Blog Tour: Remember Me (Find Me #2) by Romily Bernard Review & Giveaway

Welcome to my review of Remember Me! I really enjoyed this one and I can't wait for the third book! Don't forget to check out the other stops!

Remember Me (Find Me #2)

Author: Romily Bernard
Pages: 335
Publication Date: September 16 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen

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In the sequel to Find Me, Wick Tate, sarcastic teen hacker, is back and once again dealing with criminals and corrupt cops…and a brooding new love interest. Will Wick persevere when some secrets refuse to stay hidden?

Wick had thought her troubles were over.

But she should’ve known better.

Not only is she embroiled in a new murder case, which starts with a body with “Remember Me” carved into it and doesn’t stop there, but she also discovers new evidence surrounding her mother’s suicide…which leads her right back to her imprisoned deadbeat dad. And she has to deal with her flirty new hacker friend, Milo, sniffing around—which her boyfriend, Griff, isn’t too happy about.

The pressure might be too much as secrets—including Wick’s own—climb to the surface.

Remember Me is an edge-of-your-seat thrilling read that’ll have readers turning the pages at lightning speed! The paperback of Find Me is on sale simultaneously, and a digital original novella from Romily, featuring Griff, is on sale just a few weeks before!

After completing Find Me back in March, I was seriously aching to get my hands on Remember Me. It was thrilling, suspenseful and down-right chilling. I don't think I've ever read a book where I received so many goosebumps. For Remember Me, not only is the plot in a much higher stake, there are so many twists and turns. It was nearly impossible for me to puzzle in all the clues and when I thought I had the answer, I was half-right or completely wrong. 

Now, that Todd is gone, Wick Tate's life isn't completely good as she thought it would be. A police officer, Carson blackmails her into jobs for him that involves her hacking. Due to the fact that he knows that Wick used hacking to track down Todd, she has no choice but to give into his orders. In Remember Me, there is an extreme amount of character development when it comes to Wick. She's become tougher, taking on dangerous situations. She's become more caring towards Bren. In the previous book, their relationship was awkward and bit stiff, but now, Wick's slowly revealing her thoughts and feelings to Bren. I really enjoyed seeing how their relationship progressed throughout the whole novel. Wick, also has a very distinct voice, it radiates off the pages and seriously makes the novel quite the page-turner. 

Wick may be an awesome character, but let's not forget the love interest. Since I've read so many books, love interests don't usually make a mark on since a lot of them could either be boring and just too dull for me to even care, but with Griff, my heart literally pounds whenever he's with Wick. These two are such an amazing couple! They might have two different lifes where as Griff is the good guy and Wick isn't quite the good girl, but they have chemistry that flows off the charts. I just love how Griff is protective of Wick. *Sigh* Literally, all the love for this couple! Even though Griff still has a piece of my heart, I can't help but think of the other potential love interest Bernard introduced, Milo. He's Griff's builder and an excellent hacker as well. In the novel, he tries flirting with Wick, though she's not that interested, and is constantly teasing her. He's definitely brought humor into the novel, making me laugh at his attempts of taking out Wick on a date. I'm still on Team Griff, but I'm looking forward to see how Bernard takes their relationship. 

Remember Me raises the stakes higher with nail-biting suspense, a blackmailing police officer and new potential love interest in the picture. If you haven't read Find Me, please do yourself a favour and read it, you won't regret it!

                            About the Author:

 I graduated from Georgia State University with a Literature degree. Since then, I’ve worked as a riding instructor, cell phone salesgirl, personal assistant, groom, exercise rider, accounting assistant, and, during a very dark time, customer service rep. 

So don’t let anyone tell you a BA degree will keep you unemployed.

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Blog Tour: Magnolia by Kristi Cook Review & Giveaway

Welcome to my stop of Kristi Cook's Magnolia! A truly cute read with the right amount of family and swoon. Check here for the schedule!

Magnolia
Author: Kristi Cook
Pages: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: August 5, 2014

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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.

 Ever since, I've read the synopsis of Magnolia last year, I was beyond excited to read it. Literally, once I found out that I was part of the blog tour, there are no words to explain how happy I was. But the weird thing was that I was scared to read it. With some of my highly anticipated books such as Evertrue, The Last Forever and The Winner's Curse being disappointments, I was in no mood to read it. There were plenty of good reviews that were coming in and I was for sure that I was going to like it, but that was the same scenario with The Winner's Curse. However, I'm glad to say that Magnolia did not disappoint at all.

The beginning with Magnolia was sort of rocky for me as I didn't like how the characters were introduced as there was too many of them to keep track of,  but as you keep reading, it no longer becomes a problem. Magnolia presents realistic teens with their constant bickering and typical swearing. Seeing Jemma's friends talk and react to each other hits home completely. Plenty of my friends talk the exact same way as they do such as the trash talking. Jemma's friends, Mason, Tanner and Ryder get into an argument about football and start throwing punches and in my head, I was like YES! Not that I was glad that they were fighting, but glad to read something that I have witnessed countless times.

Onto the main characters, Jemma and Ryder. Let me just say, I adored their transition to disliking each other and then slowly,  unraveling each other's feelings for one another. I've had a quite a few laughs whenever Jemma and Ryder interacted with each other. Another element that I enjoyed was how their families were so close. Their mothers went to same school as each other. They were sorority sister and mutual maids of honor. They basically did everything together such as church, dinners and vacations. It was great reading this as I can relate to Jemma's and Ryder's situation. I know, what's it like to pressured to be with your mom's best friend's son, however mine was less subtle than Jemma's and Ryder's. Reading this definitely made me wonder in the future if I will ever end up with him, but as right now, I'm shaking my head at that illusion. But, who knows, the future can be unpredictable.

Kristi Cook's Magnolia had me laughing wtih Jemma's and Ryder's constant bickering, crying with how beyond cute it was, and  swooning with the one and only Ryder Marsden. Realistic portrayals of teen, the right amount of romance, Magnolia is the absolute perfect summer read. 

About the Author:

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!

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Mini Review: When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney

When You Were Here
Author: Daisy Whitney
Pages: 264
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Little Brown

Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man-death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity. 

Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.

Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.

When he gets a letter from his mom's property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.

This is the first novel I chose to read after my exams were done was and I must say I chose the right one. When You Were Here is an incredible novel with stunning writing and a solid protagonist. 

What I Liked: 

I absolutely loved Danny. Whitney writes him so unbelievably well that I couldn't stop reading. His thoughts and his feelings are quite intriguing and saddening at the same time. With the loss of his mother, Danny doesn't know what he wants anymore. His sister is in China and his father is dead. The only person who watches over him now is his mother's best friend, Kate. He's alone and now, Danny must figure out what he wants to do with his life. 

He goes to Japan, to the apartment where his mother lived. After discovering that his mother's medication was barely touched, he wants to see  the doctor his mother went to. Most of the novel is set in Japan and  I absolutely loved it. I've never been to Japan, but I love it when books take place in different continent. Don't get me wrong, I love North America, but I like reading new cultures and language. Not only it is refreshing to read, but it is fascinating. 

I also really liked Danny's dog, Sandy Koufax. I don't usually care for pets in books, but this one definitely took a hold on me. It was cute seeing how attached he was to his dog. When he leaves for Japan, he has his friend, sending him pictures of Sandy.  

Whitney's When You Were Here takes to you on a journey of boy who struggles with the death of his mother, and finding peace in the midst of it all.