Tuesday, July 1, 2014

July Random Reads - 15 Minutes by Jill Cooper and Darkness & Light by J.A. Belfield

It's time for my June Random Reads (a fun meme hosted by I'm Loving Books). The idea is to pick one random book from your Goodreads To-Read list (using Random.org) to read within the month.  

As I mention every month, I am in love with this meme!  This is such a great way to make sure that I actually read some of those books that have been in my TBR list for eons.

This month I decided to once again choose two Random Reads.  For the first, I limited my Random Read choices to books that I actually own since I have so many of them that I've been wanting to read.  (I did this by just creating a Random Reads shelf on Goodreads).  I planned to use my general TBR for the second choice, but ended up using a book that I didn't actually own from the Random Reads list (since it got chosen first).


Last month's picks were both good reads, but neither were fantastic. The first was Talented by Sophie Davis.  You can check out my review here.  The second selection was After the Parch by Sheldon Greene.  Read my review for that one here.


Random Reads Meme – Hosted by ImLovingBooks.com

So, here was my first July choice:



#57 - 15 Minutes by Jill Cooper 

Synopsis:


I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….


15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.

But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.

The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend. 

Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.

15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family. 


Like I said, this was from my Random Reads list, which was supposed to be a book I already owned.  But I forgot that when I first started creating this list, I also added some books that I especially wanted to read, but didn't own yet.  This book fell into that category.  I just remember that this book really struck me for some reason, and I kept seeing really great reviews.  So I decided to add it to the Random Reads list.  And I just love the cover!

Since I got a book I don't own for my first selection, I ended up using the Random Reads list for my second selection too.


Selection 2

Here's my next selection:


#42 - Darkness & Light by J.A. Belfield

Synopsis:


Jem Stonehouse, a housewife with a neurotic husband bent on keeping her in line, dreams about werewolves in, what she believes, is a bid to escape boredom.

Sean Holloway is a werewolf, living a charade within the human race, whose mind drifts to a bond he shares with a woman he hasn't met--at least, not in this lifetime.

Apart, the two are safe but live unfulfilled lives.

Together, they'll become prey to rival packs just as they have been for hundreds of years.

When their worlds collide, and not for the first time, instinct takes over. Dreams become reality. Futures are uncertain. To keep history from repeating itself, Sean must teach Jem about his heritage, convince her of her role, and win her love.

Can Jem accept her destiny before it's too late, or is her inner wolf buried too deep to save her future with Sean?


I honestly have no recollection of this one.  I apparently won this ebook last July, but I don't really remember anything about it beyond that.  It's been a while since I've read a good werewolf book, so hopefully this one will hit the spot!