Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

First off I have to say that I have read Poughkeepsie twice, and both times I could not put the story down.

Poughkeepsie is the story of Livia and Blake, plus Cole and Kyle, Eve and Beckett. The primary characters in this story are Livia and Blake and through their meeting and growing relationship we meet Beckett and Cole and they in turn meet those that will help further develop the overall story.

Blake is homeless and spends his days at the Poughkeepsie Train platform waiting to see Livia. Blake is plagued with his own fears that Livia helps him to deal with. She shows Blake that he is worth more than his homeless status. Livia is a college student studying psychology and takes the train everyday to go to school.

Livia and Kyle are sisters and due to their being sisters Kyle meets Cole, who is Blake's Foster Brother, and their connection is immediate, however, Kyle's own personal demons make it hard for Kyle to truly see and be able to accept her feelings for Cole.

Beckett is the oldest of the Three Foster Brothers; Cole and Blake. Beckett has established a ring of drugs and prostitution due to the fact that he wanted to be able to provide for Cole and Blake when they age out of the foster program. Beckett meets Eve and that is a meeting that requires some reading in order to truly see and appreciate their relationship.

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Why do I love Poughkeepsie?

There is a long list of why I truly enjoyed this book, but one of the biggest reasons is because this book proves, time and time again that you can never judge a book or person by their cover.
Blake is homeless, Cole wants to be a minister, and Beckett is the local drug lord and every single one of these characters will surprise you at every turn.

This book shows that a Smile goes a LONG way. There is an underlying message (at least that I see) that shows that the littlest things that you can do can go a long way. Like smiling at the people that you see everyday.

Why do I recommend this book?

Debra Anastasia has a wonderful sense of humor. One minute I was emotionally upset because something happened that I didn't agree with, or there was something that was potentially going to turn the story 180 degrees and I wasn't to sure about it. To laughing out loud, even angry at a couple of parts.

Being that I follow Debra on Twitter, I see a lot of her sense of humor used in her books in the person that she presents to the twitter world and most of all I have no doubt that it is really her. There are more than a few one liners that had me laughing into my pillow in the middle of the night.


If you are looking for a beautiful story that will keep you guessing and keep you wanting to know what will happen next, then pick up Poughkeepsie today.

You can find Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

You can also find Debra on Twitter, Facebook and GoodReads

Thanks guys for reading my review, and let me know if my review helped you in wanting to read Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia.
I have given Poughkeepsie 5 of 5 stars on Amazon and GoodReads.

Until we meet again,

*HugS*
Zoey

"Impossible" By Komal Lewis

I want to review this book on my blog because Komal and I have a lot in common. She is writing and releasing her first book and I was fortunate enough to be able to read an advanced copy.
I say fortunate because I believe that we can see some good things from Komal in the future and this book is a good start to a self published debut.

"Impossible" is about a high school girl named Ashton (and it did take me a little while to get use to the names that Komal used, however, they were very unique and I enjoyed this very much). Ashton is your typical high school girl, trying to fit in. She is the captain of the cheerleading squad and quickly learns that some people are not always who they seem.

Discovering that people, especially high school kids, tend to be about them selves and about their own popularity, they are quick to turn their backs on you. Ashton faces some pretty serious heartbreak and I will be the first to admit that it made me cry, and it also frustrated me because of her overall attitude.

Luca is the typical "bad boy" that kids in the school are quick to label as "a freak" or an outcast. This is part of what brings Ashton and Luca together.

I will not spoil any more of this story because I feel that to truly understand, you will need to read the book yourself.

I have written a review for both Goodreads and Amazon that will be shared below.
I do look forward to seeing what more Komal has to share with the story of Aston and Luca. It is not a book that I am totally hanging and need a sequel now, however it is one of those books that I would like to see Ashton and Luca grow up and I hope that Komal intends to continue the story.

Stop by Amazon and pick up your copy today.

Until we meet again,
Zoey D.
<3

Here is the review that I placed both on Goodreads and Amazon after purchasing a copy for my Kindle.

I have said it on Twitter, and I will say it again on Goodreads as well as Amazon. 

This book is a great Debut novel for Komal Lewis. I see many great things coming from her and I do look forward to reading more of her work. 

I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of this story from Komal herself and I am sorry that I was unable to finish it in time to give real feedback to her before its release. 

The main character Ashton is a little hard to like, I am not going to lie about that. She starts off as a bit stuck up and I personally have little tolerance for characters and people like that in real life. However, I quickly realized that Ashton is your typical high school girl and most importantly, I saw quickly that things were going to work out. Eventually I felt sorry for her and it brought tears to my eyes. Other times I wanted to reach in and smack her stupid.

Luca is your typical bad boy that is easy to fall for. He is easy to like and in some cases easy to hate. 

One of the many things that I enjoyed about "Impossible" is that you are able to follow along with the story from both sides and written in first person vs both sides written in 3rd person. 

I give 4 stars because of the difficulty in truly being able to enjoy the character of Ashton. She frustrated me and made me want to hate her. In the end I did really enjoy her as a whole. 

I do not recommend this book to anyone under the age of 17 because of the language and adult content of the story. I do however recommend this book to anyone wanting to try a new read and what I hope becomes a series.