Waiting on Wednesday (54)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature that highlights books that I am anxiously awaiting. WoW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Doctor Sleep
(The Shining #2)
by Stephen King
to be published September 24th 2013 by Scribner

Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of devoted readers of The Shining and satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

I don't think I should even need to justify this and tell you why I am waiting on it but I will.
1.) Stephen King
2.) A sequel to The Shining.
That is all.

What are you waiting on this week?

Emblaze Review

TITLE Emblaze (The Violet Eden Chapters #3)
AUTHOR Jessica Shirvington
PUBLICATION March 5th 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
READ February 23 to 24, 2013
SOURCE From Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review

Once again Violet Eden faces an impossible choice ... and the consequences are unimaginable.

Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was.

Now Violet has something Phoenix - the exiled angel who betrayed her - will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too.

Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn't take him long to realise exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell.

With the help of surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to...

I don’t know if I have ever been as conflicted as I am right now by this book. I read Embrace last year and became a fast fan of The Violet Eden Chapters and I loved Entice even more than the first. Did I really like Emblaze? Yes. Will I continue on with the series? I don’t think so. So I am going to do this review in two parts, I’ll start off with what made me like Emblaze and then move onto why, even though I really liked the book, I won’t continue on with the series.

So, what did I love about Emblaze? This series so so action packed and Violet is one of the most kick-ass female MC’s I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. She is so head strong and physical, it’s awesome. She takes charge of every knife in the road that is thrown at her and refuses to sit back and be protected by the men around her. She is more than capable of kicking ass and taking names and is by no means afraid to do so. I also adore Lincoln, he is a total alpha and utterly oozes sexiness to me. He knows Violet so well and is perfectly willing to take a back seat because he recognizes just how capable she is and is constantly praising her for it. Those are the two characters that are most talked about from the series but I have to say that the supporting characters here are just as great as the main ones. Everyone from Hades bar owner, Dapper to Violet’s father are so well developed and feel like they are just as important as the heads of the tale.

I also have come to really love the unique angel lore that Shirvington has so expertly weaved. The back history of the exiles and the role of the Grigori in the grand scheme of things all comes together so well to create a backdrop of an epic war of the worlds. I definitely appreciate that while this is a tale of angels and those that have fallen, it does not feel like a religious tale at all. There was even a scene where Violet had mentioned seeing someone praying and was uncomfortable with doing so herself because that had never been a part of her life. I am always so pleased with the authors ability to have such religious figures be so present in the story and yet make religion feel like a subtle undertone to it all.

So at this point you are probably thinking “that is all so positive, why would you not continue on with the series?” Well I really think that the angst is what has killed it for me. Through the three books in this series that I have read I have loved Lincoln and Violet and thought that there reason for fighting their attraction to one another was well done and believable. I understood why they fought it so adamantly and while I wanted them to be together it made sense why they weren’t. But by the end of Emblaze I have to say I am over it. I am done with the back and forth. I mean these two people KNOW that they are soul mates, they ache when they are around each other and they ache even more when they are apart. I had hoped that we would get some resolution and togetherness from them by the end of this one but I really felt like there relationship went no where, and I can’t deal with them fighting it anymore. The worst part is, had they decided to stop fighting the attraction when Emblaze ended, I most definitely would have continued on with the series so I could have had the pleasure of finally reading about them together. But this is an instance where it’s just getting dragged out far too long and it’s really becoming quite tedious and too annoying for my taste.

My reason for not continuing on is totally a personal reason and I know a lot of people probably won’t agree with it but I am just ready to say goodbye to the characters. I will definitely read spoilers to see where these characters go in the last two (possibly 3) books in the series but I won’t be putting myself through them, that’s for sure. So take this review as you will, it’s a positive review that ends in an unhappy way I guess.

Book Girls Don't Cry - Can't Miss Authors

I am so excited about this weeks topic guys! You don't even understand, I tried to film a video for this but it was so fangirly and incoherent and just all over the place that I decided to reign it in and type the post up.  This week we are talking about our favorite authors, authors who we would wait outside the bookstore on release day for their books.  Needless to say, I have a few and I am so excited to share them all with you in hopes you maybe find a new favorite amongst them.  This list in no particular order and you can click on the book covers to see my review of each book.

Lauren Oliver's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Lauren Oliver comes from a family of writers and so has always (mistakenly) believed that spending hours in front of the computer every day, mulling over the difference between “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal. She has always been an avid reader.

Books I've Read by Oliver:
So if you have been to my blog before you probably know that I am a huge fan of contemporary issue books. I love raw, gritty contemporaries and the book that got me into the genre is actually Before I Fall.  I loved that book and it's the book that turned me into an Oliver fan.  Following reading Before I Fall I started reading the Delirium series and it became a fast favorite dystopian series of mine.  I'm sad that the series is over but I can't wait to see what she puts out next.  I haven't ventured into her middle grade novels yet, though I have heard great things and have both on my bookshelf.



Miranda Kenneally's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes, and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband.

Books I've Read by Kenneally 

I love Miranda so much that I have dubbed the feeling her books give me the "Kenneally Feeling." Her romances are so sweet and I love the complex characters that she writes.  They're all struggling with finding themselves and coming of age & she just writes characters that grow so much which is always something that I appreciate.  Another thing that always has me excited about her novels is the fact that the characters overlap in the stories.  In Parker we see Jordan and in Things I Can't Forget we see Jordan AND Parker.  It's always fun to get to see characters popping up here and there that we have already come to know and enjoy.

Nova Ren Suma's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Nova has an MFA in fiction from Columbia University and a BA in writing & photography from Antioch College. She’s been awarded fiction fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Corporation of Yaddo, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Millay Colony, and, twice, from the MacDowell Colony. She was selected to attend the 2012 Launch Pad Workshop, a NASA-funded astronomy workshop for writers, and teaching YA novel writing with Mediabistro. She grew up in small towns across the Hudson Valley and now lives in New York City.

Books I've Read by Suma

I read Imaginary Girls last year and knew that Suma was going to be a fast favorite of mine but reading 17 & Gone over this past weekend has solidified her spot there.  Her writing has this eerie, almost dreamlike quality to it and it's so easy to get lost into the stories she weaves.  I never know when I'm reading her novels what's real and what's not and that fact keeps me turning the pages, it's also what made both of her books 1 day reads for me.  I devoured them and I want more! To me, she writes a mind fuck like no one else.  I recently got Fade Out for my birthday and I can't wait to read it.  

Courtney Summers' Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Courtney Summers lives and writes in Ontario, Canada. She is the author of 2009 CYBIL award-winner Cracked Up to Be, 2011 White Pine Honor Book and 2011 YALSA Top 10 Quick Pick Some Girls Are, Fall for Anything and This is Not a Test, which has been optioned by Sony for a television movie. Her fifth book, All the Rage, will be released in 2014.

Books I've Read by Summers

Ok, I really don't even know how to put into words how much I love Courtney Summers.  She is the only author that I know who can write characters that I hate with a fiery passion and make me love the books so immensely.  The reason I dislike some of her characters so much is probably because of how real they are and in some cases how much they are like me.  I love that she doesn't gloss over heavy issues and... ugh I just love everything about her books. I really think I am holding off on reading Fall For Anything because then what will I have left? I have to have something that I can read by her when I want to so I'm not forced to actually wait for her next novel.

Jennifer Brown's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Jennifer's debut novel, HATE LIST (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009) received three starred reviews and was selected as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a VOYA "Perfect Ten," and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. HATE LIST also won the Missouri Gateway Readers Award, the Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up! Award, the Louisiana Teen Readers Choice award, the 2012 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award, was an honorable mention for the 2011 Arkansas Teen Book Award, is a YALSA 2012 Popular Paperback, received a spot on the Texas Library Association's Taysha's high school reading list, and was chosen to represent the state of Missouri in the 2012 National Book Festival in Washington, DC.

Books I've Read by Brown

Jennifer Brown is another favorite of mine.  She is another author who writes issue books so well. I love the stories she tells and I appreciate the honesty she presents.  Her books aren't easy to read but they tackle some important stuff and do so very well.  I can't wait to read Thousand Words!

Gayle Forman's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

My name is Gayle Forman and I love to write young-adult novels. Because I do. So thank you for reading them. Because without you, it’d just be me. And the voices in my head.

Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in such publications as Jane, Seventeen, Glamour, Elle, and The New York Times Magazine, to name just a few. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Books I've Read by Forman

I have loved every book that Forman has thrown at me and she is definitely an author that I highly anticipate. I love the unique way that she marries her novels; in the first book we get a story from the girls perspective and in the second book we see a story from the guy.  It's not necessarily the same story but they always go together perfectly.  After reading Just One Day I am anxious to get my hands on Just One Year and see what happened in Paris while Allyson was brooding in America.

Right now these are the authors that are rocking my world.  I know there seems to be a theme here, that theme being contemporary but I just can't help it. I love books that are touching and that affect me on an emotional level, books that I can connect with, that I can pull emotions out of and think "I've been there" because those are the ones to stick with me.  Honestly, if you haven't read something by each one of these authors you are doing yourself an injustice and must change that soon!

So who are your favorite authors? Let me know!

Stacking the Shelves (45)

Hello lovelies!

It's Friday night and I have had a long ass week so there will be no vlog this week but I got some great books so I wanted to make sure I at least did up an STS post. My week has been so crazy that I didn't even make one trip to the bookstore *GASP* I know, I feel as if I failed myself.  But I did still get plenty of goodies so here is what I acquired:

My last birthday gifts came on Monday from the lovely Giselle of Xpresso Reads.

You spoiled me girl! I am SO excited for both of these, thank you so much!

A while back I had gotten a pretty finished copy of Fuse by Julianna Baggott and then I realised that I didn't have a finished copy of Pure because I had read it in ebook. So I ordered Pure and that came this week too.

And the last physical books I got are courtesy of the lovely people at Hachette Book Group Canada.  These are all books that I am beyond excited for and I can't wait to read them.

I also got some ebooks this week (click cover for Goodreads):

It was an easy week on my wallet and I still got some amazing books so I think I need to learn from this past week! A big thank you to Giselle, Hachette Book Group Canada, HarperCollins, Simon Pulse and Dutton books this week!

So what did you get this week? Link me up!

Things I Can't Forget Tour Stop

Today I am beyond excited to be taking part in the blog tour for Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally.  She has become a fast favorite author of mine and is definitely on my auto-buy list.  My stop will feature my review of the book and also an interview with the MC, Kate Kelly. Read on!

TITLE Things I Can't Forget
AUTHOR Miranda Kenneally
PUBLICATION March 1st 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
READ March 1st 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
SOURCE From Xpresso Book Tours as part of the tour

Companion to Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker.

Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different…

This summer she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He’s the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt…with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy…

Read an excerpt here.

Note: Mature themes, sexual situations, religious discussions.

Over my time as a blogger I have become a huge fan of Miranda Kenneally’s work. Her stories are sweet, they’re romantic, and she always manages to weave athleticism into them without making them feel like “sports” stories. Things I Can’t Forget became one that I was highly anticipating but I was pretty nervous about it because I was forewarned that it dealt with some hot button issues of mine. Touching quite a bit on religion and abortion, this novel took me by surprise as it was a pretty rough start but as the story wore on I got the Kenneally Feeling and was hooked!

A running theme in this Hundred Oaks series is that the characters overlap; we catch glimpses of characters from the other books. In this one we are Kate Kelly who is a member of Parker’s church. It’s the summer after high school and Kate takes a job working at the bible camp that she frequented as a child. Who else works there? Parker and Will! I was so excited to see that we would be getting a lot of those characters in this one. Parker became a pretty steady character in the story and her storyline of being outcasted by her church became pretty important to Kate’s progression as a character. Jordan and Sam do make their appearances, which was awesome, though they are not a prevalent part of the story.

Kate Kelly started off as someone that I really hated. I despised her judgmental ways and there were many instances where I found myself actually growling out loud at her. She has very strict religious beliefs and at the beginning of the story she tries to impose those beliefs on everyone around her, refusing to even have anyone in her life who doesn’t hold the same ones. I was so mad at her in the beginning and pretty frustrated with how often religion was finding it’s way into the tale but I took a step back and told myself that I was obviously going to go on a journey with Kate and I wanted to see exactly how she changed throughout. In the end, she didn’t exactly come full circle, but as she opened her mind and started accepting people’s faults I really connected with her. She had been raised in a community where everyone held the same beliefs and did what God thought was right, so I can understand why she was the way that she was in the beginning. Watching her come out of her shell and broaden her horizons was pretty amazing and I appreciated who she became and the steps on the road to get there.

Of course there is romance in this tale and I think Matt may have taken over as my favorite love interest in the series. He was funny, he was quirky, he was confident and he was sweet. He wasn’t perfect and he struggled with decisions and accepting people but he was so kind through everything. I loved all the sweet things he did to be closer to Kate, he knew that he was going to have to be pretty patient with her and he accepted it because he knew she was worth it. It was a really sweet love story, that was slow and pitch perfect for the story.

While this one did delve more heavily into religion I did find that the journey Kate went on far outweighed those elements that I didn’t like. This is a sweet story that, I think, fits into the series perfectly. Once again Miranda has weaved in all the beloved characters we could want and written a story that will frustrate you and give you fluttering butterflies in your tummy. If you are a fan of the series you should definitely read this one and if you haven’t started the series yet, hurry up!

Character Interview with Kate Kelly

You seemed to have so many fond memories of Cumberland Creek Camp, I loved reading your memories of your time there. What is your favorite memory from being a camper there?

Getting my first kiss from Matt Brown at the Thursday Night Dance. I was 11 and he was 13. He was an older man!

Andrea gave you a pretty tough time during the summer. How did you stay so calm in the face of all that was happening?

Andrea likes Matt, and Matt likes me. When Matt’s ex-girlfriend dumped him for his best friend, Andrea was there for Matt as a friend when he really needed somebody to talk to. She started to fall for him as they spent more time together. I tried to keep that in mind anytime she acted rudely towards me.

You are a pretty artistic person, when did you start losing yourself in your art?

I’ve been painting and doing arts and crafts since I was very young, but I didn’t start my sketchbook until after I blew out my knee playing soccer senior year of high school. I needed an outlet to deal with the pain and loss of not playing my favorite sport anymore.

Do you have a piece of artwork that you hold most near and dear to you? What is it?

I like to do decoupage, which is basically cutting pictures from magazines and newspapers and using a clear glue to paste them to random objects to decorate them. I took issues of People and Entertainment Weekly, and made a flower vase covered in my favorite movies, TV shows, and movie stars!

Not being able to play soccer anymore must be hard, how long did you play the sport for? What do you miss most about it?

I’d played since I was six years old. I miss running and the speed of the game, not to mention hanging out with the girls on the bus to and from games.

Do you think of yourself as a camper extraordinaire after your summer at Cumberland? What is your favorite technique that you learned?

I still don’t think I’m a camper extraordinaire, considering it still takes me like, an hour to light a fire, but I think I make the best s’mores ever. I like to sneak Reese’s Peanut Butter cups into camp and replace the Hershey bar.

Thank you for having me!

Miranda's Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes, and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband.

This post is a part of the Things I Can't Forget Blog tour

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