Waiting on Wednesday (42)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: Social Suicide
Author: Gemma Halliday
Series: Deadly Cool #2
Hitting the Shelves: April 24, 2012

Twittercide [twit-er-sahyd]: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.

Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper's brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went...a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the Homecoming Queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH's resident body finder, I'm stuck trying to prove that Sydney's death wasn't suicide.

I'm starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos...

Waiting on Wednesday (41)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: For Darkness Shows the Stars
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Hitting the Shelves: June 12, 2012

Generations ago, a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Eighteen-year-old Luddite Elliot North has always known her place in this caste system. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. But now the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress and threatening Luddite control; Elliot’s estate is floundering; and she’s forced to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliott wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she abandoned him.

But Elliot soon discovers her childhood friend carries a secret—-one that could change the society in which they live…or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she has lost him forever.

Why I want it: The cover is one of the most gorgeous covers I've ever seen.  It's so whimsical and romantic. The story sounds amazing! It needs to be June like tomorrow cause I want this book so bad!

What are you waiting for? 

Review- Envy

Title: Envy
Author: Gregg Olsen
Series: Empty Coffin #1
Publisher: Splinter
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Finished copy compliments Splinter

Murder is such a dirty word…

New York Times bestselling adult true crime author Gregg Olsen makes his YA debut with EMPTY COFFIN, a gripping new fiction series for teens based on ripped-from-the-headlines stories…with a paranormal touch.

Crime lives--and dies--in the deceptively picture-perfect town of Port Gamble (aka “Empty Coffin”), Washington. Evil lurks and strange things happen--and 15-year-olds Hayley and Taylor Ryan secretly use their wits and their telepathic “twin-sense” to uncover the truth about the town's victims and culprits.

Envy, the series debut, involves the mysterious death of the twins' old friend, Katelyn. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Hayley and Taylor are determined to find out--and as they investigate, they stumble upon a dark truth that is far more disturbing than they ever could have imagined.

Based on the shocking true crime about cyber-bullying, Envy will take you to the edge--and push you right over.

My thoughts: 

Envy came out sometime in September but I knew I wanted to wait until Halloween time to read it because it sounded like a good thriller.  I also didn't read any reviews before I read it.  Then after I read it, I saw a few reviews on Goodreads and these readers were saying horrible things about it!  But I really enjoyed it and it had me craving the next one already!

Envy is a very unique book within the YA paranormal/supernatural genre.  If I had to categorize the novel, I would say that it is YA supernatural/true crime friction dealing with teen social issues.  It's about a teenage girl who commits suicide after being bullied at school and online.  But more importantly, it's about twin girls who have a supernatural ability to see visions with objects.  Not only did I enjoy the mystery behind the girl's death but I also loved the intrigue of the twins abilities.  

I knew I really wanted to read Envy after I watched a video of Gregg Olsen talking about how the book is sent in a tourist town in Washington State.  It may be a fun town to visit because of it's rish history, but the residents have their fair share of secrets and past dirty deeds that keep coming back to them.  Envy keeps the reader really busy because each character in the book has their own kind of drama.

I'm a really big fan of murder mystery so Gregg Olsen's Envy is right up my alley! I loved the ending because a lot of the characters get what they deserved and other make major personal break throughs.  I can't want to see what's in store for Betrayal!

Mini Review- The Evil Within

Title: The Evil Within
Author: Nancy Holder
Series: Possessions #2
Publisher: Razorbill
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

In this sequel to NYT bestselling author Nancy Holder's Possessions, Lindsay finds out that she too, is possessed, and must return to creepy Marlwood Academy in order to rid herself of the spirit. Lindsay's afraid of what the spirit is telling her to do. But the secrets of Marlwood go much deeper than Lindsay thought. Sometimes the girls who seem like enemies are actually on your side. And the voices you trust the most - the voices that come from within - are the ones that want you dead.

My thoughts: 

I decided to write a mini review of The Evil Within for multiple reasons.  1.  Everything that I said about Possessions (the first book in the series), I'm saying about it's sequel.  Super scary, amazing, and it was almost impossible for me to sleep at night!  If you haven't read my review of Possessions, you can find it here. 2. I can't really say much else without giving away spoilers and I hate to give spoilers.  When I read spoilers on other blogs, it deters me from reading the book.  3.  If you're a fan of horror, the only thing I can really say to you about this series is: GO READ IT NOW!!!!

If you haven't read Possessions or my review of Possessions, you may be asking what is this series about? Here's the lowdown.  Former reformatory house for wayward girls where secret lobotomies were performed turned into a boarding high school for girls and it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, two hours from any kind of civilization.  Some really creepy abandoned buildings, wooded area all around them, statues that may or may not move, ghost possession, a boys boarding school across the way, a love triangle and mean girls.  What's not to love?

Waiting on Wednesday (40)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: Masque of the Red Death
Author: Bethany Griffin
Hitting the Shelves: April 24, 2012

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

Why I want this: 1. The cover is just GORGEOUS! 2. "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe is one of my favorite short stories ever because Poe is a genius! 3. I love dystopian and this one sounds fabulous! 

Review- Unearthly

Title: Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Series: Unearthly #1
Publisher: HarperCollins
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

My thoughts: 

Unearthly was the first book I read for the Frightfull Fall Read-a-Thon.  I literally started it in the morning and finished it before I went to bed that night.  I couldn't put it down down, it's that good.  I can't even tell you exactly what I loved so much but it's amazing! There are many books that I love and I would recommend to almost everyone I know who loves to read but there are very few books that I connect to on almost every level.

If I could give out Ashley at The Bookish Brunette's crown of epicness award, I would give it to Unearthly, hands down, no questions asked.  And now that I have read Hallowed (the sequel) I love it even more!

I love Cynthia Hand's portrayal of the angels.  She tells the story of the angles of God who saw how beautiful human women are so they decided to mate with them, thus creating angel-bloods, part-human and part-angel.  But some of these full-blooded angels decided to separate themselves from God and as a result their wings turned black.  Supposedly, they are unable to feel joy and happiness and they radiate massive amounts of sorrow.

All angel-bloods have a purpose for which they are made which reveals itself to the person sometime around their late teenage years.  The beginning of Unearthly finds Clara having these visions of a fire and a certain boy that she thinks she needs to save.  They end up moving from California to Wyoming so that she can fulfill her purpose because it's that important!

That's where she meets super-sexy, completely country, the hottest cowboy to ever be written named Tucker.  And I love Tucker.  I'm a huge fan of Tucker.  I actually like all the characters.  Even the ones that are supposed to be bad, I understand on one level or another. 

Angela is a great character and one of my favorites!  I love that Clara was able to meet another angel-blood her age who she can tell her secrets to.  The other great thing about Angels is her undying thirst to know as much as she can about what it means to be an angel-blood and their history which is great for Clara, because I think that Clara is too accepting of the fact that her mother tells her almost nothing.  Together they're able to learn about Black wings and their purposes.  

Even though I love Tucker and he's one of my favorite characters as well, I also love Christian.  He always has Clara's best interested at hear even if he can seem like a jerk at times.  He really is the epitome of all teenage hottness.  Tall, dark, handsome, piercing blue eyes, wealthy, smart and popular.  He's pretty much what most teenage girls want in a boyfriend.  But unfortunately for Clara, Christian already has a girlfriend and she is a typical "mean girl".  I don't want to give anything away but Christian turns out to be someone completely great and not at all what I expected.  

I just absolutely love this book!  It's is so beautifully written and it's one of those stories that stays with you after you've finished reading it.  If you haven't read it yet, GET IT NOW!  Hallowed releases in January! 

On My Wishlist (3)

On my wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't bought yet! And let me tell you, I have a lot of those!

Eden didn't expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick-up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long, happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own.

And that's only the beginning of the end.

Why I want it:  I've only ever heard amazing things about this book.  I love to read stories about fallen angels and the fight between heaven and hell! It sounds like a book that would be right up my alley! 

Follow Friday (22)

Follow Friday is a weekly event hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read!

This week is a fun week where we get to take pictures of ourselves and our current read. I might have had a little too much fun with the photo booth!  That last one it totally called "alien head" which is completely appropriate!

Fangtastic Friday Read-Along (1)

This week's Fangtastic Friday Read-along is hosted by the awesome Ashley @ The Bookish Brunette.  This week we read chapters 1-6 of Rhiannon Frater's Pretty When She Dies.

1. After reading through Amaliya's 'awakening'... So realistic and freaking horrifying right? *shudders* What are your reactions to such a vivid scene?

I really appreciate an author who is bold enough to tell you how it is and Rhiannon Frater is just that author.  She wants her readers to know the reality for her character and the world that she has created.  When authors are too vague they can sometimes leave too much for their readers to fill in for them and they may not grasp the horror or the fear that the character is going through.

2. I know it's EARLY on, and we've only gotten a glimpse of him, but... In YOUR opinion, the man who made Amaliya into a vampire... friend or foe?

As of right now, it seems like Amaliya's life is only for his amusement.  He knew that because of her strength of character and what she's been though in the past that her transformation and early years as a vampire are going to be different than the others he created.  She's like his pet project. 

3. Amaliya's family are some PIECES of work aren't they??? While I HOPE no one has a family as freaking crazy nuts as hers... We all have a few nutjobs in our family tree right? Tell me about a crazy member of YOUR family... Or a time when you thought, "Please, NO... I am SO not with them!"

OMG I can't answer this question, my family sometimes reads this blog! And it would be just my luck that they happen to read this post! Honestly though, I've never been completely embarrased of my family.  They have been known to act crazy when they drink too much, but never to the point that I would want to separate myself from them.

4. Pete... Awww, Pete... He confesses his unending love for her, then everything goes to hell in a hand-basket! Who is/was YOUR Pete? Did you have a guy who was hopelessly in love with you for years that you never even knew about?

Aww, I love Pete too and I felt so bad for him.  I don't think anyone has ever harbored a crush on me for years and years or anything like that, but there was a guy in my french class in high school who would propose marriage to me at least a couple times a week.  Each time he did it, he would give me a new reason of why we should get married.  It was kinda cute.  

5. Have you started connecting with Amaliya? What specific instance stands out the most for you? (hopefully you are LOVING her hardcore by Chapter 6!)

I really do like Amaliya.  Even though she has her soft spots, she tough as nails and she's not letting anyone take advantage of her!  But I already knew that going back to her family was a bad decision and I was hoping that she would just take off without returning the truck.  Her dad could have gone and found it himself.  With her family's track record, there was not way they were going to be accepting of her. 

Review- Possessions

Title: Possessions
Author: Nancy Holder
Series: Possessions #1
Publisher: Razorbill
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

The It Girl meets The Exorcist in this chilling, haunted boarding school tale.

New-girl Lindsay discovers all is not right at the prestigious Marlwood Academy for Girls. Ethereal, popular Mandy and her clique are plotting something dangerous. Lindsay overhears them performing strange rituals, and sees their eyes turn black. It doesn't help that the school itself is totally eerie, with ancient, dilapidated buildings tucked into the Northern California woods, a thick white fog swirling through campus. There are hidden passageways, odd reflections in the windows at night, and scariest of all is the vast lake rumored to have captured the ghost of a girl who drowned many years ago.

What Lindsay doesn't yet realize is that Mandy and her cohorts are becoming possessed by spirits who have haunted the school for two hundred years. Spirits who want someone dead...

And that someone is Lindsay.

My thoughts: 

If you guess what Possessions is about by the title of the book than you are correct.  It's about possession.  More specifically, ghosts possessing teenage high school girl who live at a boarding school that used to be a reformatory school for wayward girls where lobotomies were secretly performed on them!!  This is the type of book that I love! It is so SCARY! This book has me freaked out for days.  One of the scariest books I've read in a long time and perfect to read during the Halloween season.

Here's the low down.  Lindsey is the new girl at this boarding school that is literally two hours from the closes town and she soon discovers that something is not right with Mandy and her super popular clique of mean girls.  The first time she sees them, they're in the forest doing something really weird and she notices that Mandy's eyes are completely black.  Lindsey's roommate is also somewhat of an outcast but she is slowly being turned to the dark side.  

Of course this book takes place around Halloween which makes it even scarier.  Mandy love to do Halloween big so she completely decks out one of the abandoned buildings into what she calls the Operating Theater! SCARY!!  And when I say that Mandy is a mean girl, I mean she is cruel.  For initiation, she makes one of her friends go to the lake in the middle of the night (and close to winter), makers her strip naked, tie a rope around her waist, go into the freezing water to see if a ghost will pull her under.  The girl almost DIES!  Talk about crazy mean.

So all throughout the book, really creepy and scary things are happening.  More and more girls are being turned to the dark side and Lindsey witnesses their eyes turning black.  She over hears Mandy talking to her reflection in the lake.  She swears the gargoyle statues move and she things she's starting to hear voices.  And she has creepy strange nightmares almost every night.  The whole time I'm thinking, "what the hell is going on? Is Lindsey crazy or are these things really happening?"

And then the end, OMG the end!!! I can't give it away or tell you who these ghosts are but if you love horror you will love this book!

I also had the amazing opportunity of meeting Nancy Holder, the creator of all things scary that keep me up at night! She's so awesome! A picture of me and her after she signed my Possessions series!

Waiting on Wednesday (39)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: A Witch in Winter
Author: Ruth Warburton
Hitting the Shelves: March 2012

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her – but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.

Although a perfect fit for the paranormal romance genre, A WITCH IN WINTER avoids fangs, excessive body hair and submissive female leads, and tells the heart-wrenching story of a couple meant to be together, but being forced apart. Seth is utterly irresistible and Anna is an empowered, proactive young woman with unimaginable magic inside her. This is fast-paced, sensuous writing with believable incantations inspired by Warburton's research into witchcraft legend and old English.

Dreamless Cover Reveal!

The cover of Dreamless by Josephine Angelini is here! I loved Starcrossed and I can't wait to find out what happens with Helen and Lucas!

Review- Eighth Grade Bites

Title: Eighth Grate Bites
Author: Heather Brewer
Series: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod #1
Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: PaperBackSwap

Junior high really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: his mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: he’s being hunted by a vampire killer.

My thoughts: 

Before picking up this series, I had always seen them on the shelves everywhere and I even though that they pre-dated Twilight but unfortunately they don't.  One of the reasons I really wanted to read the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod is because of the titles of the books.  I liked how they followed the main character by the school years.  But I had hesitations.  Even after getting Eighth Grade Bites, it sat on my self for quiet some time.  I thought it might be a lame middle grade vampire book.  I also had not seen it around much on the blog but this book completely surprised me.  

I loved everything about this book.  There's the mystery of how his parents died and why only their bedroom burned and not the whole house.  The mystery concerning his existence and whether or not there are other vampires out there.  He starts finding strange things in the house he lived in with his parents and the weird substitute teacher who somehow knows he's a vampire.  What I thought would be extremely boring and incredible lame has turned out to be one of my favorite series right now.

I had also been itching to read a good vampire book for some time now.  After Twilight, I read as many vampire books as I could and burnt myself out on them so I've been mainly reading other paranormal themes.  But I think I'm getting a taste for vampires again and this was a good book to start me out!