Title: Stalk Me
Author: Jillian Dodd
Series: The Keatyn Chronicles, Book 1
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Bandit Publishing
Release date: September 1, 2012
ISBN-10: 0985008660
ISBN-13: 9780985008666
Format: eBook
Source: Author

Keatyn has everything she ever dreamed. Her life is following the script she wrote for the perfect high school experience. She’s popular, goes to the best parties, dates the hottest guy, and sits at the most-coveted lunch table.

She’s just not sure she wants it anymore.

Because, really, things aren’t all that perfect.
Her best friend is threatening to tell everyone her perfect relationship is a scam.
Her perfect boyfriend gets drunk at every party they go to.
It’s exhausting always trying to look and act perfect.
And, deep down, she isn’t sure if she has any true friends.

To add to the drama, her movie star mom has a creepy stalker.
A hot, older man flirts with her and tells her they should make a movie together.
And she’s crushing on an adorable surfer. Dating him would mean committing social suicide.

So she writes a new script. One where all the pieces of her life will come together in perfect harmony.
But little does she know, there's someone who will do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen.



My Review:
Keatyn has everything; she's popular, has a loving boyfriend, cool friends, the trendiest clothes, and her mom is a famous actress. Growing up around the movie industry, she has a knack for coming up with her own scripts, reflecting how she wants her life to go. She's been doing a good job... until now. Her relationship isn't exactly perfect, her best friend is threatening to tell everyone about it, she's crushing on someone else, and to top it all off, her mom has a stalker. Can she come up with a script to fix it all, and will real life actually follow it?

The first few chapters were hard to get into. The plot was a little too vapid for me. I'm a fan of the Gossip Girl books (not a huge fan), so I thought, sure, I can probably get into this. I didn't.

Things seemed to pick up after Keatyn broke up with Sander. Although, I don't know why that was. Sander seemed to be a pretty stand up guy; got a little too into his tortured artist role for me, but that was better than surfer boy d-bag over there.

Her "friends" were absolutely heinous. Vanessa was straight psycho and RiAnne was basically her lapdog. I had a huge issue with the parental figures in this book. Almost as bad as the kids... almost. I get being friends with your kids, hell, my mom and I watch tv and go to the movies together all the time, we even go shopping together, and she knows what's going on in my life more than anyone. But Keatyn's mom and Tommy -- throw Kym with a 'Y' and the rest of the "entourage" in there, too -- were just not good people. The biggest issue of all was that they were barely involved in Keatyn's life and were so flippant when it came to all the crap she was pulling. Plus, what mom gets excited that her 16-year-old daughter loses her virginity? Really, you're going to pout over the fact that your daughter forgot to mention that she slept with her friend? "I still can’t believe you slept with Brandon and didn't tell me!" (Actual quote.)

Keatyn's use of "Ohmigawd" made me want to scream into a pillow. Or rip my hair out. Or scream into a pillow while ripping my hair out. Anything to numb the pain. Don't even get me started on the actual use of "OMG"/"OMFG" in the book. ...When I think about it, though, I actually would have preferred the acronym to "ohmigawd". How seriously aesthetically unappealing does that word look?

The writing style worked for this type of book, I'll give it that, but it's just not something that I favour. The scripts that Keatyn wrote were a nice touch. It gave a glimpse into how her mind worked and into her deepest desires... it was strangely romantic, in a way. Her realizations that sometimes things don't always go as planned but everything works out anyway could've been refreshing... if she hadn't been so annoying about it. Kudos to her for actually feeling bad for being a grade-A bitch at times. That's about the only positive thing I have to say.

I literally had the strongest urge to stop reading when she and Brooklyn got matching tattoos for her birthday. First of all, smoking weed before a tattoo? I'd be fidgety as all hell while getting it done, are you kidding? Second, tacky. But no, I didn't stop reading there. I actually did make it to about 80% into the book, but so much kept happening all of a sudden with Keatyn moving to a new school and yet again caring only about boys... it just got tiring.

The stalking aspect took up about 10% of the book. Weird, considering the book is called STALK Me. I found myself literally throwing my hands up in disbelief more than enough times. I felt bad about publishing this review, as I took part in the blog tour earlier with the intent of reviewing. I switched to a promo post, but I felt dishonest about not posting this. The author seems really lovely, and this review doesn't affect my opinion of her as an author, but this book just wasn't for me. I have seen a lot of positive reviews for it, so it really is a judgement call.

My rating:
DNF

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Title: River's Recruit (Sanctuary, #1)
Author: Charlotte Abel
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Age group: New adult
Release date: September 1, 2012

Devastated by the death of his identical twin, Jonathan McKnight flees to the Sawatch Mountain Wilderness. He seeks redemption, but all he finds is trouble... and a beautiful young woman named River that belongs to a primitive and dangerous cult.

Jonathan wants to rescue River and taker her back to his world. River wants to recruit him. Fate has other plans for both of them.



My Review:
Jonathan McKnight has lost a lot; his identical twin brother, his left hand, and himself. After serving in Afghanistan, he goes off on his own to find himself. On his journey, he encounters River and her people. River and her tribe harbour a secret -- they are shifters, and their lifestyle bothers Jonathan. While River claims responsibility over him, he wants to take her away from that life; keep her safe. But could there be a reason Jonathan was sent there?

Jonathan and River are characters that worked well together and apart. As individuals, I felt their vulnerability and their struggles, and both had their own stories to tell. River came from a tribe that separated itself from society; they never relied or indulged in anything from the outside world, and they never really needed to. The society that their people had built was its own world. But of course, every world comes with its own problems. Traditions and rules were to be upheld, but there were times where River found herself at a crossroad. She was arranged into an engagement with a man she didn't love, and the man's mother would stop at nothing to ensure her son climb up the political ladder. Jonathan, on the other hand, grew up in the modern world to a loving family. He went to school, did extracurricular activities, and went on dates. His story really started when he and his twin brother enlisted in the army. Tragedy struck one ill-fated day, and it left him alive while his brother died. While trying to fight a depressed state, he decided to venture off on his own and camp out for a while. He encountered River when he saved her from a mountain lion, and she provided him with a means to survive in the wilderness. As the story progressed, it's revealed that they might have more in common than they thought.

Jonathan and River worked very well together. While it might not have been an instant head-over-heels scenario, their build-up was worth the read. They did get a little too reliant on each other towards the end, but the mind frame and the way the shifter's world worked made it understandable. The romance between the two main characters was well-balanced by the other characters throughout the book. Specifically, there was major concentration on the characters in New Eden, where River was from. Everyone was unique and had their own voice and motive. When you think you have these characters figured out, they go and do something to throw you off, and to me that's one of the most exciting things you can come across in a book. All the characters had more than one dimension.

The world of New Eden, located on the outskirts of Denver, was such a treat to read about. Everything was explained: traditions, politics, hierarchy, and even the mechanics of how they engineered different parts of their living areas. Abel wrote in such a descriptive way with every part in her story. The emotions and actions from all the characters jumped off the page and the world she created was easily drawn up in my mind.

The ending left me wanting more, very soon. River's Recruit was definitely a page turner of a book, and I'm glad I had the chance to read it. I would definitely recommend this book to those interested in wolf lore and just paranormal romance in general. I'm already looking forward to the next installment in the series and can't wait to see what else fate has in store for Jonathan, River, and the people of New Eden.

My rating:

About the author:
Charlotte Abel was born and raised in Oklahoma where she met her soulmate, Pete. She chased him to Boulder, Colorado and finally convinced him they were meant to be together forever. They've raised three kids, two ferrets, three dogs and countless hamsters -- and are still happily married.
She's in love with "real" life and paranormal romance. When she's not reading or writing, Charlotte enjoys hiking, bicycling and primitive archery (although she's never shot at anything other than a target!)
The final book of The Channie Series, "Finding Valor," should be available by Christmas.
Charlotte Abel | Twitter

Check out the other stops on the tour, hosted by SupaGurl Tours:

Dec. 1 - Bend in the Bind *Review, Guest Post, Giveaway *signed paperback*
Dec. 2 - Night Owl Reads *Excerpt
Dec. 3 - Bookluvers Haven *Review, Giveaway *ebook copy*
Dec. 4 - Book Crook Reviews *Review, Author Guest Post
Dec. 5 - Bookworm Babblings *Review
Dec. 6 - Better Read than Dead *Review, Author Interview, Giveaway *ebook copy*
Dec. 7
Dec. 8 - Nomi's Paranormal Palace *Review
Dec. 9 - Starry Night Book Reviews *Review
Dec. 10 - Books & Other Spells *Review, Giveaway *ebook copy*
Dec. 11 - The Cover Contessa *Review, Interview
Dec. 12 - Beth Art from the Heart *Review, Author Interview, Giveaway *ebook copy*
Dec. 13 - A Dragon's Love *Review, Guest Post
Dec. 14 - Howling Books and Design *Review, Megan Likes Books *Author Interview
Dec. 15 - Her Fiction Fix *Review
Dec. 16 - A Reader's Devotion *Review
Dec. 17 - Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books *Review, Playlist
Dec. 18
Dec. 19 - Sweet Southern Home *Review *RR Tour*
Dec. 20 - Vamps and Stuff *Review, Guest Post, Giveaway *Paperback copy*
Dec. 21 - The Cover (and Everything In Between) *Author Interview
Dec. 22 - A Bibliophile's Thoughts On Books *Review
Dec. 23 - Sniffer Walk *Review
Dec. 24 - Bookishly Devoted *Review
Dec. 25 - Simply Infatuated * Author Guest Post
Dec. 26 - Happy Tails & Tales * Review, Author Interview
Dec. 27 - Black Lillies Are Deadly *Review, Giveaway *ebook copy*
Dec. 28 - Night Owl Reads *Review, Giveaway *Necklace*
Dec. 29
Dec. 30
Dec. 31 - Reader Girls *Review, Excerpt

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