Review: The Guardian's Wildchild by Feather Stone

The Guardian's Wildchild, Feather Stone

Rating:  DNF (Did Not Finish)

Genre: Fantasy/Romance, Adult

Publication: 9/27/2011, Omnific Publishing

# of Pages: 277

Buy It:


Source:  I received a copy free of charge from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review. This has in no way affected my review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Sidney Davenport is known as Wildchild to her Guardian mentor, Greystone. She rebels against rules. Wildchild is gifted in the paranormal, but carefully conceals her powers from the world. Even in the crises that threaten her life, she refuses to use her powers of telepathy, telekinesis, space/time travel. If her enemies discovered the truth of who she is, her Guardian people would be destroyed. She calls upon her spirit guides, Seamus and Celeste, to guide her through a mine field of the insane - Madame and Captain Butchart.

Sidney leaves her home on Hawk's Island to help the underground stop two people who are about to cause worldwide madness. Unskilled in esponage, she is arrested and sentanced to death. But, God help Sidney, she can't deny her attraction to the man who has orders to perform her execution - the tall, dark eyed Captain Waterhouse. He's meticulous, disciplined and lives by the strict rules expected of an officer of the American navy.

Captain Waterhouse is about to scrap his higher morals to bust out of his hell. When a female prisoner is delivered to his ship, he has no idea she is capable of turning his disciplined life into a storm of unimaginable experiences. His prisoner's enemies, he discovers, are also the ones who hold his life in the palm of their hands.

Through stunning imagery, an intricate and adventurous plot, and a strong cast of characters, Feather Stone gives readers a fast paced story woven with murder and magic.

My Review:  I used to feel bad about not finishing a book. About not giving it its best chance to thrill me, but with all the books out there that I want to read, I can't waste time on books that fail to interest me. The Guardian's Wildchild is one of those books. The writer's style and voice failed to grab me. The dialogue never rang true and, to be perfectly honest, I just found it boring.

Granted, I didn't even make it 100 pages in, but by that point, I'd had enough. I have to stop when reading becomes a chore. Life is far too short to read books you don't enjoy.

Now, to be fair, this book has received some positive reviews. I've included links to a few below:

Novels on the Run Goodreads Review
Nicki Elson's Goodreads Review

But in the end, this one just wasn't for me. I'll leave you all to read both the positive and negative reviews, and decide for yourselves. You can read the first chapter for free on Kindle if you're curious.


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Waiting on Wednesday {6}: Live Through This by Mindi Scott

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is an October 2012 release from Simon Pulse and Mindi Scott. I love almost every book that Simon Pulse puts out and Mindi Scott's novel Freefall was amazing, so I have no doubt this one will be equally as awesome. Plus, um, look at the pretty cover.

Live Through This, Mindi Scott

Release Date: 10/2/2012, Simon Pulse

Goodreads / Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Sometimes hiding the truth requires more than a lie . . .

From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her from the annoying drama. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a stepdad and mom who would stop at nothing to keep her and her siblings happy and safe.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now, Coley and Reece are getting closer, and as Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect in this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel.

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So there's mine. What's your WOW pick this week? Also, if you want to participate, head on over to Breaking the Spine and link up!!

Recent Reads: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

The Pledge (The Pledge #1), Kimberly Derting

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Age Group/Genre: Young Adult, Dystopic Fantasy

Publication: 11/15/2011, Margaret K. McElderry

# of Pages: 323

Buy It:


Source: Books Owned - Hardcover

Synopsis from Goodreads:  In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

My Review:  My first Kimberly Derting book and she goes straight to my list of favorite authors. That should speak volumes. I've never read Kimberly Derting's Body Finder series and now I wish I had. She is a remarkable writer, and in The Pledge, she gives us a fantasy world complete with an evil queen, a stringent class system, and a brewing rebellion. Not to mention an incredibly dreamy love interest for the main character.

Seriously, I'm in love with Max. He doesn't beat Perry from Under the Never Sky, but he's right up there with him. He's uber HOT, with his dark hair and his dark eyes. And the way he leans in when he talks to Charlie. The little touches, the almost kisses. I was seriously dying the entire time I was reading this book. The romantic tension alone would have been enough for me to love this book.

I am a huge fan of the build-up. I love all the little things that finally lead to the first kiss. If the characters are making out ten pages in, it's just not going to work for me. Fortunately, The Pledge played with my emotions and made me wait for that moment.

Note: I'm always going to lean toward the more romantic of the dystopias, because if I can't get behind the love story, if I don't want to see two people survive their awful world and live happily ever after, then there's really no point for me.

Moving right along, Charlie is strong, resilient, and feisty. Exactly my kind of heroine. From the very beginning, you get the sense that she is unhappy with the way of the world, with the fact that she has to hide her gift for fear of execution. She's loyal to her friends and family. She also loves her little sister Angelina and would do anything to protect her. It's something to which almost everyone can relate. We all have those people in our lives for whom we would easily sacrifice everything.

I love pretty much everything about this book. The setting and the characters are all incredible. And I love words. I love the power words have. With the right words, the right tone, you can make another human being feel something: pain, happiness, sympathy. It's why I write. With The Pledge, Kimberly Derting has given us a powerful, suspensful novel that explores the power of language. It's wholly engrossing, mysterious, and romantic. Still, I kind of wish I'd waited until closer to the release date of part 2 as I now have to wait until January 2013 for the sequel. Oh well, I have no doubt the wait will be worth it since The Pledge was fantastic.

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Guest Post: Alien Zombies

 

Today, I'm delighted to bring you a guest post by author Aubrie Dionne as part of her Tundra 37 Blog Tour. In case you guys don't remember I last hosted Aubrie when she released the first novel in her A New Dawn series last year. You can check out my interview here. Feel free to also check out my review of Paradise 21, the first book in the series. I've recently completed Tundra 37 and loved it, so expect a review on that later this week.

Okay, enough from me. Here'e Aubrie:

Alien Zombies

Yes, you read it right: aliens and zombies (two of my favorite things) combined. I wanted to write a zombie book, but I didn’t want it to be like all the other ones out there, with decaying humans eating people’s brains. I wanted to put my own twist on it, make the zombies original in a way that made sense with my sci fi world. This is how A Hero Rising came about. 

So, I came up with Morpheus, a substance gleaned from minerals mined on the moon. In A Hero Rising, resources on Earth are used up, so scientists send giant lunar freighters to the moon. Sure, it’s a great source of minerals, but little do they know an alien virus resides deep within the rocks. Exposure to this virus will not only give you superhuman speed, but will make you want to kill and transform you into a creature from another world.

This is the main reason for the fall of Old Earth. Sure, overpopulation has eaten away at dwindling resources, but it’s the outbreak that’s the last straw. In an attempt to keep the virus under control, the World Coalition bombs entire cities, and everyone who’s anyone has a ticket on a colony ship.

But, what if you were left behind?

Aubrie Dionne

Romantic Science Fiction and Fantasy
Get Swept Away to Other Worlds...
http://www.authoraubrie.com
http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com

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About the Book:

Tundra 37 (A New Dawn #2)

Synopsis:  Gemme is a hi-tech matchmaker who pairs the next generation of Lifers aboard the Expedition, a deep space transport vessel destined for Paradise 18. When the identity of her lifemate pops up on her screen, she’s shocked that he’s the achingly gorgeous and highly sought after Lieutenant Miles Brentwood—a man oblivious to her existence. Believing everyone will think she contrived the match, she erases it from the computer’s memory.

Just as comets pummel the ship and destroy the pairing system forever.

With the Expedition disabled, the colonists must crash land on the barren ice world of Tundra 37 where Gemme is reassigned to an exploratory mission, led by Lieutenant Brentwood. Only in the frozen tundra does she understand the shape of his heart and why the computer has entwined their destinies.

http://www.entangledpublishing.com/tundra-37/

Amazon               Barnes and Noble

Tundra 37 Book Trailer:

http://youtu.be/3XcwFtmeTcM

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About the Author:

Aubrie is an author and flutist in New England. Her stories have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, A Fly in Amber, and several print anthologies including Skulls and Crossbones by Minddancer Press, Rise of the Necromancers, by Pill Hill Press, Nightbird Singing in the Dead of Night by Nightbird Publishing, Dragontales and Mertales by Wyvern Publications, A Yuletide Wish by Nightwolf Publications, and Aurora Rising by Aurora Wolf Publications.  Her epic fantasy is published with Wyvern Publications, and several of her ebooks are published with Lyrical Press and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. When she’s not writing, she plays in orchestras and teaches flute at Plymouth State University and a community music school.

http://www.authoraubrie.com
http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com

This Week in Books: 2/27/12 - 3/4/12

Here are the books on my TBR list that will be released sometime this week. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave me a comment letting me know which book(s) you're most looking forward to this week.

Channeler's Choice (Channeler #2), Heather McCorkle

Release Date: 2/27/2012 by Compass Press

Goodreads / Amazon

Oppression (Children of the Gods #1), Jessica Therrien

Release Date: 2/28/2012 by Zova Books

Goodreads / Amazon

Lone Wolf, Jodi Picoult

Releast Date: 2/28/2012 by Atria

Goodreads / Amazon

The Possibility of You, Pamela Redmond

Release Date: 2/28/2012 by Gallery Books

Goodreads / Amazon

The Ruined City (The Veiled Isles Trilogy #2), Paula Brandon

Release Date: 2/28/2012 by Spectra

Goodreads / Amazon

The Sphinx Project (Chimaera Chronicles #1), Kate Hawkings

Release Date: 2/28/2012

Goodreads / Amazon

Partials (Partials #1), Dan Wells

Release Date: 2/28/2012 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads / Amazon

Allegiance (Legacy #2), Cayla Kluver

Release Date: 2/28/2012 by Harlequin Teen

Goodreads / Amazon

When the Sea is Rising Red, Cat Hellisen

Release Date: 2/28/2012 by FS&G

Goodreads / Amazon

Pandemonium (Delirium #2), Lauren Oliver

Release Date: 2/28/2012 by HarperCollins

Goodreads / Amazon

Perception (Clarity #2), Kim Harrington

Release Date: 3/1/2012 by Scholastic

Goodreads / Amazon

Ripper, Stefan Petrucha

Release Date: 3/1/2012 by Philomel Books

Goodreads / Amazon

Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters, Meredith Zeitlin

Release Date: 3/1/2012 by G.P. Putnam Sons

Goodreads / Amazon

Hide & Seek (Games of Zeus #1), Aimee Laine

Release Date: 3/1/2012 by J. Taylor Publishing

Goodreads / Amazon

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Recent Reads: Fair Coin by E.C. Myers

Fair Coin (Coin #1), E.C. Myers

 5 of 5 Stars

Age Group / Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Expected Publication: 3/27/2012, Pyr

# of Pages: 250 (Hardcover)

Buy It:


Source:  I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review. This has in no way affected my review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more disturbing: she thought she’d identified Ephraim’s body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin—a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he’s liked since second grade. But the coin doesn’t always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people’s lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he’s ever wanted—if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.

My Review:  If you follow my blog there are two things you should know by now:

·         I love a story told from a male point of view

·         I'm hopelessly addicted to all things Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Put these two things together in a Young Adult novel and you get Fair Coin, a story about a teenage boy who finds a magic coin capable of granting his every wish. And, come on, who wouldn't want that?

When Ephraim makes his first wish—that his mother wasn't in the hospital from her suicide attempt—he gets more than he bargained for, returning home to find his mother not only healthy but darn-near perfect. Like a dream come true. Of course not all his wishes go as expected and as it turns out, they each have unintended consequences.

Fair Coin is one of those stories that begs to be read. You think you can stop after a few pages or chapters, but thoughts of it will always be there, tugging at your mind even as you try to sleep. There's a constant air of mystery. I spent a lot of time when I wasn't reading wondering what would happen the next time Ephraim made a wish, where the coin came from, and why it had this inexplicable power to transform his life.

I loved Ephraim, Nathan, and their relationship with one another, at least in the beginning. They're geeky, but in an adorable geeky sort of way. And they're hilarious. For me, there's something genuine and honest about a male/male friendship that I always seem to find lacking in a female/female friendship. Teenage girls can be catty, but teenage boys are usually just fun.

Jena, Ephraim's long-standing crush, is awesome. She's snarky, responsible, and intelligent. She's not the kind of girl who gets all googly-eyed over a boy and forgets she has a brain. Even Ephraim's mother is a very real and relatable character. And when each of Ephraim's wishes alters their personalities or their circumstances, I still had this sense that they were very much the same people, that they still possessed some ingrained characteristic that the new environment could not change.

Fair Coin is a stellar debut. It's witty, adventurous, and thought provoking. It takes the age-old tale of wishes gone wrong and turns it into something new and extraordinary. Bravo to E.C. Myers for not only making complex theories exciting and accessible to a young adult audience, but for refusing to dumb down the science aspect of science fiction. The characters aren't know-it-all brainiacs—they're regular teenagers—but they're intelligent enough to grasp and explain what's going on. And they're funny and interesting enough to keep the reader tearing through the pages.

Highly recommended. This one made it straight to my favorites shelf. The sequel, currently entitled Quantum Coin, should be released sometime in 2013.

Recent Reads: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Incarnate (Newwoul #1), Jodie Meadows

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Age Group / Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Published: 1/31/2012, Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)

# of Pages: 384 (Hardcover)

Buy It:


Source:  I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review. This has in no way affected my review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:  New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

My Review:  I think I benefitted from not having any expectations about this book going in. Yes, I had seen the INCREDIBLE cover and I knew the story involved reincarnation and the introduction of a new soul, but that was about it. I'd avoided reviews and all the hype surrounding its release. There was nothing for it to live up to, so I guess I was simply able to enjoy it.

I will admit that I found it to be a little slow and the writing style a little jerky in the beginning. And while I didn't click instantly with Ana, the story was very romantic and Sam was incredibly dreamy, so I was easily drawn in by the developing love story. I was also unable to tear myself away from the mystery that is Ana. Where did she come from? Will she be reborn? Why was she born in Ciana's place? And what the heck is up with that temple? Why do the dragons attack? Where do the Sylph come from? I felt like I was reading the Lost of books. I had to keep turning pages because there were so many questions and theories swirling around in my head.

Incarnate is unique and deeply intriguing, filled with tons of mystery and romance. And for such a slow-paced, almost laid-back book, I found my pulse accelerating an awful lot. There were just these moments that captured my attention (usually when Sam was on the page) and made me want more. More what? I don't know. I just felt like there should have been more. I don't know, I guess I'll have to wait until the end of the series to be fully satisfied.

The ending felt a bit rushed and a lot is thrown at the reader all at once. It does take some effort to wade through and process, but overall Incarnate is a great read and I highly recommend it to lovers of YA fantasy and romance. The sequel is definitely on my must read list!

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Friday Fun Featuring Chris Hemsworth

I'm a geek. If you don't know this by now, you haven't been paying much attention. One sign of my geekiness is the fact that I love Star Trek in all its forms. I've seen them all.

Growing up, my sisters Katie, Jo-Anne, and I used to play Star Trek, with Jo-Anne as Captain Kirk, Katie as Dr. McCoy, and me as Spock.

Now that you know this, it should come as no surprise that I was watching the 2009 Star Trek film the other day for probably the millionth time, bawling my eyes out as I always do during the prologue scene featuring George Kirk, when it occurred to me that actor playing him is Chris Hemsworth.

I've always thought Captain Kirk's father was hot. I mean look at him.

Why do you think this scene makes me cry so much? So much gorgeousness and charm dies. (OMG, when he's discussing baby names with his wife and he says, "Tiberius? You kidding me? No, that's the worst," and he gives that small laugh, I swear my heart almost stops.) But I never realized, before that night, that he was the same actor who played Thor. I'm slow, I know.

Anyway, this led me to looking through images of Chris Hemsworth on the internet, which led to me tweeting, "If I did a blog post with just pictures of Chris Hemsworth would you all read it?" The answer was a resounding yes. Thus, Friday Fun Featuring was born. Basically it will be a post featuring anything and everything. Whatever happens to be on my mind. I can't promise it will be weekly--I get busy sometimes--but it will be fun.

Now, without further ado, I give you Chris Hemsworth. Enjoy!!!!

That made my day. Hope yours is just as awesome!!

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To Be Read Thursday {25}

TBR Thursday is a weekly post where I draw attention to books by sharing with you the books I've either purchased, received, borrowed, or received for review, plus 10 books currently on my TBR list.

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Books Purchased:

The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1), Aimee Carter

Release Date: 4/19/2011, Harlequin Teen

Synopsis from Goodreads:  It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

Goodreads / Amazon

Cold Kiss, Amy Garvey

Release Date: 9/20/2011, HarperTeen

Synopsis from Goodreads:  When her boyfriend, Danny, is killed in a car accident, Wren can’t imagine living without him. Wild with grief, she uses the untamed powers she’s inherited to bring him back. But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy she once loved.

Wren has spent four months keeping Danny hidden, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school and somehow, inexplicably, he can sense her secret. Wren finds herself drawn to Gabriel, who is so much more alive than the ghost of the boy she loved. But Wren can’t turn her back on Danny or the choice she made for him—and she realizes she must find a way to make things right, even if it means breaking her own heart.

Amy Garvey’s transcendent teen debut is perfect for fans of Shiver and Beautiful Creatures. Wren’s unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

Goodreads / Amazon

Breath of Angel (The Angeleon Circle #1), Karyn Henley

Release Date: 6/21/2011, Waterbrook Press

Synopsis from Goodreads:  The stranger’s cloak had fallen back, and with it, a long, white, blood-stained wing.
When Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of a stranger in the temple courtyard, age-old legends recited in song suddenly come to life. She discovers wings on the stranger, and the murderer takes the shape of both a hawk and a man.

Angels. Shape-shifters. Myths and stories—until now.

Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm. When Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without settling an ancient debt—the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny.

Goodreads / Amazon

Books Received for Review:

Titanic, Voices from the Disaster, Deborah Hopkinson

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Scholastic

Release Date: 3/1/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Critically acclaimed nonfiction author Deborah Hopkinson pieces together the story of the TITANIC and that fateful April night, drawing on the voices of survivors and archival photographs.

Scheduled to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the TITANIC, a topic that continues to haunt and thrill readers to this day, this book by critically acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson weaves together the voices and stories of real TITANIC survivors and witnesses to the disaster -- from the stewardess Violet Jessop to Captain Arthur Rostron of the CARPATHIA, who came to the rescue of the sinking ship.

Packed with heartstopping action, devastating drama, fascinating historical details, loads of archival photographs on almost every page, and quotes from primary sources, this gripping story, which follows the TITANIC and its passengers from the ship's celebrated launch at Belfast to her cataclysmic icy end, is sure to thrill and move readers.

Goodreads / Amazon

The House of Velvet & Glass, Katherine Howe

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Voice/Hyperion

Release Date: 4/10/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Katherine Howe, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, returns with an entrancing historical novel set in Boston in 1915, where a young woman stands on the cusp of a new century, torn between loss and love, driven to seek answers in the depths of a crystal ball.

Still reeling from the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl Allston is living a life of quiet desperation with her taciturn father and scandal-plagued brother in an elegant town house in Boston’s Back Bay. Trapped in a world over which she has no control, Sibyl flees for solace to the parlor of a table-turning medium.

But when her brother is suddenly kicked out of Harvard under mysterious circumstances and falls under the sway of a strange young woman, Sibyl turns for help to psychology professor Benton Derby, despite the unspoken tensions of their shared past. As Benton and Sibyl work together to solve a harrowing mystery, their long-simmering spark flares to life, and they realize that there may be something even more magical between them than a medium’s scrying glass.

From the opium dens of Boston’s Chinatown to the opulent salons of high society, from the back alleys of colonial Shanghai to the decks of the Titanic, The House of Velvet and Glass weaves together meticulous period detail, intoxicating romance, and a final shocking twist that will leave readers breathless. 

Goodreads / Amazon

Books Won:

A Great & Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray

From Kelly at Radiant Shadows. Thanks so much!!

Goodreads / Amazon

To Be Read Books:

  

Witch Hunt, Devin O'Branagan

Goodreads / Amazon

 

Ten Things We Did, Sarah Mlynowski

Goodreads / Amazon

Bloodlands (Bloodlands #1), Christine Cody

Goodreads / Amazon

Waterfall (River of Time #1), Lisa T. Bergren

Goodreads / Amazon

Sweet Venom (Medusa Girls #1), Tera Lynn Childs

Goodreads / Amazon

Fateful, Claudia Gray

Goodreads / Amazon

Virals (Virals #1), Kathy Reichs

Goodreads / Amazon

Illuminated, Erica Orloff

Goodreads / Amazon

Stay With Me, Paul Griffin

Goodreads / Amazon

 

Lola and the Boy Next Door, Stephanie Perkins

Goodreads / Amazon

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Looking into the Dark

Today was my day to post to The Indelibles website. I decided to tackle dark themes in YA literature. Here's a preview:

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Thinking of a blog post is never easy. In fact, until last week I had absolutely no idea what I would write about. You all may not know this about me but I'm intensely shy. I suffer from severe stage fright. It's ridiculous, I know. Still, it's a part of who I am and I worried that whatever I had to say would fail to meet the expectations of this wonderful group that I'm lucky to be a part of.

Fortunately something happened last week (and not the my-laptop-broke something) that provided inspiration.

I've been blogging on my own blog A New Kind of Ordinary for almost a year now. At some point during this time, my blog became a book blog. It was a natural transition given my profound and undying love for the written word. I've posted reviews on my blog regularly along with other content and never really thought my opinion was affecting anyone. I wrote mostly for me because I love to talk books.

However, last week I received not 1 but 4 pieces of hate mail. Now, I've deduced that these emails are related since, well, they all showed up in my inbox on the same day and they all made reference to a positive review of Various Positions that I had posted to Amazon that morning.

I'm a writer. I can take constructive criticism. I've conditioned myself to handle negative reviews. As a reader, I've realized that not everyone will hold the same opinion that I do about any particular book. Yet, these emails were hard to stomach. Mostly because they weren't constructive and they had little to do with my actual review. These ladies had no problem with how my review was written. They made it quite clear that the problem they had was with my promoting and praising a book that they deemed inappropriate for a young adult audience.

To continue reading, head over to my post on

The Indelibles blog!!!

Waiting on Wednesday {5}

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I love Kody Keplinger's writing style so A Midsummer's Nightmare is a must read for me!

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A Midsummer's Nightmare, Kody Keplinger

Release Date: 6/5/2012 by Poppy

Goodreads / Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorced dad has turned into a nightmare. She’s just met his new fiancee and her kids. The fiancee’s son? Whitley’s one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin’ great.

Worse, she totally doesn’t fit in with her dad’s perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn’t even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she’s ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn’t “do” friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn’t her stepbrother... at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody Keplinger’s most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque girl you will wholly care about.

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So there's mine. What's your WOW pick this week? Also, if you want to participate, head on over to Breaking the Spine and link up!!

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This Week in Books: 2/20/12 - 2/26/12

Here are the books on my TBR list that will be released sometime this week. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave me a comment letting me know which book(s) you're most looking forward to this week.

The Catastrophic History of You and Me, Jess Rothenberg

Release Date: 2/21/2012 by Penguin BYR

Goodreads / Amazon

The Technologists, Matthew Pearl

Release Date: 2/21/2012 by Random House

Goodreads / Amazon

The Dressmaker, Kate Alcott

Release Date: 2/21/2012 by Knopf Doubleday

Goodreads / Amazon

Faery Tales & Nightmare, Melissa Marr

Release Date: 2/21/2012 by HarperCollins

Goodreads / Amazon

A Beautiful Evil (Gods & Monsters #2), Kelly Keaton

Release Date: 2/21/2012 by Simon Pulse

Goodreads / Amazon

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