Waiting On Wednesday (7)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:
 

The Promise Of Amazing 

Robin Constantine

Expected publication: December 31st 2013 by Balzer + Bray

 

 

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

 

Everything about this book makes me want to read it! From the cover, to the synopsis. 

And if anyone wants to give me an ARC I definitely won't complain ;-) Also watch my Monday YA Author Interview schedule, because Robin recently agreed to do an interview with me!

 

 

 

Robin Constantine is a born and bred Jersey girl who moved down South so she could wear flip-flops year round. She spends her days dreaming up stories where love conquers all, well, eventually but not without a lot of peril, angst and the occasional kissing scene.

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday (6)

Hosted by  http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

 

I have only read the top two of these books, but I would recommend those!

 

 

(If you take off the book cover there are also fake blood spots on the actual book!)

 

 

 

 

 

These are the ones that I could think of.....

Link below in the comments!

Monday YA Author Interview With Jill Daugherty

Where are you from?
I’ve lived in Denver, Colorado for the past 35 years. When I was very young, we lived in Peoria, Illinois.

When and why did you begin writing?

I started writing when I was about 3. I have very vivid memories of pestering my mom non-stop to tell me which letters made which sounds and which sounds made different words. I’d write down the letters to each of the words she told me and was fascinated with the patterns in each word. When I was 8, my teacher sent a poem I wrote in class to a local newspaper to be published. It was a very proud moment! That same year, I wrote a short story about a baby who was kidnapped from her crib. A gum wrapper found in her crib led the police to her kidnapper. It was a horrible story. I had the good sense to keep that one to myself. :-)
I write because I get really grumpy if I don’t. Over the summer I was getting frustrated with my writing and forced myself to take a two-week break. By the end of the two-week period, I was really itching to get back to it. Writing is a creative outlet for me, and when I’m not writing books or research papers, my friends have to suffer through really long emails from me.

What books have most influenced your life most?

Every book I’ve read has influenced me in one way or another. Some of them really make me think. Some of them show me how to write. Some of them show me how NOT to write. Even the bad books I’ve read have left me with something to think about.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Janet Evanovich. I love the humor of the Stephanie Plum series. They are never going to win a Pulitzer, but they are very entertaining, and that’s what I strive for with my own writing. It’s great when a book can make you grow or make you see the world in another way, but it’s also great when a book is nothing more than fun.

What book are you reading now?

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Les Miserables. I’m finding that Les Miserables is very wordy and sometimes tedious, so when I get to the point where I can’t resist poking my eyes out with a fork, I put it away and pick up one of the other two.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

Yann Martel and Jonathan Safer Foer. Talk about books that make you think!

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Just one?! I have so many favorites! If someone put a gun to my head and told me I had to pick books from just one author to pack in a trunk for a ten-year solo trip to a deserted island, I’d probably pick Charles Dickens. His stories have stood the test of time for a reason. They have love and betrayal and heartache and humor and I think they’d do a decent job of keeping me entertained until I was rescued by a cruise ship with a massive library.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Learning to develop a tough skin. Writing is easy compared to dealing with rejection. In the beginning, it was really hard for me to read anything negative about my books. Then I read two reviews on Goodreads that put reviews into perspective for me. One of the reviews said that the reader really didn’t like the first half of the book, but loved the second half. Another review said the reader loved the first half, but didn’t like the second half. I realized that it wasn’t possible to write a book that everyone loved and I’ve been able to put reviews into perspective since then.

 
Have you been an avid reader your entire life? (since you could read)

Yes! When I was as young as six, I would make the 30-minute walk from our house to the local library to check out books and listen to the library employees who would read stories for children. Even now, it is a very rare occasion when I don’t have something checked out from the library.

 
Ok now some fun questions:
What is your favorite sport to watch and or play?

I love to watch the Denver Broncos play. I don’t play any team sports on a regular basis, but I do bike, hike and swim.
Favorite Movie?
Love Actually. Don’t judge me. I know it’s several sappy love stories rolled into one movie, but it’s hard to not feel good after watching it. I challenge anyone to watch the moment when the little boy runs into his step-dad’s arms in the airport without a huge smile.
Chocolate or Vanilla?
 Vanilla – it has more possibilities because you can add any flavor to it and make it even better. And, you can turn vanilla into chocolate if the mood strikes you, but you can’t turn chocolate into vanilla
Puppy's or Kittens?
Puppies! Kittens are cute enough, but I’m allergic to them, so they make me itchy. Puppies are all the fun, with none of the itch.
Beach or Mountains?
 I live in Colorado, so definitely the Mountains.

If you could be a color, what color would you be?

 Blue. It’s such a calming color.
Favorite Dessert?
 Tiramisu. I don't drink coffee, but love just about anything with coffee flavor.

If you could be a book character, what character would you be?

Hermione Granger. We both are very practical and use research as a coping mechanism, but she can do magic and I can’t think of anything cooler than that!



I’ll take on Balor—I’ve resigned myself to that fate—but I can’t take these girls anymore.”
“So, just to clarify: Most evil faery known to all of faery-dome—no problem. A bunch of snide and petty girls—that you’re not up to?”
“Bingo.”
“Seriously, cushla macree, we need to have a discussion about your ranking system.”
Maggie O’Neill had a rough junior year… She fell in love with Simon. She found out Simon was a faery. She spent some time with her dead ancestors. An evil faery with control issues came after her and brought his groupies to kill her. …but that was nothing compared to what’s in store for senior year. She’s the new girl at faery boarding school and is subjected to something she never thought she’d have to deal with in her entire life—mean girls. To make matters worse, she’s seeing less and less of Simon, her faery guard is smothering her in their efforts to protect her, and the evil faery is still stalking her, determined to kill her before she can kill him. She starts to wonder if she’ll make it to graduation. Then the unthinkable happens and she wonders if she’ll be able to survive even one more day.

Super Six Sunday (1)

Super Six Sunday is an original bookish meme hosted at Bewitched Bookworms and inspired by “Top Ten Tuesday” from The Broke and The Bookish . You can see the weekly schedule of themes here.

I decided to do a Super Six Sunday this week, because the topic looked really interesting and I would love to share!

Super Six Favorite Supernatural Creatures
(In no particular order)

 

 

 

Mermaids
Just because they are awesome :-)

 

Revenants

They are kind of like zombies but nice.

Aliens
These don't really count as supernatural. But I'm still gonna list them!
(the human-like guys not the green guys)




Faeries
(I meant to spell it that way!)



Werewolves
Not the mean ones but the nice ones. Especially in Kathleen Peacocks books.



Time Travelers
I don't know another name for them!


So that's my list! You might say that some creatures are missing like vampires or ghosts, but I have never been a big fan of either.
Feel free to link below to this feature or any other! I would love to check it out.

Stacking The Shelves (9) and Weekly Summary

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

 

Here are the books I bought/received this week.




Review Copy:
Amulet Of Elusion - Katie Lynn Johnson
Katie was nice enough to send me a paperback copy of her book in exchange for a review!

Bought As E-book:
Allegiant - Veronica Roth
I'm pretty sure this is going to be on everyone's book haul this week.
Insurgent - Veronica Roth
I read this one in anticipation for Allegiant.

Netgalley:
Lady Thief (Scarlet #2) - A. C. Gaughen
I really liked Scarlet so I am excited to read this one!

Library:
Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
The Essence - Kimberly Derting
The Giver - Lois Lowry




Weekly Summary:

Another Little Piece Review

Monday YA Author Interview With Melanie Dickerson

Waiting On Wednesday (6) Double Digit

How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True Review












 

How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True

How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True (goodreads link)
Sarah Strohmeyer
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/Retelling/Romance

When cousins Zoe and Jess land summer internships at the Fairyland Kingdom theme park, they are sure they've hit the jackpot. With perks like hot Abercrombie-like Prince Charmings and a chance to win the coveted $25,000 Dream & Do grant, what more could a girl want?

Once Zoe arrives, however, she's assigned to serve "The Queen"-Fairyland's boss from hell. From spoon-feeding her evil lapdog caviar, to fetching midnight sleeping tonics, Zoe fears she might not have what it takes to survive the summer, much less win the money.

Soon backstabbing interns, a runaway Cinderella, and cutthroat competition make Zoe's job more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. What will happen when Zoe is forced to choose between serving The Queen and saving the prince of her dreams?







Review:

How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True, is such a step away from the typical young adult contemporary's that have been put out recently. The cover is a bit deceiving in what the story is about.

Zoe and her cousin Jess are offered a chance at an internship at a entertainment park called Fairyland, They accept, Jess with the hope of being a princess, and Zoe with the hope of having a part at all.
After their arrival Zoe learns that she has been chosen as The "Queens" personal "Lady in Waiting" or assistant. Which requires her to pretty much wait on her every whim.

Zoe is a really cute and nice character, trying to make money for college, and trying to heal from past problems. She is also really selfless, but there is a point where selflessness is not good anymore and Zoe almost crossed the very thin line of this. The romance between Zoe and two guys (not mentioning which two guys) was adorable and sweet and altogether it is really hard to decide which guy I liked better. Zoe's relationship with her cousin is something like you would expect in best friends, not cousins. They trust each other and share each others dreams.
Zoe does grow from a fresh out of high school teenager, into someone who is capable of making decisions for herself and really maturing.

I found myself really enjoying the plot....with every character in the book being a "fairy tale" character at Fairyland. It  puts a really interesting twist on the classic "Cinderella" story.  The book flowed from chapter to chapter pretty well, although I found some points were not described enough in detail, and other were described a little too much.

Good ending, with no obvious loose ends (although if Sarah decided to write a sequel I won't complain at all I promise!).

Altogether I really liked this! If you want a standalone that is absolutely adorable, I would highly recommend this and Sarah's other book, Smart Girl's Get What They Want. And just on a side note, the cover is adorable!
4.5/5

Waiting On Wednesday (6)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is

 Double Digit (Digit #2)
Annabel Monaghan
Expected publication: January 7th 2014 by HMH Books for Young Readers


To say eighteen-year-old Farrah Higgins—or Digit—is good at math is a laughable understatement. She’s been cracking codes since childhood, and is finally at home with “her people” at MIT in Cambridge. Her talents are so off the charts that her laptop is under surveillance by both the CIA and an ecoterrorist named Jonas Furnis. So when she thoughtlessly hacks into the Department of Defense’s database, she lands in serious hot water inside and outside the law. Readers will be sad to turn the last page of this suspenseful, sassy, super smart thriller, the sequel to A Girl Named Digit.

A Girl Named Digit was really cute and fun, so I can't wait to see what the author comes up with for this sequel!

 

Previous book in series:

A Girl Named Digit (Digit #1)





Author Bio:

Annabel (Schwedes) Monaghan spent her teenage years almost making it happen. Annabel's claim to fame is being dumped by the cutest guy in Los Angeles - twice! She had dinner with Madonna once. Okay, not at the same table, but at the same restaurant. A former investment banker, she's much happier writing.