A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery

I'm a terrible blogger. Gosh, how many times have we heard that before?

Seriously, though, last week was nutso and I wanted to have a second to just breathe, but that didn't really come, so the blog was kind of forgotten about. But I finally finished reading a book (hooray!) (well, one that I didn't absolutely hate), so I figured I would get down a quick review, just for the fun of it. So this one is A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery!

When high school senior Kelsey's identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car crash, Kelsey is left without her other half. The only person who doesn't know about the tragedy is Michelle's boyfriend, Peter, recently deployed to Afghanistan. But when Kelsey finally connects with Peter online, she can't bear to tell him the truth. Active duty has taken its toll, and Peter, thinking that Kelsey is Michelle, says that seeing her is the one thing keeping him alive. Caught up in the moment, Kelsey has no choice: She lets Peter believe that she is her sister.

As Kelsey keeps up the act, she crosses the line from pretend to real. Soon, Kelsey can't deny that she's falling, hard, for the one boy she shouldn't want.

Honestly, when I saw the description, I requested this from NetGalley mainly because I wanted to see how this was all going to work out. It said for "fans of Nicholas Sparks," and I haven't been a fan of his for a few years now (maybe since college), so I was a bit wary. I must have liked it, though, because I finished this book in a day and a half, and that was with work and stress bearing down on me.

Kelsey and Michelle are identical, so much so that most of their friends can barely tell them apart, and that includes Michelle's latest boyfriend, Peter. Sweet, adorable solider Peter that ships out the day that Michelle dies. At first, I thought it was a little weird that Kelsey began impersonating her twin sister. Really. Just tell the poor boy, I screamed at my Kindle. Then I really thought about it. I don't think I'd have the intestinal fortitude to tell my twin sister's boyfriend that she died, especially when he was in a place he doesn't want to be and in a precarious mental situation himself. So I understood Kelsey and her impetuous decision. I could also see why she kept it up, and why she fell in love with the boy.

What I didn't understand was how so many people knew the secret before Peter.

It seemed like everyone either found out by accident or could see through Kelsey's charade. None of them had met Michelle, mind you, but they just knew. Now, I'm the type of person that will not notice a new haircut for a few days or forget what classes some of my friends were taking (at that age), so I guess these people were just really surprising to me. How did they know, just by one little mistake, that Kelsey was impersonating another girl none of them knew? It was just so strange.

Overall, the story was sweet and suspenseful at some points, and I liked watching Kelsey fall in love with Peter, even though we all knew it was wrong. One character I could have done without was Gillian, Kelsey's best friend. She finds out early on what Kelsey's doing and instead of being there for her and trying to understand why Kelsey's doing this, she turns her back on her and starts acting like a five year old. It was frustrating and annoying, and I was kind of wondering what kind of friend she really was if she could be that mercurial. I don't know. Maybe I was so invested in Kelsey's happiness that I became irrationally angry at people who didn't understand? That sounds good.

Anyway! I'd totally recommend this book if you want a quick, sweet romance. It doesn't come out until July 7th, but, as my calendar just informed me, that's only a week and a half away, so yay! Run! Go get it!

Sorry, I just turned you all into my dog. 

I'm Back!

Oh my god, I've been a terrible blogger. A terrible, no good, very bad blogger. But, really, everything but myself is to blame.

Really.

I was going to post Monday, but I had forgotten what a pain the butt summer school hours could be. I came home absolutely exhausted, and promptly forgot that I ever had any plans other than washing my face and collapsing into bed. This whole week has been rather nuts, between graduation and the doggie finally out of his cone (I kind of already miss it), but now things should calm down. My schedule is (more or less) set, and now I can carve out a good time to write. I'm not promising that I'm going to write every day, because sometimes I'm pretty damn lazy, but it's a significant chunk of my time that's going to be devoted to writing. So that's something.

But that's my writer life! There's more to me than that! Right? I mean...we went to the movies last week (Mad Max, and I loved it and now I have to question everything that I thought I knew and loved). And then the comic book store (Bitch Planet #4 is waiting patiently for me). I've been reading the same two books for about a thousand days now. At least a thousand days.

I don't know what happens in the summer. I get all these hours that I love (I'm a late afternoon person) and then I do absolutely nothing with them. Okay, I may have made the mistake of buying Lego Jurassic World, but that's not my fault. Lego really shouldn't make any more games that look absolutely fun and that are based on one of my favorite movies (the first one. Really, did you think any of the others would be up there?). I just get home, see my animals, and then want to lounge on the couch for the rest of the sunlight hours. Believe me, I thought long and hard if I wanted to even sit down in my office and type this out. Not because I didn't want to update the whole half person that reads this, but because my arms deserve a break after lifting pens and pencils all day, right?

Look, I solemnly swear to be better. Really. I just had a week. A long, crazy, chaotic week. The first week of summer school is always like that, and with the added bonus of all those other events, writing and reading and cleaning were pushed to the side. But now I'm back and my resolve is now strengthened!

After a full night of reading and Lego Jurassic World, of course.

Veering Off the Path

Yes, it's Monday, and yes, I was going to do a review for All The Light We Cannot See, but then I realized that probably everyone in the world has already read it (if not, go get it. It's really, really good), and I didn't get a post up on Friday. I fully intended to, but then I fell into this writing jag and didn't come out again until it was time to be an adult and take a shower.

I figured that it would be okay if I didn't follow the norm, right? If I veered off the path and didn't do a book review today, and instead use this time for a little update on my writing? Don't worry, you won't mind. The first book that I had queued up for review was going to be a disaster, seeing as I didn't like it that much. It would have been fun to read, though, I'm sure!

I'm at about 11,000 words and 27 pages into it. I know the page number doesn't really mean anything, but I'm just giving you the visuals. I've followed my plan so far, deviating a little when I felt it was right. The main difference, though, of this one is that it doesn't feel like work. I'm not struggling for conversations between Amory and the other characters, or wondering what the heck is happening in this scene. To me, this one seems to flow better, probably because these are the characters that I've known for years. It's so strange when things come together like this, mainly because I'm not used to it, not in my writing, at least. I'm excited about the coming scenes and the characters I'm going to introduce. I'm excited for everyone to meet and for them all to go through the trials I'm setting up for them.

It's like I'm reading someone else's book. That's how excited I am.

Even though the next two weeks are going to be kind of a mess (between the dog AND YET ANOTHER SURGERY, and then my boyfriend' nephew's graduation extravaganza), I'm going to fit in writing whenever I can. I'm having fun with it, so I want to do it all the time. You think if I change my last name to Kennedy, they'll believe I'm some long lost cousin and give me some money so I can stay home forever?

Wishful thinking.

Wings in the Dark by Michael Murphy

Hello world! I'm back for today, and this might be a short one because I have some writing to do. But that doesn't mean it's going to be one any less loved.

First, a confession: I used to read James Patterson. A lot. My boyfriend was super into the Alex Cross series and I started reading them out of love, but then I started branching out to Patterson's other junk. Then it happened. That dreaded moment: I fell out of love. Things were stale. The characters were exactly the same as all the other books. It was sad, because I love mysteries and thrillers, and I wanted to find something that gave me that same sense of excitement that Patterson used to give me.

Come on in, Jake and Laura.

Witty and stylish in the classic Dashiell Hammett tradition, Michael Murphy’s latest high-flying Jake & Laura mystery features a Hawaiian honeymoon that’s interrupted when their friend Amelia Earhart is accused of murder.

Hawaii, 1935. Mystery novelist Jake Donovan and actress Laura Wilson are in gorgeous sun-soaked Hawaii, but their best-laid plans for canoodling on the beach are interrupted by a summons from famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart. It seems a local businessman has been gunned down next to her plane. In just days, the famous pilot intends to fly from Honolulu to Los Angeles, making aviation history over the Pacific. But now, without Jake and Laura’s help, Earhart’s flight might never take off. 

Trailing a killer, the newlyweds’ sleuthing leads to a jealous pilot, a cigar-chomping female officer of the “Royalist Militia,” and a notoriously disagreeable lieutenant colonel named Patton. With a sinister killer lurking in the shadows, it’s safe to say the honeymoon is over . . . and the danger has just begun.

I just...I love these books so much.

Jake and Laura are in Hawaii, celebrating their honeymoon, thinking that they can get away from the glitz and glamour of their new lives. When Amelia Earhart calls them, however, they're dragged into a world of murder, seduction, and worldwide problems. Jake has to find the killer of one of Hawaii's top businessmen, all while making sure Amelia's historic flight goes off unhitched. Laura just wants to have a perfect honeymoon with her new husband, taking in the sight, lounging in their cabana, and staying away from prying eyes. Billy, a confused secretary, is thrown in the mix and has to remain calm when he finds out his secret lover may have a few more secrets than he wishes.

At the end of the last book, Amelia Earhart makes a little appearance, and I couldn't wait until this one came out. I was lucky enough to snag this on NetGalley, and I'm so glad I did. This is quickly becoming my favorite mystery series, and for good reasons, too. Jake and Laura are fabulous, because they compliment each other well and always understand the other. Laura is shrewd and one of the world's most highly anticipated up and coming actresses, and she uses everything she has to help her husband solve this mystery. Jake reminds me of Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca: cool, confident, and always keeping his real emotions hidden under the surface. 

The only bad part is now I have to wait for the next one.

This is the third in the series. The other two - The Yankee Club and All That Glitters - are out already, so pick those up! This one doesn't come out until July 14, so I'm trying to give you something that will tide you over until then. These books are awesome, and if you love yourself some historical fiction, go to his website and check him out!

Website: http://mjmurphy.com/

All right, that's all for me today. I'll see you guys Friday. I'll try to update that day, but, if I forget, I'll see you next week!