Waiting on Wednesday - The Over the Shoulder Edition ;)

"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.

So I've decided from now on to add a little fun step to my Waiting on Wednesday posts. I'll be choosing two books. I'll have a "Sooner" and a "Later" pick, one that is coming up in the next month or so and one that is way down the line. Sound good? ;)

Sooner:

Eternal Starling
by Angela Corbett

hitting shelves December 6, 2011 from Pendrell Publishing

description:
A love so strong, even eternity can’t separate them.

Evie Starling has lived a relatively uneventful life hanging out with friends, gossiping about boys, and driving her 1966 Mustang. All of that changes when she moves to Gunnison, Colorado, to start college and meets two mysterious men.

For centuries, Alex Night and Emil Stone have yearned for Evie—but they each have their own reasons for wanting to be with her. When both men claim to be her soul mate and tell her about an unbelievable past, Evie learns that she’s not the person she thought she was. Soon, Evie finds herself in the middle of an age-old battle between the Amaranthine Society—the soul protectors, and the Daevos Resistance—the soul destroyers. With a past she doesn’t understand, and a future rife with danger, Evie has to decide who she can trust. But Alex and Emil aren’t the only ones who want Evie, and her soul is about to become the rope in an eternal tug-of-war.

My Thoughts: I love this cover, the fact that the MC drives a 66 mustang, and the fact that I haven't seen anything but rave reviews for this book! I can't wait!


Later:

Goddess, Interrupted
by Aimee Carter

hitting shelves March 27th, 2012 by Harlequin Teen

description:
Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

My Thoughts: LOVED The Goddess Test. Can't wait for more. :)

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!

Review: The Goddess Test

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

publisher: Harlequin Teen

release date: April 19, 2011

paperback, 304 pages

intended audience: Young adult

rating:




source: from publisher through Netgalley

description:
It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

Review: I'm going to try to keep this review short, because this story is full of little surprises and twists and turns that can easily be given away in all my blabbering and gushing, but I will say...I loved this book. The main character, Kate Winters, was courageous and selfless and completely relatable. Because her mother has been sick for so long, taking care of her is her whole life, there's been no room for anything else, no friends, no boys, no hobbies. Her mother moves them back to the town where she grew up. She insists that Kate go to school, make some friends, and hopefully let the town grow on her enough to stay after she is gone. While attempting to do just that, Kate meets a few new people, some of them not quite what they seem, and a jealous prank sets in motion a chain of events that Kate never could have expected.

I loved the unusual relationships in this one. Kate and her mother's, of course,---you easily feel how precious each moment is with her mother on the brink of death. I also loved the slow-blooming and sometimes tumultuous feelings between Kate and Henry. I love that it's not just cut and dry, sometimes she admires him, sometimes she can't forget that he is on some level her captor. Its a little bit Beauty and the Beast, a little bit Jane and Rochester; he is not at all what you first expect him to be. Not to give too much away, but there some moments between them that definitely had me feeling a little swoony.

The little twists and fun surprises in this were great, and even when I predicted a turn of events correctly, I couldn't wait to see it play out. A huge applause for Aimee Carter for the way she expertly wove the old mythical characters into her story, giving them fresh new lives and personalities. Not at all a rehashing of the old legends, but a wonderful newly-imagined tale!

This is a must-read! Don't pass this up!

Visit Aimee Carter's site here.

Purchase The Goddess Test at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound