Countdown: 2012 Releases (7)

Let the countdowns continue...starting off this week was not tough at all. I never seem to find new titles scarce when I do these searches in order to prepare a countdown or new finds post. I'm not sure how all these authors come out of the woodwork at the same time, or how they pump so many installments out so quickly...while others I can't get fast enough. For whatever reason, and however they do it, I'm grateful for the so-called problem. While my TBR list never seems to go down, that's a problem I love to complain about. The idea of not being able to find new reads or new authors to check out I can't even imagine. Can you imagine? Scary for sure. So while I'll try not to post more than two of these countdown posts a week, I don't think I'll ever run out of material to include.

Countdown Pick #1: Lacrimosa (Requiem, #1) by Christine Fonseca (03/21/2012)

It’s been three thousand years since the fall of Azzaziel and the rebirth of evil; three thousand years since the Sentinal Order, an elite group of warrior angels, returned to Celestium. Their job—rid Earth of the dark creatures, the UnHoly. And with luck, end Azza’s rule.

As if casting out demons isn’t hard enough, five-hundred-year-old Nesy has to masquerade as a teenage girl to do it. Nesy is the best of the Sentinals. She never makes mistakes, never hesitates, never gets emotionally involved. Until she meets Aydan.

He is evil incarnate; a fallen angel that feeds off the souls of others. Everything Nesy is supposed to hate. But she can’t, because he’s also the love of her former life as a human girl—a life that ended too soon, tying her to emotions she was never supposed to feel.

Now Nesy must choose between doing her duty—damning Aydan to the fiery depths of hell—or saving him, and condemning herself. And her choice may cost her, and Celestium, far more than anyone realizes.

How much will she sacrifice for love?

Oh boy am I glad that this one comes out this month! If I had found this any earlier, I'm not sure I would have been able to handle the suspense while I was waiting and counting down until it's release. At least this way, there's only a handful of days left that I'll have to wait and it's extra incentive for me to finish up the titles that I've already got waiting to be read so that I can dive into this one as soon as I've got the chance. While I'm always up for a little good vs. evil and Angels vs. Demons...the fact that this one deals with previous human lives as well has me eager to see how things go down.

Countdown Pick #2: A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix (04/08/2012)

You’d think being a privileged Prince in a vast intergalactic Empire would be about as good as it gets. But it isn’t as great as it sounds. For one thing, Princes are always in danger. Their greatest threat? Other Princes. Khemri discovers that the moment he is proclaimed a Prince. He also discovers mysteries within the hidden workings of the Empire. Dispatched on a secret mission, Khemri comes across the ruins of a space battle. In the midst of it all he meets a young woman named Raine, who will challenge his view of the Empire, of Princes, and of himself.

I love this! It's like Star Trek meets cool. I was never a Treky but this whole synopsis has me thinking intergalatic space stuff could be somewhat cool and interesting to boot. Khemri and his fellow princes sound like they've got their work cut out for them if they want to survive and how this Raine factors into things I'm not sure but I am sure it'll make for a great adventure. Another male POV that I find myself looking forward to and anxious to see if I'll enjoy it. Goodreads is holding a giveaway for your chance to win yourself a copy of this future release so head on over and check it out!

Countdown Pick #3: The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney (08/07/2012)

Where have all the boys gone?

Down-to-earth Kelly is always the friend and never the girlfriend. But as her junior year of high school starts, Kelly is determined to finally reveal her true feelings for her long-time crush and good friend Hunter - that is, until the Boy Recession hits.

Over the past summer, an overwhelming number of male students have left Kelly and Hunter's small high school class. Some were sent to private school and others moved away. Whatever the case, the sudden population shift has left the already small Julius P. Heil High in desperate shape. The football coach is recruiting chess champs for his team, the principal's importing male exchange students to balance out school dances,and Hunter is about to become an unexpected heartthrob.

Content with his role as the guitar-strumming, class-skipping slacker, Hunter is unprepared to be the center of attention. Desperate coaches are recruiting him for sports teams, and the drama teacher casts him in the lead role of the school musical. Even the Spandexers, powerful popular girls in tight pants, are noticing Hunter in a new light - with a little work, he could have potential. He might even be boyfriend material...

In order to stand out from the crowd and win Hunter's heart, Kelly needs a "stimulus package" in the form of cougar lessons from a senior girl who dates hot freshman boys and advice on the male mind from her Cosmo-addicted best friend, Aviva. As if dating wasn't hard enough without a four-to-one ratio!

I am already laughing out loud. This one just sounds too funny to pass up. It kind of reminds me of something that Kristin Walker would write, and her stuff I love so it's a win win right? While I can only imagine how many guys would dream to be in Hunter's position, I'm already feeling slightly bad for both him (for being treated likea piece of meat in shark infested waters) and Kelly (since she liked him even before all this survival of the fittest dating game started) but it also sounds like fantastic material for a romantic comedy if I ever heard one. I can't wait!

Countdown Pick #4: Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes Trilogy, #1) by Shannon Dittemore (05/29/2012)

Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

Sounds to me like good is going to win out on this battle with characters like Jake and Brielle on their side. Angel books are always a must in my eyes and for some reason I particularly like the titles where the angels are warriors fighting for good, not just steering people in the right direction. I think some things are worth fighting for and love it when a book like this comes along and brings that kind of a spin to the pages. So this is yet another one I highly recommend adding to your TBR lists and also heading over to Goodreads to enter yourself in their giveaway to win yourself a copy of this title to call your own.

Countdown Pick #5: My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend (06/28/2012)

Lexi has always been beautiful, but her beauty is taken from her when she goes face-first through a car windshield. Now Lexi has to dig deep to figure out how to define herself. Help on her journey of self-discovery comes from unexpected sources: Ruth, Lexi’s sister, “the smart one” to Lexi’s “the pretty one,” with whom Lexi has never been close; and Theo, a classmate who is still recovering from his sister’s recent death from anorexia.

Talk about hard obstacles to overcome...I have been so fortunate in my life to have never been seriously hurt in any type of accident that I can't even begin to imagine going through something as horrific as what Friend describes in her future release. While outward appearances certainly are not the most important thing in life, I can't necessarily imagine going through life one way and then suddenly having everything turned on it's head the next day either. It's sure to be an uphill battle for Lexi and for readers as well as they take on this journey along with Friend's characters, but it sounds like one worth reading and thinking about.