Cover Story: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini!

OK,...this was revealed a few days ago...how have I not seen it until NOW?? Check out the gorgeousness:Cover links to goodreads...so go add this to your to-read lists!
No description yet, but I truly cannot wait to get back to Helen and Lucas and the entire Delos Family!! I've missed them! :D

Review: Starcrossed

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

publisher: HarperTeen

release date: May 31, 2011

hardcover, 496 pages

intended audience: Young adult

rating:




source: from author for honest review/book tour

description:

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart

Review: Here's a sign of a really good book: going about my day feeling like I can't wait to get back to it, feeling like I'm missing the characters that I've become so invested in that I can't wait to see what they'll do next---and then suddenly remembering that I finished the book and feeling sad, missing them all the more like long lost family.

Here's another sign of a really good book: Ultimate. Emotional. Roller Coaster.

Josephine Angelini is am amazing storyteller. I loved the characters she created. Her casual and descriptive writing style sinks you right into the middle of their world. It made me want to sit and joke with Helen and Claire (especially loved tiny, spunky Claire!). And sit down for dinner with the great big Delos Family and eat something yummy and home-cooked by the amazing, loving Noel (Lucas's mother). After getting to know them all, I was emotionally sucked in to this story and stuck there! It had me all over the place---laughing, angry, frustrated, worried, awestruck...and heartbroken. The love story is such a great one...how can it not be when it starts off with them inexplicably trying to kill each other? They have so much to overcome and so many uncontrollable factors working against them...I literally felt that empty hole in my chest that I vividly remember from my own teen years, when you think you love someone and start to feel it slipping away.

All gushing aside, I did have a two little cons: I admit that once or twice, I felt my attention dip---in nearly 500 pages, it's bound to happen---whether it was from a bit too much detailed description or a rehashed situation, it really didn't take much away from my love for this book. Also (and this is 100% my own personal quirk and possible reading inadequacy :D), I tend to have a little awkwardness when reading about people flying. Especially when they don't have wings...it somehow doesn't translate into my mind's eye without coming off as a little superman-style cheesy. Again, that's my own personal quirk---I'm sure not all readers are as weird about that as me!

An amazing debut, and totally lived up to the hype for me. I can't wait for the sequel!! I'll be missing these characters until then!

Visit Josephine Angelini's site here.

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

Trailer:

Starcrossed Blog Tour Stop #2!! Win a Kindle 3 or a Starcrossed Gelaskin!

Welcome to the second stop on the Starcrossed Blog Tour!!

Hosted by
There are some excited things going on for this tour, and I'm so glad to be a part of it! Be sure to hit all the stops listed below for great author and character interviews, features and giveaways including a chance to win Starcrossed-themed Gelaskins or a Kindle 3 Wifi preloaded with Starcrossed and more!!

Today on Stories & Sweeties, I want to share with you some really cool international stuff that's been put out for this amazing book (and yes, it is absolutely amazing!! My full review will be up later this week!)

First off, I want to share with you, Helen's song! This song and video were put together by the German publishers of Starcrossed, Dressler. Check it out:

Secondly, you thought the US cover was gorgeous...well check out these international editions! Starcrossed is going to be well-dressed all over the world!! :D In order of appearance, here are the UK, German, and Spain editions!

Okay...HERE COME THE GIVEAWAYS!!
Here at Stories & Sweeties, I'm giving away a Starcrossed Kindle3 Gelaskin to one lucky winner!
Aren't they cool??

To enter simply fill out THE FORM HERE!
details:
~Open to US only or an available US shipping address.
~Contest closes June 3rd, 2011 11:59 PM PST.

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

And now, for the KINDLE 3 Wifi Giveaway:
This one is being hosted by the entire tour! Here are the details:

• In order to enter to win a Kindle3 WiFi, including a copy of Starcrossed, a personal letter from Josie to the winner and covered in a GelaSkin of Starcrossed's cover art, you must collect the pink highlighted words from Lucas's love letter to Helen that are provide each day at the individual tour stops. The daily words can be joined together in sequential order to create the winning secret message. Once you've constructed the winning secret message, you will need to enter that message on Starcrossed's tour home page (http://www.kismetbt.com/upcoming-tour/starcrossed-by-josephine-angelini-on-tour-mayjune).
• No purchase, affiliation, status as follower to a certain blog or any other association is required to enter.
• Full rules for the contest can be found at the Starcrossed tour home page (http://www.kismetbt.com/upcoming-tour/starcrossed-by-josephine-angelini-on-tour-mayjune).
• Winner of the Kindle give-away will be announced on Josie's homepage (http://www.josephineangelini.com/blog/) on Tuesday, June 7th.

Here is the piece of Lucas's letter to Helen that you will need to enter the contest! Just visit each blog throughout the tour, collect the pink highlighted word in each piece of the letter. At the end of the tour, you should have a secret message to enter at the TOUR HOME PAGE! Good luck everyone!!


Be sure to visit all the sites hosting the Starcrossed Tour!!

Monday May, 16th - Bewitched Bookworms Tour Kick-off!
Tuesday, May 17th - Becky, Stories & Sweeties
Wednesday, May 18th - Elie, Ellz Reads
Thursday, May 19th - Heidi, YA Bibliophile
Friday, May 20th - See Scoot Read Character Interview with Helen's BFF Claire

Monday May, 23th - Missie, The Unread Reader "When I'm not Writing"
Tuesday, May 24th - Savanna, Books with Bite
Wednesday, May 25th - Natalie, The Mindful Musings Character Interview with Helen
Thursday, May 26th - Heather, Buried in Books Interview with Josie
Friday, May 27th - Nely, All about {n} "Josie's Bookcase"


Monday May, 30th - Candace, Candace's Book Blog Interview with Josie
Tuesday, May 31st (Starcrossed Book Birthday!) - Kristi, The Story Siren Vlog post by Josie
Wednesday, June 1st - Small Review
Thursday, June 2nd - Jenny, Supernatural Snark Character Interview with Lucas
Friday, June 3rd - Cynthia - A Book About Nothing

Tuesday, June 7th: Announcement of the big prize winner on Josie's Blog!

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.

Starcrossed
by Josephine Angelini

releasing May 31st, 2011 from HarperTeen

description:
Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school. Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention.

Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy. Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate. She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history. Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other. Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together?

My Thoughts: HarperTeen has been hyping this series for a long time, I remember seeing it in PubWeekly because it was a debut and they paid the author some huge amount to write the series. Plus, the cover is gorgeous, and the story sounds really interesting, and I've already read a few of my favorite authors say it's amazing! My curiousity is peaked as to what all the hubbub is about!!