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.

These Shallow Graves

by Jennifer Donnelly

hitting shelves October 27th

from Delacorte

Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon—like all the girls in her class—she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo dreams of becoming a writer—a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly.
    Wild aspirations aside, Jo’s life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: her father is found dead. Charles Montfort shot himself while cleaning his pistol. One of New York City’s wealthiest men, he owned a newspaper and was a partner in a massive shipping firm, and Jo knows he was far too smart to clean a loaded gun.
    The more Jo hears about her father’s death, the more something feels wrong. Suicide is the only logical explanation, and of course people have started talking, but Jo’s father would never have resorted to that. And then she meets Eddie—a young, smart, infuriatingly handsome reporter at her father’s newspaper—and it becomes all too clear how much she stands to lose if she keeps searching for the truth. But now it might be too late to stop.
    The past never stays buried forever. Life is dirtier than Jo Montfort could ever have imagined, and this time the truth is the dirtiest part of all.

My thoughts: While I never did try out Donnelly's crack at fantasy writing, I loved her last work of historical fiction, Revolution. LOVED.  So I'm excited to see her going that route again!  This looks amazing, and I can't help but be drawn to the mystery and intrigue set in the gilded age of New York!

They All Fall Down by Roxanne St. Claire {review & giveaway}

Hello, all! Today, as part of the They All Fall Down Blog Tour, I'll be sharing my thoughts on the book and giving away a finished copy! 

They All Fall Down
by Roxanne St. Claire
♦publisher: Delacorte Press
♦release date: October 14, 2014
♦harcover, 339 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Every year, the lives of ten girls at Vienna High are transformed.

All because of the list.

Kenzie Summerall can't imagine how she's been voted onto a list of the hottest girls in school, but when she lands at number five, her average life becomes dazzling. Doors open to the best parties, new friends surround her, the cutest jock in school is after her.

This is the power of the list. If you're on it, your life changes.

If you're on it this year? Your life ends.

The girls on the list have started to die, one by one. Is it a coincidence? A curse? Or is the list in the hands of a killer?

Time is running out for Kenzie, but she’s determined to uncover the deadly secret of the list...before her number’s up.

Review: In a story as fun and entertaining as it is dark and murderous, They All Fall Down delivers a smart heroine, a bullet-fast pace, and a murder mystery that just keeps coming with the surprises. 

Kenzie has a good head on her shoulders and every determination to get through high school unscathed and into Cambridge. Her big brother, Connor, was in a freak accident two years ago, leaving his sister grieving, their parents unable to see eye to eye, and their mother terrified of danger in even the most unlikely scenarios.  Kenzie rails against her to get a little bit of freedom—this is her biggest daily problem, until one day she makes it on “The Hottie List”.  It’s a secret list that every boy in school votes on, but every year it puts ten girls at the top. As cheesily named as it is sexist, Kenzie can’t help but roll her eyes at this supposed “honor”.  Her best friend, Molly, can’t believe their luck and plans to ride Kenzie’s coat tails into popularity, something the two of them have never had.

The deaths start piling up as each girl on the list gets picked off in order, and rumors of a curse are flying, but Kenzie’s not buying it.  I loved her sharp humor and her cynical attitude toward the ridiculous things that people around her were taking at face value, including the list itself.  Sure, she’s pulled along into it all, but she quickly confirms for herself that popularity and its perks may not be what she wants at all. She takes it on herself to figure out exactly what is going on before her number is up. I felt for her vulnerability that came from her grief and I loved the fact that she was willing to let someone in that everyone else had written off.

Even the romance proved to be edge-of-your-seat: falling for the bad boy is definitely frowned upon by her “list sisters”, especially when he turns up as suspect #1 in the murders.  No love triangle here---of the two main male characters, it’s pretty clear which one Kenzie will fall for…and which one will turn out to be not only a jerk, but one scary disaster.  Best friend Molly’s likability was off and on for me, as were many of the characters, but all of them made for an interesting mix.

It’s a crazy twist of an end that sets these characters up for possible future adventures, though I found it a little far-fetched, especially concerning the mother’s very severe change of heart and the likelihood of the FBI asking a bunch of teens to take on a very deadly mission---but it was a really fun story and had me wildly entertained from beginning to end. This is definitely something I can see turning into a show or movie along the lines of Pretty Little Liars!

Find Roxanne St. Claire online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase the book:  BN.com  •  Bookdepository  •  Indiebound

GIVEAWAY!

The awesome folks at Delacorte are allowing me to give one finished copy to one very lucky blog visitor! Enter below!

•US mailing addresses only please

• Must be 13 or older

•Ends  November 13, 2014

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Story

New covers starting to pop up.  Some of these are just breathtaking. And one involves a lot of floating heads. LOL

Burning Kingdoms

by Lauren DeStefano

Simon & Schuster, May 10, 2015

Chaos
by Lanie Bross
Delacorte Press, January 27, 2015

Crashland

by Sean Williams

Balzer & Bray, November 4, 2014

In a World Just Right
by Jen Brooks
Simon & Schuster, 2015

The Good Sister

by Jamie Kain

ST. Martin's Griffin, October 7, 2014

The Third Twin
by CJ Omololu
Delacorte Press, 2015






What do you think? Any new favorites? Guess which series is getting a whole new look? Yup, Perfect Ruin is getting a makeover that matches Burning Kingdoms. Both are pretty, but I really loved the original Perfect Ruin cover. Ah well.  And I love the Chaos cover---even if he does have her like a sack of potatoes. And well, floating heads. Not too sure. ;)  Third Twin looks creeeeepy :)

Mark of the Dragonfly - MG Steampunk Giveaway!!

Today I'm happy to be participating in the blog tour for the steampunk fantasy, 

Mark of the Dragonfly!!

Piper has never seen the Mark of the Dragonfly until she finds the girl amid the wreckage of a caravan in the Meteor Fields.
   The girl doesn't remember a thing about her life, but the intricate tattoo on her arm is proof that she's from the Dragonfly Territories and that she's protected by the king. Which means a reward for Piper if she can get the girl home.
   The one sure way to the Territories is the 401, a great old beauty of a train. But a ticket costs more coin than Piper could make in a year. And stowing away is a difficult prospect--everyone knows that getting past the peculiar green-eyed boy who stands guard is nearly impossible.
   Life for Piper just turned dangerous. A little bit magical. And very exciting, if she can manage to survive the journey.

 ★ "This magnetic middle-grade debut...[is] a page-turner that defies easy categorization and ought to have broad appeal."-Publishers Weekly, starred 

★ "Heart, brains, and courage find a home in a steampunk fantasy worthy of a nod from Baum."-Kirkus Reviews, starred

About the author:

JALEIGH JOHNSON is a lifelong reader, gamer, and moviegoer. She loves nothing better than to escape into fictional worlds and take part in fantastic adventures. She lives and writes in the wilds of the Midwest, but you can visit her online at www.jaleighjohnson.com or on Twitter @JaleighJohnson.



Giveaway!! 
The lovely people at Delacorte are allowing me to give away one finished copy of 
Mark of the Dragonfly!  
Enter below!
•US mailing addresses only
•Must be 13 or older, or have parent permission to enter
•Ends April 10, 2014
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Becky's View: Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynoski
♦publisher: Delacorte Press
♦release date: March 11th, 2014
♦hardcover, 336 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone
♦source: from publisher for honest review

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

Review: With such a crazy and unusual premise, I went into this book knowing there were going to be some hilarious moments.  I was not disappointed, and this story is so much more than that.  These poor kids, just trying to get through the daily high school grind: parents, dating, flirting, looks, weight issues, friends, enemies…we’ve all been there, we know it’s plenty hard enough as it is. Already in real high school life, privacy is hard to come by with the way news spreads in a school situation.  But imagine if what little privacy you had was gone.  Everyone could hear your every thought, and you were forced to listen to every opinion around you. UGH.  

For the kids of homeroom 10B, that’s exactly what life has become. They are all very different people, some of them friends, some not so much, but they have to band together to figure out how to handle their new powers and how to keep everyone from finding out so they don’t end up as guinea pigs, or worse.  Some will use it to their advantage, some will let dark secrets slip, and some will find their whole world crumbling around them.  A lot of it is pretty humorous, but their powers also bring about some very tough and touching moments.  They can’t hide, but they also see through every lie, and they’ll all soon find out that that can be a blessing or a curse. 

The story is told as if the group, "The Espies" as they start to call themselves, is relaying how it all started.  Mostly told in third person, it would sometimes drop into a first person "we" perspective. Something dramatic would happen to one of them and they would all weigh in.  It was a really cute and unique way to tell the story, but it can feel a bit odd until you get used to it.  You really get to know this wide variety of characters (much more than they would want you to, I’m sure!), though I admit that at times there are so many of them its hard to keep track of who is who. But you can’t help but feel for their various mishaps and scandals and heartbreaks set off by this mysterious side effect. 

Don’t Even Think About It is just a really enjoyable read.  I definitely recommend this one next time you’re in the mood for something with a perfect mix of a few good laughs and just a touch of tough emotional subjects. Or perhaps the next time you get a flu shot---it will make you grateful all you get from it is a stick in the arm!

Find Sarah Mlynowski online: Web  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Don't Even Think About It: Amazon  •  BookDepository   •  Indiebound 

Blog Tour: The Glass Casket Review + Giveaway

Today I'm happy to be participating in the blog tour for  
The Glass Casket!

Death hasn't visited Rowan Rose since it took her mother when Rowan was only a little girl. But that changes one bleak morning, when five horses and their riders thunder into her village and through the forest, disappearing into the hills. Days later, the riders' bodies are found, and though no one can say for certain what happened in their final hours, their remains prove that whatever it was must have been brutal.

Rowan's village was once a tranquil place, but now things have changed. Something has followed the path those riders made and has come down from the hills, through the forest, and into the village. Beast or man, it has brought death to Rowan's door once again.

Only this time, its appetite is insatiable.

♦Publisher: Delacorte Press
♦Release date: February 11th, 2014
♦Hardcover, 352 pages
♦Intended audience: Young adult
♦Stand-alone

Review: With a haunting atmosphere, gorgeous prose, and unforgettable conflicted characters, The Glass Casket will charm and terrify any lover of fairy tales, old or new.  I initially went in expecting a retelling of Snow White, but found a story that is wholly its own unique creation:  a dark village in the mountains, a people with varied beliefs and ways, murderous creatures looming in the forest unlike anything I could have imagined. 

The story constantly keeps you guessing, with the finger of suspicion pointing at many different characters as the story gracefully unfolds.  There is a subtle love story, a few of them actually, but nothing that bogs down the main storyline.  The story is told in third person persective, perfect for a village full of interesting characters, but Rowen stands out as our main heroine.  She is clever and fearless, but will have to fight with her own heart when her best friend Tom wants an introduction to her pretty and mysterious cousin, Fiona.  Tom’s brother, Jude, seems to always know how to rile her, but they’ll have to find a way to come together to help Tom when he starts disappearing into the woods each night and more and more of the villagers start turning up dead.

 
There is madness, elemental witches, long-buried secrets, and the walking dead.  The Glass Casket sparkles with magic and wonder while still delivering a gut-churning dose of horror and gore.   With all manner of vivid imagery, from mountains and thick forest, the silvery lake full of mythical flesh-eating nixies, the shadows lurking in the washroom, and the body lying with its throat torn out---the author's carefully chosen words play it all out on the page in a way that pulls the reader in and holds them captive in this eerie, dangerous world.  

Find McCormick Templeman online:  Website  •  Twitter

Purchase The Glass Casket:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

or WIN A COPY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Be sure to catch the rest of the tour stops! 

The Glass Casket Blog Tour

January 31^st – Bookish

February 1^st – Katie’s Book Blog

February 3^rd – I’d so Rather be Reading

February 4^th – Forever YA

February 5^th – Wastepaper Prose

February 6^th – Stories & Sweeties

February 7^th – Peace Love Books

February 8^th – The Hiding Spot

February 10^th – Children’s Book Review

February 11^th – The Midnight Garden  

February 13^th – Dear Teen Me

February 17^th – The Midnight Garden

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.

Princess of Thorns 
by Stacey Jay

hitting shelves December 9, 2014 from Delacorte Press

description:  Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

My thoughts:  After Stacey Jay penned one of my favorite books of last year, Of Beasts and Beauty, I have full faith in her handling of fairy tales.  This sounds amazing, so many great elements with the fairy powers and the princess disguised as a boy fighting for her throne.  However, I honestly hope this gets a major cover redesign before it hits it's release day.  The storyline has so much potential for a truly amazing cover, and I just don't think this is it.