Countdown: 2012 Releases (21)

I can't believe how many great titles are coming out and how badly I want to read them all. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage to fit everything in, but I'm crossing my fingers I'll find a way.

That's the plan anyways and hopefully I'll have some down time as well in between all the fun festivities lined up to squeeze in a book or two on a night in, curled up on my couch unwinding from all the craziness! That's definitely my idea of how to spend a quite night in on the weekend. I'm all for getting together with friends and family, but lately with all the weddings I've been going to and the festivities that go along side by side with those weddings, I'm definitely not lacking in the quality time I'm spending with my loved ones. So when I get the chance to stay in, for right now, I'm taking advantage of those opportunities as often as I can and with a good book in mind!

Countdown Pick #1: The Innocents (The Innocents, #1) by Lili Peloquin (10/2012)

Two sisters fight to belong in a town built on secrets and lies in this romantic new YA series.

Nothing ever came between sisters Alice and
Charlie.
Friends didn’t.
Boys couldn’t.
Their family falling apart never would.
Until they get to Serenity Point.

The Innocents is the first in a new series of young adult novels that weaves a saga of nail-biting drama, breathless romance, and gothic mystery.

While this title does not have an actual date for it's release scheduled that I could find, we're looking at being able to expect this title to hit the shelves in October, and I'm hopeful it will be early October at that. How much fun does this series' opener sound? I'm a sucker for a good series, mostly because it means that I'm not forced to say goodbye when I turn the last and final page of the book, which is a good thing in my opinion. Some standalones are perfect just the way they are, but I'm partial to series for the obvious reasons.

Countdown Pick #2: The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors (08/21/2012)

Emmeline Thistle has always had a mysterious bond with cows, beginning on the night of her birth, when the local bovines saved the infant cast aside to die in the forest. But Emmeline was unaware that this bond has also given her a magical ability to transform milk into chocolate, a very valuable gift in a kingdom where chocolate is more rare and more precious than gold or jewels. Then one day Owen Oak, a dairyman’s son, teaches Emmeline to churn milk into butter—and instead she creates a delicious chocolate confection that immediately makes her a target for every greedy, power-hungry person in the kingdom of Anglund. Only Owen loves Emmeline for who she truly is, not her magical skill. But is his love enough to save her from the danger all around her?

In a departure from her contemporary teen romances, Suzanne Selfors crafts an irresistible re-imagined fairy tale that will tempt readers with a delicious story of love that is sweeter than the richest chocolate.

I will admit I found the premise of this book a little strange and somewhat comical at first glance. But I can also say I'm a fan of any world where an author makes it fact that chocolate is more precious than gold and gems, don't you think? After I got over my presumptions of the comical nature behind my first impression, and I took a closer look, I was drawn right back in to this title. I'm loving the romantic elements that seem to be woven into the plot and am hopeful that readers will get a happy ending for these characters when all is said and done.

Countdown Pick #3: Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1) by Morgan Rhodes (12/11/2012)

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword...

The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

How these four characters will be intertwined is anyone's guess, but what readers can tell immediately is that it will be one heck of a ride and a crazy adventure throughout the entire process. I love a story set with a backdrop like the one described here. There's something romantic in the poetic sense of the word, where warriors fight for their people and injustice isn't tolerated but instead is the cause of many a revolution.

Countdown Pick #4: Incarnation by Emma Cornwall (09/18/2012)

Lucy Weston tracks down the novelist Bram Stroker in her search to reveal the dark force who made her a vampire—and regain her humanity in the process.

In the steampunk world of Victorian London, Lucy Weston, a character in Dracula, seeks out Bram Stoker to discover why he deliberately lied about her in his popular novel. With Stoker’s reluctant help, she tracks the creature who transformed her from the sensual underworld where humans vie to become vampires to a hidden cell beneath a temple to madness and finally into the glittering Crystal Palace where death reigns supreme.

Haunted by fragmentary memories of her lost life and love, Lucy battles her thirst for blood as she struggles to stop a catastrophic war that will doom vampires and humans alike. Ultimately, she makes a choice that illuminates for her—and for us—the true nature of what it means to be human.

How cool does this one sound? I'm digging the idea that someone goes after Bram Stoker himself for falsifying the account of his Dracula. I'm also intrigued by the idea that this character has a bone to pick with Dracula as well and isn't afraid, apparently, to go after him as well for turning her into a vampire as well. Sounds like it could have it's moments of intense action as well as mystery and intrigue as well.

Countdown Pick #5: Want by Stephanie Lawton (06/07/2012)

Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche.

Julianne can’t understand why Isaac suddenly gave up Boston’s music scene to return to the South. He doesn’t know her life depends on escaping it before she inherits her mother’s madness. Isaac knows he must resist his attraction to a student ten years his junior, but loneliness and jealousy threaten his resolve.

Their indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball—the pinnacle event for Mobile’s elite—forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past.

Will Julianne accept the help she’s offered and get everything she ever wanted, or will she self-destruct and take Isaac down with her?

This one sounds juicy doesn't it? I can't wait to see what this one brings to the table! I'll admit that I'm intrigued with the relationship the author describes between the main character, Julianne, and her mentor of sorts, Isaac, who is so much older than her. Age might not pose such an obstacle at some point in life, but when we're talking about a girl Julianne's age, an obstacle is definitely what I'd call it. Definitely something I want to look into and see how it all pans out. If you're interested, there's a contest going on over at Goodreads, for a chance to win a copy for yourself. So head on over and check it out!