Saturday, June 21, 2014

Fresh Batch (New Releases June 22nd – 28th)

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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:

Complicit
Stephanie Kuehn
Publication date: June 24th 2014
by St. Martin’s Griffin

Goodreads Purchase

Two years ago, sixteen-year-old Jamie Henry breathed a sigh of relief when a judge sentenced his older sister to juvenile detention for burning down their neighbor’s fancy horse barn. The whole town did. Because Crazy Cate Henry used to be a nice girl. Until she did a lot of bad things. Like drinking. And stealing. And lying. Like playing weird mind games in the woods with other children. Like making sure she always got her way. Or else.

But today Cate got out. And now she’s coming back for Jamie.

Because more than anything, Cate Henry needs her little brother to know the truth about their past. A truth she’s kept hidden for years. A truth she’s not supposed to tell.

Trust nothing and no one as you race toward the explosive conclusion of this gripping psychological thriller from the William C. Morris Award-winning author of Charm & Strange.

 


Other releases this week:
* In no particular order *




Five Ways to Fall (Ten Tiny Breaths #4) by K.A. Tucker [Purchase]
The Saint (The Original Sinners #5) by Tiffany Reisz [Purchase]
In the End (In the After #2) by Demitria Lunetta [Purchase]
The Things You Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Connor [Purchase]


Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler [Purchase]
Cop Town by Karin Slaughter [Purchase]
When Day Breaks (KGI #9) by Maya Banks [Purchase]
Drowned (Drowned #1) by Nichola Reilly [Purchase]


Rain (Paper Gods #2) by Amanda Sun [Purchase]
Invisible by James Patterson and David Ellis [Purchase]
The Stepsister’s Tale by Tracy Barrett [Purchase]
Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper [Purchase]


Changing Forever (Rain #2) by Lisa De Jong
Shaman Rises (Walker Papers #9) by C.E. Murphy [Purchase]
Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf [Purchase]
Breathe with Me (With Me in Seattle #7) by Kristen Proby [Purchase]


Defector (Variants #2) by Susanne Winnacker [Purchase]
Sins & Secrets (Sins #1) by Jessica Sorensen [Purchase]
Wickedpedia by Chris Van Etten [Purchase]
Followers by Anna Davies [Purchase]


Summer of the Vanities: An Innocents Novel (The Innocents #3) by Lili Peloquin [Purchase]
Twisted by Jo Gibson [Purchase]
Awkwardly Ever After (Smith High #4) by Marni Bates [Purchase]
The Garden of Darkness by Gillian Murray Kendall [Purchase]


Any of these on your summer wishlist?

 

You can support Xpresso Reads by using this link (also found on sidebar) to shop at TBD

Find previous Fresh Batch posts here!

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Posted by on 06/20/2014 • 22 Comments

We Were Liars is an incredible, heartbreaking read that really messes with your mind until the very end. The writing, while not for everyone I’m sure, had me mesmerized. It’s so different and poetic and full of carefully crafted imagery. It’s a writing style that’s really out of the box, you’ll either love it or hate it. Me, I was thoroughly compelled.

The plot itself is one you can’t talk about or read about as you’re bound to find out spoilers. It’s the kind of story where the story itself is a spoiler from very early on. There are hints floating in every corner, pieces of this carefully constructed puzzle laid out for you to put together. My advice: go into this with zero expectations and you might find…

Review: Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

Review: Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

Posted by on 06/19/2014 • 24 Comments

It has been a while since I read the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, so I was a bit worried that remembering next to no details about it would make reading this a flop, but it was not a problem at all. If you want to refresh your memory there’s a convenient Wikipedia page that reminds you who’s who. But everything you need to know is recapped (albeit briefly) as we go along.

Sinner is narrated by our beloved Cole and Isabel, a couple of characters who you won’t soon forget. Cole is somewhat of an arrogant ass, yet charming and hilarious, and Isabel is a bit psychotic with quick wit and, to be honest, she scares me a little >.< I love her, though. She's sarcastic and may...

Review: We Are The Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Review: We Are The Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Posted by on 06/18/2014 • 12 Comments

As someone who is always looking for unique reads I am quick to jump on novels written in the second person. I didn’t originally know that this is how We Are The Goldens was written but once I found out that little tidbit of info I was quick to scoop it up and get going on it. For those of you that are wary of the novel for this very reason I say “Do not fear!” This is a very successful use of this mode of story telling and even though there wasn’t as much substance to the story as I would have liked, I think it was a very well done novel.

Nell and Layla are sisters who are best friends, thick as thieves. When Nell was a little…

Our Summer Reading List!

Our Summer Reading List!

Posted by on 06/17/2014 • 38 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where we list top bookish things. Note that Giselle and Jenni often decide to split it and each do a Top 5.

A hot TBR list for a hot summer! Jenni

I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson: The blurb makes this one sound like it’s packed with ALL the emotions. Great family dynamics, great relationships, I’m so there. CAN. NOT. WAIT. Don’t Touch by Rachel M. Wilson: I’m always fascinated by stories that deal with OCD and this one sounds like it won’t disappoint.  I’m very curious to see how the MC deals with her obsession in the face of it harming her chances of being an actress….

Review: Fan Art by Sarah Tregay

Review: Fan Art by Sarah Tregay

Posted by on 06/16/2014 • 25 Comments

Adorable and very light; a perfect book for reading while I was on the road to BEA. While I had minor problems with this one, it was overall a real heartwarming love story that left me with a smile on my face.

Jamie is gay, and it seems like everyone knows it except his crush, Mason – who also happens to be his best friend. From the beginning, I could tell this was going to be a fun-frustrating kind of read with a lot of longing and a lot of heart. Although it’s not exactly the most unique book out there – it’s a simple angst-filled LGBT story I’ve seen a few times, now – it has a lot to offer with its charismatic characters and the adoption of…

Jenni’s Stacking the Shelves [June 14]

Jenni’s Stacking the Shelves [June 14]

Posted by on 06/14/2014 • 31 Comments

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews featuring new additions to our bookshelves. I know what you’re thinking, “It’s Saturday! What am I doing staring at Jenni’s mug when it’s supposed to be Fresh Batch day?!” I apologize for the disappointment, I do.  Unfortunately Giselle is sick and even sitting on the computer makes her feel like barfing. Seriously, she said to let everyone know that “Fresh Batch might not happen this weekend because barf.” Her words exactly, I swear.  I don’t have the awesome skills it takes to pull of the weekly FB post so I am here a day early with my STS! I even made a video, so here goes:

Books Mentioned in Vlog (click title for Goodreads): Bird Box by…

Review: 17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen

Review: 17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen

Posted by on 06/13/2014 • 25 Comments

The fact that I even read 17 First Kisses at all is a testament to what book bloggers can accomplish. I had written this one off and didn’t think it was going to be for me at all until I saw Blythe’s (Finding Bliss In Books) review. As soon as I saw that she recommended it for fans of Courtney Summers I knew that it was going to be so much more than the blurb let on. And it was, this one has become close to, if not my favourite contemporary read of 2014 so far.

What I loved so much about this book is that it was so much more than a romance. There were friendships here that were so interesting, secondary characters that were perfectly fleshed out and…