A Random Good Thing (or that time Kelley Armstrong came to my house)

So, this happened today...



I was checking twitter this morning and definitely more than half-jokingly replied to Kelley's tweet. Then I was just eating my breakfast and reading my book and all the sudden I get a text from Avery that's all exclamation points (not a rare occurrence, actually ;)), and then another one saying something like "You have to see what Kelley wrote!"... so I go back on Twitter and see that I inadvertently started a contest. That in itself was a "woah!" moment.

Then all the sudden Kelley is DMing me and I get to email with her and oh btw she'll drop by about 4 pm. Like no big deal, I have NYT bestselling authors at my house all the time, right? Thankfully I've met Kelley a few times before, or else I think I would have been freaking out even more. My Mom was totally fangirling, haha, and she was like "We need a picture to prove Kelley's been to our house!" which is totally dorky, but also fun, and I'm glad she took one. We chatted for a few minutes, and I got Kelley to sign my copy of The Rising, since it was the only one I didn't have signed. All in all, supremely cool.

I guess the moral of the story is you should definitely just tweet random things, because you never know what will happen. The other moral is that Kelley Armstrong is awesome, and is so cool to her readers. I already knew that just from the amount of contests she has, and how she communicates with people on her website and tumblr, but this just proves it even more.

To Stand Beside Her by B. Kristin McMichael (Excerpt & Giveaway)

To Stand Beside Her by B. Kristin McMichael
Release Date: January 24, 2013
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 348
Series: n/a
Review Source: ebook for review through Tasty Book Tours

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
To be the best courier in the world, eighteen-year-old Benét Leila follows three simple rules: always work alone, never stay in one place too long, and never fall in love. Too bad she didn't follow her own advice.

Leila is a courier. To the people she takes from, she is seen as a common thief; to the people she helps, she is a savior.

Nalick is your typical king. He's rich, powerful, and always assumed to be right. When Leila crosses paths with King Nalick, she finds herself trapped. In a rush to save her best friend Kay from a prison sentence for a crime Leila committed, Leila trades her hand in marriage in exchange for Kay’s freedom.

Tomboy Leila does not want to grow up, but in three months’ time, she will be married to King Nalick, if Nalick can keep his end of the bargain. First, Nalick must make Leila fall in love with him, a hard task since Leila is not ready to love again after losing her first love to a greedy king. Second, Nalick must keep her safe. He is not the only king trying to hold onto her. Leila has made many enemies over the years, and even more admirers that want her as a prize. Lastly, Nalick must convince Leila that ten years of love is better than a lifetime without. Unless Leila can trust her destiny, she might not reach her wedding day at all.

EXCERPT:
“And where should we put her, Nalick?” one of them asked. Leila was surprised to hear the man address Nalick so casually.

“Leave her here,” he ordered.

“But, but . . .” the tracker sputtered. “If you just put my captive back in jail she will escape.”

“Don’t worry. She will not be going anywhere. She is not the ghost courier,” Nalick replied as Kay was escorted out of the room.

“Now, I’d like to be left alone with this one,” Nalick said, referring to Leila.

“Bring the seer,” he ordered. The men beside him rose and left the room. One of the men from earlier escorted the tracker out. The second man shut the door and stood at the back of the room.

“So everyone out did not include him?” Leila asked. She had no chance of leaving if both men stayed in the room with Nalick and her. One, she could possibly overpower, but two would be foolish to challenge.

Nalick rose and walked over to her. Leila stood her ground and did not move. Nalick circled around her, inspecting her like a wolf getting ready to pounce on its prey. Leila knew what was coming next. She had this same encounter with five other kings before.

Though, in her opinion, they were all lesser men than the man in front of her. She still did not happily anticipate the next words out of his mouth. Leila stood in silence as he returned to his table and leaned against the tabletop. Just like all the other kings, he looked at her like she was a trophy. Leila refused to be a trophy to any king. Like any man in power, Nalick had committed acts against innocent people. Intentionally or not, Leila did not approve of hurting innocent people. She had been in several battles over the last four years, and luckily escaped with her life each time, but never once had she killed anyone who attacked her. Even those who would try to kill her did not deserve to die in her opinion.

As she stood there, the door in the back of the room opened and the seer, Gabor, walked in escorted by the man who had just left. Leila stared blankly at Nalick, trying her best to read his expression.

“I really don’t think you understand the word alone,” she commented to Nalick sarcastically, as the door shut and there were now five people in the room.

Gabor walked past her and bowed his head slightly to the king. Nalick nodded his head, and Gabor returned to Leila. Extending his hand, Leila knew what he was planning to do. Trying to stay in control of the situation, Leila gave the old man her hand. Surprised, he stopped, held her hand, and closed his eyes. After a few moments, Gabor returned to the king’s side. Nalick leaned over to the seer and asked him a question too quiet for Leila to hear.

“You don’t need to be hushed about this since you are discussing me,” Leila said before Gabor could respond. Nalick looked up at her. “I am guessing I can answer your questions just as well as he could.”

Nalick smiled. He had become the king when he was fourteen and then everything changed. Almost every person treated him differently, apart from his two good friends that were standing in the room with him now. In his years of being king, Nalick had yet to find a woman that would speak her mind to, or at, him. Here before him stood the woman who was a legend around the dinner tables he shared with neighboring kings.

All told of encountering a lady so beautiful she would take your breath away and yet who was so cunning none could cage her long enough to make her into a wife. She was truly everything they talked about, and even more. Nalick didn’t need the seer’s opinion to know that this was the woman he wanted to marry.

Find To Stand Beside Her by B. Kristin McMichael on Goodreads. View purchase links here.

About the author...
Originally from Wisconsin, B. Kristin currently resides in Ohio with her husband, two small children, and three cats. When not doing the mom thing of chasing kids, baking cookies, and playing outside, she is using her PhD in Biology working as a scientist. In her free time she is hard at work on multiple novels; as each day passes, she has more ideas for both current and future novels.

Where to find B. Kristin McMichael:

Blog / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest

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GIVEAWAY:
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Game. Set. Match. by Jennifer Iacopelli

Game. Set. Match. by Jennifer Iacopelli
Release Date: May 1, 2013
Publisher: Coliloquy
Pages: my epub is 218 pages
Series: Outer Banks Tennis Academy #1
Review Source: Bought eBook

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Nestled along the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the world's most elite training facility. In this pressure-cooker environment, futures are forged in blood and sweat, and dreams are shattered in an instant.

Penny Harrison, a rising female star, is determined to win the French Open and beat her archrival, Zina Lutrova. But when her coach imports British bad boy Alex Russell as her new training partner, will Penny be able to keep her laser-like focus?

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. The daughter of two Grand Slam champions, she's hell-bent on extending her family’s legacy and writing her own happily-ever-after...until her chosen Prince Charming gives her the just-friends speech right before the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

With a powerful serve and killer forehand, newcomer Indiana Gaffney is turning heads. She’s thrilled by all of the attention, especially from Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and hot older brother, except he keeps backing off every time things start heating up.

With so much at stake, dreams—and hearts—are bound to break. Welcome to OBX: Where LOVE is a four-letter word, on and off the court.

My Thoughts:
'Game. Set. Match.' was a fabulous contemporary read that straddles the line between Young Adult and New Adult. Most of the characters are 18+, with some being in their early and mid-twenties, but you also have a 17 year old and characters who are finishing up high school. 'Game. Set. Match.' definitely fits as New Adult because of the older characters, because of the unique independent setting, and because of the adult decisions younger characters are making (go pro in tennis? go to college? etc). However, 'Game. Set. Match' could also fit comfortably under a YA imprint, so it may be a good book for YA fans just testing out the New Adult waters.

I think what I loved the most about 'Game. Set. Match.' is that it features three main characters, and I was interested in all three stories. So often books with multiple narrators can feel too busy, or you end up liking one character and dreading the other POVs. Thankfully that was not at all the case here. I loved Penny's drive and determination, and seeing her train and compete as someone the whole tennis world is looking toward to win. Indy was another favourite of mine; she's the "regular girl" coming into this competitive world and taking it by storm. Even Jasmine, who has her unlikable moments, is someone I could empathize with. She wants to win so badly, always trying to live up to her Olympian parents' reputations.

Another thing I appreciated from this book is that it was so different from all other New Adult books out there, or even the majority of YA. The sports aspect was a huge element, of course, with the characters training and working toward major tennis events and their future careers. Personally I'm not much of a sports person. I suck at playing sports, and the only one I watch and enjoy is hockey. I've never been interested in tennis, unless the Wii is involved, but that didn't stop me from loving this book. There's something about the themes of sports stories that really appeal to me: the hard work, the striving for greatness, and the jubilation and despair that come from winning or losing.

'Game. Set. Match.' has almost everything you could hope for in a contemporary book, but it didn't feel busy at all. There are family issues danced around, especially with Indy's complicated relationship with her Dad, and Jasmine trying to live up to her parents' greatness. There's also a romance element for two of the girls, with the third having an unrequited crush. There's kissing and sexiness and serious swoonage without having full-on adult content, so it's perfect if you want to read NA while still having a relatively clean read. There's also some great representations of friendship. I just loved how the girls related to one another. Penny and Indy have an automatic bond, while Indy and Jasmine have what is, to say the least, a very complicated relationship (one which I really loved, particularly toward the end).

Basically? I loved this book! If you're into well rounded contemps and are looking for a New Adult story that breaks the mold, then 'Game. Set. Match.' may be the perfect read for you. I went into this book with high expectations, and Jennifer Iacopelli rose to met them all. I'll definitely be waiting with bated breath for the next book to release.

The Cover:
I prefer non-kissy covers, but I do still like it, especially the colours!

Rating:
[5/5]

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