Posts By: Giselle

Monday, January 16, 2012

Cover Reveal: Crux, Skinny, Keeper of the Lost Cities & The Glimpse

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Crux
Julie Reece
Release date: July 9th, 2012
by J. Taylor Publishing 

Homeless, broke, and hungry, seventeen-year-old Birdie Orin is running out of options. That is, until a chance meeting with a bearded stranger in a trench coat changes everything. He promises more money than she’s ever dreamed of and an amulet of power once owned by Viking lords. Cool, but there’s a catch. He informs her she’s the last descendant of a Nordic tribe, and the necklace that grants her supernatural abilities is cursed. Only she can free the souls of hundreds of Viking warriors trapped in a spell cast by one of two rival kings.

Her mysterious benefactor warns the spell chunking king still seeks the amulet, and she must choose a Guardian to assist in her quest. Wary of dependence on anyone, she makes a hesitant alliance with handsome new friend, Grey Matthews. Though she’s got no desire to see him skewered on the end of a Viking sword, he’s determined to help. Passionate and caring, Grey breaks down the walls Birdie’s built around her heart. She would do almost anything for the peace and love that’s eluded her until now, but first, they’ve got a mission. Together, they must travel back in time to find the means of destroying the amulet, before those who would use its power for evil find them.

Skinny
Donna Cooner
Release date: October 12th, 2012
by Scholastic

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About a girl whose obesity and negative thoughts stand in the way of her dreams of becoming a singer and finding love, until she begins a long, hard journey of self-discovery and reinvention culminating in gastric-bypass surgery, only to find that love was never dependent on her size.

Keeper of the Lost Cities
Shannon Messenger
Release date: October 2nd, 2012
by Aladdin Books

Twelve-year-old Sophie has always been different — she’s years ahead of the other kids in school and can read minds. She’s always assumed there’s some kind of logical explanation for her talents, but when she meets an adorable and mysterious boy, she finds out the shocking truth. She’s never felt at home because she, well, … isn’t.

There are secrets buried deep in her memory, secrets about her true identity and why she was hidden among humans, that others desperately want and would even kill for. And she must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

The Glimpse
Claire Merle
Release date: June 7th, 2012
by Faber & Faber

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ONCE YOU’VE SEEN INTO THE FUTURE, CAN YOU CHANGE YOUR DESTINY?

In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.

Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.

Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not intefere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper’s abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before.

I find all of these are pretty great and I’m really anticipating reading them. I especially like the cover for Crux, and the blurb for The Glimpse is very intriguing. I’m also loving the Keeper of the Lost Cities vibe. It seems to be aimed at fans of Rick Riordan and JK Rowling (which I both adore).
Thoughts on these new pretties?

Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Posted by on 01/16/2012 • 28 Comments

Hallowed(Unearthly, #2)  Cynthia HandRelease date: January 17th, 2012by HarperCollins Publishers

Goodreads / Purchase

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and…

In My Mailbox (18)

Posted by on 01/15/2012 • 105 Comments

“In My Mailbox” is a meme, created by Kristi at The Story Siren, that features books I have received/ purchased/ borrowed during the week.  Know what I’m doing? I’m writing my IMM post while watching Gossip Girl (trying to catch up on this season)! How’s that for a fabulous life? Teehee. Isn’t Chuck awesome!! So I hope you all had a good week. In case you missed it, I was interviewed over at One A Day YA if you’re interested in knowing a bit about my favorite reads of 2011. Now, let’s see my haul this week.

I got for review (click on cover for Goodreads):

I want to thank TP Boje and Random House Children’s Books for the review copies.

I bought:

Yep, I think it’s about time…

Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Posted by on 01/14/2012 • 25 Comments

FractureMegan MirandaRelease date: January 17th, 2012by Walker Books for Young Readers

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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…

Fresh Batch (Jan. 15th – 21st)

Posted by on 01/14/2012 • 11 Comments

Exclusively titled for Xpresso Reads, Fresh Batch features the hottest releases of this upcoming week. Flavour of the week:

=”1″>Hallowed

Cynthia Hand Goodreads / Purchase 

 For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into…

Review: Fated by Sarah Alderson

Posted by on 01/13/2012 • 25 Comments

FatedSarah AldersonRelease date: January 5th 2012by Simon & Schuster

Goodreads / Purchase

What happens when you discover you aren’t who you thought you were? And that the person you love is the person who will betray you? If your fate is already determined, can you fight it?

When Evie Tremain discovers that she’s the last in a long line of Demon slayers and that she’s being hunted by an elite band of assassins –Shapeshifters, Vampires and Mixen demons amongst them – she knows she can’t run. They’ll find her wherever she goes. Instead she must learn to stand and fight.

But when the half-human, half-Shadow Warrior Lucas Gray – is sent to spy on Evie and then ordered to kill her before she can fulfil a dangerous prophecy,…

Bound Tour Stop

Posted by on 01/12/2012 • 27 Comments

Today, Xpresso Reads is welcoming the Bound blog tour for an excerpt of the book. If you haven’t heard of Bound yet, have a look see if it’s up your alley!

BoundKira SaitoRelease date: October 28th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

Sixteen year old Arelia LaRue lives in New Orleans where the music is loud, voodoo queens inhabit every street corner, and the ghosts are alive and well. Despite her surroundings, all she wants is to help her Grand-mere Bea pay the rent and save up for college.

When her best friend Sabrina convinces her to take a well-paying summer job at the infamous Darkwood plantation, owned by the wealthy LaPlante family, Arelia agrees.

However, at Darkwood strange things start to happen, and gorgeous Lucus LaPlante insists that…

Cover Reveal: The Promise, Flesh & Bone, Serpent’s Shadow, Shift & Rebel Hearts

Posted by on 01/11/2012 • 14 Comments

The Promise(Fallen Star, #4)Jessica SorensenRelease date: February, 2012

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Synopsis currently unavailable

The Fallen Star series:

Flesh & Bone (Benny Imura, #3) Jonathan Maberry Release date: September 11st, 2012 by Simon & Schuster Add it to your Goodreads

Reeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any…