Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday (71)

Posted by 34 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:

Me Since You
Laura Wiess
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release date: September 3rd 2013
by MTV Books

“Laura Wiess’s masterful prose kept me turning the pages. This is the first book in a very long time that made me say, ‘Wish I’d written this’” (Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank, on Such a Pretty Girl).

Sixteen-year-old Rowan is still reeling from her father’s suicide four months ago, after he failed to stop a man from leaping off an overpass to his death. The only witness is Eli, a teenaged boy wrapped deep in mourning for his own father, killed in action in Afghanistan. When Rowan and Eli meet, they recognize kindred spirits, and begin to navigate grief and its aftermath together.

Rowan can’t understand how her father could choose to leave her, and acts out, pushing away friends and taking risks with her safety. Rowan’s mother, wracked with her own guilt and sorrow over failing to save her husband, stops going to work and collects stray cats for comfort. Grief, fractured and unpredictable, rules their lives now. Rowan is lost—and sinking. But Eli represents a lifeline for Rowan, and as they struggle to make sense of what’s gone and what is left behind, they begin to fall in love. Me Since You is Laura Wiess at her finest—a beautiful, gripping and painfully honest examination of adolescence.

I’ve been on a contemporary kick lately and this one caught my eye as soon as I saw the blurb from Ellen Hopkins–the queen of dark, gut wrenching contemps (or so I hear. I’ve never actually read her books >.<).

What are you waiting on, this Wednesday?
Link me up! 🙂

Review: Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Review: Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons

Posted by on 01/29/2013 • 20 Comments

As I got back into the desolation that is is Ember’s world, it didn’t take long until the rush of it all came right back. The first book, Article 5, was a lot of fun with tons of action and wonderful characters, leaving me dying for this one. The sequel begins where Article 5 one left off, with short recaps along the way for those of you, like me, who forget everything they’ve read previously. I often have difficulty getting into a sequel because don’t remember the story, nor my connection to the characters, but Kristen has a great way of bringing it all back as if no time had passed.

In Article 5 she created a world that was extremely dreary, yet believable for a futuristic setting; in Breaking…

Young Adult Giveaway Hop

Posted by on 01/29/2013 • 22 Comments

To give back to all my wonderful followers who read this blog and give it its reason to be, I’m joining in the Young Adult Giveaway Hop as a thank you for being so supportive! Special thanks to I Am A reader, Not A Writer, and BookLove101 for hosting!

What’s up for grabs? One YA book of choice at The Book Depository up to a value of 15$.  Open Internationally as long as TBD ships to you (is your country on the list? Click here) Giveaway ends on February 4th, 2013

Use the Rafflecopter below to enter

This giveaway was made possible by The Book Depository affiliate program. Help support future giveaways by using the link below or on my sidebar to shop at TBD

a Rafflecopter…

Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Posted by on 01/28/2013 • 32 Comments

The Sea of Tranquility Katja Millay Genre: NA ContemporaryPublication date: November 13th 2012by Atria Books

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of…

Xpresso Weekly: Stacking the Shelves (40)

Posted by on 01/27/2013 • 59 Comments

Xpresso Weekly is my edition of Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga’s Reviews featuring the books I got this week, and I also mention blog news/happenings of the past week. This week at Xpresso Reads

Wow what a week. Ok so, did you all see the new feature that we’re launching next week? If you missed it, have a look here! 😉 So we’re all excited to start that. And honestly other than that I have not much to say this week. Hmm. So let me slather you with the cute! My devil had a haircut today:

That is all.

Reviews on the blog this week:

 

New at Xpresso Book Tours

— Tour Sign Up: Surface by Tiffany Daune — Tour Sign Up: The Kings of Charleston…

Fresh Batch (Jan 27th – Feb 2nd)

Posted by on 01/26/2013 • 17 Comments

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

Flavor of the week:

Sins & Needles Karina Halle Series: The Artists Trilogy, #1 Publication date: January 28th 2013by Metal Blonde Books

Ellie Watt is used to starting over. The daughter of a grifting team, Ellie spent her childhood being used as a pawn in her parents’ latest scam. Now she’s much older, wiser and ready to give her con artist life a rest. But returning to the dry desert town of Palm Valley, California means one more temptation than she bargained for – Camden McQueen. Once known as the high school weirdo, Camden is bigger and badder than the boy he used to be and a talented tattoo artist with his own thriving…

Plagiarism: The Saga Continues!

Posted by on 01/26/2013 • 109 Comments

We have all been aware of some plagiarism recently. It seems to have spiked for some reason. I don’t know if it’s the new year, or the fact we all survived the apocalypse or what. But here I am, with my unfortunate story that I feel obliged to share.

I hate drama and wanted to settle the matter privately, but after the follow up that arose, and being warned that she was going around telling people I was falsely accusing and bullying her, I have no choice but to show my side of the story.

I was approached by a friend of mine who was on this blog reading a review of Alice in Zombieland. They found some similarities to my own review and approached me about it. After reading…

Review: Radiant by Cynthia Hand

Posted by on 01/25/2013 • 12 Comments

Radiant Cynthia Hand Series: Unearthly #2.5 Genre:YA ParanormalPublication date: December 4th 2012by HarperTeen

Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn’t ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .

For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met a mysterious guy in Italy two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about.

Alternating between Angela and Clara’s…