*Sigh* Swoon with me over Their Fractured Light!! {cover reveal}

Not sure if this one just came out of if I just missed the reveal, but its my first time seeing it today. GORGEOUS. Everybody swoon with me, because the Their Fractured Light cover is here!!

And the three together:

  ♥ SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS SERIES!! ♥

Fallout by Gwenda Bond {review}

Lois Lane: Fallout
by Gwenda Bond
♦publisher: Switch Press
♦release date: May 1st
♦hardcover, 304 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Lois Lane, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. An Army brat, Lois has lived all over—and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas in the middle of one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Fly straight. As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won’t be that easy. A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They’re messing with her mind, somehow, via the high-tech immersive videogame they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and her new snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it’s all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screenname, SmallvilleGuy.

Review:  Lois Lane has always been one of the great comic book heroines and finally she steps out from behind a certain red cape and into the limelight!  Fallout is absolute fun and so entertaining. 

We get to meet teenage Lois, independent, gutsy, curious, and as outspoken as we've ever known her, but we also go along for the ride as she deals with the constant moving and challenge to make connections that comes along with being an army brat. No matter what she's promised her dad, she just can't seem to keep her head down and her mouth from sticking up for someone in need.  I loved the way her character starts out sort of resigned to the fact that she just can't connect with people and soon finds herself opening up to this new group that she's been plunged into the middle of. Each character was unique and interesting and rang true.

Though the villainous goings-on  seem a little over the top or even a bit cheesy at times, it felt like a perfect homage to the style of the original comics---a mind-melded group of kids wreaking havoc, big-money corporations coming up with sinister science-fictiony ways to take over the world. Can't you just see Superman or Spiderman swooping in to stop this evil plot? But it's not! It's Lois and her awesome crew of new friends and fellow  junior reporters! :)  I love how the story was brought into modern times with the plot revolving around high tech interactive gaming. 

There is, of course, a little maybe-romance going on with Lois and her mysterious online friend, SmallvilleGuy. Though Lois toils over wanting to know more about who he is and if he feels the same way she does, I liked that they kept this as a side story and kept the main focus on Lois and her clever mystery solving and junior reporting skills! Still, I can't wait to see how their relationship progresses in future books!

Definitely pick this up if you are in the mood for a fun and quick summer read!

Find Gwenda Bond online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Instagram

Purchase Lois Lane: Fallout: Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon

Waiting on...

"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.

Stone Field

by Christy Lenzi

hitting shelves March 29th, 2016

from Roaring Brook Press

In a small town on the brink of the Civil War, Catrina finds a man making strange patterns in her family’s sorghum crop. He’s mad with fever, naked, and strikingly beautiful. He has no memory of who he is or what he’s done before Catrina found him in Stone Field. But that doesn’t bother Catrina because she doesn’t like thinking about the things she’s done before either.

Catrina and Stonefield fall passionately, dangerously, in love. All they want is to live with each other, in harmony with the land and away from Cat’s protective brother, the new fanatical preacher, and the neighbors who are scandalized by their relationship. But Stonefield can’t escape the truth about who he is, and the conflict tearing apart the country demands that everyone take a side before the bloodbath reaches their doorstep.

Inspired by Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Stone Field is a passionate and atmospheric story of how violence and vengeance pervert the human spirit, and how hatred can be transcended by love.

My thoughts:  I am in love with this cover. Apparently the "scene inside the almost-sillouette" is becoming the new trend--I saw another one revealed this week like it! But I love it. So gorgeous.  The historical story sounds deeply romantic but also intense and a bit sad.  I do hope this one is good!

New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {129}

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 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)

New goodies on my shelf this week:

 Traded for:
Hover by Melissa West
Want to track down the last book and then read them all at once! 
Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby 
 I've been wanting to read this author for a while now. And this looks really good.

For review: 
The Uninvited by Cat Winters
*swoon* Love Cat Winters and can't wait to read this.  
The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts by K.C. Tansley
Time travel, ghosts, and murder mystery. Of course I accepted this for review! 
The Good Girls by Sara Shepard
I'm not sure I'll read this one, but my daughter has already disappeared with it!
The Leveller by Julia Durango  
This looks more interesting than I initially thought! 
Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
This looks super cute and I've enjoyed Benway's writing before. 
Deadfall by Anna Carey
Talker 25: Invisible Monsters by Joshua McCune 
Both of these are sequels to books I haven't read yet, but they both look pretty good! 

Many thanks to Harper Collins, William Morrow,  & KC Tansley for the review books and to Skye for the trades! :D

The Weekly Nutshell:  
{Monday} What's New: June YA Release List & Giveaway
{Tuesday} Waiting on Wednesday: Pull by Anne Riley 
{Saturday} Review: Rook by Sharon Cameron 

 I feel like I've had so little time to read lately! My youngest turned 10 this week. Nooo...he still needs to be my baby. *sigh*  So lots of birthday stuff going on all week. :)  When I do find the time, I'm reading Siren's Fury, which is so good, and next up is likely going to be Game of Love and Death. I read the first three chapters when a copy came through at work and I'm already in love with the writing. So can't wait. 
Also ALA San Francisco is just around the corner!  Anyone going? I am so excited to have a conference that I don't have to travel so far to this year!  It's a mere hour away! And finally I won't be the only one from my library at a library conference! :D So that should be fun! 

Have a great week, everyone..and happy reading! 

Rook by Sharon Cameron {review}

Rook
by Sharon Cameron
♦publisher: Scholastic Press
♦release date: April 28th, 2015
♦hardcover, 456 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦standalone
♦source: from publisher for honest review

History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?

Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she.

As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

Review: Rook is just made of cleverness. A clever premise, clever writing, and cleverly perplexing characters. It's a dystopian homage to the classic The Scarlet Pimpernel that will often have you forgetting that it's set hundreds of years into our future rather than hundreds of years in our past.  And it's in this richly imagined setting, where part of Paris has fallen into the earth and the revolution has begun anew, that Rook's heady theme is so perfectly played out. Nothing quite explains it like this quote:

"Have you ever thought," he said after a moment, " that perhaps...all of this could have happened before? That the people of the Time Before, no matter how weak we think them, that they were only making mistakes of their ancestors, and that we, in turn, are only making the same mistakes as them? Technology or no? That the time changes but people do not, and so we are never really moving forward, only around a bend? That the world only every turns in circles. Do you think that could be so?"

(quoted from Rook ARC copy, pg. 205)

The world has basically reset and all technology is shunned. Part of what made this fun is being so immersed in this chaotic ancient-feeling world and being jarred into remembering that it's set in the future---like when the characters talk about "artifacts" and you suddenly realize they are referring to a CD or a game controller or some other piece of our everyday world.

Sophia is a bold and fierce character, willing to do anything to save innocent people from The Blade. When her risky actions cause her brother's arrest, the plan is set in motion to get him back. I loved that almost every other character aside from Sophia and her brother are  set up for suspicion. The reader is kept constantly guessing who will turn out to be loyal and who will turn.  There is, of course, a slow-growing and uncertain love story chock full of caution and suspicion---and really, what other kind of romance can you have between two strong characters who so comfortable with deceit and sneakiness! Each moment was wildly entertaining as they circle each other and slowly grow closer.

The plot is incredibly rich but this, for much of it, was a very slow read---sometimes "good" slow where it forced you to really savor and enjoy the story unfolding, and other times it was just slow.  But I highly recommend pushing through because it definitely picks up in the last half! Rapid scene changes sometimes make it hard to follow, but as the story climaxes, the scene-to-scene transitions are done using a captivating style, a sort of wordplay where the following scene plays off of the last words of the previous scene, and I absolutely loved that.

Another incredibly imaginative tale from an author who has quickly become one of my favorites!

Find Sharon Cameron online:  Website  •   Twitter  • Facebook

Purchase Rook: Indiebound  •  Bookdepository  •  Amazon

Waiting on...

"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.

Pull

by Anne Riley

hitting shelves December 8th, 2015 

from Spencer Hill Press

Rosie Clayton witnesses a mugging on her first night in London—and then the scene rewinds itself.

She finds herself standing in the same place again, with the mugging happening just like before, except this time a stranger steps in and stops it. There's no way the same incident can have two outcomes. Rosie thinks she’s losing her mind, until just a few days later, the stranger saves her.

The stranger, Albert, and his band of misfit crime-fighters, have the special ability to Pull, which allows them to rewind just enough time to undo a recent event. Someone is hunting Albert and his crew– and now that Rosie’s been seen with them, she’s a target too. Rosie is left with no choice but to trust Albert to keep her safe.

As Rosie learns more about this unbelievable ability and the people – if you can call them that – who want them dead, she discovers that the group’s desire for her blood might be more than mere coincidence. Each step into this magical side of London introduces Rosie to a family history that she never knew existed, and dangerous forces that could unravel her world in an instant.

Her family may be the reason they’re all being hunted—and she may be the only one who can figure out how to save them. Sure, between the lot of them, they have a few shots to get it right. The thing about Pulling, though, is you have to be alive to do it.

My thoughts:  London setting, time looping, mysterious family secrets---this sounds like just my cup of very british tea. :)

What's New: June YA Release List & Giveaway

Welcome, June and summer! I decided to take a little blogging break this past week because, frankly, every time I got on the computer to blog, I found myself on twitter looking (and drooling!) over all the BEA tweets! Very unproductive! So I decided it was best to just steer clear of the computer for the week lol. Oh and #booksfortrade...also very addictive. And Pinterest. Another time-suck, but I just love it. :)  Anyways.  There's quite a lovely list of books down below. Hopefully I will have time to read some of them---it always takes a few weeks for things to settle down in my house after summer vacation starts!

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 April's giveaway is Elizabeth H.! Congrats! June 2015 Releases:
Just like previous months, I've put a little l♥ve by those books that I am really anticipating!

{1} 
Sugar by Deirdre Riordan Hall
Where You End by Anna Pellicioli

{2}
Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas
Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel
Children of the Earth by Anna Schumacher
Dancing with Molly by Lena Horowitz
The Darkness Within by Kelly Hashway
Deadly Design by Debra Dockter ♥
The Devil You Know by Trish Dollar
Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu
The Good Girls by Sara Shepard
Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen ♥
The Hunted by Charlie Higson
Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani ♥
Invisible Monsters by Joshua McCune
Joyride by Anna Banks
The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell
Like It Never Happened by Jill Cooper
Modern Monsters by Kelley York
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
Nearly Found by Elle Cosimano
Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs ♥
Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer ♥
Secret of the Sevens by Lynn Lindquist ♥
Siren's Fury by Mary Weber ♥
Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen
Spelled by Betsy Chow
The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
Surviving Santiago by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Sweet by Emmy Laybourne
Where You End by Anna Pellicioli
The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker ♥

{4}
Darkest Night by Will Hill

{9}
Alive by Chandler Baker ♥
Crash by Eve Silver
Even When You Lie to Me by Jessica Alcott
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
Forgotten by Ednah Walters
Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout
I Am the Traitor by Allen Zadoff
Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca
Mindwalker by A. J. Steiger
Our Brothers at the Bottom of the Bottom of the Sea by Jonathan David Kranz ♥
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes ♥
The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent ♥
Those Girls by Lauren Saft
To Hold the Bridge by Garth Nix 

{15}
We Will Be Crashing Shortly by Hollis Gillespie

{16}
After Hours by Claire Kennedy
Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat
Blood Will Tell by April Henry
Deadfall by Anna Carey
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
Get Dirty by Gretchen McNeil
Glittering Shadows by Jaclyn Dolamore ♥
Holy and the Fallen by Amanda Strong
In the Mouth of the Wolf by Nicole Maggi
In Search of Sam by Kristin Butcher
The Last of the Spirits by Chris Priestly ♥
The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi
One Moment in Time by Lauren Barnholdt
The Revenge Playbook by Rachael Allen
Shards by FJR Titchenell and Matt Carter

{23}
A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes ♥
Calling Maggie May by Anonymous
Date with a Rockstar by Sarah Gagnon
Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
A Girl Undone by Catherine Linka
The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek by Seth Rudetsky
The Rules by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie
The Stellow Project by Shari Becker
Tangled Webs by Lee Bross

 {30}
Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel
Faking Perfect by Rebecca Phillips
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older ♥
The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath by Ishbelle Bee ♥
Storm by Amanda Sun
Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler


 (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 June release of their choice! *see note below
• Contest ends June 30st, 2015 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.
•Extra entries can be earned by commenting on May or June reviews, and can be done once per review. Come back throughout June whenever you comment on my reviews and get your extra points!     a Rafflecopter giveaway