New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {17}

For New Shelf Goodies, I'll be showing you what lovely books I acquired this week, whether from publishers, or the library, or from whatever half-crazed book-buying binge I happened to go on. :D (Inspired by Alea @ Pop Culture Junkie's This Week in Books & Tynga's Stacking the Shelves) The Weekly Nutshell will be just that...my week here at Stories & Sweeties, in a nutshell. (inspired by Ginger @ GReads and her recaps at the end of the TGIF posts) Note: This is not a meme, but I'll be hopping around to any other book haul-sharing posts I come across!

Here's what I got this week:

For Review:
Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin
Haven't heard much about this..looks interesting, though!
Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier
Have heard so many fantastic things about this author!
Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield
Just what I've been looking for: Creepy. Mystery. Stand-alone.
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
Been anticipating this one for ages!
Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction
Anthology feat. Carrie Ryan, Laini Taylor, Lisa McMann, Malinda Lo, and others!

For review (cont.)
Island of Doom (Hunchback Assignments #4) by Arthur Slade
Might try this series out---I've been loving steampunk lately!
Beyond by Graham McNamee
All of this author's book looks so creepy... this one included!

(Thanks so much to Random House for all of these!)

Traded for/Gifted:
Keeper of Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (signed)
The Locket by Stacey Jay
(Thank you so much, Rebecca!)

New On My Nook:


Awry by Chelsea Fine
Just finished book one and immediately grabbed book two---really enjoying this series!

The Art of Disappearing by Elena Perez
I've been kind of veering away from ebooks lately, but this was pitched to me and sounded really interesting! Thanks, Elena!

The Weekly Nutshell:
{Tuesday} Amy's View: Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
{Wednesday} Waiting on Wednesday: The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke
{Thursday} Book Trailers: Hidden, Ten, & an inside look at Breathe
{Friday} Becky's View: The Diviners by Libba Bray

Have a great week, everyone! :D

Becky's View: The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners by Libba Bray
♦publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
♦released: September 18th, 2012
♦hardcover, 608 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: ALA

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

Review:  This was admittedly one of those books that I went to ALA in hopes of getting my hands on---as soon as I heard it involved divination, ghosts, and that fabulously glitzy 20s era, it had me wrapped around it's little finger.  And I was not disappointed.  Libba Bray's writing is phenomenal, I don't think I've read a book where I felt more fully engulfed by a setting.  The amount of research that must have gone into completely immersing her readers in all the glamour, the music and dance, the indulgence, the events,..the whole feel of the 1920s---just astounds me. But at it's heart, The Diviners is a serial murder thriller, with a very creepy paranormal twist to it.  

The story introduces us to so many really great characters living around New York City who will each be touched by the grisly murders in one way or another: Evie, a young, mouthy, and slightly wild flapper girl who is new to the big city; Memphis and little Isaiah, two brothers who've lost their mama and been abandoned to their aunt's care by their father: Theta, an ambitious dancer in the Zeigfield follies, living her with "brother" Henry; Sam, a sharp-witted pickpocket in search of his mother; so many more...Jericho, Mabel, Uncle Will, Gabriel.  All of their stories kept me fascinated as they unfolded. Most of their lives begin to intertwine as the story weaves on, but all of them are holding tight to mysterious secrets about powers that none have quite gotten a grasp on yet themselves.  There is also the killer himself, who is as dark as they come, shaped by the sick beliefs of a religious cult and returned from the dead to finish what was set in motion 50 years ago.  The murders are gut-wrenchingly horrific, so brace yourself.

My one small complaint is that more of the amazingly brought-to-life characters that we grow to root for and love were not an integral part of the big fight and resolution of this book. I actually went into this book not realizing that despite its whopping 600+ pages, it was planned as a series and there would be no solid ending for many of the storylines were built up.  When I finally realized it, sure, it made it more acceptable that the other characters would probably each have there time to shine somewhere in the next books, but somehow it didn't change how I felt in wanting them more involved in the ending of this one. Still, the ending that we do get is exciting, explosive, and a great finish.

The Diviners is a fantastically told story, with nearly as many laughs at the wild flapper antics and witty comebacks as there are bone-chilling moments as each murder victim gets claimed. Full of mystery, wonder, humor, horror, and even a little bit of romance---I can't wait for more of this series.

Visit Libba Bray: Website  •  Facebook  •  Twitter

Purchase The Diviners at:  Amazon  •  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •   Indiebound

Book Trailers: Hidden, Ten, & an inside look at Breathe!

Two awesome trailers hit the web today! And down below, get an insider look at Breathe from author Sarah Crossan!

Hidden by Sophie Jordan


Ten by Gretchen McNeil


Sarah Crossan talks about her debut, Breathe!


All of these are out soon...are you planning to read them??

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

The Mad Scientist's Daughter
by Cassandra Rose Clarke

hitting shelves January 29th, 2012 from Angry Robot

Not much of a description on Goodreads, but I did spy this one on the author's website:

Set in a collapsing future America, the novel tells of Cat. When she is a young girl, her father brings an experimental android to their isolated home to serve as her tutor. Finn stays with her, becoming her constant companion and friend as she grows to adulthood. But then they take the relationship much further than anyone intended – which ultimately threatens to force them apart forever.

My thoughts: This sounds amazing! This little smidge of a summary , this gorgeous cover, and that tagline---they all have me hooked!

Amy's View: Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
♦pubisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
♦release date: September 4, 2012
♦hardcover, 304 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: ALA

Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant -- until Celia meets Lo.

Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.

When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her . . . and steal his soul.

Review:

Fathomless, as promised, is a retelling of Little Mermaid in only a way that Jackson Pearce can do it. Her mind is an amazing place where typical fairy tales swirl in a wonderland of their own. Spinning and twirling and falling into a rabbit hole only to emerge in our world. I love how she makes fairy tales relevant in today's world. 

This book was written from the view of a few different characters. At first, this made it alittle hard for me to fall deeply into each character, but as you read on you see why you need to read from so many character views at once. 

Fathomless is a creative spin on the true story of Little Mermaid not to be confused with Disney's happy, feel-good, red haired little mermaid longing to fall in love and become human. This tale grips you with the story of mergirls---death and the deep longing of discovering who they are and what they will do to regain their souls. Even thought this story is captivating in its own right, it is a dark and realistic retelling with a wonderful twisted ending which I have come to love and expect from Jackson Pearce. Once again a very quick read as all her books are, purely because you find yourself unable to put it down. I can't wait to see what fairytale is traveling down the rabbit hole, waiting for Jackson Pearce to spin out for us to read next.

Oh, and can I just add... It was such an honor to meet Jackson Pearce at ALA. She is everything you would expect her to be---beautiful, whimsical, and seems like she would fit perfectly into any fairytale. 

Find Jackson Pearce online: Website  •   Facebook   •   Twitter

Purchase Fathomless at:  Amazon  •  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {16}

For New Shelf Goodies, I'll be showing you what lovely books I acquired this week, whether from publishers, or the library, or from whatever half-crazed book-buying binge I happened to go on. :D (Inspired by Alea @ Pop Culture Junkie's This Week in Books & Tynga's Stacking the Shelves) The Weekly Nutshell will be just that...my week here at Stories & Sweeties, in a nutshell. (inspired by Ginger @ GReads and her recaps at the end of the TGIF posts) Note: This is not a meme, but I'll be hopping around to any other book haul-sharing posts I come across!

This is two weeks worth of goodies, since I was away last weekend! (The concert was fantastic, btw...if you ever have the chance to see Mumford & Sons in concert, TAKE IT!! They are a amaaaazing live!) Got two boxes from Random House last week so get ready for a lengthy list---I'm really excited for some of these!

For Review:
Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle
Touched by Cyn Balog
Diva by Jillian Larkin
The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton
Under My Hat
Anthology feat. Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Diana Peterfreund, Margo Lanagan, Peter S. Beagle, and others! Very cool!
Fury's Fire by Lisa Papademetriou
Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire
Suck It Up and Die by Brian Meehl
The Little Woods by McCormick Templeman
Red Heart Tattoo by Lurlene McDaniel
Poison Tree by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett
Stone Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Intentions by Deborah Heiligman

For Review:
The Book of the Night by Pearl North

Bought:
Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long
Auracle by Gina Rosati

Traded for:
The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors
Thanks, Asher! :D

Many thanks to Random House and Tor for the review books!

The Weekly Nutshell:
Two week's worth since there was no recap last weekend! :D
{Tuesday-8/21} Review of Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan
{Wednesday- 8/22} Waiting on Wednesday: The Art of Wishing
{Thursday - 8/23}Review: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield
{Friday - 8/24} Away for the Weekend: Mumford & Sons!
{Tuesday - 8/28} Waiting on Wednesday: Chantress
{Wednesday - 8/29} Authors are Rockstars Tour Stop & Giveaway: Melissa West
{Saturday - 9/1} What's New: September YA Releases & Giveaway

So that's it!! I've been slow on the reviewing this past week--hubby is home from work so he always wants to go out---cuts into my reading time! LOL--we're having a fun week, though :D That and the fact that the book I'm currently reading is nearly 600 pages long (Diviners---so good, though!) Hope everyone is having a great week!
Happy Reading! :)

What's New: September YA Releases & Giveaway!!

Fall is almost here!! Yaaaay! :D My absolute favorite season...the weather cools, the leaves get all gorgeous, the Halloween decor comes out, and the rest of the holidays are just around the corner. September gives us book lovers one more reason to celebrate---this month is EPIC for book releases. Seriously, insanely epic. Pay special attention to the 4th, 11th, 18th, and 24th---and try your best not to drool. ;)

So if you're new to Stories & Sweeties, here's a little run-down of this feature: at the start of each month, I do a little thing called the "What's New List & Giveaway" where you'll find a full list of the new releases in YA for the month, and entry to the giveaway. At the end of each month, one lucky winner will get to choose any new release as their prize!

First things first! The winner of August's giveaway was: Demitra ! Congratulations! :D

September Releases:
Just like previous months, I've put a little l♥ve by those books that I am really anticipating---whether I can't wait to read them or I just can't wait to have my own finished copy!

{1}
The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron ♥
Drama by Raina Telgeimeier
The Encyclopedia of Me by Karen Rivers
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano
A Soldier's Secret by Marissa Moss
Undead by Kristy McKay

{4}
34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues
After Hello by Lisa Mangum
Be my Enemy by Ian McDonald
Beneath the Glitter by Elle & Blair Fowler
Betrayal by Gregg Olsen
Blackwood by Gwenda Bond
Blink Once by Cylin Busby ♥
Blood Forever by Mari Mancusi
The Book of the Night by Pearl North
The Broken Lands by Kate Milford
Butter by Erin Jade Lang
Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
Dead is a Killer Tune by Marlene Perez
The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George
Entice by Jessica Shirvington
Fathomless by Jackson Pearce ♥
Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught
I Swear by Lane Davis
Immortal Lycanthropes by Hal Johnson
Island of Silence by Lisa McMann ♥
Losing It by Erin Fry
Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama ♥
Origin by Jessica Koury ♥
Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts
Shift by Kim Curran
Starting from Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow
Surviving High School by M. Doty
Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs
Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck
Willful Impropriety: 13 Tales of Society, Scandal, & Romance edited by Ekaterina Sedia (collection)

{8}
The City's Son by Tom Pollock
Henry Franks by Peter Adam Salomon
Redemption by Veronique Launier
Silver by Talia Vance ♥
Skyship Academy: Crimson Rising by Nick James

{11}
Anything But Ordinary by Lara Avery
Beyond by Graham Mcnamee
Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan ♥
Call the Shots by Don Calame
Come August, Come Freedom: the Bellows, The Gallows & The Black General Gabriel by Gigi Amateau
Crusher by Niall Leanard
Daylight Savings by Edward Hogan
Fang Girl by Helen Keeble
Flesh and Bone by Jonathan Maberry
Hanging By A Thread by Sophie Littlefield ♥
Hidden by Sophie Jordan ♥
Island of Doom by Arthur Slade
Like Moonlight at Low Tide by Nicole Quigley
Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie
The Secret Circle: The Hunt by L.J. Smith

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier ♥

Sons of the 613 by Mike Rubens
Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan ♥
Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst ♥

{13}
Dead Cat Bounce by Nic Bennett
Josie Griffin in Not a Vampire by Heather Swain
Lindsey Lost by Suzanne Phillips
Nerve by Jeanne Ryan

{18}
Adaptation by Malinda Lo ♥
Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin ♥
Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout ♥
The Dead Girls Detective Agency by Suzy Cox
The Diviners by Libba Bray ♥
Glass Heart by Amy Garvey
My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris ♥
Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann ♥
The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater ♥
Safekeeping by Karen Hesse
Seconds Away by Harlan Coban
Ten by Gretchen McNeil ♥
The Time Traveling Fashionista at the Palace of Marie Antoinette by Biance Turetsky
What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang ♥

{24}
Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Max Paetro

{25}
Alchemy by K.J. Wignall
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter ♥
Blessed by Tonya Hurley ♥
The Blue Door by Christa Kinde
Covet by Melissa Darnell
Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Flock by Wendy Delsol ♥
A Fractured Light by Jocelyn Davies
The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle
How to Rock Breakups and Makeups by Meg Haston
The Infects by Sean Beaudoin
The Mephisto Kiss by Trinity Faegan
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman
The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini
Scorch by Gina Damico ♥
The Turning by Francine Prose ♥
Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin

(All links go to Goodreads)
Please feel free to email me if you notice any YA titles missing! :)

Giveaway Details:
One winner will win a YA September release of their choice! *see note below
• Contest ends September 30th, 2012 at 11:59 PM
• Must be 13 or older
• Open internationally. *International winners will be required to choose a book that is available through BookDepository.com.
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