♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: April & Oliver by Tess Callahan

April & Oliver
Tess Callahan

Release Date: June 3rd, 2009

Publisher: Hachette Book Group (Grand Central Publishing)

Page Count: 326

Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher, via My Chaotic Ramblings, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

A devastating tragedy serves to reunite two friends from childhood in this emotionally riveting and sexually charged first novel... 

Since childhood, April and Oliver have been soul mates who shared a palpable attraction. Now, after years of being separated, their wildly different paths collide with the sudden death of April's brother. The sensual tension builds as Oliver, the responsible, newly engaged law student, finds himself drawn more than ever to the reckless, mystifying April. But even as Oliver attempts to "save" his childhood friend from her grief, her menacing boyfriend, and herself, it soon becomes apparent that Oliver has some secrets—secrets he hasn't revealed to anyone.

Yet April knows. Is it really her life that's unraveling, or is it his own? The answer awaits at the end of a downward spiral... toward a surprising revelation.

What Stephanie Thinks: This is my second review for Melissa at My Chaotic Ramblings (nearly a year after my first -.-;;), for April & Oliver, a book I really really really REALFJIOUGSLDFY loved. People who don't like complex, convoluted storylines, beware; this is not your type of read. Topics broached include self-harm, domestic abuse, rape, statutory rape, adultery, premature death, suicide, depression, and pretty much all the fucked up things in life. It's tragic and cruel and sexual, but not at all able to be categorized as erotica (or even romance for that matter). Its genre should just be contemporary depressing fiction. But it's stunning—depressing in a remarkable, hopeful way. Check out why I give it 9 hearts: http://mychaoticramblings.info/2012/07/review-april-oliver-by-tess-callahan.html.

Stephanie Loves: Oh lordy. Callahan is such a powerful writer, I couldn't just choose one quote, couldn't even narrow down to two! So enjoy these four: "From time to time, she feels Oliver look her way, his glance grazing her skin like a swatch of sun between clouds, a warmth so brief she shivers." — gorgeous, no? "What Oliver fails to understand is the range of possibilities; that people can destroy themselves and one another and the whole planet with nothing stepping in to stop them; that [April] can destroy him without even trying. It wouldn't take much, she thinks, to let her thigh relax against his, blood rising to the surface of the skin, until they began to consider the harmlessness of a moment longer. And another." — so real, so lifelike, "'This is what I think. Addiction is just a way of trying to get at something else. Something bigger. Call it transcendence if you want, but it's a fucked-up way, like a rat in a maze. We all want the same thing. We all have this hole. The thing you want offers relief, but it's a trap.'" last but not least, "'Did [the kiss] feel like a rewiring of your body, every cell switched places?' ... 'It's like this,' Nana says. 'All your life you're yellow. Then one day you brush up against something blue, the barest touch, and voilà, the rest of your life you're green. — one of the best analogies ever!!

Radical Rating: 9 hearts: Loved it! This book has a spot on my favorites shelf. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano

The Girl She Used to Be
David Cristofano

Release Date: March 19th, 2009

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Hachette)

Page Count: 241

Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher, via My Chaotic Ramblings, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)

When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed a brutal act of violence—and then were lured into the Witness Protection Program. And so Melody lost her identity, her home, her family, and ultimately her innocence. She's been May Adams, Karen Smith, and countless others. But the one person she has always longed to be is Melody Grace McCartney.

Now, twenty years later and still on the run, she's stunned when a man calls her by her real name. Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso sent to find her, knows her, the real her. It's a thrill Melody can't resist, and she goes with him willingly, defying the feds. To the Justice Department, she's just a pawn in their war against the Bovaro family. But as dangerous as Jonathan is, he gives Melody the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to embrace her past and present, and choose a future of her own.

What Stephanie Thinks: This is my first review for My Chaotic Ramblings, a fabulous blog I am grateful to be a part of, alongside the lovely Melissa! Click here to read my review. You know you want to! I mean 10 hearts? How often does that happen? Go read my review and let me know your thoughts. Needless to say, The Girl She Used to Be is a book to be cherished and forever remembered.

Stephanie Loves: "'Why? What's wrong with Carla? I'm sure she's buff.'
He looks at me and smiles. 'She is, but... she wants to be with me for the wrong reasons—because of my family's influence and money. It's like being a rock star, sort of.' He turns back to the road. 'With a greater certainty of being murdered or doing time in prison.'"

Radical Rating: 10 hearts: I'm speechless; this book is an extraordinarily amazingly wonderfully fantastically marvelous masterpiece. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥