Review: Nantucket Blue By Leila Howland

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howard

Title: Nantucket Blue

Author: Leila Howland

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

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AmazonBarnes & NobleIndie Bound

Summary

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.

Review

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland is the perfect book for summer. It evokes the feelings of being young and hoping the summer would be magical. That everything could change if you can get the right boy to notice you and spend the summer near the water. 

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland captures a summer in New England (and this New Englander loved the setting but I may be biased.) Cricket Thompson is in the summer before her senior year and is about to turn 18. She spends most of her time with her best friend Jules and her family until tragedy strikes. So what was meant to be an epic summer with her best friend, turns into a summer where she lives on her own and is forced to confront the feelings she has been hiding from.

Cricket is a very likeable and relatable character. She is hurt by her parents actions but is unsure how to handle it. As the child of divorced parents, I found this story line handled in a accurate way. Being almost an adult but having little control of those in your life can be difficult.

Nantucket Blue has a great love story where Cricket finally meets the right guy. This part of the book is so sweet and very swoon worthy. It also shows maturity on Crickets part when she has to choose between what is right in front of her and what she thought she always wanted.

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland is a beautiful story about growing-up and learning to confront your problems. The love story is excellent and made it difficult to put down. The ending is ultimately satisfying and I was sad that it was over. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Nantucket Blue this summer. 

What You Will Find

  • Catty girls
  • Great setting
  • Cute boys
  • Great love story
  • Coming-of-age

I did receive a copy of Nantucket Blue via Netgalley but all opinions are my own.

Cover image and summary from goodreads.

In The Stacks (11)

What I added to my stacks (and stacks and stacks) this week. I am linking up with Stacking The Shelves by Tynga’s Reviews.

Netgalley

 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

Or will she just go on living inside somebody else’s fiction?

I can tell just by looking at this cover, I am going to love this book.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

It says quite a lot about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn’t even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy once admitted he’s able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never Better have treated him like an outsider since. After his mother left, his father became a recluse, and it’s been up to Jeremy to support the family. But it hasn’t been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm. Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all fairy tales have happy endings. . .

Love that the cover is creepy. I love my fairy tale updates to be on the creepy side.

Kindle

 

Let The Sky Fall (Let The Sky Fall #1) by Shannon Messenger

Let The Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is.

Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them.

Love the idea of having power over the winds. Throw in a forbidden romance and a kindle deal, I couldn’t say no.

The Luxe (Luxe #1) by Anna Godbersen

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.
Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions.
White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups.
This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan’s social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City’s elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone–from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud–threatens Elizabeth’s and Diana’s golden future.

With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city’s gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan’s most celebrated daughter disappear…

In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.

Sometimes you need an indulgent read and I think The Luxe should fit the bill.

What did you add to your stacks this week?

Zenn Scarlett By Christian Schoon

Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

Title: Zenn Scarlett

Author: Christian Schoon

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Source: ARC from publisher

Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

GoodreadsAuthor

AmazonBarnes & NobleIndie Bound

Summary

Zenn Scarlett is a resourceful, determined 17-year-old girl working hard to make it through her novice year of exovet training. That means she’s learning to care for alien creatures that are mostly large, generally dangerous and profoundly fascinating. Zenn’s all-important end-of-term tests at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars are coming up, and, she’s feeling confident of acing the exams. But when a series of inexplicable animal escapes and other disturbing events hit the school, Zenn finds herself being blamed for the problems. As if this isn’t enough to deal with, her absent father has abruptly stopped communicating with her; Liam Tucker, a local towner boy, is acting unusually, annoyingly friendly; and, strangest of all: Zenn is worried she’s started sharing the thoughts of the creatures around her. Which is impossible, of course. Nonetheless, she can’t deny what she’s feeling.

Now, with the help of Liam and Hamish, an eight-foot sentient insectoid also training at the clinic, Zenn must learn what’s happened to her father, solve the mystery of who, if anyone, is sabotaging the cloister, and determine if she’s actually sensing the consciousness of her alien patients… or just losing her mind. All without failing her novice year….

Review

Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon is a fun and quirky sci-fi story about a girl who lives on Mars and is determined to become an Exovet (alien veterinarian). The first part of the book is full of descriptions of the exotic space animals that Zenn cares for at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic. To move to the next level in her training, she has to pass three tests. A mishap during the first test leaves Zenn questioning her sanity and those around her.

I really liked the character of Zenn, she works hard and is brave. She is smart and  passionate about becoming an exovet. The character of Hamish is interesting. He is pretty much a giant bug who acts as the cloisters care taker. He has difficulty thinking for himself and is constantly asking permission before doing the most menial of tasks. Zenn and Hamish have an sort-of friendship that gives Zenn Scarlett a bit of comic relief.

The middle of the book starts to pick-up as we learn more about the Martian political situation and why the neighbors of the cloisters may want it to close its doors. Zenn starts to put the pieces together and tries to find out who is behind the accidents and why. This was my favorite part of the story. I love a good mystery and Christian Schoon drops hints throughout the entire book to a much bigger, overarching story. 

Zenn does have a romantic interest in Liam, who helps around the cloisters. He is the only person her own age that Zenn has ever been friends with. I found this relationship sweet and it was nice to see Zenn open-up. (Liam is also a cat lover which to this cat lover, makes a guy so much more swoon worthy.)

I ultimately enjoyed Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon. The last half of the book was much more interesting than the first half, so hang in for it. The writing was very cinematic and I could easily picture Zenn Scarlett as a TV show. Overall, I would have preferred more action and fewer animals but still found Zenn Scarlett to be a solid read. The ending has a cliffhanger and left me wanting to know where this story is going. I would definitely read the next book in this series

This book was provided for me to review by Strange Chemistry. All opinions are my own.

Cover image and summary from goodreads.

Top Ten Books About Difficult Subjects

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they pick a fun topic for a top ten list. This weeks list is Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects.

War

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Review)

Suicide

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Review)

Cancer

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Death

The Rules of Inheritance Claire Bidwell Smith

The Rules Of Inheritance by Claire Bidwell Smith (Review)

Addiction

Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes

Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes

Mental Illness

It's Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

It’s Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

Marriage

The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer

The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer

Domestic Abuse

This Charming Man by Marian Keyes

This Charming Man by Marian Keyes

Rape

Speak by laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Review)

Abduction

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue

Any books you would add?

 

Cover images taken from goodreads.

 

Wide Awake By Shelly Crane Giveaway

Wide Awake by Shelly Crane BN kobo iBooks

Title: Wide Awake

Author: Shelly Crane

Release date: March 23, 2013

Genre: Contemporary

Age Group: Young Adult

Event organized by: AToMR Tours

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Summary

A girl.
A coma.
A life she can’t remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she
learns that she’s been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents,
but she can’t remember them. She can’t remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her
boyfriend. Even though she can’t remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left
off, but what she learns about the ‘old her’ makes her start to wish she’d never woken up. Her
boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he’s dating to be with her, her parents want her to start
planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel
eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

About The Author

Shelly Crane

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YA author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband’s job. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to
music everywhere and also LOVES to read.

Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn’t go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.

Excerpt

He smiled that Mason smile that set me on fire all over. Then he put one hand on the other side on the hospital bed and the other lifted toward my face. I waited, bated breath, gulping, sweaty palms, fluttering eyes, the works. His face got so close before he stopped. I thought he had decided against whatever he was doing he waited so long. I began to pull back in disappointment, but he reached behind my neck gently and pulled me to him. The barest of touches was the best way to describe our first kiss. It wasn’t really a kiss at all. His bottom lip barely brushed my top one. When he leaned back and opened his eyes, he must’ve seen the
confusion and frustration in my face.

He chuckled. “I just had to taste that coconut…” he licked his lips, “but I don’t want to kiss you when you’ve been angry at me and I messed up our date. “He said ‘date’. Like…a date. “I want to kiss you when if we go another second without it, one of us will combust.”

My breaths were raging. I tried to calm myself. “I…” I failed.”

“I want to give you back your first kiss, the one that jerk stole from you. And I want it to be something that even a coma can’t make you forget.”

Giveaway

To win your very own eBook copy of Wide Awake by Shelly Crane, please follow the instructions below in the Rafflecopter. The giveaway is open internationally and the winner will receive a coupon code for Smashwords to download an eBook of Wide Awake by Shelly Crane.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In the Stacks (10)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer It is a chance to share news.  A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead.

I am also linking up with Tynga’s Reviews and sharing what I added to my stacks in the past week.

The Personal

My husband graduated from Law School this weekend! The weekend (and week leading up to it) contained lots of family time with his parents who came down from Connecticut. I am so happy and proud.

Last Week

Shucked by Megg Jensen Blitz with a giveaway. There are still a few days to enter and win one eBook copy of Shucked by Megg Jensen.

Release Day Reads May 7th edition. I talked about a few new books for this week like The 5TH Wave by Rick Yancey and Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris.

Waiting On Wednesday feature of Mermaid In Chelsea Creek by Michelle Tea. It has an amazing cover and there is a plane Jane who may be the answer to an ailing town.

I shouted my love for Rick Riordan and The Lost Hero. Even if you don’t read my review, please start this series right now. It is wonderful and you will love it.

Next Week

Blog Tour and Giveaway for Wide Awake by Shelly Crane.

Review of Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon.

Top Ten Tuesday will feature books dealing with tough subjects.

Waiting On Wednesday feature (you will have to wait on that one, see what I did there?)

Review of Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland.

What I Added To My Stacks

For Review:

 

Ink by Amanda Sun

Ink (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

Purchased:

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5Th Wave by Rick Yancey

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13) by Charlaine Harris

All cover images taken from goodreads.

 

 

 

The Lost Hero By Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Title: The Lost Hero

Author: Rick Riordan

Series: Heroes Of Olympus #1

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date: October 12, 2010

Source: Purchased

GoodreadsAuthorTwitter

Summary

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and his best friend is a guy named Leo. They’re all students at the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids,” as Leo puts it. What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? Jason doesn’t know anything-except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father, a famous actor, has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare about his being in trouble. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits during the school trip, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out, whether she wants to or not.

Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too — like the curse everyone keeps talking about, and some camper who’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them — including Leo — is related to a god. Does this have anything to do with Jason’s amnesia, or the fact that Leo keeps seeing ghosts?

Review

I have to start this review by saying that I love Rick Riordan and the Percy Jackson And The Olympians series. Starting The Lost Hero, I had high expectations because the Percy Jackson books are so excellent and I can happily say those expectations were met. The Lost Hero is part of The Heroes Of Olympus series but it takes place in the same world as Percy Jackson. There are many crossover characters and the feel is very similar. This is a good thing because the Percy Jackson universe is so full of excitement and humor, that I was happy to return.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan gives us three new heroes who are part of a new great prophecy. Piper, Leo, and Jason are regular kids who meet at a school for troubled children. Jason is in the unique situation of having his memory completely missing but we learn more about him throughout the adventure. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to new Gods and Goddesses while learning about new and greater enemies.

One of the greatest parts of any Rick Riordan books, besides the epic adventure, is the relationships. Piper, Leo, and Jason are forced into impossible situations and have to learn to rely on each other to get out of them. Learning to trust your instincts and solve your own problems are excellent lessons for all of us. The heroes grow and change, while learning how to do the right thing.

Even though The Lost Hero is a hefty 553 pages, it can easily be read in a sitting. I flew through it, needing to know what would happen next. Just like every other book I have read by Rick Riordan, as soon as I finished The Lost Hero I wanted to purchase the next book and continue the adventure. Rick Riordan is one author who really makes me wish I had children with whom I could share these wonderful books with. (Thinking about it now, my nephew will be receiving the Percy Jackson And The Olympians series for Christmas. He is not a big reader but I think those books can really help change a non-reader into a reader. Especially a little boy.) So in summary, drop what ever you are reading and pick up a copy of The Lost Hero. It is excellent and I guarantee you will enjoy it.

What You Will Find

  • Epic adventure
  • Characters you already love
  • Lots of learning about the Greeks and Romans
  • Laughter

 

Waiting On Wednesday–Mermaid In Chelsea Creek By Michelle Tea

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights new releases that you are eagerly anticipating. This week I am waiting on Mermaid In Chelsea Creek by Michelle Tea.

Mermaid In Chelsea Creek By Michelle Tea

Title: Mermaid In Chelsea Creek

Author: Michelle Tea

Publisher: McSweeney’s McMullens

Expected Publishing Date: May 14, 2013

Goodreads

Summary

Everyone in the broken-down town of Chelsea, Massachusetts, has a story too worn to repeat—from the girls who play the pass-out game just to feel like they’re somewhere else, to the packs of aimless teenage boys, to the old women from far away who left everything behind. But there’s one story they all still tell: the oldest and saddest but most hopeful story, the one about the girl who will be able to take their twisted world and straighten it out. The girl who will bring the magic.

Could Sophie Swankowski be that girl? With her tangled hair and grubby clothes, her weird habits and her visions of a filthy, swearing mermaid who comes to her when she’s unconscious, Sophie could be the one to uncover the power flowing beneath Chelsea’s potholed streets and sludge-filled rivers, and the one to fight the evil that flows there, too. Sophie might discover her destiny, and maybe even in time to save them all.

Why I Am Waiting

The cover is just gorgeous (you should check out the publishers site, a lot of their covers are beautiful.) I love when stories are really interconnected and small acts can make big changes.

What are you waiting on?

 

Cover image and summary from goodreads.

Release Day Reads for May 7, 2013

Release Day Reads_edited-1

The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon

Zenn Scarlett is a resourceful, determined 17-year-old girl working hard to make it through her novice year of exovet training. That means she’s learning to care for alien creatures that are mostly large, generally dangerous and profoundly fascinating. Zenn’s all-important end-of-term tests at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars are coming up, and, she’s feeling confident of acing the exams. But when a series of inexplicable animal escapes and other disturbing events hit the school, Zenn finds herself being blamed for the problems. As if this isn’t enough to deal with, her absent father has abruptly stopped communicating with her; Liam Tucker, a local towner boy, is acting unusually, annoyingly friendly; and, strangest of all: Zenn is worried she’s started sharing the thoughts of the creatures around her. Which is impossible, of course. Nonetheless, she can’t deny what she’s feeling.

Now, with the help of Liam and Hamish, an eight-foot sentient insectoid also training at the clinic, Zenn must learn what’s happened to her father, solve the mystery of who, if anyone, is sabotaging the cloister, and determine if she’s actually sensing the consciousness of her alien patients… or just losing her mind. All without failing her novice year….

The End Games by T. Michael Martin

The End Games by T. Michael Martin

It happened on Halloween.

The world ended.

And a dangerous Game brought it back to life.

Seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been battling monsters in The Game for weeks.

In the rural mountains of West Virginia, armed with only their rifle and their love for each other, the brothers follow Instructions from the mysterious Game Master. They spend their days searching for survivors, their nights fighting endless hordes of “Bellows”—creatures that roam the dark, roaring for flesh. And at this Game, Michael and Patrick are very good.

But The Game is changing.

The Bellows are evolving.

The Game Master is leading Michael and Patrick to other survivors—survivors who don’t play by the rules.

And the brothers will never be the same.

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13) by Charlene Harris

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart…

Sookie Stackhouse finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howard

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.

 

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.

Reboot (Reboot #1) by Amy Tintera

Reboot by Amy Tintera

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Icons (Icons #1) by Margaret Stohl

Icons by Margaret Stohl

Your heart beats only with their permission.

Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol’s family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn’t know it was fighting.
Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside — safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can’t avoid.

She’s different. She survived. Why?

When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador’s privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn’t a coincidence. It’s a conspiracy.

Within the Icon’s reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions — which they’ve always thought to be their greatest weaknesses — may actually be their greatest strengths.

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . .

Raven Girl by Audrey Niffenegger

Raven Girl by Audrey Niffenegger

Once there was a Postman who fell in love with a Raven.
So begins the tale of a postman who encounters a fledgling raven while on the edge of his route and decides to bring her home. The unlikely couple falls in love and conceives a child—an extraordinary raven girl trapped in a human body. The raven girl feels imprisoned by her arms and legs and covets wings and the ability to fly. Betwixt and between, she reluctantly grows into a young woman, until one day she meets an unorthodox doctor who is willing to change her.

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

Memorial Day, 1938: New York socialite Lily Dane has just returned with her family to the idyllic oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island, expecting another placid summer season among the familiar traditions and friendships that sustained her after heartbreak.

That is, until Greenwalds decide to take up residence in Seaview.

Nick and Budgie Greenwald are an unwelcome specter from Lily’s past: her former best friend and her former fiancé, now recently married—an event that set off a wildfire of gossip among the elite of Seaview, who have summered together for generations. Budgie’s arrival to restore her family’s old house puts her once more in the center of the community’s social scene, and she insinuates herself back into Lily’s friendship with an overpowering talent for seduction…and an alluring acquaintance from their college days, Yankees pitcher Graham Pendleton. But the ties that bind Lily to Nick are too strong and intricate to ignore, and the two are drawn back into long-buried dreams, despite their uneasy secrets and many emotional obligations.

Under the scorching summer sun, the unexpected truth of Budgie and Nick’s marriage bubbles to the surface, and as a cataclysmic hurricane barrels unseen up the Atlantic and into New England, Lily and Nick must confront an emotional cyclone of their own, which will change their worlds forever.

So many great books this week! Not sure if my wallet can take it but I plan on purchasing The 5th Wave and Dead Ever After this week. I will have reviews for Zenn Scarlett and Nantucket Blue this week.

What book are you most excited about?

 

Cover images and summaries from goodreads.

Shucked By Megg Jensen A Giveaway

Shucked

Title: Shucked

Author: Megg Jensen

Publication Date: April 14, 2013

Genre: YA Contemporary

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Summary

Suburgatory meets Indiana Jones…on a farm

Fifteen-year-old Tabitha has had the kind of life that would impress even the greatest adventurers. She’s escaped a croc attack in the Amazon, walked the length of the Great Wall of China, and earned a black belt in taekwondo in Korea. She owes her worldly experience to her mother’s career in archaeology, but when her mother takes on a dangerous new assignment, Tabitha is devastated to learn she can’t tag along.

Instead, she’s forced to live on a midwestern farm with her grandparents where she’ll have to attend a full year of public school. It’s Tabitha’s greatest nightmare, because despite all her adventures, she has no practical experience with the one thing that frightens her the most – other teenagers.

Her math teacher is her mom’s old high school boyfriend, she can’t tell the friendly girls from the mean ones, and she develops a major crush on a boy she knows she can’t trust. And just when she thinks she’ll never get the hang of this normal teenager thing, an attack brings the danger of her previous life right up to her midwestern porch. Who could have ever guessed getting totally shucked would bring her face-to-face with her most exciting adventure yet?

Megg

Author Bio

I’ve been a freelance parenting journalist since 2003 and began writing YA novels in 2009. I co-run DarkSide Publishing, am a member of SCBWI, and I blog about writing while juggling freelancing, volunteering, and family life. I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband, two kids, and our miniature schnauzer, Ace.

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Excerpt

I peered through the overgrown bushes, observing the beasts in their native habitat. My heart pounded, tapping an unfamiliar beat. I’d subdued a croc after an attack in the Amazon, looked a lion in the eye in the African bush, and swam with sharks in the Great Barrier Reef, but nothing compared to the fear ripping through my chest, infecting every bit of my essence with panic.

“Tabitha,” my grandmother, Mimi, bellowed, “get over here right now!”

I backed away from the evergreens, swinging my backpack over one shoulder. “Coming.” My whole life I’d been surrounded by adults or kids from cultures so far removed from civilization that American teenagers became the epitome of uncivilized behavior. I’d seen their TV shows on the Internet. All I could hope was that reality TV wasn’t real.

The double doors of the school loomed in front of me. The embedded crosshatching in the windows skewed my vision of the masses of kids opening lockers and chatting in groups. A select few were already swapping spit. I rolled my eyes. Suspicions confirmed.

“Do I have to go in there?” I turned around, arms folded across my chest. Mimi stood her ground, towering over me at nearly six feet tall, a giant to my mere five foot one inch. I wasn’t afraid. Intimidated yes, afraid no. I’d spent years cuddled on her lap reading stories but as I grew up, I realized that she was the powerhouse in her marriage and nearly everywhere else. No one crossed her except for my mom. I think that’s why Mom hadn’t come back to her hometown in the last sixteen years.

“Of course you have to go in. It wouldn’t do for you to be late on your first day of school.” She had that same look on her face as when I’d first met her. Exasperated, annoyed, and definitely not in the mood to be defied.

“But Mimi,” I started.

“No buts,” she barked. Her bear-like hand grabbed the door handle, opened it and she pushed me in with the other paw. “Have fun, Tabitha.”

I stumbled in as the heavy door thudded behind me. How could she leave me here alone? Among some of the most frightening creatures on earth – teenagers. I felt the bile rise in my throat but I swallowed it. Just what I needed, to be the girl who barfed on everyone the first day of school.

Giveaway

Win an ebook copy (Mobi or ePub) of Shucked by Megg Jensen and three bookmarks.  
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