Posts By: Giselle

Friday, December 23, 2011

Review: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

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Bittersweet
Sarah Ockler
Release date: January 3rd, 2011
by Simon Pulse

Goodreads / Purchase

Hudson can’t wait to get out of Watonka, her working-class town outside of Buffalo. Once upon a time, her talent as a skater was going to be her ticket out… but when her parents’ marriage unraveled three years ago, so did her dreams. Now, she buries herself in making cupcakes for her mom’s diner and imagining her parallel life where she went on to skate to glory. But when she gets a letter inviting her to audition for a skating scholarship *and* the hockey team asks for her help with their technique (read: free ice time for Hudson), it’s impossible to ignore the signs. Is she ready to get back on the ice? Could this be her ticket out? Hudson’s determined not to let anything stand in her way. But between baking and waitressing at the diner, the love triangle that’s developing with two outrageously cute hockey boys, and the simmering drama with her best friend, her future is anything but certain…

*A copy was provided by Simon & Schuster for review purposes*
Red Hot Double Crush Cakes:
Ginger vanilla cupcakes with chilli-infused dark chocolate cream cheese frosting, dusted with cinnamon.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the cupcake Queen of Watonka! That’s right, Hudson is the queen of everything cupcake and a wonderful character to boot. Living in a humble little town just getting by on her mother’s diner income, Hudson has thrown herself into creating (delicious) cupcakes to forget that she once had big dreams. However, these dreams are being dangled in front of her face once more. Hudson has this personality that you can’t help but ADORE. She is down to earth, she loves to make up amusingly exaggerated scenarios in her mind as well as being incredibly responsible and smart which I admired.

With every chapter beginning with a delicious cupcake recipe, Bittersweet will make your mouth water at every turn. When it’s not because of these delicacies, it will be because of our dear – and numerous – boys that are swarming the pages of this book. See, Hudson has a deal with the hockey captain, she gets ice time if she gives this much needed team some skating advice. And, since boys will be boys, it gets pretty entertaining. I enjoyed the playfulness and the teasing that we were bound to have. They are a great bunch of personalities that fill this book with humor and charm.

What I enjoyed the most about this novel, though, is the romance. Bittersweet holds a brilliantly written love story that is flawed- but perfect. I loved every moment, every kiss, every worry, and every tear. There is absolutely no insta-love in here, it feels completely real and perfectly enchanting. As they often say, the journey is the best part!

For fans of Catching Jordan, Sarah Ockler gives us a novel filled with family, love, cupcakes and hockey boys that is simply… bittersweet!

4 Hot Espressos

Obsidian Tour Stop

Posted by on 12/22/2011 • 25 Comments

On this lovely day, I am happy to have the Obsidian blog tour stop by. I’ve got a great interview with Jennifer to show you and then you will all have a chance to win a copy of this fantastic book!

ObsidianJennifer L. ArmentroutRelease date: December 6th, 2011by Entangled Publishing

Goodreads / Purchase

Starting over sucks. When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon…

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Cover Reveal: Chosen Ones

Posted by on 12/22/2011 • 25 Comments

I have a new YA Dystopian title to show you in this cover & blurb reveal. I hope you all LOVE it as much as I do:

Chosen Ones(Lost Souls, #1)Tiffany Truitt Expected release date: April, 2012By Entangled Publishing

What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably…

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Waiting on Wednesday (15)

Posted by on 12/21/2011 • 61 Comments

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.  My pick this week:

                                    Touched                                     Cyn Balog

                                    Release date: August 14th, 2012

Nick Cross always listens to the voice in his head. Because if he doesn’t? Things can go really, really wrong. Like the day he decided to go off script and saved a girl from being run over . . . and let another one drown. Trying to change the future doesn’t work.

But this summer at the Jersey Shore, something’s about to happen that Nick never could have predicted. He meets a girl named Taryn and finds out about the Book of Touch. Now the path that he thought he was on begins…

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Review: Still Waters by Emma Carlson Berne

Posted by on 12/20/2011 • 30 Comments

Still WatersEmma Carlson BerneRelease Date: December 20th, 2011by Simon Pulse

Goodreads / Purchase

Hannah can’t wait to sneak off for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend, Colin. He’s leaving for college soon, and Hannah wants their trip to the lake house to be one they’ll never forget. But once Hannah and Colin get there, things start to seem a bit…off. They can’t find the town on any map. The house they are staying in looks as if someone’s been living there, even though it’s been deserted for years. And Colin doesn’t seem quite himself. As he grows more unstable, Hannah worries about Colin’s dark side, and her own safety. Nothing is as perfect as it seems, and what lies beneath may haunt her forever.

*A copy was provided by Simon…

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Dusty Reads (13)

Posted by on 12/20/2011 • 11 Comments

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme, hosted here, featuring a book that has been sitting unread on my home shelf for some time. To participate, add your link at the bottom.  If you wish, you can grab the button and find more information here.

My pick this week:

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Beauty QueensLibba BrayReleased May, 20011Goodreads / Purchase

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice…

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Review: The Deepest Cut by JA Templeton

Posted by on 12/19/2011 • 31 Comments

The Deepest CutJ.A. TempletonRelease date: June 27th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

Sixteen-year-old Riley Williams has been able to see ghosts since the car crash that took her mother’s life and shattered her family. Guilt-ridden over the belief that she’s somehow responsible for her mom’s death, Riley is desperate to see her mother’s elusive spirit to gain her forgiveness.

When her father moves the family to Scotland so they can all start over, Riley believes her life couldn’t get worse––that is until the ghost of nineteen-year-old Ian MacKinnon catches her purposely cutting herself. An uneasy truce quickly turns into friendship, and soon Riley’s falling hard for Ian.

Riley believes her gift could help Ian end the curse that has kept him tied to the land for centuries, but that…

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In My Mailbox (14)

Posted by on 12/18/2011 • 99 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.  Wow, so did you know there are only 14 days left in 2011? And that means only 1 year left until the end of the world! Eeek – Must. Read. Fast!!Here’s what I got for review this week (click on cover for Goodreads):

  I want to thank  B.D. Swan, Simon & Schuster, Simon & Schuster Canada, Flux Books, and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the review copies. I have won (yay):   I have won this from the wonderful Dani over at Refracted Light. (Thanks again Dani!) I was gifted (yay):  From my dear MaryAnn at Chapter by Chapter I got this great Pledge swag…

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