Beth Revis: Win ALL FIVE *SIGNED* copies of the Breathless Books!

Beth Revis: Win ALL FIVE *SIGNED* copies of the Breathless Books!





Just click on the above link to go to the entry page. GOOD LUCK!! There are some awesome books on this list!

Stork by Wendy Delsol - Review

Title: Stork
Author: Wendy Delsol
Hardcover, 355 pages

Published: October 12th 2010 by Candlewick

Plot:

Family secrets. Lost memories. And the arrival of an ancient magical ability that will reveal everything.


Sixteen-year-old Katla LeBlanc has just moved from Los Angeles to Minnesota. As if it weren’t enough that her trendy fashion sense draws stares, Katla soon finds out that she’s a Stork, a member of a mysterious order of women tasked with a very unique duty. But Katla’s biggest challenge may be finding her flock at a new school. Between being ignored by Wade, the arrogant jock she stupidly fooled around with, and constantly arguing with gorgeous farm boy and editor-in-chief Jack, Katla is relieved when her assignment as the school paper’s fashion columnist brings with it some much-needed friendship. But as Homecoming approaches, Katla uncovers a shocking secret about her past — a secret that binds her fate to Jack’s in a way neither could have ever anticipated. With a nod to Hans Christian Andersen and inspired by Norse lore, Wendy Delsol’s debut novel introduces a hip and witty heroine who finds herself tail-feathers deep in small-town life.

My Thoughts:

I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this one, so you can imagine my delight when I got hooked into the story. The beginning doesn't start you off with a big battle or anything, just a girl with a suddenly itchy scalp going to investigate the "Always Closes" fabric store across the street. From there the story takes off.

I really liked Jack's character. He was a mysterious love interest who I wanted to figure out. I knew there was something about him and there was a weird connection between him and Katla, but I never saw the twist coming at the end. I can't tell you how much I like it when a book throws me a good twist. One I wasn't expecting. Makes the book worth it, even if there were parts I wasn't overly crazy about.

There were a couple slow parts in the book, but the writing was beautiful and I kept reading on anyway. For that reason I am giving this one 4/5 Flying Clocks.

Another Book with a killer twist:

Darkness Becomes Her
 

YA Books I Loved That Didn't Get A Lot of Hype

My book case is a complete mad-house because I have an obsession with buying books. Seriously, I probably have a couple hundred books, if not more, on there. Some of them I haven't read yet, while others have been read more times them I care to admit to. So, when I was at Borders yesterday rummaging around their 'Going Out of Business' Young Adult Section I couldn't help but to notice a lot of my favorites still sat on the shelves. The I started thinking, "why don't people love these books like me?" The only answer I came up with in my brain was that maybe it was because people have never heard of them. Let's face it. Some books are hyped so much they are everywhere you turn, while others you only hear about from book bloggers and word of mouth.

Now, I'm talking books published by the big time agencies here too, not just independent ones. I know that the way books are advertised stems back to how big of a deal was made on the book and all that, but sometimes I find I liked the less-hyped books better.

My long-winded point is, I thought this would be a good time to share some books I have recommended to people and sometimes they've never heard anything about the book and/or series.


The Touch Series:

I loved this one for the romance and the plot. I just had to figure Ben out and Cameila was an awesome main character. I loved the whole mystery in this book. The newly released Clarity actually reminds me a lot of this series, so naturally I loved that one too.

Book One: Deadly Little Secrets

Plot:
Some secrets shouldn't be kept...


Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.

From the best-selling author of Blue is for Nightmares comes a story of paranormal romance that's sure to be a thrilling and chilling teen favorite.



Book 2: Deadly Little Lies

 

Book 3: Deadly Little Games



The Dark Guardians Series:

Rachel Hawthorne is hands down one of my favorite authors. I can count on any novel I pick up from her to leave me with that warm and gooey love-sick feeling. Each Dark Guardian novel is first person tense told by a different girl in the overall plot of the series, which is a great spin to a YA series. So, each book is fresh with a new love story while the main plot moves along. This is her paranormal series that I totally love. It makes me sad when people say they've never heard of her or this series. If you haven't read it, you are truly missing out on a great YA paranormal romance.


Book 1: Moonlight



Plot:

I see him and knows what this turmoil inside of me means: He's the one. My forever.


KAYLA is the nature lover, the all-American beauty who can't understand why she's so drawn to distant, brooding Lucas. Adopted as a young child, she has no way of knowing that she's inherited a terrifying-and thrilling-gene that will change her life forever.

LUCAS is dangerous, gorgeous ... and a werewolf. As leader of the Dark Guardians, shape-shifters who gather deep within the state park, he has sworn to protect his pack. But when Lucas finds his true soul mate, his love could put them all in harm's way.

As Lucas and Kayla struggle with their feelings for each other, a greater danger lurks: Humans have discovered the Dark Guardians and are planning their destruction. Kayla must choose between the life she knows and the love she feels certain is her destiny

Book 2: Full Moon



Book 3: Dark of the Moon



Book 4: Shadow of the Moon

 Giving Up the V:

I love gritty, true Contemporary Young Adult Fiction. When authors let go and really let their inner-teenager shine through, a book becomes spectacular. I felt like Spencer was a real girl and I was concerned who she was going to give it up to. The secondary characters in this book blew me away. It takes a lot to make your minor characters stand out in a way that the reader will care as much about them as you main character. The Duff actually reminds me a lot of this one, because the dialog is true to teens.



Giving Up The V



Plot:

Spencer Davis just turned sixteen. But unlike most hormonal teenagers who seem obsessed with sex — like her entire crew of friends — Spencer just doesn't get it. She'd rather wait for the right guy and the right moment. But that moment may be arriving sooner than she'd thought.


Enter Benjamin Hopkins, a new transfer student who seems to have his eyes on our V-card-carrying heroine. He's gorgeous, funny, suave, athletic, and capable of making Spencer's knees wobble with a single glance. Spencer has never felt this way about anyone before, but is Ben truly V-worthy?

Tell me, are there any great series out there that YOU love that people don't know about?? Shout-out and share with us. Maybe, we'll love them too.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano - Review

Title: Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Hardcover, 356 pages
Expected publication: March 22nd 2011 by Simon &Schuster Children's Publishing
Series: Chemical Garden #1
Characters: Rose, Jenna, Cecilia, Linden, Gabriel, Rhine
Source: ARC
 

 

Plot:

What if you knew exactly when you would die?


Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

My Thoughts:

It was easy to get sucked into the world WITHER creates. Rhine is a believable character who I wanted to succeed from page one. Rhine's attachment to her twin brother is a strong motivator for her to find her freedom and return to him because he is the only thing that matters in her crazy world. Her bother is all that she has. When she's stolen away and forced to become a bride, I felt her anger. I felt her disgust toward her new husband just like Rhine, but Ms. DeStefano did a great job at softening that feeling by peeling away Liden's layers and revealing he had a side that I could like. Still, I had a hard time getting over the hump that Liden also had a 13 year-old bride, which is why I am glad Gabriel is in the picture.

There's just something about a forbidden love that hooks me every time. Rhine's relationship with Gabriel is risky. They'd be killed if anyone ever found out she liked anyone other than her husband, Liden, and that heightens the stakes tremendously.

I really, really liked this one. I haven't gotten it off my mind for days. Instantly I craved book number two in the series because I just HAVE to know what happens next. Kudos Ms. DeStefano for a kick-ass debut!

Double Take Covers: Jessica Rules the Darkside by Beth Fantasky

I fell in love with book one in this series, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Darkside,  a couple years ago and I was giving up hope of ever reading a sequel, so you can imagine my excitement when I read Jessica Rules the Darkside will be published in January 9, 2012.

Plot:
When Jessica Packwood found out she was a Romanian vampire princess, she had the shock of her teenage life. Turns out that was the easy part. Now, married to Prince Lucius Vladescu, she has to claim her throne and convince a vampire nation she’s fit to be their queen. But Jess can’t even order a decent meal from her castle’s Romanian staff, let alone deal with devious undead subjects who would love to see her fail.


And when Lucius is accused of murdering a vampire Elder and imprisoned without the blood he needs, Jessica finds herself alone, fighting for both their survivals.

Desperate to clear her husband’s name and win his release, Jess enlists the help of her best friend Mindy Stankowicz and Lucius’s mysterious Italian cousin, Raniero Lovatu. But both of them are keeping some dark secrets. Can Jess figure out who to trust – and how to rise to power – before she loses everything, including the vampire she loves?

Full of romance, mystery, and danger, the highly anticipated sequel to Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side shows that sometimes a princess has to earn her “happily ever after” – with a sharpened stake in hand.