I HEART YA 2014: Top Ten Hawt Male Leads & Sneak Peek: Shattered Soul by Jennifer Snyder

Shattered Soul

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Synopsis: Hellish Nightmare . . . 

If seventeen-year-old Seth Bradson were to describe his life in two words, those would be the two he’d choose. Seth prefers to cope with his crappy existence by spending his days in a drug-induced haze. But when Ali Carson steps into his life, Seth finds something he’s subconsciously been seeking—a new drug, one that consumes his mind unlike any other.

Love.

In a moment of unforgivable weakness, Seth allows Ali to try crystal meth, his most addictive temptation. This single event begins the unraveling of both their lives and forces Seth to learn the definition of regret the hard way.

(Mature Young Adult - contains explicit drug usage, language, violence, and sexual situations.)

TOP TEN HAWT BOOK MALE LEADS

Author Jennifer Snyder opens up about her favorite male leads from some of her favorite books.

1) Kaidan Rowe (Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins) – He’s the son of Lust…need I say more? There were so many swoon-worthy moments in this book it took my breath away! Not to mention this book was one AMAZING read!

2) Dean Holder (Hopeless by Colleen Hoover) – He was intense. With a little bad boy, a tattoo, and lickable dimples he was everything I love combined together. Yes, he did have a bit of a temper at times, but he stole my heart nonetheless.

3) Doug (Forget You by Jennifer Echols) – He was so misunderstood! He was just the right amount of nice guy and bad boy for me.

4) Beau Vincent (The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines) - Another bad boy, but this one has a southern accent and is a bit of a hell raiser!

5) Tristan Archer (The Archers of Avalon by Chelsea Fine) – Even though he’s a twin, there is just something to be said about a bad boy. I can’t get enough of them. He was dark and brooding like no other. I loved how unique the plot of this series was as well.

6) Gabriel Archer (The Archers of Avalon by Chelsea Fine) - What? They’re twins, I’m allowed to like both…I just happened to like Tristan a little more. ;) Gabriel was a sweetheart though!

7) Joe Fontaine (The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson) – Just his name is dreamy, right? He’s musically inclined, humorous, romantic, and all around swoon-worthy! There was nothing I didn’t like about the guy! And the book…such a good book!

8) Lucas (Evernight by Claudia Gray) – He had a mysterious vibe about him that I really enjoyed reading. He’s sort of badass too. I’m a complete sucker for the star-crossed lovers bit, so I really enjoyed this series.

9) Sutter Keely (The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp) – He was real. Yeah he was a teen alcoholic, but he was real. There was so much rawness and realism to the entire story that I feel in love with him for some reason. Maybe it was because I felt sorry for him, I don’t know.

10) Ian (The Host by Stephanie Meyers) – Yeah, I know, most talk about Edward or Jacob…they were all right, but Twilight wasn’t my favorite Meyers book, The Host was. I cried reading it. Ian was always a character who stood out to me in the book. I really liked him and was so thankful he got “Wanda” in the end!

SNEAK PEEK FROM SHATTERED SOUL

I remember the first moment I laid eyes on her. First period, Algebra II with Mrs. Gilbert. I’d been sitting in class, doodling on a crumbled piece of notebook paper with a borrowed pen, biding my time until I could reach the water fountain in the hall. The date was April nineteenth, and I’d wake-n-baked that morning, testing out the potency of my new bag before celebrating on four-twenty, the unofficial holiday of every stoner.

The classroom door had opened and I hadn’t bothered to look up to see why. I’d been too consumed in making the swirls of smoke rising from the burning joint I had been drawing look realistic to care.

“Oh, yes, I almost forgot.” Mrs. Gilbert had fretted. “Class, we have a new student. This is Ali Carson; she comes to us from Charleston, South Carolina. Please make her feel welcome.”

I picked that moment to glance up from my all-important smoke swirls to check this new girl out and was dumbfounded.

She was the closest thing to an angel I had ever seen. I remember blinking a few times to see if she’d disappear, and actually questioning myself on whether or not my new bag had been laced with something which was just starting to take effect. But, she hadn’t disappeared, and my bag hadn’t been laced with anything.

She was real.

I stared at her for what seemed like an incredibly long time, allowing my eyes to slowly drink her in.

“Hi,” she uttered with an awkward wave to no one in particular.

Mrs. Gilbert had motioned for her to sit at the only available desk, which was in the second row from the window, two seats from the last desk, and kitty corner from mine. I watched her as she walked, unable to remove my eyes from her angelic face. Right before she had sat down, her eyes had flickered to mine as if she could feel them on her, and she’d smiled faintly.

I had smiled in return, but a second too late, she’d already sat and given her full attention to Mrs. Gilbert at the front of the room.

Now, two and a half weeks later, Ali Carson still consumes my mind like a thick cloud of smoke consumes the fresh air in a clam-baked car. I struggle daily to find the courage to talk to her, to do anything besides stare.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing New Adult and Young Adult Fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.

Where to Stalk Jennifer Snyder!

Website/Goodreads/Amazon/Twitter/Facebook

Make sure to stop by the I HEART YA 2014 Giveaways page to win a copy of ANY YA contemporary romance book by Jennifer Snyder!

Blog Tour: Book Review: Catalyst by Jennifer Snyder

4/5 Nerd Glasses

Catalyst

Author: Jennifer Snyder

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Synopsis: Sometimes who we really are lies buried just beneath the surface…

After learning she’s inherited a house in the beachside town of Soul Harbor, Georgia, Addison Harmon and her best friend decided to take a much needed vacation before the pressures of life after high school suffocate them too heavily.

But what Addison finds isn’t a chance to recoup from a bad break up and hang out with her best friend while she decides what she wants to do with her future. What she finds is Kace Sullivan—a sexy guy she can’t seem to get enough of—someone who with one touch reveals a seductive world full of magick and secrets Addison isn’t sure she’s ready to be a part of.

Brought to you by TeamNerd Reviewer: Bridget Strahin 

Review: Addison Harmon along with her best friend Vera head to Soul Harbor to stay at Addison's recently inherited house. It's supposed to be two weeks of fun in the sun but here's there thing, the house was passed down to her by her bio-family. A family she's never known and what comes along with a big creepy house? All kinds of crazy only-happens-in-your-dreams kind of secrets. But it's how you handle those secrets that will make or break you.

Addison was a fairly decent lead character. She's just graduated high school, has no idea what she wants for her future and is just looking for a way to escape and catch her breath after a bad break up and finding out that a family she's never known has left her a rather large house. I really clicked with Addison in the beginning of the book. She comes off as smart, competent, and self-sufficient. She knows that she is running out of money so what does she do? She gets a job. Unfortunately though, said job is in a place with a man who knows more about what and who she is then she does. Then there's a family who gives her bad vibes and dirty looks and instead of charging up to them and calling them out (like many stupid stupid lead females do) she instead stays away from them. Why poke at a bee hive for no good reason, right? It's these qualities that made me fall in like with her. But then she meets Kace.

Kace Sullivan, all American, perfect tan and gorgeous hair, walks up to her and it all just kinda goes to hell in a hand basket. Now don't kill me, because I know there are a lot of TEAM KACE fans out there but I just couldn't connect with him. They meet, he invites her to a party, they team up and carry a drunken Vera home and they make out in her kitchen. Cool, I can dig that. But then it just seemed like after that their whole insta-relationship revolved around nothing but sex. It all happened too quick, barely 48 hours into it and he was already constantly touching her, calling her sexy. It all felt weird. Even when she was trying to get real information out of him about what she was, he just couldn’t stop with the innuendos and come-ons. It was like he wasn't taking the severity of their situation seriously and that he was only thrown in the mix for the sake of the stereo typed version of NA and that really bothered me. While I was reading a scene with him in it, I thought, wow, wouldn't it be hilar if we find out that he's actually married with three kids and is only using Addison for her powers? Plot twist! That’s probably not the case of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be the bad guy. Just saying.

There are so many things I liked about this book, the setting being a big one of them. Syder was able to paint the perfect picture of a small beach town in the heat of Georgia flawlessly. The way she described Addison's house, the restaurants and book store had me wishing they were real so I could take a vacation to explore them myself. Another thing was the few supporting characters. Snyder didn’t introduce a slew of characters that could easily confuse the reader with who is who. Instead she kept the cast list short and sweet, my favorite being Vera. Hands down, I loved her!

There isn't really a climax to this story. It just kinda ends, leaving Addison in a crap situation that opens the next installment. Which is okay with me, to a point. I know there are more than a million ways to tell a story and Snyder's ability to write and tell a story should never be questioned because lady has talent, but it was all the openness in the end that bugged me. She never actually explores the situation with her bio-mom, we don't find out why she was given up for adoption, we don’t find out about the past generations and why there was a big enough rift to cause Addison's mom to take off in the first place. By the cover, you assume that Addison is going to come into her powers and start throwing fire balls or maybe even start a camp fire or something, but we get nothing of the sort. Yadda yadda, I won't give anymore away but I hope you get the point.

Overall, Catalyst is a pretty good read. With a strong cast of leading and supporting characters, a story line that could use some help, but still enjoyable and enough suspense that will have you jumping right into book two, this book is definitely worth a shot.

Author Bio: Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing New Adult and Young Adult Fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.

Where you can stalk Jennifer!

Goodreads/ Twitter/ Facebook/ Blog

I HEART YA: Featured Author Spotlight: Jennifer Snyder

About the Author: Jennifer

Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is an instant coffee lover with an obsession for spiral bound notebooks and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows. 

Where You Can Stalk Jennifer!

Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Goodreads

I HEART YA: Book Spotlight + Sneak Peek: The Marked Duology Series by Jennifer Snyder

Marked (The Marked Duology Series, #1)

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Synopsis: A mysterious stranger she can’t stay away from.  A birthmark with a hidden meaning and one bite that changes seventeen-year-old Tessa Morganton’s destiny forever…

Life for Tessa had been steady and calm—with the exception of her overly jealous boyfriend—until the moment Jace Fowler walked into her life.

Jace—incredibly charming with boy band good looks—is someone whom Tessa can’t seem to stay away from… no matter how much she knows she should.

After surviving a strange animal attack, Tessa learns just how mysterious and secretive Jace really is and that his secrets not only involve himself…but her as well, making Tessa question everything she’s ever believed regarding her life and those around her.

Sneak Peek Into Marked

I stood on Jace’s front porch trying to slow the erratic beating of my heart before knocking on his door. Finally deciding it was impossible to do, I stepped forward and rapped my knuckles against the door. I rolled on my ankles as the seconds dragged by and large butterflies broke into flight in the pit of my stomach. He never answered.

I knocked a second time and waited. This time quick footsteps from inside caught my attention.

“Coming,” Jace shouted. He answered the door and shock rippled through me at the sight of him. He was shirtless. “Hey, you been waiting out here a while? I was in the shower.”

“No, not really,” I said, unable to remove my eyes from his bare, and incredibly solid looking, chest with its well defined muscles.

“You’re a little early.”

“Am I?” I asked, struggling hard to tear my eyes away from his six-pack.

“Nah, just messin’ with you. I’m running a little behind—got caught up in tearing off the back porch and rebuilding it,” he said with a low chuckle. “Come on in and let me go grab a shirt. You’re staring at me like you’re either about to faint or eat me... and I don’t particularly care to witness either.”

My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I shifted my eyes from his exposed skin for the first time. “Whatever.” I scoffed.

Jace smiled and shook his head before turning to retrieve a shirt. I bit my bottom lip and allowed myself to indulge in watching him saunter away. It was then I became struck by the sheer beauty of a large, full moon tattoo, which stretched across his entire back.

“Wow, I didn’t know you had a tattoo,” I said, pleasantly surprised.

Jace paused mid-step. “Uh, yeah.”

“It’s beautiful...,” I whispered, walking to where he stood, mesmerized.

I gazed at the intricate design displayed across solid muscle with fascination. I’d never seen anything like it before—slight shadows in places formed the illusion of tiny craters, creating a realistic, 3-D effect, and bluish-black clouds hung in the night sky surrounding and touching it in two places. It was absolutely breathtaking.

“Thank you,” Jace said, glancing over his shoulder to look at me.

“Did it hurt?” I wondered, reaching out to trace a finger across the raised, colored skin. Goosebumps prickled across his skin as my fingertips wandered the length of the tattoo.

“I have a high tolerance for pain.” A lopsided grin formed on his face, obviously due to my amazed expression.

I dropped my hand and straightened my back.

“Done?” He smirked.

“Yeah,” I said, holding his stare.

Changed (The Marked Duology Series #2)

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Synopsis: Would you fight to the death to prove you are worthy to stand beside the one you loved?

Eighteen-year-old Tessa Morganton’s life has flipped upside down. After learning Jace’s secret and discovering the man she’d thought all her life was her father isn’t, she must also cope with the reality of what she’s now become—a werewolf.

Tessa tries to maintain her normal life while her body changes more and more each night as the full moon grows closer, but when Shelby comes back to pay her a visit, Tessa soon realizes turning into a wolf may not be the only dilemma she will have to overcome.

As the Wolf Moon draws near, Tessa uncovers some things about Jace and Shelby’s relationship and exactly what Pack Law entails in the untraditional situation Jace has created for them all.

Sneak Peak Into Changed

Jace returned my hesitant smile with the crooked grin of his own. Raising his shirt above his head, he slipped it off, revealing his bare chest. I watched in silent shock as he folded the shirt perfectly before placing it on a pile of nearby leaves. His fingers then reached for the button of his jeans and unclasped them, the sound of his zipper coming undone echoed loudly in my ears.

“Whoa! What are you doing?” I asked, feeling pleasantly surprised at the sight of him undressing in front of me, but entirely confused and embarrassed by it.

Jace raised an eyebrow in mild amusement as the corners of his mouth twisted into a slight smirk. “Preparing for the change,” he answered smoothly, his tone insinuating this was something I should know.

“Oh, right,” I fumbled, my eyes darting toward the ground.

“You should, too. You don’t want to rip those clothes. It can get a little expensive if you don’t take the time to undress first. Not to mention, early in the morning when you head back home, it’s not quite as strange for your neighbors to see you emerging from the woods fully clothed instead of naked,” Jace said, his irresistible little smirk still lingering on his face.

I swallowed hard. “So you want me to undress… here… in front of you?”

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. I hadn’t given much thought to undressing in front of Jace yet, not even while preparing for the change. I lifted my eyes, meaning to meet his stare, but I didn’t make it past his solid abs.

“You’re making me nervous staring at me like that,” Jace muttered.

My eyes darted away from him and I shifted on my feet.

“Would it make you feel more comfortable if I turned around?” he asked.

I picked at my fingernail polish, hesitating before finally answering, “No. I’m going to have to get used to this part anyway, right?” I dropped my gaze to my toes and began to peel off my pink long-John shirt.

“Yeah,” he answered a little breathy.

I could feel his eyes on me while I slipped out of my gray sweatpants and folded them neatly before placing them on top of my shirt lying on the ground.

“Now you’re staring,” I muttered, a nervous smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I watched his eyes drift up my body.

“Sorry, I can’t help myself.” With blushing cheeks he cleared his throat and shifted his eyes away from me and out into the surrounding woods.

Blog Tour: Book Spotlight + Giveaway: Exhale by Jennifer Snyder

Exhale

Author: Jennifer Snyder

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Synopsis: Inhaling in life is easy. It’s the exhaling—the letting go— that’s the hard part.

Katie Elliot has always known the Conner twins. For years she secretly pined after one, while playfully averting the advances of the other. Once upon a time, she was fine with that. Then came the moment when her twin of preference kissed her and changed everything. 

As if realizing love can be complex—even when it’s reciprocated— isn't hard enough, tragedy strikes, tearing Katie and the boy she’s always desired apart. Finding herself torn between love and guilt, Katie must learn when it’s acceptable to let go—when it’s finally okay to exhale.

About the Author: Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is an instant coffee lover with an obsession for spiral bound notebooks and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows. 

Where to Find the Author

Website

Goodreads

Twitter
Facebook
Amazon

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