Waiting on Wednesday

I hate waiting...

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)

So cannot wait for this one! Still a little shocked we're not in the same world! The cover has the same look about it, hence why I thought it was, but then there's that disclaimer! LOL! Still can't wait to read it though!! :D

TITLE: Crimson Bound
AUTHOR: Rosamund Hodge
PUBLISHER: Balzer + Bray
GENRE: Fantasy YA
RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2015 

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

It's nearly here!! Or at least my WoW of it is!! Soooooooo cannot wait to read this one!!! It feels like forever since I read World After instead of a year and half ago (ish)! But that's painfully long!!!


TITLE: End of Days
AUTHOR: Susan Ee
PUBLISHER: Skyscape
GENRE: Dystopian YA
RELEASE DATE: May 12, 2015

 

Review--Ascend by Amanda Hocking

Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself.  If she doesn’t surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe.  But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it’s the only way to save them?

The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn’t the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life—and now all their lives might be coming to an end.

Everything has been leading to this moment.  The future of her entire world rests in her hands—if she’s ready to fight for it. 

So I finished Amanda Hocking's Trylle trilogy and it was pretty great!! Ascend brings Wendy's story to a conclusion and I must say I was surprised and thoroughly satisfied!! 

War is looming...it's inevitable. Wendy and the rest of her people all know it. But when it comes is another story. The Queen's health is worsening and it's only a matter of time before she will pass. Wendy and Tove have officially tied the knot after her eighteenth birthday and naturally, her father decided to crash the wedding.

So much happened in this book, and yet, not all that much in the big picture. It's all the little details that added up. Loki comes to Wendy seeking amnesty, broken, bruised, and bloody. And naturally, Wendy grants him such, despite the upheaval it creates. In the meantime, Oren has been sending his armies to kidnap changeling children from their host families and then he starts attacking other Trylle countries. It's total chaos, until he and Wendy come to an arrangement. There will be peace until she officially becomes Queen.

So basically, things are chaotic in this one! There's so much going on, that Wendy rarely has a quiet moment. She's preparing to be queen and has a lot to learn. Then of course, there's the whole love triangle dilemma. I had my "team" picked out. Really while reading Torn, I had made my choice, but I was so, so certain that Wendy would go against it and choose the other guy. I just felt like that was how it would be, despite circumstances. But boy, was I ever glad I was wrong! 

Things wrap up rather nicely at the end of this one. I feel like there's definite closure and nothing is left unsaid. I especially enjoyed the short story at the end of this one, as it pushed the characters into a future time, over a year later, and we actually get to see peace and happiness. It was quite nice! Even though I had my speculations of how the other characters ended up at the end of Ascend, I liked reading this short story to get the confirmation of it all!

This was truly a remarkable series! It started out a little shaky, and I still never could quite grasp why Wendy was do adamant to not meet her father like she did with her mother. I guess the whole "kidnapping" way of bringing her to him turned her off. And I get that. I just felt like Wendy was totally against her father because she met her mother first? I don't know really. I just got that vibe, Wendy hated her dad because he kidnapped her. And that I get, and he did end up being a villain more than we ever counted for. But in Torn, we didn't know that. I don't know. There's conflicted feelings going on here, because she didn't know her mother right away when she came to the palace and yet she was more accepting of that world and kingdom then she was when she was shown her other side. So again, conflicting feelings, but I was never a fan of Oren after things started going down in those short stories and how he treated Loki.

To reiterate after that triad, Ascend was an enjoyable conclusion to the Trylle trilogy and I look forward to moving onto the Kanin Chronicles shortly!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

ARC Review--Sisters of Blood and Spirit by Kady Cross

Wren Noble is dead—she was born that way. Vibrant, unlike other dead things, she craves those rare moments when her twin sister allows her to step inside her body and experience the world of the living.

Lark Noble is alive but often feels she belongs in the muted Shadow Lands—the realm of the dead. Known as the crazy girl who talks to her dead sister, she doesn't exactly fit in with the living, though a recent suicide attempt and time in a psych ward have proved to her she's not ready to join her sister in the afterlife.

Now the guy who saved Lark's life needs her to repay the favor. He and his friends have been marked for death by the malevolent spirit of a vicious and long-dead serial killer, and the twins—who should know better than to mess with the dead—may be their only hope of staying alive.

I received this ARC from the author in a contest won on Twitter, I was in no way compensated for this review.


I was beyond happy when I won an ARC of Sisters of Blood and Spirit by Kady Cross! From Kady no less! I adored her Steampunk Chronicles and was beyond eager for her new ghost series! 

The story is very, very intriguing! Lark and Wren are twin sisters, except Wren was stillborn, but Lark has seen her sister for pretty much ever. It's gotten her into quite a bit of hot water. People think she's crazy talking to someone who is clearly not there. It led her to do the unthinkable and her time at the hospital was another nightmare she had to endure. To top it all off, Lark's mother envies that Wren visits her, but not herself, her own mother, so her parents dump her at her grandmother's house to live. They seriously just abandoned their daughter for something that wasn't even her fault. It's definitely a tragic way to start the story.

But I must say, I love Lark! She's got an attitude on her that I can totally get behind. She doesn't let people's insults bother her...unless they start turning on her sister. Then she gets mad, and so does Wren and you do not want to have a spirit angry with you!

The story focuses on Lark reluctantly helping out some kids at school who have a very angry ghost gunning for them. Roxi is sort of her friend, in that Roxi is uber friendly and Lark takes a liking to her in a way. But she wasn't prepared to help out these other kids when she was bombarded with the problem.

What made this story even more incredible is that it's told from both Lark and Wren's point of view. Before starting this story, I was unsure if Wren would be a friendly spirit in Lark's life. I thought, maybe she's evil. She can have moments of "life" when she steps into Lark's body and I feared she would like it too much and never leave. But that's not at all the case! Lark and Wren actually have a very good relationship; a true sisterly bond despite that one of them is not of the living!

The characters were incredible! I love Lark and Wren, but the students in need of help were great too! I still kind of wonder if Lark is going to find herself in a love triangle between Ben and Mace. She has a past connection with Mace that links them together, but he's the one already with a girlfriend. But they just have so many moments together, I couldn't tell if he was supposed to be a love interest or not! Ben most definitely was a love interest and I must say that I loved his best! LOL!

Wren isn't without a possible love interest either! She's been crushing hard on Kevin and Kevin is a psychic of sorts. So he can hear her, he played a part in rescuing Lark as well as Mace. But he's alive and Wren's not, so there will definitely be some complications in that area!

Lark has finally found people she think she can call friends and she hasn't had that in...forever. She will do whatever it takes to keep them safe, even if it means facing down a big, nasty spirit.

I always find ghost books intriguing! They seem like the rarely explored supernatural in books, because they're ghosts. They're dead and there's not much life for them to live in the afterlife...or so we think! I am amazed with each ghost book I read at how incredibly awesome these stories are! And Kady Cross has just blown me away...again! I loved her Steampunk Chronicles, it was an introduction to the Steampunk genre for me, of course it was loaded with paranormal goodness as well, but I absolutely LOVED her ghost story! And while there weren't any references to Supernatural, I felt like we had some nice hat tips to them with just little things here and there! And the references to Scooby Doo positively made my day!

Sisters of Blood and Spirit has everything one could need in a ghost story! There was action, romance, ghosts, suspense, and of course creepy ghosts!! I loved every minute of it and now I have the grueling wait until the next book! I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a good ghost story--but note I mean that as in a book with ghosts as main characters and not a story meant to keep you up at night armed with salt and iron! *winks*


Overall Rating 5/5 stars


Sisters of Blood and Spirit releases March 31, 2015

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Here are the rules:
 
1. Grab your current read      
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc

I changed this teaser numerous times, this was the most recent one I read that had me grinning! And look! I followed the rules this time! It's a MIRACLE!

"'It's the middle of the night, and you want to run away with me,' Loki said. 'What will you tell your husband?'" p. 128

TITLE: Ascend
AUTHOR: Amanda Hocking
PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Griffin
GENRE: Paranormal YA
RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2012 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

This week's topic is: Top 10 Books From My Childhood (Or teen years) That I Would Love To Revisit

*in no particular order

Regular followers of my blog are gonna see some favorites that I talk about quite a bit when we get on nostalgic topics! ;)

Also note, I'll be using older covers, the covers I have basically! So when you go to Goodreads, you'll most likely see something else come up instead. Be forewarned about that! ;)

1. DEMON IN MY VIEW by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes--my much talked about favorite as a teen! This was my first vampire book! The one that started what was to become my obsession! Of course, try finding a paranormal book in the YA section back in 2001, that is what we call difficult to near impossible! But I did find some rare treasured gems!

2. OLD MAGIC by Marianne Curley--yet another beloved fave from my teen years! And in 2002! This one was about magic, time traveling, love, curses...all that good stuff!

3. THE FORBIDDEN GAME TRILOGY by L.J. Smith--I read this series by L.J. before Vampire Diaries and basically LOVED it!! Was such an unexpected kind of series and I still get gushy feels over it! It feels like forever ago, but L.J. mentioned something about there going to be a 4th book, but I've yet to find new info on that. :(

4. THE MEDIATOR SERIES by Jenny Carroll/Meg Cabot--LOVED this series! Discovered it early on in my teens and was blown away! It was exactly the kind of read I was looking for! PARANORMAL! And there's going to be a BOOK 7 NEXT YEAR!! So incredibly excited about that I tell you!!! :D

5. THE GUARDIANS OF TIME TRILOGY by Marianne Curley--yet another amazing series!! Loved it! More magic and time traveling, but different. There's good guys and bad guys, bad guys want to change time and the good guys are trying to stop them. Cause you know changing the events of history will change the future! Dun dun DUN!!!!

6. ROSWELL SERIES by Multiple Authors--yes I was addicted to the Roswell books! I read ALL of them! There was Roswell High, which is what the show was based off of, because there were a lot of differences to it. Then there was a suspense series which took events of an episode further, there was 3 books in that series! And then two more "series" in sets of 4! I particularly loved reading the last one which showed us what the gang was up to after fleeing Roswell!! So yeah, I read these in my teen years too!

7. WICKED SERIES by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie--oh how I loved this series!! Feuding witch and sorcerer families, yet so many of them are having all these relationships...this series definitely had its shocks and twists!! I LOOOOVED it! I read it when it was originally published, so I suffered a good 6 years until Resurrection came out! Which is why I have hope that Gena Showalter's Intertwined series can come back and give me us its finale! ;)

8. BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE by Annette Curtis Klause--ohhh this one was sooooo good!! I loved it! I think I might have even re-read it back in the day! Miss doing that! This one was just so incredible and unexpected!! Though to note, if you see its movie version they are ENTIRELY different! Seriously only the character NAMES are the same! The movie was good though, you just have to completely and utterly separate it from the book, because naturally, the book was WAY better! ;)

9. BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES SERIES by Laurie Faria Stolarz--this was yet another awesome series! It was light on the paranormal, though there's still a nice dose of it in there! But it had an incredible mystery feel to it! I felt like I had another gap somewhere in this one, possibly between books 3 & 4, but it might have been because I wasn't as savvy with learning about new releases back then! Scary times! But this was an awesome series!!

10. HARRY POTTER SERIES by J.K. Rowling--naturally! I mean I was in the 6th grade--so 2000, starting to feel old! This was even published in 97! So I was late to the game!--when I read this one! And I still remember thinking I wouldn't like it because a boy was the main character. I was young, I was wanting girl heroines, but then our teacher started reading it to us and omg, I was kind of into it! And then I think it was my grandma who bought it for me for Xmas that year and I got to read it at my own pace! Still remember reading this one past my bedtime too, because HARRY POTTER!!! :D

ARC Review--A Ghostly Grave by Tonya Kappes

There's a ghost on the loose--and a fox in the henhouse

Four years ago, the Eternal Slumber Funeral Home put Chicken Teater in the ground. Now undertaker Emma Lee Raines is digging him back up. The whole scene is bad for business, especially with her granny running for mayor and a big festival setting up in town. But ever since Emma Lee started seeing ghosts, Chicken's been pestering her to figure out who killed him.

With her handsome boyfriend, Sheriff Jack Henry Ross, busy getting new forensics on the old corpse, Emma Lee has time to look into her first suspect. Chicken's widow may be a former Miss Kentucky, but the love of his life was another beauty queen: Lady Cluckington, his prize-winning hen. Was Mrs. Teater the jealous type? Chicken seems to think so. Something's definitely rotten in Sleepy Hollow--and Emma Lee just prays it's not her luck.

I received this ARC from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


Emma's adventures in helping murdered victims solve their mystery continue in the Tonya Kappes' A Ghostly Grave. This time she helps the ghost of a man named Chicken--yes, Chicken--and was the first ghost she actually say after her accident. Chicken claims he was murdered and he thinks his wife did it.

Chicken was quite the character too! Not only is his name a laugh riot, but he was a pretty funny guy. I don't know what his real name was, just that it Colonel C. Teater and everyone called him Chicken! His prized "possession" or pride and joy, was his prize winning chicken Lady Cluckington. There are actual chicken competitions and Lady C. won them quite a lot!

Emma dives into the case once again at the ghost's behest. And starts to get closer and closer to the murderer before she even realizes it! Her beau, Sheriff Jack is there too, but not necessarily side by side. In fact, the two only had a handful of moments together, more than one date was canceled. I can't really tell if they're supposed to be a couple or not anymore, despite it having been a few months since the events of the first book. Which is odd, since Chicken popped up at the end asking for help.

Chicken actually died four years ago, but somehow Emma convinces Jack to look into the matter by digging up the body and performing the autopsy. 

I don't know why exactly, but I couldn't really get into this one, just like with the first. There are redeeming qualities. Emma is a sassy little funeral home director and her playing crazy with "funeral trauma" when talking to ghosts in public is pretty comical, but yet, I always find myself a little detached from the story. It's still a decent read. I like the mystery elements and the added ghostly encounter. Perhaps, I was expecting more "ghostly business" from this series then from what I've seen so far.

And I feel like yet again, another issue gets left unresolved. There was a break-in at Emma and her sister's funeral home and after reflecting on it...I don't think there was ever a who-dun-it to it. I mean, I think I can say it was our murderer, but I don't think there was a why to it.

Overall, it was another so-so kind of read. There's nothing horrendous to the story, but again, there's nothing fantastic to it either. I always feel left with a few more questions at the end of these, this time I have a few more that have nothing to do with the murder itself, but other characters and what was going on with them. It's still a fun little mystery with the added touch of paranormal to it!


Overall Rating 3/5 stars


A Ghostly Grave releases March 31, 2015

 

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

Last Week I Read:

The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott (ARC)--Review to come at a later date

Switched by Amanda Hocking (3.75 stars)

Torn by Amanda Hocking (4 stars)

About to Start Reading:

Ascend by Amanda Hocking

What I Plan to Read this Week:

The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

COVER COPY REVEAL--The Drafter by Kim Harrison 

Waiting on Wednesday

Random Thursday 

Follow Friday 

Top 5 Sundays 

Stacking the Shelves--HOLY COW! I did it again!

Stacking the Shelves--HOLY COW! I did it again!

This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!

I had quite an unexpected week. I blame my two trips to Half Priced Books! Once on Sunday of last week and then yesterday! But boy did I score some amazing books!!

Underworld by Meg Cabot--Hardcover copy to replace my ARC! So already read!

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger--Hardcover copy to replace my ARC! Already read! Again!

Hover by Melissa West--I was debating about starting this series, so buying book 2 pretty much guarantees I will!

Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz--I read her Blue is for Nightmares series years ago, and since I stumbled upon book 1, it was like why not?! Truly that day I needed a cart, but never got one! LOL!

Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder--UK COPY!!!

Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder--UK COPY!!!

Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder--UK COPY!!! I initially found Spy Glass on Sunday and then when I went yesterday I found the first two! There was definitely a happy dance going on then!

Then I ordered a few books from NoVa Teen Festival earlier this month and they arrived this week! So excited about these too! Already read one, since I was buying yet another keeper copy to replace an ARC!

 The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons--SIGNED!

Dearest by Alethea Kontis--SIGNED!

Made for You by Melissa Marr--SIGNED! Keeper Copy, so already read!

Then I also preordered and received this week:

Prudence by Gail Carriger--SIGNED COPY!!

Then I won in a contest and received:

Soulbound by Kristen Callihan--keeper copy!! I had an ARC, now I have a keeper copy!

Then for review from the publisher I received:

Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris
Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen (ARC)

THANK YOU Ace, Angry Robot, & Netgalley!!

Then some other bookish and non-bookish goodies I got this week were:

T-Shirts from Woot! The green one says: My Favorite Movie is Books

The gray one says: Society of Fictional Manuscript Enthusiasts

Then the black one is Pan: Neverland Tour 1904 Featuring Lost Boys--couldn't resist since I love Peter Pan!

BOOKMARKS!! Because I don't have enough! LOL! There's: 

Tinkerbell

Disney Princesses: BELLE, Cinderella, Rapunzel

Escaping Reality One Book at a Time

What a Hoot!

Got all these at HPB as well, so that's $3 worth, minus 10% extra savings too!

More Funko Pop figures!! I bought: 

CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow--WTH?! Come on Funko, get his name right! LOL!

Thor--from the Avengers: Age of Ultron

Dancing Groot--from Guardians of the Galaxy, Hot Topic edition, which says I am Groot on his planter pot! The standard one is just a plain white planter pot. So I had to get this one because I liked that it said I am Groot! Now I just need to get some help from my mom to hang an extra shelf so I can display most of my Pop figures! (No way the shelf will hold all of them!)