Countdown: July 2013 (4)

So July has always marked that middle point for me in the Summer where we're in the thick of it, I'm usually complaining about the heat and seeking shelter anywhere air conditioning can be found at full blast, and hopefully a vacation is in the works to give me a break from reality.  If a vacation hasn't been planned or is still a ways off, I always look to my books to get me through the high temperatures and regret that I no longer get my summers off, all part of being an adult and all that.  Not really what it's cracked up to be....this being responsible and productive bit.  So I'm always on the lookout for reads that I consider mini vacations, breaks from the bump and grind of every day life.  We've got fireworks, good BBQ foods, usually a few parties thrown and good reads all around!

Countdown Pick #1:  In Too Deep by Coert Vorheess (07/2013)

Annie Fleet, master scuba diver and history buff, knows she can’t fight her nerd status as a freshman at her Los Angeles private school. And she doesn’t care—except for the fact that her crush, Josh, thinks she’s more adorable than desirable. Annie is determined to set him straight on their school trip to Mexico. But her teacher has other plans: he needs Annie to help him find Cortez’s lost-long treasure.

Suddenly, Annie finds herself scuba diving in pitch-black waters, jetting to Hawaii with Josh, and hunting for the priceless Golden Jaguar. But Annie and Josh aren’t the only ones lured by the possibility of finding the greatest treasure ever lost at sea. Someone else wants the gold—and needs Annie dead. In deeper danger than she ever imagined, can Annie get the boy and find the Jaguar, or is she in over her head?

Critically-acclaimed author Coert Voorhees delivers breathtaking romance and non-stop action in his newest novel, the spirited and captivating In Too Deep.

Doesn't everyone hate and sympathize when someone ends up in the friend zone for someone they have feelings for?  I can already feel myself rooting for Annie to prove that she's more than just adorable and maybe her crush will eventually see her in a different light, that is if she can get herself out of the trouble she's facing first.

Countdown Pick #2:  OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu (07/23/2013)

When Bea meets Beck, she knows instantly that he's her kind of crazy. Sweet, strong, kinda-messed-up Beck understands her like no one else can. He makes her feel almost normal. He makes her feel like she could fall in love again. 

But despite her feelings for Beck, Bea can't stop thinking about someone else: a guy who is gorgeous and magnetic... and has no idea Bea even exists. But Bea knows a ton about him. She spends a lot of time watching him. She has a journal full of notes. Some might even say she's obsessed. 

Bea tells herself she's got it all under control, but this isn't a choice, it's a compulsion. The truth is, she's breaking down... and she might end up breaking her own heart.

Not sure what to say about this one or how I'm going to feel about the main character and her obsessive ways, but it's worth a shot right?

Countdown Pick #3:  Shadow of the Wolf by Tim Hall (07/04/2013)

So many tales have already been told of Robin Hood. Already he's the hero with a thousand faces. First, forget everything you've heard. Robin was no prince, and he was no dispossessed lord; he didn't fight in the Crusades; he never gave a penny to the poor.

His real name wasn't even Robin Hood. Marian called him that as a kind of joke. Sir Robin of the Hood. A name Robin would cling to when he was losing grip of everything else. Mind you, one thing you've heard is true. He was blind.

No, that's not right. Let me put that another way. Truer to say, Robin Hood didn't see with his eyes. In fact he was the only one who saw clearly in this place of illusion and lies.

The first book of the trilogy, Shadow of the Wolf, is set in Sherwood Forest in medieval England. In it, Tim Hall presents a Robin Hood more heroic and horrific than ever before: a fourteen-year-old, blind, ruthless assassin and elemental creature of the forest, hell-bent on a mission to avenge his father's death and the brutal abduction of his soul mate Marian. It is a breathtakingly original - and utterly compelling - retelling of the Robin Hood legend.

Oh My Goodness!  I can't even put it into words how much I want to read this book!  Why have I not heard of it until now?  The description speaks for itself, but you can bet that I'll be the first one to the store when this book hits the shelves!

Countdown Pick #4:  Dead Jealous by Sharon Jones (07/04/2013)

People think of Mother Nature as a gentle lady. They forget that she's also Death...Sixteen-year-old Poppy St John believes in quantum particles, not tarot cards, in Dawkins, not druids. Last summer, in a boating accident in the Lake District, Poppy had a brush with death. But the girl she finds face down in Scariswater hasn't been so lucky. As she fights to discover the truth behind what she believes is murder, Poppy is forced to concede that people and things are not always what they seem and, slipping ever deeper into a web of lies, jealousy and heart-stopping danger, she comes to realize - too late - that the one thing that can save her has been right there, all the time.

I'm not sure what to think of this one, or even what Poppy will find once she starts looking into the death of the girl she found at the bottom of the lake, but I know I want to read it.  The cover alone has me intrigued and while I'm not sure how Mother Nature plays into everything I'm eager to find out.

Countdown Pick #5:  Bubble World by Carol Snow (07/30/2013)

Freesia’s life is perfect. She lives on the beautiful tropical island of Agalinas, surrounded by idyllic weather, fancy dress shops, and peacocks who sing her favorite song to wake her up in the morning. She has so many outfits she could wear a different one every day for a year and not run out.

Lately things on the island may have been a bit flippy: sudden blackouts, students disappearing, even Freesia’s reflection looking slightly . . . off. But in Freesia’s experience, it’s better not to think about things like that too much.

Unfortunately for her, these signs are more than random blips in the universe. Freesia’s perfect bubble is about to pop.

Not sure what to think of this one especially after checking out the cover.  But after reading some early reviews and opinions on this read people have narrowed it down a bit as to what to expect.  I've been told it's a new take on dystopian literature which I'm all for checking out and while there may have been some predictable parts, it was still worth a read...so it's on the list.