Gabriella M Reads

Synopsis:  J.D. Scrbacek has just won the biggest trial of his career, but even as he crows to the press, his entire life blows sky-high. Was the bomb meant for him, or for his mobster client? In this seaside casino town where the tables run hot and the tensions run high, the odds say the attorney is a marked man. Alone and on the run, Scrbacek flees into the city’s forgotten underbelly, a ruined corridor called Crapstown, where he is forced to confront the ghosts of his past, his present, and his future. Somewhere in the sordid stream of his own existence lie the answers he needs. But in order to emerge from the depths of Crapstown, Scrbacek must argue for his life before a jury of the forgotten and the damned. Is he lawyer enough to save his own skin? From the bestselling author of  The Barkeep  comes a raucous tale of reckoning, racketeering, and revenge. Book Links:  Amazon  |  B&N  |  Goodreads About the author:...

#TomeTopple Read-a-thon For those of you who don't know what Tome Topple is, it's a read-a-thon created by Samantha from Thoughts on Tomes . The  Tome Topple Read-a-thon will take place from June 5th at 12:00 AM to June 19th at 11:59 PM wherever you are in the world and is all about big books with more than 500 pages! Below I will include Sam's video that has the challenges, co-hosts, a giveaway, and her own TBR. I was actually pretty excited when I heard about this read-a-thon because I have a few big books that I either need to finish or just need to get over the intimidation and pick up. However, when I was looking around my room I had a really hard time deciding what exactly I wanted to read. Because of this, my TBR (to be read) list is going to be flexible and have a few choices. My TBR Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling: I chose this books specifically because I actually started it on October 1, 2015. I have since read...

Crossing the Barrier by Martine Lewis  Genre: Upper YA Coming of Age Contemporary Romance with a touch of Paranormal Published on March 22nd, 2016 Published by BMJ Chanapi Press.  Y ou can find it on Goodreads   here  and  Amazon here .   Crossing the Barrier will be FREE on Amazon during May 26th through May 30th!   Synopsis: High school student Malakai Thomas, star wide receiver of the varsity team, collides with band member Lily Morgan on his way to football practice. As days go by, Malakai cannot get the petite clarinetist out of his head. Lily Morgan can feel everyone’s emotions. She loses her ability to shield herself against them the day Malakai runs into her. Now she must try to maintain her sanity in the emotional jungle that is high school, as well as deal with her growing feelings for Malakai. Can Malakai get over the social stigma and his own internal struggle to be with Lily? Is Lily’s secret too big to accept, even for hi...

Under My Skin by  Laura Diamond Genre: YA Contemporary Romance Release Date: April 12th 2016 Swoon Romance Summary from Goodreads: Bookish Brit Adam Gibson is one wonky heartbeat away from a fatal arrhythmia. He's torn between wanting to live and knowing that someone else must die in order for him to do so. He needs a new heart. Adam stops talking to his friends, refuses to meet kids at his new school, and shuts his parents out entirely. His days are spent wondering if can cope with having a dead man's heart beating inside his chest, or if he should surrender to the thoughts of suicide swirling around in his head. And then a donor is found. Outspoken artist Darby Fox rarely lets anything stand in her way of achieving her goals. She also happens to be the twin sister to a perfect brother with good looks, good grades, manners, and the approval of their parents - something Darby has never had. Darby's always had bad timing. She picks the worst time to argue ...

The Way Back to You by Michelle Andreani & Mindi Scott 5 Stars Let me start by saying that before even reading the synopsis, I wanted to read this book. I love reading books written by friends because I hope to one day write a book with Grace from Grace Lucy Reviews . Then I read the synopsis. Basically Ashlyn died from injuries following a bike accident and her organs were donated. Ashlyn's boyfriend Kyle and her best friend Cloudy seek out the recipients of said organs. You may be thinking that's not possible according to all kinds of laws and such, but it's all explained, I promise. Anyway, we follow these two on their journey in alternating chapters. So let's get into it, shall we? Cloudy is, in my opinion, seemingly racked with guilt when it comes to moving on with her life. Kyle is just in denial. As two of the people who loved Ashlyn the most, these two need each other in order to heal. I did enjoy the Kyle chapters a little more than the Cloudy on...

So Armchair BEA 2016 has officially come to an end. I really had a great time discovering new bloggers, making friends, talking all things bookish, and even winning a giveaway or two. I was reluctant to sign up because I didn't think I could do a new post each day, but I was finally convinced and I'm so glad. Some of my posts may not have been the best *cough cough* day three *cough cough*, but I had fun! I learned some things from these other people and even made plans to meet some next year! Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I cannot wait to participate next year and every year until I get to go to the live Book Expo America on the East Coast. Here are my posts in case you missed them: ABEA Day One: Introduction & Diversity in Books ABEA Day Two: Aesthetic Concerns Books & Blogs ABEA Day Three: Beyond the Books and the Blog ABEA Day Four: Surviving Fictional Worlds If you want to check out the other participants, they can be found here . What was y...

Surviving Fictional Worlds What fictional world would you want to live in? Everyone dreams of being part of a fictional world at one point or another. I am definitely not an exception to that. There are so many to choose from. Who doesn't want to go to Hogwarts, right?! I would really love to live within the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas. Specifically within The Night Court. I still have a little over a hundred pages left in A Court of Mist and Fury, but as I was reading I was often thinking, "These, these are my people." If you haven't picked up this series yet, I really hope you do. The atmosphere is so beautiful despite the darkness that looms. Honorable mentions include Camp Half Blood from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan and Emerge by Tobie Easton. The latter because who doesn't want to be a mermaid?! Which worlds do you never want to dive into? The Maze Runner is another one. I actually have read boo...

Beyond the Books I haven't really ventured outside of the typical novel too much. I've read two graphic novels before and I rather enjoyed them and fully intend on buying more. I would really love to get into comics as well. As far as audiobooks go, I would love to find one that I could listen to without getting distracted. I tried a few samples of some audiobooks and I find that some people really drone on and it causes me to tune them out. Any recommendations? What are your favorite alternative forms of reading material? Beyond the Blog I dream of one day having friends nearby that share my love of reading and would like to start a weekly book club. Since I don't have that and neither does my friend Grace, we started a book club on Goodreads despite my living in Arizona and her in Australia. Anyone can join us! Other than that, I regularly update my Goodreads profile and try to converse with other bookish folk on Twitter.  What bookish stuff do you do outs...

Aesthetic Concerns: Books I judge books by their cover, there I said it. Mostly I rely on the cover to pull me in when I'm browsing. I know I'm probably missing out on a ton of great books because of this, but it's the sad truth about advertising. If I know and like a synopsis ahead of time then the cover doesn't really matter because I know what kind of story I'm in for. I wouldn't say I'm often surprised, while a cover pulls me in, the synopsis is what keeps me around. I can't name a single book that I bought strictly because of the cover without reading the back. As for how things look on my shelf, I definitely want my books to match. If it's not possible then I obviously have to deal with that. If I can get matching covers in matching formats that's a top priority for me. For example, I bought and loved the paperback copy of Winger by Andrew Smith and the sequel came out last year, but, as it often is with new releases, it was only...

Armchair BEA! Hello and welcome back to my blog! For those of you who don't know, Armchair BEA is the online version of Book Expo America held for those who cannot attend the live event. I personally hadn't heard of it until this year and I was in a definite need to join. So let's give this a shot! Introduction Questions! What is the name you prefer to use? You can call me Gabriella. How long have you been a book blogger? I started blogging a little over a year ago, but about a month ago I decided to switch blogs. Have you participated in ABEA before? This is my first time doing Armchair BEA and I am quite excited about it! Do you have a favorite book? My all time favorite book is Water for Elephants and I am definitely do for a reread really soon. If you could recommend one other book blogger who would it be and why? I would recommend Grace from Grace Lucy Reviews . Her reviews are very thorough and in my opinion, she deserves more attention than sh...

Welcome to my first conversations post! I planned to start last month, but didn't really have much to say on the topics so here we go! Why did you start blogging? I actually didn't originally plan to have a blog. I started watching a lot of "booktubers" and I had my mind set on becoming one. Mostly because my writing isn't the best and also because they seem to do a lot of cool stuff. This was my outlook before I realized that bloggers do all of the same stuff, you just might not see it because it's not a video. Anyway, I scrapped that idea because I very quickly realized that I knew absolutely nothing about editing and all of the work that really goes into a Youtube video. It was actually quite a while after that when I realized that book blogging was a viable option for me. I hadn't seen as many book blogs, mostly because I wasn't following the right people, but I decided it was for me. Yeah, I wasn't as creative as some and for a ...

Girl Against the Universe Book Blast & Giveaway! Gabriella: Welcome! Let's be real, you're probably here for the giveaway and that's okay! This book is totally amazing and if you're interested you can check out my review of it here . If not, feel free to continue on to the exciting stuff! I wish you luck! Paula: Girl Against the Universe will release on May 17, 2016. I am so excited to share this book with the world, and particularly with people who are struggling with PTSD, survivor’s guilt, anxiety, shyness, or people who just feel like the odds are stacked against them. Maguire’s story is full of struggles and triumphs, new friends and family bonds. Even if your life is totally peachy at the moment, there’s a good chance you’ll find Girl Against the Universe funny and inspiring. I hope you give it a try. Here’s what some amazing authors had to say about the book: “Filled with equal amounts of empathy, humor, and heart,  Girl Against the Univ...