Tuesday, June 30, 2015

To Be Read Tuesday

I have a zillion books on my TBR list, but I'm going to start with books I actually have, and therefore should be high on the list. (I keep telling myself I won't buy new books until I get through a bunch of the ones I have. But then I see a book I need.)

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Elizabeth Fanning’s life looks pretty perfect, judging by the diamond ring on her finger. Her fiancĂ©, Landon, is sweet, handsome, and hilarious. The trouble is, before they’ve even tied the knot, their sex life has gone from mind-blowing to “meh”—and Liz isn’t ready to be part of an old married couple. After a cathartic call to her best friend, Liz comes up with a brilliant idea. She and Landon may never be able to re-create the magic of their first time, but how amazing would their wedding night be if everything below the neck was off-limits until then?

Liz thinks it’ll bring them closer together. Landon’s convinced she’ll cave first. So they raise the stakes: Whoever lasts longer gets to pick their honeymoon destination. With her heart set on the Bahamas and Landon fighting for snowbound Utah, Liz simply has to win. But pretty soon, her body is screaming for attention, and Landon’s never seemed so far away. Has Liz’s experiment backfired? Losing their little competition would be frustrating—but the one thing she can’t afford to lose is him.

Why it's on my TBR list: I have pretty much loved everything Cassie Mae has written 
so all her books automatically land on my TBR list. 
Her writing is fun and witty, and her characters are real.
(Update: Okay, so I wrote this post last week and have since started this. So maybe it's not technically on my TBR list anymore, but it is very good so far!)



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Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal. 

Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.


Why it's on my TBR list: I think this book sounds fascinating. 
For one, I enjoy unreliable narrators. For two, I haven't read many books dealing with schizophrenia, and everything I've read says this book deals with it well.


If you want to add these books to your TBR list on Goodreads,
you can click the titles above. 

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

To Be Read Tuesday

Time for another TBR Tuesday! I'm sharing a couple more books from my pub-sisters today.

The Artisans


They say death can be beautiful. But after the death of her mother, seventeen-year-old Raven Weathersby gives up her dream of becoming a fashion designer, barely surviving life in the South Carolina lowlands.

To make ends meet, Raven works after school as a seamstress creating stunning works of fashion that often rival the great names of the day.

Instead of making things easier on the high school senior, her stepdad's drinking leads to a run in with the highly reclusive heir to the Maddox family fortune, Gideon Maddox.

But Raven's stepdad's drying out and in no condition to attend the meeting with Maddox. So Raven volunteers to take his place and offers to repay the debt in order to keep the only father she's ever known out of jail, or worse.

Gideon Maddox agrees, outlining an outrageous demand: Raven must live in his home for a year while she designs for Maddox Industries' clothing line, signing over her creative rights.

Her handsome young captor is arrogant and infuriating to the nth degree, and Raven can't imagine working for him, let alone sharing the same space for more than five minutes.

But nothing is ever as it seems. Is Gideon Maddox the monster the world believes him to be? And can he stand to let the young seamstress see him as he really is?


Why it's on my TBR list: It sounds all Beauty and the Beast and I LOVE that! And I think the fashion design stuff sounds really interesting too. I'm excited about this one! 

Pretty Dark Nothing (Pretty Dark Nothing, #1)


It’s been twenty three days since Quinn has slept for more than minutes at a time. Demons have invaded her dreams, stalking her, and whispering of her death. The lack of sleep and crippling fear are ruining her life. Energy drinks and caffeine pills don’t make a dent. When Quinn dozes off in the school hallway, Aaron, an amnesiac with a psychic ability, accidentally enters her nightmare. The demons are determined to keep them apart, and Aaron from discovering the secret locked away in his memory. Together, they could banish the darkness back to the underworld for good. That is, unless the demons kill them first.

Why it's on my TBR list: This sounds so creepy and good. Plus that cover is awesome. (I know it shouldn't matter, but it helps.) ;) This one has been on my TBR list for a while now, and I think it's time to move it up to the top. :) 

You can add these to your to be read list on Goodreads by clicking the titles above. :) 


Tuesday, June 16, 2015

To Be Read Tuesday!


I'm trying to get back into blogging, I swear! But so far I'm not doing so great. I decided to post every Tuesday about books on my TBR list. (Lord knows there are enough to last awhile.)

To kick it off I'm sharing some books from my pub-sisters. There are a ton of Swoon Romance, and Month9 books that I'm looking forward to reading, but I'm going to share two this week and two next week. :)









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Sixteen-year-old Zadie’s first mistake was telling the boy she liked she could bring her dead sister back to life. Her second mistake was actually doing it.


When Zadie accidentally messes with the Reaper’s Rite that should have claimed her sister Mara, things go horribly wrong. Mara isn’t the same anymore—Zadie isn’t even sure she’s completely human, and to top it off, a Reaper is determined to collect Mara’s soul no matter what. Now Zadie must figure out how to defeat her sister’s Reaper, or let Mara die … this time for good.


Why it's on my TBR list:

For one, I love sister stories. And the premise fascinates me. Will she be able to save her sister? Or will she have to let her go? I don't know about you, but I want to find out! 



Louder Than Words


Disappointment has been on speed dial in Ellen Grayson's life lately. Her dad died, her mom numbs the grief with drugs and alcohol, and her so-called friends have slowly abandoned her. 

Trusting a popular teacher with her troubles should have been safe and should NOT have led to an unwelcome seduction attempt that made her desperate to escape the final moments of Junior year. Lesson learned. Best to keep all the sordid details to herself and trust no one.

Enter Rex Jacobi, a cocky boy, recently transplanted from New York City and fellow summer camp employee. Though his quick wit and confidence draws her in, she can't let him get too close. And summer is just long enough and hot enough to keep a boy like that at arm's length.

But by the time Rex's charm wears down her resistance, it's too late. He's put Ellen on the "just friends" shelf and has shifted his romantic attentions to the impossibly annoying and perky anti-Ellen. Even worse, the teacher who tried to get her to sleep with him is still at it, preying on other girls while Ellen struggles to come to terms with what happened.

With her ability to trust as shaky as a chastity vow on prom night, Ellen must decide if she has enough remaining courage to speak up about the well-liked teacher and risk retribution, tell Rex how she really feels about him and risk heartbreak, or hold all her secrets inside. After all, it's the only safe place she knows when the only thing louder than words is the fear of being rejected.

Why it's on my TBR list:

This poor girl! I feel for her already. I love emotion-filled, 
character driven stories and this sounds like it will fit the bill.



I want to know what's on your to be read list! And if you want to add these books to 
your TBR list you can click the titles above to go to their GR page.











Thursday, June 4, 2015

I Missed IWSG.

Just realized that I missed IWSG. But I have a good excuse.

I spent Tuesday night in the hospital with my five year old and didn't get home until Wednesday night. She was having trouble walking and had to have a cat scan and MRI, but the good news is that those both looked fine and she is doing much better now!

So we're keeping a close eye on her, but everything looks good so far.

We've been packing to move and that's taken up most of my time lately. I did work on revisions for my last project and am now waiting to get notes back from beta readers right now. So I basically have done nothing writerly in a couple weeks. I'm beta reading for one of my cps, does that count? (It's very good, too.)

At the new house (assuming we every actually get there, the move keeps getting pushed back) I will have my own little office for the first time ever. I'm very excited about it. I plan to fill it with things that inspire creativity. :) Of course I might find that without the chaos of my family around me I can't write. Lol. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, it's been an interesting start to the summer if nothing else. How are things going for you? Have you had plenty of sunshine and good days? I hope so. :)