Waiting on Wednesday - Darkest Fear

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 Darkest Fear by Cate Tiernan.

Darkest Fear

Cate Tiernan

Series: Birthright, #1

Release Date: January 7th, 2014

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Waited on by: Blythe

Vivi’s animal instincts are her legacy—and maybe her downfall—in this start to a romantic fantasy series that will appeal to fans of The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

Vivi has known the truth about her family—and herself—since she was thirteen. But that doesn’t mean she’s accepted it. Being Haguari isn’t something she feels she’ll ever accept. How can she feel like anything but a freak knowing that it’s in her genes to turn into a jaguar?

Now eighteen, Vivi’s ready to break away from the traditions of her heritage. But all of that changes with the shocking, devastating deaths of her parents and the mysteries left behind. Vivi discovers family she never even knew she had, and a life open with possibility. New friends, new loyalties, and even romance all lay ahead—but so do dangers unlike anything Vivi ever could have imagined.

Review: Extremities by David Lubar

Extremities
David Lubar
Series: None
Release Date: July 23rd, 2013
Publisher: Tor
Rating: 1.5 stars
Word Rating: As scary as Dora
Reviewed by: Blythe

Master of the macabre David Lubar turns his attention to dark and twisted tales for teens with Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge.

A group of high school girls takes revenge on their sadistic gym teacher in the most fitting way possible. Two stowaways find themselves on a ship for the dead. An ancient predator stalks the wrong victim. Here are thirteen tales of death, murder, and revenge from the fertile and febrile imagination of master storyteller David Lubar—his first story collection for the teen audience.

Reader's Choice Review #3: All Our Yesterdays

Reader's Choice is a weekly meme inspired by Christina at Reader of Fiction's Sadie Hawkins Sunday, where you, the readers of this blog, get to choose what we read and review on the blog each Saturday/Monday, depending on the circumstances.

All Our Yesterdays
Cristin Terrill
Series: None
Release Date: August 1st, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Rating: 5 stars
Word Rating: Excuse me as I adsjkl;
Reviewed by: Melanie
Recommended by: Aneeqah of My Not So Real Life

"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside. 

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. 

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

But it's the last line that makes me scramble for the toilet in the corner of my cell. "You have to kill him."

Showcase Sunday (42)

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 bought, received from the library, from the publishers for review, etc.

For Review:

Replica: I have heard pretty mixed to negative things about this one, but I'm definitely willing to give it a shot, considering I do tend to like dystopians and haven't read one in quite a while. Thanks, Tor!

Kinslayer: Um, yeah. I'm definitely excited for this one. While Stormdancer took me a while to get into, once I got into it it was gorgeous and awesome. And now that I have a physical ARC of this one I can flip back to the glossary and the list of characters in the front, which I couldn't really do with Stormdancer with my e-galley last year. Thanks, Thomas Dunne Books!

Extremities: I already read this one, and honestly, I wasn't a fan at all. There's a note/warning on the back saying that this book is strictly not for children, so I got excited thinking it would be horrifying and for adults. Noooope. Review to come on the blog pretty soon. 1.5 stars for this one. But thanks, Tor!

White Space: The Matrix meets Inkheart? Um, YEAH. Enough said. Thanks, Egmont!

The Brokenhearted: So I heard really bad things about this one but I'm far too curious to not give it a chance, and if I hate it, I'll DNF it since I know it won't get better. Thanks, HarperTeen!

Ask Again Later: This sounds like Pivot Point but with DATES, which is all I really need to know about this book. Thanks, HarperTeen!

These Broken Stars: I was initially unsure about this one because I wasn't a fan of co-author Meagan Spooner's Skylark, but then the reviews started coming in from trusted friends and I knew I had to have this one. Can't wait to start it! Thanks, Disney Hyperion!

Charming: From what I know I'm pretty sure this is about a prince from a line of dragon slayers, which sounds pretty awesome to me. Thanks, Orbit!

What did you get this week? Let me know in the comments, or leave a link to your haul, and I'll check it out as soon as possible!

Review: The Truth About You and Me

The Truth About You and Me
Amanda Grace
Series: None
Release Date: September 8th, 2013
Publisher: Flux
Rating: 2 stars
Word Rating: *yawn*
Reviewed by: Melanie
 

Smart girls aren't supposed to do stupid things.

Madelyn Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she's so gifted that she can attend college through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets Bennet. He's cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she's endured - and missed out on - in order to excel academically and please her parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she's falling in love.

There's only one problem. Bennet is Madelyn's college professor, and he thinks she's eighteen - because she hasn't told him the truth.

The story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to Bennet - both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.

Mini-Review: The Beginning of Everything

The Beginning of Everything
Robyn Schneider
Series: None
Release Date: August 27th, 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen
Rating: 4.5 stars
Word Rating: DAAAAAAMN
Reviewed by: Blythe

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes? 

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Review: Taste Test by Kelly Fiore

Taste Test
Kelly Fiore
Series: None, I think?
Release Date: August 27th, 2013
Publisher: Walker Children's
Rating: 1.5 stars
Word Rating: *cringe*
Reviewed by: Blythe

If you can grill it, smoke it, or fry it, Nora Henderson knows all about it. She’s been basting baby back ribs and pulling pork at her father’s barbeque joint since she was tall enough to reach the counter. When she’s accepted to Taste Test, a reality-television teen cooking competition, Nora can’t wait to leave her humble hometown behind, even if it means saying good-bye to her dad and her best friend, Billy. Once she’s on set, run-ins with her high-society roommate and the maddeningly handsome—not to mention talented—son of a famous chef, Christian Van Lorten, mean Nora must work even harder to prove herself. But as mysterious accidents plague the kitchen arena, protecting her heart from one annoyingly charming fellow contestant in particular becomes the least of her concerns. Someone is conducting real-life eliminations, and if Nora doesn’t figure out who, she could be next to get chopped for good. 

With romance and intrigue as delectable as the winning recipes included in the story, this debut novel will be devoured by all.