Monday, August 31, 2015

September 2015 : Upcoming Events!



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September 1st: YA Book Review - Matched by  Ally Condie
                                Book Births - Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
                                            Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
                                            Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith
                                            Shades of Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon
                                            Your Voice Is All I Hear by Leah Scheier
                                            Hold On by Kristen Ashley
                                            Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers

September 4th: Book Sale: The Mark Twain Library, Redding, CT  - BIG Sale
                                                                         60,000+ items!

September 8th: YA Book Review - Stork by Wendy Delsol
                                Book Birth - The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis

September 11th: Feature Friday ARC Review - Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas

September 11-12th: Book Sale: New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY  - 
                                                                         ~3,000 books!

September 12th: Book Sale: Friends of Scarsdale Library, Scarsdale, NY  - BIG Sale
                                                                         ~55,000 books!

September 13th: Bookish Birthdays: Bella Swan; (Paul Walker)

September 15th: YA Book Review - Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
                                   Book SaleWhittemore Library, Penfield, CT  - BIG Sale
                                                                         80,000+ items!
                                   Book Births - Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas
                                                           Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
                                                           The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore

September 18-19th: Book Sale: Greenburg Library, Elmsford, NY  - BIG Sale
                                                                         18,000+ books!
                                          Bookish Movie Releases: Maze Runner: Scorch Trials

September 19th: Bookish Birthday: Hermione Granger

September 22nd: YA Book Review - Sharing Sam by Katherine Applegate
                                     Book Births - Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
                                                              Beastly Bones by William Ritter
                                                              This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzie Lee
                                                              Dreamland by Robert L. Anderson

September 29th: YA Book Review - Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
                                     Book Births - Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
                                                             Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics
                                                             Menagerie by Rachel Vincent
                                                             Madly by Amy Alward



*Book Sale info courtesy of Book Sale Finder*

Happy Reading!




Thursday, August 27, 2015

Cover Reveal! Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry


Hey Bookies! If you know anything about me, it's that Katie McGarry is one of my favorite authors. So, when I heard she has a new series, Thunder Road, coming out, I nearly lost my mind. Nowhere But Here is being pitched as West Side Story meets Sons of Anarchy . . . what more do you need to know? And the Thunder Road sequel, Walk the Edge will be released next year. However, the cover has been released this month!
Details:
PublisherHarlequin Teen
Publication dateMarch 30th 2016 
Pages: 384
Pre-orderAmazon

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for! Are you ready? The cover of Walk the Edge . . .
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If that beautiful cover isn't enough (how could it not be enough?), I have another treat for you, Bookies! Take a special look at an excerpt from Walk the Edge!


EXCERPT provided by Happy Ever After :
There are certain common-sense rules all girls in town comprehend. It’s not knowledge that has to be taught. In fact, sitting here on the top step to the entrance of my high school and watching this potential disaster unfold, I search my memory for the first person who mentioned I should stay clear of the Reign of Terror Motorcycle Club.
Because when it pertains to the threat that is the Reign of Terror MC, it’s not learned, it’s known. Like how an infant understands how to suck in a breath at the moment of birth or how a newborn foal wobbles to his legs. It’s instinctual. It’s ingrained. It’s fact.
“Do you think his motorcycle will work this time?” Addison asks.
“Hope so,” I breathe out, too terrified to speak at a normal level out of fear that we’ll draw the scrutiny of the men wearing black leather vests circling the broken-down bike. Reign of Terrorarches over the top of the black vest; in the middle is a half skull with far too much fire in and around it. It’s ominous and I shiver.
It’s edging toward nine in the evening, but the August sun hasn’t completely set. Darkness, though, has claimed most of the sky. Temperatures during the afternoon hit over a hundred and I swear the concrete stairs and pillar absorbed every ounce of today’s sunshine and are now transferring the heat onto my body.
Sweat rolls down my back and I shift to peel my thighs off the step. Why I thought it was a fantastic idea to wear a jean skirt, I have no idea.
I take that back. I do have an idea. Tonight is the first time my entire grade has been together in one room since the end of last year. My goal for the year may seem simple to some, but to me, it sometimes feels impossible. I’d like to be seen, to be known as something more than “freakishly smart Breanna Miller” at least once before I leave this town. I’d like to somehow find the courage to be on the outside who I am on the inside.
An annoying sixth sense informs me that I’m about to make a huge impression—on the evening news. Two friends on the verge of starting their senior year vanish without a trace. Because that’s how motorcycle clubs would handle this—they’ll kidnap us and then hide our bodies after they’re finished with whatever ritual act they’ll use us to perform.
One of the gang members stands from his crouched position at the motorcycle and the guy we attend school with inserts a key and holds on to the handlebar of the bike. As he twists it, I pray the motor will purr to life.
My heart leaps, then plummets past my toes and into the ground when the motorcycle cuts off with a sound similar to a gunshot. Addison’s head falls forward, and I bite my lip to prevent the internal screaming from becoming external chaos.
Addison pulls her phone out of her purse and taps the screen. “I’m texting Reagan. If we go missing, I’m telling her to point the finger at Thomas Turner and his band of Merry Men.”
Thomas Turner. He’s the guy that swore loudly the moment his motorcycle’s engine died again. Thomas is the name called on the first day of school by our teachers, but it’s not the name he responds to. He goes by his “road name,” Razor.
He glances over his shoulder straight at me and my mouth dries out. Holy hell, it’s like he’s aware I’m thinking of him.
“Oh my God,” Addison reprimands. “Don’t make eye contact. Do you want them to come over?”
I immediately focus on my sandals. As much as every girl knows to keep a safe distance from Thomas and his crew, we’ve all snuck a glimpse. Thomas makes it easy to cave to temptation with his golden blond hair and muscles from head to toe, and he owns this sexy brooding expression a few girls have written about in poems.
My cheeks burn and there’s this heaviness as if Thomas is still looking. Through lowered lashes, I peek at him and my heart trips when our eyes meet. His eyes are blue. An icy blue. His stare causes me to be simultaneously curious and terrified. And I obviously have a death wish because I can’t tear my gaze away…
Want to get to know the mastermind behind Walk the Edge better? Meet Katie McGarry!

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON,  BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.
Links:

Happy Reading!





*Disclaimer: I do not own any images in this post*
Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Wishlist Wednesday #45


*Wishlist Wednesday is where you show a book that has been on your wishlist/TBR list for a while, the meme is hosted by Pen to Paper*


Forget Me by Kim Harrington

Publisher
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 7, 2014
Pages: 288

The Story:

Two names. One face. A dangerous secret exposed.
 
Morgan never minded her boyfriend Flynn’s dark and private nature. She found it mysterious and alluring. But now he’s dead, and she can’t move on. She feels much like her dying town, River’s End, with its overgrown amusement park and abandoned houses: once happy . . . now fading away.

Hoping for some closure, Morgan uploads her only picture of Flynn to the social media site FriendShare along with a note to say good-bye. But she’s shocked when the facial recognition software suggests she tag him as Evan Murphy. She’s never heard of Evan. A quick search reveals that he lives in a nearby town and looks exactly like Flynn. Same eyes, nose, jawline. Only this boy is very much alive. Digging through layers of secrets, Morgan questions everything she thought she knew about her town, her boyfriend, and even her parents’ involvement in this massive web of lies.

Forget Me is a heart-pounding novel that draws you in and keeps you guessing until the very end.


-via Amazon






Meet the Author

Kim Harrington lives in Massachusetts with her husband and son. When not writing, she's most likely reading, watching one of her favorite TV shows, or fantasizing about her next vacation. Visit her on the web at www.kimharringtonbooks.com.





Want to see my entire Wishlist? Check it out on Amazon: Books I Dream About

Happy Reading!

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Review : Rachel's Deception by Karen Ann Hopkins

*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Publisher
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Release Date: May 8, 2015
Pages: 324
Source: Own

The Story:

"I loved joining Rose and Noah during their journey in the Temptation series by Karen Hopkins."-Katie McGarry, acclaimed YA author
Growing up Amish is difficult…but leaving it behind is even harder.
Noah was Amish...Rose wasn't. Being together should have been impossible. But somehow they found a way to make it work. They are finally a family, but their happily-ever-after is still a long off. Will Rose and her friends be able to force real change in the community?
Karen Ann Hopkins returns with a gripping new book in the YA Temptation series. The powerful family saga continues with Rachel's Deception, as events spiral out of control in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview. And Rachel Miller has her own secrets to hide. Noah’s younger sister has been living a double life. That is, until Justin Cameron, Rose's little brother, catches her in the act. Rachel is not the obedient Amish girl that her sister was, and her rebelliousness takes her to a very dangerous world. A world that only her true friends can help her escape from.
As Rachel questions all she has been taught about love, family, and commitment, Rose discovers what it really means to be shunned. And an evil shadow looms on the horizon, threatening not only Rose, but everyone she holds dear.
via Amazon

Rating
THREE Gold Stars!!!



My Review

Honestly, I was disappointed with 
Rachel's Deception. I absolutely adored first three books of the series. But did not quite capture my attention. Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed it, only it did not have the same spark the first books did. I suppose Rose and Noah's story is going to be hard to top - which is no surprise since it was an amazing one. Nevertheless, I will continue to read the series as long as Hopkins releases them.

Tag Line:

Growing up Amish is difficult . . . but leaving it behind is even harder.

Opening Line:

I paused on the staircase to listen once more.

Plot:

Apparently in 
Rachel's Deception, Rachel -- Noah's younger sister -- is a bit of a wild child. Had no clue in the first three books in the series and appreciated it in this book. Haunted by her older sister's death, Rachel turns to alcohol to ease her grief and to keep the nightmares at bay. The story focused on Rachel's struggle to cope with the dullness of Amish life and dodging the affections of the boy who loved her sister. 

Unfortunately, nothing drastic actually happened with Rachel on the romance side. There was not a romance dilemma -- at least not to the extent I would have preferred. I thought Rose and Noah's story ended with Forever but I was so ecstatic to see them -- especially Rose -- have such a presence in Rachel's Deception. Which help alleviate the sting of Rachel's severely neglected romance dilemma.

Character Breakdown:

Rachel - I enjoyed getting to know Rachel's character. She was a feisty one and it made the story more interesting. Her struggle with trying to cope with her sister's death felt very real. And I am glad because it helped pull me in.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from 
Rachel's Deception:

Rachel"I certainly didn't want to court a boy who was still in love with my sister. It didn't matter to me that she wasn't around anymore to compete with. I wanted to be the greatest love of a man's heart -- not second best" [page 78]. 


Meet the Author:


You can visit Karen Ann Hopkins at her website: www.karenannhopkins.com. 

Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats. Karen's main job is home schooling the kids, but she finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write. She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lived in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove her to create the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah. 

Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York. She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse at the age of eleven. The feisty horse's name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen's steadfast companion. Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses. Eventually, she found her place as a riding instructor herself. Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. 

Karen is currently working on her Amish mystery series, Serenity's Plain Secrets, along with the YA paranormal/fantasy series, The Wings of War and the continuation of the Temptation series. Karen is also excited to announce the Temptation series has been optioned for TV by Pilgrim Studios.


***Check out Karen Ann Hopkins' website for more information about her and the Rachel's DeceptionHERE

Happy Reading!



Sunday, August 23, 2015

In My Mailbox #7


In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren which allows bloggers to share what books they bought/received each week.

Hey Bookies! This week will be the seventh time hosting In My Mailbox and I am so excited to share with you what I received in my mailbox recently.

Having said that, a couple of weeks ago I ordered a few* books from Book Outlet. In my big ole box of books I received 14 books for . . .  only $33.85. I usually wait for the used books to go down to $0.01 on Amazon. But ... Book Outlet had deals and a coupon I could not refuse. 





Purchased:




*If you're interested in the other books that are on my radar you can check out my Amazon Wishlist: Books I Dream About!

Happy Reading!


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Wishlist Wednesday #44


*Wishlist Wednesday is where you show a book that has been on your wishlist/TBR list for a while, the meme is hosted by Pen to Paper*


You by Caroline Kepnes

PublisherAtria/Emily Bestler Books 
Release Date: September 30, 2014
Pages: 432

The Story:

“[A] beautifully crafted thriller that will give you chills.” (People magazine)

From debut author Caroline Kepnes comes You, one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2014, and a brilliant and terrifying novel for the social media age.

When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age. You is a compulsively readable page-turner that’s being compared to Gone GirlAmerican Psycho, and Stephen King’s Misery.


-via Amazon





Meet the Author

Caroline Kepnes is a native of Cape Cod and the author of many published short stories. She has covered pop culture for Entertainment WeeklyTiger Beat, E! Online, and Yahoo. She has also written for television shows, including 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Her directorial debut short film, Miles Away, premiered at the Woods Hole Film Festival. Caroline is a Brown University graduate now residing in Los Angeles in the same building that the Hillside Strangler once called home. She spends a lot of time on Cape Cod.




Want to see my entire Wishlist? Check it out on Amazon: Books I Dream About

Happy Reading!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Review : Awaken by Meg Cabot

*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

PublisherScholastic, Inc.

Release Date: July 2, 2013
Pages: 336
Source: ARC

The Story:

Death has her in his clutches. She doesn't want him to let go.
Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera knew by accepting the love of John Hayden, she'd be forced to live forever in the one place she's always dreaded most: the Underworld. The sacrifice seemed worth it, though, because it meant she could be with the boy she loves.
But now her happiness -- and safety -- are threatened, all because the Furies have discovered that John has broken one of their strictest rules: He revived a human soul.
If the balance between life and death isn't fixed, both the Underworld and Pierce's home back on earth will be wiped away. But there's only one way to restore order. Someone has to die.
via Barnes & Noble

Rating
FOUR Gold Stars!!!



My Review

AHH! This is the end . . . of the Abandon trilogy. *Le sigh*. The conclusion to the trilogy is bittersweet -- bitter because it is the end and sweet because I really enjoyed the story.

Tag Line:

Death is just getting warmed up. A storm is coming.

Opening Line:

In school they told us to follow the rules.

Plot:

The action and suspense in was just what the doctor ordered. In 
Abandon readers were being introduced to the story, getting background information. In Underworld readers received a heavy dose of greek mythology with the Hades-Persephone and The Furies themes at work. But in Awaken readers are caught in the crosshairs as Pierce fights for John against The Furies who want to punish him for reviving a human soul. The balance between the realms are out of whack and Pierce must find a way to restore order which means one thing . . . Someone has to die. 

As for the romance, it was amazing! The John-Pierce feels were on overload. Readers were lucky enough to see John and Pierce grow into each other and their relationship *and fans* thanked them for it. In Underworld they put in the fight to keep each other. Not to mention, the steamy scenes are just that, steamy and swoon-worthy.

All in all, if you are a sucker for Hades-Persephone retelling, the Abandon trilogy is definitely for you. Awaken  is a great blend of action, mystery and humor with a delectable dash of romance.

Character Breakdown:

Pierce Oliviera - In Awaken readers see Pierce truly come into her own. She is very take-charge and take no prisoners. In the previous books while I did not hate Pierce, there were times when she annoyed me with her stubborn, manipulative ways.


Meet the Author:

Meg Cabot is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for both adults and tweens/teens. There have been over 25 million copies of Meg's nearly 80 published books sold in 38 countries. Her last name rhymes with habit, as in "her books can be habit forming." She currently lives in Key West, Florida with her husband and various cats. 

Meg's first ever adult book in the Princess Diaries series, "Royal Wedding", will be available in Summer 2015, along with an installment of the series for younger readers, "From the Notebook of a Middle School Princess". "Remembrance", a new book in the Mediator series will be available in February of 2016.


***Check out Meg Cabot's website for more information about her and the AwakenHERE

Happy Reading!