Review: Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Summary (from Goodreads):
Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet. Why would they? Anna is sixteen in 1995, fiercely determined to leave her quiet town and finally travel the world. Bennett's seventeen in 2012, living in San Francisco and trying to control his ability to travel through time - an incredible gift, but also an unpredictable curse, which constantly threatens to separate him from the people he loves.

When Bennett suddenly finds himself in Anna's world, they are inescapably drawn to one another - it's almost as if they have met before. But they both know, deep down, that it can never last. For no matter how desperate Bennett is to stay with Anna, his condition will inevitably knock him right back to where he belongs - and Anna will be left to pick up the pieces.

Time Between Us is possibly one of the most adorable books I have ever had the good fortune of reading. This is what I call a pick me up book with just the right amount of bittersweet romance, cute teenage first love looks across a room and just a sprinkling of crazy time travel on the top. I really couldn't get enough of it.

What irritates me so much with a lot of popular teen books is that authors feel the need to create so much superficial angst with characters who have too many love interests and are stuck wondering which person they would rather be with or something similar to that. Time Between Us is the romance between two individuals who can't be together because time - like actual proper time.. I'm talking Dr Who space continuum time... yeah, this shit is real - separates them. If that's not star-crossed lovers I don't know what is.


Speaking of said star-crossed lovers, Anna and Bennett are too cute for words. I've probably said this already (probably more than once) but wow, so adorable. This is cheesy grin inducing, a basket full of kittens, rainbows and unicorns adorable. Really.

I loved that I also like Anna on her own, when she wasn't with Bennett. If Anna decided to jump out of fiction and have a little gander in the real world, I would be honoured to be her friend. (The fact that her family owns a bookstore has nothing to do with my feelings, of course not.) Stone creates Anna as a very relatable character (she blushes over the littlest of things, she is my soul sister) who always tries to think of her friends and her family but also has ambition and dreams of her own which I absolutely adored about her. A lot of Anna's inner dialogue is really enjoyable to read and there so many thoughts that really resonated with me e.g.: 

“I stood there and stared at it—this colorful expanse of paper, with its topographic mountain ranges and changeable shades of blue to depict the various depths of the ocean—and saw a map of the world, but knew it wasn’t mine. My world was much, much smaller” 

This novel is too sweet to pass up. Yes, the ending was a little too perfect and not very likely but this is a teen romance about time travel, who really needs a perfectly believable ending? Overall, the characters are truly lovable, the writing is lovely and the story line, addictive... that's all you need from a book to let you effectively escape from your world for a little while.

Music choice: There's something about Time Between Us that really does scream proper Love Story. What better song to sum up all that then Taylor Swift's Love Story that speaks of star-crossed lovers and lonely characters? Here it is.. Love Story by Taylor Swift. :) 

itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/fearless/id305324920

Review: Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

Summary (from Goodreads):
Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.

Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.

Now Parker wants a new life.

So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?

But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

Stealing Parker is a summer read, pure and simple. While Kenneally's debut of Catching Jordan mainly captured my attention with its unpredictable romance, I enjoyed Stealing Parker for entirely different reasons. There is still of course the sporty female protagonists but in the place of surprising love interests, Parker's relationship with God and her religion took centre stage for me. It was incredibly interesting to read about a teenage girl's struggle with her faith grow and change and develop (seen through sporadic diary entries/letters addressed to God) while she went through some heavy family problems and also some other teenage girl dilemmas. Stealing Parker is a great mix of deep ideas in the midst of some not so deep ones.

Parker is a pretty good protagonist and although there were times I felt she was a little grating, she surprisingly grows quite a lot in such a pretty short book. Parker is confused about a lot of things in her life (including boys, faith and especially her parents) just like the majority of teenagers and although she makes some - pretty big - mistakes, they are understandable in her position and they make her an even more relatable character to teens. (Who wants to read about a perfect perfect-y perfect-son anyway, right? :) )

I really enjoyed reading about Parker and her various relationships from her romantic relationship with her older - and irritating - baseball coach to her very realistic family relationships. One of my very favourite parts of Stealing Parker are the couple of last scenes with Parker's brother which are just too adorable for words. The parts I disliked are probably just all the ones with Coach Brian, I found him creepy right off the bat (look at me with my sport metaphors) and I was constantly shouting at Parker through the pages to ditch him and realise that Will is just the cutest thing.

All in all Stealing Parker is lovely book to pick up if you're looking for a fun high school book with some substance. Stealing Parker isn't a surprising read, it's pretty damn predictable if I'm being honest, but it is a sweet one and we all need a little sweetness in our lives.

Music choice: A big part about Stealing Parker was about being a little lost and confused.. about everything. So here you go, Lost by Coldplay.

itunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/lost!-ep/id294155980

Meme: Stuck In My Head #5 - Clementine

Stuck In My Head is a new weekly meme that spotlights the songs you just can't seem to get out of your head. 

Hey friends! So today, here's an awesome tune that I have relentlessly played over and over again for the last couple of days. It is the amazing sound that is Clementine by Sarah Jaffe. 

Once again I was listening to my Youtube playlists I happen across once in a while and this came on and I suddenly felt the urge to stop everything I was doing (ie. scrolling through tumblr and eating..) to give this song my whole attention. There's something about this song and Sarah Jaffe's voice that is simply mesmerising. 

Admittedly I hadn't heard of Sarah Jaffe until I stumbled across Clementine but Sarah is a singer-songwriter from Denton, Texas and has been in the business since 2007. I can't wait to listen to more of her music and I look forward to stalking her on every social networking site I find her on. ;) 

itunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/suburban-nature/id388685558

How about you guys? What song has been rattling around in your head for a while? Feel free to tell me what you're listening to at the moment in the comments and also, if it reminds you of anything, perhaps a book you've read or a memory you have. :) 

Review: Foretold by Jana Oliver

Summary (from Goodreads):
In the fourth Demon Trappers novel, Riley faces the final battle for humanity and Beck's heart—and Hell is the least of her problems
Now that Riley’s managed to (just barely) fend off Armageddon, everything’s changed. Well . . . most things. After their passionate kiss before the big battle in the cemetery, Beck is back to treating her like a little girl, as if nothing ever happened. While she’d love to just tell him off and move on, Riley vowed to take care of Beck the way he’s taken care of her since her father’s death—but she’s about to get a whole lot more than she bargained for. When she’s commissioned to go with Beck to his hometown and help him care for his dying mother, they stumble too close to a dark and murderous secret, one that Beck fears will drive Riley away from him forever. As chaos breaks loose, Riley may be Beck's only hope for redemption . . . and survival.

Meanwhile, up in Atlanta, it’s quickly becoming clear that Heaven may have won a battle, but the war is far from over. Riley and Beck face a stormy future, as Lucifer's ex-right-hand-man, Sartael, proves himself to be more resilient than anyone thought. He has Atlanta in his grip and is about to begin a brutal war with the prince of Hell. As the seconds tick down toward a final confrontation, it's up to Riley and the man she loves to finally defeat their old enemy, or lose everything they've fought for.

As I haven't reviewed the previous books in this series, I've decided that instead of simply reviewing Foretold alone, this will be an overall - and a little vague - review of the Demon Trappers series. Yaay!

From Forsaken to Foretold, the plot is consistently entertaining and the writing engaging. These books are fast paced and action filled, perfect for those who love paranormal fiction but want less predictable guy in the paranormal world falling for the human girl (and all the drama and pain their all consuming love brings the world) and more deathly battles, manipulative fallen angels and demons ranging from pesky little thieves to soul stealing seducers. Oliver creates an imaginative, unique and layered world that is easy and enjoyable for readers to get lost in.

The characters are all not obviously good or inherently evil. Riley and all the other characters introduced are perfectly flawed making for not only an entertaining read but one where you can also relate with the characters. While the characters' traits are realistic, some of their dialogue and gestures are quite ridiculous. I found myself raising my eyebrows at multiple thumbs up and when Riley was feeling super generous, both thumbs up. Wow. To me, it felt a little over the top and a bit like Oliver was trying really hard to get the essence of being a young and "hip" person and it just didn't pay off all the time.

Just like the characters, the romance throughout The Demon Trappers series has its positives and negatives. What I loved so very much about the romance in The Demon Trappers is that all Riley's relationships lead up to and build up to the eventual pairing in Foretold. The tiny hints starting in Forsaken suddenly make sense in Foretold and that is just so adorable. The only slight problem I had with the romance in Foretold is that because the relationship isn't explored in this way until this book, the relationship seemed to develop and get incredibly serious very quickly. Other than that, it is all very sweet and cute and awwhr-inducing. :)

Overall, The Demon Trappers has everything that a Young Adult Paranormal should have (ie. witches with ever changing chest tattoos and the Vatican making an appearance every now and then ;)) and I would definitely, definitely recommend it. Due to the intricate world of The Demon Trappers I truly believe that if Oliver wanted she could add more books to this series or even create a spin off series. All I can say is that if that ever happens, I'll be the first one to grab them off the shelves.

Music choice:  This is for Beck who loves country music and because the title 'If You're Going Through Hell' really does sound like a good fit for a demon trapper book about Heaven/Hell feud, doesn't it? :) This is If You're Going Through Hell by Rodney Atkins...

itunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/if-youre-going-through-hell/id162357783

Meme: Stuck In My Head #4 - No Angels

Stuck In My Head is a new weekly meme that spotlights the songs you just can't seem to get out of your head. 

Howdy! This week the song that I have replayed way too many times to still be considered sane is... dun dun dun (I don't know why I'm doing a drum roll, the song title is in the post title)... No Angels by Bastille feat. Ella. IT IS THE MOST AWESOME THING. I just love the sound and the rhythm and.. and.. this is probably one of my favourite things at the moment. 

What's different about this pick from my previous Stuck In My Head choices is that this tune is a mash-up combining the music of The XX's Angels and the lyrics of TLC's No Scrubs. That's a fact there that you might just need to know in general knowledge quiz (...you won't). :) 

I had heard of The XX before and I am a fan but I hadn't heard of TLC so I looked up the song No Scubs and to be completely honest, I wasn't too keen on it. Nonetheless, for some reason while I didn't enjoy the lyrics much when listening to the original, I love them when listening to No Angels. Perhaps it's because I adore Bastille's music and I liked their twist on it, somehow making it a song with more emotion and depth. 

Bastille is a British band formed in 2010 you should definitely check out because they have created some crazy awesome stuff. This tune appears on their second mixtape, Other People's Heartache Pt. 2. :) 

Free from TheSoundYouNeed facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thisisthesoundyouneed/app_220150904689418

What about you? What song can you just not get out of your head this week? Does your pick remind you of a book you've read? Please feel free to comment with your picks and do tell me if you like No Angels. :)