E-ARC Review: Love, Kinsey by Brandy Corona

E-ARC Review: Love, Kinsey by Brandy Corona

Posted by Nina L. on 12:00 PM in 4-star, Brandy Corona, contemporary, depressing, E-ARC, life and death, NA, review, romance,

Author: Brandy Corona

Release date: September 29th 2013

Publisher: Self-Published

Series: N/A

Age Group: New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository 

Add to your library: Goodreads

All her life, Kinsey Masters has thought of herself as ordinary, boring almost. She had a normal upbringing, a stable career and a good love life, finally meeting “the One,” Colby.

But life has a funny way of turning the tables on you.
Faced with a devastating diagnosis, Kinsey sets out to write her last story – her own.

Her journey reunites her with each man she’s fallen in love with and with their words, along with other friends and family, she pieces together the story of herself. With each meeting, Kinsey begins to realize that each of her past loves has happened for a reason. And she’s left footprints on their lives just like they did for her.Every life is special, especially your own. (via Goodreads)

I received an e-copy of this from the author in exchange for an honest review. This however did not influence my opinion of the book or of the author in any way.

First off, I want to thank Brandy for giving me the chance to read and review her newest novel. I know, I'm a little late for that. It's been months since I got an e-arc. But I'm so glad that I got to read it already.

I guess it's always been a touchy subject for me when it comes to death. That's why I was pretty sure Love, Kinsey won't fail me. Just the mere idea of Kinsey dying is depressing enough already. Add to that her last goal to interview her four ex-es and write an article about love. The moment I read that part, I thought that it was utterly amazing to come up with that kind of idea. Won't you want to revisit the past and know your legacy for each ex you had before you die?

We enter the story with Kinsey already being given only a few months to live. It was hard to connect to her in some ways because I didn't get to know her character deeply. I didn't know how she was before her sickness. Even though her four ex-es described her as like this and like that, I cannot compare her before and after sickness. It was like a void for me. But death drew me on her. So however she was before sickness, I knew she was a good character and all. I guess death is something that makes people connect in more important ways.

Her journey towards meeting each of her ex was funny and thoughtful. Can you even imagine going back to that time with a special someone? I think it was easier for Kinsey because she was practically dying already so she cannot be much conscious of such issues anymore. What she heard from each of her ex was worth all the trouble. It was more of an inner peace with herself to know that even if they didn't end up together, they still consider her as a valuable person. Just what every one wants. Oh and her fiancee was a gift anyway. Colby was really great about it and he supported her all the way. What a great man, right?

Of course, Kinsey was able to finish the article before everything blew up. There were tears shed but I guess most of them (her family and friends) were in peace since they saw how Kinsey cheerfully handled her disease. She got through it with a smile on her face. And that's what I really loved about her. I may not have fully known her before she was diagnosed but the way she handled her sickness is enough of a proof that she indeed was a strong one.

As usual, I was lost in Brandy's writing because it was smooth and all. I just wish, just like I wish with her novel Again, that this one was a bit longer. I don't know. Like I could have gotten to know Kinsey more before she was diagnosed. Though I enjoyed every bit of this novel.

I loved the article written by Kinsey. It may be depressing but it rings a lot of truth in our reality. It attacked a lot of things that needed to be realized by us. It is worth reading by everyone.

Love, Kinsey is a fun and enjoyable way to celebrate both love and death. You'll know that there are far more important things than just being together and not being together which is: love.

About the Author

Brandy Jeffus has been writing stories since an early age. She would dictate them to her mom who would type them out on a typewriter.
She is a mother to two precious children and lives in North Texas, but she'll always consider herself an East Texan, hailing from the Rose Capital of the world, Tyler.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

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Review: If I Stay (If I Stay # 1) by Gayle Forman

Review: If I Stay (If I Stay # 1) by Gayle Forman

Posted by Nina L. on 12:00 PM in 5-star, contemporary, depressing, Gayle Forman, life and death, review, romance, YA,

Author: Gayle Forman

Release date: April 2nd 2009

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Series: If I Stay # 1

Age Group: Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 

Add to your library: Goodreads

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands. (via Goodreads)

Whenever I'm asked why I haven't read If I Stay, I always say that I'm scared to read it. I know it's amazing and all. I don't even know what it is all about back then. I was just really scared to read it. Then as I was typing away the details of this book, I realized this was released last April 2009. I forgot yet another reason why I kept on putting off reading this one. One of my childhood best friends died on May of the same year. I know, maybe I wasn't just scared to read this, maybe all along I felt something was wrong and I'm not supposed to read this or else I'd be in more pain. I just had this feeling that I should not read this at all. I only remember now that she was one of the reasons I haven't read this one. I totally forgot that a part of me was scared to read this because I'd be reminded of that time. You know, I'm this kind of person who always incorporate one thing to the other. Yet, I have forgotten about it completely. Which makes me feel guilty. A lot. Because somehow, it meant I have forgotten about her. Then I realized why I haven't read it. If I read it the same year, I might be bawling like a kid because my best friend was already brain dead. It'll put me back to that moment when I was sitting beside her and talking to her without getting any response. I still felt sad while I read this last month. But if I read this when everything was still so fresh, I might be digging up my own grave. I don't even expect you to understand it. I know it was just weird but I just want it out. Alright, I'm talking too much. Going back...

If I Stay called to me from the beginning I read the blurb. I was intrigued as to what happen to Mia that she had to decide on that kind of matter. I never really read any spoilers. Thank God. So I was expecting things when it hit me what was going to happen and what was about to happen. Yes, it was painful. How can it possibly happen that in a matter of seconds, every one you love is gone? Or well, most of them. Accidents do really happen, when they do, sometimes you wish that you were the one gone instead of the one left behind.

This may not be a spoiler anymore because almost everyone knew it already. Or if you don't, stop right now. Mia was in a state of limbo. She was in between. You know that movie Just Like Heaven? Yes, like that. It was painful to see her like that. My heart was literally aching for her because really, I would want to just die if I were on her shoes. Then I thought of my best friend. Where was she when she was brain dead already? Oh yeah, one of the nurses saw her roaming around in the hospital wearing a white gown. But Mia didn't know what to do. I actually believe that people who are in a state of coma are still fighting for their lives. How? I don't freaking know. I just know they are still there somehow doing their best to wake up and still be in this world. What Mia experienced was just utterly heartbreaking. I guess whatever choice she make, she'll be in pain. She just needed to know that it's still worth it to live, you know?

Of course, it's not just heartbreaking for Mia. It was also painful for the people who were by her side. Honestly, I think it is most painful for the people who are left behind. They get to carry around the pain with them while the departed ones are in heaven (I believe so) already. It made me cry a lot. Reading about Mia's grandparents, her best friend and of course, Adam. Seriously, stop whatever you're doing right now. And. Read. This.

Can I just tell you that I absolutely loved the romance between Mia and Adam? It is one of the purest form of love I've encountered. Ever. With the accompaniment of music. Music brought them together. And holy yes, the music in here was really really really hypnotizing. I don't know with you guys. But that's the only way I can decribe my feelings for it.

What else can I say? Forgive me for being really talkative right now. I want to convey just how much I have all the feels for this novel. Or maybe words aren't enough. And you should just definitely read this by yourselves.

Hold on, before I end this, I just want to tell you guys that Gayle Forman is such an amazing author. Her writing was smooth and just oh relatable and feel-able. Is there even such a word? Okay, whatever, but you will absolutely feel her words. Mind you.

In the end, Mia chose what she believed was best for her. Her journey while she was in the limbo made her realize a lot of things. It's not just about Adam. It's all about her life, her grandparents, her best friend, and Music.

If I Stay is one of the most stunning YA novels I've ever read. It will give you ALL THE FEELS. It will live through your body, mind and soul. PLEASE JUST READ THIS NOW.

About the Author

Gayle Forman is an award-winning, international best-selling author and journalist whose articles have appeared din numerous publications. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers If I Stay  and Where She Went, as well as Sisters in Sanity (HarperTeen)

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

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E-ARC Review: If You Find Me

E-ARC Review: If You Find Me

Posted by Nina L. on 3:52 PM in 5-star, cry-worthy, depressing, E-ARC, favorite, galley, realistic, review, YA,

Author: Emily Murdoch

Release date: March 26, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Format: Hardcover, 256 pages

Purchase: The Book Depository | Amazon

Add to your library: Goodreads

There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

   

     Doesn't that synopsis make you cringe and look at your surroundings for possible enemies? It sounds like paranoia for my part. But then that's what reading do to me. It makes me feel. Saying that this book made me feel a lot of emotions is such an understatement. I experienced a whirlwind of feelings that I can't even begin to express it in words. I always have a hard time writing a review for books that I felt and still feel after days, months or even years of reading it. You know, some stories just don't truly leave you.

    I was amazed by how vivid the words of Emily are. It just feels so real. The way she described how Carey was feeling was so honest that I absolutely felt it. I especially liked the beginning of the story. The way that she gave such an image of what Carey's life has been was so unique and real. It gave me the creeps because I can't imagine someone having that kind of life. Taken when young. Out there. In the middle of the woods. Parents absent. Caring for a younger sibling. Without the basic needs. Fighting for their lives. I've read books which are so unique and honest that I was so thankful that they are just fictional stories and not real ones. But all stories are reflections of what's happening in the real world, right? 

     Carey was not so hard to love at all. Especially because she was definitely one of the most unique and honest characters I've known. Unique in both good and maybe bad for other people. She can be very backward in all aspects because obviously, she grew up in the woods. She wasn't placed out there in the real world. She was deprived of that right everyone has. Although that fact itself didn't stop her from learning. I remember my subject last semester! Theories of Learning. Seriously, we studied on how human beings and animals learn. At first, I was like, "What? Why shall I study the process on how people and animals learn? Isn't that an inert capability that everyone has? So it depends purely on the person or the animal given specific circumstances!" But in the end, I still took the subject anyway. It actually taught me on  the things that make people learn. May it be because of a drive or a reward or a punishment. Thus Learning is not the same for everyone. And Carey is a proof for that. Despite not attending school, she was able to learn the basics and math. She learned through the books her Mother bought. She was even learning more than the average. Although it wasn't the same for her English language. But hello, her English was understandable anyway. I know I said she's honest and yet she kept a secret until then end. I wonder what will you feel and think if you learn her secret. I actually had that guess but I want to think otherwise because it was too much for her. It was too much for anyone her age or for anyone for that matter. Thing is, all of us are afraid to tell our deepest secrets because we're afraid that everyone we love and everything we have will turn their backs away from us. She was honest in a way that I felt her sincerity that she really want to tell it. I bet it took all of her courage to say her secret to her dad. All she needed was time and I guess we all do.

      Jenessa was the sole reason why Carey did what she have to do. It was her sisterly love and instincts that drove her to do it.  Because of what Carey have done, Jenessa decided to be silent since then. Of course, Jenessa won't give Carey away for what she did since she was the only one who took care of her in the middle of the woods. She knew better that it was for their own protection. It was just so amazing how she can be that serious in keeping her mouth shut. I understand how Carey's dad and his wife Melissa adore her.

       The lives that Carey and Jenessa have to adjust with were not so easy. It's like a toddler during the first day of school. There will be lots of people and you have to trust someone else outside your family. That was the difference with Carey and Jenessa. They still have to learn how to trust their own family. It wasn't that hard with Jenessa since she's just a kid. And we all know how kids can be so innocent and just so good! But with Carey, it was so hard because she was keeping something. She can't even give in to Melissa even if she was such a good Mother figure. But of course, all walls do break. When Carey started to trust people, she became friends with Pixie whom I adore and even with Ryan whom I adore more. The connection that Carey and Ryan was so surprising and shocking for me. In the end, it was so good.

      Carey's dad, Melissa and Delaney became their family. I thank St. Joseph for giving the girls such a family. Although there were struggles at first, the two of them deserve the best. Even Delaney as their stepsister.  Of course, I wouldn't forget to mention the girls' Mom here. I just wish that she is in such a good place as her daughters are.

      If You Find Me is a story I'll never forget and a story that will always make me be thankful for the life I have. This story reminds me a lot of Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. It was one of my favorites so as this. I can't say more without giving a lot. So I suggest that you go read this book! There are a lot of  twists and turns which will make your heart ache. Be ready for an emotional read! If You Find Me will surely break your heart. 

      I forgot! The fact that this book contains quotations from Winnie the Pooh and Friends made me love it even more. 

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart...I'll always be with you."

     (Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing this galley in exchange of an honest review through NetGalley.)

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