Posts By: Giselle

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Fresh Batch (New Releases Dec. 28th – Jan. 3rd)

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Fresh Batch, posted weekly, keeps you up to date on the hottest releases of the upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

Love and Other Theories
Alexis Bass
Publication date: December 31st 2014
by HarperTeen

Goodreads

If you want more, you have to give less.

That’s the secret to dating in high school. By giving as little as they expect to get in return, seventeen-year-old Aubrey Housing and her three best friends have made it to the second semester of their senior year heartbreak-free. And it’s all thanks to a few simple rules: don’t commit, don’t be needy, and don’t give away your heart.

So when smoking-hot Nathan Diggs transfers to Lincoln High, it shouldn’t be a big deal. At least that’s what Aubrey tells herself. But Nathan’s new-boy charm, his kindness, and his disarming honesty throw Aubrey off her game and put her in danger of breaking the most important rule of all: Don’t fall in love.


Other releases this week:
* In no particular order *




Vendetta (Vendetta #1) by Catherine Doyle [Purchase]
A Necessary Sin (The Sin Trilogy #1) by Georgia Cates
Saving Grace by Jane Green [Purchase]
Die Again (Rizzoli & Isles #11) by Tess Gerritsen [Purchase]


Ignite (Defy #2) by Sara B. Larson [Purchase]
After We Fell (After #3) by Anna Todd [Purchase]
The Rosie Effect (Don Tillman #2) by Graeme Simsion [Purchase]
Off Campus (Bend or Break #1) by Amy Jo Cousins [Purchase]


Marked (Servants of Fate #1) by Sarah Fine [Purchase]
Remember by Shannon Dermott
After Us (Before & After #2) by Amber Hart [Purchase]


Anything on your wishlist this week?

 

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Find previous Fresh Batch posts here!

Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Posted by on 12/25/2014 • 19 Comments

You know a book is really special when you’ve only just begun and you’re already overwhelming with emotions. Imagine, I’ve only read a few pages of this novel and my eyes were starting to water already. My little brother was even giving me a bewildered look as he saw me wipe my tears away with the back of my hand.

Le brother: What’s up with you? Me: This book… this book is… it’s just so sad…! Le brother: You’re crying over a book? Me: I’m not crying over a book. I’m crying over the characters in this book! Le brother: … you’re crying over a book. Me: Fuck you, you heartless bastard. You wouldn’t understand.

Pffft, brothers. Who needs them?

I’ve first read Jessi Kirby in Golden, a heart-warming and relatable story of…

Twelve Nightmares Before Christmas: Guest Post by Courtney Alameda

Twelve Nightmares Before Christmas: Guest Post by Courtney Alameda

Posted by on 12/24/2014 • 6 Comments

On this Christmas eve, I’m happy to have the Twelve Nightmares Before Christmas tour stop by – I mean, y’all know me by now, right? >.< But don’t worry, it’s a lot more fun than scary 😉 On each day of this tour, Courtney is featuring a Christmas monster – keep reading to find out ours with a fun guest post below along with a giveaway! Here’s a bit of info on the book, too:

Twelve Nightmares Before Christmas: Yule Cat

Hi! I’m Courtney Alameda, author of the soon-to-be published YA horror novel, SHUTTER. I love Christmastime and all things scary, so I wanted to celebrate by sharing some of my favorite Christmas beasties with everyone this year—twelve of them, to be exact! Join me and a…

Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Posted by on 12/22/2014 • 17 Comments

This is the sort of story that kinda sneaks up on you. You’re not sure what kind of book it is at first – especially if you’re like me and don’t brush up on the blurb beforehand. It seems intense and gritty and even a tad confusing. You notice right away that the characters are definitely messed up with deep rooted issues they need to work on. Then there’s romance and profound conversations and soul searching and what seems to be a light at the end of this dark, dreary tunnel. Then, BAM!

BAAAAAM!

Well ok don’t get too agitated, it takes a while until reality crashes down – almost at the end, really, but it basically changes the whole meaning of the book. At least it did for me….

Fresh Batch (New Releases December 21st – 27th)

Fresh Batch (New Releases December 21st – 27th)

Posted by on 12/20/2014 • 6 Comments

Fresh Batch, posted weekly, keeps you up to date on the hottest releases of the upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

This Shattered World Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner Series: Starbound #2 Publication date: December 23rd 2014by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Purchase

The second installment in the epic Starbound trilogy introduces a new pair of star-crossed lovers on two sides of a bloody war.

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet’s rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn’s blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for…

Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Posted by on 12/19/2014 • 23 Comments

Well, what do you know… I actually found myself enjoying this one, despite my initial reservations.

If I could briefly describe this book, it’s Red Rising by Pierce Brown Set in a Castle-Turned-Into-X-Men-Academy. And trust me, it’s way cooler than it sounds. And it already sounds way cool.

It’s a premise we have seen before – in fiction and in history: the people are divided into two classes, the rulers and the ruled. The first are the Silvers, who enjoy the luxuries of life and have various abilities (reading and controlling minds, manipulating elements, healing); we also have the Reds, who toil and work their lives away for the latter, oppressed and living in extreme poverty. And we have Mare Barrows, a Red who finds herself wielding Silver powers – an anomaly, a mistake,…

Review: On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Review: On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Posted by on 12/18/2014 • 15 Comments

We’ve all been asked something along the lines of “What would you bring with you on a deserted island”, but for Anna and TJ, this is not rhetorical anymore. And unfortunately they didn’t even get that choice. All they have on the island they’re stranded on, is what has floated in from their plane crash. A suitcase full of mostly useless stuff, but stuff nonetheless. Stories like these really make you appreciate everything we have, here. The choices that we have. For Anna and TJ, they’re only hoping to survive from one day to the next.

One thing I appreciated from this novel is that it isn’t overly dramatic. There’s not a new crisis in every chapter, they don’t have near death experiences and close calls every 3 pages….

Inspirations for This Shattered World & Giveaway!

Inspirations for This Shattered World & Giveaway!

Posted by on 12/16/2014 • 27 Comments

[Banner Image Credit: Amie Kaufman Facebook Page] I was a huge fan of These Broken Stars when I read it a few months ago, and I’m really excited to have the blog tour for this second book stop by the blog today. I’ve got both authors over here talking about the inspiration behind Starbound! Here’s a bit of info on this book first:

Guest Post by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

What Inspires Us The question “how do you come up with your ideas” is hands down the most frequent question we stumble across when talking to readers. As much as we’d love to say “from the corner mart,” the real answer is that inspiration comes from everywhere. It comes from…