Waiting on Wednesday (64)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where book bloggers discuss the books that they are most anxiously waiting for! (And this fabulous button was designed by my dear blogger friend Lindsay at The Violet Hour)

This week I'm waiting on...

Dualed by Elsie Chapman
© 26 February 2013 by Random House

Would you live through the ultimate test of survival?

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

YA Book Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Release Date: 27 March 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

KATE WINTERS HAS WON IMMORTALITY.

BUT IF SHE WANTS A LIFE WITH HENRY IN THE UNDERWORLD, SHE'LL HAVE TO FIGHT FOR IT.

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

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

Henry's first wife, Persephone.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: The Forgetting Curve by Angie Smibert

Release Date: 15 May 2012

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Aiden Nomura likes to open doors—especially using his skills as a hacker—to see what’s hidden inside. He keeps pulling until one cracks open. Aiden exposes the flaw, and the universe—or someone else—will fix it. It’s like a game.

Until it isn’t.

When a TFC opens in Bern, Switzerland, where Aiden is attending boarding school, he knows things are changing. Shortly after, bombs go off within quiet, safe Bern. Then Aiden learns that his cousin Winter, back in the States, has had a mental breakdown. He returns to the US immediately. But back home in Hamilton, Winter’s mental state isn’t the only thing that’s different. The city is becoming even stricter, and an underground movement is growing. Aiden slowly cracks open doors in this new world. But behind those doors are things Aiden doesn’t want to see—things about his society, his city, even his own family. And this time Aiden may be the only one who can fix things... before someone else gets hurt.

My Thoughts...

Saturday Steals!

Every once in awhile I run across some really great deals for Kindle and Nook users that I am just DYING to share, so I thought since there are a lot of good ones out there right now I would go ahead and share a few of the ones I think are the most exciting!  I don't know what the time limit on these is so get them while you can! Images will take you to Amazon; title links will take you to B&N (if the deal's available)!

$0.99

 Hereafter by Tara Hudson (Great 2011 debut! Sequel coming 6/5!)

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines (SUPER fun read. Sequel ALSO coming 6/5!)

$1.00-$2.99

 Lost Voices by Sarah Porter (Mermaids! Also, the sequel comes out this year!)

Hourglass by Myra McEntire (Sequel coming 6/5!)

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (This was my FAVORITE ghost story of 2011.)

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday (Sequel came out recently--catch how it began!)

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (Get ready for the sequel!)

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik (Super cute, quick read!)

$3.00-4.99

Need by Carrie Jones (Start to a unique series)

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa (Ash! *swoon*)

Crave by Melissa Darnell (Can't really go wrong with Harlequin Teen stuff)

$5.00-6.99

 Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (Start to a series that really surprised me)

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen (Great start to a new fantasy series)

Graceling by Kristen Cashore (Fantasy that I personally am dying to read!)

Cover Reveal: The Collector by @VictoriaScottYA

Are you READY to meet Dante Walker for the first time?

Are you SURE you're ready? 

Absolutely positive? 

It's something you can only experience once... 

Well....if you say so.

Here he is!

He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.

Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.

Add The Collector to your Goodreads list!

Victoria Scott is a YA writer with a die-hard affection for dark and humorous books. Her work is represented by the fabulous Laurie McLean of Larsen-Pomada literary agency. She has a master’s degree in marketing, and is a member of the Writers’ League of Texas and Teen Shiver. Her first YA book, THE COLLECTOR, will be published by Entangled Teen in 2013. And her short story, FOUR HOUSES, is available now through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. She currently lives in Dallas with her husband, Ryan.

Connect withVictoria!

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Friday Fling - Romance for a Good Cause!

 

During Friday Fling , I share with you a "just for fun" romance book or novella that I read and really enjoyed.  It will generally be a "mini review" instead of a full review and I'll often stray from my YA focus into the realm of adult romance (which, in case you're curious, is my not-so-guilty pleasure).  These are books that I think are fun, quick reads that are definitely worth checking out!

While I was already obsessed with Entangled Publishing, their Love Knows No Bounds Anthology is a truly phenomenal set of novellas for a very worthy cause. As someone who's studied/studying to work in education, children with autism are very special young people and I can truly appreciate the struggles  that a family with a child on the autism spectrum face.  I hope that if you haven't already, you'll consider buying this great anthology for just $2.99.  100% of the net profits go to support Autism Speaks.

Buy it! Amazon | B&N

Sooo....The Devil is on Twitter. You probably shouldn't follow him? Right? Well, shy Faye Albert figures it's harmless--probably a joke, really--so she follows him, realizing much too late that she actually HAS bound her soul to the Dark Prince...forever. Unless, of course, she can figure out how to Unfollow him...which appears to be harder to do than you'd think.  She enlists the help of coworker Christopher White, the man she's had a hopeless crush on forever.  As they work together to find a way to undo her contract, she finds the attraction is mutual and wonders--is it true love or a trick of the devil?

Faye is such a fun character to read about. Her antics in dealing with the attention heaped on her by men as a result of her little contract with the Devil are quite amusing. I really enjoyed watching her relationship with Christopher develop throughout the story and found myself hoping that he was the real deal--not just another Devil-induced lust-driven man in her life that day.  It was fun to see how her personality changed in little ways as she felt the love of someone else and felt like she could start to open up more. She finally didn't let her model roommate walk all over her.  Ultimately, this was a fun novella to read and a great start to the anthology.

It's not easy being a single-mom with a special needs child and Anna should know.  She's been on her own for a long time raising Bowen, her 8-year-old autistic son.  He's picky about food and textures, but the boy adores being in the kitchen.  When Bowen's therapist sets up cooking lessons for him with her sexy brother, how's Anna going to resist the sexy man who deftly and gently handles her son and whose smoldering good looks make her weak in the knees?  Surely she doesn't have the time and energy for romance...

Bittersweet is the second story in this new anthology from Entangled Publishing and it absolutely stole my heart.  Complete with fabulous mother-son relationship, sexy chef, and meddling friend, this story is sure to warm your heart as well.  It's a beautiful story that I think demonstrates the difficulties of raising an autistic child but also shows just how special it is to have a relationship with a child like Bowen.  The dynamics between Anna and Bowen (and eventually Leo) will melt your heart from the very beginning.  If you buy this anthology for no other reason, buy it for this story.

In attempting to grant his mortal wife eternal life, Caden is banished from heaven and destined to search for his wife's soul in every life from then on.  When he finally finds her, he must convince her to love him in only 5 days time without revealing their true connection from her past life. Will he be able to convince her that they are destined to be together before it's too late?

Of the three novellas in this anthology, this was probably the hardest for me to really get in to, possibly because it starts off in the far-reaching past and has a different tone than the other two stories. It's a bit darker and the paranormal element definitely sets it apart. However, giving it a day or two's space after reading the first two, I started over and dove into this story headfirst and absolutely fell in love. The relationship between Cade and Phoebe is full of sexual tension and mutual attraction.  I found myself desperately hoping that Phoebe would figure out what was up and allow herself to love Caden. Caden is so tortured over the possibility of losing her--and this time forever.  Phoebe's subconscious clearly remembers SOMETHING and you want her to just GET IT already. It's really a great PNR novella.  Well written and developed for such a brief story. Nina Croft is definitely a romance writer to explore. :) (Oh, and her Indulgence novel, Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire, is AWESOME. Just FYI.)