The Art of Crash Landing

Oh lambs, I am so sick right now, which is why you haven't gotten very many posts from me this week. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be on the mend. In the meantime, here's another book you should add to your reading pile.

The Art of Crash Landing - Melissa DeCarlo

From a bright new talent comes this debut novel about a young woman who travels for the first time to her mother’s hometown, and gets sucked into the mystery that changed her family forever

Mattie Wallace has really screwed up this time. Broke and knocked up, she’s got all her worldly possessions crammed into six giant trash bags, and nowhere to go. Try as she might, Mattie can no longer deny that she really is turning into her mother, a broken alcoholic who never met a bad choice she didn’t make. 

When Mattie gets news of a possible inheritance left by a grandmother she’s never met, she jumps at this one last chance to turn things around. Leaving the Florida Panhandle, she drives eight hundred miles to her mother’s birthplace—the tiny town of Gandy, Oklahoma. There, she soon learns that her mother remains a local mystery—a happy, talented teenager who inexplicably skipped town thirty-five years ago with nothing but the clothes on her back. But the girl they describe bears little resemblance to the damaged woman Mattie knew, and before long it becomes clear that something terrible happened to her mother, and it happened here. The harder Mattie digs for answers, the more obstacles she encounters. Giving up, however, isn’t an option. Uncovering what started her mother’s downward spiral might be the only way to stop her own.

Hilarious, gripping, and unexpectedly wise, The Art of Crash Landing is a poignant novel from an assured new voice.

It's not often that I agree with a synopsis when it says a book is hilarious. Well, it's maybe not "hilarious" but it is pretty funny and a very enjoyable read this past weekend! This book reminded me a lot of Liza Palmer's Nowhere But Home and that was such a good book. I'll be homing these two books next to each other on my shelf for sure. 

But we have the story of Mattie, who had an interesting childhood with a mother who didn't give her the best example in the world. Mattie finds herself completely broke, left her boyfriend for the umpteenth time, and now she's knocked up. So naturally, she flees to her "step dad" and when it gets to be too obvious that he has something to say about her situation and that feelings may be involved, she again flees to Oklahoma in the saddest excuse for a vehicle. It seems her maternal grandmother has passed away and left her some kind of inheritance, and since Mattie has no other options that are any better, she heads off to find out what was left to her and why. 

Interestingly, the mother Mattie thought she knew actually wasn't that way her whole life. It was like her mother had a whole other persona and that alone is hard for Mattie to digest and as she discovers what made her mother leave in the first place. Throughout the process it becomes clear that Mattie needs to figure it out if she has any hope of figuring out her own life and not repeating the same mistakes her mother did. 

The best part of the book easily is the writing. Melissa DeCarlo is such a funny, say-it-like-it-is writer and she doesn't sugar coat anything. So many sentences in this book made me laugh out loud and I so very much needed that this weekend. The characters themselves are developed so well, you learn to love Mattie even though she truly is a hot mess. She's that one friend we all have who measures their life by how many garbage bags it takes to get their stuff into. I also loved the connection between Mattie and Queeg (the loving nickname she's given her step dad) because he feels like maybe the only stable thing she has, and though she wants to deny any sentimental or emotional connection to him, it's obvious to us that it's there. Plus- debut novel! I have to just say, this year all of the debut novels I have read are stunning and make me hungry for more, this one is definitely included! 

You can find The Art of Crash Landing on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you're up for some light stalking, you can find Melissa DeCarlo on her website, Facebook and Twitter! 

And as always, if you want to see what I'm reading next or what shenanigans are happening, follow me on Bloglovin' and don't miss a thing. 

Drowning to Breathe Release Day!!

I am SO EXCITED for this book to be released! If you remember correctly, I got the first book A Stone in the Sea in my first Bookworm Box and it was so good. I absolutely loved the book and honestly, I'm glad I read it so close to the release of the second book so my wait wasn't horrible.

 The danger in pretending is it becoming real...

Sebastian Stone, Sunder front man and guitarist with a rap sheet about ten miles long, escaped to Savannah, Georgia, to get away from the trouble he’d caused.

Not find more of it.

    The moment he saw Shea Bentley, he saw beneath all her sweet and innocence to something that went deeper.

Darker.

Their relationship was built on secrets; their love built on lies.

Sebastian never imagined how deep her secrets went.

When the past and present collide, Sebastian and Shea find themselves fighting for a future neither believed they deserved. Their passion is consuming and their need unending.

Now, holding the truth in his hands, Sebastian is faced with sacrificing everything he’s come to love to protect Shea and his family.

Two pasts intertwined.

Two lives bound.

Will their demons drown them or will Shea and Sebastian finally learn to breathe?

Drowning to Breathe

A Bleeding Stars Novel, Book 2

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Author Bio

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary and new adult romance.

She first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student.  She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.

Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three children.

Connect with A.L. Jackson online:www.aljacksonauthor.com

To stay up to date with important news on A.L. Jackson, including new releases, sales, and exclusive specials and excerpts, text “jackson” to 96000 to subscribe!

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The Same Deep Water excerpt tour!

Sometimes, believing the lies we tell ourselves is easier than dealing with the truth.

Once, I wanted to die. That was the night I met Guy.
The strange man with flowers stepped from the shadows and saved my life.

Guy. Dimpled smile. Body of a surf god. Smart and funny. Running out of time.

We became travelling companions through life, ticking off items on our bucket lists. I'd hidden from happiness for years and kept my life under strict control. Guy showed me how to step into the world and experience more, he brought light into the shadows and helped me through the darkness.

I became Phe again. I lived.

There's just one problem.

We fell in love and this wasn't part of our plans.

I thought we could face the future together, but Guy has a secret which changes everything.

The Same Deep Water is a standalone New Adult romance set in Western Australia.

Buy- Amazon 

Excerpt

The purple and blue of the Milky Way leads a pathway through the night sky, bright and surreal; they rise behind the tall rock formation adding to the sensation of sitting on another planet. I tip my head back and the bright stars above fill the darkness and dizzy me.

“You’re quiet,” says Guy.

“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” I whisper. “I can’t believe this is so close to where I live.”

“Technically, what you’re looking at is light years away.”

I elbow him. “You know what I mean.”

Guy wraps an arm around my shoulder and I shuffle across the roof so he can hold me closer. “How incredibly sad that something so beautiful shines the brightest just before it dies,” he says. “Some of the stars are long gone, with the light from their death just reaching us.”

“Don’t say that.” The stars appear to swarm across the sky and I focus, wishing for a shooting star. “The stars aren’t all dead.”

“New stars are born all the time, there’ll be many burning at this moment that we can’t see yet because their light hasn’t had time to reach us.” He laughs softly. “I tell you to forget the past and we’re looking straight at it.”

“Stop analysing what could be a romantic moment,” I say with a sigh.

“Out here we’re alone, kissing under the light of thousands of stars.” He tips my face toward him and places a gentle kiss on my mouth. “In a world where I’m disconnected from everything but you. Is that romantic?”

“Better.” I touch his lips then look around. “We could be on Mars.”

“We could, but I’d rather not.”

I pull away and lie back attempting to make out the constellations around. “You’re right, I do feel disconnected. Looking at what’s out there we know nothing about is overwhelming.”

“Why are you afraid?” asks Guy as he lies next to me, staring upward too.

“I’m not afraid.”

“We’re both afraid of life and what it has to offer when really we should just ‘be’ together.”

I twist my head to him. “But you do that. You live for today.”

Guy continues to look upward and takes hold of my hand. “Todays like this, yes. Other days, I’m afraid. I worry that I’ve made another bad decision.”

“What about?”

“Lots of things.”

I squeeze his hand. “Can we stay with the stars?”

“If tomorrow we can watch the fire of a new dawn.” Guy says the words quietly, as if talking to himself.

“Why are you always so serious in the dark?” I whisper and touch his cheek.

“Because you can’t see me properly.”

“I think I see more of you than you realise.”

Girl in the Woods

SO good. That's all an intro I can give.

Girl in the Woods - Aspen Matis


Girl in the Woods is Aspen Matis's exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada—a coming of age story, a survival story, and a triumphant story of overcoming emotional devastation. On her second night of college, Aspen was raped by a fellow student. Overprotected by her parents who discouraged her from telling of the attack, Aspen was confused and ashamed. Dealing with a problem that has sadly become all too common on college campuses around the country, she stumbled through her first semester—a challenging time made even harder by the coldness of her college's "conflict mediation" process. Her desperation growing, she made a bold decision: She would seek healing in the freedom of the wild, on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail leading from Mexico to Canada.

In this inspiring memoir, Aspen chronicles her journey, a five-month trek that was ambitious, dangerous, and transformative. A nineteen-year-old girl alone and lost, she conquered desolate mountain passes and met rattlesnakes, bears, and fellow desert pilgrims. Exhausted after each thirty-mile day, at times on the verge of starvation, Aspen was forced to confront her numbness, coming to terms with the sexual assault and her parents' disappointing reaction. On the trail and on her own, she found that survival is predicated on persistent self-reliance. She found her strength. After a thousand miles of solitude, she found a man who helped her learn to love and trust again—and heal.

Told with elegance and suspense, Girl in the Woods is a beautifully rendered story of eroding emotional and physical boundaries to reveal the truths that lie beyond the edges of the map.

I know, the first thing you are going to say is, "Sara. Come on now, Cheryl Strayed did this with Wild and it was so good they made it into a movie" and I'm going to tell you SHUT UP. I say that because I fully understand why Wild was as popular as it was and that's because it came at a time where us card carrying vaginas needed a woman to show us what being a true adventuring, independent woman was. Unfortunately, I really hated that book because Cheryl wasn't like-able. Just a series of terrible choices because her mom died. I mean, I get it, your mom dies and that's awful but to leave a really great guy for a drug addled loser and then hike off into the woods and be fully shocked at how hard life is? Shut up and move over. 

Here we have Aspen, who growing up as Debby really struggled. Her parents loved her but they didn't parent her well. Her two older brothers had it better but her mother treated her as a mute. Not just a mute but a mute fully incapable of caring herself. A passage close to the front of the book reads, 

"Through middle school, I didn't shave my legs or use deodorant. Girls began to ask about my hairy legs. One day in eighth grade, I found deodorant in my locker with a note written in girlish handwriting, unsigned. It told me I smelled. It was true. I was hurt. But after that I still didn't simply commit to wearing deodorant daily, instead passively subjecting myself to adolescent years of whispered disdain. Basic hygiene was a terrible struggle. Anything my mother didn't do for me, I didn't do for myself."

She goes on about how she wasn't allowed to dress herself and any attempt to do something on her own was shut down immediately by her mother who, for whatever reason, wanted to control literally every aspect of Debby's life. When it comes time to go to college, Debby picks Colorado College. Far away enough from home but in the woods she loved as child. She sees it as a fresh start, finally free of the oppressive home that held her back. She remembers how her parents met- on the second night of college, and she holds this is a fairy tale of sorts. 

But for her, the second night of college turns her into a rape victim. Not just a rape victim, but one who questions herself, who is let down by the college and even worse- shamed by her own family. She reaches out to her mother who gives her icy silence and treats it as nothing. She reaches out to her brother, the one she's closest to, and he asks her what she had done to bring it on basically. 

Stunned and frozen, she decides that she is going to drop out of college and hike. She has big plans to hike the PCT and be a thru-hiker (one end to the other) and she is looking at The Kickoff as a new beginning. Like the first  night of college. She wants to find herself and be more. Her parents reluctantly agree to help her financially though it's obvious they have little faith that she'll make it very far. 

One of my favorite passages reads, 

"Looking into my reflection above the sink, I dreaded what I already understood to be true: I wouldn't reinvent myself at Kickoff. Just being some place new couldn't just suddenly imbue me with new confidence. Fleeing to the desert didn't transform me into the poised and lovely woman I wished I were. I was here- on the PCT at last- and I was suddenly aware of how uncomfortable I still was in my body. I was awkward in Newton and at college, and here on the trail I remained just as uncool. This place wouldn't change me. Nowhere could." 

Amen. Seriously. She figures this out at the very beginning of her hike and this is something a normal person (looking at you, Cheryl Strayed) doesn't figure out until some mid way point in the hike. 

So much of this book spoke to me because I get it, I felt like I really understood the author. She was so much easier to relate to. She was more of an average 19 year old girl setting off on an impossible journey and I found myself rooting for her. 

Don't even get me started on how damn happy I was when Dash comes along. But I won't go into that because it ruins the ending for you. But Debby is DAMN LUCKY to have survived because shortly before Oregon she gets a weird infection, thinks it's no big deal. She reluctantly has to go home to have it taken care of and as it turns out, it could have been fatal. But it's that trip home that reminds her of what she left behind. Her overbearing mother suffocating her. She does return to the trail because she is adamant she will finish and I was thrilled. So much of this book is absolutely amazing. It is far and above, a thousand times better than Wild. It just is. I know I'm in the minority on my dislike for Wild but whatever. I just really enjoyed this book. I also have to say, I learned far more about the PCT from this book versus Wild so there is that as well. 

It almost makes me want to hike it. BUT, let's be real, I'm pro nachos and ice cream. I would never make it. In the meantime, you can find this book on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble. Happy reading, lambs! 

If you loved this review and want to read more, follow me on BlogLovin' and don't miss a beat! 

Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head

It's not too often that I get to review a book aimed at late elementary/middle school age group, so I was pretty excited that this new one showed up in the mail! Of course this book is geared towards ages 8-12, where my kids happily land, so we used it as a family read and I've even got a little input from my own children, always a nice bonus!

Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head - Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester

What you will find in this book:

– A rather attractive bearded lady
– Several scandalous murders 
– A deliciously disgusting Amazonian shrunken head
– Four extraordinary children with equally extraordinary abilities 
– A quite loquacious talking bird

Blessed with extraordinary abilities, orphans Philippa, Sam, and Thomas have grown up happily in Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders. But when a fourth child, Max, a knife-
thrower, joins the group, it sets off an unforgettable chain of events. When the museum’s Amazonian shrunken head is stolen, the four are determined to get it back. But their search leads them to a series of murders and an explosive secret about their pasts. 

This sensational new series combines the unparalleled storytelling gifts of Lauren Oliver with the rich 
knowledge of the notorious relics collector H.C. Chester. 

What you will NOT find in this book:

– An accountant named Seymour
– A never-ending line at the post office
– Brussel sprouts (shudder)
– A lecture on finishing all your homework on time
– A sweet, gooey story for nice little girls and boys.

I will say I've read a few YA books from Lauren Oliver and they surely did not disappoint, nor did this one! It's absolutely impressive that an author can switch up her writing based on her audience and there aren't many out there that can do that and do it well. Lauren Oliver is at the top of the class in that subject, easily. 

Jackson was totally impressed that this chapter book had pictures. There aren't a ton but the ones that are included just add to the oddity of the book. The author also did a fantastic job at describing not only Dumfrey's Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders but also the characters. Not joking, but if I saw an ad for this place I would feel compelled to go, it's like a weird road side attraction you want to say you've seen. Olivia was totally engaged in the story and said it reminded her of the show The Haunting Hour we've been watching on Netflix and created by the great R.L. Stine because this is really up in that same genre. The only complaint both kids had was a bit of a cliff hanger at the end and I had to assure them there is likely another book coming so that just means we'll have to keep reading. I was able to figure out who the killer was but they could not, probably because they aren't a seasoned reader like I am. 

All of the characters are endearing in personality but what really sets them apart are their "gifts". When Max shows up everything seems to go awry, but the most important incident is when the shrunken head is stolen. It's their newest main attraction and with that gone, money dwindles and their future is at stake. It's not like any of these people can really just get jobs somewhere else, this is their livelihood and their home. So they set off to solve the mystery and along the way see some questionable things and things no child should ever see. The protective parent in me says no thank you to my children reading about corpses. BUT... the child in me says I read R.L. Stine and read all about murdered cheerleaders and bodies that were rotting in the water and I feel like what Lauren Oliver and H.C. Chester give you in this book is nothing compared to that. 

If you have a child in the 8-12 range who enjoys a good mystery, they will love this book. Absolutely love it! It doesn't get released until September 29, 2015, but you can pre-order it now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you loved this review and want to see what I'm reading next, follow me on Bloglovin' and stay tuned!