Reviews to Come!

Sorry about the lack in posts guys. I've been crazy busy with homework and drama and haven't had a lot of time at the computer for anything other than schoolwork. (And Facebook :P) I've still read a lot of awesome books lately and I hope to review them all as soon as possible, so beware a sudden onslaught of long-winded posts in the near future. Just in case you're wondering what I've rated a book, without an in-depth review, feel free to check out my Goodreads account (the link is on my sidebar). Hope everyone is doing okay! Keep on reading!!!



Waiting on Wednesday: Harlequin Teen Paranormals

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly feature started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's where we can gossip about yet-to-be-released books that we're looking forward to. Harlequin Teen is one of my favorite YA publishers; here are some upcoming titles their releasing:

Every girl who has taken the test has died.
Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

If she fails...

Two years ago I did a terrible thing. I accused my best friend of being a killer after seeing him kneeling over a girl's body. That moment and that outcast boy still haunt me.
Now my mom is forcing me back to Oklahoma and I can't get White Bird out of my mind. But when I find out he's not in juvie—that he's in a mental hospital, locked in his tormented brain at the worst moment of his life—I can't turn my back on him again.
No one wants me to see him. My mom doesn't trust me. The town sheriff still thinks I was involved in the murder. And the other kids who knew the dead girl are after me.
I'm as trapped as White Bird. And when I touch him, I get sucked into his living hell, a vision quest of horrifying demons and illusions of that night. Everything about him scares me now, but I have to do something. This time I can't be a coward. This time I have to be his friend.
Even if I get lost, as well…

Both of these books sound completely enthralling and I can't wait to get my hands on them. Harlequin Teen is also the publisher of two of my favorite series: Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent and The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa, both of which are releasing a new book sometime this year. I'm excited! :)

The Goddess Test releases on April 19, 2011.
In the Arms of Stone Angels releases on April 1, 2011.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl in the Steel Corset

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly feature started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's where we can gossip about yet-to-be-released books that we're looking forward to.

She thought there was something wrong with her. She was right.
Finley Jayne has known for quite some time that she isn’t ‘normal,’ but when she beats up the son of her employer and is forced to flee, she stumbles into a world where there are bigger freaks than her. They take her in, treat her like family and demand her trust. How can Finley trust them when she can’t trust herself? And why is she drawn to the powerful Griffin as well as the dangerous Jack? She has to get herself under control before she gets into trouble she can’t get out of.

Griffin King is one of the most powerful men in Britain but he couldn’t save his best friend from almost dying. He is determined to save Finley and help her become the person he knows she can be, but there’s evil afoot in London. Machines have attacked humans under the orders of a nefarious criminal called The Machinist. He has sworn to protect his country against such a threat, but he’s never faced any foe like this. However, when he discovers The Machinist’s connection to his past, Griffin vows to end the villain once and for all — but he’ll need the help of all his friends, including the beautiful Finley Jayne – the girl in the steel corset.

A debut author who sounds like she's spun a great idea into a novel. I'm a big fan of steampunk and Harlequin Teen so I can't wait to read this!

The Girl in the Steel Corset releases on May 24th, 2011.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.
Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.
Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.
Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

WOW. This book is so incredibly amazing, awesome, imaginative, dystopian, romantic, OUT OF THIS WORLD. I loved it!!! The story was completely different from anything I have ever read before. I am usually not a big fan of sci-fi novels but I decided to pick this up after reading about it from other bloggers saying how much they liked it. I am so glad I did. The story was fast paced, with unexpected turns popping up at the most surprising moments. The whole lifestyle aboard the Godspeed is so different from the world we live in now, it was extraordinary reading about it. Amy and Elder's characters are well-developed and realistic, both from different backgrounds but able to relate very well together. Sometimes terrifying and heart-pounding, Across the Universe is simply brilliant. Just. Read. It. I have nothing else to say about it.

5/5 stars

** Part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.