REVIEW: Every Last Kiss by Courtney Cole

Title: Every Last Kiss (The Bloodstone Saga #1)
Author: Courtney Cole
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Published: April 21, 2011
Format: Paperback* 250 pages

17-year old Macy Lockhart is as far from normal as any one girl can be. The problem is, she doesn’t know it yet.

After a bloodstone pendant is mysteriously left on her door, Macy’s life begins to change in ways she’d never dreamed. And while she will eventually come to realize that nothing is ever what it seems, that her life is a tangled web of lies and the Fates themselves pull the strings, for now she is left with only the explanations that they offer her.

Macy is led to believe that if she doesn’t return to a previous doomed life, one in which she served as Queen Cleopatra ‘s handmaiden, the fate of the entire world will be threatened in a way that would destroy history as we know it. She learns that she has lived thousands of lives, each one ending tragically…but none as tragic as this one.

After returning to ancient Egypt, she is faced with heart-wrenching decisions. Unless she interferes with Fate’s plan, the very thing she was born to protect, her soul mate will die leading Marc Antony’s forces against Rome. Can she really stand aside and watch the love of her life die all over again?

My Review: 
Every Last Kiss really starts strong with a powerful and gripping prologue and ends with a heart-warming and even better ending that definitely stayed with me for a very long time. 



I was completely blown away by how amazing Every Last Kiss was. I didn’t know what to expect with the story, but with Courtney Cole’s brilliant ability to weave simplistic and elegant writing with the perfect mixture of history, fantasy and paranormals aspects, I fell in love with the story so much. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of past lives and Egyptian mythology. The plot was refreshing and complex and entirely riveting.

I was so mesmerized by the rich and vivid imagery that Courtney Cole used in Every Last Kiss. I didn’t just imagine Alexandria, I really felt like I was there. When I closed my eyes it felt like I was feeling the warm breeze blow my hair back or smelling the sweet scent of jasmine that basically became familiar the more I read the story with Charmian. It’s very rare for a book to actually take me to the setting like I was really there with the characters. It was a little surprising, but also beautiful all at once. I love the pacing because it slowly builds up to the action and the heart of the book.

I loved Macy/Charmian’s character. Although Macy and Charmian are one, I thought Macy was funny and cool and very easy going while Charmian was sassy, smart and tough. Together, they made one brilliant narrator. She had this inner strength that really showed throughout the book, but she also had this vulnerability that made her truly remarkable. Despite all the doubts she had, I thought Charmian made the right decisions based on her beliefs. I really thought that Charmian handled all the problems head on and she was so brave. I love her loyalty towards Cleopatra and her relationship with her. Charmian and Cleopatra were like best friends, practically sisters. Their affection for each other was very sweet and I adored how much both cared for one another.

Some books allow the romance to take over and have the plot center around it, but for Every Last Kiss it was a piece of it, a part of the whole picture. The romance didn’t overtake the plot, but it was still a vital piece to the story. However small or big the romance was, I did love Charmian and Hasani. Their relationship was much more mature and had much more depth compared to Macy and Derek’s. I saw how perfect Charmian and Hasani were for each other and I felt how much they loved one another. I had no doubt that these two were soul mates. I love how even though they both had duties, they still gave each other love and time. It was wonderful seeing Charmian light up around him, becoming a much calm person. Hasani was everything Charmian described and so much more. He was a true warrior, but he was beautiful, tall and regal. He had a tough exterior, but on the inside he was super sweet and he was kind and gentle. I can see why Charmian loved him so much.

I love the added aspect of altering the future, changing the past and seeing how a small change can bring everything into chaos. It really brought another perspective into the book and it also made me see how important it was that changing the past ultimately changes the future and this cannot always be a good thing know matter how much we want it to be. I like the tie in with the Bloodstone and how everything was centered around it. I enjoyed at wondering how much power the Bloodstone had. The mystery of it all made me want to know more. I did wish I got a little more information on the past lives before Charmian was Macy. I thought it would have been a nice addition to see how Charmian lived life after life just out of my own curiosity. I also wish I got to know more about the Order of the Moirae, but the glimpses of them along with the mysteriousness of it had me intrigued even more so I hope to learn more about the Order in the next books to come.



Overall, Every Last Kiss was a beautiful story filled with love, sacrifice and suspense. The plot and characters really take you to a time to when Egypt flourished. The whole book was enchanting and it definitely swept me off my feet.

My Rating: 

4.5 out of 5 stars

*Thanks to Courtney Cole for sending me review copy :)

Connect with Courtney Cole:

Webpage | Twitter  | Facebook

Purchase Every Last Kiss:

Kindle | Paperback

Book Haul #24

 A book haul feature that shares items, such as books and swag, that I received within the week. 

ebook haul:

*Click on the cover to redirect to the Goodreads page 

For Review:

*Click on the cover to redirect to the Goodreads page

Thanks to Michelle Pennington, C.K. Bryant, Netgalley and Bloomsbury.

Won, Received, Gifted:

- Elemental by Emily White (ARC)

- Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock (ARC)

- Dying to Know You by Aidan Chambers (ARC) 

*Big thanks to Aeicha from Word Spelunking. She totally rocks!

- Soul Screamers Vol.1 by Rachel Vincent

*Super huge thanks to Bailey @ Novel Nerd <3 She's amazing!

- Heart Waves by Danielle Sibarium (personalized)

*Thank you to Danielle Sibarium for sending this beautiful book!

- Such A Rush by Jennifer Echols (ARC, personalized)

*Thanks times a million to Jennifer Echols, I absolutely love it.

SWAG:

- Auracle Swag (rubber bracelet, bookmark, sticker, magnet &pin)

- Sebastian's Angels Picture

*A BIG thank you to my good friend, Keren from Gothic Angel Book Reviews.

- Such A Rush bookmarks

*Thanks to Jennifer Echols

- Heart Waves bookmarks

- For Always bookmarks + cards

*Thanks to Danielle Sibarium

- One for the Murphys post card + bookmarks

-  Signed Elemental bookmark + temporary tattoo

*Thanks to Aeicha from Word Spelunking.

- Unraveling Isobel bookmarks

*Thanks to Eileen Cook.

What did you get?!

Leave your links in the comments below :)

My Favorite YA Contemporary Novels + Giveaway

Hi guys! Happy Saturday :)

Today I want to share with you a list of my favorite YA contemporary novels with a quote from the book. I have stated throughout my blog posts that I rarely pick up contemporaries, but when I usually do, it's mostly the dark, painful and/or heartbreaking types with real life issues that are sometimes too hard to stomach or are just too painful to read without bursting into tears. I'm sure some of you love these type of novels just as much as me! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a book with a nice lovely romance which you'll see in my list, that definitely has a happily ever after. <3

So without further ado...

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley || My Review

"Every time he looked at me I felt like I'd touched my tongue to the tip of a battery. In art class I'd watch him lean back and listen and I was nothing but zing and tingle. After a while, the tingle turned to electricity, and when he asked me out my whole body amped to a level where technically I should have been dead. I had nothing in common with a sheddy like him, but a girl doesn't think straight when she's that close to electrocution."

I absolutely adored this book. It became an instant top favorite. The writing is lyrical, the art work described is detailed and the characters come to life off the page. I loved Ed and Lucy <3

One Moment by Kristina McBride

"What if it's as simple as one moment? One tiny thing, like that kiss on the rocks? What if I'd kissed him a little longer? Would he be alive right now? Or what if I'd stayed with him Friday night, what if I'd been with him… wherever he was?"

This book is an emotional roller coaster. One second I was ok. The next I felt bothered, then angry, then sad, then devastated and then I was happy and smiling and then I repeated the whole process. Basically, my emotions were all over the place while reading this one. I couldn't get enough.

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma || My Review

"At the end of the day it's about how much you can bear, how much you can endure. Being together, we harm nobody; being apart, we extinguish ourselves."

Forbidden consumes me, haunts my mind up until now. It eats at my heart and takes over my soul. It has crushed me repeatedly and left me wanting more. This book truly stayed with me and it's no wonder if one of my favorites. I just can't, can't forget about this book. I always find myself going back and rereading passages like the quote above. Forbidden is magnificent.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green || My Review

"I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you."

TFIOS is just those types of books that break you and put you back together in the end. I smiled and cried and laughed and nearly died. I'm so in love with this book, I wish to own an infinite number of copies. I love Augustus Waters. Always.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins || My Review

"The first thing I notice is his hair - it's the first thing I notice about anyone. It's dark brown and messy and somehow both long and short at the same time. I think of the Beatles, since I've just seen them in Meredith's room. It's artist's hair. Musician hair. I-pretend-I-don't-care-but-I-really-do hair."

This is probably the first contemporary novel that actually made my heart swell with love. I think I've read Anna a grip of times and I still get that feeling, that sort of humming vibration that crawls all over my skin and makes me want to hold this book oh so close and never ever let it go. It's the very few and far between type of books that makes me want to read it all over again right when I hit the last sentence.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins || My Review

"There's something about blue eyes.

The kind of blue that startles you every time they're lifted in your direction. The kind of blue that makes you ache for them to look at you again. Not the blue green or blue gray, the blue that's just blue.

Cricket has those eyes."

You can't have Anna without Lola. Well, at least for me. Anna will always have a special place in my heart, but Lola was eccentric and I loved her deeply. Her story with Cricket was amazingly sweet and comforting. There is just something about Stephanie Perkins' writing that makes me want to crawl between the pages and just stay there forever. With Cricket Bell, of course. ;)

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

"I love you. I love you. I send this message through my fingers and into his, up his arm and into his heart. Hear me. I love you. And I'm sorry to leave you."

This is the first book I read that made me cry and cry and cry and each time I read it, I still cry.

What A Boy Want by Nyrae Dawn || My Review

"She laughed and I couldn't help but laugh with her. That's why I avoided her. Even in the dark, all it took was knowing those green eyes were focused on me and I was a goner."

I rarely read male POVs because I can't seem to connect or relate or I just don't like their voice or it's just not done well enough for me. But Bastian had me the second he opened his mouth. I love him, love him, love him, love him. Bastian just has this amazing presence and he makes me smile all the time.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

"I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard."

I loved this book. It's real and true. It makes me close my eyes and remember all of the things and people I have in this world and it makes me want to live another day.

Speak by Laure Halse Anderson

"I have survived. I am here. Confused, screwed up, but here. So, how can I find my way? Is there a chain saw of the soul, an ax I can take to my memories or fears?"

I will always love this book for many reasons. The most significant reason is because this is the book that made me love YA. It's the first YA book I have ever read and because of Speak, it wasn't my last.




Other mentionables:
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Breathe by Abbi Glines

Now that you've seen my list, what do you think? Have you read any of these? Did you love it or hate it? Are you dying to read one of these? If so, here's your chance!

Giveaway!

I need your help expanding my contemporary reads. I already have some in mind, some that I've written down on my list and some that I own but haven't gotten the chance to read. So here's the deal.. 

The Rules:

- ONE winner will win a YA Contemporary Novel of their choice from Amazon.

- Fill in the Rafflecopter below with the mandatory entry of recommending a YA contemporary novel you think I'll enjoy.

- Must be 13 years or older

- Must live in the US (Sorry guys, I'm low on $$)

- Winner will be notified via email and has 48 hours to reply or I will be forced to choose another winner

Good luck and happy reading! <3 :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Published: June 14, 2012
Format: Netgalley* 395 pages

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

My Review:
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick was definitely a perfect summer read and it surely made way for my ever growing love for contemporary novels. This book had everything I was looking for: real life issues, humor, fun, love, heartbreak, tragedy and relatable characters that ended up being a part of me all together. 



Huntley Fitzpatrick swept me away on this amazing journey with Samantha. I was captivated by her articulate and eloquent writing style and the way she made Sam’s voice so loud in my head. The plot is very interesting and well thought out and it engages the readers with the characters along the way. The whole pacing of the book was well developed in a way where I got a feel of the summer setting, I got to know the characters on a deep level and I was able to just get sucked into the intense moments between Samantha and Jase. Huntley Fitzpatrick started off really strong in the beginning and she ended the whole book with a bang.

My favorite part of the book was the development and growth of Samantha’s character throughout the book. Samantha started off as really quiet and it seemed like she was set apart from everyone else due to her overbearing, conservative, uptight and strict mother. She also seemed to keep to herself and I felt like everyone thought Samantha would be stuck up because of her privileged life. However, I thought Samantha had her own hidden and buried personality when she was out of her mother shadow. Samantha was smart, kind and thoughtful. She never judged people and she was open to everyone. She was nothing like her mother. Samantha was intrigued with the Garrett family and I could feel her longing to be a part of something like that. When she meets Jase Garrett in person for the first time, it’s like Samantha’s world shifts a little to welcome Jase, even if secretly. When she was around Jase, she was funny and for me, she felt more alive and at ease. She felt more comfortable with herself. She didn’t have to please anyone.

I absolutely loved Jase. He never judged Samantha. He was always kind and he was a complete gentleman.  He was charming, handsome, sweet, super friendly and he was just an overall good guy. Most of all, he was downright respectful. I fell in love with Jase just as Samantha did. I loved how the relationship between Jase and Samantha was developed and established in a way that was beautiful, natural and realistic. Their relationship was pure, true and heartwarming. I enjoyed them getting to know each other slowly but surely and it was so lovely to read and be a part of something like that. Even though Samantha and Jase’s world were entirely different, Samantha seemed to fit right in with Jase and his family. He and his family welcomed Samantha with open arms. I loved reading how closer Samantha got with the Garrett family, the closer she got with Jase ultimately leading into a full fledge and swoon worthy romance.

As perfect as Samantha and Jase’s relationship seemed, I knew there would be hardships and conflicts that would test their love for each other and I thought Huntley Fitzpatrick added the perfect amount of chaos and drama into the story. The problems that Huntley Fitzpatrick gave for Sam and Jase was truly heartbreaking and surely intense, but I was glad she built up to this, allowing the relationship between the two to strengthen. It was hard to see them argue, but I knew it was needed. I really felt Samantha’s pain. I saw how she struggled with having to choose and it made me want to cry out to her. To see her inner turmoil, really hurt me and I wished everything would work out for her and Jase.

Overall, My Life Next Door has to be one of the best contemporary books I’ve read in a long time. It’s filled with blossoming romance, tough choices and heart shattering realizations that really tug at one’s heartstrings. The book is all about doing what is right, standing up for what you believe in, being true, honest and fighting for the one you love.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

*Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for allowing me to read this book

Connect with Huntley Fitzpatrick:

Webpage | Twitter | Facebook

Purchase My Life Next Door:

Amazon | B&N | Book Depository