Waiting on Wednesday #17

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

This Week I am Waiting On...

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Publication Date: August 27th, 2013
Series: Throne of Glass #2
Amazon/B&N

An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. 

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

The release date is so soon! *squeals* I feel like I need this sequel to Throne of Glass even sooner, though. In fact, this very second would do!

What are you Waiting On this week?

-Emily :)

J.K Rowling's "New" Book

Has everyone heard about J.K. Rowling's The Cuckoos' Calling?  In actuality, this has been released for a few months already, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It was just a couple days ago that she was revealed.

I find how she published this, quietly and with no hype, quite amazing. I bet she had her own little adventure whilst dealing with the novel. She got to hear what people thought, without them comparing the book to the infamous Harry Potter series, or having tons of readers give the book 5 stars just because Rowling wrote the words. The way she quietly published the book could also be a kind of experiment on her part. How would people react to this supposedly debut novel?

And, now, the next question. Are there any more of her books hiding out there? (Probably not, but then no one suspected her to have The Cuckoo's Calling hiding in the shelves of bookstores either.) What do you think? Personally, I doubt it. But wouldn't that be cool? I might start thinking of her as a spy-under cover author.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Publication Date: April 30th, 2013
Genre: Adult Mystery/Crime

A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide. After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

What do think of this new discovery? 

All I know, is that J.K Rowling will go down in history with many achievements and personal stories. The tale of the Cuckoo's Calling will be one many people remember, and perhaps even admire.

Ultimate Summer Giveaway: Round Three!

So, time for the Ultimate Summer Giveaway which will be going on all Summer...

The details: Every couple of weeks I will post a new book or two and add them to the pile the winners will choose from! How many winners wiil there be? Currently only one, but for every 100 followers via email or 100 via bloglovin, I will add another winner. Here are some more books of many to add to the pile...

Oh, and this is US and International. If you are international, the book will be shipped from the book depository instead of from my shelf though.


THIS WEEKS ADDITIONS ARE...

THE PREVIOUS ADDITIONS

So, what would you like to win? 52 Reasons to Hate my Father, Tiger Lily, Dante's Girl, My Life Undecided, Prophecy, or For Darkness Shows the Stars? 

Good luck!

-Emily :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Confessions of an Angry Girl

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Publication Date: August 28th, 2012
Amazon/Barnes and Noble

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…

1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?

2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.

3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry—get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)

(Sorry. That was rude.)

The Review

I had moderately high expectations for this book after reading the awesome synopsis, and fortunately, those expectations were met. Confessions of an Angry Girl was an emotional and, most of all, vividly realistic read. The story sucked me in and I definitely laughed and cried a few times! (Not at the same time though.) I cannot wait to read Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend.

One thing I loved were the characters. Rose seemed real, with her many faults and realistic voice. Her narrative was entertaining, especially her use of the big words, and her character growth by the end was noticeable and amazingly written.  Her family also was a realistic set of characters. Rose, her brother, and her mother, are all still coping with the dad's death. I found all the turmoil caused by this a big part of the book. Jamie Forta was another reoccurring character in the book. I am still not quite sure what to think of him... he seems to be hiding something. I hope we will find out more in the next book. However, I do hope he is a good guy, just because I am optimistic like that!

Along with the family troubles, there was also a fair share of high school drama. I will not mention each character, as there were lots. However, all of them seemed interesting and memorable from Robert, a guy who has been tailing after Rose since middle school, to Angelo, a laid back student I want to know more about, to Regina, a evil cheerleader. I find "evil cheerleaders" pretty tiresome nowadays in YA books. However, to me Regina was a little more interesting than the rest, although still a smidgen unoriginal. Overall, the high school drama, and Rose's feeling of not fitting in, were pretty well written.

One thing that flat out impressed me was how the cover relates to the book. Yes, in the book she does have a necklace with an "R" charm on it. I also found it cool that the cover creator people (???) cover designers chose to focus the cover on that part of the book. I also enjoyed the fact that there isn't just one big plot, in actuality, there are loads of mini plots circling around. This made the book seem more dimentional. I mean, our lives don't just revolve around one problem, right? Of course not.

Overall, Confessions of an Angry Girl is a worthwhile read. Fans of contemporary will find the characters realistic and the many emotional plots appealing. I was not kidding when I said this book made me laugh and cry. So, what are you waiting for? This book deserves to be read.

4/5 bookcases

Extra Note: I will probably be reviewing the second book later this month. I can't wait! Has anyone else read this series? What did you think?

Day 6: Book Buying Habits

Okay, I am a little late to the party here! However, these challenges looked really fun and I decided to participate. The questions are just so awesome! If anyone else wants to, they can participate at Good Books and Wine. Don't forget to check out the intro-ish post too!

TOPIC FOR DAY SIX:

Book buying habits

The first thing anyone should know about me is that I always think over my purchases over. (this annoys a lot of peopel who know me. "Just buy them!") Maybe a little bit too hard. I normally shop for books every two or three months, and, when I do, I either shop on Amazon or at Powells.

Whenever I shop on Amazon, I look at the money I had saved first. Then, I calculate about how many books I can buy with the amount of dollars. Then, my handy dandy To-Read list on Goodreads comes and helps me create a LONG list of books I would like, then an ally (friend, family etc.) comes and helps me narrow down the list by looking at the reviews, genre, author and other factors. Finally, I may have a digital cart full of books. And I am always especially happy when a book is on sale because then I get one more book than I calculated!

Another place I often shop is Powells, the BIGGEST bookstore ever known. First, I always sell my used books. And get loads of in-store credit. And, of course, I bring my own wallet to help out. Then, I zoom to the YA section and start a "A" and end in "Z" where I go CRAZY and grab every book in sight that sounds good. By the end, I have to DRAG the basket instead of carrying it. Then, I sit down with an alley, and read all the synopsis and make assumptions about it, as in Powells we don't have access to Goodreads. Then, I make my decision and buy what my little money allows. I always put the ones I didn't buy back in the right place, too.

Another habit? I am drawn to those new hardcovers in the store. I can never buy then though because I feel guilty about paying that 17.99 at the store when I could have been smart and pre-ordered on Amazon for around 11.99. I always pick them up, and then as I am nearing the counter the guilt hots me and I run and put it back. 

Also, I love

1. Pre-Orders
2. On Sale Books

I wish I was more of an impulse buyer. That would be awesome and save me hours of my time! The only times I impulse buy is for e-books, and I rarely shop e-books unless I have a giftcard! Last week, I impulsively bought a lot of e-books with one! I found I really like the nook app.

Wow, that felt good to get off my chest. I know my book buying habits/schedules are strange. What do you think? Also, I never get my books signed... I need to start on that! (Do you have to pay for it?)

So, what are your Book Buying Habits?

-Emily :)

Stacking the Shelves #18

STS is, as always, hosted by the wonderful Tynga's Reviews!

MY WEEK

This week I have been SUPER busy. Really. I have Summer Strings Camp every day (I play the violin) and have been taking ballet class every chance I get, and I am in a more advanced level so I am the youngest, by around a year or two, than the twelve girls that are frequently in class. It is more than a little unnerving. 

I did however, get a practically private pointe class with my teacher because no one else showed up on Wednesday. I was exhausted that day as I has Summer Strings, and then THREE ballet classes in a row. So, enough of my rant. Here are the books I received this week:

MY HAUL

 I went e-book crazy... 

thanks to my wonderful aunt for the nook gift card that supplied me with them!

FOR REVIEW

 Visited by Janine Caldwell (For tour)

Ignited by Desni Dantone (Thank you Desni!)

By Blood by Tracy E. Banghart (For tour)

NEW POINTE SHOES

AWESOME GIVEAWAYS

Cover Madness Giveaway

Ultimate Summer Giveaway

Losing Francesca Giveaway

Rush Giveaway

Dirty Little Secret Giveaway

Ethereal Fury Giveaway

So link your STS's in the comment, I love visiting other book hauls... and I hope you enjoyed this post. (Weren't the Pointe Shoes awesome?)

 -Emily :)

Review + Giveaway: Losing Francesca

Come check out the rest of The Tour Schedule!

Losing Francesca by J.A. Huss

Publication Date: June 1st, 2013
Amazon/Barnes and Noble

Francesca Sabatini came to America to take in the sights, celebrate her high school graduation, and have fun wasting time before college starts in the fall.

That's not what happens.

Fresh off the plane and barely on American soil more than a handful of minutes, Francesca's face is recognized by TSA scanners to be a match for a child who was kidnapped twelve years ago.

Brody Mason remembers the day Fiona Sullivan went missing during a family vacation in Italy and it's haunted him his whole life. So when Francesca shows up at the Sullivan farm down the road, he's compelled to figure out if this girl really is his long-lost friend.

But Francesca knows she's not Fiona Sullivan. She knows exactly who she is. At least she thinks she knows – until Brody Mason relentlessly pursues her and she begins to have feelings for him. Maybe being Fiona isn't so bad?

Reality becomes blurred, secrets are revealed, and life will never be the same when the final questions are answered: Is she Francesca or Fiona? And where does she really belong?

Review

Losing Francesca literally sucked me in... and didn't let me out until I finished the last page. I loved the characters, mystery, romance, and the originality. (And I cannot let that gorgeous cover go unnoticed) I am so glad I got the chance to read this book, and I will definitely look into more of J.A. Huss's writing.

The characters were one of the main things that sucked me into Francesca's world, her new one and old one. She herself was quite a mystery at first, as the readers are not sure who her dad is, and other key factors of her past. This hidden information intrigued me. Also, I absolutely loved her narration and character development. She is stubborn, but is having a little bit of an identity crisis towards the middle of the book. I also loved Brody. At first, he seemed a little, er, dramatic? However, as I learned more about him, I began to crave the chapters with his narration.

There are tons more characters I loved too. Shaun, Francesca's adoptive brother, was a character I loved. He had his faults, but I loved how he tried to include Francesca into the family. Also, I enjoyed learning about the family Francesca spent her life with before she was recognized as a kidnapped child. They were different and unique, yet had a realistic quality. To me both Shaun and Francesca's childhood family were very vivid.

Now I must mention the plot. The whole time, I was pulled into the mystery of who Francesca really was. And there was an amazing twist at the end. I applaud the author for pulling such a sweet yet intriguing and suspenseful contemporary romance! Also, I loved the multiple settings and detailed yet not over-the-top descriptions. (NormallyI mention pacing and length but I do not have much to say as it was perfect here.) I believe I have said this word before in the review, but I found the story very vivid and as I read I lost sense of the reality around me.

Overall, I found Losing Francesca more than worthy of my time. The book was, simply put, pretty amazing. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to fans of unique contemporaries! Or, really, any book lover out there. And now head down for an amazing giveaway... And put this book on your to-read-as-soon-as-possible imaginary hard drive. And don't deny it, all reader's have that list stored in their brains.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols: Interview + Giveaway

Interview Time!

Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son.

www.jennifer-echols.com

I was so delighted to participate in an interview for Jennifer Echols! Her books are amazing, and I am particularly stoked for her new book, Dirty Little Secret, as I play the violin. I am actually taking a strings (instrument) camp right now... So, here is the awesome interview with this awesome person and a giveaway....