Bookish Subscription Box: Litcube Unboxing for March 2016

WHATS IN THE BOX

Book: Loop by Karen Akins

Lit-Cube Exclusive Dr. Who Tardis Quote T-Shirt

That's It Fruit Bar

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Candle by Frostbeard Candles

Travel Pocket Journal by Life Canvas

Hermione Time Turner

Bookish Subscription Box: Owlcrate Unboxing for March 2016

What is Owlcrate you ask.

Owlcrate is a subscription service that sends you magical monthly boxes tailored to a chosen theme. Each OwlCrate will contain one new Young Adult novel, as well as 3-5 other bookish treats to help you get your nerd on.

The theme for March's Box is "Writer's Block"

• The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

• 'Banned Books' Socks ( Out of Print )

• 642 Tiny Things to Write About (published by Chronicle Books )

• Feather Quill Pen ( Kikkerland ) 

• Custom 3-pack of Pins ( Bookworm Boutique )

• Exclusive The Serpent King Author Letter.

• Exclusive The Serpent King 'Column' Postcard and Author Letter.

• Spoiler Card Side 1

• Spoiler Card Side 2

Blog Tour Excerpt and Review: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

One moment...

That’s all it takes to change your life.

What happens when your entire future is on the line because of one reckless moment? This is what Breanna Miller and Thomas “Razor” Turner have to face in Katie McGarry’s WALK THE EDGE. Blackmail, family secrets, future plans on the verge of collapsing, two people who aren’t supposed to be together fall in love, and the power of social media in defining who you are when you’re not even sure who that person is yet…Join the Club and and immerse yourself in the world of the Reign of Terror. Pick up WALK THE EDGE today!

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyberbully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.

 

Amazon * iBooks * Barnes & Noble * Kobo * Indiebound

Add to your Goodreads

 Review and Excerpt

I think one of Katie's super-powers is being able to write swoon-worthy guys and emotions. I never have a problem with these when it comes to her writing.  Walk the Edge is much more than a story about a boy and a girl and a motorcycle group. It's about finding yourself and being okay with it. What Razor and Breanna go through is heartbreaking at times because it's something no one should have to deal with, but life isn't always easy. It's when you find those people who would do absolutely anything for you that make it worth living and fighting for.

FULL REVIEW CLICK WALK THE EDGE

EXCERPT

School starts in a few days and tonight is senior orientation. My parents are currently in a meeting with my guidance counselor while I’m being propositioned.

Propositioned. My lips tilt up sarcastically.

My goal for this evening was to be noticed. Guess I succeeded. I was noticed, but not for my new choices in clothing, hair style, or because I dumped my glasses for contacts. Nope, I was hunted for my brain. All exciting and swoon worthy romance novels start off this way, right?

Kyle misreads my body language and his dark eyes brighten. “So you’ll write my English papers for the year?”

Fifty dollars per paper-that’s his offer. Standing in my sister’s second generation hand-me-downs of a sleeveless blue blouse, shorter-than-I’ve-ever-worn jean skirt and platform sandals causes me to consider his proposal if only for the course of a heartbeat. I’m the middle of nine children and, I’ll admit, new and shiny gains my attention, but this…this is wrong.

“Do you know this is the first time you’ve spoken to me?” I say.

He laughs like I told a joke, but I’m not kidding. Snowflake, Kentucky is a small town and everyone tends to know everyone else, but just because we breathe the same air doesn’t mean we communicate, or act like everyone else exists.

“That’s not true,” he retorts. “We sat at the same table in fourth grade.”

I incline my head to the side in a mock why-didn’t-I-remember-that-bonding-moment? “My, how time flies.”

He chuckles then scratches the back of his head causing his styled hair to curl out to the side. “You’re funny. I didn’t know that. Look, it’s not my fault you’re quiet.”

Kyle’s right. It isn’t his fault I became socially withdrawn. That blame falls solely on me. It’s a decision I made in seventh grade when I was publicly crucified.

Blending into paint for the past couple of years has kept me safe, but it creates the sensation of suffocation. Everyone says the same thing: Breanna’s smart, she’s quiet. On the inside, I’m not at all quiet. Most of the time, I’m screaming. “I’m not writing your papers.”

Kyle’s smile that had suggested he had a done deal morphs into a frown and acid sloshes in my stomach. Denying Kyle isn’t what bothers me as much as it worries me what he’ll mention to his friends. They’re the reason why I went voluntarily mute in seventh grade.

Heat races up my neck as the repercussions of refusing sets in, but I don’t even consider agreeing. Cheating is not my style.

Kyle surveys the hallway and, it it’s privacy he’s searching for, he’ll be sorely disappointed. He slides closer and a strange edginess causes me to step back, but Kyle follows. “Fine. One hundred dollars per paper.”

“No.”

“You don’t understand. My grades have to improve.” Easygoing Kyle disappears and desperation is hardly attractive.

I steal a peek into the school’s main office, hoping my guidance counselor will beckon me in. Half of me hopes she’ll have life altering news for me, the other half hopes to end this insane conversation. “What you’re asking for is crazy.”

“No, it’s not.”

In an answer to the one million prayers being chanted in my head, my guidance counselor opens her door. “Breanna.”

Kyle leans into me. “This conversation isn’t over.”

And don’t miss the first book in the Thunder Road Series,

NOWHERE BUT HERE!

MY REVIEW OF NOWHERE BUT HERE     

"There's something about McGarry's writing that's totally enthralling. Her characters are vivid, flawed and riveting, making this is a truly amazing read!"

~ RT Book Reviews "Katie McGarry is a master of her craft! Raw emotion, pure grit, I hang on every word. Her characters are real people with real problems and I cheer them every step of the way. Ready for a new addiction? Look no further than Katie McGarry's books."

~ Gena Showalter, Bestselling author of Firstlife "I finished WALK THE EDGE by the amazing Katie McGarry. It was SO good that now I feel bereft. I already miss Razor & Bre - I need to know more! She is by far my #1 favorite author. She paints a picture with the words, puts you IN the story... LOVE."

~ Lori Foster, New York Times Bestselling Author

About Katie McGarry:

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads

Check out all of the WALK THE EDGE tour stops here!

March 21st

Grownup Fangirl – Excerpt

Book Sniffers Anonymous – Review

Broc's Bookcase – Review

BookWorm221 – Review & Excerpt

Take Me Away To A Great Read – Review & Excerpt

Dark Faerie Tales – Review

Lost in Literature – Review & Excerpt

Always YA at Heart – Review & Excerpt

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club – Excerpt

March 22nd

Book Boyfriend Reviews – Excerpt

Letter shelves blog – Review & Excerpt

Oh My Shelves – Excerpt

SnoopyDoo's Book Reviews – Excerpt

Milky Way of Books – Review & Excerpt

Mary Had a Little Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

March 23rd

A girl and her books – Review

Eye in Bookland – Review

Under the Covers – Review & Excerpt

the bookdragon – Review & Excerpt

Lost in a Book Blog – Excerpt

Cesya MaRae Cuono, Author – Excerpt

Emilie's Book World – Review & Excerpt

No BS Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

March 24th

Angel Reads – Review

Ineffable Book Blog – Review

LucyLicious Reads – Excerpt

YA Book Divas – Excerpt

Movies, Shows & Books – Excerpt

Peace Love Books – Excerpt

BookCrushin – Review & Excerpt

March 25th

So Bookalicious – Review & Excerpt

LuLo Fangirl – Excerpt

Little Read Riding Hood – Review & Excerpt

Gabic Reads – Excerpt

2 Greek Girls Reading – Excerpt

Chasing Faerytales – Review

Eat, Sleep, and Read – Review

HotPressedBooks – Review & Excerpt

March 26th

Margie's Must Reads – Review & Excerpt

Girl Plus Books – Review & Excerpt

Short and Sassy Book Blurbs – Review & Excerpt

A Dream Within A Dream – Excerpt

The Consummate Reader – Review & Excerpt

Curled Up and Cozy – Review & Excerpt

Becky on Books – Review & Excerpt

Brittany's Book Blog – Excerpt

March 27th

Beauté De Livres – Review

Lita's Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Oh My Growing TBR – Review & Excerpt

Rachel's Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Have Words Will Scribble – Review & Excerpt

Cocktails and Books – Review & Excerpt

Library Linsey's Teen Books & Baubles – Review & Excerpt

Alpha Queen's Book Obsession – Excerpt

March 28th

Never Judge a Book by its Cover – Review

Lazy Book Lovers – Review & Excerpt

Kindle and Me – Review & Excerpt

Crazii Bitches Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

TSK TSK What to Read – Review & Excerpt

PopKitty Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Confessions of a Bookfreak – Review & Excerpt

Bows & Bullets Reviews – Review & Excerpt

March 29th

The Book Hammock – Review & Excerpt

Best Book Boyfriends – Review & Excerpt

Defiantly Deviant – Review

Desert Divas Book Addiction – Review & Excerpt

The Heart of a Book Blogger – Review

Bookworm Misfit – Review & Excerpt

Bookaholics Anonymous – Review & Excerpt

Lady Amber's Reviews – Excerpt

March 30th

Pages to Explore – Review & Excerpt

The Butterfly reads – Review

Naomi’s Reading Palace – Review

Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt

Bridget's Book Bungalow – Review & Excerpt

Nerdy Soul – Review & Excerpt

Once Upon a Twilight – Excerpt

True Story Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

behind Closed Covers – Review & Excerpt

March 31st

Coffee&Books – Excerpt

A Book Lovers Playlist – Review & Excerpt

I Heart YA Books – Review & Excerpt

Sanaa's Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

21st Century Once Upon A Times – Review

Avid Reader Musings – Excerpt

RhiReading – Review & Excerpt

Feed Your Fiction Addiction – Review

April 1st

Crawling Over the Pages – Excerpt

This Literary Life – Review & Excerpt

Buttermybooks – Review

A crazy vermonters book reviews – Review

The Phantom Paragrapher – Review

A Pair of Okies – Excerpt

Shelf_life – Review & Excerpt

PBC – Excerpt

April 2nd

BooksChatter – Excerpt

For the Love of Books and Alochol – Review & Excerpt

Book Bitches Blog – Review & Excerpt

The Cover Contessa – Review & Excerpt

Aaly and The Books – Review & Excerpt

Book Butterfly in Dreamland – Review & Excerpt

BOOKS&LOVERS – Review & Excerpt

Greyland Reviews – Excerpt

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry

AUTHOR: Katie McGarry
PUBLISHER:  Harlequin Teen
PAGES: 496
STAND ALONE/SERIES: Series
SOURCE: Bought
OUTLINE:
Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both. 

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down. 

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

IN A NUTSHELL

I was a bit weary of  picking up Nowhere but Here because of the motorcycle gang aspect, but it's Katie McGarry and if there's one thing I know it's that her books always take me on an emotional ride no matter what the subject. I shouldn't have doubted that I would love this one just as much as her Pushing the Limit series. This is supposedly a new adult/ya book which I can see. Most of the characters  are a bit older, and some of the themes are a bit more, but there's nothing  raunchy about it. The motorcycle gang club was one part I actually enjoyed learning about.

SETTING
The story mainly took place in a small town called Snowflake, a town that most everyone wanted out of, and few stayed. The town is known for being home to a Motorcycle Group called The Reign of Terror, and as the people of the town would have you believe they are big, bad, and scary. Little towns can be very judgmental if they don't understand something, and the people of Snowflake don't understand the Reign of Terror. This is why TRoT keep mostly to themselves. We spend about 95% of the time in this bubble that they have created: The cabin, the clubhouse, trailer of Oz's, but in this time we learn that they are family...blood or not they stick up for each other.

CHARACTERS
You've heard the term info dump well I'm going to say we had a slight character dump. Sometimes to many characters is a bad thing, but I enjoyed getting to know all the characters in Nowhere but here. I think it took me a bit before I warmed up to any of them because they seemed to hold back so much, but once they warmed up and opened up to each other that's when I fell in love.  The story is so much more than these macho guys in a biker club.

We meet Oz who at the beginning is not yet patched into the club and who becomes the official babysitter of Eli's daughter which could really ruin his plans to become part of the group. I loved getting to know OZ on the outside he has this shell, but inside he is gooey. His love for his "family" is strong, and we find this out when things start to happen at the end. I really didn't feel much for him at the beginning of the book because I spoiled myself to Razor (I read his story first) I eventually grew to love him though. I think he's the bad-ass biker of the younger adults.
Emily is the long lost (okay well she's not really lost) daughter of the groups main guy. When her mom thinks that the grandmother that Emily never knew passed she decides they'll go to the funeral and when they arrive in Snowflake they find that not everything is as it seems. Emily is torn between learning who her dad and these people he calls family are, and hurting her dad and moms feeling I think. She ends up spending a few weeks with them,  and in the process develops feelings for a certain bad ass biker dude. -coughs- OZ -coughs I had fun watching Emily go from this shy girl who didn't know her real dad or his family to this girl who's brave enough to follow clue from an old woman and ends up in a bad predicament. 


END
The semi-ending had a plot twist that maybe some people will figure out, but I for one didn't. I think it definitely adds to the drama of the book.
Happy endings always (most always) make the book that much better, and I will say that even though this happy ending may not look it I believe it is.
If you get a chance read Walk the Edge which is the 2nd book in the series. It's Razor story and I guarantee you'll love it more than this one.



QUOTES
Here's the condensed version--cap it before you tap it. (page 42)

Our fears are what stifle us and we're only scared of what we don't understand. (page 168)

I want you to discover your biological family, but I'm your dad and you're my little girl. Always. (page 169)

I may not understand a lot about all of this craziness, but I understand that Olivia loves you like you're related to her. Like she never had a choice in loving you, but my dad did. He could have taken one look at me and decided he wanted nothing to do with a woman who had a child. He had a choice and there isn't a day I don't think God that he chose not only mom, but me. (page 261)

Can't or won't? That is a fucked-up question because it means the same thing. No, it doesn't. One means you can help but you're refusing to. The other means you would love to help, but you don't have the ability to. (page 275)

Do you remember how I said I didn't know if I liked you?
Yeah? I glance down because shyness overwhelms me. I like you.
Hey Emily. I force my gaze to his and when I do, he performs another heart stopping brush of his fingers across my leg and the world fades away except for the two of us. I like you, too. ((page 295)

Oz kisses the top of my head. Go to sleep. I'll stay up and chase your monsters away. (page 360)

What do you say, Emily? Will you come back to Snowflake this fall and jump with me into some leaves? (page 384)

Technically, by blood, I'm more gangster than you. The utter tease in her voice causes me to sweep an arm around her and roll her onto the blanket.(page 478)

What you've experienced is love. I know love when I see it. It's how I look at Cyrus. It's how Eli looks at Emily and Meg. It's what you to share whenever you look at each other. (page 481)

Bookish Subscription Box: Unboxing for Uppercase March 2016

From the Uppercase Website

"Uppercase is a young adult book subscription box. Simply put: You sign up and receive a YA book and a bookish goody every month! Plus the subscription comes with online access to extras like a live book discussion & recommendations for similar books."

Today I will be revealing what I got in my uppercase box.

Fun: Giveaway/Trade Books

Hey readers I've decided to make a page for books that I will be using as giveaway books, or if anyone offers a good trade I'll do that as well. I thought about taking most of these to HPB (except the  ARCS of course) and doing it that way, but I'd much rather find them a good home.

When I do giveaways I usually just have someone pick from my pile of books so this will be a much easier way to show those that I have. (ARCS are the exception those will be for trade only unless otherwise stated)

(Links will take you too their Goodreads page)

Giveaway 

How it Went Down by Kekla Magoon (Hardback)

Razor Hurst by Justine Larbalestier (Hardback)

Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M Elliot (Hardback)

Prodigy by Marie Lu (Book 2 in series, Paperback)

Black City by Elizabeth Richards (Book 1 in series, Paper back)

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman (Hardback, book 2)

Remanants: Season of Fire by Lisa T. Bergan (Hardback, book 2)

Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike (Hardback)

Break-up Artist by Phillip Siegal (Hardback)

Better off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg (Hardback)

Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson (Hardback)

When Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord (ARC)

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy (Hardback)

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

TRADE ONLY

These are for trade only. Each one is actually signed with that being said I'm looking for ARCS or possible signed books as well. If you would like to possibly trade let me know what for.

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman (Book 2, paperback, signed)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Hardback, Signed, Book 1)

Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson (Hardback) (signed)

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy (Hardback, signed)

My Lady Jane by 3 authors (Hardback)

This Savage Song by (Hardback) Victoria Schwab

TBR Time: March

Made for you by Melissa Marr
This one I recently just bought and it sounds interesting I love a mystery.


The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (READ)
I love pretty much anything by this author so I'm thinking I'll enjoy this one.


The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige Mackenzie (READ)
I've seen reviews that say this is maybe for a younger audience, and then I tried to watch some of the videos on you tube that inspired the book, and I was confused so I'm hoping the book won't be.


First and Then by Emma Mills
This was a book I received in one of my bookish subscription boxes, and it sounds like a cute read, and I need those every once in awhile. Plus it was on my TBR last month.


Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch
Every list needs a little bit of dystopian in it, and this is another that was on my list last month .


Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry (READ)
When I filmed this video I had actually just begun reading this one, and I finished it today. If you haven't read any of her books I HIGHLY recommend them. This one doesn't come out until the end of the month, but once you can get it..Do so...because Razor is *dreamy eyes* amahzing...