Review + Giveaway: Stitch by Samantha Durante

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

First of all, I want to thank Samantha Durante for the opportunity to read and review her novel. :)

This story... took a popular genre and made it into something unique. At first, I thought I was reading a ghost story... then there were suspicions about time travel and wormholes... and after all that "drama," the truth came out, and it was... shocking. But the thing is, the truth is there the whole time, it's just that we don't see it for what it is ~ the real story.

Yes, it appeared that Alessa had stumbled upon some fantastically twisted kind of hell.

There's so much that I would like to say about this story, but I feel that I must bite my tongue at the risk of drawing blood in order to keep from giving it all away. Just trust me on this... the truth is so much better than the lie. You start out wondering where everything is going to lead ~ how can this possibly end well? But you end up surprised, doing a double take, as the story goes from being... a little off the wall... to relaying events that dig much deeper than we would have thought.

Stitch is beautifully written ~ the descriptions completely draw you in, building this world that you can almost touch. I really fell in love with the characters, especially as the pieces of their stories fell in to place. We learn about them, dream by dream, bit by bit, and I found that they were easy to connect to, although I also feel that this first novel just scratched the surface. We learn about the characters as they discover their true selves, and our perspective is changed as the novel progresses, making us want to learn more about them and the relationships they've formed. It felt like an introduction, but it does a fabulous job in laying the groundwork for the rest of the trilogy.

Stitch holds nothing that you expect. It got me thinking, left me perplexed, and had me reeling. This story starts out on one side of the spectrum, takes you for a loop, and finishes on the other.

My review is short this time around because a lot of what I would love to say would spoil it all! But I will say that I highly recommend this novel, and I will absolutely be looking out for future books.

(Don't forget to enter the giveaway below!)

Five out of five stars :)

*****

Visit Samantha Durante via

GoodReads ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Website 

Enter the giveaway HERE!
Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

Teasin' Tuesday Prelude

Tuesday Prelude is a meme that stems from Should Be Reading's Teaser Tuesday. I found I was never able to keep my teasers to two sentences, so I changed things up a bit and created a post that was a little more in depth, introducing you to the character(s) and the story (without giving anything away of course).

This week's Prelude introduces you to Stitch by Samantha Durante:

As you can read in the synopsis of this book, Alessa is trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life at college after her parents tragically pass away. But something strange is going on at her suspiciously haunted sorority house. She keeps seeing flashes of this beautiful, yet troubled man. Is he a ghost? And how can someone from the past, someone who has already died, elicit such emotions within her, such an urge to find out more?

How did this strange apparition invoke such turmoil in her?

She feels like she knows him, like they are connected in some irreversible way, and they can save each other.

What had woken her? A scream. Her own scream. One word cutting through the blinding light and ringing clearly into the night. One word filled with all the pain, all the loss, all the hurt that one person could bear. Her own ravaged voice, desperate to bring back the one thing that meant everything to her, the one thing that would enable her to survive. "Isaac!" 

There's this feeling Alessa has that tells her that Isaac is more than just a ghost, that their lives are intertwined somehow. She's discovering "that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface..." (GoodReads synopsis).

Yes, it appeared that Alessa had stumbled upon some fantastically twisted kind of hell. 

Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we showcase our lovely new additions to our overloaded shelves :).

This week's treasures:

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely ~

Spotlight: Stitch by Samantha Durante

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

I thought it sounded pretty good myself. Add it to Goodreads, visit the author's website, or order it for your Kindle here. 

ALSO, stop by January 20th for my review and a fabulous giveaway courtesy of Samantha Durante :). *excited*

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely ~