Sunday, June 29, 2014

Upcoming Releases: July 1



 
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Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater
  A standalone companion book to the internationally bestselling Shiver Trilogy.  

Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole's story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole's darkest secret -- his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel's life. Can this sinner be saved?
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A Shard of Ice by Alivia Anders
THEIR SOULS, REAWAKENED.
When 13-year-old Lilix Morgan is found alive and floating on a bed of ice at sea, everyone counts it a miracle. Kidnapped nearly four weeks earlier, she remembers nothing of her mysterious abduction. When she tries to remember what happened, she hears only a melody – a faint and delicate set of notes, strung together in a tune she doesn’t understand.

THEIR POWER, UNMATCHED.

A year later and desperate to put the lingering nightmares of her past behind her, Lilix crosses the country to enroll at Baelmorte Academy, aiming to become the violinist she once dreamt of. Things seem to be finally going well, and Lilix settles into a routine of sheet music and inspiration among new friends.

THEN THE DREAMS START. 

The melody and night terrors she thought she’d left behind return with a vengeance, threatening to ruin her fragile version of normalcy. Then an unlikely ally tells her that she isn’t alone. That there are others just like her, fighting to hide their own shocking truths from coming to light. That they know who she is, and what she’s been through. Now, accompanied by four other girls, Lilix discovers her nightmares are larger than a single trauma; they’re a window to a hidden part of her soul, a place of immense power with a destiny that cannot be ignored.

THEIR BATTLE, IS ONLY BEGINNING.

With this knowledge comes a new and frightening reality. For Lilix has been reawakened to stop an age-old enemy, one thought to have been destroyed centuries ago. Trapped by her destiny, Lilix is torn between what feels right and what she remembers. Her memories tell her of a star-crossed love waiting to be reunited, of friendships and trust broken in the past. But can she save that love when reality brings her an enemy, and an evil that will be the undoing of them all if they don’t destroy it?
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On the Fence by Kasie West

She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect. 
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The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

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Dream Boy by Mary Crockett & Madelyn Rosenberg
Annabelle Manning feels like she’s doing time at her high school in Chilton, Virginia. She has her friends at her lunchtime table of nobodies. What she doesn’t have are possibilities. Or a date for Homecoming. Things get more interesting at night, when she spends time with the boy of her dreams. But the blue-eyed boy with the fairytale smile is just that—a dream. Until the Friday afternoon he walks into her chemistry class.

One of friends suspects he’s an alien. Another is pretty sure it’s all one big case of deja vu. While Annabelle doesn’t know what to think, she’s willing to believe that the charming Martin Zirkle may just be her dream come true. But as Annabelle discovers the truth behind dreams—where they come from and what they mean—she is forced to face a dark reality she had not expected. More than just Martin has arrived in Chilton. As Annabelle learns, if dreams can come true, so can nightmares.

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More Books After The Jump

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Author Spotlight: Kelley Armstrong


Me with Kelley Armstrong in 2010
Kelley Armstrong, a best-selling author from Canada, has written 7 series with a total of over 30 books and countless short stories. Most of her worlds are fantasy based, with characters ranging from werewolves and vampires to hit women and serial killer's daughters. Her stories are full of strong women, unbelievably attractive men and more than a little bit of danger. Almost all of her works are told from the perspective of one of her female characters, though several of her short stories are told by the men in their lives. She is skilled at creating addictive worlds and stories that you absolutely cannot get enough of, and if you are a fan of a compelling narrative and good plot lines, she is someone that should not be overlooked.

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Bitten is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series and it follows Elena Michaels, the only female werewolf in existence. As the title would suggest, Elena isn't a hereditary werewolf, she was bitten and she has had a difficult time adjusting to the change over the years. Having finally broken free from her pack, and the man who drives her crazy, the last she wants to do is head back to Stonehaven. But when bodies start appearing and rumors of wolves running rampant in Bear Valley are being passed around, Elena knows she has to face her past. Full of suspense, action, romance and a dash of tragedy, Bitten is one of the best werewolf books out there. Recently, the book has been made into a TV show in Canada, and while it's no where near as good or as compelling as the novel, it's still an interesting visual adaptation. The rest of the books in the series alternate protagonists, though they are all intertwined together, and we see Elena Michaels as the main character in several of them. The last book in the series, Thirteen, was released in 2012. As of now, Armstrong has no plans to continue the series, though she has said that her decision to focus on other works is not permanent.

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The Summoning is the first book in the Darkest Powers Trilogy and this series follows Chloe Saunders, a teenager who suddenly begins to see things that no one else can. After an unfortunate incident at her school, she is sedated and brought to Lyle House, a halfway house for troubled teens. Told that she has schizophrenia, all Chloe wants to do is to get better and get back to her regularly scheduled life. But the longer she stays there, the more she starts to question her diagnosis. When one of the kids is supposedly taken away to a different hospital, Chloe begins to see her ghost. Is her friend really OK, or is there something to what Derek and his brother Simon have been saying about her being a necromancer? Chloe has to decide who to believe and what to do with this new-found power, and more importantly, how she can escape. As always with Kelley's books, the romance and suspense are perfectly balanced, and her characters are extremely relatable. This series is her first YA series and it is set in the same world as her Women of the Otherworld books, but The Darkest Powers series stands on its own without having to read her adult works.

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The Gathering is the first book in the follow up to the Darkest Powers series, Darkness Rising. This series follows another group of genetically altered teen supernaturals as they discover their lives aren't quite as normal as they were lead to believe. Maya and her friends live on an ultra exclusive reserve in Canada, where only a couple dozen families live. They have mostly only known each other their whole lives, having only minor contact with the outside world. Maya has been trying to deal with the loss of her best friend, Serena, who she witnessed drowning, helpless to do anything about it. Serena's boyfriend Daniel is Maya's other best friend and they are inseparable. When Rafe shows up in town, things start to change. Maya starts to question her paw print birthmark and her affinity with animals and when strangers start showing up in town, she finally has a chance to get some answers. But the St. Cloud Corporation, the company that built Maya's town and reserve for their employees, are not going to make it easy for her to find those answers. While The Darkest Powers series is not necessarily required in order to enjoy and understand the Darkness Rising series, it is highly recommended that you start with Chloe's series first.

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Outside of the Otherworld realm, Kelley has several series published. Exit Strategy follows Nadia Stafford, a Mafia hit woman, as she hunts down a dangerous serial killer. Loki's Wolves, written as K L Armstrong along with Melissa Marr, is the first book in a middle grade series about Matt Thorsen, a descendant of Thor. Sea of Shadows is Kelley's first fantasy series for Young Adults. It follows two sisters, Ashyn and Moria, as they are separated by an ancient evil and forced to fight that evil in order to find each other again. Omens is the first book in the Cainsville series, and it follows Olivia Taylor Jones as she uncovers a dark family secret. She finds out that she was adopted and that her birth parents are none other than Todd and Pamela Larsen, convicted serial killers serving out dual life sentences. As with all of Kelley's books, her worlds are sure to enchant and her characters are guaranteed to delight. No matter which series you start at, there is something for everyone in her works.

Cover Reveal: Empire of Night by Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong revealed the cover for the sequel to the first book in the Age of Legends series.

Sisters Moria and Ashyn are the Keeper and Seeker of Edgewood. Or at least, they were.

Their village is gone. Their friends have betrayed them. And now, the emperor has sent them on a mission to rescue the children of Edgewood—accompanied by Prince Tyrus and a small band of imperial warriors. But the journey proves more perilous than they could have imagined. With treachery and unrest mounting in the empire, Moria and Ashyn will have to draw on all their influence and power to overcome deadly enemies—not all of them human—and even avert an all-out war. 


Kelley's website has more info about the book, including an excerpt, as well as a contest to be one of the first people to receive an ARC.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Paradigm by Ceri A. Lowe


What if the end of the world was just the beginning?

Alice Davenport awakens from a fever to find her mother gone and the city she lives in ravaged by storms – with few survivors.

When Alice is finally rescued, she is taken to a huge underground bunker owned by the mysterious Paradigm Industries. As the storms worsen, the hatches close.

87 years later, amidst the ruins of London, the survivors of the Storms have reinvented society. The Model maintains a perfect balance – with inhabitants routinely frozen until they are needed by the Industry.

Fifteen-year-old Carter Warren knows his time has come. Awoken from the catacombs as a contender for the role of Controller General, it is his destiny to succeed – where his parents failed.

But Carter soon discovers that the world has changed, in ways that make him begin to question everything that he believes in. As Carter is forced to fight for those he loves and even for his life, it seems that the key to the future lies in the secrets of the past...


My review:

***** PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY****

I was sooooooooo super excited to start this book! But sadly, I had to stop reading it at 15%. I know it is too soon to stop, but I also know that when I am going to like a book it will engage me from the beginning, and that did not happen.
 

It is told in alternating POV. One from Alice, which is in the past right when the Storms started. And the other is from Carter in the present (or future, depends how you see it :P). His chapters were very boring. 
 

Still,  you should give it a try, you might like it. I see it has a lot of good reviews. This just wasn't for me.
Enjoy your reading!


Wrecked by Anna Davies


A mysterious stranger holds the key to Miranda’s fate in this contemporary retelling of “The Little Mermaid.”

Ever since the death of her parents, Miranda has lived on Whym Island, taking comfort in the local folklore, which claims a mysterious sea witch controls the fate of all on the island and in its surrounding waters. Sometimes it’s just easier to believe things are out of your control.
But then a terrible boating accident takes the lives of several of her friends, and Miranda is rescued by a mysterious boy who haunts her dreams. Consumed by guilt from the accident, she finds refuge in late-night swims—and meets Christian, a boy who seems eerily familiar, but who is full of mystery: He won’t tell her where he is from, or why they can only meet at the beach. But Miranda falls for him anyway…and discovers that Christian’s secrets, though meant to protect her, may bring her nothing but harm. Seductive and compelling, Wrecked brings a contemporary, paranormal twist to a classic enchanting tale.




Review

This was literally the worst book I have read in my life! I can't believe that Simon and Schuster published this thing. I could not make it to the end, I had to stop in page 169 because this was so painful to read. I can't really find words to describe how awful this book is. I am so glad I got this book for free because it would have been a waste of money. Miranda was so pathetic, constantly complaining about how her life was so bad. I would give this book -5 (negative 5) stars, but sadly I can't!

Save your money, get it from your library. If you like it, then you can spend money on it!

Goodreads.
1/5 stars.

Similar books: The Secret of the Emerald sea. Mermaid Park Merrow.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Review: From Gods by Mary Ting

Did you just see a flash of lightning across the sky on a clear sunny day? It’s not from Mother Nature. It is most likely from Mason Grand, swoon-worthy demigod, one of Zeus’s descendants.

Skylar Rome is supposed to be having the best summer ever before she heads off to college. Little did she know, her whole life was about to change while visiting her cousin. Nearly drowning at the beach due to unknown forces, one of the Grand brothers she’d just met, Mason, saves her life. Cool, collected, mysterious, and dangerously good-looking, Skylar is drawn to him from the start. Though she knows he is the type of guy good girls stayed away from, it seems he is always saving her life, and the attraction was inevitable.

Upon meeting the brothers, strange things begin to happen. When she accidentally kills one of the brothers, it throws her life into turmoil, as they search to find the answers. Implausibly, she gets caught up in a world of the decedents of ancient gods, all who have super powers. Not only is her discovery difficult to accept, evil beings are after her. Running out of time and running for her life, she must unravel a mystery. What do they want from her? Forced into a battle set into motion long before she was born, will she find the answers, or will she die trying?


Thoughts

The book was good! I liked all of the characters, except Skylar. Seriously, the girl does not speak! The only thing she said in the entire book was:

ummm... OK.

ummm thanks. 
Mmmmmmm, I'm fine. 
ummmmm, no.
ummmm, yes.
ummmm, maybe.
ummmmm... ummmm ummmm ummmmm and again ummmmmm.... 


4/5 Stars.

Goodreads. 

Wicked as They Come by Delilah Dawson

When nurse Tish Everett forced open the pesky but lovely locket she found at an estate sale, she had no idea she was answering the call of Criminy Stain, from the far off land of Sang. He’d cast a spell for her, but when she’s transported right to him, she’s not so sure she’s ready to be under the spell of another man. (It didn’t go so well last time with controlling, abusive, domineering Jeff.) If only Criminy wasn’t so deliciously rakish….

Half the inhabitants of Sang are Pinkies—human—and the other half are Bludmen, who in Tish’s world would be called vampires. But they don’t mess with any of the bat/coffin/no sunlight nonsense. They’re rather like you and me, just more fabulous, long living, and mostly indestructible. (They're also very good kissers.) But when the evil Mayor of Manchester (formerly Bludchester) redoubles his efforts to rid Sang of the Bludmen once and for all, stealing Tish’s locket in hopes of traveling back to her world himself for reinforcements, Criminy and Tish must battle ghosts, sea monsters, wayward submarines, a secret cabal, and thundering Bludmares to get the locket back and allow Tish to return home…but has she found love with Criminy? Could she stay in Sang forever?






Review
I super duper loved this book! It was perfect! The world the author created was fantastic!

And Criminy! Oh, my love, Criminy! He is easily the second best vampire I have ever read about! He is just awesome! I LOVE HIM!!

The sex scenes were so good! They were not cheesy or anything disgusting. They were very beautiful, passionate and very romantic.

Now,  the end was good but not what I expected or what I wanted.

5/5 Stars just because Criminy is so super awesome!

Goodreads

Upcoming Releases: June 24




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Bettina Vasilis can hardly believe it when basketball star Brady Cullen asks her out, and she just about faints when her strict father actually approves of him.

But when school starts up again, Brady changes. What happened to the sweet boy she fell in love with? Then she meets a smoldering guy in his twenties, and this “cowboy” is everything Brady is not—gentle, caring, and interested in getting to know the real Bettina.

Bettina knows that breaking up with Brady would mean giving up her freedom—and that it would be inappropriate for anything to happen between her and Cowboy. Still, she can’t help that she longs for the scent of his auto shop whenever she’s anywhere else.

When tragedy strikes, Bettina must tell her family the truth—and kiss goodbye the things she thought she knew about herself and the men in her life.

Leslie Connor has written a lyrical, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about family, romance, and the immense power of love.

(Goodreads)
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It's the return of Point Horror for the Internet generation! Don't open the door. Don't answer your phone. And whatever you do, DON'T turn on your computer. . . .

Cole and Greg love playing practical jokes through Wikipedia. They edit key articles and watch their classmates crash and burn giving oral reports on historical figures like Genghis Khan, the first female astronaut on Jupiter. So after the star soccer player steals Cole's girlfriend, the boys take their revenge by creating a Wikipedia page for him, an entry full of outlandish information including details about his bizarre death on the soccer field.

It's all in good fun, until the soccer player is killed in a freak accident . . . just as Cole and Greg predicted. The uneasy boys vow to leave Wikipedia alone but someone continues to edit articles about classmates dying in gruesome ways . . . and those entries start to come true as well.

To his horror, Cole soon discovers that someone has created a Wikipedia page for him, and included a date of death. He has one week to figure out who's behind the murders, or else he's set to meet a pretty grisly end.

(Goodreads)
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Two years ago, sixteen-year-old Jamie Henry breathed a sigh of relief when a judge sentenced his older sister to juvenile detention for burning down their neighbor’s fancy horse barn. The whole town did. Because Crazy Cate Henry used to be a nice girl. Until she did a lot of bad things. Like drinking. And stealing. And lying. Like playing weird mind games in the woods with other children. Like making sure she always got her way. Or else.

But today Cate got out. And now she’s coming back for Jamie.

Because more than anything, Cate Henry needs her little brother to know the truth about their past. A truth she’s kept hidden for years. A truth she’s not supposed to tell. 

(Goodreads)
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