Sunday

So Many Books, So Little Time [20]

Photobucket

Here are some of the books that I discovered throughout the week scheduled for release that I cannot wait to get my hands on. I will pay, beg and possibly steal (mwahahaha), just to get a chance at reading one of them.

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare
by Melissa Jensen
Releases on 2/16/12

Pretty in Pink" meets "Anna and the French Kiss" in this charming romantic comedy.

Ella is nearly invisible at the Willing School, and that's just fine by her. She's got her friends - the fabulous Frankie and their sweet cohort Sadie. She's got her art - and her idol, the unappreciated 19th-century painter Edward Willing. Still, it's hard being a nobody and having a crush on the biggest somebody in the school: Alex Bainbridge. 

Especially when he is your French tutor, and lessons have started becoming, well, certainly more interesting than French ever has been before. But can the invisible girl actually end up with a happily ever after with the golden boy, when no one even knows they're dating? And is Ella going to dare to be that girl?


Oppression
by Jessica Therrien
Releases on 2/28/12

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning - and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.


The Darkest Seduction
by Gena Showalter
Releases on 2/28/12

Possessed by the demon of Promiscuity, immortal warrior Paris is irresistibly seductive-but his potent allure comes at a terrible price. Every night he must bed someone new, or weaken and die. And the woman he craves above all others is the one woman he’d thought was forever beyond his reach…until now.

Newly possessed by the demon of Wrath, Sienna Blackstone is racked by a ruthless need to punish those around her. Yet in Paris’s arms, the vulnerable beauty finds soul-searing passion and incredible peace. Until a blood feud between ancient enemies heats up.

Will the battle against gods, angels and creatures of the night bind them eternally-or tear them apart?

When a Scot Loves a Lady
by Katharine Ashe
Releases on 2/28/12

London gossips are asking: What use has society of an exclusive gentleman’s club if no gentlemen are ever seen to pass through its door?

After years as an agent of the secret Falcon Club, Lord Leam Blackwood knows it’s time to return home to Scotland. One temptation threatens his plans—Kitty Savege. The scandal-plagued lady warms his blood like a dram of fine whiskey. But a dangerous enemy stands in the way of desire, and to beat this foe Leam needs Kitty’s help…

Kitty never wanted to spend her holidays in a wretched country village! With snow up to the windows, escape is nowhere in sight. A roguish Scottish lord, however, is. His rough brogue sends tingles of heat from Kitty’s frigid toes to her chilled nose, but she’s confident she can withstand that. What she cannot control is the reaction of her carefully guarded heart when she discovers this beast is, in fact, no beast at all…

Lover Reborn
by J. R. Ward 
Releases on 3/27/12

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. The city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Now back in the Brotherhood - and unrecognisable as the vampire leader he once was - Tohrment is physically emaciated and heartbroken beyond despair. When he begins to see his beloved in his dreams - trapped in a cold, isolating netherworld - Tohr turns to a self-serving fallen angel in hopes of saving the one he has lost. When he's told he must learn to love another to free his former mate, Tohr knows they are all doomed . . .

Except then a female with a shadowed history begins to get through to him. Against the backdrop of the raging war with the lessers, and with a new clan of vampires vying for the Blind King's throne, Tohr struggles between the buried past, and a very hot, passion-filled future . . . but can his heart let go and set all of them free?

The Immortal Rules
by Julie Kagawa
Releases on 4/24/12


You will kill. The only question is when.

In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive.

Unregistered humans cling to fringes, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.

Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.

Whisper
by Alyson Noel
Releases on 4/24/12


This time, Riley might really have bitten off more than she’s ready for. After practically begging the Council for a more challenging Soul Catch, she is assigned an actual Roman gladiator—Theocoles, the Pillar of Doom. How is Riley, a skinny twelve-year-old, supposed to get through to him? Then she meets the beautiful Messalina, who convinces her that her only chance is to become part of this world. To accomplish this, Messalina helps Riley through a dramatic, mystical makeover, transforming her into the beautiful and mature teen she’s always wanted to be. Finally, Riley can experience her first boyfriend and her first kiss. With a dream this enchanting, will she ever want to leave?
These are just some of the one's that I'm looking forward to. Which books are you dying to get your hands on?

Friday

Dreamland by Alyson Noel

Title: Dreamland
Author: Alyson Noel
Pages: 210
Genre: YA/ Fantasy
Source: Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
Riley's finding that the afterlife can be a lonely place when all you do is focus on work. So she goes to the place where dreams happen, hoping to find a way to contact her sister, Ever. She meets the director, who tells her about the two ways to send dreams. As a Dream Jumper, a person can jump into a dreamer’s dream, share a message, and participate. As a Dreamweaver, an entire dream can be created in a studio and sent to the dreamer. But Dreamweaving was outlawed decades ago, and the studio was boarded up. Thinking it’s her only way to reach out to her sister, Riley goes in search of the old studio. There she finds a ghost boy, who’s been creating and sending nightmares to people for years. In order to stop him and reach out to Ever, Riley is going to have to confront and overcome her own fears. [via GoodReads]
Riley's adventures in the Here & Now continue.  In this third installment, Riley is suffering the repercussions of having helped restless souls into crossing over without the Council's permission (see Shimmer).  The Council has spoken and the verdict was harsher than expected.  They've decided that Riley needs time to "grow" and the best way to accomplish that is for her to take a break from soul catching.  With no friends aside from Bodhi and Buttercup, Riley feels alone and lost.  Luckily she learns about dreamweaving and finds herself on her next adventure... this time, trying to make contact with her sister, Ever.

The thought of being 12... forever, is a hard one to come to grips with, and Riley is having a hard time dealing with it.  She wants to turn 13, to finally be a teenager, and when she learns that that is a possibility for her, she wants nothing more than to "grow"... but turning 13 is harder than it seems, especially since she's dead. 

Riley is the still the carefree and brave young woman we have all come to know and love.  While she still acts like her 12 year old self - throwing trantrums and not giving much thought to consequences beyond the moment, she is finally coming into herself.  I loved seeing how she matured as well as the many life lessons she learned throughout the story.

I thought this was a great installment to the series.  Not my favorite in the series but a good one nonetheless.

My Rating:

Thursday

Fever: 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Fever: 1793
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages: 256
Genre: YA/ Fiction
Source: Purchased
It's late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family's coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie's concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family's small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie's struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive. [via GoodReads]
I can't help it, but I have a morbid fascination in books about plagues and other such catastrophes.  It's sick, I know.  But I'm always enthralled by stories such as these.

Ms. Halse Anderson's tale was a captivating one.  At the beginning of our story Mattie is a young girl helping her mother at the coffehouse they own.  She's stubborn, selfish (at times) and has big dreams of making the family business prosper.  As the yellow fever epidemic spreads and the town and its residents either succumb to illness or have no choice but to run, Mattie grows into a brave and strong, young woman.  A young woman who helps those in need and finds a way to make her dreams come true.

The story is based upon the yellow fever epidemic that struck Philadelphia in 1793 and killed some 5,000 people.  Ms. Halse Anderson expertly captures the effects of the fever and how a whole city succumbs to it.  I loved how descriptive the story was, making me feel as if I were living it with Mattie.  With plenty of character development and excitement I found Fever: 1793 to be a very facinating read.

One last thing I'd like to mention, Ms. Halse Anderson includes an appendix at the back of the book with additional information about the people of the time and the epidemic as well as the factual people and events that she uses in her story.  I found this very interesting and recommend that you don't pass up on reading that extra chapter.

My Rating:

Wednesday

The Girl in the Steel Corset / The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Steel Corset
Author: Kady Cross
Pages: 473
Genre: YA/ Steampunk
Source: NetGalley
In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one except the "thing" inside her.

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits. Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help-and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on, even if it seems no one believes her. [via GoodReads]
Finley knows that she's not your average girl.  For she knows that she has a darker side, one that is so powerful that it can knock a man out in one punch.  She knows the darkness overtakes her when she gets upset or mad.  After a particularly dreadful situation, one where she almost gets killed, she finds herself among strangers that may hold the answers she's been seeking.

Switching point-of-views between Finley Jayne, Griffin King - the Duke of Graythorne; and Sam - a human-robot hybrid we learn that Finley is not the only one with secrets.  They are each on a journey of discovery to find out what exactly caused them to have the powers they have.  Finley is a wonderful heroine.  Right from the first sentence I knew I was hooked.  I especially like both sides of Finley and the fact that each one is attracted to a different love interest - both completely opposite - making this reader very attracted to the whole scenario. 

It was clear from the start that I would love this story and Ms. Cross did not disappoint thoughout.  There was plenty of mystery, action and even some romance.  I loved the steampunk aspect and loved even more that it was set in a historical time instead of in the future.  Through the varios points-of-view we see how each character matures and develops and each storyline comes together. 

All in all, this was a fabulous start to what looks to be a promising series.  I cannot wait to get my hands on The Girl in the Clockwork Collar.

My Rating:

Author: Kady Cross 
Pages:   78
Genre:  YA/ Steampunk
Source: Free (e-book only)
Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined... [via GoodReads]
This novella is a short prequel to The Girl in the Steel Corset.  In it you meet Finley before she meets Griffin King.  After her latest altercation and the loss of another job, she finds that she cannot pass up the offer to be companion to Lady Phoebe.  Finley and Phoebe quickly become friends and she soon finds herself suspicious over Phoebe's fiance, the much older Lord Vincent.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne has everything that I loved about The Girl in the Steel Corset - a wonderful heroine, action, adventure, a fabulous sense of humor, steampunk awesomeness and many references to Frankenstein (which I loved!).

Fans of The Girl in the Steel Corset will love this short glimpse into the life of Finley and will only look forward to the next installment in the series even more anxiously.

My Rating:

Tuesday

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Title:  Goddess Interrupted
Author: Aimee Carter
Pages: 304
Genre: YA/ Teen
Source: Netgalley
Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone. [via GoodReads]
Aimee Carter has just proved to me why I love this series so much.  The Goddess Test was one of my favorites from last year.  And now, Goddess Interrupted, well, let's just say it left me with my mouth hanging open and scrambling around in search of... I don't know what.  Preferably the next book in the series to magically appear... I would have settled for a drink!  Sadly it was 1:00 a.m. and by some accounts that would be considered a "problem".  Wowzer's!  Talk about a jaw-dropping ending.

In Gooddess Interrupted you will find that all of our favorite Gods/Goddesses are back.  Kate won immortality... and Henry.  After six months away she has now returned to her coronation as Queen of the Underworld and to be with her husband - but she didn't expect her "Happily Ever After" to be so hard.

Kate was a very relateable character.  She may have won Henry but she is still competing with his past and his love for Persephone.  Although frustrating, their relationship and its issues was what kept the pages turning for me.  I understand that if they had a chance to talk about their feelings and insecurities half of their problems would have been solved, but then what would we have to read about, ya know?  I was obsessed with learning more about Henry (I think he may be the focal point for me in this story) and why he treats Kate at arms length.  

The Greek Mythology aspect of the story was also a highlight for me. I've always enjoyed reading of the Gods and, once again, I think Ms. Carter does a wonderful job in capturing each one perfectly - their strengths and weaknesses.  

Goddess Interrupted was more than I could have hoped for.  I loved the action, the adventure, the mystery, the romance and all the other ruckus that can only be created by the Gods.  If you haven't read this series, I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Ms. Carter (insert evil laugh) blew me away with that cliffhanger ending...  The Goddess Inheritance (December 2012) cannot come soon enough.

My Rating:

Monday

Manic Monday Recaps (Week 2/06/12)

[via WeHeartIt]

Happy Monday friends!  I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I sure did.  The hubby took me out to a fancy restaurant for dinner on Saturday night and we spent our Sunday with the family watching the Super Bowl.  I'll confess that I only watch for the commercials though. ;)

Here's what I plan on reading this week:

Here's what I read last week:
- A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
- Dead to You by Lisa McMann
- The Flight of Gemma Hardy by  Margot Livesey

I reviewed the following:
- The Pledge by Kimberly Derting [review]
- The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson [review]
- Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry [review]
- The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jenniefer E. Smith [review]

Have a great week friends. Happy Reading!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 
Blog designed by Dreamy Blog Designs using Cré@Bisontines I'm Yours Kit