Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby

Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby
"Meet Josephine Foster, or Zo Jo as she’s called in the biz. The best pint-sized photographer of them all, Jo doesn’t mind doing what it takes to get that perfect shot, until she’s sent on an undercover assignment to shoot Ned Hartnett—teen superstar and the only celebrity who’s ever been kind to her—at an exclusive rehabilitation retreat in Boston. The money will be enough to pay for Jo’s dream: real photography classes, and maybe even quitting her paparazzi gig for good. Everyone wants to know what Ned’s in for. But Jo certainly doesn’t know what she’s in for: falling in love with Ned was never supposed to be part of her assignment."- summary from Amazon

I'm a huge fan of books involving celebrity and this was a unique take on that kind of story. Jo is a teen paparazzo and is really good at it, and it was fascinating to me to see that side of things. She's a wonderful main character with her sights set on more than just being a paparazzo all her life.

There's some interesting twists and turns throughout this book with a huge secret popping up about halfway through that was crazy enough to work. I loved it! Not only that, but the book is very funny and Jo's voice is just so much fun to read. I liked reading her interactions with the people at the rehab center, and there were some particular sections that added some great depth to this novel.

The romance was so fun to read; Ned and Jo's conversations were an absolute joy to read and seeing them come closer as the novel went on made it realistic. There isn't insta-love here and Rushby does a great job making it work.

Overall, just a really fun, unique debut and I'm excited to see what Rushby comes up with next!


FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; all profits go toward funding contests.

Divergent Nation Faction Reveal!

So last Friday, I got a package on my front porch from UPS (and then they came back like 2 minutes later with something else that I didn't care about) and I pretty much immediately hugged it and squee'd and ran around the living room. This was the package:

You can pretty much guess what's inside.

I am a part of the Erudite Faction, led by my awesome friend Pam of Bookalicious! Check out her blog to see the other 8 Erudites that will be participating this month in Divergent Nation and please support us all by clicking this link!

In My Mailbox- Month of March

Yeah, this vlog encapsulates the entirety of March since I was gone the whole month practically. I'm surprised it's only a little over 10 minutes, lol. Anyway, for those here wondering what faction I belong to in the Divergent Nation event, I reveal it in the first minute so you don't have to watch the whole thing.



Books/Other Stuff Shown:

Tomb Raider: Underworld (for PC)
Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection by Katy Perry (CD)
Insurgent by Veronica Roth (ARC, May 2012)- I am Team Erudite.
Being Lara by Lola Jaye (paperback, March 2012)
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (ARC, April 2012)
Legacy of Tril: Soulbound by Heather Brewer (ARC, July 2012)
Arranged by Catherine McKenzie (ARC, May 2012)
Black City by Elizabeth Richards (ARC, Nov 2012)
The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin (ARC, Aug 2011)
The Right and the Real by Joelle Anthony (ARC, April 2012)
Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein (ARC, July 2012)
The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin (ARC, Aug 2012)
Picture This by Jacqueline Sheehan (ARC, May 2012)
Underworld by Meg Cabot (ARC, May 2012)
Survive by Alex Morel (ARC, Aug 2012)
My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend (ARC, June 2012)
Beauty by Lisa Daily (ARC, May 2012)
7 Clues to Winning You by Kristin Walker (ARC, April 2012)
No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz (ARC, May 2012)
Starters by Lissa Price (hardcover, March 2012)
Book Journal (birthday present from a friend!)
Commercial Breaks #1: Famous for Thirty Seconds by P.G. Kain (paperback, March 2012)
The List by Siobhan Vivian (hardcover, April 2012)
Beach Colors by Shelley Noble (ARC, June 2012)
The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting (hardcover, April 2012)
More Like Her by Liza Palmer (paperback, April 2012)
Family Guy: Volume 9 (DVD)
The Last Apprentice: Grimalkin the Witch Assassin by Joseph Delaney (hardcover, April 2012)
Sacred Stories: Wisdom from World Religions by Marilyn McFarlane (hardcover, April 2012)
Once by Anna Carey (ARC, July 2012)
So Close to You by Rachel Carter (ARC, July 2012)
Blackwatch by Jenna Burtenshaw (ARC, July 2012)
Destiny by Gillian Shields (ARC, July 2012)
Invisible Sun by David Macinnis Gill (hardcover, March 2012)
Drain You by M. Beth Bloom (ARC, July 2012)
Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard (ARC, July 2012)
Endlessly by Kiersten White (ARC, July 2012)
Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan (ARC, July 2012)
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (ARC, July 2012)
Insignia by S.J. Kincaid (ARC, July 2012)
Wuftoom by Mary G Thompson (ARC, May 2012)

Birthday Post 2012!

Hey everyone!

I know I've been pretty quiet this month what with taking a break and all, but I hope you guys are still around to leave a birthday comment for me!

I'm going out to Red Lobster with my friends tonight, then seeing the Hunger Games movie (8:30pm showing because I have to be at work tomorrow at 10am- ugh!). Plus, I'm picking up my copy of Family Guy Volume 9 at Walmart today (I did site-to-store because they had a cheap price) as a present to myself. On a book-related note, Cherry Cheva, author of She's So Money and DupliKate, wrote the hour-long murder mystery episode- how cool is that? I am extremely excited and I know this'll be a great day.

So leave some comments and make it even better! :)

Oh, and I'll be back again April 2nd with regular blog posts. I've read a lot of awesome books so far and there's still more to come before I return, so I've got plenty of reviews stockpiled. It makes me happy.

Also, if you're a fan of Meg Cabot, check out this awesome upcoming blog hop and sign up!

Giveaway- The Right and the Real by Joelle Anthony

Kicked out for refusing to join a cult, 17-year-old Jamie must find a way to survive on her own.

Jamie should have known something was off about the church of the Right and the Real from the start, especially when the Teacher claimed he wasn’t just an ordinary spiritual leader, but Jesus Christ, himself. But she was too taken by Josh, the eldest son of one of the church’s disciples, and his all-American good looks. Josh is the most popular boy at school too, and the first boy outside the drama geeks to give Jamie a second look. But getting her Dad involved in a cult was not part of the plan when she started dating Josh. Neither was her dad’s marriage to the fanatic Mira, or getting kicked out, or seeing Josh in secret because the church has deemed her persona non grata.

Jamie’s life has completely fallen apart. Finding her way back won’t be easy, but when her Dad gets himself into serious trouble, will Jamie be ready to rescue him, and maybe even forgive him?


Doesn't that sound like an awesome book?! Joelle's debut Restoring Harmony was amazing and I so cannot wait to read this one. I have a copy already in my TBR pile and Joelle and I want to add a copy to your pile!

We have two copies to give away- the grand prize winner receives a signed, personalized ARC of The Right and the Real from Joelle herself! A runner-up will receive my extra copy that I got in the mail yesterday (March 9th).

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Saturday, March 17 at 9pm EST. This contest is for US/Canada residents only. If your email address is not instantly accessible (i.e. in your Blogger profile), please leave it in your comment. If there are any further questions, ask them in the comments! Good luck to all!