Waiting on Wednesday #44

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

The new novel from the bestselling author of You Had Me At Hello. What if the last person you wanted to see was the person you needed? After the runaway success of You Had Me At Hello, Mhairi McFarlane is back with a new cast of characters in her second book, Here’s Looking At You. In essence it’s an ugly duckling tale. Our heroine Aureliana returns to school after fifteen years for a reunion. School doesn’t hold happy memories for her, as being a roly poly Italian (known as the Italian Galleon), and always armed with a Tupperware full of pungent Mediterranean food, she was bullied incessantly throughout her years there. Now in her 30s, Aureliana wants to put the past behind her once and for all and face up to the bullies who made her life hell. But she is much-changed from the girl she once was – all curves and because I’m worth it hair – and no one recognises her when she arrives. Losing her bottle, she backs out on her plan for revenge and slinks off, hoping never to be reminded of her years at school again. But fate gets in the way, and after the reunion her path keeps crossing with James – major hunk and Aureliana’s major crush back at school. But alas, as a cronie to the bullies, Aureliana to this day believes that his beautiful exterior hides an ugly interior. As they continue to cross paths a love/hate relationship ensues until eventually something shifts, and they both start to discover what the person underneath is really like…Full of Mhairi’s trademark laugh out loud humour, Here’s Looking At You is a novel about facing your demons and being happy with who you really are.

I adored Mhairi’s first book, so I’ll definitely be snapping up Here’s Looking At You. Sounds perfect for a cosy winter’s night.       

Due to be released by Harper Collins in December 2013.

 What are you looking forward to this week?  Please share your WoW in the comments!

Top Ten: Books I’ve Read in 2013 (so far)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. 

Today I am sharing with you the top ten (or eleven… shh) books I’ve read so far this year. These books weren’t necessarily published this year, and likewise there are some that were published this year but I read last year, so aren’t in this list. So, in no particular order: 

Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb: I know, I know, I keep raving about this book (check out my review here). But if you love geekiness, contemporary YA that will make you laugh and books from a teenage boy’s POV, then you HAVE to pick this up. Seriously.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa: I was convinced to read this by Daphne and Faye, and I’m so glad I did. The best vampire book I have read in a long while, I am dying to read the sequel as soon as I’ve written my review for this.

Losing It by Cora Carmack: My first big NA book, this set the standard for all future NA (one that not many other books meet, sadly). Funny and sexy, this book (and author) have quickly become one of my favourites (check out my review here). 

Every Seventh Wave by Daniel Glattauer: A sequel to one of my favourite books ever, it felt like I waited ages to read this! But it was oh so good, and definitely goes on my treasured shelf (see my review here).

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: I read this one on holiday, and thinking back I really enjoyed it. Romance, heartbreak, friendship and sadness, this book was a real emotional rollercoaster.

                

Happy Families by Janey Fraser: I love how lighthearted Janey’s books are. I like reading about kids/parents, and the multiple points of view makes for lots of drama! 

You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett: This was such a refreshing read. While tackling some issues, it was a fun, musical read that I just devoured. 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: You guys. I cannot express how much I adore this author. Like, when I eventually get to meet her, I am never going to let go. Her latest book, about fanfiction? NEED I SAY MORE.

            

You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane: I just adored this book, and I thought it was chick fic at its finest. 

Pivot Point by Kasie West: One of my favourite debuts of 2013 (check out my review here), Pivot Point has romance, drama and dual timelines! It sort of tested the whole idea of fate and destiny and I LOVED IT. 

Keeping You A Secret by Julie Peters: I loved this LGBT YA, and loved how it tackled girl/girl teen relationships. Definitely an author that I need to read more of. 

My list appears to be quite romance/contemporary heavy! Are there any action/thriller YA or middle grade that I’m missing? Leave me some recommendations! Do you agree/disagree with my choices? Link me to your TTT below! 

Letterbox Love #12

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

This is a 2 week compilation as I didn’t have time to post last week. However, my haul is tiny compared to that of my birthday-week. First the print books I received: 

From the library I got ‘When I Fall in Love‘ Miranda Dickinson. It’s a book that my mum enjoyed, and is perfect for the snowy weather! ‘You Had Me at Hello‘ by Mhairi McFarlane has a really cute cover, and is a book that I have heard lots about. Unfortunately lots of other people think so too, as it has a huge waiting list! I better read this quick. 

My first winning book ‘Send Me a Sign‘ by Tiffany Schmidt came this week! Aylee from Recovering Potter Addict let me choose any book and it took me aaaages but I finally decided on this one, as I have heard good reviews and I LOVE YA cancer books (though that sounds pretty morbid!). A huge thank you to Aylee for this 😀

For my ebook collection:

 

 

‘Dear Cassie‘ and ‘The Next Forever‘, both by Lisa Burstein were sent to me to review for the author via twitter. I adore the cover for ‘Dear Cassie’ and have been waiting for it for ages so it is nice to add it to my collection. ‘The Next Forever’ is actually a sequel to ‘Pretty Amy‘ which I haven’t read, but I’m going to read it anyway so I can post my review soon.  

 

 

 

I also won a copy of ‘I Choose You‘ by Bethany Lopez who sent me a copy personally. Likewise, I haven’t read the first one but fingers crossed it doesn’t make too much of a difference. 

 

Renae from Rolling With the Moments has sent me a copy of ‘Catching Jordan‘ by Miranda Kenneally from her Best of 2012 Giveaway. Thank you very much for this, and even better it is the first in the series! Yay! I just need to figure out how to send an epub to my kindle and I will be extremely happy! 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for ‘Dare You To‘ by Kate McGarry. I have been dying to read ‘Pushing the Limits‘, but I stupidly sent it to my tablet instead of my kindle, and there’s no way (that I know of) to send it over. But I must force myself to read that first. The cover looks awesome, and very steamy! 

 

 

 

  What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? I’d love to hear from you!