Waiting On Wednesday (76) The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

My choice for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (The Coldest Girl in Coldtown #1) by Holly Black

Hardcover

Expected publication: September 17, 2013
by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

I really enjoyed Holly's Curse Worker series, and this book sounds like it will be a terrific start to another really great series.

What are you waiting on this week?

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Review: Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce

Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce

Publication Date: April 30, 2013
Page Count: 240
Published by: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Source: eARC courtesy of publisher

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Megan Bright and Jackson Dawes are two teenagers who first meet each other on the hospital ward where they are both being treated for cancer. Megan is scared and worried about her illness, but Jackson seems to be an old hand, having been on the ward for ages. And everybody loves Jackson! He is a whirlwind of life and energy, warmth and sparkle. Megan will need to borrow some of Jackson's extraordinary optimism to face her and Jackson's future. A moving story of first love and a remarkably powerful debut novel.

Anthem for Jackson Dawes is an emotional and thought provoking story. It's a short book at only 240 pages, but sure to touch your heart. It was an enjoyable read, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

The protagonist, Megan, meets Jackson on her first day in the hospital. She feels an instant connection to Jackson and finds herself drawn to him. Megan was young and innocent, and I thought her crush on Jackson was really sweet. Meeting Jackson had a huge impact on Megan, as he gave her a better outlook on life during a very difficult time.

Jackson is very likable and he has such a winning personality. Everyone can't help but notice him when he walks into a room. Because Jackson has been in and out of the hospital for a long time, he tries his best to make the new patients feel welcomed and get them acquainted with the newness of being in the ward. I really felt for him because you could tell how hard he tried to make it easy for the new kids.

Anthem For Jackson Dawes covers only a very small part of Megan and Jackson's lives, which is when they are in the hospital at the same time. I wish I could have gotten to know Megan and Jackson better so I could have become more attached to their characters.

This is a nice, clean read that would be suitable for younger readers since a lot of the heavier stuff is glossed over or skipped altogether. I thought the writing was really good, the story was short and emotional, and the details were kept to a minimum. I would have loved for the characters to have been better developed and for the story to be longer.

Overall, I did enjoy reading Anthem For Jackson Dawes. I liked the the themes of friendship and hope. While the story did make me cry, I didn't connect with the characters like I would have preferred. This is a solid debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Stand Alone Reading Challenge
Contemporary Reading Challenge
Debut Author Challenge

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Tune In Tuesday (21) Road Trip Edition

Tune In Tuesday is a weekly feature in which bloggers get to showcase another one of their loves, music! This feature was originally created by Ginger over at GReads!, but is now hosted at Kate’s Tales of Books and Bands.

Road Trip Edition

(aka songs that I enjoy while driving that I can't help but turn up really LOUD and dance/jam and embarrass the kids. Yeah, right, like the kids don't do this to US. Thrift Shop anyone? Okay, wait. I like that song now.)

 

Civil Twilight - Letters From The Sky
I love these guys! My husband and I go see them live all the time, and they are really the nicest bunch of fellows. It's always weird when they stop by and chat with us. I am always a big nervous dork (read that as super duper NERVOUS with butterflies and the shakes and can't breathe.... big sigh when they walk away. Nicest bunch of guys ever!) I listen to their CDs from beginning to end, not just this song.





OMC - How Bizarre
RIP Pauly Fuemana



Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
Crank it UP!



Donnie Iris - Ah Leah
Terrible video, but awesome song! Don't watch, just LISTEN!



Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
This is actually the only song I like by them. Weird.



Jake Owen - Anywhere With You



My latest listen to it LOUD obsession is Florida Georgia Line w/Nelly - Cruise (Remix)

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Review: Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

Publication Date: March 1, 2013
Page Count: 272
Format: Hardcover
Published by: Point
Source: library

Synopsis From Goodreads:
A hilarious new novel from Elizabeth Eulberg about taking the wall out of the wallflower so she can bloom.

Don't mess with a girl with a great personality!

Everybody loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny...but she's never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty (with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).

Lexi's sick of it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan. She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she's sick of having all her family's money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection.

The time has come for Lexi to step out from the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game - and she's in it to win it.

The protagonist, Lexi, has always been told she has a great personality. Which is not always a bad thing. But Lexi's mother constantly makes Lexi feel 2nd best next to her younger sister. Sadly, Lexi's mother and sister come straight out of Toddlers & Tiaras, and they have all of the bad behavior and bratty attitude that the show is known for. Lexi has come to resent the shallowness of the beauty pageants, so she makes no attempt with her own appearance. When Lexi and her best friend, Benny, make an agreement to go after their crushes, Lexi finds herself glamming it up - and she surprisingly enjoys the new found attention. Lexi quickly becomes part of the 'in' crowd, but discovers how challenging it is to keep her great personality while working so hard at being popular. Lexi realizes that she is better off with more of a middle ground between not caring about her appearance at all and the beauty pageant look.

Lexi's family life is a mess. Her parent's are divorced, and her father doesn't play much of a role in her life (and he also doesn't get much of the blame for everything that has gone wrong). The mother was written as pretty pathetic, and I found it difficult to have any sympathy for her. I wanted to feel sorry for her, but she was written so over the top that I really couldn't make myself care for her character. I do wish that there had been more of a resolution with her storyline since she never really had to answer to Lexi for being a terrible mother.

I never really felt much for the supporting characters, especially Lexi's 2 best friends. I found them to be pretty flat and not well developed. The author tried to give them little personality quirks to make them interesting, but it just didn't work for me. What did work was the closeness that Lexi and her friends shared. I enjoyed their honesty and loyalty.

I really wanted to like this book, but I thought this was just okay. It had too much 'beauty pageant' bad behavior for my taste. I was disappointed that after all of the build up, the boy of Lexi's dreams turned out to be not so great. But, by suddenly displaying behavior that he had never shown before, it felt like it was just an easy 'out' for Lexi to stop liking him and start liking someone else.

In the end, I did like that Lexi learned that you don't have to lose part of yourself to be well liked. She started to discover who she is and who she wants to be. But overall, this book fell short for me. I don't think it was everything that it could have been. It was a quick read and did have some moments of humor that lightened things up a bit.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Stand Alone Reading Challenge
Contemporary Reading Challenge

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Waiting On Wednesday (75) Untold

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

My choice for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Hardcover, 368 pages

Expected publication: September 24th 2013 by Random House Books for Young Readers

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Free from bonds, but not each other.

It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

I really enjoyed reading Unspoken, and I can't wait to read Untold and find out what happens next!

What are you waiting on this week?

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Review: The Rules (Project Paper Doll #1) by Stacey Kade

The Rules (Project Paper Doll #1) by Stacey Kade

Publication Date: April 23, 2013
Page Count: 416
Format: ebook
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Source: eARC provided by publisher

Synopsis From Goodreads:

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

The Rules has an engaging and easy to follow storyline. The main focus is on the characters instead of action or world building. I know I really enjoyed this book because it actually reads more like a contemporary than sci-fi.

The Rules begins in the present with Ariane and her father and their life. Ariane's early years spent in a lab were told through flashbacks. This is how she explained her reasons for why she acts/thinks/feels the way she does in certain situations. Her father has set forth a list of 'rules' that Ariane must obey to remain hidden among regular humans. Ariane follows these rules to stay safe, but that ultimately means she lives a sad and lonely life. At least until a boy comes along and makes her start to break the rules and to question everything in her life up til now.

I liked the protagonist, Ariane, even though she isn't terribly exciting as a character. I still found her to be interesting enough and really likable. Zane turned out to be a lot deeper than his appearance and attitude would suggest. He was really intrigued by Ariane and wanted to take the time to get to know her and figure her out. There was no insta-love between Ariane and Zane. Instead we got a nice slow build up and genuine interest on both sides. I thought they were really cute together and had great chemistry.

The Rules is told in dual POV, alternating between Ariane and Zane. I always enjoy dual POV because I get to experience both characters' thoughts and feelings. I especially enjoyed Zane's perspective because he wasn't at all what I expected.

There was a huge chunk of storyline in the middle that revolved around Ariane and a mean girl at school (who just happened to be one of Zane's oldest and closest friends.) I didn't especially enjoy this part because it was so petty and made the characters seem very immature. I felt most of it was not necessary to move the plot forward, and it was a huge distraction for me. A few twists were revealed throughout the book that took me by surprise. Towards the end of the book, the story takes a very interesting turn. The ending was satisfying and close to perfect.

The Rules is an entertaining book that has a good pace and is easy to read. I really enjoyed the plot and the characters, and I am excited to see where this story goes from here.

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

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Sunday Updates (29)

Inspired by features from The Sunday Post from Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Sunday Summary from Book Twirps.

These are the books I have received in the past 2 weeks. I've been slacking on the posting because I am concentrating on reading more books this month. Less time posting = more time for reading. Gah.

Received For Review:

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

352 pages, Expected publication: September 24th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books

eARC Courtesy of Harper Collins Children

Received For Review:

Kindness for Weakness by Shawn Goodman

272 pages, Expected publication: May 14th 2013 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

eARC Courtesy of Random House Children's Books

Received For Review:

The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace (Pseudonym), Mandy Hubbard

264 pages, Expected publication: September 8th 2013 by Flux

eARC Courtesy of Flux Books
 

Received For Review:

Icons (Icons #1) by Margaret Stohl

448 pages

Expected publication: May 7th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Paperback (with the pretty pink cover!) Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company via Shelf Awareness

Received For Review:

Deviant by Helen Fitzgerald

248 pages, Expected publication: June 11th 2013 by Soho Teen

Paperback Courtesy of Soho Teen

Find out what I thought about these 2 books:
Review: Shadowlands (Shadowlands #1) by Kate Brian

Review: Taken (Taken #1) by Erin Bowman

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Waiting On Wednesday (74) Starry Nights

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

My choice for this week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Starry Nights by Daisy Whitney

Expected publication: September 3rd 2013

by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Julien is a romantic—he loves spending his free time at the museum poring over the great works of the Impressionists. But one night, a peach falls out of a Cezanne, Degas ballerinas dance across the floor, and Julien is not hallucinating.

The art is reacting to a curse that trapped a beautiful girl, Clio, in a painting forever. Julien has a chance to free Clio and he can't help but fall in love with her. But love is a curse in its own right. And soon paintings begin to bleed and disappear. Together Julien and Clio must save the world's greatest art . . . at the expense of the greatest love they've ever known.

Like a master painter herself, Daisy Whitney brings inordinate talent and ingenuity to this romantic, suspenseful, and sophisticated new novel. A beautifully decorated package makes it a must-own in print.

I love that cover! Doesn't this book sound totally awesome? And! I am also looking forward to reading Daisy's other book that comes out in June, When You Were Here.

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