October 2015 : Upcoming Events!

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October 1st: Thanks-Giving Thursday - Halloween Edition Giveaway!

October 2nd: Feature Friday ARC Review: A Thousand Nights by E.K Johnston 

October 2nd-3rd: Book Sale: New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY  - 

                                                                         ~3,000 books!

October 5th: YA Book Review - Sharing Sam by Katherine Applegate

October 6th: Teaser Tuesday #6
                            Book Births - Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis
                                                     A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis 
                                                    It's a Wonderful Death by Sarah J. Schmitt 
                                                    Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins
                                                    Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus 
                                                    A Step Toward Falling by Cammie McGovern
                                                    Future Perfect by Jen Larsen

October 7th: Wishlist Wednesday #51

October 8th: Bookish Birthday: Rory Gilmore

October 8-11th: Bookish Convention: New York City Comic Con!!! 
                                            Jacob Javitz Center, New York, NY 

October 10th: Book Sale: Friends of the Danbury Library at PAL, Danbury, CT

October 11th: In My Mailbox #9

October 12th: YA Book Review - Immaculate by  Katelyn Detweiler

October 13th: Book Births - The Rose Society by Marie Lu

                                                       Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

                                                       The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas

                                                       
October 14th: Wishlist Wednesday #52

October 16th-18th: Book Sale: Syosset Public Library, Syosset, NY  - 
                                                                         ~10,000 books!

October 17th-18th: Book Sale: Scarsdale Women's Club, Scarsdale, NY  - 
                                                                         ~25,000 books!

October 20th: Book Births - Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
                              Bookish Birthday: Claire Fraser

October 24th-31st: Book Sale: Katonah Village Library, Katonah, NY  - 
                                                                         ~30,000 items!

October 27th: Teaser Tuesday #7
                              Book Births - Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul

October 30th: Feature Friday ARC Review - Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

October 31st: HALLOWEEN!!!

*Book Sale info courtesy of Book Sale Finder*

Happy Reading!

Wishlist Wednesday #50

*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*

Map of Fates by Maggie Hall

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Release Date: March 8, 2015
Pages: 336 

The Story:

“A Da Vinci Code–style thriller for teens? Yes please.”—TeenVogue.com

Two weeks. 

That’s how long it took for Avery West’s ordinary life to change forever. In two weeks, she discovered she was heiress to a powerful secret society known as the Circle, learned her mother was taken hostage by the Circle’s enemies, and fell for a boy she's not allowed to love, just as she found out another was her unwelcome destiny.

Now Avery crosses oceans in private jets to hunt for clues that will uncover the truth about the Circle, setting her mom and herself free before it's too late. By her side are both the boys: Jack—steady, loyal, and determined to help her even at the expense of his own duty—and Stellan, whose connection to Avery grows stronger by the day, making her question what she believes at every turn.
 
But at the end of a desperate hunt from the islands of Greece to the red carpet at Cannes comes a discovery that not only changes everything, but could bring the whole world to its knees. And now Avery is forced to face the truth: In the world of the Circle, no one is what they seem.

-via Amazon

Meet the Author

Maggie Hall indulges her obsession with distant lands and far-flung adventures as often as she can. She has played with baby tigers in Thailand, learned to make homemade pasta in Italy, and taken thousands of miles of trains through the vibrant countryside of India. In her past life, she was a bookstore events coordinator and marketing manager, and when she's not on the other side of the world, she lives with her husband and their cats in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she watches USC football, dabbles in graphic design, and blogs about young adult literature for YA Misfits.

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

Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday #5

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just flip through your current read to a random page -- or not -- and share two teaser quotes from somewhere on said page.

This week my Teaser Tuesday quotes will be taken from my current read, A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston.

Teaser #1:

"On the tenth morning, when I woke alone in my comfortable room and was not dead, I was not surprised." - page 70

Teaser #2:

"Their fear was a delicious things, so raw and powerful that I could not steer it. It could only be consumed. Their terror gave me power, before I was strong enough to bend the men of the court to my will.By the time the law was brought to bear, I did not need the girls so much anymore: I had stores of power to last. I did not stop, though. THere was no reason to, not so long as they served their daughters up to me for the asking." - page 122

What teasers are you sharing this week?
Don't forget to tell me in the comments or on twitter; @TheTatteredPage. You can also use #A Thousand Nights on twitter if you're reading it! 
Happy Reading!

Review : After the Rain by Renee Carolina

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

Publisher: Atria Books 
Release Date: November 11, 2014
Pages: 304
Source: ARC

The Story:

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a deeply emotional contemporary romance about the second chances waiting beyond the shattered dreams of youth.

When eighteen-year-old Avelina Belo meets a charismatic cowboy the summer before her senior year of high school, she doesn’t know that accepting his invitation to dinner will lead to a whirlwind marriage three months later and an exciting new life on a Montana ranch. She also doesn’t know that, in a few short years, fate will send everything crashing down around her.

A thousand miles away and fresh out of medical school, Nate Meyers is poised to become UCLA’s next superstar heart surgeon. His laser focus is the key to his success, but it’s also his greatest liability. When a routine surgery ends in disaster, derailing his career, he’s confronted with the hard truth: there’s no one waiting for him at home, no one to help him pick up the pieces.

Regrouping on his uncle’s Montana ranch, Nate meets Avelina, a beautiful but mysterious young woman who keeps to herself and barely speaks a word. As he discovers the details of her devastating past, Avelina teaches him more about matters of the heart than he ever knew before. But can they trust each other enough to put everything on the line?

via Amazon

Rating: 

My Review: 

Opening Line:

My middle name is Jesus.

Plot:

When I read the blurb for After the Rain I was smitten. The beginning with Ava is what I wanted to read about. Teenage Latina with a horse marriage a charming cowboy after a 3-month courtship. 

My type of story ... Until their story was rushed through. 

I was perturbed by this but then I thought Ava and Nate's story would make up for it. The major plot was about two people's path to personal growth, overcoming loss and coming together -- Ava dealing with a short life full of tragedy, Nate dealing with a loss that threatens to make his brilliant career come crashing down. 

Unfortunately though, halfway through the book, I started losing interest in the story and wanted to start a different book. I truly wanted to love this story but I just could not. I had to force myself to finish. Don't get me wrong, the story wasn't bad it simply was not for me but do not let that discourage you from giving After the Rain a shot - it is worth one. 

Character Breakdown:

Avelina Belo - Ava is the embodiment of a lost, tortured soul. I could relate to her character because of the tragedy of losing the people she loved. Ava's pain felt real to me, her coping methods -- and lack thereof --  felt genuine. Having said that, I related most to Ava's character.

Nate Meyers - Nate is the prime example of the sort of doctor with skills every other doctors wants to have and the stereotype of doctor we see in the fictional world -- handsome, works to hard, no personal life, lack of bedside manner.

Meet the Author:

Renée Carlino is a screenwriter and bestselling author of New Adult and contemporary women's novels. Her books have been featured in national publications, including USA TODAY and Latina magazine. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog June. When she's not at the beach with her boys or working on her next project, she likes to spend her time reading, going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate. Learn more at www.reneecarlino.com

***Check out Renee Carolina's website for more information about her and After the Rain: HERE

Happy Reading!

Feature Friday ARC Review : Devils Unto Daughters by Amy Luckavics

*Feature Friday is a meme hosted by The Tattered Page to feature YA books that have not yet been released by reviewing them.

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

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication date: September 29, 2015

Pages: 240

Source: ARC

The Story:

When sixteen-year-old Amanda Verner's family decides to move from their small mountain cabin to the vast prairie, she hopes it is her chance for a fresh start. She can leave behind the memory of the past winter; of her sickly ma giving birth to a baby sister who cries endlessly; of the terrifying visions she saw as her sanity began to slip, the victim of cabin fever; and most of all, the memories of the boy she has been secretly meeting with as a distraction from her pain. The boy whose baby she now carries. 

When the Verners arrive at their new home, a large cabin abandoned by its previous owners, they discover the inside covered in blood. And as the days pass, it is obvious to Amanda that something isn't right on the prairie. She's heard stories of lands being tainted by evil, of men losing their minds and killing their families, and there is something strange about the doctor and his son who live in the woods on the edge of the prairie. But with the guilt and shame of her sins weighing on her, Amanda can't be sure if the true evil lies in the land, or deep within her soul.

- via Amazon

Rating: 

My Review: 

I loved this book! I could not put Daughters Unto Devils down unless I absolutely had to (only to work to make money to by more books).

Opening Line:

The first time I lay with the post boy was on a Sunday, and I broke three commandments to do it.

Plot:

The premise of Daughters Unto Devils, to me anyway, is Little House on the Prairie meets The Exorcist. I mean, come on, who would not want to read that? I was hooked from the opening line. And what an opening line it was!

The pacing was interesting. While not exactly slow, nothing really scary happened until the end. However, as I was reading I did not notice much. At least not to the extent that I could put the book down for extended periods of time. I mean I zoomed right through it -- granted it was a fairly short book -- but still I was so drawn into the book there was not a moment I did not want more.

Gritty and eloquent, I so loved Lukavics' writing. It was so refreshing to reading something not so prime and proper. Overall, Amy Lukavics is a talented writer and she has made my short auto-buy list. Daughters Unto Devils was real, frightening and I did not want it to end. Without a doubt, I recommend Daughters Unto Devils to anyone who is interested in horror - it is a must-read.

Character Breakdown:

Amanda Verners - Her character was real to me. She drew me into the story. At first, I thought she was completely nuts but as the story continued, I honestly began to sympathize with and see her more as a troubled teen growing up in a very different time. 

She is trying not to sound desperate for my sake, but still i can sense that she is pining for him. And by the way he turns around, looks into her eyes, and steps close enough to kiss her if he wanted, it's clear he feels the same way. This is when I fully realize that the post boy from the mountain never loved me at all. - pages 159-160

Pa Verners -- Oh man, did I not like this man. There were time when he was just plain mean. And I wanted to choke him.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from Daughters Unto Devils:

Ma to Amanda: "I tried and tried, but in the end there was no room for me, oh no." 
She stops eating for a moment,tilts her head curosiously. "Because you already have a devil in you, girl. I can see him whispering in your ear right now."

Sinner.  - page 213

Meet the Author:

Amy Lukavics lurks within the pine-topped mountains of Arizona, along with her husband and two precious squidlings. When she isn't reading or writing creepy stories, she enjoys cooking, crafting, and playing video games. Daughters Unto Devils is her debut novel.

***Check out Amy Lukavics' website for more information about her and Daughters Unto Devils: HERE

Happy Reading!

Wishlist Wednesday #49

*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*

The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: February 11, 2014
Pages: 352

The Story:

Death hasn't visited Rowan Rose since it took her mother when Rowan was only a little girl. But that changes one bleak morning, when five horses and their riders thunder into her village and through the forest, disappearing into the hills. Days later, the riders' bodies are found, and though no one can say for certain what happened in their final hours, their remains prove that whatever it was must have been brutal.

   Rowan's village was once a tranquil place, but now things have changed. Something has followed the path those riders made and has come down from the hills, through the forest, and into the village. Beast or man, it has brought death to Rowan's door once again.

   Only this time, its appetite is insatiable.

-via Amazon

Meet the Author

McCormick Templeman is the author of The Little Woods and The Glass Casket, a 2015 ALA / YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection. Her writing has been featured in the Los Angeles Review of Books, CJOM, and will be included in the upcoming YA horror anthology,Slasher Girls and Monster Boys. The holder of various eccentric graduate degrees, she lives and writes in Portland, Oregon.

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

Happy Reading!

Review : Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman

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

Publisher: Walker Childrens 
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Pages: 433
Source: ARC

The Story:

Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare form of identical twins--so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they've lived with since their parents passed away when the girls were nine, can't tell them apart. The sisters are connected by an intense bond that goes way beyond their surfaces and borders on the supernatural: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of stress, too. So when troubled Alice disappears mysteriously one night, good-girl Rachel knows something is wrong-especially when Rachel starts experiencing serious physical traumas, even though nobody has touched her. 

What Rachel can't tell anyone is that she and Alice sometimes switched places, reveling in the possibility of being the "good one" or the "bad one" for a day. And that Rachel . . . is really Alice, continuing to masquerade as her twin. So then, what happened to her sister? Could whoever abducted her sister really have meant to take her, instead? And can she find the real Rachel before it's too late for both of them?

via Amazon

My Review: 

Going into Beautiful Lies I did not know what to expect. I had never read anything like Beautiful Lies before. But I am glad I gave the story a try.

Tag Line:

Alice thought she knew everything about her twin. Until she disappeared.

Opening Line:

It's one of those cool, crisp fall nights that make you feel like the air is ripe with possibility, like anything could happen.

Plot:

In Beautiful Lies, readers see a teen girl, Alice, struggle with solving the strange disappearance of her twin sister. Strange disappearance seems like an oxymoron doesn't it? But not in this case. Believed to be the wild child, no one thinks Rachel is missing except her sister. Why? Because of a phenomena of unexplainable physical traumas Alice cannot find reason for . . . except for the ineluctable hunch they are replicas of ones sported by her missing sister.

Jessica Warman's writing is notable. The suspense and creep factor was in full swing and captured me into the story.  I suspected characters who could be responsible for Rachel's disappearance but I was never 100% certain who the true culprit was. Which is definitely the most important in a story such as Beautiful Lies.

Character Breakdown:

Rachel - When I think back on Rachel's character I imagine being inside her head the entire book. I did not see her in the story, I saw the story through her - if that makes any sense at all. She felt real and the unique perspective made for more gritty story.

Meet the Author:

 Jessica Warman is the author of Breathless, which received three starred reviews and was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Where the Truth Lies. The idea for Between came from an incident in her childhood, when a local boy went missing after a party on a yacht (he was eventually found, alive).

***Check out Jessica Warman's website for more information about her and the Beautiful Lies: HERE

Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday #4

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just flip through your current read to a random page -- or not -- and share two teaser quotes from somewhere on said page.

This week my Teaser Tuesday quotes will be taken from my current read, Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics.

Teaser #1:

"With each wave of searing pain I see Henry's face. How it studied mine with such curiosity the first time we met, when I came to the mountain town with my Pa. How it twisted in pleasure while he rode me in the woods behind our cabin with animalistic urgency. How it gazed upon me in disgust when I told him I carried his child.

The agony continues longer than I could have ever imagined." - page 118 

Teaser #2:

"The ghost will be forever waiting."

"'Goodbye,' I whisper to the memories, to Henry, to the cabin.

"'Goodbye,' I whisper to the lost part of myself." - page 55

What teasers are you sharing this week?
Don't forget to tell me in the comments or on twitter; @TheTatteredPage. You can also use #DaughtersUntoDevils on twitter if you're reading it! 
Happy Reading!