Blog Tour: Project Five Fifteen Blog Tour - Review & Giveaway

Today, I'm happy to be one of the hosts to kick-off the Project Five Fifteen Blog Tour!

First Light

By: Samantha Summers

Series: Project Five Fifteen #1 

Publication: May 12th 2012 

Genre: YA Romantic Thriller 

First Light on Goodreads here.

Synopsis:

A government experiment. Sixteen teenage boys on the run. An innocent young girl caught in the middle. When Ronnie Rose meets the handsome and alluring Kalen Smith, she can tell there's something he's hiding - something dangerous. But in trying to uncover his secret, Ronnie is plunged into a terrifying world she isn't prepared for... and the consequences could be deadly. Can we choose who we fall in love with?

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

As You Were
By: Samantha Summers

Series: Project Five Fifteen #2 

Publication: December 14th 2012 

Genre: YA Romantic Thriller

As You Were on Goodreads here.

Synopsis:

For every choice, there is a consequence.

Ronnie and Kalen are finally together, living their life in secret under the radar of the people who want Kalen dead. But when a visit from an old friend sends Kalen away on a rescue mission, Ronnie finds herself plunged back into the world of Project Five Fifteen quicker than she ever thought possible.

It’s fast becoming clear The Agency will never give up their hunt for the boys, and a betrayal closer to home starts a chain reaction that will change everything. Now, caught in a deadly web of lies and deceit, Ronnie is forced to question who she can trust; even the person she once trusted most.

As enemies close in, Kalen’s past threatens to destroy the happiness they sacrificed so much for, and it’s only a matter of time before the ultimate choice must be

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My Thoughts:

Thrilling YA series!

The romance was perfect, definitely satisfied the huge romantic in me! I loved the way things developed between Kalen and Ronnie in First Light, and was thrilled to see them together in As You Were. Kalen is definitely book boyfriend material. He's gorgeous and mysterious, all he really wants to do is keep Ronnie safe, even if that means he has to let her go.

Ronnie is a great heroine, she's strong and level headed and my heart went out to her at the beginning of First Light with the loss of her father. As a side note: I absolutely LOVED the way Kalen and Ronnie are first introduced to each other, he swoops in with 20 pounds like a Knight in shining armour, and I loved it! I must admit, I was pretty jealous of Ronnie through much of First Light, and As You Were, simply because she got to be around so many attractive young men, seriously, it's not fair! Haha.

Putting the romance aside, what I really appreciated about the Project Five Fifteen series, is Samantha's writing style. It flows easily through the pages and the pacing of the plot is perfect. I believe each book could, easily, be a single-sit-through read for non-reluctant readers. It was also a nice change of pace to read a YA book set in London, England.

I will definitely be continuing this series and can't wait to read book #3, Becoming!

Happy Reading!!!

About Samantha:

Born in London, an only child with an overactive imagination, Sam spent much of her childhood telling ghost stories to her younger cousins and dreaming about far away places. She graduated university with a BA in marketing, but it wasn't long before her passion for storytelling and travel got the better of her. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia, where you'll probably find her hidden away in the corner of a park somewhere - writing, reading, dreaming or watching movies on her iPad. She loves everything spy and assassin and has a slightly unhealthy obsession with Star Wars, mainly Darth Vader.

Connect with Summer:

Author Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway time!!! 

2 winners will win a signed copy of both books and a T-Shirt.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Special thanks to Samantha and Xpresso Book Tours, for allowing me to participate in this blog tour!

ARC Review: True by Erin McCarthy

True
by: Erin McCarthy
Release Date: May 7th/13.
Publisher: Intermix (Penguin)
Source: e-ARC via Netgalley
True on Goodreads here.
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

Warning!!! This is a New Adult title, and as such will contain some explicit/mature scenes and dialogue. Recommended for those 16+.

My Thoughts:
Strong start, but lost a lot of its steam towards the end.

I really enjoyed the beginning for True, Tyler and Rory had such a strong chemistry and I found Rory easily relatable, but from the middle towards the end, the plot just sort of lost its magic for me. While I appreciated McCarthy for not taking the cliche approaches towards Rory and Tyler's relationship, I still felt like Rory lost a lot of backbone with regards to Tyler and her friends. I really wanted to shake her at times and be like, "this is not ok".

I loved the family bonds in this story though, and truly appreciated how close Tyler and his brothers are. I felt so sad for Tyler with regards to the weight he carries on his shoulders, and while I think what happens to him is probably very realistic, it still made me upset with the injustice of it all.

The ending really left much to be desired for me, it was far to rushed and I was a little confused with the decisions these two made with regards to their relationship. I know that there are a few companion novels planned for this series, and I may read them in the future,  but I'm in no rush to pick them up. 

This was my first book by Erin McCarthy, so if you're familiar wit her work, you may enjoy this New Adult debut, despite the fact that it lost a lot of its steam.

Happy Reading!!!

Cover Reveal: All My Life by Rucy Ban

All My Life
by: Rucy Ban
Contemporary New Adult
Release Date: May 7th/13.
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Kari meets Neil Mars. “Neil as in Armstrong and Mars…as in Bruno.” A boy who beats every vampire, werewolf, highlander fantasy Kari has ever had. But she knows can’t get close to him. Not ever. Because that would mean telling him everything. Coming clean. And Kari can’t bear the idea of changing the way Neil looks at her. Like she’s the only girl in the world. His reverence is something too precious to lose. Perhaps even at the cost of losing him. 

But Kari doesn't know why Neil calls her his ‘Angel’ and when she finds out, she realizes what love is all about. Boundless joy, unending longing and a fuckload of heartache. 

Here are a couple teaser excerpts from All My Life:

“I can take care of myself,” I tell him. 

His lips twitch in response. “Oh, I’m sure you can, little shrub.”

“You are warned!” I take my voice down a notch and point my ring at him, “I’ll tunnel your leathery knighthood right out of this galaxy!” 

Neil suddenly halts in his tracks and pins me down with eyes. “Batman vs. Green Lantern? Batman wins. Every. Single. Time.”

“Ohmygod! So not true. In the…”

He cuts me. “One word…yellow.” I stare at him with my mouth half-open. 

“‘Nuff said,” he says smugly and then tugs on my hand

******

Maybe I’ll forget this feeling someday. Maybe it’ll just be reduced to a memory made up of a flickering gas heater, the salty dew of his skin and the love in his dark, inky eyes. This feeling of pure unadulterated joy. Of reaching a high so potent that your spirit feels like it’s soaring across the universe…and falling from that glorious peak only to find yourself enveloped in someone’s warm caring hands. When you feel like you’ve just died or been born, right at the same time. 

It could be that I’ll forget this feeling someday. But I’m sure it won’t be anytime soon. Maybe when I’m a hundred and looking forward to my lunch of mashed bread. Not one single day before. 

About the Author:

Rucy Ban was born in 1978 and still continues to thrive. Ever since she first met Francine

(the protagonist of her favorite novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), Rucy fell in love with the written word. Rucy has a B-school degree in Marketing which she now puts to good use teaching lovable rowdy rogues and negotiating with her equally belligerent adolescent. In her previous avatar, she handled corporate communications for companies. At present, Rucy lives in Sao Paulo, travels often, speaks decent, if not quite fluent, Portuguese and really hates talking about herself in third person. 

Connect with Rucy:

Author Website | Goodreads | Twitter |Facebook

Giveaway Time!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Special thanks to Rucy for allowing me to participate in this tour!