Waiting on Wednesday (9/21/11): Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Publication date: October 10, 2011  (Poppy)

As a dancer with the ultra-prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company, nineteen-year-old Hannah Ward juggles intense rehearsals, dazzling performances and complicated backstage relationships. Up until now, Hannah has happily devoted her entire life to ballet.

But when she meets a handsome musician named Jacob, Hannah's universe begins to change, and she must decide if she wants to compete against the other "bunheads" in the company for a star soloist spot or strike out on her own in the real world. Does she dare give up the gilded confines of the ballet for the freedoms of everyday life?

- Tabbyc

Waiting on Wednesday (8/10/11): Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I really, really loved Vampire Academy. Hoping this spin-off series won't be a disappointment! 

Publication date: August 23, 2011 (Razorbill)

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.

- Tabbyc

Waiting on Wednesday (7/13/2011): The Predicteds by Christine Seifert

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The Predicteds by Christine Seifert

Publication date: September 1st, 2011 

From Goodreads: 

Daphne is the new girl in town and is having trouble fitting in. At least she has Jesse... sort of. He wants to be more than "just friends," but there's something he's not telling her about his past. Something dangerous. When a female student is brutally attacked, police turn to PROFILE, a new program that can predict a student's capacity for drug use, pregnancy, and violent behavior, to solve the case. As the witch hunt ensues, Daphne is forced to question her feelings for Jesse-and what she will do if her first love turns out to be a killer.

- Tabbyc

Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt

Publication date: July 12th, 2011 (Simon Pulse)

Source: Simon & Schuster eGalley

Hannah is anticipating a perfectly normal summer, until she attends a fellow classmates party and things start to fall apart. She loses her boyfriend to a sophomore and her best friend announces she’s going away when she needs her the most. Sensing that Hannah is struggling with things, aforementioned best friend asks her own boyfriend to keep an eye on her, not expecting it to come back to bite her.

I was super excited to see this tacked onto the bottom of my Galley Grab newsletter. I think the cover is cute and the plot sounded pretty good. I expected to enjoy this -

But I didn’t. At first I thought that I would like the way it flopped from past to present, but it only managed to whisk away the element of surprise. The first hundred or so pages were really slow for me. Only when the truth about what happened between Hannah and Ava’s boyfriend comes to light did it even begin to be remotely interesting.

Not much can be said about the characters, as we aren’t really given a chance to get to know them. I know they all have relationship issues, though, and Hannah is a major drama queen. I do kind of get why she was attracted to Noah, as he seemed to be a good guy.

I was definitely caught off-guard with the ending. I was angry, because I thought I had been jipped a few pages; it was that abrupt. Then I thought, “Well maybe there’s going to be a sequel,” because I do have some unanswered questions. I can’t find mentions of a sequel anywhere.

Bottom line: Lauren went through a lot just to tell us that stuff happens and that we have to find a way to deal with it. This book does have mixed reviews, so you might want to check it out for yourself and tell us what you think. 

(2.5 out of 5)

- Tabbyc

Waiting on Wednesday (6/15/11): Burnout by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Burnout by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

Publication date: September 13, 2011 (Margaret K. McElderberry)

From Goodreads:

On the day after Halloween, Nan wakes up in a subway car. She is not dreaming. She doesn’t know where she’s been or what she’s done. She’s missing a whole day from her life. And she’s wearing skeleton makeup and a too-small Halloween costume that she doesn't remember putting on.

Nan is not supposed to wake up in places like this anymore. She’s different now, so far from that dangerously drunk girl who hit bottom in the Nanapocalypse. She needs to find out what happened to her, and fast. As she tries to put together the pieces of the last twenty-four hours, she flashes back to memories of her previous life. But she would never go back to her old friends and her old ways. Would she?

The deeper Nan digs, the more disturbing things get. This time, she may have gone one step too far. This time, she may be a walking ghost.

- Tabbyc

Waiting on Wednesday (6/1/2011): The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick is...

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder 

Publication date: June 28th, 2011 (Simon Pulse)

From Goodreads:

Amber’s life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he’s also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she’s drawn to him. And the more she’s troubled by his darkness. Because Cade’s not just living in the now—he’s living each moment like it’s his last.

- Tabbyc

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Combat Ops by David Michaels

Publication date: March 29, 2011 (Berkley)

Captain Scott Mitchell, leader of a unit in the elite fighting force known as the Ghosts, is sent to Afghanistan with his team. Their mission: to locate and kill or capture Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Zahed. Of course, this isn’t going to be an easy breach and clear mission and not just because Zahed is a top terrorist leader. Forces within Mitchell’s own comrades make things difficult for him to achieve his mission. With different missions clashing with Captain Simon Harruck and Mitchell’s own protegee Captain Fred Warris trying to undermine Mitchell’s control, Mitchell fights to keep his cool under pressure and to keep pressing forward with his mission.

For the most part, I liked this book but I would liked to have see more character development in the Ghost Leader and other characters in this book. However, it did do a very good job at being able to keep one on the edge of their seat, turning page after page. Although the novels are based on the Ghost Recon games, the novel has its own plot but it does share similar aspects with the game campaigns.

Besides the Army acronyms and such that are sometimes used, this novel still provides some of that raw grit and heart stopping action that war novels never lack.

“This is not the war you expected. This will never be the war you expected.”

(4 out of 5)

~ SynysterShadows

Waiting on Wednesday (5/25/11): Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

For my first Waiting on Wednesday post, I have picked... (drumroll)

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Publication date: ~July 19th, 2011 (MTV Books)

From Amazon:

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions—it’s her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family’s racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin’s college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a local coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment? 

Then, on the day she’s sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He’s joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin’s heart with longing. Now she’s not just imagining what might have been. She’s writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

What are you waiting for this Wednesday?

- Tabbyc

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Publication date: May 10, 2011 (Penguin)

  

Gus Sweet’s job keeps him busy reinventing local restaurants. His daughter Mclean on the other hand, is busy reinventing herself.

Sarah Dessen’s newest novel What Happened to Goodbye is Mm-Mm-Good to the last drop - warts and all. A public divorce having torn her family apart, Mclean chooses to tag along with her father as he moves from here to there flipping restaurants. Four towns in two years and they all know Mclean as an entirely different person. Once they reach Lakeview, however, she finds herself showing her true colors.

The budding romance between the main character and the boy next door is more of an added bonus. What Happened to Goodbye focuses mainly on the drama and such within the Sweet family, but the heaviness manages not to smother you. I laughed, in fact. It’s the perfect realistic fiction recipe.


It’s so easy to relate and fall in love with Sarah’s whimsical characters, so I’m loving how she has on more than one occasion pulled our old acquaintances into the new books. While not an all time favorite (see Along for the Ride), it definitely does not disappoint and should be given a chance from fans new and old.

"After all these years of just passing through, I was beginning to finally feel at home."

(4.5 out of 5)

- Tabbyc

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush #1)

Publication date: October 13, 2009 (Simon & Schuster)

At first glance, this book may seem like another Twilight. Being a fan of the Twilight series, when I read the blurb and the first couple of pages, I was strongly reminded of Twilight. A mythological creature, or in this case, a biblical creature, arrives at a regular school and starts talking to a normal, human girl. But as you read on, Hush, Hush shows that it is not just a Twilight look alike.

Fallen angel Patch arrives at a small school in Portland where he has Biology class with human girl Nora Grey. Very much like in Twilight with Edward and Bella, Patch begins to not so subtly flirt with the unsuspecting Nora. She finds herself being drawn to him for a reason unknown to her. Cue entrance of cute human boy. Nora finds herself in the middle of a love triangle. While in the middle of her teenage conundrum, she also finds that she is being followed and targeted by someone. Trying to figure out the mystery of her attacker, Nora is also trying to solve the mystery that is Patch.

One of the problems I had with the book was with how quickly it delved into building a relationship between Patch and Nora. While in the end Fitzpatrick makes it work, it was a bit odd that she would introduce the love interest in the first chapter..Other than that the other problems were more like pet peeves.

The fast pace movement of the plot had me turning page after page. Fitzpatrick certainly knows how to keep a reader interested and wanting to read the next installment in this series.

"One more secret smile. One more shared laugh. One more electric kiss. Finding him was like finding someone I didn't know I was searching for."

(4 out of 5)

~ SynysterShadows

Illusions by Aprilynne Pike [Coming Soon]

Attention Aprilynne Pike fans! Don't forget that the third installment in the Wings series comes out May 3rd!

Check out this summary taken from Goodreads:

Lauren hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Lauren is confident that David was the right choice.


But just as life is returning to normal, Lauren discovers that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Lauren must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Lauren cannot be sure that her side will prevail.

Team Tamani or Team David? Tell us below. If you haven't been following the series, now is your time to catch up. 

~ Wings ~

~ Spells ~

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Chemical Garden #1)

Publication date: March 22, 2011 (Simon & Schuster)

Lauren DeStefano’s debut novel, Wither, is the first in a trilogy of novels set in our future where, due to a genetic glitch, male and female are barely living to see their twenties. In order to keep the population from dying out completely, young women are being scooped up and forced to live polygamous lifestyles.

Her only concern being to escape her new mansion of a home and return to her twin brother, Rhine carefully plans her and a servants exit with the help of her sister wives while her father-in-law tries desperately to form a cure for “the virus” in his creepy basement.

With its beautiful cover and adamant main character, Wither was everything I expected it to be. The pace was slow enough for the reader to comprehend what was going on yet swift enough to keep you interested. I would have to say the ending was the only disappointment, and not just because part of me wanted Rhine to stay and look after her naive husband. While her previous attempt at escape had failed, and her escape was imminent, it seemed too easy. 

I’m truly curious to see what awaits her beyond the orange groves in the next installment as she and her new love interest sail homeward.

“Tell freedom I said hello.”

(4 out of 5)

- Tabbyc

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Publication date: May 22, 2007 (Penguin Group)

Imagine being a woman in Afghanistan who was allowed the freedom of going to school, helping your husband support the household financially, and being able to hold the same jobs men were allowed to hold. Now imagine that the next day those freedoms were stripped; women were supposed to cover everything save for their eyes when in public, they weren’t allowed to be out without a male relative or their husband, and they were supposed to stay home with the children.

These aren’t the only issues addressed by Hosseini in his book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Using his characters of Mariam and Laila, Hosseini shows the trials and obstacles that stand in the ways of modern Afghanistan women. He shows the injustice done to women not only in Afghanistan, but in many places around the world. With the depiction of abuse and political injustice, Hosseini draws the reader in with his words that show the endurance of the two young, fictional women.

The main issue addressed in the book is the subject of abuse. There are many scenes depicting the injuries and the moment of the incident itself; it adds another layer to the depth of the book.

This book isn’t just one that makes one think it’s just another book with a problem, climax, and resolution; this book makes one actually think about the injustices being done to women everywhere.

(4.5 out of 5)

~SynysterShadows