Review: The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

Title: The Murder Complex (The Murder Complex #1)
Author: Lindsay Cummings
Release Date: June 10th 2014
Publisher: Greenwillow
Page Count: 400
Source: ARC borrowed from Adam
First Reaction: Holy Plot Twist Batman!

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: The Boyfriend Thief by Shana Norris

Title: The Boyfriend Thief
Author: Shana Norris
Release Date: March 24th, 2014
Publisher: The Studio at Paper Lantern Lit
Buy Now: Amazon | iBooks

Avery James doesn’t believe in romance—she’s studied enough biology to know that love is nothing more than hormones and chemicals. Besides, she has more practical goals in mind, namely saving up for a summer humanitarian program in Costa Rica. But when her Diggity Dog House supervisor denies her a raise and Avery finds herself $500 dollars short for the trip of a lifetime, Avery has no choice but to accept an unexpected offer. The deal? She must steal her arch nemesis Hannah’s boyfriend before prom, giving Avery eleven days to seduce Zac Greeley.
Avery is sure the job will be easy. But a few midnight comedy shows and spontaneous dance parties (not to mention one particularly intimate carwash) later, Avery finds herself questioning everything she’s ever thought about love. Could Zac’s signature cherry-lime Slurpees be causing brain freeze, or is Avery actually starting to fall for him?
Will Avery be able to steal Zac away from Hannah before he steals Avery’s heart?

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

If You Like the Show/Movie/Comic, You Might Wanna Read... (50)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Gosh I'm egotistical. Proof? The title of this post. Because, of course, you must like all of the non-book things I like and, therefore, will like all of the book recommendations I'll make for you in this post.   Oh, I decide not to stick to any one non-book thing. My brain just wants to tell you about all of the non-book things I like and how they fit into my book life. But I couldn't help myself with my Supernatural read-a-likes, so there are two of those. Which isn't to say that's my favorite show. But I'm still watching it and it's really not good anymore.

Review: Control by Lydia Kang

Title: Control (Control #1)
Author: Lydia Kang
Release Date: December 26th, 2013
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 400
Source: Purchased
First Reaction: Sci-fi heavy on the science that scared me into loving it.

An un-putdownable thriller for fans of Uglies

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

What Should I Buy? (5)

I have a coupon. You all like voting. Therefore it is WHAT SHOULD I BUY time!

I started this feature back in August to help me figure out what to do with all of the Barnes & Noble coupons I get. I figured setting up a vote would A) allow you guys have a say in what I read and B) alleviate some of the pressure of picking a book to spend my coupon on. I know I don't NEED a new book, but, hey, I really can't pass up a good discount. Also, I'm addicted to buying books.

So. Come. Help me feed my addiction.

PLEASE REMEMBER: I'm looking for a vote that has a little more than just the title of the book and a "THIS WAS REALLY GOOD." Pitch it to me, a little. WHY should I read this book? WHY do you think I would like it? All help is useful. ALL HELP.

Last note before books... My coupon expires on MAY 11TH, so make with the recommending before that date, please. 

A BEAst of a Convention

Okay guys. BEA is in 40 days. (Yes, I have a countdown on my phone.)

I've been seeing all kinds of posts about the big weekend and, as a Native New Yorker and BEA veteran, I feel like it's my responsibility to contribute something somehow. However, I don't think I have anything really useful to say that others haven't said. Really, I'd say my friend Shae's covered a lot of really important logistical things you should probably know about (her name is the link to the first of those posts). And I hate to be repetitive, especially when the stuff Shae's put together is so good. 

So instead I'll do what I always do when it comes to this stuff: Get a little silly.

Pick of the Week: The One Where I Want to Write Someone a Letter

Pick of the Week is... well, it's exactly what it sounds like. Once a week I pick a book. I may pick said book because I'm super excited about it. Or maybe I was super excited about it, forgot how excited I was, and am now using this to refresh my memory. It's also possible said book was blurring in with all the other books in my brain and I want to get re-excited about it. Another possible option is that I just want to flail about a book I'm about to read/am currently reading. Basically, I'm writing a love-note to a book I haven't started/finished yet to build hype for both myself and my reader. Which doesn't sound like a smart plan, but, oh well, too late.

And in case you want more of an origin story, you can check out my first Pick of the Week post.

So my pick for this week is a little bit different. As in, the format's a little bit different. This book's made up of a series of letters addressed to dead people. If that's not noteworthy, I don't know what is.

Okay.

Ready to know what my pick of the week is?

The Queen Bee's Knees: April

Ooooh it's new feature time again on the blog! So what am I up to this time?

Sometimes I come across a book I really love. It's the kind of book I can't stop talking about, whether on Twitter, with my friends, or even at work (at a bookstore - so it's socially acceptable, I promise). Of course, I'll review said book on my blog, but sometimes that isn't enough for me and my bookish obsessions. So, to allow myself to gush further, once a month I'll post "The Queen Bee's Knees" where I'll tell you which books are The (Queen) Bee's Knees and why. Usually this list will reflect what I'm recommending at work and I'll even throw in the elevator/twitter pitch I give customers to hook 'em (as well as additional gushing because, why not?).

This feature is also great because I'm terrible at reviewing books in a timely fashion and this will give you an idea of what I'm freaking out over in real time.

So, without further ado, here are the books I've been pushing like crazy for the last month or so.

Review: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Title: Panic
Author: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: March 4th, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Page Count: 408
Source: ARC from ALA
(I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest
review. No favors were exchanged, my opinions are my own.)
First Reaction: Panic and tigers and danger, OH MY!

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Catching Jordan (Hundred Oaks #1)
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Release Date: December 1st, 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Page Count: 283
Source: Purchased
First Reaction: A football book that brought the feels.

ONE OF THE BOYS

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Greeen moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

Top Ten Most Unique Books I've Read (49)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I've read many, many books. Many. And I love a lot of them, for lots of different reasons. But, ultimately, there are certain books that are incredibly unique. Now, there are a lot of qualifiers I'd use for uniqueness and many of these books fall under two, or even all three of the categories, but for simplicity's sake, I've boiled it all down. So please, sit back and relax while I tell you about the unique books I love based on the categorizations of "Prose" "People" and "Plot".

Pick of the Week: The One Where I Want to Go to There

Pick of the Week is... well, it's exactly what it sounds like. Once a week I pick a book. I may pick said book because I'm super excited about it. Or maybe I was super excited about it, forgot how excited I was, and am now using this to refresh my memory. It's also possible said book was blurring in with all the other books in my brain and I want to get re-excited about it. Another possible option is that I just want to flail about a book I'm about to read/am currently reading. Basically, I'm writing a love-note to a book I haven't started/finished yet to build hype for both myself and my reader. Which doesn't sound like a smart plan, but, oh well, too late.

And in case you want more of an origin story, you can check out my first Pick of the Week post.

The book I picked for this week is all about road trips and music. Which is what this past weekend was for me. I drove up to Boston for a Matt and Kim concert. So I think it's only fitting that this book is my Pick of the Week. Not to mention, look at how summery and awesome this book looks? Today's weather might be rainy and dreary, but this cover really does make me feel better about it.

So are you ready to check out what's got me all excited this week?

Review: The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

Title: The Museum of Extraordinary Things
Author: Alice Hoffman
Release Date: February 18th, 2014
Publisher: Scribner
Page Count: 384
Source: Borrowed from Work
First Reaction: This book was absolutely amazing. Until the last 100 pages and then it wasn't anymore.

Coralie Sardie is the daughter of the sinister impresario behind The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a Coney Island boardwalk freak show that thrills the masses. An exceptional swimmer, Coralie appears as the Mermaid in her father's museum, alongside performers like the Wolfman, the Butterfly Girl, and a one-hundred-year-old turtle. 

One night Coralie stumbles upon a striking young man taking pictures of moonlit trees in the woods off the Hudson River. The dashing photographer is Eddie Cohen, a Russian immigrant who has run away from his father's Lower East Side Orthodox community and his job as a tailor's apprentice. When Eddie photographs the devastation on the streets of New York following the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, he becomes embroiled in the suspicious mystery behind a young woman's disappearance and ignites the heart of Coralie.

With its colorful crowds of bootleggers, heiresses, thugs, and idealists, New York itself becomes a riveting character as Hoffman weaves her trademark magic, romance, and masterful storytelling to unite Coralie and Eddie in a sizzling, tender, and moving story of young love in tumultuous times. The Museum of Extraordinary Things is Alice Hoffman at her most spellbinding.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

Epic Recs: April

Feature created by Amber and Judith, Graphic created by Judith

Epic Recs is... well, it's basically one of the best blogging things that has ever happened to me because Lisa and I are bookish soul mates. But it's also a feature that sets you up with another blogger and then the two of you recommend books to each other once a month. And it's run by Amber and Judith.

So after three months of slam dunk recs, do you guys thing Lisa and I can pull of another set of awesome? Let's see what we've got...

Review: Touched by Corrine Jackson

Title: Touched (Sense Thieves #1)
Author: Corrine Jackson
Release Date: November 27th, 2012
Publisher: Kensington Teen
Page Count: 343
Source: Purchased
First Reaction: Twilight - if Twilight actually made me care. (A lot.)

Remy O’Malley heals people with touch—but every injury she cures becomes her own. Living in a household with an abusive stepfather, she has healed untold numbers of broken bones, burns,and bruises. And then one night her stepfather goes too far.

Being sent to live with her estranged father offers a clean start and she is eager to take it. Enter Asher Blackwell. Once a Protector of Healers, Asher sacrificed his senses to become immortal. Only by killing a Healer can a Protector recover their human senses. Falling in love is against the rules between these two enemies. Because Remy has the power to make Protectors human again, and when they find out, they’ll be coming for her—if Asher doesn’t kill her first.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

Pick of the Week: The One Where I Lose My Head...

Pick of the Week is... well, it's exactly what it sounds like. Once a week I pick a book. I may pick said book because I'm super excited about it. Or maybe I was super excited about it, forgot how excited I was, and am now using this to refresh my memory. It's also possible said book was blurring in with all the other books in my brain and I want to get re-excited about it. Another possible option is that I just want to flail about a book I'm about to read/am currently reading. Basically, I'm writing a love-note to a book I haven't started/finished yet to build hype for both myself and my reader. Which doesn't sound like a smart plan, but, oh well, too late.

And in case you want more of an origin story, you can check out my first Pick of the Week post.

Anyway. This week I'm picking a book I lost my head over. Have you guessed what it is yet? I am doing a play-on-title thing here, so I'll give you another second of reading to figure it out (unless you've already looked at the picture, in which case you're a cheater, but I suppose we can still be friends).

Ready?

Okay.