Waiting on Wednesday is a fabulous meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we can show the books we can't wait to get our hands on!
This week I am waiting on...
Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Release Date: 7th February 2012
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.
Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other. - From Goodreads
I think this sounds great and I can't wit to read it.
So about 8 months ago I decided that I was going to get healthy. As a part of this I signed up to run a 10k. Why I did this is still a mystery to me but since it was done I thought it might be a good idea to use this opportunity to raise some money for a charity close to my heart.
My Mum suffers from a strain of muscular dystrophy called Charot Marie Tooth (CMT for short). I will be running the 10k on Sunday 2nd October and I am feeling a bit of fear mixed in with excitement about it.
If you would like to show your support my just giving link is on the right of the page and if you would like to learn more about CMT please click here.
Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Published: 1st September 2009
Series: The Hunger Games #2
Source: Own Kindle Copy
WARNING - DESCRIPTION AND REVIEW CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR HUNGER GAMES
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol. Catching Fire maintains the adrenaline rush of Suzanne Collins's series launch. - From Goodreads
My love of Hunger Games saw me transitioning straight from one book right into the next. I absolutely adored the Hunger Games and wanted to clap my hands at the end of the book when Katniss and Peeta won!! Woo Hoo, those two deserved it, they worked hard to survive against the odds and it turns out that their triumph was the spark needed to cause unrest within the Districts.
This book had a slightly different feel to Hunger Games. We already know from the first book what the Hunger Games are about and the power wielded by The Capitol to keep the Districts in line. I thought that the start of Catching Fire felt a little unsettled, almost like it did not know where it was going, however I think we are supposed to feel this way.
Katniss and Peeta are back from the Hunger Games and as you would expect, after surviving against the odds, they are feeling like they don't know their place within the society they have returned to. Quickly though the story returns to the Hunger Games and the environment we are familiar with, not failing to deliver on the suspense we found in the first book.
I can't rave about this series enough and will be forcing my Mum read these as soon as she has the time, along with anyone else who will listen to me about how good they are!! I can't wait for the film to come out!
The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school teaches advanced martial arts in PE, chemistry always consists of the latest in chemical warfare, and everyone breaks CIA codes for extra credit in computer class. So in truth, while the Gallagher Academy might say it's a school for geniuses what they really mean is spies. But what happens when a Gallagher Girl falls for a boy who doesn't have a code name? Cammie Morgan may be fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti), but the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she's doing something riskier than ever—she's falling in love. - From Goodreads
So in my head if James Bond had a daughter with another super spy, said daughter would go to school at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. With classes in covert ops and days where you can only speak a specified language at the Gallagher Academy you learn all you need to become a world class spy. If we get past the all girls aspect of the school (I went to an all girls school and it was super bitchy!) this is exactly the school I dreamed of.
Cammie Morgan is a pupil at the Gallagher Academy, but she is not just any pupil she is the headmistresses daughter. Having grown up in the school Cammie knows all of the hidden passages (oh and there are loads) and has 2 bffs she lives with. During a practical covert ops lesson (which is run by Mr Hot-Spy-Teacher) Cammie is practicing her skills following and tracking, unseen. This is Cammie's skill and earned her the nickname Cammie the Chameleon. So when one of the local boys from the local town starts talking to her and noticing her Cammie has no idea what it means and launches her own investigation.
I really liked this book. All of the main characters were really likable and so were the secondary characters (I was a little sceptical about the "new girl" but I liked her in the end). I found Cammie's complete lack of "boy knowledge" to be familiar (I am a spaz when it comes to boys) and very amusing. This was a really easy and quick read and I found there to be no slow parts at all. Gallagher Girls is quickly becoming a series I love.
Welcome to this weeks in my mailbox where we discuss all the new books
we acquired through the week. This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren.
High five!! I made it a whole week without buying any books (well that is a small fib but since my books have not been delivered they will not get counted until next week)!! Worry not however, while I was sorting through my kindle I found quite a few books I bought ages ago and have not yet read or posted in any past IMMs. So over the next few weeks I will share these delights with you.
Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.
Best.
Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band
playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party,
Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life.
She never thought it would be his last.
Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.
Well, sort of.
Like
everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This
mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing
more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But
not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead
Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.
It doesn't help that
Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His
support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.
As Aura's
relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do
her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's
heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift. - From Goodreads
I have seen so many reviews for this. I need to finally read this so I can see what it's all about.
In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .
Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel
blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and
faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to
her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.
Her
visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a
new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be
the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into
place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy,
Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries
to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters
unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between
honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her
vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny? Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart. - From Goodreads
I have been meaning to read this debut for ages and I can't wait to start!!
Waiting on Wednesday is a fabulous meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we can show the books we can't wait to get our sticky little paws on!
When high school junior
Sara wins a coveted scholarship to study ballet, she must sacrifice
everything for her new life as a professional dancer-in-training. Living
in a strange city with a host family, she's deeply lonely-until she
falls into the arms of Remington, a choreographer in his early twenties.
At first, she loves being Rem's muse, but as she discovers a surprising
passion for writing, she begins to question whether she's chosen the
right path. Is Rem using her, or is it the other way around? And is
dancing still her dream, or does she need something more? This debut
novel in verse is as intense and romantic as it is eloquent. - From Goodreads
I'm not sure about it being written in verse, but the story... Ballet and romance, sounds great. I hope the story does not get lost in the writing!!
Welcome to this weeks in my mailbox where we discuss all the new books
we acquired through the week. This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren.
I tried so hard this week not to buy any books. That lasted for about a day before doing my weekly shop in the supermarket and picking up a couple books I had my eye on!! Also got Room for my kindle because my Mum and Sister will not stop talking about it and I want to join in the conversations! Oh and I got a CD I love already!
Title: Room
Author: Emma Donoghue
Published: 21st January 2011
Publisher: Picador
In many ways, Jack is a
typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games
with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his
entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his
mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick. For Jack,
Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma, it is a prison in which
she has tried to craft a normal life for her son. When their insular
world suddenly expands beyond the confines of their four walls, the
consequences are piercing and extraordinary. Despite its profoundly
disturbing premise, Emma Donoghue's Room is rife with moments
of hope and beauty, and the dogged determination to live, even in the
most desolate circumstances. A stunning and original novel of survival
in captivity, readers who enter Room will leave staggered, as though, like Jack, they are seeing the world for the very first time. - From Goodreads
I have a feeling this book will make me sob!!
Title: Dark Angel
Author: Eden Maguire
Published: 4th August 2011
Publisher: Hodder Childrens Books
Series: Dark Angel #1
Tania's heart belongs
to Orlando. Nothing can rip them apart. Until the seduction begins in a
flurry of glamour and magic, music and parties all orchestrated by the
mysterious and mesmerising Zoran, an iconic rock star who has retired to
a remote ranch in the nearby mountains. And there Tania meets the dark
side. Can she resist temptation? - From Goodreads
Hmmm... not sure about this one. I will need to see!!
Title: My Soul To Take
Author: Rachel Vincent
Published: 1st January 2011
Publisher: Mira Books
Series: Soul Screamers #1
She doesn't see dead people, but… She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next… - From Goodreads
Sounds good.
Finally I just got this album. Plus (+) by Ed Sheeran and I am loving it so far. I don't talk to much about music, but I love it. I think the right song can bring you to tears, or lift you from a mood. My musical taste can vary drastically, in the space of a day I can go from listening to Classic, to Gaga, to Dolly Parton and top it off with some 30 Seconds to Mars. With this in mind, talking about what I am currently listening to can be a bit of a feat.
HOWEVER I think this is a great debut album. I was lucky enough to sit in on a radio session with Ed Sheeran and about 30 fans here in Edinburgh. It was just him and his guitar and it was brilliant. This album for me is a little bit of Damien Rice mixed with some Nizlopi and a dash Jason Mraz. Check out the videos below for A Team and You Need Me, I Don't Need You.
Leah has the life most
high school girls would kill for—popularity, glowing grades, a rich,
athletic boyfriend. So why does she feel like she can’t breathe? And why
can’t she stop thinking about the boy from the country club? The one
who isn’t her boyfriend, the one that her mother would never, ever
approve of, the one that her perfect older sisters would never, ever
look at twice. The one who is always looking back at her. Irresistible
attraction, smoldering glances, the bad boy and the good girl—Kiss Crush Collide has everything that a steamy forbidden romance should, and then some.
With graceful and honest writing and an electric love story, this is
a book about growing into your own skin. For fans of Perfect Chemistry,
Sarah Dessen, and John Green. - From Goodreads
I am on a bit of a contemporary fiction binge at the moment. I just can't get enough and this book looks amazing. Oh and did I mention that I think the cover is sizzling!! I just absolutely can't wait to get my little paws on this one - the only reason I wish Christmas would come quick!!
Title: Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Published: 2nd March 2010
Series: Hex Hall #1
Source: Own Copy on Kindle
Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.
As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her. - From Goodreads
I love a delinquent! I love a book about high school! I love magic and the unusual! I love being surprised! Luckily for me this book has everything I love and more. Hex Hall is a school for Witches, Faeries and Werewolves who misuse their magic.
When Sophie misuses her magic and creates a disaster at her old school she is sent to Hex Hall. Set away from society Prodigums (Supernaturals - Witches, Faeries, Shifters etc...) can learn to control their powers and more importantly, hide their powers from those who want to hunt and kill them. Sophie is assigned a room with the only vampire on campus and when students start turning up attacked all fingers are pointing at the Vampire.
This has a bit of everything I love and it did not disappoint me. The story was exciting, thrilling and fun all at the same time. The romance aspect of this book was good and has a way of throwing you in different directions. This book felt like it was over way too fast for me because I gobbled it up in one go and it left me wanting more! Bring on Sophie and her magical drama!!
Welcome to this weeks in my mailbox where we discuss all the new books
we acquired through the week. This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren.
This week I only bought ebooks for my kindle (it was feeling a bit left out)!! So, without further hesitation...
On Lily Sanderson’s
eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mergirl, true, but
signing the renunciation will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out
of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy
she loves, and trying to master this being-human thing once and for
all.
Now that Lily and Quince are together, mer bond or not,
she’s almost content to give up her place in the royal succession of
Thalassinia. But just when she thinks she has everything figured out,
the waves start to get rough. Lily’s father sends a certain
whirlpool-stirring cousin to stay with her on land. What did Doe do to
get herself exiled from Thalassinia and stuck in terraped form when
everyone knows how much she hates humans? And why why why is she batting
her eyelashes at Lily’s former crush, Brody?
The seafoam on the
raging surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up—Tellin asks
Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future
with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily
tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her
love, her duty, and her own dreams?
Tera Lynn Childs’s sequel to Forgive My Fins offers another tail-flicking romance with plenty of fun, sun, and underwater adventure. - From Goodreads
For Erin Blackwell,
majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams
is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away
from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in
Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the
farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and
promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter
Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a
coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter .
. . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest
writing assignment?
Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class,
Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about
himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully
clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to
everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy
stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's
heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been.
She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . .
except this story could come true. - From Goodreads
2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.
If
given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the
chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe
"opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a
tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents").
But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take
care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a
Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a
Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.
In this
hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind
of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April
will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and
accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart .
. . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time. - From Goodreads
Best friends Lani and
Erin couldn’'t be more different. Lani'’s reserved and thoughtful;
Erin'’s bubbly and outgoing. Lani likes to do her own thing; Erin
prefers an entourage. There'’s no possible way they could be interested
in the same guy. So when Erin starts dating Jason, Lani can’'t
believe she feels such a deep connection with him— and it may be mutual.
The more Lani fights it, the more certain she feels that it’'s her fate
to be with Jason. But what do you do when the love of your life is the
one person you can’'t have? - From Goodreads
I think all of these look amazing and I can't wait to start. So, what did you get in your mailbox this week?
Title: Hourglass
Author: Myra McEntire
Publisher: Egmont USA
Published: 14th June 2011
Series: Hourglass #1
Source: Own Copy
One hour to rewrite the past . . .
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?
Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut. - From Goodreads
This book begins with a beautiful cover and then the writing and the story pulls you in and walks you along right to the end. In my mind this was a short book due to the fact that I could not put it down so it took me just over a day to read.
Emerson Cole lives with her older brother and his wife after returning from boarding school and, before that, a stint in a psychiatric hospital. Emerson has a special gift, which is what landed her in hospital in the first place, she can see visions of people from the past. Enter the dashing Michael!!
Michael is from the Hourglass organisation. I feel in this book we only touch on Hourglass and what it is but we are given enough to keep us gagging for more. More details, more Em, more Michael, more Hourglass!! I think that the writing in this book is very graceful. It does not feel like you get bogged down in anything. All the characters are well written and rounded and you quickly get a feel for what the characters are all about.
I loved this book. A wonderful debut from Myra McEntire and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
Waiting on Wednesday is a fabulous meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we can show the books we are eagerly waiting for their release.
Title: Glow Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Release Date: 13th September 2011
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Series: Sky Chasers #1
If a violent battle destroyed the only world you’ve ever known, would you be brave enough to save who was left? Would love be strong enough to survive the fight? Either way, there’s no turning back.
The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she and her boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. Everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Still, there’s a part of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.
Suddenly, Waverly’s dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable – a violent betrayal by the Empyrean's sister ship, the New Horizon. The New Horizon’s leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls. In one pivotal moment, Waverly and Kieran are separated, and find themselves at the helm of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster.
Pulse-pounding and addictive, GLOW begins the most riveting series since The Hunger Games. - From Goodreads
I am a little weary when any book is described as the next Hunger Games. It is a huge comparison to live up to so we will need to see if Glow passes the test. I am looking forward to finding out!!
Woo Hoo!! Another TV show for me to get hooked on!!
I was so very excited to hear about the Lying Game coming to abc family as I love Pretty Little Liars TV series. My usual lack of patience, and wanting to know as soon as possible who A was, then lead me to the books by Sara Shepard. I have loved all of the Books so far (I have currently read 1-5) and I am excited to find out how The Lying Game books will compare. Even after only 3 episodes I really want to find out what happens to Emma and Sutton.
So let me know, have you seen it and if so what do you think?
If you have not seen or heard anything about The Lying Game on abc family, check out the promo below for a taste!
So let me know your thoughts on the TV show and if you have read the books yet (I saw lots of copies on IMM's this week) what do you think about them?
Welcome to this weeks in my mailbox where we discuss all the new books
we acquired through the week. This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren.
This week I bought some very exciting books this week and my lovely friend A.B. lent me some books and in exchange I gave her some to try. So, lots of pictures this week, here we go -
So I love watching everything and anything. Recently I have noticed that there has been a number of programmes coming from MTV which have totally caught me off guard, mostly for good reasons too. So here are the ones I have enjoyed so far with a little bit about them -
1. Awkward.
MTV
The series is based around social outcast Jenna Hamilton who, following an accident that rumors misconstrue as a suicide attempt, starts being noticed by all the students at her school. By making changes and embracing her misfortune, she becomes well-known by her peers. While having to deal with a new, not-so-fun stigma, she still has to manage the daily drama that comes with being a teenager. - Wikipedia
From the first moment of watching this I loved it. This girl has a Juno-like wit, oh and I enjoy a good bit of backchat!! Always excited for the next episode to air!
