Sunday, December 9, 2012

Stacking the Shelves (December 9)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews! It's a way to highlight the books that everyone got throughout the week.

For Review: 

The Farm by Emily McKay

Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...


Thanks to Caitlin at Penguin!

Won from the fabulous gals at WinterHaven Books:  


Swag! There are lots of doubles and triples of signed bookmarks, and other goodies. Expect those to feature in a future giveaway. 








My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother-to-be and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore

Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday (December 5)





Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.



Crap Kingdom by D. C. Pierson

THE CHOSEN ONE MUST BE RETRIEVED FROM EARTH


HE WILL BRING DOWN THE WALL AND RESTORE THE KINGDOM TO GLORY

HIS NAME IS TOM PARKING

With this mysterious yet oddly ordinary-looking prophecy, Tom's fate is sealed: he's been plucked from his life and whisked away to a magical kingdom to be its Chosen One.

There's just one problem: The kingdom is mostly made of garbage from Earth. Okay, well, two problems: the king hates Tom. Also, the princess likes to wear fake mustaches. And being Chosen One seems to consist mainly of cleaning out rats' noses at the Royal Rat-Snottery.

So, basically, the kingdom sucks.

When Tom turns down the job of Chosen One, he thinks he's making a smart decision. But when Tom discovers he's been replaced by his best friend Kyle, who's always been cooler, more athletic, and better with girls, Tom wants Crap Kingdom back—at any cost. And the hilarity that ensues will determine the fate of the universe. (Goodreads)

Published by Viking Juvenile

Release Date: March 7, 2013


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Farm Blog Tour and Giveaway

I'm pleased to be a part of the blog tour for The Farm, and to celebrate the release today! Read below for some exclusive content from author Emily McKay, and a contest for a copy of the book and a vampire survival guide (awesome, and necessary)!

Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...


Check out more about The Farm:


You can learn more about The Farm and look for some giveaways on the book website: 


Exclusive Content from Emily McKay: 


Dear Reader letter from Lily:

I have one goal on the Farm: keep my sister Mel alive. She’s autistic and can’t stand up for herself. It’s my job to protect her. She and I are two of the millions of teenagers who were rounded up and quarantined for “our own protection.” On the Farm, every move we make is monitored: where we go, when we eat, how much blood we donate to feed the Ticks that prowl just outside the Farm’s electric fences. Any Green who steps out of line is punished by the Collabs—all guys who used to be bullies in the Before. Yeah, big surprise. All the jerks who picked on geeks like me and Mel are now betraying the human race. But Mel and I have one advantage over all the other Greens. We know a way out. We’re going to escape, before we turn eighteen. Before it’s too late.
That’s the good news. The bad news is we have no idea what’s on the outside the Farm. Are there still towns? Cities? Civilization? Are the Ticks everywhere? What happened to all of our families after we were brought here? Is there anyone out there? At all?
If you’re reading this letter, then you’re still on the outside. You know things about the world beyond these fences. If you know what we’ll need to survive on the outside, please find a way to get us the information. Because Mel and I are gathering our supplies. Soon, we’re going to make our escape. Help us if you can.

The next stop on the tour: The Reading Geek

The previous stop on the tour: Wasterpaper Prose

This contest is US only (it's being shipped from the publisher). 


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Stacking the Shelves (December 1)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews! It's a way to highlight the books that everyone got throughout the week.

For Review: 

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black 

Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts . . .

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames . . . 

Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed. 


Published by Bloomsbury USA
Release Date: February 12, 2013

Won from the fabulous gals at WinterHaven Books:  

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. 


Published by Feiwel & Friends 



Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?


Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt


Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway

Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.

After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she’s part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.

Jodi’s deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn’t difficult enough, Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.


Published by Spencer Hill Press

Purchased:

Reached by Ally Condie

After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestsellingMatched trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.


Published by Dutton

The Lies That Bind by Lisa & Laura Roecker

Just when Kate Lowry thought she had life at elite private school Pemberly Brown figured out, she cracks open a fortune cookie to find a message from her best friend Grace--who's supposed to be dead.

Another Sister Gone

A classmate has gone missing, and Kate soon realizes that the disappearance is tied to the secret societies that rule her private school. Her best friend died for their secrets, and there's no way she'll let them get away with it twice. It's up to quirky outsider Kate to get some answers, but in a school where every answer leads to more questions and nothing's as it seems, who can she trust?


Published by Sourcebooks Fire

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang


I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.


Published by HarperCollins

Christmas Wishes by Debbie Macomber

Christmas Letters
Katherine O'Connor (known as K.O.) adores her five-year-old twin nieces; and strongly objects to her sister's plans to dispense with Christmas. Zelda is following the theories of child psychologist Wynn Jeffries, author of The Free Child (and, as it happens, K.O.'s neighbor). K.O. is particularly horrified by his edict to "bury Santa under the sleigh," and she's out to prove that Wynn and his ideas are full of snow. He's not going to ruin her nieces' Christmas! Too bad the guy's so darned attractive! 

Rainy Day Kisses
Seventeen years ago Susannah Simmons was a career girl who knew nothing about babies. But after babysitting her infant niece, Michelle, Susannah learned that one determined and screaming baby can make the corporate world look like child's play. Thank goodness for her charming neighbor Nate Townsend. Now he's her charming husband, and Susannah's a mother as well as an aunt. And every Christmas Eve, Michelle tells her cousins how their mom met their dad a story in which she plays a starring role!



Friday, November 30, 2012

Mini-Reviews


 Vanish (Firelight 2) by Sophie Jordan

This was an interesting follow-up to Firelight, although quite a long time had passed between when I read the first book and when I picked this one up. What I really enjoyed was how it altered my perceptions of characters. In the first book we see Cassian as a jerk who Jacinda needs to escape. In Vanish, however, I began to sympathize. Jacinda, I'm sorry to say, became a bit more annoying to me. I still felt for her character, but  Lots of action and excitement, and I couldn't wait to grab the final book in the trilogy, Hidden.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: B

Hidden (Firelight 3) by Sophie Jordan

I read this directly after finishing Vanish, and I flew through it. I was fairly certain I knew what was going to happen, but Jordan still had quite a few twists thrown in. The love triangle wraps up in a predictable way, but the rest of the story wraps up nicely. I wasn't sure how things could work out (would Jacina stay/leave, what about Cassian, hello...the hunters are stalking them), but everything left me satisfied as a reader.

Published by HarperTeen
Rating: B

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

I've had Bittersweet on my shelf for quite a long time, and now that the winter weather has started in I thought it would be a fun read. I enjoyed the cupcake titles/descriptions at the start of each chapter (although it made me crave sweets) but the story didn't quite live up to my expectations after Twenty Boy Summer. There was a lot going on story-wise that I don't think necessarily needed to be there and being pulled between them made the main character seem self-centered when I should have empathized with having to make tough decisions about where to spend her time. Still, I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from Ockler.
Published by Simon Pulse
Rating: C

Copyright ©2009-2013 Cornucopia of Reviews. All Rights Reserved.