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Book Review: Overnight Sensation by Sarina Bowen

Jan 29, 2019

Overnight Sensation by Sarina Bowen

Pages: 341
Publish date: January 22, 2019
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
ASIN: B07K5WL48S
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Everyone knows the girl is off limits. But it’s so good to be bad. There’s this girl…
Heidi and I have been trading hungry looks all year, and everything she does makes me smile. But I don’t do girlfriends, and I certainly can’t get involved with the league commissioner’s daughter. I need shots on goal, not a hookup and a widely misunderstood paparazzi photo.
Can I resist her, though? The way she teases me should be a game penalty for interference with my libido.

There’s this guy…
Jason wants me, but he won’t admit it. That man looks at me the way a hockey player eyes the lunch buffet after practice–and I love it.But when victory is finally within my grasp, I blow it and humiliate myself. Even then I can’t even avoid him–as the team intern, I’m in constant view of his hard body and cocky smile. I need another chance. Jason Castro is about to learn the true meaning of an overnight sensation.

Overnight Sensation:

When a new Sarina Bowen comes out, of course, I have to read it right away. And I am so glad that I did, I adored Overnight Sensation, and I’m so happy that there is a new hockey romance from Sarina Bowen.

This one follows someone we all know and love Jason Castro as he tries to navigate the year after a “little stumble.” And while he thought everything would be focused on ice hockey, Heidi makes her way into his life. When Jason didn’t make the last goal and bring his team to victory last season, he thought everything was over. He had his chance and it blew it. So this season Jason Castro is putting everything in. What he didn’t expect was for Heidi Jo to come into his life as she did. And when a paparazzi photo is taken at the wrong time and is outrageously misunderstood, Jason and Heidi and both getting more than they bargained for.

I have adored Jason Castro from when he first came into Sarina Bowen’s ice hockey world. So when I heard that her new book would be about him, I was super excited. And let me tell you I wasn’t disappointed. While this isn’t my favourite of this series or her books. I still had so much fun reading it.

Jason can just have my heart. While he is a charmer, he isn’t really the ‘manwhore’ we sometimes get in romance novels. His charm just made him a natural at talking with not only women but anyone else really. He was like this big kid, but not in a bad way. I also adored the way that he cared for Heidi when she wasn’t exactly in the right state of mind, it was really nice to see that. Jason is not only charming, but also very sweet. And that really showed throughout Overnight Sensation. But Jason also has a past that he is hiding from nearly everyone. And it haunts him with everything that he does.

Alex Korolkoff

Then there is Heidi, who I didn’t love as much as other readers. Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoyed her as a protagonist, but it was much harder to connect with her. What I did love about Heidi was that she never gave up. She pushed and pushed and pushed. It’s really nice seeing a female, protagonist that doesn’t give up. I can never have enough of them. And Sarina Bowen is amazing at writing female characters who are career driven and likes to be challenged. She took everything that was thrown at her, and it took a lot to take her down, even a little. Heidi’s character arc was really good, it made me go from liking her, to really enjoying her as a protagonist

Jason and Heidi was gold. They were adorable together. At first, I found that Jason and Heidi were very different from one another, but as Overnight Sensation went on, not only did they find out more about each other, but the reader did too. I loved that they both challenged one another and kept each other on their toes. It really made for an engaging aspect of the novel and the growth of their relationship. Jason’s demons did play a lot with his mind and the choices that he makes considering Heidi, but she was also there for him

I didn’t like the relationship between Heidi and her father. None of it sat right with me from the beginning, and the reasoning behind it didn’t sit well either. I hated how Heidi, didn’t really stand up to him enough. Yes, she did move out, but that just wasn’t enough. She still let him walk all over her. And then he was forever just as easy. I really do wish there was more tension between these two. A lot of what he did would have hurt me a hell of a lot more than Heidi showed it did.

I adored seeing the Brooklyn Bruisers again. It felt so warm and familiar to be back with all the crew. From the team to Rebecca and Georgia. It put a smile on my face reading about the characters that we know and love. Having these old characters back also added such entertainment, the banter between the team is next to nothing and really adds humour and character.

Christiana Rivers

Overall, I loved Overnight Sensation. Sarina knows how to write a fantastic sports romance that isn’t just about the sport or the romance. It’s about relationships, finding out who you are and learning about not only yourself but those around you. Jason and Heidi were fantastic, I couldn’t get enough of them. Alone there were pretty good, but together, they just blew up. Overnight Sensation explores finding yourself in hard times, letting go of the past and sometimes, it’s good to have someone by your side. If you have loved Sarina Bowen before, you will adore this. If you love sports romances, then pick this up. Or whether you just want a little getaway, then here you are.

Have you read Overnight Sensation? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? What is your favourite sports romance? Let’s Chat!

Don’t forget to check for Brooklynaire, book 4 in the Brooklyn Bruisers series as well as my other Sarina Bowen book reviews.

Book Review: Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi | Blog Tour

Jan 15, 2019

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

Pages: 400
Publish date: January 1, 2019
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Australia
ISBN: 9781534425934
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

For Penny Lee high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.

Emergency Contact:

I received an arc of Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi from Simon and Shuster Australia as apart of the blog tour in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I was really excited when I first heard about this one. It seemed exactly like the book that I would love and easily be able to fall in love with. However, it really didn’t go that way.

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi follows protagonists Penny and Sam as life throws all it’s curve balls. Penny is just starting college in a new town away from her mother and the life she went along with. She’s studying writing, has a roommate that might end up her friend and then she meets Sam.

Sam is a little complicated. He has dropped out of college, working at a cafe and living in the spare room upstairs and sleeping on a mattress on the floor. And then he meets Penny. When the two find out they have more in common then they thought, they become each other’s emergency contacts. They will be there for each other via text when every they need someone.

Alexandre Godreau

From the beginning of the novel, Penny really rubbed me the wrong way. At first, I couldn’t figure out why, but as the novel went on I found that it was how she treated and thought about people. Penny was very judgemental especially through the first half of the novel. It was just so hard to get into Emergency Contact when you don’t like the protagonist. Her thoughts on people also hinder her from making friends, there were people there wanting to be here friends.

In saying this, I felt that Penny and her group of friends acted much younger than they were. I don’t know if it was just me, but I don’t think I acted the way that Penny and friends did when I was 18. I felt that they were more around the ages of 14/15, then 17/18. Don’t get me wrong, if I know that characters are going to be younger I go in knowing that. But I just felt that they acted so much younger for their age.

Sam was much easier to get along with. I felt that I was able to connect with him more, and throughout the novel, I grew to like him more and more. He felt more real than Penny. He made mistakes, but he was able to stand up to his problems and he was prepared for his life to change.

It also took me a long time to get into the novel, I felt that the first half was really slow and nothing really motivated me to continue reading. When reading I felt that there was nothing really that motivated the characters. Nevertheless, as soon as I hit the second half of the I really go into it.

The second half I was able to connect more with both Penny and Sam and the plot was able really moved the story along. Penny was able to really find herself in this second half and it was really nice to see her characterization and character arc. While it didn’t redeem all the things that made me dislike her in the first half, it did make me like her in the second half.

I really liked Penny and Sam together, I liked that they were friends first and they took the time connecting with one another before anything more happened. I really enjoyed the concept of an “emergency contact.” Someone being there when you need them most. And both Sam and Penny were great to each other for that. I do the romance was present a little more. But I still really enjoyed being about to see Sam and Penny become friends and then slowly fall for each other.

Kaitlyn Baker

Penny relationship with her mother is also really strained throughout the whole novel. There were times where I understood Penny’s hostility, but there were also times where I didn’t. She didn’t even give her mum a chance to change things. While yes her mother was free-spirited, it felt that Penny couldn’t care less and that was really hard to read. The reader is able to see that her mum was trying to be there for Penny and be a better mother, but Penny wouldn’t give her a chance.

Overall, I liked Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi for the most part. While I did struggle a lot reading the first half, I really enjoyed the second half. The protagonist becomes more real and I was able to connect with them a lot. The plot also started to move forward in the second half and things started to come together. I also really enjoy the slow-burning relationship of Penny and Sam. Throughout the whole novel, Sam and Penny were able to confide in each other and as the novel goes on their relationship changes. Emergency Contact explores the notion of finding yourself and those around it. It’s about family, friends and finding new paths.

About the Author

Mary H.K. Choi is a writer for The New York Times, GQ, Wired, and The Atlantic. She has written comics for Marvel and DC, as well as a collection of essays called Oh, Never Mind. She is the host of Hey, Cool Job!, a podcast about jobs, and is a culture correspondent for VICE News Tonight on HBO. Emergency Contact is her first novel. Mary grew up in Hong Kong and Texas and now lives in New York.

Have you read Emergency Contact? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat! Also, don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog tour this week.

Unearthly Series Review by Cynthia Hand

Jan 11, 2019

At the start of the year, I decided that I should finally start this series – and I have no idea why I waited so long. I adored this series, it was fun, heartbreak and I couldn’t stop reading it. So today I thought I would share some of my thoughts on the series.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Pages: 432
Publish date: January 4, 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780732292607
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Clara has known she was part-angel ever since she turned fourteen two years ago. But only now is her Purpose – the crucial rite of passage for every part-angel – becoming clear to her. Clara′s Purpose leads her family to Wyoming, where, amidst terrifying scenes of a bush inferno, she finds the boy of her visions, Christian. He is everything she could wish for – so why does she also have feelings for her enigmatic classmate Tucker?

Clara discovers that her Purpose is only a small part of a titanic struggle between angels and their destructive counterparts, the Black Wings. And when the fire of her visions erupts and both Christian and Tucker are in danger, who will she choose to save?

Unearthly:

Like I said before, I don’t know why it took me so long to pick this series up. I was hooked from the very first chapter of Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. I’ve read a lot of Angel books, especially those that came out around 2009 to 2012. It’s what I read a lot of. I think that is why it took me a long time to read it, I thought it would be the same. But I was so wrong.

I loved Clara as a protagonist. She was charming and really likable. From the start, I was able to fall into her voice and just go with her. I’ve been struggling recently with that, but it worked so well here. I adored the way that Clara cared about her loved ones and tried to do everything in her power to keep them safe.

The relationship with Clara and her mum was very tense at times. And I did like being shown that dynamic, but it was annoying to read at times because I wanted them to get along easier.

The romance in this one was interesting. I’m not a massive Christian fan, but I didn’t hate him. I just like Clara with Tucker better. It felt more natural to me. Normally I hate love triangles, but it worked really well here, and it was something that I could get on board with.

Overall, Unearthly was a really great start to a new series. There wasn’t much info dumping, but the world building was spread throughout the novel. This really helped with the pacing of the book and just moved things along nicely.

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Pages: 395
Publish date: January 1, 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
ISBN: 9780732292614
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Clara Gardner knew that as a part angel she would one day have to fulfill her purpose. Rescuing Christian from a forest fire…what she never considered was what might happen if she were to fail.

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend Tucker, Clara must deal with the repercussions of what happened the day of the fire as the two boys vie for her heart. And, as she is drawn further into the world of angels and part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings. Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain after a shocking revelation, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning…

Hallowed:

Things are getting intense now. After the ending of book one, I didn’t know where this was going to go. But not long in and wow. Everything jumps to another level in this one and I didn’t know what to make of it. There were some parts that were predictable, however, it didn’t stop me from loving the book. It drove me to find out more.

Again, I really enjoyed Clara in Hallowed. She not only became more independent but there was a lot more she had to consider. And I really think that made her more likable. Clara had to make some decisions that were questionable but also drove her in a way that moved the story along.

The love triangle was much more intense in this one. And will I still didn’t love it, I think that Cynthia Hand wrote it in a way that really worked. In saying that I really didn’t like Christian in this one, the way that he pushed to be with Clara, really put me off. I adored Tucker. He was thrown into a world that he knew nothing about. Into a world he didn’t think was real. And he tried, he tried to understand what he could for Clara.

Friendship was a really big theme throughout Hallowed and I really enjoyed it. At first, we see Clara struggle with keeping her human and Angel friends separate and even harder keeping them together.

Overall, Hallowed was a really good addition to the Unearthly series. The tension between Clara and the Angel world is intensifying and that just adds to the novel so well. A really good middle book to a series.

Boundless by Cynthia Hand

Pages: 448
Publish date: February 1, 2013
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
ISBN: 9780732292621
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

The past few years held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner ever could have anticipated. Yet through the dizzying high of first love to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she could no longer deny was that she was never meant to have a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the best option, so she’s headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must choose her fate once and for all.

Boundless:

What an amazing way to end a series. I knew from the first page of Unearthly, that I was going to enjoy these books and I certainly did. And Boundless was the perfect way to wrap it all up.

Everything comes together in this novel, everything this series has been building up to. The world building of this series is fantastic and as the reader is always finding out new things. I enjoyed that through Clara, the reader finds out about new things to do with the world. It really worked and I didn’t feel lost.

I’m really happy with who Clara ends up with, even if it took some time. It really worked for me and just made me like the series even more. The path wasn’t easy and that was enjoyable. It showed that even though there was a lot of things going on, they came back to each other.

Again, I was able to predict certain things that happened throughout the novel, but it worked out really well. And it didn’t take away from me enjoying the novel. I was just one step of Clara at times.

What I also enjoyed about this one, was the college setting. You don’t see that much in YA, especially early YA like this one is. And it makes me question, why isn’t there more like this? It worked out so well here and the transition from high school to college in this series was nice to see.

Overall, I really enjoyed Boundless, it was a fantastic way to finish this series. The world building was great, the romance was adorable, the characters engaging. I read this whole series in about 4 days and I have no regrets.

And that is it! Overall the Unearthly series was entertaining, engaging and kept me guessing. The romance was surprising and exciting. And I still can’t believe I waited so long to pick this one up. Have you read the Unearthly series? What did you think? Are you planning on picking it up? Let’s Chat!