Waiting On Wednesday - 3/18/15

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I know this a day late but I explain it in my next post! Okay so this week I'm waiting for Soundless by Richelle Mead. I love her books and this one sounds amazing - Chinese folklore? Love it! I can't wait for it to come out!!! Happy Reading.

Publication: November 17th, 2015
Summary: From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore. 

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom. 

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever...

Cover Reveal: The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel

The Revolution of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #2)

by Amy Engel 

Release Date: 11/03/15

Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

Ivy Westfall is beyond the fence and she is alone. Abandoned by her family and separated from Bishop Lattimer, Ivy must find a way to survive on her own in a land filled with countless dangers, both human and natural. She has traded a more civilized type of cruelty--forced marriages and murder plots--for the bare-knuckled brutality required to survive outside Westfall's borders.

But there is hope beyond the fence, as well. And when Bishop reappears in Ivy's life, she must decide if returning to Westfall to take a final stand for what she believes is right is worth losing everything she's fought for.

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Pre-Order Links:

Amazon│Kobo Books

The Book of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #1)

by Amy Engel 

Release Date: 11/04/14

Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…

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Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books│iTunes│Google Books

Book Trailer:

About the Author

 Amy Engel was born in Kansas and after a childhood spent bouncing between countries (Iran, Taiwan) and states (Kansas; California; Missouri; Washington, D.C.), she settled in Kansas City, Missouri, where she lives with her husband and two kids.  Before devoting herself full-time to motherhood and writing, she was a criminal defense attorney, which is not quite as exciting as it looks on TV.  When she has a free moment, she can usually be found reading, running, or shoe shopping. The Book of Ivy is her debut YA novel. Find her online at http://amyengel.net/ or @aengelwrites.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter

Giveaway: 

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Blog Tour: Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis

Gathering Frost (Once Upon A Curse #1) 
By: Kaitlyn Davis 
Release Date: 02/17/15

Summary from Goodreads: 

Will his kiss be enough to revive her frozen heart? 

Once Upon A Time meets La Femme Nikita in GATHERING FROST, a dystopian romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.

Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.

Ten years later and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel, to care...even to love. Working as a member of the queen's guard, she spends most of her time on the city wall staring at the crumbling skyscrapers of old New York. But everything changes when the queen's runaway son, Prince Asher, returns. Jade is tasked with an unusual mission--to let the Prince capture her, to make him trust her, and then to betray his secrets to the crown. In return, she'll earn her freedom. But life outside the queen's realm is more than Jade bargained for. Under Asher's relentless taunts, her blood begins to boil. Under his piercing gaze, her heart begins to flutter. And the more her icy soul begins to thaw, the more Jade comes to question everything she's ever known--and, more importantly, whose side she's really on.

Buy Links:

Amazon

My Review:

Initial Thoughts: I absolutely loved it! I love retellings and I love a wonderful plot and characters. I was completely into the story and had such a hard time pulling away from this beauty. I can't stop saying enough how much I enjoyed Gathering Frost.

The Characters: I really loved Jade. For some reason, I just connected with her from the start which I thought would be hard because she is emotionless, but nope, not the case. Maybe it was because I just knew she would be a good person with a kind heart which she is. She's a great fighter as well as a really caring person even though she doesn't see herself with high regard. Jade felt completely genuine and I adored her for that.

Asher. Well swoon is all I can say! He's probably my favorite part of the story! Probably because he's the type of guy I like to see in books. He's really sweet, smart, and willingly to give his life up for others. I also loved how he helped Jade through her transition from the Queen's spell and was always kind and loving to her. He was perfect!

"You were so beautiful, but so hard, so cold. When I looked at you, I saw caged fire. Your spark was almost gone. It was smothered, slowly dying. And all I wanted to do was set you free." ~ Asher

The Story: The book starts off with Jade as a little girl in New York as the modern world and a older, magical world cross over and combine. The Queen from this older world takes over and anyone put under her spell is emotionless and Jade was one of the first be put under. Years later, Jade a trained fighter and still emotionless, goes out to check on some explosion that was triggered by the perimeter and that is where she meets Asher, the Queen's son who had ran away as a little boy and was never seen of again. Of course she goes to the Queen and tells her she saw his son and the Queen wants Jade to do something about this. Now I'll leave the rest of the story for you to find out but believe me, it's full of love and intrigue and mystery and absolutely wonderful!

The Romance: Jade and Asher's romance starts slow because well, Jade is emotionless and it's hard to love when you don't feel anything. When she does start getting her emotions back, their interactions are just so cute and love how they work together even though they still have secrets that they hide. So their relationship develops over the course of the book and Jade and Asher are so wonderful together. I love them soooo much. Everyone needs an Asher in their lives.

End Thoughts: Loved it! It's a great retelling and I think everyone can and should read Gathering Frost. Read it. It's an amazing story and I loved it. 5 stars.

Teaser Pic:

About the Author: I've always been a writer. I grew up duct taping my novels together, started writing complete manuscripts in high school and studied creative writing at Johns Hopkins University. Upon graduating, I decided it was finally time to actually give my dream career a chance. So, of course, I started writing a young adult paranormal romance series -- and no, I'm not jumping on the bandwagon. I've been a true paranormal supporter for my entire life! I blame my obsession almost completely on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my all-time favorite television show. And, before you ask: Yes, I own every season... even the post WB ones! I especially challenge anyone to watch the first three seasons and not fall in love with Angel, securing a lifelong love of vampires! Other culprits of my paranormal obsession are some of my favorite authors: JK Rowling, Raymond Feist, Meg Cabot, Richelle Mead, Lynne Ewing and Tamora Pierce.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Pinterest│Wattpad│Youtube│Amazon

Giveaway: 

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Release Day Launch: The Hidden Library by Heather Lyons

Hey y'all, I missed this post on Thursday and haven't been near a computer Friday or Saturday so I'm finally able to get this up. Sorry for the mess up!

Summary: Sometimes, the rabbit hole is deeper than expected . . .

Alice Reeve and Finn Van Brunt have tumbled into a life of secrets. Some secrets they share, such as their employment by the clandestine organization known as The Collectors’ Society. Other secrets they carry within them, fighting to keep buried the things that could change everything they think they know.

On the hunt for an elusive villain who is hell-bent on destroying legacies, Alice, Finn, and the rest of the Society are desperate to unravel the mysteries surrounding them. But the farther they spiral down this rabbit hole, the deeper they fall into secrets that will test their loyalties and pit them against enemies both new and old.

Secrets, they come to find, can reveal the deadliest of truths.

Amazon ** Amazon UK ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo

Don’t miss the first book in this series, THE COLLECTORS’ SOCIETY!

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks** Kobo

 Excerpt:

We are about to open the conference room door and enter the hallway when he stops. He turns to me, his lovely eyes achingly sincere. “I want to take you on a date when all of this craziness is over. A real one. We’ve kind of gone about this all backwards, haven’t we?”

One corner of my mouth lifts up. “Are you saying you’d like to court me?”

There is no playfulness to his face, no quirk to his own lips. My heart flutters at his seriousness. “Yes.”

He wants to court me.

Too many emotions rush around in a caucus race throughout my body. I have no doubts of Huckleberry Finn Van Brunt’s feelings toward me. I understood them two minutes ago just as well as I did this morning when I woke up and from the night before and from the day in Wonderland where he said, in not so many words, that he was falling in love with me.

I told him he was my north star, and meant it. He countered we are binaries.

He and I . . . We’ve never said those words, though, not the ones that truly spell out fragile, deep secrets of a heart and soul. Words so easily and yet unfortunately uttered by many, be it to express their appreciation of fried bits of potatoes to sports teams on the television. Words offered so frivolously about a variety of subjects and yet can be the most difficult, most painful, most meaningful, most cherished syllables we gift another person.

I have said these words before, to another man. Another man I still love. One I know, in the deepest confines of my heart, that I will love until the last breath escapes my body. A man who courted me in secret and then publicly in the face of astonishment, disapproval, confusion, and, in the end, prophesies.

I have willingly given the man in front of me my heart, though, whether he knows it or not. He now holds it in his hands, and while I pray he is my future, there is still a part of me that bucks in conflicted confusion and delight by this declaration of his.

He wants to court me.

And yet, as sweet and romantic as such a gesture might be, I require no such formalities. My affections for Finn Van Brunt have already solidified into something real and wonderful and meaningful.

Teaser Pic: 

About Heather Lyons:

Heather Lyons writes epic, heartfelt love stories and has always had a thing for words. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. She and her husband and children live in sunny Southern California and are currently working their way through every cupcakery she can find.

Links:

Website: http://www.heatherlyons.net

Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/heatherlyons

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hymheather

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatherlyonsbooks?fref=ts

THE HIDDEN LIBRARY Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24017512-the-hidden-library 

Giveaway:  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Summary: Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

***

Initial Thoughts: Oh. my. gosh. I loved it! I had great world building, lots of action, and amazing characters. It’s a sci-fi twist to Snow White yet it’s still a completely unique story. It is definitely a favorite book of mine.

The Characters: Meet Essie, or ya know, Princess Snow. She is one awesome, kickbutt, take no crap person. She’s a mechanic, a fighter (literally), and she’s really smart. I loved how she handled situations, wouldn’t back down, and would keep on fighting her way through life and all the hardships she’s gone through. She’s a great example of a strong, well developed character!

Dane. Sigh… he’s pretty amazing. Though I just knew he was up to something when he met Essie. The little jerk. Anyways, Dane has great character development as well and ugh! I can’t spoil things but he’s smart, caring, and a really great friend to Essie and other people.

The Story: Essie is living on Thanda which is a really super cold planet. It actually reminded me of where I live because it’s basically cold seven/eight months of the year. Bleh. While on Thanda she’s a super smart mechanic and fights to get money too. She also has these robots that are hilarious and named after certain characteristics; there’s dimwit, cusser, zippy and so on. One day, Dane crashes near her house and upon finding him, finds out he’s treasure hunting, for stories.

“So why are you here?”

“You’ll laugh.”

Unlikely. I told him so without a word.

“I’m treasure hunting.”

And so their story begins. There are lots of secrets from everyone, suspence, action, planets to see and people to visit, people to avoid, and people you out right wish were dead. There was also this one thing that I suspect from the start and when it was confirmed, just aw! evil, evil people. Also, what’s a scifi story without some characters having some pretty cool abilities?

The Romance: Essie and Dane’s realtionship that starts off as tolerant of each other, then friends, then frenemies, then tolerant, then friends again, and then in a relationship which I absolutely adore. They just work so well together! I love them. You’ll have to read to find out all the in-betweens of their journey!

End Thoughts: It’s snow white combined with scifi, I think much more needs to be said… besides the fact that I love it and it is now a favorite of mine. 5 stars.

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and is about sharing the books that you have received during the past week! The books can be print, digital, borrowed, won, or anything else imaginable!

Of course last week, a week where I has some days off of school, I get sick. Boy do I have the worst luck ever. I do have good news though that in between being sick, school, and work, I do have plenty on reviews I was able to type that I will be releasing over the week. I wanted to wait to post these this week because last week was just bad, the aforementioned - sick. And because life is just busy, I am/ will be trying to post meaningful posts as often as I can. I don't think I'll be doing any memes on Tuesdays for awhile because that's a work day and I'm never home until really late. Wednesday's are fine, I just missed last week because I was sick. I guess that's all the updates and don't worry I'm getting back to writing more reviews for you all! Have a great week and Happy Reading!!

Books I Bought 

(I actually just bought Invaded but I thought putting both covers next to each other would be pretty because they are really pretty!)

Books I Won

(e)Books I Received For Review

Special thanks to: Author, Author, Alyssa @WithTheBanned, and New Adult Book Club & Stephanie Witter.

Book Blast: Invaded by Melissa Landers

Hey, fiction lovers. I’m Melissa Landers, author of the Alienated series (YA sci-fi from Disney-Hyperion), and today I’m bouncing with excitement because THE SEQUEL IS FINALLY HERE!

Summary: It’s been a year since we left Aelyx and Cara onboard the intergalactic transport, and INVADED begins with an emotional goodbye as they part ways—Aelyx returning to Earth to salvage the alliance, and Cara continuing to L’eihr to serve out her part of the student exchange. While they’re apart, our star-crossed lovers will face assassination attempts, betrayal, crippling self-doubt, and a sadistic alien Phys Ed class. (Because there’s no escaping PE, even in another galaxy.) When Aelyx and Cara finally reunite…well, let’s just say it’s combustive. ;-)

What do reviewers think? I’m glad you asked!

“Readers will love the seamless blend of suspense, humor, and romance set against an interstellar landscape. Dual narratives and a tightly plotted mystery keep the suspense running high, and the chemistry between Aelyx and Cara smolders.” –Booklist

“Excellent character development and integration between modern reality and science fiction. Teens will be rooting for the galactic couple while enjoying the action and suspense that runs through the two volumes.” –School Library Journal

“The protagonists' forced separation gives greater depth to their romance. Each learns to turn a critical eye upon the flaws of their native societies while confronting genuine obstacles to a future together. These complications only underscore the growing sense of menace that propels the narrative to an action-packed climax.” –Kirkus

I hope you’ll make tracks to the nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of INVADED! If you’re snowed in, here are some easy links to bring the sequel right to you:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Book Depository (free worldwide shipping)

Indie Bound

Indigo

Books-A-Million

Bio: Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.” For more information, or just to say hello, visit www.melissa-landers.com.

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To celebrate my book birthday, I’m offering one lucky winner a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble and an autographed swag pack, complete with mini posters of BOTH books! This giveaway is open internationally, and due to sweepstakes laws, entrants must be 18 years or older to participate.

Giveaway:

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