Stacking The Shelves

Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme from Tynga's Reviews, where I write, and squee, about the books I've added to my physical and virtual shelves, what I've read, and what I'm planning to read

 :: Read This Week :: 

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
The Emperor's Conspiracy by Michelle Diener
The Avery Shaw Experiement by Kelly Oram
Pride and Precipitation by Heather Horrocks
The Betwixt Book One by Odette C. Bell
Heat Flash by Taylor Ann
Evolution (Evolution Series Book One) by Kelly Carrero
Fins - Book One of the Fins Trilogy by Ashley L. Knight
Safe From The Dark (Bright's Ferry) by Lily Rede
Dreamer (The Kali Lockton Trilogy by J.L. Durfey
Bachlorettes on Parade by Felicia Mires
Hidden (Hidden Series) by M. Lathan
Kidnapped the Wrong Sister by Marie Kelly

Regency Masquerade by Vera Loy

:: Reviewed ::

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter 

 Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Book the First) by Gail Carriger

:: Acquired ::

Losing It by Cora Carmack

Faking It (Losing It) by Cora Carmack

The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

Pride and Precipitation by Heather Horrocks

Scorching Secrets by Kaitlyn Hoyt

:: Up Next ::

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
Sass and Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler

The Selection by Keira Cass

The Elite by Keira Cass

|| Amazon Ebook Sale || Kelly Oram and Cora Carmack

|| Amazon Ebook Sale || Kelly Oram and Cora Carmack

The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram 

 When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically. 

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.

Losing It by Cora Carmack

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible—a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half a brain would ever believe.

And as if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theater professor.

She'd left him naked in her bed about eight hours earlier. . . .

Faking It by Cora Carmack

Mackenzie "Max" Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.

Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.

[Price subject to change without warning. 

Please, please check price before you push 'buy']

{YA Review} Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Book the First) by Gail Carriger

{YA Review} Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Book the First) by Gail Carriger

 

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners—and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education. (Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} Hardcover, 307 pages, Published February 5th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Source: library

{Rating} 4/5

{Review} So much fun. There is etiquette, espionage, friends, enemies, vampires, werewolves, mysteries and intrigue.

Sophronia Temminick is a great heroine. She's unique, clever, forthright, adventerous, brave, tenacious, loyal. I loved her attitude. She takes things in stride, she's attacked and thrust in a world she doesn't understand but she just keeps going, keeping her calm.

"Finishing school? Then I'm not being sent to the vampires? Relief flooded through Sophronia, instantly followed by a new horror. Finishing school! There would be lessons. On how to curtsy. On how to dress. On how to eat with one's finger in the air. Sophronia shuddered. Perhaps a vampire hive was a better option." (Carriger 9)

Carriger is so imaginative. I loved the setting of the finishing school -- floating! I had the feeling of Howl's Moving Castle (the version at the end) and Harry Potter with a big dash of 19th century Nancy Drew. The coursework was interesting, learn about poison, seduction, fan maneuvers, dancing, household management, how to identify vampires and so much more that every proper young lady should know.

I found myself looking forward to the addition of new characters just to read what name she would give them. Carriger's names were whimsical, amusing and downright odd. Who else would come up with Pillover Plumleigh-Teignmott? Picklemen? The Great Chutney?

I loved Carriger's writing style. I was immersed in the storyline, connected to the characters and unwilling to put the book down until I was finished. I can't wait to read book 2, Curtsies & Conspiracies, which will release in November.

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week I'm waiting on:

Demonosity by Amanda Ashby

An ancient myth + a mean girl + a reluctant warrior = a lively take on good vs. evil

The Black Rose--a powerful ancient force--has been let loose and has taken up residence in Celeste Gibson, popular girl at Cassidy Carter-Lewis' high school. Thomas Delacroix is the spirit of a fourteenth-century knight who is devoted to protecting the Black Rose, but he needs a contemporary living being to take on the challenge. That's where Cassidy comes in. She's a quirky high school junior who just wants to dress in her vintage clothes, hang out with her best friend, and take care of her father, who is recovering from surgery. She's the last person who would ever volunteer for such a task, but no one actually asked her.  Now, like it or not, she finds herself training before dawn and battling demons at parties, the mall, and even at school. But hey, no one ever said high school was going to be easy. . .

Expected publication: August 15, 2013

Find it on Amazon

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read(s)
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) -- or more -- “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

"I don't know. I don't actually remember anything from before the surgery." 

His eyebrows rose, his blue eyes sucking in all the light of the room. "The cybernetic operation?"

"No, the sex change."

page 100, Cinder by Marissa Marr

"Finishing school? Then I'm not being sent to the vampires? Relief flooded through Sophronia, instantly followed by a new horror. Finishing school! There would be lessons. On how to curtsy. On how to dress. On how to eat with one's finger in the air. Sophronia shuddered. Perhaps a vampire hive was a better option."

page 9, Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

 "What do you know? The nuns knew something after all. They knew how not to have sex."

location 4412, The Hidden (Hidden Series) by M. Lathan

{YA Review} I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

{YA Review} I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.(Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} Hardcover, 284 pages, Published May 1st 2006 by Disney-Hyperion (first published April 1st 2006), Source: library

{Rating} 4/5

{Review} Where was the Gallagher Academy when I was 15? I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You is a fun, charming, adorable story of Cammie, a sophomore at the very special Gallagher Academy, navigating her first relationship while training to be a spy.

Cammie is smart, gifted, a spylet? spyling? future spy, she speaks multiple languages, can kick butt in P&E (protection and enforcement), all around awesome, but she doesn't speak boy. She's actually completely clueless about all things boy.

"All these years I'd though being a spy was challenging. Turns out, being a girl is the tricky part." (Carter, 144)

During a school assignment she meets Josh. He sees her. No one sees her, something that makes her such a good pavement artist (a tail) but he sees her. It's endlessly amusing as these brilliant girls (an awesome supporting cast of friends) try to help Cammie along, creating a complicated background to keep Josh in the dark about the real Cammie, performing surveillance and analyzing every interaction.

There are other storylines, the covert ops course and the new professor Solomon and his connection to her family, the mysteries surrounding Cammie's father, that I assume will continue into the other books in the series. We're left with a bit of a cliffhanger and I'm excited to see what happens next.

I enjoyed Carter's writing style. The story moved quickly and the language and voice immersed me in the teenage angst - in the best of ways.

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme from Tynga's Reviews, where I write, and squee, about the books I've added to my physical and virtual shelves, what I've read, and what I'm planning to read

 :: Read This Week :: 

The Remedy (The Eyes of E'veria) by Serena Chase
Altered by Jennifer Rush
Opal by Jennifer L Armentrout
Guardians of Stone (The Relic Hunters) by Anita Clenney
The Awakening (The Bloodlines Series) by Apryl Baker
Kiss the Cook by Jacquie D'Alessandro
Unrevealed (Availlon) by Jennifer Halstead
Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
Wicked Games by Jill Myles and Jessica Clare
Annihilate Me (Vol. 1) by Christina Ross
Forgotten Royalty by Tiffany Wood
Turned by Morgan Rice
Accidental Meeting by Susette Williams
The Kiss by Sotia Lazu

:: Reviewed ::

 The Rules (The Paper Doll Project #1) by Stacey Kade

A Flirtatious Rendezvous by Cecilia Gray

 :: Acquired ::

On Writing by Stephen King

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

The Selection by Keira Cass

The Elite by Keira Cass

:: Up Next ::

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

The Selection by Keira Cass

The Elite by Keira Cass

{Historical Romance Novella Review} A Flirtatious Rendezvous by Cecilia Gray

{Historical Romance Novella Review} A Flirtatious Rendezvous by Cecilia Gray

Miss Hanna Morton is:
1. an affectionately dutiful daughter,
2. a hopeless romantic, and
3. desperately in love with one Mr. Hayden Banks despite good sense advising her to the contrary.

Mr. Hayden Banks is
1. a reluctantly dutiful son,
2. an ingenious mathematician, and
3. incredibly wary of one Miss Hanna Morton when his matchmaking mother sets them under the same roof.

Hanna is hoping for Hayden's heart, but what will become of their flirtatious rendezvous?

(Blurb Via Goodreads)

{Details} ebook, 53 pages, Published October 4th 2012 by The Alpha Division, LLC. Source: Amazon

{Rating} 3/5

{Review}

Oh I felt for poor Lady Hanna Morton. You see Hanna is in love with The Honorable Hayden Banks. Pathetically in love. Desperately in love. And everybody knows it. Hayden knows it. Hanna isn't good at Latin or math or polite conversation but she's exceptionally good at being in love with Hayden. And daydreaming. About Hayden.

I liked Hanna. Hanna reminded me of a puppy. Devoted. Irrepressible. Lovable. And she's brave. Despite her faults, and they're pointed out, repeatedly, she never lost her spirit, she was honest about what she felt, about what she wanted.

Hayden is determined to avoid the trap of marriage, his mother Lady Landale, whose duty it is to see Hanna wed, is determined to see Hanna wed - to him. Hayden is a genius but doubts Hanna's feelings because he 'had no empirical evidence of her love' despite her confession of her love. Hayden is guided by logic, by reason, by things he can prove, so you know things are about to get interesting.

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week I'm waiting on:

Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike

Tavia Michaels is the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed her parents. When she starts to see strange visions of a boy she’s never spoken with in real life, she begins to suspect that there’s much about her past that she isn’t being told. Tavia will soon discover that she’s an Earthbound—someone with the ability to create matter out of nothing—and that she alone holds the key to stopping the Reduciata, an evil society that manipulates global events for its own shadowy purposes. Tavia will ultimately have to make a choice: to come into her powers and save the world from the evil Reduciata or to choose free will and a love of her own.

Expected publication: July 30, 2013

Find it on Amazon

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read(s)
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) -- or more -- “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

"Julien rubbed his thumb over mine. "When it touches your soul, truth is like fire," he began. "As you know, when we rest too close to the fire we quickly become uncomfortable. Too close and it even becomes painful. But that doesn't always mean we should try to elude its flames."

location 5662, The Ryn (Eyes of E'veria) by Serena Chase

***

"One touch and he made her melt.
One kiss and the earth ceased to turn on its axis. Just think what might happen if he dared to do more."

page 50, At the Duke's Pleasure by Tracey Anne Warren

"Beetle-browed!" he shot back. "I am nothing of the kind."
Mallory gave a delicate snort. "Tell that to your eyebrows."

page 97, At the Duke's Pleasure by Tracey Anne Warren

***

"That's what hope was. Clinging to something you weren't sure would ever be yours. But you had to hold on anyway, because without it, what was the point?"

page 114, Altered by Jennifer Rush

{YA Review} The Rules (The Paper Doll Project #1) by Stacey Kade

{YA Review} The Rules (The Paper Doll Project #1) by Stacey Kade

1. Never trust anyone.
2. Remember they are always searching.
3. Don’t get involved.
4. Keep your head down.
5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

{Blurb via Goodreads}

{Details} Hardcover, 416 pages. Published April 23rd 2013 by Disney-Hyperion. Source: library

{Rating} 4/5

{Review} I was immediately drawn into the story, into Ariane's life. I connected with Ariane from the first page. I saw her, hunched over as a child, literally keeping her head down, hoarding things, because she had never had anything before, following the rules, adhering to a rigid routine "Tuesday equals cornflakes" (Kade, 3), blending in.

And then she makes one choice and breaks all the rules. I can't say much more than that without getting all spoilery so go and get the book. I gasped, I cheered, I really hated Rachel.

Zane. It took me a while to warm up to him despite seeing his background and experiences that are supposed to make us understand his actions and choices. But he turns out to be likeable, someone I could respect.

The beginning of a series, The Rules doesn't answer many questions, posing more than it answers in fact, but I've got ideas about where it's going. Ideas about Zane's mom, about Rachel's role in Ariane's life, about Ariane. I can't wait until the next book to see if I'm right.

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme from Tynga's Reviews, where I write, and squee, about the books I've added to my physical and virtual shelves, what I've read, and what I'm planning to read

 :: Read This Week :: 

The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
The Ryn (The Eyes of E'veria by Serena Chase
At the Duke's Pleasure by Tracey Anne Warren
Penelope by Anya Wylde
The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard
Coexist by Julia Crane
Click to Subscribe by L.M. Augustine
Everblue by Brenda Pandos
Wild Highland Magic by Kendra Leigh
Shattered Promises by Jessica Sorensen

:: Reviewed ::

 The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls #1) by C.C. Hunter

:: Acquired ::

Obsession by Jennifer Armentrout
The Remedy (The Eyes of E'veria) by Serena Chase
Altered by Jennifer Rush
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

:: Up Next ::

Opal by Jennifer L Armentrout

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater FREE Audiobook @ Sync

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater FREE Audiobook @ Sync through June 19, 2013

Check Sync weekly, they've got audiobooks from Robin LeFevers and many others this summer.

{YA Review} The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

{YA Review} The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for…again. (Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} Hardcover, 485 pages. Published April 24th 2012 by Harlequin Teen. Source: library

{Rating} 3/5

{Review} It started depressing and didn't really let up. It's a world of hunger, fear, death, desperation. Sounds like fun, huh?

The heroine, Allie is a survivor. She's surviving in harsh circumstances in a harsh world. She is taught to only look out for #1 but she doesn't, she's a saver even at a cost to herself. She tries to be disconnected, unemotional but she grows attached. She grows attached to Stick and Zeke and Caleb and their little tribe.

Allie is getting by, barely, but she's attacked and then she has to make a choice, die and stay dead or die and become what she hates most: a vampire. But she's a survivor, and chooses to survive in any form. And then as a vampire she's got to figure out who she's going to be? A monster or a monster who fights it.

I liked Allie's voice. Her humor, pragmatism, hope, acceptance, her battle against her new vampire nature. Here's an example:

"All right. I can do this. How hard can it be, really? Kneeling, I picked up a long metal spike, frowning. What in the world? Are you supposed to stab someone with these? Do tents come with vampire-slaying kits?" (Kagawa, 222)

And there's a boy of course. Zeke.  A human who has no idea what Allie is. He embodies humanity, kindness, consideration, helping, sharing. But he's a vampire hater and Allie's a vampire.

It's not like any other vampire novel I've read before and though it started slow - and depressing, I already mentioned that, right? - it was definitely worth my time and I'd recommend that you check it out. I already have Blood of Eden #2, The Eternity Cure and I'm eager to dive in.

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week I'm waiting on:

Love is a Number by Lee Monroe

When her beloved boyfriend Huck dies, Eloise is wrecked. All she has left of him are the texts that he sent: short, succinct - but full of love.

They keep Huck alive. And so Eloise texts him back as if he can receive her messages from beyond the grave. She never expected to get a reply ....

Dan is travelling South America in one last hurrah before university and real life kick in.

He's ready for love, but not of the casual kind. He's not met a girl that's set his world alight. But he's ready for her when she decides to make an appearance. One night on his travels, Dan discovers an abandoned phone.

He pockets it, then forgets about it. He never expected it to ring ...

Expected publication: July 4th 2013

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesdays

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read(s)
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) -- or more -- “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

My teasers:

"It's incredibly hard to act like none of this bothers me. There's no protection when you're a loner. I'm like that one little baby duck you see on those wildlife shows that gets separated from the group as the nasty alligator hovers just below the water's surface. Chomp, chomp."

page 50, The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston

"The worst part is that I don't know if I love Cat. I need her like I need a place to live, like I need a way to express myself."

location 1430, Click to Subscribe by L.M. Augustine

"It's one night out of a million nights. You and me and the stars on my bedroom ceiling. This isn't about commitment and marriage." She shuddered, and something broke inside him. "Don't stop now, Jason. Not when I finally feel something."

location 2013, Love on the Ropes (Ringside Romance) by Pat White

{YA Review} Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls #1) by C.C. Hunter

{YA Review} Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls #1) by C.C. Hunter

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs… {Blurb via Goodreads}

{Details} 398 pages. Published March 29th 2011 by St. Martin's Griffin. Source: Library

{Rating} 3/5

{Review} The premise has a lot going for it: supernatural/paranormal summer camp, but it was just okay to me. I didn't really connect with Kylie but I did feel for her, dumped, her parents are divorcing, she's in therapy, the party and the police, and then the crazy summer camp and the reappearance of the mysterious guy from her past. She's having a craptastic time.

Hunter spent lots of time setting the scene, introducing the characters, their backgrounds, the setting, the supernatural world, and too little time on the story, but I suppose that was to be expected with the first book of a series. There was lots of teasing and not a whole lot of answering those questions.

I liked that it was a struggle for Kylie to fit in, to form relationships, it was more honest, real, and made those relationships more believable. Romance was lacking, there were two possible love interests and it seemed like there was supposed to be a love triangle. I didn't really get into it, I saw so little of the two guys I wasn't really invested in either of them.

I was hooked on the mystery, the idea that they don't know exactly what Kylie is and the 'big mystery'; it kept me reading although the payoff wasn't what I expected.

I appreciated the moments of humor, shapeshifter Perry the the pervy teacher, that balanced the more serious moments. I thought the pace was slow, Kylie's pace as well, I would have pushed harder for answers if I had been in her place.

I'm not running out to get the next book but the series will go on my (lengthy) TBR list. I do want to know more about Kylie and the rest of the Shadow Falls gang, especially Lucas.

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme from Tynga's Reviews, where I write, and squee, about the books I've added to my physical and virtual shelves, what I've read, and what I'm planning to read

 :: Read This Week :: 

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1) by Ally Carter
The Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle
Love on the Ropes by Pat White
Dizzy Dilemmas by Mary Beeken
Shaken (Mind Reader) by Susan Hatler
Got A Hold On You by Pat White
Anything You Can Do by Sally Berneathy
First (Wrong) Impressions: A Modern Pride and Prejudice by Krista D. Ball
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
Blood Prophecy (Witch Fairy) by Bonnie Lamer
Blood Lust (Rapid City Wolves) by Charity Santiago 

:: Reviewed ::

Blue Violet by Abigail Owen

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

:: Acquired ::

Click to Subscribe by L.M. Augustine

:: Up Next ::

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
The Collector by Victoria Scott
Forged by Greed by Angela Orlowski-Peart

{YA Review} Blue Violet (Svatura #1) by Abigail Owen

{YA Review} Blue Violet (Svatura #1) by Abigail Owen

When Ellie Aubrey leaves her only remaining family and moves to Colorado, she knows she's risking her life. But she can't ignore the possibility of what she might find there. What she didn't expect to encounter was a bewildering connection to one smolderingly sexy Alex Jenner. But when Ellie's worst nightmare comes true and threatens to destroy everything she holds dear, she must fight to save those she loves most. Even if it means sacrificing herself by revealing a terrible truth... sometimes not all monsters are make believe. 
(Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} Published August 19th 2012 by Abigail Owen, 260 pages. Source: Amazon

{Rating} 4/5

{Review} Interesting concept. Great story. Great characters.

Ellie is awesome. She's gifted, smart, kick ass, brave, fearless.  I want to be Svatura. Svatura don't need much sleep, have awesome powers, have soul mates. What's not to love? Well, the murderous Vyusher, but there's always a trade off.

I liked the characters, especially the Griffin/Ellie dynamic and their bantering. The romance is sweet, the action is exciting, it was definitely a page turner; I just wish it had been longer!

Blue Violet is self-published and very well written and edited. There's a second book, Hyacinth, which I can't wait to read.

"Waiting On" Wednesday 6/5/2013

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

This week I'm waiting on:

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.

Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again…

Expected publication: July 16th 2013

 

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read(s)
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) -- or more -- “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

My teasers:

He shook his head. "I don't understand why you're fighting this."
"Because fighting is the only thing I have left," I snapped. Whatever pain he inflicted on me would still be less than what I'd feel the second I gave in.

page 361, The Rules by Stacey Kade

"You're doing that nice and sweet thing again."
"My apologies, I will try to work more derogatory statements and sarcasm into our conversations."

60%, location 2539/4228, Blood Prophecy (Witch Fairy #2) by Bonnie Lamer

"If you intend to stay here and play human here's lesson number one: No one can make a woman hurry up and get dressed. No one. Not God, not the president, and certainly not you. I need ten minutes, but I will try to hurry." I took a deep, calming breath that had the added bonus of focusing Ethan's attention below my neck. "And here's rule number two, just so you know: no matter how much time is involved in the preparation, always tell a woman she looks nice when she's through. Always. Or next time, she'll take longer."

location 2153, Gifts of Blood (Angel's Edge) by Vicki Keire

{YA Mini Review} Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

{YA Mini Review} Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

No one crosses the wall of light . . . except for one girl who doesn’t remember who she is, where she came from, or how she survived. A harrowing, powerful debut thriller about finding yourself and protecting your future—no matter how short and uncertain it may be.

The Arclight is the last defense. The Fade can’t get in. Outside the Arclight’s border of high-powered beams is the Dark. And between the Light and the Dark is the Grey, a narrow, barren no-man’s-land. That’s where the rescue team finds Marina, a lone teenage girl with no memory of the horrors she faced or the family she lost. Marina is the only person who has ever survived an encounter with the Fade. She’s the first hope humanity has had in generations, but she could also be the catalyst for their final destruction. Because the Fade will stop at nothing to get her back. Marina knows it. Tobin, who’s determined to take his revenge on the Fade, knows it. Anne-Marie, who just wishes it were all over, knows it.

When one of the Fade infiltrates the Arclight and Marina recognizes it, she will begin to unlock secrets she didn’t even know she had. Who will Marina become? Who can she never be again?

(Blurb From Goodredas)

{Details} Hardcover, 400 pages, Published April 23rd 2013 by Greenwillow Book. Source: library

{Stars} 3/5

{Review} Beautifully written. Haunting. Intriguing. McQuein immerses us in her world, a world with a very different normal, of the light, the dark and the gray, where the things we take for granted, sand, stars, the dark, travel, freedom, are foreign.

The story keeps us guessing. Who's the bad guy? Who can you trust? Can the person who hurt you be the one who saves you? What is the Fade? The very idea of the Fade, the nothing and the everything. And when the truth comes out? McQuein makes sure that we're as devastated as they are.

There's not much of a resolution, we're left wondering what happens next? How do you cope? How do you make a life in light of what's happened?

And the cover, I love the cover.

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks FREE Audiobook @ Sync

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks FREE Audiobook @ Sync through June 5, 2013

Check Sync weekly, they've got audiobooks from Maggie Stiefvater, Robin LeFevers and many others this summer.

|| Amazon Free E-Book Alert ||

|| Amazon Free E-Book Alert ||

Flee by Miranda Kavi

I can fly.

I have to keep it a secret.

Everything was fine, until I met him.

I can’t stay away…

Aurora Lockette has a supernatural ability she hides from the world. Gavyn Dhaval is a newly famous actor that shies away from the spotlight. When Aurora and Gavyn literally collide in a fender bender on her first day of law school, they are irresistibly drawn to each other.

When Aurora’s secret is revealed, she has no choice but to abandon Gavyn to go into hiding to escape the media frenzy. A secret society of gifted humans contacts her to warn of dark forces that seek to destroy her and everyone she loves.

Aurora must try to understand who and what she is while she fights to protect herself and her loved ones from a hidden, sinister force. (Goodreads)

Enjoyed this book. Go pick it up, it's currently free on Amazon

[Price subject to change without warning. 

Please, please check price before you push 'buy']

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme from Tynga's Reviews, where I write, and squee, about the books I've added to my physical and virtual shelves, what I've read, and what I'm planning to read

 :: Read This Week :: 

The Rules (The Paper Dolls Project) by Stacey Kade
Whisper (The Whisper Trilogy) Dana Faletti
The Eyes of the Sun by Christina McMullen
Awakenings (Elemental Series) by Hally Willmott
Easy by Tamara Webber
Gifts of the Blood (Angel's Edge) by Vicki Keire
Picture Perfect by Lilac Lacey
Descension (The Mystic Series) by B.C. Burgess
Growl (The Lacey Hannigan Series) by Elaine Pierson
White Witch by Trish Milburn
Earth (Elemental Series) by Shauna Granger
Damaged by H.M. Ward
Destiny (Salem Trilogy) by ShawnMarie Cullity
A Playboy's Love Affair by Emily Quinn
Heart of Stone (Frontiera Series) by Cathryn Cade

:: Reviewed ::

A Delightful Arrangement by Cecilia Gray

Divergent by Veronica Roth

:: Acquired ::

Damaged by H.M. Ward (acquired and already devoured)

:: Up Next ::

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
The Collector by Victoria Scott
Forged by Greed by Angela Orlowski-Peart