Countdown: May 2013 (2)

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:  Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan (05/07/2013)

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. 

A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.

Anyone who's read anything by these two authors would never be able to pass up the chance to get their hands on a copy of this future release.  I sure as heck couldn't resist adding it to my countdown and I'm over the moon excited to see how these two fantastic authors weave their own magic together for what I'm sure will be a remarkable combination.

Countdown Pick #2:  Praefatio by Georgia McBride (05/21/2013)

When all you have is your word, how do you prove who you are?

Seventeen-year-old Grace Ann Miller is no ordinary runaway. After having been missing for weeks, Grace is found on the estate of international rock star Gavin Vault, half-dressed and yelling for help. Over the course of twenty-four hours Grace holds an entire police force captive with incredulous tales of angels, demons, and war; intent on saving Gavin from lockup, and her family from worry over her safety. But instead, authorities believe that Grace is ill, and suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the victim of assault and a severely fractured mind. Undeterred, Grace reveals the secret existence of dark angels on earth, an ancient prophecy and a wretched curse steeped in Biblical myth. Grace’s claims set into motion an ages-old war, resulting in blood, death and the loss of everything that matters. But are these the delusions of an immensely sick girl, or could Grace’s story actually be true? Praefatio is Grace’s account of weeks on the run, falling in love and losing everything but her faith. When it’s sister against brother, light versus darkness, corrupt police officers, eager doctors and accusing journalists, against one girl with nothing but her word as proof: who do you believe?

We've got another debut author on our hands...and this one sounds like she's got major potential!  You guys know I never pass up the chance to add another angels and demons, good vs. bad, light against darkness tale.  I love the age old story line but this one sure sounds like it packs a punch and I'm down with another addition to my library.

Countdown Pick #3:  Beauty by Nancy Ohlin (05/07/2013)

Looks to kill for...

Ana is nothing like her glamorous mother, Queen Veda, whose hair is black as ravens and whose lips are red as roses. Alas, Queen Veda loathes anyone whose beauty dares to rival her own—including her daughter.

And despite Ana’s attempts to be plain to earn her mother’s affection, she’s sent away to the kingdom’s exclusive boarding school.

At the Academy, Ana is devastated when her only friend abandons her for the popular girls. Isolated and alone, Ana resolves to look like a true princess to earn the acceptance she desires.

But when she uncovers the dangerous secret that makes all of the girls at the Academy so gorgeous, just how far will Ana go to fit in?

Heck yes!  I'm not sure if this is a retelling or if it just has the sound of one, but either way there is no way this title is not making one of my countdown lists or my TBR.  I can't wait to find out how these girls at the boarding school are getting their looks, and how far Ana will go to get what she wants, or at least what she thinks she wants.

Countdown Pick #4:  Golden by Jessi Kirby (05/14/2013)

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost may be a distant relative of Robert Frost, but she has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a mystery in her lap—one that might be the key to uncovering the truth behind a town tragedy, she decides to take a chance.

I'm loving that quite a few titles I've come across that will be releasing this year have hints of classic tales being retold, or talk of famous and well deserving authors entering their pages.  I've never been a huge fan of poetry and as an English major, I always felt bad about that.  But there were still a few poets that managed to breach my walls and Frost was certainly one of them.  If Kirby's tale is anything close to Frost's lyrical writing I'll be one hundred percent on board.  I love the idea of a distant relative being our main character in this read, and I'm anxious to see what she gets herself into when she decides to take the road less traveled.

Countdown Pick #5:  Towering by Alex Flinn (05/14/2013)

At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.
Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her. 

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now. 

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Alex Flinn knows her fairy tales, and Towering is her most mind-bending interpretation yet. Dark and mysterious, this reimagining of Rapunzel will have readers on the edge of their seats wondering where Alex will take them next!

Why does May have to be so far away????  I say it over and over again, I just love a good retelling, and Flinn is about as good as they get!  She always hits the spot and manages to put fun twists and turns on her stories while leaving the classic feel of the originals intact and well respected.  This one sounds like it could be her best yet and I can't wait!

Countdown: 2012 Releases (2)

You guys know the drill by now...I'm always on the lookout for new finds and exciting new reads and below are just a few that I've come across lately. With how busy everyone gets if I don't write the titles down immediately I'll never be able to remember them later when I'm ready to download a new book to my kindle, or in the store wondering which shelf to look through first. So by posting these countdowns I give myself one more place to look when I need to be reminded of the titles I'm looking forward to.

And as always if you guys hear of any that you haven't seen me post let me know. Like I said, I only have so much time to search for future reads on my own, and to be honest, the majority of my favorite titles I owe to friends/bloggers/author recommendations. So leave a comment, shoot me an email, etc... if there are any books or authors you think I should have on my radar.

Countdown Pick #1: Bewitching (Kendra Chronicles) by Alex Flinn (02/14/2012)

Bewitching can be a beast. . . .

Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t.

I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age.

You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years—except for when to take my powers and butt out.

I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal, remember?), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the Titanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it.

Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl—and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. Although you never know what will happen when I start . . . bewitching.

I know I was wishing for a little more of Kendra in Beastly and was disappointed when I didn't get my way. But now that Flinn has created a series for her alone I'm on board and no longer pouting. She's a dark and mysterious girl and her past seems riddled with fairy tales she can contribute to. So Flinn has got me counting down to hear more about his spin on what sounds like Cinderella maybe? And that's not even to mention finding out her involvement with the Titanic and all the other momentous and often catastrophic events that she was around and involved in.

Countdown Pick #2: Blue Sky Days by Marie Landry (January 2012)

A year after graduating from high school, nineteen-year-old Emma Ward feels lost. She has spent most of her life trying to please her frigid, miserable mother - studying hard, getting good grades, avoiding the whole teenage rebellion thing - and now she feels she has no identity beyond that. Because she spent so many years working hard and planning every moment of her life, she doesn't have any friends, has never had a boyfriend, and basically doesn't know who she is or what she really wants from life. Working two part-time jobs to save money for college hasn't helped her make decisions about her future, so she decides it's time for a change. She leaves home to live with her free-spirited, slightly eccentric Aunt Daisy in a small town that makes Emma feel like she's stepped back in time.

When Emma meets Nicholas Shaw, everything changes - he's unlike anyone she's ever met before, the kind of man she didn't even know existed in the 21st century. Carefree and spirited like Daisy, Nicholas teaches Emma to appreciate life, the beauty around her, and to just let go and live. Between Daisy and Nicholas, Emma feels like she belongs somewhere for the first time in her life, and realizes that you don't always need a plan - sometimes life steers you where you're meant to be.

Life is wonderful, an endless string of blue sky days, until Nicholas is diagnosed with cancer, and life changes once again for Emma in ways she never thought possible. Now it's time for her to help Nicholas the way he's helped her. Emma will have to use her new-found strength, and discover along the way if love really is enough to get you through.

While I'm putting this title down on my countdown, I might wait a little while before actually picking it up. It sounds like one of those great stories of love and discovery, but then reality is slammed into all of us by giving one of the characters a terminal disease and destroying the idyllic picture readers have created. I'm not sure if I can handle such a realistic work and endure the roller coaster of emotions that is sure to come with such heavy topics. Only time will tell if I can handle it.

Countdown Pick # 3: Such A Rush by Jennifer Echols (07/10/2012)

The wildly popular author of Going Too Far, Forget You, and Love Story returns with a sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business--until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers--and the consequences could be deadly.

She has quickly become one of my favorite and most reliable authors out there. Every book she writes I can't seem to get through fast enough and I love them all to death. They're always romantic, deep and poignant, but also good for a few laughs too. I'm not sure how she does it but I only want her write more, more, more! And this next release sounds like it could be her best yet! Now I just wish there was a cover to go with this awesome write up.

Countdown Pick #4: Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay (12/27/2012)

My wish
is to fall
cranium over Converse
in dizzy, daydream-worthy
love.

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? can you even know it until you've lost it?

Love and Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl’s journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole.

Tregay sounds like she's going to deliver a story that is sweet as much as it is refreshing. We all wonder what love will really feel like when it happens to us before we've gone through it ourselves. And while I'm sure that it's different for everyone, it sounds like Tregay's got a great story in the works. I'm anxious to see what her characters must go through and what they discover about themselves and with each other along the way.

Countdown Pick #5: Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (06/19/2012)

A powerful debut novel about a young Marine's return home from Afghanistan and the new life and love he finds while fending off the ghosts of war.

When Travis Stephenson returns home from Afghanistan, his parents are on the brink of divorce, his brother has stolen his girlfriend and his car, and nightmares of his best friend getting killed keep him completely spooked. But when he runs into Harper Gray, a girl who despises him for trashing her reputation with a middle school lie, life actually starts looking up. As Travis and Harper see more of each other, he starts falling for her and the way through the family meltdown, the post-traumatic stress, and the possibility of an interesting future begins to emerge.

His sense of humor, sense of his own strength, and incredible sense of honor make Travis an irresistible and eminently lovable hero in this fantastic and timely debut novel.

I think this is another one that may take me some time before I can work up the nerve to read it. I have a very good friend who is currently serving in the military and so this hits pretty close to home. With what I know, and all that I don't know (and I know that far outweighs the other) I'm sure this will make for a very difficult read. However it does sound like Doller may give us a version of a happy ending so I'm adding it to my list and I'll work on getting up my nerve to read this one for myself.