Wishlist Wednesday #126: You Won’t Know I’m Gone by Kristen Orlando

October 18, 2017October 16, 20179 Comments

Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about and have yet to read.

This week’s book:

Title: You Won’t Know I’m Gone
Author: Kristen Orlando
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: January 16, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads): Reagan has to prove herself to an elite group of special agents—and avenge her mother’s death—in the second book in the Black Angel Chronicles from the author of You Don’t Know My Name.

Going rogue in an effort to rescue her kidnapped parents has cost Reagan Hillis her automatic ticket to the Training Academy. But becoming a Black Angel is the only way Reagan will be able to exact revenge on her mother’s merciless killer, Santino Torres.

When Reagan is given a chance to prove that she’s worthy of training to be a Black Angel, she also gets the first chance she’s ever had to be her true self. No aliases. No disguises.

But when her friend Luke joins her at the Black Angels training compound, Reagan finds herself once again torn between the person she was and the person she wants to be. Reagan has to prove that she’s as good as her parents trained her to be, because she’ll never find Torres without the Black Angels’ help.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

I am so excited for this sequel to You Don’t Know My Name! I loved the first book and its nonstop action, so I have very high hopes for this one. The secret agent aspects are so original, and I can’t wait to see more of the training Reagan will go through. There isn’t that much of a wait for You Won’t Know I’m Gone, so I can’t wait to jump back into Reagan’s world this winter.

Friday Reads #28: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

October 13, 201712 Comments

Friday Reads

Book Beginnings is a book meme hosted by Rose City Reader where participants share the first sentence (or so) of the book, along with initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice, and the rules are quite simple: Grab a book, any book, and turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader. Find any non-spoilery sentence(s) and post.

This week’s book:

Summary (from Goodreads): On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media–as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents–the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter–but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Goodreads | Amazon

I have been making an effort to read more backlist novels this year, and this is one that has been on my TBR for quite a while now. I have heard amazing things about the book and the film, so I am excited to finally find out what all of the hype is about! It has definitely got me lured in and wanting to read more.

Book Beginning:

When I think of my wife, I always think of her head. The shape of it, to begin with. The very first time I saw her, it was the back of the head I saw, and there was something lovely about it, the angles of it.

Friday 56:

I like to think that I am confident and secure and mature enough to know Nick loves me without him constantly proving it. I don’t need pathetic dancing-monkey scenarios to repeat to my friends.

Wishlist Wednesday #125: A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole

October 11, 2017October 10, 201710 Comments

Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about and have yet to read.

This week’s book:

Title: A Conspiracy of Stars
Author: Olivia A. Cole
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads): Octavia has only ever had one goal: to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a prestigious whitecoat, one of the scientists who study the natural wonders of Faloiv. The secrets of the jungle’s exotic plants and animals are protected fiercely in the labs by the Council of N’Terra, so when the rules suddenly change, allowing students inside, Octavia should be overjoyed.

But something isn’t right. The newly elected leader of the Council has some extremist views about the way he believes N’Terra should be run, and he’s influencing others to follow him. When Octavia witnesses one of the Faloii—the indigenous people of Faloiv—attacked in front of her in the dark of night, she knows the Council is hiding something. They are living in separate worlds on a shared planet, and their fragile peace may soon turn into an all-out war.

With the help of Rondo, a quiet boy in class with a skill for hacking, and her inquisitive best friend, Alma, Octavia is set on a collision course to discover the secrets behind the history she’s been taught, the science she’s lived by, and the truth about her family.

Goodreads | Amazon

I am always up for a great sci-fi novel, and I am really excited about this one! There are so many interesting dynamics in that synopsis that I can’t wait to see unfold in the story. A combination of science and a quest for the truth? Yes, please!

Friday Reads #27: No Saints in Kansas by Amy Brashear

October 6, 201710 Comments

Friday Reads

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice, and the rules are quite simple: Grab a book, any book, and turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader. Find any non-spoilery sentence(s) and post.

This week’s book:

Summary (from Goodreads): A gripping reimagining of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and the brutal murders that inspired it

November is usually quiet in Holcomb, Kansas, but in 1959, the town is shattered by the quadruple murder of the Clutter family. Suspicion falls on Nancy Clutter’s boyfriend, Bobby Rupp, the last one to see them alive.

New Yorker Carly Fleming, new to the small Midwestern town, is an outsider. She tutored Nancy, and (in private, at least) they were close. Carly and Bobby were the only ones who saw that Nancy was always performing, and that she was cracking under the pressure of being Holcomb’s golden girl. The secret connected Carly and Bobby. Now that Bobby is an outsider, too, they’re bound closer than ever.

Determined to clear Bobby’s name, Carly dives into the murder investigation and ends up in trouble with the local authorities. But that’s nothing compared to the wrath she faces from Holcomb once the real perpetrators are caught. When her father is appointed to defend the killers of the Clutter family, the entire town labels the Flemings as traitors. Now Carly must fight for what she knows is right.

Goodreads | Amazon

When I first heard of this book, I was quite intrigued. It is such an interesting concept to focus on the teen side of Capote’s In Cold Blood. Although this is a fictional story, many of the facts surrounding the actual murders are included. The book reminds me of Stand By Me in a way, as Carly is trying to make sense of what happened to her friend.

Book Beginning:

I can smell the kerosene. The police tape is the only thing that separates me from the men loading a pickup truck with the bloodstained blankets, sheets, pillows- even a couch. I grip the bicycle handlebars so tight my knuckles turn white.

Friday 56:

“Didn’t you tutor the girl in math?” Dad chimes in. I nod. And that’s it, really. Dad just answered the question for me. I’m always going to be known as Carly Fleming, the math tutor, and I don’t want that, because I don’t want to accept that.

Wishlist Wednesday #124: Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

October 4, 201716 Comments

Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about and have yet to read.

This week’s book:

Title: Batman: Nightwalker
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads): Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.

One by one, the city’s elites are being executed as their mansions’ security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family’s fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he’s forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city’s most brutal criminals.

Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce’s only hope.

In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Although I am not a huge Batman fan, I have very high hopes for Batman: Nightwalker. The other book in the DC Icons series so far, Wonder Woman: Warbringer was one of my favourites of the year, and I love the way these books interpret the original stories. Batman: Nightwalker is also written by Marie Lu, one of my all-time favourite authors, so I am sure that it is going to be incredible. I will literally read anything that woman writes. There is still a ways to go until this book is released, so in the meantime, I will be sure to give myself a Batman refresher.

Wishlist Wednesday #123: Sightwitch (The Witchlands 0.5) by Susan Dennard

September 27, 2017September 27, 201717 Comments

Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about and have yet to read.

This week’s book:

Title: Sightwitch (The Witchlands 0.5)
Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: January 23, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads): From the New York Times bestselling author of Windwitch, an illustrated prequel novella set in the Witchlands setting up the forthcoming hotly anticipated Bloodwitch.

Set a year before Truthwitch, Sightwitch follows Ryber Fortiza, the last Sightwitch Sister as she treks deep underground to rescue her missing best friend. While there, she encounters a young Nubrevnan named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he wound up inside the mountain. As the two journey ever deeper in search of answers, and as they brave one close call after another, a tentative friendship forms between them—one that might one day grow into something more.

Sightwitch is told through Ryber’s journal entries and her sketches, as well as through supplementary materials (such as other journals, pieces of songs, clippings from history books, flashbacks, etc.). Though meant as a companion novella, this story serves as a set up to Bloodwitch as well as an expansion of the world.

Goodreads | Amazon

I could not be more excited about this book! Ryber is such an interesting character and I just love the whole concept of the novella, as it will contain images. If you are subscribed to Susan’s newsletter, there have been some special sneak peeks of Sightwitch and the illustrations are amazing. I can’t wait to get back into the Witchlands series again!

Friday Reads #25: Top Ten by Katie Cotugno

September 22, 201710 Comments

Friday Reads

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice, and the rules are quite simple: Grab a book, any book, and turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader. Find any non-spoilery sentence(s) and post.

This week’s book:

Summary (from Goodreads): Ryan McCullough and Gabby Hart are the unlikeliest of friends. Introverted, anxious Gabby would rather do literally anything than go to a party. Ryan is a star hockey player who can get any girl he wants—and does, frequently. But against all odds, they became not only friends, but each other’s favorite person. Now, as they face high school graduation, they can’t help but take a moment to reminisce and, in their signature tradition, make a top ten list—counting down the top ten moments of their friendship:

10. Where to begin? Maybe the night we met.
9. Then there was our awkward phase.
8. When you were in love with me but never told me…
7. Those five months we stopped talking were the hardest of my life.
6. Through terrible fights…
5. And emotional makeups.
4. You were there for me when I got my heart broken.
3. …but at times, you were also the one breaking it.
2. Above all, you helped me make sense of the world.
1. Now, as we head off to college—how am I possibly going to live without you?

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

I have just started this one, but I am really enjoying it so far. Katie Cotugno is one of my favourite contemporary authors, and I have been looking forward to this one for a while. I am loving the format of the characters reliving their top ten moments together, and their experiences are so real. I am excited to keep reading about Gabby and Ryan’s memories together!

Book Beginning:

Sitting with his ankles crossed in Gabby’s leafy green backyard two hours after their high school graduation, Ryan tilted his head back and squinted up at the proud June sun.

Friday 56:

It wasn’t a thing a lot of people knew how to accomplish, and she doubted he’d done it on purpose or even with any awareness that that’s what he was doing, but there it was.

Wishlist Wednesday # 122: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

September 20, 201717 Comments

Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about and have yet to read.

This week’s book:

Title: The Belles
Author: Dhonielle Clayton
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: February 20, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads): Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.

With the future of Orléans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.

Goodreads | Amazon

Thoughts:

I am so intrigued by this book! Not only does the cover draw me in, the entire concept is fascinating. Camellia sounds like a character that will be both relatable and strong-willed. I can’t wait to find to get into this world and discover how the book unfolds.

Friday Reads #24: Kiss Me in New York by Catherine Rider

September 15, 201720 Comments

Friday Reads

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice, and the rules are quite simple: Grab a book, any book, and turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader. Find any non-spoilery sentence(s) and post.

This week’s book:

Summary (from Goodreads): It’s Christmas Eve at JFK in NYC.

Charlotte is a British student, waiting for a flight home after the worst semester of her life. Anthony is a native New Yorker, surprising his girlfriend at the airport after three months apart. Charlotte has just been dumped, and Anthony is about to be dumped, right in the middle of the holiday crowd.

Charlotte’s flight is canceled when a blizzard blows in, and Anthony can’t bear to go home. So, they set out into the city together, clutching a book Charlotte picks up in the airport gift shop: Ten Easy Steps for Getting Over Your Ex. For this one night, they’ll focus on healing their broken hearts … together.

Step-by-step, the two struggle to put the past behind them. But the snow is so enchanting, and the holiday lights are so beguiling, that soon their shared misery gives way to something else. Soon, they’re not only over their exes — they’re falling for each other.

Then a subway ride splits them up by mistake. Will they reunite before Charlotte’s flight leaves New York forever?

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

This book is so cute! It’s kind of like Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares since it tells the story of two people who explore New York City over the holidays. Charlotte and Anthony are both getting over a breakup and work through a book with steps instructing them how to get over an ex. Although the holiday season is still a ways away, I am still enjoying this one and can’t wait to keep reading!

Book Beginning:

A broken heart changes a lot of things. For example: I’m not usually the type of person who scowls when a smiling lady at JFK Airport wishes me “Happy holidays!” as she checks me in for my flight.

Friday 56:

When I see what Step Three is, I frown. This one’s not going to be easy…

Wishlist Wednesday # 121: Meet Cute by Jennifer L. Armentrout and Others

September 13, 2017September 13, 201713 Comments

Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about and have yet to read.

This week’s book:

Title: Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet
Authors: Jennifer L. Armentrout, Sona Charaipotra, Dhonielle Clayton, Katie Cotugno, Jocelyn Davies, Nina LaCour, Emery Lord, Katharine McGee, Kass Morgan, Meredith Russo, Sara Shepard, Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoobi, Julie Murphy
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Summary (from Goodreads): Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of “how they first met” from some of today’s most popular YA authors.

Readers will experience Nina LaCour’s beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard’s glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon’s imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno’s story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick’s charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants.

This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

Goodreads | Amazon

Thoughts:

The first time that I saw this book, I didn’t even need to read the synopsis to know if I wanted to read it or not. All of my favourite authors all in one anthology writing about first encounters? What’s not to love about this one? I think it is going to be the perfect companion for a snowy day this January, and I can’t wait to get lost in its pages!

HMH also has a fun pre-order incentive right now for these darling pins if this is one that you are considering as well.