Friday, June 28, 2013

Stacking the Shelves # 62

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books we received over the course of the past week. As always, this is a fun way to share what books are coming out, and in no way should be considered bragging in any shape or form. 

Thank you SO much for visiting my blog and checking out the books I received over the past week! I hope you find something to add to your ever growing TBR Pile!

Received via NetGalley
NAL Penguin - Released by ACE (Part of Giveaway Tour Coming Soon!)
Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6) by Ilona Andrews
Expected Publication: July 30, 2013 by ACE


Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap

Received via NetGalley
Under A Spell (Underworld Detection Agency #5) by Hannah Jayne
Expected Publication: August 6, 2013 by Kensington


Sophie Lawson was seriously hoping life at the UDA would get back to relative normal now that her boss Pete Sampson has been reinstated. Unfortunately, her new assignment is sending her undercover into a realm where even the most powerful paranormals fear to tread…her old high school. Being a human immune to magic is no defense against soulless picture-perfect mean girls—or a secret witch coven about to sacrifice a missing female student. And Sophie's Guardian, uber-proper Englishman Will, is determined to convince Sophie he's the kind of temptation she should indulge in permanently. Now, as the clock ticks down to apocalypse, he and Sophie will have to summon every trick in the book to battle devilish illusion, lethal sorcery—and betrayals they'll never see coming…
Received via NetGalley
Cast in Sorrow (Chronicles of Elantra # 9) by Michelle Sagara
Expected Publication: August 27, 2013 by Harlequin Luna

The Barrani would be happy to see her die. So Kaylin Neya is a bit surprised by her safe arrival in the West March. Especially when enemies new and old surround her and those she would call friends are equally dangerous... 

And then the real trouble starts. Kaylin's assignment is to be a "harmoniste"-one who helps tell the truth behind a Barrani Recitation. But in a land where words are more effective than weapons, Kaylin's duties are deadly. With the wrong phrase she could tear a people further asunder. And with the right ones...well, then she might be able to heal a blight on a race. 

If only she understood the story.
Received via NetGalley
Charming (Pax Arcana #1) by Elliott James
Expected Publication: September 24, 2013 by Orbit


John Charming isn't your average Prince... 

He comes from a line of Charmings — an illustrious family of dragon slayers, witch-finders and killers dating back to before the fall of Rome. Trained by a modern day version of the Knights Templar, monster hunters who have updated their methods from chainmail and crossbows to kevlar and shotguns, he was one of the best. That is — until he became the abomination the Knights were sworn to hunt.

That was a lifetime ago. Now, he tends bar under an assumed name in rural Virginia and leads a peaceful, quiet life. One that shouldn't change just because a vampire and a blonde walked into his bar... Right?(
Purchased via Amazon
After Daybreak (Darkness Before Dawn Trilogy # 3) by J.A. London
Published: June 25, 2013 by Harper Teen

After Daybreak brings J. A. London's romantic dystopian Darkness Before Dawn series to a thrilling conclusion.
 
Dawn grew up behind a wall, terrified of the vampires outside who controlled the lives of humans and demanded their blood. But when she became a delegate for her city and met Victor, she realized that not all vampires were the same, that maybe one could be trusted.
 
Now Day Walker Sin is infecting his followers with a disease that turns them into mindless killers. Dawn and Victor will have to convince humans and vampires to band together to stop him, because alone they will all die.
 
After Daybreak is perfect for fans of the YA series Morganville Vampires and the Vampire Diaries.
Purchased via Book Depository for $2.34 during their 100 books over 25 hours sale.
The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines # 3) by Richelle Mead
Released: February 12, 2013 by Razorbill


In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.
Received just this week as part of ArmChairBEA (Winner!)
Endless (The Violet Eden Chapters # 4) by Jessica Shirvington
Expected Publication: October 1, 2013 (USA) by Sourcebooks Fire

LOVE WILL KILL US ALL

Violet Eden thought she was getting things under control. Then all hell breaks loose-literally. In the war between angels and exiles, she's about to face the biggest baddie of all time. Except she's not nearly ready. 
The dark exile Phoenix is still messing with her head-not to mention her heart. And her undeniable attraction to Lincoln has gotten downright dangerous. When Hell unleashes its worst, Violet must embrace every facet of her angel self to save the people she cares about and the world as she knows it. But death is not the worst thing she will face...
Received via Edelweiss
Once We Were (The Hybrid Chronicles # 2) by Kat Zhang
Expected Publication: September 17, 2013 by Harper Collins

"I'm lucky just to be alive"

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.
Received via Edelweiss
Resist (Breathe # 2) by Sarah Crossan
Expected Publication: October 8, 2013 by Greenwillow Books

The sequel—and conclusion—to Sarah Crossan's Breathe. Three teen outlaws must survive on their own in a world without air, exiled outside the glass dome that protects what's left of human civilization. Gripping action, provocative ideas, and shocking revelations in a dystopian novel that fans of Patrick Ness and Veronica Roth will devour.

Bea, Alina, and Quinn are on the run. They started a rebellion and were thrown out of the pod, the only place where there's enough oxygen to breathe. Bea has lost her family. Alina has lost her home. And Quinn has lost his privileged life. Can they survive in the perilous Outlands? Can they finish the revolution they began? Especially when a young operative from the pod's Special Forces is sent after them. Their only chance is to stand together, even when terrible circumstances force them apart. When the future of human society is in danger, these four teens must decide where their allegiances lie. Sarah Crossan has created a dangerous, and shattered society in this wrenching, thought-provoking, and unforgettable post-apocalyptic novel.
Gifted by Laura @ Little Red Riding Hood
I have no excuse whatsoever not to read the EIT series now!
Thank you so much Laura!
 



Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Waiting On Wednesday 06/26/2013

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

This weeks choice is-----

World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee
If you haven't read the first book, let me say this emphatically....

DO IT!!! 

*This, of course, is NOT THE COVER for World After!* 

Expected publication: November 19, 2013 by Skyscape


In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

www.facebook.com/AngelfallOfficial(less)



Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Review: A Kiss of Blood (Vamp City #2) by Pamela Palmer

If you haven't already started reading the Vamp City series by Pamela Palmer, let me appeal to your curiosity and intrigue. Vamp City is set in an alternate reality Washington, D.C. filled with vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, and Fae. The city was created in 1870 by a very powerful wizard named Phineas Blackstone but is now experiencing a magical loss and the powers that be firmly believe that Quinn Lennox can, and will be their savior even if it kills her or them in the end.

There are two kinds of vampires in Vamp City: Rippers, and Emoras. Rippers feed on human blood, while Emora's feed on blood and emotions like pain, fear, and pleasure. Oh, and there's Lots and Lots of pleasure for those who expect smexy scenes from your novels. A Kiss of Blood is, in my humble opinion, much tamer in nature than the first book A Blood Seduction but not so much when it comes to smexy scenes. ABS was filled with abuse, rape, torture, and nearly turned me away from the series. This is why there are second books in a series to prop up what happened in the first, and even exceed expectations.

As I mentioned, Quinn Lennox is the stories protagonist, who, along with her half-brother Zack, stumbled accidentally into Vampire City in A Blood Seduction and nothing has been the same since for either character. Quinn has reluctantly come to terms with the fact that she's a sorceress with unknown abilities and may actually be Vamp City's savior even though she hates the place and would not mind seeing it die a slow and painful death. She actually grows as a character in A Kiss of Blood and becomes someone you can honestly follow and not want to throttle. Her opinions about the vampires also are swayed by the arrival of some very interesting new characters.

Although Quinn has made it her mission NOT to return to Vamp City, when Zack ends up sick with what is thought to be magic illness, she realizes that she doesn't have a whole lot of choices at her disposal in curing Zack other than returning and attempting to help save Vamp City from its imminent demise. Especially when Arturo Mazza, the centuries old Italian Vampire who used her, lied to her, abused her, betrayed her, and gave her to his psychotic master Cristoff Gonzaga to further torture and abuse, refuses to let her go and may have found himself irrevocably drawn to Quinn like a moth to a flame.

It's still true that Quinn is stubborn and doesn't exactly trust any of the vampires who have done nothing but turned her world upside down. But, in the end, she eventually learns how to trust Micah, Kassius, and maybe even Arturo. The vampires have, in essence, put their very lives in her hands, and it's up to Quinn to figure out her powers, save her brothers life, and save Vamp City before Cristoff can reign hell down upon all of them.

If you haven't already read A Blood Seduction and would like to read A Kiss of Blood first, I honestly don't see a problem with that idea. Palmer ties both series together really well with a summary of what happened previously, and why Quinn wants nothing to do with Arturo or any other vampire for that matter.

By reading A Kiss of Blood, I was actually hoping for more information on the whereabouts of Zack's best friend Lily Wang who disappeared before Quinn & Zack stumbled their way into Vamp City. Palmer does her best to incorporate Lily into this story which I appreciated, but then leaves yet more questions about her safety and survivability in Vamp City’s hostile environment that feasts on Humans, and enslaves them so that they never end up leaving the city and become Slavas (Immortal Humans).

In my opinion, A Kiss of Blood is a good story but it could have been better. I didn't rate it higher because the story line really doesn't move forward all that much from A Blood Seduction. Quinn is still being hunted by Cristoff. Lily is still far away from being rescued by Zack or Arturo. Vamp City is still in danger from being destroyed. Humans, especially children, are still finding their way into Vamp City and extreme danger. The only difference is that more characters who are willing to work with Quinn are introduced, and there are surprises in regards to Quinn and Zack's descendants which hopefully will be discussed further in the next installment.

Author - Pamela Palmer
Title - A Kiss of Blood (Vamp City # 2)
Publisher - Avon Books
Released - June 25, 2013
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Received from Publisher via Edelweiss

Top Ten Tuesday Features The Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week there is a new topic and we all share our thoughts on that topic! 

This weeks Topic is:
Top 10 Books I've Read So Far This Year!


1. With All My Soul (Soul Screamers #7) by Rachel Vincent

2. The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter # 1) by Megan Shepherd

3. Crewel (Crewel World # 1) by Gennifer Albin *Read in January 2013*

4. The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds # 1) by Alexandra Bracken *read in January*

5. The Hallowed Ones (The Hallowed Ones # 1) by Laura Bickle

6. In The After (In the After # 1) by Demitria Lunetta

7. Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend (Confessions # 2) by Louise Rozett

8. Forsaken by the Others (H&W Investigations # 5) by Jess Haines

9. Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee

10. Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

11. A Cursed Embrace (Weird Girls #2) by Cecy Robson

12. Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop

13. Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell # 3) by Jenn Bennett

There are so many more that I could list here, but, you can check out the books I've read
by going to my Goodreads profile and checking out my Reading Challenge!



Monday, June 24, 2013

Cover Loves Monday 06/24/2013

Welcome back to your regularly scheduled Cover Loves Monday!

This week I have a bunch of new covers that were kindly released in the Aether by Harper Teen, J.Taylor Publishing, Balzer & Bray, and Simon Pulse. All covers can be found on Goodreads, Amazon, and the Epic Reads web pages.

Hope you find something you like!

'
No Description as of posting!

Expected publication: January 28th 2014 by HarperCollins 

Life can change in a split second.


Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.


Expected Publication: February 11, 2014 by Harper Teen

First an outcast, now a hero.

But her fight rages on.

Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer who fiercely protected her kingdom—and the crown prince—has been proclaimed the Dragon Musado of the prophecy. With the defeated the evil shaman.

But it wasn’t enough.

Hansong is in chaos. The Demon Lord’s minions have infiltrated the city, treason is brewing among the military ranks, and Kira is buried by the overwhelming loss of her parents. She’s also plagued by the annoying feelings that blossom whenever she’s around Jaewon. But she is determined that nothing will stop her from finding the second treasure needed to fulfill the Dragon King’s prophecy. Not even the army of half-breed demons hot on their trail. If only she could learn to trust others…

Her father always said one person can change the world. Will it be Kira?

Expected Publication: December 31, 2013 by Harper Teen

Jeth Seagrave is the leader of the Malleus Shades, the galaxy’s most accomplished and elusive band of teenage mercenaries. Working for feared crime boss Hammer Defoe, Jeth and his crew have made their name stealing unsecured metadrives – the complex piece of technology that makes faster-than-light-speed travel possible. The ITA–the far-reaching organization that produces and polices metatechnology–has been on Jeth’s tail for years, and is looking for any chance to take down Hammer’s black market metatech trade.

But Jeth doesn’t care about any of this. All he wants to do is earn enough money to purchase his parents’ ship, Avalon, from Hammer. His parents, former ITA scientists, were executed for treason years back, and Jeth, his sister Lizzie, and their uncle Milton fell into debt to Hammer. Finally, Jeth has found himself just one job away from freedom. This job, however, is going to give Jeth much, much more than he bargained for – and when he finds himself in possession of information that both Hammer and the ITA will kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he’ll go to get the freedom he’s dreamed of for so long.

Expected Publication: January 21, 2014 by Balzer & Bray

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom—all because of a reckless bargain her father struck. And since birth, she has been training to kill him.

Betrayed by her family yet bound to obey, Nyx rails against her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, she abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, disarm him, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her. As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. But even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, could she refuse her duty to kill him?

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Expected Publication: January 28, 2014 by Balzer & Bray

Vane Weston is haunted. By the searing pull of his bond to Audra. By the lies he's told to cover for her disappearance. By the treacherous winds that slip into his mind, trying to trap him in his worst nightmares. And as his enemies grow stronger, Vane doesn’t know how much longer he can last on his own.

Expected Publication: March 4, 2014 by Simon Pulse

The Heists were only the beginning.

Gray Weathersby escaped from the primitive town of Claysoot expecting to find answers, but what he discovered shook him to the core: A ruthless dictator with absolute power. An army of young soldiers blinded by lies. And a growing rebellion determined to fight back.

Now Gray has joined a team of rebels on a harsh, icy journey in search of allies who can help them set things right. But in a world built on lies, Gray must constantly question whether any ally—or enemy—is truly what they seem…

Expected Publication: April 15, 2014 by Harper Teen

Release Date: December 2, 2013


What if today never ends? 

What if everything about life—everything anyone hoped to be, to do, to experience—never happens? 

Whether sitting in a chair, driving down the road, in surgery, jumping off a cliff or flying … that’s where you’d be … forever. 

Unless … 

In One More Day, Erika Beebe, Marissa Halvorson, Kimberly Kay, J. Keller Ford, Danielle E. Shipley and Anna Simpson join L.S. Murphy to give us their twists, surprising us with answers to two big questions, all from the perspective of characters under the age of eighteen. 

How do we restart time? 

How do we make everything go back to normal? 

The answers, in whatever the world—human, alien, medieval, fantasy or fairytale—could,maybe, happen today. 

Right now. 

What would you do if this happened … to you?

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees have scraped out an existence on the edge of Britain’s industrial empire. Though they live by the skin of their teeth they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape from the coastal cities or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.

The Inventor’s Secret is the first book of a YA steampunk series set in an alternate nineteenth-century North America where the Revolutionary War never took place and the British Empire has expanded into a global juggernaut propelled by marvelous and horrible machinery.

Expected Publication: April 22, 2014 by Philomel

No Description as of Posting!

Expected Publication: March 2014 by Penguin

When Risa loses the second key to hell, she angers several powerful people, and she’s starting to feel the pressure from all sides. She gets a visit from her father, who gives her an ultimatum: Get back the key or he will kill her friends.

Risa also finds herself under the scrutiny of the vampire council, some of whom consider her a monster who should be destroyed. But they offer her a bloody bargain: Take on the lethal head of the council, Madeline Hunter, and others will support her.

As the search for the keys to hell heats up, Risa realizes that she has no choice. For the sake of the people she loves, she must find the keys — and get rid of Hunter — before the second gate is opened and brings the world closer to all hell breaking loose,

Expected Publication: November 5, 2013 by Signet

Meet the furry big brother that the Wird sisters never had…

Bren is a cocky, brash hound of a werewolf who loathes the idea of belonging to Aric’s pack—much less finding a mate. But Bren’s hotheaded behavior lands him in the doghouse when he defies Aric’s authority in front of his pack, bringing up a sore subject that’s bound to make the Alpha wolf’s blood boil…

Luckily for him, no one can stay mad at Bren and his wild charm for long. And when some frightening ghosts launch a hostile paranormal takeover, Bren will team up with Celia to take down the evil ghouls before they hurt someone they both love…

Includes a preview of the upcoming Weird Girls novel Cursed by Destiny!

Expected Publication: December 3, 2013 by Signet