"Waiting On" Wednesday (#41) This Is How It Ends by Jen Nadol

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm picking:

This Is How It Ends by Jen Nadol
Expected publication: October 7th 2014 by Simon Pulse  

From Goodreads: 

This is how it begins...five friends partying in the woods. A discovery that shows a disturbing vision to each. For Riley, seeing himself in bed with his long-time crush is a tantalizing reminder of all he can't have. Because Sarah is dating his best friend, and Riley's not about to betray his trust.

Then, one of the visions comes true...making one of Riley's friends the prime suspect in a gruesome murder. The others are determined to prove the police wrong, but Riley can't shake the hope that the visions were more than hallucinations. And that despite the cost, maybe he's seen how it ends.

Why I'm Waiting:

I think Jen Nadol is a completely underrated author.  If you haven't read her first two books The Mark and the follow up The Vision, you should really check them out.  I have been waiting for a new book from her, for what seems like years. This book looks as compelling as her first two books.

Top Ten Tuesday (#48) (02/25/14)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND! All-Time Favorite YA Books

I know I talk about some of these a lot, and I'm sure these will come as no surprise to anyone who has visited my blog before.  I don't think I've ever listed my favorite all time YA books.  I'm limiting it to YA, because if I included my favorite children's books or adult books, I would never be able to limit myself to just 10.

Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1) by Stephanie Perkins

I adore this book.  It is everything I could want in a light fun romance.  Cute guy, great city, adorable main character.  I have read this book so many times, and each time I love it more.

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

I found this book to be so different from anything else I've read.  Yes, I know it takes a lot of elements from other sources, but even so, I found it to be amazing.  It was just so well put together and so cohesive.  

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

The first book in this series blew me away.  Man I loved it.  I didn't love the rest of the series as much, but this book will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

 I know I have mentioned so many times how much I loved this book.  It just captured so much of my childhood and brought back so many memories. I listened to the audio of it, and within 3 chapters I had to stop and grab my husband and make him listen along with me.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling

I put the first book because it was the first book in the series. Really you could pick any of the series and put it here.  I know this is technically a children's book, but really I view it as a book for all ages.  

If I Stay (If I Stay #1) by Gayle Forman

This book absolutely broke my heart.  And yet I loved every single second of it.  I cried ugly tears, and yet I adore this book.

 

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

I read this book for the first time so many years ago. I read my copy so many times the cover fell off and the book was being held together by a rubber band.  I don't actually know how many times I read it, but it still remains one of my favorites.

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book.  It blew me away.  It was so beautiful and haunting and special. 

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

This book was why I started reading YA again.  I read it for a class and I was stunned at how beautiful and sad it was.  It's amazing.

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Yes, I'm cheating by including both of these, but I can't pick which one I like more. I go back and forth, either way, they are towards the top of my list.  I have read both of them countless times.

"Waiting On" Wednesday (#40) The Queen of Zombie Hearts (White Rabbit Chronicles #3) by Gena Showalter

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm picking:

The Queen of Zombie Hearts (White Rabbit Chronicles #3) by Gena Showalter
Expected publication: September 30th 2014 by Harlequin Teen 

From Goodreads: 

I have a plan.
We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us.
Either way, only one of us is walking away.

In the stunning conclusion to the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, Alice "Ali" Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers...until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters&amp...and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies...and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing—and turning—Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima—even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

 

Why I'm Waiting:

I really love this series.  I'm actually sad it's coming to an end, mainly because there will be no more Cole.  If you haven't read this series yet, I really encourage you to.  I was excited to be part of the cover reveal last week, check it out here.

Top Ten Tuesday (#47) (02/18/14)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

Top Ten Reasons I Love Being A Blogger/Reader

Top 5 reasons I love being a blogger:

1. Sharing my favorite books.
2. Promoting books.
3. Interacting with fellow bloggers.
4. Forcing myself to really think about the books I'm reading to figure out why I liked it, or why I didn't.
5. A chance to learn more HTML.  I'm still terrible at it, but every time I do something new, I'm so proud of myself.

Top 5 reasons I love being a reader:

1. Learning something new, be it new vocabulary words, a new place, or about a historical time/place.
2. Taking a look at myself to determine how I would act in certain situations, and books often make me think.
3. Discovering new authors.
4. There will always be something to do.  Read a book.
5. It's pretty much the only thing that I can do where I'm not multitasking.  Although reading is often one of the things I'm doing while multitasking. 

THE QUEEN OF ZOMBIE HEARTS Cover Reveal and Giveaway!

I love this series, and today is the day! The cover of Gena Showalter's THE QUEEN OF ZOMBIE HEARTS is here! We're so excited to be able to share this with you as it joins an already stunning set! Ready to see it? Not quite yet lets take a look a the first two covers in the series!

First there was ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND...

Then came THROUGH THE ZOMBIE GLASS...

Now get ready to EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT!!!

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Official White Rabbit Chronicles website

On-sale date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Add it to your TBR!  Goodreads

Pre-order your copy! Amazon, Barnes & Noble

        

         

  Official book description:

I have a plan.

We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us.

Either way, only one of us is walking away.

In the stunning conclusion to the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, Alice "Ali" Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers…until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters…and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies…and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing—and turning—Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima—even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

About Gena:

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, the Angels of the Dark, the Lords of the Underworld, and the Otherworld Assassins series.  In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine, and have been translated in multiple languages.  She lives in Oklahoma with her family and menagerie of dogs, and truly believes love conquers all.

Website/Twitter/Facebook/The White Rabbit Chronicles Facebook

Giveaway Details:

1 complete set of The White Rabbit Chronicles (first 2 sent as soon as the giveaway is over and the winner will get the first hardcover of book 3 when it's available!) US/Canada Only

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Top Ten Tuesday (#46) (02/11/14)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

Top Ten Books That Will Make You Swoon

Confession.  If a book can make me swoon, it's almost guaranteed to be one of my favorites.  I love a good sa-woon.

Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1) by Stephanie Perkins

The insane swooning in this one.  I have read this book so many times, and each time I swoon. 

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Although there are some bigger issues in this book, there is still tons of swoon-worthy moments. 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin

I know a lot of people have issues with insta-love, and I can accept that, but I did some serious swooning while reading this book. 

 My Life Next Door (My Life Next Door #1) by Huntley Fitzpatrick

So sweet, and so swoony. 

Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler

I had some issues with the relationship, but once again that didn't stop me from swooning. 

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

I loved this book.  It broke my heart, but it also made me swoon. 
 

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Another book that deals with some major issues.  But once again it brings the swoon. 

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

The original SA-WOON book.  I think I've read it 100x just for the swoon factor. 

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi

Although the first book was pretty swoony:  This one, OMG!  SWOON! 

 

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

I had to put two Sarah Dessen books on this list.  I couldn't limit myself to just one.  I have my swoon moments actually bookmarked so I can go back and revisit then on a regular basis. 

Official Cover Reveal for Gretchen McNeil's GET EVEN (Get Even #1) & Giveaway!

Welcome to the the Official Cover Reveal for Gretchen McNeil's GET EVEN (Get Even #1)

Release Date: September 16th 2014

Publisher: Balzer+Bray

SYNOPSIS: 

Follows the secretive exploits of four high school juniors - Kitty, Olivia, Margot and Bree - at an exclusive Catholic prep school.

To all outward appearances, the girls barely know each other. At best, they don't move in the same social circles; at worst, they're overtly hostile.

Margot Mejia – academically ranked number two in her class, Margot is a focused overachiever bound for the Ivy League.

Kitty Li – captain of the California state and national champion varsity girls' volleyball team, she's been recruited by a dozen colleges and has dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal.

Olivia Hayes – popular star of the drama program, she's been voted "most eligible bachelorette" two years running in the high school yearbook and has an almost lethal combination of beauty and charm.

Bree Deringer – outcast, misfit and the kind of girl you don't want to meet in a dark alley, the stop sign red-haired punk is a constant thorn in the side of teachers and school administrators alike.

Different goals, different friends, different lives, but the girls share a secret no one would ever guess. They are members of Don't Get Mad, a society specializing in seeking revenge for fellow students who have been silently victimized by their peers. Each girl has her own reason for joining the group, her own set of demons to assuage by evening the score for someone else. And though school administration is desperate to find out who is behind the DGM "events", the girls have managed to keep their secret well hidden.

That is until one of their targets – a douchebag senior who took advantage of a drunk underclassman during a house party, videotaped it on his phone, and posted it on YouTube – turns up dead, and DGM is implicated in the murder.

Now the girls don't know who to trust, and as their tenuous alliance begins to crumble, the secrets they've hidden for so long might be their ultimate undoing.

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16005219-get-even?from_search=true
Pre-Order Links Will be available in the coming months, keep an eye on your favorite retailer for more information!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. She is a founding member of vlog group the YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday," and she is an active member of both The Enchanted Inkpot, a group blog of YA and middle grade fantasy writers, and The Apocalypsies, a group blog of 2012 children's debut authors.

You can find Gretchen on Twitter, Facebook, and on her blog.

GIVEAWAY:

Must be 13+ To Enter | See restrictions in Terms & Conditions located at bottom of Raffelcopter Form

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SUCH SWEET SORROW by Jenny Trout Excerpt and Giveaway!

Today I'm a stop on the Such Sweet Sorrow Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. I am so excited to feature this book. A few months ago I had it as one of my Waiting on Wednesday posts, and I hope you are as giddy about this book as I am. It's out now, so make sure you pick up a copy.

Excerpt from Such Sweet Sorrow

"What do I do?" Romeo asked. "Do I run at it, or go slowly..."

"You step through, that's all it takes." Hamlet moved closer, feeling the pull of the light, the silent urging to abandon life for the mysteries of death. “Try to remember everything that you see,” he reminded Romeo. “I do not know how you’ll find your Juliet, but I know you have the courage to do so.”

Romeo stepped up to the edge, took a breath, and looked to his friend the Friar. The pair exchanged a look Hamlet did not understand; a steely nod from the Friar, a grim resolve etched in Romeo’s face. It was a truly poetic moment between friends, a bond Hamlet felt honored to have viewed.

Then Romeo grabbed the front of Hamlet’s doublet and they both tumbled through the corpseway.

There was no dark, silent tunnel of doors beyond, but the smell of blood and the shouts of battle. Steel rang off steel, and an inhuman roar shook the ground they stood upon. Hamlet stumbled, then fell to his knees, tripping over a dismembered arm. Romeo fell to his back beside him, breathing hard and pushing a dead man aside, blood seeping red-black into his doublet.

"I thought you said it wasn’t terrifying!” he shouted, his eyes wide.

Hamlet looked up into the jagged white face of a merciless frost giant as it raised its glittering ax for a blow that would cleave them both in half, Hamlet could only think that something had gone very, very wrong.

About the Book

Title: SUCH SWEET SORROW
Author: Jenny Trout
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 304
Pub. Date: February 4, 2014
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo…But true love never dies. Though they’re parted by the veil between the world of mortals and the land of the dead, Romeo believes he can restore Juliet to life, but he’ll have to travel to the underworld with a thoroughly infuriating guide. 

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, may not have inherited his father’s crown, but the murdered king left his son a much more important responsibility—a portal to the Afterjord, where the souls of the dead reside. When the determined Romeo asks for help traversing the treacherous Afterjord, Hamlet sees an opportunity for adventure, and the chance to avenge his father’s death. 

In an underworld filled with leviathan monsters, ghoulish shades, fire giants and fierce Valkyrie warriors, Hamlet and Romeo must battle their way through jealousy, despair, and their darkest fears to rescue the fair damsel. Yet finding Juliet is only the beginning, and the Afterjord doesn’t surrender souls without a price… 

About Jenny: 

Jenny Trout is an author, blogger, and funny person. Writing as Jennifer Armintrout, she made the USA Today bestseller list with Blood Ties Book One: The Turning. Her novel American Vampire was named one of the top ten horror novels of 2011 by Booklist Magazine Online. She is a proud Michigander, mother of two, and wife to the only person alive capable of spending extended periods of time with her without wanting to kill her.

 Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway Details: 

1 Prize pack of the 2013 DVD of Romeo and Juliette and the 2010 DVD of Hamlet and 1 signed copy of Such Sweet Sorrow. US ONLY
3 paperbacks of Such Sweet Sorrow US Only.
3 eBooks of Such Sweet Sorrow Internatioanl.

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Visit the rest of the tour to find more excerpts, reviews, interviews, & guest posts.

Week 1:

2/3/2014- In Love With Handmade- Review

2/3/2014- Black Words-White Pages Teen/Young Adult- Review

2/3/2014- The Reader's Antidote- Excerpt

2/4/2014- Angelic Book Reviews- Review

2/4/2014- Fantasy Book Addict- Interview

2/4/2014- Working for the Mandroid- Excerpt

2/5/2014- Taking It One Book at a Time- Review

2/5/2014- Forget About TV, Grab a Book- Review

2/5/2014- Dark Novella- Guest Post

2/6/2014- Sabrina's Paranormal Palace- Review

2/6/2014- Chapter by Chapter- Interview

2/6/2014- I'll Tumble For YA- Excerpt

2/7/2014- Such a Novel Idea- Review

2/7/2014- Refracted Light Reviews- Guest Post

2/7/2014- Literary Meanderings - Excerpt

Week 2:

2/10/2014- Janae's Book Obsession- Review

2/10/2014- Imaginary Reads- Guest Post

2/10/2014- Falling For YA- Excerpt

2/11/2014- Darkest Addictions Reviews- Review

2/11/2014- TSK TSK What to Read- Review

2/11/2014- Paranormal Book Club- Interview

2/12/2014- RhiReading- Review

2/12/2014- Book Angel Booktopia- Review

2/12/2014- Curling Up With A Good Book- Guest Post

2/13/2014- Moonlight Gleam Reviews- Review

2/13/2014- Addicted Readers- Interview

2/13/2014- A Dream Within A Dream- Guest Post

2/14/2014- Lovely Reads- Review

2/14/2014- In Vogue with Books- Review

2/14/2014- Fade Into Fantasy- Interview