Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Right now I’m reading Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen. Here's my teaser:  (from the Prologue)

They came, mostly, for fun - especially the young things, especially the girls.

I can't remember very many now -- although there are three, from that last incandescent summer, whom I resist forgetting. They were all marching toward their own secrets fates, ... -one would be famous, one would be married, and one would be dead.

That is what I want to tell you about: the girls with their short skirts and bright eyes and big city dreams.

The girls of 1929.

In My Mailbox (27)

I hope everyone (in the US) had a great Thanksgiving and had lots and lots of Turkey. I'm sorry I didn't get to post to much this week but my marching band was in the Pennsylvania Parade as one of the feature acts. So we were practicing all week plus the Thanksgiving football game for my high school I had to go to.
Marching Band is over now, so I'll have plenty of time to read and write.

This is what I got this week.

For Review:

What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

I received this one as an e-book from  Simon & Schuster. I haven't heard of this one before but it sounds very good and I cant wait to read it.

From The Library:

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. So much for normal.

I'm really excited to finally read this one. I've been meaning to for awhile.

Bought: (On Black Friday)

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.
But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?
An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.

Thats all I got this week. what did you get?

--Danielle

The Dictionary of High School B.S. - Review

The Dictionary of High School B.S.

By: Lois Beckwith

Publisher: Zest Books

(received from publisher)

Review: The Dictionary of High School B.S. is just as the title says. It’s a dictionary filled with words you here around school almost every day. Starting with Acne and ending with Zits, almost every part of this little book had me laughing, or just nodding and thinking how true the definitions are. This is set up just like a dictionary. With the alaphbet on the side to find words you’re looking for easily, pictures on most pages, few definitions for most words and it even tells you what the word is (noun, verb or adjective). The only thing it’s missing is an index at the end.

Since it’s very hard to describe just how true some of these definitions are I’m going to show you one. My personal favorite because I think its completely right.

Sophomores (n): 1. students on their second year of high school and arguably the least stressed on campus because they are no longer the youngest in the school, and they don’t have to worry about college yet. 2. those who pick on freshman solely because they are no longer the picked-one freshman.

Another one of my favorites has to be,

Senioritis (n) 1. the apathy that takes over seniors in their last semester of high school, due to the fact that they’re basically out of there. 2. a condition the symptoms of which include cutting class, going to lots of parties, opting for several free periods, and spending a lot of time just hanging out.

If you’re a high school school student I think you would really enjoy reading this book. I promise it will make you laugh. You should also check out the rest of Zest Books publishing. There is a bunch of other great titles that I think most teens would enjoy.

--Danielle

In My Mailbox (26)

These are the books that I got from the library this week.

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything— including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Here Comes the Bride -- If She Can Pass Chemistry.
Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get away from her "family" for good. Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants -- and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. She falls head over heels in love, and when he proposes marriage, she joyfully accepts. But is Jared truly what she needs? And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lilywhite do?

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.
Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star…
Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.
The only person Cordelia can trust is Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.
Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.

Hell on earth. That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students -Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.
At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

I'm so excited to read all of these. I've already started Bright Young Things and I just cant put it down. I"m also a huge fan of Fallen so I can't wait to dig into Torment.

What did you get this week?

--Danielle

Trends in YA: Werewolves

The Trends in Ya is something that I've been starting to do every week. Sort of like my own meme. This week is werewolves. It's one of those trends that I'm a little iffy about. I'm not a huge fan of werewolves, but I have found a few here and there that I liked.

In some books Werewolves are the main characters and in others they take the back seat to another paranormal being, like Vampires or Shadow Hunters. Here's a few examples of Werewolf books.

*Links to goodreads

Raised by Wolves- This is my favorite werewolf book ever! You can see my review on it here. It just incredible and EVERYONE should read it.

Claire de Lune - I haven't read this one yet so i can't give you my opinion yet. I have heard very good things about it.

Shiver- I'm not a huge fan of these books but that doesn't mean everyone else isn't. This is definitely the top selling werewolf book out. My review is here.

The Summoning/ The Darkest Powers Series - In these books the werewolf is just one character. He is one of the main characters and one of my favorite. So I I should add him to the list.

City of Bones/ The Mortal Instruments Series - This is another series that the werewolf is the main character but they do play an important role. City of Bones in one of my favorite books and if you haven't read it yet, please do.

New Moon - Yeah I know don't yell at me, but I think this is the book that started to bring werewolf books back. I think that once one book is popular publishers want to make more just like it, trying to top the last one. For werewolves I think that was New Moon.

--Danielle 

Fragment Friday

Fragment Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Book Chic this blog where you read an excerpt from either your current read or one of your favorite books and post it on your blog to share with others! It's a fun way to learn about new books or to hear a sample from a book you're dying to read.

I'm reading from Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. I've been wanting to do one of these for awhile. (and if you haven't noticed I'm obsessed with this book) I'm sorry if I stutter to much while reading, I was nervous.

**At the end of the video there is also some footage of my new puppy for the people that wanted to see him.

Tell me what you think!

--Danielle

*Sorry this took so long. The video wouldn't load for me.

Teaser Tuesday: Unearthly

I literally just finish this book 5 minutes ago it was incredible. Everyone should put it on their wish list right now!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Right now I’m reading Unearthly by: Cynthia Hand

Here's my teaser:

"Oh my God," I whisper. I suddenly feel so incredibly light, relieved that I'm not going to die, high on adrenaline and the pure thrill of feeling the cold air holding me, lifting me. it's the best feeling of my life, bar none. "I'm flying!"



Love, love loved this book! I can't wait for the next one.

--Danielle

In My Mailbox (25)

Well it's Sunday! So today is my IMM. I got two books for review this week. I'm very excited about both of them.



I'm really looking forward to reading this one. I got it as an e-book from netgalley last week but Haperteen surprised me with an ARC. Thank-you Harperteen!
This is also one of my favorite covers, it's just so pretty. The front for the title is also very eye catching.





This one was also sent by Harper Teen. I'm a big fan of the Evernight series and I highly recommend them to anyone who hasn't read them yet. I can't wait to find out what happens next.


I promise to get some more reviews posted soon. I've just been so busy with band and school. Band is ending I only have one more practice before Thanksgiving, then the Thanksgiving football game and PA parade. So I'll have more time to read and write soon.

--Danielle

Trends in YA Books!

Trends In YA Books!

This is something that I started last week with my mermaid post. This week I’m talking about –drumroll-

Angels

They are definitely something that I’ve been seeing in more and more YA books. I personally think that Angels are taking over the vampires that have been ruling YA fiction for a while now. I’ve come across many that I liked, here are some of them.

*Links to goodreads

Halo: This one took on the guardian angels. It was filled with romance and hope. It’s one of my personal favorites. I reviewed it a few weeks ago here.

Fallen: Another one that I really enjoyed and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel. It took the darker side of

Hush, Hush – Another darker side to the Angels. I also enjoyed this one, and can’t wait to read the sequel. Plus just look at that cover! *Drools*

Unearthly – I haven’t read this one yet, but I just got it from Netgalley and cant wait to start it. I’ve heard great things about it and the cover is breathtaking.

Eternal- I’ve read Tantalized but I haven’t gotten around to reading this one yet. But it also takes the guardian angel perspective.

What do you think of the new trend in Angels?

--Danielle

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Spoiler Alert for The Vampire Academy Series!

My WoW is the Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead


Summary: Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice. Now, with Rose on trial for her life and Lissa first in line for the Royal Throne, nothing will ever be the same between them.


 
I'm SOOOOOOO excited for this one! I'm the biggest fan of her series and can't wait to know what happens next.

My theories: Either Dimitri or Adrian are going to Sacrifice themselves for Rose. I'm leaning more towards Dimitri (No!) because he doesn't think he's good enough for Rose anymore and I think that's the only thing that would redeem himself again (in his mind). Even though he won't be there for her anymore. Does that make sense?


Do you have a theory? Tell me!

In My Mailbox (24)

As you're reading this post I'll be on a bus to a marching band competition, but not any competition NATIONALS! So excited, even thought were going to freeze our butts off tonight. Anyway here's my IMM for this week.

*for got to change the number on the video. It's the 24th IMM not 19.



For Review (All netgalleys)
Angelfire
Unearthly
Always A Witch
The Mermaids Mirror

From the Library:
Darklight
Firelight
Julian Game
Rampant

*IMM was started by The Story Siren.

--Danielle

Trends In YA Books

(for the next few weeks I’m going to talk about some trends I’ve been noticing in Young Adult books. Some I like and some I don’t)

Today is Mermaids!

This is definitely a trend that I like, well most of the time. Mermaid stories are always so much fun, but sometimes can take a scary perspective. Here are a few YA books about mermaids.

Forgive My Fins

By: Tera Lynn Childs
I love this one and you can find my review here.

The Mermaid’s Mirror

By: L.K. Madigan
I’m actually in the middle of reading this one right now but so far so good!

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings

by Helene Boudreau

This one doesn't come out until December but sounds very different.

Sea Change

Aimee Friedman

This is another one that I haven’t read yet, but I really want to!

What do you think of this new trend?
--Danielle



Shadow Hills -Review-

Shadow Hills

By: Anastasia Hopcus

Amazon

Summary:His love captivated her... his secrets might kill her.

Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.

After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.

But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.

Review: The hardest reviews to write are always about the books you love. Probably because there’s nothing bad to say about them, or maybe it’s the fact that you just want to say ‘I loved this book, go read it now’ over and over again. For me Shadow Hills was one of those books. I fell in love with the story within the first chapter. I got hooked on the mystery and swooned over the romance.

For about the last month, maybe even longer I’ve been in a reading stump. I just couldn’t find any book that I just loved. One that would actually make me stay up to two the morning on a school night. So I’m very glad that I found Shadow Hills. I loved the story, the mystery, and the romance. I can’t think of a part that I didn’t like. The story was very different, Anastasia Hopcus created this whole new town with a completely different supernatural world. It kept me flipping the pages till the very last one.

I have to say that the romance between Phe and Zack was one of my favorite parts of the book, if not my favorite. It just felt so real. In many novels the main characters just jump into a relationship and it doesn’t feel right. Phe and Zack weren’t like that. While the romance was great, I think it help that all the characters flowed so well. All of them were different. They had their own personalities that made them stand out. I felt like I knew them all personally.

The main character, Phe is my favorite I loved reading from her perspective. Unlike other heroines she thought most things through before. She was extremely brace but she didn’t always just jump into a dangerous situation. She wanted to call the cops or get someone to help her out 9Well most of the time). I loved that about Phe, it makes her more relatable.

There’s not much else I can say about this book without giving the ending away. If you like supernatural mysteries and romance, this is a book that you should go read right now. I promise you will fall in love with it just like I did.

If I did give star ratings to books, Shadow Hills would have 5! (So would the cover)

--Danielle

Winner of the Halloween Giveaway

Sadly Halloween is over, I even had to change my header back to normal. I'm going to miss it, but I'll have fun making another one for the Holidays.

Anyway, the winner of the Halloween Giveaway is

Melissa V. (Coffee, Books and Laundry)

If you didn't win, make sure you look out for more giveaways!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween, I know I did. I dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. What were you?

--Danielle

P.s. I'll be posting a review of Shadow Hills either later today or tomorrow. I'm sorry I haven't been able to post to many reviews lately.