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 (103): Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter

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: Blood of the Earth (Soulwood #1)
Author: Faith Hunter
Publisher: Roc (Penguin)
Release Date: October 6, 2015
When Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she was almost alone in the world, exiled by both choice and fear from the cult she was raised in, defending herself with the magic she drew from her deep connection to the forest that surrounds her.

Now, Jane has referred Nell to PsyLED, a Homeland Security agency policing paranormals, and agent Rick LaFleur has shown up at Nell’s doorstep. His appearance forces her out of her isolated life into an investigation that leads to the vampire Blood Master of Nashville.

Nell has a team—and a mission. But to find the Master’s kidnapped vassal, Nell and the PsyLED team will be forced to go deep into the heart of the very cult Nell fears, infiltrating the cult and a humans-only terrorist group before time runs out


The Jane Yellowrock series is one of my favorite urban fantasy series, so I did a little happy dance when I found out that Faith Hunter was writing a spin-off series. And, we get two Jane Yellowrock universe books in one year! The only thing I'm kind of leery about is the seeming focus that Rick LaFleur might be a love interest. I'm not a Rick LaFleur fan, but maybe it will be different when he's not Jane's love interest.

What are you waiting on this week?

Audiobook Review: Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

Title: Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas #1)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Narrator: Susan Bennett
Publisher: Ace (Penguin)
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Acquired Via: Personal Collection
From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale—populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that’s how the locals prefer it...

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth...

My Review

I'm a bit of a book snob, in case you're new to the blog or haven't picked up on that yet. Though I loved both the Aurora Teagarden and Harper Connelly series by Charlaine Harris, the Southern Vampire Mysteries aka the "Sookie Stackhouse" books, left a bad taste in my mouth. It made me hesitant to pick up Midnight Crossroad though I've had a shiny, new hardcover sitting on my nightstand pile since its release day last year. And now that I've read it, I completely understand Tom Cruise's couch-jumping, and I'm hungry for more!

March is the Month to #KeepYAWeird - #Giveaway & Upcoming Twitter Chat

Our awesome friends at Penguin Teen have put together the special campaign to "Keep YA Weird" and promote unique, nontraditional books that are aimed at young people. All month long, bloggers will be reviewing "weird" books, there will be loads of giveaways, and coming up next week, a Twitter chat with six fabulous authors. Just follow the #KeepYAWeird hashtag!

About the Twitter Chat

The Keep YA Weird Twitter chat will be on March 17th at 7:00pm EST with some of everyone's favorite weird YA writers:

Andrew Smith (The Alex Crow)
Jon Skovron (Man Made Boy)
April Genevieve Tucholke (Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea)
Kat Rosenfield (Inland, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone)
Brenna Yovanoff (Paper Valentine)

Just click on the books' titles to find out more about them!

Giveaway

Review: Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop

Title: Vision in Silver (The Others #3)
Author: Anne Bishop
Publisher: Roc (Penguin)
Release Date: March 3, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
The Others freed the cassandra sangue to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep

My Review

Anne Bishop's The Others series is one of my favorite dark fantasy series, so I jumped on the chance to read and review Vision in Silver. It was everything I wanted, and I was so sad for it to end. I might reread the first two books in the series soon, because I need more Meg, Simon and the rest of the Courtyard.

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith Now Available in Paperback! #Giveaway

Last February, I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing Andrew Smith's Grasshopper Jungle. Here's a excerpt from my review:

"Grasshopper Jungle ... is pretty gross, but definitely unique. How it began was most certainly strange, and the taking over of the bugs was a little more graphic than what I've seen in YA before. (Not a bad thing.) It made me think of a really campy B movie, which is a compliment. I was never tense or scared, but it was a fun ickfest.

Grasshopper Jungle is gross, weird, unique, and something that I think both teens and adults will love. I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and I will be reading Andrew Winger's past works.

In celebration of Grasshopper Jungle's paperback release yesterday (and in anticipation of their really fun upcoming campaign), our friends at Penguin has provided me with a copy to give away. You can read more about the book below, and be sure to come back next month for more giveaways and a review of Smith's newest novel, The Alex Crow!

About the Book



Title: Grasshopper Jungle
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Speak (Penguin)
Paperback Release Date: February 17, 2015
“Raunchy, bizarre, smart and compelling.” –Rolling Stone

“Grasshopper Jungle is simultaneously creepy and hilarious. Reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut’s in 'Slaughterhouse Five,' in the best sense.” –New York Times Book Review

In the small town of Ealing, Iowa, Austin and his best friend, Robby, have accidentally unleashed an unstoppable army. An army of horny, hungry, six-foot-tall praying mantises that only want to do two things.

This is the truth. This is history.
It’s the end of the world. And nobody knows anything about it.
You know what I mean.

Funny, intense, complex, and brave, Grasshopper Jungle brilliantly weaves together everything from testicle-dissolving genetically modified corn to the struggles of recession-era, small-town America in this groundbreaking coming-of-age stunner.

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Book Depository | Indiebound


About the Author

Review: Landry Park by Bethany Hagen #Giveaway

Title: Landry Park (Landry Park #1)
Author: Bethany Hagen
Publisher: Speak (Penguin)
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Acquired Via: Publisher
Downton Abbey meets The Selection in this dystopian tale of love and betrayal

Sixteen-year-old Madeline Landry is practically Gentry royalty. Her ancestor developed the nuclear energy that has replaced electricity, and her parents exemplify the glamour of the upper class. As for Madeline, she would much rather read a book than attend yet another debutante ball. But when she learns about the devastating impact the Gentry lifestyle—her lifestyle—is having on those less fortunate, her whole world is turned upside down. As Madeline begins to question everything she has been told, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana, who seems to be hiding secrets of his own. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty—her family and the estate she loves dearly—and desire.

Fans of Ally Condie, Kiera Cass, Veronica Roth, and even Jane Austen will be enthralled by this breathtaking read.

My Review

There's not really much better than receiving the occasional, surprise finished copy of a book in the mail from a publisher. The new paperback of Landry Park was so shiny and pretty that I had to, of course, move it to the top of my reading pile. I had been interested in the novel when it first released in hardcover last year, but time did not allow for me to read it. I jumped at the chance this time.

Review: Gunpowder Alchemy by Jeannie Lin

Title: Gunpowder Alchemy (The Gunpowder Chronicles #1)
Author: Jeannie Lin
Publisher: InterMix (Penguin)
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Acquired Via: NetGalley
In 1842, the gunpowder might of China’s Qing Dynasty fell to Britain’s steam engines. Furious, the Emperor ordered the death of his engineers—and killed China’s best chance of fighting back...

Since her father’s execution eight years ago, Jin Soling kept her family from falling into poverty. But her meager savings are running out, leaving her with no choice but to sell the last of her father’s possessions—her last memento of him.

Only, while attempting to find a buyer, Soling is caught and brought before the Crown Prince. Unlike his father, the Emperor, the Prince knows that the only chance of expelling the English invaders is to once again unite China’s cleverest minds to create fantastic weapons. He also realizes that Soling is the one person who could convince her father’s former allies—many who have turned rebel—to once again work for the Empire. He promises to restore her family name if she’ll help him in his cause.

But after the betrayal of her family all those years ago, Soling is unsure if she can trust anyone in the Forbidden City—even if her heart is longing to believe in the engineer with a hidden past who was once meant to be her

My Review

Gunpowder Alchemy was an entertaining steampunk adventure. 8 years ago, Soling's father was executed by the emperor when he failed to stop England's invasion of China. Once a prominent family, Soling, her mother, her brother and their like-family nurse are now living in a shack, while Soling's mother is addicted to opium and Soling is a physician's assistant to make ends meet. When the money runs out, Soling decides to pawn one of her father's last possessions and accidentally comes to the attention of the emperor's son. She is asked to participate in the new war against the rebels and, partially, further English invasion. Soling doesn't want to help the government who murdered her father for his service, but she has no choice, and she's drawn to her former betrothed, Chang-wei. What follows next is an adventure through the ports and cities of mid-1800s China while Soling and Chang-wei try to stay alive and stop an empire from falling to war.

Waiting on Wednesday (88): Dove Arising by Karen Bao

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: Dove Arising (Dove Chronicles #1)
Author: Karen Bao
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (Penguin)
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Phaet Theta has lived her whole life in a colony on the Moon. She’s barely spoken since her father died in an accident nine years ago. She cultivates the plants in Greenhouse 22, lets her best friend talk for her, and stays off the government’s radar.

Then her mother is arrested.

The only way to save her younger siblings from the degrading Shelter is by enlisting in the Militia, the faceless army that polices the Lunar bases and protects them from attacks by desperate Earth-dwellers. Training is brutal, but it’s where Phaet forms an uneasy but meaningful alliance with the preternaturally accomplished Wes, a fellow outsider.

Rank high, save her siblings, free her mom: that’s the plan. Until Phaet’s logically ordered world begins to crumble...

Suspenseful, intelligent, and hauntingly prescient, Dove Arising stands on the shoulders of our greatest tales of the future to tell a story that is all too relevant today.


I'm generally hit or miss when it comes to outer space science fiction, but this looks really good.

What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (85): Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

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: Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1)
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: NAL (Penguin)
Release Date: July 7, 2015
In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time...

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn...


I would have been interested in anything that Rachel Caine writes, but this book just makes me bubble with excitement. The Great Library of Alexandria! Book burning! Oppression of books! Plus, the cover is just gorgeous

What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (80): Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews

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: Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels #8)
Author: Ilona Andrews
Publisher: Ace Books (Penguin)
Release Date: August 4, 2015
In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece...


The newest Kate book has a cover! I have no idea where this series is going after the last book. Ilona Andrews said that the last book was the end of a story arc, but not the end of the series. After this book, there will only be two more until the end of the series. I might cry when this series ends.

What are you waiting on this week?

Audiobook Review: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Title: The Magicians (The Magicians #1)
Author: Lev Grossman
Narrator: Mark Bramhall
Publisher: Viking Books (Penguin)
Release Date: August 11, 2009
Acquired Via: Publisher
A thrilling and original coming-of- age novel about a young man practicing magic in the real world.

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he's still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn't bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation, he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin's fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.

At once psychologically piercing and magnificently absorbing, The Magicians boldly moves into uncharted literary territory, imagining magic as practiced by real people, with their capricious desires and volatile emotions. Lev Grossman creates an utterly original world in which good and evil aren't black and white, love and sex aren't simple or innocent, and power comes at a terrible price.

My Review

I was somewhat aware of the existence of The Magicians, but I only decided to read it after a publicist at ALA firmly and fervently pressed a copy of The Magician's Land into my hands. I figured the least I could do for someone who felt so strongly about a particular series is to at least give it a chance.

I am kicking myself for not picking up this series years ago.

Waiting on Wednesday: Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop

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: Vision in Silver (The Others #3)
Author: Anne Bishop
Publisher: Roc (Penguin)
Release Date: March 3, 2015
The Others freed the cassandra sangue to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before—both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep…


Anne Bishop is one of the best dark fantasy authors I have ever read. Written in Red was the first book I read by Anne Bishop, and I absolutely loved it. Murder of Crows was the perfect follow-up, so I have high expectations for Vision in Silver. This world is just phenomenal with its human-eating monsters. I had thought that this was just going to be a trilogy but I'm so excited that it looks like there are going to be 5 books.

What are you waiting on this week?

Blog Tour (Review): Inglorious Royal Marriages by Leslie Carroll

Title: Inglorious Royal Marriages: A Demi-Millennium of Unholy Mismatrimony
Author: Leslie Carroll
Publisher: NAL Trade (Penguin)
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Acquired Via: Historical Fiction Blog Tours
It’s no secret that the marriages of monarchs are often made in hell. Here are some of the most spectacular mismatches in five hundred years of royal history...

In a world where many kings, queens, and princes lacked nothing but true love, marital mismatches could bring out the baddest, boldest behavior in the bluest of bloodlines. Margaret Tudor, her niece Mary I, and Catherine of Braganza were desperately in love with chronically unfaithful husbands, but at least they weren’t murdered by them, as were two of the Medici princesses were. King Charles II’s beautiful, high-spirited sister “Minette” wed Louis XIV’s younger brother, who wore more makeup and perfume than she did. Forced to wed her boring, jug-eared cousin Ferdinand, Marie of Roumania—a granddaughter of Queen Victoria—proved herself one of the heroines of World War I by using her prodigious personal charm to regain massive amounts of land during the peace talks at Versailles.

Brimming with outrageous real-life stories of royal marriages gone wrong, this is an entertaining, unforgettable book of dubious matches doomed from the start.

Praise for Leslie Carroll’s Royal Books

An irresistible combination of People magazine and the History Channel.” —Chicago Tribune (5 Stars)

“Thoroughly enjoyable.” —Booklist

“For those who tackled Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, and can’t get enough of the scandal surrounding Henry VIII’s wives, [Notorious Royal Marriages is] the perfect companion book.” —NewYorker.com

My Review

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times - I love history. I don't even mind non-fiction when I'm not in school. That being said, Inglorious Royal Marriages: A Demi-Millennium of Unholy Mismatrimony is probably my favorite non-fiction read in a long time because when royals mix with history, I'm like a moth being drawn to fire.

Review: Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

Title: Fiendish
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)
Release Date: August 14, 2014
Acquired Via: First to Read
Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten.

Now she’s out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why.

When Clementine was a child, dangerous and inexplicable things started happening in New South Bend. The townsfolk blamed the fiendish people out in the Willows and burned their homes to the ground. But magic kept Clementine alive, walled up in the cellar for ten years, until a boy named Fisher sets her free. Back in the world, Clementine sets out to discover what happened all those years ago. But the truth gets muddled in her dangerous attraction to Fisher, the politics of New South Bend, and the Hollow, a fickle and terrifying place that seems increasingly temperamental ever since Clementine reemerged.

My Review

When I first saw that wonderfully creepy cover, I just knew that I had to read Fiendish. The author combines a lot of elements with magical realism and the result is a beautifully written, creepy take on small town life. There's a little bit of tarot cards mixed with witches but with a little bit hillbilly thrown in as well. Add in some young star-crossed lovers and small-town prejudices. Speaking of tarot cards, this is one of several books I've read this year concerning the mystical cards, and I'm really liking all the different translations and uses of the cards. But all this adds up to a great take on magical realism that is just a little bit shy of horror. I loved the mix of bold and subtle changes of normal mysticism and magic from witches to "craft" and the elements to Dirt, Creek, Heat, Light and Breath, among others.

Waiting on Wednesday (65): I Was Here by Gayle Forman

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: I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (Penguin)
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Cody and Meg were inseparable.
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.


Gayle Forman's If I Stay is the only reason I consider reading books about loss and grief. Her follow-up, Where She Went, and her next series, Just One Day, convinced me that Forman is one of the best YA authors I've read and put her on my auto-read list. Since this comes out on my birthday, I'll be buying this as a birthday present.

What are you waiting on this week?

Blog Tour (Guest Post): Scan by Walter Jury & Sarah Fine

Title: Scan (Scan #1)
Authors: Walter Jury & Sarah Fine
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin)
Release Date: May 1, 2014
Tate and his father don’t exactly get along. As Tate sees it, his father has unreasonably high expectations for Tate to be the best—at everything. Tate finally learns what he’s being prepared for when he steals one of his dad’s odd tech inventions and mercenaries ambush his school, killing his father and sending Tate on the run from aliens who look just like humans.

All Tate knows—like how to make weapons out of oranges and lighter fluid—may not be enough to save him as he’s plunged into a secret interspecies conflict that’s been going on for centuries. Aided only by his girlfriend and his estranged mother, with powerful enemies closing in on all sides, Tate races to puzzle out the secret behind his father’s invention and why so many are willing to kill for it.

A riveting, fast-paced adventure, Scan is a clever alien thriller with muscle and heart.

Guest Post

The Easiest and Most Difficult Scenes to Write in Scan
Walter Jury
(SPOILER ALERT--this post contains some spoilers.)

My favorite scene to write was the final set piece. Without giving away any plot points, it is a major action sequence that involves Tate and his primary pursuer in a very fun location that, while it is described in detail, still allows for the imagination to run wild. With Tate's skills that we establish early on, we get a real sense of how high the stakes are and how far he can progress with his Dad's tutelage and influence guiding him.


Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1)
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books (Penguin)
Acquired Via: Library
Release Date: December 2, 2010
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris – until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he’s taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near – misses end with the French kiss Anna – and readers – have long awaited?

You can read the digital chapter sampler of Anna and the French Kiss here: http://bit.ly/ANNASampler

My Review

Oh.

My.

Bob.

You guys. YOU GUYS! Why didn't someone hold a gun to make head and force me to read Anna and the French Kiss ages ago? Seriously?! This has to be one of the sweetest, most adorable books that I've ever had the pleasure of putting my eyes to. Also, Stephanie Perkins, why the hell couldn't you have written this when I was in high school?!

(By the way, this probably won't be a very coherent review. You've been warned.)

Spotlight (Excerpt & Giveaway): Then Came You by Jill Shalvis

Title: Then Came You (Animal Magnetism #5)
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publisher: Berkley (Penguin)
Release Date: July 1, 2014
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rumor Has It and the Lucky Harbor series comes the story of a woman whose world is turned upside down by one night’s torrid fling…

Veterinary intern Emily can’t believe she wound up in the small town of Sunshine, Idaho, instead of the Los Angeles clinic she had always imagined. Now she has to put her plans to move to L.A. on hold for a whole year while she fulfills the obligation of her vet school scholarship.

Then Wyatt, her gorgeous one-night stand from a Reno vet conference, introduces himself as her new boss. And Emily is just as drawn to his seductive looks and quiet strength as she was on that very steamy night. She soon learns that Wyatt isn’t just a laid-back doctor, but a delicious alpha male tempting her away from her carefully laid-out plans…

Excerpt

Emily sat on a fallen log and leaned back. When she was little, she’d loved to try to star watch. In LA, this was tricky because of all the city lights, not to mention smog. Doing it here, in the land of the big sky, was a whole new ball game. “I’m not lonely,” she said to the horse, who snorted again and swished his tail.

“Good. Cuz you’re not alone.”

Cover Reveal (Excerpt & Giveaway): Razed by Shiloh Walker

RAZED, a sexy romance by award-winning author, Shiloh Walker, is the much awaited sequel to WRECKED in the Barnes Brothers series and it releases this December from Berkley!

Take a look at the cover and let us know what you think!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of WRECKED, along with some fabulous swag!
(Yes, it’s international :))



Title: Razed (Wrecked #2)
Author: Shiloh Walker
Publisher: Berkley (Penguin)
Cover Reveal Organizer: Barclay Publicity
Release Date: December, 2014
Tattoo artist Keelie Jessup can handle that someone else has claimed the man of her dreams. She’s just not pleased with her remaining options…

Keelie doesn’t believe in the “perfect man.” But the men who are worth the trouble are usually taken—like her business partner Zach Barnes. After a string of bad luck and the lost chance with Zach, Keelie decides that maybe flying solo—and living with suppressed desires—is the key to happiness.

As a photographer, Zane Barnes has an eye for the human form, and his eyes can’t get enough of Keelie’s curves. Unfortunately, Keelie is like most women—always fawning over his little brother, Zach. Zane is about ready to give up, but then a few stolen moments at his brother's wedding have him thinking maybe there's a chance there after all. Now he just has to prove that the perfect man does exist...for her.

Excerpt

Humiliation burned in her.

Rejection turned her blood to ice while her skin shrank down about two sizes too small.

She wanted to sink into the floorboards, turn into something thin and vaporous so she could just disappear.