Top Ten Tuesday! Books I'm Not Sure I Want To Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

These are the books you may have bought but aren't sure if you are into it anymore, books you wanted to read but heard mixed things about, hyped books you aren't sure about --- basically any book that has you going, "TO READ OR NOT TO READ?"

•  The Program by Suzanne Young - I started this but it just feels different from what I thought it would be. I wanted to read this for so long and I'm pretty scared of disappointment. 
• City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare - I read the first half of this series and loved it and I think she should have stopped. Especially after everything I've heard. I don't know if I will ever read, especially since the last book was huge!
• Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - I saw the movie and enjoyed it. I have the first two books in the series, but every time I think "I should read." something stops me. 
• Paper Towns by John Green - I adore John Green and his writing but something about this book just seems hard to finish. I started it and I think I will eventually continue but now that it is being turned into a movie, the hype is so high. I'm not about hype.
• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - I loved the TV show so starting this feels daunting. I just feel like I will compare it to the show at every turn.

• No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale - The cover of this is what drew me in, but then I messed up and read the reviews and since they're sketchy... I don't know. I want to believe there are beautiful words behind that cover.
• Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - I love this series so much that I'm terrified to see how they will end it. I want to read it, but what if I'm disappointed?
• I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak - The Book Thief is one of my favorites, and I somehow feel like if I read this and hate it it will taint my image of the author. 
• Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng - This a book about "others", and being an "other", I really really want to read it, but really really don't for fear that I'll end up angry or disappointed. Decisions. Decisions.
• The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith - Harry Potter is amazing, amirite? With that established, I'm scared to read J.K.'s detective novels because they are so different from Harry that, once again, I don't want them to taint my image of the author.

Until next time, 

Cocktails with Alice Clayton! Signing write-up!

This signing was exactly what I thought it would be. When you get Alice Clayton, a woman who can write a smutty scene and still make you pee your pants laughing, you know you’re in for a good time.

Alice graced us with the pleasure of reading a scene from her soon to be released book, Screwdrivered, the third in the Cocktail series. This time it isn’t focused on Caroline and Simon, but instead Viv, a high school friend of Simon’s who makes the move out west. The scene that Alice read was hilarious as expected and a little bit swoony.

When she got into the question portion of the night, no stone was unturned. She talked about how she came to write both the Cocktail and Redhead series. Both starting out as first twilight fanfics. What I love about that is that she doesn’t shy away from where she got her start. She even talked about how before she became a fulltime writer she was a makeup artist and she even sold sex toys!

She even talked about her inspiration for the male leads in her books are. She said that Robert Pattinson was the inspiration for the lead in the Redhead series. When she writes Simon she sees Jensen Ackles from the show Supernatural. He is based off a guy she knew in high school. He was very successful young and he took his money and traveled the world. He would post all these beautiful pictures on facebook and whatnot. Unfortunately, he passed away not to long ago she said.

We then talked a little about why her books work so well with the balance of sex and humor. Alice said “if a guy can keep going through a cat throwing up in the corner, he’s a keeper.”

So ladies, find that guy that can knock your socks off and keep you laughing all night.

Don't forget that we are giving away signed copies of both Wallbanger and Rusty Nailed! Enter today! 

Book Blitz: Dream Boy by Madelyn Rosenberg & Mary Crockett @marylovesbooks @madrosenberg @sourcebookfire

Dream Boy
by Madelyn Rosenberg and Mary Crockett
Release Date: 07/01/14
Sourcebooks Fire

Annabelle Manning feels like she’s doing time at her high school in Chilton, Virginia. She has her friends at her lunchtime table of nobodies. What she doesn’t have are possibilities. Or a date for Homecoming. Things get more interesting at night, when she spends time with the boy of her dreams. But the blue-eyed boy with the fairytale smile is just that—a dream. Until the Friday afternoon he walks into her chemistry class.
One of friends suspects he’s an alien. Another is pretty sure it’s all one big case of deja vu. While Annabelle doesn’t know what to think, she’s willing to believe that the charming Martin Zirkle may just be her dream come true. But as Annabelle discovers the truth behind dreams—where they come from and what they mean—she is forced to face a dark reality she had not expected. More than just Martin has arrived in Chilton. As Annabelle learns, if dreams can come true, so can nightmares.

Available from:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo Books * The Book Depository

Advanced Praise:

“Dream Boy explores the mysterious world of dreams, where we access our deepest desires…the authors expertly weave fantasy and the real world in a perfect blend.”

-- Erica Orloff, author of In Dreams

"Eerie, twisty, fast and funny, Dream Boy will forever change the way you see your dreams--and your nightmares. An exciting, imaginative look at what might happen when people from the corners of your mind suddenly show up in your real life."

-- Lois Metzger, author of A Trick of the Light

Reviews:

“The perfect book to add to your summer reading list. An awesome balance of love, humor and action, this new read may just be your dream come true!” – GirlsLife

"Hits the chick-lit and romance buttons, adding suspense and an intriguing idea as well for nicely rounded entertainment." -- Kirkus Review

"An original, twisty paranormal romance." -- Booklist

“Five stars... Perfect writing, perfect characters … perfect plot.” -- Paperback Wonderland

“Dream Boy skillfully and creatively tackles the common theme of good and bad dreams coming alive.... The writing is tight and well-paced, and nicely balances action with Annabelle’s character development as she tries to unravel the mysteries of... her dreams. Her teenage voice is spot on: unsure of herself, but spirited, with a sarcasm that masquerades as confidence. The plot twists and moves in unexpected yet fascinating directions." -- The Roanoke Times

Excerpt:

I’ve always been a dreamer. Daydreams. Night dreams. Dreams of grandeur and dreams of escape. If I were an onion and you peeled back the papery outside, you’d find layer after layer of eye-watering dreams. And in the center, where there’s that little curlicue of onion heart? There’d be a puff of smoke from the dreams that burned away.

It was all just brain waves, I thought—disconnected, like the notebook that my friend Talon keeps. She draws a line down the middle of the page; on the right she writes everything she remembers about a dream, and on the left she puts notes about the stuff that’s happening in real life, things that might trigger her subconscious. Reality on one side, dreams on the other—a clear line between the two.

But it turns out there are no clear lines, just a jumble of what is and what might be. And all of it is real.
~
Keep reading! You can check out the first three chapters here:
https://marycrockettbooks.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/dreamboy_excerpt_proof.pdf

About the Authors

Mary Crockett likes turtles, licorice, and the Yankees. Madelyn Rosenberg likes cats, avocados, and the Red Sox. Luckily they both like the weirdness of dreams (and each other) enough to write novels together. The friendship has survived three moves, six kids and countless manuscript revisions. Madelyn lives just outside of Washington, D.C. Mary remains in the mountains near their hometowns in southwestern Virginia.

Where to find Mary: Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Where to find Madelyn: Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

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Book Blitz Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

Sunday Post #8

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

The last week has been an absolutely blogging fail for the both of us. Things have been busy. On my end I'm getting my daughter ready to start school, worked on getting caught up on the ever-growing list of ARC's sitting on my shelf, and started this new weight loss program that has my brain in a fog. Nikki went to meet Alice Clayton, battled getting NY Comic Con tickets, and couldn't break away from Star Wars once she started watching. We didn't comment (or comment back) like we wanted to or read the number of posts we normally would, but this coming week we're going to try to battle life in order to do better. 

Monday, August 4th - 

• Race to 150 Giveaway 
• Book Review: I Am The Weapon by Allen Zadoff

They needed the perfect assassin.
Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target.
But when The Program assigns him to the mayor of New York City, things change. Somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real home and a girlfriend; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.
In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping, introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.

 Tuesday, August 5th -

• Book Review and Giveaway: Rusty Nailed (Cocktail #2) by Alice Clayton (@alice_clayton)

In this sequel to Wallbanger, the second book in the Cocktail series, fan favorites Caroline and Simon negotiate the rollercoaster of their new relationship while house-sitting in San Francisco.
Playing house was never so much fun—or so confusing. With her boss on her honeymoon, Caroline’s working crazy long hours to keep the interior design company running—especially since she’s also the lead designer for the renovation of a gorgeous old hotel on Sausalito. So with her hotshot photographer boyfriend gallivanting all over the world for his job, she and Simon are heavy-duty into “absence makes the heart grow fonder” mode. Neither has any complaints about the great reunion sex, though! Then Simon decides he’s tired of so much travelling, and he’s suddenly home more. A lot more. And wanting Caroline home more, too. Though their friends’ romantic lives provide plenty of welcome distraction, eventually Caroline and Simon have to sort their relationship out. Neither wants “out of sight, out of mind,” but can they create their own happy mid-ground cliché?

• Top Ten Tuesday: Book I'd Give to Those Who Have Never Read Psychological Thrillers & Sci-Fi 

Wednesday, August 6th - 

• Guest Book Review: Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.
As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.
The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

• Waiting on Wednesday #12 

Thursday, August 7th -

• Thirsty Thursdays #7: Accidentally Sexy - a non-smutty sexy scene

Friday, August 8th -

• Book Beginnings & The Friday 56 #9 

• Book Review: Tease (The Ivy Chronicles #2) by Sophie Jordan (@SoVerySophie)

What happens when a girl who always calls the shots meets a guy who's too wild for even her?
A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hookups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:
Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.
Then Shaw comes along. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy, dark-eyed, bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.
But instead of making Shaw beg, Emerson finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rule book. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control—a guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson and who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.
A guy who just might leave her wanting more. . . .

Saturday, August 9th - 

• Happy Book Lovers Day! 

We have a blitz and a couple reviews coming up this week, and as always, our daily memes. 

The topic for this weeks Thirsty Thursday is: Innocently Hot Cover. If you haven't joined us, but want to and have some questions, please feel free to drop us a line. We would love to see this feature grow to find out what wets other people's whistle. 

This isn't upcoming, but just a reminder. We have two giveaways going on right now. The Race to 150 and 2 Signed Alice Clayton Novels. Make sure to stop by those and spread the word. 

And to be featured...

A special thanks to my husband, Ryan (Mr. Keira), for writing the guest review of Game of Thrones for us. If you're interested in guest reviewing please fill out the form that can be found here.

Until next time, 

Happy Book Lovers Day!

In case you didn't know August 9th (today), is Book Lovers Day. Yes, it's real, and it's a day to promote literacy. We here at Lazy Book Lovers love to read obviously, but also, we love connecting with other readers. Over the past six months I've spent a lot of time reading articles, blog posts, reviews and in that time I've learned that all it took for most people to become readers was to pick up one book. One book that they fell in love with, and that one book prompted them to seek more like it.

Have you ever had to buy a gift for a friend, but not known what to get them, or maybe considered a book, but thought they wouldn't appreciate it? I have. But as I write this post, I'm vowing to buy more books for my friends and family, especially the children of those friends and family. Who knows, maybe I'll turn one of them into a reading buff like me.

On a side note, and speaking of giving books, we are currently running a flash giveaway over on twitter. Only a few hours left. It ends TODAY at 6:30 p.m. (EST), so head over to @LazyBookLovers, follow, and RT for your chance to win a SIGNED copy of Puddle Jumping by Amber L. Johnson. 

Happy Book Lovers Day!

Book Review: Tease (The Ivy Chronicles #2) by Sophie Jordan (@SoVerySophie)

Tease (The Ivy Chronicles #2) by Sophie Jordan
Publication Date: May 27, 2014
Published: William Morrow

My Rating:

What happens when a girl who always calls the shots meets a guy who's too wild for even her?
A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hookups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:
Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.
Then Shaw comes along. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy, dark-eyed, bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.
But instead of making Shaw beg, Emerson finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rule book. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control—a guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson and who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.
A guy who just might leave her wanting more. . . .

Book Beginnings & The Friday 56 #9

"Book Beginnings" on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader, the meme encourages to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book.

"The Friday 56" is also a weekly event, hosted by Freda's Voice, where you find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it) that grab you from page 56 or 56% in your book/eReader (If you have to improvise, that's ok.)

Another weird week for me. I'm between books and haven't decided which to read next, so I'm pulling one of the ones I'm looking forward to reading most off my shelf and teasing myself with some excerpts. 

Puddle Jumping by Amber L. Johnson 

When it comes to love there’s no such thing as conventional.
Everyone thinks Colton Neely is special.
Lilly Evans just thinks he’s fascinating.
Once friends when they were younger, their bond is cut short due to her accident prone nature and they go their separate ways. Years later, they meet again and Lilly learns that there is something special about the boy she once knew, but she has no idea what it all means. And she’s not sure if she’s ready to find out.
When he walks through the corridor of her school the first day of her senior year, she knows that it’s time to get to know the real Colton Neely. The more she learns, the deeper she falls.
Their friendship grows into love, even as Colton does not express it in words. But one decision threatens to break down the world that Lilly has tried so hard to integrate into and she must figure out if the relationship can survive if they are apart.

"It begins with a boy."

 Verbatim, "Doesn't it always?" Oddly enough when I went to the second line the author basically says the same thing, "It begins with a boy and it ends with a boy, but what story doesn't?" So true, even the ones that don't end well.

"What I had failed to realize during all of that was, even though I was going out of my way to see things through his eyes... to understand him more and more each day in order to make our relationship work... learning about things was not enough.

There's a huge difference in reading about it and experiencing it." 

Any book beginnings, middles, or ends that you would like to share?

Until next time,