In My Mailbox 5

In my mailbox was started by The Story Siren and is a list of what you received in books over the past week either through the mail, library, or a bookstore.



Summary from Amazon:
Book II in the Darkest Powers trilogy takes us deeper into a world where the supernatural intrudes on the everyday with riveting effect.

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl – someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I’m as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment – not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a group of people who call themselves The Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I’m a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control: I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

I’m running for my life with three of my supernatural friends – a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch – and we have to find someone who can help us gain our freedom back before The Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.


Summary from Amazon:
Savannah would be happy to spend the summer in her coastal Carolina town working at the library and lying in a hammock reading her beloved romance novels. But then she meets Jackson. Once they lock eyes, she’s convinced he’s the one—her true love, her soul mate, a boy different from all the rest. And at first it looks like Savannah is right. Jackson abides by her mama’s strict rules, and stays by her side during a hospitalization for severe asthma, which Savannah becomes convinced is only improving because Jackson is there. But when he’s called away to help his family—and seems uncertain about returning—Savannah has to learn to breathe on her own, both literally and figuratively.


Summary from Amazon:
If life were a fairy tale, Oribella Bettencourt would have a "happily ever after" kind of future ahead of her. A Hollywood producer has come to Des Moines in search of a perfectly modern Princess Rapunzel, and Ori -- a model, dancer, and star of the beauty pageant circuit -- lands the part. And why shouldn't she? With her hardworking, self-sacrifi cing mother guiding her career, Ori is stunning, dedicated, poised...and then there's her hair. Breathtakingly lustrous blond hair that sets her apart from all the other girls at school. So what if she doesn't have any friends her age, or anyone to talk to other than her mother? She's on the verge of having everything she's ever dreamed of.

But in this fairy tale, the beautiful princess wakes up to her worst nightmare -- when almost overnight, Ori begins to lose her hair....



I can't find a summary of this but the back says that it is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty.



Summary from Amazon:
The phenomenon that's been sweeping the country seems to be here to stay. Not only are the teenagers who have come back from their graves still here, but newlydeads are being unearthed all the time. While scientists look for answers and politicians take their stands, the undead population of Oakville have banded together in a group they're calling the Sons of Romero, hoping to find solidarity in segregation.

Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends. Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie -- her Homecoming date Tommy Williams -- her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her. Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave. Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can't seem to live without.



I can't find a summary for this one either and what it says on the back is too much for me to type but it looks good.



Summary from MTV Books blog:
High school senior, Tere Adams, has one dream—to be a dj. By day she is paralyzed when she has to talk to people, but at night, she rocks, doing mock broadcasts in her bedroom. Her confidence is further eroded by her mom, who still sees Tere as the chubby, pale kid, the other children called Snowball. Mom thinks that Tere’s dreams are just silly fantasies, but her new husband, Rob, offers Tere an internship as his top-forty radio station. Her best friend, Audrey, the only person truly aware of Tere’s vast music knowledge, encourages her to take the job. From there Tere must learn to come out from behind her mask. In doing so she confronts the bullies in her life, stands up for herself and falls in love.


Summary from Amazon:
Dylan Shoenfield is the princess of L.A.’s posh Castle Heights High. She has the coolest boyfriend, the most popular friends, and a brand-new “it” bag that everyone covets. But when she accidentally tosses her bag into a fountain, this princess comes face-to-face with her own personal frog: selfprofessed film geek Josh Rosen. In return for rescuing Dylan’s bag, Josh convinces Dylan to let him film her for his documentary on high school popularity. Reluctantly, Dylan lets F-list Josh into her A-list world, and is shocked to realize that sometimes nerds can be pretty cool. But when Dylan’s so-called prince charming of a boyfriend dumps her flat, her life—and her social status— comes to a crashing halt. Can Dylan—with Josh’s help—pull the pieces together to create her own happily-ever-after?



I'm not going to post the summary for this because I already reviewed it and if you want to know what it is about you can read that.


Summary from Amazon:
The circle's power has lured her home

Forced to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, Cassie longs for her old life. Even so, she feels a strange kinship to a terrifying group of teens who seem to rule her school. Initiated into the coven of witches that's controlled New Salem for hundreds of years, she's drawn into the Secret Circle, a thrill that's both intoxicating and deadly. But when she falls for the mysterious and intriguing Adam, Cassie must choose whether to resist temptation or risk dark forces to get what she wants—even if it means that one wrong move could ultimately destroy her.


Summary from Amazon:
Caught in the struggle between good and evil . . .

Cassie has joined the most alluring—and deadly—in-crowd imaginable. But power comes with a price, and it's more dangerous than she knows. Torn between the dueling desires of the two leaders of the Secret Grcle, she must ultimately choose between saving all of New Salem, and her own dangerous love for the bewitching Adam, which threatens to tear the circle apart. In the ultimate battle between good and evil, will Cassie's supernatural powers be strong enough to lead the coven out of danger? Or will she foil prey to the dark forces within?

. . . will she sacrifice her love for the circle to survive?


Summary from Barnes and Noble:
Sixteen-year-old Katniss is smart, athletic, and fast. She can take down a rabbit with a bow and arrow, hitting it straight through the eye. Will these skills be enough to survive the Hunger Games?

Suzanne Collins, the author of the middle-grade fantasy series The Underland Chronicles begins anew, exploring a future landscape that will be familiar to devotees of science fiction's dystopic strain. In a nation called Panem, which occupies the landmass that is the present United States, a parasitical fascist Capitol dominates 12 conquered districts. There was a thirteenth district but it was obliterated during a rebellion. The totalitarian government keeps the subjected populations in line by threatened devastation, starvation, and brutality.


A love beyond life...a danger beyond doubt.

When her boyfriend, Tristan, died, Ivy thought she'd lost everything, even her faith in angels. But now she's discovered that he's her guardian angel — his presence so strong that she can feel the touch of his hand, the beat of his heart. Ivy needs Tristan now more than ever because he knows she's in terrible danger. Only Ivy's guardian angel can save her now that his killer is after her.

But if Tristan rescues Ivy, his mission on earth will be finished, and he must leave her behind forever. Will saving Ivy mean losing her just when he's finally reached her again?


So all the ARC's I got from either Simon and Schuster, Harper Collins, and Disney Hyperion. The rest I bought from Target or Barnes and Noble. So this week was definitely a very good week and hopefully there will be more weeks like this in the future.

Paradise Lost

Book: Paradise Lost (Private #9) by Kate Brian
Rating: 4 Stars
Summary:

Paradise awaits....

Now that Cheyenne's murderer has been revealed and Reed knows the truth about who's been stalking her, she's ready to leave the heartache and turmoil of last semester behind. And what better way to recover than a five-star Caribbean vacation?

Reed is reunited with former Billings Girls Kiran and Taylor, and she and her friends take over the exclusive island. They spend their days tanning on white-sand beaches and their nights partying on sixty-foot yachts.

It's heaven on earth.

But as they raise their champagne flutes to toast their friendship, Reed worries that it's all too good to be true. Because even in paradise, the Billings Girls are never far from trouble — and nothing's more dangerous than the calm before the storm....

Overall:

Reed Brennan is a magnet for trouble. It seems that everywhere she goes murder and mayhem follow. After the revelation at Kiran's pre-birthday bash, the Billings girls decide that maybe they should leave Easton a little early for their holiday plans.

The Billings girls, along with Gage, Dash, and a few others head to St.Barth's for Christmas break. Reed is the only newcomer to the islands so the girls decide to introduce her to their favorite pastime,the Upton Game. Upton Giles is labeled the hottest man on the islands and the object of the game is to be the first girl to hook up with him. Reed decides that she is going to change her ways and forget about her past. She vows that she will stay out of the Upton Game and make her own fun, at least until she actually meets Upton.

Little does she know, Upton is somebody else's boyfriend or at least she thinks he is. Poppy Simon is not happy about Reed interfering with her plans and she makes it known. Loyalties are tested and friendships are broken all over one guy.

Also, Reed starts feeling a little paranoid. Everywhere she goes she seems to have some near death experience. And she doesn't think they are accidents. Reed can't help but feel like someone is following her and that whoever it is plans on taking Reed out of the Upton Game...for good.

I was actually a little bit disappointed at the end of this book. I love all the Privates books but it seems like Kate Brian is running out of ideas. The ending is definitely another cliff-hanger, though. I may have been disappointed but I still can't wait for September 8 to see what happens in the next book.

Violet In Private

Book: Violet In Private
Rating: 5 Stars
Summary:

The return of Violet, the not-so- confident model . . .

Violet Greenfield knows she's supposed to be a super-confident nineteen-year-old because she's done runway shows in New York and internationally. But now that she's finally headed to college, she's afraid she'll turn back into that girl who blended into the walls in high school. Vassar is just two hours away from New York City--her friends in fashion think she's crazy to stop modeling now. And her old friend Roger is there...but things have been weird ever since they kissed. The real question is if she's not going to be "Violet on the Runway" anymore...who is she?

Overall:

Violet is back and she is not modeling full-time this time. Violet has finally decided that maybe modeling isn't what she wants to be doing. She finally starts at Vassar and she actually feels like maybe this is where she belongs but then things get crazy again.

Once her Mirabella Prince ad campaign comes out Violet is back in the spotlight, even at Vassar. Nobody believes that she can possibly have weight issues because she is so tiny but nobody else knows what it is like in the modeling world. To offset the publicity she is getting from the campaign, Violet decides to do a story for Teen Fashionista about the real Violet Greenfield.

The only problem is, that means spending more time with Chloe, Roger's girlfriend. Violet still doesn't know what to think about Roger after the kiss they shared in Barcelona and finding out that he was in love with her for basically their whole lives.

Will Violet be able to find her true self off the runway? Will she finally be able to settle things once and for all with Roger?

Violet In Private is the followup book to both Violet On The Runway and Violet By Design. I truly loved this book because Melissa Walker did a great job incorporating real feelings of every teenage girl into Violet. This is the last book in the Violet series that is out now but I don't know if Melissa Walker plans to write anymore. I would love to see a fourth Violet book sometime in the future, though.

Violet By Design

Book: Violet By Design by Melissa Walker
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Summary:

I was going to get out of the modeling business for good.

But now I'm having trouble sticking with my decision. After all, if it wasn't for modeling, I might still be the invisible wallflower. Hot guys like Paulo wouldn't be interested in me. And I'd never have seen Brazil or Spain-and now France! On the other hand...

I also wouldn't have to choose between my best friend from home and my agent's shrill demands. Or anguish over my body the way only runway models do. Not to mention all this trouble I'm getting into for speaking out in the press about eating disorders.

Maybe the life of an international model isn't for me. But if I quit for good, I might always wonder...What if?

Overall:

Violet Greenfield has gone from a nobody to an international runway model. After returning home to get away from the modeling business for a while, Angela approaches Violet about modeling in Brazil and Violet jumps at the chance to travel internationally.

Things start out brilliantly until Violet's insecurities once again get the better of her. Violet manages to get all the shows, all the clothes, and all the guys but once again the designers and her agent have to have her perfect and Violet can't handle it.

Weight becomes a greater issue in this book and Violet is unable to keep her weight exactly where the designers and her agent want it. The only way she can think of to vent is to post on her blog. Little does she know that her friends and teenagers are not the only people reading. Her dilemma becomes fodder for the press and Violet gets in deeper than she can handle.

When she is asked to do a campaign promoting better health for teen girls, Violet thinks that it may be the beginning of a new type of modeling world. That is, until she is told that she needs to lose five pounds and keep the weight off for the shoots. It's too late for Violet to back out but she begins to feel like she is betraying herself and all the teenagers that look up to her when she poses for the shoot. And all the while she is losing herself, she finds herself losing her best friend and possibly the love of her life, Roger.

Will Violet's career be able to last through her insecurities and weight issues or will it and she break under the pressure? Will she be able to fix things between her and Roger or did she blow her only chance?

Violet By Design is the followup to Violet On The Runway and is followed by Violet In Private. This second installment in the series is by far the best so far but I have high hopes for Violet In Private.

Violet on the Runway

Book: Violet On The Runway by Melissa Walker
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Summary:

A wallflower in the spotlight can do one of two things: wilt, or blossom...

Violet Greenfield's life changes forever when a lady in giant Chanel shades tells her she could be IT, the next Kate Moss-but taller, and without the PR problems. That's how Violet winds up with a business card in the front pocket of her jeans on her first day as a senior in high school. Angela Blythe from Tryst Models in New York City wants to put Violet on a plane and whisk her into the world of high-heeled boots and oversized sunglasses. Tall, skinny Violet, who's been P-L-A-I-N practically forever.

And guess what? She's going.

Overall:
Violet Greenfield is a nobody. That is, until she is noticed by Angela Blythe of Tryst models. As soon as Angela sees Violet she knows that she could be the next big thing for Tryst.
Violet is offered the chance of a lifetime: to go to New York and walk in fashion week. Once that is done she figures that she will just go back to Carolina and continue with her life but then she gets an even bigger shock. Angela wants her to graduate early and move to New York to become a model full-time.
Violet easily gets swept up into all the glamor and glitz of modeling but it doesn't last long. She starts to see the side effects of modeling in her roommate Veronica Trask who has more than one bad habit just to keep herself going in the day-to-day world of modeling.
Will Violet be able to stay true to herself in the fake world of modeling or will she become the next Veronica Trask? Will Violet be able to keep her true friends or will she lose them to all the gold diggers who just want her fame?
Definitely a good book but it started out a little slow. Once you get past her first modeling trip the book seems to move at a faster pace. I can't wait to see what happens next in the series.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Reluctant Heiress

Summary from Amazon.com:
Being an heiress in 1920s Austria with nothing but a broken-down castle to your name and nary a penny in your purse could be frustrating for anyone but the Princess Theresa-Maria of Pfaffenstein. “Tessa,” however, is thrilled with her situation, as it allows her to concentrate on her love of the arts—and no one in the Viennese opera company need know that their delightful and charming under-wardrobe mistress is really a princess. But when the dashing self-made millionaire Guy Farne arrives at the opera in search of suitable entertainment for his high society guests, Tessa realizes that there may be more to life—and love—than just music. But while the attraction between them in undeniable, Guy’s insufferable snob of a fiancée only solidifies Tessa’s determination to keep her true identity a secret. Yet, after a chance meeting with the handsome Englishman, Tessa’s reserve begins to melt, and she starts to wonder if it’s not too late for a fairytale ending…

So, this cover just caught my eye so I read the summary and this looks like a really good book. I love anything that is historical and romantic so I think this book will really appeal to me. I can't wait for it to release on April 30.=]

Teaser Tuesdays

* Grab your current read.
* Let the book fall to a random page.
* Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
* Share the title of the book that you're getting your teaser from... That way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
* Please avoid spoilers!

From page 141 of Violet On The Runway

I rush around the living room looking for a pen and paper, repeating the address in my head so I won't forget it. So much for my buzz being dead, Veronica, I think to myself. It's just starting to build.

I'm liking this series so far and I should have a review posted pretty soon.

Going Too Far

Book: Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
Rating: 5 Stars
Summary:

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge — and over....

Overall:
I could not put this book down. I was hooked at the first page. Meg and 3 of her friends are caught on a railroad bridge, under the influence, right before their spring break. As punishment the cop who found them decided that instead of going to Miami for a school trip, they should be forced to ride around with either the police, firefighters, or ambulance personnel.
Meg unluckily gets stuck with the police officer that arrested them. Officer After seems like somebody Meg knows but she can't quite place him until her friend tells her that they went to school with him and that he is only a year older then them. As the week progresses Meg is unnerved to find herself beginning to fall for Officer After even though she knows that it can never go anywhere.
Through the week Meg and Officer After begin to connect in different ways and some shocking things are revealed about both of their pasts.
Will Meg and John be able to get past their differences and finally be in a good relationship or will they ruin everything with their hostile natures toward each other?
Honestly, this is one of the best books I have ever read. It has just the right mix of romance, comedy, and rebelliousness. I could safely say that this is book for just about any teenage girl.

In My Mailbox 4

In my mailbox was started by The Story Siren and is a list of what you received in books over the past week.



HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge — and over....



I got this book earlier this week but I have already read it and posted a review so if you want to know what this book is about you can just scroll down to the review.










A wallflower in the spotlight can do one of two things: wilt, or blossom...

Violet Greenfield's life changes forever when a lady in giant Chanel shades tells her she could be IT, the next Kate Moss-but taller, and without the PR problems. That's how Violet winds up with a business card in the front pocket of her jeans on her first day as a senior in high school. Angela Blythe from Tryst Models in New York City wants to put Violet on a plane and whisk her into the world of high-heeled boots and oversized sunglasses. Tall, skinny Violet, who's been P-L-A-I-N practically forever.

And guess what? She's going.



I was going to get out of the modeling business for good.

But now I'm having trouble sticking with my decision. After all, if it wasn't for modeling, I might still be the invisible wallflower. Hot guys like Paulo wouldn't be interested in me. And I'd never have seen Brazil or Spain-and now France! On the other hand...

I also wouldn't have to choose between my best friend from home and my agent's shrill demands. Or anguish over my body the way only runway models do. Not to mention all this trouble I'm getting into for speaking out in the press about eating disorders.

Maybe the life of an international model isn't for me. But if I quit for good, I might always wonder...What if?



The return of Violet, the not-so- confident model . . .

Violet Greenfield knows she's supposed to be a super-confident nineteen-year-old because she's done runway shows in New York and internationally. But now that she's finally headed to college, she's afraid she'll turn back into that girl who blended into the walls in high school. Vassar is just two hours away from New York City--her friends in fashion think she's crazy to stop modeling now. And her old friend Roger is there...but things have been weird ever since they kissed. The real question is if she's not going to be "Violet on the Runway" anymore...who is she?

So this is what I got this week, what about you?

The Rule Of Won

Book: The Rule Of Won by Stefan Petrucha
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Summary:

The secret of The Rule of Won is simple, yet its power has been suppressed for generations. The universe is one of infinite abundance—ask, and you shall receive.

Umm, yeah right. Meet Caleb Dunne, slacker extraordinaire. Caleb prefers to glide through life with the minimal amount of effort, so he isn’t too jazzed when his overachieving girlfriend, Vicky, convinces him to join a new school club based on a controversial book, The Rule of Won. Slackers don’t join school clubs, do they? As The Rule gains popularity, though, the club members start to gain power within the school. From dark posts on the club’s online message board to all-out threats in the hallways, it becomes apparent that the group is getting out of control. For slacker Caleb, though, the only thing worse than doing something is not doing something.

Darkly funny and exceptionally thought-provoking, The Rule of Won, inspired by the ideas behind books like the runaway hit The Secret, shines a light on the dangers of group thinking and the inner desires that can sometimes get the best of us all.

Overall:
The Rule of Won was a very interesting story about a cult that is obsessed with The Rule of Won. The Rule of Won is a book that was written by Jasper Trelawney and basically is about how if you just wish for something hard enough, you will get it and how anything that happens to you is what you secretly wished for.
Caleb Dunne is a slacker with horrible bad luck. Ever since the old gym of the school collapsed and he was the only person there at the time, he has been on the brink of expulsion and on the outs with his politically ambitious girlfriend, Vicky. When Vicky asks him to join the after school club for The Rule he figures that it will be a way to win her back. Once he gets into the club, though, bad things start to happen.
Caleb realizes that maybe the leader of The Rule, Ethan might be behind a lot of the accidents that are causing The Rule's dreams to come true but as he begins to investigate he realizes that it is impossible to stop them. The whole school has become obsessed, including the principal.
Caleb finally decides that he has to take matters into his own hands and faces off with Ethan to end the reign of the cult but not everything goes as expected.
I really enjoyed reading this book even though it wasn't one that I would normally pick up off the shelf. The story is kind of left hanging at the end though. It's almost like the author could write a sequel and I think that would make another great story.

After The Moment

Book: After The Moment by Garret Freyman-Weyr
Rating: 5 Stars
Summary:

A new novel by the Printz Honor author Garret Freymann-Weyr, about a boy who discovers what happens when love fails us—or we fail love.

Maia Morland is pretty, only not pretty-pretty. She’s smart. She’s brave. She’s also a self-proclaimed train wreck.
Leigh Hunter is smart, popular, and extremely polite. He’s also completely and forever in love with Maia Morland.
Their young love starts off like a romance novel—full of hope, strength, and passion. But life is not a romance novel and theirs will never become a true romance. For when Maia needs him the most, Leigh betrays both her trust and her love.
Told with compassion and true understanding, After the Moment is about what happens when a young man discovers that sometimes love fails us, and that, quite often, we fail love.

Overall:
After The Moment is a story of love--love that is true but cannot hold strong through tough times. This book was a little more serious than I expected touching on subjects such as self-mutilation, death of a loved one, bullying, and many others. Even though it was a bit more serious it was truly an amazing story.
Leigh Hunter is the golden boy: soccer star, straight-A student, and boyfriend to Astra Grein. At least, he is until his stepsister's father dies and he is asked to move to Washington to be there for her. Leigh and Astra decide that they would rather have a long distance relationship than break up but Leigh never expected to fall for Maia Morland, the train wreck.
Maia has many different problems. Her stepfather that actually cares about her is in jail, her mother doesn't notice her, and she has her own issues such as self-mutilation, anorexia, and she had a tendency to act out sexually until her psychiatrist made her sign a contract.
When Leigh meets Maia he never once thinks that he could love her. She is the exact opposite of Astra and yet he can't get her off his mind. Leigh begins to drive Maia to her prison visits and in the process, gets to know her. He doesn't realize that he loves her until being away from her to visit his mom in Maine. When he returns home he goes straight to Maia's and is surprised to find out that she feels the same way. They begin dating, even though Leigh still hasn't broken up with Astra.
Finally, Leigh decides that he needs to end things once and for all with Astra and decides to go to New York and tell her in person. He never knew that his decision to stay in New York for one extra night would have such drastic consequences. When he returns to Washington nothing is the same and when he finds out why, he wishes he could change things but he can't.
Unknowingly Leigh breaks Maia's trust and loses their relationship. He will always love her but they can never be together.
And if you want to know why, you will just have to read the book. I wouldn't just give away the ending. ;]

Waiting On Wednesday: The Awakening

Summary:
Book II in the Darkest Powers trilogy takes us deeper into a world where the supernatural intrudes on the everyday with riveting effect.If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl – someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I’m as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment – not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a group of people who call themselves The Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I’m a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control: I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever. I’m running for my life with three of my supernatural friends – a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch – and we have to find someone who can help us gain our freedom back before The Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

So I figured since I just read The Summoning I would have The Awakening as my Waiting on Wednesday and I cannot wait for this book to come out. I loved The Summoning and this one looks even better. Also, I really love the cover. The blue is so pretty. I haven't read any other books by Kelley Armstrong yet but I think I might try some of her adult novels since this book was so good.

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS
asks you to grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two to three “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

From page 154 of After The Moment by Garret Freyman-Weyr

It occurred to him that she brought up her scars whenever she thought they were getting too close. That she used them as a way of keeping him from ever wanting to touch her. Was she afraid of him--of them together--turning into one of those experiences that had been, for her, really bad?

This is a great book so far and I can't wait to finish it and tell you more about it then.

Stay With Me

Book: Stay With Me by Garret Freyman-Weyr
Rating: 5 Stars
Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Leila Abranel was born some twenty years after her sisters. Her elegant sisters from her father's first marriage have lives full of work, love affairs, and travel. Leila doesn't know either of them very well, but she loves hearing about them—details of Rebecca's ruined marriage, Clare's first job, and the strings of unsuitable boyfriends.

When Rebecca kills herself, Leila wants to know why. She starts by spending time with Clare and finally comes to know her as a person instead of a story. With Clare's reluctant help, Leila tracks down Rebecca's favorite places and tries to find her sister's friends. Along the way, Leila meets Eamon.Eamon is thirty-one and writes for television. He thinks Leila is beautiful and smart, but he does not, he tells her, date teenagers. And yet,
the months go by and Leila turns seventeen and learns that you can love someone you are not dating.

Maybe letting Eamon love her back is a mistake. Maybe she'll never know why Rebecca did what she did. Maybe, Leila, decides, most people have a hard time figuring out which way is left or knowing when to let go and when to stay.

Overall:
The book Stay With Me is a wonderful story about love and loss and how one can lead straight to the other. Leila Abranel feels that she has been left behind when her much older sister, Rebecca, decides to take her own life. Rebecca was 20 years older than Leila and they had just truly begun to get to know one another. Leila was beginning to feel like she could talk to Rebecca about things that she couldn't talk to her parents about and then she overdosed on pills and ended any chance of a relationship Leila thought they might be able to have.
In the midst of the mourning and grief, Leila's parents decide that it might be best if they went ahead as planned and moved to Poland for a year, only with a slight change. Since Leila is only 16 she was going to be staying with Rebecca while they were gone but now they must ask her other sister, Clare, if she could take care of her while they are gone.
Leila never really felt like she fit in with her other sisters but she felt like she fit more with Rebecca because Clare was more the smart, workaholic type. Leila is dyslexic and so has always had trouble fitting in and feeling like she belongs but once she moves in with Clare, they start to learn new things about the other and form a close, sisterly bond.
Raphael also helps take care of Leila while her parents are in Poland. His mother was married to their uncle before she met his father and so he is their semi-cousin. Raphael and Clare once had a relationship but it didn't work for reasons that weren't really mentioned. Shortly after Leila moves in with Clare, Clare breaks up with her boyfriend and then once again starts a relationship with Raphael, forming a type of family for Leila to rely on.
While, Leila has tried to move on from her sister's death, she still feels like she is missing something and decides that she should try and find the reason Rebecca killed herself. In her quest for answers she gets a job at Cafe Acca, the last place she saw Rebecca. In a way Rebecca led Leila right to Eamon. Eamon is a 31 year old writer for TV shows and he immediately takes an interest in Leila, not knowing that she is only 16. Throughout the book Leila and Eamon go through many different phases and finally settle on dating even if other people think it is wrong of them.
In the end, Leila realizes that maybe Rebecca didn't really have a reason for killing herself, maybe she just gave up. She knows that what Rebecca did was selfish and inexcusable. Rebecca was only thinking of herself, not the people she would be leaving behind. Leila finally learns that she doesn't really need to know everything about her sister but that in her own way Rebecca led Leila right to her love, if not her great love then her great love for now.
Stay With Me is a story about coping with the sudden death of someone you love and how maybe you don't get over that, maybe you just find new ways to shape your life around it.

New Blogger!

So, over at Laura's Review Bookshelf, she had a contest to get more followers and now Melange is having a similar contest on her blog. If you go to her blog and decide to follow her blog then you can be entered to win some of her books that she has on paperbackswap.com.

So go ahead and tell Melange that Katie recruited you. Her blog looks really promising and I might just have to do a contest like this soon so that I can get some more followers.

http://melangesreviews.blogspot.com/

In My Mailbox 3

So, In My Mailbox was stolen from The Story Siren! This week I only got about 3 books. I didn't have a chance to go to a bookstore this week otherwise there would be a lot more. I got Stay With Me and After The Moment from Houghton Mifflin Company and my mom actually found Ripped At The Seams at a thrift store.

The Summoning

Book: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
Rating: 5 Stars
Summary:

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

Overall: I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down. I read it in one day, almost in one sitting but sadly I had to go to school.
I think my favorite thing about this book is how Chloe is just like a normal teenager except that she can see and talk to dead people. Her mom died when she was young and her dad is always away on business so she is normally alone, except for a few friends and her aunt Lauren who tries to fill in for Chloe's mom. She usually keeps to herself so when things start to get weird she can't really tell anyone.
So, at the beginning Chloe is in a school for the arts and she is just like all the other people in her school, except a little bit of a late bloomer. On the same day that she gets her first period she also sees her first dead person or at least the first person that she knows is dead. After being chased through the school by a dead janitor, Chloe is sedated and sent to the hospital and told that she must spend at least two weeks in Lyle House, a group home for unstable teens.
Once in Lyle House, Chloe meets some interesting people such as Liz, Rae, Simon, and Derek. Derek is a little scary at first, always sneaking up on Chloe and accidentally throwing her across a room. Once she gets to know him, though, she realizes that he is just like her and can't control his powers. At first, Simon seems like he is just in the group home to stay with his brother, Derek, but once she starts talking to him she realizes that he is a supernatural also but his powers aren't as obvious as Chloe's and Derek's. Liz also seems to have some powers but she never realizes that she is controlling them. She is transferred shortly after Chloe arrives because instead of getting better she seemed to be getting worse. Rae also may have powers but it was really hard to tell. She was placed in the group home shortly after giving her mom first degree burns when she never had a lighter or anything else that could have caused them.
There are others in the group home, such as Tori and Peter, but Peter gets sent home after Chloe arrives and Tori is the group's resident witch and not in the supernatural way. Tori believes that because her mom is on the board of Lyle House she can do and get whatever she wants but Chloe interferes with her plans as soon as she arrives. Tori manages to get Chloe in many terrible situations, some potentially deadly, but it's only because she doesn't want her mom to be disappointed in her. Tori doesn't play a really big role in the story, all she really does is get everyone in trouble.
Chloe, Derek, Simon, and Rae discover Lyle Houses' secrets and realize that, maybe they aren't there because they are crazy but because of their powers. They realize that they need to escape and that they need to do it soon. Once out, though, things don't go exactly as planned. They are hunted down by the nurses and owners of Lyle House and chased through warehouses by guys with tranquilizer guns. Once the girls escape and find a safe place they think things are going to get better but none of them realized that someone close to them betrayed their trust.
Of course, I'm not gonna say who. That would give everything away. I truly loved this book and if you really want to know how it ends you will just have to find a copy to read. This book is first in a new series by Kelley Armstrong. The next book, The Awakening, will be out on April 28.

No Internet!!!

So, for the past 2 days I have had the flu and no internet. Terrible, I know. So, that is why there is nothing new. I am going to try to post a review of The Summoning tonight before our internet goes again but I don't know if it will last that long. I believe somebody is going to come fix it Monday so if there is nothing new tonight expect it on Monday. Also, it's so fun to see everyone's bookshelves and I wish I could show mine but right now that isn't possible either. We are currently in the middle of trying to move so, sadly, all my books are packed. It sucks, especially if I am looking for a certain book because then I have to go through all the boxes just to find that one. Well, I'm gonna start my review of The Summoning so hopefully I can get it posted tonight.

Waiting On Wednesday: Crazy Beautiful

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
In an explosion of his own making, Lucius blew his arms off. Now he has hooks. He chose hooks because they were cheaper. He chose hooks because he wouldn’t outgrow them so quickly. He chose hooks so that everyone would know he was different, so he would scare even himself.

Then he meets Aurora. The hooks don’t scare her. They don’t keep her away. In fact, they don’t make any difference at all to her.

But to Lucius, they mean everything. They remind him of the beast he is inside.

Perhaps Aurora is his Beauty, destined to set his soul free from its suffering. Or maybe she’s just a girl who needs love just like he does.

Find more on Lauren's site.

It sounds different. I think I will love it. Also, I love the cover. I can't wait for this book to come out. I'm thinking about asking Lauren to do an interview on my blog but I haven't ever done one before so I'm not sure how it works. If you think that that's a good idea or have any suggestions leave me a comment.

In Too Deep

Book: In Too Deep by Jennifer Banash
Rating: 5 Stars
Summary:

If you don't belong here- you just don't belong . . .

The Bramford building's newest resident and small-town transplant Casey McCloy is adapting to life in the Big Apple and loving it. She's got the look, the attitude, and a delish new boyfriend, Drew Van Allen. But she's starting to have second thoughts as to whether the "New York" Casey is the real Casey. And she's not so sure she likes herself much anymore. She's not the only one.

Madison Macallister has always had her Manolo Blahniks firmly planted on the top rung of the social ladder-until that corn-fed cow Casey stole Drew away from her and made her look the fool. So what if Madison wasn't exactly dating Drew at the time? She wanted him. And everyone knows that Madison gets what she wants, like Drew-and a little revenge.

Overall: I have to say I liked this book better than the first one. I don't really know why but it was probably because I felt like I already knew the characters and could share their feelings a little better.
In this sequel to The Elite all the members of the Bram Clan a back with a couple new secrets. Casey has finally managed to snag Drew and even though she is putting on a good front for the public, Madison is not happy. Casey, on the other hand, couldn't be happier. She has never really had a boyfriend like Drew and she loves spending time with him. Not only do they hang out after school at some of their favorite spots, Casey is helping Drew create a documentary about all the spoiled rich kids of their school. Things seem to be going great until Madison becomes one of the interviewees.
Madison decides to think of a way to make Drew jealous and ruin his relationship with Casey by finding a new boyfriend to rub in his face. She is helped along in her quest when she meets Antonio who is not only a super sexy Italian, but also a manager for Verve Modeling Agency and he thinks that Madison Macallister may just be the perfect new model.
Madison is not the only one that is going to be famous, though. Sophie's sweet sixteen is coming up and she has decided that it would be the perfect event to meet her biological mom, movie star Melissa Von Norton, at. Also, as it turns out, her adoptive mother has decided to have the party taped and aired on the TV show, My Spoiled Sweet Sixteen. So, now not only does Sophie have to worry about meeting her real mom, she has to worry about doing it on TV.
As it turns out though, Sophie's adoptive family aren't the only ones keeping secrets from her. Phoebe is secretly seeing Sophie's annoying older brother, Jared. Phoebe knows that Sophie would throw a fit if she found out so she decides to break it off but every time she tries she loses her nerve. Finally, she decides that she can't keep the secret any longer and tries to break it off at Sophie's party but things don't exactly go as planned.
New family secrets and relationships are exposed in this book and they are some that I was shocked to find out about. But I won't spoil all the fun. Read the series for yourself and you will find out all the juicy details.

In My Mailbox 2

So I did get Elite and In Too Deep from Berkley Jam Books but the rest I bought at either Borders or Barnes and Noble sometime or other this past week. So far, I have actually already read The Elite and am a few chapters into In Too Deep but I haven't started the rest but I am really looking forward to reading Leaving Paradise and Perfect Chemistry because all the reviews that I have read make them seem like great books. So hopefully I will have some new reviews up and I can't wait for this weeks new books like Fade. Yay! I am so looking forward to reading that one.

Sorry no new reviews...

So I have been super busy and haven't gotten a lot of free time to finish In Too Deep but you can expect a review probably by Tuesday. Yesterday I finally took my ACT and that absolutely sucked. I hated it. I admit that I may not be the smartest person but that test made me feel so stupid. Well, at least the first try is over and done with. And after that I got to go to Half-Price Books with some friends and I totally raided the clearance section. I couldn't find any really good YA books but I got some good Fiction and Romance novels so that was fun. So I will do a post of In My Mailbox and show you some of the great books I managed to snag.

The Elite

Book: The Elite by Jennifer Banash
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Summary:

From the top, you can see everything . . . except yourself.

When Casey McCloy steps into the elegant Bramford building, she's overwhelmed. Fresh from the Midwest, she's moved to New York's Upper East Side to live with her grandmother and attend the prestigious Meadowlark Academy. Here all that matters is who you know. The girl to know is Madison Macallister: popular, pretty, platinumblond. She's not just Casey's new classmate and neighbor; she's an icon. So Casey aims to get in with Madison and her gorgeous gal-pals from the start. As the reigning queen of coolness, Madison is capable of destroying reputations with one welltimed whisper. Better to be on her good side.

But after a city-haute makeover from her new frenemy Madison, Casey is wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people-including Drew, the boy-about-town who Madison thinks belongs to her and her alone.

Overall: So overall I thought this book was a really good read. I loved how Jennifer Banash managed to incorporate real teenage problems into this book all about rich girls and the high life. So Casey McCloy is the new girl in town and on her first day she meets the three most popular girls in her new school, Madison, Phoebe, and Sophie. All she really wants to do is to fit in with them and Sophie and Phoebe seem like they have no problem with that, but Madison does. Madison is the mean girl of her school. She has to have what she wants, when she wants it. Casey seems to get in her way when Madison's sometimes boyfriend starts paying a little too much attention to Casey, and not enough to Madison.
Phoebe and Sophie are Madison's two best friends. They are gorgeous and rich, just like Madison but unlike Madison they seem to be truly nice people, even when they aren't exactly having very nice home lives. Phoebe is worried about her parents fighting all the time and the possibility that they might get divorced. Sophie feels like the outcast in her family, like she will never truly fit in with her tan, dark haired parents and brother, when she herself is pale and blonde. She takes out her frustration on herself in the form of self-mutilation.
Jennifer Banash has managed to create a great story about misfits, love, and high school drama. She has also managed to include some very real problems that are evident in today's teens. I loved this book and would recommend it for any fans of series such as Private or Gossip Girl.

Wishmakers by Dorothy Garlock

Book: Wishmakers: 2 Stories in 1 by Dorothy Garlock
Rating: 3 Stars for the first story
4 Stars for the second story
Summary:

Hidden Dreams
From Borders.com
Margaret Anthony was beautiful and independently wealthy, her social position assured. She could have bought a yacht or a palace with the stroke of her pen. To her free-spirited business partner Chip Thorn, she wasn't much more than a spoiled brat. Ironically, Margaret and Chip are forced to pretend an engagement in public, while in private, they're worlds apart. In the rugged and often dangerous world of Chip's logging camp, Margaret begins to yield to his way of life -- and the ecstasy she's dreamed of. Chip's soul-spinning kisses evoked in her a greater wealth of passion than she had ever known. But can kisses alone pave the path to love.

She Wanted Red Velvet
Fleeing a terrible marriage, Gloria Masterson encounters danger on a deserted Montana road..and a savior in Jack Evans. Out of nowhere, the green-eyed biker fneds off her attackers and sweeps her away on his motorcycle. But Gloria is suspicious of all men, even this one, with his strong arms that make her feel so safe. Can she learn to love a stranger whose fiery passion touches her wounded heart?

Overall: Well both these stories definitely fit in the category of cheesy romance novels. And they were both written in the eighties so they are actually a little older than me. Even so, I really liked both of them. My favorite was the second story, 'She Wanted Red Velvet', but I think that was because I liked the characters a little more. Their story seemed a little more believable than the story of the characters in, 'Hidden Dreams'.

Hidden Dreams is the story of Margaret Anthony and Duncan 'Chip' Thorn. Margaret grew up with everything she could possibly wish for: money, clothes, and a loving dad. She thought that was all she would need until her dad died. After that she was forced to take a clear look at her life and she realized that it wasn't all she wanted. She decided to break off her engagement to the man her father picked for her and fly all the way to Montana for a man she never actually met, only saw in passing. Once she gets there, though, she is in for a big surprise. Not only is he one of her dad's former business partners, he has told everyone in town that she is his fiancee from Chicago. Chip and 'Maggie' are then forced to put on a show of a happy couple for the town and Margaret realizes that that is all she really wants. Chip, on the other hand, thinks that she is completely wrong for him because he is afraid that she will get bored and leave him just like his mom left his dad. So, I'm not gonna give away the ending, you will just have to read it to find out if all their problems are solved.

She Wanted Red Velvet was my favorite out of the two stories. This is the story of Gloria Masterson and Jack Evans, along with Gloria's son. Gloria is fleeing a mentally abusive husband who only used her and their adopted son as publicity. On the way to her aunt's motel, Gloria and her son are harassed by two big bikers until another biker, Jack Evans, shows up to save the day. Gloria is terrified that Jack will try to harass them too and his appearance doesn't help matters. Jack is a very big man with long hair and a long beard. Gloria decides that she has no choice but to trust him so she and her son climb on his motorcycle and he drives them to her aunt's. Once there her aunt explains that she knows Jack and that he is a good man but Gloria can't trust herself with him because she knows he is all wrong for her, yet she is still attracted to him. Things get worse for Gloria when her son starts to become attached to Jack and begins to spend more and more time with him. As if things weren't bad enough, Gloria's aunt has a stroke and is unable to return to the motel, leaving Gloria in charge, with a little help from Jack. While Jack and Gloria are left in charge, Jack gets closer and closer to Gloria's heart, yet he is still keeping his past a secret from her. Right when things seem to be getting better, Gloria's ex-husband returns claiming that he has a court order that gives him their son for 6 months every year and that the only way she can stop him is if she remarries him. And that is all I will say. You will just have to read the book to find out how it ends.

Waiting On Wednesday: Peace, Love, And Baby Ducks

Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle

From Amazon.com:

Growing up in a world of wealth and pastel-tinted entitlement, fifteen-year-old Carly has always relied on the constancy—and authenticity—of her sister, Anna. But when fourteen-year-old Anna turns plastic-perfect-pretty over the course of a single summer, everything starts to change. And there are boys involved, complicating things as boys always do. With warmth, insight, and an unparalleled gift for finding humor even in stormy situations, beloved author Lauren Myracle dives into the tumultuous waters of sisterhood and shows that even very different sisters can learn to help each other stay afloat. .

So this book is one I cannot wait for. I love Lauren Myracle's writing and I am so glad that she is continuing to write books that look so amazing. It is a little hard to wait until May for it to come out, though.

So...Not Much New

So I don't really have anything new to report except that I might branch out and post some Adult Fiction reviews. I will read pretty much anything so I figure why not review pretty much anything. I have a feeling my blog is still gonna be mostly YA books but maybe a few romance and mystery novels thrown in every now and then. Also, I just got the two books in the Elite series today and can't wait to read those. Those are definitely next on my list of books to read. So, those reviews should be posted sometime this week depending on how much schoolwork I have. Well, not really anything else to say right now but check back soon and I should have some new reviews.

Envy

Book: Envy by Anna Godbersen
Rating: 5 Stars
Summary:

Jealous whispers.

Old rivalries.

New betrayals.

Two months after Elizabeth Holland's dramatic homecoming, Manhattan eagerly awaits her return to the pinnacle of society. When Elizabeth refuses to rejoin her sister Diana's side, however, those watching New York's favorite family begin to suspect that all is not as it seems behind the stately doors of No. 17 Gramercy Park South.

Farther uptown, Henry and Penelope Schoonmaker are the city's most celebrated couple. But despite the glittering diamond ring on Penelope's finger, the newlyweds share little more than scorn for each other. And while the newspapers call Penelope's social-climbing best friend, Carolina Broad, an heiress, her fortune—and her fame—are anything but secure, especially now that one of society's darlings is slipping tales to the eager press.

In this next thrilling installment of Anna Godbersen's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Beauty. Happiness. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets. . . .

Overall: Okay so I finally finished Envy. And it was AMAZING. I love how Anna Godbersen manages to incorporate history with such a great story. The only thing bad I have to say about this book is that it is kind of depressing. Most stories, you expect a happy ending. So far in this series the first book was the only one with a happy ending. Well, sort of happy.

So, the book starts off about two months after Will is killed at the train station and Penelope and Henry are married. Elizabeth is still hiding what really happened in the months that she was gone and she is still not back in society. Diana is heartbroken over Henry's betrayal with Penelope and is still unable to even see him. Penelope is still a backstabbing, lying, conniving girl but even more so now that she has married into the Schoonmaker family. Henry is always trying to get drunk and forget about all the mistakes that he made but he can't seem to get away from Penelope. And last but not least, Carolina Broad, formerly Lina Broud. She gets off to a great start in society and is still living in the New Netherland hotel. She also seems to be developing a bit of a crush on another member of high society, Leland Bouchard.

The story starts off in New York but quickly changes locations to Florida. The Schoonmakers invite Teddy Cutting, Leland Bouchard, Carolina Broad, Elizabeth and Diana Holland, and also Penelope's brother Grayson Hayes. While everyone is off in Florida some new romances seem to bloom but don't seem to work out in the end. Once back in New York one of those romances goes a little too far and could end up being the ruin of one member of high society but we won't know until the next book is released.

Okay well I'm not going to say everything that happens in this book. If you truly want to know you will read it. Now that I'm finished with the book, I am so anxious for the next one and I have no clue when that will be coming out. So I definitely recommend reading this series and tell me what you think about it, even if you don't necessarily agree with my opinion.