Title: Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1)
Author: Kasie West
Published: February, 2013 by HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Final Thoughts:
I have wanted to read this one for a while now. I’m a fan of time travel and stories with alternate timelines so I thought this would be just the thing for me. While it may not have lived up to the self-imposed hype I’d given it, Pivot Point was still enjoyable in its own contemporary romance kind of way. It has a mystery and a bit of suspense, but for the most part, it plays out very much like a lot of other YA romances. I guess the real point of difference comes from the fact that there were two stories running parallel to each other that we switched back and forth between every second chapter.

Title: The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West
Published: July, 2013 by Harper Teen
Pages: 312
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she’s beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Final Thoughts:
Effortless. I soared through the pages of this. Caymen was just such loveably sarcastic narrator that I wanted to read more, more and more. I love dry wit—nothing makes me laugh more. And laugh I did. I cracked up reading this book. Sure, it’s a romance, but if you’re a sarcastic person, you’ll find it hilarious at the same time. It’s kind of fluffy, with rich boy meets poor girl, different worlds—the stuff you could make a montage out of—but it’s the slow build of their romance, all of the interactions, that make it worth it.

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Titles link back to Goodreads
• Geek Girl by Holly Smale (library)
• Shattered by Teri Terry (purchased)
• Tape by Steven Camden (purchased)
• Until I Die by Amy Plum (purchased)
• The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su & Kate Rorick (thanks to Publisher)
• The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (library)
• The Distance Between Us by Kasie West (library)
• The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham (library)
• Soulmates by Holly Bourne (library)

I went to the library Thursday night looking to pick up the copy of The Darkest Minds that my friend, Brittany, had told me to read, but ended up walking out of there with an armful. Hopefully, I actually get time to read them before they’re all due back. That’s always my problem, I see everything I want and snatch them up, then they just sit in a stack beside my desk for the month while I go on reading other books that I’ve ordered online.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy of the Lizzie Bennet book. It wasn’t what I was expecting in the mail this week, but it was a nice suprise. I’m going to give it to Joey to do a guest review for me though. He’s actually read Pride and Prejudice so he’ll probably enjoy a lot more than I would.

Lastly, as of about an hour ago, I bought these last three books: Shattered, Tape and If I Die. I even walked a 5km round trip up and down hills to get them. There were big red banners posted in the windows of my local Mary Ryan’s bookstore/cafe announcing a 50% off pre-refurbishment sale that I’d noticed earlier and had me intrigued to check out the normally to-expensive-for-me store. There was more there I could have gotten, I even had them stacked in the crook of my elbow, but I convinced myself to do the right thing and leave them there (as much as it didn’t feel like it). I rewarded myself afterwards with a trip to the anime and manga store (and just browsed!)

Here’s what Joey and I have been reading this week:
Johnson, Mo Boofheads – Aussie YA coming of age story that Joey found.
Perkins, Stephanie Lola and the Boy Next Door – AWESOME! Bring on Isla.
Rowell, Rainbow Attachments – Fun, heartwarming, loved it.

So, what books have you gotten lately? Which books would you recommend I read first? Let me know in the comments.

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Titles link back to Goodreads
• Pivot Point by Kasie West (purchased)
• Split Second by Kasie West (purchased)
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (purchased)
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (purchased)
• Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (purchased)

My Book Depository order arrived (in five separate packages) this week. I’ve already dived in and finished Anna and the French Kiss in the past couple days. My review will be up Monday! As for the rest, I can’t decide on which to start next. I’ve got a few others I’ve been meaning to start, but Anna arrived and they got pushed back. I am looking forward to starting Pivot Point though, but I’m thinking staying on top of the library books I’ve got out is more pressing.

It’s my mum’s birthday this weekend, so I’m probably not going to get much reading done though. She’s coming to visit and hit the markets with me, so I’m busy doing some baking, baking…and more baking. A cream-cheese iced carrot cake is first on the agenda. It’s kind of a birthday tradition in my family. Anyway, I’d better get back to the kitchen!

Here are some of my latest posts if you want to check them out:
Carter, Ally Heist Society #2, Uncommon Criminals – Joey discovered his first case of Second-Book Syndrome.
Healey, Karen Guardian Of The Dead – I struggled a bit with this.

So, what books have you gotten lately? Which books would you recommend I read first? Let me know in the comments.