Posts By: Giselle

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Fresh Batch (Dec 18th – 24th)

Posted by Giselle • 15 Comments

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

Flavour of the week:

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Touch of Power

Maria V. Snyder

Goodreads / Purchase

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

For an excerpt of Touch of Power, click here!

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Maria’s Website / Blog / Goodreads / Facebook

Maria V. Snyder earned an MA in Popular Fiction Writing from Seton Hill University. Her freelance articles appear in magazines and newspapers, and she enjoys teaching fiction writing classes at the local college.

Series by Maria (click on cover for Goodreads):

Click here for the full list of Maria’s books

Other releases this week (click on cover for Goodreads):
*In no particular order* *Purchase links are for Book Depository*

When her widowed father dumps 16-year-old Katy Jessevar in a boarding school in Whitfield, Massachusetts, she has no idea that fate has just opened the door to both her future and her past. Nearly everyone in Whitfield is a witch, as is Katy herself, although she has struggled all her life to hide her unusual talents.

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.

Purchase

Magic has a price—and for Amber Sarga it’s days and years off her life. Each curse she breaks ages her—and the bigger the curse the bigger the cost, and not only to her. That’s why she hides away and has vowed not to get involved again… That’s why she hates looking in a mirror…

Purchase

Thirteen-year-old Wil Lowenstein copes with his brother’s death by focusing on Zombie Tag, a mafia/capture the flag hybrid game where he and his friends fight off brain-eating zombies with their mothers’ spatulas. When Wil finds a way to summon all the dead within five miles, he’s surprised to discover that his back-from-the-dead brother is emotionless and distant.

Purchase

Four girls. One dead body. A whole lot of guilt. Alice King isn’t expecting the holiday of a lifetime when she sets off with her classmates on a trip to the Scottish wilderness, but she’s not exactly prepared for an experience beyond her darkest nightmares…

Purchase

Fifteen-year-old Stevie Calhoun is used to taking care of herself. But one night, her mom, who works as an exotic dancer in a downtown Seattle nightclub, never comes home. That’s the night Stevie’s life turns upside down.

Purchase

The Drakes and friends will be tested when an infestation of deadly vampires threatens Violet Hill. Lucy’s cousin Christabel has come to live in Violet Hill, and adjusting to the difference between life in a small mountain town and her home in the city is difficult enough. The strict curfew that Lucy’s parents enforce is the worst part. Something really dangerous couldn’t possibly happen in this tiny town.

Purchase

Discover the history of St. Vladimir’s Academy, explore the dark psychology behind Rose and Lissa’s spirit bond, and find out even more illicit secrets about Moroi society. This ultimate guide will feature everything readers want and need to go even deeper into the world of Vampire Academy. Every heartache, every betrayal, every sacrifice, and so much more!

Purchase

Four friends devise a plan to turn Smitten, Vermont, into the country’s premier romantic getaway-and each finds her own true love along the way.

Purchase

Persephone has been running for her entire life. Running from the humans to keep her immortality a secret. And running from a man who haunts her dreams. Not a man but a god, who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And what he wants most, is her.

What are you most anticipating this week?

Review: The Clairvoyance Clock by KM Parr

Posted by Giselle on 12/16/2011 • 23 Comments

The Clairvoyance Clock(Alex in Wunderstrande, #1)K.M. ParrRelease date: November 22nd, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

For seventeen-year-old Alexander Rosengrant, the recent war in Wunderstrande was anything but victorious. Angry that he was forced to stay home while his friends risked their lives as soldiers, Alex harbors resentment toward his Uncle Brody, Lancaster’s star general. In the midst of this controversy, the mention of a mad scientist’s strange heirloom soon propels Alex on a risky journey, leading him to question all that Lancaster had been fighting for. Along the way, Alex discovers that not only is his life a tangled mess of lies, but the situation surrounding the war was nothing he could have ever imagined.

*A copy was provided by KM Parr for review purposes* I really thought I wasn’t going…

Masquerade Tour Stop

Posted by Giselle on 12/15/2011 • 34 Comments

I am honored to have Cambria Hebert, author of Masquerade, drop by Xpresso Reads today for a very interesting guest post: She’s going to announce her dream cast for the characters in Masquerade as well as a fantastic giveaway that you do NOT want to miss!

Before we begin, let’s see what Masquerade is all about:

MasqueradeCambria HebertRelease date: December 16th, 2011by Otherworld Publications

Goodreads / Purchase

Before. Everything was so much better Before. I wasn’t haunted by nightmares, my place at school was secure and my face was flawless. Now, I’m a freak and everything has changed. The worst part is that I can’t remember the night I was sentenced to the shadows. The memory has been stolen from me and I just can’t shake the feeling…

Waiting on Wednesday (14)

Posted by Giselle on 12/14/2011 • 63 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:

Vestige Deb Hanrahan

Release date: June 25th, 2012

EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM Civil Authorities have issued a Civil Danger Notification Until Further Notice.

The following message is being transmitted by the request of The United States Government. An unknown number of citizens have gone missing. Authorities are trying to locate the missing persons. Residents are asked to stay in their place of residence. If you must go out, do not travel alone and carry proper identification.

Please do not call 911 to report missing persons. Emergency Call Centers and local law enforcement are no longer fully staffed. The United States…

Review: Masquerade by Cambria Hebert

Posted by Giselle on 12/13/2011 • 24 Comments

MasqueradeCambria HebertRelease date: December 16th, 2011by Otherworld Publications

Goodreads

Just when I think I have my life handled, Sam, with his intimidating golden stare and shiver inducing voice, makes me realize that I don’t know anything. He makes me see that my scars don’t matter. That they never mattered. I can’t help but fall for him, completely unknowing that he…

Dusty Reads (12)

Posted by Giselle on 12/13/2011 • 36 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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FallenLauren KateReleased December, 2009Goodreads / Purchase

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out…

Review: Dark Seeker by Taryn Browning

Posted by Giselle on 12/12/2011 • 24 Comments

Dark SeekerTaryn BrowningReleased September 27th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai…

In My Mailbox (13)

Posted by Giselle on 12/11/2011 • 115 Comments

“In My Mailbox” is a meme, created by Kristi at The Story Siren, that features books I’ve received/ purchased/ borrowed during the current week. Are we all ready for Christmas? We’re putting our tree up tomorrow and most of my shopping is done – FYI, I don’t like shopping o_O. So you know how I said I wasn’t buying any books before Christmas, well, Clockwork Prince happened to be at Costco for half price so… yeah I couldn’t very well leave it there now could I? =) Let’s see what else I got this week. I got for review (click on cover or links for Goodreads): 1. Blood Rights by Kristen Painter 2. Flesh & Blood by Kristen Painter 3. Bad Blood by Kristen Painter 4. The Future of Us…