Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Top Ten Books I Recently Added To My To-Be-Read List


Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! As always, I am linking up over at The Broke and the Bookish, and this week I am talking about the books I have recently added to my TBR list. This was pretty easy to figure out as I just went to my Goodreads To Read list, and just sorted them by the date that I added them. Viola! A very quick list of the most recent books I have added to my TBR list, so those are the books that I am going to use here. A lot of them are going to be 2015 releases, which I suppose makes sense! Here is my list...

1. Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton
Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars in this soapy, drama-packed novel featuring diverse characters who will do anything to be the prima at their elite ballet school.

Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette's desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever. When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

 2. Unlovely by Celeste Conway
Accidents happen. But they happen more often when the beautiful ballet dancers return each summer to the island. When he hears the ruthless way that the loveliest dancer talks about boys getting what they deserve when they break girls' hearts, Harley, home for the summer after his first year of college, wonders if he's losing his mind. He knows for sure that he's losing his heart to this girl...But then, strange incidents start happening all over the island and Harley is caught between desire and fear: could he also be in danger of losing his life?

 3. The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow
Francis Wootton's first memory is of Kurt Cobain's death, and there have been other hardships closer to home since then. At fifteen years old he already knows all about loss and rejection - and to top it all off he has a permanently broke big brother, a grandma with selective memory (and very selective social graces) and a mum who's at best an acquired taste. Would-be poet, possible intellectual and definitely wasted in Tyne and Wear, Francis has grown used to figuring life out on his own.Lower Fifth is supposed to be his time, the start of an endless horizon towards whatever-comes-next. But when he is diagnosed with leukaemia that wide-open future suddenly narrows, and a whole new world of worry presents itself.There's the horror of being held back a year at school, the threat of imminent baldness, having to locate his best shirt in case a visiting princess or pop-star fancies him for a photo-op . . . But he hadn't reckoned on meeting Amber - fierce, tough, one-of-a-kind Amber - and finding a reason to tackle it all - the good, the bad and everything in between - head on.In Bloom is a bright, funny, painful and refreshing novel about wanting the very best from life, even when life shows you how very bad it can be. It is a novel about how to live.

 4. The Lies About Truth by Courtney C. Stevens
Sadie Kingston, is a girl living in the aftermath. A year after surviving a car accident that killed her friend Trent and left her body and face scarred, she can’t move forward. The only person who seems to understand her is Trent’s brother, Max.

As Sadie begins to fall for Max, she's unsure if she is truly healed enough to be with him — even if Max is able to look at her scars and not shy away. But when the truth about the accident and subsequent events comes to light, Sadie has to decide if she can embrace the future or if she'll always be trapped in the past.

5.  A Step Toward Falling by Cammie McGovern
Emily doesn’t know why she froze. Or why Lucas did too. Afterward, she thought of different ways to rationalize it. But the truth is, they could have helped Belinda, and they didn’t. It’s a mistake they’ll both have to live with.

Sometimes doing nothing is the only way to cope.
Belinda doesn’t want to talk about what happened. Because when she does, it feels like it’s happening all over again.

Sometimes good can come from bad.

Emily and Lucas’s punishment is community service at a center for people with disabilities. People like Belinda. Soon they feel like maybe they’re starting to make a real difference. Like they would be able to do the right thing if they could do that night all over again. Like they could help not only those at the center but also each other.

But when Belinda returns to school, Emily and Lucas have to figure out if they can do anything that will actually help the one person they hurt most.

 6. Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers
Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck's small-town life. Brand new to town, Silas is different than the guys in Green Lake. He's curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening-- and really, really cute. But Silas has a sister-- and she has a secret. And West has a boyfriend. And life in Green Lake is about to change forever.

Truest is a stunning, addictive debut. Romantic, fun, tender, and satisfying, it asks as many questions as it answers.
 

 7. Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid
Dave and Julia are best friends. On the brink of high school, they made a list of cliches they would never do. Now in their senior year, Dave and Julia decide to try every Never on the list. As they break out of their comfort zone and have many adventures- both together and apart- they learn a lot more about who they are and what their true feelings are for one another. 

 8. Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa
Ten months after her recurring depression landed her in the hospital, Mira is starting over as a new student at Saint Francis Prep. She promised her parents she would at least try to act like a normal, functioning human this time around, not a girl who sometimes can’t get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with Sebby.

Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Saint Francis who’s been in self-imposed isolation after an incident that ruined his last year of school. When he sees Sebby for the first time across the school lawn it’s as if he’s been expecting this blond, lanky boy with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Sebby, Mira’s gay best friend, is a boy who seems to carry sunlight around with him like a backlit halo. Even as life in his foster home starts to take its toll, Sebby and Mira together craft a world of magic rituals and secret road trips, designed to fix the broken parts of their lives.

As Jeremy finds himself drawn into Sebby and Mira’s world, he begins to understand the secrets that they hide in order to protect themselves, to keep each other safe from those who don’t understand their quest to live for the impossible.

A captivating and profound debut novel, "Fans of the Impossible Life" is a story about complicated love and the friendships that change you forever.
 

 9. What's Broken Between Us by Alexis Bass
Alexis Bass’s heartbreakingly beautiful second novel is a tale of love, loss, and learning to forgive.

Look to the left, look to the right. We’re all going to die. But someone has to do it first. So who’s it going to be?

Tragedy struck Amanda Tart’s town a year and a half ago when a sophomore girl was killed in a car accident on graduation night.
Amanda’s brother, Jonathan, was behind the wheel and too drunk to drive. He’s spent the past year in prison and has cut off all ties. But now Jonathan is coming home. Just as Amanda’s trying to figure out what that means for her family and herself, she’s paired up for a school project with Henry Crane—a former crush, and brother of Jonathan’s ex-girlfriend, who survived the crash with horrible injuries.

Everyone is still incredibly damaged by the events of that night. Can Amanda and Henry finally begin to heal what’s broken and find some peace?
 

 10. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
Happiness shouldn't be this hard

The Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-relief procedure seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto -- miracle cure-alls don't tend to pop up in the Bronx projects. But Aaron can't forget how he's grown up poor or how his friends aren't always there for him. Like after his father committed suicide in their one bedroom apartment. Aaron has the support of his patient girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but it's not enough.

Then Thomas shows up. He has a sweet movie-watching setup on his roof, and he doesn't mind Aaron's obsession with a popular fantasy series. There are nicknames, inside jokes. Most importantly, Thomas doesn't mind talking about Aaron's past. But Aaron's newfound happiness isn't welcome on his block. Since he's can't stay away from Thomas or suddenly stop being gay, Aaron must turn to Leteo to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he is.

Adam Silvera's extraordinary debut novel offers a unique confrontation of race, class and sexuality during one charged near-future summer in the Bronx.
 

Sunday, March 29, 2015

April Review-A-Thon | Link Up

I have fallen SO behind on writing book reviews lately, and I am determined to fix it as soon as I can. I have read a lot of my Netgalley books, but have yet to write the reviews for them, which is incredibly sad since I know that doing so will boost my Netgalley percentage. Because of this, I have decided to do a sort of Review-A-Thon in April.

So, what do I plan to do for the Review-A-Thon? Personally, I intend to post a book review each WEEKDAY of the month, which I know is a pretty hefty goal, but it is something that I really do want to accomplish. After counting, that means 22 days, which is 22 reviews. That sounds like a ton, but I know that I have that many to write, especially once I finish the books I intend to read in March and April.

What does this mean for you? Obviously I know that some people don't need to write this many reviews in a month. Maybe you do, though. Or maybe you just want to work on writing a few more reviews that you normally would, and doesn't April seem like the perfect time to do that? If you link up below, we can keep each other accountable and support/motivate one another throughout the month. No pressure, but I do intend to host a giveaway at the end of April for those who do link up and post at least a few reviews throughout the month of April!

So, what do you think? Join me?



Saturday, March 28, 2015

Stacking the Shelves [44]

I am joining in on Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme hosted over at Tynga's Reviews. It is an easy way to share what books you picked up that week, and to see what other people have picked up to read themselves.

How to Participate?

  • Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use my official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun!
  • You can set your post any way you want, simple book list, covers, pictures, vlog, sky is the limit!
  • I am posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you.
  • Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday and add your link so others can visit you! 


THIS WEEK:

Happy weekend, friends! Things have been so crazy at work with a couple of days of testing, and more standardized testing coming next week, so it's nice to have a couple of days off! I went and saw Insurgent last night, and will probably do a post soon about my thoughts on the movie (I'm thinking I may need to see it a second time again first, though...). At the mall I go to with a friend to see movies, they have a Barnes and Noble, so I stepped in there and picked up a couple of books. I also got a couple from Target this week, as well as a couple in the mail to review for blog tours, so let's get to it!

Purchased:

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

 Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark
Abram and Juliette know each other. They’ve lived down the street from each other their whole lives. But they don’t really know each other—at least, not until Juliette’s mom and Abram’s dad have a torrid affair that culminates in a deadly car crash. Sharing the same subdivision is uncomfortable, to say the least. They don’t speak.

Fast-forward to the neighborhood pharmacy, a few months later. Abram decides to say hello. Then he decides to invite her to Taco Bell. To her surprise as well as his, she agrees. And the real love story begins.

 The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes
Ever since the night of the incident with Luke Willis, the preacher’s son, sophomore Hallelujah Calhoun has been silent. When the rumors swirled around school, she was silent. When her parents grounded her, she was silent. When her friends abandoned her … silent.

Now, six months later, on a youth group retreat in the Smoky Mountains, Hallie still can’t find a voice to answer the taunting. Shame and embarrassment haunt her, while Luke keeps coming up with new ways to humiliate her. Not even meeting Rachel, an outgoing newcomer who isn’t aware of her past, can pull Hallie out of her shell. Being on the defensive for so long has left her raw, and she doesn’t know who to trust.

On a group hike, the incessant bullying pushes Hallie to her limit. When Hallie, Rachel, and Hallie’s former friend Jonah get separated from the rest of the group, the situation quickly turns dire. Stranded in the wilderness, the three have no choice but to band together.

With past betrayals and harrowing obstacles in their way, Hallie fears they’ll never reach safety. Could speaking up about the night that changed everything close the distance between being lost and found? Or has she traveled too far to come back?

 Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.

In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.

 Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton
Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’.

Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin's new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.

For Review:

 Lucky Strike by Bobbie Pyron
A rich, southern voice tells the unforgettable story of two vulnerable outsiders, the lightning strike that turns their world upside down and the true meaning of lucky.

Nate Harlow has never had a lucky day in his life. He's never won a prize, he's never been picked first, he's never even won a coin toss. His best friend, Genesis Beam (aka Gen), believes in science and logic, and she doesn't think for one second that there's such a thing as luck, good or bad. But only an extremely unlucky person could be struck by lightning on his birthday... and that person is Nate Harlow. By some miracle, though, Nate survives, and the strike seems to have changed his luck. Suddenly, Nate's grandpa is the busiest fisherman in their small, beachside town. And Nate finds himself the center of attention, the most popular kid at school, the one who hits a game-winning home run! This lucky streak can't last forever, though, and as a hurricane draws close to the shores of Paradise Beach, Nate and Gen may need more than just good luck to save their friendship and their town: They need a miracle.

 Forever Julia by Jodi Carmichael
16-year-old Julia falls for a wealthy and controlling boy who leads her to betray her best friend and sacrifice her integrity. Because love and infatuation can turn dark. Fast.  Ultimately, she alone must decide what lines cannot be crossed. Forever Julia is full of romance, heart-break, and dangerous secrets.



Thursday, March 26, 2015

Blog Tour | Hidden Deep by Amy Patrick




Hidden Deep (Book 1 of the Hidden Trilogy)
Release Date: 03/23/15
Oxford South Press
319 pages


Summary from Goodreads:
Give in to the Glamour…

Sixteen-year-old Ryann Carroll has just run into the guy who saved her life ten years ago. You might think she'd be happy to see him again. Not exactly. She's a bit underdressed (as in skinny-dipping) and he's not supposed to exist.

After her father's affair, all Ryann wants is to escape the family implosion fallout and find a little peace. She also wouldn't mind a first date that didn't suck, but she's determined not to end up like her mom: vulnerable, betrayed, destroyed. Ryann's recently moved back to her childhood home in rural Mississippi, the same place where ten years earlier she became lost in the woods overnight and nearly died.

She's still irresistibly drawn to those woods. There she encounters the boy who kept her from freezing to death that long ago winter night and was nowhere to be seen when rescuers arrived. He's still mysterious, but now all grown-up and gorgeous, too. And the more she's with him, the greater the threat he poses to Ryann's strict policy-- never want someone more than he wants you.

Seventeen-year-old Lad knows the law of his people all too well: Don't get careless and Don't get caught. It's allowed his race to live undetected in this world for thousands of years, mentioned only in flawed and fading folklore…

Lad's never been able to forget about Ryann since that night ten years ago. When he sees her again, his fascination re-ignites and becomes a growing desire that tempts him to break all the rules. He's not even supposed to talk to a human, much less fall in love with one.

And the timing is atrocious. The Assemblage is coming, the rift between the Light and Dark is widening, and mysterious celebrity fan pods are becoming more and more widespread and influential. Lad may have to trade his own chance at happiness to keep the humans, especially Ryann, blissfully unaware and safe.


Buy Links:

Review: If you have been around the blog for awhile, then you know that I pick a lot of the books I read, especially the ones I read for blog tours, based on the covers. Recently, I have realized this is probably not the best method to go about things (I realized it before now, obviously, but I didn't follow through with it). When I received the email for this book, I am glad that I scrolled down and actually read the synopsis because that is what really grabbed my attention. The cover is nice, but that synopsis will get you! I enjoyed reading a book that was outside what I normally read, and while I did not love everything about it, there were definitely some amazing things about it!

The main character in this book was likeable enough, I think, though a little bit immature and naive at times. I guess that teen girls can have those moments, but Ryann seemed to push it a bit for me at times. I do like how we know something about the past already, and how that brings in a huge part of the story for us. The two main characters already know each other, at least in some way, so it is interesting to see them reunite and develop into something more. Lad was a great character as well. Definitely likeable and charming, which is something that I enjoy very much in a male lead. There is also Nox, who brings some complexity to the story, and I am very interested to see the part he plays in the following books.

I did really enjoy the fantasy elements of the book as well. I do not read a lot of books with any sort of supernatural characters, so it was neat to see that occur. I also thought that a lot of good, unique traits were given to the elves in this story that we might not see in other stories that had the same elements. While fantasy and supernatural still are not my favorite genre, I found that I did not mind them when it came to reading this book.

The plot was very well thought out as well, though I did feel some times there was too much information; too many subplots that at times it was a bit difficult to keep up with everything that was happening. I think that a few things could have been taken out of the plot and the story would have still been just as good. The writing was quite good as well, though I did think that there were some points when the descriptions were incredibly repetitive, and that did get a bit obnoxious for me a couple of times. It was never too bad that it caused me to stop reading altogether, though. The epilogue was also very good, with a wonderful cliffhanger that has me looking forward to the next book.

I would definitely recommend this read to other fantasy fans, especially if they are interested in supernatural elements. I will also say that it helps if you're a fan of insta-love because you will definitely find that here (it's hit or miss for me). I think, overall, this book was an enjoyable, interesting read.

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

About the Author
Amy is a two-time Golden Heart finalist (2013 and 2014). She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two sons and actually craves the heat and humidity of Mississippi, where she grew up. She's been a professional singer and news anchor and currently narrates audio books as well as working as a station host for a Boston TV station.

Author Links:






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