Waiting on Wednesday (#18): Chosen Ones

This is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlites upcoming new releases that we're highly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Chosen Ones, by Tiffany Truitt

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What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

Release Date:April 10, 2012

Review: Ripple

Author: Mandy Hubbard

Pages: 260
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5

Summery:
Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. The water calls to her, draws her in, forces her to sing her deadly song to unsuspecting victims. If she succumbs, she kills. If she doesn't, the pain is unbearable. To keep herself and those she cares about safe, she shuts herself off, refusing to make friends or fall in love-again. Because the last time she fell in love with a boy, he ended up dead.
Then Lexi finds herself torn. Against her better judgement, she's opening up again, falling in love with someone new when she knows she shouldn't. But when she's offered the chance to finally live a normal life, she learns that the price she must pay to be free or her curse is giving him up.

Review:
I knew I was going to love this book after I read the summery.  I knew it was going to be amazing and the story line would be captivating.  And I was totally right. :p

I love this book.  Everything just works together perfectly: friends, boyfriends, her being a siren.  The story line was amazing, the writing was amazing, and the ending was amazing.  Hubbard wrote it like there was no way Lexi could break the curse and still keep Cole, but somehow she managed (I'm not going to tell how so don't ask :p).  It was a great idea from the beginning, and it was just perfect, well rounded book.

I love, love, love, love, love, love, love Cole.  He is the perfect boyfriend.  I adore him. *swoon*.  Totally, totally, totally swoon-worthy.  He's just so nice and caring and he really, really loves Lexi.
I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Erik.  Words cannot describe how much I hate him.  The little slime-ball. ************ ***** * **** ***.  That's what I think of you.
I also really, really liked Sienna, and I'm so sad that things didn't work out between her and Lexi because I really, really wanted it to.

All in all, the best siren book I've ever read.  (Ok, so it's the only siren book I've read, but...still good. :P)

Teaser Tuesday: (#15)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can do it.  You just have to do is:

 (1): Grab your current read.

(2): Open it to a random page.

(3): Share 1 or 2 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!! 

(4): Make sure you also mention the author and title.

Ripple, by Mandy Hubbard

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#1: "Before I understand what I'm doing, I'm backing up, sliding my clothes off the branch behind me and retreating into the shadows.  He pulls his knees underneath him and kneels, still coughing, one hand gripping his stomach, the other sinking into the rocky, muddy shore."

#2: "My emotions rage, back and forth and up and down.  Sadness for losing Steven.  Happiness for sharing a conversation like this with Sienna.  Despair for knowing she'll never know why he really died.  Optimism about the idea that our friendship could be repaired.  Fear for what could happen if we really do become friends again, and I lose her.  I can't do it twice."

What's your teaser this Tuesday?

In My Mailbox: (#9)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we spotlight the books that we've received for review, swapped, or purchased that week.

FOR REVIEW:

First Comes Love, by Katie Kacvinsky

Embrace, by Jessica Shirvington

Where it Began, by Ann Redisch Stampler

Dragonswood, by Janet Lee Carey

(Wow.  Look at all these great books!!  I'm so lucky!!  Huge thanks to Kate Kacvinsky for passing on my request for First Comes Love. Thanks for Embrace, Jessica Shirvington.  And thanks for Dragonswood, Janet Carey.  And, last but not least, thanks to Ann Stampler for sticking with me when I continuously bugged her.)

GIFTED:

Wings of the Wicked, by Courtney Allison Moulton

Wow, look at all these great books.  I'm so lucky to have all of them.  What did you guys get in your mailbox?

Review: A Demon Made Me Do It

Author: Penelope King

Series: Demonblood #1

Pages: 284
Format: Paperback
Source: Penelope King (Thanks so much!!)
Rating: 3.5/5

Summery:
Some girls share clothes, a bathroom, or a bedroom. Seventeen-year-old Liora Greyson has to share, too. Only she shares her body--with a demon.

Liora just wants to survive her final year of high school unscathed, her dark secret intact. But the walls she’s carefully constructed to keep people away crack wide open once she meets the sexy and mysterious Kieron, and he lights her world on fire. She can’t let him know she transforms into a demon named "Lucky" at nightfall—a demon with an entirely separate personality who passes out Torment, Justice, and Revenge like Halloween candy.

Turns out Kieron is the one who should be afraid once Lucky discovers his true identity and motivations. Liora wants to love him, but Lucky thinks he’s public enemy number one. And having a demon with a vendetta show up during a romantic date puts a serious crimp in any relationship.

Fighting your demons is one thing. Having one that fights back, messes with your guy, and leaves you with nasty hangovers is quite another.

Being bad has never been so good...

Review:
I don't usually go for demon/possession books, plus the semi-love-triangle thing going on, but I actually really enjoyed this one.

First off, it was a great idea.  You don't see books like these every day, and I really liked the different spin Penelope King put on the story line.  The writing was good, the story line was good, it was a solid book.  And I really liked that Penelope King mixed it up.  Like I said before, there was a semi love-triangle going on, but it wasn't the usual love triangle.  In the usual ones, it's two guys fighting over a girl.  In this one, it's two girls kind of fighting over a guy.

I really, really liked this cast of characters.  Lucky was kick-ass, Kieron was kind of hot, kind of creepy and two timing, and Liora was really, really nice.  I also really like Bones, and I hope Lucky ends up with him.

All in all, a pretty good book.  And I apologize for the short review, I'm feeling lazy today. :p

Huge thanks to Penelope King for sending me this book, plus the next one, Fire with Fire. :)

Waiting on Wednesday (#17): My Life in Black and White

This is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlites upcoming new releases that we're highly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

My Life in Black and White, by Natasha Friend

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Lexi has always been beautiful, but her beauty is taken from her when she goes face-first through a car windshield. Now Lexi has to dig deep to figure out how to define herself. Help on her journey of self-discovery comes from unexpected sources: Ruth, Lexi’s sister, “the smart one” to Lexi’s “the pretty one,” with whom Lexi has never been close; and Theo, a classmate who is still recovering from his sister’s recent death from anorexia.

Cover Reveals: The Diviners, Such a Rush, & Broken Illusions

The Diviners
by Libba Bray
Release Date: November 1, 2012
Number of pages: -----
Format: Hardcover

A supernatural series set in Manhattan during the 1920s that follows a teen heroine reminiscent of two of the era's most famous literary women—Zelda Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker. The story will be a wild new ride full of dames and dapper dons, jazz babies and Prohibition-defying parties, conspiracy and prophecy—and all manner of things that go bump in the neon-drenched night.

While I will admit that this is far from a good cover,  I love Libba Bray and I can't wait to see what she's come up with now.

Such a Rush

by Jennifer Echols

Release Date: July 10, 2012

Number of pages: 288

Format: Hardcover

 sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business--until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers--and the consequences could be deadly.

This cover is quiet nice.   I really like the dress, it's so pretty.

Broken Illusions

by Ellie James

Release Date: May 8, 2012

Number of pages: 252

Format: Paperback

The next exciting novel in the thrilling new Midnight Dragonfly series!  

It’s Mardi Gras, but for 16 year-old psychic Trinity Monsour this is no time for celebration. Another girl is missing. Tormented by visions she doesn’t understand—of an empty street lined by crumbling old buildings, a terrified voice warning her to be careful, and a body lying motionless in the grass, Trinity embarks upon a dark odyssey she could never have imagined. She’ll stop at nothing to better understand her abilities, convinced that doing so is the only way she can make sure the terrifying images she sees never actually happen. But it seems everyone wants to stop her. Her aunt is worried Trinity might discover secrets best left in the past. Her best friend, Victoria, is afraid Trinity is slipping away, her boyfriend, Chase, fears she’s taking too many chances, and the lead detective will barely let her out of his sight. Only one person stands by her side, and in doing so, he slips deeper and deeper into her heart and her dreams—blurring the lines of reality and illusion. When the dust settles, one of them will be dead.

 

Oh my gosh I love this cover.  It is awesome.  And it releases on my birthday!!  I'll be 14 when this comes out. :P

 

The Midnight Dragonfly series:

Review: Dead Beautiful

Author: Yvonne Woon

Series: Dead Beautiful #1
Pages: 455
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5

Summery:
Renee Winters was a typical, sunny California girl until the day she discovered her parents in the redwood forest, dead in what appeared to be a bizarre double murder. Now her grandfather has sent her to Gottfried Academy, an old-fashioned, elite boarding school in rural Maine.
Soon Renee uncovers the school's dark secret: students have died in the exact same way as her parents, but none of the teachers will talk about it.
Most perplexing of all is the behavior of an elusive, devestatingly beautiful boy named Dante Berlin. He never speaks to anyone besides Renee, and seems by turns fascinated and unsettled by her. When they are together, Renee feels more alive than she ever has before.
Even as she falls in love, Renee realizes that being with Dante is dangerous. Possibly deadly. A future without him seems unthinkable. But is true love worth dying for?

Review:
I was kind of reluctant to read this book, but after finishing page one I knew I would never regret it.

Wow.  Just wow.  I honestly didn't think I'd like this book, but I love it.  It went right into the action on page one, it had a great story line that kept me guessing literally the whole way through, and amazing writing.  I was trying to figure out what would happen, what Dante was, but I just couldn't, and I love that.  The build-up to the climax was great, and I feel like a professor I know so much about Dante.  Woon just explained it so well.  And that ending. *swoon*  What an ending.

I really like Renee.  There was just something about her, spunk or something, that I really liked.  She was the one who kept at it and figured out about the murders, not someone else.  I think she was a really strong character and I really have nothing bad to say about her.
And then there's Dante. *swoon* Oh Dante.  That guy is smokin'.  I love him.  He's so sweet, unselfish, and nice.
I also like Eleanor too.  She's not huge in the book, but I like the way Woon wrote her.
And Renee's grandfather.  In the beginning I hated him, but he grew on me as the story progressed.

All in all, this is a truly amazing book, and I can't wait to read the next one, Life Eternal.

What do you think? :)

Dusty Reads: (#6)

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Reads, where you feature a book that has been sitting unread on our bookshelf for a long time.

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It’s been a year since the torturous notes from A stopped and the mystery of Alison DiLaurentis’s disappearance was finally put to rest. Now seniors in high school, Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily are older, but they’re not any wiser. The Pretty Little Liars have more secrets than ever - twisted secrets that could destroy the perfect lives they’ve worked so hard to rebuild.

Aria’s jealous of her boyfriend’s new exchange student. Spencer’s getting a little too cozy with her soon-to-be-stepbrother. Hanna’s one scandalous photo away from ruining her dad’s Senate campaign. And Emily will do anything to get a swim scholarship.

Worst of all: Last spring break in Jamaica, they did something unforgivable. The girls are desperate to forget that fateful night, but they should know better than anyone that all secrets wash ashore … eventually.

What's getting dusty on your shelf? :)

Teaser Tuesday: (#14)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can do it.  You just have to do is:

 (1): Grab your current read.

(2): Open it to a random page.

(3): Share 1 or 2 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!! 

(4): Make sure you also mention the author and title.

Dead Beautiful, by Yvonne Woon

Add this to your to-read shelf on Goodreads

#1: "Just before I turned, a file on her desk caught my eye.  It was a manila folder partially covered in papers.  It was labeled Dante Berlin.  I thought back to the day I'd met Eleanor, when she'd told me she'd asked her brother Brandon to check my file in the headmistresse's office.  Quickly, I glanced around the room, looking for a filing cabinet.  I didn't see one, though I knew it had to be there somewhere."

#2: "Mrs. Lynch's squat figure greeted me, her short hair making her look  more like a man than a dorm mother.  She looked me up and down.  I checked my outfit, making sure all of my buttons were buttoned and buckles snapped, worried she was going to reprimand me for being out of dress code."

What's your teaser this Tuesday?  Leave links. :)

In My Mailbox: (#8)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we spotlight the books that we've received for review, swapped, or purchased that week.

FOR REVIEW:

Masque of the Red Death, by Bethany Griffin

Rivals, by Lauren Kunze & Rina Oner

(Huge thanks to Bethany Griffin for passing on my request for forwarding my request for Masque of the Red Death, and another huge thanks to Greenwillow for sending me Rivals when I didn't even ask for it.  It looks really good and I look forward to reading it.) 

GIFTED:

Hallowed, by Cynthia Hand

(I am in love with this cover!!  It's so beautiful!!  I liked Unearthly ok so I'm hoping this book is amazing)

BORROWED:

Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher

Nevermore, by Kelly Creagh

(I've heard so many good things about Thirteen Reasons Why so I'm really hoping I like it.  And Nevermore looks amazing)

What's in your mailbox?  Leave links. :)