I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter I have to admit, I haven’t read any YA in a while, but the storyline of this book reminded me so much of the movie and TV series Hannah that I just had to read it. And I was so glad I did! It sucked me in from the very first page and wouldn’t spit me out until hours later when it was time for me to cook dinner. This is a wonderful romantic suspense YA with a strong heroine with a smart mouth. She’s funny and sassy and very cute. And she can throw a hatchet like it’s nobody’s business. The boy she grew up with has changed because of what happened to them both in the prologue, but he really grew on me and showed his passion and earnestness as the story went on. This is not a Christian book, but it’s clean. It’s incredibly compelling and entertaining, and it made me go look for more Ally Carter books to read. I can’t recommend this one enough!