Magnolia
by Kristi Cook
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: August 5th 2014
Rate: 4 Stars! 

Synopsis:

In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are southern royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when a baby boy and girl were born to the families at the same time, the perfect opportunity seemed to have finally arrived.

Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen, for goodness’ sake, not to mention that one little problem: They hate each other! Jemma can’t stand Ryder’s nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would like nothing better than to pretend stubborn Jemma doesn’t exist.

But when a violent storm ravages Magnolia Branch, it unearths Jemma’s and Ryder’s true feelings for each other as the two discover that the line between love and hate may be thin enough to risk crossing over.

This book came as a fun surprise. I haven't read Kristi's other series yet, but I have heard good things about it from some non-blogging friends who have. But the whole concept of this book had me intrigued. I knew it was going to be different than most YA contemporary books out there. I was so interested in this book that Patri and I contacted Kristi and invited her to join our FFBC and the rest is history. 

There is just something about this book that grabbed my attention from the very beginning. Maybe it had to do with the fact I love history, and the initial few pages was recounting the history between the two families. Maybe it was the way the author immediately sets up the the small town Mississippi feel. As someone who grew up in Los Angeles, I love reading about small towns and the way Kristi builds the setting you feel as you are almost there. 

Now on to the characters. There were many aspects to Jemma's personality that were not only enjoyable, but also very relateable. First off, I liked the fact that she was was trying hard to fight to become the person she wanted to be, and not exactly follow the footsteps her parents had set out for her. And I say not exactly, because somethings her parents want her are not so bad. And that comes in the beautiful form of Ryder. Okay Ryder is seriously a dream boat! Honestly the only thing wrong about Ryder is that he made a juvenile mistake when they were younger and he needs to man up and own it. But when the storm hits, man oh man does Ryder step up. Sometimes with or without a shirt. 

If you are looking for a fun summer read. Or even a fun faced paced contemporary any time of the year, Magnolia is definitely the one for you. 

Follow the FFBC Magnolia Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

As a child, Kristi Cook took her nose out of a book only long enough to take a ballet class (or five) each week. Not much has changed since then, except she’s added motherhood to the mix and enjoys penning her own novels as much as reading everybody else’s. A transplanted southern gal, Kristi lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

That’s the official version–here are some other fun facts:

~ As an undergrad, I majored in History and minored in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. While at Southern Miss, I was a member of Phi Mu sorority, and I was a Dixie Darling. And yep, Brett Favre was our quarterback at the time!

~ I studied American History in grad school at Columbia University. I *love* history, especially the Civil War era (U.S.) and Regency- and Edwardian-era British history.

~ My all-time favorite book *and* movie is GONE WITH THE WIND. My favorite literary characters are Rhett Butler, Atticus Finch, and Mr. Darcy. I kind of want to add Peeta Mellark to that list!

~Weirdly enough (or maybe not so weirdly?) I’m also a big fan of STAR TREK (the original series). I never can remember if I’m supposed to call myself a “Trekkie” or a “Trekker,” though!

Dark Days
by Kate Ormand
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release Date: June 3rd 2014
Rating: 4 Stars!

Synopsis:

The future world has been divided into sectors--each the same as the other. Surrounded by thick steel fences, there is no way in and no way out. Yet a cyborg army penetrates each sector, picking off its citizens one by one, until no one is left. Behind the sectors' thick walls, the citizens wait to die. Few will be chosen to survive what's coming; the rest will be left behind to suffer. A new world has been created, and its rulers are incredibly selective on who will become a citizen. They want only those with important roles in society to help create a more perfect future. 

Sixteen-year-old Sia lives in one of the sectors as part of a family that is far too ordinary to be picked to live. According to the digital clock that towers high above her sector, she has only fifteen days to live. Sia has seen the reports and knows a horrific death is in store for her, but she is determined to make the most of her final days. Sia refuses to mourn her short life, instead promising herself that she'll stay strong, despite being suffocated by her depressed mother and her frightened best friend. Just when Sia feels more alone than ever, she meets Mace, a mysterious boy. There is something that draws Sia to him, despite his dangerousness, and together, they join a group of rebels and embark on an epic journey to destroy the new world and its machines, and to put an end to the slaughter of innocent people.

My Review:

I am always cautious about reading back to back books in the same genre. I have always found that if you read contemporary back to back, the stories end up jumbling together up together, I start mixing up the characters names and to top it off I start being able to predict the plot and the twists and the book does not end up becoming as enjoyable as it would be.

In the month of June I had 3 Dystopian books I had to read to review: Branded, The Murder Complex and then Dark Days.  And I am proud to report, did my usual issues with reading boos in the same genre back to back was not an issue. In fact I actually really enjoyed all 3 of them.

Dark Days is one of those books that grabs your attention from the very first page and keeps it to the very end. The whole idea of premise of the story is so enticing. What if you only had 15 days to live? How would you spend those days? Would you make a bucket list of things to get done? Stay closed off until the inevitable occurred or would you go out fighting? These are exactly the choices that Sia has to figure out.

In addition to the amazing action packed pace, but I really enjoyed about this story was Sia. She is faced with the the fact that she has only 15 days left to live before the government sends out cyborgs to end everyone but the chosen ones for the New World. She must figure out how to live the last days of the life. I loved the fact that she didn't just crawl up into a fetal position and wait for the inevitable. She is a fighter and tried to make the best of the days she had left and when the time came to fight for what she believed in, she fought harder then what was expected.

Some of the more negative reviews wanted more world building and more explanation to why things were happening. But I honestly enjoyed that aspect of it. This book is meant to be a stand alone therefore didn't need too much build up and unnecessary explanation of why things were the way they were. I loved that from page 1 we were immediately drawn into the sad and sometimes gory reality that is Sia's life.

If you're looking for a action packed dystopian that keeps you engaged throughout and has a great conclusion, than this is the book for you!

KATE ORMAND is a YA writer represented by Isabel Atherton at Creative Authors Ltd. She lives in the UK with her family, her partner, and a cocker spaniel called Freddie. She recently graduated from university with a first class BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art Painting. It was during this course that Kate discovered her love of reading YA books, prompting her to try a new creative angle and experiment with writing. Kate is also a member of an online group of published writers and illustrators called Author Allsorts. And she writes children’s picture books under the name Kate Louise. 

You can see more about Kate and her writing by visiting her website (www.kateormand.wordpress.com) or on Twitter (@kateormand).

Follow the FFBC Dark Days blog tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

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Another #FFBC event has came to a close! 

A very special thank you to Sarah Ockler for allowing us to host her 

new book #scandal! 

#scandalby Sarah Ockler

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June 17th 2014
Rate: 4.0

Synopsis:

Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.

When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.

By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation. 

Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.

There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love...

Why do I read YA? Lately there is a lot of controversy over adults reading YA. As an almost 30 year old adult, I read YA for many reasons. One of the reasons I read YA can be found in this book. It has been a couple of months since I read a book that made me think. And this book did exactly that. During my own high school days social media was in his initiation stages with dial up modems and AOL trial hours, screen names and instant messaging. Scandals did occur and went around the school with good old fashioned word of mouth advertisement. Fast forward twelve years and social media has expanded and became a completely new, sometimes fun and sometimes scary dynamic. And this story did a great job at opening our eyes and making us understand the danger and harm that can be caused by social media. 

There were several aspects of this book that stood out to me, beyond the over all main scandal described in the synopsis. First off let me say that the author does a wonderful job and capturing the essence of what teenagers are like today. There have been several books in which authors have tried to write like how a teenager would talk, but fail miserably. However to me Sarah Ockler succeeded where others failed. There are also a ton of pop culture references which were fun to read about and made the story feel even more authentic. 

Another aspect of the story that I really enjoyed was the relationship between Cole and Lucy. I know a lot of people felt the relationship aspect of the story was lacking. But I thought that it complemented the story beautifully. To me the romance was not the main point of the story. Yes, it was how our story got started and is a side plot through out the book, but the romance was just the catalyst to the main plot. But throughout it all Cole is there to help Lucy move on from the scandal. This shows his strength of character and him accepting his part in what happened.

But my favorite part of this story, partially because it was one that hit close to home and one in which I could relate to was the relationship between Lucy and her older sister. Yes, I have an older sister and no she is not an actress. But just like Lucy and her sister's relationship, ours did not blossom and become what it is today until we were both older. But just like Lucy's older sister, mine has always been there for me through thick and then some. But unfortunately she not much of a cook, so no mini bunt cakes for me ;) 

Follow the FFBC #scandal blog tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Sarah Ockler is the bestselling author of novels for teens, including The Book of Broken Hearts, Bittersweet, Fixing Delilah, and the critically acclaimed Twenty Boy Summer, a YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominee and IndieNext List pick. Her latest, #scandal, hits the shelves in June 2014. 

Sarah is a champion cupcake eater, coffee drinker, night person, and bookworm. When she's not writing or reading at home in Colorado, she enjoys taking pictures, hugging trees, and road-tripping through the country with her husband, Alex.

Win a prize pack with 4 Signed hardbacks of Sarah Ockler's books: Twenty Boy Summer, Fixing Delilah, Bittersweet, and The Book of Broken Hearts (US Only)

Giveaway is open to US/CAN Only | Must be 13 or older to enter 

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