Waiting on Wednesday {2}

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Waiting on WednesdayWaiting on Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, is a weekly meme where we showcase upcoming new releases we’re excited to get our hands on!

Lacey’s pick:
Crash Into You by Katie McGarryCrash Into You (Pushing the Limits #3) by Katie McGarry
Publication Date: November 26th 2013

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane.

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that’s who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers…and she’s just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can’t get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they’ll go to save each other.

Cathy’s pick:
House of Hades by Rick RiordanThe House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4) by Rick Riordan
Publication Date: October 8th 2013

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Shirley’s pick:
Untold by Sarah Rees BrennanUntold (Lynburn Legacy #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan
Publication Date: August 29th 2013

Free from bonds, but not each other

It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

Top Ten Tuesday {7}: Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels

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It’s Top Ten Tuesday again, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s theme is …

Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels

eleanor & park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: Even though I loved this book with all my heart, I would have given my left arm to have a sequel, or at least more at the end. If you’ve read this book, then you probably know what I mean. Eleanor & Park ends with an open ending (it’s kind of open and yet not-not sure how to explain it), but one that I though was fitting for the story. Still, I definitely wouldn’t mind a sequel.

Easy by Tammara Webber

Easy by Tammara Webber: I absolutely adored Easy. I loved Jacqueline and Lucas’s story, and when I got to the ending, I so wasn’t ready to leave them. A sequel would be perfect, but don’t despair folks! Lucas’s POV of Easy is in the works! *cue squealing*

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry: Yes, I know, there’s a sequel to this book, but technically, it’s more of a companion book. The sequel doesn’t go back to Noah and Echo (but I still loved it!). Still, I would have loved to read more about Noah and Echo, maybe about their road trip or even them in college. I just can’t get enough of them (especially Noah)!

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: My heart was just pounding at the end, because-horses!! Or mythological creatures that look like horses. The ending was sort of bittersweet, and I so wish that we could have known what would happen for Puck, Sean, and his horse, and especially whether Sean could go back to racing.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater: Another book by Maggie Stiefvater… I think I’m seeing a pattern here. But anyways, this ending was so open, and I totally get that the author wanted the readers to come up with their own conclusions, but still! A more concrete ending and I would have loved this book. Not that I didn’t enjoy the book, but I just wasn’t expecting such an ambiguous ending for a final book.

Requiem

Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver: This is also another final book of a series with an open ending. Even though I had no problem with the open ending (a lot of people did though), I wouldn’t have minded more. Like whether their world ended up okay, what happens with Lena’s relationship with Alex, or something like that.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick: I loved this book. I fell head over heels in love with the story, Samantha, and the Garretts (JASE <3). The ending though, was a bit abrupt, and I think it didn’t resolve everything that happened with the accident. So a sequel? Yes please! I want more of Jase! I’d love to see his and Samantha’s relationship growing during the school year and maybe even beyond high school.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: This book is just beautiful. The words just stick to your heart. So I absolutely wouldn’t mind another book with more gorgeous writing. Melina Marchetta, I bow down to you. I don’t know how you do it, but I don’t really care to as long as you keep on writing incredible books. And with Jellicoe Road, I want more of Taylor and Jonah. They don’t get much of a chance to be together before Jonah has to leave, so a sequel would make me very happy.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta: This book was fantastic as well. Melina Marchetta is seriously one of my absolute favorite authors, and if there’s another book by her, I will read it. So a sequel for Saving Francesca? I’m there. The Piper’s Son is sort of a sequel, but it’s more of a companion book. We see tiny glimpses of Francesca and WIll in that, but I would love love love another book for them, to see how they’re handling their long distance relationship.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore: Po! Po! Po! I just can’t get enough of him! I love him to bits 🙂 Even though we see a bit of him and Katsa in the companion books, I would love a sequel that’s dedicated to just them again. They’re one of my favorite couples ever, and I want more of them being together. I also miss the world; it’s been a while since Bitterblue was last released.

lacey

Review: Lost and Found by Nicole Williams

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Lost and Found by Nicole Williams

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams
Series: Lost and Found #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 7th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.

After numbing pain for the past five years with boys, alcohol, and all-around apathy, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus to nowhere Montana the summer after she graduates high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen’s dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch. Cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn for a couple dozen ranch hands and mucking out horse stalls are the last things in the world Rowen wants to spend her summer doing.

Until Jesse Walker saunters into her life wearing a pair of painted-on jeans, a cowboy hat, and a grin that makes something in her chest she’d thought was frozen go boom-boom. Jesse’s like no one else, and certainly nothing like her. He’s the bright and shiny to her dark and jaded.

Rowen knows there’s no happily-ever-after for the golden boy and the rebel girl—happily-right-now is a stretch—so she tries to forget and ignore the boy who makes her feel things she’s not sure she’s ready to feel. But the more she pushes him away, the closer he seems to get. The more she convinces herself she doesn’t care, the harder she falls.

When her dark secrets refuse to stay locked behind the walls she’s kept up for years, Rowen realizes it’s not just everyone else she needs to be honest with. It’s herself.

Nicole Williams, I love you. You are one of my absolute favorite authors ever. I fell completely in love with your Crash series (Jude!!! <3) and when I found out about your new book, Lost and Found, I absolutely had to read it! And goodness gracious, it did not disappoint! I wholeheartedly loved every bit of Lost and Found. It’s got incredible characters who you can’t help but love and care for. My heart just went out to Rowen and Jesse, the Walker family, and even Garth. Nicole Williams writes characters that are just so well-written, and a story that is sure to entertain.

Rowen is who you would consider a bad girl. She’s slept with tons of guys, done drugs, gets into tons of trouble, etc. But she’s funny as hell, and I love her every time she cracks a joke. She’s just graduated high school, and is sent to work at a ranch by her mother (who is a total bitch and hag-bleh) to what she calls “Hicksville, USA.” Really, it’s just Montana, but there’s pretty much no difference to a city girl like Rowen. And she doesn’t expect to meet the one and only Jesse Walker, hottie and cowboy extraordinaire.

The fantastic thing about Rowen is that she’s easily relatable. Even though she’s what some would call “bad,” she’s still real and down to earth. She’s blunt and honest, and even a little lost. She doesn’t know who she is, what her purpose is in the world, and during her time at the ranch, she discovers parts of herself she never knew existed. Her self-discovery and self-awareness are what make Lost and Found so much more than just a bad girl meets a good guy (I’ll talk more about this yummy good guy later ;)). Rowen’s a teen just like any other who is struggling to find her place in the world. And she gets the chance to change her bad girl ways thanks to a heartwarming and welcoming family who shows her what it means to love and be loved.

Ahem. So. What do you get when you have a gorgeous blond, blue-eyed boy who’s also an all-around nice guy, and is a cowboy? Jesse Walker. *fangirls* I honestly can’t think of another book who has a guy as nice and good-natured as Jesse is. And I LOVE him for that. It’s endearing and sweet and wonderful how good he is. He has a heart of gold, but don’t worry, he’s not entirely perfect either. He’s got some secrets of his own, but they’ve done nothing but make him into the incredible man that he is. He’s the type of guy you wish existed, because he’d make the world a better place with his optimism and goodness. Not to mention the hot bod he’s got going on. *sighs* He’s a cowboy-so it’s muscles galore! 😉 Rowen falls for him so hard (how can you not?), and it’s the sweetest thing to see them growing to love each other more and more, to see Jesse break down that tough-girl wall Rowen has erected around her heart.

The characters and the story are just incredible, and I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but I won’t! Just read this book!

5 hearts!
5-hearts

lacey

Reading Order: Lost and Found series

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams Near and Far by Nicole Williams
Finders Keepers by Nicole Williams Losers Weepers by Nicole Williams Heart & Soul by Nicole Williams

#1 ~ Lost and Found: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Near and Far: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Finders Keepers: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Losers Weepers: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#5 ~ Heart and Soul: Goodreads (June 16, 2015)

Review: Frigid by J. Lynn

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Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Frigid by J. Lynn
Series: Frigid #1
Publication Date: July 15th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn’t anything new. They’d been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the ‘man’ in man-whore. He’s never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn’t want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she’s perfect and she’s everything. But the feelings he has for her, he’s always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they’re stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor’easter, there’s nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

I have to admit that I’m a huge, huge fan of the friends-to-lovers trope. Whether the couple is best friends already or become close friends during the book, it doesn’t matter to me. If it’s done well, if I’m rooting for the couple to end up together, then I’m going to love the book. In this case, Frigid is the story of best-friends-since-they-were-younguns Sydney and Kyler. So of course I had to read this book.

When I pick up a book by Jennifer L. Armentrout (or J. Lynn, her pen name), I know that I’ll for sure be enjoying the book, if not loving it. And though Frigid isn’t one of my favorites of her books, I did have a fun time reading it. I love the way Jennifer writes, which is so real, full of heart, and humorous. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with either Sydney or Kyler, so I couldn’t love the book very much. That’s not to say I didn’t like the book at all, because I did! Frigid was never boring, though it did get slow at times.

Sydney is the goody-two-shoes girl who’s always had to watch her best friend Kyler go through his manwhoring ways. And Kyler is one serious manwhore. I don’t really have an issue with guys who have slept with a ton of girls, but I did keep wondering why Sydney kept on loving Kyler even seeing him with hordes of girls. And eventually you get to see a sweeter side of Kyler that he never shows any girl but Sydney. The book is told from both their POVs, though most of it is told from Sydney’s POV, and it’s obvious to the reader that they’re in love with each other. The best part of Frigid is seeing Kyler and Sydney finally realize the depth of their feelings for each other, and yet still keep their friendship intact. They still argue, banter, and do everything that they did as best friends, but they also add the intimacy of being in love with each other.

The book was kind of weird, in that it moved too slow and too fast at the same time. Or I should say that Sydney and Kyler progressed to the hot and heavy stuff really quickly, too quickly for me, and yet their realization of their feelings for each other was just too slow. Most of the time, I was just wishing for them to just get a clue and admit their feelings for each other, because they honestly had no clue how one felt about the other! Of course, this is probably an important factor in stories with the whole friends-to-lovers thing, but still, Kyler and Sydney were just too clueless and oblivious.

There’s a bit of a suspenseful theme to the story that blows up towards the end of the novel, and I was really surprised that the suspense actually got that big and far. But besides this, the rest of the book is pretty lighthearted. If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a couple who is best friends, then Frigid is for you!

3.5 hearts!
3.5-hearts

lacey

Summer 2013 Giveaway Hop

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Summer Giveaway Hop 2013

It’s the Summer 2013 Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Book Hounds!

August 1st to 7th

Here are your choices! Click the covers to go the goodreads page :)

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawasea of tranquility 1

Walking DisasterGrave MercyBloodlines by Richelle Mead

The Statistical Probability of Love at First SIghtScore_CVR.inddSiege and Storm

PRIZE: 1 winner can choose one of the following options:
THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa
THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Katja Millay
WALKING DISASTER by Jamie McGuire
GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers
BLOODLINES by Richelle Mead
THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by Jennifer E. Smith
CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally
an ARC of SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo

This giveaway is US only! Entrants must be 16 or older.

Ends August 7th.

Just click on the Rafflecopter link below and enter the giveaway!

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