Waiting on Wednesday (29)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where book bloggers showcase books they are looking forward to. What I plan on doing for the next few weeks is to talk about the books that are coming out at the beginning of next year from different publishers. This week I will be showcasing  January 2012 releases coming from Simon & Schuster. So here are the books I'm looking forward to.

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

January 3rd, 2012

Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been. 

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life...and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done. 

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last.... 

This books just sounds great and I love the way that Sarah Ockler writes. I also really love contemporary books but in this day where almost everything is paranormal they are getting hard to find. So when I find one that sounds as good at this one I can't help but be excited to read it.

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

January 3rd, 2012

After spending six hundred years on earth, Seraphina Ames has seen it all. Eternal life provides her with the world’s riches, but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago, her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to swap bodies with other humans, jumping from one vessel to the next, taking the human’s life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she’s done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again. 

Then sixteen-year-old Kailey Morgan gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she’s inhabiting—and falls for the human boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she’s his again, and every moment she stays, she’s putting herself and the people she’s grown to care for in great danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that’s eluded her for centuries: true love?

This book sounds really awesome and sort of reminds me of Alyson Noël's Immortals series which I really enjoyed (though I have yet to read the final book). I love that recently there have been more books that deal with alchemy, and I really enjoy reading them so I'm really looking forward to reading this one.

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

January 3rd, 2012 

Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother. 

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.  

Ghost stories! I love ghost stories! And there definitely aren't enough of them. At least if there are I'm  not finding them and am totally missing out on reading them. Anyways, this book sounds really good though I haven't really heard much about it. At any rate, I'm really excited for the release of this book.

Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse by Lucas Klauss

January 3rd, 2012

Phillip's sophomore year is off to a rough start. One of his best friends ditches him for a group of douchebags. His track coach singles him out for personalized, torturous training sessions. And his dad decides to clean out all of the emergency supplies from the basement, even though the world could end in disaster at any moment...and even though those supplies are all Phillip has left of his dead mom. Not that he wants to talk about that. 

But then Phillip meets Rebekah. Not only is she unconventionally hot and smart, but she has seriously great boobs. And she might like him back. 

As Phillip gets closer to Rebekah, he tries harder and harder to turn himself into the kind of person he thinks she wants him to be. But the question is, can he become that person? And does he really want to?

It's a contemporary book. And the main character is a boy. How awesome is that? Based on that alone, I would pick this book out because there just aren't enough books that feature boys as main characters. But there's also the premise that sounds really interesting and the book has a really cool title so what can really go wrong here?

So these are the Simon & Schuster titles coming up in January that I am looking forward too. And they all come out on the same day. Let's just say the bookstore will make a lot of money off of me when January comes around. Now if only I could just wake up tomorrow morning and have it be January I would be happy.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release Date: September 29, 2011

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighbourhood.

When Cricket--a gifted inventor—steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

This book was nothing if not absolutely adorable. It was also a book I had been looking forward to reading since I read the last page of Anna and the French Kiss earlier this year. And if at all possible, I loved Lola and the Boy Next Door even more. Stephanie Perkins definitely knows how to write those perfect romance stories.

Lola Nolan has always known how to stand out in a crowd and she even likes it. Her goal is to never wear the same outfit twice and the crazier the look the better. But the clothes are really the only crazy part of Lola, she's a good friend and daughter and knows what she wants in life. And the most perfect part of it all is her older, rocker boyfriend who drives her dads crazy. But then the Bell twins move back in next door and Lola's world threatens to fall apart. Not so much because of Calliope, but because it means that Cricket Alexander Bell is also back in her life. Now Lola isn't so sure about a lot of things, mainly whether or not she is with the right boy. And the more she spends time with Cricket, the more Lola realizes those feelings she thought she'd gotten over are still right there. Because who could be more perfect for Lola than the boy next door?

I don't even know how to begin putting my feelings for this book into words. So I will apologize now if this review starts turning into just me saying "OMG this book was amazing" over and over again. But now that I've established that this book was amazing, I will try to be a little more eloquent. Lola and the Boy Next Door was an absolutely adorable story. Everything about it was spot on and nothing felt too cliché or overdone. It was just the perfect story. Stephanie Perkins has definitely found the perfect formula for writing a fantastic book and Lola and the Boy Next Door was exactly that. It was the perfect balance of romance, drama and humor. I just absolutely loved it.

Lola was pure awesomeness. I loved her right from page one and with every page I read I loved her even more. There was just this endearing quality about her. I felt her joy, her laughter and her sadness. She really couldn't have felt more real to me. And Cricket. I think I may have fallen in love with him. He was also quite possibly the best male character in a book ever. I don't think I can actually put into words how much I love Cricket. I also don't think it would have been possible for me not to fall in love with him. He just had this way about him, and nerdy boys are just the best. So of course I was rooting for Cricket the whole way through. What I loved was how Stephanie Perkins also included Anna and St. Clair into the story. It was great to see what happened to them.

The words fantastic and amazing don't even begin to describe the awesomeness that was Lola and the Boy Next Door. Stephanie Perkins once again wrote a brilliant book and I absolutely cannot wait for the next one.

In My Mailbox (17)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. It's a post where we talk about the books we received during the week either for review, from the bookstore or anywhere else.

Once again, I haven't posted an In My Mailbox for a couple of weeks so I thought I would combine the last two weeks of mail into one post. Thankfully I didn't buy too many new books and I didn't received too many new books for review because my TBR pile is getting slightly out of control. So here's what I got in the last couple of weeks.

For Review:

- A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger (Thank you HBG Canada!)

- The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher (Thank you Sourcebooks Fire!)

Gifted:

- Bitter End by Jennifer Brown (Thank you Corrine @ Lost for Words!)

Bought:

- Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

- The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

- Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

So that's what I got In My Mailbox in the last couple of weeks. Let me know what you got in the comments and I'll come check it out!

New Covers Galore!

I don't know what it is about this week, but I keep on seeing fantastic new covers for upcoming books popping up everywhere. Many of them are books I am really looking forward to, others are just to gorgeous not to feature. So here are some of the new covers that appeared this week. (All links go to Goodreads)

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini
May 2012


I absolutely CANNOT wait for the release of this book. I just have to know what happens next with Helen and Lucas, especially after the way Starcrossed ended. I love this cover, not only is it absolutely gorgeous but it also fits in really well with the cover of book one.

Underworld by Meg Cabot

May 2012

Meg Cabot is quite possibly my favorite author ever. I have read every single one of her books and so for the obvious reason I can't wait to get my hands on this one. Underworld  is the sequel to Abandon. The way the first book ended has left me wanting more since April. The cover itself is so appropriate for the book, especially the hand reaching up to grab Pierce. Plus it's blue and flowery and pretty.

Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready

May 2012

I haven't actually read this series but I do own the first book and have been meaning to read it for the longest time. But this cover is gorgeous, and not only that but they also redesigned the other two covers (Shade & Shift) in this series to match.

Until I Die by Amy Plum

May 2012

This is another series I haven't yet started but the covers have just been gorgeous. The cover of the first book, If I Die, was gorgeous and if anything, this one is even more amazing. Now if I would just read the books...

Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
May 2012


I don't know whether or not this cover has been officially revealed but it's on Goodreads, so I'll go ahead and post it. Anyways, I am unbelievably excited for this book and the cover is just perfect for it. It fits in with the previous two covers and I like the lightning in the background is really appropriate considering the title of the book.

Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

June 2012

I haven't read many of Susane Colasanti's books, I just couldn't help but show this cover. It's so simple but at the same time there is so much to it. And from what the author has said, there are elements on the cover that are directly related to what happens in the book.

Timepiece by Myra McEntire
June 2012


This is the sequel to Hourglass and I am just loving the cover. I have to admit I haven't read the first book yet even though it's been on my bookshelf but I just have to show this cover. Even though I know more or less nothing about the story, the cover definitely fits in with the first one and that is enough for me (at least for now).

Endlessly by Kiersten White

July 2012

How absolutely gorgeous is this cover? I haven't yet read Supernaturally but I can't wait for this book. All the covers are so gorgeous and once again, I am definitely loving the purple.

So these are some of the covers I've seen popping up around the blogosphere in the last couple of weeks. If you ask me, all of them are absolutely gorgeous, and in all honesty, I can't wait to get my hands on pretty much every single one of these books (and the ones that came before if I haven't read those already). If you saw any other new covers this week, I'd love to see them too!

Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett

Title: Dark of the Moon

Author: Tracy Barrett

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Source: From Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Ariadne is destined to become a goddess of the moon. She leads a lonely life, filled with hours of rigorous training by stern priestesses. Her former friends no longer dark to look at her, much less speak to her. All that she has left are her mother and her beloved, misshapen brother, Asterion, who must be held captive below the palace for his own safety.

So when a ship arrives one spring day, bearing a tribut of slaves from Athens, Ariadne sneaks out to meet it. These newcomers don't know the ways of Krete; perhaps they won't be afraid of a girl who will someday be a powerful goddess. And indeed she meets Theseus, the son of the king of Athens. Ariadne finds herself drawn to the newcomer, and soon they form a friendship--one that could perhaps become something more. 

Yet Theseus is doomed to die as an offering to the Minotaur, that monster beneath the palace--unless he can kill the beast first. And that "monster" is Ariadne's brother...

Books that are re-tellings are always a lot of fun but I don't read nearly as many of them as I would like to. Since I also really like Ancient history and mythology, Dark of the Moon was right up my alley. The premise sounded really interesting and the book turned out to be just as interesting as it sounded.

Since childhood, Ariadne has been preparing to become a goddess of the moon, just like all the women in her family before her. That means she has been alone for most of her life with only old priestesses, her mother and her brother Asterion for company. But that never stopped Ariadne from sneaking out of the palace when the ships bearing the tributes arrive to Krete. This year, Ariadne takes notice of Theseus, the king of Athens' son, among the tributes and can't seem to stop thinking about him. But Theseus has come to Knossos with a mission, one that involves Ariadne's beloved brother Asterion. But Ariadne hopes that maybe Theseus won't be intimidated by a goddess-to-be like everyone else on the island is. And maybe Theseus will change his mind about his plan to rid the island of its monster, the Minotaur. Except the monster may not be who everyone thinks he is.

Like I've already said, I love books that are re-tellings and this one was no different. Also the fact that I love Ancient myths and history probably helped a lot too. Dark of the Moon is a re-telling of the myth of the Minotaur on the Greek island of Krete. Except the way the story is told, you don't really find out who the monster at the center of the maze is until well into the story. Just that made me want to keep reading so I could find out who the Minotaur was. I also liked how the story was told from two points of view, one that was familiar with the traditions of Krete and one that was a complete stranger. I just thought it was really interesting to see the two completely different perspectives.

Ariadne was a really interesting character. Even though she was a fifteen-year-old teenage girl, she was pretty much as far away from the image you would have of that person. Granted it might be because the story takes place in Ancient Greece, but still. At times I felt sorry for her though because she really didn't have a normal life. But I really liked the way things turned out for her in the end. Theseus was a great balance to Ariadne. What I liked most about him was the completely different perspective he had on everything that was happening. What I also really liked about Theseus was how he questioned everything and definitely wasn't afraid to stand up for himself when the time came to do so. Both of these characters were also the narrators of the book and I really don't think there could have been anyone better to tell this story.

Overall, Dark of the Moon was a great read and one that was somewhat different from what I normally read, but in a really good way. I will definitely look out for more books by Tracy Barrett in the future.