{Mini Review} Walking Disaster - Jamie McGuire

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Series: Beautiful #2
Release Date: Apr 2 / 2013
Publisher: Atria Books

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Can you love someone too much? Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder. In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees. Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.

{Mini Review} Spellcaster - Claudia Gray

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray
Release Date: Mar 5 / 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed. Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel is sure to draw fans of the Hex Hall and Caster Chronicles series, and fans of the hit CW TV show The Secret Circle.

I couldn't concentrate on the story and it never held my interest. I thought I would give this a try since I read this vampire series by Claudia Gray. This book was a huge disappointment as I've been waiting on this for so long. Some day, I might pick this up again and give it another chance but not any time soon.

Waiting on Wednesday #28 - Trash Can Days

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

Teaser Tuesday #15 - Things I Can't Forget

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along. Just follow the rules:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Pick your teaser sentences from that page

4. Avoid spoilers!

{Weekly Craving} May 2013 #4

Weekly Craving is a feature on my blog

where I show you new releases on my TBR.

{Review} Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Release Date: Aug 16 /2011
Publisher: Random House

It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

{Review} Twerp - Mark Goldblatt

Twerp by Mark Goldblatt
Release Date: May 28 / 2013
Publisher: Random House

"A vivid, absorbing story about one boy’s misadventure, heartache, and hope for himself." --Rebecca Stead, Newbery Award-winning author of When You Reach Me It's not like I meant for Danley to get hurt.... Julian Twerski isn't a bully. He's just made a big mistake. So when he returns to school after a weeklong suspension, his English teacher offers him a deal: if he keeps a journal and writes about the terrible incident that got him and his friends suspended, he can get out of writing a report on Shakespeare. Julian jumps at the chance. And so begins his account of life in sixth grade--blowing up homemade fireworks, writing a love letter for his best friend (with disastrous results), and worrying whether he's still the fastest kid in school. Lurking in the background, though, is the one story he can't bring himself to tell, the one story his teacher most wants to hear. Inspired by Mark Goldblatt's own childhood growing up in 1960s Queens, Twerp shines with humor and heart. This remarkably powerful story will have readers laughing and crying right along with these flawed but unforgettable characters.

A Day in My Life #2

A Day in My Life is where I tell you what's been happening in my life and any updates I may have for my blog :)

Waiting on Wednesday #27 - Midnight Frost

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

that spotlights an upcoming release we're eagerly anticipating.

{Release Day Launch} The Hazards of Skinny Dipping - Alyssa Rose Ivy

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping
By Alyssa Rose Ivy
Release Date: May 21 / 2013

Amazon / B&N

This isn't a deep book about first loves or self-discovery. If you want a book like that, I'd be happy to recommend one, but I don't have that kind of story to tell. Instead my story is about rash decisions and finding out that your dream guy is bad in bed. It's the story of when I finally went skinny dipping, and how my life was never the same again. Oh, and it's also the story of my freshman year of college and realizing Mr. Right might have been there all along.

Website / Goodreads / Pinterest / Twitter

Alyssa Rose Ivy is a Young Adult and New Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaser Tuesday #14 - Ready Player One

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along. Just follow the rules:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Choose your teaser sentences from that page

4. Avoid spoilers!

{Weekly Craving} May 2013 #3

Weekly Craving is a feature on my blog

where I show you new releases on my TBR.

{Review} Poison - Bridget Zinn

Poison by Bridget Zinn
Release Date: 03/12/2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend. But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses. Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her? Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

Stacking the Shelves #33

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

where book bloggers showcase the books they got this week.

{Mini Review} Falling Kingdoms - Morgan Rhodes

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
Release Date: Dec 11 / 2012
Publisher: Razorbill

The gripping New York Times bestseller that is Game of Thrones for teens In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined: Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct. Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making. Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield. Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword. . . . The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

Falling Kingdoms was okay. I liked the different kingdoms but sometimes it failed to keep my interest. I really don't like switching persepectives either and that made me fail to make much of a connection with the characters.

{Blog Tour} {Review} Nantucket Blue - Leila Howland

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland
Release Date: May 7 / 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams. Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t. When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer. But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality. A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

{Blog Tour} {Review} Stripped - Brooklyn Skye

Stripped by Brooklyn Skye
Release Date: May 14 / 2013

College freshman Quinn Montgomery will do anything to avoid the mistake her sister made—killing herself over a boy. But when she is forced into nude modeling at a local college to support her family after a bankruptcy, she begins to crack, just enough to let Torrin, the university’s top varsity oarsman, see that the real Quinn is not as feisty and unapproachable as she wants everyone to think. But letting someone in comes at a steep cost and, it turns out, Torrin is connected to Quinn’s family in more ways than she could ever imagine.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Brooklyn Skye is just your average awkward girl who's obsessed with words. She grew up in a small California town where she quickly realized writing was an easy escape from small town life.

{Blog Tour} {Review} Twisted Summer - Lucy V. Morgan

Twisted Summer by Lucy V. Morgan
Release Date: Mar 31 / 2013

A dark New Adult romance You have to understand that we never meant for it to happen. We knew it was stupid. We knew it was wrong. Eighteen-year-old Danni Warren has big plans for her last summer before college: a cool job, a concert she wouldn’t miss for the world, and spending time with her beautiful girlfriend, Esme. But after one hell of an argument, Danni’s mother packs her off to stay with her estranged step-uncle, Gabe, in his lodge on the English coast. So begins a weekend of the worst punishment imaginable: no phone signal. With his sun kissed good looks and sarcastic manner, twenty-nine-year-old Gabe Asher isn’t anything like Danni expected. She wants to hate him—he’s her punishment for standing up to her mother—but between surfing lessons and beach hikes, Gabe and Danni grow close. Maybe too close. Now Danni’s questioning everything: old family secrets, her future, her strained relationship with Esme. One sun stained afternoon, Gabe and Danni go too far. And then everything else falls apart…

Website / Twitter 

Lucy writes sharp contemporary fiction, usually with a liberal splatter of filth. She is a Lyrical Press author and a screenwriter.Her upcoming new adult novel, TWISTED SUMMER, is a gutsy take on forbidden love starring an even gutsier heroine.  Her contemporary series, encompassing CHAIRMAN OF THE WHORED and THE WHORED'S PRAYER, features slick London lawyers with a penchant for sensual violence. It's definitely on the darker side. BEAUTIFUL MESS, her current release, is a snarky, sexy friends-to-lovers romp.  Lucy is currently working on new novels, and is developing a paranormal television series with producers (think The Vampire Diaries meets The 4400).  She is still trying to kick her dirty Pepsi habit.

{Weekly Craving} May 2013 #2

Weekly Craving is a weekly feature on my blog

where I show you new releases on my TBR list.

{Review} Dualed - Elsie Chapman

Dualed by Elsie Chapman
Release Date: Feb 26 /2013
Publisher: Random House

You or your Alt? Only one will survive. The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life. Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her. Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

Stacking the Shelves #32

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

where book bloggers showcase the books they got this week.

{Review} The Boyfriend App - Katie Sise

The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise
Release Date: Apr 30 / 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring. But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

A Day in My Life #1

A Day in My Life is where I tell you what's happening lately and just basically rant about my life.

Waiting on Wednesday #26 - Belladonna

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

that spotlights an upcoming release we're eagerly anticipating.

{Review} Beautiful Disaster - Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Release Date: May 26 / 2011
Publisher: Atria Books

INTENSE. DANGEROUS. ADDICTIVE. Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand. Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

{Weekly Craving} May 2013 #1

Weekly Craving is a feature on my blog

where I show you new releases on my TBR list.

{Review} Mila 2.0 - Debra Driza

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
Release Date: Mar 12 /2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence. Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past—that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do. Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life. Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza’s bold debut and the first book in a Bourne Identity-style trilogy that combines heart-pounding action with a riveting exploration of what it really means to be human. Fans of I Am Number Four will love Mila for who she is and what she longs to be—and a cliffhanger ending will leave them breathlessly awaiting the sequel.

Stacking the Shelves #31

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

where book bloggers showcase the books they got this week.

{Review} Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices #3
Release Date: Mar 19 / 2013
Publisher: Margarent K. McElderry Books

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy. Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

Waiting on Wednesday #25 - Imposter

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.