Waiting on Wednesday #7

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's cannot-wait book is:

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien!

 

The Vault of Dreamers

by Caragh M. O'Brien

Expected publication: September 16th 2014

 

From the author of the Birthmarked trilogy comes a fast-paced, psychologically thrilling novel about what happens when your dreams are not your own.

The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success:  every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.

 

Yet again, another book that comes on autumn. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be poor after September. However, look how intriguing and beautiful the cover is - like mystery and dream twisted together. And synopsis, oh boy! Dreams, mysteries, secrets and if there's art too, yes, I want. Now all there's left is to wait for September which can't come soon enough.
 

 

The Vault of Dreamers on Goodreads.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Summer TBR List

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!

 

1. Proxy by Alex London

 

Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

 

 

 

2. Half Bad by Sally Green

 

 

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Easy.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Suicide Watch by Kelley York
 

 

18-year-old Vincent Hazelwood has spent his entire life being shuffled from one foster home to the next. His grades sucked. Making friends? Out of the question thanks to his nervous breakdowns and unpredictable moods. Still, Vince thought when Maggie Atkins took him in, he might’ve finally found a place to get his life—and his issues—in order.

But then Maggie keels over from a heart attack. Vince is homeless, alone, and the inheritance money isn't going to last long. A year ago, Vince watched a girl leap to her death off a bridge, and now he's starting to think she had the right idea.

Vince stumbles across a website forum geared toward people considering suicide. There, he meets others with the same debate regarding the pros and cons of death: Casper, battling cancer, would rather off herself than slowly waste away. And there’s quiet, withdrawn Adam, who suspects if he died, his mom wouldn't even notice.

As they gravitate toward each other, Vince searches for a reason to live while coping without Maggie's guidance, coming to terms with Casper's imminent death, and falling in love with a boy who doesn't plan on sticking around.

 

4. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

 

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

 

5. The Kill Order by James Dashner
 

 

Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.

Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive.

 

6. Honor Among Orcs by Amalia Dillin

 

 

After nearly a decade as the king’s whipping-girl, Princess Arianna has no intention of going quietly into marriage to some treasonous noble, or serving obediently as the king’s spy until her death is more convenient. When she discovers a handsome orc, chained and trapped inside a magic mirror, Arianna cannot help but see a lasting freedom from her father's abuse.

Left to rot inside a mirror by the king, Bolthorn never imagined his prayers would be answered by a princess. Nor did he ever expect to meet so worthy a woman after knowing her father’s cruelty. He needs her help to escape the mirror before the king marches against the orcs, but all he can offer Arianna is ice and darkness in exchange for her aid.

If Arianna can free the monster behind the glass, perhaps she might free herself, as well. But once they cross the mountain, there will be no return, and the deadly winter is the least of what threatens them on the other side.

 

 

7. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

 

 

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom...

Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Shadows Cast by Stars by Catherine Knutsson
 

 

Old ways are pitted against new horrors in this compellingly crafted dystopian tale about a girl who is both healer and seer.

Two hundred years from now, blood has become the most valuable commodity on the planet— especially the blood of aboriginal peoples, for it contains antibodies that protect them from the Plague ravaging the rest of the world.

Sixteen-year-old Cassandra Mercredi might be immune to Plague, but that doesn't mean she's safe— government forces are searching for those of aboriginal heritage to harvest their blood. When a search threatens Cassandra and her family, they flee to the Island: a mysterious and idyllic territory protected by the Band, a group of guerrilla warriors— and by an enigmatic energy barrier that keeps outsiders out and the spirit world in. And though the village healer has taken her under her wing, and the tribal leader's son into his heart, the creatures of the spirit world are angry, and they have chosen Cassandra to be their voice and instrument...

Incorporating the traditions of the First Peoples as well as the more familiar stories of Greek mythology and Arthurian legend, Shadows Cast by Stars is a haunting, beautifully written story that breathes new life into ancient customs.

 

9. Earth Star by Janet Edwards
 

 

18-year-old Jarra has a lot to prove. After being awarded one of the military’s highest honours for her role in a daring rescue attempt, Jarra finds herself – and her Ape status – in the spotlight. Jarra is one of the unlucky few born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Derided as an ‘ape’ – a ‘throwback’ – by the rest of the universe, Jarra is on a mission to prove that Earth Girls are just as good as anyone else.

Except now the planet she loves is under threat by what could be humanity’s first ever alien contact. Jarra’s bravery – and specialist knowledge – will once again be at the centre of the maelstrom, but will the rest of the universe consider Earth worth fighting for?




 

10. Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 

 

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.

 

 

 

 

Extra: the books I've already read this summer that was originally on my TBR list

Rush by Nyrae Dawn (review)

The Mean Girl Apologies by Stephanie Monahan (review)

Rules of Survival by Jus Accardo (review)

The Beast of Callaire by Saruuh Kelsey (review)

Break by Zoe Perdita (review to come)

Why these?

There's a couple of sequels that I've been meaning to read but haven't had time because studies took pretty much all my reading time. The Kill Order is must because The Maze Runner is one of my favorite series, and I loved Earth Girl so Earth Star is been on my to-read pile since then. Other eight book, well, I've either gotten them recently or they've been on my shelves for some time but either way I'm super excited to read them all. There's some of my favorite authors like Kelley York and some I haven't read from before like Alex London, Anna Banks and Amalia Dillin. Some are debuts I don't want to miss like Tell the Wolves I'm Home and Half Bad.

All that shortly: synopsis and authors, that's why I'm excited of all of them.

Book Blitz and 2 Giveaways: Stick and Stones by Shawn McGuire

Sticks and Stones (The Wish Makers, #1)
by Shawn McGuire
Published by Brown Bag Books
YA, fantasy

Everyone has a dark side. Mandy’s just moved in with her.

The last time sixteen-year-old Mandy Matteo broke a rule, her sister died. Since that day she has done only what is expected of her, but life as a goody-goody has made Mandy so boring her friends have all but abandoned her. And she’s given up on ever getting Ethan, the boy she’s liked forever, to notice her. Desperate, Mandy makes a wish to simply be happy.

Her wish is granted and happiness arrives in the form of Lexi, her childhood imaginary friend come to life. Magical wishes have conditions though: Once started, the wish cannot be altered or stopped. And once Mandy is truly content with her life again, Lexi must go back to where she came from. But Lexi loves being alive and she’ll do whatever it takes to stay that way.

Sticks and Stones on Goodreads

 

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Excerp!

 

Chapter One

Mandy

It had been twelve years since I’d broken a rule. I found that life flowed along more easily if I didn’t rock the boat. Expectations were understood and outcomes predictable. Tonight was going to be different though. Tonight I’d step out of my carefully controlled comfort zone. If I wanted to have any friends at all, it was my only choice.

 

I’d promised Brooke and Crissy I’d go to the party tonight, even though it wasn’t my kind of thing and they knew it. But I really wanted the three of us to be together and this was what they agreed on. Besides, if I didn’t go I’d spend my sixteenth birthday alone.

 

Things weren’t going as planned though. Brooke had promised to pick me up at seven-thirty. At ten minutes to eight I’d received a text saying her brother had taken her car and she’d gotten a ride from someone else. So there I was, ready and willing and no way to get to the party.

 

Well, there was one way. My birthday present from my uncle, an old Ford Escape he’d been fixing up for months, was waiting in the barn for me. There was the minor detail that I didn’t have my license yet, but my road test was scheduled for tomorrow morning and I knew I’d pass. So what the heck, I was already stepping out of my box, what was one more step?

 

Brooke was supposed to bring me her silver sequined miniskirt so I was back at the I-have-nothing-to-wear stage. The whole time I stood there staring into my closet, an invisible Jiminy Cricket sat on my shoulder reminding me that I was breaking a rule. You know what happens when you break a rule.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, flicking Jiminy to the floor, “civilizations collapse and planets implode. Alert the media, Mandy Matteo is about to break a rule.” But the room spun a little and my stomach flipped as those words came out of my mouth. I looked down to see if Jiminy was still there. He wasn’t, of course, so I called out, “It’s just one party. Mom won’t be home ’til Sunday. No one will ever know I took the Escape.”

 

Finally dressed in something other than sweats, I grabbed the “sweet sixteen” key ring from the rack by the front door, ran out to the barn, and hopped in the car. At the end of the driveway I paused, waiting for a sign that planets were in fact imploding. With my luck, the first party I ever went to would get busted. But no space debris fell out of the sky to block my path. My phone didn’t ring with Mama intuitively calling to ask what I was up to. No voice from above told me to turn away from the dark side I was about to cross into. So I pulled onto the county highway and headed for town.

 

 

Author

 

 
Shawn McGuire started writing after seeing the first Star Wars movie (that’s episode IV) as a kid: she couldn’t wait for the next one so wrote her own episodes. Sadly, those notebooks are long lost, but her desire to write is as strong now as it was then. She grew up in the beautiful Mississippi River town of Winona, Minnesota, the small town that inspired the setting for Sticks and Stones and the upcoming Break My Bones. After graduating college she moved to the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin (Go Pack Go!) where she lived for many years. She and her family now call Colorado home and when not writing or reading, Shawn enjoys cooking and baking, crafts, interior decorating, and spending time hiking and camping in the spectacular Rocky Mountains.

 

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Galley Review: The Mean Girl Apologies by Stephanie Monahan

The Mean Girl Apologies
by Stephanie Monahan
Published by Entangled Embrace
Ebook (received from publisher, thank you!)
NA, contemporary, romance

You know that catchy song you keep hearing on the radio? It’s about you.

Natalie Jamison has spent five years trying to forget the girl she was in high school: popular, pretty…and, okay, mean. Now in her twenties and living once again in her small town, she’s right back where she was: following Queen Bee Amber and keeping secrets from her best friend, Sarah.

Secrets like Jack Moreland.

Everyone knows Jack Moreland—his new album, Good Enough, is everywhere. He’s famous. Impossibly handsome. Completely untouchable. But what none of Natalie’s old clique knows is that in high school, Natalie and Jack fell in love. And their secret relationship was incredible, painful—and earth-shattering enough to inspire an entire album.

Facing friends and enemies isn’t easy, but Natalie will go to great lengths to prove she is good enough—to her friends, to herself, and most of all, to the small-town boy turned worldwide heartthrob she never forgot.

 

I was ecstatic when I got this for review. Truthfully, I haven't heard much about this but the synopsis got me right there. The Mean Girl Apologies was something I have been looking for a long time. Main female character that's not perfectly nice but who, actually, was the mean one in high school. I loved all the promises this one made to me when I read the synopsis but what I completely adore about it, is the fact that it was even better than I hoped. Natalie was a mean girl in high school but she wanted to be better and she and Jack... yes, they stole my heart. Story was told through memory chapters that told Natalie's life in high school, mostly her memorable moments with Jack, and through chapters of present where twenty-two years old Natalie tried to make amends with her past.

 

The Mean Girl Apologies is truly emotional one, especially since Natalie feels bad about who she was or more about, what she did. It's heart wrenching how hard she is for herself, maybe more than anyone else is for her. She's back in town where she left five years ago with the same friends who she didn't like that much. It's a journey of self-discovery, forgiveness and making amends with herself and others. There's also romance that's present during the whole story even though it truly kicks in on the last half of the book.

 

Monahan's style of writing, her characters and the whole story was intense, expectional and beautiful. I felt for Natalie as I felt for Jack, and I couldn't do anything but adore Gillian who was such a sweetie and good friend for Natalie. I'm sure they'll stay with me for a while, and without any doubt I'll read this one again soon - it's too good for only reading it once.

 

Expectionally beautiful story and it stole my heart. So insightfully in many ways that I can't do anything else but recommend it for everyone - even for those who doesn't normally read contemporary books.

 

The Mean Girl Apologies more than good enough.

 

5 of 5 stars.

The Mean Girl Apologies on Goodreads.

(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Review: Rush by Nyrae Dawn

Rush
by Nyrae Dawn
Published by Forever Yours
Paperback (bought)
NA, LGBT, romance, contemporary

"Don't we deserve to have what we want like everyone else does? After everything we've been through, don't we deserve it more?"

For the love of the game.

Brandon Chase has always defined himself by one thing: football. Tough and athletic, he is a great college player who enjoys the hard hits and the sweaty grind of the gridiron. But when Brandon is injured, only one person can help him get back on track-a forbidden love he's desperately tried to put behind him.

Alec Andrews has never quite forgiven Brandon for walking away when their friendship turned into something more. But he can't deny help to one of his closest friends. As the two spend the long, hot summer working together, their old attraction comes flooding back.

Now as Alec thinks about coming out to his conservative family and Brandon considers revealing he's a gay football player, the two men must be strong to fight for a love that could be the greatest rush of their lives.

I confess: when I heard about this I was like oh hell no, sports (because let's face it, not my favorite subject). I gave in, however, because synopsis got me and when I've ever turned away LGBT themed book? Never. There was american football and lots of talk about it as well as training but in the end it wasn't the most important thing. No, it was Alec and Brandon, their relationship, their need to love each other while trying to make their parents proud. Rush is an amazing story of how hard it can be to be yourself when it's not something that public accepts without harsh, hateful comments. I wish I'd had a chance read this one when I was coming out to my parents or when I was struggling because my own sexuality.

 

Rush is powerful, heart wrenching and I confess, I cried a couple of times. Mostly because of Brandon. I loved Alec, he was well developed character, one that I could identify and I loved him very much but Brandon stole my heart. Brandon's struggling with himself - of who he was, who he wanted to be - it was powerful story with so much emotions that some moments I felt like drowning. Brandon's a sweetheart who had to make a difficult decisions and find himself underneath all the fears and years of lies.

 

Their relationship, all those years, and their love was thrilling and inspiring, and I devoured and yearned for more. I haven't read Four Summers where Alec and Brandon were introduced and even though I wasn't that taken by Nate and Charlie, I might read it for Alec and Brandon - for a chance there's something more about their past.

 

There's feels, there's pain and hurt, there's swoon worthy moments, there's sweet whispered words, there's great love between two young man's who deserve it more than anything. Character developement is stunning, all the emotions Dawn captured between the pages is amazing and it felt - feels - more than just a story. Brandon and Alec told us a story that no one can miss. It's too wonderful, too powerful, to be missed out.

 

Dawn told a story that left its mark on me. Rush will stay with me a long time and without doubt I'll re-read it many times. World needs more books like this - everyone struggling because they don't meet society's norms and other's expectations needs more stories like this. Rush gives hope - almost promises that if you're strong enough and have someone to love, then it'll be okay.

 

5 of 5 stars and everything else I can give.

 

 

Rush on Goodreads.

Waiting on Wednesday #6

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's cannot-wait book is:

Falls the Shadow by Stefanie Gaither!

 

Falls the Shadow

by Stefanie Gaither

Expected publication: September 16th 2014

 

When Cate Benson was twelve, her sister died.

Two hours after the funeral, they picked up Violet’s replacement, and it was like nothing had ever happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to grant their children a sort of immortality—by cloning them at birth. So this new Violet has the same smile. The same laugh. That same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, she even has all the same memories as the girl she replaced.

She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school.

Or at least, that’s what the paparazzi and crazy anti-cloning protesters want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that, though. She’s used to standing up for her sister too, and she’s determined to prove her innocence now—at whatever the cost. But the deeper she digs for the truth, the further Cate's carefully-constructed life begins to unravel, unveiling a world filled with copies and lies, where nothing and no one—not even her sister— is completely what they seem.

In a pulse pounding debut, Stefanie Gaither takes readers on a nail-biting ride through a future that looks frighteningly similar to our own time and asks: how far are you willing to go to keep your family together?

 

 

Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Stole my attention, for sure. The cover is stunning, colours matching the feeling synopsis gives, the air of mystery. Sci-fi, a little pinch of dystopian and thrilling mystery - count me in, I'm waiting for this one! Fall should come already, there's going to be lots of amazing sounding books when the leaves fall from trees.

Galley Review: Rules of Survival by Jus Accardo

Rules of Survival
by Jus Accardo
Published by Entangled Embrace
Ebook (received from publisher, thank you!)
NA, romance, contemporary, mystery

If you want to survive, you have to follow the rules…

Mikayla Morgan is wanted for her mother's murder. She's been on the run for almost a year now, avoiding not only the police but the real killer. Tired of running and desperate to clear her name, she breaks one of the most sacred rules: never return to the scene of the crime.

Every bounty hunter on the Eastern Seaboard is after the Morgan girl—but Shaun Denver and his partner snagged her. She's a piece of work, and Shaun can't decide if he wants to kiss her or kill her. When things take a sharp turn south, Shaun does the only thing he can think of to keep her close—he handcuffs them together.

As the danger mounts and the killer closes in, the chemistry between them threatens to explode. Shaun and Kayla will need to break all the rules if they hope to get out of this alive.

It's Jus Accardo - what else I need to say? I'm in love her writing style, witty characters who are real and the fact that Accardo doesn't coddle her readers. Rules of Survival is stunning - Accardo's best of those books that I've already read. And yes, Shaun Denver is perfect book boyfriend material because he's to die for.

 

Rules of Survival is fast paced, witty, full of mysteries and twists, fun story about survival when everyone seems to be after the main character, Kayla, who's wanted for not only police but the mysterious Jaffe whose motives are hidden. And, oh yes, the romance is swoon worthy. It's one heck of an ride for characters and for reader, and your heart will bounce along Kayla's and Shaun's.

There's a punch of mysteries to uncover as Kayla desires to clear her name. While doing that she learns a lot of things among trust to others. Kayla changed during the story but didn't lose what made her wonderful narrator: her witty comments, strongheadness along her quick thinking. It was a joy to read about strong female character who wasn't whiny at all or too stubborn to be likable. Accardo has a talent to create strong yet real female's that reader can identify. Shaun, well, he was perfect book boyfriend without being flawless and dull character. He had his own quirks and flaws but he was also strong, funny and lively character. There was also lots of interesting supporting characters like Patrick and even Kayla's mother, Melissa.

Rules of Survival is a stunning read which will make reader's heart beat faster as the action takes place and the romance will steam up the room. It's a great story of different kind of life - life of survival - and trust. I'm almost sad there's not more of Kayla and Shaun but then again, I'm happy their story was left with full of possibilities.

Definitely one of my favorites!

 

5 of 5 stars and everything else I can give.

Rules of Survival on Goodreads.

(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

ARC Review + Giveaway: Gypsy by Trisha Leigh (YaReads Blog Tour)

Gypsy (The Cavy Files, #1)
by Trisha Leigh
Published by Createspace
Received from tour host, YaReads
YA, paranormal, with slice of contemporary

Inconsequential: not important or significant.
Synonyms: insignificant, unimportant, nonessential, irrelevant

In the world of genetic mutation, Gypsy’s talent of knowing a person’s age of death is considered a failure. Her peers, the other Cavies, have powers that range from curdling a blood still in the vein to being able to overhear a conversation taking place three miles away, but when they’re taken from the sanctuary where they grew up and forced into the real world, Gypsy, with her all-but-invisible gift, is the one with the advantage.

The only one who’s safe, if the world finds out what they can do.

When the Cavies are attacked and inoculated with an unidentified virus, that illusion is shattered. Whatever was attached to the virus causes their abilities to change. Grow. In some cases, to escape their control.

Gypsy dreamed of normal high school, normal friends, a normal life, for years. Instead, the Cavies are sucked under a sea of government intrigue, weaponized genetic mutation, and crushing secrets that will reframe everything they’ve ever been told about how their "talents" came to be in the first place.

When they find out one of their own has been appropriated by the government, mistreated and forced to run dangerous missions, their desire for information becomes a pressing need. With only a series of guesses about their origins, the path to the truth becomes quickly littered with friends, enemies, and in the end, the Cavies ability to trust anyone at all.

 

Review

Gypsy is gripping story about girl called Gypsy who has a generic mutation that gives her knowledge of person's year of death. She, among nine other young people called Cavies, lives in a isolated Darley Hall until the police busts it, and she goes to live with her biological father. But life's not easy for Gypsy as she tries to adjust to her new life in the real world: how to be a daughter, how to find her place in high school. Especially when the Cavies past is clouded and while digging into the past they find mysterious things.

Gypsy is a gripping and in a sense fast paced book which I wasn't able to put down. There's right amount action, contemporary life and mysteries to keep reader interested chapter after chapter. Leigh has a good, firm and lively writing style and it doesn't lack humor which is always a nice plus. She's a master of scenery because the world she painted on the pages was so vivid I could see it on my own eyes and imagine myself there with Gypsy and her friends. Leigh also managed to create a great varitation of different kind of characters: the ten Cavies, their caretakers at Darley Hall, their families and Gypsy's new high school friends. It's a mix of different kind of characters that makes the book feel real - no one's same as the other just like in real world. Of course, there's a couple of very intriguing and swoon worthy boys to stir up a little romance but I was positively surprised that the romance didn't steal the plot.

A lot was left in shadows and as a mystery, mostly for next book of the The Cavy Files' series. Especially there was little to none about Cavies caretakers, the Professor and the Philosopher, and I'm hoping there'll be something to reveal on the sequel. The ending, oh, do I need to say anything? Gripping, and I truly need more.

Gypsy's intriguing story about extraordinare girls and boys and how they cope when thrown in a real world with mysteries around their existance and former life. Definitely worth a read - and will leave any reader waiting for the sequel!

4 of 5 stars.
 

 

Giveaway!

A $20 bookstore gift card and a signed paperback of the book, plus some swag.
 

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Trisha Leigh is a product of the Midwest, which means it’s pop, not soda, garage sales, not tag sales, and you guys as opposed to y’all. Most of the time. She’s been writing seriously for five years now, and has published 4 young adult novels and 4 new adult novels (under her pen name Lyla Payne). Her favorite things, in no particular order, include: reading, Game of Thrones, Hershey’s kisses, reading, her dogs (Yoda and Jilly), summer, movies, reading, Jude Law, coffee, and rewatching WB series from the 90’s-00’s.

Her family is made up of farmers and/or almost rock stars from Iowa, people who numerous, loud, full of love, and the kind of people that make the world better. Trisha tries her best to honor them, and the lessons they’ve taught, through characters and stories—made up, of course, but true enough in their way.

Trisha is the author of THE LAST YEAR series and the WHITMAN UNIVERSITY books. She’s represented by Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

 

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Gypsy on Goodreads.



(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Review: The Beast of Callaire by Saruuh Kelsey

The Beast of Callaire (The Legend Mirror, #1)
by Saruuh Kelsey
Self-published
Paperback (bought)
YA, LGBT, fantasy, mythology

Yasmin is a descendant of the Manticore. A creature of Persian mythology. A Legendary.

But she doesn’t want to be. Unlike the Legendaries in The Red, Yasmin wants nothing more than an ordinary life. She tries to fool herself into believing that she doesn’t change into a beast every full moon and savagely kill innocent people.

But when Yasmin starts hearing a voice in her head and is drawn into dreams that aren’t her own, she is led to Fray—a girl who once saved Yasmin from hunters, who has shadowy memories that hint at her having Legendary magic—and Yasmin is catapulted into a life of Majick and malevolence.

Despite the danger around her and Fray, Yasmin might finally have a chance at being a normal girl with a normal girlfriend. But with Legendaries being killed, a war between the Gods brewing, and the beast inside Yasmin becoming stronger each moon, her mundane life is little more than a dream.

Can I have more if I ask really nicely, adding some begging there?

I'm not sure if I'm coherent enough to say anything intelligent about The Beast of Callaire - even though I finished it yesterday. I'll try and start with things that made me want to read it. Firstly, it's Saruuh Kelsey and even though it was enough for me it wasn't the only reason. The diversity in this book is truly amazing: lesbian main character who's dark skinned and yes, there was even transgendered person. Kelsey truly did it, something that young adult authors are so careful with and dare I say, scared. What's best: it didn't feel forced, no, it felt like real life where's different kind of people all around.

Characters were good and they felt real with their flaws, and they all had their own characteristic quirks. Truthfully, I fell for Fray and Guy. Fray was lively, a little bit capricious, determined and I really liked her and she wasn't tedious at all. Guy was perfect with all his imperfections, his flaws that made him real because he was no beyond jealous but it didn't define who he was. There was lovely character developement on Guy. If we talk about character developement, then Yasmin needs to be mentioned because she grew up during the book. She was pretty self-assertive from the start but I loved to follow how she learned new things and changed along the story. It was delightful to read.

Mythology part was intriguing, although I was familiar with all of it, it didn't felt tedious at all. Kelsey's writing style kept it lively and interesting, and I'm glad it was about Roman and Persian myths that aren't as well known as the Greek myths.

At some points it felt like there was too many prophecy's and readings because it was losing its charm but otherwise I truly loved Beast and it lived up all my expectations. Wonderful, intriguing characters, plot that was not boring and mythology that wasn't ordinary. What more I can ask for a book? Not much.

Yeah, the ending. I need more, okay? That's all I have to say about it.

5 of 5 stars.

The Beast of Callaire on Goodreads.

Waiting on Wednesday #5

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's cannot-wait book is:

Loop by Karen Akins!

 

Loop

by Karen Akins

Expected publication: October 21st 2014

 

At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future.

 

The cover stole my attention, at first. It's stunning; the colors completes each other, the font's beautiful and I like the position. Synopsis are intriguing and yeah, I'm sold yet again. I cannot wait Loop!

 

Loop on Goodreads.