Countdown: 2012 Releases (5)

As big of a reader as I am, I can never seem to get caught up on all the books I've decided to add to my collection. No matter what I do, there just always seems to be more titles that get added to my list and more authors that become favorites that I constantly find myself following up on. Don't get me wrong, this is not a problem that I'm complaining about, but at some point my organizational skills only go so far when it comes down to making sure these titles I've added to my "list" don't fall through the cracks. So most of you know by now that I've come to be a big advocate of the countdown posts. It's the only way that I've been able to manage my ever growing TBR lists. And on top of all that, it's gets me excited all over again each time I do further research on certain titles and authors, or get another look at exceptional covers that act as more than that, they become works of art that are ingrained in my head. So here's another round of books that I've been or will be counting down towards their releases dates.

Countdown Pick #1: Enchanted by Alethea Kontis (05/08/2012)

It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.
When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.
The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?
Doesn't this sound adorable? I've always been a fan of fairy tales from the start. Reading them as a little girl was inspiring and had me brimming with hope that I'd find my own white knight in the future, and even now I can't help but adore them. If not just for their optimistic outlooks on impossible situations, but also because who doesn't enjoy a happy ending? We don't always get a lot of those in real life, and with reality not always been the most fun or inspiring, books like these often give me just the break I need in order to get past some of the obstacles we all face on a daily basis. Now I'll admit that there is no guarantee that Kontis will deliver a happy ending with her version of this tale, but regardless she can count me on board for this one and I'll be rooting for Sunday to find her white knight and live happily ever after.

And as an extra bonus, if you're planning on adding this title to your lists of countdowns, take a minute and check out the giveaway for your very own copy on goodreads!

Countdown Pick #2: Swift by R.J. Anderson (03/01/2012)

Ivy sensed the stone hurtling towards her and rolled - too late. Heat scored across her back in a blaze of dazzling pain. The ground spiralled to meet her, and she knew it would only be seconds before she hit...

Ivy is a determined young faery, living in an abandoned tin mine with her clan. In a cruel twist of fate she was born without wings, and she longs to fly like the others. When she meets an enigmatic stranger, he seems to offer an answer. But there is more to him than meets the eye...

I'm a supporter of the paranormal genre and all the creatures that come with it. Fairies are one of the branches in the genre that although are popular and definitely are featured in more than their share of titles, haven't been overdone in my opinion. Every once in a while no matter how much I love a good vampire and werewolf story, deviations and unique qualities can be hard to find. While I'm sure the same can be said about fairies depending on who you're asking, I'm still at the point where every once in a while they're able to provide a refreshing change of pace and scenery for me. So when I came across Anderson's story and heard a little bit more about the main character Ivy, I added the title to my list and am looking forward to it's release in March. I'm hoping the girl gets her wings and doesn't get into too much trouble along the way...or maybe I'm hoping for the opposite...a little bit of trouble makes things exciting and never seems to hurt right?

Countdown Pick #3: The Falconer by Elizabeth May (2013)

Humans will be the hunted. Love will be tested. Vengeance will be had.

The Falconer begins in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1844. We meet 18-year-old Lady Aileana Kameron, who was destined to live a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events — until a faery killed her mother.

Now, between the seeming endless parties and boring dances, Aileana has a new hobby: she secretly slaughters the fae who prey on humans in the city’s dark alleyways, and is determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother.

Vengeance has become Aileana's life . . . so she never anticipated her growing attraction to the magnetic Kiaran MacKay, the faery who trained her to kill his own kind. Or that there was a world beyond hers, filled with secrets which affect her past and have the potential to destroy her present.

But when her own world is about revenge, and when she holds Kiaran’s fate in her hands, how far is Aileana prepared to go to avenge her mother’s murder?

Romance potential? I think so. While I'm a fan of fairies as I just mentioned with my second countdown pick, these fairies don't seem to be in the same boat. With May's spin on this branch of the paranormal genre, it looks like we're going to be rooting for the humans and not so much for the fairies. I'm looking forward to seeing how May is going to spin this one, and it sounds to me like it won't end up being so cut and dry if we have our main character being trained and helped by a fae in order to eliminate the rest of his race. I'm hoping for a little romance in this tale, as I usually am, but only time will tell. Hopefully the official covert art will come out soon, but in the meantime we'll have to draw from our imaginations...I'm already picturing what these characters will look like.

Countdown Pick #4: Devotion (Soul Savers, #3) by Kristie Cook (02/12/2012)

With powerful abilities gained from the Ang’dora and Tristan back by her side, Alexis thinks she’s ready for the next challenge—protecting her son from what appears to be the inevitable. But she has so much to learn about her powers, her new world and the people in it. Nothing is what it seems to be on the surface, including the Amadis. Having believed the secret society to be definitively good and righteous, she discovers she couldn’t have been more wrong.

Power-hungry politicians comprise the council and make impossible demands. A traitor lurks among them all, inciting trouble that could destroy the Amadis and, ultimately, humanity. The Daemoni wreak havoc in the human world, with the ultimatum that they’ll continue attacking innocents until Alexis and Tristan are expelled from the Amadis’ protection. The couple’s own society begins to shut them out. But that’s not all.

There’s a secret. A big one. And faith and hope in Alexis and Tristan will be restored if she can uncover the truth in time.

But the search for answers leads only to the discovery of more betrayals by those closest to Alexis. Her devotion is put to the test—devotion to her husband, to her family, to her people and to her beliefs—leaving her to question whom she’s fighting for and why she should even bother. But if she won’t fight … who will?

Oh this series has put me through the ringer. I don't think it's possible for me to be a bigger fan of Kristie Cook and her Soul Savers series. I just love everything about it. Her writing is fantastic, her characters are endearing, and her storyline is addicting. The world she has created within this series is magical and worthy of infinite praise. While she keeps her readers on the edges of their seats and often times has them laughing, crying, screaming, and sometimes all at once. Cook has the ability to draw her readers in and get them so invested that they take each part of the story personally. If a positive outcome is the result, readers end up feeling like they've gotten lucky, if something happens to one of the characters on the other end of the spectrum, we end up feeling the loss or injustice as if it's been done to us an not a fictional set of characters. So as the days are dwindling down to the release of this third series installment, I'm preparing myself for yet another wild and action packed ride.