***Update****
This contest over at A Book Lover’s Review ends in four hours. She’s giving away five copies of Slammed and five of POR, all signed. Also, there’s a character interview with Lake and Will that you have to read. 
http://www.abook-loversreview.com/2012/07/giveaway-character-inverview-will-and.html
Now on to the original post…
Holy crap, I’ve never laughed so hard as I did at some of y’all’s jokes! Freaking hilarious. I especially liked this one from Mr. Ty, because it’s so accurate.
A writer comes home to a burned down house. His sobbing and slightly-charred wife is standing outside. “What happened, honey?” the man asks.
“Oh, Doug, it was terrible,” she weeps. “I was cooking, the phone rang. It was your agent. Because I was on the phone, I didn’t notice the stove was on fire. It went up in seconds. Everything is gone. I nearly didn’t make it out of the house. Poor Susie is…”
“Wait, wait. Back up a minute,” the man says. “My agent called?”
Haha! Okay, enough of that. Winners. These were picked at random, not at all based on the jokes left. If you won a signed book, your name follows. If you won merchandise, your name follows those names. If you’re the winner of the kindle fire, your name follows the name of the merchandise winners who follow the signed book winners, so you better run ‘cuz they’re all gonna kick your ass once they find out you won a kindle fire! If you are a winner, email me at colleenhoover@live.com
Be sure to mention what you won and the address you want it shipped to.
SIGNED BOOKS
Jenni Huffenberger
Christine Calderon
Charli Carter
Coleen E. (nice name)
Ty Funderbunk
Jennifer Fresnedi
Holly Ball
Jodi O’Brien
MERCHANDISE WINNERS (Let me know what item you want from the merch store or if you’d rather have a signed book.)
The mouthy mommy
Angie Salazar
Kindle Fire Winner
****Laramie Knudsen**** (Random, but my baby sis lives in Laramie.) 
So, there you go! Congrats to all the winners and a huge thanks to everyone who participated.
I was able to get quite a bit of writing done this week, which is good since I’m going on vacation to the BEACH! So excited, but that means another hiatus from the blog. These children of mine are sucking the life out of my online social presence. Blame them. :)
And speaking of heading to the beach, I could use a few great book suggestions. Anyone got any? I’m really digging the young adult contemporary romances lately. I’ve had a lot of requests for some recommendations, so here are a few I’ve read. CRASH, EASY, FLAT OUT LOVE, DELICATE, The Fault in Our Stars, The Vincent Brothers,
And here are a few that aren’t so young adult-
Beautiful Disaster (Which made it to #1 on Barnes & Noble today. Congrats Jamie!)
Captive in the Dark (Wowza. This one is INTENSE. Be prepared.)
If you still have not read the Fifty Shades Series…what the heck are you waiting for?
And of course Thoughtless and Effortless.
Happy Reading!
Darn, I didn’t win. I must have maxed out my winning capabilities in the 5th grade with that shiny red bike. Oh well.
Thank you for the book recommendations. I mowed thru your two and Easy in the course of 3 days and have been suffering withdrawals ever since. (And can I say, the book recommendations that show up in B&N – “If you’ve read xyz, you might like abc…” are so far from accurate I don’t even bother with downloading the samples anymore. So, again, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
HAHA OMG I agree. On B&N when I got to SLAMMED and look at my page, it has recommendations of books that were all written over 100 years ago. It’s hilarious.
congrats winner’s
Didn’t win but thanks for giving us the opportunity! You’re great! Can’t wait for your next book. Hope you have fun @ the beach! Be safe.
You make me laugh out loud nearly everytime you post.
My absolute fave summer YA contemporary is Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols. It’s actually 2 books in one (The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer). It’s awesome an you will totally be swooning over Adam!!!
Have a great vaca Colleen!
Oooh, I actually read a blog about that series the other day. I’ll check them out. Thanks!
Enjoy your time off
I have read most of these books this summer and I just downloaded the rest to try out. (except for Captive in the Dark… a bit nervous about that one)
Thanks for the reccomendations!
lol. It’s very intense. If it’s not your style, I wouldn’t suggest it, but if it is…wow. It will leave you questioning your morals. BIG TIME!!! lol
I did read the 50 Shades of Grey series twice so I may check it out but I just need to finish some happy love stories first
My joke was super funny!!!
lol. The winners were picked at random, not based off the jokes.
Don’t worry, I’ll have lots more giveaways!
You make me scream! I Hope you enjoy your vacay! I just finished Captive in the Dark, the dark side of me loved it
I just started Crash this afternoon. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Definitely not young adult but have you read Gabriel’s Inferno? Great read…a little Fifty Shades. Have a great vacation!
Yes I agree gabriels Inferno is a litte 50 shades without the intense sex but has some beautiful passages in it worth highlighting
If you haven’t read Fragile by M. Leighton I highly recommend it. Also recommended The Genius and the Muse by Elizabeth Hunter. They are both fantastic! Bared to You by Sylvia Day. A little fifty shadish and I loved it! I haven’t read it yet but Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols has been highly recommended to me and the sample has me intrigued. It’s on my tbr list
I liked Thoughtless/Effortless by S.C. Stephens, and I couldnt put down First Bitten by Samantha Towle. Sleeping Roses by RaShelle Workman was good also!
Sorry just realized you suggested Thoughtless and Effortless!
some of my favorite reads are…
peony in love by lisa see
the kite runner by khaled hosseini
a thousand splendid suns by khaled hosseini
me & emma by elizabeth flock
jesus land by julia scheeres
the space between us by thrity umrigar
it’s kind of a funny story by ned vizzini
if i stay by gayle foreman
where she went by gayle foreman
still alice by lisa genova
the girl she used to be by david cristofano
rooftops of tehran by mahbod seraji
i will stop for now… but those are just some of the great reads i’ve discovered.
there are a few young adult which i am sure you are aware of… the others are fiction/literature. i pretty much have given my highest rating to books that stay with you. books that teach you something … books that show you another lifetime… books that move you… sometimes to laughter often times to tears… so i hope you enjoy. and if they don’t make it to the beach with you… maybe they’ll just make it onto your list. the must read list! of course. enjoy your time with the sand in your toes…
I just finished reading Edible Delectables last night and I thought it was pretty good. Here are a few others I have liked that I’ve read recently:
Pulled
The Future of our Past
Take this Regret
On the Island
Love Unscripted
The Mariage Bargain
Her Perfect Revenge
Happy Reading. Hope to be able to see you in September.
I really liked Thoughtless/Effortless by S.C Stephens, and I couldn’t put down First Bitten by Samantha Towle. Sleeping Roses by RaShelle Workman was a good book also!
I’m reading Captive in the Dark….Woah. Seriously. I’ve read all the others you’ve recommended.
I would recommend, if you haven’t read them yet: any book by RL Mathewson (LOVE her stuff), Illumine and Obumbrate by Alivia Anders, Spill Over and Knee Deep by Jolene Perry, anything by Jolyn Palliata or Abbi Glines or Killian McRae.
Enjoy!!
I think you already said you read The Boy Who Sneaks In My Room. I loved that one.
A few good reads I have came across lately is the Significance series by Shelly Crane – very good YA books! For a darker read there’s Sempre by JM Darhower. Great book! Hope you have a wonderful vacation!!!
I just read Captive in the Dark per your recommendation, and the best way I could describe it was exactly what you said… INTENSE!! I havent stopped thinking about it. Sept 1 seems so far away. Put your feet in the sand and have a much deserved drink complete w an umbrella. Enjoy!!
Keep the book recommendations coming. So far I’ve read all but 3 or 4 of what you listed and we’re definitely on the same page! Have a great (and safe) vacation!
Try reading Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale by Romona Wray. I didn’t want to read it because of the cover looked more like a kids book but I’m glad I did. Turned out to be a really good book. Enjoy your vacation.
Have you read Tiffany Snow’s No Turning Back and Turn to Me? They are more romance/suspense but great. Or the Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan? It’s intense but great! I am reading Callum & Harper and really like it!
One I really liked, although NOT YA, is Safe With Me by Shaina Richmond. I also just finished Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness. Both very different but really good reads. Enjoy your vacay!!
I have read most of your suggestions this summer – loved Flat Out Love, Thoughtless & Effortless, and Beautiful Disaster. I plan to check out the ones I have not read. One that I have read and can not stop thinking about is On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves. If you have not read it, it would make a great beach read. Have a fun trip!
EASY was awesome! Just reread it this week. Liked The Vincent Boys and The Vincent Brothers, as well. Beautiful Disaster was okay, but I don’t know why, I just didn’t connect with it like I did Slammed, POR, and those mentioned above. Captive In the Dark … wow! Intense didn’t begin to describe it!
Other recommendations:
Cross My Heart
Running Barefoot
Love Unscripted
Barely Breathing
Her Forbidden Hero
I’ve. E’en devouring about
Sorry -
Hit reply before I intended! I was trying to edit … on my kindle!
I meant to say that I am devouring about five or six novels a week this summer!
I started the summer with Fifty Shades – all three of them. I feel bad criticizing an author on another author’s blog, but the writing quality left a little to be desired. Very redundant in places … and the … uh … love scenes kind of lost the shock value and it just felt gratuitous after a while. I have enjoyed the adolescent fiction much more than I did Fifty Shades.
Recently read Seeing Julia—sad and compelling, but a great romance as well. I am so happy for you that you get to go on vacation, Coleen. I am also so excited that you have been writing more, too!!!!!
Can’t wait to hear more from Will and Lake!
oops! so sorry, CoLLeen! very sorry to misspell your name!
I highly recommend Reason to Breath and Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan. They are wonderful!! The best books I’ve read so far this summer beside the Donovan books-50 Shades, Slammed, PoR (you probably don’t want to read you’re own work on vacation.)
, The Marriage Bargain, Marriage List, & The Love List. Have a great vacation!!!
Loving your book recommendations. Read Easy and about halfway through Captive in the Dark! I am definitely coming back to your list when it is time to download more!
Not sure if I liked these because I got them from that incredible blog of yours a while back, but these are some if my recent faves:
The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window was butterflying bemazing.
Other great reads: Almost, Twisted, Forever Changed, Boycotts & Barflies (not so young adult)
Oh and for getting a little racy, Unleashed and Rock Me go together and were pretty awesome. Anything from Bella Andre is great for a beautiful love story with some steamy sex scenes.
Colleen, have you read Grave Refrain by Sarah Glover? Beautiful & awesome tale!
I’m a numbnut and should try to read the entire post prior to commenting – and not while I’m sneaking a peek at work.
Some recommendations from me:
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Juliet by Anne Fortier
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher
The Secret of Everything by Babara O’neal
the entire Elemental Series by Elizabeth Hunter
and the P.B. Ryan series that includes A Bucket of Ashes
These probably don’t fall into the YA type of book but they’re good reads in my opinion.
I’ve recently read and enjoyed (besides your books of course and some others on the list you recommended):
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith
Amplified by Tara Kelly
Wow… Just read your books in 2 days! Colleen, you have such talent! I am a social worker myself, and have to assume that your writing reflects much of what you have learned in the field and in the classroom. I can’t wait to read more- so moving!!! Continued success!
Here’s my books sorted by rank on GoodReads. “The Plagarist” and “The Hurricane” by Hugh Howey come to mind for you. Also “Daytripper” and “Persepolis” are just amazing graphic novels. http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3177908?format=html&shelf=read&sort=rating
Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie
If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Wishing for Someday Soon by Tiffany King
The Wreck by Marie Force
Unlovable by Sherry Gammon
The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred
Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah
Annie’s Song by Catherine Anderson
These are my favorites that I believe you may not have read. Could be wrong
Some of them are not YA books
Have fun on the beach!! Happy reading.
My fave reads from this summer have been:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Thomas & January by Fisher Amelie
Out of the Dark (The Grey Wolves Series) by Quinn Loftis
Time Mends (Timber Wolves) by Tammy Blackwell
The Scourge by A.G. Henley
Oh and Maid for Love by Marie Force was pretty cute and it’s free on the Kindle.
Thanks for the book recommendations, Colleen and others! Got a Kindle recently and now I’m a reading machine! Finishing way more books per week than ever before.
that interview was so endearing! and i must say you and i have such similar imaginations of “faces” we want playing will and layken. the people i had in my head look A LOT like the ones you chose. it’ll make reading the book again that much more pleasing.
Flat out love was adorable and sweet! Def a must read! I’ve had thoughtless on my list for a while too!
The Sweet Gum Tree…….a well written love story. One of my favorites now.
I think you need to read On the Island, if you have not! Perfect since you’re going to the beach (although, don’t get too freaked out!)
A must read series is The Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan. This series helped fill the reading void after reading your books. It is a heartbreaking yet beautiful story that will have you anxiously awaiting the 3rd book.
lol… I didn’t win! I was really hoping to win because I can’t find the books in any bookstore here in the philippines.. I already read the books but I want to own them sine they’re my favorite!! haha! Do you know if if slammed and point of retreat are available in our country?? I’d appreciate it! Thanks so much!! xoxo (^o^) <3
You should try the The Moreno Brothers book series by Elizabeth Reyes.They’re all really good books!:)
Thanks for suggesting the opportunist, i absolutely loved this book.
Besides what you already listed, I’ve also recently enjoyed Mystery Man by Kristen Ashley and Poughkeepsie by Debora Anastasia
I just finished “A Sweethaven Summer” by Courtney Walsh. It was a very sweet part romance and part mystery. It was a nice, quick read that I could hardly put down.
Also the Heather Wells mysteries by Meg Cabot.
#1) Size 12 is Not Fat
#2) Size 14 is Not Fat Either
#3) Big Boned
#4) Size 12 and Ready to Rock
Hope you have fun at th beach!