All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Series: N/A
Source: Publisher for Blog Tour
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: September 3, 2013

"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was.

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

Like I've said before, science fiction isn't really my thing. But I wanted to try this one, because let's face it, time travel? Awesome! And again (just like before) I was pleasantly surprised! It turned out to be a fantastic premise, which was backed up by several different theories...that weren't too sciency.

Em was a good character for me-- she seems like a total bad-ass, but she doesn't act robotic (a.k.a., do everything you would expect a bad-ass to do). She makes a bunch of good choices and several bad ones, but the thing that I liked most about her was just....I don't know. Her. Does that make sense at all? I liked that she wasn't afraid to tell Finn exactly how it was, and that she never backed down. She did what she knew was right, in the end. But it's really weird, because she's not necessarily the one who did it. She got it going, though.

I really enjoyed the chapters from Marina's point of view-- they were so innocent compared to Em's, but they gave me new perspective on the entire story. Honestly, I wish I could reveal more, but for the sake of spoilers I'll leave it be!

The romance between Finn and Em was adorable. It wasn't all in your face like some books do it, but it was subtle and I enjoyed it. It was sweet and cute, and I hope to see more romances like that in the future.

And honestly, I hope to see more plotting like this in the future too. Because the plot was rock-hard awesome, and I couldn't have asked for more twists and turns. It kept the story moving at a good pace, and I was never confused or left wondering what had happened, which is really all I can hope for. That, and a fantabulous ending. Which I also got, if you were curious. ;)

All in all, All Our Yesterdays really delivered an awesome story. I never saw it coming.

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Antithesis by Kacey Vanderkarr

Antithesis by Kacey Vanderkarr
Series: N/A
Source: Blog Tour
Publisher: Inkspell
Publication Date: July 21, 2013

My name is Gavyn.

Liam doesn’t care that I only have one arm. He actually likes my red hair and freckles. I might forgive him for kidnapping me.

My name is Gavyn.

I lost my Liam. I’ve lost them all. And now it’s my job to make sure they don’t show up again.

My name is Gavyn.

I had a life with Liam, but he couldn’t give me what I need. Then I killed his father. I don’t expect he’ll forgive me for that.

My name is Gavyn.

Antithesis was a new kind of read for me-- I'm honestly not into science fiction, but this one just sounded so good that I couldn't resist. The idea of alternate realities is something that I've puzzled on and thought about for days on end, to tell you the truth. Just the idea that someone out there who's the same as me but somehow different just...astounds me.

So anyway, having jumped at the chance to read this, I was hesitant about not liking it. But it turns out that I was worrying about all of the wrong things, because I actually did like it!

Gavyn turned out to be a character that I could strangely relate to. I mean, obviously I have two arms and a girl's name instead of a boy's, but I related to her in a totally different way. I know what it's like to be weird. And for all intents and purposes, hey, Gavyn is weird. But she's also totally fun and awesome and sarcastic. I would totally be friends with her, and her friends Drake and Lena. They seemed like a cool trio.

But back to the alternate realities thing: how weird would it be to meet yourself? Because Gavyn does. A couple of times, actually. And I just can't get over how strange that would just, you know, be. I think that I would seriously freak out. Then, to make things more confusing, I started wondering how it is that all Gavyn's are friends with Lena's and Drake's. Isn't there some sort of paradox or something that should be against that? Statistically speaking, at least one of the Gavyn's never would have me Lena and Drake. Does that make sense, or am I just crazy rambling?

But back to the point: she met herself, and yet when she refers to the other Gavyn's as Gavyn, well, I never got confused. Which I honestly think should count for a heck of a lot. Just like the fact that Liam, well, seems to see the real Gavyn. I think that should count for a lot too. It seems like not very many people see her, and she deserves to be seen for who she is, because she totally kicks ass. Even if she does puke afterwards.

All in all, Antithesis was a fun, philosophically challenging read for me. I can't believe how weird that just sounded, but it's true.

About the author:

Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she coaches winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her husband, son, crazy cats, and two bearded dragons. Visit www.kaceyvanderkarr.com for more information.
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Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller

Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller
Series: N/A
Source: Publisher for review
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication Date: June 18, 2013

A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?

In the Bermuda Triangle--a lot.

Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life--her father's death years ago, her mother's medical problems, and the loser who’s practically stalking her--seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears she's gone nuts for more than one reason: that loser’s suddenly claiming they're a happy couple... a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying "Happy Anniversary"... and suddenly, she’s full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ship's doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, she's warned that these "alternate realities" could become permanent.

She just has to ask herself one question--how the hell is she going to get out of this mess?

T minus one day to departure for my cruise to Bermuda, I almost died on my way to work.

Triangles is a hard read for me to rate-- I didn't hate it, but I really didn't love it either. It read more like a NA then a YA at first, which confused me because I'm really not used to characters swearing a lot. It's a fact of my life, but it doesn't usually cross over into books. They seemed extra mature, but as I read on I realized that they're really not.

I found Autumn to be really self-centered. To the point of being overly rude and selfish, as well as thinking that every accident centers around her. It's "her" fault that her Dad died. I understand blaming yourself to a point, but making everything about you just kind of turns me off. (Says the book reviewer, who reviews all books with "her" opinions.) I don't really feel that she really grew up throughout the book, but I do think that she gained a new perspective towards the end, which made me like her a bit more.

Unfortunately, Autumn wasn't my only issue. I'm willing to suspend belief for the situations, as it is fantasy and I understand that. I just don't think that I was invested in the story. I wanted to see it through to the end, though, which really counts for something.

Another issue that I had was with the boys. As the synopsis says, two sexy guys. Here's where you're probably asking, "What's your problem with that?" My problem was that I didn't see two sexy guys. I saw one boy who couldn't keep it in his pants at all, and that drove me crazy with his spoiled rich kid attitude, and another boy who in most cultures could be called a stalker. I don't think that he is, I just think that he doesn't know how to deal with his crush at all. He freaked me out with all the over-attentive stuff, though.

The best thing about Triangles was the ending. Not because it ended, but because it answered all of my questions and tied up the loose ends that had been dangling. All in all, Triangles wasn't exactly the book for me, but if you love the Bermuda triangle you might give it a shot. Who knows, I hope you love it more than me!