Harlequin Teen Preview Event Recap + Giveaway!

So. My Tuesday (AKA yesterday) was pretty eventful.

I started the day off with gum surgery (BOOOOO). Long story short, I had an impacted wisdom tooth, it ruined the tooth in front of it and I needed a root canal. But I needed gum surgery to make room for the crown that goes on top of the root-canaled tooth. So. That sucked. But it wasn't terrible because, as it turns out, sometimes the world lets you have a nice periodontist. And I got to learn what a periodontist does (because I totally didn't know that before I had to go see one).

So. Like I said. That sucked (BOOOOO). But it was minimally invasive and I really, really felt fine, so I decided to go to the Harlequin Teen Preview event I'd been invited to a couple of weeks ago. I RSVPed yes and everything, so I figured I'd put in the effort. 

I was rewarded for my efforts.

First of all, Jennifer L. Armentrout and Julie Kagawa were there. They each took a little time to talk about their books and it was absolutely adorable. (Later that night I also got to chat with Jennifer a little bit and she's so just so sweet.)

After we heard about the books that've been published or are about to be published, Julie Kagawa unveiled the secret project she's been working on.

Are you ready? (Yes, I know it was announced this morning, but maybe I'm telling you for the first time and that's enough for me.)

THE TALON SAGA is about dragons that can turn into people. In contemporary times. It sounds pretty freaking cool.

I could try and explain more of the plot, but I'd probably mess it up like crazy and there's no need for that. So instead, I'll leave you with a picture of the little figurines the enormously talented Julie Kagawa made and brought to the event.

This is what the dragons in the book look like. Their names are Ember and Cobalt. I want them.

Obviously, at the end of the event, there were awesome goodie bags, but we were also encouraged to take books from the display tables to giveaway on our blogs, if we have one. And since I do have one and I know my readers would love a chance to get their hands on some awesome reads, I grabbed a second set of books.

Now, originally this giveaway consisted of just the 5 books I got at the Harlequin party. But then I went to my friend Charlee's and she had ARCs of Dare You To and The Eternity Cure she wanted to get rid of. Given the fact that I'm currently hosting a Harlequin giveaway, I took them and added them to the stack.

So. Instead of this giveaway looking like this:

It now looks like this: 

Thanks Charlee!

Moral of the story, my Tuesday was a mixed bag of really hateful things and really fantastic things. And I have really cool friends. But that's two positives and one negative, so I'll stick with the good stuff.

And now, onto the good news for all of YOU. 

GIVEAWAY RULES

~ To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. DO NOT enter using the comments.
~ You must be 18 years or older or have a guardian's permission to enter.
~ The winners will be chosen randomly. Once chosen, the winners will be emailed. They will then have 48 HOURS to respond, otherwise another winner will be chosen.
~ The giveaway is US ONLY.
~ I reserve the right to disqualify anyone who tries to cheat the system. I WILL be checking the winning entry.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you entered? Are you excited for all of the books? Which one are you the MOST excited for? Let me know in the comments below!

World of Books: Judith + Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Everyone has their neighborhood bookstore or their local library they call home. Maybe both even. I know I do - in TWO different cities. World of Books if a bi-weekly feature that allows me - and any of YOU - to share the bookstores and libraries you love so much. If you want to be featured on World of Books too, make sure to go HERE and fill out the contact form!

This week on WORLD OF BOOKS, Judith is here to grace us with her greatness. And her knowledge of all things bookish in Amsterdam.

I am so excited to be a part of Gaby's World of Books feature, because a) I love Gaby, b) I love this feature, and c) I have recently discovered bookstores! No, don't look at me like I'm crazy. Of course I've been going to bookstores for as long as I can remember. But for the past few years I've had trouble finding the right bookstore for me, because I read in English + I live in the Netherlands. That is not a good combination. For the most part of my life I only read Dutch books, and book buying was not a problem. Only when I started getting interested in English books (now I don't read Dutch anymore at all), things became difficult for me. The bookstore in my hometown had the occasional trade paperback, sure, but the books I wanted? No. That was all online shopping for me. Until this year!

Because when I started book blogging, I started looking for English bookstores. Not in my real hometown, but in Amsterdam, my second hometown and where I currently spend most of my time (hi uni!). And oh, the pretty places I discovered! If you live in the Netherlands and are searching for a great English bookstore, or if you're a tourist and want to visit an English bookstore in Amsterdam, I got your back. So grab a drink, sit back, and join me on a bookish trip around the capital city of the Netherlands:

Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam

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Let's start our tour at the Amsterdam Central Station. We take a little walk and find ourselves at the Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (or the Amsterdam Public Library), a huge building that has recently become my second home. Whenever I'm between classes and have a lot of studying to do, this is the place to go. They have about six floors of books, music, movies and food! Yes, this is pretty close to heaven. The building is all white and glass and very spacious, and it has the best lounge chairs. I have yet to check out the book collection, but they have an entire floor of English books, so I think it'll be glorious. Oh, and the library shares a building with two of my favorite food places: a La Place at the top (my favorite for sandwiches, smoothies and salads), and a Vapiano next to it (Italian will forever be my favorite). I can spend my entire day in this building. It's so zennnn.

Waterstones

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Then let's move on to the bookstores. At the corner of Kalverstraat and Spui we find Waterstone's. Waterstone's is a UK based bookstore that is incredibly pretty and incredibly expensive. I go here all the time, but rarely buy books because they are more expensive than I like my books to be. But Waterstone's is very good for drooling over pretty B&N leatherbound classics, exciting new releases, and YA books with a pretty UK cover. Cons? They mostly sell paperbacks, and while I think UK paperbacks are much prettier than US, I still prefer to get hardcovers whenever I can. But I did get my copy of Vampire Academy here, and that was unfindable even on the Internet! Go Waterstone's!

The American Book Center 

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Basically across the street from Waterstone's we find the American Book Center. The ABC is known for its incredibly book discounts and therefore, ruining my bank account. As the name may suggest, this store sells American books only. Prices are pretty insane as well (20 euros for a hardcover, what?), but thank goodness the ABC has the best discounts ever. Great deals for me were Ten by Gretchen McNeill (a hardcover for 9 euros) and Pretty Girl Thirteen (a paperback for 4,50). The fact that they have a student discount doesn't help AND that this bookstore is basically next to my university building doesn't help me when I'm on a book buying ban. (Also, do you see that staircase? It has books all the way up to the ceiling! So cool.)

Vondelpark

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Satisfied with all your purchases? Then it's time to read (assuming it's one of those rare days in Holland that it's actually not raining). Amsterdam has many parks, but my favorite by far is the Vondelpark. This is basically the most popular park anyway. I just really love the atmosphere here, even though it can be very crowded at times. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the mood to relax and read a book! And voilà, that's a bookish day in Amsterdam! Now, you should all visit so we can do these things together, okay? Okay.

Are you guys planning your trip to Amsterdam already? I'm all scheduled to go myself (Octover 18th-20th). I'll be sure to let you know how all of these sites hold up! Until then, let me know how jealous you are in the comments below! ;)

Top Ten Bookish Turn Offs (35)

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

Sometimes there are things I don't like to read about. Not all of these are absolute. I've been known to consider books with religious themes and angels. Absentee parents make me slightly ragey but I might still like the book. I sometimes very much enjoy books with predictable plots. There's also the very occasional love triangle or ugly cover I'll take a chance on. But I tend to shy away from books with these kinds of plots. Y'know, if we were dating, the books would be the boys and these themes would be facts about the guy that make me think twice or take off running. Maybe I'm being too judgmental. Maybe I need an endorsement from a friend. But I need something, once these Top Ten Turn Offs are brought to life.

Do you have similar turn off? Maybe you like the things I've listed. That's okay. More boys... erm, books, to go around! Just be sure to share your turn offs in the comments below!

Veronica Mars Watch-Along Week 20

[Graphic designed by the lovely Judith of Paper Riot]

So, how does this work, super sleuths? Go check out the Watch-Along kick off post for the skinny. I'll give you a second just in case...

All caught up? Good.

In case you already know the basics and just forgot what episodes are up today, here's the list:

• "The Quick and the Wed"
• "The Rapes of Graff"

And for NEXT WEEK:

• "Plan B"
• "I Am God"

Season two's almost over. You ready for the push to the finale?

THE NOIR

So first up we have the case of the missing bachelorette. Which is fun because I liked watching that girl stick it to that jerk she was about to marry and his family. And Vinnie. Silly Vinnie.

But what's more interesting is what goes on with the bus crash and Logan (two separate things, both super interesting). First we find out that Veronica's gone to Keith with the info about the C4 in Terrence's hangar and then Keith goes to Lamb. Then Lamb is a jerk about it. And then Keith pretty much deduces that the C4 couldn't belong to Terrence. Then Terrence gets shot breaking into Ms. Dumas's house. Pretty crazy series of events, huh?

Onto Logan - so he's messing around with Hannah in order to get her father to retract his false testimony (which is reprehensible, at best). He succeeds and the case against him is dropped (one can only hope for good this time, but you never know). Then the first episode bleeds into the second and we find out that Logan does break up with Hannah because Mr. Griffith makes him and then he goes back on that and Mr. Griffith send Hannah away. Normally I'd be all sad for Logan but he kind of did this to himself. Actions and consequences, my love. 

Aside from everything with Logan in the second episode, we have everything with Troy. He shows up at the same tour of Hearst Veronica and Wallace are attending. Troy claims he's changed and Veronica's obviously skeptical. Then it turns out he's accused of rape. So perhaps she's right. But she's not because he's innocent. We don't actually know who did it but we know the Pi Sigs are assholes. So that's nice. 

Oh, also, what's up with this escort and Cliff's stolen briefcase?

PARENTAL PROBLEMS

Aaron Echolls. What are you up to? What are you sending Kendall to do to Logan? Does this have something to do with Cliff's stolen briefcase? I'm very unclear on what's going on here, but I guess we'll have to wait and see?What I do know for sure is that these Tinseltown Diaries are absolutely repulsive and I hate gossip mag and all that stuff. I mean, yeah, the entire family is super screwed up, but please, why do we have to rehash it a million times? Especially when Logan's sitting there watching his mistakes and the sadness of his life on replay? (Why do you have to watch that crap, Dick? Why?)

This is honestly my go-to gif.

On the other hand, Hannah's parents are spot on with pulling Hannah away from Logan (I don't like bad things happening to my love, but I think he deserves it this time). And Veronica and Keith are on good terms. Which is nice. 

BRING ON THE SNARK

Dick: "Nuke the stadium? Damn now I totally wish I could write good."

I love you Dick. 

Wallace: "Man, can you believeit about Logan? That guy is like a cat."

Veronica: "You mean useless and selfish?"

Oooooh low blow, Veronica. Low blow. 

Yeah. I'm low on the snarky lines. Logan was doing a lot of pouting and very little quipping this past week. Those happen to be two of my most favorite Logan modes (the smolder is my other favorite), but only one of them is good for snarking.

Some smolder for good measure.

THE BOYS

Hello again, my dears. 

• Wallace: You're so cute with the college stuff. 
• Dick: You're so precious. 
• Cassidy: Clever, clever boy. What are you up to?
• Logan: Oh, pet. I love you. But you did this one to yourself. I do wish Veronica would leave you alone already. It's like she thinks it's okay to be your conscience but I'm not sure where she got the right.
• Troy: Go. Away. I don't even care if you're not a rapist. Just get out of here. 

FUN FACT

Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat are in this one. So basically it's Veronica Mars meets Arrested Development. Although it's kind of weird to see Maeby like that.

Okay. Are you guys ready for the scary mystery stuff to get real? Because it's about that time again. But until we make it to the end, let's just talk about Logan and his sad puppy dog eyes. In the comments below, of course.

**ONE LAST REMINDER**
NEXT WEEK:

• "Plan B"
• "I Am God"

Review: Fractured by Teri Terry

Title: Fractured (Slated #2)
Author: Teri Terry
Release Date: September 26th 2013
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Page Count: 336
Source: Purchased
Rating: Book 2 in this series is even better than Book 1. Time to get on the Slated train, dear readers!

Perfect for fans of the dystopian settings of The Hunger Games and Divergent  the gripping second installment of the Slated trilogy is a riveting psychological thriller set in a future where violent teens have their memory erased as an alternative to jail.

Kyla has been Slated—her personality wiped blank, her memories lost to her forever. Or so she thought. She shouldn’t be able to remember anything. But increasingly she can—and she’s discovering that there are a lot of dark secrets locked away in her memories. When a mysterious man from her past comes back into her life and wants her help, she thinks she’s on her way to finding the truth. But this new knowledge lands her in the middle of a tug-of-war between two dangerous adversaries, and despite her misgivings about both of them, she’s forced to choose a side for her own protection.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

THE REVIEW

In the last book, Kyla was beginning to remember who she was before she was Slated. But with the memories come a lot of scary stuff. Like terrorists, crazy government officials and major family drama. And if remembering who she is, terrorists, crazy government officials and major family drama aren't enough, she's also still trying to figure out what happened to Ben. Basically, it's getting hot in the kitchen and Kyla's either gonna have to man up and get the heck out of there. (But she can't really. Because the crazy government officials are terrifyingly crazy.)

Let's break this down:

So the Slated series definitely does not suffer from second book syndrome. I actually think I like the second installment of this trilogy better than the first (which I suppose is promising for the last book in all of this). 

To start with, Kyla beings to realize that she's not just Lucy and Kyla, she's also this third personality named Rain. Yeah. That's where creepy substitute teacher comes in. His name is Nico and he is one of those Antigovernment Terrorist guys. And then there are Lorders everywhere, including in her own home (if you remember, Kyla's mom is the daughter of the very first Lorder leader). So Book 2 holds the crazy push and pull of the bad guys vs. the bad guys with Kyla smack dab in the middle. All while Kyla is trying to figure out what happened to Ben and, oh, who she is. Honestly, Kyla does all of this in such a way that is so believable and fantastic that you can't help but root for her. 

But the problem is that you don't know what you're rooting for Kyla to do because both the Lorders and the AGT are psychotic murders and it's almost like there's no where to turn. There is no hidden institution in this series for Kyla to seek out. Or, at least, not yet. Right now she's just trying to figure out who she was and how that's going to drive what she does. Which I love because really just she's a teen figuring out her life and who to trust (based on shoddy memories, mind you) and those are the best kinds of YA books. 

Now, not only can you not trust the major institutions, but you also don't know who to trust on a more personal level. Like, Kyla's mom, dad and sister are all suspect. Katran? Nico? Cam? I mean, Katran seems like a hateful psycho, Nico is trouble. Like Taylor Swift wrote a song about him trouble. Cam is insanely suspect. Like, why are you so nice to Cam? Why are you all up in her business? But what's his angle and why? 

[Okay. So maybe I guessed why Cam was so nice. And perhaps Katran was a little too erratic for my taste. And, duh, Nico is creepy bad news and I feel like maybe he has some weird super power to compel people to love him? But whatever.]

So, bottom line, you can't trust anyone, Kyla's not even sure who she is and this book is filled with all kinds of crazy twists and turns. Especially with that's going on with Ben. Like. Whoa. We're totally set up for all kinds of insanity with the Ben situation, especially given where the book ends. 

All in all, this was an incredibly strong second book. I'm so excited to see where this book goes. Kyla/Rain/Lucy still has so much to learn about herself and what's going on around her so you never know what secrets are going to pop out and totally change the playing field. I mean, Kyla remembering her past as Lucy? Yeah. So there's no way for me or anyone else to predict the end, where any one's going to end up or what secrets are going to crop up. And I'm so incredibly excited to find out how it all wraps up.

The long and short of it?

Plot: Twisty, turny, fantastic insanity that I can't get enough of. May I have some more please?
World Building: We're constantly learning more and more about this futuristic world but everything just keeps me guessing in the best way possible.
Character Development: Kyla's really finding her footing and working out where her loyalties lie. I also really like watching her family grow in around her. Also. Katran. Whoa.
Prose: The writing is part of what forced me to sit down and read this entire book in one sitting.
Would I Recommend This Book?: This series is for dystopian lovers. And for people who love zillions of twists and turns and unpredictable plots. Also, for people who love series where the second book is even better than the first. 

Ready to start this series so you can get to the awesome second book in the series? Let me know your thoughts on this series in the comments below! 

"Do Not Read" and "Skip This Author"

Fact: I don't like coffee. I just like saying Coffee Clutch in my best and deepest New York accent. Considering I'm a New Yorker, I'm pretty freaking good at it. So I've got my tea and I hope you have your heated beverage of choice, because it's time to gab the day away.

We've all heard the term "must read". Someone reads a book, love it so much and insists that everyone they know read that one book. You also might use the term "auto-buy". Someone reads everything by one author, loves it so much and pre-orders every book by that one author.

But how about the opposite? Is there a book that you really hate and you tell everyone not to read? How about an author whose books you really didn't like and refuse to read any more of their books and maybe tell other people to stay away as well?

I'm not talking about bad author behavior or whatever else. That's something separate and I'm not interested in getting into that right now.

I'm honestly only talking about your own personal preferences based on plot or whatever else.

As for me, the same way I don't have "must read" or "auto-buy" books, I also don't have "do not read" or "skip this author" books. If I don't like a book, maybe I'll tell someone why I don't like a book (just as I think all readers who review in any capacity do) but I don't like to wave someone away from a book. It makes me uneasy. I don't want you to miss out on something you might love.

I also won't entirely dismiss an author even if I haven't liked their previous books. I mean, I'll probably be less inclined to pick up another book by the same author, but I won't completely dismiss it. You never know what might change. Maybe their new book is in a different genre or they've learned something between that last book I didn't like and this new one. It's really about the plot and the sound of the book more than anything else.

Maybe my inclination to not mark something "do not read" or label an author "skip this author" leads to making my friends suffer or more reading things I won't necessarily love, but it feels wrong to me to come down hard with absolute labels.

Are you guys soft like me or do you come down hard on these kinds of things? Let me know in the comments below!

Review: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Title: The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1)
Author: Jonathan Stroud
Release Date: September 17th, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Page Count: 400
Source: ARC from BEA
Rating: A terrifying, thrilling, fantastic start to a new, ghostly series.

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in...

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again...

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

THE REVIEW

Lucy Carlyle (our narrator) is just a kid - barely a teen. Yet she and other kids just like her are running around London hunting down these scary, malicious ghosts that have been popping up all over London. Now, these kids are doing the hunting and vanquishing because they're the only ones who can see, hear or sense these ghosts. Because of this, kids are finding employment with agencies. There are big agencies with adult supervisors and then there are smaller agencies that are run solely by the kids. Lockwood & Co., made up of Lockwood, George and Lucy, is one such agency. This book/series is about the trials and troubles of that agency.

Let's break this down:

I'm just going to put this out there now: the big mystery of this book is pretty easy to call out by the middle of the book. But, well, everything else about this book was just so, so, so fantastic that I really just don't even care. 

The structure of this book really surprised me (which I guess balances out the lack of surprise plot-wise). I think it's because I didn't realize when I started that Lucy would be our narrator - even though I ended up totally falling into it and loving her. I also thought the big mystery of this book would be the Screaming Staircase. But it wasn't. I don't know if that's a spoiler. I don't think so. But yeah. The Screaming Staircase is definitely a big scary part of this book, but that's not the focal point.

I also found Lockwood's disposition surprising - in a really good way. He's the classic cocky, in charge character, but with a subtle, mysterious chip on his shoulder in a really non-cliche way. We don't really know his deal because we're in Lucy's head for the entirety of the book, but what she does see and what she does know make Lockwood out to be a brain I'd love to pick. I'm really curious to see how his character fills out throughout the series. 

George is also a curious kid. Lucy outwardly hates him and I have no idea where he comes from or what his story is. And yet I like him. He's studious, does his research and wants everyone to be safe.I can admire that kind of dedication in a kid. I also admire how Jonathan Stroud makes me adore a character even though the narrator really doesn't. 

Lucy herself has an interesting story. She doesn't even trust herself at the start of the book, so I found it kind of fascinating to watch her figure all of that out from inside her head. She also only meets the George and Lockwood 6 months before the book starts, so I loved getting to know the other members of Lockwood & Co. through fresh eyes.

Basically, the dynamic these kids create is awesome. It's different and exciting. No one's best friends, no one's falling in love. There's no instant clicking and everything's kind of uneasy at best. Each kid is just trying to figure out what the heck they're supposed to be doing now that all these ghosts are messing up what it's like to be a kid - to have to protect the adults instead of the adults having to protect the kids.

And that's really the question of this book, in my opinion. These kids have all this power and have to solve all these big real life problems for themselves. Yeah, an adult can offer advice (even though they really, really don't in this book), but it's ultimately up to the people - the kids - who can actually see the ghosts to do the actual acting. It's honestly amazing to me that these 13-15 year-olds can function at all. I know I wouldn't be able to rise to the challenge when I was their age. 

I haven't really mentioned anything about the plot. I mentioned that the major mystery is kind of predictable. But everything else is major scary and very dark. There's all this death and murder and truly angry, malicious spirits. It's almost like an episode of Doctor Who. And maybe some Ghost Busters. But the scary bits, no humor. The book also reminded me a little of Meg Cabot's Mediator series. The kids are younger and there are no hot ghosts to love, but I feel like the danger level is crazy similar. 

As you guys can tell, I really love this one and have a lot of thoughts. But the thought I'll stop with is more of a hope: I'm pretty sure there are going to be more books in this series and I sincerely hope there are at least two more - one from Lockwood's POV and one from George's. As much as I love Lucy's perspective on things, I'd love to get to know Lockwood and George as I've gotten to know Lucy.

The long and short of it?

Plot: A very scary, exciting mystery that reminds me of so many of my favorites in the best way possible.
World Building: I don't know why there are so many ghosts. But this is a series and that's the big, series mystery. So. I guess it's good that I don't know. Therefore: check yes for excellent world-building.
Character Development: I really got to know Lucy and loved watching her learn how to trust herself again. And even though I didn't get a chance to poke into Lockwood and George's minds, I know there's a lot there and I can't wait to get to know them better.
Prose: Delightfully creepy.
Would I Recommend This Book?: Do you love ghosts and mysteries? Scary things? London? How about teens who kick butt and still feel and think like teens do? Just to be fair, though, this book's a little more Middle Grade than YA. But as someone who generally sticks with YA and loved this book, you shouldn't be too worried about that.

Feeling like taking a stroll into Middle Grade land? Maybe you're just here for the ghosts. Either way, let me know what you think of this exciting new ghost story in the comments below!