It's the era of peace and love in the 1960s, but nothing is peaceful in Caroline's life. Since her beautiful older sister disappeared, fifteen-year-old Caroline might as well have disappeared too. She's invisible to her parents, who can't stop blaming each other. The police keep following up on leads even Caroline knows are foolish. The only one who seems to care about her is Tony, her sister's older boyfriend, who soothes Caroline's desperate heart every time he turns his magical blue eyes on her. 

Tony is convinced that the answer to Jess's disappearance is in California, the land of endless summer, among the runaways and flower children. Come with me, Tony says to Caroline, and we'll find her together. Tony is so loving, and all he cares about is bringing Jess home. And so Caroline follows, and closes a door behind her that may never open again.

Inspired by the disturbing case of Charles Schmid, ‘the Pied Piper of Tucson’, Half in Love with Death is a heartfelt thriller that never lets up.

        Favorite Book?

I have so many it’s hard to choose, but 

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane is one of my all time favorites. 

It’s so sad and dark with such moving and unforgettable characters. And it’s also a tight page turning mystery. 

     Favorite TV show? 

Mad Men. I’m really bummed that the series ended.

   Favorite movie?

It’s a tie between Edward Scissorhands and Silver Linings Playbook.

   Your Favorite Song?

The Water (Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling)

  Favorite Food?

Mac and cheese, preferably with Buffalo Chicken.  

Who is your perfect fictional boyfriend? 

 I hate to admit this but it’s Heathcliff, even though I also kind of hate him.  

Favorite Quote?

“To hell with tomorrow. To hell with all problems and barriers. Nothing matters but the Spectacular Now.” 

― Tim Tharp, The Spectacular Now 

   What do you find yourself “Fangirling” over?

Kit Harrington. Jon Snow can’t be dead!  

If you could meet one author, dead or alive, who would it be?

I would love to meet F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby was one of the first books that made me realize I wanted to me a writer. Something about Fitzgerald’s lyrical style makes me want to put words on a page, and I bet he was a really cool dude.

  What authors are auto-buys for you?

 I’ll buy anything by Gillian Flynn or Tana French. 

Hello Emily! We are super excited to host you in our FFBC.  

For those who have read not the book yet, can you tell us a little about Half In Love With Death? 

Half in Love with Death is a young adult thriller that takes place in Tucson in 1965. It’s the time of peace and love, but nothing is peaceful in fifteen-year-old Caroline's life. Since her beautiful older sister Jess disappeared, Caroline might as well have disappeared too. She's invisible to her parents, who can't stop blaming each other. The police keep following up on foolish leads and assume Jess is a runaway. The only person who pays any attention to her is Jess’s boyfriend Tony. Every time she turns around, he’s looking at her with startling blue eyes, telling her how they can find Jess together, how anything is possible if you believe it. 

Tony is convinced that the answer to Jess's disappearance is in California, the land of endless summer, among the runaways and flower children. Come with me, Tony says to Caroline, and we'll find her together. Tony is so loving, and all he cares about is bringing Jess home. And so Caroline follows, and by the time she learns the difference between truth and illusion, it may be too late.

Half in Love with Death is inspired by the case of Charles Schmid, ‘the Pied Piper of Tucson’.

If you could describe Caroline in 5 words, what would they be? 

Intelligent, curious, romantic, lovely, idealistic 

Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write? 

I really liked writing the scene where Caroline is in the car with Tony and Debbie Frank for the first time. Debbie’s snarky dialogue with Tony in this scene came very easily. I just had to step back and let her talk. And I had fun with Caroline as she sort of fumbles with her notes and tries to be a detective. 

What was more difficult to write, the historical aspects 

or the mystery? 

The mystery was much harder for me than the historical aspects. I had fun researching sixties references and looking at fashion and listening to the music from that era. But figuring out the mystery, planting clues, and figuring out the ending was a challenge. In fact I resisted working out the ending for a long time, and until I did that I couldn’t really make the mystery work. After I finally wrote the end, I had to go back to plant clues and to make sure all the threads hung together. It’s not the ideal way to write a mystery, and the next time I write one I will do more planning up front.

Follow the Half In Love With Death by Emily Ross Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Emily Ross's YA mystery/thriller HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH is forthcoming from Merit Press(12/2015). She received a 2014 MCC Artist Fellowship finalist award for fiction, and is a graduate of Grub Street's Novel Incubator program. When not writing she works as a web developer and is the mother of two millennials. Find out more at http://www.emilyrosswrites.com/ or https://twitter.com/emilyross816.

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Come Back to Me (Come Back to Me #1)
by Mila Gray
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: December 8th 2015
Genre: Young Adult, New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Drama, War, Fiction, Death
Rate: 5.0!!!

Synopsis:

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?

OMG this book guys! First of all let me just say that this book has something that I haven't experienced in a long time. A first chapter that just keeps you hooked from the first page. There is something to be said about a great introduction that grabs your attention from the very first page and keeps your turning the pages to find out what is going to happen next. 

I have to come to realize that I have a soft spot for books about marines. But this book? This book is a on a league of its own. Yes it has a similar formula; boy meet girl, they fall in love, boy goes to war. But it was so much more than that. In addition to the love story between Kit and Jessa, we also have a beautiful coming of age story for Jessa who had struggled between what her family wants of her and her desire to be an actress. We also see a family struggle between a war-stricken father who struggles from his own days in the Iraq war. 

But the love story is one that truly tugged on my heart strings. Kit is not only a bad ass marine, but a sweet gentle romantic. There were also some really funny scenes in this book that had to do with Riley's ignorance of his sister's and best friend's romance. 

So keep your tissues near by and prepare your heart for a new book boyfriend! This is definitely a book I will be picking up in the future and can't wait to hear about the next book in the series. 

Follow the Come Back To Me by Mila Gray Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

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.

You can find out more at www.milagray.com and on facebook: www.facebook.com/sarahjalderson.

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Title: Power Play

Author: Danielle Steel

Acquired: Target

Published: 01.27.15

Pages: 448

My Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0

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Synopsis:

 In Northern California two successful CEOs are both indispensable to their growing companies’ futures. Both are brilliant at the power game. But the difference between them is huge. One is a man, the other a woman. In this riveting novel, Danielle Steel explores what that means as she takes readers into the rarefied world of those at the pinnacle of international business and reveals the irrevocable choices they make, what drives them, and how others perceive them. The heady drug of power impacts everything they do.

POWER PLAY

Even though Harvard-educated Fiona Carson has proven herself under fire as CEO of National Technology Advancement, a multibillion-dollar high-tech company based in Palo Alto, California, she still has to meet the challenges of her world every day. Devoted single mother, world-class strategist, and tough negotiator, Fiona weighs every move she makes, and reserves any personal time for her children. Isolation and constant pressure are givens for her as a woman in a man’s world.

Miles away in Marin County, Marshall Weston basks in the fruits of his achievements. At his side is his wife, Liz, the perfect corporate spouse, who has gladly sacrificed her own law career to raise their three children and support Marshall at every step. Smooth, shrewd, and irreproachable, Marshall is a model chief executive, and the power he wields only enhances his charisma and is his drug of choice. And to maintain his position, he harbors secrets that could destroy his life at any moment. His world is one of high risks.

Like many women in her position, Fiona has sacrificed her personal life for her career, while Marshall dances dangerously close to the edge and flirts with scandal every day. Both must face their own demons, and fight off those who are jealous of their success. Their lives as CEOs of major companies come at a high price. And just how high a price are they willing to pay? Who are they willing to sacrifice to stay on top? Those they love, or themselves?

Danielle Steel’s gripping, emotionally layered novel explores the seductive and damaging nature of power. Success and greed, trust and deception, love and loss—all come to a head in this compelling drama of family, careers, infidelity, and the sacrifices some people make to hold on to power . . . or to let it go.

My Review: 

I thought I knew what I was getting when I picked up this book. I was in the mood for a sexy CEO that exuded power and dominance. Maybe I was looking for another Christian Grey. When I briefly read through the synopsis and saw that there was also a female CEO involved too, I was like YES this is going to be amazing. Unfortunately what I got was nowhere near what I wanted. Partially it was probably my fault, as I did not read the synopsis as well as I should have. I won't really go into the synopsis as the one above is very thorough. (Probably why didn't read it, in it's entirety).

This book is more about 2 families, (well technically three, but spoiler alert, so I won't go there).
Even though I really enjoyed the family storylines I was bothered by the two main characters story lines as they were stereotypical and had no real plot.

What I meant in stereotypical is how each CEO's personal lives are displayed. Fiona, the female CEO had a failed marriage and had to put her love life on on the back burner because she had to put her company and her children first. Whereas Marshall, the male CEO had the happy marriage and carried on with extramarital affair, because he could get away with it. Fiona had to keep sacrificing everything, whereas Marshall would get exactly what he wanted, whenever he wanted.

However that being said, I did find the family stories enjoyable and kept reading. Granted I was shaking my head at certain places of the book, I did still keep reading on curious to see where the story would go. And I was happy with the ending for the most part. I would have liked to seen one aspect of  it end differently to have earned a higher rating from me.

With that being said. This was my first Danielle Steel book, Are they any of her books that you would recommend me picking up? She had a large body of work and I am sure there must be some gems in there. Recommend away!


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