Feasted On: Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein

- This is an ARC book - Available Formats through Amazon.com: Paperback - Pages: 305; Kindle Edition - File Size: 552 KB | Expected Release Date: March 5, 2013 | Publisher: Entangled Publishing : Teen | Obtained: Entangled Publishing

"Dear Cassie" by Lisa Burstein

My Book Summary : Since Cassie was only 17-years-old when her arrest took place, she gets to be sent to a Wilderness Survival Camp instead of jail. However, Cassie feels like she deserves being there, not because of her arrest during her horrible prom night but because of what happened as a result after that night. Now she's fighting her personal demons while dealing with teens that have their own issues, a Drill Sergeant type of "counselor," and a hot annoying boy--Ben--who wants Cassie to spill all of her secrets to him.

Cassie might just find that this is the one place that will break down all of her barriers...

Will she be able to keep her secrets to herself? Will she loose her identity and possibly her heart during her time there? Or will she find a way to escape under the radar of everyone around her before it's too late?

My Book Review : 4 out of 5 stars!! A girl tries to protect herself and her secrets while being thrown into a "wilderness survival camp." This novel is a spin-off/follow-up to Ms. Burstein's "Pretty Amy," and while I never read "Pretty Amy," it gives a good view point of what Cassie went through to get where she is as well as the process she goes through to slowly get better. However, I will say from Cassie's POV it made me really not like Amy.

Cassie as a character goes through severe personality changes, even without her being aware of it at times, throughout this novel. She starts out as a tough character, and while she keeps some aspects of that, by the end of this novel she turns into someone who doesn't try to keep everyone at arm’s length anymore. Plus, I really enjoyed reading about the secondary characters and the small romance between Ben & Cassie.

Ben is a guy who would do anything, literally, to help those he loves or feels he needs to protect. Together Cassie & Ben seem like oil and water, but in truth, they balance each other out in a way that surprises Cassie and scares her because of how that changes her in some ways too.

The ending has a few surprising twists that I didn't expect. However, what I loved most about this novel was the constant mystery of learning about Cassie's secrets and her past while wondering what she'll do to make her future better.

I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who likes dramatic YA/NA sorta romances with a strong female main character.

My Previous Guest Post(s) by this Author : A Day in the Life of Lisa Burstein - March 2013

Author's Novel Extras : BIG News! PRETTY AMY WILL HAVE A BOOK SISTER! | DEAR CASSIE NEWS | To Fuck or not to Fuck- Editing Dear Cassie for Content | DEAR CASSIE COVER REVEAL SIGN-UP & CONTEST | My new book: DEAR CASSIE COVER & First 5 pages!!!! | DEAR CASSIE Diary Contest Finalists!- VOTE | DEAR CASSIE Diary Contest WINNER!!! | Which of your books should/can I read first? | Entangled in Love Blog Hop! | The NEXT BIG THING Blog Hop | HAPPY Dear Cassie NEWS! | WIN a Kindle/Nook or other great prizes in the Dear Cassie Launch Celebration | DEAR CASSIE is AVAILABLE- Free Bookplates & Bookmarks | CONTEST! Guess how many F*cks are in Dear Cassie | DEAR CASSIE Book Trailer! | WINNERS of the How Many F*cks in DEAR CASSIE Contest!

Author's Book Trailer :

Author's Book Interview(s) :



Book Teaser(s) :

We had a long, tiring day ahead of us. That would have been bad enough, more than bad enough, but, of course, the boys were waiting at attention for us at the trailhead. They stood in a line: Nerone, the guys next to him in order of height. Ben was in the middle, grinning at me like someone behind him was pulling back his skin.
“Claire, what’s with the smile?” Rawe asked.
“Just ready to hike with my fellow hikers,” Ben said.
“You look deranged,” I said.
“You look like you’d be into deranged.” He smirked, daring me.
“No more talking,” Nerone yelled.
I smirked back, thinking Ben was lucky that Nerone had told us to be quiet. Not that I had any idea how to respond. I was into deranged. ~ within DAY 9 - titled '21 Fucking Days to Go'

“I’m not taking your hand,” I said, like I was reminding myself not to as much as I was saying it to him.
“I’m patient,” he said, starting to hum.
“You are a zombie that won’t die,” I said, looking up at him.
He held his arms out in front of him and shuffled his feet. “Brains,” he moaned. “Mmmm, Cassie brains.”
I started to laugh. I couldn’t help it.
“Mmmm, Cassie laughs,” he moaned, still acting like a zombie.
“You’re seriously crazy,” I said, finally standing up.
“But that’s why you love me,” he said, pretending to tap dance.
I started to laugh again and it made him dance harder, faster, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
“I’ll keep this up all day if I have to,” he said. He was clearly out of breath, but he didn’t stop.
Laughing at him, I felt warm, safe. Like I had at the lakeshore, in that moment when I had let myself hold his hand. When I had forgotten I needed to stay away.
“You can’t keep dancing forever,” I said.
“Well, you can’t keep pushing me away forever,” he said. “Eventually one of us is going to have to give up.” ~ within DAY 18 - titled '12 Fucking Days to Go'

For more information on this book and/or any other books by Lisa, then please check out her website.