Fish Out Of Water Review

Fish Out Of Water 

Mika Arlington's summer will be perfect, she's made sure of it. Interning with her parents at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Check. Sand sculpting at the beach with her best friend. Check. Eating delicious food until she can't walk straight. Check. But the arrival of her estranged grandmother and too cool Dylan are about to wash away her ideal plans. 

Mika’s grandmother has Alzheimer’s and demands care from the family she once shunned. Dylan, the brooding new employee at the pet shop where Mika works, may be hot but everything that comes out of his mouth is the exact opposite. She can’t stand either of them, and yet she’s expected to be their babysitter. Talk about worst summer ever. Until she learns that sometimes the best things can come completely unplanned.

goodreads link

My Review:

5/5 Stars 

Um.. WoW.. And then WoW again.. WoW one more time. 

I was hooked on the first page. 
I love and Cherish Natalie's witty and fun writing!! 
This book was fantastic and enjoyable. Fast paced , Witty , and Emotional all at once. I read it in two days. 
I hope she writes more Contemporary because I absolutely adored this book. 
To sum it up . Find the book Buy the book read the book then read it a million more times!!

Mika is not like any ordinary teen however are any teen's ordinary? She has a job at the pet store and when a new ( and hot) employee gets hired her life will get very complicated. A story of friendship, emotion, good food, and little romance. 

Whipple does an amazing job showing the difersity between cultures, and how real life situations can effect everybody.

Her characters are complex and amazing. You will fall in love with the book and not be able to find your way out. 

Ps. This book is set in Monetary California. Iv been there and it is amazing!!! 

* Pictures are from authors Pintrest 

authors blog link 

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Natalie Whipple, sadly, does not have any cool mutations like her characters. Unless you count the ability to watch anime and Korean dramas for hours on end. Or her uncanny knack for sushi consumption.

She grew up in the Bay Area and relocated to Utah for high school, which was quite the culture shock for her anime-loving teen self. But the Rocky Mountains eventually won her over, and she stuck around to earn her degree in English linguistics at BYU. Natalie still lives in Utah with her husband and three kids, and keeps the local Asian market in business with all her attempts to cook Thai curry, Pho, and “real” ramen.



Q&A

Q: What is your favorite book genre?
Well of course YA! It's hard to say more specifically than that, because I love fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, paranormal, historical...it's just all interesting to me. I have written in many of those genres. I don't intend to focus any time soon. I'm just not the kind of writer or reader who sticks with one thing.

 Q: If you where to describe Fish Out Of Water in three words what would those words be?
Pride, Prejudice, Guppies (This is on the back of the UK version, and I just adore that!)

Q: What was your favorite Part to write in Fish out Of Water?
I love a lot about FISH. Like, a lot. It's a very important book to me personally, about love and how blurry it can be in all types of relationships. So one of my favorite scenes is The Oatmeal Scene near the end. Mika, trying to avoid a certain person, has taken to staying home to perfect this oatmeal recipe her Alzheimer's-ridden grandmother has demanded she make. It goes really poorly, and Mika realizes she's not the person she thought she was.

Q: if you where to send any of you characters into to the hunger games who would you send?
Oh that's mean! I guess if we're keeping with the FISH characters, it'd have to be London or Olivia. London because I kinda hope she wouldn't make it out, and Olivia because I'm pretty sure she'd win.

Q: Who has been your favorite character to write about?
Probably Jo from HOUSE OF IVY & SORROW.

Q: Paperback, hardback , or Ebook?
Paperback

Q: What is the hardest struggle being a writer?
There are a lot of struggles...it's hard to pick one, but maybe the reality that you never have job security. You can sell one series and have it do well, and then the next one tanks. Or you could be super obscure for years, and then one book hits it big. But that could end in a few years when people forget about you again. You're entirely at the whim of the market, and you can't control it. You often feel helpless about that. 

Q: Whats your Favorite thing about being a writer?
Writing is how I make sense of the world, so I love it for that. My books usually come out of some problem I'm thinking about, either one from my own life or something I've seen just in the world at large. When I write those feelings out in a story, I understand things better. Or at least I feel like I do. Then I'm at peace with whatever that problem was.

Q: Is it easier to Write a Stand alone or a series?
I would say a standalone. Just because you only have to sustain the story and character arcs for one book. Building a series, making room for the characters to grow over that much story, is a tough thing to do. At least to me. Maybe it comes naturally to some. Ultimately, I think whatever the form the story is intended to be in is the easiest. Trying to cram a trilogy into two books is the worst, for example. Or trying to stretch a standalone into more often doesn't work.

Q: Will you write more Contemporary in the future?
I have written a few contemporaries, actually! They just aren't published. I love contemporary and hope to do more, but we'll see. It was pretty hard to sell FISH, so I have no idea if I would get lucky enough to sell another contemporary. I don't have a lot of money, but if by some miracle I had enough to indie publish my YA contemp SIDEKICK, I'd love to. That book just has a special place in my heart and I want to see it in print for myself. Fingers crossed, I guess.

-xoxox Abbey 

Volition Overview

Volition Overview 

Reviews:

I had the chance to Beta read Volition. What and emotion ride. I read the book in three days. Currently in my secound read but just taking it slow to soak it all in. ( Note i'll come back and add a second read review.) Volition wasn't written for the readers it was written for the author and I think that is how every author should write, for them . The characters and the story spoke to me and affected my life. Volition will always be in my heart and on my favorite list. It was dark and intriguing. Tate is character you may dislike and you may not relate but she is somebody who is hurting like most of us. Catherine her best friend reminded me of my self little. Kind of the adult in every situation. We laugh as a bookclub about which character is which person. And I have been designated to her. Which is not a bad thing.  There where some parts that I disliked in the book and some parts I overly loved. That is why Volition will be unforgettable. 

" The story was lined with black and drowned in glitter.. Volition is one of the books that makes you reflect on life's  past , present, and future."- Booksalamodek ( Abbeys blurb)
- Abbey 

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I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. I had heard I was going to love or hate it, would cry or laugh, and basically bubble over with emotions. Most of all, I prepared myself for an unhappy ending. Because that's what would make me emotional, right? Well, I did love it. I did cry. And laugh. And I smiled through me tears in the end, because the ending was both sad and happy, but also perfect. The characters in this story were unlike many I have read about. They aren't underdeveloped, run-of-the-mill, or boring. And they certainly don't lack passion. Tate is both a heroine and a villain. She gets in the way of her own happiness in ways that made me want to shake sense into her. Hayden has perfection personified, but he isn't as one-dimensional as I originally thought. I loved Colin and Catherine for both their relationship that proves opposites  can live in harmony and their unwavering loyalty in friendship. And don't get me started on Jesse. I have a love/hate relationship with him. Overall, this book gave me major feels. It also gave me lots to ponder. I can't help thinking that this entire story would have gone differently if only a few things had changed. But that's part of what this book is about. Everything is connected in some small way. We are who we are because of the experiences we have, both good and bad. And maybe the crappy things that happens to us are leading to something greater. In the end, I am so happy for the lives I lived reading this book. I hope everyone finds the person that will love them for all their little imperfections :)

5/5 stars for sure 
- Jordan

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This is my second time reading Volition, and once again the book blew me away. The only way to understand this book is to look at the world through Tate’s eyes. Most of the books that I’ve read in the past are too happy that it’s almost unrealistic. The best books in my opinion are books with miserable characters, miserable characters make you feel a little more human. It’s sort of like telling yourself that this is not the end, you’re still sane enough to keep living. Volition covers most of the topics that most authors avoid writing about. I loved how open the book was to the topic of death. Not everyone will understand what Volition is about. You are entitled to your own opinion… I’m giving virtual hugs to everyone who loved this book as much as I did.  *steals Hayden from Tate* #sorrynotsorry
-Shelsea

Q&A W/ Author:

What was your inspiration for each of the main characters in Volition?

Tate- When I wrote Tate, I was in a very angsty, dark place. I was not an easy person to deal with because I was very quickly angered and hard to be around. I wasn't sure what I was doing with my life. She was a way to get all of this out without ruining all of my relationships.

Hayden- The person that inspired him will remain anonymous, as the rest of the characters will, since he hasn't yet figured out who he is, but there's someone (or a few people combined) in my life that led to the creation of Hayden. He also has quite a few characteristics that came from my own personality as well, which I think made him more dynamic.

Catherine- She knows who she is! :) For Catherine I used actual conversations that I've had with my best friend, who went to NYU. I also departed from her personality a little bit too, so for anyone who knows her that might be reading this - don't read too much into it. ;) 

Jesse- My relationship with someone in my life inspired this entire book. He and I have had a connection since we were very little, and I started to wonder why, and how that would play out if our lives were different. Thus, Jesse and Tate's tumultuous relationship was born. As I wrote in the foreword, this book was extremely cathartic for me, and I wanted to see if anyone else had a "Jesse" in their life that they couldn't quite shake.

Colin- One of my best friends inspired Colin. We quite literally had the strangest friendship anyone's ever seen, but it was beautiful at the same time. 

Which character in Volition do you connect with the most?

Tate, Hayden, and Jesse, because I used pieces of myself to create them.

If you had to pick a character in Volition to meet a character in Ignite who would meet and how?

Oooh, that's a good one. I wish they could all meet, but I think I'd have Tate meet Lauren. Sometimes Lauren needs to suck it up and stop crying, and Tate would give her some tough love.

What is your favorite place in New York?

The top of the Empire State Building and The Grey Dog on University.

What was your favorite scene to write in Volition?

Definitely the scene where everyone's perspectives come in. It was so challenging because I wanted to make sure each character had a distinct voice, so that you wouldn't get confused, and so that everyone was heard. I didn't want to do that for the entirety of the book, but I felt like for that specific scene, it was necessary to feel all of that individual emotion. I also made it go forward and then back out of the perspectives in reverse order so that you got to see the scene unfold around Tate's perspective since she was in the center.

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May's author spotlight : Lily Paradis

May's Author spotlight:

*Drum Roll*

The Lovely Lily Paradis..

Lily Paradis Published works :

After her father’s untimely demise in a mining accident and her mother’s abandonment, Lauren Lindsay is no stranger to loss. She’s used to living life for one person: herself. That is, until another family tragedy thrusts three children into her care and uproots her life in ways she could never imagine. 

Lauren's first instinct is to run, until she meets their striking, mysterious neighbor Dean Powell. Their immediate chemistry and his connection with her late father just might be enough to keep her in town long enough to uncover pieces of her past that she never had answers to. Dean’s shady past and her reluctance to trust him could cost her the life she's always been searching for, but will she run back to her old life? 

Or will she choose to stay and live the life her father always imagined for her?

You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach that stays with you, then tears you apart slowly at first, and all at once shreds every fiber of your being? 

It’s because you’re contradicting the universe. 

Everything lines up so perfectly that you couldn’t have imagined it to work out better, but then you have to go and do everything humanly possible to ruin it because you can’t stand to have it go right? 

That’s what I did. 

I did it because there’s a darkness that surrounds me, and I think I want it there. 

My name is Tate McKenna, and my soul is blacker than my heart.

Future books to be published:

Arc Light ( Ignite #2)

Ragnarök - "Everybody wants to find love, right? That beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime love that you'd do anything for? Well, I think I found it. So what's the problem? Everybody wants to find love, right? That beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime love that you'd do anything for? Well, I think I found it. So what's the problem?  I also think I'm the last person alive on earth." -Via Goodreads

Q&A with Author:

What is the main reason you write?

I write because I love it, and because it's what I've always wanted to do with my life. I have to do other things since I currently don't make enough to have it be a full time job, but it's not about the money for me. 

So Far out of all the novels you have written published or not published which has been you favorite to write?

So far, Volition! 

What gives you the most inspiration when you write ?

I get inspiration from listening to music and feelings in my daily life. Something might happen and I'll think "Wow, I need to write this down," so that I can use it someday.

What is your favorite thing about being and author?

Meeting other writers and readers! I totally did not expect to make so many wonderful friends and connections this way, but it's surpassed any expectations I've ever had.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on re-writing a few projects that were lost when my computer crashed about two months ago. It's slow going since I'm also in graduate school, but hopefully I'll be able to re-coop it all!

What is next to be published?

I haven't quite decided yet, we'll see! :)

How did your writing style evolve?

I think it matured a lot with me. You can see a stark difference between Ignite and Volition because of how I was feeling and what stage I was at in my life. I like writing that way because it's so genuine and personal.

How do you develop your characters?

I don't consciously develop them, I kind of see them as real people that I would interact and I go from there. I use little characteristics and habits from my friends and myself that they find later on. For example, I have a serious phobia of cherries, and I gave that to Hayden in Volition. Not a lot of people know that because it's so ridiculous, but my close friends and family all had a laugh over it. I put a lot of myself in to Hayden, surprisingly. People who are very close picked up on those small nuances, and I kind of love him even more because I relate to him so well. You'd think it would be Tate, and it kind of is, but I see a lot of myself in Hayden too.

What do you do when you have a writers block?

I go for a drive and listen to music. I have playlists for each book as I'm working on them, but the radio is so important to find new songs. I honestly wish I could type and drive at the same time, because that's when I feel like scenes develop in my mind. Sometimes that doesn't even help, so I just have to wait a couple of days until my brain works it out

How do you develop your characters?

I don't consciously develop them, I kind of see them as real people that I would interact with and I go from there. I use little characteristics and habits from my friends and myself that they find later on. For example, I have a serious phobia of cherries, and I gave that to Hayden in Volition. Not a lot of people know that because it's so ridiculous, but my close friends and family all had a laugh over it. I put a lot of myself in to Hayden, surprisingly. People who are very close picked up on those small nuances, and I kind of love him even more because I relate to him so well. You'd think it would be Tate, and it kind of is, but I see a lot of myself in Hayden too. We also have the same color eyes! I imagine his are a bit brighter and bolder than mine, but someone once described my eye color as "lightsaber green" since they know about my deep, nerdy love of Star Wars. 

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About Lily Paradis (via Goodreads)-

Lily lives with her family and loves reading, running, and hiking. New York City is her favorite place in the world and fosters her borderline unhealthy obsession with the Empire State Building and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

She loves hearing from her readers and can be reached at paradis.lily@gmail.com.

Giveaway on our Insta 

@BooksHavePower.

-Tee shirt, A signed copy of Volition, Book Marks.

More on our Indie Author Spotlight Janea Mitchel;

Q&A video : 

Ebook Giveaway:

Want to win a copy of Feels Like Rain. Go to our Instagram BooksHavePower and look for the Giveaway.

* US only*

Indie Author Spotlight for April is Janae Mitchell

 About The Author:  

“First & foremost, I'm a country girl. I'm no different than most, I just happen to write... a lot. If I’m not writing books, I’m reading them. I live for the HEA. I've been interested in the paranormal most of my life, living in a 'haunted' house growing up. This fascination, mixed with my love of writing, made my first YA paranormal romance series, For Always, inevitable. Of course I'd have to throw a spooky ghost story in there, too.
I'm a huge fan of readers! They breathe life into the books we give birth to. Thank you, fellow readers, for making books come alive.” ☺

Janae was born and raised in East Tennessee, where she currently resides with her husband, two children, and their hairless dog, Dobby. In her spare time, she likes to read, play tennis, and spend time with her family on the lake.

About Her Book Feels Like Rain:

What if the feelings you felt were never your own?

Jet is different. Able to feel the emotions of those around him, he chooses to spend his days in solitude, pushing out the feelings that attempt to consume him. With numbness his only relief, he’s surprised when he finds himself letting someone in, actually wanting—craving—to feel what she feels.

Even though he was warned to stay away from Kalista LaFontain, Jet didn’t listen, not caring what family she came from, knowing she wasn’t like them. Somehow, she was able to make the emotions that assaulted him on a daily basis more bearable, a pleasant contrast to his usual numbness. He didn’t care how powerful or hated her family was; he’d risk it.

Little did he know, that risk would change his life forever.

*Stay tuned tomorrow for a Q&A video and Giveaway*