A New Kind of Ordinary

Recent Reads: Fair Coin by E.C. Myers

2012-02-25T08:38:00.002-05:00

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

2012-02-24T11:08:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-24T08:48:00.002-05:00

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}

2012-02-23T09:12:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-22T09:56:00.000-05:00

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}

2012-02-22T08:16:00.000-05:00

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!!

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

2012-02-20T08:42:00.037-05:00

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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Recent Reads: Drowning Instinct

2012-02-18T08:40:00.059-05:00

Drowning Instinct, Ilsa J. Bick

5 of 5 Stars

Age Group / Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Published: 2/1/2012, Carolrhoda Lab (Lerner Publishing)

# of Pages: 352 (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: There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord's first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain...magnetism.

And there are stories where it's hard to be sure who's a prince and who's a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

My Review: Everybody breaks sooner or later, Bob. Anyone can drown. Sometimes you see it. Most often, you don't because the body protects and the skin hides, so drowning doesn't look like drowning and some people scar so nicely. Take it from an expert.

This is just one of the many insightful passages featured in Drowning Instinct, but it is one that will stick with me forever, as will Jenna's story. I can't get it out of my head.

When we first meet Jenna, she is in the hospital, frozen and wet, having been pulled from the lake. She is questioned by a detective who provides her with a tape recorder and instructs her to tell her story. It is through her recordings that we learn the truth of what happened and how those events led to her near drowning.

When it comes to books, I'm a pretty good judge of what I will and will not like. So, when I requested a copy of Drowning Instinct for review I was fairly certain that I would enjoy the book. I expected it to challenge me, to test the gray areas of my morals. I'd never considered the possibility that I would find a love story as hopeful and as tragic as it was wrong.

Drowning Instinct is an exceptional novel. So perfectly formed. And so filled with pain and heartbreak and love, that I was left breathlessly sobbing and shaking at the end. This novel tore me to shreds and broke my heart. It skewed my perspective to the point that I was hoping for something that I shouldn't have been. Or should I have? I don't know any more. I don't even know what else to say except that I absolutely LOVED it.

I could go on and tell you how much this book has affected me, right down to my bones, but honestly, this is something the reader needs to experience for themselves, in precisely the way Jenna has laid it out for them to understand.

I will tell you that this is a tough book. It's not pretty or optimistic. It's dark and real. But it's also intelligent, intense, and provocative. It will break your heart and no doubt leave you questioning much of what you believe about right and wrong.

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Guest Post & Giveaway by Jodi Lamm

2012-02-17T08:38:00.000-05:00

Why I Fill My Books With Fairy Tales, by Jodi Lamm

When I was a child, I rifled through my parents books like a thief, except they didn't mind what I took. Every once in a while, I would find something miraculous: a well-worn paperback called Jonathan Livingston Seagull, an out-of-print illustrated copy of Alice in Wonderland and, most remarkably, my mother's childhood book of fairy tales. Its cover was filled with faded pastel illustrations. Its binding was held together by a few threads and not much else. But I was gentle, and I read it regularly, always putting it right back on the giant family bookshelf when I was done so no one would know how often I read it.

These were not Disney-style stories by any stretch of the imagination. While I don't think the darkest tales of the Grimm collection were there, I discovered some lesser-known tales and fell in love with them, which led me to seek out fairy tales wherever I could find them. I learned that fairy tales were dark and beautiful and horrifying. It was love at second and third and fourth sight. I've never gotten over it. Folklore amazes me. There's something haunting about a story composed like a game of Telephone by countless people. These are tales that have been distilled over hundreds of years until what remains is the essence of us—of what makes us human. If you ever wish you could connect with the people who came before you, I believe the best thing you can do is listen to their lore.

So it shouldn't be surprising that folklore makes a huge appearance in Titan Magic. Marcus collects it and gives it to Madeleine, who loves the same stories I did (shocking, I know), and he often communicates to her through fairy tales. It's like a language between them, and it makes up the basis for their relationship. And the magic of a Titan is made of belief, which is manipulated by stories. In other words, Madeleine owes her very existence to a legend. Even the novel I'm composing right now was inspired by Arabian Nights. I can't seem to let these stories be. But I don't think they were meant to be left alone. The beauty of folklore is that it will never belong to any one person or corporation or government. It belongs to anyone who can appreciate it. These stories are meant to be retold, re-imagined, cut to pieces and put back together again. It's their nature to evolve, like us. I think that's why I love them so much.

If you'd like to know more about Jodi, feel free to connect on her website, Goodreads, or Twitter.

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And now the Giveaway!! Jodi has generously offered a signed paperback copy for one lucky winner. This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL!!! Trust me, you want this book. Look at how pretty it is. I trust you all know what to do, rafflecopter is below.

Goodreads / Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: Mute, heartless, and tormented by auditory hallucinations, Madeleine Lavoie never questions why her family has hidden her from the world. But the night her brother casts her out, she learns the mysterious voice she thought existed only in her mind is no delusion, and no matter how hard she tries, she can never disobey it.

Now Madeleine must find her own voice in a cacophony of powerful tyrants, monsters, and gods. If she fails, she will forfeit her life and the lives of everyone who loves her. But if she succeeds, she may finally gain the ability to love someone in return.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

To Be Read Thursday {24}

2012-02-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

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 for Review:

The Summer My Life Began, Shannon Greenland

Source: ARC From JKS Communications (Big thank you to Sami Jo!)

Publisher: Speak (Penguin)

Publication Date: 5/12/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Elizabeth Margaret—better known as Em—has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance.

While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time.

Goodreads / Amazon

Above, Leah Bobet

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic)

Publication Date: 4/1/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Matthew has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee's wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above—like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers.

But one terrifying night, an old enemy invades Safe with an army of shadows, and only Matthew, Ariel, and a few friends escape Above. As Matthew unravels the mystery of Safe's history and the shadows' attack, he realizes he must find a way to remake his home—not just for himself, but for Ariel, who needs him more than ever before.

Goodreads / Amazon

Firelight (Darkest London #1), Kristen Callihan

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date: 1/31/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: London, 1881

Once the flames are ignited . . .
Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . . Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

Goodreads / Amazon

Books I Won:

From Eric from Eric Smith Rocks I got:

The Eleventh Plague, Jeff Hirsh

Goodreads / Amazon

And from Eli at Eli to the nth: A giant box of awesome books and lots of swag. I had to fight my niece for the Cinder mirror.

Vixen (Flappers #1), Jillian Larkin

Goodreads / Amazon

Every You, Every Me, David Levithan

Goodreads / Amazon

The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1), Maureen Johnson

Goodreads / Amazon

Stick, Andrew Smith

Goodreads / Amazon

Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly

Goodreads / Amazon

This Thing Called the Future, J.L. Powers

Goodreads / Amazon

To Be Read Books:

*Click on book cover to go to Goodreads

1. Cinder & Ella, Melissa Lemon

2. Dearly Departed, Lia Habel

3. The Things We Cherished, Pam Jenoff

4. Torn, Cat Clarke

5. Take a Bow, Elizabeth Eulberg

6. You Are Here, Jennifer E. Smith

7. The Nightmarys, Dan Poblocki

8. The American Heiress, Daisy Goodwin

9. Raziel, Kristina Douglas

10. The Mumbo Jumbo Circus, Jane George

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Waiting on Wednesday {4}

2012-02-15T08:17:00.002-05:00

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

Since I missed last week I'm going to have 2 picks this week. Both will be released in May 2012 and both sound AMAZING!!

No Safety in Numbers, Dayna Lorentz

Release Date: 5/29/2012 by Dial Books

Goodreads / Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: Life As We Knew It meets Lord of the Flies in a mall that looks just like yours...

A biological bomb has just been discovered in the air ducts of a busy suburban mall. At first nobody knows if it's even life threatening, but then the entire complex is quarantined, people start getting sick, supplies start running low, and there's no way out. Among the hundreds of trapped shoppers are four teens.

These four different narrators, each with their own stories, must cope in unique, surprising styles, changing in ways they wouldn't have predicted, trying to find solace, safety, and escape at a time when the adults are behaving badly.

This is a gripping look at people and how they can—and must—change under the most dire of circumstances.

And not always for the better.

The Hunt, Andrew Fukuda

Release Date: 5/8/2012 by St. Martin's Griffin

Goodreads / Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: "A book that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. "The Hunt "is both terrifying and sublime, with every page evoking that fragile, yet unyielding thing we call humanity." --Andrea Cremer, "New York Times "bestselling author of the Nightshade Trilogy

In a world where humans have been eaten to near extinction, seventeen-year-old Gene has only managed to survive by painstakingly concealing his true species. If the bloodthirsty creatures surrounding him knew what he really was--a human--he would be devoured swiftly and terribly. When Gene is chosen to participate in the government-sponsored hunt for the last remaining humans, it thrusts him into the fight of his life--and into the path of a human girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible. Now, he must learn the art of the hunt and elude his fellow hunters whose suspicions about his true human nature are growing. But most importantly, Gene and the girl he loves must find a way to forge a life together in a brutal world that's bent on their destruction.

With his propulsive plot and highly developed characters, readers will find it impossible to resist the vivid world Andrew Fukuda has created in this stunning standout debut. Readers craving a book that grips and mesmerizes them like "The Hunger Games "will love "The Hunt."

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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: 2/13/12 - 2/19/12

2012-02-13T08:16:00.005-05:00

Scarlet, A.C. Gaughen

Release Date: 2/14/12 by Walker Children's Books

Goodreads / Amazon

Thief's Covenant (A Widdershins Adventure #1), Ari Marmell

Release Date: 2/14/12 by Pyr

Goodreads / Amazon

Various Positions, Martha Schabas

Release Date: 2/14/12 by

Goodreads / Amazon

I absolutely adored Various Positions!! See my review here.

Someone Else's Life, Katie Dale

Release Date: 2/14/12 by Delacorte BYR

Goodreads / Amazon

Arcadia Awakens (Arcadien #1), Kai Meyer

Release Date: 2/14/12 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads / Amazon

The House I Loved, Tatiana De Rosnay

Release Date: 2/14/12 by St. Martin's Press

Goodreads / Amazon

The Vanishing Game, Kate Kae Myers

Release Date: 2/14/12 by BloomsburyUSA

Goodreads / Amazon

Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots

A Memoir by Deborah Feldman

Release Date: 2/14/12 by Simon & Schuster (Adult)

Goodreads / Amazon

I've Got Your Number, Sophie Kinsella

Release Date: 2/14/12 by The Dial Press

Goodreads / Amazon

The Ritual, Adam Nevill

Release Date: 2/14/12 by St. Martin's Press

Goodreads / Amazon

Sektion 20, Paul Dowswell

Release Date: 2/14/12 by BloomsburyUSA

Goodreads / Amazon

Girlchild: A Novel, Tupelo Hassman

Release Date: 2/14/12 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Goodreads / Amazon

Graffiti Moon, Cath Crowley

Release Date: 2/14/12 by Knopf BYR

Goodreads / Amazon

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare, Melissa Jensen

Release Date: 2/16/12 by Speak

Goodreads / Amazon

The Disenchantments, Nina LaCour

Release Date: 2/16/12 by Dutton

Goodreads / Amazon

Trafficked, Kim Purcell

Release Date: 2/16/12 by Viking Juvenile

Goodreads / Amazon

The Darlings: A Novel, Cristina Alger

Release Date: 2/16/12 by Pamela Dorman Books

Goodreads / Amazon

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Recent Reads: Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

2012-02-10T09:14:00.108-05:00

Going Too Far, Jennifer Echols

4 of 5 Stars

Age Group / Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Publication: 3/17/2009, MTV Books

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: I received a signed copy from the author with no obligation to read and/or review. This has in no way affected my review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

My Review: I'm feeling pretty foolish as I type this. The entire time I was reading Going Too Far one thought kept repeating in my head: how have I never read a Jennifer Echols novel before? That and 'damn, I wish I could make out with Officer After'. The cover of the book doesn't help. Look at his mouth. Totally kissable. Oh, there I go, thinking about it AGAIN.

Moving on, Meg is troubled. She drinks, she engages in casual sex, she decides to engage in said casual sex on a bridge where two kids were hit & killed by an oncoming train. John (Officer After) is the by-the-book police officer that arrests her. Match made in heaven, no?

In her mind, Meg thinks she's living, experiencing all life has to offer by being reckless. And in John's mind he's making the world a safer place by enforcing the rules. In a way, they are, but in a way, they're each going too far. Neither one is really living. They're merely ghosts of the people they would have been but for a tragedy they each suffered in their past. And when their lives converge they find an attraction they can't deny. So they bicker, push, and love in a way that brings out the worst and ultimately the best in each other.

This is one of those books that was a quick read for me, meaning I was unable to put it down until I finished. This may have been because I developed an undying affection for Officer After. More likely it's because I developed an undying affection for Jennifer Echols writing style.

She's like my author soulmate, writing in a way that is perfectly suited to my tastes. I tore through the pages and when I closed the back cover, I had a huge smile on my face. There's really nothing negative to say about it at all. I mean it may have been a tad predictable but that's only a problem for me when the characters lack depth and honestly that's not an issue here. Meg and John are fully formed, compelling characters. Their story is one full of tension, and heartbreak, and romance. If you're like me and you haven't read Going Too Far yet, pick it up. You'll fall in love with these characters.

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To Be Read Thursday {23}

2012-02-09T15:11:00.000-05:00

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 for Review

A Hero Rising (A New Dawn #3), Aubrie Dionne

Source: eBook from Publisher

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Publication Date: 2/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: After watching his love leave on a colony ship, James Wilfred must save those left behind from a planetary apocalypse. Their salvation lies in an unfinished ship tucked away in a secret government base, and only James can break in and pilot him and his people to freedom on a nearby space station.

Skye O’Connor’s boyfriend never returns after his gang attempts an assassination of the Governor, and the State Building is destroyed. Worse, crazed moonshiners addicted to the chemical Morpheus have stormed the city, and she must find a safe place for her and her boyfriend’s daughter. When a heroic man saves her, Skye asks to accompany him on his quest to find the last colony ship left on Earth.

As the city falls around them, James and Skye must work together to build a new future, all the while rediscovering their ability to love, before the apocalypse claims them both

Goodreads / Amazon

A Land More Kind Than Home, Wiley Cash

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: 4/17/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: A Land More Kind than Home is a stunning debut reminiscent of the beloved novels of John Hart and Tom Franklin, and a mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town.

For a curious boy like Jess Hall, growing up in Marshall means trouble when your mother catches you spying on grownups. Adventurous and precocious, Jess is enormously protective of his older brother, Christopher, a mute whom everyone calls Stump. Though their mother has warned them not to snoop, Stump can’t help sneaking a look at something he isn’t supposed to—an act that will have catastrophic repercussions, shattering both his world and Jess’s. It is a wrenching event that thrusts Jess into an adulthood for which he’s not prepared. While there is much about the world that still confuses him, he now knows that a new understanding can bring not only a growing danger and evil—but also the possibility of freedom and deliverance as well.

Told in three resonant and evocative voices—Jess; Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife and its moral conscience; and Clem Barefield, a sheriff with his own painful past—A Land More Kind Than Home—is a haunting tale of courage in the face of cruelty and the power of love to overcome the darkness that lives in us all. These are masterful portrayals, written with remarkable assurance and truth, and they show us what an extraordinary promise Wiley Cash has made with this first novel.

Goodreads / Amazon

The Chose Ones (The Lost Souls #1), Tiffany Truitt

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Publication Date: 4/10/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

Goodreads / Amazon

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1), Leigh Bardugo

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. BYR

Publication Date: 6/5/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near-impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one unlikely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life– a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha… and the secrets of her heart.

Goodreads / Amazon

Monstrous Beauty, Elizabeth Fama

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux BYR

Publication Date: 9/4/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.

Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history.

The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.

Goodreads / Amazon

Struck, Jennifer Bosworth

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR

Publication Date: 5/8/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

Goodreads / Amazon

Of Poseidon, Anna Banks

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: 5/22/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Emma and her friend Chloe are spending vacation in Florida. When Emma (literally) runs into a hot guy named Galen on the beach, little does she know he’s a prince of the Syrena. Galen and Emma both feel something strange – is it attraction? – and Galen suspects that Emma might well be the girl he’s heard of – a human who can communicate with fish.

What follows is a deadly scene with a shark in which Galen witnesses Emma’s gifts. He must know more about her, and follows her back to New Jersey, and high school, to find out for sure if she’s the key to saving his kingdom. Soon, Emma can’t deny her feelings for him, but can’t explain them, either – and both she and Galen must learn more about where she comes from and what her powers are before they can trust one another and their feelings.

Goodreads / Amazon

All These Lives, Sarah Wylie

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Publication Date: 6/5/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani’s twin, Jena, isn’t so lucky. She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life. Dani’s father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything’s normal. And Jena is wasting away.

To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives. Maybe they’ll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one. Someone like Jena. But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she’s faced with a startling realization. Maybe she doesn’t have nine lives after all. Maybe she really only ever had one.

Goodreads / Amazon

Monument 14, Emmy Laybourne

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: 6/5/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

A huge store isn’t the worst place to be stranded. There’s food and water, bedding and books. But what if it’s not safe to leave? Emmy Laybourne had us from the get-go with her utterly fresh and fast-paced debut.

Six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids are trapped together in a chain superstore. Together they build a refuge for themselves inside, while outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapon spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

Goodreads / Amazon

Before You Go, James Preller

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: 7/17/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: The summer before his senior year, Jude (yes, he’s named after the Beatles song) gets his first job, falls in love for the first time, and starts to break away from his parents. Jude’s house is kept dark; no one talks much—it’s been that way since his little sister drowned in a swimming pool when Jude was supposed to be watching her.

He was watching her. He looked away for just a moment. He was only nine years old. And he’s never truly grieved for her, or for the emotional deaths of his parents, who refuse to talk about what happened. Seven years later, Jude is finally, finally starting to live. Really live. And then life spins out of control. Again.

Acclaimed author James Preller explores life, death, love, faith, and resilience in a story that will grip readers from the book’s dramatic first few pages to its emotional end.

Goodreads / Amazon

The Raft, S.A. Bodeen

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: 8/21/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Robie, 15, lives with her family on the Midway atoll, a group of islands in the middle of the Pacific. Her parents are scientists; it’s an isolated life. Robie enjoys visiting her aunt in Hawaii – she gets back and forth on a cargo plane that brings supplies to Midway.

During a visit, her aunt is called to the mainland for a work emergency, leaving Robie to get home on her own. On her flight back to Midway the cargo plane hits nasty weather, and goes down. It’s just Robie, the pilot, and Max, a co-pilot she’s never met till this flight, on board. Robie is pulled aboard a raft by Max, who is injured and slipping in and out of consciousness. They have a bag of candy and very little water between them. When they finally reach an island that seems abandoned, Robie hopes they’ll be found quickly. But she’s not sure she was even on the flight manifest. Her parents must be looking for her…aren’t they?

In THE RAFT, S.A. Bodeen creates a hair-raising suspense story that will have readers agonizing over the same question as Robie -- how long can they survive?

Goodreads / Amazon

To Be Read Books

*Click on book cover to go to Goodreads

1. Lydia, Wanda Luce

2. A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge

3. Blood of the Demon, Rosalie Lario

4. Dry as Rain, Gina Holmes

5. Bedbugs, Ben H. Winters

6. Crossover, Mireille Chester

7. The Royal Dragoneers, M.R. Mathias

8. Corvus, Paul Kearney

9. Undead, Isabella Kruger

10. Ember (Ember #1), Carol Oates

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DIES IRAE Blog Tour Stop

2012-02-07T12:50:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm thrilled to have a guest post by Christine Fonseca as part of her DIES IRAE blog tour. DIES IRAE was published February 1st, 2012 by Compass Press and is available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. DIES IRAE is a prequel novella that is part of her REQUIEM series, the first novel of which, LACRIMOSA, will be published March 21st, 2012.

So, anyway, that's enough from me. Here is Christine:

Top 5 Random Facts About Me

First, I just want to thank Melanie for participating in my tour today. When she asked me write a guest post, I was initially stumped, trying to think of something – anything – that readers might want to know. When I couldn’t come up with anything I liked, either because I was already writing a similar post, or because my brain was a little fried, I turned to my teen group and asked them. Thank goodness for my teens! Their suggestion—five random facts about me.

Now that is something I can do.

So, here you have it—5 Random Facts about Me:

1) I minored in theatre-dance with an emphasis in choreography in college; um, yeah, I was the ONLY one who minored in theatre-dance.

2) I once went shark diving. I have also swum with manta rays. I count both experiences as some of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

3) I played the viola for 13 years. Not certain what a viola is – just think of a violin, but bigger with different strings.

4) I can quote almost every line from the original Star Wars movies. Can you say geek??

5) Despite my inner geek, or maybe because of her, I also modeled for years and was Miss Congeniality in the Miss Teenage California Pageant. Of course this happened many years ago—many many years ago!

There you go – my randomness. Anything else you want to know, feel free to ask.

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DIES IRAE - A Requiem Novella (Compass Press, Feb 2012)

“Dies Irae is the perfect introduction to Christine Fonseca’s Requiem series. The beauty of the words will tempt you, the tragedy of the story will break you, and the love, woven throughout like music through the trees, will haunt you for days afterward. Dies Irae promises a tale unlike any you’ve read before.”

- Ali Cross, author of BECOME

Synopsis from Goodreads: Some sacrifices should never be made—even for love.

Mikayel lives by one rule—obey the orders of the angelic Council at all costs. That is, until he and his friends, Azza and Demi, are sent to Earth. Assigned as Watchers while they await their decision of which angelic order to serve, the three assume the bodies of teenagers and experience life as human.

The sensations are overwhelming as the angels experience a host of human emotions—rage, terror, love—and come ever closer to breaking one of the unbreakable rules—never fall in love.

But being human isn’t the only problem facing the three angels. Unbeknownst to the Council, demonic activity is on the rise, threatening to break a tenuous peace that has existed for a millennia; a peace Azza seems bent on destroying.

Caught in a struggle for power with unseen demonic forces and Azza, and fighting against his rising emotional attachment to Demi, Mikayel must now decide how much he is willing to sacrifice for his new found love—a decision that could reignite an ancient war and will threaten the only thing that matters to the angels, the survival of humanity.

LACRIMOSA - Book #1 in the Requiem Series (Compass Press, Mar 2012)

"LACRIMOSA reaches out, grabs readers by the heart, and takes them on an emotional journey from the first page to the last. The last novel you'll need to read to understand true sacrifice." - Elana Johnson, Author of POSSESSION

Synopsis from Goodreads: It’s been three thousand years since the fall of Azzaziel and the rebirth of evil; three thousand years since the Sentinal Order, an elite group of warrior angels, returned to Celestium. Their job—rid Earth of the dark creatures, the UnHoly. And with luck, end Azza’s rule.

As if casting out demons isn’t hard enough, five-hundred-year-old Nesy has to masquerade as a teenage girl to do it. Nesy is the best of the Sentinals. She never makes mistakes, never hesitates, never gets emotionally involved. Until she meets Aydan.

He is evil incarnate; a fallen angel that feeds off the souls of others. Everything Nesy is supposed to hate. But she can’t, because he’s also the love of her former life as a human girl—a life that ended too soon, tying her to emotions she was never supposed to feel.

Now Nesy must choose between doing her duty—damning Aydan to the fiery depths of hell—or saving him, and condemning herself. And her choice may cost her, and Celestium, far more than anyone realizes.

How much will she sacrifice for love?

Other Current Releases:

101 Success Secrets for Gifted Kids

Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students

Find Christine online at her Website and her writer's blog.

Recent Reads: Vengeance Born by Kylie Griffin

2012-02-07T11:33:00.001-05:00

Vengeance Born (The Light Blade #1), Kylie Griffin

4 of 5 Stars

Age Group/Genre: Adult, Fantasy Romance

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: 02/07/2012

Pages: 336

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not pure bred is virtually powerless. Until an unlikely champion is born...

Annika, half-blood daughter of the Na'Reish King, longs for more than her tormented life among her father's people. Conceived in hatred and bred as a tool of retribution, she's gifted with a special talent that can heal as well as destroy...

With the Na'Reish vastly outnumbering them, Kalan, a Light Blade warrior, knows the future of humankind depends on him alone. Incursions into human territory and raids for blood-slaves by the Na'Reish Horde have increased. As Chosen-leader, he faces the task of stopping the demons-and convincing the Council of aging Light Blade warriors that change is necessary for survival.

When Annika learns Kalan is a prisoner in her father's dungeon, her dream of escape seems within reach. She agrees to free him in exchange for his protection once they reach human territory. Now, marked for death for helping him, Annika must learn to trust Kalan as they face not only the perilous journey to the border but enemies within the Council-and discover a shocking truth that could throw the human race into civil war...

My Review: Annika is Na'Chi, a half-demon/half-human, and the daughter of the king of the demon world. She has been horribly abused and raised to believe that she is worthless. When Kalen, a Light Blade warrior, is captured and injured by her father's warriors she sees her only opportunity to escape. So, after healing Kalen, she offers to free him in exchange for his promise to lead her to the human world.

Most of the book takes place during their journey to the human world and it is here that Annika and Kalen learn to trust one another and begin to fall in love. I clicked with Annika immediately. Her plight touched my heart and I wanted desperately for her to escape her father and make it to the human world AND for Kalen to fall deeply in love with her. I loved Kalen instantly as well. He is my favorite type of hero: strong, noble, kind, funny. And their relationship developed slowly enough for me to enjoy the transition from tentative trust to love.

If I had a complaint at all, it would be regarding the point of view transition. The story is told from three different perspectives: Annika, Kalen, and another Na'Chi named Varian. Varian's narrative was usually condensed into his own chapter or section but the POV changes between Annika and Kalen would take place mid-scene. It was a little hard to get used to at first, but once I realized the pattern it was easier to follow along. This is of course just my personal preference.

Other than that, I really liked Vengeance Born. Kylie Griffin has created compelling characters and put them in a world that is protected by ultra-powerful Light Blade warriors and is on the brink of war with blood-sucking demons. It's a truly unique blend of paranormal romance and pure fantasy with enough elements of each to delight fans of either genre. I'm definitely hooked and can't wait for the next installment, Alliance Forged, which is due out in July.

Recommended to fans of fantasy and paranormal romance.

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This Week in Books: 2/6/12 - 2/12/12

2012-02-06T08:22:00.111-05:00

The Rivals (The Mockingbirds #2), Daisy Whitney

Release Date: 2/6/2012 by Little Brown BYR

Goodreads / Amazon

Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1), Jessica Spotswood

Release Date: 2/6/2012 by Putnam Juvenile

Goodreads / Amazon

Dead to You, Lisa McMann

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by Simon Pulse

Goodreads / Amazon

Vengeance Born (The Light Blade #1), Kylie Griffin

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by Berkley

Goodreads / Amazon

Diary of a Mad Fat Girl, Stephanie McAfee

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by NAL

Goodreads / Amazon

Alpha Instinct (Moon Shifter #1), Katie Reus

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by Signet

Goodreads / Amazon

What Happened to Hannah, Mary Kay McComas

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Goodreads / Amazon

The Lost Daughter, Lucy Ferriss

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by Berkley

Goodreads / Amazon

The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Emily M. Danforth

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads / Amazon

The Rebel Wife, Taylor M. Polites

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by Simon & Schuster Adult

Goodreads / Amazon

Four of a Kind, Valerie Frankel

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by Random House

Goodreads / Amazon

Tundra 37 ( A New Dawn #2), Aubrie Dionne

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by Entangled Publishing

Goodreads / Amazon

Spin, Catherine McKenzie

Release Date: 2/7/2012 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Goodreads / Amazon

In Too Deep, Amanda Grace

Release Date: 2/8/2012 by Flux Books

Goodreads / Amazon

The Wood Queen (The Iron Witch #2), Karen Mahoney

Release Date: 2/8/2012 by Flux Books

Goodreads / Amazon

Pure (Pure #1), Julianna Baggott

Release Date: 2/8/2012 by Grand Central Publishing

Goodreads / Amazon

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To Be Read Thursday {22}

2012-02-02T13:51:00.000-05:00

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 for Review:

HollyWeird, Terri Clark

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Flux Books

Publication Date: 5/8/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Paranormal + Hollywood + cute fallen angel = WIN

When sixteen-year-old Aly King is the grand prizewinner in the "Win a Date with Dakota" contest, it seems like a dream come true. Along with her best friend Desi, and soap star wannabe sister Missy, she flies from Colorado to Hollywood for her celebrity date. Like every other girl in America, Aly knows that Dakota Danvers is a smoking hot movie star. What she doesn't know is that he's also Satan's son.

Luckily for Aly, in the City of Angels there is one actual angel, Jameson Dagon. Granted, Jameson is a fallen angel, but he has one last chance at salvation if he can derail Dakota's evil machinations. Can Jameson protect Aly and Desi from Dakota's damning influence, put up with Missy's prima donna antics--and ignore his smoldering attraction to Aly?

Goodreads / Amazon

Long Lankin, Lindsey Barraclough

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: 7/10/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: In an exquisitely chilling debut novel, four children unravel the mystery of a family curse - and a ghostly creature known in folklore as Long Lankin.

When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Byers Guerdon, they receive a less-than-warm welcome. Auntie Ida is eccentric and rigid, and the girls are desperate to go back to London.

But what they don't know is that their aunt's life was devastated the last time two young sisters were at Guerdon Hall, and she is determined to protect her nieces from an evil that has lain hidden for years. Along with Roger and Peter, two village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries - before it's too late for little Mimi.

Riveting and intensely atmospheric, this stunning debut will hold readers in its spell long after the last page is turned.

Goodreads / Amazon

Slipping Reality, Emily Beaver

Source: eBook from JKS Communications & NetGalley

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Publication Date: 7/16/2011

Synopsis from Goodreads: In a time of hardship and heartbreak, sometimes, reality just isn't enough. Slipping Reality is the story of fourteen-year-old Katelyn Emerson, who, when faced with the glaring reality of her brother's illness, rebels against the truth by slipping away into the depths of her own imagination. There, she finds the kind of support and comfort she feels she deserves. There, she does not have to feel so alone. And yet, as Katelyn's grasp on reality begins to unravel, so too does the story of a girl who grew up too fast and fell apart too soon.

Emily Beaver's debut novel is a coming of age story that deals with the trials of young grief, insight, and growth where it's least expected.

Goodreads / Amazon

The Awakening of Leeowyn Blake (The Kahl'Nar Saga #1), Mary Parker

Source: eBook from publisher

Publisher: Wordcrafts Press

Publication Date: 1/2/2012

Synopsis from Amazon: I'm a normal teenager. I have a normal teenage life with normal teenage problems.
The summer is my heaven. I live with my mom during the summer months. We stay in her tiny condo in Jacksonville, Florida. My parents split up when I was little. I'm not sure why. My mom never talks about it. Whatever it was, it was bad enough to make my mom pack me up in the middle of the night when I was four years old and run to my Gran's condo.

My mom got the condo after Gran died. From that time on all I had known my entire life was beach life.

Until four years ago.

Until my uncle found me.

Goodreads / Amazon

Cycles, Lois D. Brown

Source: eBook from author

Publisher: Levanter Publishing

Publication Date: 12/20/2011

Synopsis from Goodreads: She remembers things that never happened.
She's a stranger in her own home.
She always knew she was different.
She just didn't know why.
Until now.

Renee Beaumont is about to die . . . again.

Goodreads / Amazon

Unraveling, Elizabeth Norris

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: 4/24/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Two days before her junior year, Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed —as in blinding light, her life flashing before her, then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And though it isn’t possible, she knows with every fiber of her being that Ben has brought her back to life.

But her revival, and Ben’s possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. W hile snooping in her FBI agent father’s files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something — but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what’s right in front of her: Everything that’s happened—the accident, the countdown clock, Ben’s sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it.

As the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she needs to uncover Ben’s secrets—and keep from falling...

Goodreads / Amazon

The Red Book, Deborah Copaken Kogan

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Publication Date: 4/3/2012

Synopsis from author's website: The Big Chill meets The Group in Deborah Copaken Kogan’s wry, lively, and irresistible new novel about a once-close circle of friends at their twentieth college reunion.  

Clover, Addison, Mia, and Jane were roommates at Harvard until their graduation in 1989. Clover, homeschooled on a commune by mixed-race parents, felt woefully out of place, both among the East Coast elite and within the social milieu of her prep-schooled beau, Bucky. Addison yearned to shed the burden of her Mayflower heritage, finding escape in both art and in the arms of another woman. Mia mined the depths of her suburban ennui to enact brilliant performances on the Harvard stage, including a heartrending turn as Nora in A Doll’s House. Jane, an adopted Vietnamese war orphan, made sense of her fractured world through words, spending long hours as an editor at the Crimson.

Twenty years later, all their lives are in free fall. Clover, once a securities broker with Lehman, is out of a job and struggling to reproduce before her fertility window slams shut. Addison’s marriage to a writer’s-blocked novelist is as stale as her so-called career as a painter, as troubled as her children’s psyches, and as mismanaged as her trust fund. Hollywood shut its gold-plated gates to Mia, who now stays home with her four children, renovating and acquiring faster than her director husband can pay the bills. Jane, the Paris bureau chief for a newspaper whose foreign bureaus are now shuttered, is caught in a vortex of loss, having lost her journalist husband—the father of her young child—to war, her adoptive mother to cancer, and quite possibly her current partner due to an errant email.

Like all Harvard grads, they’ve kept abreast of one another via the red book, a class report published every five years, containing brief autobiographical essays by fellow alumni. But there’s the story we tell the world, and then there’s the real story, as these former classmates will learn during their twentieth reunion weekend, when they arrive with their families, their histories, their dashed dreams, and their secret yearnings to a relationship-changing, score-settling, unforgettable weekend.  

Goodreads / Amazon

Glow (Sky Chasers #1), Amy Kathleen Ryan

Source: Audiobook from Macmillan Audio

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: 9/13/2011

Synopsis from Goodreads: What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

Goodreads / Amazon

Bloodland, Alan Glynn

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Picador

Publication Date: 1/31/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: A helicopter crash off the coast of Ireland sends unexpected ripples through the international community in this intricate new thriller from the author of Winterland and Limitless (now a major motion picture).

Susie Monaghan was on the cusp of stardom when her life was cut short by a tragic helicopter crash. After a full investigation, her death was ruled an accident: case closed. But a hungry young journalist named Jimmy Gilroy isn't buying the official story. Before dying, Susie's path had crossed with an unlikely gallery of powerful men: an ex-Prime minister with a carefully guarded secret; the businessman brother of a U.S. Senator angling for the Oval Office; and a billionaire investor with his eye on an extremely rare commodity. Might there also be a link between Susie's death and a deranged security contractor operating in Congo? Piece by piece, Jimmy uncovers a bizarre nexus of coincidence among these disparate people and events, revealing a conspiracy of frightening reach and consequence--one that could cost him his life.

Set against a vividly drawn world of corporate and political intrigue, Alan Glynn's Bloodland is a riveting paranoid thriller of uncommon depth and page-turning suspense.

Goodreads / Amazon

Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations Vol. 1), Michael J. Sullivan

Source: Book from Publisher

Publisher: Orbit

Publication Date: 11/23/2011

Synopsis from Goodreads: THEY KILLED THE KING. THEY PINNED IT ON TWO MEN. THEY CHOSE POORLY.

Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles--until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom.

Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires in order to keep a secret too terrible for the world to know?

And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.

Goodreads / Amazon

See You at Harry's, Jo Knowles

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: 5/8/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Starting middle school brings all the usual challenges - until the unthinkable happens, and Fern and her family must find a way to heal.

Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. It seems as though everyone in her family has better things to do than pay attention to her: Mom (when she's not meditating) helps Dad run the family restaurant; Sarah is taking a gap year after high school; and Holden pretends that Mom and Dad and everyone else doesn't know he's gay, even as he fends off bullies at school. Then there's Charlie: three years old, a "surprise" baby, the center of everyone's world. He's devoted to Fern, but he's annoying, too, always getting his way, always dirty, always commanding attention. If it wasn't for Ran, Fern's calm and positive best friend, there'd be nowhere to turn. Ran's mantra, "All will be well," is soothing in a way that nothing else seems to be. And when Ran says it, Fern can almost believe it's true.

But then tragedy strikes- and Fern feels not only more alone than ever, but also responsible for the accident that has wrenched her family apart. All will not be well. Or at least all will never be the same.

Goodreads / Amazon

Shadows on the Moon, Zoe Marriott

Source: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: 4/24/2012

Synopis from Goodreads: A powerful tale of magic, love, and revenge set in fairy-tale Japan.

Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form - a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother's new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama's kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands?

Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver.

Goodreads / Amazon

Books Purchased:

Heavenly (Heavenly #1), Jennifer Laurens

Goodreads / Amazon

Books Won:

Tempest (Tempest #1), Julie Cross

Won from Kris at Bibliopunk. Thank you!!

Goodreads / Amazon

To Be Read Books:

Click on cover to see synopsis and/or add to Goodreads shelves

1. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25, Richard Paul Evans

2. Epic Fail, Claire LaZebnik

3. Circle 9, Anne Heltzel

4. Diamond Eyes, A.A. Bell

5. Forbidden (The Book of Mortals #1), Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee

6. The Passage (The Passage #1), Justin Cronin

7. Extraordinary, Nancy Werlin

8. Vanish (Firelight #2), Sophie Jordan

9. The Glitter Scene, Monika Fagerholm

10. Everblue (Mer Tales #1), Brenda Pandos

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Project Tell Taylor

2012-02-01T11:05:00.000-05:00

Michelle Madow's debut novel Remembrance was inspired by Taylor Swift's "Love Story" music video. She talked all about it in a blog entry a few months ago, discussing how Remembrance was inspired by Taylor Swift's "Love Story" music video.

She even wrote a letter to Taylor Swift and sent it to her, along with a signed book!

It's been a few months now and she has yet to hear back from Taylor that she received the letter and book. She really wants to tell Taylor about how inspiring she and her music have been to her, but since Taylor Swift is an international superstar, she's a little hard to reach. This is where YOUR help comes into play! Michelle is giving away the biggest prize pack she's offered yet, and the ways to enter to win are by telling Taylor Swift about Remembrance.

The Goal: Get Taylor Swift to Tweet about Rembrance!!

About Remembrance:

Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet.

Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's high school at the beginning of the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him. She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she get him out of her mind?

Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, fighting fate isn't going to be easy.

What Inspires Me: Michelle Madow was inspired by Taylor Swift's video, but now she wants us to tell you what inspires us. For me, my biggest source of inspiration comes from my family. And I have a HUGE one. Lots of sisters, one brother and a handful of nieces and nephews. They are the most unique and insane group of people I've ever met. It definitely gives me a lot of material to work with when writing!

What you could win: Michelle Madow herself recorded a video showing all the cool prizes you could win:

but you can also take a quick peek at all the prizes on this picture:

For a chance to win, fill out the rafflecopter form below and pass on the word so that Taylor Swift can hear about Remembrance and tweet about it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Waiting on Wednesday {3} - My Life in Black & White

2012-02-01T10:38:00.000-05:00

"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 from Viking Juvenile (Penguin) and will be released in June 2012. Hope you enjoy!!

My Life in Black and White, Natasha Friend

Publication Date: 6/2012, Viking Juvenile

Synopsis from Goodreads: Lexi has always been beautiful, but her beauty is taken from her when she goes face-first through a car windshield.

Now Lexi has to dig deep to figure out how to define herself. Help on her journey of self-discovery comes from unexpected sources: Ruth, Lexi’s sister, “the smart one” to Lexi’s “the pretty one,” with whom Lexi has never been close; and Theo, a classmate who is still recovering from his sister’s recent death from anorexia

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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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Happy Release Day - On the Bright Side by S.R. Johannes

2012-01-31T12:23:00.000-05:00

S.R. Johannes, author of the awesome YA novel Untraceable, has today released a Tween novel entitled On the Bright Side. Let's all wish Shelli a happy release day and while you're here, check out her new book!!

On The Bright Side by S.R. Johannes

Publisher: Coleman & Stott

Publication Date: 1/31/2012

Book Description:

On the Bright Side is a hilarious road to guardian angeldom paved with so much drama and due-paying that it makes middle school look painless.

As if the devil's food cake at her wake and the white fat pants she's stuck wearing for eternity weren't bad enough, fourteen year-old Gabby is quick to discover that Cirrus, the main rung of Heaven, is a far cry from the Pearly Gates. Here, Skyphones and InnerNets are all the rage. Until Gabby finds out she has to protect Angela, her school nemesis, in order to move up through the training levels of heaven. Problem is, Angela is now hitting on Gabby's should-have-been boyfriend. (awkward!)

Instead of protecting Angela, Gabby pranks her (like tripping is a sin?) at the hopes of cooling off the new couple. At first, they seem harmless until the school dance sabotage gets completely out of control. Then, here Celestial Sky Agent, who happens to have anger management issues of his own, puts Gabby on probation, threatening her eternal future.

Determined to right her wrongs, Gabby steals an ancient artifact that allows her to return to Earth for just one day. Without knowing, she kicks off a series of events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.

Praise for On the Bright Side:

"S.R. Johannes delivers a cute paranormal thrill ride for middle graders! Even in death there is a BRIGHT SIDE!" - Addison Moore, author of the bestselling Celestra series and soon to be TV show

"Full of charm and adventure, this heart-warming story is about deadly crushes, friendship, and spunky girls in the after-life. It left me clamoring for a sequel. This book is flipping adorable!" - Robin Mellom, author of Ditched: A Love Story and The Classroom (June 2012)

"Clever and charming, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE is the story of a reluctant guardian angel, her still-breathing crush, and the frenemy she's assigned to protect. A great read!" - Suzanne Young, author of A Need So Beautiful, A Want So Wicked (6/12), and The Program (2013)

"ON THE BRIGHT SIDE is both hilarious and heart-warming - a tale that'll have you hoping that there really are spunk and determined angels like Gabby who've got our backs." - Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, author of Selling Hope & The 13th Sign (2013) (Feiwel & Friends)

"With a smart, snappy heroine and a heart-warming crush, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE is a page-turning new take on guardian angels that left me begging for a sequel!" - Gretchen McNeil, author of Possess and Ten (9/12) (Balzer + Bray)

How to Buy:

Paperback will be available in February 2012.

The ebook is $0.99 for the first month and can be purchased at amazon and B&N

Book Trailer:

http://faeriality.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-bright-side-trailer.html

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Recent Reads - Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser

2012-01-30T10:48:00.000-05:00

Pieces of Us, Margie Gelbwasser

5 of 5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Pages: 336

Publication: 3/8/2012, Flux

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Two families. Four teens. A summer full of secrets.

Every summer, hidden away in a lakeside community in upstate New York, four teens leave behind their old identities…and escape from their everyday lives.

Yet back in Philadelphia during the school year, Alex cannot suppress his anger at his father (who killed himself), his mother (whom he blames for it), and the girls who give it up too easily. His younger brother, Kyle, is angry too—at his abusive brother, and at their mother who doesn’t seem to care. Meanwhile, in suburban New Jersey, Katie plays the role of Miss Perfect while trying to forget the nightmare that changed her life. But Julie, her younger sister, sees Katie only as everything she’s not. And their mother will never let Julie forget it.

Up at the lake, they can be anything, anyone. Free. But then Katie’s secret gets out, forcing each of them to face reality—before it tears them to pieces.

My Review: So, um, wow, this one still has me reeling. I haven't read Margie Gelbwasser's debut novel, Inconvenient--I'll have to do that as soon as I can get my hands on a copy--but let me just tell you that she is a phenomenal writer. Amazing. A gift to the Young Adult literary world.

First, I have to tell you that I love books that take place in my geographic area and this one has scenes in Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, NJ. Second, I will admit that I wasn't supposed to read this book so early, but I have this habit of reading the first few sentences of every book I receive. Kind of to get a feel for if I'm going to like it or not. With this book, all it took was a few words and I was hooked. I was incapable of putting it down.

It's hard to say that I loved any of the characters because they're all so broken and warped that they're not really loveable--make no mistake, these are some majorly flawed and damaged people we're dealing with--but they're definitely sympathetic. I felt for each of them in a different way. Katie I adored because she was so perfect and happy and it is all ripped apart by a single moment of indiscretion. She was naive but still hopeful. Alex is damaged and abusive. Julia is bitter and selfish. And Kyle may have it worst of all but is the most redemptive character of the four. He's inherently good in a way that the others are not.

To say it was an intense read would be a gross understatement. It was arduous, incredible, emotional. Reading it, I felt as if I was being thrown against a wall and shattered into a million little pieces. The tension will push the reader to a breaking point. I spent the whole time with my stomach in knots, feeling the pain of the four main characters in this book, worrying and praying that everything would work out. That they would survive. By the end, I was so emotionally invested that I felt hollow when I was no longer a part of their story.

Honestly, I loved every second of it, yet it is so completely distressing that I won't recommend it for those who can't handle being torn apart by a book. Or for those who are opposed to swearing or sex in YA because there is plenty of it.

I have no idea why I'm drawn to dark stories with bleak themes, but I am and Pieces of Us gave me exactly what I wanted. So if you're like me, I suggest you get your hands on a copy as soon as it's released.

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This Week in Books: 1/30/12 - 2/5/12

2012-01-29T09:10:00.041-05:00

Article 5, Kristen Simmons

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Tor Teen

Goodreads / Amazon

New Girl, Paige Harbison

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Harlequin Teen

Goodreads / Amazon

Defending Jacob, William Landay

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Delacorte

Goodreads / Amazon

Heir of Novron (The Riyria Revelations #5-6), Michael J. Sullivan

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Orbit

Goodreads / Amazon

On the Bright Side, S.R. Johannes

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Coleman & Stott

Goodreads / Amazon

Destiny & Deception (13 to Life #4), Shannon Delany

Release Date: 1/31/12 by St. Martin's Griffin

Goodreads / Amazon

Nomansland, Lesley Hauge

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Square Fish

Goodreads / Amazon

Firelight (Darkest London #1), Kristen Callihan

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Grand Central Publishing

Goodreads / Amazon

Wings of the Wicked (Angelfire #2), Courtney Allison Moulton

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Katherine Tegen Books (Harper)

Goodreads / Amazon

Incarnate (Newsoul #1), Jodi Meadows

Release Date: 1/31/12 by Katherine Tegen Books (Harper)

Goodreads / Amazon

The Other Life, Susanne Winnacker

Release Date: 2/1/12 by Usborne

Goodreads / Amazon

The Boy on Cinnamon Street, Phoebe Stone

Release Date: 2/1/12 by Arthur A. Levine Books

Goodreads / Amazon

The Girls of No Return, Erin Saldin

Release Date: 2/1/12 by Arthur A. Levine Books

Goodreads / Amazon

Before She Dies, Mary Burton

Release Date: 2/1/12 by Kensington

Goodreads / Amazon

Shift (The Protector #2), MR Merrick

Release Date: 2/1/12 by Author

Goodreads / Amazon

Harbinger, Sara Wilson Etienne

Release Date: 2/2/12 by GP Putnam's Sons BYR

Goodreads / Amazon

Beneath a Meth Moon, Jacqueline Woodson

Release Date: 2/2/12 by Penguin

Goodreads / Amazon

Chopsticks, Jessica Anthony

Release Date: 2/2/12 by Razorbill

Goodreads / Amazon

This One Time With Julia, David Lampson

Release Date: 2/2/12 by Razorbill

Goodreads / Amazon

Hollow Pike, James Dawson

Release Date: 2/2/12 by Orion Children's Books

Goodreads / Amazon

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To Be Read Thursday {21}

2012-01-26T12:13:00.001-05:00

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 for Review:

Thank you to Entangled Publishing!!! My love for Aubrie Dionne's last novel, Paradise 21, knows no bounds so I can't even begin to describe how excited I was to get this.

Tundra 37 (A New Dawn #2), Aubrie Dionne

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Publication Date: 2/7/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

Goodreads / Amazon

Thank you Scholastic for the following!!!

Perception (Clarity #2), Kim Harrington

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Scholastic Point

Publication Date: 3/1/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

Goodreads / Amazon

From Harlequin. A big thank you!!

Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test #2), Aimee Carter

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 3/27/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

Goodreads / Amazon

The following books are courtesy of Random House. Thanks so much!!

Eye of the Sword (The Angeleon Circle #2), Karyn Henley

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

Publication Date: 3/13/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Where angels walk the ground and the future is told in song, does a man of low rank have a chance at love with a princess?

In Camrithia, a land of shadows and mystical secrets, Trevin lives to serve King Laetham. But his heart belongs to the princess, Melaia. When the King sends Trevin on on a dangerous quest to find the missing comains—captains in the king’s army—he must leave Melaia to the advances of a swaggering Dregmoorian prince.

Challenged to prove his worth, Trevin throws himself into his quest. Striving to prove his love, Trevin undertakes a second mission—find the harps Melaia seeks in order to restore the stairway to heaven. Through fire caves, rogue winds, and murderous threats, Trevin remains steadfastly dedicated to his quest—even when he is falsely accused of a heinous crime. As Trevin’s time runs out, he realizes he must face the shame and horror of his own past and the nightmare that has come to life. Will he have the courage to finish what he has started?

Goodreads / Amazon

Starters (Starters #1), Lissa Price

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Delacorte BFYR

Publication Date: 3/12/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . .

Goodreads / Amazon

Jersey Angel, Beth Ann Bauman

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books

Publication Date: 5/8/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: It's the summer before senior year and the alluring Angel is ready to have fun. She's not like her best friend, Inggy, who has a steady boyfriend, good grades, and college plans. Angel isn't sure what she wants to do yet, but she has confidence and experience beyond her years.

Still, her summer doesn't start out as planned. Her good friend Joey doesn't want to fool around anymore, he wants to be her boyfriend, while Angel doesn't want to be tied down. As Joey pulls away, and Inggy tours colleges, Angel finds herself spending more time with Inggy's boyfriend, Cork. With its cast of vivid and memorable characters, this tale from the Jersey shore is sure to make some waves.

Goodreads / Amazon

Lies Beneath (Lies Beneath #1), Anne Greenwood Brown

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication Date: 6/12/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy.

But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

Goodreads / Amazon

Thank you to Flux for the following:

Ferocity Summer, Alissa Grosso

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Flux Books

Publication Date: 5/8/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: What happens when the only escape from crushing despair is betrayal?

It’s the hottest summer on record in New Jersey and soon Scilla Davis must stand trial for her involvement in a deadly speedboat accident. With the possibility of conviction looming, life seems empty, unreal, and utterly hopeless. Watching her best friend Willow destroy herself with drugs and booze is especially painful. Yet Scilla can’t manage to wrest Willow—or herself—from a path of self-destruction.

With a new drug called Ferocity sweeping the nation, an FBI agent is eager to make a bust. He offers Scilla a way out of this nightmare. But is she willing to betray her own drugdealing boyfriend?

Goodreads / Amazon

From Albert Whitman & Company. Thank you!!

The Lifeguard, Deborah Blumenthal

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company

Publication Date: 3/1/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: It's an unsettled summer for Sirena. Back in Texas, her family's splitting apart, but here in Rhode Island, at the cottage of her free-spirited aunt, it's a different world. There are long days at the beach and intriguing encounters with him. Pilot. He's the lifeguard with shamanic skills. He both saves her and makes her feel lost at sea. Sirena explores her obsession with Pilot and discovers his mysterious--almost magical--gifts.

Goodreads / Amazon

And from the lovely people at Harper Collins:

Spin, Catherine McKenzie

Source: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: 2/7/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Kate's To-Do List:

1. Go to rehab
2. Befriend/spy on "It Girl"
3. Write killer expose
4. Land dream job

Piece of cake!

When Kate Sandford lands an interview at her favorite music magazine, The Line, it's the chance of a lifetime. So Kate goes out to celebrate—and shows up still drunk to the interview the next morning. It's no surprise that she doesn't get the job, but her performance has convinced the editors that she'd be perfect for an undercover assignment for their gossip rag. All Kate has to do is follow "It Girl" Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop—and complete the thirty-day program—they'll reconsider her for the position at The Line. Kate takes the assignment, but when real friendships start to develop, she has to decide if what she has to gain is worth the price she'll have to pay.

Goodreads / Amazon

And thank you to the authors for the following:

Titan Magic, Jodi Lamm

Source: eBook from Publisher

Publication Date: 9/30/2011

Goodreads / Amazon

DIES IRAE (Requiem Series #0.5), Christine Fonseca

Source: ARC from author

Publisher: Compass Press

Publication Date: 2/1/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Some sacrifices should never be made—even for love.

Mikayel lives by one rule—obey the orders of the angelic Council at all costs. That is, until he and his friends, Azza and Demi, are sent to Earth. Assigned as Watchers while they await their decision of which angelic order to serve, the three assume the bodies of teenagers and experience life as human.

The sensations are overwhelming as the angels experience a host of human emotions—rage, terror, love—and come ever closer to breaking one of the unbreakable rules—never fall in love.

But being human isn’t the only problem facing the three angels. Unbeknownst to the Council, demonic activity is on the rise, threatening to break a tenuous peace that has existed for a millennia; a peace Azza seems bent on destroying.

Caught in a struggle for power with unseen demonic forces and Azza, and fighting against his rising emotional attachment to Demi, Mikayel must now decide how much he is willing to sacrifice for his new found love—a decision that could reignite an ancient war and will threaten the only thing that matters to the angels, the survival of humanity.

Goodreads / Amazon

Books Purchased:

Anathema, K.A. Tucker

Goodreads / Amazon

Books Won:

Thanks you to Haley G. at Booking It With Haley G.!!

Dark Inside (Dark Inside #1), Jeyn Roberts

Goodreads / Amazon

And from Christin at Portrait of a Book:

The Pledge (The Pledge #1), Kimberly Derting

Goodreads / Amazon

To Be Read Books:

*Click on book cover to add to Goodreads

1. Hindsight, A.A. Bell

2. Bound by Guilt, CJ Darlington

3. Cinders, Michelle Davidson Argyle

4. Magic Under Glass, Jaclyn Dolamore

5. Audrey, Wait!, Robin Benway

6. Second Kiss, Natalie Palmer

7. Take Me There, Carolee Dean

8. Dark Parties, Sara Grant

9. Where She Went, Gayle Forman

10. Imaginary Girls, Nova Ren Suma

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Waiting on Wednesday {2} - The Other Life

2012-01-25T10:29:00.001-05:00

"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 from February and it sounds incredible. Hope you enjoy!!

The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker

Publication Date: 2/1/2012, Usborne

Synopsis from Goodreads: 3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life.

Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food.

Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus.

While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

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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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Recent Reads - Various Positions by Martha Schabas

2012-01-24T09:42:00.000-05:00

Various Positions, Martha Schabas

5 of 5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Pages: 272

Publication: 2/14/2012, Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Trapped between the hormone-driven world of her friends and the discontent of her dysfunctional family, fourteen-year-old Georgia is only completely at ease when she's dancing. When she is accepted into Canada's preeminent ballet school, Georgia thinks it is the perfect escape. Artistic Director Roderick Allen singles her out as a star, subjecting her to increasingly intensive training, and Georgia obsesses about becoming the perfect, disciplined student.

But as she spends more and more time with Roderick, it's not so clear exactly what their relationship means. Is he her teacher and mentor, or is there something more? These blurred lines will threaten both Roderick's future at the academy and Georgia's ambitions as a ballerina.

My Review: Various Positions is a gorgeous debut from an exceptional new talent and is written with an authenticity that only a dancer could achieve. It is a deep and powerful story, deftly choreographed. Each word is meaningful, each step purposeful. I could feel the cold Toronto air, see the gray and fading landscape, taste every kiss, experience every embarrassment and stab of guilt. You'll have no choice but to tear through the pages.

Martha Schabas is a wonderful writer and she weaves a tale filled with so much tension, it was at times almost unbearable. Her characterization is flawless. With Various Positions, she has created individuals as real as any living, breathing person I've ever met. I couldn't help but care deeply for each one of them. Especially Georgia. Poor Georgia whose life has revolved so fully around ballet and navigating her dysfunctional family that she's nowhere near as mature as the other kids her age.

And with no one to turn to except a sister who is away at college, a depressed and self-involved mother, and an emotionally unavailable father, it's no wonder the instant she receives positive attention she's confused. Add to this mixed messages she receives from her sex-obsessed classmates and her own mother and she begins to fantasize that the attention means more than it does. She begins to obsess about Roderick. To over-analyze every action. To see in them more than there is.

I will warn you that there is a fair amount of language and sexual innuendo, but it is a fundamental element of the plot, woven throughout the fabric of the story, holding it together. There is nothing gratuitous or disturbing about it. It merely exists, as essential to Georgia's story as her love of ballet. I mention it only as a caution to those who shy away from this type of subject matter.

In the end my love affair with Macmillan and its imprints continues. I definitely NEED a finished copy of this for my bookshelf and you should grab one for yours as well. This is a novel not to be missed. One of those stories that will get under your skin (in a good way), evoking so much passion from its readers that I honestly believe you're either going to love it or hate it.

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This Week in Books - 1/23/2012-1/29/2012

2012-01-23T09:10:00.003-05:00

The Way We Fall, Megan Crewe

Release Date: 1/24/12 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads / Amazon

Forbidden, Syrie James & Ryan M. James

Release Date: 1/24/12 by HarperTeen

Goodreads / Amazon

The Legacy of Eden, Nelle Davy

Release Date: 1/24/12 by MIRA

Goodreads / Amazon

Horizon (Aftertime #3), Sophie Littlefield

Release Date: 1/24/12 by Luna

Goodreads / Amazon

Getting Over Garrett Delaney, Abby McDonald

Release Date: 1/24/12 by Candlewick Press

Goodreads / Amazon

Havoc (Deviants #2), Jeff Sampson

Release Date: 1/24/12 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads / Amazon

Daughter of the Centaurs (Centauriad #1), Kate Klimo
Release Date: 1/24/12 by Random House BFYR
Goodreads / Amazon

Everneath (Everneath #1), Brodi Ashton
Release Date: 1/24/12 by Balzer + Bray
Goodreads / Amazon

A Grown-up Kind of Pretty, Joshilyn Jackson

Release Date: 1/25/12 by Grand Central Publishing

Goodreads / Amazon

Drowning Instinct, Ilsa J. Bick

Release Date: 1/28/12 by Carolrhoda (Lerner)

Goodreads / Amazon

Catch & Release, Blythe Woolston

Release Date: 1/28/12 by Carolrhoda (Lerner)

Goodreads / Amazon

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The Fairy Tale Trap - Review & Giveaway!!!

2012-01-22T10:42:00.003-05:00

The Fairy Tale Trap, Emily Casey

4 of 5 Stars

Age Group/Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retelling

Publication Date: 12/16/2011

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: As part of the blog tour, I received a copy from the author in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Ivy has always been afraid of mirrors, but she never knew why. Then one of them sucks her into the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.

All she wants is to find her way home. But when she tries to escape, Ivy breaks the wrong spell. Now Beast is not so gentle-on-the-inside, Beauty is falling for the wrong prince, and Ivy is no closer to figuring out how to get through the enchanted forest that traps her.

With magic mirrors, dancing fairies, a sadistic pixie, and other random fairy tale twists, Ivy doesn’t know what’s safe or who to trust. Can she escape the fairy tale trap?

My Review: Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale--although I'm only familiar with the Disney version--which is why I was excited to get the opportunity to read this book and participate in the blog tour. With The Fairy Tale Trap, Emily Casey takes the classic tale and injects a sarcastic teenager who is trapped in the tale and desperate to get home.

Ivy is a military brat and has just been carted away to a new house for the umpteenth time and is upset that she had to leave her friends and her life, when she's pulled through the mirror she finds herself in an enchanted forest. There she meets a pixie who tells her she must play out the fairy tale in order to return home.

I liked Casey's take on the fairy tale. As I've told you, I'm only familiar with the Disney version, so for me it was something unique and different and enchanting enough to keep me turning the pages. I also love the fact that there is nothing contained within the pages that would stop me from sharing this tale with my 8yo niece.

If I had one complaint it would be that it moves a little fast in the beginning. Ivy is sucked through the mirror and into the fairy tale world before I had chance to get my bearings and connect with the story. It was just a little jarring.

Other than that, this book is just adorable and incredibly funny. Ivy is snarky and hilarious, and had me laughing aloud.

Final Thoughts: Casey has written a magical tale with a loveable heroine that I recommend to fans of Beauty and the Beast and/or fairy tale retellings. They will love going along with Ivy as she's trapped in a castle far away from her family and discovers the true meaning of home.

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Don't forget to stop by the next leg of the tour tomorrow-- http://michael-haynes.blogspot.com/

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About Emily:

If you want to know more about Emily or The Fairy Tale Trap, feel free to stalk her online!!!

Blog: http://emilycasey.com/
Facebook page: http://facebook.com/emilycaseysmusings
Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/emilycasey
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EmilyCaseysMuse
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tale-Trap-Thorn-ebook/dp/B006NBC3PU/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_1
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/115248

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And now it's time for the giveaway. Thanks to Emily I have an ebook to give to 1 lucky reader. You know the drill--fill in the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Get a Query Critique from Mer Barnes

2012-01-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Lowenstein Associates is releasing fomerly out-of-print books on Amazon.To help spread the word, Meredit Barnes is offering a query letter critique to anyone who spreads the news. You can find details on how to get your query critique on Meredith Barnes' website here.

Here are the links for the authors and their books. Be sure to check them all out!!!!

Deborah Camp (A mix of contemporary and Old West Historical romances...over 40 coming in the near future, but here is a list of 10 or so available now)
Lorena Dureau (Historical Romance: American Colonial South and West. Very Sexy)
Dan Streib (thrillers with a James-Bond-meets-Anderson-Cooper main character)
Barbara Keesling (her too-hot-to-blog nonfiction is here, here, and here)

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Recent Reads - Tempest by Julie Cross

2012-01-19T20:28:00.002-05:00

Tempest (Tempest #1), Julie Cross

4.5 of 5 Stars

Age Group/Genre: Young Adult, SciFi

Pages: 352

Publication: 1/17/2012, St. Martin's Griffin

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

My Review: I am completely in love with this series, not only because the first book Tempest was an action-packed thrill ride, but because the potential for this series is mind-blowing. Oh the things Julie Cross could do.

Moving right along--I will tell you that I'm a sucker for a novel written from a male perspective and Jackson Meyer did not disappoint. His voice grabbed me immediately and I loved the fact that he was a little older than the traditional YA male. He's a jerk sometimes, but he's a guy. It only lends to the authenticity of his character. If he was perfect all the time, I probably wouldn't have loved him nearly as much. As you should all know by now, I like my heroes flawed.

I also enjoyed the fact that there are some kick-ass adult roles in this novel, like Jackson's dad, Chief Marshall, and the super powerful "villains" known as the Enemies of Time or EOTs. I put villains in quotation marks because while they are responsible for a lot of the bad things that happen in this novel, it is unclear if they are truly the bad guys. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to be spoilery. If you want to know, read the book. Which I recommend you all do.

I know a lot of people have been saying that it's too hard to follow, there are too many time travel discrepancies, etc. Here's the thing though, I didn't find this to be the case. If it didn't make sense I figured it was either simply the unknown nature of time travel or because I wasn't meant to understand it yet. This is a series. Not a standalone. There are going to be questions left unanswered. I'm okay with that because this novel has an ENDING. OMG, I cannot tell you how refreshing that is. I was left wanting more but not completely at a loss.

I think in the end whether you love or hate this novel (and there will inevitably be many on either side) will come down to whether or not you felt it necessary to over-analyze it. I however, chose simply to enjoy it.

I'm definitely recommending this one to my readers. Tempest is a clever, twisty, fast-paced science fiction debut that is at its heart a love story. No triangles here. No instalove or unrequited feelings. Just a love torn apart by a tragic moment and Jackson's desperate attempt to make things right.

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Tempest is also available as an audiobook from Macmillan Audio and they've been kind enough to offer a free preview:

From Publisher - Tempest webclip - eSnips

Like what you hear? Buy it from Amazon or Macmillan Audio.

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To Be Read Thursday {20}

2012-01-19T08:17:00.000-05:00

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 for Review:

Partials, Dan Wells

Format: ARC from publisher

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: 2/28/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, takes readers on a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.

Goodreads / Amazon

Vengeance Born (The Light Blade #1), Kylie Griffin

Format: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Publication Date: 2/7/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not pure bred is virtually powerless. Until an unlikely champion is born...

Annika, half-blood daughter of the Na'Reish King, longs for more than her tormented life among her father's people. Conceived in hatred and bred as a tool of retribution, she's gifted with a special talent that can heal as well as destroy...

With the Na'Reish vastly outnumbering them, Kalan, a Light Blade warrior, knows the future of humankind depends on him alone. Incursions into human territory and raids for blood-slaves by the Na'Reish Horde have increased. As Chosen-leader, he faces the task of stopping the demons-and convincing the Council of aging Light Blade warriors that change is necessary for survival.

When Annika learns Kalan is a prisoner in her father's dungeon, her dream of escape seems within reach. She agrees to free him in exchange for his protection once they reach human territory. Now, marked for death for helping him, Annika must learn to trust Kalan as they face not only the perilous journey to the border but enemies within the Council-and discover a shocking truth that could throw the human race into civil war...

Goodreads / Amazon

Drowning Instinct, Ilsa J. Bick

Format: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Carolrhoda (Lerner)

Publication Date: 1/28/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord's first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain...magnetism.

And there are stories where it's hard to be sure who's a prince and who's a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

Goodreads / Amazon

When You Open Your Eyes, Celeste Conway

Format: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: 3/20/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Tessa is in love with Lucien, the son of a European diplomat. He's French and sexy and artistic. With him, she realizes how naive and American she is, and just how alive she can feel.

But Tessa’s father forbids her to see Lucien. So they meet in secret, which makes their relationship feel all the more exciting.

The harder Tessa falls for Lucien, the more volatile he becomes. Suddenly it’s not just their relationship that’s breaking the rules—Lucien knows no boundaries. And Tessa must figure out how far she’ll go for Lucien…before there is no turning back.

Goodreads / Amazon

The Gathering Storm, Robin Bridges

Format: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Delacorte BFYR

Publication Date: 1/10/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

Goodreads / Amazon

Don't You Wish, Roxanne St. Claire

Format: ARC from publisher

Publisher: Delacorte BFYR

Publication Date: 7/10/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.

Goodreads / Amazon

To Be Read Books:

1. Any Witch Way, Annastaysia Savage

2. Personal Demons, Lisa Desrochers

3. Paradise, Jill S. Alexander

4. Supernaturally, Kiersten White

5. Leverage, Joshua C. Cohen

6. A Season of Transformation, Jayne Fordham

7. Serial, John Lutz

8. Witch Song, Amber Argyle

9. Eden, Keary Taylor

10. The Beginning of After, Jennifer Castle

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Waiting on Wednesday {1} - Dead to You

2012-01-18T10:26:00.000-05:00

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

This is my first Waiting On Wednesday. Yay me!! Anyway, here is a release from February that I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on:

Dead to You by Lisa McMann
Publication Date: 2/7/2012, Simon Pulse

Synopsis from Goodreads: Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first.

Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

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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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Recent Reads - A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

2012-01-17T17:52:00.014-05:00

A Beautiful Dark, by Jocelyn Davies

3 of 5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 390

Publication: 09/27/2011, HarperTeen

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review. I also received a hardback copy as a gift for Christmas.

Synopsis (from Goodreads): On the night of Skye's seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites; like fire and ice; Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye's life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.

In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can't help falling for, and Devin, who she can't stay away from, the consequences of Skye's choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

My Review: This is another one that was just wasn't for me. It was okay, I just didn't love it. In fact, it took me 168 pages before I even wanted to continue reading it. It is super sloooooow.

I felt no connection to Skye whatsoever. She was a little bland, a little annoying and I didn't care what happened to her one way or the other. I didn't fall for either of the two boys. They were fine, but not swoon-worthy. I'm not about to declare myself Team Asher or Team Devin. Come to think of it, I don't even think I'm Team Skye.

And it's a shame. The premise of this book seemed like something that I would love. All the ingredients for a fantastic YA paranormal romance are in place--a heroine discovering an unknown origin and the powers that go along with it, and a love triangle involving two smoldering guys--but it failed to hold my attention. It lacked that certain something that grabs the reader by the throat and refuses to let go. And it just wasn't an original enough plot to make up for the lackluster writing and subpar pacing.

Would I recommend this book? Sure. Selectively. It has received tons of rave reviews. Some people absolutely LOVE this book. But in the end, all I can say is that a lot of nothing happens then the climax hits you out of nowhere, leaving you with an incredible cliffhanger and too many unanswered questions.

Personally, I felt the awesome ending was too little payoff for the slow start and I don't appreciate the fact that I have to wait for the sequel to get any sort of satisfying conclusion to the most interesting part of an otherwise boring tale. Still, none of this changes the fact that I will be awaiting the sequel. At this point, I have to know what happens next.

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New Releases - 1/16/2012-1/22/2012

2012-01-15T09:53:00.075-05:00

Here are the books on my Must Read 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.

Fracture, Megan Miranda

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by Walker & Company

Goodreads / Amazon

Never Eighteen, Megan Bostic

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by HMH Children's Books

Goodreads / Amazon

Halflings, Heather Burch

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by Zonderkidz

Goodreads / Amazon

Dead Low Tide, Bret Lott

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by Random House

Goodreads / Amazon

The Book of Wonders, Jasmine Richards

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by HarperCollins

Goodreads / Amazon

Stolen Away, Alyxandra Harvey

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by Walker Children's

Goodreads / Amazon

Hallowed (Unearthly #2), Cynthia Hand

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by HarperCollins

Goodreads / Amazon

Tempest (Tempest #1), Julie Cross

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by St. Martin's Griffin

Goodreads / Amazon

The Face Thief, Eli Gottlieb

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by HarperCollins

Goodreads / Amazon

Faith, Jennifer Haigh

Release Date: 1/17/2012 (Paperback) by HarperCollins

Goodreads / Amazon

Lovetorn, Kavita Daswani

Release Date: 1/17/2012 by HarperTeen

Goodreads / Amazon

Try Not to Breathe, Jennifer R. Hubbard

Release Date: 1/19/2012 by Viking Juvenile

Goodreads / Amazon

Truth (XVI #2), Julia Karr

Release Date: 1/19/2012 by Puffin (Penguin)

Goodreads / Amazon

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To Be Read Thursday {19}

2012-01-12T10:37:00.002-05:00

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 for Review:

Various Positions, Martha Schabas

Format: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Publication Date: 2/14/2012

(I've already read this one. So good! I couldn't put it down. My 5 Star review to come, probably next week)

Synopsis from Goodreads: Nuanced, fresh, and gorgeously well-written, Martha Schabas' extraordinary debut novel takes us inside the beauty and brutality of professional ballet, and the young women striving to make it in that world. Shy and introverted, and trapped between the hyper-sexualized world of her teenaged friends and her dysfunctional family, Georgia is only at ease when she's dancing. Fortunately, she's an unusually talented and promising dancer. When she is accepted into the notoriously exclusive Royal Ballet Academy--Canada's preeminent dance school--Georgia thinks she has made the perfect escape. In ballet, she finds the exhilarating control and power she lacks elsewhere in her life: physical, emotional and, increasingly, sexual.

This dynamic is nowhere more obvious than in Georgia's relationship with Artistic Director Roderick Allen. As Roderick singles her out as a star and subjects her to increasingly vicious training, Georgia obsesses about becoming his perfect student, disciplined and sexless. But a disturbing incident with a stranger on the subway, coupled with her dawning recognition of the truth of her parents' unhappy marriage, causes her to radically reassess her ideas about physical boundaries--a reassessment that threatens both Roderick's future at the academy and Georgia's ambitions as a ballerina.

Goodreads / Amazon

Slide, Jill Hathaway

Format: ARC from Publisher

Publisher: Balzer + Bry

Publication Date: 3/27/2012

Synopsis from Goodreads: Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

Goodreads / Amazon

The Guardian's Wildchild, Feather Stone

Format: eBook from Publisher

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Publication Date: 9/27/2011

Synopsis from Goodreads: Paranormal, Action/Adventure, Romance: Caught in a reckless attempt to stop Dark forces, Sidney Davenport, a young, rule breaking, spirited member of the secret paranormal community of Guardians, finds herself imprisoned on a naval ship and slated for execution. Her struggle with the unfamiliar emotions of fear and anger becomes even more complicated when she can no longer fight her attraction to the very man who has orders to perform her execution.

Captain Sam Waterhouse, a meticulous naval captain who’s suspected of treason, teeters on a precipice between Darkness and Light. When he receives an unusual prisoner, a paranormal journey begins to unravel his disciplined life. All the while, humanity is unknowingly at great risk when two Dark forces team up to acquire control of an elusive power. Sidney and Sam attempt to quiet their powerful feelings for each other, only to discover they can save each other, and in doing so, they might even save the world.

Through stunning imagery, an intricate and adventurous plot, and a strong cast of characters, Feather Stone gives readers a fascinating glimpse into the future—a future that is chilling, yet full of hope.

Goodreads / Amazon

Books Purchased:

Ashes, Ilsa J. Bick

I had to replace my copy because my sister refuses to return the one I lent her. She loved it so much!!

Synopsis from Goodreads: It could happen tomorrow . . .

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling novel about a world that could be ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

Goodreads / Amazon

Exiled, M.R. Merrick

I've heard nothing but good things about this book. I'm super excited to read it!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped.

Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret.

In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

Goodreads / Amazon

Vesper (Deviants #1), Jeff Sampson

Synopsis from Goodreads: Emily Webb is a geek. And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.

The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall, Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely— something not human?

As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?

Goodreads / Amazon

Angelfall, Susan Ee

This one has hundreds of reviews, mostly 4 & 5 star, so I felt like I was missing out on something awesome. Can't wait to read it!

Synopsis from Goodreads: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Goodreads / Amazon

To Be Read Books:

1. Solstice, P.J. Hoover

2. Ingenue, Jillian Larkin

3. Dark Mirror, M.J. Putney

4. Wrapped, Jennifer Bradbury

5. Blood Born, Jamie Manning

6. Vixen, Jillian Larkin

7. Strings Attached, Judy Blundell

8. Once a Witch, Carolyn MacCullough

9. The Empire, Elizabeth Lang

10. The Light Bringer, Chris DiGiuseppi & Mike Force

Recent Reads - Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

2012-01-11T11:43:00.000-05:00

Unraveling Isobel, Eileen Cook

5 of 5 Stars

Age Group/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary/Paranormal/Mystery

Pages: 304

Publication: 1/3/2012, Simon Pulse

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from S&S Galley Grab (publisher) in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: "Thrilling and creepy, super sexy, and so very hilarious." --Lisa McMann, bestselling author of the Wake trilogy

Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

My Review: Okay, so I've been on a streak with amazing reads this month and Unraveling Isobel is no exception. In fact, it was kind of awesome. Not in a kick butt/take names way, but in a humorous, creepy, wonderfully written kind of way. I finished the entire thing in one sitting because I didn't want to stop reading. Definitely a page-turner.

I also clicked with Isobel from the very first line. Her voice is funny and snarky and I loved it. She had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions. On top of that, she's just very likeable. She's been thrust into an unenviable situation (her mother has remarried to a man she's known for 3 months, she's being moved away from her friends and her life, she doesn't like her stepfather), but she handles it all with an amazing sense of humor--even after she starts seeing ghosts and believes she may have inherited her father's schizophrenia.

In order to convince herself she isn't sick like her father, she begins to investigate and discovers that the home she's living in has a lot of history. There are all sorts of ghost stories and rumors. Enough to make her question whether she is just she seeing things, falling ill, or if she is actually be experiencing the paranormal.

I loved her relationship with her stepbrother Nate, even though I guess they're kind of related, but whatever. It didn't matter. He was hot and sweet and perfect for her. Their relationship was so cute and romantic, I couldn't help but want to see them together.

Final Thoughts: Unraveling Isobel is an incredibly unique story that I have a hard time classifying into a genre. It's mostly contemporary with a ghost story and a little bit of a mystery. There is a fantastic cast of characters, a creepy setting, and a story line that will keep you guessing. And there are so many dark and amazing scenes in this book. I don't want to elaborate because I think the reader needs to experience it themselves the way that I did, but trust me you are going to love it.

Highly enjoyable and highly recommended.

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Indelibles on Fire - Introduction + Giveaway

2012-01-08T14:52:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the Indelibles Blog Hop!

In celebration of our official launch, we are giving away a KINDLE FIRE! If you'd like to start at the beginning of the INDELIBLES ON FIRE GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP, then please start here:

http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/

If you are already mid-hop, then welcome to your next stop! By following the link at the bottom of this post, you can proceed to the next author (and check out the awesome individual giveaways we are doing along the way!). If you are entering to win the KINDLE FIRE, don't forget to take note of the keyword at the end of every blog post -- the words spell out a phrase you will need to enter the contest on the last stop.

Marketing guru Shelli Johannes Wells has teamed up with twenty four other indie and small press authors to bring you the Indelibles.

“We are indie authors who write middle grade and young adult fiction.

We are dedicated to leaving a permanent mark on the world with our stories and words.

We are The Indelibles.”

Each week we'll explore fun, fabulous, and fierce topics for today's teens, drawing on pop culture and themes from the books we write. Check out our official launch Monday, January 9th for fun giveaways at http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/ . We'll also having a "blogger" chat on January 11th and a writer/author chat on the 18th to answer questions about self and indie publishing. See our blog for details.

And now without further ado, allow me to introduce myself:

I'm Melanie McCullough. I am an Adult and Young Adult author, living in the beautiful and historic city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a home overflowing with books and shoes. Although I write in many genres, my heart will always belong to YA Contemporary novels like my upcoming debut, BREATHE.

Of course, no matter which genre I'm writing in, at their core, my stories will always be about true love.

In addition to being a writer, I am an avid reader and book blogger. You can see my review policy here or check out my reviews here.

To learn more about me, feel free to stalk me:

Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

The keyword for this stop on the hop is: WITH

Continue the hop and visit the next Indelibles author: http://addisonmoorewrites.blogspot.com/

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Now, to celebrate I am having a giveaway for a copy of Dark Eden by Patrick Carman.

You want it? Just fill out the rafflecopter below. And when you're done, continue along the hop to meet the other Indelibles.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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New Releases - 1/9/2012-1/15/2012

2012-01-08T00:45:00.000-05:00

A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2), Beth Revis

Release Date: 1/10/2012 by Razorbill (Penguin)

The Gathering Storm, Robin Bridges

Release Date: 1/10/2012 by Delacorte BFYR (Random House)

Ditched: A Love Story, Robin Mellom
Release Date: 1/10/2012 by Disney-Hyperion

Destiny's Fire, Trisha Wolfe
Release Date: 1/10/2012 by Omnific Publishing

The Crown, Nancy Bilyeau
Release Date: 1/10/2012 by Touchstone (Simon & Schuster)

The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
Release Date: 1/10/2012 by Dutton Juvenile

The Rook: A Novel, Daniel O'Malley
Release Date: 1/11/2012 by Little, Brown and Company

Article 5, Kristen Simmons
Release Date: 1/13/2012 by Tor Teen

*Click on book cover to see synopsis and add to your Goodreads shelves.

So there are the New Releases I'm looking forward to this week. What about you guys? What books do you want this week?

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Harper Imprint Challenge

2012-01-07T21:08:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I've decided to sign up for the Harper Imprint Challenge. It's a month long and I have an awful lot of Harper books that I need to get through this month. Here are the details from Starry Sky Books:

For those of you that have no idea what this challenge is, it's pretty much a challenge to read as many books from the HarperCollins imprints that publish YA books: Harper Teen, Greenwillow, Katherine Tegen Books, and Balzer + Bray. I first held this challenge last minute in July, with sign-ups only posted two weeks before. This time around there's more time for word to get around and more people to sign up, hopefully! Here is the breakdown of the challenge:

Open to anyone, whether you blog or not
Books started before January 1 do not count - and we're going on the honor system with this!
Audio books and ebooks do count of course
Your books can be crossovers with other challenges
Sign-ups will stay open through January 7
Choose a challenge level and make an intro post with a link back to this post!

Here are the challenge levels, make sure you choose one that you think is realistic for you.

Easy: 1-4 books
Medium: 5-8 books
Hard: 9-12 books

And here's a schedule of events that will be happening throughout the month, with more possibly to be added.

January 1: Event starts! Review link-up for the first week posted.
January 8: Review link-up for the second week goes up.
January 15: Harper Imprint Challenge Readathon! Starts at 9am Pacific time and lasts for 24 hours; Review link-up for the third week
January 22: Review Link-up for the last week, including the 29th through the 31st
January 25: 24 hour Harper book giveaway!
January 31: - Last day of the challenge!

On February 1 there will be one final giveaway for those who participated and do a wrap up post of your accomplishments! So don't forget those posts.

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I think I'm going to go for the medium level. We'll see. If nothing else, it'll help me get through my TBR pile.

Young Adult Faeries & Fantasy Giveaway Hop

2012-01-06T00:01:00.004-05:00

Time for another giveaway hop!!! This one is courtesy of the bloggers at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and vvb32reads. This hop is to celebrate Young Adult Faerie and Fantasy books so I'm giving away the following:

So by now you should all know what to do -- fill out the rafflecopter below. And when you're done check out the other blogs participating here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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To Be Read Thursday {18}

2012-01-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

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 Received for Review:

Fair Coin, E.C. Myers

Release Date: 3/27/2012, Pyr

Thank you to Pyr for the ARC!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Ephraim is horrified when he comes home from school one day to find his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. Even more disturbing than her suicide attempt is the reason for it: the dead boy she identified at the hospital that afternoon—a boy who looks exactly like him.

While examining his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim discovers a strange coin that makes his wishes come true each time he flips it. Before long, he’s wished his alcoholic mother into a model parent, and the girl he’s liked since second grade suddenly notices him.

But Ephraim soon realizes that the coin comes with consequences—several wishes go disastrously wrong, his best friend Nathan becomes obsessed with the coin, and the world begins to change in unexpected ways.

As Ephraim learns the coin’s secrets and how to control its power, he must find a way to keep it from Nathan and return to the world he remembers.

Incarnate (New Soul #1), Jodi Meadows

Release Date: 1/31/2012, HarperCollins Children's Books

Thank you to Harper for the ARC

Synopsis from Goodreads: NEWSOUL
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.

NOSOUL
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 suspicious and 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.

Switched, Amanda Hocking

Release Date: 1/3/2012, St. Martin's Griffin

Thank you to St. Martin's for the ARC

Synopsis from Goodreads: When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right.

With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.

Books I Won:

I got 3 Lauren Myracle books from the awesome Aeicha at Word Spelunking. She even wrapped them up for Christmas for me. I haven't read a Lauren Myracle book so I'm really excited about these. Thanks so much Aeicha!!

Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks

Rhymes With Witches

The Fashion Disaster that Changed My Life

Books I Purchased:

Alias Dragonfly, Jane Singer

Wildflowers Come Back, Sarah Spann

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, Beth Fantaskey

Changeling Moon, Dani Harper

Books To Be Read:

Click on book cover to see synopsis or to add to your Goodreads shelves.

1. Angel Fire, Courtney Allison Moulton

2. Die for Me, Amy Plum

3. Grave Witch, Kalayna Price

4. Abandon, Meg Cabot

5. Nightshade, Andrea Cremer

6. 13 to Life, Shannon Delany

7. Forbidden, Tabitha Suzuma

8. Protostar, Braxton A. Cosby

9. Audition, Stasia Ward Kehoe

10. Oldsoul, Dan Haring

Recent Reads - Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

2012-01-04T09:22:00.004-05:00

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1), Veronica Rossi

5 of 5 Stars

Genre: Young Adult, SciFi/Fantasy Dystopian

Pages: 400

Publication: 1/3/2012, HarperCollins

Buy It:

Why I Chose It: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from the publisher in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY.

My Review: I finished this one in the early morning around 2 am and I awoke hours later feeling very depressed that it was over. I felt like I'd lost a friend. I wasn't prepared for it to end--although it has a much more satisfying ending then some other series I've read recently. That being said, I will admit that it took me a while to get into the story. I found myself stopping and starting a few times, unsure of whether I liked it or not, but once it got going, I was completely enthralled.

Under the Never Sky has so much going for it. The dystopian world Veronica Rossi has created is all kinds of spectacular. You have a government within Reverie trying to cover up the loss of one of its pods and an attack on Aria, so they send her from her cozy little world into the real. Into the Death Shop.

Outside, you have a world scorched and dying from what they call Aether storms. You have tribes who use knives and arrows, and fight for land and barter for food. Not to mention cannibals and people with mutant-like powers they call Senses. This, as the name implies, is the heightened ability of one of the human senses. SO. COOL.

On top of that, you have a quietly strong heroine who is more amazed than anyone by how well she fares in the real world. And Perry. Oh Perry. How I love you. It was weird at first because his full name is Peregrine and I kept thinking about Pippin from Lord of the Rings (which I don't think is a bad thing because I have an uber crush on Billy Boyd who played him in the movie). You can't read or write. But you can hunt and you can kill and you're loyal, and brave, and noble, and oh so many wonderful things. For me, Perry is the best type of hero. Strong and kind, even if a little damaged.

This is not insta-love people. This is the real deal. Starting from a mutual disgust and hatred and building over time into something intense and beautiful.

By far one of the best post-apocalyptic/dystopian reads for me. This one is full of action and romance. I absolutely adore this story and the love between Perry and Aria. I can hardly wait for the next installment. Recommended to everyone.

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Giveaway - Audiobook of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2012-01-04T08:16:00.002-05:00

Thanks to the awesome people at Macmillan Audio I have a audiobook of Cinder to give away to one of my lucky readers. If you haven't heard of Cinder you can read my review here or check out the synopsis below:

Synopsis from Goodreads: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.

Macmillan Audio has also been kind enough to offer a free preview:

From Publisher - Cinder webclip - eSnips

Like what you hear? Buy It From Amazon or Macmillan Audio

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Okay, so you know the drill--you want it, just fill out the rafflecopter below. US Only. Winner will be notified via email at the end of the contest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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