While trying to get back into the swing of things on the blog after my crazy, wedding filled Summer, I of course decided to bring back the countdowns. They're some of my favorites posts to prepare and doing the research on them is always exciting because I seem to always end up pleasantly surprised by how many titles out there that I end up wanting to read in the worst possible way.
So while I've got a huge list already compiled of all the great titles coming out in 2013, I wanted to come back and start first by featuring some reads that I somehow missed in the past year or two. I'm always both upset and excited to find titles that somehow went under my radar. Upset because I already feel like I'm behind, and have possibly missed out on great reading experiences, but also excited to finally come across them so that I'll have the chance to make up for lost time and dive right into these intriguing reads. So here's the start to the missing titles countdown. Since these have been on the shelves for a while now, if you see any that you've read or heard anything about, let me know and give me your opinion....should I rush them to the top of my TBR pile, or possibly hold off???
Countdown Pick #1: Night Marchers (Night Marchers, #1) by Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels
An all new Young Adult paranormal series that will have you averting your eyes for years to come!
“NEVER, EVER lock eyes with a Night Marcher!” Everyone in Hawaii has heard this warning, except for seventeen-year-old Emma Townsend that is. For most Hawaiians know that looking into the eyes of Night Marcher can strike a curse that will end in death or eternal servitude.
Even though her father, who is a paranormal investigator, solely raised Emma, she has little experience in the realm of the supernatural. When she is forced to move with her father to Hawaii, only months before her graduation, Emma finds that her world as she knows it, is shaken when she starts seeing the unexplainable: fire balls in the distance, beating drums in the middle of nowhere and strangers who vanish into thin air. Then one day when she has a run in with a procession of Night Marchers, ancient Hawaiian spirits wandering from their burial grounds to their locations of battles past, Emma has no choice but to believe that the unbelievable does exist.
Now Emma must go on the run with the help of a mysterious stranger, as they seek out how to free Emma from the curse of a Night Marcher, who will stop at nothing to get her soul.
I can already see myself having nightmares. This description was enough to make me rethink my mother always telling me it's polite and good manners to make eye contact and say hello to everyone. Ha! If only she could read something like this, maybe she'd be weighing the good manners thing against me having nightmares, right? As much as I know I'm a wimp and can only handle so many things that go bump in the night, I'm still wanting to give this one a go. Wish me luck while I cross my fingers for a good night's sleep after I've read this one cover to cover.
Countdown Pick #2: Stained (Stained, #1) by Ella James
After a fire destroys seventeen-year-old Julia’s home and kills her foster parents, she chases the half-demon responsible across the country and back, determined to avenge her family and discover why a host of celestial baddies want her dead. With Julia is enigmatic hottie - Cayne, who has his own score to settle with the half-demon, and who might be just as dangerous as the creature he and Julia hunt.
With several installments in this series if it turns out to be one I'd like to follow I know I'll have a few other titles to add to my TBR and that's always exciting to look forward to. This book has been nominated for several online awards, as well as the characters themselves. Readers and reviewers alike seem to favor the series and I'm hoping that I'll be no different.
Countdown Pick #3: Marked (Soul Guardians, #1) by Kim Richardson
--READERS FAVORITE AWARDS WINNER 2011--
Sixteen year-old Kara Nightingale’s ordinary life is suddenly turned upside down when she dies and wakes up in a strange new world with a new career—as a rookie for the Guardian Angel Legion. Kara is pulled into the supernatural, where monkeys drive the elevators, oracles scurry above giant crystal balls, and where demons feed on the souls of mortals.
With the help of her Petty Officer and friend, David, Kara hurtles towards an adventure that will change her life forever…
While this might not be my version of what's in store for us after we die, it does sound entertaining don't you think? Monkeys driving the elevators? There are elevators? The author has some great descriptions of her installments in this series on her site and while I like to form my own pictures of characters while I'm reading a book, I also like to see who plays them in movies, and what the authors who actually wrote the books in the first place pictured them to look like. Richardson has some 3D mock ups of her main characters on her site
here. It's definitely piqued my interest and has me wanting to dive in sooner rather than later.
Countdown Pick #4: Awakening (The Watchers Trilogy, #1) by Karice Bolton
Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haunt her every dream.
On a whim, Ana goes out with Athen, a guy she's just met in the Grizzly Pub... The only problem is that she feels like she already knows him.
Within 48 hours of meeting Athen and his family, Ana's world implodes. She falls for Athen quickly and before she knows it, a past life begins to resurface. As thrilling as the revelations appear at first, she fights against the chilling information that Athen is from the underworld. Soon she begins to struggle as her own supernatural gifts are slowly unveiled, and she realizes that the nightmares she's been having might be premonitions and not dreams at all.
It is up to Ana to decipher between fact and fiction before it is too late, and her new love, Athen, follows in her same fate - one that is lost between two worlds.
With Goodreads hosting a giveaway for this title, I don't think any of us have an excuse to wait any longer to pick this one up off the shelf. If we can get ourselves a free copy, even better, right? So head here if you're interested in entering yourself in the contest for a chance to win, and good luck.
Countdown Pick #5: The Understorey (The Leaving, #1) by Fisher Amelie
“Let’s start this place on nonexistent fire.”
“Promise.” She sucked in an excited breath.
We closed our eyes and I placed my feverish mouth to hers. Immediately, violent, zealous flashes of shimmering flames climbed to the furthest point, trailed like rain down the pitched ceiling and spilled down the walls, gathering at their feet, pools of fervent, bubbling, silvery liquid electricity, before evaporating into nothing.
Elliott Gray is incomplete, scrambling through the dark on his hands and knees, blindly feeling for the switch it would take to bring the peace he's forever been searching for.
Julia Jacobs is unhappy, missing a noticeable piece of her soul, a naked canvas with vivid paints at her disposal but no brush to assemble the vision.
At a young age, courtesy of an unknowing Elliott Gray, Julia tastes the burn of heartache and since then, has silently vowed to her heart that it would never be susceptible to such pain again but when Julia and Elliott discover they share a supernatural connection that's never been revealed before, Elliott makes it his life's goal to convince her they are fated. He knows, if she only gave him but one chance to prove himself, she would not be afraid but when Elliott's best friend Jesse Thomas turns out to be much more than meets the eye, it's all Elliott can do to hold on to his new love, while attempting to survive an enormous threat on their future.
I have no idea what this one is about, but for some reason that is not swaying me from wanting to read it all the same. That probably makes me sound crazy, but I just can't figure out what is really going on based on this description alone. It doesn't matter though, whoever is responsible for this write up did something right because I've added it to my list and I'll be anxious to solve the mystery. Has anyone else read this one?
This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board. I'm always picking up new books, because I never tire of reading, but the other thing I like about this meme is that it gives everyone an opportunity to check out what other book fanatics, bloggers, etc... got for themselves. I've gotten great recommendations from this meme and hope that keeps up in the future.
Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.
After his death, Marcus found the love of his life...
Before that fateful summer night, Willow had balanced the insight of emotion, and the vivid images. That night, the figure in her nightmare marked her wrist with a star, giving her father no choice but to tell Willow a family secret that would abruptly change life, as she knew it, forever. Before Willow had time to absorb the shock of her father's secret, her soul mate that had shared every stunning dream with her, found her, and darkness captured her closest friends. In order to save them, she must weave through broken myths and the undeniable power of the Zodiac. In the end, Willow discovers that at the moment of our birth we are all given a divine gift.
After a fire destroys seventeen-year-old Julia’s home and kills her foster parents, she chases the half-demon responsible across the country and back, determined to avenge her family and discover why a host of celestial baddies want her dead. With Julia is enigmatic hottie - Cayne, who has his own score to settle with the half-demon, and who might be just as dangerous as the creature he and Julia hunt.
In a world of love bonds, rituals, dark magic, ancient enemies and immortals, nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted.
