Nil by Lynne Matson

Pages: 384

Genre: Sci-fi

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Henry Holt

Release Date: March 4, 2014

On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have exactly 365 days to escape—or you die.
Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s naked in an empty rock field.
Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that she has to find a way to beat the clock, and quickly.

Ever since I first heard of Lynne Matson and Nil, I've been absolutely dying to read this story! Teens with only a year to live? To escape? Talk about fascinating!

The number one thing that I have to comment on (besides the hot guys, of course) is the amount of science that Lynne Matson manages to include. The clues that are scattered about the island, that our characters manage to piece together are unbelievably scientific and precise, and it was thrilling to see how they all fit together! The worldbuilding of the island is so thoroughly well built, I'm probably going to be paranoid of all noons and heat waves forever.

I absolutely loved the characters in Nil too! There were so many, but each was so individual, had such a range of personalities, it was hard not to fall in love with them. Each character, main or supporting, managed to wiggle into your heart--all the more heartbreaking for when Matson rips them away from you (and oh, she does this quite a lot.)

Plot wise, Nil is pretty much perfect--it's fast paced and as we learn more and more about this sinister island, things get more and more intense until suddenly twists are thrown at you left and right. I honestly, no matter how often you hear this, put it down. I got home from school, sat down, and read for two hours straight. With little explosions of caps and exclamation marks on twitter.
Especially the end. The ending was absolutely heartbreaking and heartwarming and I could not believe it whatsoever. It's really a perfect ending that I really loved and actually made me tear up!

My only slight complaint was the rushed romance and insta love in the beginning, but once you get used to it, it's a really sweet romance that made me love Thad and Charley all the more. The romance is adorable and in all honesty, sometimes I squealed at certain scenes. Except one in the end. That one made me cry.

Anyways.

Nil is definitely a book to check out when it releases with it's fantastic pacing, gorgeous writing, a cut throat island, and sci-fi elements that'll enrapture you the entire read! And who can forget about all the amazing characters that'll simply make you fall in love with the, no matter how...short...you know them?

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Waiting on Wednesday

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Like her mother's job as an exotic dancer, her obsession with the personal ads, and especially the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone's skin. But when a serial killer goes on a killing spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper that only Nearly can decipher, she confides in the one person she shouldn't trust: the new guy at school—a reformed bad boy working undercover for the police, doing surveillance. . . on her.
Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn't figure it all out soon—she'll be next.

The cover is absolutely creepy. ABSOLUTELY. I love it! And I love the numbers on the cover and the color scheme. It's absolutely haunting and that synopsis? I DIE. IT SOUNDS SO AMAZING AND SO CREEPY AND I MUST READ THIS. And oh my God. Reformed bad boy spying on her? Oh God. Oh my God. I NEED THIS NOW HELP MEEEEEE. 

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Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland

Pages: 371

Genre: Greek Mythology/Fantasy

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: March 11, 2014

Zephyr Mourning has never been very good at being a Harpy. She’d rather watch reality TV than learn forty-seven ways to kill a man, and she pretty much sucks at wielding magic. Zephyr was ready for a future pretending to be a normal human instead of a half-god assassin. But all that changes when her sister is murdered—and she uses a forbidden dark power to save herself from the same fate.
Zephyr is on the run from a punishment worse than death when an unexpected reunion with a childhood friend (a surprisingly HOT friend) changes everything. Because it seems like Zephyr might just be the Nyx, a dark goddess made flesh that is prophesied to change the power balance. For hundreds of years the half-gods have lived in fear, and Zephyr is supposed to change that.
But how is she supposed to save everyone when she can’t even save herself?

Going into Promise of Shadows, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The cover was unbelievably eye catching and the premise sounded unique and completely riveting! 

Unfortunately, it wasn't as captivating as I thought it'd be. 

From the first chapter, I was fascinated by the worldbuilding--seeing a new twist on Greek mythology is always captivating! The world is my favorite bit of the book, managing to be completely original, something that's actually pretty hard with this genre nowadays. Learning about the Vaeter and the Aetherals was enchanting and it just pulled me into the world filled with harpies and Fates, Greek gods and the Nix. And, beyond the Greek gods, there wasn't much that tied the book to Greek mythology, something I found interesting and pleasantly surprising! 

We start out in Tarturus with Zephyr, making us hooked and enthralled. There's a sense of intrigue from chapter one, and you just automatically want to know more about what happened to Whisper, how Zephyr got thrown into Tarturus, and all of that. But after that, things started for a downward spiral. 

There were a lot of secrets revealed in the first few chapters, but Zephyr never seemed to be that surprised or that hurt, despite the fact that in years of knowing these people and that she just know learns of these things. She only seemed to be affected when it suited the plot--or when she wanted to be whiny.

Speaking of whiny...Zephyr wasn't exactly the best character. She didn't listen at all, and sometimes the characters went along with it, even if she was in the wrong and they were in the right. She was impulsive and ignored everyone's warnings, thought that she knew everything when she knew nothing at all, and she always did what she wanted, even though she knew perfectly well that it would put everyone she loved in danger. 

She was also hypocritical and seemed to always be itching for a fight. She was, really, just a terrible character and I wasn't exactly the biggest fan.

The other characters were a bit flat and didn't have much character. We never really got to know them well, besides the fact that they either worshipped, feared, or hated Zephyr. 

The plot was a bit predictable and a bit typical too, though it did manage to surprise me now and then. I wasn't a giant fan of the storyline, though it may have been overshadowed by my not so big love of Zephyr. It was a bit rushed, but it was still a bit fun. I do wish it was a bit more edgy and dark though, but I'm not totally unhappy with it! 

The romance was forced to me, and I really didn't feel like Tallon and Zephyr fit each other besides their affinity for erobos (essentially, the "darkness"). Although maybe they do since while Zephyr kept screwing things up and directly disobeying Tallon's instructions (that would've saved them a whole lot of trouble), and yet, Tallon kept on forgiving her, saying he was wrong all the time. It irritated me that he didn't seem to do anything besides support her the entire time or get grumpy. 

Promise of Shadows honestly wasn't my favorite book and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. Though if you loved Justina Ireland's Vengeance Bound, you may love this one too! 

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Steadfast by Claudia Gray

Pages: 384

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Spellcaster #2

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: Mar 4, 2014

Nadia, Mateo, and Verlaine have saved Captive's Sound from the dark Sorceress Elizabeth...or so they thought. Despite their best efforts, a crack opened and a new, greater evil seeped through. With Mateo as her Steadfast, Nadia's magic is magnified and she is more powerful than ever. But there is still so much she doesn't know about the craft, leaving her open and vulnerable to a darker magic...which has begun to call Nadia's name.

I got this unsolicited, and I was a bit anxious going into it. I wasn't the biggest fan of Spellcaster, but I hadn't hated it, so I honestly didn't know how I'd feel about Steadfast (even if the cover was pretty!) Thankfully, I actually loved this one, though maybe not as much as I could've or wanted to.

The biggest problem I had with this story was the POV issue. We saw the story through the point of view of almost every single character that had some kind of role in the story. Sometimes they'd have a whole chapter, sometimes only five paragraphs, and it got really annoying really quickly. Not only was it confusing, but it took away part of the mystery and allure Steadfast could've had and I'm pretty sure I had the same problem with Spellcaster.

I'm not saying there weren't any twists--because God knows there were a ton, but there just weren't any sudden moments of doubt for our characters, any hesitation in trusting the characters. For example, Asa, a character who's quickly introduced and quickly revealed to be more than human, was always not-evil. Yeah, he worked for the "One Beneath" but it was evident that he would fall in love with a certain character, and predictable that he would sacrifice something for her. And we were told that he hated Elizabeth too, so we never doubted his motives.

But the read was still pretty awesome because even though the mystery was taken away, Elizabeth's point of view bits were absolutely sinister and made it pretty clear she was psycho and completely devoted to the devil. She was crazy and a perfect antagonist who sent shivers down my spine and was so deluded but so powerful--a pretty scary combination if I do say so myself.

Verlaine's situation was emphasized and it was absolutely heartbreaking to see how terrible and horrible it would be to be unloved, when, by all accounts, she should be. It made me love her and she started turning into a more major character than just the sidekick, something I definitely enjoyed seeing!

Steadfast was a pretty fantastic sequel, and better than the first one in my opinion, though I definitely had a few issues with it. It was a decent read though, and if you loved Spellcaster, you're guaranteed to love this one!

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Random Musings: Books. Plain and Simple

(Repinned from http://pinterest.com/dragonflyturtle/ on Pinterest) 

This will, most likely, be a super rambly post since you know, this is pretty random and this is all brain vomit. I refuse to use backspace. Also this will be 100% cheesy.

Sooooo...books. That's all this blog is really about isn't it? But I don't think I've ever talked about books in the large general category. And whoever said books are life changing? They're right. What's sad is that sometimes I can't remember every single book I've read, every word, every letter. And I hate to forget my favorite books, but it happens.

http://barbara-bibliotecaria.tumblr.com/page/2

And it's just horrible because I always end up learning something from every character, every world, every twist of a story. And I have fun with all the characters who're there, quick to laugh, quick to love. And just forgetting their adventures? It's excruciating. So I guess that's what Goodreads is for. But I'm never going to remember all the feelings I had when I first read it and I'm never going to have the time to reread all my favorites.

Repinned from
http://pinterest.com/allthingsregal/whats-in-a-book/

And then that moment when you see these characters grow up, and you grow up with them, and you just realize--Oh my God the series is going to end. And you just want to break down crying because you'll never see your favorite characters in their lives ever again. I actually did cry the month before Iron Knight released. Several times. While listening to the Iron Fey playlists. THANK THE LORD FOR THE SPINOFF SERIES  OR I WOULD BE ON MY KNEES. It was just so heartbreaking seeing my favorite characters just go *poof* Seriously. There was a pain in my
chest. I felt like someone murdered my best friend.

Books have absolutely affected me and anyone who says reading sucks just hasn't done it right, or they haven't had the chance to meet their favorite book. Because when you do? The tears and the laughs and those moments where you just realize what the author was trying to do...oh God. I just can never keep my feelings in check.

It's so easy to call something your "favorite book" or your "new favorite book", but I think less than half of those claims are true. So here's my question--

What's your favorite book? Your number one, always can rely on, always there to comfort you, book?

http://pinterest.com/serinazhane/more-than-words-wow-words-of-wisdom/

A GRIM Blog Tour

I'm excited to be on the Grim Blog Tour, especially since I loved this creepy anthology so much! (Check out my review here) 

This was, probably, one of my favorites stories in the anthology! While dark and creepy is something I love, there's something about a romance that stems from hate, especially if there's still some dark and creepy in it and if it's as compelling as this short was! 

So ever since I was a kid, Beauty and the Beast was always my favorite Grimm tale (East of the Sun, West of the Moon which is pretty much the same thing, my ultimate favorite, and Cupid and Psyche my favorite Greek myth.) So yeah, I'm pretty obsessed with the story and it mayyy have something to do with me loving Beast/Beast so much! I used to scour my library for B&B retellings and ended up rereading each one every time!
Funnily, now that I'm talking about it, I remember something from preschool. We were allowed to pick two tiny story books (Really they were only maybe 10 tiny little pages, 3x2 each) that held a illustrated story in each and I practically shoved all the other kids away from the Beauty and the Beast one so I could have it.

We all know how big a Kagawa fan I was, so I was absolutely ecstatic when I saw she wrote a story in this anthology! And leave it to her to pick the story that's so hard to write a YA retelling for, short story or not--The Three Little Pigs. Then again, this is Kagawa, and she made it as creepy and horrendous as a regular Grimm tale. I'm thoroughly impressed! And if I didn't already love the anthology, this would sort of seal the deal.

Now, if you've never heard of the children's story book The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs I don't know if I can talk to you anymore. My teachers have read this to me at least 5 times throughout my years as a preschooler to a 2nd grader and when I realized that The Brothers Piggett was a story on the Three Little Pigs...well I was a bit hesitant, because this was, legit, the only Three Little Pigs retelling I could think of.
Somehow though, Julie Kagawa manages to rework her magic with words and creates a more complex story while sticking true to the important bits of the Three Little Pigs. How the heck does she do that again?

Untethered had an unbelievable twist that I honestly didn't see coming, surprising, especially for a short! I loved it so much though and was absolutely surprised. Not to mention how touching and heartbreaking the story was and how, in the end, it was just so beautiful. I think I actually got a bit misty eyed by the end of it. There's no way you can't love this story!

This one isn't a retelling, or not one I can think of at least, and I don't really think I can say anything without spoiling it. But I'm going to say that it sort of reminds me of one of my favorite books: The Catastrophic History of You and Me, but I'm going to zip my lips after that.
I don't really have a story related to this, but I'll leave you with this: the second story of my house used to be an attic and sometimes I hear creepy noises coming up from there. Also, once you walk up the stairs, there's a door that leads to a closet and in that closet there's a door that's maybe a foot and half by a foot and a half that is creeeeeppppyyyyyy. Do I need an exorcist?

About GRIM

Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today:

Kimberly Derting | Sonia Gensler | Tessa Gratton | Claudia Gray | Rachel Hawkins | Amanda Hocking | Ellen Hopkins | Shaun David Hutchinson | Julie Kagawa | Malinda Lo | Myra McEntire | Saundra Mitchell | Jackson Pearce | Sarah Rees Brennan | Dia Reeves | Jon Skovron | Jeri Smith Read

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository

Follow the Tour 

• Monday, February 17th - Harlequin Paranormal Blog
• Tuesday, February 18th - Stories 1, 2 and 3 - Two Chicks on Books
• Wednesday, February 19th - Stories 4, 5 and 6 - Book and A Latte
• Friday, February 21st - Stories 7, 8 and 9 - Fiction Freak
• Monday, February 24th - Stories 10, 11 and 12 - Mundie Moms
• Wednesday, February 26th -  Stories 13, 14 and 15 - Bumbles and Fairytales
• Friday, February 28th -  Stories 16 and 17 - Fiktshun

Giveaway

Giveaway is US/Can

Each tour stop is offering up a copy of GRIM, and one winner will receive a fantastic Grand Prize Package including the following Harlequin Teen titles: 2 copies of GRIM, a copy of WHITE HOT KISS by Jennifer Armentrout, THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS by Michelle Madow, THE QUEEN’S CHOICE by Cayla Kluver and an ARC of  LET’S GET LOST by Adi Alsaid.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Waiting on Wednesday

Where Silence Gathers by Kelsey Sutton

Seventeen-year-old Alexandra Tate sits outside Nate Foster’s house, clutching a gun. After serving ten years for the drunk driving accident that killed Alex’s family, Nate has been released from prison. Every night, Alex waits out of sight, building up the courage to exact her own justice. There’s just one problem: Forgiveness.
Alex has been able to see personified Emotions for as long as she can remember, and Revenge is her best friend. But when Forgiveness suddenly appears, he offers Alex a choice—getting even or moving on. It’s impossible to decide when Revenge whispers in one ear . . . and Forgiveness whispers in the other. 

*Update: I READ IT
OH MY GOD I DO NEED THIS. I LOVED SQP AND NOW. NOW LOOKIT THIS. LOOKIT IT. OMFG. And this cover is so totally amazing and it would look amazing next to SQP. EDKJSFC;J;L

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The Lure by Lynne Ewing

Pages: 288

Genre: Contemporary

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Feb 11, 2014

Fifteen-year-old Blaise Montgomery lives in the gritty outskirts of Washington, DC, where a stray bullet can steal a life on the way to school. Drugs and violence are the only ways to survive, so Blaise and her friends turn to gangs for safety, money, and love. When Blaise is invited to join Core 9, one of the most infamous crews, she jumps at the chance. Though her best guy friends, Rico and Satch, warn her about the danger, she agrees to be beaten for a minute straight as part of the gang's initiation ritual.
Now Blaise is finally part of a crew. A family.
But things get only more dangerous when she becomes a member of Core 9 and tensions with a rival gang heat up. Trek, the head of Core 9, asks Blaise to be his "lure," the sexy bait he'll use to track down enemy gang members and exact revenge. Rico and Satch tell her it's a death sentence, but Blaise can't resist the money and unparalleled power. As Trek puts Blaise in increasingly dangerous situations, she begins to see that there's more to lose than she ever realized-including Satch, the one person who has the power to get under her skin. With death lurking around every corner, should Blaise continue to follow the only path she's ever known, or cut and run?

I wasn't so sure about The Lure when I first heard of it, especially since the character already felt a bit naive and idiotic when the synopsis says that Rico and Satch warn her about the dangers (also it sort of reminds you of a love triangle right?) I was definitely wary and didn't really plan on reading it, but I got a copy and one thing lead to another...
And well, I'm so glad I took a chance!

Gritty is sort of an understatement for this book, where gang life is pretty much the only life--literally. In YA you'll see mentions of gangs where they're evil, someone caught up in gang life and desperate to get out, but I've never seen a book where a character strives to get in and thinks of it as a safety zone, and that's one of the things about The Lure. I'm probably one of the least qualified to know, but Blaise's situation struck me as heart achingly true and completely possible for anyone.

Blaise and her friends were naive and they were impulsive and they did make shitty decisions. But they were all understandable with their situations and they were portrayed in a desperate light where none of them really had a choice, and I pitied them.

Blaise, specifically though, didn't really seem to care about her friends in the latter part of the book. She did things behind her friends back and never really gave a crap about how her decisions would affect them unless it pushed the story forward.
I also wish that we'd seen more of her friends' situations and their own story lines throughout the story because, honestly, Blaise seemed to get herself into trouble most of the times while her friends had all been manipulated or pretty much forced into their situations.

The romance isn't really focused on throughout the story and I wouldn't necessarily SAY there was a love triangle, but there was definitely something. I'm not too sure I'm happy with the way it ended, but I'm glad it wasn't a love triangle at least!

The Lure is unlike so many books I've read before and while I was a bit out of my comfort zone, I still loved the gritty atmosphere, the desperate characters, and the wrenching story of no way out. I'd definitely recommend it if you're a lover of contemporary! (Gritty or otherwise.)

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Anthology: Grim

Pages: 480

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: Feb 25, 2014

CLAIRE DE LUNE and NOCTURNE author Christine Johnson, ed.’s GRIM, an anthology of dark fairy tale retellings, featuring stories by New York Times bestselling authors Ellen Hopkins, Amanda Hocking, Claudia Gray, Rachel Hawkins, Julie Kagawa, and others, to Natashya Wilson at HarlequinTeen, in a nice deal, for publication in Winter 2014, by Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World).

So my first anthology review. This is actually going to be pretty short review (because there's no way I could write a review on each short story.)

The perfect thing about this is that I read it the week of Halloween. The spooky tales fit the mood, and retellings? Oh, I just absolutely adore those! (Who doesn't love fairy tales?)

Out of all the anthologies I've read, I just have to say--this is most definitely the best. I'm a fan of the majority of these authors and they definitely didn't let me down! From haunting and chilling to downright creepy and gruesome (with a sprinkle of humor and sci fi added of course!) these stories just brought to life the fairy tales of old. Something I actually liked was that they don't really tell you which fairy tales are being retold--and having gone through a fairy tale phase (still in that phase actually!) it was unbelievably fun matching fairytale to retelling. Not to mention how creative all the authors were in weaving in their own little twists to the originals.

Is that the end of my review? Guys, I thought you knew better! I always have things to say about fabulous books and, more specifically, retellings! 

I never realized how different writing styles to be, and that's definitely showcased here. And that's not bad at all! While there were some stories written like a true fairy tale or urban legend, some were written like a scene from a YA book while another was written in verse! All were gorgeous stories though that had me absolutely captivated!

Some were heartbreaking, some were hilarious, some were simply sad. But they all managed to just capture you like the fairy tales you grow up with and I definitely recommend this one for a rainy day read. There's a whirlwind of stories in here with fascinating characters, even if we only have them for a few thrilling pages!

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DEFY Twitter Party

YEP YEP TWITTER PARTY! I hosted one last week on the 12th, but here's another one! I'm cohosting with Nova @ Out of Time for DEFY. She'll be handling the discussion schtuff and I will be doing, sing it with me, GIVEAWAAYYYYYSSS

For those who need them, BOOK DETAILS!:

Title: Defy

Author: Sara B. Larson

Pub Date: January 7th, 2013

Publisher: Scholastic

Page Count: 336

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

So now that you know what the book is about, here are the details to the twitter party. We'll have cardboard knife party favors.
Here are the rules/tips/details for the party! Some are more important than others.

1. WHO: This party will be co-hosted by Nikki (@Nikki_Wang) and I (@NovaBlogder). Sara (@SaraBLarson) will be answering questions that you (the participant) tweet at them and chat with others about books, books, and...food?

2. WHERE: Twitter (twitter.com)
If you don't have a twitter account, it's easy to make one! And if you already have one it's best to follow a twitter party on TweetChat (tweetchat.com)!

3. WHEN: February 25th, at 7-8 PM ET. 6-7 PM CST, 5-6 PM MST, 4-5 PM PST. This will be a party for one hour.

4. WHAT: A twitter party is an hour-long chat with Sara B. Larson. She'll answer your questions, talk about her high fantasy, Defy. As well, you can talk to other people who have read/have not read Defy! It's all to spread the love of books and this one in particular.

5. PRIZES: We've got prizes for US/CAN readers but EVERYONE is invited! Prizes will be going each 20 minutes - there are 3 prizes. Check for my tweets because she will be hosting the giveaways. Winners/how to win will be selected at her discretion.

6. HOW: Follow the hashtag #Defy and add it to all your tweets.


As a pre-party giveaway to get you PUMPED about the party, Scholastic has donated a FINISHED copy of Defy for a lucky reader!

Giveaway 

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Pretty Sly by Elisa Ludwig

Pages: 368

Genre: Suspense/Contemporary

Series: Pretty Crooked #2

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: March 18, 2014

Willa Fox was told to stay out of trouble. In fact, it was an order from a very serious juvenile court judge.However, that was before Willa found her house ransacked and a mysterious email from her mother telling Willa she had to leave Paradise Valley for a while and not to come looking for her. Willa knows her mom’s in danger and that no one at school will miss her after her recent sticky-fingered stunts with the Glitterati. So with the help of her pal Tre and with her degenerate crush Aidan as her wingman, Willa violates her probation and hits the California highway in search of her mom.But when Willa and Aidan’s journey turns dangerously criminal and they wind up being the focus of a national manhunt, they realize it’s sometimes easier to escape the law than the truth—and that everything Willa thought she knew about her mom, and her life, was wrong.

(I read this as the early early ARC that had the old cover, so I'm unsure whether it was significantly changed or not!)

I loved reading Pretty Crooked last year--it was sweet, it was cute, and it had an undercurrent of sinister happenings that undoubtedly perked my interest. In Pretty Sly, we explore those happenings and we discover that things are a lot more complicated than we thought and a lot more dangerous.

Pretty Sly starts off right where Pretty Crooked ended and things go crazy from there. Suddenly Aidan and Willa are on the run from cops in four states and, surprisingly have a fan club. And that's one of the things I really loved about this! Even though it isn't shown halfway throughout the book, the fact that they had a Facebook page and a Kickstarter and all these crazy things made me LOL so many times! It was another one of the cute elements that managed to sneak itself into the more dangerous plot and that's one of the things about it. Even though Pretty Sly should, by all means, be a thriller, it somehow ended up being as cute and hilarious as the first! And that's not a bad thing at all!
There were so many other things that made me laugh and giggle and I just loved it all. They were just little things like Willa leaving little notes behind and getting a free slice of cake or something and, even though technically they were so absolutely unrealistic, it just made the book so cute I couldn't help but fall in love with it!

Willa went through quite a bit of character development, though I'll admit--she did get on my nerves once in a while. She honestly didn't seem to have a plan and didn't seem to always understand how much the others were risking for her. But she was an amazing character who was hilarious and snarky and pretty much made my day! (We'd totally be BFFs.)

Aidan, oh Aidan. I never will know what runs through that boy's mind--but I'm sure it'd make me swoon and drop dead at his feet. He's sweet and cocky, charming and he knows it. I loved him so much and he's by far my most favorite character. He's a swoony love interest that was so sweet towards Willa and was unbelievably protective. He did make a few stupid decisions sometimes, though, but then again, who doesn't? (Or am I being blindsided by my love for him. Darn, not again.)

The plot was quick paced and I absolutely loved it, being whisked from one place to another quickly and never having a dull moment. It's an intense ride that you can't help but be sucked into and with all the twists, it's a ride you have to pay attention to! I couldn't predict anything and their next step was always surprising. I was anxious throughout the book, so sure that they'd be captured and locked up the next chapter in.

Pretty Sly is a thrilling sequel that absolutely must be read! I'm in love with the fluffy, yet enthralling and suspenseful feeling that Elisa Ludwig manages to capture and can absolutely not wake for book three! I need more Aidan! And Sly Fox. But mostly Aidan.

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Meet the YA Valentines!

HEY GUYS! I know I did something already for the YA Valentines, but let's be honest. I love them too much to NOT do something for them (or make them do something for me?) on Valentines! I mean seriously. 

Visit the Valentines...on Valentines!  (Sorry I couldn't help it) 

So I asked them two questions: 

1) What book boy would you want to take you out on a date and what would you do?

2) What is your favorite romantic novel?

Not all of them got a chance to answer, but the answers we have are super fun...even if I do, personally, claim most of em for myself! 

Here are the answers in no order whatsoever! (Click their name to get taken to their Goodreads page!)

Kristi Helvig: Okay, if my teenage self could go on a date with anyone from a 2014 book that I've read, it would have to be Micah from The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes. I grew up in a strict household and went to Catholic school, so my 16-year-old self would bring that hawt mohawk-haired boy to my school dance. We would get quickly get kicked out, because you weren't allowed to have mohawks or colored hair at our school, and then we'd go get ice cream while the scandal spread school-wide. I'd know what it felt like to be the "bad" girl. Okay, I guess getting ice cream doesn't qualify as bad, but it would be double chocolate ice cream with hot fudge. ;)

Lynne Matson: I'd pick Trevor from PIVOT POINT. He's cute and artistic, and seriously swoony.

Jaye Robin Brown: I'd like to hang out with Clyde, a supporting character from Sarah Dessen's The Moon and More. We'd eat pie at his restaurant and talk art, maybe go fishing. I love his wry humility and Southern no-nonsense charm. I have a feeling we'd get along just fine and he'd understand that it wasn't a "date" date.

Anne Blankman: Ooo, what a fun question! My choice is Sturmhond from SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo. Not only is he a prince and a pirate, but he's a chameleon, constantly changing his personality and his appearance to suit his own plans. Dating him might feel like you're dating ten different people, but it'd be impossible to get bored!

Paula Stokes: WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME CHEAT ON MICAH?? (And Cole, and Cas, and Cassel, and Ash, and Jonah...)

Oh okay, if I have to go out with a newbie book boy, the choice is obvious. I pick Austin from Rachel Harris's A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES. He's the perfect mix of bad boy on the outside and really decent upstanding good guy on the inside. He's funny. He's smart. He's a little bit broken--just the way I like 'em. The fact that he's gorgeous and totally tears it up on his surfboard? Bonus X 2.

What would we do? Obviously, I'd ask him for a surfing lesson. Truth: I've always wanted to learn to surf but I am afraid of sharks. With Austin by my side, I could relax enough to work through my fear and enjoy the challenge of riding the waves.

Lindsay Cummings: I would go on a date with Percy Jackson because.....really. it needs no explaining. He's percy freakin jackson, dude!!

Jen McConnel: First, I'm going to pretend that I'm sixteen and single again (sorry, honey!). With that bit of magic out of the way, I'd say definitely Daniel Cohen from Anne Blankman's PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG. We'd spend hours talking at a street cafe in Berlin, just enjoying the energy and beauty of the day.

Sara Raasch: Reinhard from Anne Blankman's PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG. 

BAH KIDDING. So completely totally KIDDING. *shudders* *locks doors*

I'd love to go out with Fred from Bridget Zinn's POISON. He's adorable and quirky, and we'd get to hang out in POISON's clever and vibrant world and play with Rosie the pig. Who would pass that up? 

Kristen Lippert Martin: Lord Hector from Rae Carson's "The Bitter Kingdom." 
The two of us are going to go spear fishing and then grill what we've caught on the beach and watch the sunset. Or save the world. Or something like that. Whatever will require him to take his shirt off.  

Bethany Hagen: I'd definitely go with Gansey from Maggie Steivater's The Dream Thieves.  He's wealthy, smart and full of angst--YUM.

Bethany Crandell: Jeb from AG Howard’s Splintered. He’s a tortured artist with a protective nature.

We’d have no formal plans. Just play with his…paintbrushes all day.

A. Lynden Rolland: I'm going to have to counteract Bethany Crandell and say Morpheus from AG Howard's Splintered. I never choose the bad boy, but Morpheus is a game changer. It would be a date like no other. Wonderland. Enough said.

Philip Siegel: I'm drawing a huge blank on this one, so that means I probably got stood up, in which case the date would consist of me, an extra-large bucket of popcorn, and the next available showing of that LEGO person movie.

Sara B Larson: I'm gonna have to get my glam on and try to steal Lord Hector from KSnap, because that's who I was going to pick! Or else we can just take turns. I just love a man who can protect me--but also teach me to protect myself. And he can ride a horse. And use a sword. And he's just made of awesome. I'd love to go for a ride (I miss my horse), and then have a delicious dinner somewhere, maybe on a beach. 

Seriously how amazing are they? 
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Waiting on Wednesday

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there's only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.
Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother's best friend really be?
Tails: The theater geek...with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart's interests--even if he wants to share all his feelings?
Heart's simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all...

Oh my God you guys. Did you know that such an awesome sounding book releases on my birthday? WELL IT DOES. This reminds me a lot of Pivot Point actually but I'm absolutely curious about the last line...hmmm...And I love the cover! It's adorable! As for the two guys...I am unsure which one I'd pick honestly. They honestly don't sound that appealing lol! This is going to be a hilarious read, methinks! 

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