Waiting on Wednesday #41

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

Kara is a high school junior who’s loving life. She’s popular, has a great group of friends and an amazing boyfriend, and she’s a shoe-in for homecoming queen. Even though her parents can’t stop fighting and her ex-boyfriend can’t seem to leave her alone, Kara won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect year. It’s Friday night, and Kara arrives at a party, upset after hearing her parents having another one of their awful fights, and sees another girl with her hands all over her boyfriend. Furious, Kara leaves to take a drive, and, as she’s crossing an intersection, a car comes out of nowhere and slams into the driver’s side of Kara’s car. 

 When Kara wakes up, she has no memory of the night before. Where is she? Why are her parents crying? And, most importantly — why can’t she feel her legs? As Kara is forced to adjust to her new life, where her friends aren’t who they seemed to be and her once-adoring boyfriend is mysteriously absent, she starts to realize that what matters in life isn’t what happens to you — it’s the choices you make and the people you love.

Co-written by “Push Girls” star Chelsie Hill, whose real life closely mirrors Kara’s experience, this novel will open the eyes of readers everywhere who have never met someone who lives with paralysis.

OH. Already I can tell that Push Girl is going to be an emotional read.    

Due to be released by St Martins Press in March 2014.

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

Waiting on Wednesday #40

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

From the author of LIE, a powerful new young adult novel about a fateful Long Island summer and the lives of three young people who will never be the same.

Dreamy, poetic Claire, seventeen, has spent the last few months taking care of her six-year-old sister, Izzy, as their mother lies in a hospital bed recovering from a stroke. Claire believes she has everything under control until she meets “Brent” online. Brent appears to be a kindred spirit, and Claire is initially flattered by his attention. But when she meets Max, the awkward state senator’s son, her feelings become complicated.

Max, also seventeen, has been working the worst summer job ever at the beachside Snack Shack. He’s also been popping painkillers. His parents—more involved in his father’s re-election than in their son’s life—fail to see what’s going on with him.

Working alongside Max is Barkley, twenty-one. Lonely and obsessive, Barkley has been hearing a voice in his head. No one—not his parents, not his co-workers—realizes that Barkley is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Until the voice in his head orders him to take out his gun.

Narrated in turns by Claire, Max, and Barkley, Before My Eyes captures a moment when possibilities should be opening up, but instead everything teeters on the brink of destruction.

What a blurb! I feel like I want to know more about these characters NOW. They all have such intriguing stories to tell; Before My Eyes definitely looks like one to watch out for.    

Due to be released by St Martins Press in February 2014.

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

Letterbox Love #23

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

This week I’m doing something a bit different, and recording my first EVER vlog! I’ve got lots of books to showcase this week and figured it would be quicker. I love watching other book hauls via vlog so thought I’d give it a go. I’m still gonna link all the books to Goodreads below. Let me know in the comments if you like the vlog or prefer a blog post. I won’t take it personally! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD-mwL8SjoE

 Won: 

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Beauty Queens by Libby Bray

Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien

Wake by Amanda Hocking

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Grave Mercy by RL LaFevers

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Thanks to Kate Ormand for all the above!

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Heart of Danger by Eliot Schrefer

Thanks to O’Dell from The Book Twirps for the TBD gift voucher!

Received for Review:

The Soterion Mission by Stewart Ross

Diary of a Mall Girl by Luisa Plaja

Thanks to Curious Fox for both the above.

Bought:

Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Paper Towns by John Green

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Freebies:

Metawars 1.0 by Jeff Norton. Thanks very much to Jeff and Canada House.

Pieces of Me by Darlene Ryan. Thanks to Canada House for the freebie selection.

 Ebooks: 

        

The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden by Philippa Dowding. Thanks to Dundurn and Netgalley.

The Diaries of Bluebell Gadsby: After Iris by Natasha Farrant. Thanks to Faber and Faber and Netgalley.

Day One by Nate Kenyon from St Martins Press and Netgalley.  

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?  How do you like a book haul vlog as opposed to an actual post? I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #22

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

Up till yesterday this would’ve been a tiny haul. However, it was payday on Friday so I decided to splurge a little. I visited a nearby shopping centre, only to find that my favourite branch of The Works (Lakeside for you fellow Englanders) is closing down! On the plus side, this means SALE. However, they are moving to a smaller site. Long-term this sucks, as it will mean it will only have a tiny selection of books that will be basically the same as other stores. But anyway, onto my haul. I purchased 14 (I know, oops?!) books at The Works, and paid £12.25. Needless to say, I was a happy bunny. So first, the books I purchase at The Works: 

I have read If I Stay by Gayle Forman but definitely will want to read it again at some point. I’ve seen the film version of He’s Just Not That Into You, but I thought it would be interesting to see what the book is like, written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo.  

I didn’t realize how many Sophie McKenzie books I had picked up! Girl, Missing has been on my to-read pile for a while. The Medusa Project: The Set-Up is the first of a series about kids with abilities, and sounds really interesting. Blood Ransom is the second in a series about clones. 

James Dashner’s The Kill Order is a prequel to the Maze Runner series (first film coming soon). It is actually in my pile of library books, so buying it means I can return the other copy to the library. My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent is a bit paranormal for me, but I remember hearing other bloggers rave about it, so I thought I’d see what the fuss was about. 

Joe Craig’s Jimmy Coates series is one I feel like I should have read years ago. About a teenage assain, it sounds like EXACTLY the kind of the thing I enjoy. So I decided to get one of the books (Power) to push me in the right direction. And then I spotted Sabotage for 25p so, you know. 

Dial L For Loser by Lisi Harrison is part of a collection of books that I have a couple of already. A Midsummer Tights Dream is part of Louise Rennison’s latest series. Although I’ve only read a couple of hers before, they seem perfect for a giggle. I actually spotted Wither by Lauren DeStefano after I had paid for all my goodies. But it was HARDBACK. FOR 75P. I nearly died, and couldn’t resist snapping it up. 

I also bought The Life of Riley and Back to Life by Joanna Nadin as these seem really cute contemporaries, and I’m on a bit of a high with them at the moment. 

I also got some other books elsewhere: 

I picked up two books in Waterstones, both half price. Turf by John Lucas looks really gritty, and will contrast all the contemporaries above! I have already read Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer is a book I read before (AND ADORED). It has just been released in paperback, but it is all in black and white. The hardback has coloured fonts and bea-utiful illustrations. 

I raided the BHF charity shop, and snapped up a copy of …Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers by Louise Rennison as it was virtually unread. Numbers by Rachel Ward is a book I loved and would probably read again at some point. I also picked up a DVD of Two Weeks Notice because, you know, Hugh Grant.

Last but not least, one library book this week! I am really excited to finish Ally Condie’s Matched series with Reached. It will be nice to be able to wrap that one up, as one of the first dystopians I read. 

Phew! I have no idea where I’m going to put all these lovely books. Thankfully, I only received two ebooks this week, and one was a ‘read it now’ download. 

 I haven’t read much by Anne Fine since the days of Crummy Mummy, but her new book Blood Family looks kind of dark and mysterious. Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this. 

 Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess is meant to be a NA with a difference. I’m anxious to see whether it lives up to expectations! Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley. 

 A book that looks amazing in all its geekery is Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil. It has a different cover on Netgalley so I didn’t link the two until I looked on GR, and squealed as this is one of my highly anticipated books. Thanks very much Peachtree Press! 

 

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! 

Letterbox Love #19

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

Welcome to my 2-week haul post! 

Firstly, lots of goodies from the library this fortnight. Starting with Slated and Fractured by Teri Terry. I loved Slated, but read it so long ago I can’t remember what happens. So I will be having a double read to remind myself. Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher was the winner of the Waterstones’ Childrens Book Prize, so I wanted to see what the fuss was about.

Intrusion by Ken MacLeod is an adult book that sounds quite dystopian. I had taken out the hardback, but when I saw my library was getting a paperback I decided to put my name down for that instead. They are just so much easier to handle. The Baby Diaries by Sam Binnie is a book that my mum enjoyed, and I love a good girly book (especially about babies), so I ordered this one. A book that I very nearly bought a couple of weeks ago in Waterstones is Unremembered by Jessica Brody. It sounds a bit like the TV show ‘Lost’, which I adored, so I’m looking forward to checking this out. The last library book is ‘Boy Meets Boy‘ by David Levithan, ordered for the LGBT marathon hosted by Faye of A Daydreamer’s Thoughts. I don’t think I’ve every read any of his books, though a few are on my TBR list, such as Every Day.

Books that I received this week include New Girl by Paige Harbison and The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. I won these from Becky at Becky’s Barmy Book Blog for her Spring Clean giveaway. I really loved The Immortal Rules, so I’m excited to see what Julie’s other series is liked. I’m really enjoying Mira Ink’s books at the moment, so fingers crossed for this and New Girl. Becky was kind enough to throw in some bookmarks and badges too which was really sweet. And did I mention the Julie Kagawa is hardback? And glittery! *drools* Thanks very much Becky 🙂

The second and third Metawars books by Jeff Norton, The Dead are Rising and Battle of the Immortal, were sent for review from Rebecca at Hachette. I really enjoyed the first book but wanted more from the characters, so I’m excited to hopefully see their development in the next two! Thanks very much Rebecca for these shiny beauties.

Last week I was luckily enough to meet Andy Robb, author of Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind and Geekhood: Mission Improbable. Shamefully, I have yet to read the first book, even though I got in in my birthday haul early this year. Luckily, Andy forgave me (I think!) and signed both books (I had with me the first, and bought the second there). He was really lovely, and perhaps one of the nicest, most natural authors I have ever met. We talked for ages, and yet it still felt like I could talk more. From publishers to cover design, blogging and holidays, you name it. He was very nice, which made me feel extra guilty for not having read his books!

While in Waterstones, I also picked up Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. I really want to read all of John Green’s books, so owning them is a good start. Oh, and my copy of Geography Club by Brent Hartinger finally came! This is also for Faye’s readathon. I was surprised at how small the book is, but I want to read it before the film is released, so it serves a double purpose 🙂

Ebooks:

Thanks to Netgalley and Open Road Media for Being Henry David by Cal Armistead and When Love Comes to Town by Tom Lennon.

 

 

 

I’m taking part in the blog tour for Animate Me by Ruth Clampett, so look out for my review in a few weeks! The cover is so adorable.

Love is a Thief by Claire Garber is a book I’ve had my eye on for a while. So thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for this!

And last, but certainly NOT least, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell!!! Although this book isn’t released till September, someone tweeted on Thursday evening that it was on Netgalley. Two minutes later, I had requested it, and thinking about the agony of waiting for the approval/denial. But then when the same person (I can’t remember who!) said they had been approved, it cued my frantic email refreshing. And I did get approved! And I finished it last night. WHAT A WHIRLWIND. St Martin’s Press, I owe you my heart for letting me read this, and approving so quickly.

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? Do you think its shameful to go to an author event without having read their book(s)? I’d love to hear from you!