Coming Attractions: Premeditated

Coming Attractions is inspired by The Perpetual Page Turner's Save The Date, both in concept and format. Coming Attractions showcases a book that is not released for a while that I've read, and gives you a sneak peek for what I thought about the book, since I can't post the review until closer to the release date.

Premeditated

Josin McQuein

Series: None

Release Date: October 8th, 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Number of Pages: 336

Rating: 4.5 stars

A week ago, Dinah’s cousin Claire cut her wrists.

Five days ago, Dinah found Claire’s diary and discovered why.

Three days ago, Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan.

Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair.

Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator’s camouflage.

Today, she’ll find the boy who broke Claire.

By tomorrow, he’ll wish he were dead.

A few days ago I finished the absolutely fantastic Premeditated, but since it's released in October and I can't post my full review for a while, I figured I'd give you all a little sneak peek as to what I thought about it!

Showcase Sunday (30)

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits, and Tea, where we showcase what books we've gotten over the course of the week, whether it be from a book store, bought for your eReader, received from the library, or from the publishers for review.

For Review:

  

 

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

Premeditated by Josin McQuein 

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Night School by C.J. Daugherty

Linked by Imogen Howson

From An Awesome Person: 

Rise by Anna Carey

Charm & Strange: Should be starting this very soon and I am so excited--it sounds amazing, has gotten rave reviews so far, and I haven't read a werewolf book in quite a while, so I can't wait to read this one. Thanks, St Martin's Press!

Premeditated: Okay, so I cracked and read this one much earlier than I should have (I started it the day I got it), but this was fantastic, you guys. Not as revenge-focused as the synopsis would lead you to think, but despite that, this was really just absolutely and utterly fantastic. I can't post my review for a while, but you can expect a little teaser review really soon. Thanks, Random House!

The Eye of Minds: I liked Dashner's The Kill Order, but it was lacking immensely in character development, so I'm looking forward to reading this one to see if the issues Dashner had with character development in The Kill Order are addressed in The Eye of Minds. Thanks, Random House!

Night School: Ah, I'm so excited to read this one! It's gotten amazing reviews from friends of mine who have read the UK version of this when it was released a year ago, and it sounds like such a fun and mysterious read. Thanks, HarperTeen! 

Linked: I don't know much about this one, but from what I do know, it involves spaceships and twins and mind reading or something, so obviously I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, Simon and Schuster!

Rise: EEEEEEEEE! I adore this trilogy quite a bit, and have been dying to get my hands on an ARC of the final installment ever since I finished Once, so thank you, Jenn @ The YA Sisterhood. Thank you so, so much!

Also, another week with no bought books. I am on a freaking roll! (Next week will not be a no-purchases week, because have you seen the releases this Tuesday?) 

What did you get this week? 

Leave a comment letting me know!

The Mapmaker's War Excerpt & Giveaway

Hi, everybody! Today I have an amazing excerpt and giveaway for you guys! The wonderful people at Atria Books were kind enough to offer a copy of The Mapmaker's War by Ronlyn Domingue for me to give away on the blog, along with an awesome excerpt to share with you guys. Below you will find some information about The Mapmaker's War, and after the jump you can read the excerpt and enter the giveaway. I hope you enjoy the excerpt, and good luck if you choose to enter the giveaway! 

The Mapmaker's War

Ronlyn Domingue

Series: None

Release Date: March 5th, 2013

Publisher: Atria Books

Number of Pages: 240

Purchase: Amazon

This will be the map of your heart, old woman. In an ancient time, in a faraway land, a young woman named Aoife is allowed a rare apprenticeship to become her kingdom’s mapmaker, tasked with charting the entire domain. Traveling beyond its borders, she finds a secretive people who live in peace, among great wealth. They claim to protect a mythic treasure, one connected to the creation of the world. When Aoife reports their existence to her kingdom, the community is targeted as a threat. Attempting to warn them of imminent danger, Aoife is exiled for treason and finds refuge among the very people who had been declared her enemy. With them, she begins a new life surrounded by kindness, equality, and cooperation. But within herself, Aoife has no peace. She cannot share the grief she feels for the home and children she left behind. She cannot bear the warrior scars of the man she comes to love. And when she gives birth to their gifted daughter, Aoife cannot avoid what the child forces her to confront about her past and its truth. On this most important of journeys, there is no map to guide her. In this tale—her autobiography— Aoife reveals her pain and joy, and ultimately her transformation. The Mapmaker’s War is a mesmerizing, utterly original adventure about love and loss and the redemptive power of the human spirit. Watch for its epic sequel, The Chronicle of Secret Riven, in 2014.

The Prophecy Book Blitz: Excerpt

Hey, everyone! Today on the blog I have an excerpt from Rachel Deagan's The Prophecy, along with a giveaway, to share with you, as part of Xpresso Blog Tours. The Prophecy sounds like a really interesting, and the excerpt I'll be sharing with you is definitely intriguing and left me wanting to know more. Enjoy!

The Prophecy

Rachel Deagan

Series: None

Release Date: February 8th, 2013

Publisher: Phantom Horse Publishing
Purchase: Amazon

Everything dropped away as I fell. Time had momentarily suspended, and the air around me hollered in my ears. In the distance I heard men yelling, and even the crack of a gunshot--at least it sounded like one--but that commotion was soon drowned out by the low hum of car engines and blasting horns. My senses caught up to me as I saw the pavement closing in.

I was going to die.

~The Prophecy

_____________________


“The cards tell me of the children of the stars.”

Jacey thinks her life is worthless, when she finds herself in a psychiatric hospital after a failed attempt to end her life; her wounds miraculously healed. Devin, who claims to kill on touch, is also there. When Michael arrives, bearing telekinetic powers, he insists the government, and an even darker, more powerful force, wants them dead.

In a desperate attempt to escape for their lives, the three teens find they must confront an even greater adversary, themselves - and with a prophecy forced upon them, they must find a way to accept their fate, or rebel together, as one.

Review: The Murmurings

The Murmurings
Carly Anne West
Series: None
Release Date: March 5th, 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Number of Pages: 384
Rating: 3 stars

Everyone thinks Sophie’s sister, Nell, went crazy. After all, she heard strange voices that drove her to commit suicide. But Sophie doesn’t believe that Nell would take her own life, and she’s convinced that Nell’s doctor knows more than he’s letting on.

As Sophie starts to piece together Nell’s last days, every lead ends in a web of lies. And the deeper Sophie digs, the more danger she’s in—because now she’s hearing the same haunting whispers. Sophie’s starting to think she’s going crazy too. Or worse, that maybe she’s not…

I feel like The Murmurings is really comprised of two vastly different novels combined into one: the first half being its own novel; a dark contemporary of sorts where a girl is grieving over the death of her sister, and a boy helps pick up the pieces, with some dark and somewhat creepy paranormal happenings taking place every now and then, and then there's the second half being its own little novel; a somewhat creepy, thrilling, and fun paranormal/psychological read with a great deal of secrecy, mental hospitals, experimentation, and deceit thrown in.

But it's where those two 'novels' meet, and how the vastly different aspects in each 'novel' transition together, and more importantly how long the entire novel itself truly takes to reach its promised creepy and paranormal aspects, where I feel The Murmurings met its greatest faults.

Waiting on Wednesday (February 27)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post upcoming releases we're highly anticipating. My pre-publication selection for this week's Waiting on Wednesday is The Shadow Girl by Jennifer Archer.

 The Shadow Girl

Jennifer Archer

Series: None

Release Date: April 9th, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

Number of Pages: 240

Sometimes I forget for an hour or two that she's with me. Sometimes I convince myself that she was only a dream. Or that I'm crazy.

For as long as Lily Winston can remember, she has never been alone. Iris, a shadowy figure who mimics Lily's movements and whispers in her ear, is with her always—but invisible to the rest of the world. Iris is Lily's secret.


But when Lily's father is killed in a tragic accident, his cryptic final words suggest that he and Lily's mother have been keeping secrets of their own. Suddenly, Iris begins pushing Lily more than ever, possessing her thoughts and urging her to put together the pieces of a strange puzzle her father left behind. As she searches for answers, Lily finds herself drawn to Ty Collier, a mysterious new boy in town. Together, Lily and Ty must untangle a web of deception to discover the truth about her family, Iris . . . and Lily's own identity.

OK, this is going to be quick because I forgot to make this Waiting on Wednesday and I'm currently writing this on Wednesday morning and I'm in a bit of a rush so, in short, this one sounds creepy and original and awesome.

What are you waiting on?

 Let me know in the comments!

Today's Releases (February 26)

Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Fragments by Dan Wells

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

  

Also Known As by Robin Benway

Pulse by Patrick Carman

Wicked Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Fade to Black by Francis Knight

Star Crossed by Jennifer Echols

Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent

  

The Trouble with Flirting by Claire LaZebnik

Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan

Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield

  

The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater and Kody Boye

Dead Letter Day by Eileen Rendahl

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

I won't be getting any of this week's releases, but let me know in the comments if you are! Though I did read Pulse and Dualed and I wasn't a huge fan of either of them.