Summerfall Teaser

Summerfall (Winterspell # 0.5) • Claire Legrand

Guys, as you might know, I’m incredibly excited about Claire Legrand’s WINTERSPELL, which is coming out on September 30. Nutcracker retelling? STAHP IT. Since we still have some time before WINTERSPELL comes out, though, we get to whet our appetites on a prequel novella, SUMMERFALL. YAY! And because Claire Legrand is awesome, she’s sharing some teasers with us today, the novella’s release day, as well as a chance to win some super fun stuff! So without further ado, here’s some details on SUMMERFALL, as well as your teaser!

Book cover Summerfall Claire Legrand

Rinka is a faery, passionate and powerful, determined to maintain the tenuous peace between faeries and humans.

Alban Somerhart is a human, a reluctant king trapped in an arranged marriage, desperate to prevent war.

Their love could save the kingdom of Cane . . . or shatter it forever.

In this captivating novella, prequel to the upcoming Winterspell, Claire Legrand weaves a story of magic, political intrigue, and forbidden love that sets the stage for the rise of a wicked queen and the journey of a human girl named Clara . . .

Sounds SO GREAT, right?! To keep you all in the know, here’s the cover and synopsis for WINTERSPELL, too!

Book cover Winterspell Claire Legrand

The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.

New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor’s ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother’s murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.

Her home is destroyed, her father abducted–by beings distinctly nothuman. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they’re to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets–and a need she can’t define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won’t leave Cane unscathed–if she leaves at all.

Inspired by The NutcrackerWinterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

And now…THE TEASER!

Summerfall teaserOOOOH!!! Color me intrigued!

You guys don’t want to miss out on ANY news about Claire’s books, and you certainly don’t want to miss out on SUMMERFALL and WINTERSPELL! Linkage!

CLAIRE’S SOCIAL MEDIA
BUY LINKS

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for some WINTERSPELL swag!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Book Review + Giveaway | Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend | Katie Finn

Book cover Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend Katie FinnTitle: Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend
Author: Katie Finn (web | twitter)
Series: Broken Hearts & Revenge #1
Genre: Contemporary YA
Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release date: May 13, 2014
Source: ARC from the publisher (Thanks, Feiwel and Friends!)

Summer, boys, and friendships gone sour. This new series has everything that perfect beach reads are made of!

Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer—which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long? 

When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it.

Gemma’s plan is working (she’s finding it hard to resist Josh), but she’s finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is? 

Katie Finn hits all the right notes in this perfect beginning to a new summer series: A Broken Hearts & Revenge novel.

[Read more…]

Giveaway | Deep Blue | Jennifer Donnelly

Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly Giveaway!

Book cover Deep Blue Jennifer Donnelly

The first in a series of epic tales set in the depths of the ocean, where six mermaids seek to protect and save their hidden world.

Deep in the ocean, in a world not so different from our own, live the merpeople. Their communities are spread throughout the oceans, seas, and freshwaters all over the globe.

When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be winning the love of handsome Prince Mahdi. And yet Sera finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin’s arrow poisons Sera’s mother.

Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin’s master and prevent a war between the Mer nations. Led only by her shadowy dreams, Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world’s very existence.

 

Linkage for the book: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Waterfire Saga 

Linkage for Jennifer Donnelly: Website | Twitter

Linkage for Hyperion Teen: Tumblr | Twitter

Thanks to the awesome people at Disney, I’ve got a pretty sweet giveaway lined up for you guys to celebrate the release of the most excellent Jennifer Donnelly’s new book, DEEP BLUE, the first book in the new Waterfire Saga series! HUZZAH!

First of all, look at how awesome this prize pack is!

Deep Blue Jennifer Donnelly prize pack

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Couple things: There are TWO prize packs–TWO!–in this giveaway, so there’s double the chance that you could be the lucky winner! Well, you could be one of two lucky winners as long as you live in the US and are 13 or over. THEN you have double the chance to win. Which is awesome!

Jennifer Donnelly

ABOUT JENNIFER DONNELLY

Jennifer Donnelly is an award-winning author of both adult and young adult books, including Deep Blue, the first book in the Waterfire Saga. For adults she has written a trilogy of best-selling books that includes The Tea Rose, The Winter Rose, and The Wild Rose. Her first young adult novel, A Northern Light, received many accolades, among them the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Carnegie Medal in the UK, and a Michael L. Printz Honor. Her second young adult novel, Revolution, was named a Best Book of 2010 by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal, and the audiobook received a 2011 American Library Association Odyssey Honor. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.

Adventures Through Awkwardness | April | Historical Fiction

middle grade challenge

Adventures Through Awkwardness: Historical Fiction!

Sorry that this post is late, friends. WAHHH! HOST FAIL! Please don’t take it to mean that I don’t love historical fiction MGs as much as the next girl because, hello, I love them. I wish I read more of them, but I love them nonetheless.

You know the drill: You can read and review any middle grade historical fiction novel this month. It can be new or old. I’ve got a few recs comin’ atcha, and at the end of the month (or maybe a little later because I took too long to get this post up), one lucky winner will get their pick of one of them! YAY!

[Read more…]

Book Review + Giveaway: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Book cover for Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Siege and Storm
Author: Leigh Bardugo (web | twitter)
Series: The Grisha Trilogy #2
Genre: Fantasy YA
Amazon | Goodreads
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Source: Borrowed an ARC from Tara

Summary: Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

 

[Read more…]

Book Review + Giveaway | The Raven Boys | Maggie Stiefvater

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review + Giveaway | The Raven Boys | Maggie StiefvaterThe Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Published by Scholastic on September 18, 2012
Genres: Paranormal YA, Urban Fantasy YA, Young Adult
Pages: 409
Format: ARC
Also in this series: The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Also by this author: The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Source: the publisher
AmazonBarnes & NobleGoodreads
five-stars

There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

[Read more…]

Book Review + Giveaway: The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini

Book cover for The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini

Title: The Other Normals

Author: Ned Vizzini

Genre: Fantasy YA, Contemporary YA, gaming

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release date: September 25, 2012

Amazon | Goodreads

Source: ARC from the publisher

Summary: The Other Normals centers on 15-year-old Peregrine “Perry” Eckert, who’s seriously obsessed with an uber-dorky role-playing game called Creatures & Caverns. Concerned about his stunted social skills and need for fresh air, Perry’s parents decide to ship him off to summer camp to become a man. He anticipates the worst summer of his life until he arrives at camp and stumbles into the World of the Other Normals, a place where his nerdy childhood may serve him well — but not without connecting with the real world first.

[Read more…]

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble

Visit Rachel: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Check the other stops on the tour!

[Read more…]

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

book cover for Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig Title: Pretty Crooked

Author: Elisa Ludwig (Twitter | Website)

Series: Pretty Crooked, #1

Genre: Contemporary YA

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release date: March 13, 2012

Source: Lit Logistics Blog Tour! (Check these ladies out!)

Trailer: WATCH ME!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads

Summary: Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan.

But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

[Read more…]

Guest Post + Giveaway: Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

 Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Visit Julianne: Twitter | Website

Guys!! It’s my first guest post! I’m thrilled to have Julianne Donaldson, the author of EDENBROOKE, as my first guest poster! I loved her book, and I LOVE historical romances, but most importantly for THIS post, I LOVED LOVED LOVED Philip! He got me wondering: Who was Julianne’s favorite historical romance hero? She was awesome enough to answer!

I have loved many heroes, but I have a special weakness for a real gentleman. With an English accent, please! It’s hard to choose a favorite heroic gentleman from literature, because there are so many good ones. Jane Austen alone supplied us with several fine specimens to choose from. Of course Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice is a given (especially when played by Colin Firth).  I love Mr. Darcy’s line, “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” He has all of this restrained passion going on, at battle with his better judgment, and his passion wins. As powerful and influential as he is, he cannot resist Elizabeth’s charms and his growing love for her. Emma is probably next in line, featuring the stalwart Mr. Knightley, who never wavers from doing the right thing. He offers that great “boy next door” charm. His proposal is so sweet, especially when he tells Emma, “if I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” But let’s not forget Captain Wentworth from Persuasion, who writes the BEST love letter. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope….I have loved none but you…” (sigh) So many passionate, strong, and good men to choose from! I can’t pick a favorite–I’ll just have to claim all three.

Thanks so much, Julianne!! EDENBROOKE really was super enjoyable and a fantastic romance. Because the people at Shadow Mountain OBVIOUSLY love this book as much as I did, they’ve sent me an ARC to give away to one of you guys!

 Win an ARC of Edenbrooke!

  • Be at least 13 years old.
  • Live in the US–sorry rest of the world! 🙁
  • Respond to my, “HEY! You won Edenbrooke! Do a happy dance!” email within 48 hours or someone else will be happy dancing instead.
  • Tweet about this giveaway. Anything you like, just @ me in your tweet and link to this page and we’re good. 🙂

The giveaway closes at 11:59 PM on FRIDAY, APRIL 13!! Winner will be selected at random and emailed. Of course, NONE of the information you submit to me will be shared with anyone EVER.