Sunday, April 3, 2011

Future Reads



Misfit by Jon Skovron
(Amulet Books 8/1/11)













You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis
(Delacorte Books for Young Readers 9/13/11)











Circle 9 by Anne Heltzel
(Candelwick 9/13/11)












All the Earth Thrown to the Sky by Joe R. Lansdale
(Delacorte Books for Young Readers 9/13/11)












As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott
(Dutton Juvenile 9/15/11)












The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff
(Razorbill 11/15/11)












Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh
(Antheneum 1/24/12)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Publisher: Disney/Hyperion
Age Group: YA

Rating: 4/5
Source:Bought
Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, the mysterious new boy at school who turned out to have a very mysterious gift--pyschometry, the ability to sense the future through touch.  But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry, and experiencing her own strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow rubbed off on her. Can the power of psychometry be transferred? 

Even once Ben returns to school, Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Despite the romantic tension between them, Ben remains aloof, avoiding contact. Then when an unexpected kiss leads to a frightening argument, Camelia makes the painful decision to let Ben go and move on.  Adam, the hot new guy at work, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't.  Adam is easygoing, and seems to really care about her.
But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events upturns secrets from Ben's past--and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it’s up to Camelia to figure out who—before it’s too late.

Deadly Little Lies is the sequal to the fast paced Deadly Little Secret. It continues right where book 1 left off and a new character is introduced - Adam. Adam felt very mysterious at the beginning and when Camelia begins wondering what is up with Adam's past, Stolarz brings you back to the moment that you can't trust anyone. I'm not going to say much about this book because I don't want to give away any spoilers away, but it's nothing like the first book and I happened to like this book better because there was so much more to the story and a lot more mystery.

This cover is my favorite cover so far. The night sky in the background is so mysterious that once I saw this book was out, I immediatly grabbed it and devoured it in only 4 hours (it would have been 2 or less, but I had homework.)

Overall, if you loved the first book, this one is so much better!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Publisher: Disney/Hyperion
Age Group: YA
Rating: 4/5
Source:Bought


Some secrets shouldn't be kept...
Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia’s life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown.  But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia’s life becomes anything but ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She’s reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise.  She’s inexplicably drawn to Ben…and to his touch.  But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help—but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.
 
 
I first became familiar with Laurie Faira Stolarz when I read her BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES series. That series had everything from mystery to horror to romance. And when I found out she was beginning a new series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.
 
DEADLY LITTLE SECRETS is the first book in the series and it starts off with Camelia almost being hit by a car and dying, but that doesn't happen because Ben comes and saves her. He denies that he saved her, but she still insists that he did. Now, I know this sounds a lot like TWILIGHT and while reading it, I did get that deja vu feeling as well, but the book is different than TWILIGHT. Ben has this psychic gift called psychometry that he can see the future to anyone her touches - which is why he refuses to touch Camelia or anyone else. He sences that Camelia is in danger and she herself relaizes that as well and begins worrying about it and the entire time, I was trying to figure out who the murderer was, but I could never find him. Everytime I thought it was someone, it turned out to be someone else.
 
The ending is a total shocker and I was blown away when I read it. This book is a quick read since it about 270 pages long and the font size is quite a bit big. But besides that, it keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time and you just can't stop reading.
 
I love the cover and the vintage dress the girl is waring and it seems as though she's laying there still or dead (can't figure it out), but that too gives the book a creep factor.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Future Reads

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
(Greewillow Books - 9/20/11










Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
(Poppy - 9/5/11)










Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay
(Delacorte Books for Young Readers - 9/13/11)










Melody Burning by Whitley Strieber
(Henry Holt, CO. - 12/6/11)










Pure Red by Danielle Joseph
(Flux - 9/8/11)

Monday, March 21, 2011

Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

Publisher: Speak
Age Group: YA
Rating: 5/5
Source: Publisher

Caitlyn Monahan knows she belongs somewhere else. It's what her dead mother's note suggested, and it's what her recurring nightmares allude to.

Desperate to flee these terrifying dreams--and her small town--she accepts a spot at a boarding school in France. Only, when she arrives, her nightmares get worse.

But then there are her amazing dreams, so vivid and so real, with visits from an alluring, mysterious, and gorgeous Italian boy from the 1500s. Caitlyn knows they are soul mates, but how can she be in love with someone who exists only in her dreams?

Then, as her reality and dream world collide, Caitlyn searches for the real reason why she was brought to this school. And what she discovers will change her life forever.


When I first began reading WAKE UNTO ME, I was grabbed from the beginning. I found myself not able to leave this book since it was all heart pounding action and mystery. This is the type of book I've been waiting for such a long time to read!

Caitlin has been haunted by her dreams since she was a little girl. Some of them aren't harmful, but others are lurid. She is trying to find herself, but always sees that she does not belong in Oregon and to her suprise, she receives a full scholorship to Chateau de la Fortune in France. There, in her dreams, she meets a handsome boy, Raphael, in her dreams. She feels this close attractiveness to him that she can't explain and both of them find a mystery of their school, but the frightening part is when Caitlin finds her destiny and what she is.

During the beginning of the book, I was happy that Caitlin was about to find herself and feel happy in Chateau de la Fortune, but once the middle of the book came, I just couldn't stop reading. I had to know what the secrets were and what was going to happen to Caitlin.

There were so many twists and turns in this book that I found myself wanting to read faster just to find out what was going to happen because the anxiety just kept on building up. I can't even find words to descibe this book on how amazing it was.

The cover too is beautiful with the boy who is a ghost and the girl holding onto him. So mysterious, yet thrilling.

Overall, this was a great book and I recommend you buying this one when it comes out on March 31, 2011.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Future Reads



The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen
(Egmont USA - 9/27/11)
This cover looks amazing and it just seems like it's going to be a mysterious, creepy read.











Lola and the Boy Next Door (Book #2) by Stephanie Perkins
(Dutton Juvenile - 9/29/11)
I loved Anna and The French Kiss and this one seems that it's going to be equally great!








Crossed (Book #2) by Ally Condie
(Dutton Juvenile - 11/1/11)
Sequal to Matched!!








Die For Me by Amy Plum
(HarperTeen - 5/10/11)
Sounds so cool and look at the cover ... beautiful!










Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
(Pilomel - 7/26/11)
Sequal to Nightshade! I loved that book so much.








Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey
(Penguin - 5/8/11)
Look at that cover ... stunning, plus it sounds amazing as well. Can't wait for this one!









Still Waters by Emma Carlson Berne
(Simon Pulse - 5/20/11)
Sounds creepy..!!









The Pledge by Kimberly Deting
(Margaret K. McElderry - 4/15/11)
It's Kimberly Derting and all her books are scary and great!! Can't wait to get my hands on this one.











Thursday, March 17, 2011

Dark Visions by L.J. Smith

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Age Group: YA
Pages:
Rating: 4/5
Source: Bought

GIFTED AND CURSED
Kaitlyn Fairchild has always felt like an outsider in her small hometown. Her haunting eyes and prophetic drawings have earned her a reputation as a witch. But Kait's not a witch: She's a psychic. Tired of being shunned, Kait accepts an invitation to attend the Zetes Institute, where she can have a fresh start and study with other psychic teens.
Learning to hone her abilities with four other gifted students, Kait discovers the intensity of her power -- and the joy of having true friends. But those friendships quickly become complicated when Kait finds herself torn between two irresistible guys. Rob is kind and athletic, and heals people with his good energy. Gabriel is aggressive and mysterious, a telepath concealing his true nature as a psychic vampire, feeding off of others' life energy. Together, Rob and Gabriel's opposing forces threaten the group's stability.
Then one of the experiments traps the five teens in a psychic link. A link that threatens their sanity and their lives. And Kaitlyn must decide whom to trust...and whom to love.

After falling in love with the TV show THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, I was eager to read DARK VISIONS by L.J Smith and see her books. The writing was not complicated and the book would go by in a breeze. The chapters were very long though and I have a habit that I enjoy stopping before a new chapter begins, but it took forever here for a new chapter to begin.

Kaitlin was a fun character with unique abilities. All her life she was made fun of for looking like a witch and now she finally found a hoe where she feels safe and better, only to find out secrets in it. The book did get slow at times and I found myself skimming through all the detail that was taking away from the story. But this story does have a love triangle and I've noticed all of L.J Smith's stories do (hence THE VAMPIRE DIARIES).

I really liked how Simon Pulse combined all the books in the trilogy into one since it makes it easier to carrie around one large book rather than three individual books. The cover chosen is very mysterious, yet simple. There's not much going on and doesn't give away anything since all the books are combined together.

Overall, if you're a fa of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES T.V. show or have read other L.J Smith books, give this one a try since it was a great read.