A Season for Sin

Title: A Season for Sin
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pub Date: September 12th  2012
Author: Vicky Dreiling
Received From: NetGalley




Introducing the Sinful Scoundrels...

The Earl of Bellingham is nothing is not a creature of habit:  money, meals, and mistresses must be strictly managed if a man is to have a moment's peace.  It's a system that works splendidly for him--until now.  With his oldest and dearest friends succumbing, one by one, to wedded bliss, Bell is now restless and a trifle lonely.  Enter the Sinful Scoundrels--Colin Brockhurst, Earl of Ravenshire, and Harry Norcliffe, Viscount Evermore--who drag him back into society and draw his rakish eye to the ton's new beautiful young widow.  Bell isn't after a wife, but a challenge.  And Laura Davenport should fit the bill quite nicely..


A short introduction to the new series to come brings us the Earl of Bellingham or Bell. Bell is a bit set in his ways and after a recent loss of mistress looking hard for another.  He seems to be setting his sites on the one Lady Chesfield who is setting her sites on finishing off the raising of a young boy. She doesn't come off as a strong character. Quite honestly none of these characters really speak to me in this story but I think it is a factor of not having the time to go into their lives and personalities. It is a bit disappointing to find so much lacking in this short novella, but if you think of it as a great preview and plan to read it right before the publication date of What a Wicked Earl Wants then i think you'll get far more out of this book!

Meant to Be

Title: Meant to Be
Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
Pub Date: November 13th 2012
Author: Laura Morrill
Received From: NetGalley

     Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question. 

     It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be"). 

     But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love. 

     Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.


I am a huge fan of fun books that let me relive the moments of my youth that I enjoyed so much! With Meant to be what I found was an experience I never got to have. But even thought i'm not re-living.. I was  living in the moment in this book. It was really great to see Julia who is for sure a bit stuffy and stuck in her ways to begin with come out of that shell she's been hiding under. The class trip to London was one that changed the lives of both Julia and Jason. it is always great to see the depth of a character grow over a story and that really happened with Jason  These two had some crazy adventures and in the end found they were seeing one another in a new light. I'd consider this a good fun YA read!

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

Title: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
Publisher: Harlequin UK
Pub Date: October 5th 2012
Author: Rachel Cohn David Levithan
Received From: NetGalley

"I've left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don't, put the book back on the shelf, please."

Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.


 Two teenagers stuck in the city over the holidays with no family around find one another when Lily leaves a Red Notebook with a dare in it in a bookstore. Dash happens to be the one to find it and the adventure takes off there. The reader is taken on a journey unlike any I've seen with the usual teenage angst added in to the places they send one another and the amount of time it takes till they meet in person. I found it so fun to follow this journey! Dash opens his heart in this notebook, sharing things with a mystery girl. Life isn't exactly all roses and cupcakes for either teen. But they handle things like Lily's disappointment in her parents choices, and Dash's mad at the world moods are lightened a bit by Lily. The one piece of the book I didn't care much for was the whole becoming infamous and what for. the authors descriptions of the actions by the mothers in the book made me gasp. Really who acts like that? I am for sure a protective mom but I felt like this just gave teens more reasons to hate adults. Overall I'd say it is a cute fun book and a easy read!

Skinny

Title: Skinny
Publisher: Scholastic
Pub Date: October 1st 2012
Author: Donna Cooner
Received From: NetGalley


Find your voice.

Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside fifteen-year-old Ever Davies's head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over three hundred pounds, knows she'll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it. 

But there is another voice: Ever's singing voice, which is beautiful but has been silenced by Skinny. Partly in the hopes of trying out for the school musical - and partly to try and save her own life - Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over. 

With the support of her best friend, Ever begins the uphill battle toward change. But demons, she finds, are not so easy to shake, not even as she sheds pounds. Because Skinny is still around. And Ever will have to confront that voice before she can truly find her own. 


Ever is one of those characters that you just fall right in love with.I mean honestly she isn't perfect, in fact she is kind of mean in the start of this book, but I felt like I got her. Maybe it's because I too listen to Skinny far to often, but from the very first chapter I was sucked into this book. Ever being a large weight decides to undergo gastric bypass surgery after hearing the Skinny in her head share what she thinks people really think of her. The surgery isn't a end all cure but it is a beginning point where things start to change for Ever and the author writes the story and the characters in a way that you really see all sides of it and them. Books like this are something that should be in the hand of all teens!

The Stork Trilogy- Giveaway

If you've been following along all week you know I've been spending the week with the Stork Trilogy by Wendy Delsol. I reviewed each of the books, did an interview with the author and now today I am giving away all three of the books signed by the author!

Stork- Paperback


Review


Frost-Paperback




Review


Flock- Hardback



Review

Join in now these are three books you won't want to miss, for yourself or as a gift to the reader in your family!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Stork Trilogy- Author Interview

Now that you've had a chance to check out my thoughts on all three of the books in the Stork Trilogy. I am excited to see how many of you went out and got these books, ordered them, or added to your must read list! Now let's find out a little more about the amazing mind behind the story!


Wendy Delsol

1)  You have a great trilogy of books, when you started out with Stork had you planned to write three, or did the story just build that way?

Once I began plotting out Stork, I knew I had sufficient material for future books, but I wrote the first as a stand-alone novel. Stork was the project that landed me an agent. In our very first conversation, she asked me if I had considered future books with the same characters. We shopped it to editors as a potential trilogy.

2)  What was your inspiration for Stork? The idea is so beautiful and really intrigues me I just have to know where you came up with it!

Can you believe the spark for the series came from the TV series Unsolved Mysteries? Long ago, there was a story about a very young boy who claimed pre-birth memories of hovering and choosing his mother. It freaked me out. Enough that I remembered it years later when brainstorming something unique in the paranormal genre. I added the idea of white witches or human Storks (borrowing from our cultural symbol of the bundle-bearing bird), who act as intermediaries between the undecided of awaiting souls and potential mothers.

3) Now that the Stork Trilogy is over what's on your plate in terms of a new book or series?

I have two books that I’m presently working on. One is a modern-day Pride and Prejudice. I use politics and religion as the gulf between my Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy. I’m about two-thirds of the way through this manuscript but can’t yet decide the age of my protagonist (which could potentially change the genre from adult to YA).

The other is a dystopian and deals with fertility manipulation and its unforeseen consequences. As it’s a work in progress and I’m not done plotting, I can’t share much more than that (as even I don’t know where things are headed).

4) You ended Flock very definitively, have you ever thought about doing a follow up short story into the lives of Katla and Jack 10 years from now?

Gosh. Ten years into Katla and Jack’s future. Hmm. No, I haven’t thought that far in advance. They’d be twenty-seven and twenty-eight respectively. I know that they’re both college educated by then. I see them still together. Beyond that, I guess I will leave it up to the reader to imagine their paths.

5) You have another book out called the McCloud home for Wayward Girls, what can you tell me about this book?

The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls is adult fiction. It’s the story of three generations of Iowa women who run a bed and breakfast from their historic home, once a haven for pregnant teens. A funeral brings past residents to town and sets into motion events that reveal a long-held family secret. If you like books with surprise elements, I’ve stumped many a reader with this book’s plot twist. 

You can find out more about Wendy Delsol here:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wendydelsol

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendydelsol

Website http://www.wendydelsol.com/

You can also purchase your own copies of Wendy's books here!

http://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Delsol/e/B0035SW32M/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1


And don't forget to come back tomorrow for a giveaway of all three autographed books!

The Stork Trilogy- Part Three FLOCK

Title: Flock
Publisher: Candlewick
Pub Date: September 25th, 2012
Author: Wendy Delsol
Received From: Purchased



After surviving her (shall we say) intense adventure in Iceland, Katla is psyched to be back for a blissfully uneventful senior year of homecoming and fashion explorations. But her hopes of dodging unfinished business are dashed by the arrival of two Icelandic exchange students: Marik, an oddly alluring merman-in-disguise, and Jinky, a tough gypsy girl. It seems Katla not only enraged the Snow Queen by rescuing her boyfriend, Jack, she also was tricked into promising her frail baby sister to the water queen — and Marik has come to collect. What’s worse, Katla doesn't dare confide in anyone lest she endanger them, so even her soul mate, Jack, is growing suspicious. And now Katla’s stork dreams, her guide for matching babies with mothers, have become strange and menacing as well. Hold on for a thrilling finale as the heroine of Stork and Frost calls on her wits (and her wit) to protect those she loves and face a final mythic disaster.

I waited with major anticipation to get a copy of Flock. I attended the book launch party for this one and it was so great to meet Wendy the author and see her family there supporting her! I couldn't wait to read the book and may be guilty of reading the fist few pages in the parking lot before driving home!

Once again the cover knocks my socks off. I really love the first thing I see of each of these books. Katla has now fully embraced her role as a Stork. She knows all about Jack's ability and feels comfort in that they are together again with the evil Brigid behind them. but once again things don't go quite how Katla planned. With the return of some familiar faces and a deal she made standing over her head the pressure is sure mounting for Katla this year. The biggest piece of the plot that intrigued me is how in Frost Brigid sort of pulled Jack form Katla and now Katla is pulling back from Jack. But I was also really interested in the stronger abilities that Katla had as a stork, no longer just dealing with the three chosen mothers, Katla can and does some interesting things. But the real piece of the book that blew my socks off was the ending. I didn't for one moment expect to see this and I really love it. Many books don't end on this note and I cannot say a word for fear of spoiling it. But it really is an ending!



Stay tuned for tomorrows interview with Wendy Delsol and Friday's Giveaway of all three of these books autographed!