Waiting on Wednesday (#19): Grave Mercy

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:



Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers

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Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Release Date: April 2, 2012

In My Mailbox: (#10)

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:

Elemental Reality, by Cesya MaRae Cuono

Veiled, by S.B. Niccum

(Huge thanks to Cesya Cuono and S.B. Niccum for providing me with these copies for review)

BORROWED:

North of Beautiful, by Justina Chen Headley

The Iron Witch, by Karen Mahoney

Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi

Fracture, by Megan Miranda

Every week it feels like Christmas or my birthday has come because I get all these amazing books and I'm just so excited.  Fracture I'm most excited about. It's actually a funny story because I was going to give my library a wishlist of books I wanted them to get via my mom and she said that they had Fracture so she called me and I was like "OH MY GOD GET IT GET IT GET IT!!!"   I was going nuts.  And it had literally just gotten there so I'm going to be the first person to read it. :P

What did you get in your mailbox? :)

Valentine's Day Giveaway: Passion

Hi everyone!!  Happy Valentine's Day!!  I hope you all got valentine's from the people you wanted!!  I love new love,  I love love in general, so, in honor of Valentine's Day, I'm going to be giving away ONE HARDCOVER copy of Passion, by Lauren Kate.

Passion, by Lauren Kate

MAKE SURE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING RULES VERY CAREFULLY!!

The Rules:

1. There will be one winner. 
2. Giveaway ends on February 25, 2012 @ 11:59 p.m.
3. Must be a GFC follower
4. Must be 13 or older.
5. US resident.  If you're not, no entry (sorry).
6. The winner WILL have to pay for shipping via PayPal.
7. Fill out the form.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ENTERING!!

ARC Review: Where it Began

Author: Ann Redisch Stampler

Pages: 369
Format: ARC
Source: Simon Pulse (Thanks Ann)
Rating: 3.8/5

Summery:
Sometimes the end is just the beginning.

Gabby lived under the radar until her makeover. Way under. but when she started her senior year as a blonder, better-dressed version of herself, she struck gold: Billy Nash believed she was a the flawless girl she was pretending to be. The next eight months with Billy were bliss...Until the night Gabby woke up on the ground next to the remains of his BMW without a single memory of how she got there.
And Billy's nowhere to be found.
All Gabby wants is to make everything perfect again. But getting her life back isn't difficult, it's impossible. Because nothing is the same, and Gabby's beginning to realize she's missed more than a few danger signs along the way.
It's time for Gabby to face the truth, even if it means everything changes.
Especially if it means everything changes.

Review:
I've always believed that the ending of a book is the deciding factor as to whether it's a meh book or a good book.  This book was gearing up to be a meh book, but then ther was the ending.  And it completely changed my mind.

This was a good idea from the start, and while the writing wasn't the best I've ever seen, it was still a pretty good book.  It had a really, really good story line and the staging was amazing.  And the ending.  Wow.  Don't even get me started.  It has got to be the best ending ever.  And I've read a lot of books with really good endings.  But it wouldn't have been that great it Stampler hadn't staged it in the very beginning of the book, and you have to give her full credit for that.

In most of the books I've read, I usually like the moms.  In this one, I have to completely opposite feeling.  I hated Lexi's mom.  All she cared about was Lexi looking good and being popular.  Even when she was in the freaking hospital her mom wasn't worried about her, she was worried about people seeing her.  And while I will admit that Lexi did screw up pretty bad, she still deserves better than that.
Even with her obvious issues, I still really like Lexi.  She screwed up, and now she's trying to fix it, and I really respect her for that.
Now, if you have a severe aversion to hate, you might not want to read this next part.  Because I hate Billy more than I have hated anything in this world.  He is the perfect example of a boy you want to stay away from. He is the meanest, most controlling, self-centered *********** **** ********** **** I've ever seen (I didn't actually swear, I just held down the key randomly :P)

All in all, a pretty good YA debut.  This book really produced feelings I haven't felt in a while, pretty much the negative kind, because there are some characters in here I don't like at all.

Huge thanks to Ann Stampler for sticking with me when I was bugging her for an ARC of this book.  I really appreciate it and thanks so much. :):):)

Giveaway: Carrier of the Mark

Hi everyone :)  Well, I'm sure you all know that this is my first ever giveaway and I'm SO EXCITED!!  I hope you all like the book I'm choosing to give away. :)  But first, rules :p

The Rules:

1. There will be one winner. 
2. Giveaway ends on February 25, 2012 @ 11:59 p.m.
3. Must be a GFC follower
4. Must be 13 or older.
5. US resident.  If you're not, no entry (sorry).
6. The winner WILL have to pay for shipping via PayPal.
7. Fill out the form.

The Prize:
One person is going to win a copy of...wait for it...:p

Carrier of the Mark, by Leigh Fallon

To enter just fill out the form below!!:



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.