Waiting On Wednesday #14: Awake At Dawn, by C.C. Hunter

This is a weekly book meme, hosted by

Jill at Breaking the Spine,

which features future releases that we book bloggers

are eagerly anticipating!

My pick for this week is Awake At Dawn,

by C.C. Hunter.

Awake At Dawn

(Shadow Falls #2)

C.C. Hunter

Trade Paperback, 400 pages

St. Martin's Griffin

Expected Publication: October 11, 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

Now that she’s settled in at Shadow Falls Camp, Kylie Galen’s determined to discover the extent of her supernatural abilities.  But with a ghost insisting someone Kylie loves is about die, a rogue vampire on a murdering rampage, and her sixth sense telling her someone is watching her, Kylie’s quest for answers is quickly put on hold. 

To make matters worse, just when she’s about to give her heart to Derek, a half-fairy, he starts pulling away.  When Lucas, a werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past, returns, Kylie’s feels more conflicted than ever...

Doesn't this sound terrific? 

Well, I do have to read Born At Midnight (Shadow Falls #1)

first, but I know I'll love that one,

so why not wish for the sequel? 

I just love being a bibliophile!! 

What fantabulous books are you all

eagerly awaiting this week?

NEW BOOK MEME/BLOG HOP: On My Bookshelves #1

This is a new book meme/blog hop 

I'm starting today!

From what I've seen on other blogs, the emphasis for book memes seems to be on books that are to be released in the near future, have just been released, or haven't been purchased yet by the bloggers participating in the memes.  These are perfectly good themes to use, and I am by no means knocking them. 

However...what about those books which we so desperately bought, only to put them on our shelves, and then apparently forgot? (Horrors!!)  What's going on with them?  That's the reason for my new book meme.  I'm sure I'm not the only one in the book bloggiverse who has unread books sitting on my shelves, books I'm not even aware that I own, since I have so many!!  I want to remind myself about them, so as to be sure to read them!

So I went over to a bookcase a while ago, and looked it over, pulling out some books.  This was accompanied by much head-shaking and 'tsk-ing'.  I just couldn't believe it...

If this situation rings a bell for you, then feel free to join in the fun!!  "On My Bookshelves" will appear every Saturday.  Just take several minutes to go through a book shelf or two, select some books you especially want to read, grab my button (or make your own), and write your own post.  Then, leave the link to your post in the comments section, since I don't have a Mr. Linky widget...yet!

Here's my very first list!

Yours For Eternity

Hannah Howell, Alexandra Ivy,

Kaitlin O'Riley

Trade Paperback, 304 pages

Kensington

August 24, 2010

Genre: Paranormal Romance

This is a collection of three stories by each of these well-known paranormal authors. 

The first one, titled "Highland Blood", by Hannah Howell, presents Adeline Dunbar, a woman who is attacked by a group of demon hunters, and is rescued by the very attractive vampire Lachann MacNachton.  (Och, those Scottish lads!)

"Taken By Darkness", by Alexandra Ivy, tells the story of Juliet Lawrence, who has inherited magical powers deemed quite useful by Victor, Marquess DeRosa, who happens to be London's most powerful vampire.  But that's not all Victor wants from Juliet...

In the story "Immortal Dreams", by Kaitlin O'Riley, widow Grace Sutton has been dreaming of a very handsome man, only to meet him in the flesh one day.  He is Stuart Phillips, Lord Radcliffe, who has been searching for her for more than a century...

Steel

Carrie Vaughn

Hardcover, 294 pages

HarperTeen

March 1, 2011

Genres: YA Fantasy, Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

Sundays At Tiffany's

James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet

Hardcover, 309 pages

Little, Brown & Company

April 28, 2008

Genre: Paranormal Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

As a little girl, Jane has no one. Her mother Vivienne Margaux, the powerful head of a major New York theater company has no time for her. But she does have one friend--Michael--and no one can see him but her. But Michael can't stay with Jane forever, and on her eighth birthday, her imaginary friend must leave her.

When Jane is in her thirties, working for her mother's company, she is just as alone as she was as a child. Then she finds Michael--handsome, and just the same as she remembers him, only now he's not imaginary. For once in her life, Jane is happy--and has someone who loves her back.

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen

Trade Paperback, 416 pages

HarperTeen

March 1, 2011

Genres: Classics, Literary Fiction, Romance

This immortal Austen classic follows the story of two very different sisters, Marianne and Elinor Dashwood.  Marianne is very impulsive and romantic, and falls hard for John Willoughby, whom Elinor warns her against.  Of course Marianne pursues the romance nevertheless.  Her more sensible sister, meanwhile, is herself disappointed in love, and strives to conceal the fact from her family.

Goodreads:  "Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love."

What books have you apparently

forgotten you own,

and have yet to read?

On My Wishlist #14

This is a fun weekly event hosted by

Carolyn and Laura at  Book Chick City,

 and runs every Saturday.

Each participating blogger features books 

s/he hasn't actually bought yet,
but desperately wants to read!!

These books can be either newly-published,

to be released in the near future,

or in print for several years.

If you'd like to know more, just click HERE.

In my particular case, any books I place

on my wish list are strictly the print versions,

since I do not read ebooks. 

Here are my choices for this week!

Crave

Melissa Darnell

Trade Paperback, 416 pages

Harlequin Teen

Expected Publication: October 18, 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

Savannah Colbert has been shunned all her life by the kids of the Clann. And when she undergoes some drastic changes after a strange illness, Savannah learns secrets about the group and about herself—dangerous secrets. For the Clann are powerful magic users, and Savannah herself is half Clann and half vampire—a forbidden, unheard of combination. Falling for Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman isn't just a bad idea—it could be deadly if anyone finds out. But her attraction to Tristan—and his to her—isn't something either of them can resist for long.

Isle of Night

Veronica Wolff

Trade Paperback, 320 pages

NAL Trade

September 6, 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she's whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. To survive and become a Watcher, Annelise has to beat out every other girl, but she's determined to do so, because to fail doesn't mean dishonor-it means death.

The Gathering Storm

Robin Bridges

Hardcover, 400 pages

Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Expected Publication: January 10, 2012

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

These are all so very interesting!
Two of them feature my favorite supernatural creatures:
vampires.
The other one is about 19th-century Russia,
which I absolutely love,
since I'm a big fan of Russian literature of that time.
(I adore Crime and Punishment, by Dostoevsky,
for instance!)

I can at least get the second book already,
since it's just been published!
So...on to Amazon!!



What wonderful books are you all
wishing for this week?

Book Review: Vampire Crush, by A.M. Robinson

Title: Vampire Crush
Author: A.M. Robinson
Format: Trade Paperback, 416 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: Dec. 28, 2010
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance, Vampire Romance



I picked up this book at a huge, beautiful Barnes & Noble several miles from my house, one rather boring Sunday afternoon, not too long ago.  Having become addicted to YA fiction (thanks to The Twilight Saga and the Harry Potter series), I was in search of something in that genre, preferably a paranormal romance.  When I came across this book, I thought the title was a bit too 'cutesy' at first, but went ahead and bought the book anyway, on pure whim.  And...am I glad I did, because this novel is a total delight!  It reminds me of the works of two paranormal authors who write funny vampire fiction -- Kerrelyn Sparks and Lynsay Sands.  Robinson does for the young adult paranormal genre what Sparks and Sands have done for the adult version, and she does it very well, too. 

The book's narrator, Sophie McGee, wants nothing more than to be the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper at Thomas Jefferson High School.  Unfortunately, she has to impress Mr. Amado, her journalism teacher, whose ideas for the paper are not quite as lofty as hers.  Furthermore, she has a rival -- Lindsay Allen, the dynamic Student Council president.

Both girls end up getting the same assignment as the school year begins -- to interview a group of new students who have all registered in the same grade.  Sophie's dreams of journalistic glory are dashed, but she must take on the assignment if she hopes to be considered for the editor-in-chief position.  She has to interview four of the students, Marisabel Jones, Violet Martin, Neville Smith, and Vlad Smithson.  (The last student's name is a very obvious hint...)

Completing her task turns out to be quite a project though, as the students prove to be strangely elusive.  Vlad is especially so.  Still, Sophie, persists, hoping against hope that she'll be able to get her article in to Mr. Amado before Lindsay does.

Sophie soon discovers that Vlad is the acknowledged leader of the new students, who tend to band together, and immediately strike Sophie as being rather odd, as well as untrustworthy.  She's therefore unpleasantly surprised by Vlad's sudden interest in her stepsister, Caroline.  So is Marisabel, who is supposedly Vlad's own stepsister.  

The possible future editor-in-chief can smell a rather large rat, but, since she's been told not to attempt any journalistic investigation, she refrains from doing so -- at first.  The plot will inevitably lead her in that direction, however.  

Sophie has a bit more success with Violet, who sticks out like a sore thumb, due to her peculiar fashion sense and quirky, air headed manner.  She and Sophie become friends right away, though, as Violet starts to pump Sophie for information on dealing with unrequited crushes.  Sophie gives her a copy of Seventeen magazine, which Violet eagerly pounces on.  From then on, Violet will depend on the advice she devours in teen magazines, taking it so seriously that the reader has frequent attacks of hilarity as the novel develops.  

And then, there's "a blast from the past".  James Hallowell, Sophie's childhood friend, who used to steal her sandwiches in fourth grade, and once buried one of her flip-flops in his backyard, returns.  Except that he's somehow different...

There are at least a couple of genuinely scary moments in this hilarious vampire tale, naturally, but the overall tone remains lighthearted.  Sophie finally finds out that the new kids are vampires, and Vlad is on a very weird quest, one that will benefit only one person -- himself.  Inexplicably, he has convinced the other vampires to help him.  He becomes more and more dictatorial as the story unfolds, until at last they turn against him.  By this time, he has already broken up with Caroline, inflicting a lot of heartache on her, and even causing a rift between her and Sophie, whom Caroline ends up blaming for the breakup.

How Vlad's incredibly ridiculous quest turns out, and how the renewed friendship between Sophie and James begins to transform into something deeper, is part of what makes this book so enjoyable.  The other parts include the characterization, which is very credible, and the sharp, witty dialogue, as well as Sophie's narrative style.  Sophie herself is a very engaging character -- smart, funny, and determined to get that newspaper staff position, but yet, with an independent streak that would, in spite of her teacher's assessment, make her a fine investigative journalist. 

I kept turning the pages, taking little breaks here and there, because I kept cracking up over the very funny comments, as well as Sophie's thoughts in regards to the unfolding events.

Here are some comical references to a certain famous vampire series:

"Marisabel just shrugs, rolling on her back to stare up at an open copy of Twilight.

'This is not right at all," she says.  'Edward is dreamy, though.  Maybe you could get some tips.'"  (She's speaking to Vlad, who is very arrogant and self-absorbed.)

"You, uh, sparkle?"  I try again.  "I mean, now that I think about it, I've seen you in the sun and there doesn't seem to be any glitter action."  (Sophie speaking to James.)

I will have to check the author's website to see if she's planning a sequel.   The book does seem to be a stand-alone novel, but you never know...  If a second one is forthcoming, I will most certainly buy it, because I need to know what happens with Sophie and James!  And I need to know it as soon as Ms. Robinson can get that book out into her eager public's hands!! 


MY RATING:

Waiting On Wednesday #13: Carrier of the Mark, by Leigh Fallon

This is a weekly book meme, hosted by

Jill at Breaking the Spine,

which features future releases that we book bloggers

are eagerly anticipating!

My pick for this week is Carrier of the Mark,

by Leigh Fallon.

Carrier of the Mark

Leigh Fallon

Paperback, 352 pages

HarperTeen

Expected Publication: Oct. 4, 2011

Genre: Paranormal Romance

From the Goodreads Synopsis

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

I've heard so much about this book!

Well, it won't be long now...

I'm still on pins and needles, though!

What books are you all eagerly waiting on

this week?