Waiting On Wednesday: Hunted (Meagan Spooner)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at 

Breaking the Spine

and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Book: Hunted

Author: Meagan Spooner

Hardback Edition, 352 pages
Expected Publication: March 14, 2017  

Publisher: HarperTeen

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

What book are you looking forward to in 2016?? 

HarperTeen Book Blast & Giveaway: Sweet Temptation (Wendy Higgins)

Paperback, 485 pages
Expected publication: September 8th 2015 by HarperCollins/HarperTeen

Author: Wendy Higgins

Bad boy Kaidan Rowe has never wanted for anything—money, popularity, musical talent…hot girls—but seducing them is part of his duty as a Nephilim, slave to the demon Dukes. As the son of the Duke of Lust, Kaidan has learned his father’s ways, becoming a master of passion, a manipulator of chemistry. Disobeying his father would mean certain death. Thankfully for Kaidan, he’s good at his job. And he enjoys it.

Until he meets Anna Whitt—sweet, smart, feisty, and inexplicably good—the one girl seemingly immune to his charms. The daughter of a guardian angel and a fallen one, she has a certain power over him, one that makes him wish for more than he could ever deserve.

Determined to save all the Neph from their dark lives as the influencers of sin, Anna joins forces with Kaidan to overcome the demons’ oppressive ways. In the light of her affections, Kaidan must undergo his toughest test of all, a battle of the heart.
Sensual and swoon worthy, this companion volume to the acclaimed Sweet Evil series from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins, told from the perspective of the irresistibly sexy and mysterious Kaidan Rowe, gives readers revealing insights into his struggle, his intense connection to Anna, and most of all, the true emotions that drive him.

LINKS:

  Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBook 

The Book Depository

After earning a Creative Writing degree from George Mason University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, I taught high school English until becoming a mommy. I've always had a heart for teens, and writing YA stories gives me the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal years before adulthood.
I live in Virginia with my husband, daughter, son and doggie Rue.

LINKS: 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Two winners will each receive a complete Sweet series set! All 4 books!

US/Canada Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Week 1:

9/7 - Stuck In Books

9/8 - Reads All the Books

9/9 - Curling Up With A Good Book

9/10 - Reading W/ABC

9/11 - Jenuine Cupcakes

Week 2

9/14 - Little Red's Reviews

9/15 - Supernatural Snark

9/16 - A Reader Under the Sea

9/17 - Krista's Dust Jacket

9/18 - The Irish Banana Review

Waiting On Wednesday: Sword and Verse (Kathy McMillian)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at 

Breaking the Spine

and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: January 19th 2016 by HarperTeen

In a sweeping fantasy debut that Franny Billingsley called “fascinating and unique,” palace intrigue blends with epic world building, resulting in a story that fans of Rae Carson and Megan Whalen Turner will love.
Raisa was just a child when she was sold to work as a slave in the kingdom of Qilara. Despite her young age, her father was teaching her to read and write, grooming her to take his place as a Learned One. In Qilara, the Arnathim, like Raisa, are the lowest class, and literacy is a capital offense. What’s more, only the king, prince, tutor, and tutor-in-training are allowed to learn the very highest order language, the language of the gods. So when the tutor-in-training is executed for teaching slaves this sacred language, and Raisa is selected to replace her, Raisa knows any slipup on her part could mean death.
Keeping her secret is hard enough, but the romance that’s been growing between her and Prince Mati isn’t helping matters. Then Raisa is approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slave rebels—to help liberate Arnath slaves. She wants to free her people, but that would mean aiding a war against Mati. As Raisa struggles with what to do, she discovers a secret that the Qilarites have been hiding for centuries—one that, if uncovered, could bring the kingdom to its knees. 

What book are you looking forward to??

Waiting On Wednesday: The Great Hunt (Wendy Higgins)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at 

Breaking the Spine

and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hardcover, 416 pages
Expected publication: March 8th 2016 by HarperTeen

Kill the beast. Win the girl.
A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.
Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.
Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.
Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale, “The Singing Bone,” New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all to save her people.

What book are you looking forward to???

5 Star Harper Teen ARC Review: The White Rose (Amy Ewing)

Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: October 6th 2015 by HarperTeen

Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude.
But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm.
But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?
The White Rose is a raw, captivating sequel to The Jewel that fans won’t be able to put down until the final shocking moments. 

Pre-Order Links:  

Amazon * B & N * Indigo

Amy Ewing is the young adult author of The Jewel, the first in a trilogy from HarperTeen, coming out September 2014.
She grew up in a small town outside Boston, where her librarian mother instilled a deep love of reading at a young age. Amy moved to New York City in 2000 to study theater at New York University. Unfortunately, her acting career didn’t quite pan out. She worked in restaurants, as an administrative assistant, a nanny, and a sales representative for a wine distributor before the lack of creativity in her life drove her to begin writing.
Amy received her MFA in Creative Writing for Children from The New School, where she was lucky enough to meet a fabulous community of YA writers who keep her sane on a daily basis. She lives in Harlem, where she spends her days writing, eating cheese, and occasionally binge watching The Vampire Diaries.

Amy's Website

So first of all....THAT COVER...I mean seriously?? What an gorgeous cover..I absolutely loved the cover of the first book in this series, The Jewel, and didn't think they would be able to top it..but they did. 

I loved The Jewel so much and when I finished it and it left such a cliffhanger....I thought I would die until I got my hands on the sequel...So when I opened my mail and saw The White Rose...I literally screamed! and let me tell you....I was not disappointed..it was worth the wait!!!

The White Rose picks up exactly where The Jewel ends and we begin to follow Ash, Violet, and Raven as they begin their adventure to find the safe refuge called The White Rose. There are so many secrets revealed in this sequel that it is hard to not give something away...So I am going to try and keep this brief because the reader really needs to experience this book for themselves!!

I love how Amy uses this sequel to develop her characters and to explain their back stories which helps the readers to see why some chose the paths they did. I also love how some of the characters such as Garnet and Raven begin to develop closer relationships. 

"I was wrong about you," Raven says. I didn't realize she'd been listening. She looks at Garnet with a single-minded ferocity "You aren't a coward." Her eyes become glassy. Double-focused, as I suppose I've come to think of it. "You've never had real friends. You just needed something to fight for."

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the fact that instead of placing a "love triangle" into this book...Amy deepens the relationship between Violet and Ash....FINALLY a young adult book that focuses on the relationship of one couple without all the drama of a third person. 

There are so many intense scenes in The White Rose and I literally could not put his book down. The White Rose is full of romance, mystery, and intrigue and fans of Young Adult books will devour this in one sitting!!! I cannot wait to get my hands on the conclusion of this series and see where all these phenomenal characters end up.....

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Harper Teen for the opportunity to review this book!!**

5 STAR ARC HarperTeen Review: Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard)

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Hardcover: 383 pages
Publishing Date: February 10th 2015 

Publisher: Orion/HarperTeen

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre ofthose she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

I'm a screenwriter/YA author who likes books and lists. This site is the nexus of my universe.
My book RED QUEEN will be published Winter 2015 from HarperTeen at HarperCollins. I'm repped by the incomparable Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.

The genres I'm into include YA, Fantasy, Historical, Adventure, Apocalyptic - if people are dying, I'm buying.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

OK...Let me first say that Red Queen is BY FAR my most favorite book that I have read this year..I mean WOW...From the very first page to the very last page..I was completely and utterly obsessed. This amazing book has it all....action, suspense, mystery, romance, and a twist that will have your head spinning!!! 

“It's our nature. We destroy. It's the constant of our kind. No matter the color of blood, man will always fall.” 

Red Queen is about the life of Mare Barrow. Mare is a young girl living in a world where people are divided into two classes according to the color of their blood. They are either Red blooded or Silver blooded. The Red blood are the servants of the Silver blood. Silvers have everything...riches, money, food, status. 

Mare was born a Red and has lived her entire life as a thief trying to support her very poor family. When a surprising event occurs...Mare is brought into the Silver world to live as a Silver and has been promised to marry the prince of the Silvers, whose name is Maven. Maven also has a brother named Cal who is first in line for the throne and as it seems....first in line for Mare's heart......(Yes here comes the love triangle...and it is a GOOD one...)

“His lips are on mine, hard and warm and pressing. The touch is electrifying, but not like I'm used to. This isn't a spark of destruction, but a spark of life. As much as I want to pull away, I just can't do it. Cal is a cliff and I throw myself over the edge, not bothering to think of what it could do to us both. One day he'll realize I'm his enemy, and all this will be a far-gone memory. But not yet.”

Little does Mare know, there is a war going on....a war that will change the lives of Reds and Silvers with each passing day and Mare has been thrown right in the middle. 

“Anyone can betray anyone.”

There are so many secrets in Red Queen and so many twists that literally took my breath away.....It is hard to try and write and SCREAM about what I really want to because I am afraid I will give something away. All I can say is that this book is PHENOMENAL...I mean absolutely amazing. When I say I could not put this book down....I literally mean I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!!!!! 

If you are a fan of action, intrigue, suspense, and romance then this book is for you!!!!! It is by far the best Young Adult book this year....You are truly missing out if you have not bought this book!!!! I CANNOT wait to read the sequel...and Victoria Aveyard just hit the top of my favorite authors list!!!!! 

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to HarperTeen/Orion for the opportunity to review this book!!**

Harper Teen ARC Review: Solitaire (Alice Oseman)

Paperback 368 pages
Published: March 30,2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Author: Alice Oseman

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.
Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.
I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.
I really don’t.
This incredible debut novel by outstanding young author Alice Oseman is perfect for fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell and all unflinchingly honest writers. 

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Indigo 

Alice Oseman was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She is studying English at Durham University, probably due to the expectation of society, but mostly spends her time obsessing over fictional characters, drawing really dumb comics, and complaining about things on her Tumblr, chronicintrovert.tumblr.com. Hopefully, she’ll avoid having to get a real job for the rest of her life.
Alice wrote a book when she was seventeen. That book, SOLITAIRE, was published by HarperCollins in July 2014.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

This is the story of.....

Tori, Michael, Becky, Lucas, Charlie...

and the year that changed everything.

The cover of Solitaire fits the book perfect. The cover is dark and yet it is also colorful and grabs your attention. Solitaire is a YA contemporary realistic fiction that is written by a teenager so the teenage views and aspects that are described in the book are brutally honest and feel so real. 

The main character Tori is a loner who has friends but doesn't really care if she ever sees or talks to them...she would rather be alone. Tori's favorite things to do are sleep and blog. The only time she ever seems to be at peace is when she is blogging so this becomes her favorite hobby. Tori tends to push people away and is basically anti-social...until Michael begins to attend her school. Michael brings out the good in Tori and she begins to attempt to be social. 

"So I open my eyes and wander around the Internet to take my mind off it all, and, once I feel relatively okay again, I fall asleep with the glare of my blog home page warming my face and the hum of my laptop soothing my mind like crickets at a campsite."

While Tori and Michael are beginning their friendship...something else is also beginning. A new anonymous blog named Solitaire is created and its purpose is to play pranks on the students at Tori's school. The pranks all seem to be related to Tori and so Tori begins to investigate and try to determine who is behind Solitaire. Tori begins to realize that she doesn't have to be alone and that the people around her care about her and are willing to help her. 

Tori's character is so flawed and yet at the same time so fascinating. She is sarcastic, pessimistic,  and also honest. Teenage readers of YA will easily be able to connect to her character. Her story is so real and genuine and Alice Oseman portrays the character perfectly for this genre. 

One of my favorite parts about this book is the references that are made about Harry Potter, Twilight, and several other books. The references make the reader feel as though the story is so real and currently happening. 

"Your hand is so cold," he says. "You're such a vampire. Do you have any blood?" And then he steps right up to me and says, Kristen Stewart-esque:

"I know what you are."

Solitaire is full of creative and emotional characters and also has a great mystery intertwined in the story. I enjoyed trying to figure out who was behind the pranks and the blog as well.  Solitaire is a book about the real life issues and the complexity of teenage life. It is a dark ya contemporary that is full of emotion and yet at the same time humorous and truthful. Fans of YA contemporary books will really enjoy this book....

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Harper Teen for the opportunity to review this book!!**

Waiting On Wednesday: The White Rose (Amy Ewing)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at 

Breaking the Spine

and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: October 6th 2015 by Harper Teen

Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude.
But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm.
But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?
The White Rose is a raw, captivating sequel to The Jewel that fans won’t be able to put down until the final shocking moments.

My 5 Star Review of The Jewel 

HarperTeen ARC Review: Bone Gap (Laura Ruby)

Hardcover, 368 pages
Expected publication: March 3rd 2015 Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Author: Laura Ruby

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?
Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.
As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap—their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures—acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are. 

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Indigo

Raised in the wilds of suburban New Jersey, Laura Ruby now lives in Chicago with her family. Her short fiction for adults has appeared in various literary magazines, including Other Voices, The Florida Review, Sycamore Review and Nimrod. A collection of these stories, I'M NOT JULIA ROBERTS, was published by Warner Books in January 2007. Called "hilarious and heart-wrenching" by People and "a knowing look at the costs and rewards of remaking a family," by the Hartford-Courant, the book was also featured in Redbook, Working Mother , and USA Today among others.Ruby is also the author of the Edgar-nominated children's mystery LILY'S GHOSTS (8/03), the children's fantasy THE WALL AND THE WING (3/06) and a sequel, THE CHAOS KING (5/07) all from Harpercollins. She writes for older teens as well, and her debut young adult novel, GOOD GIRLS (9/06), also from Harpercollins, was a Book Sense Pick for fall 2006 and an ALA Quick Pick for 2007. A new young adult novel, PLAY ME, is slated for publication in fall of 2008. Her books have sold in England, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Serbia and Montenegro. THE WALL AND THE WING is currently in development with Laika Studios for release as an animated feature.
Ms. Ruby has been a featured speaker at BookExpo, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention, the Miami Book Festival, the Florida Association of Media Educators (FAME) convention, the Midwest Literary Festival, the International Reading Association's annual convention, and Illinois Reading Council annual conference, among other venues, and she has presented programs and workshops for both adults and children at numerous schools and libraries.Currently, she is working on several thousand projects, drinking way too much coffee, and searching for new tunes for her iPod.

Social Links: 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Tumbler 

"From acclaimed author Laura Ruby comes a fascinating, powerful, and wholly original novel about a beautiful young woman, a haunted young man, and a secretive Midwestern town."

Bone Gap was a very unusual book. It was unlike anything I have ever read before. The writer really uses the words in the book to express emotion and feeling. Bone Gap is one of those books that you just have to read and experience for your self. It is character driven  which makes each story and character feel even more real. Bone Gap is full of magical realism and lyrical writing that makes it a one-of-a-kind read. It is also told in 3rd person and allows you to see the views of several different characters and how their lives are all affected by each other's actions. 

Bone Gap is a mid-western town with country roads, animals, farms, and also "gaps." Gaps are described as a place a person can disappear into and never be heard from again. Bone Gap is a place you want to stay far, far away from. 

"The way they knew that Bone Gap had gaps just wide enough for people to slip away, or slip through, leaving only their stories behind. "

The main characters in the book are the O'Sullivan brothers; Sean & Finn and young girls; Rosa and Petey. Sean has dreams to attend medical school but had to put his dream on hold to obtain guardianship of his younger brother, Finn, after their mother abandons them. 

Roza is a mysterious beautiful girl who came into their lives and just as fast...she disappeared. Sean believes that Roza ran off like everyone else does but Finn doesn't agree. Finn is more cautious and begins an investigation of his own. Several people have mentioned seeing a man who twitches and moves like corn in the breeze right before a person is taken/disappears. 

When reading the reviews of others regarding Bone Gap...I came across a specific quote that just stuck with me. This quote fit the story perfectly and so I wanted to share it within my review as well.....

"Bone Gap is a puzzle where each piece is handed out one at a time, ending in a beautiful picture of family, community, love, friendship, and hope for the future."

Bone Gap is full of spine-tingling suspense, creepy occurrences, and a great mystery. There is also a beautiful love story hidden withing the mystery that is Bone Gap. Bone Gap is a beautifully written YA novel that will bring readers in grab hold....The unexplained strangeness of Bone Gap, the mysterious disappearances, and the breath-taking romance make for a phenomenal story. Laura Ruby has written a engaging novel full of magical realism and romance interwoven into a mystery that will leave the reader utterly stunned......

"He was sorry that Bone Gap seemed to be cursed somehow, big losses salted with tiny tragedies  almost too insulting to bear."

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to HarperTeen  for the opportunity to review this book!!**

http://www.epicreads.com/

Waiting On Wednesday: The Replaced (Kimberly Derting)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at 

Breaking the Spine

and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hardback, 368 pages
Expected publication: April 28th 2015 Publisher: HarperTeen

Author: Kimberly Derting
Book: The Replaced (The Taking #2)

Romantic and action-packed, The Replaced is the gripping second installment in the Taking trilogy.
Kyra hasn't been the same since she returned from her mysterious five-year disappearance. Now, on the run from the NSA, Kyra is forced to hide out with others who, like her, have been Returned. Yet she is determined to find Tyler, the boy she loves who was also abducted—all because of her. When her group intercepts a message that Tyler might still be alive but is in the hands of a shadowy government organization that experiments on the Returned, Kyra knows it's a risk to go after him. What if it's a trap? And worse, what if the returned Tyler isn't the same boy she lost?

Perfect for fans of The Fifth Wave and the Body Finder series, The Replaced is both chilling and explosive, with creepy, otherworldly elements and twisty, psychological thrills that will have you questioning what exactly it means to be human.

My 5 Star Review of The Taking (#1)

What book are you most looking forward to in 2015??