Waiting on Wednesday #58

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Summary via Goodreads:
A girl does a macabre dance with death in this eerie new novel from New York Times bestselling author Brenna Yovanoff.

The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record.  The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one.  Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders?  Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets.  She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

Paper Valentine is a hauntingly poetic tale of love and death by the New York Times bestselling author of The Replacement and The Space Between.

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That plot! That cover! Need I say more? 

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff is published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Group, and its expected publication date is January 8, 2013. 
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Waiting on Wednesday #52

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Nameless: A Tale of Beauty and Madness by Lili St. Crow

Summary via Goodreads:
A dark and eerie retelling of Snow White from Lili St. Crow,
New York Times bestselling author of the Strange Angels
series.

Sixteen-year-old Camille doesn’t remember her life before she was adopted by the powerful Vultusino family—the missing childhood years that left her scarred and silent. Now she lives a life
of luxury, protected by the supernatural Mafia Vultusinos, specially Nico, her adopted brother.

But Cami knows that she is not really Family. She is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until a mysterious boy approaches her and reveals scars of his own that Cami begins
to uncover the secrets of her past . . . to find out where she comes from and what danger she now finds herself in.

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Why am I looking forward to Nameless? Okay, if I'm being completely honest, the cover was what originally drew me to Nameless. However, after reading the summary, I can honestly say that this is something that I'll be looking into once it comes out. 

Nameless: A Tale of Beauty and Madness by Lili St. Crow is published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Group, and its expected publication date is April 4, 2013. 

So, what are you waiting on this week?
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Waiting On Wednesday #33

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Lucid by Ron Bass & Adrienne Stoltz

Summary via Goodreads:
What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?

Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different - except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.

The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

This is a dazzling debut that will still readers' hearts.

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Why am I looking forward to Lucid? Because I really feel that it's a unique idea and well, I love that it involves dreaming--being somewhat of a dreamer myself. Seriously though, there's nothing about Lucid's storyline that I don't love. It's a book that I definitely want to read and I can't wait to see if it lives up to my expectations!


Lucid by Ron Bass & Adrienne Stoltz is published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Group and it's expected publication date is July 19, 2012. 


So, what are you waiting on this week?

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Ripple
Author: Mandy Hubbard
Publisher: Razorbill (a part of Penguin Group)
Release Date: July 21, 2011
Edition: Hardcover
* Purchased on my own.

When Lexi turned sixteen, everything changed. After all, on her sixteenth birthday, her boyfriend drowned. And now? Now she can’t sleep at all. She spends her nights swimming at a secluded lake in the hopes of keeping a similar incident from occurring again. But then she finds Cole Hitchings, Steven’s best friend at the lake and once more, things change for her. Now she has a chance to break her curse and live a normal life, if she can bear to give up the one that she’s falling for. 

Ripple isn’t a terribly large book, but oh my goodness did I enjoy it! I loved the occasional flashback to when Steven was alive, how not swimming for a night affected her, and how sweet Cole ends up being to her when they return to school for their senior year of high school. But as much as I love Cole, I’ll have to admit that I really liked Erik too--he’s got stunning eyes and an extremely sexy voice. I mean, what’s not to love, right? 

I’m doing my best to bite my tongue here; as much as I’d love to gush on and on about Ripple, I’ll have to keep my lips zipped here because otherwise? Spoilers. The boys do play a very big role in Ripple and I honestly couldn’t find anything that I didn’t like about the book. I loved that it touched on the lore behind what Lexi is and that things wrapped up so nicely by the time that things came to a close. Would I recommend Ripple to you? Definitely! However, I would like to reiterate that the romance plays a big part in Ripple and that if you don’t like that sort of thing, it might not be for you—although I suppose the only way to know for sure would be to give Ripple a shot!

Overall Rating: ★★★★★

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe
Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill (a part of Penguin Group)
Release Date: January 11, 2011
Edition: ARC
* Won/received for review via publisher.

I know I published a mini-review of Across the Universe back before it was released, but then I totally forgot to type up my complete review! Argh. Anyways, a brief disclaimer before you read on, usually I do not care much for science fiction. However, I really did enjoy Across the Universe... a lot.

Amy always assumed that when she woke, it would be on a new planet in the company of her parents. However, she could not have imagined that she'd be waking up on the ship (and nearly dying in the process)... which won't land for (roughly) fifty years. And it's there that she meets Elder, a boy very close to her own age as well as Eldest, the Godspeed's dictator-like leader. While struggling to make sense of life on the ship, Amy will also have to do her best to keep whoever has been killing the cyrogenically frozen passengers from doing so again. In the process, she'll uncover some seriously large secrets about the Godspeed.

Across the Universe was filled with twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Honestly, I'm always thrilled when I find a book that can still surprise me. Beth's writing style was wonderful too and I found Across the Universe very hard to put down simply because I had to know what was going to happen next.

On one hand, you have Amy, a girl from Sol-Earth who is traveling as a non-essential with her parents (who will play a vital roll in forming Centauri-Earth). When she wakes up on the Godspeed, she's beyond out of place as the ship's inhabitants all look alike, share the same strange accent, and wear the same handmade clothes. Then there's Eldest, the leader on board the Godspeed, who believes that she's a threat. He's also less than pleased that Elder spends so much time with her, or that Elder is questioning him constantly. Elder is Eldest's protege and will one day lead the people on the Godspeed; he's definitely not like Eldest and he's most certainly taken with Amy. Oh! And don't forget Harley! I really loved Harley. He's constantly painting and he's Elder's friend. Much more than that, I cannot say--although it did make me incredibly sad!

On top of this, there are some major secrets on board the Godspeed and oh my goodness are they important! But at the same time, they're massive spoilers so if you haven't read Across the Universe just yet, you'll have to read it and see what I mean for yourself! Would I recommend Across the Universe to you? Yes! I honestly enjoyed it and I hope that you will too--if you haven't read it yet.  

Across the Universe comes out in paperback form on November 29, 2011.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★

Waiting On Wednesday (22)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Ghost Flower by Michele Jaffe

Summary via Goodreads:
What would you do to find your best friend’s killer?

Eve, a runaway, finds a new job at a coffee shop on the outskirts of Tuscon. When she’s approached by two wealthy teens who claim she bears an uncanny resemblance to their missing cousin Aurora, her life takes a turn for the dark and mysterious. Drawn into a scheme to win Aurora’s inheritance, Eve finds herself impersonating the girl, who disappeared three years ago on the night her best friend Elizabeth died. But when Liza’s ghost begins to haunt Eve, doing harm to the people close to her under the guise of “protecting” her, Eve finds herself in a nightmare maze of lies and deception that leads her to question even her own identity. She realizes her only chance is to uncover the truth about what happened the night Liza died, and to find Liza’s killer— before she’s next.

This teen thriller by Michele Jaffe will keep readers turning pages well into the night.

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Why am I looking forward to Ghost Flower? The premise sounds insane! I mean, Eve is impersonating a girl who disappeared three years ago and ends up being haunted by Elizabeth, Aurora's best friend who died on that night three years ago. I adore thrillers and it sounds like Ghost Flower will definitely have me flipping pages!

Ghost Flower by Michele Jaffe is published by Razorbill, a part of Penguin Group, and its expected publication date is April 12, 2012.


So, what are you waiting on this week?

{Giveaway and Mini-Review} Across the Universe by Beth Revis

What can I say about Across the Universe? Uh, I loved it! Granted, I think I might have a new fear of glass boxes reminiscent of coffins now--not that this is a bad thing, but it does prove how powerful I found Beth's writing style to be. Asides from this, there are revelations that you will not see coming and I think you'll end up hating Eldest as much as I do. Seriously though, this is a book that I'd recommend everyone check out. I mean, it's rare for me to like a book marketed as science fiction, but I sure did love Across the Universe. I hope you will too!

Thanks to Penguin Teen I have two ARCs to give away. One is signed (with the newer ARC cover) and that one will go to the first place winner while the second one has the slightly older cover and isn't signed (that one will go to the second place winner). To be honest, I'm not quite sure how I ended up with the unsigned ARC--it showed up via Fedex earlier this week--but there's no way that I'm going to hog it and well, it means a second winner! :D

Again, I'm afraid that this has to be US only as I have to pay for shipping and well, my funds are currently devoted to the holiday season. D: To enter this contest, leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll pick the winners via random.org. Winners will be announced on December 16th and they will have 48 hours to respond. :)

Meanwhile, here's the book trailer for Across the Universe!

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

The Eternal Ones
Author: Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Razorbill (an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group)
Release Date: August 10, 2010
Edition: Hardcover
* Purchased on my own.

Summary from GoodReads: What if love refused to die?

Haven Moore can’t control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother’s house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.

In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves¸ before all is lost and the cycle begins again.

My Thoughts: 

Haven Moore has been having dreams and visions about a young man named Ethan and their life together during the 1920's ever since she was little. When she sees someone who reminds her of Ethan on television, she knows that the answers that she's looking for will be found in New York. 

I have always loved the concept of soul mates and the thought that you could find them again and again through different lifetimes. Seriously. Past lives? Soul mates? You could color me intrigued when I picked up The Eternal Ones and honestly? I wasn't disappointed. Life in Snope City is downright horrible for Haven and the church that her grandmother and most of the townspeople attend? Oh. My. Goodness. Fanatical and well, their pastor was also crazy bad--although you'll have to read the whole book to really get what I mean by this. Even I wanted to spring Haven from Snope City after reading through the first couple of chapters. 


Finally, when Haven can't take it anymore, she leaves for New York City to track down Iain Morrow who reminds her of Ethan. Needless to say, she discovers that indeed, he was Ethan and from there, things really kick off. You'll find yourself wondering if Ethan/Iain really is a bad guy--or if he was framed--for most of the book. And then there's the Ouroboros Society and Adam Rosier--whom Haven is pretty sure she's met before, but because he's rather forgettable, it'll be a while until she learns the truth about well, everything. And then the ending leaves off perfectly in the sense that you know there's going to be another book--because if there isn't, you'll drive yourself crazy wondering what exactly will happen next. Thus, with all of that said, depending on what sort of books you like, I'd recommend The Eternal Ones. 


Overall Rating: ★★★★★