Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Book Review: One Night Is All You Need: A Short Story by Kimberly G. Giarratano

One Night Is All You Need: A Short Story
by
Kimberly G. Giarratano
Genre: Short-stories, Young-adult,  Romance
After Margot Green helps move her older sister into the University of Miami dorms, she just wants to go home to New Jersey where she can wallow in her loneliness. Unfortunately for Margot, her parents decide to extend their trip to the Florida Keys where they sign up for a kooky tour of historic Key West. Margot is horrified to have to traipse around hotter-than-Hades Old Town with her embarrassing parents until she meets Sam, an enigmatic local, who convinces her to embark on a spooky adventure that will inevitably lead to discovery and heartache. 
ONE NIGHT IS ALL YOU NEED is a 5,000-word YA short story that will appeal to both romance and mystery fans.

4star

One Night Is All you need is a captivating and haunting read. Things might have escalated quickly, but since this is a short stories I can't really complain do I? This book make me long to meet and get to know more of the characters. I specially like the setting of the book, which was in a small town called Key West. The story quite focused on the events rather than the characters for me to actually connect with them, but nevertheless, the story has served its purpose which was to leave a piece of itself for us to ponder after you finished reading it. Sometimes, unforgettable experiences can be found on the place where you least expect it, and sometimes, One Night Is All You Need.

I really can't summarize this book without giving away too much information. Just wanted all you guys to know that this book is so good that in just a few words, it was able to show us a story of indifference, acceptance, letting go and living our life instead of taking it for granted.

Book Links:

Kimberly G. Giarratano, a forever Jersey girl, now lives in the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband and small children. A former teacher and YA librarian, Kimberly adores Etsy, Jon Stewart, The Afghan Whigs, ’90s nostalgia, and (of course) everything YA. She also speaks Spanish, but is woefully out of practice.
Kimberly always dreamed of being a published author. Her other dream is to live in Key West, Florida where she can write in a small studio, just like Hemingway.


Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads


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Thursday, December 3, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday #19: The Prophecy of Shadows(Elementals #1) byMichelle Madow

WaitingonWednesday

The Prophecy of Shadows 
(Elementals #1)
by
Michelle Madow
(Website | Twitter )

Elementals is the first in a new series that fans of Percy Jackson and The Secret Circle will love! 

When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her homeroom is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly … she’s apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers—and, to her dismay, by Blake—the school’s notorious bad-boy.

Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle’s wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance.

When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their homeroom are gifted with mysterious powers. But the comet has another effect—it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it’s up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town … and possibly the world.
BOOK LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble


Been reading a lot about this book for a long time now and then I read the Chapter 1 and it just made me more excited! 

I need this freaking book like NOW

You guys can also read the first Chapter of this book below. :) 
Enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE
The secretary fumbled through the stacks of papers on her desk, searching for my schedule. “Here it is.” She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. “I’m Mrs. Dopkin. Feel free to come to me if you have any questions.”
“Thanks.” I looked at the schedule, which had my name on the top, and listed my classes and their locations. “This can’t be right.” I held it closer, as if that would make it change. “It has me in all honors classes.”
She frowned and clicked around her computer. “Your schedule is correct,” she said. “Your homeroom teacher specifically requested that you be in the honors courses.”
“But I wasn’t in honors at my old school.”
“It doesn’t appear to be a mistake,” she said. “And the late bell’s about to ring, so if you need a schedule adjustment, come back at the end of the day so we can discuss it. You’re in Mr. Faulkner’s homeroom, in the library. Turn right out of the office and walk down the hall. You’ll see the library on the right. Go inside and head all the way to the back. Your homeroom is in the only door there. Be sure to hurry—you don’t want to be late.”
She returned to her computer, apparently done talking to me, so I thanked her for her help and left the office.
Kinsley High felt cold compared to my school in Georgia, and not just in the literal sense. Boxy tan lockers lined every wall, and the concrete floor was a strange mix of browns that reminded me of throw-up. The worst part was that there were no windows anywhere, and therefore a serious lack of sunlight.
I preferred the warm green carpets and open halls at my old school. Actually I preferred everything about my small Georgia town, especially the sprawling house and the peach tree farm I left behind. But I tried not to complain too much to my parents.
After all, I remembered the way my dad had bounced around the living room while telling us about his promotion to anchorman on the news station. It was his dream job, and he didn’t mind that the only position available was in Massachusetts. My mom had jumped on board with the plan to move, confident that her paintings would sell better in a town closer to a major city. My younger sister Becca had liked the idea of starting fresh, along with how the shopping in Boston apparently exceeded anything in our town in Georgia.
There had to be something about the move for me to like. Unfortunately, I had yet to find it.
I didn’t realize I’d arrived at the library until the double doors were in front of me. At least I’d found it without getting lost.
I walked inside the library, pleased to find it was nothing like the rest of the school. The golden carpet and wooden walls were warm and welcoming, and the upstairs even had windows. I yearned to run toward the sunlight, but the late bell had already rung, so I headed to the back of the library. Hopefully being new would give me a free pass on being late.
Just as the secretary had said, there was only one door. But with it’s ancient peeling wood, it looked like it led to a storage room, not a classroom. And there was no glass panel, so I couldn’t peek inside. I had to assume this was it.
I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob, my hand trembling. It’s your first day, I reminded myself. No one’s going to blame you for being late on your first day.
I opened the door, halfway expecting it to be a closet full of old books or brooms. But it wasn’t a closet.
It was a classroom.
Everyone stared at me, and I looked to the front of the room, where a tall, lanky man in a tweed suit stood next to a blackboard covered with the morning announcements. His gray hair shined under the light, and his wrinkled skin and warm smile reminded me more of a grandfather than a teacher.
He cleared his throat and rolled a piece of chalk in his palm. “You must be Nicole Cassidy,” he said.
“Yeah.” I nodded and looked around at the other students. There were about thirty of them, and there seemed to be an invisible line going down the middle of the room, dividing them in half. The students near the door wore jeans and sweatshirts, but the ones closer to the wall looked like they were dressed for a fashion show instead of school.
“It’s nice to meet you Nicole.” The teacher sounded sincere, like he was meeting a new friend instead of a student. “Welcome to our homeroom. I’m Mr. Faulkner, but please call me Darius.” He turned to the chalkboard, lifted his hand, and waved it from one side to the other. “You probably weren’t expecting everything to look so normal, but we have to be careful. As I’m sure you know, we can’t risk letting anyone else know what goes on in here.”
Then the board shimmered—like sunlight glimmering off the ocean—and the morning announcements changed into different letters right in front of my eyes.


Expected Publication Date:
January 26th 2016



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