Waiting on Wednesday #81: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #15

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Handsome Man's Deluxe Café: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 
(No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #15) 
by Alexander McCall Smith 
Hardcover, 240 pages 
Expected publication: October 28th 2014 
by Pantheon
Goodreads | 

The newest installment in the beloved and best-selling series. 

In this delightful fifteenth installment, Mma Ramotswe has her hands full both at home and in the office. To add to her current challenges, her devoted partner, Grace Makutsi, has decided to branch out on her own and open The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe. But even “Miss 97 Per Cent” can't quite meet all the demands of running a business—not to mention those that a lightning strike makes on her building. Eventually, she'll have to accept all the help she can get—even if it comes from a completely unexpected source.

Aside from reading YA fantasy, I do read cozy mysteries now and then. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is certainly one of my favourite mystery series of all time. It's charming and somewhat quirky characters captivated my heart from the very beginning. I just can't wait for this new installment to come out to find out what new adventures Mma Ramostwe and Mma Makutsi have gotten themselves into this time.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway: Accession

Hi, everyone! Today I'm having a Book Blitz for the book Accession by Terah Edun.


Accession 
by Terah Edun
(Sarath Web #1)
Published August 5th 2014

Sixteen-year-old Katherine Thompson wasn’t trained to rule a coven. That was her sister – perfect, beautiful Rose. But when a mysterious plane crash kills off the heir presumptive of the Sandersville coven she has no choice. After stepping in to fill her sister’s shoes, Katherine realizes she didn’t have a clue – faery wars, depressed trolls and angry unicorns are just the beginning.

For centuries, her family has served the high Queens on both sides of the Atlantic but it is a well-known rule that mid-level witches stay away from high-level Queens. But when Katherine’s youngest cousin vanishes without a trace in the Atlanta court and no one wants to investigate, Katherine decides to step into the darkness on her own. She soon discovers that nothing, especially in the Atlanta High Queen’s court, is as it seems.

When she accidentally opens a rift in the search for her cousin, Richard LeCross, the Queen’s warlock, decides that Katherine is more trouble than she’s worth. He determines that this mortal, dangerously close to becoming a High Queen, needs to die. But killing Katherine is easier said than done. For a young woman who’s always believed in right versus wrong, she’s about to go head over heels into the dark side.

Goodreads | Amazon | 

 Terah Edun's next YA Fantasy novel, BLADES OF MAGIC - Crown Service Book #1 (set in the Algardis Universe), will release on March 31, 2014. Book Five of Courtlight, SWORN TO DEFIANCE, will release in April 2014. Her favorite writers include Mercedes Lackey, Tamora Pierce, Kristin Cashore, Robin Hobb and Maria Snyder. Check out Terah's author website (teedun.com) for more information about her books, find her online @TEdunWrites and subscribe to her newsletter (bit.ly/SubscribetoTerahsNewsletter) to be notified of upcoming releases

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Review: Dolls

The Dolls (Dolls #1) 
by Kiki Sullivan
Paperback, 384 pages 
Published September 2nd 2014 
by Balzer + Bray
ARC from Edelweiss
Goodreads | 

Eveny Cheval just moved back to Louisiana after spending her childhood in New York with her aunt Bea. Eveny hasn’t seen her hometown since her mother’s suicide fourteen years ago, and her memories couldn’t have prepared her for what she encounters. Because pristine, perfectly manicured Carrefour has a dark side full of intrigue, betrayal, and lies—and Eveny quickly finds herself at the center of it all. 

Enter Peregrine Marceau, Chloe St. Pierre, and their group of rich, sexy friends known as the Dolls. From sipping champagne at lunch to hooking up with the hottest boys, Peregrine and Chloe have everything—including an explanation for what’s going on in Carrefour. And Eveny doesn’t trust them one bit.

But after murder strikes and Eveny discovers that everything she believes about herself, her family, and her life is a lie, she must turn to the Dolls for answers. Something’s wrong in paradise, and it’s up to Eveny, Chloe, and Peregrine to save Carrefour and make it right.

After reading Beautiful Creatures, I'm always looking forward to a YA fantasy with a Southern setting. So I'm all excited to read this in the beginning.

The promise of a murder mystery, magical secrets and some vodoo did intrigued me when I first started this book. But honestly after a few chapters, I found myself slowly losing interest. This book is filled with YA cliches' like instant romances, love triangle, popular mean girls and the main character who turned out to be some super special zandara queen in Lousiana. 

It just didn't feel right for someone like Eveny and her popular 'dolls' friends to be so powerful and rich out of the blue. Yup, I know the girls inherited their powers but still if only the girls use those powers to good then maybe I'll probably like them more. But in the end, this turned out to be a disappointing mix of spoilt Gossip Girls and Charmed which really turned me off.

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Waiting on Wednesday #80: Lailah

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

Lailah (The Styclar Saga #1)
by Nikki Kelly Kindle Edition, 352 pages 
Expected publication: October 7th 2014 
by Feiwel and Friends

The girl knows she’s different. She doesn’t age. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams – a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name is Gabriel. 

On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from an unlikely ally – a rogue Angel, named Gabriel. 

In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name: Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom? Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is.

That cover just screamed horror movie in my opinion. What is this book about? Angels? Vampires? Can't wait to find out.

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July New Release Giveaway Hop

Hello everyone! Welcome to my stop of the July New Release Giveaway Hop hosted by Giselle from Book Nerd Canada.

Rules:

1. One winner will get a book from my July selection below.

2. Fill in the rafflecopter and that's it.
3. Open to everyone!

 

 

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Waiting on Wednesday #79: The Young Elites

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1) 
by Marie Lu 
Kindle Edition, 336 pages 
Expected publication: October 7th 2014 
by Putnam Books for Young Readers

Goodreads | 

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside. 

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites. 

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all. 

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen. Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Guys, it's Marie Lu's new series! How can I not be excited about it? I personally prefer her last book in the Legend series to be better than that other popular disappointing dystopian series (which should remain nameless). I'm hoping that this new fantasy will also turned out amazing.

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Just Couldn't Put In Down Giveaway Hop

Hello everyone! Welcome to my stop of the Just Couldn't Put It Down Giveaway Hop hosted by Valerie from Stuck in Books.

Rules:

1.One winner will get a book of their choice from my un putdownable (is that even a word?) list below. Dangerous and Don't You Forget About Me is a stand alone. While Ruin and Rising and The Kiss of Deception is part of a series.

2. Fill in the rafflecopter and that's it.
3. Open to everyone!

 

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Review: Kiss of Deception

The Kiss of Deception 
(The Remnant Chronicles #1) 
by Mary E. Pearson
Kindle Edition, 492 pages 
Published July 15th 2014 
by Henry Holt
Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | TBD

In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world. In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met. On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

I'm usually not the type who enjoy a YA book with romantic entanglements as the main plot. I'm more of an adventure junkie. Give me some good action, thrown in several lively and interesting characters with a little twists and turns and I'm satisfied.


So I was a bit hesitant to read this at first because there's a not so subtle hint in the blurb that there's going to be a love triangle in the mix. But in the end, this book successfully captured my heart and actually make me cared for the characters. I mean..who am I kidding? I was rooting for Lia to end up with her prince from the get go. Although it is kind of ironic that she'll ended up falling for the very guy whom she mercilessly left hanging at the altar in the first place.

As a character, Lia was not hard to like. Although a little selfish and naive at times, her boldness and confidence is quite refreshing. I was just hoping that all the time while reading this that there's more background explaining about the gifts of a First Daughter and why the various kingdoms are fighting each other.

This could be a promising new series to look out for and if the parts where the girls go gallivanting as barmaids in the remote village could be trimmed a bit, I'm sure the book could turned up a whole lot better.

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Waiting on Wednesday #78: The Night House

Waiting on Wednesday is a wonderful meme created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Night House 
by Rachel Tafoya
ebook
Expected publication: December 9th 2014 
by Month9Books, LLC.

Goodreads | 

Bianca St. Germain works at a Night House, a place where vampires like the aristocratic Jeremiah Archer, pay to feed on humans, and she doesn’t much care what others think of her. The money is good, and at least there, she’s safe. Bianca also doesn’t care that the Night House is killing her. All she cares about is: nauth, the highly addictive poison in vampire bites that brings a euphoria like no drug ever could.

But when Bianca meets James, a reclusive empath who feels everything she does, for the first time, she considers a life outside of the Night House and a someone worth living for. But Jeremiah has decided to keep Bianca for himself; he won’t allow her to walk away. As she allows her feelings for James to grow, she struggles to contain nauth's strong hold on her life. If they are to have a future, James must make her see what she's worth, what she means to him, before Jeremiah and nauth claim her for good.

I'm craving for some interesting vampire books. Hope this one will hit the mark.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway: Fan Art

Hi, everyone! Today I'm having a Book Blitz for the book Fan Art by Sarah Tregay.

Fan Art 
by Sarah Tregay 
Release Date: 06/17/14 
Harper Teen

When the picture tells the story… 

Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend. 

As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance? 

This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.

Goodreads | Amazon | B & N | TBD | 

 Raised without television, Sarah Tregay started writing her own middle grade novels after she had read all of the ones in the library. She later discovered YA books, but never did make it to the adult section. When she's not jotting down poems at stoplights, she can be found hanging out with her "little sister" from Big Brothers Big Sisters. Sarah lives in Eagle, Idaho with her husband, two Boston Terriers, and an appaloosa named Mr. Pots. Her next book, Fan Art, will be released in June.

Website | Goodreads| Facebook | 

I listen to a lot of audio books, and from time to time I’ll read something on a Kindle. While both are convenient ways to get immersed in a story, I miss seeing the book itself. Because I am a graphic designer in my day job, I enjoy the little details in a printed book, such as the typeface, an illustration, or a beautiful chapter heading. Hardcover books are a treat because you can peek under the jacket and see the art on the binding.

So, in case you borrow a copy of Fan Art from your library or read it on your iPad, here is the art under the cover:

Also, Melissa DeJesus did an amazing job illustrating the graphic short story within Fan Art:

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