Countdown: 2012 Releases (9)

Can you guys believe that it's almost St. Patrick's Day? It's one of my absolute favorite holidays out of the entire year, and mostly just because you can't really go anywhere on that day without running into someone wearing green! I love it, everything about it really. The green drinks, the festive attire, the fact that everyone seems to pour themselves out of the woodwork for this holiday whether or not they're actually Irish (and most claim to have some if not a little Irish in their ancestry) because on this day everyone is Irish! I've also yet to come across someone that was in a bad mood on St. Patty's day, unless of course it falls during the week, in which case the only complaint anyone has is that the work or school day goes by too slow and it feels like forever before they can actually go and join in on the party themselves!

So happy early St. Patrick's Day from me to you, and to celebrate....I've continued on in my countdown of fabulous new releases scheduled to hit the shelves in 2012!

Countdown Pick #1: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross (04/10/2012)

True love’s kiss just may prove deadly....

Mirabelle’s past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents’ tragic deaths to her guardians’ half-truths about why she can’t return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday—and discovers a world she never could have imagined.

In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who’s a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales aren’t pretty things, and they don’t always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy-tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy-tale curses of their own ... brothers who share a dark secret. And she’ll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns.

OK so has anyone else become a fan of the new series Once Upon A Time on ABC? I'm not even quite sure why I like the show so much, but I imagine because it relates so closely to some of my favorite childhood fairy tales. My parents read to me from a very young age and kept at it even as I was growing up. While my dad did try to throw in classics like Tolkien and The Narnia series, fairy tales still stand out in my mind as some of my favorites. So the idea that much like the new show on ABC, there is a place (or town) that exists where these characters are in fact a reality, living out their own stories is wonderful. Or at least the happier fairy tales I guess would be wonderful, the ones that still scare me to this day could be skipped over and I wouldn't say a word. But it sounds like Cross has decided to throw in those scares as well as put some mystery behind it all as well.

Countdown Pick #2: The Temptation (Kindred, #1) by Alisa Valdes (04/24/2012)

His touch was electric.
His eyes were magnetic.
His lips were a temptation....
But was he real?

After crashing her car on an empty highway, Shane is miraculously saved by Travis, a mysterious cowboy who walks out of nowhere. She is instantly attracted to him, and for the first time, she believes in “soul mates.” But Shane soon discovers that Travis is dead and that strict rules from the Underworld govern kindred spirits of different dimensions. Breaking these rules could destroy both their souls. And while Travis is almost impossible to resist, temptation proves to be the kindest enemy they encounter.

Can true love surpass the power of pure evil? Part love story, part supernatural thriller, this first book in the Kindred trilogy will leave readers lusting for more!

A cowboy ghost? That would be a first for me and one I'm anxious to check out. I like the idea that we're not just talking about a simple love story here (although most aren't exactly simple) but yet a thriller as well. I'm always game to add another series or trilogy to my TBR list in hopes that if I love the first that I can then (hopefully) guarantee I have at least a few more books to look forward to in the future. So I've added this one to my list and entered myself in the giveaway over at Goodreads for a chance to win my very own copy to put up on my shelf.

Countdown Pick #3: Chosen Ones (The Lost Souls, #1) by Tiffany Truitt (04/10/2012)

What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

I'm stoked about this one! I love a good dystopian novel and this one sounds like it's right up my alley and I couldn't be more excited....unless of course it was already out on the shelves of course. I'm not sure how Truitt will explain how her characters got into the situation they're currently in, but talk of a fourth world war (when was the third?) and the resulting chaos and destruction is enough to scare just about anyone I would think. So the idea of engineering people so that life can continue on is freaking me out to blunt, but the idea that these "chosen ones" could possibly stand up to the "big brother" in this world and change the way things are handled has me rallying behind them already. I'm sure I'll become a personal cheerleader for these characters when I get my hands on a copy of this series opener, and I can only hope that it lives up to my already high expectations.

Countdown Pick #4: Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame (05/01/2012)

A lush, historical novel about the secretive Darlingtons of Wentworth Hall!

The prettiest people often have the ugliest secrets…

Eighteen-year-old Maggie Darlington has turned into an entirely different person. The once spirited teen is now passive and reserved. A change Lord and Lady Darlington can’t help but be grateful for.

It’s 1912, and the Darlingtons of Wentworth Hall have more than just the extensive grounds to maintain. As one of Britain’s most elite families, they need to keep up appearances that things are as they have always been…even as their carefully constructed facade rapidly comes undone.

Maggie has a secret. And she’s not the only one…the handsome groom Michael, the beautiful new French nanny Therese, the Darlingtons’ teenage houseguests Teddy and Jessica, and even Maggie’s younger sister Lila are all hiding something. Passion, betrayal, heartache, and whispered declarations of love take place under the Darlingtons’ massive roof. And one of these secrets has the power to ruin the Darlingtons forever.

I'm not usually one to gravitate towards historical novels but this one just seemed too good to pass up the chance to read. The Darlington's sound positively ripe with hidden secrets and truths just itching to be uncovered. And I kind of want to be there when they're uncovered...am I alone? I hope not because I rely on my blogging friends and readers to be able to relate and bounce ideas off of. So hopefully you guys will take one look at this description and feel the same way. Yay for a historical upcoming release...it might turn out to be the first one I have really ever gotten excited over...new things seem to be on the horizon for 2012.

Countdown Pick #5: The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond (05/01/2012)

Is he or isn't he? Brigitta's best friend is convinced that Brigitta's new crush, Luke, is actually egotistical teen heartthrob Trent Yves, hiding from his fans in their tiny town. But Brigitta actually likes Luke, whereas Trent is an arrogant jerk. As the two spend the summer together raising orphaned cougar cubs, Brigitta still can't be sure of his true identity. But then again, since her grandparents' death, her father's sudden urge to give away all their possessions and become a shaman, and her own awkward transition from girlhood into a young woman, what can she be sure of?

This one already screams a coming of age type storyline don't you think? I like the idea of how this possible teen heartthrob could be hiding out in a small town and by some luck he could end up meeting a girl who falls for him for he really is and not what he does for a living. But I'm sure it's not as simple as all that. There's always a bunch of complications, not to mention how Brigitta will feel if what he friend thinks is true and Luke has been keeping secrets the whole time. Ouch! So add this one to your list and cross your fingers it turns out to be a fun and easy summer read, perfect to jump start the hopefully beautiful summer ahead of us.