Friday, January 27, 2012

Waiting, Wanting, Wishing: Penguin Edition! (16)

Waiting, Wanting, Wishing is a meme based off of The Story Siren's Books To Pine For and other posts such as that one. There are so many books out there that I want to read and this is a good way to spotlight some of them. This weeks theme is books being published by Penguin in 2012!

Click on the books title to be taken to the Goodreads page.

Title: Amelia Anne Is Dead And Gone
Author: Kat Rosenfield
Release date: July 5, 2012
On the night of Becca’s high school graduation, the discovery of an unidentified dead girl left to bleed out on the side of a dirt road sends the town—and Becca—into a tailspin. Becca has always longed to break free from her small home town, but as the violence of the outside world creeps into her backyard, she withdraws and retreats inward, paralyzed for the first time in her life.

Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson’s life are intercut with Becca’s own coming-of-age summer, unfolding into the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and tense romantic relationships as the summer’s tumultuous events twist Becca closer and closer to the truth about Amelia’s murder.
Title: Beauty
Author: Lisa Daily
Release date: May 10, 2012
When we first meet Molly, she is plain, shy, and practically invisible to most of her fellow high school students. Hudson, the boy she cannot help but like, is handsome and popular. One day at a town carnival, Molly stumbles across an eccentric artist who offers to sketch her portrait. Thinking aloud, she wishes she was the most beautiful girl in the world. The following day, Molly gets her wish. All the guys at school are vying for her affection. Best of all, Hudson’s finally noticing her. As Molly’s relationship with Hudson heats up, violence threatens to erupt among the guys of their high school, and the newfound attention threatens to destroy the relationships she values.
Title: Dangerous Boy 
Author: Mandy Hubbard
Release date: August 30, 2012
Harper’s new boyfriend Logan Townsend is everything she never knew she always wanted—tall, muscular, with tousled brown hair that falls effortlessly around his face. But what’s most exciting about Logan is that he’s exhilaratingly dangerous, and dating him allows Harper to say, “buh bye” to her good-girl past and “hello” to newfound adventure.

There’s only one problem with Harper’s otherwise heart-stopping romance: Logan’s twin brother Daemon. Harper knows he’s a bad seed, but she tries to look past his dark, icy stare and his chilling demeanor. After all, he and Logan are a package deal.

Then cow bones start appearing in people’s mailboxes, a flock of birds show up dead, and all of the cars in the senior parking lot are given flat tires—and covered with blood-red handprints. Logan insists that Daemon isn’t involved—sure, he’s had some trouble in the past, but they moved to Harper’s quiet northwest Washington town so that they could both start over.

Harper desperately wants to believe Logan, but the more he tries to protect his brother, the more she wonders what she isn’t being told. Now, Harper must unearth the hidden secrets of the mysterious Townsend brothers’ history if she and Logan are to have any hope of a future. But learning what brought Logan and Daemon to town won’t put just her heart in jeopardy... She’s playing with her life.
Author: Nicole Leigh Sheperd
Release date: August 30, 2012
Maggie Anderson and her twin sister, Bella, are a doubles team destined for tennis greatness. They've just started their freshman year at Beachwood Academy and it seems like everything—even the Olympics!—is within their sights. But when Maggie quits the tennis team suddenly, she leaves Bella in the lurch.

Told in alternating first-person POVs, Fifteen Love is the kind of sweet, super-clean paperback you'd give to your younger sister.
Title: Gilt
Author: Katherine Longshore
Release date: May 15, 2012
In the Tudor age, ambition, power and charismatic allure are essential and Catherine Howard has plenty of all three. Not to mention her loyal best friend, Kitty Tylney, to help cover her tracks. Kitty, the abandoned youngest daughter of minor aristocracy, owes everything to Cat – where she is, what she is, even who she is. Friend, flirt, and self-proclaimed Queen of Misrule, Cat reigns supreme in a loyal court of girls under the none-too-watchful eye of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.

When Cat worms her way into the heart of Henry VIII and becomes Queen of England, Kitty is thrown into the intoxicating Tudor Court. It’s a world of glittering jewels and elegant costumes, of gossip and deception. As the Queen’s right-hand-woman, Kitty goes from the girl nobody noticed to being caught between two men – the object of her affection and the object of her desire.

But the atmosphere of the court turns from dazzling to deadly, and Kitty is forced to learn the difference between trust and loyalty, love and lust, secrets and treason. And to accept the consequences when some lessons are learned too late.
What are you waiting, wanting, wishing for this week?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Books By Their Covers (3)

Books By Their Covers is a new feature here on Katie's Book Blog. It is created by me and it is a chance for me to share my love of book covers. In this feature, I will pick one book cover and give you guys my opinion of it. =)


My opinion: I didn't like this one at first but after looking at it more closely, it really is a striking cover.  The carnival scene with the ferris wheel, the boardwalk, and the mist coming off the guy all give it a creepy feel.  The font for the title adds to the creepiness.  The dark color and the fact that a guy is on the cover also make this cover very appealing, especially to guys.  This one is definitely unique for YA.

Rating: A+

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Everneath (Everneath #1) by Brodi Ashton

Title: Everneath (Everneath #1)
Author: Brodi Ashton
Release date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...
Brodi Ashton's debut novel is better than I imagined and believe me, my imagination is pretty wild! This trilogy and this author are going to be beyond fabulous.

Everneath has been described as a retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth.  In some ways I think that is a fitting description but in no way does this book seem like a retelling.  Brodi Ashton took the age-old, well-known myth and made it her own. There is nothing predictable about this book.  It isn 100% unique and 100% unputdownable!

Nikki doesn't start the book out as a great heroine.  She starts out lost, alone, broken, and defeated.  She does not stay that way for long though.  Throughout the book Nikki grows in so many ways and by the end, she may have flaws but she is one strong and awesome heroine.  Cole also changes throughout the book but his changes are more subtle.  Cole is a guy that is hard to stay away from yet impossible to be around.  Jack, on the other hand, is pretty dang perfect from the beginning.  He is sweet, kind, loving, smart, and protective. He doesn't lie, cheat, or abuse Nikki in any way.  He is a great guy and his and Nikki's love story is one you can't help but get sucked into.  I find it very hard to believe that anyone who has read this isn't 100% Team Jack.

The story itself is fast-paced and so mind-blowing.  Once you start reading you will be unable to stop.  The story alternates between past and present so pay attention.  It was a bit confusing at first but it is pretty easy to get used to and it really adds to the story.  Sadly, the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger.  I want book two now!

Overall, Everneath is a fabulous debut novel and a wonderful start to this trilogy.  Get your hands on a copy as soon as possible!

Rating: A++

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Some Personal News


Penny
April 13, 2001 - January 23, 2012
Today is a really hard day for me.  Last night I got a phone call from my mom telling me that in one day my dog had gotten so sick that they knew they were going to have to put her down.  As if that wasn't hard enough, I knew I would not get home in time to see her again.

I thought last night was going to be the saddest night of my life but I found out today that knowing she is gone hurts even more.  Knowing that my puppy will not be there when I get home is the hardest thing ever.  She has been such a huge part of my life for the past ten years, I don't know what it is going to be like without her.  She won't be there to bark when the UPS guy comes to the door (I'm sure he will be happy about that), she won't wake up the whole house when my brother comes in at two in the morning, she won't howl when she hears police sirens, she won't stick her wet nose in my face when I'm trying to sleep, she just won't be there.

I know that Penny is in a better place.  From what my parents told me, she was really hurting.  I mean, they told me she wasn't even begging for food anymore.  That is when I knew it was really bad.  I wish there had been a way for me to get there in time to say goodbye but I wouldn't have wanted her to suffer any longer.  My parents took care of her and she left this world knowing she was very loved (at least, I like to think so.)

I hope to one day get another puppy, maybe one that looks just like Penny, but right now it hurts so much, I can't imagine going through this again.  I know she had a good life and that it was her time but it doesn't make it hurt less.

Thanks for all the support through Twitter and messages.  It helps knowing I'm not alone and that others have gone through this same thing (though I don't wish it on anyone!)  I know this is a detour from my regular postings but I just wanted to share.

Katie's Book Blog is 3 Years Old Today!

The title says it all!  Today is my 3 year blogoversary.  

To everyone who has been with me since the beginning, thank you so much.  To everyone who has just joined me on this crazy journey, thank you too. You lucked out and don't have to see all the crappy stuff I posted when I first started this blog.  =)

I am so grateful to everyone who has something to do with this blog: followers, readers, other bloggers, friends, authors, publishers.  I couldn't do it without you.  I look forward to many more fabulous years of blogging.  

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Title: The Way We Fall
Author: Megan Crewe
Release date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher

It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.


And then you're dead.

When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

Because how will she go on if there isn't?
The Way We Fall is a book that is solidly in the middle for me.  I didn't love it but I didn't hate it.  It definitely made me think though which I liked and I'm sure others will too.

Most of the characters in The Way We Fall fell flat.  The heroine, her family, her friend Tessa, they all were pretty one-dimensional.  The heroine, Kaelyn, was rather dull and I hate to say it, whiny.  There was a lot going on not just with her but the whole island, but all she focused on was her own life.  Even when she was trying to help it seemed like she was doing it for the wrong reasons.  Her parents and her brother were the same way.  They were distant and that went unexplained.  They very rarely acted like a family.  The only person who had a personality was Gav.  He was sweet and funny at times but serious and closed off at others.  He was really the only well-rounded character.

One other big flaw with The Way We Fall is that it required a lot of build-up.  Nothing happened for so long and even when something did happen it wasn't all that gripping.  It took about half the book to set up the story and the set up was dull.  Once things finally started happening it was very gripping but definitely took too long to get to that point.

This book is also the first in a new series.  Don't worry though there isn't a cliffhanger ending.  In fact, everything is almost all resolved at the end.  I honestly don't see the point in a sequel.  Things could have been tied up in this one.  I think it will leave a lot of readers questioning whether or not they will bother with the next book.

The best thing about this book was the romance and the build up of a few other relationships.  The virus brings Gav and Kaelyn together but that isn't the reason why they get together.  They get to know each other because of the virus but they like each other because of who they are.  It was very sweet.   The build-up of Tessa and Kaelyn's friendship was also very good.  It was thought out and plausible.  Once again these are two people brought together by the virus but that isn't what makes them friends.  The relationships were some of the best I've read.

Overall, The Way We Fall is one book I recommend checking out from the library.  It just needed a bit more development and it would have been fabulous.  As it is, if you can make it through the first half of the book you will be enthralled with the second half.

Rating: B-