Surface by Tiffany Daune (Book Blitz & Giveaway)

Surface by Tiffany Daune

Publication: February, 2013

Genre: YA Paranormal

Bound to the water bound to land, a Siren’s soul will never be safe on either side of the ocean’s surface. Hidden beneath the rolling waves lies the secret to Theia’s past and as she unveils each haunting truth, she realizes the last seventeen years of her life have been a lie. Now, drawn into a mysterious new world and with nowhere to turn, Theia must place her trust in Luc, a beautiful boy who stops her heart with each dazzling smile, but even his unearthly charm can’t hide the truth—he has secrets— dark secrets binding him to his world—an underwater world where Theia will never belong—a world determined to destroy her soul.

Amazon

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AUTHOR BIO

Tiffany Daune doesn't get why people want to grow up or why anyone would ever stop eating candy. Her purse is filled with books, lip gloss and a few pieces of Lego bricks. She writes best with a dish of chocolate chips on hand and finds licorice makes a better straw than plastic.

She lives on an island and believes mermaids may be raiding her candy stash, thoughshe hasn't caught them, yet.

Surface is her first novel and pairs well with gummy sharks.

Author Links:
Website: http://www.tiffanydaune.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6904400.Tiffany_Daune
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tiffany-Daune/395436080503637

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TiffanyDaune

Excerpt From Surface

The rain continued to drown out the sun, and Theia had no idea what time of day it was, but she was sure she wouldn't make it until nightfall. Her limbs grew heavy like an anchor seeking the sandy bottom. She let her eyelids slide closed. She couldn't fall asleep—sleep meant death in the middle of the ocean, but resting her eyes let her imagine someplace else—a place without so much water.

Her head dipped below the surface, and she bolted up at once.

Bad girl, she scolded herself. You want to die like this? You have to stay awake!

She continued her mental pep talk as she straightened her legs and swam a little farther. Her legs worked like scissors, cutting through the thick water, leading her to nowhere, but she had to try to find the shore. She found her rhythm, moving with the flow of the water, moving faster now, imagining the shoreline before her.

Theia kicked harder, her eyes focused on the horizon. She thrust forward, but, as she did, her ankle caught on something—she was stuck. She kicked with her left leg, but a crushing hold, like a fist wrapped around her ankle. Her scream was cut off as her head slipped under. Her body rushed through the water as if being dragged by an invisible tow rope.

Theia twisted, wriggling free from the force, and she frantically paddled her way to the surface. Her leg burned with the sting of salt water—she had been cut. She reached for her leg, trying to see the wound, but she was swiped from the side. She screamed and tucked her legs up to her chest. Her gaze darted to the ring of dark shadows circling beneath her.

"Oh crap—sharks!"

Book Blast & Giveaway for Lucid by Natalie Roers

Lucid by Natalie Roers

Being hailed by critics as an intelligent new voice in young adult fiction, Roers' debut novel tells the anything but ordinary, coming of age story of a small town, teen aged, misfit named Travis Hunter.

Disfigured at birth and ostracized at school, Travis dreams of acceptance and secretly yearns for the affection of a beautiful young woman named Corrine. When a mysterious doctor promises to help Travis through something called lucid dreaming, Travis suddenly finds himself ushered into a secret society called "The Lucid", a collection of social outcasts like himself, who have created their own world inside of dreams.

When Travis discovers he is able to bring Corrine into these dreams, he gets more than he ever bargained for and soon finds himself learning the secrets of love and life in a fantastic unconscious world.

An instant classic, Lucid is a timeless story of self-acceptance with a fresh paranormal twist. 

Get your copy for $4.99 (limited time at that price) at Amazon and BN.com

Book Excerpt

Corrine opened her hand wide and I touched my index finger to the back of the bird. The scales were very hard but smooth to the touch. It was the coolest thing!

But as its eyes turned up to me, I felt my stomach drop. The bird’s eyes were made of stone! They were dark green with blood red spots—exactly the same as the talisman.

“Isn’t it amazing?!” she exclaimed. “I made it!” Corrine swelled with pride at the proclamation.

“You made what?” I stammered, trying to collect myself.

“Here, I’ll show you how it works.” With the bird cupped in one palm, she took one of my hands with her own and placed it over the bird. “Think of something,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Close your eyes, and concentrate really hard on something. Think of anything you can hold in your hand.”

I gave her a sideways stare and reluctantly closed my eyes.

“Are you thinking of something?” she asked.

“Give me a second,” I said. It was hard to think about anything except her hand on top on my own. It was intoxicating-the warm sensation of where our skin made contact, the spaces between her fingers. I could hear her inhale and exhale, and I knew without even looking at her that her eyes were closed as

well.

Natalie Roers is a veteran writer, voice artist, and on-air personality. A journalist by trade, Lucid is her first work of fiction. She is busy at work on her second novel and hopes to raise money and social awareness for worthy causes with each book she writes. Natalie plans to donate a portion of every sale of this book to her favorite anti-bullying organizations. She lives with her husband Cory, and son Austin, in Columbia, South Carolina.

Websites

jointhelucid.com

http://natasha-r.com/writer/

FB

https://www.facebook.com/natalie.roers?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/jointhelucid?fref=ts

Blog

http://jointhelucid.com/blog/

Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16214486-lucid


Natalie will be giving away a 10 dollar gift card to Amazon or BN.com to a randomly draw a winner from the comment section of all the blogs participating, so be sure to visit her other stops and leave some comment love.  Just click on the banner to be taken to the main tour page. 

Blog Tour: Betwixt by Melissa Pearl Review and Giveaway

I'd like to give a big shout out to AToMR Tours and Melissa Pearl for allowing me the honoring of being a part of the Betwixt tour today! To see more wonderful bloggers sharing their thoughts on Betwixt and offering chances to win your own copy of Betwixt go HERE.

Beautiful, wild-child Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well.

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

   

Links to find/buy book:

Goodreads  

Amazon

Barnes&Noble 

Smashwords

About the Author:

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan… not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. “Best. Year. Ever!!” She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full-time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November, 2011. Since then she has produced three more books with her fifth novel, Betwixt, due out in November 2012.
Social Media links: Facebook, Website, & Twitter: @MelissaPearlG



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My Thoughts:
Why is it that so many of us intelligent, strong, girls fall for the bad boy. The jerk that would actually leave you in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night just because you don't feel like getting down and dirty. Girls, a little advice for you. That guy is NOT worth the gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe. OK, I feel better now that I got that off of my chest. Luckily Nicole is able to find out exactly what her boyfriend is like because of her "special" situation. In fact Nicole learns a lot about her so called friends and herself while she's "lost".

Pearl does a great job of writing a novel that's not just angst and romance. I loved that she was able to take a real life situation give it a paranormal spin and throw in enough mystery to keep you guessing for a while. I also really enjoyed how she doled out the characters pasts slowly and at just the right time. Here you are reading the story thinking you've figured out the characters and BAM you learn something that makes you feel a bit differently than you did before.

Betwixt is the kind of book that will make you think, make you smile, make you cry, and make you realize that when you're given a second chance, you better grab it and make it count!

Teaser Tuesday: Flight (The Crescent Chronicles) by Alyssa Rose Ivy

When Jess asked Billy the bellboy where we should go if we wanted to really do Bourbon Street for our first night, he suggested the Cat's Meow. As soon as Jess found out it was a karaoke bar she ran over to sign us up. I hadn't actually expected us to stay long enough to get to our turn, and I was starting to regret cutting myself off from the alcohol. Singing karaoke sober sounded horrendous. 


Teaser taken from page 6.
I'm just starting this book but so far so good! AND... I love that cover!
You can get a copy of Flight from Amazon or Barnes & Noble

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!

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout Release Day Blitz and Giveaway

Book notes:

Title: Cursed

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication Date: September 2012

Suggested age range: 13 & up

BISAC Category: Juvenile Fiction (Fantasy and Magic)

Pages: 312

ISBN: 978-0-9831572-7-4
Amazon Barnes & Noble
Official book trailer: http://youtu.be/JlU4U1msXj

Dying sucks--and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he’s a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she’s more than interested. There’s just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she’s willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't?

But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she’s not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

I'm reading Cursed right now and can't wait to get back to it. So far it's rockin as Jennifer's books tend to do! Here are a couple of teasers to get you started.

-Collecting tardy slips had become sort of a hobby of mine. One day, I would have a pretty collage of pink paper with angry red writing. I'd hang it on the fridge for Oliva. She dug pink things. 

-My gaze dropped from his face to his shirt. It read: I BELIEVE IN TROPHY WIVES. Nice. 

-The girl inside me screamed and did a happy dance, but I quickly smacked her upside the head. I started backing off. 

-“I know—I know how crazy it sounds, but it’s like I came to know
you. I knew you sketched when you were upset. I saw how much you
loved your sister. How brave you were to keep going to that damn
school. And all those times I watched you, I grew to know every one of
your fake smiles. I never even heard you laugh. All I’ve ever wanted to
do is help you, because maybe then, you’d smile once and really mean it."

it.”

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Cover Reveal: Brush with Death by E.J. Stevens

Brush with Death (Spirit Guide #4)

Samhain was scary, but graduation is downright terrifying.

Yuki and Emma's recent brush with death has unexpected consequences.

Until last winter Yuki could only smell the dead, but the touch of death's embrace has awakened latent powers. With the help of her friends, Yuki must face her new abilities. Will her psychic powers become the curse they all have feared? Curse or gift, Yuki's new vision begins leading her down an unknown path, but is it a road that only she can follow?

Emma's close encounter of the death kind has her questioning her future as well. Until now she had it all; brains, beauty, conviction, fabulous friends, and a scholarship to Tufts Veterinary School. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it. Emma had a plan for everything, but she never bargained for her own traitorous emotions. When graduation comes, will Emma follow her dreams...or follow her heart?

E.J. Stevens
Author of the Spirit Guide and Ivy Granger series

http://ivygrangerpsychicdetective.blogspot.com
http://spiritguideseries.blogspot.com
http://www.fromtheshadows.info
http://about.me/EJStevens

Cover Reveal: Reaping Me Softly by Kate Evangelista

Reaping Me Softly

Ever since a near-death-experience on the operating table, seventeen-year-old Arianne Wilson can see dead people. Just as she’s learned to accept her new-found talents, she discovers that the boy she’s had a crush on since freshman year, Niko Clark, is a Reaper.

At last they have something in common, but that doesn’t mean life is getting any easier. All while facing merciless bullying from the most powerful girl in school, Arianne’s world is turned upside down after Niko accidentally reaps the soul of someone she loves. This sends them both into a spiral that threatens to end Arianne’s life. But will Niko break his own Reaper’s code to save her? And what would the consequences be if he did?

Important Book Information

Title: Reaping Me Softly

Author: Kate Evangelista

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Release Date: October 30, 2012

Tour Hosted By: AToMR Tours

Cover Reveal Stalked By Death (Touch of Death Book 2)

Stalked by Death

Jodi knows that any slip-ups made by the Ophi--a special group of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac--will fall on her shoulders... and that Hades is just waiting for them to screw up so he can wipe out the Ophi line.

When the only Ophi Jodi can convince to come to the school and train with her is a gorgeous guy named Chase, it spells more than trouble for Jodi and Alex. Her mixed emotions for both guys send her powers surging out of control, and she begins raising the dead without even meaning to. Jodi doesn't want to lose Alex, but Chase is offering her something Alex can't. His very touch enhances her powers, making her stronger than any Ophi ever has been--maybe even powerful enough to stop Hades from threatening them all. But Chase's offering comes with a huge price. One that may cost Jodi everything she has.

Jodi needs to figure things out fast--because death is stalking her at every turn. 

Important Book Information

Title: Stalked by Death

Series Touch of Death (#2)

Author: Kelly Hashway

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.spencerhillpress.com) 

ISBN: 978-1-937053-56-7 

Release Date: July 23, 2013

Formats: Paper, e-book 

Waiting on Wednesday (4/4/2012) Velveteen

Author: Daniel Marks
Expected Release Date: October 9, 2012
Summary from Goodreads:

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that's not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it's not a fiery inferno, it's certainly no heaven. It's gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn't leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what's really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she's figured out just how to do it. She'll haunt him for the rest of his days. 
It'll be brutal . . . and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen's obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she's willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can't help herself when it comes to breaking rules . . . or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her. 

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?

Eve Eden vs. The Zombie Horde Tour, Giveaway and Guest Post

Please note that due to publishing issues Eve Eden and The Zombie Horde is not currently available. No date has been released as to when it will be released at this time. I will update when I know more. 

Eve Eden Vs The Zombie Horde
By Suz Korb
Genre: Paranormal YA 

Kidnapped by a vampire, epically farted on by a pug and dragged through the pits of Hell. Welcome to Eve Eden’s world in the small and strange town of Twin Forest.

Eve has goals. She has dreams and ambitions that don’t involve staying in this weird, podunk town. When supernatural forces collide, dropping her into the heart of England, she’s not pleased. When Eve said she wanted to get the heck out of dodge, she didn’t mean getting transported into a castle dungeon.

A hellish incident turns Eve’s hair white. She can’t explain a slight attraction to a vampire who’s been sent to kill her. Can life get any worse? Apparently it can, because just around the corner at Twin Forest’s cemetery…

waits the zombie horde. 

Amazon USA http://www.amazon.com/Eden-Zombie-Horde-Bedeviled-ebook/dp/B006BC5OR0 

UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eden-Zombie-Horde-Bedeviled-ebook/dp/B006BC5OR0

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/127061

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eve-eden-vs-the-zombie-horde-suz-korb/1107693894 

Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win your very own e-copy of Eve Eden vs. The Zombie Horde!!!!

Guest Post by Suz Korb

Readers really do have a neurotic love affair with books, right? Of course we do! We love books! And Nathan Kane A.K.A. the vampire, has a beyond neurotic obsession with Eve Eden. He’s positively possessed with her essence, as you’ll discover when reading certain chapters of Eve Eden vs. the Zombie Horde.

Poor Eve, all she wants to do is enter her design into the high school fashion show. Alas, she has a bi-polar vampire to deal with as well as skull chomping zombies! Not only that but the devil herself has it in for Eve. That’s right, the devil seems to be a woman by the name of Lucy who has a terrible sense of fashion. In Eve’s opinion anyway. She’d never dress herself from head to toe in red leather, thank you very much.

Eve likes to read too, but it’s not like she has time to delve into any good books lately, not with the zombie horde waiting for her around the corner at the Twin Forest cemetery! Now Eve Eden’s neurosis has been exacerbated by hellish circumstances galore! 

An excerpt from Eve Eden vs. the Zombie Horde starring Thunderbug: the epic farting pug.
 After everything I've seen. After everything I've been subjected to over the past... however many days, this has got to be the most confounding experience of all.
As Nathan's lips gently (gently!) touch my own, my face burns. My eyes start to water and I don't have a clue what I should do. So I just shut my heavy lids.
I've never been kissed.
Least of all by a blood-sucking vampire!
I'm so panicked and confused my brain wanders off to the random thought of dogs. In fact, I can actually hear a dog barking in my imagination right now.
Nathan pulls away from me.
There's a rush of air between our faces now, it immediately cools my cheeks.
"Bark! Bark! Bark!"
Bark, bark, bark?
"Where did that dog come from?" Nathan says.
My eyes fly open. I whip my head around to see none other than Thunderbug bounding towards us on his little pug paws.
"That pup belongs to Bubbles!" I say with a smile. I've never been more happy to see someone else's dog in my entire life.
Turning my whole body toward the racing pug, I go down on one knee and reach my arms forward. I'm ready to catch him. At the rate he's running though, he might succeed in knocking me back.
Thunderbug leaps over a stalagmite on the floor of the cave. Then he jumps over an even higher one. Impossibly, the flat faced little scamp next flies over a ten foot stalagmite. He heads toward me, jumps in an arch over my head and I watch as if in slow motion as he crashes into Nathan's chest.
If I expected the pug to bounce off and crash to the floor, I'd be wrong.
Thunderbug totally takes Nathan down.
I barely have time to register the look of surprise on his face, before he vanishes. What's more is, Thunderbug disappears too.
No wait! Nathan's over there, in the far corner of the cave. There's Thunderbug too! How is it possible for a doggy to move as fast as a vampire? I don't know, but Thunderbug is doing so.
Actually, the pug is now flashing around the room in locations different to where Nathan is appearing. During the last flash of re-appearance, Nathan blinks into the place just behind Thunderbug's rear end.
Uh oh...
Yep. Thunderbug, lets out a gaseous explosion from his butt that is so epic, I swear I see a mushroom-cloud blast into Nathan.
He goes down. The vampire has just been farted into submission by a super flatulent pug. 

Author Bio

Author Suz Korb writes supernatural comedy-horror novels with a splash of paranormal romance. The first novel in her Bedeviled trilogy, Eve Eden vs. the Zombie Horde, is a young adult adventure tale of hellish proportions.

Visit Suz at her website http://www.suzkorb.com 

Want your own copy of Eve Eden vs. The Zombie Horde? Just leave a comment to enter and I'll announce the winner next Thursday, March 29, 2012. Good Luck!

GIVEAWAY! and Review of Angelina's Secret

Angelina's Secret 
Author: Lisa Rogers
Release Date: February 1, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal
Published by: Spencer Hill Press
Source: I was given an ARC by Spencer Hill Press for an honest review.
Summary from Goodreads:


As a child, Angelina spent years in counseling learning that Josie, her imaginary friend, wasn't real, but it turns out her childhood friend wasn't imaginary after all. 

Now Angelina has to accept she's either (A) crazy or (B) able to see ghosts. Wanting to believe in her sanity, she chooses (B) and welcomes Josie back into her life. But even Josie can't help her deal with Shelly, the spirit of a confused teenager, and things go very, very wrong. 

When Angelina finds herself in a psychiatric hospital, she faces a choice: she can spend the rest of her life pretending to be someone she isn't, or she can embrace who she is and take a chance that she may never get to go home.


My Thoughts:



 Angelina's Secret is a  gripping tale of a girl that desperately needs someone to trust and believe in her.  While I was never on the edge of my seat with suspense I was still really enthralled with this story. I was kept guessing through out the entire book on whether or not I believed she was seeing ghosts(you'll have to read this one to find out for yourself). Even though I knew Angelina was about to end up in a mental hospital I still couldn't help feeling how heartbroken Angelina was when she woke up to discover that not only did no one believe her but that they all thought she was crazy. 

One thing that had me feeling so badly for Angelina was her mother, she enraged and confused me. She never once thought that Angelina could be telling the truth and it seemed to me at times that she was more upset that Angelina was closer to her "imaginary" friend than she was to her. Talk about self absorbed. I'm not sure if Lisa Rogers intended for Angelina's mother to come across that way or if I just found her to be like that. I would love to know what other readers thought of the mom. 

Overall I really enjoyed Angelina's Secret. The romance was minimal which I really liked in this book because that enabled the plot to focus more on Angelina, her friend, and her stay in the mental institution.  I haven't  read another young adult novel like this one and even though I sometimes felt like the writing was a little stiff I was still able to lose myself in the story. If you find yourself looking for something a little different than the YA Paranormal romance that is really prominent right now then I urge you to find a copy of Angelina's Secret. 

I will be giving one lucky reader my ARC of Angelina's Secret! This giveaway will end on February 1st at midnight and is only open to U.S. residents. Thanks everyone and good luck!

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Waiting on Wednesday (1/18/2012) Bite Me

Or the Obvious Title for a Novel About a Vampire and a Werewolf 
Author: Lori T. Strongin
Summary from Lori's site:

“Talbot blamed his mother for the fact he’d spent most of the summer impersonating a nun.”

So begins Bite Me, a humorous urban fantasy YA novel set at Hedgehill University for Paranormal Creatures.

In this Animal House meets Christopher Moore-esque story, freshman Talbot Osbourne is under pressure to find a summer job, an affordable apartment, and to not flunk out; otherwise he’ll face the wrath of his werewolf clan back home.  Buddhist, vegetarian vampire Julian St. George has problems, too, but his are more of the being-stalked-by-a-psychotic-slayer type.  After he ousts the intruder from his home, Julian figures that’s the last of that.

Wrong.

Talbot and Julian are forced to partner on a class assignment to study humans in their natural habitat.  That is, a strip club.  But while these two co-eds try to live their para-normal lives and pass their classes, the slayer targets both the university and the club, taking out students with any kind of supernatural abilities.  After Julian’s home is destroyed and he’s nearly killed, the vampire and werewolf form an unlikely—and probably unholy—duo to catch the stalker before the psycho slays them.  If they don’t kill each other first, that is.

Between surviving an apartment with cannibalistic furniture, zombie squirrels, and a strip club where the drinks are scarier than the suspects, Talbot and Julian struggle to catch up to the slayer, who always seems one stake ahead of them.

Throw in a shapeshifter with ferret envy, a nymphomaniac wizard who makes people’s clothes disappear, and the ghost of a five-year-old with the potty mouth of a sailor, and these boys are in for the summer of their lives.  Or deaths.

Bite me is scheduled to release on January 30, 2012

To view the book trailer and to read the first 2 chapters of Bite Me visit Lori's site here

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?