The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

Posted by Tara on May 15, 2013 in Book, Reviews | 4 comments

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

Review of The Book of Broken Hearts

Title & Author:
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
Publisher:
Simon Pulse
Publication Date:
May 21, 2013
Pages:
352
Source:
Publisher via Edelweiss

When all signs point to heartbreak, can love still be a rule of the road? A poignant and romantic novel from the author of Bittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer.

Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one.

Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas?

Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong?

Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.

Sarah Ockler has been on my auto-buy list since her debut, Twenty Boy Summer, several years ago. I have loved every book she’s ever written and The Book of Broken Hearts is absolutely no exception.

Once again, Sarah Ockler has given us a fabulous protagonist in The Book of Broken Hearts. I’ve loved each and every one of her protagonists for different reasons, but Jude is my favourite…I think. She was fiercely protective and loyal of her family, but she was also a teenager. She was mortified by her parents and her sisters, even while she loved them.

I loved Emilio, and his obvious chemistry with Jude. Sarah Ockler always writes really awesome love interests, so my love for Emilio isn’t a surprise to me. I thought Jude and Emilio worked really well together and I loved every second of their developing relationship. Plus, a lot of swoon factor there.

The Book of Broken Hearts deals with deeper issues than romance – and I thought Sarah Ockler did an amazing job portraying Alzheimer’s and how it affects a family. It’s brutal and slow and can tear people apart or bring them closer together.

And still – there’s moments of humor and happiness in The Book of Broken Hearts. Even when dealing with something like Alzheimer’s, Jude and her family still found moments to laugh and I loved that. And I loved that Jude’s sister was a literary agent and that it really played a role in Jude’s relationship with her. Things like that really rounded out the secondary characters for me.

I think a lot of readers will connect with The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler. It’s truly an amazing contemporary, one had me crying at several different points throughout the story. Sarah Ockler writes like no one else – she’s a master at putting together words in just the right way. The Book of Broken Hearts is an emotional and realistic portrayal of a family dealing with a terrible disease and I highly recommend picking it up.

Other Books by Sarah Ockler

Twenty Boy Summer
Fixing Delilah
Bittersweet

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Blog Tour: Impostor by Susanne Winnacker + Giveaway

Posted by Tara on May 14, 2013 in Blog Tour, Book, Giveaways, Interviews | 3 comments

I’m very excited to have Susanne Winnacker on my blog today as part of the blog tour for Impostor – which sounds awesome, FYI. I can’t wait to read Impostor soon!

So be sure to check out my interview with Susanne and enter to win a copy of Impostor below!

Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late?

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself. – Goodreads

Susanne Winnacker, the author of Impostor

What is one piece of advice you would give to upcoming debut authors?

Never give up. Rejections are part of the business and they never stop. And don’t believe everything you hear. Just focus on what you really want.

If you could have an extraordinary ability, what would it be and why?

I think I would choose a healing power. One of my biggest fears is that someone I love (or I) gets really sick and there’s nothing anyone can do to make it better.

What interests you about mysteries and sleuthing teens?

I like to be surprised when reading and if a mystery writer manages to keep me in the dark about a killer until the very end, then that’s just wonderful. Mysteries always make me, as a reader, feel like I’m involved in the plot because I along with the main character want to figure out who did it. As for why I’m interested in sleuthing teens: as a teen I often felt like I couldn’t do as much as I wanted to. There were so many things I wanted to change, but it’s sometimes difficult to be taken seriously by adults. If a teen takes action, hunts a killer, tries to solve a mystery that always gives me a feeling of delayed satisfaction. And what I particularly like about sleuthing teens is that they aren’t afraid to take risks and try new things. That’s sometimes the only way to catch a killer!

If you could be the author of any previously published work, which would it be and why?

The first thing that comes to my mind is Harry Potter. I admire J.K. Rowling. The world she created is wonderful and her books manage to unite people of every age and nationality simply by their love for her books. But then I feel like a cheat for even considering it. That’s her world and not mine. And I’m not sure if I could have handled all the pressure and fame as well as she did. Especially when I remind myself of the times when paparazzi search J.K.’s garbage cans for stuff. I don’t even know what they were looking for, maybe dirty secrets, but it made me sick to my stomach. I prefer my anonymous life, so I guess my answer is in theory “Harry Potter”, but really I’m not sure.

What are you working on next? Any info you can share?

I’m editing the sequel to Impostor and I’m also working on a middle grade novel. I’m always working on more than one project. It keeps things interesting!

About Susanne Winnacker

Susanne Winnacker studied law before she became a full-time writer. She lives with her husband, a dog that looks like a sheep and three bunnies that have destroyed every piece of furniture she’s ever owned in Germany. She loves coffee (in every shape and form), traveling and animals. When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her in the kitchen, experimenting with new vegan dishes.

Visit Susanne at her website or on Twitter.

Giveaway of Impostor

Want to win a copy of Impostor? Fill out the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke – Interview + Giveaway

Posted by Tara on May 13, 2013 in Book, Giveaways, Interviews | 6 comments

Today I have an interview with Polly Holyoke, author of the upcoming The Neptune Project! I’m super excited to get my hands on this book next week, you guys. I’m a huge fan of middle-grade and The Neptune Project sounds like a great futuristic story with an environmental twist.

So yes – check out my interview with the lovely Polly Holyoke and enter to win some really great The Neptune Project swag! She sent me several dolphin charms that double as both a necklace or a bookmark – I think they’re super awesome!

With her weak eyes and useless lungs that often leave her gasping for air, Nere feels more at home swimming with the dolphins her mother studies than she does hanging out with her classmates. Nere has never understood why she is so much more comfortable and confident in the water than on land until the day she learns the shocking truth—she is one of a group of kids who have been genetically altered to survive in the ocean. These products of the “Neptune Project” are supposed to build a better future under the waves, safe from the terrible famines and wars and that rock the surface world.

But there are some big challenges ahead of her: no one ever asked Nere if she wanted to be part of a science experiment; the other Neptune kids aren’t exactly the friendliest bunch, and in order to reach the safe haven of the new Neptune colony, Nere and her fellow mutates must swim across hundreds of miles of dangerous ocean, relying on their wits, their loyal dolphins and one another to evade terrifying undersea creatures and a government that will stop at nothing to capture the Neptune kids … dead or alive.

Fierce battle and daring escapes abound as Nere and her friend race to safety in this action-packed marine adventure. – Goodreads

Polly Holyoke, the author of The Neptune Project

Why do you write middle grade? What draws you to the age group?

I love the fact that middle grade readers are willing to believe. They haven’t become cynical yet. They will accept and like even the wildest stories as long as the writer sets up the world and the plot of his or her book well.

What inspired the world you created in The Neptune Project?

I’ve always enjoyed scuba diving, and I wanted to give kids a chance to experience the world under the waves. My generation had the undersea adventures of Jacques Cousteau to watch each week on television, but the main source of information today for kids about the sea seems to Shark Week. That collection of programs is enough to keep anyone from ever swimming the ocean again!

How did you go about researching The Neptune Project?

Okay, so now I have to admit I spent some time watching Shark Week. But I spent a great deal more time reading up on oceanography and visiting scuba diving sites. I also went snorkeling with wild spinner dolphins in Hawaii, which was incredible. Spinner dolphins are amazingly acrobatic and leap out of the water in high, spinning leaps. They also travel in large schools and constantly squeak and whistle to each other. Swimming along with 200 of them is an experience I’ll never forget.

If you could be the author of any already published work, which would it be and why?

I absolutely love Archangel by Sharon Shinn. I think that book has a clever premise, a wonderful love story and terrific world building.

Are you working on anything next? Any details you can share?

I’ve completed a second Neptune book that explains the origins of mysterious Dai and his friends. My British publisher, Puffin UK, has already bought that sequel, and I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that Disney Hyperion buys it as well.

About Polly Holyoke

Polly Holyoke grew up in Colorado, where she spent her childhood skiing, camping, reading, and dreaming up fantastical stories. Polly went on to graduate from Middlebury College and become a middle school social studies teacher. She lives in Plano, Texas with her husband and their two daughters, as well as two cats, two Chihuahuas, and a Beagle.

Visit Polly at her website or on Twitter.

Giveaway of The Neptune Project swag

Polly Holyoke sent me really adorable dolphin charms that double as both bookmarks and necklaces. And you could win one! All you have to do is leave a comment below – I’ll be giving out three, open internationally.

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Bout of Books 7.0

Posted by Tara on May 12, 2013 in Book, Bookish Event | 6 comments

It’s Bout of Books time again! I love doing Bout of Books – this is my fourth time doing it. I aced it the first time and failed miserably the second and third, hah. Hopefully fourth time is the charm :)

My book list is totally playing off of my Books Before BEA post. I’ve read some of the ones listed there and now it’s time to knock out the rest!

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Parallel by Lauren Miller
Transparent by Natalie Whipple
Loki’s Wolves by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
Linked by Imogen Howson
You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle
Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood
Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Goals

Read at least seven books out of the ten listed
Comment on at least fifteen blogs
Respond to all comments left on my blog
Write a review for every book read on the day I read it

Pretty simple, huh? I’m hoping for a book a day and maybe I can squeeze in a bit more! These books are a combination of debuts, ARCs, and e-galleys, so I’m pretty happy to knock some off of each list with these books :) I’ve also got a few manuscripts I need to read for my internship, so I’ll be cheating and including those in my total! It kind of counts, right?

Updates

I’ll be updating this post daily!

Monday

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Saturday

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Sunday

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In My Mailbox (119)

Posted by Tara on May 11, 2013 in Book, In My Mailbox | 17 comments

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren which allows bloggers to share what books they bought/received each week.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

For Review

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
Rush by Eve Silver, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
Shadow of the Mark by Leigh Fallon, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
This Strange and Familiar Place by Rachel Carter, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
Awaken by Meg Cabot, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Keep by Veronica Wolff, from publisher (Goodreads | Amazon)
Once We Were by Kat Zhang, from Edelweiss (Goodreads | Amazon)
How to Love by Katie Cotugno, from Edelweiss (Goodreads | Amazon)
Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson, from Edelweiss (Goodreads | Amazon)
The Cutting Room Floor by Dawn Klehr, from NetGalley (Goodreads | Amazon)

Bought

How My Summer Went up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski (Goodreads | Amazon | My Review)

Donated

A signed copy of PODs by Michelle Pickett and swag/a toteback for the debut author challenge. Thanks, Michelle!

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