Review and Interview: The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst @sarahbethdurst @HMHKids

Title: The Girl Who Could Not Dream
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Clarion Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Sophie's favorite place in the world is the hidden shop beneath her parent's bookstore where dreams are bought and sold to select and secretive strangers. Sophie is fascinated by dreams -- weird, scary, or magical -- in part because she has never had a single dream of her own.

When the shop's dreams are stolen and her mother and father go mysteriously missing, Sophie must unravel the truth to save her parents. Together with her best friend -- a wisecracking and fanatically loyal monster named Monster -- she must decide who to trust with her family's carefully-guarded secrets. Who will help them, and who will betray them?

Interview

Amber: Thank you so much for stopping by Bibliophilia, Please again for your newest book! Please tell us what has been going on since your last stop?

Sarah Beth Durst: Lots of writing!

I've pretty much pared down my life these days to (1) writing and (2) spending time with my family. Also eating. And sleeping. And last weekend I watched too many episodes of Tiny House Hunters because I simply cannot imagine my book collection ever fitting in a house like that and I was fascinated. But I'm counting that as "spending time with my family" because I didn't watch alone.

Amber: What should we know about your new book, The Girl Who Could Not Dream?

Blog Tour (Review): The Visitant by Megan Chance #giveaway #TLCBookTours

Title: The Visitant: A Venetian Ghost Story
Author: Megan Chance
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (Amazon)
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
A crumbling palazzo in nineteenth-century Venice holds a buried secret.

After she nearly ruins her family with a terrible misstep, Elena Spira is sent to Venice to escape disgrace and to atone by caring for the ailing Samuel Farber. But the crumbling and decaying Ca’ Basilio palazzo, where Samuel is ensconced, holds tragic secrets, and little does Elena know how profoundly they will impact her. Soon she begins to sense that she is being watched by something. And when Samuel begins to have hallucinations that make him violent and unpredictable, she can’t deny she’s in mortal danger.

Then impoverished nobleman Nero Basilio, Samuel’s closest friend and the owner of the palazzo, arrives. Elena finds herself entangled with both men in a world where the past seeps into the present and nothing is as it seems. As Elena struggles to discover the haunting truth before it destroys her, a dark force seems to hold Samuel and the Basilio in thrall—is it madness, or something more sinister?

Praise

“Chance’s Venice is glittering, mysterious, sophisticated…” – The Seattle Times on Inamorata

“…provocative and haunting. Chance’s quietly powerful tale will appeal to fans of well-detailed, mysterious, and romantic historical fiction.” – BookList on Bone River

My Review

I wanted to read The Visitant: A Venetian Ghost Story because I am always interested in a spooky or gothic historical, especially if there's also a mystery involved.

My problems with The Visitant started with my wrong assumption that the story was set in the late 1700s rather than the late 1800s. The entire first third of the book resulted in my shaking my head because I couldn't believe how progressive the Venice in the story was. When I realized that the story was in the late 1800s, I began to like the story better, but I still didn't think that Venice was that progressive. Toward the beginning of the novel, Samuel attempts to make a deal with Elena, swearing if she reads a racy novel he will stop acting like a spoiled child. I was a little worried that my hopeful Italian gothic mystery would then change into an erotica novel, with naughty passages filled with nurses and patients and nuns and priests. Thankfully there are only a few sex scenes, and none of them are out of the ordinary of the run-of-the-mill historical romance. However, I just couldn't believe that men and women were that outspoken about sex in the late 1800s, even in Venice.

Waiting on Wednesday (115): Soundless by Richelle Mead

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.



Title: Soundless
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: November 10, 2015
For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever...


I have liked Mead's YA series more than her adult series, so I'm glad to see another YA book of hers is coming out this year.

What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (114): Staked by Kevin Hearne

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.



Title: Staked (The Iron Druid Chronicles #8)
Author: Kevin Hearne
Publisher: Del Rey (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: January 26, 2016
When a druid has lived for two thousand years like Atticus, he’s bound to run afoul of a few vampires. Make that legions of them. Even his former friend and legal counsel turned out to be a bloodsucking backstabber. Now the toothy troublemakers—led by power-mad pain-in-the-neck Theophilus—have become a huge problem requiring a solution. It’s time to make a stand.

As always, Atticus wouldn’t mind a little backup. But his allies have problems of their own. Ornery archdruid Owen Kennedy is having a wee bit of troll trouble: Turns out when you stiff a troll, it’s not water under the bridge. Meanwhile, Granuaile is desperate to free herself of the Norse god Loki’s mark and elude his powers of divination—a quest that will bring her face-to-face with several Slavic nightmares.

As Atticus globetrots to stop his nemesis Theophilus, the journey leads to Rome. What better place to end an immortal than the Eternal City? But poetic justice won’t come without a price: In order to defeat Theophilus, Atticus may have to lose an old friend.


What's there not to love about a well-researched urban fantasy series about a hot druid and his hysterical giant pet dog?

What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (113): The Sea King by C.L. Wilson

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.



Title: The Sea King (Weathermages of Mystral #2)
Author: C.L. Wilson
Publisher: Avon (HarperCollins)
Release Date: July 15, 2016
He wasn't supposed to choose her...

Seafaring prince Dilys Merimydion has been invited to court the three magical princesses of Summerlea. To eradicate the pirates threatening Calberna and to secure the power of the Sea Throne, Dilys vows to return home with a fierce warrior-queen as his bride. But politics has nothing to do with unexpected temptation.

She didn't dare wed him...

A weathermage like her sisters, Gabriella Coruscate's gentleness exemplifies the qualities of her season name, Summer. Yet her quiet poise conceals dangerous powers she cannot begin to wield. Better to live without excitement, she reasons, than risk her heart and lose control— until an irresistible Sealord jolts her awake with a thunderclap of raw desire.

Until evil threatens everything they hold dear...

When pirates kidnap Summer and her sisters, Dilys is in a desperate quest to save the woman he loves. Only by combining his command of the seas with the unleashed fury of Summer's formidable gifts can they defeat their brutal enemies and claim the most priceless victory of all: true love.


I did not even know that Fantasy Romance was a genre until I stumbled across C.L. Wilson's Tairen Soul series. Then, it took me less than a week to devour all five books. I immediately jumped on her next book, the first in this series, The Winter King. Although I'm sad that The Sea King will not be out for another year, I'm glad that she delayed the release to do further work on the book. While researching for this week's WOW, I did discover that Wilson will be writing another book in the Tairen Soul series, which resulted in a loud-pitched squee. I really wish that I could find another author like C.L. Wilson, so that I could read amazing novels like these all the time.

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: In the Air Tonight by Lori Handeland (ARC) @SMPRomance

Title: In the Air Tonight (Sisters of the Craft #1)
Author: Lori Handeland
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (Macmillan)
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Acquired Via: NetGalley
Four centuries ago, in a small Scottish village, three baby girls escaped the wrath of a witch hunter. Today, one young woman will learn about her secret history, her heart's destiny, and the sisters she never knew she had...

With her blue-black hair and dark eyes, Raye Larsen has never fit in with the Scandinavian community of New Bergin, Wisconsin. Being adopted is part of the reason she feels like an outsider, but what really sets Raye apart is her ability to see dead people. Everywhere.

She’s learned to keep her visions to herself . . . until she stumbles onto the ghost of a murder victim who needs Raye’s help. Enter Bobby Doucet, a distractingly handsome homicide detective who has been tracking a killer all the way from New Orleans. Could this be the break in his case he’s been looking for all along?

Meanwhile, the deeper Raye gets involved with the case—and with Bobby—the closer she comes to unlocking the mystery of her own origins. What she discovers about herself could destroy everything she knows . . . and everyone she loves. Is finding the truth worth the risk?

My Review

It should come as no surprise that I immediately wanted to read In the Air Tonight, as it involves three sister witches. As it has more than a few commonalities with my guilty pleasure Charmed, In the Air Tonight was a quick and entertaining read for me.

Waiting on Wednesday (112): Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes

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.



Title: Frozen Tides (Falling Kingdoms #4)
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: December 15,2015
The plans are laid and the players are determined…but nothing can prepare these unlikely warriors for what the elemental gods of Mytica have in store.

CLEO: Reeling after a shocking realization about Magnus, Princess Cleo must cast aside her feelings and look toward her kingdom with the eyes of a queen.

MAGNUS: The steely prince of Limeros is once again torn between love and duty, leaving him wondering whether he’s strong enough to rule his people.

LUCIA: Heartbroken and blind with fury, the betrayed sorceress allies with the awoken Fire god, who also seeks revenge.

JONAS: The defeated rebel leader reunites with Princess Cleo, only to become a pawn in the dangerous hunt for the elusive Kindred.

KING GAIUS: A desperate King of Blood flees Mytica and sails to Kraeshia, where he attempts to ally with the famously brutal emperor across the Silver Sea.


Is it a shame that I only read the second book in this series because these covers are just absolutely gorgeous? I'm glad I stuck with it though, because I'm hooked now. Have you ever continued on in a series because the covers were too pretty or because everyone else loved the series so you were convinced to give it another try?

What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (110): Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

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.



Title: Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1)
Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen (Macmillan)
Release Date: January 5, 2016
On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.


So, I didn't like Dennard's first series, Something Strange and Deadly, but that was probably only because it's about zombies, and there's a love story centering on a zombie. I can deal with killing zombies Resident Evil-style, but I just can't get on board with a zombie romance. Yuck.

But, then the cover released, and I'm totally judging and lusting about this cover. Then, my massive crush on Sarah J. Maas went into overdrive after we went to her author signing in NOLA. And, Maas and Dennard are best friends, and Maas kept talking about how cool Dennard is and how much she helped her when she was having trouble writing A Court of Roses and Thorns. And then, I signed up for Dennard's emails, and she IS a really awesome person. So pretty much, I have decided it's necessary that I love this book. Oh, and it's about witches....

What are you waiting on this week?

Audiobook Review: Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

Title: Huntress Moon (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers #1)
Author: Alexandra Sokoloff
Narrator: R.C. Bray
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (Amazon)
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Acquired Via: Author
FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke is closing in on a bust of a major criminal organization in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can’t believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who appears to have been present at each scene of a years-long string of “accidents” and murders, and who may well be that most rare of killers: a female serial.

Roarke’s hunt for her takes him across three states...while in a small coastal town, a young father and his five-year old son, both wounded from a recent divorce, encounter a lost and compelling young woman on the beach and strike up an unlikely friendship without realizing how deadly she may be.

As Roarke uncovers the shocking truth of her background, he realizes she is on a mission of her own, and must race to capture her before more blood is shed.

My Review

Huntress Moon and Blood Moon are part of today's Kindle Daily Deal on Amazon. Today only, each is only $1.99.

I think there's a general rule regarding reading/movies/media consumption tastes and professions: lawyers and cops can't watch legal shows and doctors don't watch medical dramas. So, one of the main reasons I like urban fantasy so much is that they combine police procedurals with paranormal for a mix that is so unbelievable, it works for me. However, when Alexandra Sokoloff approached the blog about reviewing Huntress Moon, I actually jumped at the chance.

Waiting on Wednesday (109): The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

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.



Title: The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1)
Author: Jim Butcher
Publisher: Roc (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: September 19, 2015
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.

And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake...


Jim Butcher writing steampunk! Squee! This does remind me that I still need to finish his Codex Alera series...
What are you waiting on this week?

Review: The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker (ARC) @TheNovl #TheWitchHunter #yalit @littlebrown

Title: The Witch Hunter (The Witch Hunter #1)
Author: Virginia Boecker
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (Hachette)
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Acquired Via: NOVL
The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.

Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear.

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.

Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.

But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.

My Review

I was really excited to read The Witch Hunter, obviously, because my favorite paranormal creatures are witches. While it didn't exactly wow me, The Witch Hunter was a solid historical and paranormal YA.

The beginning is slower than the rest of the story, which may have been why I was a little underwhelmed. Although I did enjoy the beginning, I wasn't sucked in to the point of not being able to put the book down. When I picked it up again, I enjoyed myself, but there was no compulsion that I NEEDED to be reading it at all times. Once the prophecy comes out, the story starts to unfold rapidly, and the last third of the book goes by in a blink of an eye.

Review: The Shadow Revolution by Clay and Susan Griffith

Title: The Shadow Revolution (Crown & Key #1)
Authors: Clay and Susan Griffith
Publisher: Del Rey (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: June 2, 2015
They are the realm’s last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they’re going to need a lot more silver.

As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.

After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

My Review

I jumped at the chance to read The Shadow Revolution, because I really enjoyed the other of the Griffith's series that I read, Vampire Empire. Plus, I really love a good steampunk novel done right. I'll blame it on Sean Connery and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. :) (Yes, I know the movie is terrible, but it's Sean Connery).

Blog Tour (Interview): The Shadow Revolution by Clay and Susan Griffith @emilyisayeff @penguinrandom @clayandsusan

Title: The Shadow Revolution (Crown & Key #1)
Authors: Clay and Susan Griffith
Publisher: Del Rey (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: June 2, 2015
They are the realm’s last, best defense against supernatural evil. But they’re going to need a lot more silver.

As fog descends, obscuring the gas lamps of Victorian London, werewolves prowl the shadows of back alleys. But they have infiltrated the inner circles of upper-crust society as well. Only a handful of specially gifted practitioners are equipped to battle the beasts. Among them are the roguish Simon Archer, who conceals his powers as a spell-casting scribe behind the smooth veneer of a dashing playboy; his layabout mentor, Nick Barker, who prefers a good pub to thrilling heroics; and the self-possessed alchemist Kate Anstruther, who is equally at home in a ballroom as she is on a battlefield.

After a lycanthrope targets Kate’s vulnerable younger sister, the three join forces with fierce Scottish monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane—but quickly discover they’re dealing with a threat far greater than anything they ever imagined.

Interview

Amber: How does the writing process go for your writing duo - do you each take a scene, chapter or character or is it a complete collaboration?

Clay and Susan: We start with a very thorough outline, detailing the plot down to the chapters. From there we each take a couple of chapters and start writing, making sure we don’t ever write too far ahead of the other, because sometimes inspiration occurs and we may need to make changes to the plot we’ve already drafted. Throughout the process, we hand the written chapters back and forth to be edited by the other so our two distinct voices become something new.

Amber: What draws you to the steampunk genre?

Early Review: The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (ARC)

Title: The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling #2)
Author: Erika Johansen
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion.

But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling —and that of Kelsea’s own soul—may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out.

My Review

Read our reviews of the first book, Queen of the Tearling, here:
Amber
Kayla

The Invasion of the Tearling was a much better book than The Queen of the Tearling, although it took a little while to get there, and I really liked The Queen of the Tearling. The book opens with a character that I really didn’t remember from the first book, and honestly didn't care about. His name was Hall, and he was a Tearling solider. I just wanted to read about Kelsea and the Fetch. I'm so sad that there was only one real Fetch scene, and it was way too short. There better be more Fetch scenes in the third book, that's all I'm saying.

Review: The Novice by Taran Matharu (ARC) #yalit

Title: The Novice (Summoner #1)
Author: Taran Matharu
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan)
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.

As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.

My Review

The Novice felt like it was a video game trying to be a book, which should have been perfect for me. Every time I picked up the book and read about orcs, mana and demons in the students' roster, I picked up my newest gaming obsession - Final Fantasy Record Keeper. This meant that this book took me about three times longer than necessary to read.

Waiting on Wednesday (107): Autumn Thorns by Yasmine Galenorn

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.



Title: Autumn Thorns (Whisper Hollow #1)
Author: Yasmine Galenorn
Publisher: Jove (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Fifteen years ago, I ran away from Whisper Hollow, Washington, a small town on Crescent Lake in the Olympic Peninsula. But truth is, if you were born here, you can never really leave. I’m Kerris Fellwater, and when I returned, I inherited my grandmother’s house—and her gift. As a spirit shaman, it’s my responsibility to drive the dead back to their graves, because around Whisper Hollow, people—and secrets—don’t always stay buried.

When I was little, I was told my mother ran off. But now it looks like she was murdered. With the help of my mysterious neighbor Bryan, we begin to unravel the mystery of her disappearance, and in doing so, unearth a dark force seeking to bury Whisper Hollow. Now I must work with the dead, rather than against them, because our enemy will do whatever she can to destroy the town, and she means to start with me.


I never finished Galenorn's Sisters of the Moon series; I think I stopped aroudn book 7. I really liked the world, the three main characters and the magic, but I think I was too much of a prude for the series. I just love the premise to this one though, AND it has a deliciously creepy cover....and it's releasing right before Halloween! I kind of can't pass up an urban fantasy book with gravestones on the cover that will release 4 days before Halloween.

Marketing - 1, Amber - 0.

What are you waiting on this week?

Promo Blitz: Bitter Sweet Love by R.C. Stephens #free #GetItNow #BitterSweetLove #RCStephens

Title: Bitter Sweet Love (Twisted #1)
Author: R.C. Stevens
Publisher: Self
Release Date: January 18, 2015
After enduring an abusive childhood and having her heart broken by the only boy she trusts, Alexis White vows to never let anyone hurt her again. She's left her troubled past behind and starts a new life at college. For the past seven years, her social calendar has been filled with frat parties, drinking, and meaningless sexual hook-ups. Until one night she unexpectedly gets saved by a tall, dark, and handsome French foreigner, Luc Blanchard. He's charming, sophisticated, and very interested in Lexi, who has presented herself as a challenge when she tells him relationships aren't her thing.

She finds herself sucked in by his own intriguing past. But everything changes when Dylan Priestley, the gorgeous boy who broke her heart and shattered her faith in friendship and love, suddenly shows up in her life again while back home on a visit. Dylan doesn't hide his feelings for Lexi, but she can't forgive or forget being betrayed by the one person she ever truly loved.

Despite the pain Dylan's caused her, Lexi is once again drawn to the blue-eyed-boy-next-door. Will Lexi choose the man who seems perfect but hides a dark side or the boy who smashed her heart into pieces so many years ago?

Bitter Sweet Love will be free from May 15th-19th!

Buy Link
Amazon


About the Author

Waiting on Wednesday (106): Cast in Honor by Michelle Sagara

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.



Title: Cast in Honor (Chronicles of Elantra #11)
Author: Michelle Sagara
Publisher: MIRA (Harlequin)
Release Date: November 24, 2015
In the aftermath of a vicious battle between darkness and light, the city of Elantra has emerged victorious. But Shadows continue to haunt every corner of its streets...

Elantra stands strong, but countless numbers of Hawks, the city's staunchest protectors, were lost in the brutal attack. Humans, Barrani, Aerians, Leontines—none of the races emerged unscathed from the defense of the city. Homes were lost, families were scattered…and the outcast Barrani Lord Nightshade is missing from his castle in the fiefs.

Yet as the chaos surrounding the battle begins to wane, Private Kaylin Neya's duties must resume, despite her grief. Called in to investigate a triple murder in a quiet part of town, Kaylin and her companions are soon embroiled in a case that is anything but routine. Evidence of the deadly Shadows that still threaten the city leads to hints of ancient, forgotten magics. And a visit to the Oracular Halls points directly to Ravellon—the heart of the Shadows and the darkness they contain.

But it is there that Lord Nightshade will be found—if he still survives.


The Chronicles of Elantra is a solid fantasy series, and I can't wait to read the next one. The world has a really cool concept, and it's one that I really hadn't quite seen before. It was a little hard to grasp for the first book, but by the third book I was hooked. The series is even better on audio, because the fabulous Khristine Hvam narrates. I need to check out Sagara's other series, which she sometimes writes as Michelle Sagara West or Michelle West.

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (ARC) @PenguinTeen #yalit #FirstToRead

Title: Saint Anything
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Acquired Via: First to Read
Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

My Review

I am a newer convert to the Sarah Dessen cult following, but I have loved almost everything I have read by her, and I enjoyed her newest as well. Saint Anything has that Sarah Dessen touch with the focus on family and friends in a believable coming of age story, but it's darker than any other Dessen novel I've read (I have only not read Dreamland). However, even with the darker touches, I still closed the novel with a smile on my face.

Waiting on Wednesday (105): A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

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.



Title: A Thousand Nights
Author: E.K. Johnston
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (Hachette)
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.


The cover is sooooo pretty! Plus, I love a good retelling so I can't want to get my hands on this.

What are you waiting on this week?