Countdown: May 2013 (5)

So for me and most others, May marks the beginning of Summer, Memorial Day weekend has always been a favorite of mine.  Friends and I have always headed down to the beach and spent the weekend basking in the sun (hopefully), enjoying the beach and getting excited that Summer is here and it means the end of cold weather, the start of vacations for most, and a lot of other good things.  Last year it marked the beginning of wedding season for my friends and me as a member of their wedding parties.  While that was a lot of fun it was also complete craziness and didn't leave a lot of time for reading and checking out new books to review.  This year I'm hoping and crossing my fingers that I'll get a real vacation in and a whole lot of quality time with my books and hopefully a lot of these future new releases scheduled to hit the shelves!

Countdown Pick #1:  Truth or Dare (Truth or Dare, #1) by Jacqueline Green (05/14/2013)

Some say the seaside town of Echo Bay is cursed. They may be right. When a game of truth or dare spins out of control, three beautiful teen girls start receiving mysterious dares containing hints to dark secrets long buried. For artsy outcast Sydney Morgan; perfect, popular Caitlin “Angel” Thomas; and queen bee Tenley Reed, the truth is not an option.

This is no party game—it’s do or die.

And it’s their turn to play.

Here's another YA debut that we can all look forward to.  Where these authors get these ideas is beyond me, but the cover alone drew me in and the book's description made it so that there was no way I wasn't going to add this title to my TBR.  I'm crossing my fingers that May comes sooner rather than later because this month is starting to look like it's way over-packed with great new titles!

Countdown Pick #2:  Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore (05/14/2013)

Daisy Goodnight can speak to the dead. It’s not the result of a head injury or some near-death experience. She was just born that way. And she’s really good at it. Good enough to help the police solve the occasional homicide.

But helping the local authorities clear cold cases is one thing. Being whisked out of chemistry class by the FBI and flown to the scene of a murder/kidnapping in Minnesota? That’s the real deal.

Before the promotion can go to Daisy’s head, she’s up to her neck in trouble. The spirits are talking, and they’re terrified. There’s a real living girl in danger. And when Daisy is kidnapped by a crime boss with no scruples about using magic—and Daisy—to get what he wants, it looks like hers is the next soul on the line.

I know it shouldn't, but this read just sounds like a lot of fun.  I get that there's a dark mystery surrounding the whole plot and talking to spirits is not exactly a rip roaring good time, but there's just something about the whole idea that has me thinking this will be a read that will keep me on the edge of my seat and reading late into the night....and that to me is a good time.

Countdown Pick #3:  Parallel by Lauren Miller (05/14/2013)

Abby Barnes had a plan. Get into a great college, major in journalism, and land a dream job at a major newspaper. But on the eve of her 18th birthday, she is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she’s in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. A cosmic collision of parallel universes has left Abby living a new reality every time parallel Abby makes a decision. Now Abby must race against time to take control of her fate without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that’s finally in reach.

I am certainly not going to have any trouble filling up my list for the DAC because here is yet another YA debut that I cannot wait to get my hands on.  Just the idea of these parallel universes the main characters jumps to and from is crazy and has me super curious.  Add a possible soul mate situation and there was no way I won't be racing to the bookstores in May to pick this baby up!

Countdown Pick #4:  The Last Academy by Anne Applegate (05/01/2013)

Curtis Sittenfeld's PREP meets THE SIXTH SENSE in this spine-tingling, unforgettable debut.

Camden Fisher arrives at boarding school haunted by a falling-out with her best friend back home. But the manicured grounds of Lethe Academy are like nothing Cam has ever known. There are gorgeous, preppy boys wielding tennis rackets, and circles of girls with secrets to spare. Only . . . something is not quite right. One of Cam's new friends mysteriously disappears, but the teachers don't seem too concerned. Cam wakes up to strangers in her room, who then melt into the night. She is suddenly plagued by odd memories, and senses there might be something dark and terrible brewing. But what? The answer will leave Cam--and readers--stunned and breathless, in this thrilling debut novel.

Boarding school...check!  New girl at school that has mysterious goings on...check!  Cute boys with tennis rackets...(never thought that would be a selling point ) check!  I'm not sure what it is about books with a mysterious and sometimes creepy boarding school as the backdrop, but I usually cannot resist them.  This time's no different.  Definitely added it to my TBR as well as my DAC list.

Countdown Pick #5:  Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick (05/01/2013)

Screamingly funny and defiant - a must-read book for the summer!

This is a book for anyone who's ever faced herself in the mirror, wondered if a new lipstick could change her life, and either read VOGUE or thrown it across the room.

When eighteen-year-old Becky Randle's mother dies, she's summoned from Missouri to meet Tom Kelly, the top designer in the world. He makes her an impossible offer: He'll create three dresses to transform Becky from an ordinary girl into the world's most beautiful woman.

Becky thinks Tom is a lunatic, but she accepts and is remade as Rebecca. When Becky looks in the mirror, she sees herself--a mess of split ends and cankles. But when anyone else looks at Becky, they see five-alarm hotness.

Soon Rebecca is the darling of the fashion world, but when she meets meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne, everything starts to crumble. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. And the idea of a prince looking past Rebecca to fall in love with the ordinary girl inside? There's not enough magic in the world.

How great does this one sound?  I'm always up for a good comedy and this one sounds like a modern day Cinderella that we could all relate to, don't you think?