Just for Fun

Wow! I haven't done these in a while! The last time I did this was in the summer when I was always behind. As in, no posts scheduled at all. I'm now a month ahead, BUT thought I'd do this JUST FOR FUN!

So this time I'm choosing my Top 10 Awaited 2013 Debuts. This was INCREDIBLY hard. As in, I probably chose a random number and counted. There are just a ton of amazing debuts. (AND YES. These are ones I have NOT read!)

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

Pivot Point by Kasie West
Ummm...hello? What's NOT to like?!Actually, this was my WoW for yesterday! ;D

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholk
*COUGH* How could you not be intrigued by this? I have so many questions!!! I am definitely preordering this! You already know not to trust the bad boy, but out MC doesn't...so what's happening?

The Madman's Daugter by Megan Shepherd
MAD SCIENTIST GUYS. HOW AWESOME DOES THAT EVEN SOUND? And mutations. And romance. And the historical era. I rest my case.

Taken by Erin Bowman
I'm incredeibly curious about this world. The guys are taken? A whole new meaning to "Girls rule" right? *whistles* This is defintiely going to be interesting.

Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield
THIS JUST SOUNDS AMAZING AND HAS THE MOST GORGEOUS COVER! LOVE the pink, even if I'm more of a blue girl myself! Singing powers? It's like a mutated siren! And I mean that in the best way possible.

Altered by Jennifer Rush
There has been MAJOR hype about this book, mainly from people who's opinion I trust to the moon and back! Not to mention that cover. ;D I think yellow does look nice sometimes lol! Plus, what kind of expirements would need 4 guys locked up? And from reading the excerpt, why do all 4 guys have scars in the same place?

City of A Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
THIS ONE is where I have the most questions! I need, NEED, all of my questions answered so 2013 better get here ASAP.

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
This was so awesome, I put this as my WoW TWICE. You can see both here and here

Prophecy by Ellen Oh
A female warrior in a place full of men? Sounds a bit Mulan to me, and that was my favorite Disney tale fo so long. I've got high hopes for this! Think it'll meet them? I think so too.

Ink by Amanda Sun
I've been loving all Japan-style books lately! Stormdancer, (I'm counting Katana as one since it had samurai), and I'm just DYING for Tokyo Heist! Plus, drawings that come to life? This kind of makes me think of Nevermore, which I totally loved!


Any of these on your TBR? Any you've discovered? Any you absolutely want and will squee with me when you're done?

Waiting on Wednesday

Pivot Point by Kasie West

Addison Coleman's life is one big "What if?" As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It's the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie's parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with–her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the "Norms," or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it's not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school–but she never wanted to be a quarterback's girlfriend. When Addie's father is asked to consult on a murder in the compound, she's unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she's willing to live through...and who she can't live without.

Does this not sound good or what? i've been eyeing this for a while and after seeing some...let's just say excited reactions, I'm dying to get my hands on a copy! 2013 CAN NOT come quickly enough! And someone who can see the consequences of her choices? HAven't we all wanted to do that? Know what we're getting into before we decide? It's possibly the one thing I want most lol! But you start to wonder; how does anyone draw Addie into a dangerous game? And then, there's the romance. So two guys want her--just, not yet. And that's very very interesting for me, one of the biggest romantics ever! And I already sort of pity Addie. What would it feel like if you had two good choices, and you had to let go of one? DEFINITELY getting this one! 

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Goodreads Blurb

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.
As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

(I've written half this review at 2 A.M., so sorry if it's random/out of order!)

Hmmm...I can't quite say I loved this, but I definitely liked it better than okay! I've always been a fan of time-traveling, the things that it can alter, the rules you'll have to follow if you don't want to accidently erase your existence. It's just...fascinating. But then, I've always been a bit of a science nerd!

So bad news first: I expected something...more when reading this, I think. It just wasn't quite what I was expecting (first of all, it was in Anna's POV! I was expecting Bennett's! But this was an awesome surprise. As cool as it is reading from a guy's POV, I prefer a girl's!) and there was some time traveling stuff that this book was missing...I don't know what I expected--more danger? Action? Something? 

I loved the prologue. Like, loved. It was just so mysterious and you immediately want to know what's in the letter, what happened, what went wrong. It just captured your attention and made you already fall in love with the story.
Actually, that description fits the whole story as well. The story was captivating and enchanting and I loved discovering more about Anna and Bennett's relationship and watching (or rather, reading) it grow. Because, ultimately, Time Between Us is a love story. There aren't any bad guys, any evil force. And it's about time I've read something like this again! 

Romantically, I really did lovelovelove this book. IOf course, we know it isn't insta-love; fate literally brought them together and they gradually fell in love. I can't say I absolutely loved the romance since I hated how Anna treated Bennett, but if Anna was less pushy? I'd definitely love the romance! As it was, I'd have to say I liked Time Between Us. I didn't love it, but it was still pretty good! Of course, the romance took center stage so that's pretty much how I felt about the rest of the book to, I think!

And then character-wise, Anna was just too pushy at one point and she was pretty much a hypocrite. And I, personally, am not a fan of those! Although, this was an ARC--maybe it got resolved?
But Bennett? He was just so sweet and caring and I loved reading about him! I would've liked a tad more development in his character, but besides that, loved.
My absolute favorite character, though, was without a doubt, Emma. She was just so fun and perky and she actually reminded me of a few of my best friends! Boy crazy, loves fashion, and always there? YES.

Since the romance took center stage in Time Between Us, I'm not sure what else to talk about...or whether that's just my night owl brain speaking...

Anyways, if you're looking for an action-filled read, look elsewhere! But if you're looking for a nice, adorably sweet romance? THIS is your book! It was an amazing book that stunned me with it's emotions and the feelings it made me feel and I have no doubt it'll do the same to you! If you're tired of those typical Paranormal and Fantasy books, those sci-fi and dystopias? TIME BETWEEN US better be your next pick! 

Pages: 384
Series: Stand alone
Genre: Sci-fi/Romance
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Rating: 3.5--->4 stars

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Goodreads Blurb

Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.
But she can’t do either alone.
With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?
Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side…

OH. MY. FREAKING. GOD.  Poison Princess? It was so...so...so...good. I'm afraid I can't recommend it highly enough, and that I'll just be squealing throughout the entire review!

First of all, the originality of this was just amazing! I, personally, have always been fascinated by horoscopes (Pisces here! The personality traits for a Pisces totally describes me!) and the Tarot cards (mine's the Moon. But I hate Selene. I really do). So when I heard about a Young Adult series that featured the Arcana cards? And the apocalypse? And a sexy guy with "rakish grin"? Well, of course I had to get a copy! And I'm so glad I did. Like I said, while there were some attributes that Poison Princess had with other books, there were so many that was pure genius! 
The similarities? Well, there were blood-sucking monsters after the apocalypse, there was the main character going "crazy", the main character was the most special and powerful being, and there was a mischievous love interest. And while I was tired of those things at first, they clearly added to the story. (Except Bagmans. They were like vampires. And that mixed with the Arcana? MAJOR supernatural overload! Not to mention, the apocalypse.)
The pure genius stuff? The Arcana, the powers and alternate names of the Arcana, the roles each card plays, the description of the apocalypse,the way that Kresley Cole tells the story, and, well...everything else. 

The plot was simply amazing. Immediately, chapter 1 gets you hooked. It's...creepy. We're introduced to Arthur, even before we meet Evie, and he's definitely the type of guy you don't want to run into. The best word to describe him? Psycho. And he lures Evie into telling her own story. Before and after the Flash. And that's how we learn her story. Which is just filled to the brim with action. There were attacks, betrayals, very cruel insults, daring rescues, and slim escapes. I just loved it! You never knew what would happen next, you never knew who was on your side or not. And you always had this foreboding sense of dread at the botton of your stomach, just waiting, knowing, something big was going to happen. You just never knew when!

Oh my my my, did I love the characters? Except for Selene, you bet I did! Evie was seriously a kick-ass character who definitely had that sassy side. She wasn't naive or weak (no matter what she or Jack thought!) and that ending? Oh, God. I'm having Arcana withdrawals! Evie is that heroine you love and the type that a lot of authors try to shoot for, but few actually hit the target. 
Jack was...the one with the cruel insults. He was just so mean sometimes and I wanted to throttle him most of the times (especially that pool incident. REALLY, Jack?), but he saved Evie's life a hundred times and he was just so sweet...if not bipolar a lot!
Matthew was just adorable and hilarious! And frustrating to no end. He had ALL the answers, but he didn't answer a single question! But his replies? They made me laugh so much, frustrating me at the same time! I didn't even know that was possible!

So world building. Definitely loved. Like I said before, I'm a giant fan of Tarot cards, and the way that Kresley Cole portrays them as humans? It was just spot on. And the after affects of the Apocalypse? I can definitely imagine that happening and it really wasn't a giant stretch. The thing about this world was that it was...horrible. There were so many dangers, so many desperate people, creatures. And that wasn't even the worst of it. Or, that's what I'm suspecting. 

Overall, Poison Princess was a lush read that while it may disappoint Kresley Cole's Adult fans (from what I hear!), it definitely had me loving it after page one. Young Adult fans should be clamoring for this title and grabbing it off the shelf once they see it! Everything was absolutely wonderful and the lush writing will definitely pull you in, if Jack and his wicked grin don't get you first! 

Pages: 384
Series: The Arcana Chornicles #1
Genre: Apocalyptic/Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Rating: 7/5

Midnight City by J. Barton Mitchell

Goodreads Blurb

In a post-apocalyptic world controlled by alien invaders, two teens and a young girl with mysterious powers embark on a dangerous journey. What they find will change everything...
Earth has been conquered. An extraterrestrial race known as The Assembly has abducted the adult population, leaving the planet’s youth to fend for themselves. In this treacherous landscape, Holt, a bounty hunter, is transporting his prisoner Mira when they discover Zoey, a young girl with powerful abilities who could be the key to stopping The Assembly. As they make their way to the cavernous metropolis of Midnight City, the trio must contend with freedom fighters, mutants, otherworldly artifacts, pirates, feuding alien armies, and perhaps most perilous of all: Holt and Mira’s growing attraction to each other.

This. This. This.
That's all I can really say. I just absolutely ADORED Midnight City and it was a great first alien-invasion book! Because, honestly. Are alien invasions usually interesting? Not to me. They sound to cheesy and cliche. But when I heard about Midnight City? I hesitantly took a chance on it. And oh my goodness! It was just amazing and stunning and nothing like I expected! Just, in a good way of course! 

The plot was so the best part of this novel. It was SO action-packed and I just had no idea what Mitchell would throw at me next. And honestly? I wouldn't even try to figure out what was happening next! There's absolutely no way you could get anything right! It was just that filled with twists, and it was just...let's just say it's been a while since I've come across a plot where literally everything was unpredictable (except the romance. Psh.)
It was definitely fast paced and just...wow. By page 1, when the Menagerie finds Holt and they're attacked? WOW. And when he meets Mira? Talk about an impression! Just for the plot, read it. Still not convinced? Read on, thou which is hard to convince.

Romance? Definitely the opposite of insta-love, I squeal to say! It wasn't until about what? Three hundred pages when they finally kissed. Or later. But throughout the entire book, it went from hate, to respect, to allies, to friends, to like, to llooovvveee. And yes, I did just roll the word! It was just so squeal-worthy to see how reluctant they were to admit their feelings. And I just loved their pace! It was more realistic than most Young Adult books (taking up almost the entire book is pretty non instant isn't it?) and it was just...refreshing, for lack of better word!
And Hunter? SWOON is all I can say.

The characters I just absolutely positively loved. Or, more accurately, I absolutely positively loved Zoey and just loved Hunter and Mira! Zoey was all smart and zen and no, I didn't find it weird at all...after all, she is the Apex. Although, you don't know what that means, so it's totally not a spoiler. And she just had this...way about her. She was the mix of an innocent 8-year old girl, and this powerful, all-knowing seer or something. And it was just awesome seeing her go from one to another so seamlessly. 
Mira was, and is, one of my favorite female leads. She wasn't just smart, she was resourceful. She wasn't special in a certain way--she was only different because of her resourcefulness! And like I've said continuously, it's been a while since I've read about a non-special/outstanding character with rare powers. Although...well, you'll just have to read and find out! Mira was a strong character that wasn't afraid to admit she was scared, but did something about that threat...basically kill or emancipate that threat. But, you know.
Hee. Hunter. I loved Hunter, though not as much as I loved Mira! He was definitely strong and protective? YES. And he and Mira fit together like puzzle pieces; where one was weak, the other was strong, as cheesy as it sounds!

An AMAZING debut that I absolutely loved and had NO qualms about whatsoever. Usually aliens aren't my thing. After all, it's just a bit...well, it's too nerdy-sounding for this nerd! But Midnight City definitely made me want to read more alien-orientated books! This is definitely a book for all sci-fi/apocalyptic fans or anyone who's looking for their first intro to the genre! It will not disappoint, I can almost guarantee!

Pages: 384
Series: Conquered Earth #1
Genre: Sci-fi/Apocalyptic
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Rating: 5 ABSOLUTE STARS (Possibly 7.)

Blog Tour: Renegade by J.A. Souders

The process of creating an underwater world was both incredibly easy and impossibly hard. I absolutely loved writing about a city that rests along the ocean floor, but it was probably the hardest thing I’ve done to date. Worldbuilding itself is hard to get right. Too much detail and you bore readers (and yourself). Too little? And everyone is confused.

The single most important thing I did, before I even started writing was to figure out what my city would look like. So I drew up a rough draft map of my city. Granted by the time you see that map, it’ll have changed completely, but it was a starting point. It was during this phase that I used a lot of research. I had a pinboard filled with picutres of different underwater concept cities.  Some are even real world designs that are currently in use! Specifically a hotel in Dubai (http://travel.msn.co.nz/middleeast/dubai/117655/atlantis-dubais-underwater-hotel.slideshow) And I spent a lot of time at this website (http://www.ustream.tv/aquariusreefbase#utm_campaign=unknown&utm_source=337026&utm_medium=social) which is from the Aquarias reef base, an underwater research facility in the Florida Keys.

After all that, I did even more research on technology that would be needed to make a facitily completely self-sufficient. And to do that I asked myself some questions, starting with the important ones: How do they get fresh air? Fresh water? Food? Then working to the less important. How do they stay entertained? Then I went on to important for the story items. And this was the fun part. I needed to spend hours and hours doing weapon research. Which weapons could my characters use that would do the most damage without creating more problems than I wanted to write about? LOL. And the most important question to that? What weapons would they use in confined spaces with lots of glass. AND if a window (glass) did break, what safety precautions would be in place to prevent a major catastrophe? And also would my characters even be able to use the weapons in the first place?  So that meant hours and hours of time at the range. 

After all that research—and time playing with kick ass guns--I finally wrote a bare bones rough draft that included almost no world-building, but using my map to determine how my characters would move around and remembering what I learned. I wanted to get the story across without it being loaded down with all the world-building. 

After a few weeks break, I went back in and spent hours adding and removing pieces of world-building, using my crit. partners and beta readers as guinea pigs to determine what was necessary, what was too much, and what parts needed more explanation.

The hardest part was making the city feel like it was taking place underwater instead of in a cave or some other enclosed place, but doing it in a way that wasn’t intrusive to the character’s narrative. A character that has lived her entire life in this place and has no way to compare it to the Surface and where most things are common place to her and she doesn’t even think about it anymore. 

That was, of course, easier said than done, and required a lot of tweaking of character narrative between Evelyn and Gavin. I used Gavin for a lot of these world-building pieces, because it’s ALL new to him.

After all that tweaking, I finally sent it to my agent, who had her own notes about the world-building and when we sold it to Tor, my editor had even more questions and notes about it.

Even after all that, there are TONS more I know about Elysium that never made it into the story. Some is just waiting to be used in further installments, while some will probably never make it into any part of the series, but all of the hours of research and writing and rewriting was worth it, because I’m fairly certain that the world-building is the strongest part of Renegade. And I’m extremely proud of how it all turned out.  J

Renegade Blurb

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law. 

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster. 

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

 
 Author Bio

J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an over abundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble.  She first began writing at the age of 13, when she moved to Florida and not only befriended the monsters under the bed, but created worlds for them to play together.

    Because she never grew up, she decided she’d put her imaginary friends to work and started writing.  She still lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children and is an active member of the RWA, CFRW, YARWA and SCBWI.  

    She is represented by Natalie Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency.  Her debut book, RENEGADE, surfaces Fall 2012 from Tor Teen.



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