[Release Day Debut] Wash Me Away by Wendy Owens

Wash Me Away

by Wendy Owens (Goodreads Author)

4.57 of 5 star

Monsters have a way of following you.

Immersed in a new world at boarding school, Addy Buckley learns she’s not the only one with secrets. While trying to navigate the minefield of painful lies that seem to be rattling around her family’s past, she meets soft on the eyes and heavy on the heart, Napoleon Blake.

When faced with the darkness, Addy must decide to cling to her new life and friends or let the monster carry her away. The choice is hers, sink or swim.

About Wendy Owens

Wendy Owens is a 34 year old author, born in the small college town, Oxford Ohio. After attending Miami University, Wendy went onto a career in the visual arts. For several years she created and sold her own artwork. In 2011 she gave her true love, writing, a try. Her first novel flowed from her in only two weeks time, as though it had been fighting to get out. That moment was when she knew she had found her calling. Wendy now happily spends her days writing the stories her characters guide her to tell, admitting even she doesn’t always know where that might lead. Her first series, The Guardians, will be concluded with the fifth and final book in 2013.

When she’s not writing, this dog lover can be found spending time with her tech geek husband, their three amazing kids, and two pups, lovingly nicknamed stinks and chubbs. She also loves to cook and is a film fanatic.

For more info on Wendy’s young adult fiction visit http://wendy-owens.com/

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[Book Tour Spotlight] A Reunion of Ghosts by Judith Claire Mitchell

A Reunion of Ghosts

by Judith Claire Mitchell

A compulsively readable literary masterpiece, A Reunion of Ghosts is the shared confessional of three sisters who have decided to kill themselves at the end of the 20th century, honoring the dark legacy that has haunted their extraordinary family for decades

How do three sisters write a single suicide note?

In the waning days of 1999, the Alter sisters—Lady, Vee, and Delph—finalize their plans to end their lives. Their reasons are not theirs alone; they are the last in a long line of Alters who have killed themselves, beginning with their great-grandmother, the wife of a Jewish Nobel Prize-winning chemist who developed the first poison gas used in World War I and the lethal agent used in Third Reich gas chambers. The chemist himself, their son Richard, and Richard’s children all followed suit.

The childless sisters also define themselves by their own bad luck. Lady, the oldest, never really resumed living after her divorce. Vee is facing cancer’s return. And Delph, the youngest, is resigned to a spinster’s life of stifled dreams. But despite their pain they love each other fiercely, and share a darkly brilliant sense of humor.

As they gather in the ancestral Upper West Side apartment to close the circle of the Alter curse, an epic story about four generations of one family—inspired in part by the troubled life of German-Jewish Fritz Haber, Nobel Prize winner and inventor of chlorine gas—unfolds. A Reunion of Ghosts is a magnificent tale of fate and blood, sin and absolution; partly a memoir of sisters unified by a singular burden, partly an unflinching eulogy of those who have gone before, and above all a profound commentary on the events of the 20th century. 

AMAZON | GOODREADS 

Praise for a reunion of ghosts

“A rich portrait of a complicated family, at turns violent and hilarious, shot through with love and death and the scars that reappear generation after generation.” — Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers

“This is a triumphant, beautiful, and devastating novel about coincidences, family, and the sins of our fathers.” — Anthony Doerr, New York Times bestselling author of All The Light We Cannot See

“For the Alter sisters, living with the guilt of the generations, there is only one way out…. This novel is a carefully crafted, thought-provoking examination of history past and present as seen through the eyes of a complex yet humble family.” — Booklist

“A clever, modern tale that…hearkens back to…a host of unusual, lively memorable characters.… Darkly humorous.” — Library Journal

“Mitchell explores the mixed-blessing bonds of family with wry wit. This original tale is black comedy at its best.” — People Book of the Week

“What’s so funny about three sisters bent on committing suicide? Plenty, in the imagination of Judith Claire Mitchell…. Darkly witty.” — Dallas Morning News

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

About Judith Claire Mitchell

Judith Claire Mitchell, author of the novelThe Last Day of the War, is an English professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she directs the MFA program in creative writing. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Judy has received fellowships from the James A. Michener/Copernicus Society, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, the Wisconsin Arts Board, and elsewhere. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband, the artist Don Friedlich.

Find out more about Judith at her website, and connect with her on Facebook.

[Release Day Celebration] Soaring Through Stars by Radjeep Paulus

Soaring Through Stars

by Radjeep Paulus

“I live in the in between. Between holding on and letting go. Hurt clings to me. Hope teases me. Home. I can’t explain it, but sometimes, I just want to go home.”

Talia and Jesse Vanderbilt have escaped a childhood full of abuse, and when they have a chance to put their father behind bars, setbacks arise from every direction. The siblings can't help but consider the option to walk away and move on with their lives.

Then someone unexpected brings his own secrets, forcing the Vanderbilt teens to revisit their pasts and rethink their plans. Through it all, Lagan and Talia’s Post-it love story blossoms, while Jesse and Summer hit roadblocks. 

From the award-winning author of Swimming Through Clouds and Seeing Through Stones comes a powerful story of freedom and belonging in this final book of the young adult trilogy that began with an invitation on a little Post-it note.

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Praise for Soaring Through Stars

“Soaring through Stars is a beautiful, perfect ending to a truly exceptional series… Don’t miss this one.” ~USA Today’s HEA Blog, Serena Chase

“Rajdeep Paulus writes young adult fiction with a new kind of hero… compassionate at moments when it would be much easier to stand by and do nothing.”  ~Amazon Author Success Story

“Deep, sometimes quite dark, and very emotional YA story.”  ~Once Upon a YA Book Blog

Quotes from Soaring Through Stars

· “I know it looks bad, but you said no more running. We said, no more running.”

· “What did surprise me was that you weren’t wearing a long blue gown.”

· “If I close my mind to all that lies behind and all that could happen tomorrow, I find a place in between I never thought existed. This place called now.”

About the author

Rajdeep Paulus is an Award-winning author of SwimmingThrough Clouds and Seeing Through Stones. Rajdeep studied English Literature at Northwestern and lives in New York with her Sunshine and four princesses.

 Website| Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest 

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Giveaway

• 1 Winner wins Blue Swarovski crystal heart charm on silver chain (U.S. Residents Only)
• 1 Winner wins Paperbacks of the trilogy – THREE BOOKS (U.S. Residents Only) 
• 3 Winners win Ebooks of Swimming Through Clouds (Book One)

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[Made-Me-Depressed Book Review] Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
by Becky Albertalli  

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. 

GOODREADS 

Is there something wrong with it? Because everyone on the Internet loved this book & I'm sitting here like... mehhh.

Story introduces us to a sixteen-year-old Simon Spier who even though is not openly gay, is completely comfortable with it and just haven't found the right opportunity to announce it to his friends and family. Although emailing with a mysterious boy and getting more flirty is intriguing, he doesn't want anyone to find out. So when his classmate "blackmails" him into hanging out with one of his friends, he wouldn't want the emails getting out. 

Let's stop right there..

Simon is great. Shy and funny and lovable character with great family and friends, he's into that "lovey-dovey" romance that many and MANY girls drool over.. But it was just not for me. at all...

I actually got depressed while reading this book. Yup, that's how much I wanted to DNF it but had to finish because of the buzz it's been getting. Damn book buzz and it's incredible appeal to my visual senses. 

So yes, let's just mark that into it's-not-you-it's-me category so I can go be happy again.

#StackingTheShelves 29 - Netgalley WIN!

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews featuring the books we got this week.

 

WROOM WROOM! It's the weekend! & yet I won't be able to sleep in because I have responsibilities and I'm lame... 

But on the brighter note, my blog finally works! Wooohooo! I have no idea what happened and how it happened but if you guys haven't seen the post, HERE's a little update.

On the other hand, I got accepted for some awesome Netgalley books! I've been getting rejected for really good ones lately so wasn't sure what the deal was. But since I completely updated my stats, I actually got really cool books that I'm super excited to check out! Here's the beauties:

   

SO EXCITED!! I want to devour these beauties so if anyone has some special abilities to read a book within 5 minutes, let me know! Accepting applications *wink wink*

What's on your list today?  Leave comments below & I'll be sure to return the favor! 

[Book Review] In a Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis

In a Handful of Dust
by Mindy McGinnis

The only thing bigger than the world is fear.

Lucy’s life by the pond has always been full. She has water and friends, laughter and the love of her adoptive mother, Lynn, who has made sure that Lucy’s childhood was very different from her own. Yet it seems Lucy’s future is settled already—a house, a man, children, and a water source—and anything beyond their life by the pond is beyond reach.

When disease burns through their community, the once life-saving water of the pond might be the source of what’s killing them now. Rumors of desalinization plants in California have lingered in Lynn’s mind, and the prospect of a “normal” life for Lucy sets the two of them on an epic journey west to face new dangers: hunger, mountains, deserts, betrayal, and the perils of a world so vast that Lucy fears she could be lost forever, only to disappear in a handful of dust.

In this companion to Not a Drop to Drink, Mindy McGinnis thrillingly combines the heart-swelling hope of a journey, the challenges of establishing your own place in the world, and the gripping physical danger of nature in a futuristic frontier. 

 GOODREADS |  AMAZON

“But the gray ridge of the mountains that sliced through the map was a weight on her heart, an obstacle to be met.”

In a Handful of Dust really outdid all of my expectations for what this book should have been. When I read the first book in this series, I wasn't sure what to think because even though I really enjoyed the story, the buzz that goes around some books always makes me be a little suspicious. It's not that I don't think they will be good, it just I have been disappointed so many times before. 

But I am happy. Really freaking happy. We are taken forward years after the first book ends so Lynn and Lucy are a lot older and still live by the pond and protecting it just as Mother and Lynn have done before. With more people living in the area, polio has become a huge problem. Because Lucy is potentially can be a carrier of the disease, they end up leaving the pond to go to California in hopes to find happiness away from the disaster that the world has become. 

The story itself feels a lot more like a road-trip. Even though it is a lot more intense since they do have to walk through the states, you can still imagine the bonfires and connections that are made between Lynn and Lucy during those night and days. Some of the characters that are being introduced along the way are very surprising and make me like the book that much more but characters like Joss and Carper, I would want to see a lot more in the story where they are. 

There isn't anything specific that I didn't like in the book, I thought the style and speed was exactly what I needed at the moment. Lucy's character wasn't as likable as it was in the first book but I can understand since she is older and is going through that "teenage" stage. I do wish that Lynn wouldn't take her so seriously sometimes and not listen to her but that's a whole different story ;)

#TGIF Book Shenanigans

TIGF! TIGF! TIGF! If that toast doesn't make you happy, I don't know what will! 
A little fun fact: I went tanning last night and got burned. 

My face hurts. like REALLY REALLY BAD!

But on the other news, you guys have to check out these books that are going to be on sale this weekend! I just got my hands on them and it is amazing!! Pictures and links are below! 

Amazon| Barnes & Nobles| iBooks| Google

 Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Nobles | ITunes 

[Blog Tour Review + Giveaway] The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

The Truth About Us

by Janet Gurtler 

A powerful and gripping contemporary YA from the author of I'm Not Her that's "Just right for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jodi Picoult."-Booklist

The truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.
She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.

The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.
She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie...until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.

The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care. 
But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world... might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

 GOODREADS |  AMAZON

When I first started reading The Truth About Us, I thought it would be your typical "poor boy falls for rich girl" type of book but it is SOOO much more than that! 

You have Jess. She beautiful, part of the "perfect" family that has some money and doesn't have a care in the world. I though it was kind of crazy that she spend $10k on a dress but I guess if you've been raised with money, it doesn't matter. When her father has enough, he sends her to volunteer at a local soup kitchen which pretty much changes her life. 

I loved Flynn. Even though he was not your standard guy that a dad would approve, I thought him and Jess went together perfectly. I'm not very into lovey-dovey relationships but really did think they were great together. I was shocked to find out what happened to Jess's mother since I just thought she was depressed but it made the story that much better. 

Overall, I loved the book. Writing was great and the speed of the story wasn't as slow as I first expected it to me. Having first impressions with this author, I am definitely going to read more of her works! 

DREAM CAST

Stephen Fung as Flynn

 

Nicola Peltz as Jess

 

Bella Thorne as Penny (Jess's best friend)

 

A Rita Award Finalist and Crystal Kite Award Finalist, Janet Gurtler's young adult books have been chosen for the JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION and as BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS from the Canadian Children’s Book Center. Janet lives in Okotoks Alberta, Canada with her husband, son, and a chubby black Chihuahua named Bruce.

   

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