Book Review – The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Book Review – The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Beautiful. Powerful. Deep. Heart-wrenching. Believable. Uplifting. Unforgettable. A must-read!!

Wow. 5+ stars.

One of my favorite reads of the year!!!!!!

The Sea of Tranquility is a beautifully written, deep, heart-wrenching drama about two damaged teens surviving unchangeable tragedies, and devastating grief, hurt, and pain, learning to cope with them, accept them, and somehow finding healing, safety and finally happiness and love in each other along the way.

Its quiet and very, very slow building but it just felt SO real and believable. Without my even realizing it, this quiet book had me worked up to the point where my heart was pounding and felt like it was being being ripped out. The emotional punch took a while to build, but when it hit, it was huge and powerful and took my breath away.

This is not your typical romance where boy meets girl and they live happily ever after. I’d call it more of a character-driven drama with a bit of a YA romance in it. It highlights the realities, horrors and imperfections of life (and, yes, love) while still having a powerfully uplifting ending,

“My name is Nastya Kashnikov.
I was a piano-playing prodigy…
I was murdered two and a half years ago.
Discuss.”

Nastya is a beautiful, bright seventeen year old girl struggling with having her dreams and life as she knew it shattered two years ago by a random act of violence. At her new school, she meets Josh, a guy who just wants to build things and be left alone, who everyone avoids and yet no one messes with. Surrounded by worlds of pain, death and self-imposed isolation, both of them have survived hurts no one their age should ever have been through and are both struggling with having survived and living with that pain every day.

One night, out on a run, Nastya ends up at Josh’s house. He’s there, in his garage that’s filled with tools and wood and he’s making something. For the first time in a long time, Nastya feels a connection of sorts with him and just sits down, quietly and watches him work. She keeps coming back every day and so begins their strange, yet beautiful relationship.

“When you look at her what do you feel? … Joy, fear, frustration, longing, friendship, anger, need, despair, love, lust.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“All of it.”

Its not romantic for a long time, but rather what built between them is a sort of companionship or friendship based on mutual understanding, empathy, and trust as they slowly open up and confide their secrets in each other.

“I know at that moment what he’s given me…the knowledge that I am accepted here… He’s given me a place to belong.

The thing I loved about Nastya was that she was fragile in some ways, but absolutely tough as nails in others. She wasn’t helpless or frail, despite a part of her soul being broken. She was strong, intelligent, witty, perceptive and although she made choices that people around her didn’t understand, they were her choices to make. She was sad and angry, dealing with a tragic act of random cruelty that took away her dreams. So she copes with it in the best way she knows how, by doing what feels right to her, not what anyone else wanted her to do. I loved that about her.

“Eventually, my body healed as much as it was going to. My mind started getting put back together, too. I think it’s just that the pieces got put back a little out of order. It seems like the more my body healed, the more fractured my mind became, and there aren’t enough wires and screws to fix the breaks in it.

“With any other girl I could probably pull the classic guy fail-safe of walking over and wrapping my arms around her and letting her put her head on my shoulder. It’s cheap, but it works. Drew swear by it. But I’m afraid that in this particular instance it would result in one of two things: a string of innovative new expletives or her knee in my balls. My money’s on the knee.

Josh was a beautiful character. Quiet, a bit of a loner, but deeply understanding, caring and protective. What I loved most about him was how strongly he respected her boundaries – giving her a safe zone to her be herself. The real her. The one she feels she has to hide from the world. Giving her the space and security of being able to share exactly as much or as little of herself as she wanted. No judgments. No questions. No obligations. He knew that she areas of her that were locked up in her hurt and he never pushed her outside her comfort zone, no matter how badly he wanted to know what happened to her.

“He needs to be able to fix things and make it all better; to believe that you’re okay so that he can believe he’s okay.”

The book starts out quiet and somber. It is slow building in every possibly way. Nothing is rushed. And although I loved it, a part of me just wished something would happen because of how slowly the story built and the romance-story lover in me wanted them to become a couple sooner (their first date is at about 65%) but having finished it and looking back on the pacing of the story, I can understand why it was the way it was. In the end, the slowness contributed to how powerfully the ending hit. And the ending was really, really beautiful.

And by really, really beautiful, I mean that I read the last two words over and over again with tears in my eyes and my hand over my mouth. I literally just sat there crying, rereading the page, letting the powerful emotional punch hit me every time. (And don’t go flipping to the back of the book to see what those words are! Seriously, you’ll ruin the whole book if you do and there’s no getting it back…)

The author is an amazingly gifted, brilliant storyteller. The book is worth reading for the writing alone. Her style is beautiful, evocative, poetic, and deeply meaningful. I’m very much looking forward to more of her work.

Absolutely everyone should read this book at some point in their lives. It was GORGEOUS and unforgettable. One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. Trust me, its totally worth it!

CASTING:

TSOT PROMO

… Read More…

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Book Review & Interview – Vain by Fisher Amelie

Book Review & Interview – Vain by Fisher Amelie

5 STARS!

STRUCK. SPEECHLESS.

Seriously one of the best books I’ve read in a while!

This book took me on a beautiful journey. It moved me, took my breath away and kept me up all night. It was a well-written, powerful, and deeply moving YA story that absolutely broke the mold and was unlike anything I’d ever read. It blew me away! READ IT!

This is not your typical romance novel where girl meets boy and they just fall in love. Yes, this book has a beautiful love story, but its also about so. much. more.

Its about learning the true value of life, about the price of ignorance, the weight of a self-less action, and the beauty of love.

This was one of those wonderful books that came to my attention very suddenly about 2 weeks ago. Literally, my inbox was full of glowing recommendations for it and I just knew that I had to drop everything and read it. Best decision I ever made!! Something about the idea of it just made my heart race. I swear I had butterflies even before I started reading.

It literally kept me up reading until 5:00 AM. I kept telling myself I was going to put it down and finish it the next day but I could. not. stop. turning. the. pages.

Hmmm, so what’s it about? Its about Sophie Price.

Sophie Price is vain. She is spoiled, filthy rich, with work obsessed parents who care only about the ‘appearance’ of a healthy family. She is hurt and angry on the inside. She uses, manipulates and discards friends, boys, everyone. She takes drugs, parties hard, and finds that she just can’t break out of the mold.

“Freedom is just that. Absolutely no restrictions. I abandoned myself to every whim I felt. Every want I fulfilled and every disire was quenched. I wanted for nothing.

Except attention.”

But everything changes the night her party is crashed by cops and, being on her second drug offence, her father arranges to have her sentenced to six months volunteer work at an orphanage in Uganda.

Scared out of her mind, thrown into a completely opposite life from anything she’s ever known, she is faced with a whole new world that will change her for ever.

The whole book is told through Sophie’s eyes and despite my love for alternating POVs, I found that this worked perfectly for the story. She was a very intriguing character who, despite her flaws and behavior, was not a ditz or shallow or stupid. She had simply taken several of the wrong turns in life and also, despite the wealth and opulence she grew up around, was deeply affected by the lack of familial love in her life. She wasn’t abused or anything. But this book really shows the damage that comes from a simple lack of care and love. It brought a whole new meaning to her vanity. Her looks meant everything to her because it brought her adoration from everyone, which was the closest thing she had ever come to love.

“I stood in front of the mirror and took a good hard look. I was as bare as I could make myself, no make up with wet, stringy hair. I hated to look at myself in this state. I didn’t feel real. I felt too exposed and that made me exceedingly nervous, but I made myself look that morning. I memorized that girl. That girl was the real me. Frightened. Worthless. A terrible friend. Terrible daughter. Well educated but so limited in ideas worth having. Beautiful yet repulsive… And finally honest.”

Fisher Amelie did a phenomenal job of instantly transporting you into Sophie’s life. I was right there with her every page of the book. I smiled, laughed, cried a little, fell in love, and felt her growth every step of the way.

I did love the book from the start, but the story is told in such a way that the more I read, the more strongly I connected to the story. My feelings just grew and grew till it just felt like my heart was going to burst.

Oh, and the guy? Right. Yes, the guy. Ian – or ‘Dingane’ as the kids called him. I literally loved him from his first line. Their first meeting was just SO powerful. I. FELT. It.

“It was like my body knew instantly that he was mine and that I was his.”

He was take-your-breath-away gorgeous. Blunt. Honest. And saw right through her. And the more we learned about his back story too, the more I loved him…. oh, and he cleared the bugs for her!! When you read the scene, I promise it’ll melt your heart a little :P

About Uganda and the orphanage. *deep breath*. Ok. I am mostly aware what is happening in the world. I read the news. I see the headlines and the pictures. But this was different.  So. So. Different. This brought the horrors of what was going on to light in a way I can’t even tell you. My heart broke into a million pieces for those kids. The word “horrors” seems too gentle for what I mean. I don’t think there is a word strong enough :(

My heart bled for those beautiful innocent children who had everything but their lives and their spirit so cruelly and heartlessly stolen from them and yet still sang songs every morning, smiled and found the beauty in life.

“And what is there to be joyful about?”… Another burst of silent tears streamed down.

“Life, Sophie. They still live. They breathe, they love each other, they find joy in the world around them for no other reason than because they are children. They are resiliant. They will always rise above. Always.”

I loved watching how Sophie, who had never known real love, grew, changed, and opened every part of heart to these kids and to their cause.

I loved watching her and Ian/Dingane fall in love. Ohhh their chemistry was palatable. It wasn’t a head-over-heels-at-first-sight thing, but it sizzled. I’ve said this before, but I. Felt. It.

“It’ll be all right,” Ian assured me.

“How do you know?” I asked when he revved the engine.

“I don’t,” he said, “but I’ll protect you.”

Their first kiss was seriously one of the best I’ve ever read. I squeed out loud!!!!! The gun lesson *fans self*… and that second last scene! *shivers* Yeah, I loved him. Completely.

I kept alternating between smiling and being near tears. Every part of the story wormed its way into my heart.

In the interest of full openness, I’ll say there were a few typos here and there, one or two moments of plot or dialogue that gave me squinty eyes, and despite there being an epilogue, I maybe might have wanted just a wee bit more at the end. But truly, it made no difference. The story was incredible so it didn’t affect my enjoyment of it.

This is a completely YA story – by that I mean the characters are younger than 20 and there is no sex in the book. But its the kind of beautifully written YA that makes even something as simple and subtle as just a shared glance give you epic butterflies, take your breath away and make your heart just race.

The story was heart breaking, exciting, beautiful, powerful, and thrilling. There were no dull or slow moments. Ever. There was always something new. Something happening. I was drawn completely into every part of the story. And its one that I won’t forget.

“I’m so deep there’s no getting out for me. You own me, you know?”

This book took me on a beautiful journey.

Guys, this is a must-read!!

Oh, and yes, there is a HEA :)

♥ PURCHASE LINKS 

Buy VAIN (Kindle)
Buy VAIN (Paperback)

♥ CASTING 

Ian and Sophie | Ian | Sophie

INTERVIEW with FISHER AMELIE 

Aestas!!! Squeeee! *does a little dance* Thank you for having me!

Q – The name of the series sounds so interesting! What are your plans for the rest of the series?

A – Oh! Thank you! Good question. So each novel in The Seven Deadly Series will focus on a deadly sin but they won’t be continuations of Ian’s and Sophie’s story. They’ll be companion novels featuring a secondary character from the previous novel. So, VAIN was book one, of course. If you’ve had the chance to read VAIN you’ll become familiar with my next lead, Spencer. His book will be called GREED.

As far as the remaining books in the series, you guys know about as much as I do. I’m sort of nibbling on an idea for the third book. I believe it will be LUST but the only thing that’s really set in stone for book three is the lead. He’s beyond yummy.

Q – What are you working on right now?

A – GREED! The impossibly scrumptious Spencer leads this action packed story of avarice, excess and an overwhelming desire for more. Spencer is greedy for many, many things including the tempting and alluring Caroline a.k.a. Cricket.

Q – How long did it take you to write Vain?

A – Too long. LOL! It was a six month turn around. A little long for most authors but I was extremely pregnant from beginning to end…well, almost the end. My son was two weeks old when I typed the last word. My books take me a little longer than I’d like because I’ve got babies under four. Also, I do an absurd amount of research and depending on how well acquainted I am with the scenery, so to speak, determines the writing process. You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to kick myself for not picking a setting closer to home.

Q – What was your inspiration for the story?

A – Three years ago, my hubs and I were sitting on the couch like the lazy gits we are, flipping channels and we stumbled across this interview with Sam Childers, the Machine Gun Preacher. Not many know who he is but the impossibly yummy Gerard Butler portrayed him in the film of the same name. The film was…okay. LOL! Anyway, the interview was nothing short of devastating. It exposed Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army, their deeds and goals and we both walked away from it a little damaged. Immediately after, we decided to give a little money to the organizations opposed to Kony and it appeased our consciences for a little while but the images of these broken and beaten children would stay in my mind. I knew not a lot of America was aware of who Kony was, not even the infamous “KONY 2012″ video really put into words or images of just how terrible Kony is. So, last year we began sponsoring a little boy and his family in a dangerous part of Uganda. His story would forever brand itself onto my heart and soul. He is the reason I will forever fight for Kony’s capture. He is the reason I focus on Uganda. He is the reason I wrote this book.

Q – If Vain were to be made into a movie, do you have a dream cast for any of the characters?

A – You know, I’ve given this a lot of thought. A lot. And I can honestly say that I cannot imagine a single soul in Hollywood as Sophie or Ian. I suspect they’d have to be unknowns in order for me to be satisfied. I’d need someone untainted by stereotypes for both roles.

I can imagine someone like Helen Mirren as Karina and Ian McKellen for Charles. I would love to see some freakishly tall, black haired waif of an actor play Pemmy. I would die if they cast him with any sort of accuracy because my idea of what Pemmy looks like is almost comical.

Q - How often do you write?

A – They aren’t lying when they say you have to write every day. I took a week off after my second son was born and when I finally took up my metaphorical pen, I felt like a toddler at the keyboard. I was fumbling around with words as if they weighed a thousand pounds. In other words, everyday for as often as I can for as long as I can…as long as my kids’ needs are met a.k.a. when they’re asleep. Ba ha ha!

Q – What was the first scene that you wrote from Vain? and the last?

A – The first scene I wrote was the party at Sav’s parents’ house. The last scene I wrote was the scene with the burning baobab tree. You’ll know what scene I mean when you read the book. I was blubbering into my keyboard at three in the morning, sort of p.o.’ed at myself for doing what I did. My hubs woke up and was like, “What’s wrong? Is the baby okay?” I just turned, tears streaming down my face and nodded, sobbing gibberish. He saw I was writing and fell right back to sleep, not another question asked. He’s used to this apparently.

Thank you so much for having me, Aestas! I always love being here! So honored!
- Fisher “BoBisher” Amelie

♥ OFFICIAL BLURB 
(I’m including this because it was a big part of what sold me on the book)

If you’re looking for a story about a good, humble girl, who’s been hurt by someone she thought she could trust, only to find out she’s not as vulnerable as she thought she was and discovers an empowering side of herself that falls in love with the guy who helps her find that self, blah, blah, blah…then you’re gonna’ hate my story.

Because mine is not the story you read every time you bend back the cover of the latest trend novel. It’s not the “I can do anything, now that I’ve found you/I’m misunderstood but one day you’ll find me irresistible because of it” tale. Why? Because, if I was being honest with you, I’m a complete witch. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a friend using, drug abusing, sex addict from Los Angeles. I’m every girlfriend’s worst nightmare and every boy’s fantasy.

I’m Sophie Price…And this is the story about how I went from the world’s most envied girl to the girl no one wanted around and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

VAIN new cover 

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Book Review – Forever My Girl (The Beaumont #1) by Heidi McLaughlin

Book Review – Forever My Girl (The Beaumont #1) by Heidi McLaughlin

4  - 4.5 stars.

Forever My Girl is a beautiful YA rockstar romance about the heartbreak of mistakes, the power of forgiveness, and the hope of a second chance at love.

I’ll be perfectly honest, when I first read the blurb for this book, I squeed right out loud. I mean, a second-chance rockstar romance? What’s not to love?

Here’s the blurb, I’ll let you fall in love with it all on your own:

I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after.

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile.

And now I’m going back.

After ten years.

I hope I can explain that after all this time.

I still want her to be my forever girl.

Seeeee?? *clutches heart* Now you can understand why I just HAD to read it!

“I gave up on their dreams and the life we had all planned out. And now I was heading home to face the music.”

By the time I was 3% into my read, I was already choked up. There was just so much emotion! There is a tragedy that occurs back in Liam’s home town, a death of a close friend, and I just have to give serious props to the author for making me utterly heartbroken over a character I had never even met! I totally felt the hole that his loss had left in his loved ones’ lives. It really helped connect me very early on in the book to the characters and draw me right into the story.

With Liam now being the tattooed, motorcycle riding, bad boy, rockstar that he was, I wanted to know what made him originally decide to leave his forever girl behind and never look back? He was clearly still 100% in love with her after all these years and never forgot her or was able to let go, so what could have pushed him to leave?

Despite the fact that I could fathom why he’d have left in the first place, I really respected that he didn’t just thunder back, demanding to be back in Josie’s life. I loved how understanding he was of her new life despite still being completely in love with her.

With Josie, I wanted to see how she’d react to him. She was put in such a difficult situation of not knowing why the love of her life walked away with no warning and completely cut off ties from her and was then faced with the reality of him not returning and was left to move on without him.

“Hey, Jojo?” he yells.
“Yeah,” I yell back. 
“I’m going to marry you someday.” 
I thought for sure we’d spend forever together. I thought our love was one of a kind. I would almost be okay if he had met someone else and fallen in love, but he didn’t. He just left.”

I loved seeing the way she dealt with his return. I loved how she didn’t just fall over him the second he walked back into her life – that she made him earn his forgiveness and his place back in her life. I felt like her struggles were real and relatable… and there are other pieces to this story that I don’t want to mention because they are slight spoilers but I really felt for everyone involved and for their struggles at figuring out how how to move forward.

I liked that none of the characters were fully perfect and that given the huge mistakes of the past, I liked that their lives didn’t just magically fall back into place. The rekindling of their relationship was never rushed making the story feel a lot more real.

“Her tear streaked face is beautiful. I want to wipe away her tears. I want to take the last ten years and erase them.”

I enjoyed the writing style. The story was told in alternating POVs with flashbacks here and there. The transition between POVs was smooth and the flashbacks were very well integrated. Seeing both sides of the story helped connect me to both main characters and given the complicated situation they were in, it was really well done. And the story just had these few lines here and there that just hit you right in the feels. Total heart clutch moments! I didn’t ever cry but I got all chocked up more than once!

“I want every part of you in my life, Jojo, when you’re ready.” “I’ll be patient… You will be mine again.”

I read the whole book in one sitting (about 3 hours). I didn’t want to put it down and it was one of those book where the pages just flew by.

The genre kind of rides the line between YA and NA. There is one sex scene towards the end. Its not closed door, but not very graphic either. There are, however, a few beautiful kisses scattered throughout the book and, if you read the story, you’ll see that an earlier bedroom scene wouldn’t have really made sense anyways.

We’re also introduced to a wonderful network of friends, family and band members each with their own heartaches and stories that I’m sure will be featured in the upcoming books.

The story is wrapped up in a happy ending. I did feel it was just a tad rushed, but at the same time, everything that needed to happen for your heart to rest easy happened, so you are left satisfied.

“I love you, Liam.”
“You’re forever my girl.”

This book had so many things I love in it – an emotional second-chance love story, a bad boy rockstar, a smart heroine, a strong ensemble of supporting characters, and a wonderful story.

It was a great debut novel! I’m definitely a new fan of Heidi McLaughlin and am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Buy FOREVER MY GIRL on Kindle
Buy FOREVER MY GIRL in Paperback

CASTING:

Liam and Josie –> Click here and here

 

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Book Review – Shadows (Lux #0.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book Review – Shadows (Lux #0.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

4.5+ stars!

Ok, seriously, this YA series has me HOOKED!!!! Like woah hooked! I feel like I could easily devour ten of these books in a sitting! I’m totally and completely in LOVE!!

K, first off, very important but this book should be read AFTER Obsidian. I repeat, READ OBSIDIAN FIRST !!!!! Even though its the prequel, trust me, everything will make a lot more sense if you read it after. You won’t be missing anything, I promise. Just because these events came first, doesn’t mean they should be read first because the world is introduced in a very different way, almost expecting the reader to already be acquainted with everything so I really don’t think it would make sense to start with this.

But, that being said, if you have already read Obsidian, you’ll be sure to love this one because it fills in so many blanks about that world, the back story, the way their alien species works, the structure of their families and relationships, the way their lives are run and the intricacies of their relationship with the government, and character insight too – like what happened in Daemon’s life that made him so outwardly hostile to Katy at first,  the way he sort of became the defacto protector and felt so responsible for everyone… this story has a lot of little missing puzzle pieces that help to round out the world we have already been introduced to.

This is the story of Daemon’s twin brother Dawson. The story is alluded to in Obsidian but never described in detail. All we know coming into this story was that Dawson was very loved and close to his siblings, that he fell in love with Bethany, a human girl, and that one day, they both ‘mysteriously disappeared’.

OH THE SWOON!!!! I love Daemon. I really do. But oh my Lord did I ever melt over Dawson. He was day to Daemon’s night. Hot, sweet, funny, kind, with an easy smile and a heart of gold. If Daemon was the bad boy brother, Dawson is the good boy.

He literally just falls hard and falls fast for Bethany. Its mutual and just seriously, completely adorable and swoony. Totally warmed my heart!! But… in their world, while relationships with humans are not forbidden, they are frowned on. Strongly. But Dawson doesn’t care. He’s completely smitten with Bethany and is willing to risk anything for a chance to be with her.

“I want this – I want you… More than I’ve ever wanted anything.. I want to be with you.”

As the story progressed, my heart started to clench up and the anticipation built cuz I knew where the story was headed. I was so lost in the beautiful swoon of their relationship, I didn’t want anything to happen to them. They were just too freaking perfect and happy! You know that feeling you get sometimes when you just want to pluck a couple out of their little nightmare and throw them on a happy little island together forever, yeah, I totally got that here.

It was heartbreaking watching these guys fight so hard for just a chance to be a normal couple in love. Not judged or hindered by the rules of their species.

“Nothing else mattered except the girl he cradled to him.”

Gah!! They were just so beautiful and innocent and in love and I just wanted them to be happy *clutches heart* GURK!!! I need to read more in this series! I need them to get their HEA!

The ending left me totally hanging and desperate for more!!! But, don’t worry, its a cliffhanger you should read anyways, because we already know they are “missing” from Obsidian… I’m sure their story will be dealt with as the series goes on and I can’t WAIT for it to happen!!

Like I said: Totally. Freaking. HOOKED!!!!

Highly recommended if you are looking for a new YA series!

READING ORDER + PURCHASE LINKS

#1 – OBSIDIAN (Start with this one! Read my Review.)

#0.5 – SHADOWS (Remember, DON’T start with this even though it’s the prequel. Read it after Obsidian!! TRUST ME!!!)

#2 – ONYX

#3 – OPAL

CASTING:

   

 Shadows

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Book Review – Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book Review – Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

4.5+ stars!!

PURE YA GOLD!!!

I’ll be honest here, I didn’t think I was going to love a book about aliens. That’s why I put off starting this book for so long. Its not that I had anything against them, I just wasn’t sure if they were my ‘thing’, you know?? I was wrong. Horribly wrong. They are SO my thing. Well, at least Daemon is. Holy hotness. He’s just… *fans self*… seriously for a YA book the sexual tension is just out of CONTROL!! I mean wow! I totally loved it!! Honestly, I have no complaints… well, maybe only that the series isn’t finished yet and I freaking want MORE but there’s not much I can do about that except bite my nails and wait no-so-patiently.

Ok… about the book…

In an effort to ‘start over’ after her Dad dies, Katy’s mom moves them to a small town. And although Katy would much rather spend her time reading books or writing her review blog (yes, she writes a blog. So cool!! Instant bond!), her mom encourages her to get to know the neighbors… and she does. Meet Daemon Black. Gorgeous, tall, and alluring. But after her first conversation with him, she quickly realizes he’s also arrogant, stab-worthy and oh-so-very-very-infuriating.

“He was probably the hottest guy I’d ever seen in real life, and he was a total douche. Go figure.”

“Beautiful face. Beautiful body. Horrible attitude. It was the holy trinity of hot boys.”

But something just feels a little off about him and his polar-opposite warm, sweet, fun twin sister who has befriended her. The way people treat them, little glances, tricks of the light… something about them is different and Katy is about to find exactly what it is.

I fell in love with this book and with the characters from the first chapter. It was fresh, fun and catchy. The dialogue was snappy, the banter was awesome, the story-line was engaging, and there was Unresolved Sexual Tension thick enough to cut with a knife. I mean holyyyy!!

The writing style had an easy flowing pace that never dragged or felt rushed. Honestly, it just a purely enjoyable experience. Total brain candy :)

I loved the light feel of the book. The little hints at mystery. The humor. The snark. The intrigue. But despite the ‘alien’ thing, it never felt over-the-top fantastical. And it was quite refreshing to have a new twist on the typical paranormal storylines.

Daemon… I couldn’t help but fall for him. Underneath all the bad boy, arrogant, stab-worthyness was a really gorgeous softie that we got little glimpses of here and there. Oh, and he apologizes!!! I’m such a sucker for guys who are badass enough to apologize and still remain badass :) Even before you read his POV scenes at the end, you can tell that he’s a good guy despite some of his infuriating actions.

But I loved that despite his chemistry with Katy being undeniable, she didn’t put up with Daemon’s crap – not even for a minute. She called him on it, gave him the middle finger on occasion and just because she swooned over him, didn’t mean she just turned into a puddle of goo. She stood up for herself, held her own (I’m thinking about a certain cafeteria scene here involving pasta being dumped on someone’s head) and honestly, never annoyed me.

“Holy Hawt Chemistry, Batman!”

No kidding!! Half the time I just wanted to shove them at each other and be like ‘just kiss already!!!!!’

“Geez, I thought you guys were supposed to be nice and charming.”
He frowned. “What guys?”
“You know, the knight in shining armor and saving the damsel in distress kind.”…
“I’m not your knight.”

This book is a little different than a lot of romances because the main couple aren’t officially a couple for the whole of this book. There is a lot that comes between them. His kind isn’t supposed to mingle with humans and she is a huge liability to him, his family and his people. But events just keep throwing them together and by the end, we do get some feeling of ‘togetherness’ between them. And quite honestly, with his attitude in the beginning, if they had gotten together any sooner, it wouldn’t have felt right.

As for the ending, this is the first book in a series of 5 so there is definitely a lead in to the next book. But there is no nail-biting cliffhanger and although I promised myself that I would only read book #1 to see what all the fuss was about and then stop until the rest came out but I need MORE!!! So yeah… I’ll keep reading them as they come out :P

…. oooo!! And, the author has also written a bunch of the scenes from this book from Daemon’s perspective so we get to see whats inside his head. This whole book is written from Katy’s POV so we really don’t have a clue other than our own suspicions what’s going on inside his head so I found that it totally rounded out the story. A wonderful addition. —> Click HERE for a link to the extra scenes.

Bottom line – definitely add this to the YA to-read pile! :)

READING ORDER + PURCHASE LINKS

#1 – OBSIDIAN (Start with this one!)

#0.5 – SHADOWS (Remember, DON’T start with this even though it’s the prequel. Read it after Obsidian!! TRUST ME!!! Read my review.)

#2 – ONYX

#3 – OPAL

   

Obsidian

CASTING:

Now, I know that, because of the book trailers, a lot of people have cast the cover models as Daemon and Katy. And I think they are both really gorgeous, but just don’t 100% fit the way I see the characters. So here’s my version:

  • Daemon: Click here and here
  • Katy (I’m still trying to find the perfect picture but I imagine her more as someone like this… I’m sure I’ll find the right picture as I read further in the series): Click here

 

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Book Review – Heart On A Chain by Cindy C. Bennett

Book Review – Heart On A Chain by Cindy C. Bennett

4 stars

A YA story about surviving child abuse, about learning that everyone is worthy of love, and about the strength of forgiveness.

Henry grew up in school with Kate. He fell in love with her on the first day of kindergarten when she befriended him, and with a big smile, made him feel welcome and since then they became best friends. Until, one summer, his family moved away.

Six years later, its the senior year of high school. With an alcoholic father who is too drunk to notice that her prescrition-drug-addicted mother regularly beats and abuses her at home, and her thrift store clothes making her the target of severe and relentless bullying at school, Kate is a the subject of horrific treatment everywhere she turns. Consequently, she has withdrawn into herself, a survival mechanisn against a world where no where is safe.

When she walks into school on the first day back and sees Henry standing there, she is shocked and mortified that he’ll see what she’s becomes. Henry, however, is the same kind, caring, tender and gentle yet protective guy he always was. He’s surprised at the change in her, and does his best to earn her trust. And throughout the book we see her journey as Henry helps her heal, learn to stand up for herself, and begin to truly believe she is worthy of love.

I loved Henry’s character – what an absolute sweetheart! He was the first person to show her kindness after so many years of being shunned, abused and bullied, the first person to stand up for her, to protect her, to care for her feelings, and to love her. He was utterly devoted to her from start to finish and watching him gently lead her out of her shell by wrapping her in his love and love from his family was really beautiful.

“I’m sorry,” he says, sincerity in ever line of his body and ringing in his voice. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that alone. I’m sorry for everything you are going through now. But I promise you one thing.” He leans back, taking my face between his hands and gazing intently into my eyes. “You will never be alone again.”

The physical abuse the Kate suffers at home is horrific and chilling. Pure, downright cruelty. And almost worse than that is seeing how she internalizes the pain and feels unworthy – if her own mother can’t love her, how can she be deserving of any love at all? It was just heart breaking to see such a sweet, shy, kind person be treated so brutally.

Throughout the book, we get to see the back story behind the abuse – why was Kate’s mom so bitter? What made her dad so detached?  And we got to see the new beginnings brought about from acceptance and forgiveness.

I liked the book, but I didn’t love it despite having no specific complaints about it. It was pretty short, I read it in less than a day. The whole feeling of the book was very quiet… I know that’s a bit of a weird way to describe a book, but that’s how it felt to me. The story progressed at an unrushed pace, never making you feel like you missed any part of the story…..but I don’t know, I guess despite liking the story, I just felt a little detached from it. It did almost make me misty eyed once or twice, but it didn’t rip out my heart or make me cry ever despite the subject matter being pretty sickening at times. Still, it is a good read, and definitely worth adding to the TBR list.

The whole story is told from Kate’s POV, except for the prologue and epilogue which is told from Henry’s POV. And yes, the story does have a happy ending :)

It was definitely YA… very light and non-steamy (just kisses), but very sweet.

And someone asked me about this so I’ll mention that there is no sexual abuse in this story.

CASTING:

Henry –> Click here

Kate –> Click here

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Book Review – Clash (Crash #2) by Nicole Williams

Book Review – Clash (Crash #2) by Nicole Williams

4 stars

“Jude wasn’t just my first love. He was my forever love.

Woohoo! Our lovable uber-protective badboy, Jude, is back!

I really liked this book, I had some issues with it, but overall, I was very happy with it. This book had great dialogue, swoony moment, heart breaking moments, a totally badass chick fight, a heart sick badboy, some big issues to work though and of course a happy ending :)

This book starts up after the ending of Crash (book #1) with Jude and Lucy attending college. Jude being the superstar football player has been assigned a “Spirit Sister” Adriane (aka sheb*tchfromhell) who wants nothing more than to steal Jude away for her very own at any and all costs. Eeeeepp!! This consequently (and understandably) made Lucy feel more and more insecure around her relationship with Jude (considering his man-whoring past) and leads to a lot drama around them learning to trust each other.

“You’re all I’ve got, Luce. I’ll do anything not to lose you.

I have to say I HATED Adriane from the moment her name hit the page. I really haven’t hated a character this much in a long while. And I gotta admit, I totally sympathized with Lucy’s insecurities at first – the thought of another girl determined to get Jude just made my blood boil… and its not like Lucy knew she was a character in a book and destined for a HEA lol.  In her eyes, she didn’t know what to think and was just working with the facts in front of her… I’m pretty sure it would make me worried too in her shoes.

I was really torn with who to side with… I think in the end, they were both equally to blame for the issues, and both equally to commend for fixing things. Overall I actually sympethized with them both. For the first while I sided with Lucy… Despite being utterly devoted to her, Jude did do several things that I don’t think he should have with whole Adriane thing which made me totally get why she was being insecure. Then for a while, I sided with Jude because I felt Lucy went over-the-top with her reactions to the conclusions she drew. But at the same time, she had pretty good reason to come to those conclusions…and poor Jude is there and he’s just so messed up and yet trying so freaking hard to do the right thing but at the same time, and yet some of his actions were just really hypocritical….. hmmm I could go on and on… basically: Holy Emotional Rollercoaster!!

Life isn’t perfect, we sure as shit arent perfect, so why should we expect love to be?

The book was a fair bit shorter than Crash though so none of the frustrations were too long and drawn out – making them quite bearable. And it helped that by the end, all the issues that came up in the book were completely resolved.

And I absolutely loved the ending!! It was really sweet and the author tied it right in beautifully with the beginning of Crash making the story kind of come full circle. I thought that was pretty perfect :)

This book is basically YA but with sex (very subtle descriptions).

 

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Book Review – Unlovable (Port Fare #1) by Sherry Gammon

Book Review – Unlovable (Port Fare #1) by Sherry Gammon

3.5 stars

“When I said I loved you, I didn’t mean for a week, or maybe a year, I meant always, in the good times and the bad, through thick and thin. I’m playing for keeps here, Mags.

Overall, I thought the story was good, and its under contract to be made into a movie now which I think is fabulous, but I wasn’t totally blown away by the book itself.

Seth is an undercover cops posing as a student at Port Fare High School in an effort to bring down a ring of heroine drug dealers that have been on the rise in the last few months and have been recently reaching out to dealing to kids with devastatingly results. Maggie is a student and visually, with her near-skeletal frame and dark circles under her eyes, could be the poster child for Heroin Chic. No one realizes that she comes from a dirt-poor home and barely has enough money to keep food on the table because her alcoholic, verbally abusive mother drinks away any money that they have. And yet despite this miserable home environment, Maggie maintains stellar performance at school, and is a wonderfully sweet girl that everyone likes.

When Maggie’s name comes up as one of the people who could potentially lead them to the drug lord (based on her outward appearance), Seth is assigned to “get close” to her. But his personal feelings are getting in the way. Aside from his job, he already has feelings for her and he struggles with the balance of doing his job and going for what his heart wants.

Maggie feels unlovable. Her mother constantly berates, abuses and rejects her, so wrapped up in her alcoholic world that she has no time, patience, or love left to give her child.

“Get out of my house! I regret ever giving birth to you, you unlovable nothing!” She picked up a glass from off the coffee table… I turned and left as it hit my shoulder.”

But still, Maggie cares deeply for her mother, wanting desperately to feel worthy of her love, and having seen, first hand, the destruction caused by alcohol, Maggie want nothing to do with it (or drugs).

With her lack of self-worth, Maggie can’t fathom what Seth sees in her. How could someone unloved by their own mother be worthy of any love at all? And so it takes her loooong time to come around to actually believing that Seth is truly interested in her. Their relationship is slow building as Maggie slowly learns to trust him.

“It felt nice to be in his arms, as if someone actually cared about me. He listened, never judging, nor criticizing, just listening as I told him what had happened with my mom.”

But Seth understands how wary and un-trusting she is and is willing to be patient with her.  He goes far out of his way to make her feel safe with him, to protect her, to find subtle ways of caring for her when there are basic things that she can’t even afford, and to find a way to convince her of the depth of his feelings for her.

“Please don’t hurt me. When you’re tired of me, just let me know. I promise not to be a clinging vine”…
I was sick and tired of being alone. I was also very much in love with him. It frightened me beyond words.
“Maggie,” he said, stroking my hair. I’m not going to get tired of you, and I certainly don’t plan on hurting you, not on purpose, anyway. But I don’t just want to be here,” He kisses me softly on the lips. “I want to be in here too.” He brushed by head with his lips. “And in your heart. I’ve never loved anyone like this before.”

And while they are figuring out their feelings for each other, the drug dealers are stepping up their game, murdering people, students, hurting them, desperate to make a name for themselves and to get back at the cops for bringing down one of their brothers in a prior assignment.

The story is told from alternating POVs (including the drug dealers) so we get to understand all sides of what is going on.

But I did have a few issues with the story. I thought the plot was a little unbelievable at times (like for example how quickly they went from cautious flirting to absolute head-over-heels love literally overnight with very little build-up to that level of intensity), I found the dialogue a little stilted at times and it didn’t always flow very well (for example, from the guy’s POV, him saying “My face warped into a tortured expression…” hmmmmm, just doesn’t sound like something a guy would say. Or, her doctor asking her “How long were you unconscious?” … *squints skeptically* REALLY?????? O_o ), and there were definite moments of stupid decision making and childish reactions on the heroine’s part – just a lot of things that made me sigh to myself or roll my eyes.

I also wasn’t fully satisfied with the ending – yes, its a happy ending, and, yes, they end up “together” as a couple, and I guess we’ll see more of their relationship development in the sequel (although, it isn’t directly focused on them) but I didn’t like the decision they made at the end – it just didn’t make sense to me.

The steam factor was very, very low – definitely a tame YA read. The hero doesn’t believe in sex before marriage, and for a goodly chunk of the book, she’s 17 and he is 21 (and a cop) so they pretty much only kiss throughout the whole book.

It was still a good book, I just felt a little ‘meh’ about some aspects of it. It did keep me interested from start to finish though, but it didn’t make me laugh, didn’t make me cry and didn’t make my heart race. But it is under contract to be a movie and I can definitely see how it would make a much better movie than it did a book. Its one of those kinds of stories that you can totally visualize as a movie in your head with very few changes made to it.

The sequel, Unbelievable, will be released in December 2012 and follow the story of another of the main characters from this book.

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Book Review – The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window by Kristy Moseley

Book Review – The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window by Kristy Moseley

3.5 stars

“It’s always been you; it’ll always be you, Angel.

My goodness I felt torn about how to rate this book. There were literally times where I was grinning, and awww-ing and proclaiming my whole-hearted love for the book… but then, there were times where I’d cringe, roll my eyes or want to throttle the characters. I kept going back and forth between 2.5 and 4.5 stars. It was a tough call because the good parts were reeeeally heart-meltingly good but the inconsistencies and some parts of the writing kind of brought it down for me.

This book has a fair bit of flaws (moments of stilted dialogue, a LOT of out-of-character, unrealistic and nonsensical actions from the heroine, some not-so-great writing, and plain flat-out stupidity), but the thing is, if you can (and I mostly did) overlook those flaws, and remember that this is purely a work of fiction, its actually a very adorable, at times hot, and definitely aww-worthy romance about a girl who came for an abusive home and a boy who has loved her since she was a little kid, has been her protector ever since then, and is willing to do just about anything to make her happy, comfortable, feel safe, and loved.. Its all very swoony and sweet underneath the flaws.

8-year-old Amber lives with her mother and older brother Jake in constant fear of the verbal, physical, emotional (and in Amber’s case, sexual) abuse inflicted on them by their father. No kid should ever have to lock their bedroom door at night just to feel safe. But every night, once her door is locked and no one can hurt her anymore, her brother’s best friend Liam (10 years old), sneaks into her bedroom window and just holds her as she cries, comforts her when she feels unsafe, and by secretly staying with her through every night, helps her to push back the pain. So, so sweet of him! *sniff*

“…he was wearing his pajamas … “I saw you through the window. I just wanted to come and make sure you were alright, he whispered… I’m not leaving until you stop crying,”…He had his arms wrapped around me so tightly that I couldn’t even squirm away. I felt safe and warm. I scooted closer to him… and sobbed into his chest. “

Cut to 8 years later, Liam is still sneaking in through her window and staying the night with her (awwwww, right??) and he has almost every night since they were kids. His presence is the only thing that keeps her nightmares away. Jake, the older brother and Liam’s best friend, is seriously protective of her too. His willingness to do absolutely everything to protect his sister and to keep her physically and emotionally away from anything that could hurt her was really gorgeous.

But Amber can’t figure Liam out. He’s an annoying and lovable jerk by day, and the sweetest guy ever by night. He’s also your typical man-whore – plenty of girls, no girlfriends, no meaningful connections. He has always really only had eyes for Amber.

Night Liam was considerate, loving and thoughtful. Day Liam was a flirt, slut and a jerk. However, both night and day Liams made me feel safe and protected.”

I was a little frustrated with how long it took Amber to clue into Liam’s feelings for her, but at the same time, it was really sweet to watch her come into the realization that the guy who’d been sharing her bed since they were kids is also crazy about her.

I have to say that I LOVED Liam!! Seriously, he made the book for me. He was utterly, perfectly sweet, swoony, hot and thoughtful. The guy literally had no flaws other than his man-whoring past (which he completely stopped once they got together). He has always seen himself as her protector and is always watching out for her. Whats more, he knows what she’s been though and although he’s completely in love with her and wants more, he never ever pushed her outside of her comfort zone and just settled for being protective and caring for her, willing to just be whatever she needed from him.

Once Amber started to realize that she has feelings for him, the adorable hotness begins as they start going out… Its really hard not to love a guy who is always telling his girl how beautiful he thinks she is, who will check the bathrooms and closets for undead after a scary zombie movie, and who can’t fall asleep without being wrapped around his girl. I went though many “awwww, he’s just so freaking sweet” moments that made my heart squeeze :)

And I loved how Liam was the only person who could help her through her pain, who understood her deep down, who knew what she needed, who made her feel safe – it was really cute. He totally let her set the pace of the relationship, was endlessly patient, never pushing her or rushing her, but yet always letting her know he was there for her and ready to go wherever she was comfortable  going. And once they started going, he pulled out all the swoony stops.

“Liam, what do you want from me?” I asked quietly…
He put his finger under my chin and lifted my face so I had to look up at him. “Everything,” he said simply. 

But I also felt it was all a little too ‘romance book perfect’. The story basically had a lot of the elements that make romance books swoony, but I felt like (at times) they were a bit crudely put together – not all the pieces fit and sometimes it just made the whole thing feel off-kilter at times. Also, there were times when the characters felt much older than they were. But if you could overlook that and a few other things, the book was really cute.

This book touches on themes of abuse and teen pregnancy, and is set again a high school background, however the focus of the story is the romance. There is a really adorable epilogue and there’s no cheating or separation in the book. Once Amber and Liam get together, they are both completely crazy about each other with no deviations. “My girl.” He kissed me again. “The only one I want.” However, despite a lot of steamy buildup, teasing, flirting, making out etc, the actual bedroom scenes are fade-to-black. Its YA, but its hot YA :P

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Book review – Crow’s Row by Julie Hockley

Book review – Crow’s Row by Julie Hockley

4 stars

“Whoever said that love hurts was wrong. Love is excruciating, especially when you can feel it slipping through your fingers and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Why did the story have to end there?????? WHY??!?! OK, so this is all actually totally my fault. I knew what the ending was and that it was a horrible cliffhanger before I started reading this but it still punched me in the gut!! Dear. lord. *sniffle*

Frustrated by her shallow, controlling and uncaring filthy-rich parents, Emily just wants to be out on her own. Her older brother died a few years ago (drug overdose) and so she leaves her family (refusing to take their money) to strike out on her own, living near the cemetery where he is buried. She keeps running into this guy near the cemetery who tried warning her to stay away, to move away, but of course she doesn’t listen and at the same time is very intrigued by him.

“There was no doubt in my mind that this boy was odd and beautiful – a dangerous combination. Something about his guardedness, something about the way others in the projects had looked at his with fear, made me think I should probably run the other way next time and concentrate on not thinking about him.”

One day, while out on a run, she gets caught in the rain and, while taking shelter in the cemetery witnesses a brutal murder committed by the guy she kept running into and passes out. When she wakes up, she is thrown into a world she never expected to know – filled with drug lords, gangs, hideouts, territory wars, and secrets about her brother and the life he was really involved in…  She is held captive in a house in the country but finds herself falling in love with Cameron, the guy from the cemetery who had been watching her, who committed the brutal crime, who kidnapped her and is apparently just trying to keep her safe and also falling in love with her. But in that world, happily-ever-afters don’t come too easily.

“How long are you going to keep me here?” I drowsily continued.
Cameron pulled the glass out of my numbed hands and set it on the table next to me. “For as long as it takes.”
“And what are you going to do with me?” This came out as a whisper. My eyes were barely slit open.
Cameron paused on this question. He scanned my face, like the answer was written somewhere between the freckles.
“I don’t know”

First off, I should say that I went into this book expecting it to be quite dark, but it really wasn’t. I was pretty surprised by that. I mean, the subject matter is serious, but even though she is held captive, its in a fully furnished house, she is allowed a lot of freedom to go around the grounds as she pleases, talk to anyone, swim in the pool with everyone, make dinner etc… its not like its a dark and twisty kidnapping (not that I’m justifying it or anything, it just wasn’t quite what I thought it would be) and the “bad guys” aren’t evil or mean or cruel.. they are just involved in some shady business.

This book really blurs the line between right and wrong… What if a good person did something technically wrong but for the right reasons and in a situation where it was, in many ways, the only solution. Does that make them a bad person? Can you still fall in love with them? Can a relationship in a world where that life is necessary work?

From the start of the book, Cameron was a total mystery. He seemed to be always fighting against himself. On the outside, he seemed cold and harsh, but pieces of his softer, caring personality kept peeking through revealing his true nature and drawing the line between the person he wanted to be and the person his position made him have to be.

I’ll admit it, I got Stockholm Syndrome. I totally fell in love with him… and despite their less-than-ideal circomstances, I could really see a solution where things worked out for them and then the ending!!!!! aaarrrgh!! WHY?? *grumbles about noble idiots*

“Everything was different between Cameron and me. What I felt wasn’t just mind games or some fabricated syndrome. What I felt for him, I had seen him, felt him feel for me too. I was sure of this.”

Emily and Cameron very much have a forbidden love. In his world, loved ones are liabilities and almost always get hurt or killed. And the more she learns about him, the more she begins to understand his world and why he is involved in it.

“You’ll probably die if you stay with me,” he told me.
“Then I’m dead either way, because I won’t survive without you.” 

There were, however, several discrepancies in the book that make me squint at it skeptically but overall the story was good and so I was able to make myself accept them as part of the world. But don’t read too deeply into the details. If you think about them too hard, a lot of the stuff that happens (especially in the first 60%) can be a little unbelievable or questionable. I had a lot of moments where I kind of just shook my head, put away my thoughts on the matter and just accepted what I read in order to not take myself away from the story line… Unfortunately though, I can’t really talk about them without giving spoilers. And I kind of wavered back and forth on how much they bothered me… but then, I had to put the book down while I went to work and found myself thinking about it all day and realized that despite all that, I was really sucked into the story and the fact that it made me care about the characters like that was definitely a good sign. But I’d say that that was the primary reason for not rating the book higher. Well, that and also I would have wanted more steam. The love scenes were very tame, even for a YA book. 100% fade-to-black. The most we saw was a kiss…. I wanted more!!

The story was actually relatively light until about 65% and then there were a series of twists I didn’t see coming…. and the ending had me in serious emotional knots! (although, I didn’t get misty eyes or cry throughout the whole book)

That being said, its not an anti-HEA ending… it definitely leaves room for things to work out in a swoony HEA in the sequel, but for now… ARRRRGHHHHH!!!!!

I checked on Julie Hockley’s website and she has confirmed that she is in the middle of writing the sequel… she’s only a few chapters in but thankfully, its in the works! I’m definitely looking forward to more of Cameron and Emily’s story!!

I’d definitely recommend it for fans of Sempre.. the two books had a very similar feeling to them (but Sempre had more steam)

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