Waiting On Wednesday (32)

Time for the"Waiting On Wednesday" weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Waiting on Wednesday spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Fate's Edge (The Edge 3) by Ilona Andrews

To be Published:  November 29th 2011 by Ace

 

This book does not have a synopsis yet, but I LOVED the last one.  This series just gets better with each book. If you like urban fantasy/paranormal/hard-to-categorize-in-a-genre books you should definitely check this series out.  Ilona Andrews is a great husband/wife writing team and I pretty much love everything they manage to write.  November seems far away, but I am sure it will be here in the blink of an eye. Can't wait!!

What book are YOU waiting on?

Book Bargains!

I can't resist... check out these good deals currently on Amazon:


If I Stay by Gayle Forman $3.60


Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick $4.00

 

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green $3.60

 

 

Ninth Grade Slays #2: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod $3.60

 

 

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough $3.60

There are even more good deals on books out there... they have a whole section of bargain books for less than $5.  Check it out if you are interested!

Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Young Adult - Romance
Publication Date: December 2nd 2010
Publisher: Dutton
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 372
Date Scoot Read: March 2011
Source: Hardcover

Scoot's Rating: 10 – Amazing! Loved it. Read it now!

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

Scoot’s Review:

Anna’s newly famous father thinks she needs to be doing what all of the other jet-setting children do; attend a foreign boarding school. Against Anna’s wishes she is sent to Paris for her senior year. Thrown into a country where she doesn’t speak the language, doesn’t look the part (her Target wardrobe just isn’t going to cut it) and doesn’t know anyone is not how she pictured spending her last year of high school. Anna just wants to go home and work on her future dream of being a movie critic and her maybe-romance with a hot coworker. But Paris isn’t as miserable as she expected it to be and Anna, along with some new found friends, learns that life and love go on even in the most unexpected places. I loved this book! If you have followed many of my reviews you may have noticed that I am not a fan of the instant romance. Therefore, Anna and the French Kiss was PERFECT for me. The slow building true-friendship-turns-into-true-love romance of this book was amazing. Oh Étienne. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Anna and Étienne were imperfect perfection. They weren’t physically or emotionally flawless; they were real. The character development in this novel was great. Anna was a confident lead but not overly so, she didn’t always make the best choices but she learned from her mistakes. The writing and pace of the story flowed well and I literally read the book all in one sitting, I could not stop! This book had me on the edge of my seat, laughing, crying, stressed out and happy as a clam. The only bad thing I could think of about this book was that it ended. I wanted it to keep going! I think I could read about Anna & Étienne for ages and never get bored.

The Goddess Test (ARC)

Author: Aimee Carter

Genre: Young Adult – Urban Fantasy

Publication Date: April 26, 2011

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 297
Date Scoot Read: April 2011

Source: eGalley from NetGalley & Harlequin Teen

Scoot's Rating: 6- Good read with small flaws.

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Every girl who has taken the test has died.

Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

If she fails...

Scoot’s Review:
Kate’s mother is dying and she wants to die at home; home being an old and tiny town where she grew up far away from the busy New York City where Kate was raised. So Kate takes her mother home and is thrown unexpectedly into a world she didn’t even know existed. To save her mother’s life Kate makes a deal that she will be hard pressed to keep with a mysterious young man. Thrown into a world of dangerous tests and putting her own life at risk Kate hopes to prevail where none have succeeded before her. I found this book to be an interesting read, but I wasn’t fully satisfied with it. For some reason I just expected a lot more of the tests and I feel that some betrayals and plot twists were too breezed over. Character development was not strong, or equal. For some characters I felt they were well developed, but it was Kate herself that I couldn’t get much of a handle on. We didn’t really get to know her, so it was harder to connect with her as lead. The romance of the novel didn’t feel too rushed but once again seemed to be lacking depth for me. I did enjoy the mythology twists in the novel and how the mythological characters were adapted to function in the modern age, such as a young man named Henry being Hades, etc. This book was a decent read and for some it might be amazing, but I just never really connected with it. Although I am curious enough to know what happens next in the story to keep an eye out for the sequel eventually.

Waiting On Wednesday (31)

Time for the"Waiting On Wednesday" weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Waiting on Wednesday spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh

To be Published:  January 24th 2012 by Atheneum

 

If you haven't read Nevermore yet, do not read the synopsis below because it is very spoilery for the last book!

While Varen remains a prisoner in the dream-world, Isobel is haunted by his memory. He appears to her in her dreams and soon, even in her waking life. But is she just imagining it? Isobel knows she must find a way back to Varen. She makes plans to go to Baltimore. There, she confronts the figure known throughout the world as the Poe Toaster—the same dark man who once appeared to Isobel in her dreams, calling himself "Reynolds."

Isobel succeeds in interrupting the Toaster's ritual and, in doing so, discovers a way to return to the dream-world. Soon, she finds herself swept up in a realm which not only holds remnants of Poe's presence, but has also now taken on the characteristics of Varen's innermost self. It is a dark world comprised of fear, terror, and anger.

When Isobel once more encounters Varen, she finds him changed. With his mind poisoned by the dream world, he becomes a malevolent force, bent on destroying all—even himself. Now Isobel must face a new adversary, one who also happens to be her greatest love.

-------------

I recently read Nevermore and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  It was a fabulous read and I can't wait to get my hands on this second novel... but 2012 seems SO FAR AWAY.

What book are YOU waiting on?

 

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair (ARC)

Author: Elizabeth Laird
Genre : Young Adult – Historical Fiction
Publication Date : April 18th 2011
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Age Range : +12
Pages : 435
Date Scoot Read: April 2011
Source: eGalley from NetGalley & Houghton Mifflin

Scoot's Rating : 9-  Great read! Couldn’t put it down.

Synopsis (via Goodreads) : In seventeenth-century Scotland, saying the wrong thing can lead to banishment—or worse. Accused of being a witch, sixteen-year-old Maggie Blair is sentenced to be hanged. She escapes, but instead of finding shelter with her principled, patriotic uncle, she brings disaster to his door. 

Betrayed by one of her own accusers, Maggie must try to save her uncle and his family from the king’s men, even if she has to risk her own life in the process.

Originally published in the UK, this book has a powerful blend of heart-stopping action and thought-provoking themes.

Scoot’s Review:

Young Maggie, growing up in seventeenth-century Scotland, has never had much shelter, food or education, but she has always had her old cantankerous Grannie.  Nevertheless, when tragedy befalls their small village and her Grannie is accused of being a witch it looks like Maggie is going to take the fall right along side her.  Unfair witch trials are just the start of Maggie’s dangerous and life altering journey as she struggles for safety and survival in a time of religious persecution.  This was an excellently written novel.  The historical elements felt real and easily placed the reader in the desired seventeenth-century time frame.  I am not a historian, but the setting felt historically accurate to me.  I enjoyed the perspective and the writing style.  Maggie was a strong lead character and you can see how she changes and grows throughout the novel.  The pace of the story was great and the plot had enough twists, turns and intense moments to keep you turning the pages.  I was happy with the overall story, but I wished it had kept going just a little longer.  Largely in part because I am such a romantic and I wanted to see how certain hints of the storyline would pan out; but overall the story had good closure, ended well and I really enjoyed it!

In My Mailbox (22)

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly Meme hosted by The Story Siren!

I am not usually consistent about posting my IMMs... so here is what I have received recently.  Lots of great books that I can't wait to get started on!!

In My Mailbox:

For Review

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure by Allan Richard Shickman

Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country by Allan Richard Shickman

Prize

The Samaritan by Fred Venturini

Book Trade

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Purchased

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side  by Beth Fantaskey

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: Young Adult – Historical Fiction
Publication Date: March 14th 2006
Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
Age Range: 12+
Pages:  550
Date Scoot Read: April 2011
Source: Audiobook

Scoot's Rating: 10 – Amazing! Loved it. Read it now!

Synopsis (via Goodreads): It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist- books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found.

With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Scoot’s Review:
Can I just say that I loved and hated this book simultaneously.  I loved it because of the compelling story, inspiring ideas and deep feelings it shared.  I feel this is one of those books that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.  It was beautiful, heartrending, and haunting. Yet, I hated it because I vaguely knew what was going to happen in the storyline and I was dreading events as I became more deeply involved in the novel.  Talk about dragging out the heartache!  Crying in the car on your commute home from work is not a pretty thing.  The entire story was told in colorful vignettes of life of a young girl named Liesel (aka – The Book Thief).  The story’s narrator was Death.  Yes, Death himself was telling the tale and it was not always in succession. Death would hop around telling pieces of the tale in the order he felt it needed to be told. The writing style itself was more descriptively excessive than I normally prefer; for instance, rather than a color being stated to describe something it would be compared to an object, like “hair the color of lemons.” However, after taking some time to adjust to the style I loved it and I can’t imagine it being told any other way.  It still makes me tear up just thinking about it.  When I see Liesel’s story in my mind I picture it in all of the descriptive imaging it was told it. Character building was perfect, you easily connected to the characters in the novel and quickly became very attached to them.  Needless to say this is a book that should be read, or listened to at least one time by everyone.  A brilliant and heartbreaking tale.  Kudos to the author, it was lovely.  

YALSA's Teens' Top Ten Nominees!

I am not a teen and I have not been a teen for years.  But that doesn't stop me from reading and getting excited about "teen" books!

The Young Adult Library Services Association annually nominates books for a Top Ten "Teen Choice" list; where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year!  If you are a teen you can vote for your top pics of the 2011 list, Aug. 22 through Sept. 16.

The 25 2011 Nominees:
Drought by Pam Bachorz
I Am J by Cris Beam
You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card
The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Love, Inc by Yvonne Collins
Matched by Ally Condie
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Lies by Michael Grant
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The False Princess by Ellis O’Neal 
Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

I've read 10 of the books off of the nominee list and there are a bunch more on there I have not read yet but really want to.  I think my number one pick off this list (of what I have read so far) is a toss up between Behemoth, Mockingjay or Paranormalcy.

Have you read any of the books on the list? Are you planning to read any?  Which book do you think deserves the top spot?