Waiting on Wednesday: The Other Normals

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  This week, my waiting on Wednesday is:

Title: The Other Normals
Author: Ned Vizzini
Publication Date: 9/25/2012
Purchase: Amazon 

Goodreads Summary:

Given the chance, fifteen-year-old Peregrine “Perry” Eckert would dedicate every waking moment to Creatures & Caverns, an epic role-playing game rich with magical creatures, spell casting, and deadly weapons. The world of C&C is where he feels most comfortable in his own skin, so when his parents ship him off to summer camp Perry is sure he’s in for the worst summer of his life.

Everything changes, however, when Perry gets to camp and stumbles into the World of the Other Normals. Perry’s new otherworldly friends need his help to save their princess and prevent mass violence. As they embark on their quest together, Perry realizes that his nerdy childhood has uniquely prepared him to be a great warrior in this world, and maybe even a hero.
Bestselling author Ned Vizzini delivers a compulsively readable and wildly original story about the winding and often hilarious path to manhood.

 

 

 

 

Sounds like a very interesting read to me. I can't wait for it to come out!

 

What's your "Waiting on Wednesday"?

Review: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Publication Date: 6-12-12

Publisher: Egmont USA

Pages: 336
Format: eBook

Source: NetGalley

Challenge: 2012 eBook Challenge

Goodreads | Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

This book was great! I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was written in Kaleb's POV instead of Emerson's.  I fully expected Emerson to once again narrate this story as she did the first, but the change of pace was interesting and fit very well in the story!

I don't want to give too much away in case you haven't had a chance to read Hourglass.  Basically this book continues from Hourglass and delves deeper into the world that Myra McEntire created.  We learn more about each of the characters, as well as more about the entire world.  The bit of romance included in this book is so fitting.  There isn't too much romance to be overbearing, but hearing about the brewing romances among characters just made it so much better.  Each character contains the spark of something that makes you want to love them.

I love the mystery this book contains, as well as the paranormal aspects.  It's a mix of everything I love all bundled up into a pretty little bow! I can't get enough of these characters.  Emerson and Michael are amazing together.  Kaleb is such a gentlemen and a person I wouldn't mind knowing myself.  

The once aspect of this book I did NOT like was the ending!  How could she leave us hanging like that?! I don't know if I can wait until book number three comes out to find out what happens.  I have so many questions going through my head I just can't take it!  In all seriousness, you must read this book.  I loved it.  I loved it to pieces, and I will likely be reading it again soon because I can't get enough!

Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway: Undertow by Callie Kingston

Title: Undertow

Author: Callie Kingston

Publication Date: 2/18/2012

Publisher: Carolwood Press

Pages: 230

Format: eBook

Source: Blog Tour

Challenge: 2012 eBook Challenge

Goodreads | Amazon

Book Summary:

While she sleeps beside a log on the wild Oregon coast, a rogue wave pulls Marissa into the sea. Now she dreams each night of a merman who rescues her. Obsessed with returning to this beautiful creature, she again risks her life in the frigid ocean.

Will Marissa remain lost forever in the eddies of her mind, or can real love save her from the abyss? Sometimes, the dangers which lie within are the deadliest.

Where to start with this one?  Marissa is an amazing young woman.  She has suffered a lot of traumatic experiences throughout her life, and at the beginning of the book, she suffers another one.  Marissa finds out her boyfriend Drew is cheating on her, and escapes to the beach to be alone and just think.  While there, she's whisked out to sea by the current and saved by what she believes to be a merman.  

Marissa experiences a lot of craziness in the book, including her own mental breakdown.  She goes through a lot of emotions and the author did a great job expressing those emotions to the reader with a lot of tact and sensitivity.  

There was a bit of a lull midway through the book in which I wasn't quite with it, but I'm glad that I stuck it out.  The ending sucked me in and made me devour the book so much quicker.  It was a great read overall and I really enjoyed it.  I fell in love with Marissa and her new boyfriend, Jim.  Marissa is a skeptical young woman who has a lot of emotions to deal with.  Jim is a great guy who is there for her and willing to help in any way that he possibly can.  

I don't want to say too much more, because I don't want to give anything away.  Basically, if you like contemporary fiction I suggest you pick up this book and give it a try.  Push your way through the middle because I believe you will REALLY enjoy it!

Callie Kingston's home is in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with many furry creatures (including her husband). She holds a masters degree in psychology and has worked in schools for many years. When not writing, she likes to explore the outdoors, especially the forests and beaches along the Oregon coast. She also enjoys a great cup of cappuccino, which happily is easily found in her part of the world.

Click HERE to take a look at the other tour stops, including giveaway opportunities!! 


AND without further ado...check out the e-book giveaway below, provided by the lovely author.  Don't forget, there is also a possibility of winning a SIGNED print copy and a $20 gift card from AToMR Blog Tours!


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday: What's Left of Me

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  This week, my waiting on Wednesday is:

Title: What's Left of Me
Author: Kat Zhang
Publication Date: 9/18/2012
Purchase: Amazon 

Goodreads Summary:

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.

 

 

 

 

I'm not going to lie, the cover is what originally drew my attention to this book.  I was browsing on Amazon (like usual) and this book was in my recommendations.  I was like, "hmm, I wonder what it's about."  Of course, after reading the summary I couldn't pass up putting this on my TBR list! It sounds fantastic!

 

 

 

What's your "Waiting on Wednesday"?

Review: Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Publication Date: 9-13-2011

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Pages: 640

Format: Hardcover

Source: Purchased
Challenge: N/A

Goodreads | Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they’d rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.

Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body—no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run—on the field and off—Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he’ll be living a life his ancestors would never understand.

Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect?

A riveting and startling companion to the bestselling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins's Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves.

Perfect is a companion novel to Impulse, and I think you must read Impulse before reading Perfect.  It will be a much more fulfilling experience.  Impulse gives you the background information you need to understand the situation among these teens even better.  Cara’s parents are ridiculous in their expectations, and it is these expectations that caused Conner to commit suicide.  Kendra is determined to be perfect, but perfect in her eyes is unhealthy in most others.  Sean is willing to do anything to become a professional baseball player, whether those things are legal or not.  Andre doesn’t want to follow in his parent’s footsteps, but rather take his own path into the world of dance. 

Each of these teens has an obstacle to becoming “perfect” that they must overcome.  Their parents have different expectations of them that don’t make sense to these kids.  They want to be perfect, but perfect is really in the eyes of the beholder.  Ellen Hopkins touched on so many subjects in this novel that included eating disorders, sexual discovery, and racism.  These are all tough topics to broach in a novel, but Hopkins did it perfectly.  I was touched by each of these stories.  Cara, Kendra, Sean, and Andre all had an important story to tell that resulted in an important life lesson for each of them.  I think we all learn by making mistakes, and that is the only way that these four could learn as well.

This is another novel written in verse by Hopkins.  She tells an amazing, detailed story filled with depth in such few words.  This isn’t poetry in the typical sense, but rather a different way to tell a story.  The story has as much detail as any other novel, but doesn’t have as many words, and is told in a way that just makes you connect better with each character.  Emotionally, Hopkins’ books will leave you raw and open.  Every time I read one I am thinking about them for weeks, even months to come.  They are stories that I will never forget.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to have these novels available to read, and I think they are beneficial to more than just the teen community of readers.  Another fantastic job by Ellen Hopkins!

RAK June!

It's RAK June!! The bloggers, Vanessa and Isalys, over at Book Soulmates created Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) which basically means that you give a book to someone without expecting anything in return for your kind heart. :)  I haven't done this in a couple of months, and now that I have a new job (and a little extra spending money), I decided to participate this month!

Below you will find the rules for RAK, directly from the Book Soulmates website:

COMPLETE RULES RE-CAP:
Please read carefully & follow all rules!  Thank you!

• Please sign-up each month that you can participate (and by participate, we mean give as well as receive).
• Show off your participation by grabbing our RAK button (code is in the right sidebar).
• Create a wish list (on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog, etc) and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger directly for their information.
• Once you receive a RAK, send us an our new email to [rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com] so that we can update the Google Doc. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEND EMAILS TO THIS ADDRESS!
• E-book participation is limited to files being gifted directly to a person from the e-book store. Amazon's Kindle Store is set up to allow this, as well as the Kobo store and we believe Barnes & Noble with Nook as well.
• At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K by making a "RAK Wrap-Up" post.  This post should include who you SENT gifts to as well who you RECEIVED gifts from :)

OPEN TO EVERYONE including all our International brethren!

Remember, there's always the Book Depository and they offer FREE shipping!

Easy peezy!!

 

 

 

Here's a link to my Amazon wishlist if you feel the urge to send me anything:  Lilly's Wishlist.

HAPPY GIVING!!!

Waiting on Wednesday: Survive

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  This week, my waiting on Wednesday is:

Title: Survive
Author: Alex Morel
Publication Date: 8/2/2012
Purchase: Amazon 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodreads Summary:

Hatchet meets Lost in this modern-day adventure tale of one girl's reawakening

Jane is on a plane on her way home to Montclair, New Jersey, from a mental hospital. She is about to kill herself. Just before she can swallow a lethal dose of pills, the plane hits turbulence and everything goes black. Jane wakes up amidst piles of wreckage and charred bodies on a snowy mountaintop. There is only one other survivor: a boy named Paul, who inspires Jane to want to fight for her life for the first time.

Jane and Paul scale icy slopes and huddle together for warmth at night, forging an intense emotional bond. But the wilderness is a vast and lethal force, and only one of them will survive.

 

 

 

 

I cannot wait to read this one! I already have it on pre-order because it sounds so good!  AND the cover?! I can't say enough good things about it.  I love it.  Plain and simple.  I just really need to get my hands on this book!

 

What's your "Waiting on Wednesday"? 

Top Ten Tuesday: A post NOT about books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week the topic is...

Top Ten Blogs/Sites You Read That AREN'T about Books!

I'm not even going to begin to tell you how difficult this was for me.  Honestly, I don't really visit many blogs that aren't book related.  However, there are some cooking, crafting and coupon blogs I enjoy.  So...if you don't like cooking and/or crafting, then I understand if you completely ignore this post! Here are my top 5 in no particular order (10 is too hard!):

1. Skinny Taste.  This website has been my addiction this year.  Her recipes are fantastic and I love knowing the Weight Watchers point values even though I'm not on Weight Watchers.  It really keeps me more aware of what I'm eating.

2. Budget Savvy Diva.  Her blog is great.  She always posts the latest giveaways/free samples, as well as other money saving tips/deals.  I like her recipes too.  I've tried a few of them, and I haven't found one I don't like!  

3. Pocket Your Dollars.  I know, this is another money saving blog.  It helps me out with my shopping lists every week because she tailors deals for my area!  It's really helpful knowing what is on sale where, and what coupons would work to make even better deals.  I am in no way a steady couponer, but when it comes to certain things I definitely use coupons.

4. Twitter.  It's not a blog, but it is a site! I'm including it because I have a great time on Twitter, whether book related or not.  It's a great place to talk to friends near and far, and connect with some awesome people who I would not have otherwise known!

5. Organizing Thoughts - Merri Nelson-Joy.  This is her Pinterest page.  I LOVE the organizing ideas that she comes up with! I hope that I can soon put many of them into practice.  I really love anything on Pinterest, but this is one that I could think of that I really enjoy and hope to accomplish someday. 

Well, there are my Top 5 NOT book-related sites.  Yeah, kind of lame, but I enjoy them! Hopefully you guys have more exciting websites to share than cooking/cleaning ones!

Review: Flirting with Disaster by Rhonda Stapleton

Publication Date: 3-9-2010

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 256

Format: Paperback

Source: Contest

Challenge: N/A

Goodreads | Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

Felicity is a total romantic. That's why she follows her heart—not the rules—in her job as a cupid. But when Felicity turns her matchmaking magic on her best friend, Andy, it's Andy who breaks their golden rule: friends always come first. Andy is so wrapped up in her new guy that she's ditching everyone else. How can Felicity stop her BFF from letting a BF come between them?

Meanwhile, Felicity decides to get over her crush on Derek by setting him up with someone else—but in her impulsive haste, she accidentally matches him with the whole school, and now everyone is in love with him. The entire student body is headed toward heartbreak, just weeks before prom. Does Felicity have what it takes to make everyone's heart happy…including her own?

Oh to be Felicity and have to make matches in high school of your friends and people you don’t know.  Could you imagine that?  I would make terrible love matches!  I am often surprised with the friends of mine that end up together.  They seem like such odd couplings that make each other so happy.

Anyway, this is book number two in the Stupid Cupid series by Rhonda Stapleton.  Book number one is titled, as you may have guessed, Stupid Cupid.  Felicity is a match-maker.  She works as a cupid to match up people in her high school that she thinks would be great couples.  She ends up making some major mistakes in this book.  The most critical mistake? Setting up Derek with the entire school, rather than setting him up with one person.  Oops. How is Felicity going to fix this? 

I love this series! It’s such a cute little love story.  Felicity so badly wants to find love herself that she is like randomly setting up people at school.  I don’t think she puts as much thought into it as she should, but fixing up Derek with the whole school had to be the worst mistake in the eyes of her employer.  As for Felicity, this mistake could work out.  Derek and Felicity are spending a ton of time together because she is one of the few people that aren’t affected by the cupid e-mail.  They get to know each other, but what is going to happen when this e-mail wares off?  I guess you’ll have to read it and find out!

I have book #3 sitting on my shelf waiting patiently for me to read.  Honestly, I don’t know why these weren’t on my TBR list before winning them in a contest.  They are just adorable reads that make me smile.  I want Felicity to be happy, but her teenage mistakes make laugh and remember my own time as a teenager (which wasn’t very long ago!).  So, pick up book number one in this series, Stupid Cupid, from the library, a friend or wherever and take a chance at it! You might enjoy the teenage cuteness and humor.

Review: Girl Steals Guy by Kelly Green

Publication Date: 11-21-2011
Publisher: Backlit Fictions
Pages: 62
Format: E-book

Source: Author
Challenge: N/A

Goodreads | Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

As Abby has learned, she is now a Shadow, sent to inhabit the lives of strangers in trouble.  Dropped into the life of a gorgeous senior with a heartbroken best friend, Abby is instructed to "reunite the lovers" by her cute but maddening Guardian, a 19th century ghostly teenager named Will.  Now Abby must navigate high school keg parties, football games and power couples, only to discover that love and revenge are sometimes that same thing.

 

This is the second installment of Kelly Green’s Abby Grace mystery series.  Abby Grace basically lives her life as a spirit.  She ends up in the bodies of other people for a short time to help them get through a difficult time.  This time, she is trying to figure out how to help a best friend help her own best friend through a break-up.  Abby Grace still has her Guardian around her who tries to make sure she is on the right path when it comes to providing some help.  It turns out that this time Abby’s job is a little more difficult, and a little more in depth. 

Once again, this was another good short story.  It’s about 60 pages long and an easy engaging read.  I wish we could learn more about the characters, but there doesn’t seem to be enough time for that.  I enjoy the quick read when I’m looking for something to take me out of a reading slump, but it left me hoping for more.  I wanted to get more in depth and learn more about the characters and the plot-line, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.  It was definitely a good story, but I think it could have been better if expanded upon.