Carpe DiEmily (Part 1) - Riley J. Ford

TRIGGER WARNINGS: SUICIDE AND MENTIONS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

Emily Keane has her life organized, filed, scheduled, and color-coded, and now things are looking up:  Her boss, Darren, has a promotion she just knows has her name on it, and her longtime boyfriend, Lenny, is going to propose to her tonight.  Except... not.  Turns out the promotion is for her sleazy coworker, Simone Stevens, and Lenny bought her a break-up gift instead of a ring.  Now her life is in shambles, and decides to end her life.  She doesn't want it to end for nothing, though, and decides to donate her organs when she dies - and that's where Dr. Becker comes in.  Enigmatic and calculating, he gives Emily an offer: One million dollars and one year to do what she wants before he comes to assist her suicide and harvests her organs.  Now, with the clock running down, Emily tries to shake up her methodical lifestyle and do what she's never done before: Live spontaneously.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Shadow and the Rose - Amanda DeWees

When ordinary high-school junior Joy Sumner visits a graveyard at midnight on a dare, she doesn't expect to end up sharing a kiss with brooding teen model Tanner Lindsey. And she definitely doesn't expect to make an enemy of Tanner's seductive, sinister mentor, the ageless supermodel Melisande--who may not be entirely human--or to find that her sleepy little corner of North Carolina is buzzing with supernatural energy. 

Joy Sumner, a junior attending Ash Grove, an extremely competitive performing arts high school, ventures out to a graveyard at midnight because of a dare.  What she doesn't expect to find is teen model Tanner Lindsey, an old student at Ash Grove.  She finds herself at odds with the new big celebrity in town, the beautiful Melisande, and works through her year to survive high school and uncover the mystery behind Melisande and Ash Grove.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Investigating the Hottie - Juli Alexander

When Amanda spends a week with her aunt, Christie, she learns that her aunt is a spy. Christie admits that Amanda has security clearance and has already started her training. When her aunt asks her to investigate a teenage hacker, Amanda thinks that spending time with a nerd should be doable despite her social ineptitude. Unfortunately for Amanda, the hacker is a hottie.

Amanda Peterson, super spy. At least, that's the temporary occupation this high school sophomore takes when she spends her fall break at her aunt's place. Her assignment? To investigate a hacker who has promised something big come next Monday. So far, the top suspect is Will Middleton, who attends school near the area. Unfortunately for Amanda, the hacker is, in her words "yummy".

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Remember This (A Romantic Comedy) - Shae Buggs

Lucy, a hard working shenanigan queen, finds evidence that her husband, Mason, cheated on her. In a heated moment, she throws a wine bottle at his head leaving him unable to remember anything from his past. Since she is responsible for her husband’s amnesia, it is her responsibility to get his memory back. Motivated by revenge, Lucy plans a way to get Mason back to normal while having a little fun in the process. This story unveils her comical attempts to sabotage him and how he tries to win her back.

Clumsy and hardworking Lucy Harper has lately found herself growing apart from her husband Mason.  However, one day she finds compelling evidence that he has cheated on her, and in a moment of passion chucks a wine bottle at his head, inducing a case of amnesia.  Now, she needs to get his memory back so they can finally get to divorcing.  However, Lucy soon finds herself falling for this amnesiac Mason, like the first time around.

My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Paparazzi Project - Kristina Springer

Livvie Peterson thought taking Interpersonal Communications her junior year would be an easy A. But when the first assignment is given, her world flips upside down. Here’s the deal: the class is assigned a six-week project and is split into three groups— Paparazzi, Tabloid, and Celebrities. The Paparazzi follow around the Celebrities taking pictures and grabbing any kind of quotes they can. The Celebrities try to navigate being tailed on a daily basis. And the Tabloid receives all the information collected by the Paparazzi and decides what makes the weekly summary report. Sounds harmless…and it’s all just pretend anyway, right? 

Livvie Peterson has just been assigned a project - to be a part of the paparazzi.  For school, of course.  Her junior year Interpersonal Communications class's first assignment is to recreate the relationship between celebrities, paparazzi, and the tabloids.  So she follows around the selected celebrities, taking pictures, and sending them to her tabloid contact, the cute Chas, to spin several articles a week, just like regular tabloids.  It starts off innocently enough, but exactly how much can someone take their personal life being broadcasted to the school?

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Scary Mary - S.A. Hunter

Mary has always been different. She’d like to be normal, but being able to hear ghosts means she’ll never be like everyone else. She starts her junior year of high school hoping to be left alone, but Cyrus Asher is new and doesn’t know or seem to care that she’s an outcast. They start hanging out and all is well until she goes over to his house. Cy’s house is haunted, and not by Caspar, the friendly ghost. 

Mary is an outcast at her school. She can hear ghosts, and that, complemented with her macabre sense of humor, has earned her the title of 'Scary Mary' or freak, if classmates don't want to get too formal. However, the new kid, Cy, doesn't seem too bad. In fact, Mary kind of likes him. But when she goes over to his house, she finds that Cy's house is haunted, and not by any old thing, but by a malevolent and dangerous spirit.

My rating: 2 out of 5 stars