Waiting on Wednesday -- Cruel Beauty

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  

 
This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is Cruel Beauty. 

The Winner's Curse

by Rosamund Hodge
Publication date: January 28th, 2014 (yes, that was yesterday--but I somehow forgot to use it on a WoW post, so here it is anyway!)

From Goodreads:

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

**Also, the lovely ladies Hafsah and Asma did a dual review of it, and I enjoyed it so much, I had to share. Check it out HERE.

Top Ten Characters I'd NEVER Want To Trade Places With

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at
 The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is:

Top Ten Characters I'd NEVER 

Want to Trade Places With:

(I didn't do photos, but each title is linked to Goodreads so you can check out the blurbs and whatnot.) 

1) Thomas from The Maze Runner. Waking up in some sort of elevator shaft only to be in this weird place with guys who talk weird and then a girl and a maze and and and... um, no thanks.

2) Cheyenne from Girl, Stolen. Oh goodness. To not only be taken with a stolen car, but be a blind girl taken with a stolen car? Ack! And she did an amazing job of taking care of herself. Loved it, but I am not sure I would have done as good of a job as did.

3) Gemma from Stolen: A Letter to My Captor. There was so much crazy in this book. And I fell for the guy. Fell! (Can we say, crazy?) But to be Gemma? And actually go through that? This girl was so strong, but. No thanks. 

4) Mary from The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Surrounded by Unconsecrateds (zombies)? Seeing your own mother turn before your very eyes? And then everyyyyyything that happens after that? Nope nope nope.

5) Jude from Jude by Kate Morgenroth. The guy just can't catch a break for so long. I felt for him, over and over, and wanted to invite him over to my house and make him a big dinner and just show him love. (Me being a mom, I guess.)

6) Matteo from The House of the Scorpion. This kid was treated horribly. He went through so much and even though things did change, I wouldn't want to have lived his life. Ever. 

7) Arn from Never Fall Down. This book was based on a true story about Arn Chorn-Pond, and Patricia McCormick told it amazingly well. Broke my heart. Over and over. It's amazing how resilient we humans are. This book makes me want to hug every single refugee in this entire world for the rest of my life.

8) Anyone from the False Memory series: Miranda, Peter, Noah or Olive. Because you aren't who you think you are, ever, and how would it feel to have that sucked away from you over and over and over again? 

9) Rose from Rose Under Fire. Being in a concentration camp, not to mention everything else she and the others were subjected to? Let's just say my heart broke for everyone who actually had to go through that in real life. There are no words.

10) Simon Glass from Shattering Glass. This story. Man. What a mess. And yeah, definitely wouldn't want to be poor Glass.

**Also, why don't we just throw in every single kid who's ever been unwound in the entire Unwind Dystology? (And the clappers, too!) 'Cause... yeah... no thank you!

IF I SPEAK TRUE is finally here! Blog tour schedule, #giveaway info + behind the (craft) scenes

Me. I call this "The Excited Shuffle".

Today is If I Speak True's "official" release day, which means that the blog tour has officially begun! *does shuffle*

Here's some of the swag I've been accumulating for the giveaways (US and International) including the totes Katie made and the buttons Hafsah made for me, too:

 

Close up of the buttons --
those are actual pages from the book!

Also, Katie--not to be confused with Kate, my blog tour lady--who made the totes for the giveaway (I almost said, Katie, who totes made the totes for the giveaway... Aren't you glad I refrained myself???) has a post up on her (amazing) blog regarding her method for making them. You can check it out HERE. (She also has a ton of really cool craft ideas--you might want to look around a little!) 

Last, I thought I'd share the schedule here so you can check out the various posts throughout the next two weeks (and show the lovely bloggers who so graciously offered to feature If I Speak True some major love). A big shout-out to Kate who scheduled everything (that's her badge below, isn't it the cutest?)--thanks so much for everything you did to get this going, milady!

Blog Tour Schedule

January 27^th – Kristalyn Thornock at The Sarcastic Palmtree (Release Day/DVD giveaway)
January 27^th – Cassandra at Cassandra Lost in Books (Release Day)
January 27^th – Meg at Book Groupies (Release Day)
January 28^th – Kaitlin at Reading is My Treasure (Review)
January 28^th – Lisa at Dizneeee's World of Books
January 29^th – Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (Author Interview)
January 29^th – Cheyanne at Cheyanne Young (Author interview)
January 30^th – Eugenia at Chasm of Books (Author Interview and Review)
January 31^st – Jenna (JL) at Avid Reader Musings (Writing Playlist)
January 31^st – Ella Johnson at Mymcbooks Blog (Spotlight/giveaway)
February 1^{rd --} Eugenia at Chasm of Books (Shaver dream cast)
February 3^rd – Heather Rosdol at Buried in Books (Review)
February 3^rd – Rachel at The NerdHerd Reads (Ambrosia Dreamcast)
February 4^th – Penny at One Writer's Journey (Author Interview)
February 5^th – Beverly at The Wormhole (Author interview and book promo spot)
February 5^th – Kaycee at My Crafty Zoo (Deleted scene and recipe)
February 6^th – Kimberly Lim at Kim's Reading Lounge (Review)
February 6^th – Dianne at Oops! I Read A Book Again (Review)
February 7^th – Janie Junebug at Women: We Shall Overcome (Guest Post)
February 7^th – Jodie at Books for Company (Lyrics written for If I Speak True)
February 7^th -- Colleen at Cici's Theories (Plant meanings and their correlations to the characters)

Thanks so much for celebrating this with me, guys! Hope to see you around on the tour, and don't forget to enter the giveaways! :D

Be blessed, 

Jessica

LOTS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS -- this week's writerly news

Just a quick warning: This post is going to be full of exclamation points. (!!!!!) 

Hey, all! It's Friday! Which means that, in a couple of days, If I Speak True's blog tour will begin! This is me right now:

And guess what? Both the ebook AND paperback are already available on Amazon! (Please again refer to the above gif.) (link) 

Also, today the giveaway on Goodreads finally appeared! (link) The giveaway is US only though--sorry guys--because the cost of mailing books is INSANE. (I will share the blog stops, though, throughout the tour, starting Monday, so ya'll can enter to win stuff here AND internationally that way.)

Another thing: the first review came in today--thanks, Beryl!!! (Do I need to mention the above gif?) (link)

There are only a couple more posts on my Tumblr If I Speak True photo-a-day feature... please check it out if you have a chance because the photos and excerpts really do give you a great visual of the storyline! (Remember to start at the first ever entry of the book's cover if this is the first time visiting, and work your way up and to the first page!) (link)

And, last but most certainly not least...

Though I haven't done this in YEARS... I am so excited about If I Speak True's release and the fact that Rowan's novella is almost done and the second book is well under way that I just HADDDDD to share an excerpt from the novella. (SQUEE) This is Rowan and Briscoe at Castle Lennox (Rowan's POV, obviously). Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress and has not yet been edited (or revised) so (minor) things will most likely be changed. Enjoy!

***

I wave my hand. “I was angry at first, I am not going to lie. You had no right to--”

“Yes, I know,” Briscoe interrupts, “and that is why I came today, to tell you--”

“Will you let me finish?”

He clamps his mouth shut and nods.

“You had no right to step in and tell Dahlia the severity of the situation," I continue, "Not because she does not deserve to know--we know she does, she is a part of Ambrosia... but with us being unsure how long it will be until she can come back, sending her home with more reasons to be concerned whilst there, unable to speak to anyone about it at all, is not the proper way to go. But..."

Briscoe's eyes widen. “Yes?”

“But once we arrived back last night, it occurred to me what you were doing. And for that, I am grateful.”

 “She needed to know," he says, sucking in a deep breath, "and you did not want her mad at you--”

“Well that did not exactly happen.” I rub my arm, and we both laugh. The tension dissipates, and I know Briscoe is back to being my brother again.

“But I knew you would not want all of that animosity aimed at you, for who knows how long.”

“I appreciate it. I am sorry for not recognizing it sooner.”

“It did make for a good show." Briscoe grins. He gets in my face and growls. “You are out of line!”

“I am sure I was not that dramatic.” I chuckle, shoving him away.

“No,” He rolls his eyes, “You were more.”

“One day, one day you will see, brother. A lady will look up at you through thick eyelashes of wonder and your heart will stop and your body will melt into pitch and you will lose all reason and want to follow her wherever she goes.”

“Is that what Dahlia makes you want to do? Follow her to Shaver?”

“Dahlia…” I set a hand on his shoulder. “Dahlia makes me want to bring her here and destroy both the Door and the Gate, so she can never leave again.”

***

Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for putting up with my exclamation points!!! 

Have a blessed weekend and see ya'll here on Monday! :D

Waiting on Wednesday -- The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  
  This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is  The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. 

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

by Leslye Walton
Publication date: March 25, 2014

From Goodreads:

Magical realism, lyrical prose, and the pain and passion of human love haunt this hypnotic generational saga.

Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird. In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration. That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo. First-time author Leslye Walton has constructed a layered and unforgettable mythology of what it means to be born with hearts that are tragically, exquisitely human.

Waiting on Wednesday -- Love Letters to the Dead

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.     This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is Love Letters to the Dead. 

Love Letters to the Dead

by Ava Dellaira
Publication date: April 1st, 2014

From Goodreads:

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

Teaser Tuesday #8 -- This Song Will Save Your Life

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:

* Grab your current read

* Open to a random page

* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! 

You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

* Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday 

participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teasers are from:

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales 

Teaser #1:

What happens is that, more than half a year later, your mother will ask you, in all seriousness, whether you would take a gun to school and shoot up the place.

Teaser #2: 

I stabbed my fork into my quinoa salad, then realized that 
stabbing probably made me look violent.

If I Speak True photo feature -- this week's writerly news

What I imagine to be Bluffs Beach in Ambrosia. See Crowe Island?

Hey all! :) Being as it's kinda crazy around here, I don't really have much of an update, other than to share that the feature I spoke of last week about posting daily photos/excerpts of If I Speak True on my Tumblr account is in full swing. (Yay!) If you'd like to check out the first five posts or simply follow it daily as I post but don't have/want a Tumblr account, click HERE at any time (this link will take you to those posts only)! 

Oh, and make sure to scroll down and start at the beginning, with the book cover!!!

Have a blessed and productive weekend, everyone! :D

Waiting on Wednesday -- Complicit

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.     This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is Complicit. 

Complicit

by Stephanie Kuehn
Publication date: June 24th, 2014

From Goodreads:

Two years ago, fifteen-year-old Jamie Henry breathed a sigh of relief when a judge sentenced his older sister to juvenile detention for burning down their neighbor's fancy horse barn. The whole town did. Because Crazy Cate Henry used to be a nice girl. Until she did a lot of bad things. Like drinking. And stealing. And lying. Like playing weird mind games in the woods with other children. Like making sure she always got her way. Or else.

But today Cate got out. And now she’s coming back for Jamie.

Because more than anything, Cate Henry needs her little brother to know this one simple truth: she’s not the crazy one and never has been.

He is.

Teaser Tuesday #7 -- Finnikin of the Rock

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:

* Grab your current read

* Open to a random page

* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! 

You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

* Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday 

participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teasers are from:

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Teaser #1:

Her body pressed against her yata, collapsing under the weight of her memories and grief as the names pored out of her mouth.

Teaser #2: 

The need to lie by her side and gather her to him 
was so fierce that it made him weak.

Celebrating a Blessed New Year & 200 followers + writerly news

Hello, everyone! Happy 2014!!!

I'm going to keep this post short because I'm sure everyone has tons of stuff going on (and I don't have a whole lot to say anyway), but I just had to say YAYYYYY because I have hit 200 followers! Woohoo! Took me a few years, but that's okay -- I appreciate every single one of you guys!

I had to add a She's the Man gif. Pretend this is
me embracing ya'll, all awkward-like. ;D
Because that's how I roll.

In celebration of IF I SPEAK TRUE's release later this month (and heck, also the whole 200 follower thing), PITY ISN'T AN OPTION's ebook is only 99 cents on Amazon!!! (Unless you purchase the paperback and do the Kindle Matchbook option where you get the paperback AND ebook -- in that case, the PIAO ebook is free!) So, if you've been debating whether or not to get to know Beanie and Hattie, well, now is the perfect time. (You can actually go straight to Amazon right over there ----> in the sidebar.) 

Speaking of Beanie (Jonas) and Hattie, verrrry early on first day of 2014, a whole bunch of ideas swarmed into my head about Jonas and Mercy Cove--where he ends up in book two--and it was so great! I am very excited to continue his journey. A lot of stuff happens and I know you'll fall in love with a couple of new characters just as much as I have! Plus, with so many ideas coming to me already, it's a picture of just how amazing this year is going to be, writerly-wise. Which is... AWESOME! I am very excited!!!

Last, (told you this was going to be short), come January 6th (technically Dahlia Kennedy's birthday), I will be doing something on Tumblr to commemorate IF I SPEAK TRUE coming out the 27th. Basically, each day from January 6th to January 27th, I'll be telling the story of IF I SPEAK TRUE in chronological order in photo form. So, if that sounds like something you'd enjoy, head over HERE and follow me (or just check this link out throughout the month). I've spent quite a bit of time trying to come up with just the right visuals, and hope you enjoy it!

Well I do believe that's it. I am looking forward to a wonderful year! Have a blessed weekend!

Waiting on Wednesday -- The Break-Up Artist

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.     This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is The Break-Up Artist. 

The Break-Up Artist

by Philip Siegel
Publication date: April 29th, 2014

From Goodreads:

Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash. Some work at the Gap. Becca Williamson breaks up couples. 



After watching her sister get left at the altar, Becca knows the true damage that comes when people utter the dreaded L-word. For just $100 via paypal, she can trick and manipulate any couple into smithereens. With relationship zombies overrunning her school, and treating single girls like second class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even her best friend Val has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend.

One night, she receives a mysterious offer to break up the homecoming king and queen, the one zombie couple to rule them all: Steve and Huxley. They are a JFK and Jackie O in training, masters of sweeping faux-mantic gestures, but if Becca can split them up, then school will be safe again for singletons. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date and wiggle her way back into her former BFF Huxley’s life – not to mention start a few rumors, sabotage some cell phones, break into a car, and fend off the inappropriate feelings she’s having about Val’s new boyfriend. All while avoiding a past victim out to expose her true identity.

No one said being the Break-Up Artist was easy.