Crossing the Barrier (The Gray Eyes Series #1) By: Martine Lewis ReviewAnd Blog Tour!!

Welcome to my spot on the Crossing the Barrier By: Martine Lewis Blog Tour! 

Title: Crossing the Barrier

Author: Martine Lewis

Publication Date: March 22, 2016

Genre: Upper YA Coming of Age Contemporary Romance with a touch of Paranormal

Publisher: BMJ Chanapi Press

Buy Link: Amazon

Author Links: 

Website/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Goodreads/Amazon

Crossing the Barrier is a book that intrigued me from the moment I saw it on Goodreads. In the summary it says that Lily can feel everyone's emotions and I really wanted to read more about that. I find the whole empath thing really fascinating and I am so happy that it is done well in the book! 

#HowWouldYouLikeToFeelEveryonesEmotions?

This story is a better than I expected it to be. I really like Lily's and Malakai's characters, even though Lily did start to annoy me near the end of the book. It wasn't her character exactly, just the decisions she kept making seemed ridiculous to me. Also, I don't know who infuriated me more Beatrice or Wes! The author does a great job of making you feel for Lily and Malakai's characters that's for sure. I love when you really feel for the characters in a story.

#IFeelForYouBro

So here is where I have to be really honest about this book. I loved it, I really did. However, it's so CORNY. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of corny if it's still a good book. That's how it is with Crossing the Barrier. It's super cheesy, but gosh it is so addicting and entertaining. Oh and that ENDING!!! It really made me desperate to read the next one. I need more information ASAP!!

#CornyButAddicting

Overall Crossing the Barrier has a few issues (corny being the main one), but I still enjoyed it immensely. In a way this book reminded me of Twilight even though the two stories are very different. I feel that it's similar in the way that there are some noticeable issues, but the writing is very captivating and fun. I can't wait to read book two and see what will happen next. 

#NeedBookTwoNow

I recommend Crossing the Barrier for fans of the Twilight series, Lux series, The Mortal Instruments series, and the House of Night series. 

#BasicallyForAllYAParanormalLovers

Goodreads Giveaway: 

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September 1st- September 5th Crossing the Barrier will be FREE!!!

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Auburn: Midnight Suns and Farewell Lovers (Auburn #3) By: Valerie Thomas Review

I received an ebook copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!!  

I have so much love for this series!! I enjoyed books one and two immensely and I have been really looking forward to reading the conclusion of the Auburn series. I am so happy that I've had the chance to read these books. I love books about music or with music incorporated into it and I also love books about important subjects. This book series has both of those things in all three books. 

#FinalBook

At the beginning of Auburn: Midnight Suns and Farewell Lovers I was a little concerned though. Ashley was getting on my nerves a bit and I was screaming NOOOO at her in my head. Thankfully this did not last long AT ALL. I just love her character and the thing is I ended up okay with everything. Ashley isn't perfect and I love that about her. She had some really great character development in this one. Looking back at book one Ashley has matured quite a lot since then, but she has never given up fighting for the outcasts!

#ExcellentCharacterGrowth 

So... the band... they went through A LOT in this book. There were so many band issues that happened, but I'm pleased with how they all were resolved. As a whole this book was wrapped up very well at the end and I'm super happy with it. I would be curious to see what's next for Ashley (musically and relationship wise) after this series ends. Speaking of relationships I am SUPER happy with how things resolved with Charlie and how things went with Aras. 

#TheEndingIsWellDone

Overall I am very pleased with Auburn: Midnight Suns and Farewell Lovers. It's a very well done end to a fantastic series. As a whole this series is very well written and highly entertaining. I think this series would be appropriate for younger teens as well. It has a great message about bullying, but it's not preachy.  

#AntiBullying

I recommend the entire series to anyone who enjoys books about music, outcasts, bullying, and growing up. 

#IRecommendIfYouLikeBooksAboutMusic

Looking for Alaska By: John Green Review

I have been wanting to read Looking for Alaska for quite a while. Out of the John Green books I had read previously I really enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars, but I didn't care for Paper Towns. I've been curious about this one and I really needed a John Green tie-breaker. Unfortunately, since this one was very middle of the road, I still don't know where I stand on John Green books. They are all over the place for me.

I took a quiz once on Facebook (probably Buzzfeed or something) that was to see what John Green character you are. My result was Alaska and after reading Looking for Alaska I'm not sure how I feel about that. She definitely is a screwed-up character! And very moody. Well I guess I can be very moody. :P

I enjoyed that Miles was looking for "The Great Perhaps." I could immediately connect with him as far as reading about adventures in books and wanting to find that in real life. I like that he read about going to boarding school in a biography and that led him to decide to attend a boarding school. I also liked that the boarding school was a school for smart kids and it was all very Dead Poets Society. Which I LOVE that movie!

The best part about Looking for Alaska was the humor. It wasn't ALL of the book, but the few humorous parts were pretty darn good. I wish there had been even more of that in the book. I also really liked the growth of Miles. His character development was pretty on point for his age. I can remember being that age between a kid and an adult and really finding out some things about the world. This is definitely a good one for TEENS. Not that it's bad for adults, but I think that maybe if I was still a teenager I would have appreciated this one even better.

One thing that really bugged me was the countdown in the book. It made the plot really obvious and it was distracting for me. The other thing I didn't care for was how the end (the after part) dragged on. It's already a short book, but it probably could have been even shorter. The end went on and on taking too much time exploring plot lines that were already extremely obvious.

Overall Looking for Alaska was mostly enjoyable, but it wasn't a GREAT book for me. I would still say it's worth a read though. Especially for someone who actually is a teen.

I recommend Looking for Alaska for fans of books with a screwed-up female character, Dead Poets Society, and boarding school novels.

Firsts By: Laurie Elizabeth Flynn ARC Review

3.5 Stars

View on Goodreads

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review an ebook copy of Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. 

Firsts is about a seventeen year old girl named Mercedes who has sex with a lot of virgins who have girlfriends. Mercedes has sex with the guys and teaches them how they can make it special with their girlfriends. Her religious best friend Angela has no idea, and her mother isn't exactly parent of the year. When Angela's boyfriend wants a turn to give Mercedes his first time things go south and Mercy has to try and save her reputation. 

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading Firsts. At first I was irritated a little bit because Mercedes is an idiot. It was obvious that Mercedes had some issues related to sex (DUH) and that there would be a story about a guy that would come out later. Which was true and it did come out later in the novel. I just don't understand why Mercy was so STUPID. I think the author did a wonderful job of explaining how and why she ended up having sex with all of these guys. I just didn't like that Mercedes was so stupid and had sex with so MANY guys. 

There is quite a lot I did like about Firsts. It's unique and the subject matter grabs your attention right away. It's hilarious and it's a wonderful coming of age story. I enjoyed seeing Mercy's growth throughout the novel and by the end I think she FINALLY matured. I loved the dynamics between her and Zach (her Wednesday sex buddy and the only one that isn't a virgin with a girlfriend.) I also LOVED FAYE!! I think we could all use a friend like her. 

Obviously this book is a pretty controversial book. It's controversial, but all of the sexual content is written very well and it was handled nicely.  Also, there isn't a lot of preachy abstinence talk. Thank goodness! The ending is a bit of a cheesefest, but it's definitely satisfying. 

Overall I think there is a lot to like and to discuss in Firsts. It wasn't my favorite novel, but definitely worth a read. I recommend this for anyone looking for a bold, unique, controversial, and humorous coming of age YA story. 

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