Because of Low Blog Tour: Willow's POV

We, at the YA Sisterhood, love us some Abbi Glines. You might recall our review of her first book Breathe or her next book The Vincent Boys or her next book Existence. Did we mention we love how prolific she is too! And her latest book actually features a character we already know and love-- Marcus Hardy from Breathe! BECAUSE OF LOW is told in alternating POV between Marcus and the girl who catches his eye, Willow or Low. If you liked Breathe, you'll definitely like this one! And if you enjoyed the way Vincent Boys was aimed at a slightly older audience, you'll like it even more! Without further ado... here's a sneak peak at Willow from BECAUSE OF LOW. Be sure to check out the bottom of this post for more info about the tour and how you can win a copy of all of Abbi's books!

Marcus Hardy had hoped to enjoy a year away at college while he put the summer he’d rather forget behind him. But instead, he’s jerked right back to the coastal town of Sea Breeze, Alabama due to a family crisis. His dear ol' dad found himself a girlfriend only a few years older than Marcus. So now his sister needs help dealing with their mother who is mentally falling apart. The only bright spot to returning is the fascinating red head who sleeps over several times a week. The problem is she's sleeping in bed with his new roommate, Cage Watson.

Willow “Low” Foster needs a place to live. Running to Cage’s apartment every time her sister kicks her out isn’t exactly a long term solution. Juggling her courses at the local community college and a part time job doesn’t produce excess income. But Cage has a new roommate and suddenly sleeping over at her best friend’s apartment isn’t such a bad thing. Not when she gets to see those sexy green eyes of Marcus Hardy’s twinkle when he smiles at her like he wants her there.
Even though Cage seems a little territorial where Low is concerned, Marcus finds time to spend with Low without upsetting his roommate. Cage may use his small college baseball star persona to sleep with every hot female in his path but he’s still under the disillusion that when he’s through sowing his wild oats, he’s going to marry Low. Marcus intends to change that assumption for both Cage and Low. Until his carefully laid plans come crashing down with a revelation he never expected. He’ll have to choose between Low or his family. Because once the truth comes out.... there’s no other choice.

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Willow's POV

 I took the quilt off the bed as I stood up and gently covered Cage’s half naked body. He’d stripped down to his boxers last night in his attempt to get rid of his smoke, whiskey, and cheap women infested clothing. Didn’t matter he still smelled like all those things. The ridiculously chiseled body of his was always a golden brown. His mother had been one hundred percent Indian and it was obvious in his features. The pale blue eyes of his had to be the only thing his dad gave him genetically and physically. That was one of the many bonds Cage and I shared, absent fathers. 

  My suitcase held the only three clean outfits I currently had. My dirty clothes were piled up over in the corner of Cage’s room in a plastic laundry basket. I really needed to make time to do the laundry. Grabbing a pair of jeans and a “Hurricane’s Baseball” t-shirt Cage had given me from my meager supply of clothing, I dressed quickly and quietly. After I’d brushed my hair, I closed my suitcase and threw my clothing from last night into the dirty clothes basket. 

  Gently closing the bedroom door behind me so I didn’t wake him, I turned and headed for the fridge. I needed some coffee and I wanted to leave some ready for Cage when he woke up. Lord knows he’d need it after his late night. 

“I thought you left last night.”

I spun around to see Marcus Hardy sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper and a cup of coffee already in his hands. I really wish he wasn’t so dang gorgeous. Marcus Hardy wasn’t in my league or even my atmosphere. How Cage had landed a Hardy for a roommate, I had no idea. Preston must be really tight with Marcus which seemed odd since Preston grew up much like Cage and me. 

“Um, no, that was Cage that left last night.” 

Marcus frowned that disapproving frown I’d seen last night again. He really didn’t get Cage and me at all. I wasn’t sure if he was judging me or Cage but it annoyed me. Even though he had the prettiest green eyes I’d ever seen on a guy in my life. 

“Cage isn’t here?”

I shook my head, “No, he’s back. He had a um, call last night and he went out. He got back a few hours ago.”

“So he left you here while he went... out”

I sighed and reached for a coffee cup. 

“Yep”

“I was going to make me some eggs and toast. You want some?” 

That hadn’t been the response I’d expected. I was sure he was going to beat this thing with Cage and me into the ground. Instead, he was offering to fix me breakfast. 

“No thanks, I’ve got to go keep my niece today.” I held up the coffee mug in my hand, “I take mugs full of coffee with me when I leave but I always bring them back.” 

Marcus shrugged, “No worries. They aren’t mine anyway.”

“I know. I bought them for Cage when he got this place.”
Marcus stood up and walked over to the fridge and began getting eggs and butter out. If I was honest with myself I really wanted to stand here and watch him cook. Then eat breakfast with him and see if I could make him smile. I felt sure he had a really nice smile. Those green eyes would probably twinkle. 

“If you’re sure you can’t stay. My cooking is pretty damn impressive.” 

Marcus reached over to open the drawer beside me. The clean soap smell mixed with coffee and something else that reminded me of warm summer days met my nose. I fought the urge to grab his shirt and take a deeper whiff. He’d think I was crazy. I’d always thought the way Cage smelled when he came home from celebrating a victory game was the best smell in the world. But Cage’s sweat, beer, and cigarettes couldn’t compete with clean Marcus Hardy. 

Okay, I needed to go. 

“Um, okay, I gotta run. Thanks again and I’ll take you up on breakfast another time. I’ve got to get to my sister’s place before she comes over here with my niece in tow.”

Marcus glanced up and a small frown puckered his brow. He seemed concerned. If the guy only knew this was the least of my problems. I wondered what he would think if he knew I actually had nowhere to live. My sister’s couch and Cage’s bed were the only options I had for now. Somehow I knew he’d want to fix that and it warmed me. Shaking my head from my illusions of Marcus, I stepped around him and his yummy goodness then headed for the door. 

“You gonna be okay?” he called as my hand touched the handle. A smile tugged at my lips. I was right. He did care. But then guys like Marcus wanted to save the world. 

“Yep,” I replied glancing back over my shoulder to flash him a smile before stepping outside and heading to my reality.

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Giveaway: 

Abbi is supplying each blog on the tour an ebook copy of Because of Low and a signed bookmark to giveaway.

To enter all you have to do is comment below. You can get more entries by tweeting about this post and adding a link back. If you tweet about it be sure to add @abbiglines to the post so Abbi can keep up with how many entires you have. 

Grand Prize:

1. Signed copy of Breathe by Abbi Glines
2. Signed copy of The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines
3. Signed copy of Existence by Abbi Glines
4. ebook copy of Because of Low

ONE person will win all three copies of Abbi’s other books that are now in print signed by the author along with an ebook copy of Because of Low. To enter for the grand prize be sure to leave a comment at a minimum of five of the blog tour stops. 

Don't forget to check out more stops on the BECAUSE OF LOW Blog Tour by clicking the banner below: 

Existence by Abbi Glines

Existence by Abbi Glines
Reviewed by: Baby Sister Brittany
Release Date: 12/13/2011 ... that's right kids... buy away! Ebooks are just $4.99 right now!
The Sisters say: Exciting, Eerie, Entertaining


What happens when you are stalked by Death? You fall in 
love with him of course. Pagan Moore doesn’t cheat Death, instead, she falls in love with him. 

Seventeen year old Pagan Moore, has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn’t let them know she could see them, they left her alone. Until she steps out of her car on the first day of school and sees an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead. Not only does he not go away, when she ignores him he does something none of the others have ever done; he speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What Pagan doesn’t realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul. He is Death and he is about to break all the rules.




Abbi Glines has done it again! I loved both of her previous contemporary romances, Breathe and The Vincent Boys, and now she's struck out into the world of the paranormal, and I couldn't be happier! I've been dying to read this book since she first revealed the cover... I mean... just LOOK at that cover. GORGEOUS. 


I know you're all drooling right now, but stick with me a little bit longer... it get's better! 


Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Greek Mythology has had a boom in YA lit, particularly modern day tales about Hades, the lord of the Underworld. I'm talking about books like The Goddess Test and Abandon. 


Though Abbi's book doesn't necessarily have any real reliance on Greek Literature, it does have a similar vibe to those books. Abandon (by Meg Cabot), in particular,  received a lot of hype, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't feel like it quite lived up to the excitement everyone stirred up for it. 


Abbi's book comes from a small indie publisher, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Existence was all the things that Abandon should have been, but wasn't! Existence deserves just as much hype as the similar books coming out from the big publishers! Abbi didn't just rely on a cool concept to carry her book through, she had the strong characters to back it up! 


Dank, despite his cringe-worthy, less than stellar name, is definitely one of Abbi's traditional swoon-worthy guys. He's death, and he has all the dark and mysterious qualities that you would expect death to have, but despite that, he manages to fall in love with Pagan. Not an unheard of storyline, I know, but I loved how even Dank seemed perplexed by the way everything went down. He has a job to do, and when that job directly goes against his feelings for Pagan, he takes a big risk and saves her. And after it's over... he keeps protecting her. 


I also loved Leif, the conceited quarterback, who turns out to be not so conceited, that Pagan gets roped into tutoring. I have to say... while I loved Dank... a part of me might love Leif more. I can't wait to learn more about him in the next book!


I think this book started really strong, and I will admit, towards the middle, it started to wander for me a little bit. Not drag, persay, it was definitely still exciting and interesting, but there were some scenes that I didn't really think added to the plot that could have been edited out. And towards the middle, I started to feel that this book was going to play out in a very predictable and cliche way. 


Boy am I glad I stuck it out to the end, because I was completely wrong. The last 25% of this book was filled with twists and turns that left picking my jaw up off the floor. What with the Heroine Tourney going on and all, I'd also been thinking about Pagan's character, and how she (and many females in YA Lit) seemed more like a damsel in distress than a Heroine. However, in that last part of the book, Pagan totally set me straight. She stepped out of the damsel role and made some bold, inspiring choices that were some of my favorite parts of the book. 


And the ending... if you're a fan of big twists and cliff-hanger endings, you will scream for several minutes after this book is over (just like I did). Argh... THAT LAST LINE. Guys, you have no idea. 


All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I still think it could have been stronger in some areas-- tighten up the middle, change poor Dank's name-- but it's a fun, fast, romantic read that's well worth your time! 

Review and Giveaway: The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

The Vincent Boys

by Abbi Glines

Reviewed by: Baby Sister Brittany

The Sisters say: Seductive and Sweet with a Southern Kick!

Being the good girl isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Ashton Gray has grown weary of playing the part to please her parents, and to be worthy of the town’s prince charming, Sawyer Vincent. Maybe That’s why she’s found herself spending time with Sawyer’s cousin, Beau, while he’s away for the summer camping with his family. Beau is nothing like her perfect boyfriend. He’s the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, dangerous in ways she’s only day dreamed about, and the one guy she should stay away from. 

Beau never envied Sawyer his loving parents, his big nice home, or his position as quarterback. He loves him like a brother. Which is why he's tried everything in his power to keep his distance from Sawyer’s girlfriend. Even if he has loved her since the age of five, Ashton is Sawyer’s girl, so therefore she’s off limits. But when Sawyer leaves for the summer, Ashton, the one girl Beau would move Heaven and Earth for, decides she wants to get into trouble. Stabbing the one person who’s always accepted him and stood by him in the back, is the cost of finally holding Ashton Gray in his arms. Is she worth losing his cousin over?.... Hell Yeah.

Before I start this review, can I make a request for a Vincent Boy of my own? Abbi, you hearing this? Santa—you too. Heck,  I’ll talk to the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, I Dream of Jeanie—whichever of you can snag me a boy like Beau, I’ll be forever indebted. Seriously, y’all.

Alright, now that that embarrassing display of obsession is over. Let’s talk about how amazing this book was!

Having been born and raised in the south, I saw my life in Ashton. Isn’t that the goal of any story—to mimic life in art? I can say without a doubt that Glines perfectly captured the passions and pressures of growing up in the South. There is so much pressure to do things right and do them well (all that business about there being no right or wrong way to live your life—you never quite get that message growing up in the south). Ashton reminded me of myself as a teenager, but with a great deal more courage and confidence than I ever allowed myself to have.

Ashton wants Beau, even though she shouldn’t. He’s a bad boy. She’s the preacher’s daughter. He’s her boyfriend’s cousin, and her boyfriend is pretty much the most perfect boy any girl could ask for. Beau’s a dead end—no future.

This isn’t necessarily a new story line, but the way Abbi Glines weaves the story—it feels like you’re actually there with Ashton, choking on the stifling southern air and culture. I was swimming in desire and guilt right along with our protagonist. My heart and my head did battle over which boy I should root for, as Ashton faced the same struggles. I couldn’t put this book down, and when Ashton’s life took a dive in a downward spiral, I fell with her.

You’ll love the boys, the settings, and the steamy romance of this book! It’s a fast, addicting read, and you’ll be aching for more when it’s over.

I only have one qualm about this book, and I wouldn’t even necessarily call it a negative. It was more just something to think about. I questioned what was so special about Ashton that both boys would go through so much for her. This is a common problem in YA in general that’s been bothering me for a while—the oh, so normal heroine who catches the attention of the gorgeous, anything-but-normal guy.

Maybe it’s because I saw myself (and many other girls I’ve known) in Ashton. I wouldn’t say she’s a commodity down here in the south. Every small town has got one (or two).  All that being said, the more I sat down and thought about it, the more I realized that while I’ve known girls like Ashton, I’ve also known boys like Beau and Sawyer. I’ve stood back and watched boys fall all over themselves for a girl who doesn’t appear to be anything special. So while I still have an issue with ordinary heroines attracting extraordinary love interests, I think it works in this setting. In the south, being the seemingly perfect, untouchable, preacher’s daughter who turns out to be not so untouchable is akin to being a marble-skinned, sparkly vampire in rural Washington. It’s the Holy Grail for a southern bad boy (and even for southern good boys).

You should definitely give Vincent Boys a chance, and I’d say keep an eye on Abbi Glines in general. I loved her first book, Breathe, but Vincent Boys blew that one out of the water. I can only assume that her next book, Existence will be just as good, probably better!

And you guys are in luck! As part of the Vincent Boys Blog Tour, we are able to give away one KINDLE copy of the book! Just enter below! Also, please go check out the other stops on the tour!

Giveaway is now closed.

Breathe by Abbi Glines

Breathe by Abbi Glines

Reviewed by: Baby Sister Brittany

The Sisters say: Fun and Flirty

Sadie White's summer job isn't going to be on the beach life-guarding or working at rental booths like most kids her age. With her single mother's increasing pregnancy and refusal to work, Sadie has to take over her mother's job as a domestic servant for one of the wealthy summer families on a nearby island.

When the family arrives at their summer getaway, Sadie is surprised to learn that the owner of the house is Jax Stone, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world. If Sadie hadn't spent her life raising her mother and taking care of the house she might have been normal enough to be excited about working for a rock star.

Even though Sadie isn't impressed by Jax's fame, he is drawn to her. Everything about Sadie fascinates Jax but he fights his attraction. Relationship's never work in his world and as badly as he wants Sadie, he believes she deserves more. By the end of the summer, Jax discovers he can't breathe without Sadie.

But can their love overcome the disparity in their lifestyles? Or will they have to learn how to without each other breathe again?

Before I start this review, I must sing the praises of its author, Abbi Glines. She is an unbelievably awesome person who went above and beyond to make sure we got to read her book! I would have gladly taken the time to read any book (even if it was awful) if the author was a nice as Abbi.  BUT… as it so happens, this book was awesome! So it was a double win for us!

This is our first contemporary book here on YA Sisterhood, and I, for one, enjoyed the break from all things paranormal and supernatural. Normally, I throw a contemporary book in my reading list every once and while to break things up, though it usually ends up being something sad and heartbreaking a la The Book Thief or Revolution. I dove into this book looking for a fun summer escape read, but I found that and so much more! 

This book is over 400 pages, and I devoured it all in one night (and well, early morning)! It was a fun read that took me back to high school, only throw in a cool rockstar. It makes for the perfect sizzling summer read.

HOWEVER…

It also has a lot of depth that I wasn’t expecting. Sadie has a rough home life with an irresponsible mother that makes Sadie take care of everything. And Sadie does it all—she cooks, cleans, makes the money, even takes care of her mother’s new born baby—without ever complaining. She’s got a strong soul, and it really makes you champion her story. You want her to have every happiness because she hasn’t had a whole lot up until now.

As a teacher, I have a couple students who are in similar situations—students who are infinitely more mature at 16 than I ever was. In real life, I offer these students what I can—advice, hope, friendship—but it gets disheartening when I can do little more than encourage these students to survive. Perhaps that’s why I had such a strong emotional connection with this book. Sadie is a survivor, and her actions and emotions were so realistic and true to life that I saw my students in her. And I wanted her to succeed, to do more than survive. I wanted her to live.

I loved this story! And I look forward to seeing what Abbi Glines writes next!

P.S. Guess what? The Nook and/or Kindle Editions of BREATHE are only $5.99!!!