Buffy's Ramblings

Thanks to I Read Indie for hosting this blog tour. I'm sharing my review of Shelly Crane's Wide Awake . Happy reading! ***************************** Summary: A girl. A coma. A life she can't remember. When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital. Will she ever feel lik...

Recap: This is it; where it all comes together. With everything that’s happened, Maggie’s overwhelmed, but she can finally focus on her life with Caleb. However, she does have a few others things still on her mind. Haddock is now a part of her life, Marcus is still at large, Maggie’s human past struggles for a place in her future, and Caleb learns how to lead his family just as Maggie learns how to lead their people. Even with all that, they focus on their wedding plans and everything that will come after. They have a lot to look forward to… Title:   Independence Series:   Significance Book #:  4 Author:   Shelly Crane Approximate Book Length:   350 Pages Recommended Reader Age:   16+ Sexual Content:   Mild Thoughts: This book focuses a lot more on Caleb and Maggie as a couple and their places in their families rather than the rest of the Virtuoso. We still get some action as far as danger and threats and Maggie’s gift, but the ...

Recap: Following Sherry and Merrick’s story, we old acquaintances, new friends, and new enemies emerge. Things change for everybody, but especially for Sherry and Merrick, when a little girl is found and loyalties are tested. We get new perspectives, new romances, new rivalries, and more in this Collide installment. Title:   Uprising Series:   Collide Book #:  2 Author:   Shelly Crane Approximate Book Length:   461 Pages Recommended Reader Age:   16+ Sexual Content:   Mild Thoughts: It’s rare to say that a sequel is better than the first, but I definitely feel that this one is. The stakes have always been high, but Shelly Crane takes it up another notch. There’s relationships we love, and they only get stronger, though more complicated in some cases. Old acquaintances come back, and new friends are made in the most unlikely of places. New relationships evolve, new dangers faced, and the story in its entirety just keeps you on ...

Recap: Sherry is eighteen and leads a boring life working for a tabloid newspaper and supporting her mooch of a brother, Danny. She’s always believed that there’s something out there – something…different. When the moon goes missing and people start disappearing only to reappear changed later, she’s proven right. That’s driven home when her abusive ex-boyfriend shows up on her doorstep claiming to literally be a different man, Merrick. He says he’s there to protect her and Danny and plans to take them underground. There’s so much weirdness in the world, it would be nice to have someone to lean on, to count on, but can she really trust him? Title:   Collide Series:   Collide Book #:  1 Author:   Shelly Crane Approximate Book Length:   390 Pages Recommended Reader Age:   16+ Sexual Content:   Mild Thoughts: This was an exciting story, with mystery, loyalty, danger, and of course the kind of love that Shelly Crane is so good at conv...

Author of the Significance , Collide , and Devour series, and having recently announced the title of the first book in a new series, Smash into Me , Shelly Crane is a very busy woman! She was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions. Below you’ll find a little insight into the mind of an ambitious author who loves what she does! How did you come up with the story line behind your books? Burger wrappers, dreams, road signs, cheesy commercials. Just about anything can spark a vibe of imagination ;) Are you planning to keep going and going, going? Oooooooh yeah. Absolutely. What did you want to be when you were growing up? A cop. You can try to figure that one out..... Who's your favorite author and\or favorite book and why? Love me some Richelle Mead and Kelly Armstrong. Love Quinn Loftis, Georgia Cates, Fisher Amelie, Colleen Hoover, Samantha Young, Amy Bartol.... I could go on for miles. Do you have a cast in mind if your book were ever to become a m...

Recap: Clara had the perfect life, until her parents were torn from her life. Now living with the Pastor and his family, she’s coping, but noticeably different. However, it isn’t until the new kid, Eli, shows up that her life will truly change, in ways she never could’ve imagined. Title:   Devour Series:   Devour Book #:  1 Author:   Shelly Crane Approximate Book Length:   283 Pages Recommended Reader Age:   16+ Sexual Content:   Mild Thoughts: Another young love story from Shelly Crane, and once again, it’s sweet and romantic. However, this tale has a dark side. Eli is more than he seems, and loving Clara drags her into his world, which is teeming with danger and cruelty. Even Eli’s brother has a mean streak. This book also introduces a new kind of immortal, making for neat concepts and characters. However, even with the romance and excitement, I just didn’t feel the same connection I had with Shelly’s other works, an...

Recap: Now facing the Virtuoso council, and with problems piling up around them, Maggie and Caleb struggle to keep Maggie’s father and brother safe while remaining stuck at the reunification. Peter and the rest of Caleb’s family stand at their side as they all fight a corrupted council, try to thwart whatever is up Marla’s sleeve, and help do everything in their power to save Maggie’s family. Then, seemingly out of the blue, Maggie and Caleb get the shock of their lives from an unlikely ally. Title:   Defiance Series:   Significance Book #:  3 Author:   Shelly Crane Approximate Book Length:   281 Pages Recommended Reader Age:   16+ Sexual Content:   Mild Thoughts: In this third installment, we pick up right where we left off in book two; with Maggie, Caleb and the Jacobsons standing among all of the Virtuoso clans and the council staring them down. As daunting as that in itself is, things just seem to go from bad to worse as the co...

Recap: Having survived her first encounter with the Watsons, Maggie now discovers that she’ll need to face all of the Virtuoso clans, in a way she never could’ve expected. With new family challenges and her new role to fill, Maggie will struggle with the stress, and cling to Caleb more than ever as threats draw nearer. Title:   Accordance Series:   Significance Book #:  2 Author:   Shelly Crane Approximate Book Length:   305 Pages Recommended Reader Age:   16+ Sexual Content:   Mild Thoughts: An excellent sequel! We pick up right where we left off in the first book, and just as Maggie and Caleb are beginning to enjoy a taste of independence, they’re thrown another curve ball, making the family rush to their side once again. This wouldn’t be such a problem if Maggie could control her powers, and if she didn’t have to keep hiding from her human brother. On top of that, Maggie and Caleb get an unexpected visitor. Armed with the info...

Recap: After a rough year, seventeen year old Maggie finds everything she could’ve asked for and more when she saves the life of a stranger. As her life undergoes many changes, there are those would seek to take all she’s finally found away from her. Title:   Significance Series:   Significance Book #:  1 Author:   Shelly Crane Approximate Book Length:   378 Pages Recommended Reader Age:   16+ Sexual Content:   Mild Thoughts: What an adorable, sweet and addictive story! It’s told from Maggie’s point of view, and it’s touching to follow her as she graduates from high school having suffered through a breakup with her boyfriend of three years, abandonment by her mother, and a withdrawn father all in the last year. She has no idea Caleb’s her future when she saves his life. At the first touch of their skin, they imprint, seeing bits and pieces of their future together flash before their eyes. Caleb introduces his soul mate to his fa...