What's New: May Releases & Giveaway

Are you ready for this? Because May is an amazing month of YA releases!! I was floored when I was compiling this list, it just kept going, and going, and going!! If this is your first time visiting for this feature, "What's New" New Reads List & Giveaway here at Stories & Sweeties is 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! So, look out, here it comes: the May book birthdays!!
May Releases:

{1}
Captured by Maggie L. Woods
Darkening by Maggie L. Woods
Shine by Lauren Myracle

{3}
Almost Final Curtain by Tate Hallaway
Bite Club (Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine
Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin
Illusions by Aprilynne Pike
The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch
Me & Tennessee by Sheridan Hernandez
Princess for Hire: The Royal Treatment by Lindsey Leavitt
Shift by Jeri Ready-Smith
So Much Closer by Susan Colasti
Throne of Fire by Rick Riordin

{4}
Spinning Out by David Stahler

{10}
A & L Do Summer by Jan Blazanin
Die for Me by Amy Plum
Flawless by Lara Chapman
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland on a Ship of Her Own Making by Cat Valente
Hidden by Helen Frost
Jane Jones: Worst Vampire Ever by Caissie St. Onge
Kiss of Death by Lauren Henderson
The Lucky Kind by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
My Life, the Theater, and Other Tragedies by Alan Zadoff
My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher
OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy
The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs
Then by Morris Gleitzman
Things I Know About Love by Kate Le Vann
Tighter by Adele Griffin
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
You Don't Know About Me by Brian Meehl

{12}
Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando

{17}
The Dark City: Relic Master by Catherine Fisher
The Fires Beneath the Sea by Lydia Millet
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Mercy by Rebecca Lim
Vampire Kisses 8: Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber

{24}
The A Circuit by Catherine Hapka & Georgina Bloomberg
Angel Burn by Lee Weatherly
Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
If I Could Fly by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Lark by Tracey Porter
Putting Makeup on Dead People by Trish Cook & Brendan Halpin
Something Deadly This Way Comes by Kim Harrison
The Warlock by Michael Scott
Welcome to Bordertown by Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Charles De Lint, etc.
With or Without You by Brian Farrey
Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

{30}
Watched by Sharde Richardson

{31}
The Ivy: Secrets by Lauren Kunz & Rina Onur
The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Nightspell by Leah Cypress
Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini


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

Giveaway Details: One winner will win a May Release of their choice! *see note below
• Contest ends at 11:59 PM, PST on May 31st, 2011.
• Must be 13 or older
• Open internationally. *International winners will be required to choose a book that is available through BookDepository.com.
• Please enter one time only for each monthly giveaway.

*Contest Closed!*

In My Mailbox {64}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we all share what we got during the week!

Got some cool stuff this week!

Bought:
Through Her Eyes by Jennifer Archer
Old creepy houses, mysterious artifacts, and a ghostie---I had to have this one!

For Review:
Six Moon Summer by SM Reine
Werewolves! So far, I've seen nothing but good stuff about this book, so I'm excited!

The Vivatera: Secrets of Everstar by Candace Thomas
I requested this one from the author because the cover and title drew me in and the story sounds so intriguing! I was surprised I hadn't seen this one before!

Bloodspell by Amalie Howard
Witches, betrayal, curses, and girl whose blood runs black?? This looks amazing! And the cover is even more gorgeous in person!

Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe
Like I do with all books that come in the mail, I read the first few pages of this when it arrived. Three chapters later, I almost couldn't put it down! Looks good!

Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? by Sloan Tanen
Bit of trivia for you: the author knew John Hughes and she is who Ferris Bueller's girlfriend is named after! ( I adore that movie!) Now, that alone might have been enough for me to accept this one when it was pitched, but what's great is that the story looks hilarious, too!

And last but not least..Wildefire by Karsten Knight! (wouldn't fit on the shelf, so it gets a solo shot!)I was dancing around when I got this one!! I've been excited for this one for awhile now! It wasn't even dressed up in it's awesome cover and I was still drooling over it! Being about Polynesian goddesses, this debut holds a special place in my anticipation list---I was a hula and tahitian dancer for years! :D

Tons of thanks to Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks, Langdon Street Press, Brian Rowe, SM Reine, & Candace Thomas!

Show me those mailboxes---because, you know, my wishlist needs to get just a little longer! LOL
OH, also, I got three more books from the amazing Traveling Book Box hosted by Moonlight Book Reviews, but those will be shown on a seperate post on Monday! I'll be showing what I kept and what I threw into the box before sending it on!

Happy reading, everyone!

Review: Wings

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

publisher: HarperTeen

release date: March 1st, 2009

hardcover, 294 pages

intended audience: Young adult

rating:





description:

Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

Review: This was a fun and enchanting introduction to this series! It was sweet and romantic and magical...a very fast read. What a unique twist on faerie lore!

I really liked the main character, Laurel. Her story is kind of a double-edged fish out of water story. When we first meet her she is trying to acclimate to public school after being home schooled her whole life. I liked that she was shy, but kind and willing to make friends when they approached her, but still kind of clung to her comfort zone. It's probably a lot like I would be so I related to that. One day she notices a bump on her back, and begins to really freak out when it gets bigger each day---of course going through all the worst case scenarios in her head. I never did understand her hesitance to go to her parents with that, as they were all very close. She wakes one morning to a shock: a flower has sprouted from her back...a flower!! She freaks out a bit, but mostly it inspires her to find out more about where she came from and who she really is.

I was, of course, completely sucked in to the love triangle going on in this story. David, the first person she meets at school, is my hero ;) He is sweet and funny and charmingly geek-minded. Not to mention gallant in the face of danger and totally excepting of a girl with a weird flower growing out of her back! Tamani is another faerie and the one who enlightens Laurel on the details of where she truly comes from.When we first meet him, he comes off as a little smug and cocky. He alludes to the fact that he and Laurel have a pretty strong past together, and further on you see that he's hurting from having been forced to let her go so she could grow up in the human world. I liked him, but for Laurel, I liked David more. We'll have to see where the rest of this series goes, but by the end of Wings, I was Team David all the way.

I can't wait to read the rest of this series---so many more details that this one has left me salivating for! Why did the faeries choose Laurel to send to the human world? What is her real place in the faerie world? More about Avalon!! And I must know more about Tamani and Laurel's past!

Visit Aprilynne Pike's site here.

Purchase Wings at: Amazon • BN.com • Book Depository • Indiebound

Next in the series:
Spells
Illusions (coming May 3, 2011!)

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.

Frost
by Wendy Delsol

release date: October 11, 2011 from Candlewick Press

description:
Wendy Delsol’s FROST, is the sequel to her YA debut STORK.

After the drama of discovering that she’s a member of the Storks, a mystical order of women endowed with powerful abilities, Katla Leblanc is finally settling into her life in chilly Minnesota. In fact, the ex-California girl even hopes for a white Christmas. But Katla’s wintry wish unexpectedly turns into the snowstorm of the century, drawing the attention of Brigid, a gorgeous environmental researcher with an amazing array of fur coats and an unusual interest in Katla’s boyfriend, Jack.

Inspired by Norse mythology and Hans Christian Andersen’s THE SNOW QUEEN.

My thoughts: I loved Wendy Delsol's debut, Stork. So unique from anything else out there, and the first book had some really funny moments. I can't wait to see where else she takes this fun premise! You can see my review of Stork here.

Interview with Aimée Carter & The Goddess Test Giveaway!!

If you haven't read the The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter yet, I highly recommend you pick up copy and do so! It's such a great story. You can see my review here, where I gushed about it and gave it a very deserving 5-cupcake rating! :D

So today on Stories & Sweeties, I'm lucky enough to have a fun Q & A with debut author, Aimée Carter! Thanks for stopping by, Aimée!!

~Describe The Goddess Test in your own words?
The Goddess Test is a sort of sequel to the myth of Hades and Persephone, taking place eons after the original myth occurred. In one sentence: what happens when Hades must replace Persephone, and someone is killing off the candidates.

~Which character in The Goddess Test was your favorite to write?
Three way tie between Henry, James, and Ava. They were all so much fun to write for completely different reasons, and their voices were the strongest of the supporting characters.

~Can you let us in on any future projects you have in the works?
I'm currently working on the third Goddess Test book, and I also have a dystopian series coming from Harlequin Teen sometime in the next few years. The first book is entitled Masked, and I am insanely excited to get the chance to share it with you all.


~Can you tell a little about how you got interested in writing?
I started by writing fan fiction, and the feedback I got from reviewers helped me learn what worked and what didn't in both crafting a story and writing it down. I wrote my first original story when I was fifteen, and it sort of went from there. I have over two dozen finished manuscripts, some decent, most not. But each one was a learning experience.

~Tell us about your ideal writing space.
I would love to have an office someday where I can deny myself an internet connection and really focus on writing, but for now I write in bookstores. I bounce between a few of them, and I usually find a comfortable chair, get something to drink, and resist connecting to the internet until closing time. I listen to a song on repeat as well to drown out conversation and other noises going on around me.

~Who are your favorite authors? What are you reading right now?
JK Rowling, Orson Scott Card, Suzanne Collins, Anne Bishop (who doesn't write YA), David and Leigh Eddings (also not YA), Meg Cabot, Rick Riordan, etc. I'll give anything a chance though. Right now I'm finishing up Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed, and I'm loving it.


~What kind of books did you love to read as a child/teenager?
I think I read every single Babysitter's Club and Thoroughbred novel at least twice. I loved Roald Dahl as well. Mostly I went for chapter books even from a young age - the thinner ones were always over too quickly.

Fun questions:
~Favorite snack while writing?
Hot chocolate

~Favorite movie?
I have two: The Lion King and Closer.

~Favorite color?
I don't have one, but I prefer bright, deep, vibrant colors as opposed to darker ones or pastels.

~Favorite band and song?
I don't have a favorite band, but my favorite songs are Shawn Mullins' Shimmer and Damien Rice's The Blower's Daughter.

~Favorite teacher from your school years?
All of my writing and English teachers. I couldn't possibly pick a favorite.

~And everyone who visits me here at Stories & Sweeties answers this one: Do you like cupcakes? More frosting or more cake? :)
I LOVE cupcakes. I am a cupcake fiend. I usually prefer the cake, but I'm addicted to the sweet kind of frosting you can buy jars of and eat from a spoon. And I often do.

Thanks so much for having me!!

You're most welcome, Aimée!! I have a weakness for the store-bought jars of frosting, too. ;)

(photo credit to onyonet.)

GIVEAWAY TIME!
SO...want a chance to win a copy of The Goddess Test? I'm going to give a copy away to one lucky reader! :D

The rules:
~Contest will run until May 15th, 2011, 11:59 PM PST.
~Must be 13 or older to enter.
~This contest is open internationally!
~To enter, you must be a follower (all contests that are funded solely by me require this.)
~Earn one extra entry by tweeting about this contest!
~Earn one extra point by commenting below with something you have in common with Aimée Carter! :D

To Enter: FILL OUT THE FORM HERE!

Cover Story: The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

A tiny sneak peek of this cover has been on Goodreads for awhile now, but I've been waiting for it to be posted in a decent size so we could see all the interesting detail to feature it here! Another cool cover for Brenna Yovanoff! The story sounds pretty amazing, too...I can't wait!

Everything burns in Pandemonium

Everything is made of steel, even the flowers. How can you love anything in a place like this?

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped—and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible. Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie’s whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.

This second novel by rising star Brenna Yovanoff is a story of identity, discovery, and a troubled love between two people struggling to find their place both in our world and theirs.

Coming November 15th, 2011 from Razorbill!

In My Mailbox {63}

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we all share what we got during the week!

Got some cool stuff this week! Two requested and three fun surprises! :D

For Review:
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
This sounds like a fun MG! I love stories like The Time Travelers and Mysterious Benedict Society so I'm hoping this is as great as those were!

Airborne by Constance Sharper
This sounds unique and intriguing! Harpies! I've never seen those as the "featured creature" in YA fiction!

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle
Oh, this one looks like a sad one, I'll need to stock up on my couch-side kleenex! :)

Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Sumner
New faerie stories are always welcome in my tbr pile! I haven't read Bones of Faerie, so I'll have to track that one down first---don't want to be lost!

Flip by Martyn Bedford
Looks interesting! A boy wakes up one day and doesn't recognize his life or the face staring back at him in the mirror!

Many thanks to Random House, Candace Sharper, and HarperTeen!

So, question: Would anyone be interested in seeing a shelf tour from me? Not sure if I will, and certainly not sure of my video-making skills (haha), but just seeing if people enjoy these! :D

Show me what you got in those mailboxes, everyone!