Music Monday! - Week 1

Music Monday is a post that gives you a chance to hear my favorite songs of the week! I decided to make Music Monday because I am equally obsessed with music as I am with books, so here it goes! Sorry if the music isn't your cup of tea, each to their own I guess.







Hope you enjoy these songs as much as I do!
Sound of the Sun - Silverstein
Across the Universe - The Beatles
Gone - Switchfoot

In My Mailbox - Week 1

In My Mailbox is a weekly post showing what I got this week in books. This post is inspired by Alea and hosted by The Story Siren.






I am very impressed with the number of books I recieved this week!
Haunted by Barbara Haworthe-Attard
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent
Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri
Never After by Dan Elconin
Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey(Debut Author!)
Need by Carrie Jones
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
Breakfast at Bloomingdale's by Kristen Kemp
Where's Waldo Now? by Martin Handford(Very excited about this! Not for review)
Learn to Play the Guitar by Nick Freeth(Awesome guide, highly recommend it. Not for review)
Robert Pattinson "True Love Never Dies" by Josie Rusher(Not sure what to think about this one. Not for review)

2010 Debut Author Challenge

I am participating in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren!

Books I plan to read for the challenge:
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
The Mark by Jen Nadol
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard
Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland
Sea by Heidi R. Kling
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

I will most likely add more pretty soon but for now I would like to keep the goal low.

You can also participate in the challenge by clicking here.

Never After by Dan Elconin

Never After - Dan Elconin

Released: October 20, 2009

Pages: 320

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Age Group: YA

Summary(From Amazon/Back Cover): There is no place like a dysfunctional home.

Leaving everything behind for the Island was Ricky's dream come true. When his happily ever after is not quite what it seems, he discovers that running away means running toward bigger problems.

Trapped on the Island, Ricky must join together with the only people he can trust to help him face his fears and return home. But the only way off the Island is to confront the person who trapped Ricky and his friends in the first place. With countless enemies and true peril staring them down, Ricky's mission to leave this so-called paradise will become a battle for their very lives.

Let me first start off by saying this is a remake of Peter Pan with a twist. If I would have known this, I would more than likely have not even taken a second look at this book. That being said, I think the back cover description should atleast allude to the fact that this is like Peter Pan, maybe say Peter takes Ricky to the island where he can become a lost boy and live forever or something like that.

This book was different than how I thought it would be, but I don't necessarily call that a good thing. The book was laced heavily with dirty jokes, but I can't say that that was completely inexpected as the book was written by a 19 year-old. Don't take that the wrong way, I'm not saying that teens are bad writers and sick minded people because that would be a false slam against myself, but I just think given the circumstances, the dirty humour didn't surprise me.

I think the pure want to like this book is what kept me reading but really it was not a book that I would pick up and read again. The characters for me were also a little too underdeveloped. Sure all of there deep, dark backgrounds were disscussed but I really didn't feel like I got to know any of them, even Ricky.

The action sequences had to have been my favorite part which is odd because I usually cling onto the smallest hint of romance and look for it throughout the book, but with Never After I just really enjoyed the action more than the "romance".

Overall this book didn't really meet my expectations but it was a descent read. Would I read Dan Elconin again? Maybe in a few years. This book was pretty easy to follow, no insane side plots or anything but the epilogue STILL has me confused as to what happened at the end.

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My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take - Rachel Vincent

Released: August 1, 2009

Pages: 384

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Age Group: YA

Summary(from Amazon.com): She doesn't see dead people, but…

She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next…


This was my first Rachel Vincent novel, and I was pleasantly surprised! I picked up My Soul to Take at the bookstore because I was enticed by the cover, however I did not pay much attention to what was inside the pages. I expected this novel to be another main stream vampire book of some sort but as I flipped through the pages I found myself smiling along with the characters as they went on their journeys that were totally NOT vampiric.

The writing was excellent, I felt like I was standing beside the characters as they went from place to place, I had a clear picture in my mind throughout the whole book of what each place and person looked like but the beauty of it was, Rachel Vincent spent little time on description but got so much into the few little sentances that you just knew exactly what it was that you were picturing in your mind. I can say that this will definitely not be my last Rachel Vincent novel!

Overall this book was amazing, I loved every single page and as I came closer to the end I realized I did not want it to end, I wanted to stay in Kaylee Cavanaughs world forever! This book is fast paced, exciting, full of mystery and romance alike. I am looking forward to reading the next installment in the Soul Screamers series, My Soul to Save.


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Review Policy

Welcome to Breathtaking Reads!

At BTR anything and everything is up for review, and this can include your book too! If you would like your book to be reviewed please send me a message as I will most likely not contact the publisher and beg for a book, mostly because that is unproffesional. Books that I know are coming will have first priority to books that show up on my doorstep without notice. With this blog I hope to accomplish my goal in spreading the word about great books! Thanks for your time!