Waiting on Wednesday (#27)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

Title: Briar Rose
Author: Jana Oliver
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Released: 12th September 2013

A dark and sexy reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale from the author of THE DEMON TRAPPERS.

For Briar Rose, life is anything but a fairy tale. She's stuck in a small town in deepest Georgia with parents who won't let her out of their sight, a bunch of small-minded, gossiping neighbours and an evil ex who's spreading nasty rumours about what she may or may not have done in the back of his car. She's tired of it all, so when, on her sixteenth birthday, her parents tell her that she is cursed and will go to sleep for a hundred years when the clock strikes midnight, she's actually kind of glad to leave it all behind. She says her goodbyes, lies down, and closes her eyes . . . And then she wakes up. Cold, alone and in the middle of the darkest, most twisted fairy tale she could ever have dreamed of. Now Briar must fight her way out of the story that has been created for her, but she can't do it alone. She never believed in handsome princes, but now she's met one her only chance is to put her life in his hands, or there will be no happy ever after and no waking up.

I love my sleep - like, seriously love it, as long as it means I can stay up as late as I want and sleep in as late as I want - so sleeping for a hundred years seemed like an amazing idea at first.  Thinking on it, though, I'd much rather be able to sleep just for a week or two.  I like that this is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, which is really a bonus because as soon as I saw the author it was automatically added to my TBR.  Thank goodness September isn't too far away! (*She says, refusing adamantly to think about studies*)

Release Day: Excerpt & Giveaway: Take Me Now

Title: Take Me Now (Take Me Now, #1)
Author: Faith Sullivan
Expected release date: 16th July, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Ebook available at: Kindle | Nook ($2.99) 





How do you survive the internship from hell?

Don't fall in love.

Ivy thought being a reporter-in-training at the Independent Gazette would be her dream summer job. Little did she know, interviewing Eric, a landscaper with a heart of gold, would derail her plans. It turns out Ivy's boss, Lauren, has been eying his chiseled physique for quite some time.

But at twenty-four, Eric already has a tragic past, one that he is still reeling from. Even though his ordeal turned him into some sort of local celebrity, it's been a while since he's shared his bed with anyone. When he comes to Ivy's rescue out of the blue, it's not long before the two of them start seeing each other behind Lauren's back. When they get caught, Ivy's journey toward a college degree is jeopardized and her relationship with Eric is severely put to the test.

Career versus love? In the end, a shocking turn of events provides Ivy with a revelation she never saw coming.

Excerpt:

 

If only I were open to the possibility of romance, but I'm not.  There's no way I can be.  There are circumstances that can't be wished away or ignored.  My heart's not ready - not yet.  And while this absolutely gorgeous girl has wandered into my life, I'm not going to act on it.  It's too soon.

    I stride into my shop, gently placing her on the counter.  Her feet are bleeding and she looks like she could use a drink of water.  She's covered in dust from the road but she looks adorable sitting there.  I don't know what it's like to be in a scenario like this with a girl.  I'm used to things being straightforward and laid out before me.  This looks like something I could easily get lost in if I'm not careful.

    We still haven't said a word to each other, and I hate to break the silence but it can't be avoided.  "Rest here a minute.  I'll be right back."

    Her hand lingers on my upper arm, her thumb massaging my bicep.  I exhale heavily, trying desperately to clear my head.   Her touch is stirring things inside me I haven't experienced in quite some time.  Emotions I never thought I'd feel again.  "Thank you," she whispers, her eyes never leaving mine.

    "No problem," I try to say as casually as possible.  She's looking at me like I'm her knight in shining armor and I don't want her to get the wrong idea.  I can't go down that road again.  I just can't.  My soul isn't fully healed from the last time.  I can't trust myself in these kinds of situations.  I need to back away as gracefully as I can.

 

Other New Adult contemporary romances by Faith Sullivan! 

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Author Links: Blog | Amazon | Twitter | Goodreads

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Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Wings

Today we are super excited to share the cover to WINGS, the third and final book in author's Elizabeth Richard's BLACK CITY series!

Check out this beauty! 

Wings (Black City #3) by Elizabeth Richards

 

Get the first two books in the series! 

OPEN INTERNATIONAL!!!

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Cover Reveal: Off Course

Title: Off Course

Author: Sawyer Bennett

Released: August 4, 2013

Genre: Contemporary

Age Group: New Adult

Cover designed by : Vitalink  

Renner Caldwell has her life perfectly mapped out. She has the ideal relationship, the perfect job and all is right in her world. When a shameful turn of events happens, she boards the first plane bound for Ireland to lick her wounds and get her head back on straight. Cillian O’Braidagh is the sexy, front man to the Irish rock band, Over The Edge. His rising fame and sultry voice make him every woman’s fantasy come true. Not to mention his single-minded determination. To put it simply: what Cillian wants, Cillian always gets. And he wants Renner, because there’s just something about the flame-haired beauty he has to possess. If their relationship was just about sex and rock n’ roll, it would be easy for them to get lost in their desires. Only their relationship is anything but a hook-up. Will lies, deceit and hidden tragedy get in the way, making the path to true love uncertain? Or will the girl whose been knocked Off Course, find her footing with the man who is teaching her it’s okay to lose control?    

About the Author
USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett, is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

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Review: A Really Awesome Mess

Title: A Really Awesome Mess
Author: Trish Cook, Brendan Halpin
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Released: 23rd July 2013
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

On the surface, A Really Awesome Mess doesn't look like it has much to boast about.  And despite my love of contemporaries, it's not necessarily something that I would usually go for.  But there was a small part of me that was curious and, as often happens when it comes to me and books, that small spark of curiosity was enough to prompt me to read this.  Now I can say that I have absolutely no regrets, because this proved to cover a multitude of issues, present interesting character relationships and be completely hilarious all at once.

Welcome to Heartland Academy, a reform school in the middle of nowhere meant to deal with a whole range of mental health, emotional and other issues, from anger management to eating disorders to compulsive lying to addictions to suicidal tendencies and more.  In Heartland Academy we meet six key people - Emmy and Justin are the two protagonists, yet alongside them are four friends, and it is through all of these characters that Cook and Halpin explore such issues.  These were managed nicely so that they interwove together; while all these problems weren't explored in detail - indeed, there were too many of them for that to happen - it was still enough for me to appreciate them and what the characters were going through.  There were also layers created, particularly in Emmy's case: just when I thought I knew about her life and why she felt the way she did, I learned something else about her.

I thought the authors had also done a remarkable job with the characters in bringing them alive and making me connect with them all.  Admittedly I was annoyed at certain times, but the more I read the less this was so.  For me, the last third or so of the book was the strongest, at least in terms of character relationships.  I loved watching them all work together, encouraging each other to work past their issues and really come to be friends.  The plotline this took place around was undeniably ridiculous - several times I stopped to reflect on what exactly was happening and why these characters were working together - but it was so funny and actually not at all bothersome, that I just accepted it and read on.  I had this near-constant grin on my face, and I was content to just be along for the ride, however unlikely it was.

A Really Awesome Mess turned out to be a quick, almost surprisingly enjoyable read.  I usually like my books dark and emotional, yet this somehow turned out to be a mix of emotional and quite funny, one that was strangely compelling in this case.  I'm definitely glad I decided to give this one a go.

Waiting on Wednesday (#26)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming features we can't wait to get our hands off.  Here's mine for this week!

Title: Project Cain
Author: Geoffrey Girad
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young
Released: 3rd September 2013

Fifteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff’s life changes forever when the man he’d thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called ‘Project CAIN’.

There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer’s DNA. There are others like Jeff—those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time: The Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy . . . even other Jeffrey Dahmer clones. Some raised, like Jeff, in caring family environments; others within homes that mimicked the horrific early lives of the men they were created from.

When the most dangerous boys are set free by the geneticist who created them, the summer of killing begins. Worse, these same teens now hold a secret weapon even more dangerous than the terrible evil they carry within. Only Jeff can help track the clones down before it’s too late. But will he catch the ‘monsters’ before becoming one himself?

Whoa.  This sounds just the tiniest bit creepy with the geneticist, but I seriously want to read this and meet Jeff.  This sounds quite dark, and I have to say (because I can't seem to refrain myself at all anymore) that cover is just perfect.  So yes, I am in insta-lust with this one.

Let me know what you guys are counting down the days for this week!

Cover Reveal: Take Me Now

Hey, guys!  Today I'm super happy to be a part of the cover reveal for Faith Sullivan's Take Me Now!  I couldn't wait to see what this cover looked like, and as soon as I saw it I loved it.  Everything about it, from the models to the fonts to the shading, just work together.  What do you guys think?

 

 

Take Me Now (Take Me Now #1)

by Faith Sullivan

Release Date: 16th July 2013

Summary from Goodreads:

How do you survive the internship from hell?

 

Don't fall in love.

Ivy thought being a reporter-in-training at the Independent Gazette would be her dream summer job. Little did she know, interviewing Eric, a landscaper with a heart of gold, would derail her plans. It turns out Ivy's boss, Lauren, has been eying his chiseled physique for quite some time.

But at twenty-four, Eric already has a tragic past, one that he is still reeling from. Even though his ordeal turned him into some sort of local celebrity, it's been a while since he's shared his bed with anyone. When he comes to Ivy's rescue out of the blue, it's not long before the two of them start seeing each other behind Lauren's back. When they get caught, Ivy's journey toward a college degree is jeopardized and her relationship with Eric is severely put to the test.

Career versus love? In the end, a shocking turn of events provides Ivy with a revelation she never saw coming.

Get to know Erik and Ivy!

***Author Links***