Debut Author GiveawayHop!

I'm thrilled to be a part of the Debut Author Hop!! There are so many great new YA authors making their debut in 2012 and I'm happy to put them in the spotlight for this event!

For my giveaway, I've chosen four of my favorite Debut Authors of 2012 so far!

One winner will get to chose from these titles as their prize!
Just fill out the rafflecopter below.

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And don't forget to visit the rest of the sites participating in the Debut Author Hop!

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.

Crash
by Lisa McMann

hitting shelves from Simon Pulse on February 12, 2013

description: Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the vision. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode... and nine body bags in the snow.

She has no idea why this is happening to her or if she’s going crazy. It hardly matters, because the visions are everywhere--on billboards, television screens, windows--and she’s the only one who can see them.

But it’s not until the vision starts coming more frequently, and revealing more clues, that Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it's someone she knows. Someone she’s been in love with for as long as she can remember.

My thoughts: I've loved almost every Lisa McMann book that I've read, and will continue to anticipate this author's work! From her Dreamcatcher series to her MG series The Unwanteds...she just has a way with great characters and eerie scenarios that really get under my skin. Crash sounds like a great story,...a bit of psychological creepiness!

What's New: June YA Releases & Giveaway!!

Well hello there! It's been a few days of radio silence here at Stories & Sweeties, and this list is getting up a little late! :D Summer vacation has hit and I'm now the proud mama of a high school graduate! My son also surprised our family by not telling us that he was singing the national anthem at the grad ceremony! It was such a great surprise and I teared up just a bit! So how is your summer so far?? Not too hot, I hope? Half the book community is away at BEA and I am so, so jealous! Although I will be attending ALA in Anaheim in just a few short weeks and I am thrilled to be going for the first time! More on that later...

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 off, the winner of May's giveaway was: Graceful Lily. Congrats! :D

June Releases:
Just like previous months, I've put a little l♥ve by those books that I am really anticipating---whether I can't wait to read them or I just can't wait to have my own finished copy!

{1}
Devine Intervention by Martha Brockenbrough
Girl Out Loud by Emily Gale
Grim by Anna Waggener ♥
Loving Summer by Kailin Gow

{4}
The Baby Experiment by Anne Dublin

{5}
All These Lives by Sarah Wylie ♥
Arise by Tara Hudson
A Bad Day for VooDoo by Jeff Strand
Blazing the Trail by Deborah Cooke
Dead Reckoning by Mercedes Lackey & Jane Hodson
Elemental by Emily White
Ghost Crown by J. Gabriel Gates
A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan
Keeping Secrets by Alyson Noel
A Long Way From You by Gwendolyn Heasley
Messy by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger
Mirage by Kristi Cook
Monument 14 by Emma Layborne
Now by Morris Gleitzman
Stunning by Sara Shepard
Seize the Storm by Michael Cadnum
Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo ♥
Shadows Cast by Stars by Catherine Knuttson ♥
Surrender by Elana Johnson
Tempest Unleashed by Tracy Deebs
Transcendence by CJ Omololu
Zombie by JR Angelalla

{12}
Adventures of Lilli & Zane: The Golden Flute by Catherine Lanigan
The Chosen Ones by Tiffany Truitt ♥
Crazy by Amy Reed
Fear by Charlie Higson
Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson ♥
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diane Peterfreund ♥
The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead
The Legend of Snow Wolf: Reincarnation by Fred Lit Yu
Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
The Master of Misrule by Laura Powell
Rapture by Lauren Kate ♥
Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham
Riese: Kingdom Falling by Ryan Coppe & Greg Cox
Run the Game by Jason Myers
The Shapeshifter's Secret by Heather Ostler
Timepiece by Myra McEntire ♥

{14}
Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl ♥
My Life in Black & White by Natasha Friend
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick ♥
Stronger by Michael Carroll
Tokyo Heist by Diann Renn
The Vindico by Wesley King
Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price ♥

{19}
Blood Moon by Alyxandra Harvey
Burn Mark by Laura Powell
Just Flirt by Laura Bowers
The Legacy of Tril: Soulbound by Heather Brewer
Something Like Normal by Trish Dollar
This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers ♥
The Wild Queen: Days & Nights of Mary Queen of Scots by Carolyn Meyer ♥

{26}
Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent
Between the Line by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer ♥
Blackwatch by Jenna Burtenshaw
Bound by Erika O'Rourke
Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel
False Covenant by Ari Marmell
A Midsummer Tight's Dream by Louise Rennison
One Moment by Kristina McBride
Secret Letters by Leah Scheier
Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer
Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins
A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young ♥

(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 30th, 2012 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.

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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.

The Diviners
by Libba Bray

hitting shelves September 18th, 2012 from Little, Brown BYR

description: Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

My thoughts: So what's not to want about this? It's Libba Bray, its a mystery, there is a "Museum of the Creepy Crawlies", some sort of paranormal goodness going on, AND it's set in the 20's! That sounds like a full-on winning combination to me. :)

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass

publisher: HarperTeen

release date: April 24th, 2012

hardcover, 327 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: The Selection, book 1

rating:



source: from publisher for honest review

description: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Review: Along with most of my fellow cover-obsessed YA readers, The Selection initially grabbed me with that completely gorgeous cover: the beautiful over-the-top dress is such a perfect eye-catching color, the crown worked into the title art, the hypnotic hall-of-mirrors effect. I was in love. I do have to admit though, the description did not grab me, and I was even more put out by the many reviews that I saw that compared this to the TV show, The Bachelor, which I am completely disgusted by. So needless to say, despite my adoration of the cover, I went in fully expecting to really not enjoy this one. I can't tell you how wrong I was. I loved this book.

There are so many surprising elements here; there are strong themes of family, friendship, loyalty, love and the unexpected turns that it takes. In the beginning, I was a little confused by the caste system. It was sprung on the reader without much explanation at first, and I wish a little more world building and set up had been included to show how the world has ended up this way. However, once I caught on, the story flew by. I wasn't sure I liked America in the beginning...it was made so clear how she wanted to help her family and what a struggle it was to be sure they were all fed, but then when her mother has to bribe her to join the The Selection by offering to let her keep half her work earnings for her own personal use instead of helping to feed the family, and she happily accepts---it kind of grated on my nerves. But other than that one instance, she really grew on me. She was determined to hold onto who she was, determined to push forth despite a shattered heart, she spoke her mind with bravery and heart. She stood up for those below her station and stood by those whom she had become friends with. Prince Maxon was also an amazing character, so admirable and surprising. I loved the friendship that grew between America and Maxon---it developed in such a perfect way, with complete honesty, mutual respect and just a great natural connection. He seemed to have such a great heart, and you just have to feel for his conflict between following his own heart and doing what he must for his kingdom.

There is a love triangle here, so a warning to those who dislike them! I, myself, don't mind them at all, and thought this one really had some great emotional conflict behind it. There were some amazingly romantic moments that took my breathe away. But I have to admit, I'm Team Maxon all the way. We'll see how that pans out in the upcoming books!

What I really feared about reading The Selection was the relationship between the other girls---the cattiness, the ugly competitiveness, and trashy actions that you see in shows like The Bachelor. I was so glad to realize there was almost none of this going on here (except from one particular character) and that the friendships that developed between America and some of the other girls were some of my favorite parts of the story.

Such a fun read, with a completely unexpected amount of emotion and depth. For those who have seen all the mixed reviews or, like me, hesitate to pick this up because you hate things like the Bachelor---I say, give this one a chance! You may end up loving it as much as I did!

Visit Kiera Cass's site: www.kieracass.com

Purchase The Selection at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {5}

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 Alea @ Pop Culture Junkie's This Week in Books posts) 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) Note: This is not a meme, but I'll be hopping around to IMMs, Stack the Shelves, Book Hauls, or whatever other book-loot sharing posts I come across!

Here's the haul this week:

For Review:
Awakened by PC Cast & Kristen Cast
I don't read this series, but my guest reviewer Amy does--though I think she's a bit behind on it. She may be reviewing this, or I might pass it on to another blogger!
Dark Companion by Marta Acosta
Very excited for this one!

Bought:
Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins (my review)
One of my very favorite books this year. I gave my ARC away so I happily bought myself a pretty shiny finished copy!
The Enchantress by Michael Scott
This series is actually a hubby favorite. :) He's been crazy excited for this book to come out!

New on My Nook:
Entangled by Nikki Jefford
I'd heard good things about this series and this one was free for kindle!

The Weekly Nutshell:
{Sunday} Sweetness on Sunday featuring Tiger's Curse Recipe & Giveaway!
{Monday} Review: Silence by Michelle Sagara
{Tuesday} Waiting on Wednesday: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

Well, another slow week for posts here! My daily life is taking over right now. With two kids having birthdays and one graduating, there's been some mad planning and cleaning going on here...I've been exhausted and reading soooo slowly. Still, I'm reading Book of Blood & Shadows and The Selection right now and enjoying both! I was so pooped out, I even passed up an awesome signing with Cynthia Hand, Bree Despain, and Brodi Ashton---crazy, I know,..but I just could not bring myself to take on San Francisco that night. Hopefully, after next week, things will slow down a bit and I can give this blog some much-needed make-up time! :D

Happy reading, everyone!

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.

The Dark Unwinding
by Sharon Cameron

hitting shelves September 1st, 2012 from Scholastic Press

description:
A spine-tingling tale of steampunk and spies, intrigue and heart-racing romance!

When Katharine Tulman's inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.

Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.

As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle's world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it. With twists and turns at every corner, this heart-racing adventure will captivate readers with its intrigue, thrills, and romance.

My thoughts: Since first hearing about this book over at Shannon's site (Stalking The Bookshelves), I have declared myself officially smitten with this cover and synopsis. I mean, come on: England, a gothic estate, a mysterious uncle, a little psychological thrill and romance thrown in, and plenty of cool steampunkery!! This sounds so amazing!