Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Just Had to Have But Still Haven't Read Yet

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish.  This feature was created because they're particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish (and who isn't?). They're all about creating new lists including a little bit of everything and I've been meaning to participate for so long but always seemed to get behind.  So here we are and hopefully you'll head over to their page and check out what everyone else put up for this week's Top Ten.

So we've all been there.  You countdown until a new release comes out and go straight to the bookstore the first chance you get.  Once you're inside is another story.  I almost never walk out of the store without at least two books in tow.  Now getting them all read quickly is a completely different ball game.

Had To Have Pick #1:  Stolen Nights (Vampire Queen, #2) by Rebecca Maizel

Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human—and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss. 

With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead...

In fairness, I was over the moon when I received this ARC and couldn't wait to get started.  But I started it up and within the first chapter I realized it was going to make me sad.  At the time I was looking for a more upbeat read and had to put it down temporarily.  I'm not ready for it yet.

Had To Have Pick #2:  The Calling (Darkness Rising, #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is -a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

In THE CALLING, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of THE GATHERING clamoring for more.

I think my problem here resulted in too much time passing in between the first series installment and this release.  If I had been able to pick this one up as soon as I finished the first it would have been different but by the time I got this one I knew I needed a refresher before diving in.

Had To Have Pick #3:  The Trust (Secret Society, #2) by Tom Dolby

Who can you trust when everything is secrets and lies?

It's a new semester at the Chadwick School, and even with the ankh tattoos that brand them, Phoebe, Nick, Lauren, and Patch are hoping for a fresh start. Each day, however, they are reminded of their membership as new Conscripts in the Society. The secret group that promised to help them achieve their every dream has instead turned their lives into a nightmare.

Exclusive membership lost its luster as the Society revealed its agenda to them and two of their classmates were found dead. Now they can't help but wonder: Who's next? While they search for the elusive truth about the Society, the Conscripts are forced to face their darkest fear--that they truly can't get out.

Will Nick and Phoebe's new relationship endure this strain? Can Patch and Nick's longtime friendship survive the truth that will come to light? The deceptions of the group's leaders, once trusted friends, and family will test these four as they fight to leave the Society behind.

The Trust, Tom Dolby's sequel to secret society, is an alluring glimpse behind the facade of a life of entitlement, where secrets aren't merely fun--they're deadly.

Same as #2...just a little too much time in between reads for me.

Had To Have Pick #4:  Heist Society (Heist Society, #1) by Ally Carter

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Could not wait to get this one.  I bought this one along with a few others and started those first.  Never ended up coming back to it....at least not yet.

Had To Have Pick #5:  The Summer of Shambles (Ondine, #1) by Ebony McKenna

This is a brilliantly witty story with a furry tail ending. One girl. One boy. One spell to be broken. Ondine de Groot is a normal fifteen-year-old who lives with her family in the European country of Brugel. She has a pet ferret called Shambles. But Shambles is no ordinary ferret...He's Hamish McPhee, a boy cursed by a witch. A witch who happens to be related to Ondine. 

When Shambles turns back into Hamish temporarily, Ondine knows that she has to help him break the spell. He is the most gorgeous boy she has ever met and her one true love! He just can't remain a ferret forever. Can he?

No excuse.

Had To Have Pick #6:  Viola in the Spotlight (Viola, #2) by Adriana Trigiani

I am in the midst of a conundrum.

Viola is finally where she belongs--back home in Brooklyn, where there are no khakis or sherbet-colored sweaters and people actually think her yellow flats are cool. With two whole months of nothing to do but hang with her two best friends, Andrew and Caitlin, this is going to be the best break ever!

But her BFFAA, Andrew, has started acting weird around her, and a new boyfriend has her friend Caitlin ditching her every chance she gets. When Viola's roommates from Prefect Academy show up for a visit, she starts to wonder--is Brooklyn where she wants to stay? When a tragic event shakes everyone's world, Viola realizes it's not where she belongs that matters--it's who she's with that really counts.

In this heartwarming follow-up to bestselling author Adriana Trigiani's teen debut, Viola in Reel Life, Viola just may be ready to get out from behind her trusty video camera and take the starring role in her own life.

Didn't realize it was a sequel and didn't have the first installment under my belt.

Had To Have Pick #7:  Summer In Paris by Michele Ashman Bell

Kenzie Williams feels like she has it all; wealth, friends, popularity and talent. But when her father tells her that he has declared bankruptcy, her whole world in New York City turns upside down. Her parents' solution while they sort through their financial and marital problems is to send Kenzie to live with her relatives in Paris...Idaho!

Feeling like she's been sentenced to three months in Hickville Prison, Kenzie arrives in Idaho feeling like a square peg with name brand clothes, in a round, horribly podunk, hole. 

Leaving everything she loves behind, Kenzie is forced to get up at the crack of dawn, do chores, and hang out with her cousin's loser friends. She feels like she's about to die until she meets Adam White, the town outcast, who's been accused of killing his best friend and is being blamed for some trouble that's been happening around town.

Not only is Adam the best-looking guy she's ever seen, but he's also the most fascinating guy she's ever met and Kenzie is determined to get to know him and find out his secret. But, the longer she stays in Paris, the more she realizes, Adam isn't the only one keeping secrets.

It was a giveaway prize I won and somehow got shelved and forgotten about for a while.

Had To Have Pick #8:  Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler

A teen’s world comes crashing down in this compulsively readable YA debut that’s as literary as it is commercial.Gabby Gardiner wakes up in a hospital bed looking like a cautionary ad for drunk driving—and without a single memory of the accident that landed her there. But what she can recall, in frank and sardonic detail, is the year leading up to the crash.

As Gabby describes her transformation from Invisible Girl to Trendy Girl Who Dates Billy Nash (aka Most Desirable Boy Ever), she is left wondering: Why is Billy suddenly distancing himself from her? What do her classmates know that Gabby does not? Who exactly was in the car that night? And why has Gabby been left to take the fall?

As she peels back the layers of her life, Gabby begins to realize that her climb up the status ladder has been as intoxicating as it has been morally complex...and that nothing about her life is what she has imagined it to be.

Had To have Pick #9:  Rivals (The Ivy, #3) by Lauren Kunze, Rina Onur

Decisions, decisions . . . You've survived your first semester and captured the interest of not one but two of the hottest guys on campus.

Now who are you going to choose?

Callie Andrews returns for her second semester at Harvard determined to do better than the previous fall, where those Bs on her report card seemed pretty good compared to the state of her extracurriculars (F, as in if at first you don't succeed, you should probably stop trying), friendships (C-minus, since she and former BFF Vanessa are still on thin ice), and love life (D, as in don't even go there). But various campus rivalries soon threaten to thwart Callie's resolve. Will Callie ever be a match for--

Grace Lee 
the take-no-prisoners managing editor

Alessandra
the gorgeous transfer student

Clint
the guy who might just be too perfect

and Gregory
the guy who may never be perfect enough.

Callie will face some of the toughest choices imaginable: in friendships, in loyalties, and in love. The pressure to pick a side--and a suitor--has never been higher. But will she and her friends choose well?

Right after I got this one I heard through the grapevine that it wouldn't end in a way I'd like and I haven't been able to bring myself to confirm that yet.

Had To Have Pick #10:  Auracle by Gina Rosati

16 year old Anna Rogan has a secret she's only shared with her best friend, Rei; she can astrally project out of her body, allowing her spirit to explore the world and the far reaches of the universe.

When there's a fatal accident and her classmate Taylor takes over Anna's body, what was an exhilarating distraction from her repressive home life threatens to become a permanent state. Faced with a future trapped in another dimension, Anna turns to Rei for help. Now the two of them must find a way to get Anna back into her body and stop Taylor from accusing an innocent friend of murder. Together Anna and Rei form a plan but it doesn't take into account the deeper feelings that are beginning to grow between them.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Covers for 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they're particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish (and who isn't?). They're all about creating new lists including a little bit of everything and I've been meaning to participate for so long but always seemed to get behind. So here we are and hopefully you'll head over to their page and check out what everyone else put up for this week's Top Ten.

So out of all the beautiful cover work we've already seen this year, I found this list really hard to narrow down, and if I had my choice I wouldn't have to. But that would defeat the purpose of the meme and also bore everyone to tears I'm sure. So while I'm clearly not going to be able to include each and every cover I found to be breathtaking in 2012 so far, here are ten of my favorites...

Cover #1: Everneath (Everneath, #1) by Brodi Ashton (1/24/12)

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

How can you not love this cover? It drew me in right away and I was practically salivating to find out what this book was all about. The dress, the color, the mystery behind what this girl really looks like since her face is obscured from our view...love it all!

Cover #2: The Selection (The Selection, #1) by Kiera Cass (4/24/12)

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I'm not sure but I think the fact that I'm currently surrounded by friends who are getting married and tossing bridesmaids dresses at me from all directions has me drawn to these girly girl covers. This cover is perfection tied up in taffeta! Between the extravagant gown and the fun house/ballet series of mirrors behind these girls and I'm thinking this is a book I've got to get my hands on come April!

Cover #3: Spellcaster (Spellbound, #2) by Cara Lynn Shultz (3/27/12)

Finding your eternal soulmate - easy.

Stopping a true-love-hungry evil - not so much…

After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain-especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close....

But something dark and hungry is using Emma and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in über-spells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

I think I found this one to be a cross between Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and The Little Princess maybe? Sounds crazy, but it has this romantic and dangerous feel for me all at the same time. I wasn't familiar with the Spellbound series before I came across this cover, but once I saw the artwork, I had to check things out further. Now I've gone and added not one but two more books to my TBR list because I can't start a series anywhere but from the beginning.

Cover #4: Stolen Nights (Vampire Queen, #2) by Rebecca Maizel (6/21/12)

Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human - and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss. With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead .

As always, I'm a big fan of paranormal titles and vampires dominate that genre for sure. Maizel's Vampire Queen series is a unique take on this popular area and her covers keep readers drooling. I've been waiting for this second installment for a while but when I got a look at the new cover I couldn't have been more excited!

Cover #5: Such A Rush by Jennifer Echols (7/10/12)

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.

I think I like the wind action on this one. And how perfect when dealing with a book about pilots and a girl caught in between them, right? Echols has been a long time favorite of mine and her covers fit her writing perfectly. They're always beautiful but they also always have this soft and muted feel to them that matches her titles and the words that fall on the pages. Romantic, heartwrenching and exciting, that about sums Echols' writing and covers for me, which is why there was no contest...this cover was making my top ten for sure!

Cover #6: Once (Eve, #2) by Anna Carey (7/3/12)

Sixteen years have passed since a deadly virus wiped out most of the Earth’s population. After learning of the terrifying part she and her classmates were fated to play in the rebuilding of New America, eighteen-year-old Eve fled to the wilds and Califia, a haven for women determined to live outside the oppressive rule of the king of New America. However, her freedom came at a price: she was forced to leave Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. Eve quickly learns that Califia may not be as safe as it seems and soon finds herself in the City of Sand and the palace of the king. There she uncovers the real reason he was so intent on her capture, and the unbelievable role he intends her to fill. When she is finally reunited with Caleb, they will enact a plan as daring as it is dangerous. But will Eve once again risk everything—her freedom, her life—for love?

Brimming with danger and star-crossed romance, and featuring a vivid dystopian landscape, this electrifying follow-up to Eve, which bestselling author Lauren Kate called “a gripping, unforgettable adventure—and a fresh look at what it means to love” is sure to appeal to fans who crave the high-stakes adventure of The Hunger Games and the irresistible love story of Romeo and Juliet.

Whoever designs Carey's covers for this series has a beautiful vision of where this series will take her readers. Eve is always looking forward and readers are left trying to interpret and predict where that could possibly lead. With such a wonderful start to a series, Carey needed a cover that captured that excitement with her series opener and I'd say her cover artist mastered yet another take for her second installment in the series.

Cover #7: Take A Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg (4/1/12)

From the fantastic author of The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom & Prejudice comes a story of all the drama and comedy of four friends who grow into themselves at a performing arts high school.

Emme, Sophie, Ethan, and Carter are seniors at a performing arts school, getting ready for their Senior Showcase recital, where the pressure is on to appeal to colleges, dance academies, and professionals in show business. For Sophie, a singer, it's been great to be friends with Emme, who composes songs for her, and to date Carter, soap opera heartthrob who gets plenty of press coverage. Emme and Ethan have been in a band together through all four years of school, but wonder if they could be more than just friends and bandmates. Carter has been acting since he was a baby, and isn't sure how to admit that he'd rather paint than perform. The Senior Showcase is going to make or break each of the four, in a funny, touching, spectacular finale that only Elizabeth Eulberg could perform.

I dont' know about you guys but I can't resist an opportunity to watch a show like Glee, or The Voice, where fantastic talents are showcased and enjoyed by millions! My sister recently moved to NYC and with each visit comes a trip to Broadway and I just devour every minute of it. Having no musical talent myself, I've always been awed by those individuals who can belt out an almost unattainable note or play a score as if they were born to do nothing else. So when I saw this cover work for Eulberg's new title I fell head over heels in love. It embodies all those feelings I experience when seeing a show or watching a performer and I can only imagine what Eulberg's story itself with have in store for her readers.

Cover #8: The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova (5/1/12)

When an unnatural riptide sweeps lifeguard Tristan Hart out to sea for three days and then dumps him back on the shore of Coney Island, it’s the start of the Sea Court claiming its own. Suddenly, Tristan’s girlfriend dramas and swimming championship seem like distant worries as he discovers the truth: he’s a Merman. Now Tristan must fight for his life, the lives of his friends, and his humanity (if he still wants it), while competing in a race for a throne as ancient as the gods.

Seductive, duplicitous, and with an agenda of their own, these are not the mermaids you know.

The title speaks for itself and yet the cover brings that point home I think. Cordova's future release has my excitement level ratched up way too high for my own good, but this cover really put me over the top. The colors, the trident, the whole shibang really...who wouldn't want to score their own copy and display this baby on their shelves after they've devoured it? I know I want to, and will be racing to get my hands on this as soon as it hits the shelves.

Cover #9: Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson (10/9/12)

Nothing ever happens in Norway. But at least Ellie knows what to expect when she visits her grandmother: a tranquil fishing village and long, slow summer days. And maybe she’ll finally get out from under the shadow of her way-too-perfect big brother, Graham, while she’s there.

What Ellie doesn’t anticipate is Graham’s infuriating best friend, Tuck, tagging along for the trip. Nor did she imagine boys going missing amid rumors of impossible kidnappings. Least of all does she expect something powerful and ancient to awaken in her and that strange whispers would urge Ellie to claim her place among mythological warriors. Instead of peace and quiet, there’s suddenly there’s a lot for a girl from L.A. to handle on a summer sojourn in Norway! And when Graham vanishes, it’s up to Ellie—and the ever-sarcastic, if undeniably alluring Tuck—to uncover the truth about all the disappearances and thwart the nefarious plan behind them.

Deadly legends, hidden identities, and tentative romance swirl together in one girl’s unexpectedly-epic coming of age.

Yet another cover that drew me into and introduced me to what sounds like a great new read to add to my TBR list for 2012. I love the wilderness, outdoor channel type feel of this cover. And yet again we've got wind action in the picture, which I think stands to prove that I like the model cover shoot type effects when it comes to my favorite covers. What can I say? But it's also the fog element that's added an eerie feel to this title and along with the mysterious guy hanging out in the background...I'd say there's definitely some mystery and suspense to be expected with this future read.

Cover #10: Rivals (The Ivy, #3) by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur (3/6/12)

Decisions, decisions . . .

You’ve survived your first semester and captured the interest of not one but two of the hottest guys on campus.

Now who are you going to choose?

Callie Andrews returns for her second semester at Harvard determined to do better than the previous fall, where those Bs on her report card seemed pretty good compared to the state of her extracurriculars (F, as in if at first you don’t succeed, you should probably stop trying), friendships (C-minus, since she and former BFF Vanessa are still on thin ice), and love life (D, as in don’t even go there). But various campus rivalries soon threaten to thwart Callie’s resolve. Will Callie ever be a match for—

Grace Lee
the take-no-prisoners managing editor

Alessandra
the gorgeous transfer student

Clint
the guy who might just be too perfect

and Gregory
the guy who may never be perfect enough.

Callie will face some of the toughest choices imaginable: in friendships, in loyalties, and in love. The pressure to pick a side—and a suitor—has never been higher. But will she and her friends choose well?

It's my favorite cover yet for this awesome series. I'm sure it's the girly pink and purple colors that have me practically squealing on my end, but it's without a doubt gotten me super excited to dive right in. While I've been a fan of this series from the very beginning, there's always that risk that other books will come up and grab my attention or I could find myself simply falling behind in my reading...it happens right? Well all it takes is a cover like this to have me scrambling over everything in my way for the chance to crack this baby open and see what the author's have in store next for these great characters!

In My Mailbox (40)

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.

Here's what I got, what did you guys get this week?

For Review:

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins (Thanks to Harper Teen)

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.

Anna, a tender-hearted southern girl, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

A cross-country trip forces Anna and Kai to face the reality that hope and love are not options for their kind. When it's time for Anna to confront her demons, will she choose to embrace her halo or her horns?

Forbidden by Syries James & Ryan M. James (Thanks to Harper Teen)

She should not exist.

He should not love her.

Claire Brennan has been attending Emerson Academy for two years now (the longest she and her mom have remained anywhere) and she's desperate to stay put for the rest of high school. So there's no way she's going to tell her mom about the psychic visions she's been having or the creepy warnings that she's in danger.

Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch, and when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson as the ideal hiding place where he could be normal for once. He hadn't factored Claire into his plans... Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alex has been taught to believe. But when the reason behind Claire's unusual powers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?

Lies Beneath (Lies Beneath, #1) by Anne Greenwood Brown (Thanks Delacourte Books for Young Readers)

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Clader and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough - especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily - just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire (Thanks to Delacourte Books for Young Readers)

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutters gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father - and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billioniare - if usually absent - father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating...and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.

Rivals (The Ivy, #3) by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur (Thanks to Greenwillow Books)

Decisions, decisions...

You've survived your first semester and captured the interest of not one but two of the hottest guys on campus.

Now who are you going to choose?

Callie Andrews returns for her second semester at Harvard determined to do better than the previous fall, where those Bs on her report card seemed pretty good compared to the sate of her extracurriculars (F, as in if at first you don't succeed, you should probably stop trying,) friendships (C-minus, since she and formed BFF Vanessa are still on thin ice), and love life (D, as in don't even go there). But various campus rivalries soon threathen to thwart Callie's resolve. Will Callie ever be a match for -

Grace Lee
the take-no-prisoners managing editor

Alessandra
the gorgeous transfer student

Clint
the guy who might just be too perfect

and Gregory
the guy who may never be perfect enough.

Callie will face some of the toughest choices imaginable: in friendships, in loyalties, and in love. The pressure to pick a side - and a suitor - has never been higher. But will she and her friends choose well?