Waiting on Wednesday (10)

"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: 

Teardrop (Teardrop #1) by Lauren Kate

Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux's mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn't, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn't know Eureka's darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined. From Lauren Kate comes an epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away.

Expected publication: October 22, 2013


Isn't the cover gorgeous?!

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday (10)

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!)

"She was gorgeous.
Daniel picked his jaw up off the floor and tried to rearrange the brain cells that had just been scrambled by one Nell Sullivan.
Warrior-bright eyes, traffic-stopping curves, and thrumming with the kind of energy that had his caveman brain ready to explode. She was pure sex in a red skirt.
It was time to fight. Or run. Preferably with one warrior goddess thrown over his shoulder."

page 110, To Have and To Code by Debora Geary

"There may be no honor among thieves, but I had my own code when it came to Sebastian's game, and I never lied to girls to get them into bed. Even the line about me not being like everyone thought was the truth.
I was much, much worse."

page 97, Broken at Love (Whitman University) by Lyla Payne

 

"But you are friends?" Fiona was tenaciously determined to get all the facts straight.

"Oh no! We are just acquaintances," Marcus said with a lopsided grin.

"Not even acquaintances," Dizzy added. "We are merely on nodding terms."

"And only on the briefest of nods at that," Glenmore confirmed.

"A single nod; the merest hint of movement of the head!" Dizzy said emphatically hoping she had had the last word on the subject.

"Perhaps you should release her then Marcus being only a hint of an acquaintance!" Fiona said pointedly looking at his hands which were still caressing her. 

"Yes because by the looks of it, your heads may be barely nodding but your hands are decidedly well acquainted," Stephen pointed out."

page 96, Dizzy Dilemmas by Mary Beeker

{Paranormal Romance Review} To Have and To Code by Debora Geary

{Paranormal Romance Review} To Have and To Code by Debora Geary

Nell Sullivan is fiery, easily distracted by cookies, and doomed to wear the peach monstrosity at her best friend’s wedding.

And she’s a witch.

Daniel Walker is a former baseball player turned bored hacker looking for a challenge. Hacking Nell's online gaming world is going to get him a lot more than he bargained for.

A prophecy says they will make babies together – but when it comes to the love life of a modern witch and a hacker, prophecy might not get a vote. (Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} Kindle Edition, 364 pages. Published September 12th 2012 by Fireweed Publishing. Source: Amazon Lending Library

{Rating} 4/5

{Review} For a romance I was surprised how long it took for the hero and heroine to meet. Well, they meet online and spend the first third of the book fighting, dueling even. I loved the cyber interactions of hacker vs. witch programmer, it was exciting and amusing enough to keep me awake into the wee hours.

Nell is strong and independent and determined. Daniel is a bit of a lost soul, he's searching for something, a purpose. There is so much to like about them, Daniel's soft spot for kids, Nell's unwavering loyalty and support for her friends.

This is not a traditional love story where boy and girl meet and fall in love. Not these two. They don't date. They argue. They fight. They walk away. They come back. I think the love Geary shows is more real without the sappy romance. Nell and Daniel are both looking for the same thing, someone who can stand beside them, with them, accept the reality of who they are, the good and the bad and that's hard if you're a hacker or a fire witch. Their path to love is hard.

"...but you're sure. She isn't yet. She's still testing you, trying to find out if you're safe to lean on. Testing herself to see if she's brave enough to lean." (Geary 296)

There is a huge cast of likable characters, Nell's friends and family, Daniel's friends, but they all play an important role in the story, illuminating the characters, helping their relationship along.

I liked the rhythm of Geary's writing, the variations of speed and tempo, the words she chooses.

"Yup. Class A meddler. She was fond of him already. Nell scowled, mostly for form." (Geary, 340)

This book is actually a prequel, in the previously published books in the series the events in this story have already occurred. It can be read as a standalone but I'm sure I would have gotten more if I'd already read the other books.

Stacking the Shelves (9)

 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

• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
• Aire by Lena Goldfinch
• Verity (Cursed #1) by Claire Farrell
• ReVamped (Angel Creek, Book 1) by Ada Adams
• Dark Promise (Between Worlds) by Julia Crane
• Cheyenne, A Timeless Series Novel by Lisa Wiedmeier
• Fated, A Timeless Series Novella by Lisa Wiedmeier and Sam Dogra
• Courting His Countess by C.J. Archer
• Mayne Attraction: In the Spotlight by Ann Mauren
• The Wolf's Surrender by Kenda Leigh Castle
• Regency Masquerade by Vera Loy
• Hurricane (The Charmed) by Dianne Nutting
• Pride Unleashed (a Wolf's Pride novel, book 2) by Cat Kalen
• Strictly Business by Aubrianna Hunter
• A Certain Want of Reason by Kate Dolan
• A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) by S.L. Baum
• Blessed Tragedy by HB Heinzer

Heart of Stone (Frontiera Series) by Cathryn Cade

Altered (Altered #1) by Jennifer Rush

Legend by Marie Lu

*Book image property of Microsoft

|| Amazon Free E-book Alert || BlackMoon Beginnings by Kaitlyn Hoyt

BlackMoon Beginnings (The Prophesized Series) by Kaitlyn Hoyt

Large gorgeous men, a hidden race, and a magical secret. 

Ryanne Arden was on track to being Stormfield High School’s Valedictorian. Being the shy, quiet studious type, she’s always done her own thing. That all changed when a drunk man decided to get behind the wheel of a car. With the death of her mother, Ryanne is suddenly more alone than she’s ever been. With no friends or family to turn to, a local woman named Jane offers to help Ryanne in her time of need. 

With graduation looming ahead of her, eighteen year old Ryanne must get her act together if she wants to get out of the small town of Stormfield, Maine and away from her painful memories.

Meeting the attractive Colton Wagner, changes everything. He awakes something in Ryanne that even she didn’t know she had. Magic. With her life suddenly thrown upside down, Ryanne has been thrust into a world completely unbeknown to her. 

Being the only non-mage to ever gain magic, paints a target on Ryanne’s back. She’s the girl the whole mage world has been searching for. It has been prophesized for thousands of years that a young non-mage female would put an end to the chaos created by rogue mages, the Gadramicks. Their manipulative leader, Dravin, will do anything within his power to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled.

Finding out that she's an intricate part to ending a supernatural war, Ryanne has the weight of all mages on her shoulders. With the help of Colton and his family, along with a healer, a dream-walker, and a loud-mouthed mage, Ryanne sets out on the journey of a lifetime. Can she overcome her insecurities and do what is needed of her or will she lose her identity behind the magic inside of her?

I enjoyed this book very much. Go pick it up, it's currently free on Amazon

[Price subject to change without warning. 

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

{YA Review} Altered (Altered #1) by Jennifer Rush

{YA Review} Altered (Altered #1) by Jennifer Rush

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away. (Blurb Via Goodreads)

{Details} Hardcover, First Edition, 323 pages. Published January 1st 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Source: library

{Rating} 4/5

{Review} A fast paced, intriguing, keep you on the edge of your seat, gasp out loud, OMG book. It's a very twisty and turny novel in the best way. Just when I thought I knew where it was going, the story would turn on me. I read on the elliptical and I was so engrossed that over an hour passed in a blur of flipping pages.

I loved all the characters in their own way. The complicated boys with lots of secrets. Anna, sweet, sheltered, caring for all the boys, especially Sam, in the ways she could. There's a lot we still don't know about them, I'm looking forward to reading more of the series and finding out.

The next book, Erased, releases January 2014. I hope it's just as good, I already have high expectations.

~ My thanks to Nicole of The Reader's Antidote for bringing my attention to Altered, the cover caught my attention when I saw it on the 'Upcoming Antidotes' side bar of (her review here). ~

Waiting on Wednesday (9) These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

"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:

These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

Expected publication: December 10, 2012

Isn't the cover just gorgeous!?
 

What are you waiting on?