Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): Not Quite Dead by Lyla Payne

Hey there! I'm so excited to share this book with you guys. Check out my review below!

Full tour schedule here.

Not Quite Dead

by Lyla Payne

My Rating: ★★★★★

Genres: NA, Mystery, Paranormal

Published April 1st 2014 by Createspace

Format Read: Ebook, CLP BT

Purchase: Amazon, B&N, Kobo

Description from Goodreads

A broken engagement sends Graciela Harper crawling back to Heron Creek with her tail between her legs, but finds the sleepy little town too changed to set her life right. Not even her budding drinking problem can obscure her Gramps’s failing health, or erase the mental picture of her first love happily married to her childhood best friend. To top it all off, she’s having a heck of time convincing the town’s dashing young mayor of her unfit-for-dating status.

When the ghost of 18th century lady pirate Anne Bonny starts insisting on a near daily audience, Graciela has to confront something else she never expected—being certifiably nuts at twenty-five years old.

Her brand new "I don't give a crap" attitude makes it easy to dismiss the mysterious threats that seem to be tied to her search for more information on the long dead pirate, but when her family becomes a target, Gracie knows she needs to find out why the ghost insists on being a constant, reeking companion. 

If Graciela can put aside her prejudice against people without a pulse, she may discover that Anne Bonny’s problems are intricately linked with her own. The past harbors answers could help the cantankerous spirit find closure, but she is, after all, already dead. If Graciela doesn’t move fast, she might find herself doing the haunting, instead of the other way around.

My Review:

I'm not a big fan of ghosts stories, and have to admit that the only reason why I signed up to this blog tour is because the blurb of this book kinda reminded me of The Master's Sun (a Korean drama that I really loved). And although there aren't much similarities between this book and TMS, I didn't regret joining this tour because this book is AMAZING!

Not Quite Dead follows Gracie, a 25-year-old, who moves back to Heron Creek, her childhood hometown, after she breaks off her engagement. She's a total mess. She doesn't know what to do with her life, and taking care of her grandfather sounds like a good excuse to hide from the world and her failures. But in Heron Creek things aren't as easy as she thinks; there are bittersweet memories, old wounds and broken friendships to deal with. And to add to all the confusion her life has become, she starts seeing a ghost who doesn't want to leave her alone.

This book focused a lot on the characters. The relationships between them were so interesting which is why I enjoyed this book a lot. I loved Gracie as the narrator; even though she was lost and confused, I liked that she didn't wallow in self-pity. I loved her relationship with Gramps! It was so sweet and made me shed a few tears. It was also great to see Gracie healing from her wounds of the past, and how she managed to begin a better relationship with her former best friends. There is also a slow-building romance going on which I immensely enjoyed reading.

The mystery aspect of this book was amazing. I was completely engrossed in this book and could barely put it down. Seriously, I devoured this whole thing in just two days because it was so good! I liked how everything unravels, and I loved that it kept me guessing what will happen next. As for the paranormal stuff, I have to admit that I was a bit scared, but as I kept reading, the whole "ghost thing" didn't frighten me as much as it did at first.

To sum up, Not Quite Dead has a gripping story with fantastic characters. The romance is magical, and the ending just made me laugh. There are a lot of intriguing things going on in this book and they are beautifully bound together. And it also has a pirate ghost which is awesome!

If you like paranormal then I highly recommend Not Quite Dead to you, but even if you don't like paranormal I think you'll enjoy this book.

I received this book from CLP Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review. 

About the Autor

Lyla Payne has been publishing New Adult romance novels for a little over a year, starting with Broken at Love and continuing with the rest of the Whitman University series. She loves telling stories, discovering the little reasons people fall in love, and uncovering hidden truths in the world around us - past and present. In her spare time she cuddles her two dogs, pretends to enjoy exercising so that she can eat as much Chipotle as she wants, and harbors a deep and abiding hope that Zac Efron likes older women. She loves reading, of course, along with movies, traveling, and Irish whiskey. Lyla's hard at work, ALWAYS, and hopes to bring you more Whitman University antics and at least one more Lowcountry ghost tale before the end of the year.

Lyla Payne is represented by Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

If you want to know more, please visit her at http://lylapayne.com

If you're a fan of Young Adult fiction--science fiction or otherwise--please check out her work that's published under the name Trisha Leigh. http://trishaleigh.com 

Website - Twitter - Goodreads - Facebook

INT GIVEAWAY!

**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases a copy of Not Quite Dead by August 18 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus.com will receive 10 bonus entries!**

Review: Inked Armor by Helena Hunting

Title: Inked Armor
Author: Helena Hunting
Series: Clipped Wings book 2
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Published March 4th 2014
Genres: NA, Contemporary
Format Read: eARC, NetGalley

Description from Goodreads

In this follow-up to Clipped Wings, the emotional love story continues between Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

In the wake of losing Tenley Page, tattooist Hayden Stryker's tumultuous past is haunting him. Plagued by nightmares about the murder of his parents, Hayden reaches out again to Tenley. Having run from the man she doesn't believe she deserves, Tenley finally lays her guilt to rest. Despite their intense physical attraction, Hayden and Tenley struggle to repair their fragile emotional connection. As Hayden gets closer to the truth, he must find a way to reconcile his guilt over his parents' death in order to keep the woman who finally cracked his armor, and found her way into his heart.

My Review

The ending of Clipped Wings was heartbreaking, so I had to pick up Inked Armor almost immediately, to know what happened next. I felt so bad for Hayden, Tenley left him without any explaination, and didn't even say goodbye! Needless to say that he didn't take it well.

The book started with Tenley still in Arden Hills, taking care of Connor's estate while Hayden was falling apart, thinking that she would never come back to Chicago. I was really impatient for Tenley to figure things out, so that she could go back to Hayden, and I think that if she'd known that he was ruining himself, she wouldn't have stayed away for so long. When Tenley finally decided to return to Chicago, things didn't go as she expected. There was no happy reunion and everything started badly, and I feared that it would take Hayden and Tenley forever to work out their already-fragile relationship. 

In Inked Armor both characters were more confused than ever. Hayden was on the edge most of the time, and just snapped at everyone. Tenley was still dealing with her past, and occasionally had mood swings. But thankfully, even with all the complications in their life, the two characters were more open with each other, and really tried to work things out.

Unlike Clipped Wings, Inked Armor didn't focus much on the tattoos. There was a mystery aspect in the story, though, which I really liked; it kept me intrigued and eager to continue reading. After I finished Clipped Wings, I felt that some things were left hanging, for instance, there were unresolved issues between Cross and Hayden. So, I expected to see more of Cross in Inked Armor, and I also suspected him to play the part of the villain who would, somehow, separate Hayden and Tenley from each other. But surprisingly, it didn't turned out as I expected, things were more complicated than I thought, and I'm glad that the story wasn't that predictable.

Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed this book more than Clipped Wings. Tenley and Hayden were more open to each other, and I liked how their characters grew as they finally learned to cope with their past. 

I don't know if this is the last book in the series, I think that there's a possibility for the story to go on. And if there will be a third book I will defintely read it!

Review: Clipped Wings by Helena Hunting

Title: Clipped Wings
Author: Helena Hunting
Series: Clipped Wings book 1
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
Published March 4th 2014
Genres: NA, Contemporary
Format Read: eARC, NetGalley

Description from Goodreads

An emotional love story that follows the touch-and-go relationship of Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

As Hayden and Tenley navigate their newfound but slightly unstable relationship, they want to trust each other, but Hayden is hiding a dark and shameful past that he doesn't ever want Tenley to find out about. And Tenley has secrets of her own that could make Hayden run away forever. When Tenley asks Hayden to put a beautifully elaborate tattoo across her back, the two form what they thought was an unshakeable bond. But when Tenley's past shows up on her doorstep, will Hayden stand by her side...or run?

My Review

I've read so many good things about this book especially from Ella (The Filipina Booknote), so I decided to give it a shot even though I'm not a big fan of the NA genre. The premise of the book didn't truly intrigue me, and if it hadn't been for Ella's lovely review, I wouldn't have read Clipped Wings. So, definitely go check out her review!

This book is about two broken souls, Hayden and Tenley. They both want to be with each other, but it's really hard for them to open up and start a new relationship because they're hunted by their dreadful past.

Both characters are full of complexity. Hayden is a tattoo artist who may look intimidating because of all his tattoos, but when you get to know him better, you learn that he isn't a bad person. I like how this book focuses a lot on the tattoos. I've always thought that tattoos were just a type of art that you put on your skin, and I've never really gave much importance to why people put them on their body which was really silly of me. So, I really like how, for Hayden, the tattoos are more than body art, and that they have a significant meaning to him. He had a really dark past, which was unfolded as the story went on, and I liked that he could still be cute even with everything he'd been through. On the other hand, Tenley has just experienced a tragedy, and she blames no one but herself for what happened to her. So, she lived alone, pushing everyone away.  But when she met Hayden she was instantly attracted to him, and she realized that she craved to be near someone, and that she was done with being by herself.

People say that opposites attract each other, well, that's not quite the case with Hayden and Tenley. They have a lot of things in common, they are both filled with pain and guilt, and I think that's why they are drawn to each other. Well, aside from the physical attraction. Initially the two were awkward towards each other, but after a month or so of stolen glances, self awareness and burning curiosity, they finally gave in. 

Although I think Clipped Wings tells a really great and engaging story, I had some minor issues with it. The first is that I couldn't relate to the two main characters because I  haven't gone through anything so horrible in my life. I have never felt the deep feelings of loss and guilt that Hayden and Tenley experienced, and I can only be grateful for my bright and happy childhood. The other thing, is that I was a bit annoyed by Tenley. I didn't like the choices she made, and if I were her I would have done things differently. I get that it's hard for her to share her past, but I seriously wanted her to trust Hayen. 

Overall, I really liked Clipped Wings. The phasing was perfect, and I easily got involved with the characters. There are a few sex scenes which I skipped because I don't feel comfortable reading explicit scenes in general, and I'm glad I was able to enjoy the story even without reading those parts. The book ends with a cliff hanger, so I'm really curious to read the Inked Armour to know what happens next.