Waiting on Wednesday

Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield

Sing and the darkness will find you.

Shipwrecked on an island seven years ago, Lucy has been warned she must never sing, or disaster will strike. But on All Hallows Eve, Lucy hears tantalizing music in the air. When she sings it, she unlocks a terrible secret: She is a Chantress, a spell-singer, brought to the island not by shipwreck but by a desperate enchantment gone wrong.

Her song lands her back in England — and in mortal peril, for the kingdom lies in the cruel grasp of a powerful Lord Protector and his mind-reading hunters, the Shadowgrims. The Protector has killed all Chantresses, for they alone can destroy the Shadowgrims. Only Lucy has survived.

In terrible danger, Lucy takes shelter with Nat, a spy who turns her heart upside-down. Nat has been working with his fellow scholars of the Invisible College to overthrow the Lord Protector, and they have long hoped to find a living Chantress to help them. But Lucy is completely untrained, and Nat deeply distrusts her magic. If Lucy cannot master the songspells, how long can she even stay alive?

Does it, or does it not, sound absolutely amazing? It's definitely original (SO glad we're getting more of these by the year!) and as a singer myself *wink* I want to see how this turns out! I mean, it's definitely a twist on the old Siren's tale, no? And the cover? YES. (Yes, I'm a cover-lover! :D)

 

Burning Blue by Paul Griffin

Goodreads Blurb

How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy?
When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that--he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in--and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.
Award-winning author Paul Griffin has written a high-stakes, soulful mystery about the meaning--and dangers--of love and beauty.

The one thing that jumped out at me almost immediately was the writing. It was beautiful, lyrical, just stunning writing.  But the thing about the writing is that while it had that poetic feel to it, it didn’t have much dialogue in the first half of the story and that honestly bored me. Without dialogue, the story just loses its interest and tension. I ended up reading 10 or so pages per day instead of the 150+ I usually read. When the action did start to pick up, I found it harder and harder to close the book. The ending? Totally unexpected. I can’t believe that it was that person who wanted Nicole’s face ruined! Gasp!

This is my first contemporary thriller (yes, I know!) and I’ll definitely picking up more soon. It was filled with anticipation as you tried to figure out on your own and realized you were completely wrong. The funny thing about Burning Blue is that (SLIGHT SPOILER) Paul Griffin actually insinuated that it was this person and then had Jay dismiss the notion. And of course, I fell for that old trick because there was just so much proof that it wasn’t that person. Sigh. We gullible readers.

I loved reading from Jay’s POV. He was an awesome character who wasn’t very naïve and didn’t fall for as much, being the super smart hacker he is. This book just racked up another point with Jay! As for Nicole, I loved her personality and how she handled getting burned. I mean, she kept it together when I would’ve hidden away and refused to come out ever again. But I felt her as too perfect, you know? She was popular, super pretty, and super nice. She handled everything well, was the go-to girl for everything, barely anyone hated her, etc. And I’m not saying that every pretty girl has to be mean, but she was just too good to be true, you know? Anyhow, she was an enjoyable character who stood strong throughout the entire story, so I can’t complain too much!

The romance was my favorite part! It definitely wasn’t insta-love and Jay and Nicole got to really know each other before they fell and it was so darn sweet! I could actually believe that they cared for each other and it wasn’t forced like I thought it may be, so you can imagine my relief! I sort of wish I was in that situation. Without the acid. And pain. And hacker stuff. Ok, so maybe not.

Overall, I was definitely impressed by Burning Blue and you can bet I’ll be checking out more of Paul Griffin’s stuff! This is definitely one to pick up when you get the chance! It’ll keep you on our toes and shock you with the ending! ACK! I still can’t really believe it!

Pages: 288

Genre: Thriller/Romance/Mystery

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Dial Books

Release Date: October 25

Rating: 4 stars

"What day is it? What night?I'm burning, burning, burning, blue."

Blog Tour: Venom by Fiona Paul

Y'all know I'm such a giant fan of VENOM (Check out my review here) and I've asked Fiona Paul to do a lot of Promo stuff (check out the guest post here and my interview here!) and VENOM totally deserves it! So I'm absolutely THRILLED to be on the Venom Blog Tour and even more excited to be kicking it off! EEP! And during the blog tour, you can collect snippets of the novella VENOMOUS! (I had to cut out a lot of squealing in this intro. Just thought I'd say that.) Here's the first snippet!

Venomous

A Secrets of the Eternal Rose short story

By Fiona Paul

The year is 1600 and the streets of Venice, Italy are ripe with intrigue and danger. In this introduction to the world of Venom, eighteen-year-old Mariabella has recently elevated herself from the rank of common prostitute to the status of courtesan, a respected high-class escort for those men in Venetian society who can afford them. Mariabella steps out to attend a party on the arm of her powerful new patron, certain that the night will be filled with glamour, secrets, and adventure.

--

As the gondola slows to a stop, I adjust the neckline of my dress and emerge from behind the leather curtains of the felze. Arabella, my friend and roommate, laced my stays extra tightly and the stiff framework presses against my rib cage as I stand. The private dock of Palazzo Domacetti is crowded with other guests. All of Venice seems to be watching me as I take the gondolier’s hand and alight from the boat.

 Slowly, I step onto the dock, reveling in the stares of desire and jealousy. For the first time in my life, I am the girl that the other girls wish they could be. It’s not because I’m the prettiest or the youngest, or even the most talented. It’s because one of the richest and most powerful men in Venice went looking for a new companion, and he chose me.

            Someone tugs sharply at my dress and I wobble in my chopines, stepping sideways to regain my balance. I turn around. A toothless woman with a stooped back is gripping the emerald-green satin of my top skirt in her gnarled hand. Her other hand clutches a leather canteen. She’s not wearing a hat, and snarls of gray hair hang like storm clouds around her pale face.

            “The mark,” she rasps. She is rank with the stench of ale and worse things. Filth. Death. I grew up around these smells and I will never forget them.

            Tugging the fabric free of her bony fingers, I glance down at my bodice and skirts, at my sleeves and lace gloves, looking for a spot or stain. I’m clean, but I pull my cloak tight around me anyway, attempting to cover my entire body with the soft suede garment.

 “What mark?” I ask, even though she’s clearly drunk or mad. Perhaps both.           

“The Devil’s mark,” she hisses. One crooked finger lifts toward my face. “You are chosen.” She throws back her head and cackles.

            Around me, nobles and other courtesans watch the exchange with curiosity, but no one steps in to help. My new patron, Joseph Dubois, is just now alighting from the gondola, having stopped to pay the gondolier. He moves immediately to my side and gestures quickly at a pair of men clad in the red and black livery of Palazzo Domacetti. They step forward to seize the woman.

            “Off with you now,” one says. A heavy club hangs from his belt. “You’ve no business in this district.”

            The old woman allows the men to lead her away from the palazzo, but she continues to cackle, a sound that makes my skin twitch and crawl as if I am covered with cockroaches. “Chosen,” she shrills once more. And then she disappears around a corner, safely out of sight.

--

Isn't that AMAZING! I can't wait for the next posts to find out what happens next! The next part will be on The Compulsive Reader on Oct 3! 

Venom Blurb

Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape.

When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?

Beauty, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that’s as seductive and surprising as the city of Venice itself.

Short Author Bio

Fiona Paul lives in St. Louis, MO where she's managed to persuade prestigious universities to award her degrees in psychology and nursing. Between her studies, she traveled around five continents and spent time living in Thailand and South Korea (which is probably why she finds the idea of wearing shoes in the house a little weird.)

In addition to writing, Fiona is somewhat obsessive about coffee, music, and adventure sports. Her future goals include swimming with great white sharks and writing a whole truckload of novels, not necessarily in that order.She also writes contemporary YA under the name Paula Stokes.

Contact Info
Fiona Paul's Website
Fiona Paul's Blog
Fiona Paul's Twitter
Fiona Paul's Facebook

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Book Haul + Weekly Recap!

WOOT! IT HAS BEEN AN AWESOME WEEK! UPS has finally stopped hoarding my beautiful ARCs and I have so many to show you!!!


Publisher

Giveaway

Borrowed

SWAG













Signed



















First of all, sorry y'all for the sideways/blurry photos! I took these on my smartphone. And YES. I know! EPIC haul right? I'm reading Death and the Girl Next Door at the moment, and it's SO GOOD. So, in order from left to right then bottom left to right, those books are Echo; Splintered; Lovely, Dark, and Deep; Ironskin; and Death and the Girl Next Door! I'm SO happy I got Splintered! It's like.. MAD that I got it! I'm so excited and I'll go BONKERS READING THIS! I bet my teacup and my Cheshire Cat! Lovely, Dark, and Deep wasn't one I requested, but it definitely sounds good! I can't wait to read that one as well! Ironskin? Sounds like a Faery version of Jane Eyre mixed with Beauty and the Beast, no? Woot! And Death and the Girl Next Door...WOW is all I can say!
EEP! YES! I won an ARC of Time Between Us and YOU GUYS! This is one of those books I've been absolutely dying for! I. Love. Twitter. Giveaways. Like, SERIOUSLY.
I borrowed this from my friend! Sounds 13 Reasons Why-ish right? Any of y'all rad it? Like it? Hate it?
I GOT SOME AWESOME SWAG! The Origin bookmark (and a magnet and bookplate I forgot to take pics of) I got from the Origin Olympics, ALL that Time Between Us swag from that giveaway I won, and a KEY NECKLACE that came with Splintered! It's SO prettyful! SERIOUSLY. And that blobby colorful square is a CD that holds the playlist for Time Between Us! EEP!
Why YES MY COPY OF TIME BETWEEN US IS SIGNED. HAPPY NIKKI.

RECAP
Review: The Innocents by Lili Peloquin
Waitng on Wednesday
Review: Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck
Send Me aSign by Tiffany Schmidt

Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt

Goodreads Blurb

Mia is always looking for signs. A sign that she should get serious with her soccer-captain boyfriend. A sign that she’ll get the grades to make it into an Ivy-league school. One sign she didn’t expect to look for was: “Will I survive cancer?” It’s a question her friends would never understand, prompting Mia to keep her illness a secret. The only one who knows is her lifelong best friend, Gyver, who is poised to be so much more. Mia is determined to survive, but when you have so much going your way, there is so much more to lose. From debut author Tiffany Schmidt comes a heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting story of one girl’s search for signs of life in the face of death.

I’ve read so many heartbreaking stories this year, you guys know that, but Send Me a Sign…heartbreaking is a total understatement. A mind-blowing story made of heartbreaks, and breakups, hope and understanding.

The amazing thing about this debut us that, if you hadn’t read the story, skipping to the tear-jerking parts, you would be completely dry-eyed. Using her writing talents, Tiffany Schmidt deftly creates characters that you learn to care about, tight, unbreakable bonds that you feel, not read, and a subtle romance that’s all too endearing.

“I make my own luck.”

The romance was definitely one of my favorite parts. There was Ryan, Mia’s perfect, popular, sort-of boyfriend who’s sweeter than he seems, and then there’s Gyver, her best-friend-nest door who’s been there through thick and thin. But he’s strictly a friend. Right?

The romance was so sweet, both interests caring and protective. While it wasn’t a live triangle, per say, it was definitely more than Ryan’s old reputation that made Mia hesitate in dating him. I honestly had no idea who Mia would end up with in the end, but the guy I rooted for in the beginning…let’s just say he totally lost my vote. Then gained it. Then lost it.

“I wouldn’t know until I went inside.”

The characters. Oh. My. Goodness gracious. I completely fell in love with them. They each had their own distinct personalities, their own flaws, and I loved them for it.

Mia seems like a shallow girl at first, I admit, but when you got to actually know her, she was sweet and kind and a bit insecure. She refused to tell her closest friends, and look read at how that turned out. I loved how her character (and her friends’ characters) really did fit “their season”. Mia was sunny but she got her own summer showers once in a while, and she was always there to cheer her friends up.

Out of all of Mia’s friends, I really didn’t like Lauren. She was that girl who told secrets behind a person’s back, the one who was always asking for reassurances, and made me feel as if she was just fishing for compliments daily, even when Mia had cancer. No. Just no.

“I didn’t want to know anymore.”

What I didn’t like was that Mia was so secluded. I mean, I get why she wanted to keep her cancer a secret, but instead of weaving all these lies (knowing her friends were bound to find out), she could’ve just told them and saved herself from a lot of suffering. I also wonder: if Hil, Ally, and Lauren were such good friends, why hadn’t they noticed that Mia was never as active and that all these sudden things were happening? It made no sense, they didn’t question it. There were just a few holes in the thinking, but all in all, it was an amazing read that all contemp lovers should read!

“At the hospital, it was the first time I realized I might not beat this. I might die.”

 

Pages: 384

Series: Stand alone

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Publisher: Walker Children Books

Release Date: October 2

Rating: 7 stars

Tiger's Destiny by Collen Houck

Goodreads Blurb

With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.  It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all.

Let me start this off with the question that’s been  bugging me since I finished: How. Is. There. A. Fifth. Book?!  I mean, the ending of Tiger’s Destiny pretty much wrapped things up…but I guess we’ll see, right? I’m totally curious. Anyways.

Kelsey annoyed me. I mean, she was not the best MC in the other books, but in Tiger’s Destiny…who cries over killing a tree? And I mean sobbing. And her indecision between Ren and Kishan irritated me as well. I mean, I get that she’s afraid of being with Ren (read it and find out why.), but really? I felt so bad for Kishan throughout the entire book. Even though Kelsey was serious with Kishan, it felt more like she was stringing him along rather than treating him like a boyfriend…I guess the ending didn’t shock me as much as I thought. But…those were only a few moments. She wasn’t as bad most of the time.

Anamika (you’ll find out who that is later!) was another character who just irritated me. She was nothing like you’d expect and, quite frankly, she seemed…bitter. Not like the _____ we know. And that…well that just made it harder to believe that what happened, happened.

The twist was, in all honesty, too sudden. There were very few hints in the last three books that it would happen. And when I reread a few sections of the other books, things didn’t add up. I can’t list examples since it would be a dead giveaway but…the ways that certain characters acted didn’t fit. They really didn’t. But it made me cry (you guys know I’m an emotional reader, but I am so not the only one.) and it was…heartbreaking. I really hate the 5 sacrifices.

Plot wise…it was amazing. Each book has its own element, right? Tiger’s Destiny deals with the remaining two, fire and space/time, which makes Destiny possibly the one book with the most twists and the most surprising details. I guess you could really split Tiger’s Destiny into two separate books, but it wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. I love the way things happened in quick succession, although I admit, sometimes it happened too quickly.

The romance. Oh my God. (Not sure if that’s a good OMG or a bad one.) the romance is a smexy one, but God! I hated Kelsey’s indecision. Like I said, it seemed she was stringing Kishan along, and also Ren. She was technically with Kishan, but didn’t feel much for him. She loved Ren, but wouldn’t be with him. She was naïve, thinking she was protecting them both, when she was basically killing them inside. It was horrible and I still have no idea how Colleen Houck could’ve dragged out the romance, although I admit, it did add some tension to the story.

This fourth installment wrapped things up nicely, so I am a anxious to see how Tiger’s Dream will turn out, and what the story line will be. Almost as amazing as the last three in this epic saga, Tiger’s Destiny clearly showcases Colleen Houck’s classic writing style that has stunned hundreds of fans. If you haven’t started the Tiger’s Saga yet? Start it soon.

Pages: 464

Series: Tiger's Saga #4

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Publisher: Splinter

Release Date: September 4

Rating: 3.5 --->4 stars

"Please don't die," I whispered."