Review: Ever by Jessa Russo

Title: Ever

Author: Jessa Russo
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Publishing Date: September 20, 2012

Pages/Format: 296, Kindle
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Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.

Of course, it doesn't help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.

Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.

Some girls lose their hearts to love.

Some girls lose their minds.

Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.

Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: LIKE

Waiting on Wednesday (26)

Waiting on Wednesday

is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that showcases

upcoming releases that people are very much anticipating.

I just learned about this book--out next week--and it sounds awesome, albeit gritty and dark. However, it's set in New York AND the 80s. Sounds great to me!

Top Ten Tuesday (26)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Tuesday's theme is...

Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books/Harper Collins

Publishing Date: May 1, 2012

Pages/Format: 525, Hardcover

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

"New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: AAAAAMAZING

Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green
Publisher: Dutton Books

Publishing Date: January 10, 2012

Pages/Format: 313, Hardcover

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: OKAY

Waiting on Wednesday (25)

Waiting on Wednesday

is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that showcases

upcoming releases that people are very much anticipating.

I recently read this author's latest release Eleanor Park and absolutely LOVED IT. So, so good. So of course I'm dying to get my hands on her latest novel!

Top Ten Tuesday (25)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Tuesday's theme is...

Top Ten Books I Had to Buy That Are Still Unread on My Shelf

Blog Tour: There Comes A Prophet by David Litwack

Hello, my bookish lovelies! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for There Comes A Prophet by David Litwack, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours! I have all the book info, as well as an interview with the author AND a giveaway! There Comes A Prophet is available now, so run out and get your hands on it!

Celebrate Poison by Bridget Zinn

I'm extremely honored to be a part of the blog tour for Bridget Zinn's Poison. Not only will I share everything about the book with you, but I'll talk about one of my firsts in life, as well as tell you about the wonderful, gone-too-soon Bridget Zinn. Without further adieu, I present to you: Poison.

Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Title: Requiem

Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date: March 5, 2013

Pages/Format: 391, Hardcover

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: WHAT

Waiting on Wednesday (24)

Waiting on Wednesday

is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that showcases

upcoming releases that people are very much anticipating.

The cover for this book was just revealed, and while I don't love it (especially compared to the original covers in the series), I don't care--I want to read this book so so so bad! And I think a lot of you do, too. Prepare for a super cute romance and majorly swoon-worthy boys with...

Top Ten Tuesday (24)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Tuesday's theme is...

Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Spring TBR List

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date: February 28, 2012

Pages/Format: 375, Hardcover

"So what was your name before?" I say, and she freezes, her back to me. "Before you came to the Wilds, I mean."

For a moment she stands there.

Then she turns around.

"You might as well get used to it now," she says with quite intensity.

"Everything you were, the life you had, the people you knew...dust."

She shakes her head and says, a little more firmly, "There is no before. There is only now, and what comes next."

After falling in love, Lena and Alex flee their oppressive society where love is outlawed and everyone must receive the "cure" - an operation that makes them immune to the delirium of love - but Lena alone manages to find her way to a community of resistance fighters. Although she is bereft without the boy she loves, her struggles seem to be leading her toward a new love.

Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: UHHHHHHH

Cover Reveal: Hell's Hollow by Summer Stone

Hello, bookish lovelies! I've got an awesome cover reveal for you today. Presenting: Hell's Hollow, a YA Paranormal by Summer Stone that's out in March 2013! Be sure to check it out on Goodreads, and let me know what you think of the cover!

Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date: February 11, 2011

Pages/Format: 441, Paperback

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. 

And I've always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed.

Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: Delirious?

Cover Reveal: A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris

Hello, my bookish lovelies! I've got a lovely treat for you today: the cover reveal of A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris! It's the second book in her My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century series, and it's bound to be romantic and a blast! I've got the cover, excerpt, all the info on Rachel, AND a giveaway! Enjoy!

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

Waiting on Wednesday

is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that showcases

upcoming releases that people are very much anticipating.

I just heard about the following book this week and immediately wanted it because it sounds similar to Warm Bodies. Now, I hate zombies, but I LOVED Warm Bodies. I was told this has more gore, but I think I'll get over it, because it sounds awesome!

Top Ten Tuesday (23)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Tuesday's theme is...

Top Ten Series I'd Like To Start But Haven't Yet

Interview: Carly Anne West

Hi! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Carly Anne West's The Murmurings, which Kirkus says is "fun with mirrors and heart-thumping encounters." This is bound to be a dark, thrilling book you'll want to plant your nose in. So sit back, relax, and try not to get too spooked as I interview Carly and tell you everything you need to know about The Murmurings!

Review: Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Title: Spellcaster

Author: Claudia Gray
Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date: March 5, 2013

Pages/Format: 370, ARC

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed. 

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel is sure to draw fans of the Hex Hall and Caster Chronicles series.

Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: LIKE