Waiting on Wednesday (8) The Infinite Moment of Us

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. Click the link to see the original post plus a whole slew of links to other blogs. After you read this one, of course.

Title: The Infinite Moment of Us

Author: Lauen Myracle
Publisher: Amulet Books
Release Date: August 20, 2013

Synopsis from Goodreads:

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now . . . not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them . . .

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

Why I'm excited:

I'm such a sucker for contemporary YA romance. Sometimes I just want a sweet, swoony story and this one looks like the perfect summer read. And that cover is seriously gorgeous.

What about you? What are you waiting for on this last day in May? Link me up!

*Comments and followers are welcome and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please leave me your link so I can come visit you. I will always try to follow those who are following me, but if I somehow miss you, please just let me know. Happy reading!





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Top Ten Tuesday (8) Freebie Week: Best Upcoming Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a is is a weekly meme/original feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Click the link to go to their site to see the original list for today plus links to a whole slew of other blogs. After you read mine, of course.

Today's Topic is: Freebie Week

My choice: Top Ten (Ahem, Twelve) Upcoming 2013 Covers

The first couple of topic ideas I thought of (Top of my Summer TBR pile, Top movie adaptations) are already scheduled to be upcoming topics. Then I thought about how much fun I had looking at pretty covers last week and how many great covers I've seen on books coming out this year that I couldn't put on my list because I hadn't read them yet. So here's my list of the top 2013 upcoming covers.

 

 

 

 

Across a Star-Swept Sea  by Diane Petterfreund

A re-telling of The Scarlet Pimpernel.

The Dollhouse Asylum  by Mary Gray

It sounds like the next Stepford Wives.

Tandem  by Anna Jarzab

I'm so excited for this one. I love multi-verse (parallel worlds) novels.

The Burning Sky  by Sherry Thomas

About an elemental mage. I don't know what that is, but it sounds cool. 

These Broken Stars  by Amie Kaufman

I honestly don't even care what this is about. That is the prettiest cover ever.

Teardrop by Lauren Kate

I never got into the Fallen series, but that cover is so pretty.

The Chaos of Stars  by Kiersten White

I loved Mind Games and this one is based on Egyptian mythology, which is a nice change of pace.

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts

An asteroid is headed towards Earth and will hit in a week. Reminds me of the movie Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

The Distance Between Us  by Kasie West 

A rich boy/poor girl romance. The synopsis reminds me of Pretty in Pink. 

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

A YA Gothic horror story. With an amazing cover.

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

I think that title says it all.

Dance of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

The sequel, and finale, of the Red Death Series.

So what did you do for your freebie Top Ten Week? Link me up!

* Followers and comments are welcome and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please also leave your link so I can come visit you. I will always try to follow those who follow me, but if I miss you somehow, please just let me know. *

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Stacking the Shelves (7)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tyngas Reviews. This meme allows us to share the books we've recently added to our shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! *Clicking the link of a book's title will take you to Goodreads.

 E-Book ARCs

 

 

   

Gameboard of the Gods  by Michelle Mead

I never got into Mead's other series (I'm just over vampires for now), but I was excited when I heard she was coming out with a new series rooted in mythology.

Over You by Amy Reed

From the synopsis it sounds likes it will be about a somewhat toxic friendship.

The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan

I love this author and was so excited to be approved for her latest book. The novel looks not only at four marriages across a century, but also at the evolution of the engagements ring industry. 

The Yonahlossee Riging Camp for Girls by Anton Disclafani

Billed as: "A lush, sexy, evocative debut novel of family secrets and girls'-school rituals, set in the 1930s South." Which sounds pretty cool to me.

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

This book is about a time-traveling serial killer. A TIME-TRAVELING SERIAL KILLER!!! 

You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle

I love the premise of this: Documentarians (is that a word? I feel like it is, but spell check disagrees) make a movie of the same 5 children every 5 years.

Outcast by Adrienne Kress

About angels falling out of the sky or something. I'm not sure, but I love that charming cover.

The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Confession time. I have a serious problem where I constantly, constantly, request sequels (or sometimes even the third book) for series I haven't read the first book for. It's a serious problem. I've heard great things about the first book and have it checked out, but need to get on it ASAP.

Faking It by Cora Carmack 

Um, see comment above. I haven't read Losing It yet.  Although, it's my understanding that this isn't really a sequel, per se...

Antonia Lively Breaks the Silence by David Samuel Levinson

About a woman who is trying to find out the truth about her author husband's death.

Books I snagged from the library

 

The Beautiful and the Cursed  by Page Morgan

Um, this is a novel set in a creepy abbey in Paris about gargoyles. Gargoyles. Do you need to know anything more?

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

A man steals a car with a girl inside only to find out that her father is rich and powerful. 

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

I've always meant to read the Hex Hall series, but just never had. I understand the world is the same with this new series, but the characters are fresh, so I'm gonna give this one a try.

Going Vintage by Lindsay Leavitt

This may be the most charming cover of all time.

Bittersweet  by Sarah Ockler

I've heard great things about this book, so I'm excited to read it. 

Who Could That be at this Hour? by Lemony Snicket

Those who follow my posts may remember from last week that I've recently discovered the wonderful world of playaways. This is one of those. 

So what about you? What books did you add to your shelves this week that you can't wait to dive into? Link me up!

*Followers and comments are welcome and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please also leave your link so I can come visit you. I'll always try to follow those who are following me, but if I somehow forget you, please just let me know. Happy reading!

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The Moon and More (Early Book Review)

The Moon and More

Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Number of Pages: 384
Release Date: June 4, 2013

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

****************************************************************

MY THOUGHTS:

I may or may not have literally jumped up and down when I got approved for this book (I totally did). There's just something about a new Sarah Dessen book that just screams summertime to me. The Moon and More was no exception. This book transported me to back to Colby, the cozy beach town where Along for the Ride was set. I could feel the blazing sun and smell the ocean. I could feel the lightness in my chest that only occurs in the summer. I adore the beach town setting and Dessen really brings Colby to life.

The Moon and More follows Emaline, a teenage girl who has just graduated from high school and is spending the summer before she leaves for college exactly as she spends all of her summers--working for her family's rental business (they manage vacation/beach house rentals) and hanging out with her longtime boyfriend, Luke, and her two best friends, Morris and Daisy-who are dating each other. Emaline feels restless this year though. As she watches the tourists that flood the town she realizes that she never has the carefree feeling of vacation because Colby is her home. 

Things start to change when Theo and his boss, Ivy, come to town. The two are renting Emaline's family's newest rental property for the summer--a luxurious beach house that most people couldn't rent for a week, let alone the whole summer. Ivy is working on a documentary about Clyde, a Colby native who made a huge splash in NY with his sculptures, only to come back to Colby in an attempt to fade into obscurity. Emaline finds herself getting roped into helping Theo get interviews with the locals and taking him off-the-beaten-path to the parts of Colby the tourists never see. 

Her biological father has also swooped into town her half-brother, Benji, in order to clean up and sale his family home. Emaline is the product of a teenage summer romance between her mother and father. She considers her step-dad to be her real dad and her bio dad to be her father. The two were never close when she was growing up, but began connecting by email over academia. During her last couple of years of school, her father began pushing her to apply to Columbia, promising to pay if she got in...only to rescind the offer when she did. Relations between the two are obviously strained when he suddenly appears in her hometown.

I enjoyed The Moon and More, and wanted so badly to love it. I absolutely adored Emaline's family dynamic. So often in YA you get these absentee parents and troubled relationships, but her family was so realistic and fun and caring. It wasn't a "typical" family. Emaline lives with her mother, (step)dad, and two stepsisters, but both her mom and dad deeply care for her and love each other. Her sisters were great secondary characters. Amber, the youngest, is the spacey one who hangs out on Emaline's bed as often as she can, while Margo, the eldest, is a total type A who has just finished a hospitality program and is trying to reorganize the family business. I loved both of her sisters. I loved her dad. I loved her mom. I loved the fact that the title The Moon and More comes from something her mother says to her (I love you to the moon and more). I loved her two friends Morris and Daisy and both their separate friendships with her and their relationship with each other. I loved little Benji and watching the two grow closer. I loved Clyde and was curious about why he left NY just when his career as an artist was taking off. 

What I didn't love was Theo. I found him annoying and thought the scenes with him completely dragged down the narrative. Whenever he showed up, I would plow through in order to get back to the other people in her life. Unfortunately my dislike dragged down my enjoyment of the book considerably, which is a shame because I truly loved everything else that was going on and all of the other characters. Please take this with a grain of salt. I may end up in the minority here. Others may love him. And I sincerely believe this book is very much worth reading.

Overall, I would definitely recommend The Moon and More. It is a great summer novel set in an idyllic beach town populated by wonderful characters. Sarah Dessen really is the queen of YA and I can't wait to read what she puts out next.  

*I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.*

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Waiting on Wednesday (7) Earthbound

Waiting on Wednesday  is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. Click the link to see the original post plus a whole slew of links to other blogs. After you read this one, of course.

Title: Earthbound
Author: Aprilynne Pike
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: July 30, 2013

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Love, fate, and power collide in this new series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike!

Tavia Michaels is the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed her parents. When she starts to see strange visions of a boy she’s never spoken with in real life, she begins to suspect that there’s much about her past that she isn’t being told. Tavia will soon discover that she’s an Earthbound—someone with the ability to create matter out of nothing—and that she alone holds the key to stopping the Reduciata, an evil society that manipulates global events for its own shadowy purposes. Tavia will ultimately have to make a choice: to come into her powers and save the world from the evil Reduciata or to choose free will and a love of her own.

*************************************************

Why I'm excited:

I really enjoyed Pike's Life After Theft (find my review here), so I'm excited to read her next offering. This one sounds so cool, too. Being able to create matter out of nothing has the potential to be awesome. I'm kind of hesitant about any book where the heroine has "visions" of somebody she's never met, but I'm going to give this author the benefit of the doubt. Plus, I'm totally drawn to that cover. So pretty.

What about you? What book are you anxiously waiting for on this lovely May day? Link me up!

*Followers and comments are welcome and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please also leave your link so I can come visit you. I'll always try to follow those who are following me, but if I somehow forget you, please just let me know. Happy reading! 

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Top Ten Tuesdays (7) Favorite covers

Top Ten Tuesdays is a is is a weekly meme/original feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Click the link to go to their site to see the original list for today plus links to a whole slew of other blogs. After you read mine, of course.

Today's Topic: Top 10 favorite covers of books I've read
 

 

That Time I Joined the Circus byJ. J. Howard

I love the lighting of this book. The circus looks so warm and inviting. It's glowing. This isn't the best book, but I adore this cover.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Underwater covers have become quite popular of the last couple of years. I remember drooling over this cover for months before I read the book. Again, not my favorite story, but I do love this cover.

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Green is my favorite color and this shade is just so vibrant. I love the vines, flowers, and insects that are framing the girl. This cover really portrays the dark whimsey of Howard's Wonderland.
Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten
Just pretty. And the book was actually both better and different from what I was expecting.
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

I'll be honest. I didn't love this one. I wanted it to be so much scarier than it was. And I find the idea of ghost-human love ridiculous, but I do love this cover.
Mind Games by Kiersten White
This book has been pretty polarizing on Goodreads and in the blogsphere, but I loved this twisty YA about sister assassins.
Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
I love a cover with a sense of humor.

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
Another cover I obsessed over only to be disappointed by what was inside.

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

I'm currently reading this one. I really like it so far. I'm a sucker for cover that have stars or some other galactic focus.
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
This is easily one of my favorite books of all times. It is pure genius. And that cover is cool and creepy. I love everything about this novel.

Man, there are so many cool, pretty, crazy covers out there. As I was surfing my books on Goodreads, I found all kinds of pretty covers of books I've eyed up for forever, but have never picked up. So I'm going to cheat and add one more line of pretty covers. These are just a few of my favorite covers of books I still need to read.

I could do this all day, but I'm going to stop now. So much cover love. I can't wait to see what you all have chosen this week.

So what are your favorite covers? Link me up!

*Followers and comments are welcome and much appreciated. If you leave a comment, please also leave your link so I can come visit you. I'll always try to follow those who are following me, but if I somehow forget you, please just let me know. Happy reading! 

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