Waiting on Wednesday (5/30/2012) all these lives

Author: Sarah Wylie

Expected Release Date: June 5, 2012

Summary from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani’s twin, Jena, isn’t so lucky.  She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life. Dani’s father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything’s normal.  And Jena is wasting away.  To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives.  Maybe they’ll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one.  Someone like Jena.  But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she’s faced with a startling realization.  Maybe she doesn’t have nine lives after all.  Maybe she really only ever had one.

This book could be one of those heartbreaking novels that stays with you forever. 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we (bloggers) are anxiously awaiting. So what book are you excited about right now?

What!? I've Been Blogging For How Long? Blog-o-versary Giveaway

I can't believe that I have been blogging for 2 years! Some days it feels like I just started, other times it seems like I've been blogging forever. 

What better way to celebrate than to have a most excellent giveaway! Wait... maybe having giveaways all month would be a better way! Yeah, yeah let's do that!

So for the next four weeks I will be hosting a giveaway each week. Every week there will be two winners. Have your entries in by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning. I will announce each weeks winners every  Wednesday at midnight and start the next giveaway right away. The first three weeks the giveaways will only be opened to U.S. followers but not to worry my fabulous International followers the last week will be opened to you as well. 

So this week you will be entering to win one of the following books. I only have one copy of each book so the winner picked first will have first choice of the available books. Good Luck!

This Week Your Book Choices Are:

 The Fault In Our Stars by John Green A Signed Hardcover edition!

 Betrayed by Ednah Walters (Paperback)

Perception by Kim Harrington (Hardcover)

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder (Hardcover)

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder (Hardcover)

the sky is everywhere by Jandy Nelson (Hardcover)

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (Hardcover)

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Neurotic Thoughts - Drowning Instinct Book Review

Drowning Instinct
Author: Ilsa J. Bick
Release Date: February 1, 2012
Genre: YA Dark  Contemporary
Published By: Lerner Publishing Group
Source: Lerner Publishing Group and NetGalley
Summary from Goodreads: 
There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire. 

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain... magnetism. 

And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

My Thoughts:
When the summary mentions that this is not a fairy tale that ends happily ever after, they are not kidding nor are they exaggerating. This book is dark, emotional and had me questioning myself, and what I thought I believed about the characters and what they were doing the whole book. 


When I first started reading Drowning Instinct I wasn't sure I was going to like it. The writing style felt off because of the way Jenna is recording the story for a police officer. Once I got used to it though I stopped noticing it except for at the beginning of the chapters. To say I was drawn into this story is an understatement. You won't want to put this one down until you have all the facts.


Now I must tell you that I knew absolutely nothing about this book going in than what you read in the above Goodreads summary. I truly believe that that is the best way to go into reading this book. Not knowing a damn thing about it. Because discovering every crazy unimaginable scenario that happens as it happens will be the "blow you away" factor to this book. Trust me, you might be reading this review thinking "but she didn't tell me anything about the book" that is definitely what you want though. This is one of those books that I will think about again and again and one day might even have to read again.


I will tell you this, Drowning Instinct is definitely worth reading. Reading this is like riding a gripping, crazy insane, frustrating, emotional roller coaster and it's worth every second. 


Warning: There are some HEAVY issues brought up in this book. I would recommend it to the more mature YA readers out there. 

Waiting on Wednesday (5/23/2012) Necromancing the Stone (Necromancer #2)

Author: Lish McBride
Expected Release Date: September 18, 2012
Summary from Goodreads:

With the defeat of the evil Douglas behind him, Sam LaCroix is getting used to his new life. Okay, so he hadn’t exactly planned on being a powerful necromancer with a seat on the local magical council and a capricious werewolf sort-of-girlfriend, but things are going fine, right?
Well . . . not really. He’s pretty tired of getting beat up by everyone and their mother, for one thing, and he can’t help but feel that his new house hates him. His best friend is a werebear, someone is threatening his sister, and while Sam realizes that he himself has a lot of power at his fingertips, he’s not exactly sure how to use it. Which, he has to admit, is a bit disconcerting. 
But when everything starts falling apart, he decides it’s time to step up and take control. His attempts to do so just bring up more questions, though, the most important of which is more than a little alarming: Is Douglas really dead? 


I'm so excited for this book I can't even tell you. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer has been one of my favorite paranormal books EVER! 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we (bloggers) are anxiously awaiting. So what book are you excited about right now?

Teaser Tuesday (5/22/2012) Bad Hair Day by Carrie Harris

"Dude, don't you listen to yourself? If you put your huge hairy guy together with a rabid animal, you get a werewolf. Didn't you see the Twilight movies?" He put a fist on his hip and wagged his finger at us. The sight scarred me; I squeezed my eyes shut and wished for a self-lobotomizer. It didn't work. 
"No," Aaron said. "I did not. And I'm proud of that."
"Well," my brother said, "you should. It's the only explanation that makes sense."


Teaser from page 98 of the ARC.


Summary from Goodreads:
Senior year is positively hair-raising.

Kate Grable is geeked out to shadow the county medical examiner as part of her school’s pre-med program. Except when he’s arrested for murder, she’s left with the bodies. And when Kate’s brother Jonah stumbles upon a dead gamer girl, she realizes that the zombie epidemic she cured last fall was only the beginning of the weirdness taking over her town. Someone’s murdering kids—something really hairy. And strong. Possibly with claws.

Is it werewolf awesomeness like Jonah and his dorktastic friends think? Kate’s supposed to be a butt-kicking zombie killing genius...but if she can’t figure out who’s behind the freakish attacks, the victims—or what’s left of them—are going to keep piling up.

It’s scary. It’s twisted. It’s sick. It’s high school.


Expected Release Date: November 13, 2012

Miz B hosts Teaser Tuesday every week, check her out for the official rules.  I never seem to be able to stick to the rule about only 2 sentences.

I love reading teasers so let me know where I can view yours in the comments. Have a great day!

Neurotic Thoughts - Incarnate Book Review

Incarnate
Author: Jodi Meadows
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Published by: Katherine Tegen
Source: Katherine Tegen Publishing and NetGalley
Summary from Goodreads:


New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Incarnate's plot was so unique to me that even though I didn't love the book, I still had to finish it to find out where it was going. I've often wondered about past lives and if we have been here before as another person at another place in time, that's what originally drew me to this book. As well as the very striking cover. In my mind I never imagined that you would always remember you past and the people who you've known. That's where Incarnate went with this idea though and I found that to be so intriguing. 

The first half of the book was definitely my favorite part. This is where we meet Ana. Ana is uncommon because she is a new soul, meaning that this is her first life. In the world that Meadows has created, a new soul is a rare and terrifying event for the rest of the people. Typically a person dies only to be reincarnated into another body where they remember everything and everyone from their past life. Something went wrong for one soul though and that soul didn't return. Instead Ana was born. 

Ana sets out on her own, leaving her abusive "mother" behind to find more people and to try and figure out why she is here. Along the way she meets Sam. While I liked Sam there was something about the way that he was SO old (in a hot young bod) that was just a little creepy for me. Then during the second half of the book things took a weird turn and I began making those weird huh? faces. So while I didn't love Incarnate I did find it interesting and I've found myself thinking back on parts of the story again and again. If you like fantasy a lot or even a little you will probably enjoy this one more than I did. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Book Journey.

This week I will be working hard to get back into the swing of things here at home. So much has been piling up while I was vacationing. I've got a ton of reviews to write, books to be read, laundry to wash, carpets to vacuum, well I think you get the point. 

What I Read Last Week

not yet reviewed

Zero by Tom Leveen

One Moment by Kristina McBride

What I Am Now Reading

I'm actually juggling more than normal right now.

Bad Hair Day by Carrie Harris

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

Beg For Mercy by Shannon Dermott

(even thought this cover doesn't really look like a YA cover it really is, I promise!)

and this week I'm trying something new and listening to an audio book as well. 

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

read by Sara Zarr

To Review This Week

hopefully

Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick

and 

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Have a wonderful Monday!

Vacation!

I'm at Great Wolf Lodge this week with my lovely children, sister-in-law, and many of our friends. Our local homeschool group is hosting the prom here at The Wolf and every year it's a great time. While I'm here I'm hoping to get a little reading in. I'm aiming to finish Fallout by Ellen Hopkins and One Moment by Kristine McBride, which at page 27 already had me bawling. 

Until next time.....

Erratic Thinking on Thursday - What to do with books you just don't like.

Have you ever read a book and multiple times you find yourself making this face.

So far this year I am a little bit behind on my reading challenge. I'm trying to catch up but I've got to tell you it's hard when you pick up a book that just doesn't do it for you. I usually don't like to give up on a book, but so far there have been two that I kind of wish I had just put down half way through. I've decided that if I'm not liking a book at the half way point I'm going to put it down, and move on.

I may or may not come back to said book, but wasting a week and a half drudging through a book is just a waste. What do you do when you are having a hard time with a book?

Waiting on Wednesday 5/9/2012) Alice in Zombieland

Author: Gena Showalter
Expected Release Date: September 25, 2012
Summary from Goodreads:
She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….


I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.


After recently finishing Tomorrow Land I am dying for some more zombie books and this one sounds great!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we (bloggers) are anxiously awaiting. So what book are you excited about right now?

Teaser Tuesday (5/8/2012) Fallout by Ellen Hopkins

             Kristina 
                                    wrote
that chapter of her 
history before we
were even whispers
in her womb. 


The monster shaped 
                                     our
lives, without our ever
touching it. Read on
if you dare. This  
                                    memoir
isn't pretty.

Teaser page 2 of the Advanced Reader's Copy

Summary from Goodreads: 
Hunter, Autumn, and Summer—three of Kristina Snow’s five children—live in different homes, with different guardians and different last names. They share only a predisposition for addiction and a host of troubled feelings toward the mother who barely knows them, a mother who has been riding with the monster, crank, for twenty years.

Hunter is nineteen, angry, getting by in college with a job at a radio station, a girlfriend he loves in the only way he knows how, and the occasional party. He's struggling to understand why his mother left him, when he unexpectedly meets his rapist father, and things get even more complicated. Autumn lives with her single aunt and alcoholic grandfather. When her aunt gets married, and the only family she’s ever known crumbles, Autumn’s compulsive habits lead her to drink. And the consequences of her decisions suggest that there’s more of Kristina in her than she’d like to believe. Summer doesn’t know about Hunter, Autumn, or their two youngest brothers, Donald and David. To her, family is only abuse at the hands of her father’s girlfriends and a slew of foster parents. Doubt and loneliness overwhelm her, and she, too, teeters on the edge of her mother’s notorious legacy. As each searches for real love and true family, they find themselves pulled toward the one person who links them together—Kristina, Bree, mother, addict. But it is in each other, and in themselves, that they find the trust, the courage, the hope to break the cycle.

Told in three voices and punctuated by news articles chronicling the family’s story, FALLOUT is the stunning conclusion to the trilogy begun by CRANK and GLASS, and a testament to the harsh reality that addiction is never just one person’s problem.

Published September 10, 2012 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Miz B hosts Teaser Tuesday every week, check her out for the official rules.  I never seem to be able to stick to the rule about only 2 sentences.

I love reading teasers so let me know where I can view yours in the comments. Have a great day!

Neurotic Thoughts on The Avengers Movie

                                                               

First just let me say....I WAS RIGHT! The Avengers was amazing!!! It was all I had hoped for and more. I am already making plans to see it again next weekend. So why was it amazing? What made it the best super hero movie ever? Well let me tell you.

• Robert Downey Jr. =  incredible :) I knew he would be though. 
• Thor... enough said!
• I laughed! Not a just a little either I laughed a lot, but not in a "lost the super hero to comedy kind of way." 
• The action was stellar, it was so well done that you never really lost sight of what was going on and there was A LOT going on at times!
• I almost cried! Really the tears were there just waiting to fall.
• I was finally able to fall in love the with The Hulk. Not a lot but still Hulk love, that's something.
• The eye candy in that movie....scandalous! 
• Black Widow ROCKED! (which I wasn't really expecting)
• Unlike other super hero movies this one wasn't filmed so dark that I couldn't see it. I like being able to see my movie.
• I was completely able to follow the story line. Joss Whedon you are my movie making hero this year!

I of course immediately pulled up IMDb after the movie and rated it 10 STARS. As I finally fell into bed at 4:30 that morning I was still thinking about all of the scenes that blew me away. The loss of sleep was SO worth it. Can't wait to see it again! 

The Avengers! The Avengers!

AND..... Robert Downey Jr.

I'm so excited to be taking the kids to the midnight showing tonight. Not only is Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man my favorite hero, but this movie has Thor too! oooh yeah, uhmmm hummm! I'm afraid that the abundance of eye candy may be too much for me. You see, I am the woman that actually moaned during a scene of The Race To Witch Mountain. Now wait, before you judge. The scene had The Rock twisting something that needed to be twisted really hard and his arms bulged so big that I was completely unable to contain the moan. I've been known to get a little too into movies and shout out (there was an incident during Wall-E).  I figure there is no harm in sharing these moments with you, my readers, since my real life people won't let me live them down anyway. So tomorrow I will be right back here sharing how amazingly awesome The Avengers happened to be. You'll know if it was truly amazing by the amount of embarrassing moments I have during the movie. Yes, I am assuming a lot by exclaiming that the movie will be amazing before I have actually seen the movie, but with Joss Whedon directing there is no way it could be bad, right? I mean, did you see The Cabin in The Woods? Perfection!

Waiting on Wednesday (5/2/2012) Ask the Passengers

Author: A.S. King
Expected Release Date: October 23, 2012
Summary from Goodreads:


Astrid Jones copes with her small town's gossip and narrow-mindedness by staring at the sky and imagining that she's sending love to the passengers in the airplanes flying high over her backyard. Maybe they'll know what to do with it. Maybe it'll make them happy. Maybe they'll need it. Her mother doesn't want it, her father's always stoned, her perfect sister's too busy trying to fit in, and the people in her small town would never allow her to love the person she really wants to: another girl named Dee. There's no one Astrid feels she can talk to about this deep secret or the profound questions that she's trying to answer. But little does she know just how much sending her love--and asking the right questions--will affect the passengers' lives, and her own, for the better.

In this unmistakably original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's boxes and definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything--and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking and sharing real love.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we (bloggers) are anxiously awaiting. So what book are you excited about right now?