Waiting on Wednesday #54

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.
My pick this week is:

Title: The Truth About You & Me

Series: none

Author: Amanda Grace

Release date: September 8th, 2013 by Flux

Summary:

Smart girls aren't supposed to do stupid things.Madelyn Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she's so gifted that she can attend college through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets Bennet. He's cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she's endured - and missed out on - in order to excel academically and please her parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she's falling in love.
There's only one problem. Bennet is Madelyn's college professor, and he thinks she's eighteen - because she hasn't told him the truth.
The story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to Bennet - both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.

 Why I want to read it:

I'm curious about it. I mean, the cover is cute, and the story seems promising. The only thing that is the unknown variable here is whether I would like the writing style... if it's really a bunch of letters... we'll see I guess. It's not like I haven't read a diary-type books before...

So how about you? What amazing book are you waiting on this week?  

Guest Post by Eleanor Wood: Why I LOVE Twins so MUCH!!!

Hello my dearest readers,

Today is a day I am dedicating to the blog tour of Gemini Rising by author Eleanor Wood. Which is why, Eleanor has been amazing to write this guest post for all of us to read! Please, enjoy! :)

Do you know what I think the most annoying thing about being a twin must be? It’s nothing to do with mistaken identity or joint birthday presents. No, the answer is: people like me, who are fascinated by twins and their amazingness. Seriously, it must be very annoying.

But I can’t help it. I do think twins are amazing. There’s nothing else in the world quite like identical twins – so much so that, to a thicky like me who barely passed GCSE Science, they seem almost magical.

Sorana, the heroine of Gemini Rising, feels similarly when Elyse and Melanie (identical twins) join her year at school – they are not only beautiful but unimaginably cool. Of course, they are also full of hidden dark magic and secrets.

As my teen years took place in the 90s, my sister and I grew up with Sweet Valley High, the Olsen twins back when they were cute little kids, and programmes like Sister Sister (identical twins are separated at birth and then accidentally meet as teenagers – hilarity ensues!), as well as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Buffy. Somehow all of these seem to have melded in my mind to form one set of supercool, supernatural twins.

In my early teenage years, there were twins in my class at school. They were blonde, beautiful and definitely cool. I didn’t know them well, but you couldn’t fail to notice them in the classrooms and corridors.

Another set of twins I know spent their own teenage years perfecting a fake ‘psychic twin’ act, just to freak people out. The idea of being able to do this practically made me die of envy.

By nature, I am definitely a fan. I could talk all day long about my favourite bands/books/films. If I like something, I have to keep it/obsess over it/stick it on the wall. If I like an outfit, I wear it for days/weeks/months on end. Every time I go to the hairdresser, I take a picture of Cat Power. I am an enthusiast about the things I love, and I want to share them with everyone in the world until they tell me to shut up.

So, that’s why I wrote a story about twins. Not because of those scary girls The Shining or some crazy ancient myth – but because I’ve always kind of wished I could be one.

Eleanor (Ellie) can be found here:

Amazon.co.uk:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CWL2C7Y

Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CWL2C7Y

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18046480-gemini-rising

Twitter: @eleanor_wood

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/eleanorwoodwriter

Blog: http://eleanor-wood.blogspot.co.uk

Pinterest inspiration board:  http://pinterest.com/helloecw/gemini-rising/

 

Book Review: And "With All My Soul" too!!!

Well, taking in account that I was very disappointed by the previous installment, I didn't have very high hopes for this one. I even decided to wait it out, and pick it when I was sure I was ready for it. But guess what? All that preparation was futile. It didn't really prepare me for what I got.

With All My Soul exceeded whatever high expectations I might've had! It was brilliant, it was mysterious. It was nicely written, nicely thought out. Nicely done overall. Or no, wait. Nicely isn't a strong enough word to summarize my laughter, my tears, my expectations, my hopes for this one. Oh no.

Let me say that Rachel Vincent has once again..... (full review here)

Book review: Cindi Madsen has rocked my boat again!

NOTE: Thanks to Entangled for letting me read this amazing book!

The only other book I've read by Cindi Madsen is All The Broken Pieces. It was so good, that I just had to request to read this one too. To tell you the truth, I'm glad I did, because it definitely didn't disappoint.

Act Like You Love Me is a very light read, full of romance, memories and realistic characters. It had me laughing and crying. There were places I felt extremely overjoyed, and scenes that literally made my heart clench. In other words, it was amazing.

Full review here.

Book review: Ever (or never?) by Jessa Russo

NOTE: I received the eARC from Netgalley.

Well, where should I start? This is one of those times when I don't know what to say. Well, I do but.. I... umm...gosh. It's hard to write a negative review, but *sigh* I gotta do it anyway.

So here goes...

In this book we meet Ever, this absolutely gorgeous girl, who has no idea how beautiful she is. Too cliche, but you know. Anyway, she's lost her best friend (Frankie) just last year, but he stayed on as a ghost, who almost never speaks. Well, most of the time he's brooding, and in the beginning I had no idea he was a ghost. I thought I was not getting the story right. Well anyway. So Ever's always been in love with him. How totally tragic, right? Well, if it weren't so cliche, a.k.a the impossible love, and if it weren't so badly written I might've actually liked it.

Then the picture enters Toby. To read full review, click here.

Some awesome rules, if you want to disappear...

My review of this book is a courtesy to Netgalley.

I've always loved books/movies with stories about the witness protection program. I don't really know why, they just intrigue me. All the needs to change one's identity, getting to start over... new life, new place, that sort of thing.

That's why I really enjoyed TRFD. Although I could feel the numbness spreading as I read fake-name Meg's account of her life, I was still pretty intrigued by the whole process of up and just getting a whole new identity. As if your life before never was. Fascinating, isn't it?

So in general, I should say that this was a light, fast-paced read that, for a while, snuck me into the mind of our heroine, a.k.a. the girl with many names but just two faces. It was a truly captivating story, that held my attention from beginning to end.

Full review is available here.

Waiting on Wednesday #53

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.
My pick this week is:

Title: Glittering Promises

Series: Grand Tour Series, Book #3

Author: Lisa Tawn Bergren

Release date: October 1st, 2013 by David C. Cook

Summary:

Lisa T. Bergren’s popular Grand Tour series concludes as Cora Kensington journeys farther into Italy, wrestles with a terrible ultimatum from her father, and comes to terms with the Father who will never fail her.

America’s newest heiress must decide if her potential fortune is rationale enough to give up her freedom and all that God is leading her toward. And when her newly-discovered siblings are threatened with ruin, her quandary deepens. Then as Cora nears Rome, more journalists are track the news story of the decade—“Copper Cora,” the rags-to-riches girl—and want to know more about her family and the men vying for her attention. Meanwhile, a charming Italian countess decides that if Cora isn’t going to claim Will’s heart, she might just try...

 Why I want to read it:

Are you kidding me? This is one of the best historical YA novels I've ever read! It's absolutely amazing! I can't wait for Glittering Promises to come out so I'd see what happens to Cora and Will. And Pierre, sweet sweet Pierre. Will he even be included in this book at all? *sigh*

So how about you? What amazing book are you waiting on this week?  

Would you chance Grave Consequences?

NOTE: The eARC was provided by Netgalley.

This was one absolutely spectacular story with amiable characters, marvelous sights to mind-see and great conflicts to work through. I'm happy that Grave Consequences not only met my expectations but very well exceeded them. As a follow up to Glamorous Illusions, I'd been afraid of how Mrs. Bergren will continue with the development of the story and characters, but now I know there was no need to worry.

I was up for the Grand Tour adventure as soon as I started reading Glamorous Illusions, and now that I've finished Grave Consequences, I can say that I'm thirsty for more. I hope there's a third book to end off the tour, because I'm really looking forward to reading about all those great castles, fancy palaces and gorgeous nature sights that Mrs. Bergren enticed me with!

Now, let me plunge a little deeper and say something more about the characters and the events that took place. I'll try to keep it as spoiler free as possible.

To see full review, please follow this link.

I was dared, what about you?

NOTE: I received this eARC from Netgalley.

This is one fantastic book! I loved it from cover to cover, and will be sure to re-read it.

I can't think of a strong enough word to describe the story in this novel. Perhaps phenomenal, or brilliant? I don't know but it was both of those and so much more!

After reading Pushing the Limits, I was expecting something grand from Katie McGarry in this one, and Alas! I'm not disappointed at all.

There was supertastic passion, there was hot-bordering-on-mad romance, there was real friendship and true loyalty. There was also a terrifying drug addiction, domestic violence and problems that could make your head spin and your heart beat hard in your chest. No wonder I enjoyed every second of it.

I think it's safe to say that Dare You To was better and even more satisfying than Pushing the Limits.

Full review is available here.

My Favourite Mistake won me over!

Many thanks to Elise from MIRA INK for giving me the egalley of this one.

This is by far one of the best New Adult novels I've read lately. It ranks right up there with Abbi Glines' Sea Breeze series. So, if you enjoyed those, you're sure gonna love this one too.

The plot is really nice and simple. There's a tough girl with a past she is running away from. There is also an awesome guy, who hasn't had it all bright and sunny either. There's also a bet. And a very, very sweet punch in the face, that sort of put the wheel spinning.

I can't say that the story is particularly original, but somehow that doesn't really matter. So what if it's boy meets girl and they fall hard for each other? There is no insta-love, so that certainly helps too. Besides, Hunter isn't some bizarre lunatic with a fantasy for male dominance (where most other fictional males are always so commanding, gah!). Actually Hunter is pretty sweet and I liked his love for music and his fierce protectiveness of those he loves. He has his loyalties figured out, and believe it or not, they're in the right place!

Full review is available here.

Book Review: Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza

NOTE: This is an eARC I got from Netgalley.

This is a nicely done piece of work, that takes the reader on an adventure packed with lots of action, sci-fi elements and of course, teen romance. Taking this book in your hands, you better be prepared for a journey of self-discovery, which may or may not take you where you intended to go.

Mila 2.0 started off just as any other book. Girl moves to new town because of some family tragedy. She meets, of course, a boy, a gets attracted to him. But that's where the similarities end. Because Mila really isn't just your average 16 year old girl. No, she's actually an android (an intelligent humanoid robot), who didn't turn out as machine-like as the military had planned. That piece of new information pushed the story into an unstoppable streak of action that continued until the very last chapter.

What impressed me very much was that the author did a very good job incorporating the machine with the human inside one body and mind.

To see full review, please follow this link.