{Memes} Waiting on Wednesday #11: A Darkness Strange and Lovely

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that showcases upcoming titles we're highly anticipating.

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{Review} Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Onyx
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Series: Lux, #2
Release Date: August 14th, 2012
Pages: 366 (Paperback)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks… Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger prob- lems. Something worse than the Arum has come to town… The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard. But then everything changes… I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me? No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

{Memes} Teaser Tuesdays #11: Beta

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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{Review} Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

Title: Valkyrie Rising
Author: Ingrid Paulson
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: October 9th, 2012
Pages: 352 (Hardcover)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★☆

Nothing ever happens in Norway. But at least Ellie knows what to expect when she visits her grandmother: a tranquil fishing village and long, slow summer days. And maybe she’ll finally get out from under the shadow of her way-too-perfect big brother, Graham, while she’s there. What Ellie doesn’t anticipate is Graham’s infuriating best friend, Tuck, tagging along for the trip. Nor did she imagine boys going missing amid rumors of impos- sible kidnappings. Least of all does she expect something powerful and ancient to awaken in her and that strange whispers would urge Ellie to claim her place among mythological warriors. Instead of peace and quiet, there’s suddenly a lot for a girl from L.A. to handle on a summer sojourn in Norway! And when Graham vanishes, it’s up to Ellie—and the ever-sarcastic, if undeniably alluring Tuck—to uncover the truth about all the disappearances and thwart the nefarious plan behind them. Deadly legends, hidden identities, and tentative romance swirl together in one girl’s un- expectedly-epic coming of age.

{Memes} Stacking the Shelves #12

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a great way to showcase books you've recently added to your bookshelves.

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{Memes} Teaser Tuesdays #10: Valkyrie Rising

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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{Memes} Stacking the Shelves #11

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a great way to showcase books you've recently added to your bookshelves.

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{Review} Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel

Title: Stolen Nights
Author: Rebecca Maizel
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Series: Vampire Queen, #2
Release Date: January 29th, 2013
Pages: 303 (Paperback)
Source: NetGalley
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human—and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss. With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead...

{Review} Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

Title: Virtuosity
Author: Jessica Martinez
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: October 18th, 2011
Pages: 294 (Hardcover)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★☆

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better? Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected. Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall....

{Memes} Waiting on Wednesday #10: Untitled Angelfall Sequel

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that showcases upcoming titles we're highly anticipating.

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{Memes} Teaser Tuesdays #9: Virtuosity

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

~*~

{Review} Rapture by Lauren Kate

Title: Rapture
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Delacorte BFYR
Series: Fallen, #4
Release Date: June 12th, 2012
Pages: 448 (Hardcover)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The sky is dark with wings . . . And time is running out for Luce and Daniel. In order to stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the Fall began. Only Luce can break the curse, and it is her choice alone that will decide all of their fates. But as Dark Forces gather, great sacrifices will have to be made in this final, epic struggle . . . In the fight for Luce, and for Love, who will win? The astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can't wait any longer.

{Memes} Stacking the Shelves #10

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a great way to showcase books you've recently added to your bookshelves.

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{Review} Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

Title: Shift
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Series: Shade, #2
Release Date: April 28th, 2011
Pages: 400 (Paperback)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★☆

In the second book of the Shade trilogy from Jeri Smith-Ready, Aura is torn between the two boys who hold her heart—and determined to unravel the secrets of the Shift. Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to. Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one at her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift. She’s not the only one seeking answers, though, and danger grows as she discovers new truths. Who can Aura trust with her secrets? And to whom will she give her heart?

{Review} Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Title: Shade
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Series: Shade, #1
Release Date: May 4th, 2010
Pages: 320 (Paperback)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★☆

Aura can see ghosts. Born after the Shift, a little-understood event that enabled younger generations to communicate with the dead, Aura is relentlessly pursued by these violet-hued spirits. They need help to pass out of this world and into the next. And some are so angry they are on the verge of becoming Shades, dark vortexes of energy. But Aura just wants the ghosts to leave her alone so she can spend time with her boyfriend, Logan. When Aura is paired with a new foreign-exchange student to research the Shift for a class project, she is determined to ignore her partner’s sexy Scottish accent and discover the cause of the Shift so she can reverse it. Then Logan dies a most untimely death. Forced to reconsider her relationship with the living and the dead, Aura is caught in a love triangle with her violet-hued boyfriend and her hot research partner... one of whom may hold the key to reversing the Shift.

{Memes} Waiting on Wednesday #9: Ink

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that showcases upcoming titles we're highly anticipating.

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{Review} Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Title: Infinite Days

Author: Rebecca Maizel

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Series: Vampire Queen, #1

Release Date: August 3rd, 2010

Pages: 336 (Paperback)

Source: Bought

Rating: ★★★☆☆

“Throughout all my histories, I found no one I loved more than you... no one.” Those were some of Rhode’s last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face. It was the first time in 592 years I could take a breath. Lay in the sun. Taste. Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the blood lust. I never expected to fall in love with someone else that wasn’t Rhode. But Justin was... daring. Exciting. More beautiful than I could dream. I never expected to be sixteen again... then again, I never expected my past to come back and haunt me...

{Memes} Teaser Tuesdays #8: Infinite Days

Teaser Tuesdays  is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

~*~

Interview with A.G. Howard!

Recently I had the amazing opportunity to interview the ever so lovely A.G. Howard, author of Splintered! Her debut novel will be released January 1st, 2013, and below there will be links to where you can add the book to Goodreads (by clicking the book title right next to the cover) and/or enter the giveaway that A.G. is currently hosting on her blog!

Visit A.G.'s website here.

To view my review of Splintered, click here.

Splintered

by A.G. Howard

Release Date: January 1st, 2013

Publisher: Amulet Books

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now. When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

{Memes} Stacking the Shelves #9

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a great way to showcase books you've recently added to your bookshelves.

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{Booktalk} Cover Reveals 10/5/2012

Here's some more cover reveals I found this week~

Ink by Amanda Sun

Expected publication: June 25th, 2013
Publisher: HarlequinTeen

I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look. Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of girl lying on a bench. A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness. And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine. On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building. Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets. Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

Expected publication: 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Fans of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series and Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy will devour The Beautiful and the Cursed, a wholly original interpretation of gargoyle lore. It was bizarre and inexplicable, but after it happened no one spoke of it and Ingrid Waverly was forced to leave her life in London behind. She had to trade a world full of fancy dresses and society events for Paris with her mother and younger sister, Gabby.In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house her twin brother Grayson found for them isn't a house at all. It's an abbey. A creepy, old abbey with a roof lined in stone gargoyles that one could almost mistake for living, breathing creatures. And Grayson is missing. Yet no one seems to be concerned about Grayson's whereabouts save for Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant who has some secrets of his own. There's one secret about the city that he can't keep hidden, though. There's a murderer on the loose. And every day Grayson is missing means that there's less of a chance he's alive. Ingrid is sure her twin isn't dead--she can feel it deep in her soul--but she knows he's in grave danger, and that it's up to her and Gabby to find him before all hope is lost. Only the path to him is twisted—and more deadly than she could ever imagine.

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

Expected publication: May 21st, 2013
Publisher: Little Brown BFYR

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send." But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone -- until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo -- and didn't look. Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words . . . it doesn't always tell the whole story.

{DNF Review} Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Title: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Series: White Rabbit Chronicles, #1
Release Date: September 25th, 2012
Pages: 404 (Hardcover)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever. Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone. Her father was right. The monsters are real…. To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

{Ramblings} 100 Followers!

I was just visiting my blog as per usual, and I check the follower tab and what do I see?

100 FOLLOWERS!!!!!

{Memes} Waiting on Wednesday #8: Premeditated

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that showcases upcoming titles we're highly anticipating.

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{Review} Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Title: Burn for Burn
Authors: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Series: Burn for Burn, #1
Release Date: September 18th, 2012
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★☆

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY... THEY GET EVEN. Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister. Kat is tired of the rumors, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay. Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him. Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

{Review} The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Córdova

Title: The Vicious Deep
Author: Zoraida Córdova
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Series: The Vicious Deep, #1
Release Date: May 1st, 2012
Pages: 384 (Hardcover)
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave. He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth. His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he's heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he's suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods. Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea...and now it wants him back.

{Memes} Teaser Tuesdays #7: A Million Suns

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

~*~

{Review} Wake by Amanda Hocking

Title: Wake

Author: Amanda Hocking

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Series: Watersong, #1

Release Date: August 7th, 2012

Pages: 309 (Paperback)

Source: Bought

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group. Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different. Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.