Review: Where The Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller

Book Title: Where The Stars Still Shine

Author: Trish Doller

Release Date: September 24th, 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: YA/ Contemporary

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Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Stolen as a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She’s never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love–even with someone who seems an improbable choice–is more than just a possibility.

Trish Doller writes incredibly real teens, and this searing story of love, betrayal, and how not to lose your mind will resonate with readers who want their stories gritty and utterly true.

Disclaimer: I bought this book with my birthday money.

Review:

Oh my goodness, this story was beautiful and full of those all important feels. I was hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed by this book and I wasn’t. It was beautifully written from start to finish. This was the first Trish Doller book that I have ever read but it absolutely will not be my last.

Callie has been on the run with her mother since she was little, so the only loyalty she feels is to her mother. Yet when her mother is finally arrested for kidnapping, Callie is forced to go live with a father she doesn’t remember and her two half brothers and stepmom, Phoebe.In Florida she also meets her cousin Kat, who is part of this huge Greek family that Callie doesn’t remember.

She isn’t ready to just abandon all thoughts of her mother and change her loyalties to her father and stepmom. Yet she cannot deny that it feels good to belong somewhere. It feels good knowing that people care about her and don’t want her running around by herself. It isn’t until she meets Phoebe’s brother, Alex, that she begins to realize that all guys aren’t like the ones she knew before.

Alex isn’t the guy who stole her innocence at 8 years old. It takes Callie awhile to believe that there are good guys out there and that every guy isn’t just after one thing. I know a lot pf people had issues with both her attitude and how she kinda just slept with any guy who wanted her.She had very little experience with guys. After all the only guys she would meet were the middle-aged pervs that leered at her.

Her attitude towards sex was pretty cavalier but I think the experience with her mother’s boyfriend had really screwed up her self esteem. Being with Alex actually raised her self esteem. By the end of the book, she knew that she deserved better. She knew that she was worth something.Watching that transformation in Callie was something really special.

I loved Alex. I mean he was wonderful and sweet and kind to Callie. My favorite part between them was near the end when she told him exactly what had happened to her. He didn’t look at her any differently. He didn’t view her as “trash” or “dirty” or “sick” He saw the same girl. He saw Callie exactly as she deserved to be seen. What he did for his mother in the end was beautiful and I cried. He had his own demons but he was able to put them aside for his mother. A guy who is devoted to his mother is something special.

While this book was pretty damn near perfection, there were lulls in the book. Parts that didn’t exactly bore me but were on the slow side. I guess that was a good thing as it gave me time to dry the tears that showed up.I really enjoyed this book and it’s seriously on the cusp of love for me. So it’s getting 4.5 stars. A near PERFECT read for me. I would absolutely recommend it to pretty much anyone.

Review: Portrait of a Crossroads by Kelly Rand

Book: Portrait of a Crossroads

Author: Kelly Rand

Published Date: May 18th, 2013

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Genre: LGBT/Romance/Short Story

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Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon

Synopsis: 

Since the day Annette found her father’s body at the bottom of the stairs she has been going through the motions in life.She remembers the days where she had ambition but she just can’t remember what they were. Her brothers are no help as they have never had any sort of ambition.

Then she meets Sadie. Sadie has everything that Annette is missing.She’s a newly single, tattooed artist.Something about her wakes Annette up. Whether its the way she captures people on the canvass or simply the kindness she shows Annette,Annette doesn’t know.

When Annette begins doing odd jobs for Sadie such as cleaning brushes and spending lazy days together in conversation,things slowly develop from a burgeoning friendship into something more. This also allows Annette to realize her own ambitions once again.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

This book was an easy read, albeit sometimes tedious. The beginning was quite slow and too much time was spent on the friendship and not enough time on the romance that developed from that.I think I would have liked this book much better if things weren’t so cramped together. The end felt rushed and that drove me bananas.

Another issue I had was that I didn’t understand what attracted Sadie to Annette. It was shown why Annette was attracted to Sadie but not the other way around. I worried that for Sadie,this was a rebound relationship as she had just become single again after an extended relationship with another woman.

I was hoping that we’d get a little glimpse into when Annette realized she was interested in women as it was clear that this was a new thing for her. I worried that Annette was just tired of being single and was simply settling for whoever wanted her. I do not believe in settling so this bugged me quite a bit.

This really should get 2 stars but I’m bumping it up because the sex scene was easily the best part of the book.It was everything a reader would want from a sex scene. It was hot and totally believable unlike certain other sex scenes that have made me want to rip my hair out.So this short story gets 3 stars. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either.

Friday Musings #5

Okay so I was booked on Tuesday so I couldn’t do my Top Ten Things That Make Me Shun A Book like so many others in the blogging community. I needed a topic for today SO I decided to do my Top Ten Things That Make Me Shun A Book today. Hope you enjoy!

~God/Religion~

This is my number one thing. I am an atheist so it would make no sense for me to read a book about a God that I don’t believe in. I am also not religious at all so anything that so much as HINTS at being religious in any capacity does not get a home on my bookshelf.

~Politics~

This one’s easy. I find politics to be boring and I will not read a book that so much as HINTS at it.

~Insta-love/lust~

First of all I am not into that cheesy & corny crap. There is no such thing as insta love. There is such a thing as insta-lust and I wish people would call it that rather than calling it love. You cannot love someone you don’t know and may have never met.

~Bad Author Behavior~

If I hear a story about an author behaving badly to either another author or a blogger like myself,I will NOT pick up their book.To me it would be like rewarding them for behaving badly. No just no.

~Using Sex As The Only Plot Point~

If I have to hear someone say “Well Sex Sells” one more time, I may put my fist through a wall. Yes sex does amp up the book sales but for me if there is nothing else to the story I am going to throw it as far away from my body as possible.Even erotica has to have SOME sort of plot in order for me to read it. If it doesn’t,then I don’t read it. Simple as that.

~Steampunk~

If someone could just explain to me WHAT it is,I’d be greatful. As it is,I don’t get it and don’t understand the appeal.

~Aliens/Zombies/Werewolves & Vampires~

I threw all four of these together because I just don’t get the appeal of any of them. I like a good SciFi book as much as the next person but Aliens? No thank you. I think I’ve seen enough Vampire crap to last me a lifetime. Zombies,um no thank you. There was only one series that I loved a werewolf character and if you are as much of a geek as I am,then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

~Abuse~

Sometimes these stories are done beautifully and they tell the tale of a battered woman escaping from a violent man. But I rarely read them and that’s because usually we are forced to read about the abuse in graphic detail. I will not be okay with that. It’s like abuse is being glorified which makes me sick.

~Cheating~

This is something I don’t accept in my real life.Why should my reading choices be any different.It’s rude,disrespectful and like abuse,it glorifies the act.

~Historical Books~

I hated history in high school,hated it in college so why would I want to read anything with a historical theme? Answer is,I wouldn’t. Historical books of any kind bore the heck outta me and you won’t catch me reading them.Ever.

So what was on your TT list this week? Share your TT link with me so I can stop by if I haven’t already.