Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week I'm "Waiting on":

A Midsummer's Nightmare
By Kody Keplinger
Release Date: June 5, 2012

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorce dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancee and her kids. The fiancee's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.


Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody Keplinger's most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque girl you will wholly care about.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: •Grab your current read •Open to a random page •Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) •Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser for the week:

"Can I help you?" Red snaps in a very non solicitous tone.

"Yes," I reply. "You can leave."

Sweet Venom
By Tera Lynn Childs
Release Date: September 6. 2011
Series: Medusa Girls

Review: After Obsession

After Obsession
By Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel
Release Date: September 13, 2011

Description:
Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.


Review:

Courtney has lost her father, he was on the river and his body has not turned up.  Her cousin, Alan (who is half Navajo) has come to Maine with his mother to stay with his cousin and her mother to take care of them.  When Alan comes to town weird things start to happen.  People are getting angrier than usual, fights are breaking out, the hospital starts getting busy and the police are always having to break up fights.  Aimee's mother died in the river.  There is something wrong with the river, there has been talk of a River Man, someone who haunts the river trying to get out of the river to walk among men.  Aimee has seen him in her dreams.  She has the powers to heal and sometimes has dreams that come true, like prophecies that she tries to stop.  Alan being half Navajo has his spirit guide or totem behind him to help him with all the troubles.  He doesn't know his father but has learned everything he can about his people through the Internet and even found his spirit guide by building his own sweat lodge back in Oklahoma.

As things turn for the stranger Blake, Aimee's boyfriend, gets so angry at her that he pulled her out of her car, and they break up because Blake is saying very racial things against Alan. At the same time Courtney starts acting weirder by the day and then starts to strangely break out horribly all over her skin.  Alan and Aimee quickly become good friends, there's something between them that they've never felt before and they help each other out with everything that is going on.  With their friendship growing stronger into something else, they come together with a plan and a conclusion that Courtney has been or is trying to be possessed by the River Man so that he can take over her body and walk amongst the men instead of being confined to the River.  The school's librarian even shows Aimee a file with article after article of people being found dead by the river, dismembered and with claw marks but no conclusion as to why it has occurred.

The River man torments Alan and Aimee through wind storms, throwing of objects and all kinds of weird possession type things.  Eventually Alan decides he needs to build a sweat lodge and speak to his spirit guide to help him conquer the River man, he really believes he can beat this.  Aimee and Alan therefore decide to tie Courtney to her bed so that they can bring the River man forward and banish it away.  Somehow with the help of Aimee's mother's spirit they make it through this and get rid of the River man. 

It was a really interesting story, I haven't read anything about possession like this, so this was definitely different and was an easy quick read.  I think the romance between Alan and Aimee went by a little too quickly it's almost like they fell in love in less than a week.  They even told each other I love you.  I think it was just the heightened situation which made them feel this way so quickly.  The whole book in timeline frame seemed to go by quickly and escalate even faster.  All in all it was a good read and if they were to somehow continue the book, which I don't believe is the case.  I would read it.

Musing Monday: What's next?

MUSING MONDAYS… is a weekly event where MizB at Should be Reading will ask a book/reading-related question, and you answer with your own thoughts on the topic.

This week’s musing asks…
How far along are you in your current read before you start thinking about what you’ll read next?

I think it depends on the book, because if I'm really into it I can't think of another book (unless it's a series then I can't wait to read the next one).  Usually when I'm about half way through with one book I start contemplating which book I can read next or which book I can read concurrently.  Always turns out though that even if there is a book I'm contemplating by the time I'm done with the current one I change my mind and start reading a different book.  Ha, I'm all over the place. 

Booking Through Thursday: Writing or Riveting?

A weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading. Hosted at Booking Through Thursday.

Today's question is:
What’s more important: Good writing? Or a good story?

(Of course, a book should have BOTH, but…)

Ok yes I agree we need to have both.  But I'll say if the story is riveting, you can always make up the good writing in your mind.  hehe.  If something is written mediocre but the story is great, you're going to read it.  If it's written horribly but the story is great, you're still going to read it.  But if it's written beautifully but the story is just blah and doesn't get your attention then you're not going to read it unless you have to finish it for a reason.  Think of the time when you were in school, all of that was written well, has to be it's for educational purposes but in reality was it riveting to you? Was the story good?  No it was just information for you to retain and throw away at a later date (like after a test).  That's just my opinion though, what do you think?

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight By Jennifer E. Smith
Release Date: January 2, 2012

Description:
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?


Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Review:
This book was amazing.  It made me laugh, it made me cry and it just made me feel.  I couldn't put it down, I wanted to read it so bad I even read it while I was at work, just don't tell anyone lol.  This book was perfect. 

We first meet Hadley at the airport, she just missed her flight, she's on the way to her dad's wedding to a woman she's never met before.  Through all this she's still angry and keeps thinking maybe this was meant to happen, her missing her first flight.  At the airport while waiting for the next flight they could get her on she meets a boy who helps her lugging her bag around the airport, Oliver.  Their meeting is pure chance, I'm not going to lie I wish things like this happened to me.  She is very claustrophobic and as luck turns out Oliver has a seat right next to her (well technically a seat over next to her but turns out the lady that has that seat lets him sit there).  Oliver and Hadley spend the entire flight talking (when they weren't nodding off).  Their conversations were too funny, he really did make me laugh quite a bit.  It really helped Hadley ease the tension and her phobia.  By the end of the flight they have to go their separate ways but it's as if they don't want to leave each other.  When Hadley gets out of customs she finds out that she can't find Oliver anyway and she only has about an hour to get to the church for the wedding, she's a bridesmaid.

She finally makes it to the wedding and realizes she doesn't get to talk to her dad before she has to walk down the aisle.  It's all very stressful for her because it's just weird watching her dad getting married to someone else.  After the ceremony they are all waiting to take pictures.  After a few pictures Hadley overhears something and knows that she has to go and find Oliver.  She leaves the wedding party with a very angry father and heads to look for Oliver.

She eventually finds him and they have a talk about his family and her family and they end it on a not so happy note.  Now Hadley is rushing back to make the reception.  When she gets back she finally breaks down and talks to her dad about everything that has gone on all day and the feelings she has towards him.  It really hit home for me and I couldn't help but get all caught up in the emotions they were feeling. They make it to the reception and everything turns out better than she expected.  She goes outside for some fresh air and to talk to her mom.  After her conversation, you've guessed it ... Oliver is outside crashing her party. 

It was just great, they have the best story to tell for their future because they met an airport.  Think about it what a great story this is.  Loved it, can't wait to read what else Jennifer E. Smith has in store for us.  I have to go and research and look for her other books because I loved her style of writing.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week I'm "Waiting on":

Where it Began
By Anne Redisch Stampler
Release Date: March 6, 2012

Description:
A teen’s world comes crashing down in this compulsively readable YA debut that’s as literary as it is commercial.Gabby Gardiner wakes up in a hospital bed looking like a cautionary ad for drunk driving—and without a single memory of the accident that landed her there. But what she can recall, in frank and sardonic detail, is the year leading up to the crash.


As Gabby describes her transformation from Invisible Girl to Trendy Girl Who Dates Billy Nash (aka Most Desirable Boy Ever), she is left wondering: Why is Billy suddenly distancing himself from her? What do her classmates know that Gabby does not? Who exactly was in the car that night? And why has Gabby been left to take the fall?
As she peels back the layers of her life, Gabby begins to realize that her climb up the status ladder has been as intoxicating as it has been morally complex...and that nothing about her life is what she has imagined it to be.

Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me
By Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: November 15, 2011

Description:
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.


The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Review:

Mafi has created a world in the future where everything has been destroyed and everyone is trying to survive.  Through all this there is one girl who can kill people with just a touch.  Her parents didn't want her, no one wanted to be her friend, she was all alone.  They sent her to insane asylum where she would stay there until she meets Adam.  He's a boy she used to go to school with and he helps Warner gain access to Juliette, but he his intentions are not what Warner thinks.  Warner is an evil person in charge of one sector of the Reestablishment, who wants to use Juliette as a weapon.  As anything she touches dies.

Adam is assigned to protect her because they have a past together.  In this time they share together she realizes that he remembers her and she remembers him.  It's kind of sweet and weird their love for each other.  It's as if it happened instantly but in reality it was growing all along they just didn't realize it and now it's just gone full force.  Adam has a tattoo on his body that Juliette used to dream of, not something she knew until he came back into her life and just so happened to see the bird tattooed on him.  She plays along with Warner's requests until it's time for Adam and her to escape.  Which turns out to be sooner than they were planning.

During their escape Juliette learns that Adam has a brother, a ten year old boy.  James and Adam's relationship is so nice to see, it's hard to remember that sometimes the younger generation have it worse because they dont' know any better.  They are bought into this world that is in ruins and that innocence is so precious.  But soon Warner finds out where Adam and Juliette are and the pursuit continues.  But with Kenji's help they escape Warner's grasp.

They make it to a place called Omega Point.  I don't want to say much more because really now I think is when it's gets interesting, and now I really want to know what happens.  I think I read in a review of this book that it's something like a cross between Xmen and Fantastic 4, I think this is like a combination of a large group of comic book heroes and you know what, I'm loving it.  I thought the beginning was not as exciting as I thought it was going to be compared to every one's great reviews but the more I read through it the more I realized everyone was right, this book is good.  Can't wait to see what happens next.  And what ability other people in Omega Point will have.

Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This feature is great because everyone loves lists, including me.

This week's Top Ten is:
Freebie --- Make a top ten list about anything book related that you want. That super specific topic you thought would make a great top ten list or that past topic you wished you would have gotten a chance to participate it? This is the week to do it!


My top 10 Book Boyfriends:

1.  Finn from Something Maybe by Elizabeth Scott.  This boy is so obviously into the main character and she doesn't even notice it until the very end.  He's protective and looks out for her best interest, he would do anything for her.  My favorite part is when she finally realizes it's him she wants.

2.  John After from Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols.  He's a cop in uniform and sounds super sexy and adult even though he's really only 19.  The way he carries himself, his artistic ability.  His machoness, it's just sexy.

3.  Peeta from Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  There's just something about him, the fact that he's been watching Katnis for so long, and would literally do anything to save her.  He really does love her and will wait for her to realize it.

4.  Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  I mean really - do I even need to say anything about him.  How sexy is his name alone!

5.  Jace Wayland from The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare.  Ok technically he's not really Clary's boyfriend but they might as well be official from the beginning of the book.  He's deep, brooding, cocky and just a combination of confusion which is just great.  He just needs to get it together and stop punishing himself.

6.  Sam from the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater.  He's loved Grace since he first saw her when the wolves attached.  They are lost without each other and just belong together.  Their love story is beautiful and he is the start of it.  Him with those yellow eyes.

7.  Wesley from the DUFF by Kody Keplinger.  He's cocky and just all around boy who seems to have have it all.  But when he starts messing around with Bianca, something changes in him. He becomes human and so unbelievably lovable. 

8.  Ethan from The Chiacogoland Vampire Series by Chloe Neill.  Even though they aren't technically a couple the bond is there between Ethan and Merit and its great.  He's 100 % male (vampire), he's cocky and strong and has been around for such a long time that he just knows too much.

9. Adam from Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols.  Him and Lori together are too much.  The things they come up with.  He has ADD and because of this he doesn't think he can do things others can but when he does things he does it with all his heart.  Their dynamic together is priceless.  If you haven't introduced yourself to Adam and Lori you definitely have to check it out.

10.Four from Divergent by Veronica Roth.  He helps getting over fears and working through the system to get to a better place.  He's sneaky and ready for anything.  After all they are Dauntless.

Teaser Tuesady

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: •Grab your current read •Open to a random page •Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) •Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser for the week:

You would never be expected to take a road trip with someone you didn’t know, yet how many times has she flown to Chicago or Denver or Florida beside a complete stranger, elbow to elbow, side by side, as the two of them hurtled across the country together? That’s the thing about flying: You could talk to someone for hours and never even know his name, share your deepest secrets and then never see him again.


The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
by Jennifer E. Smith
Release Date: January 2, 2012

Musing Monday: YA Books

MUSING MONDAYS… is a weekly event where MizB at Should be Reading will ask a book/reading-related question, and you answer with your own thoughts on the topic.

This week’s musing asks…

Why do you think that the Young Adult genre is so popular with even the adult readers? Do you read YA books, yourself?

I'm an adult and I'm an avid young adult genre reader.  I know for me personally I love the innocence of it all, the first time for a kiss, the first time for a date, a dance, anything really.  It's just that innocence that I love.  Plus they keep it real sort of it's not all manipulated and just bogged down by drama of adulthood.  they haven't reached that point yet and I love it.  Partially because sure I wouldn't mind going back to the beginning but then again i wouldn't.  So I live vicariously through Young Adults in books hehe.  Although the dysatopian books, really that could be any age and it still be difficult, but the fact that the characters are so young and they have so much ahead of them it makes it more exciting.

How about you?

Review: Return to Paradise

Return to Paradise By Simone Elkeles
Release Date: September 1, 2010
Series: Leaving Paradise

Description:
Caleb Becker left Paradise eight months ago, taking with him the secret he promised to take to his grave. If the truth got out, it would ruin everything.


Maggie Armstrong tried to be strong after Caleb broke her heart and disappeared. Somehow, she managed to move on. She's determined to make a new life for herself.

But then Caleb and Maggie are forced together on a summer trip. They try ignoring their passion for each other, but buried feelings resurface. Caleb must face the truth about the night of Maggie's accident, or the secret that destroyed their relationship will forever stand between them.


Review:
So here we are again with Caleb getting into trouble.  It's been 8 months since he left and now he's live with Rio, Julio's cousin.  What happens?  The cops bust in the house due to drugs, Caleb goes to the station and Damon comes and bails him out.  Damon gives him two choices either join his Re-Start program which he has to go around with a group of teens telling them how reckless driving is not the thing to do and the consequences that come with that.  Or he can go back to jail.  Of course he chooses the Re-Start program, he goes there and who happens to be on the trip with him?  You've guessed it, Maggie. 

Are they going to finally hash out all their issues.  It's back and forth with them for a while but you can obviously see how much they each want each other.  Everyone in the group can see it as well.  There's one exercise they have that has to deal with trust and that's when all hell breaks out and the truth finally comes out.  Caleb wasn't the one who hit Maggie with the car.

After the program Caleb finally returns home, to a mother who is in rehab, a father who is still clueless and a sister who seems better but is not completely free yet.  He tries to convince her ton finally admit what happened. 

We meet a lot of new great characters in this book such as Lenny, Trish and Julio is bought more into the picture as well.  Lenny is just hilarious and you can't help but like him even if he is an ass, he's had it tough and his story really is sad.  Julio finally gets out and helps everyone see what they could do, how strong they are.  Trish is one of the other people in the Re-start program and her and Lenny are just too good together.

Of course Maggie and Caleb's relationship is up and down in the book but I love to see their relationship grow because they are so different but so perfect together.  I really enjoyed this book and will definitely take the time to check out Simone's other books.  Great quick and easy read.

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This is my second book on my list for the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge.  I don't have a formal list of all the books I want to read but there are many and this is just one of many.  Happy reading everyone!!

Beswitched Blogtour Giveaway Reminder

 Today is the last day for a chance to win ebook copies of both these books, just leave your name and a way to contact you  HERE!!

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After spending hundreds of years under the boot-heel of Idis, a frenzied witch, Surla (a magical black cat) decides to run away to find freedom, but there's one catch-- The Black Cats' Rule states it will switch bodies with a lonesome soul.


Cathy, an extremely shy teenage girl, can't muster the guts to ask her crush on a date or stand up to the three biggest snobs at school. What's a girl to do? Could being BeSwitched be the answer to her wishes?




Idis, a hot-tempered witch, was pronounced dead Halloween night. Her runaway cat, Surla, has a horrific premonition-come-true, when Idis escapes the morgue and then a mental hospital. These two enemies unexpectedly cross paths in the woods, triggering the curse of being BeSwitched.

A powerful opportunity comes with Surla switching bodies with her witch. She can dominate the now little black furball, giving her an education, teaching her patience and taking the shrew to the salon for a fun makeover.

The two go to high school together, when Surla passes as a teenage girl with a little help from magic. When Surla is magnetically drawn to the curious new guy, Jax Morreau, she is infatuated. Could ravens, coffins or a cursed ring keep Surla away from her invitation to the Morreau Family Reunion at Lake Sequoia? An ancient mystery will be revealed, but at what cost?

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  Make sure to click on the link below for a chance to win the Blog Tour Grand Prize of a Kindle!  Good Luck everyone and make sure you check out the books!

BeSwitched Blog Tour Grand Prize Giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm "Waiting on":

Biting Cold

By Chloe Neill

Release Date: August 7, 2012

Series: Chicagoland Vampires

Description:

Turned into a vampire against her will, twenty-eight-year-old Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye—and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing—among humans or inhumans.

Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artifact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on

Review: Leaving Paradise

Leaving Paradise
By Simone Elkeles
Release Date: April 7, 2007
Series: Leaving Paradise

Description:
Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled.

After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.

Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.

Review:
Imagine if you got into a fight with someone about their girlfriend and you tell them you love them, only later when you're on your way home that person hits you with their car and now you have a limp.  This is the story of Maggie and Caleb. 

We start out with Caleb getting out of jail after serving a year for hitting Maggie (drunk driving after a party).  He's finally free just needs to complete some community service, his hope is that when he gets out and back home that everything will be the same.  A year is a long time and he soon realizes that no one is the same, he feels as if everyone has changed and they need to all go back to the way they were.  But people grow up, grow apart and just deal with things differently.  His mother is popping pills to keep sane, his father is in denial, his sister is now goth and enclosed within her self.  Then there is Maggie the girl he went to jail for hitting.  He ends up working with her and they work against their differences and a relationship blooms.  The feelings he feels for her are so genuine and intense, I loved reading about them.

Maggie feels like a loser because she has a limp and is not in the popular crowd anymore.  She has also lost a year due to surgeries, infections and rehabilitation.  She isn't friends with anyone she was friends with before.  She has no confidence in herself, all she keeps thinking about is getting out of Paradise and going to Spain.  But she loses her sports scholarship because of the accident and luckily finds hope with a nice older lady who wants her to be her companion.  She also happens to be her mother's boss' mother.  They form a relationship and when she speaks Maggie does and low and behold who also happens to come and work with Mrs. Reynolds other than Caleb himself.  That's when the story gets interesting.

Caleb and Maggie are put in a situation where they have to interact on a daily basis, and with this their relationship grows and forgiveness is shown.  Don't get me wrong there are some high points and some low points but it was a great story.  I really can't wait to read the next one because it didn't really end the way I wanted it to end but it definitely has potential.
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This is my first on my list for the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge.  I don't have a formal list of all the books I want to read but there are many and this is the first (I'm about to find the second book so I can continue the story).  Happy reading everyone!!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: •Grab your current read •Open to a random page •Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) •Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser for the week:

There's a tin of water and a tin of food set off to the side and I Inhale the cold contents with trembling hands, a dull ache creaking through my bones, a desperate drought suffocating my throat.  Nothing seems to be broken, but one glance under my shirt proves the pain was real.

-Chapter 8

Shatter Me
By Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: November 15, 2011

Review: If I Tell

If I Tell
By Janet Gurtler
Release Date: October 1, 2011

Description:
Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure... people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a one night stand between a black football player and a blond princess. Having a young mother who didn't raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she's never fit in hasn't been easy. But she's been surviving. Until she sees her mom's new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever?

Review:
Jasmine is the only biracial person in her entire town and automatically feels left out and knows how to push people away, never letting them get close to her.  She has dealt with this her entire life, especially in fourth grade when she had a really bad experience in the pool with the entire fourth grade class.  Ever since then she has made it a point to stay away from people as much as possible.  She does have friends outside of school, such as Lacey, someone who is very outgoing and tends to drink and blackout a lot.  Not to mention hook up with many guys while she is drunk.  But one day Jasmine catches Lacey making out with the one person she never wanted her to be with, her mother's boyfriend Simon.  The only Black person in her life that she used to look up to until she caught him kissing her best friend.  This is where the story begins. 

Jasmine already had really bad trust issues and Simon ruined that, and she had every intention of telling her mother what she saw.  That is, until her mother announces that she is pregnant.  This changes everything.  There is a new guy in school and he starts working at the coffee shop that Jasmine and Lacey work at, Jackson.  He tries and tries to break through Jasmine's wall to get closer to her.  You experience her struggle with her race throughout the whole book along with her struggles between all the relationships in her life. 

She grows and learns to trust people but that's not with out the occasional argument.  The book was good I finished it rather quickly and enjoyed it very much.  I wish she wasn't such a hard head and that everything wasn't based solely on race but overall good quick read.

Musing Monday

MUSING MONDAYS… is a weekly event where MizB at Should be Reading will ask a book/reading-related question, and you answer with your own thoughts on the topic.

This week’s musing asks…
What devices –if any– do you read books on? Do you find it enjoyable, or still somewhat bothersome? Or: If you only read the print books, why haven’t you chosen to read on any devices?


I have the Kindle Fire and I absolutely love it.  But sometimes I pick up a regular book sometimes to read.  Especially if I really really like it I will always get the actual book.  But I love my Kindle I can have a million books at my disposal, that's a beautiful thing!

How about you?

Don't forget to check out Beswitched Blog Tour and Giveaway, ends on Friday.  Thanks and good luck.

Review: The Clockwork Prince

The Clockwork Prince
By Cassandra Clare
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Series: The Infernal Devices

Description:
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.


With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Review:
So I literally just finished the book moments ago and I could not wait to put my thoughts down as quickly as possible.  I have loved everything I have read by Cassandra Clare and this book did not disappoint.

We are back in the magical under wold of Victorian London where the London Institute now continues their search for the Magister.  If you've read the last book you know that Nate, Tessa's brother was deep in cahoots (yes I said cahoots) with the Magister and they all got away last time.  In comes the Lightwoods who question Charlotte's authority and demand that the Magister be found within two weeks or the institute should be deemed his.  In starts the adventure...

Here's a quick synopsis of each character I will try not to give too much away because you should really read the book and see what you think, but it was fabulous.  I'll start with minor characters and work my way up.

Henry - still as absentminded as always but in this book he seems to be a little more on the emotional side, with expressing his true feelings for Charlotte and they have a really cute moment together in the book towards the end.

Sophie - she is the maidservant and seems to play a slightly bigger role in this book, she falls for someone but I won't say who.  She does help in the Institutes success in depriving the Lightwoods of the honor of taking over the institute.

Nate - continues to be a selfish bastard and in the end he tries to redeem himself but really it's always just about himself.

Charlotte - stressed and running around trying to keep everything under control but everything is all over the place in her world.  She feels betrayed and just dumbfounded at how blind she could have been. 

Jesse - she continues to be a sad girl with desires that do not work out well for her.

Jem - Oh Sweet Jem, if you think about it he really did win out in the end but we shall see how he fares in the next book, for some reason I just don't see him lasting much longer with his illness but who knows maybe everything will turn around for him.

Tessa - She is still on the search to find out what she is.  She seems to be doing much easier with her powers but still there are so many unanswered questions for her that she just doesn't know what to believe anymore.  She just wants to know what she is.  Rumors have it that her mother was shadowhunter and her father is a demon but that cannot be as one has never been alive to prove it.  She is still torn between Will and Jem.  A decision was made but it was not something that she can fully go into wholeheartedly but I think she is doing it for the right reasons.  At least I'd like to think she is.

Will - Dear Will I heart you so!  Will ever with his tough facade, it begins to crumble more and more as the book continues.  He is so in love with Tessa but he's afraid of a curse that was put on him when he was 12 years old, that if someone loved him they in turn would pay with death, because of this he is cruel to everyone.  Magnus helps him find the demon to see exactly what can be done about this.  All I can say is my heart breaks for him - literally I feel it every time he looks at Tessa.  It's tragic and ironic and just heartbreaking. 
 
The Magister aka Mortmain - little more is discovered about him but he always seems to be just a step ahead of everyone.  He is still a mystery and still has yet to have been found ... where is he???
 
My thoughts - You should check out this series, it really does tie in with the Mortal Instruments, kind of like a back story.  Every time I read more and more of this series I can't help but think back to Mortal Instruments and what has played out in that series (and what is still playing out in that series).  Jace really is a Herondale! You must read it to get all the details and I cannot wait for the next book to come out.
 
So I did this review a little different then I've done in the past, please let me know if you like this fashion with updates on all the characters.  Thanks and everyone Happy Reading!! On to the next book.

BeSwitched Blog Tour + Giveaway

 Today we have a very sepcial guest blog post from author of Beswitched and Beswitched Witch, Molly Snow!   First let's take a look at her great books:

After spending hundreds of years under the boot-heel of Idis, a frenzied witch, Surla (a magical black cat) decides to run away to find freedom, but there's one catch-- The Black Cats' Rule states it will switch bodies with a lonesome soul.



Cathy, an extremely shy teenage girl, can't muster the guts to ask her crush on a date or stand up to the three biggest snobs at school. What's a girl to do? Could being BeSwitched be the answer to her wishes?

Idis, a hot-tempered witch, was pronounced dead Halloween night. Her runaway cat, Surla, has a horrific premonition-come-true, when Idis escapes the morgue and then a mental hospital. These two enemies unexpectedly cross paths in the woods, triggering the curse of being BeSwitched.

A powerful opportunity comes with Surla switching bodies with her witch. She can dominate the now little black furball, giving her an education, teaching her patience and taking the shrew to the salon for a fun makeover.

The two go to high school together, when Surla passes as a teenage girl with a little help from magic. When Surla is magnetically drawn to the curious new guy, Jax Morreau, she is infatuated. Could ravens, coffins or a cursed ring keep Surla away from her invitation to the Morreau Family Reunion at Lake Sequoia? An ancient mystery will be revealed, but at what cost?

********************************************** 

I just have to make a side note and say how cool it is that the main character in the first book is named Cathy just like me heheh.  *smiles*

And now ... Molly Snow!

I would like to start by thanking you, Cathy, for inviting me to your blog for The BeSwitched Blog Tour.

Top 5, Who I Would Switch With

Singer: Adele. Her voice is rich, she is at the top of the charts right now and she has her own style. There is nothing gimmicky about her. I don’t expect she’ll come to an awards show in a dress made out of fake meat, like someone... ;)

Actress: Natalie Portman. She plays a range role of characters and does not have a bad reputation! And she’s around my age. There’s 3 reasons I would choose her!

Author: JK Rowling. This may be surprising--I have never read any of her books, but I actually don’t read fiction hardly at all. I love to write fiction, so this is why I would love to be inside her head. I would love to see how she comes up with her ideas. My mom is a very obsessive Harry Potter fan, so I would do it for her, too.

Animal: It has to be a cat. I know, that seems like an obvious answer, since my books star a magical black cat. I don’t want to be an animal that lives in the wild--too risky for me. The whole predator-prey thing freaks me out. I like the idea that I could take naps, eat, play and then eat again


Guy: My husband. It would be good to see inside his head more, go to his work, take his classes... just to gain a better perspective of living a parallel life with me and my twins. I kept thinking of historical men, but none of them appealed to me. I considered switching with someone like Zac Efron, just because he’s hot, but that didn’t seem like a good enough reason! :)


Who would you switch lives with if you could?


Thank you,


Molly Snow

If you'd like to win an ebook copy of both books please make sure to leave your name and email in the comments section (must be a follower to win).  The winner will be randomly selected and announced on January 20th.  Make sure to click on the link below for a chance to win the Blog Tour Grand Prize of a Kindle!  Good Luck everyone and make sure you check out the books!

BeSwitched Blog Tour Grand Prize Giveaway

Booking Through Thursday: About ME

A weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading. Hosted at Booking Through Thursday.

Today's question is:
But enough about interviewing other people. It’s time I interviewed YOU.


1. What’s your favorite time of day to read?
At night when the kids are asleep and all is quiet.  That and during lunch so I can escape the work craziness that has been going on lately.

2. Do you read during breakfast? (Assuming you eat breakfast.)
I don't have time in the morning I'm up at 5ish and out the door by 6am. 

3. What’s your favorite breakfast food? (Noting that breakfast foods can be eaten any time of day.)
I love some good old pancakes with eggs and bacon.  We usually do big Sunday breakfasts at my house. I love Sunday mornings.

4. How many hours a day would you say you read?
Not enough lately - depends on the book I'm reading and how into it I am, sometimes I can finish a book in a day sometimes it will take me two weeks.

5. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago?
Much much more than I did 10 years ago that's for sure.  Now I read for the pleasure of it.  Previously it was just for school.

6. Do you consider yourself a speed reader?
Not at all - I wish.  I see how people read books in less than a day and I'm just like did you even enjoy it?

7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
To snap my fingers and be wherever my heart desired.  Could you imagine just a snap away and during lunch you could be lounging at the beach in the sun, or in China walking the Great Wall.  That would be awesome!

8. Do you carry a book with you everywhere you go?
Yes I have a Kindle so all my books go wherever I go, can't trust to leave it at home someone might break it lol.

9. What KIND of book?
Kindle! Any book and every book my heart desires.  Sometimes I'll carry an actual book if I have it and have to read it.

10. How old were you when you got your first library card?
Ha - I think 17 maybe.  I don't remember but either way at that time I wasn't old enough so I had to use my mother's card.  But I finally got one not too long ago actually maybe three or four years back that is my very own.

11. What’s the oldest book you have in your collection? (Oldest physical copy? Longest in the collection? Oldest copyright?)
That's hard I don't even know.

12. Do you read in bed?
Yes all the time.

13. Do you write in your books?
No - I don't like damaging them.  All though I like getting books with notes in the margin just so I could read other people's thoughts lol.  I just won't let them read mine.

14. If you had one piece of advice to a new reader, what would it be?
Escape into books - there is no better feeling than the wheels of your imagination turning inside a really good book.  And the books is always better than the movie.
15. What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask? (Actually, leave the answer to this one in the comments on this post, huh? So I can find them when I need inspiration!)
I don't know all the questions you have asked.  But what about ... If you could write a book what would it be about and why?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm "Waiting on":

Stealing Parker
By Miranda Kenneally
Ship Date: October 2012
Series: Companion Book to Crossing Jordan

Description:
About a 17-year-old girl named Parker who falls for the new 23-year-old coach of the baseball team.



***************

I know there is not much in the description but let's just say I CANNOT WAIT!! for this book to come out.  I thought the first book was great.  What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: •Grab your current read •Open to a random page •Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) •Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser for the week:

And then I was flying down the slalom course, staying tight and tucking in, dodging around the gates as fast as possible.  I knew my time would be good because I was in the zone.  My body went on automatic, feeling exactly what to do when.  I enjoyed the bright sparkling day, the white snow, the spectators in crazy-colored gear lining both sides of the course, the too-blue sky.  There was no feeling in world like this, having a body that worked.

Winter's Kiss (The Ex Games and The Twelve Dates of Christmas)
By Jennifer Echols and Catherine Hapka
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Page 37

I love YA Giveaway Hop

So I've decided to do my very FIRST giveaway, look out for it on February 14!  Come join in the fun!

 

Welcome to the I Heart YA Giveaway!

This awesome event is hosted by For Those About to Read, Fictional Distraction, & Michelle Madow.
If you’re a YA book blogger, or just love reading YA fiction, sign up on the linky list to join the party!
The giveaway hop will run from Feb. 14 – Feb. 20.
Deadline to join is Feb. 10.
We will email all participants on the 11th as a reminder!

Giveaway Hop Guidelines

1.) The "I Heart YA" Hop Button-- or Image-- must be a part of your giveaway post.

2.) You must either include the linky list with all participating blogs at the end of your giveaway post OR link to the giveaway hop page of one of the hosts. (This is so your followers can easily see and enter all of the giveaways!)

3.) Your giveaway prize must be a YA book (no gift cards!)

4.) No gift cards!

4.) Please try to keep your giveaway rules as simple as possible! No more than 4 entries allowed

5.) Your giveaway may only run on the same days as the Hop (Feb. 14 – Feb. 20)

6.) Please keep your giveaway visibly to your followers throughout the entire hop by posting a link or a button to it at the top of your blog in the sidebar.

Monday Musing:

MUSING MONDAYS… is a weekly event where MizB at Should be Reading will ask a book/reading-related question, and you answer with your own thoughts on the topic.

This week’s musing asks…
Are there any “raved reads” –books that everyone seems to be talking about– that you’re hoping to get read this year, yourself? What books are they, and why are you hoping to read them? Is it because you want to say you’ve read it? Or, would you have chosen to read it, even if you’d discovered it yourself, and no one was raving about it?


Well I've read a lot of books because of everyone raving around them.  So all the books that are being talked about around the blog world that I check out are books that I've read.  Except a few.  I don't get ARC's so those that have already read them I want to read them.  Below are examples of books I want to read because of the raves:

Tempest by Julie Cross - probably wouldn't have discovered it otherwise but have seen it everywhere that I want to read it.

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton - also knew nothing about it but am curious to read it now.

Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa - I don't normally read books about fairies but I'm open minded and will check them out this year.
How about you?

Friday Five: Inventions

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5 hosted here! Please copy these questions to your web space. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses.

1.If they could invent a remote control for something in your house that doesn’t have one, what would you wish it to be?
Omg sometimes I wish I could have a remote for my kids, like mute, sleep, quiet etc haha is that mean?  Nah sometimes I just want some peace and quiet.  Don't get a lot of that here.


2.What could your car really use that they just hasn’t invented yet?
They've probably invented everything already after all they do have the show pimp my ride haha.  I would probably want it  to fly so I can get places faster.

3.Who among your friends could probably be a great inventor if he or she had enough funding to do it?
Probably my boyfriend he's like McGuyver I swear.

4.What invention seems to do its job in a less-satisfying manner than the old-fashioned way?
the microwave is great but sometimes nothing beats freshly cooked stuff.


5.Lately, vending machines have gone beyond drinks and snacks: you can rent DVDs from them or even purchase iPods from them. What’s something your life could be improved by if it were available in vending machines?
i wouldn't mind stamps or something not postage i mean like rubber stamps and books and all that good crafting stuff.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm "Waiting on":

Fracture
By Megan Miranda
Release Date January 17, 2012

Description:
Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine


-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: •Grab your current read •Open to a random page •Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) •Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser for the week:

"Change is not always accomplished peacefully, but that does not make it disadvantageous.  MY challenge stands." Benedict's hands gripped each other.

Clockwork Prince
By Cassandra Clare
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Series: The Infernal Devices

Review: Catching Jordan

Catching Jordan
By Miranda Kenneally
Release Date: December 1, 2011

Description:
What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.

Review:
Jordan Woods, the quarterback for her high school Tennessee football team, her head is constantly in the game.  Her only goal is to go to Alabama to play for their collage football team.  Then there's her best friend Sam Henry, he's with her the majority of the time.  He even sleeps in the same bed with her at least a couple times a week.  They are like two peas in a pod.  But then a new guy comes to town, who also happens to be a quarterback and who also happens to be the first guy to make Jordan feel like she wants to be more like a girl.  This turns her world upside down because with Ty's arrival she starts losing focus on her main goal - Alabama State - and herself. 

There was something about Ty that I thought was off, but you can form your own opinion of course. Sam used to go out with Carrie but every since they broke up Jordan thought he has been so sad.  One day Carrie tells Jordan why they broke up, turns out Sam is in love with someone else and it takes Jordan a few minutes to figure out its her.  If she thought Ty's arrival was a whirlwind, well she wasn't ready to find out her best friend was in love with her and that she might be into him as well.  That's when all the drama starts, there are fistfights, missing practices, a lot of crying and heartbreaking and even a sprained knee.  I won't go into details because I really think you should check this book out.  I loved it and could have read it in a day.  Can't wait to see what Kenneally comes up with next. 

Musing Monday - First Read

MUSING MONDAYS… is a weekly event where MizB at Should be Reading will ask a book/reading-related question, and you answer with your own thoughts on the topic.

This week’s musing asks…

What is/are the first book(s) you’re reading for the new year?

Ok So I started Catching Jordan before New Years, so I'm not going to count that since I finished it last night.  Therefore the first book I'm reading is Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare, I'm about to start reading it in a few minutes he he.  What about you? What are you reading first?