Hidden Among Us

Review time! Hidden Among Us is the latest YA novel from UK based author, Katy Moran! I'm not sure whether you guys are aware but The Book Depository has started this awesome affiliate-reviewer program where they are sending review copies to their affiliates for review! I was lucky enough to be offered a review copy of Hidden Among Us so today I bring you my review! You can purchase a copy of Hidden Among US from The Book Depository!

(Goodreads) When Lissy meets a mysterious and strangely beautiful boy on her way to Hopesay Edge, she is deeply unsettled by their encounter.

She discovers that the boy, Larkspur, is a member of the Hidden, an ancient group of elven people, whose secrets lie buried at Hopesay Reach. Before long, Lissy and her brother Rafe find themselves caught by a powerful magic and fighting to escape a bargain that can never be broken.

The Short Story? - A dark and grim spin on the classic faerie lore, Hidden Among Us is a thrilling and dangerous novel about a curse, a girl and a secret race of Fae looking for vengeance and revenge. An original plot, wonderful use of multiple perspectives and an exciting climax, Hidden Among Us is unlike anything I've read! Twisted, eery and sinister, these faeries aren't the ones from your bedtime stories!

The Long Story? - I'm a little on the fence about this one because for me, this was one of those books that wasn't bad but I can't really say I loved it either - it was an average book. It was a good plot, well-developed although confusing at times. The book also has a rather slow pace, there build-up was long and there isn't much action until the 50 or so pages. However apart from that I really did enjoy the plot, it was dark and sinister, very different from your typical YA faerie novel. It was very clever and I liked how the ending is kind of open-ended so the book works as a stand-alone but it could also be a series, I'm pretty sure it's a stand-alone but you can never tell with the YA market! My biggest concern with the book however was the prose. I feel like the narration really let the book down because I know I would have enjoyed the book a whole lot more if the writing wasn't so middle-grade. I really felt the writing style clashed with the plot because on one hand you have this beautifully dark and grim plot about killer faeries and then the prose is all "targeted towards 7th graders" - it just didn't work for me which is such a shame but nevertheless excellent plot!

I know a lot of people found the multiple perspectives very confusing but I personally really enjoyed it because it gave me a better sense of both the story and the characters. It also made the book unique and interesting. Although Lissy was the "main" character, I didn't really connect with her, we were so different from each other, it was a little hard for me to find sympathy for her or put myself in her shoes. She's also a little whiny and helpless which aren't the best traits to have in a protagonist. However I very much enjoyed Joe's character, I like his loyalty and his caring nature, he barely knows Lissy and her family yet in the short amount of time they're been together, he has been nothing but supporting (Joe's the stepbrother BTW, well sorta). I also really like Larkspur, he was actually my favourite character even if he wasn't a main. Very well portrayed, I LOVED his compassion and there is something beautiful about his loneliness and internal torment. My biggest characterisation peeve was probably Mariam, the mother. She was a horrible mother and an unrealistic character. I mean, what kind of parent, sits down and writes in a diary, feeling sorry for herself, while one of her kids is dying and the other one has been kidnapped by supernatural creatures, WHO DOES THAT? Overall it was a good characterisation, not the best but decent.

This wasn't the easiest book to review because there was a lot of pros and cons to weight up, it's definitely one of those books that not everyone is going enjoy. There are a couple of flaws however in the end, I still enjoyed Hidden Among Us and I would recommend it. Good characters, beautiful plot and a spectacular ending, if you're looking for something original, dark and supernatural, I would invest in a copy of Hidden Among Us!

What's it Worth - Squeeze into the Budget

Badass Bookie xx

An Explanation and An Apology

Sooooo you guys (yes, all ten of you who actually read my blog!) might have noticed that I haven't been around lately. In fact, I haven't really been around since December's Debutante Event and I think I owe it to your guys to explain what's been happening... 

Okay, SO this year I started my senior years at school and honestly, education is kicking my ass. It's been a wake up call for me because I've never really had to study for exams. I've always been one of those kids who breezed through classes and got pretty good grades. So I went into this year thinking that it was going to be more or less the same. 

WRONG. 

This year has been a huge slap in the face. The work load is enormous and I have never felt so stressed in my life. I have a never ending list of assignments, I'm struggling in my classes, I'm pulling all nighters, I don't even go out on weekends anymore (not that I used to but I like to have that option, you know?)! For someone who used never did any homework and would cram for exams the night before, it's a huge change. I've had to change all my study habits and really take a step back and reorganise my priorities. Most of the time I feel like this -

And as much as I love my blog, reading and hanging out with people in this awesome community, my future is kinda on the line. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with my life yet *cough* marry someone rich and never have to work *cough* but I want to do as well as I can so I have plenty of opportunities. I want to be successful and if that means giving up weekends, time for blogging and reading, my soul and my other hobbies ( except food) then so be it. 

I try to get at least one blog post up every week but it's hard. The last thing you want to do after writing a 25 page assignment is write a 600 word review. More importantly, I don't even have the time to READ. I've gone from reading 10-15 books a month to reading 20 books in FOUR months. So I don't even have that many books to review! 

I have thought about taking a break but I enjoy blogging too much. I don't want to give it up and I would rather get one post up a week than not post at all. I know I haven't been doing Breakfast with the Bookie posts, I haven't been writing reviews, debut of the month is more often than not late and I've given up on book hauls altogether (although you can follow me on instagram for them - lisayuuu) and I'm very very SORRY about it! 

Please forgive me and I'm going to try to get more posts up but it's just really hard! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me over the years and who still read my blog ( yes, all TEN of you!). So I guess I'm going to head back into my little cave of loneliness and homework now...

Badass Bookie xx

PS - this post is probably filled with spelling and grammatical error but I'm too lazy to proof read. Ain't nobody got time for that. 

Drowning Instinct

Review Time! Drowning Instinct is the first contemporary novel from dystopian YA author, Ilsa J. Bick! I haven't actually read anything else by Bick although I do own the first two books in her Ashes trilogy! Very excited to review this one today because UGH, *feelings*. You can purchase a copy of this book from The Book Depository | Fishpond | The Nile | Bookworld. Thanks to Pan Macmillan for the review copy!

(Goodreads) Jenna is sweet sixteen, the age when a girl is supposed to find her prince.

Instead she finds Mr Anderson – intelligent, handsome, married Mr Anderson, who just happens to be her chemistry teacher. With a dark past and a difficult family, Jenna is just happy to have someone to protect her, to worry about her, to love her.

But should she be suspicious of Mr Anderson’s reputation for helping ‘damaged’ students?

Why is the most popular girl in school suddenly jealous of her? And where is Mr Anderson’s wife?

This is a love story that breaks all the rules, but that won’t stop it breaking your heart.

The Short Story? - My favourite read of the year so far, Drowning Instinct takes forbidden romance to a whole new level. Incredibly raw and undoubtedly powerful, Bick explores the complexity behind a romance that is morally wrong. Dark, grim and utterly compelling, Bick's Drowning Instinct blurs the lines between right and wrong. Refreshingly original and beautifully written, Drowning Instinct takes YA fiction to a whole new level.

The Long Story? - This definitely isn't a novel for everyone, it explores the moral ambiguity behind a teacher and student love affair. On top of that, it also explores very serious psychological issues and dysfunctional families. So it's not a very happy book, for a contemporary fiction novel, it's definitely more teeth and claws then fluff and clouds. That said, it was absolutely brilliant. It was beautifully written, the narration was compelling and the plot was full of twists and turns. I know there are a couple of YA books that take on the teacher/student relationship aspect but none have been done as well as this. It was raw, full of emotion and refreshingly real. Bick isn't trying to sell the whole "THIS IS WRONG"perspective, in fact she writes such a beautiful love story that you question whether the love affair between Jenna and Mr Anderson is so wrong that it is right? It's such a beautiful complexity that pushes boundaries and blurs the lines. It's unpredictable and chaotic yet there is something compelling about the novel, I couldn't put it down!

The novel is completely narrated by our protagonist Jenna which allowed readers to form a deeper connection to her character. It probably also influenced our perspective of the book since it was very subjective however I thought that was actually a good thing because it really gave insight into Jenna's character . I really like Jenna, she was so broken and incredibly real that reading the book, I just felt waves of emotion crash over me as Jenna's life crumbled to pieces. She's gone through so much and yet nothing seems to be going right until she meets Mr. Anderson. I actually really liked his character, he wasn't despicable or pedophiliac, I genuinely believed that he loved Jenna and their romance was so many degrees of wrong yet you can't help but secretly wish things turned out differently.

Drowning Instinct is not a book for the light-hearted. It's dark and twisted and grim, it's explores touchy subjects that many authors wouldn't ever consider writing. It's a bold book and a gamble but I think Bick pulled it off really well, it was a beautiful love story that was different and not something that you usually find in YA. The characters were complex and truly troubled on so many levels. It's a book about companionship and love and questioning whether something is wrong if two people are truly in love and it's about the consequences of loving too much. Edgy, raw and chilling, Dark Instinct is a publishing phenomenal.

What's it Worth? - Break Out the Piggybank

Badass Bookie xx

Debut of the Month - The Boyfriend App + Giveaway

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Book Profile

Name - The Boyfriend App (Goodreads)
Author - Katie Sise
Genre - Contemporary
Release Date - April 30th 2013

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.

But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

Available - The Book Depository | Fishpond | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

The Insider's Scoop

Three Scoops of Insider-ness on The Boyfriend App’s Mean Girl Blake Dawkins

1) I secretly love my mean-girl antagonist Blake Dawkins.

2) I came up with an entire storyline about Blake having experienced oxytocin poisoning as an infant, thereby causing her narcissitic-bordering on-psychopathic behavior. But early test-readers pulled me back. Sometime I can’t help my wild imagination: It takes over! Thank goodness for test -readers and editors who know when to take it down a notch.

3) I wrote many pages from Blake’s perspective because I was so fascinated by her. Here’s a excerpt taking place after her breakup with Xander:

Just one last taste.

“I mean it, Xander. This is the last time. We have to stop.”

I was whispering lies like these to my ex-boyfriend as his hands slipped over my waist. I’d angled my body just right, so that his fingertips could trail the flat plane of my stomach. Guys are highly visual. So is the rest of the world.

It’s crucial to remember that.

Xander’s fiery, hazel eyes melted as he took me in. “Blake,” he said softly, right before his lips found mine. His hands were moving higher when a shrill bell sounded. 

No.

“Your dad?” Xander blurted. I didn’t need to shove him off me. He was already yanking his t-shirt from my bedroom floor and fumbling with a dark brown leather belt. 

            Ding Dong. Ding Dong.

            “Can’t be. Probably some useless girl scout,” I said, trying not to sound scared. But Xander knew me too well. And even if he didn’t, I couldn’t keep the shake from my fingers as I buttoned my jeans.

            Ding Dong.

            “Hide. Just in case!”

Xander moved toward the closet and I raced down the stairs. My dad wouldn’t ring the doorbell to his own house. Unless he’d lost his keys? Or been robbed by a disgruntled former employee. Would that make him more or less pissed to find Xander here when neither he nor my mom were home?

            I skipped the final step and unlocked the bolt. The metal rang out. I flinched and swung open the door.

My sister. She stood on our white-brick front porch looking pissed.

“Nic?” I said. I hadn’t seen her in months. Her hair was dyed a few shades lighter than mine—a deep chestnut—and it was pulled into a low, messy ponytail. She’d stopped wearing makeup, too. Like she’d try anything not to look like me. To separate her from us. 

But there was no way. Our clear complexions were identical shades of olive. Our noses were the natural version of the tiny, perfect kind girls try for at the plastic surgeon’s office. Our eyes matched, too. Dark like coffee beans and curved like almonds. The only difference now was the purplish crescent moons stamped beneath Nic’s.

My sister wore a baggy gray cashmere sweater. She used to wear snug-fitting stuff during high school. Not anymore. The wide neck fell over her slender shoulders and draped loose around her waist, tighter on the hips.

            “Don’t look so happy to see me,” Nic said, pushing past me with a worn leather bag I’d never seen before. She stared as I stood immobilized next to the coat rack. “Good for you, Blake. You’ve put on some weight,” she went on, even though I hadn’t. “Where’s dad?”

            “Probably on his way home,” I lied. The threat of Dad usually made Nic nicer.

            My sister surveyed the living room and I tried to see what she did. Glossy interior design books that no one read were stacked beside a potted orchid on a mahogany coffee table. Framed photos of Nic and me fake-smiling on a skiing trip to Vail sat on a mirrored glass armoire. The violet velvet sofa with gold armrests was new: One of our mother’s late night internet purchases. A wave of embarrassment washed over me. But Nic gave the sofa an approving nod. Then she turned to me and said, “Why is Xander’s car parked at the end of the block?” which meant she’d circled the cul-de-sac before coming home. Which was weird.

            I opened my mouth to lie again but then Xander was on the stairs.

            “Hey, Nic,” he said, stopping on the bottom step to tie his sneakers.

            Nic was all smiles. She loved Xander. She loved my ex-best friend, Audrey, too. Maybe other people who left me made her feel better about what she did.

“Are you two back together?” Nic asked, clasping her hands and being sweet for the first time since Christmas, when she convinced me to pee in a plastic cup marked NICOLE DAWKINS.

            “No,” we both said. Then Xander mumbled something about watching Friends reruns (my favorite. I’m in love with pretty Rachel and smart Ross and the weird 90s haircuts and outfits.) Nic gave Xander a look that said she didn’t believe him so I changed the topic. “Aren’t you supposed to have midterms this week?” I asked. Notre Dame’s webpage made it easy to keep up with Nic’s schedule and other school stuff. I went to every single play on campus because Nic was usually in two each semester, and she always forgot to tell us which ones.

            Nic waved her hand. “No midterms for my kind of classes,” she said, and I wondered if that was true. Nic was a Film, Television and Theater major. Notre Dame was five minutes from our house, but Nic lived in a dorm and didn’t come home except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Next week was her spring break, but she usually stayed at school for breaks, too. She told us it was because she got so much done while the other kids were back home with their families.

I stood there and tried to think up something interesting to say. Nothing came. So we just stared at each other. Nic was beautiful even if she did look tired. Last year she told me I was the second prettiest girl in South Bend. It was the nicest thing she’d said to me in years, even if it was meant to be about her.

            “I just thought I’d stop by and see what you all were up to,” she finally said. She had a funny look on her face. Nic was a terrible liar, which was too bad for her, because she lied all the time. But this lie made me smile. Tomorrow was my eighteenth birthday. She’d deigned the event important enough to show up.

            Xander and I exchanged glances and I knew he was thinking the same thing. “Cool,” I said to Nic, even if she was one of the only three people on the planet who could make me feel anything but.

~Giveaway~

Katie is giving away (3) THREE Hardcover Copies of The Boyfriend App!

Rule of Entry -

- US ONLY

- Ends 16th of May

- Must be 13 or older

- Optional Entries :

   * Leaving comment on either of Katie's posts +1 each

   * Follow Me on Twitter +1

   * Follow Katie on Twitter +1

   * Tweeting Giveaway +1

   * Follow Badass Bookie via GFC/Linky/Bloglovin  +2

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Badass Bookie xx

Debut of the Month - Katie Sise ( The Boyfriend App)

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Debutante Profile

Name – Katie Sise

Debut – The Boyfriend App

Genre – Contemporary

Website– HERE

Facebook -  HERE

Twitter - HERE

Katie Sise is a New York City-based author, jewelry designer and television host. Her jewelry has been featured in major magazines like Vogue, W, Elle, Lucky, InStyle, Self, People, and Marie Claire, and worn by celebrities like Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway, Cameron Diaz, and Beyonce Knowles. Katie has designed jewelry collaborations with outlets like Target. Her first novel, THE BOYFRIEND APP, debuts on April 30th 2013 with HarperCollins Balzer + Bray. 

Dream Debutante Dress - For my debutante dress, I picked a creation by Elisa Jimenez. Here's a shot of Elisa working on the dress on a model:

Elisa was one of my favorite designers even before Project Runway made her famous. She was so kind to me when I was first starting out as a jewelry designer in my twenties. She let me design jewelry for her fashion shows, and it was so cool to be a part of her wildly imaginative world.

Notes from a YA Debutante

The ten-steps of employment that led me to being an author.

1) Clown. (I’m not kidding. I was only eleven or twelve, but I went to clown camp and everything. I could earn 100 bucks per birthday party! I was already into starting my own business even as a pre-teen.)

2) Babysitter. Loved eating all the new snacks. And especially loved getting paid to eat all of those snacks and talk on the phone after the kids went to bed.

3) Lifeguard and Swim team Coach. This was my job from age 16 through college. I loved it.

4) Girl who drove to different Walmarts from Albany to Massachusetts to stock shelves with a new test-brand of French’s potato sticks. I had to load the things in my car, so my hair always smelled like potato chips. I’d just graduated college and I was trying to save up enough money to move to New York City. It would have been a terrible job, except my dad would come along for the car ride and we'd take turns driving. We'd talk, or sometimes just drive silently. He’d act like it was no big deal to come along for these 5 hours drives. Or he’d say he just wanted to see a certain part of Massachusetts that he hadn’t seen before. But I always knew he did it out of sheer kindness to keep me company.

5) Bartender and Waitress. Highlight: Once dropped a very expensive bottle of champage on my way to deliver it to Robert DeNiro’s table. Lowlight: a restaurant owner told me I was the worst waitress she’s ever seen. 

6) Salesgirl in a boutique. This led me to start making jewelry. The boutique owner was generous enough to let me sell it there. It started a whole career! Which leads us to…

7) Jewellery designer. So much more fun than waitressing! I could hardly believe my luck when it started happening :) All the odd jobs were so worth it to get to this point! 

Then I started doing style segments on TV, which leads to…

8) TV host. Mostly for style segments on networks like Oxygen and Discovery. From 2008-2010, I co-hosted a monthly television show for HSN.

9) In 2009, I had an idea to write a book about how to navigate a creative career path. In 2010, Perseus/Running Press published my first book, CREATIVE GIRL: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR TURNING TALENT AND CREATIVITY INTO A REAL CAREER.

10) I took classes and worked on a bunch of fiction projects for several years. In 2012, Alessandra Balzer bought THE BOYFRIEND APP. It pubs this month on April 30th and I couldn't be more excited!

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Bookie's Note: Thank-you so much for agreeing to be an April debutante Katie! I'm a little awestruck that you've been on a TV host! THAT MAKES YOU FAMOUS! :D Cross country stock-shelver sounds so ... different! I have NEVER heard of anyone who has done anything like that for a job! I hope you were paid well! AND THAT THEY PAID FOR GAS!

Remember to come back tomorrow to see the second half of Katie's feature and for a giveaway! :)

Badass Bookie xx

Dance of Shadows

Review Time! Dance of Shadows is the debut novel of YA author, Yelena Black! I originally had this review planned for February BUT before I could finish the book, someone stole my copy of the book from the common room - HOW RUDE. However Cass @ Words on Paper was nice enough to send me her copy! You can purchase a copy of Dance of Shadows from Fishpond | The Book Depository | The Nile | Bookworld. Thanks to Bloomsbury for the review copy!

(Goodreads) Vanessa doesn’t believe that her sister is a runaway. She wouldn’t leave her family behind without saying a word. The only way Vanessa can discover the truth behind her mysterious disappearance is to follow in Margaret’s footsteps, but to do so she risks her sanity and maybe even her life . . .

Vanessa Adler is one of the talented few to get a place at the acclaimed New York Ballet Academy. Between backbreaking rehearsals for the school’s production of The Firebird she desperately tries to find out what happened to her sister before she vanished. There are rumors that the pressure of performing the lead role, the same role Vanessa is now rehearsing for, drove her mad. Other girls have gone missing too. Can the role be cursed? Vanessa’s new relationship with leading-man Zep only seems to complicate things further. What is he hiding from her and can she really trust him?

The Short Story? - Dark, seductive and exciting, Dance of Shadows is an refreshingly original debut. A great combination of dance and the supernatural, Black has written a beautiful yet eery novel of mystery, suspense and the unexpected. Captivating plot and well written, my only problem with the novel was some of the characterisation. Overall, an enticing and edgy debut that taunts readers to devour the story from cover to cover.

The Long Story? - Even though I used to dance, I've never been all that fascinated with dance novels. They're a little too girly for me and I honestly don't really understand the appeal of ballet (only ever did Jazz and Tap). So going into this novel I was a little hesitant however I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. My biggest concern was that the dance and supernatural element would over power an actual plot. I didn't really want a novel about some girl who falls in love with some dancer dude who turns out to be a vampire. LUCKY ENOUGH, that wasn't the plot. It's a really subtle supernatural element that carries through the novel. It's a mystery and we don't find out what's really happening until the very end. All we know is that girls are disappearing and something funky is going on with the choreographer. It's the kind novel that takes a lot of restraint not to flip ahead because the suspense will absolutely KILL you! Brilliant plot, I can't fault because I love supernatural elements and I love mysteries!

Characterisation was really the problem area for me, I didn't find myself caring all that much for Vanessa. As a protagonist, she's quite distant from her readers. I don't think her character was developed enough and what I did see of her, she was annoying and insecure and whiney and kinda depressing. I know a lot of other reviewers really enjoyed her character but we just didn't click. It's probably just a personal thing because I kind of the opposite of Vanessa but it did let down the novel a little for me. There is a guy involved named Zep although I don't really understand their "love", I don't mind instant love when it done well but in this case, I didn't think any romance was necessary. I would have been happy with a straight up YA novel without the boy. I did like Vanessa's friends though, they were portrayed really well. Fun and caring and loyal, they're the kind people I would be friends with. Overall, the characterisation definitely wasn't a forte for me but it wasn't horrible either.

Dance of Shadows is one of those debuts that everyone is either going to love or hate depending on how much you're willing to forgive and look the other way. I really enjoyed it, the characterisation was a little bit of a let down but not so much that it ruined the book for me. The plot was fantastic and the writing was really engaging, it's a pretty decent debut and I'm definitely going to follow through with the series because I'm sure there is going to be character growth in the books to come!

What's it Worth? - Squeeze into the Budget/ Hand Over the Paycheck

Badass Bookie xx

Walking Disaster

Review Time! Walking Disaster is the companion novel to Beautiful Disaster by Jaime McGuire! Actually it's the same story but told from Travis's perspective but since I don't have the word for that, I'm going to call it a companion novel. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of the book to review so here's my review! You can purchase a copy of the book from The Book Depository | Fishpond | The Nile | Bookworld. Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the review copy!

(Goodreads) How much is too much to love? Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. Just when he thought he was invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Jamie McGuire's New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster Abby had her say. Now it's time to see the story through Travis's eyes.

The Short Story? - It goes without saying that if you loved Beautiful Disaster, you're going to love Walking Disaster! The story is even better the second time round, all the romance, drama and danger with the added bonus of a bad boy narrator! Told from the perspective of Travis Maddox, readers get the infamous bad boy's side of this extraordinary tale of romance! Seductive, edgy and exciting, McGuire takes us back into the world of Abby and Travis but this time through the eyes of Travis. Absolutely brilliant, this is definitely my guilty pleasure.

The Long Story? - Walking Disaster is essentially a love story. The undeniable attraction between Travis and Abby is the bigger picture. There are moments of action and danger but ultimately, this is an epic love story. I'm not going to lie, when I first read the blurb for Walking Disaster I thought it was a little cheesy and cliched. I mean, the bad boy falls for the good girl? I have never read that before! However when I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down! There is an addictive quality about the plot, I'm not normally a sucker for romance novels but Travis and Abby have that kind of attraction that really *makes* a novel! Walking Disaster is MY guilty pleasure, I hate that I loved this novel but I did! It was predictable but it had drama and excitement, it was a great love story! Well written, Walking Disaster is for all those readers out there who enjoy a brilliant love story.

It funny how a change in perspective can shed new light on characters. Walking Disaster might be the same love story as Beautiful Disaster but from Travis's perspective - it's almost like two very different books. It's definitely harder to connect with Travis than Abby because well, he's a guy and guys are confusing. However it was so interesting to see his side of the story. Travis is insecure and possessive, his whole bad boy reputation is just protection. He's vulnerable and afraid to love. Then he meets Abby and they have this instant connection. It should terribly cliched but this is a beautiful characterisation, very well done on McGuire's part. Walking Disaster is essentially Travis's book but that doesn't mean we lose perspective on the other characters. It was refreshing to see the same characters from Beautiful Disaster through the perspective of someone else and I seeing Abby through Travis's eyes. Great characterisation!

All in all, Walking Disaster was beautiful. It's the kind of book that affects the readers on an emotional level. Despite how cliched and cheesy the blurb makes this novel sound, this is one of the best romances that I've read. It's powerful, addictive and the chemistry is there. McGuire's Walking Disaster is a fantastic follow up to her bestselling Beautiful Disaster. Addictive and enticing, Walking Disaster does not disappoint!

What's it Worth? - Hand Over the Paycheck

Badass Bookie xx