Book Spotlight and Excerpt - Mahogany Slade by Stephen Robinson


Morning lovelies,

Today I am spotlight Mahogany Slade by Stephen Robinson.


Synopsis: Beautiful, sophisticated, and unpredictable, Janet Tomalin represents every fantasy Brad Carlton grew up having - and more than a few her never realized.
When they meet on their first day of college in Athens, Georgia, the stylish New Yorker completely upends the staid Southerner's ordered universe. They fall for each other intensely and completely. It's the all-consuming passion of a natural performer and her adoring audience. 
There's just one problem: Mahogany Slade, the woman from Janet's not-so-distant past...and inescapable future. Janet knows once Brad meets the dangerous Miss Slade and learns the truth, their once-in-a-lifetime love is doomed. 
Mahogany Slade is the romantic yet acerbic story of young people escaping themselves in a town where your identity is everything. It's as sweet as Janet finds Brad and as irresistible as he finds her.

I managed to get an excerpt of the novel to share with you and I'm super excited about it. Here it is:

           The area of downtown Athens spanning west to Pulaski and north to where Dougherty curves into Prince was no larger than a few square blocks, but its presence in the collective imaginations of musicians—either current, soon to be, or never will but nonetheless hopeful—and their devo­tees loomed larger than Sanford Stadium.The area of downtown Athens spanning west to Pulaski and north to where Dougherty curves into Prince was no larger than a few square blocks, but its presence in the collective imaginations of musicians—either current, soon to be, or never will but nonetheless hopeful—and their devo­tees loomed larger than Sanford Stadium.

Although more traditional students, either through timidity or gen­eral lack of interest, never wandered past the Georgia Theatre, many others yearning for kinship or relevance or a little of both would descend on the stretch of Washington Street that Heather Aulds contemptuously called the “Alterna-mall”—a strip of bars, clubs, and even the requisite tattoo parlor extending from the 40 Watt and providing a convenient one-stop shop for alternative culture.
Dressed in their finest tattered clothing, they came ostensibly for the music and were welcomed if they knew someone who created it, even if the connection was as far removed as a poor family relation.
Winter was when you could witness the preening of those who had suc­cessfully molted the appearances and personas of high school over the course of Fall Quarter, and the young girl at the 40 Watt with the fresh tattoo from next door might go so far as to claim an extensive, deeply affecting (and only slightly affected) history with the band currently playing on stage (she hap­pened to know the classmate of the roommate of the drummer) and would vehemently deny ever having cheered on the Georgia Bulldogs with anything approaching zealotry in the distant, long ago days of September.
If my recollection of this musical arcade is thorn-covered rather than rose-colored, I must confess a lingering bias stemming from Janet’s having dated a prominent member of the coterie. Scott Waldorf was rarely a subject of discussion between us, and I fought off, often unsuccessfully, any painfully vivid thoughts of scenarios involving them that were, I was certain, incompa­rably pleasurable for him.
And then came that Sunday afternoon at Rocky’s when she’d plucked an olive from my slice of pizza and announced, while chewing it entirely on the left side of her mouth, “I want you to come with me to the Shoebox next Wednesday.”
Scott’s band was performing, and their dreadful music and lyrics were not worth a British penny, so I hadn’t the slightest idea why Janet wanted me to go. I considered resisting again, as I had her far more appealing offer to see Damn Yankees, but I knew my reward for saying yes was seeing the half smile on her face reach its full, ecstatic potential. So I agreed, almost eagerly, and on a blustery evening with February lapping at our heels, I accompanied her to the “Alterna-mall.”

--- from Mahogany Slade, Chapter 8



About the Author, Stephen Robinson:
Stephen Robinson graduated from the University of Georgia in 1996. He has lived in many places but feels at home somewhere else. He's written for newspapers and magazines. Mahogany Slade is his first work of fiction.
Contact: Website / Twitter

Cover Reveal - Losing It by Cora Carmack

Today I have the cover for Cora Carmack's debut novel, Losing It. Um, I'm totally loving it. Losing It is slated to be release on October 16, 2012 so only a few more weeks!

Synopsis: College student Bliss Edwards is sick of being the only virgin among her friends. She decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose her virginity quickly and simply - a one-night stand. Her plans turns out to be anything but simple when she chickens out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed. Already embarrassed, it only gets worse when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, and recognizes her new Theater professor. She's left him naked in her bed about eight hours earlier.

Yea, I can't *wait* to read this book. Sounds completely entertaining and something right up my alley. 

About Cora: Cora Carmack is a twenty-something year-old writer who likes to write about twenty-something year-old characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life - boring jobs (like working at Target), fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She loves theatre, travel, and anything that makes her laugh. She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, a New Adult Contemporary Romance called LOSING IT releases October 16th. 

Teaser Tuesday (#9)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be ReadingAnyone can play along! Just do the following: 
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teasers" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • Be careful not to include spoiler! (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 and author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teasers.

Morning lovelies,

Here's my teaser for this week:

Covet (The Clann, #2)
"But I already knew I would be spending the rest of my life looking back on today, on the last few months, on every choice I had made, and wondering. What if I had been stronger? If I had only managed to resist the way I felt about him...If I had only follow the rules..." ~ Location: 346 and 349 of 5205, Covet (The Clann #2) by Melissa Darnell





What are you teasing today?

Review: FanGirl by Angel Lawson

FanGirlFanGirl by Angel Lawson
Published: July 10, 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace
Source: Gifted by author
Links: Goodreads / Amazon

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads): "When Ruby Miller and her best friend, Iris, post an amateur video on their Zocopalypse fansite, neither expect the film to go viral, to be invited to lead the FantasyCon parade or meet Gabe Foster, the creator and artist behind the graphic novel.

Gabe announces Zocopalypse's adaptation to a television miniseries and pegs college-bound Ruby to play iconic zombie hunter, Alexandra. She reluctantly accepts, pushing aside her summer babysitting job and plans to lounge around the pool in favor of negotiating with agents, hot actors and the paparazzi.

Attending zombie book camp and memorizing lines is hard enough, but Ruby must learn to trust her instincts in a world where the line between fiction and reality ceases to exist, and the two worlds blur into one."

This review has been a hard one to write. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because I loved it so much that I'm afraid I won't do the book it's justice in explaining just how awesome and real and witty it is. I want people to flock to their local bookstore or Amazon, whatever means possible and purchase this book. It is that good.

For the past few months I've been really irritated by female characters, in both Young/New Adult and Adults novels. I've come across a lot female protagonists that are either really weak, irritating, self-absorbed, and make me question their intelligence or all of the above. They also manage to never redeem themselves by the end of the book. However, in FanGirl you are never irritated with Ruby Miller or thinking she is weak and a liability. She's very sarcastic (which I love), quirky, and what I love most, an average girl who was just thrown into the Hollywood scene and tried to deal with everything with as much grace and dignity as possible. With some funny mishaps along the way.

Ms. Lawson managed to create secondary characters I wish I personally knew. Ruby's best friend, Iris; Hollywood latest It Boy and Ruby's celebrity crush, Andrew Xavier; and creator of all things Zocopalypse, Gabe Foster. Iris was the mastermind in getting Ruby to play Alexandra in the fanvideo they made and continued to push Ruby to play her in the film. I love Ruby's and Iris's friendship and all their antics.

"Can we go home and spam her with the video? I can hack into her account."
"Yes. When I finish this bacon." I take a bite.
"Good plan. Bacon, then hacking."
I pick up my pen and jot it down. Iris leans over the table and pushes my pen out of the way. "Did you make a list for bacon and hacking?"
"Maybe."
"So weird."
"You love me."
"I really do."
~~~B&S~~~

"Aww. You lie to make me feel better. Thanks bestie."

~~~B&S~~~

"To this day, she maintains that I cut in line. Likewise, I maintain she was a bossy brat. The result? One pulled pigtail and one kick in the shin. After being dragged from the gym floor, our mothers made us apologize and forced us into a play date. We've been BFFs ever since, but at any time I may kick her in the shin and she may pull my hair. It's how we show affection. Her little speech kind of touches me."

Andrew Xavier was fun getting to know. I was kind of surprise by his secret in the end but it made a lot of  sense. My inner fangirl just hoped that it wasn't true. And to introduce Gabe Foster, here's Ruby and Iris:

"Gabe Foster?"
"Gabe. Foster."
"Gabe Foster."

(Have I mention how much I love these two?) He's the cute, nerdy guy that I secretly love to swoon over. He pushes Ruby as well as gives her space, her values her opinions and wants her to do well. He's everything a girl would want from a guy. Where can I find a guy like him?

"Wow. Those are amazing."
"I found them online. They glow in the dark, too."
He looks up. "Yeah, I'm not talking about the shoes, although they are cool. Holy Batman, Ruby, I' not letting you or those legs out of my sight tonight."

~~~B&S~~~

"That doesn't make sense."
"None of this makes sense."
"You know what makes sense?"
"What?" I ask, loving his silliness.
He kisses me in the front seat of that truck, and it's so much better than the last kiss I had in here. He's sweet and tastes like cake.
"This. This makes sense." (sighs. swooooon.)

Love. I just love this story. I was gifted the copy by Angel, but I'm definitely going out and buying myself the print version of FanGirl. I need to be able to hug this book. And normally I prefer reading standalone books, but I'm really sad that this is the end for FanGirl. I would love to read more about Ruby and Gabe and Iris. I guess I just have to make due and reread it all over again.

Quotes (#13)

Morning Swooners!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I finally had my mother watched The Hunger Games. About time if you ask me. Now I'm trying to get her to read the books. Let's see how that goes. How about some quotes?

"People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading." - Logan Pearsall Smith

"If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads, but what he rereads." - Francois Mauric

"You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace." - Frank McCourt

"The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. Nothing else really counts at all." - Ted Hughes

"Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." - William Goldman

A lot truth in those quotes. But I'll be leaving you with something funny that will hopefully make you giggle. I giggled for a few minutes straight.

(source)
Hehehe...have good day everyone!

Currently Reading - Covet by Melissa Darnell

Hi lovelies.

I hope everyone is having a nice Sunday. I'm sharing with you what I'm currently reading. Covet (The Clann #2) by Melissa Darnell is the book that's holding my attention. I managed to get an early egalley from Harlequin Teen through NetGalley. So far, I'm enjoying it and even managed to shed a few tears. I can't wait to keep on reading and then share my thoughts on it.

Happy Sunday!

Stacking the Shelves (#15)

Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga's Reviewsis all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This mean you can include books you buy in a physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks.

Hello lovelies,

Last week was my birthday weekend and I did not properly prepare my post causing me to miss out on visiting on all your new pretties. Hopefully I can change that today! Here's my haul for this week:

Love Unscripted (Love, #1)


Broken


Finally Home


I received all these pretties from NetGalley, so a special thanks to (respectively) Simon & Schuster, Angry Robots, and Carina Press

Link me in the comments to your new additions in your shelves. 

Happy Saturday, Swooners!

Book Spotlight and Excerpt: Perception by Lee Strauss

Morning lovelies,

Today,  I am spotlighting author Lee Strauss's new novel, Perception.
Perception (Perception, #1)

It was recently released on September 1, 2012. Here's the blurb:

Seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP- a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime water-front property along side other equally beautiful people with extended life spans. 
Her brother Liam is missing.
Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protest against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they've created between those who have and those who don't. He doesn't like girls like Zoe and he has good reasons not to like her specifically.
Zoe's carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She's in trouble and it turns out that Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only who can help her.

Perception is a (SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not too distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions - both financially and philosophically. It explores the class between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or ally us together. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there's room to fall in love.
This is the first book in a planned three book series.

Does this sounds awesome, or what?!

Ms. Strauss was kind enough to let us preview the first chapter of Perception. Check it out:

Blog Tour Tour Stop: Review + Giveaway: Catch the Sun by Lee Zamloch

Catch the Sun by Lee Zamloch
Release date: 2008
Publisher: Self-Published
Source: Gifted by the author
Link:Goodreads / Amazon

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: Marilyn Monroe begins appearing on Amanda Grace's patio dancing, laughing at the moon and gazing at Amanda through the glass doors. Is it possible that Marilyn, against all reason, has somehow transported herself through time and space to contemporary Los Angeles? And why does she flaunt Amanda, but whose talent is questionable?

The visitations begin when Amanda's mother, Edith, commits suicide, an event that shakes Amanda to her foundation. For, while she has been a successful model, she has always measured herself against her mother, a well-known artist who has overcome severe obstacles. But unlike Edith and her accomplished sister, Joanne, Amanda Grace has not distinguished herself intellectually or artistically, nor even managed to marry and have children. In her eyes, she has failed to live up to her mother's expectations. Now, with Edith's death, she has forever lost her chance to prove herself. In her grief, she forgets to eat, sleep, or carry on with life's simplest tasks. The final blow comes when Amanda accidentally learns she was adopted. With the loss of her family as a touchstone, her foundation crumbles, and her fragile sense of self dissolves completely. 

Catch the Sun is a story about how an obsession with a celebrity can impact the life of an ordinary woman. It explored our endless fascination with Marilyn Monroe's fragility, beauty and dazzling rise and fall.

         I was very surprised when I first started reading Catch the Sun. I found myself engaged in the storytelling, turning page after page trying to find out what would happen next. I thought I knew how it was going to end but the twist totally threw me off and I was left reeling. What really happened? Did Amanda imagined everything?

In the beginning, I found myself tearing up and sympathizing as Amanda and her sister Joanne dealt with the suicide of their mother. However, as we learn more about Amanda, I became irritated about how self-absorbed she was. Apparently, since she was so "sensitive" (as her mother, Edith, puts it) it gave her a way out on leaving all the arrangements to Joanne. And when this was pointed out to her, she ran away crying, leaving everything to be figured out by other people. Again.

This story is told in Amanda's POV as well as in Marilyn's POV. I really enjoyed Marilyn's point of view since it would give us more knowledge on the starlet's life and how it was entwined with Amanda's. I don't know much about Marilyn Monroe's life but I enjoyed how Ms. Zamloch was able to transport us back into Miss. Monroe's life and how authentic it felt.

My only issues with the story were the "woes is me, nobody loves me, men only like me for my body" that both Marilyn and Amanda talked about. I think that so much time was spent whining about everything that I rolled my eyes so many times that I was worried they were going to get stuck that way. They both complained so much about how they were stuck in their vicious cycle and were both so unhappy that I started to force myself to care about it. I just wanted for Amanda to get out of dark clouds and do something for once. Which she does but like I said, I'm still confused with how it ended.

I will probably reread this book again just so I can understand it better and pick up on those clues that I know were right in front of me. And I'm definitely curious about Marilyn Monroe and I would love to learn more about her and her short life.

Author's Bio:
Lee Zmaloch lives on the Central Coast of California where she writes fiction. Her work has appeared in a number of literary journals and she has won several honors for her writing including the Booklegger Award for best submission of the year from Toyon and honorable mentions from the Nelson Algren Award, and Raymond Carver Short Story Contest. She has published two novels which are available from Amazon.com in both print and kindle editions. She is currently at work on her next novel.
Lee has been a teacher, a consultant, a college professor and a program designer. She enjoys hiking, reading, traveling and romping with her two Siberian huskies, Sunny and Storm.

Contact Lee Zamloch here: Website / Twitter / Goodreads

*Giveaway*
Ms. Zamloch is giving away an e-book copy of her novel, Catch the Sun. All you have to is enter the giveaway down below.

Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Speechless
(source)
Speechless by Hannah Harrington
Release date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Harlequin Teen through NetGalley
Link: Goodreads / Amazon

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:  Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret. 
Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast - and nearly got someone killed.
Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence - to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.
But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way - people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.

***I'll be doing this review a little bit different. I will be doing it as a list but in no particular order.***

1. Chelsea Knot is a brat. When we first meet her, I was immediately put off by her inability of keeping secrets and her way of thinking. What she valued about being best friends with Kristen and how popular Kristen made her, really irked me. I figured she would move on and grow up as the story progressed but by the end, she didn't change that much. She was still the same shallow, snotty girl, but learned how to think before speaking. Honestly, I liked her better when she wasn't speaking than when she started talking again. She did, slowly, matured during her months of silence. Chelsea stood up to Kristen several times; when Chelsea decided to tell the police what had really happened and when Kristen picked on Chelsea's new friend, Asha.

2. The author, Hannah Harrington, did such a wonderful job in portraying high school bullying. It was so well done and realistic that at times it was a little disturbing to read.

3. One of my favorite things about Speechless were the secondary characters, Sam and Asha. Sam was just so sweet and dorky and adorable. He was the guy who went online to research fashion designers so he could use it as a reference during a conversation with Chelsea. *sigh* I love it. Asha is one of the sweetest, kindest soul I have read in a while. She became friends with Chelsea even when her own friends were hesitant about it. I love people like Asha. I wish I could be more like Asha.

4. And my favorite thing about Speechless is the message of it. "Hate is easy but love takes courage." Chelsea is slow in learning to forgive herself for her past mistakes but I loved when she realized this:

"But even though I know my flaws are many (many many many), and there are always ways I could be better, and I should never stop working for that - I also need to give myself a break. I can cut myself some slack sometimes. Because I am a work in progress. Because nobody is perfect. At least I acknowledge the mistakes I've made, and am making. At least I'm trying. 
And just because I have room for improvement, doesn't mean I'm worthless, or that I have nothing to offer to, like, the world."

Even though Chelsea didn't become a favorite main character, I found this to be an enjoyable read. It read very realistic and I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I am looking forward to reading more of Ms. Harrington's works.

Waiting on Wednesday (#10)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spinethat spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Morning swooners!

This week pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is:

17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma
Expected release date: March 21, 2013
17 & Gone
(source)
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Lauren is having visions of girls who have gone missing. And all these girls have just one thing common - they are 17 and gone without a trace. As Lauren struggles to shake these waking nightmares, impossible questions demand urgent answers: Why are the girls speaking to Lauren? How can she help them? And ... is she next? As Lauren searches for clues, everything begins to unravel, and when a brush with death lands her in the hospital, a shocking truth emerges, changing everything.

What are you currently "Waiting on?"

Teaser Tuesday (#8)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be ReadingAnyone can play along! Just do the following: 
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teasers" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • Be careful not to include spoiler! (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 and author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teasers. 

Morning lovelies,

Here's my teaser for this week,

Inbetween (Kissed by Death, #1)
(source)

"Sure, she's got problems, but what seventeen-year-old kid doesn't? Haven't you ever read Judy Blume?" ~ Pg. 22 of 260, Inbetween by Tara A. Fuller

"Screw you. You're the one haunting a high school student." ~  Pg. 22 of 260, Inbetween by Tara A. Fuller







What are you teasing?

Book Promo and Excerpt - Weaving Magic by Mindy Hardwick

Weaving MagicWeaving Magic by Mindy Hardwick
YA Romance
Date Published: April 27, 2012

Synopsis: He loves magic. She loves romance. But the biggest illusion is the one Shantel and Christopher perform together. Sixteen year-old Christopher fights to stay sober, while fifteen year-old Shantel struggles in the aftermath of her mother's death and seeks refuge in a fantasy world. But the unacknowledged roots of their problems refuse to stay buried and soon, the two are headed toward a deadly magic trick. Can Shantel and Christopher move beyond magical allusions to find love?


Author's Bio: Mindy Hardwick enjoys writing tales of romance for teens and adults. Her books for young adults include Weaving Magic and Stained Glass Summer. Mindy gets many of her ideas from the poetry workshop she facilitates at a juvenile detention center. Some of the real life teen poems can be found at www.denneypoetry.com.
Mindy is included on the Washington State Arts Commission Teaching Artist Roster, and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. She is a member of SCBWI. Currently, Mindy is hard at work on her next romance for teens, which is a spin-off Holiday story from Stained Glass Summer.


Excerpt:
Everything would be okay, I told myself. Christopher was my boyfriend. I trusted him. I crunched inside the wicker basket and curled my legs underneath me. I wiped my sweating palms onto my black slacks. The audience stopped calling for an encore. They were so silent I wasn’t sure anyone was still out there.

I’d barely gotten my balance before the first sword barreled into the basket with a lot more force than we’d practiced. Startled, I realized Christopher was keyed up from the magic show performance. He was overestimating the force he was putting behind the swords.


I tried to figure out how to tell him to slow down. I couldn’t very well call out to him or the audience would hear.


Before I could it figure out, the second sword zoomed past me and into the basket. The two swords crossed over my head, and I rearranged myself so I could crouch lower. As I shifted, a third sword whizzed by my left arm and peeled off a small layer of my skin. I saw the blood before I felt the searing pain.


Contact Mindy here: Website / Blog / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

Purchase Links: Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Currently Reading - Frozen by Mary Casanova

Morning Swooners,

        It Wednesday and we're one day closer to the weekend. That's always makes me happy. I wanted to share that I'm currently reading Frozen by Mary Casanova and Inbetween by Tara A. Fuller. I was approved through NetGalley for Frozen and it was released this past Saturday, September 1st. Inbetween  was release a week ago and I've been anticipating its release and so I bought my own ebook! I can't wait to read and share my thoughts on both of these books. Have a great day!

What are you currently reading?


descriptionAbout the Blogger
Jenn is a 23 years old, avid reader and who decided to try her luck on blogging. She enjoys reading Young Adults novels with swoony boys and with a twist. When she is not reading, she can be found watching The Big Bang Theory or watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls and Friends. Books and Swoons is her baby.
Follow Jenn on Twitter and Goodreads


Books and Swoons

Waiting on Wednesday (#9)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spinethat spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Morning swooners!

This week pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is:

Taken (Taken #1) by Erin Bowman
Expected release date: April 16, 2013

Taken (Taken #1)
(source)

Summary (from Goodreads): There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys - but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteen birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends...and he's gone.

They call it the Heist.

Gray Weathersby's eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he's prepared to meet his fate - until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he's been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot - a structure that no one can cross and survive.

Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken - or risk everything on the hope of the other side?"

What are you "Waiting on?"

descriptionAbout the Blogger
Jenn is a 23 years old, avid reader and who decided to try her luck on blogging. She enjoys reading Young Adults novels with swoony boys and with a twist. When she is not reading, she can be found watching The Big Bang Theory or watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls and Friends. Books and Swoons is her baby.
Follow Jenn on Twitter and Goodreads


Books and Swoons

Cover Reveal - The Unnaturals by Jessica Meigs

Today I have the cover for The Unnaturals, the new novel by Jessica Meigs. It's expected to hit shelves on October 1, 2012.

Summary: "Riley Walker is one of the world's best covert operatives, employed by a top-secret sector of the U.S. government known only as the Agency. Highly skilled and lethal in a fight, Riley is fiercely independent and adamant that she work alone after the mysterious death of her partner in an assignment gone wrong.
All that changes when she's thrust onto a new assignment investigating the deaths of twenty-seven Agency operatives. Forced to work with twelve-year Agency veteran Scott Hunter - a stickler for following orders and a loner by nature - Riley doesn't get a chance to protest before she and her new partner are passed to a sector of the Agency that they never knew existed. As they investigate the murders, Riley and Scott learn that there's more to the Agency than they ever suspected.
They discover the existence of monsters right out of their wildest dreams." 

Author's Bio: Jessica Meigs is the author of The Becoming, a post-apocalyptic thriller series that follows a group of people trying to survive a massive viral outbreak in the southeastern United States. After gaining notoriety for having written the series on a variety of BlackBerry devices, she self-published two novellas that now make up the first book of the series. In April 2011, she accepted a three-book deal with Permuted Press to publish a trilogy of novels. The first of the trilogy, entitled The Becoming, was released in November 2011 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible in paperback, eBook, and audiobook formats. It was also named one of Barnes & Noble's Best Zombie Fiction Releases of 2011 and Best Apocalyptic Fiction Releases of 2011 by reviewer Paul Goat Allen. In March 2012, she release a related novella entitled The Becoming: Brothers in Arms. The second novel in the series, The Becoming: Ground Zero, is coming in July 2012 from Permuted Press, with a third novel, The Becoming: Revelations, to follow. A fourth and fifth book are currently in the process of being written.

Author's links: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Website.

descriptionAbout the Blogger
Jenn is a 23 years old, avid reader and who decided to try her luck on blogging. She enjoys reading Young Adults novels with swoony boys and with a twist. When she is not reading, she can be found watching The Big Bang Theory or watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls and Friends. Books and Swoons is her baby.
Follow Jenn on Twitter and Goodreads


Books and Swoons

Teaser Tuesday (#7)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be ReadingAnyone can play along! Just do the following: 
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teasers" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • Be careful not to include spoiler! (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 and author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teasers. 

 Morning lovelies!

Here's my teaser for today:

Frozen"But the word floated by, out of grasp, with the dreamy improbability of a fairy tale. Owen Jensen, the son of a creamery operator, could dream of college, but what about the daughter of a red skirt?" ~ pg. 22 of 264, Frozen by Mary Casanova











What are you teasing?
descriptionAbout the Blogger
Jenn is a 23 years old, avid reader and who decided to try her luck on blogging. She enjoys reading Young Adults novels with swoony boys and with a twist. When she is not reading, she can be found watching The Big Bang Theory or watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls and Friends. Books and Swoons is her baby.
Follow Jenn on Twitter and Goodreads


Books and Swoons

Quotes (#12)

Hello lovelies,
(source)
I have a thing for Chris Hemsworth, you see.

"Bad things happen whether you're scared or not, so you might as well not bother being scared. It's a waste of time." - Louise Rozett, Confessions of an Angry Girl

"Her shoulders never shook. No tears streamed down her face. The worst type of crying wasn't the kind everyone could see - the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there was no way to comfort it. A section withered and became a scar on the part of your soul that survived. For people like me and Echo, our souls contained more scar tissue than life." - Katie McGarry, Pushing the Limits

"You think I'm gonna feel better eatin' a carrot? Get a grip. There's two idiots out there trying to kill me, and you think I'm gonna waste my last breath on a vegetable?" - Janet Evanovich, Finger Lickin' Fifteen

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well." - Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke and Bone

"I'm writing this down, because it is going to be hard for me to say it. Because this is probably our last time just us. See, I can write that down, but I don't think I can say it. I'm not doing this to say goodbye, though I know that has to be part of it. I'm doing it to thank you for all we have had and down and been for one another, to say I love you for making this life of mine what it is. Leaving you is the hardest thing I have to do. But the thing is, the parts of me are in you, all three of you. You are who I am, and what I cherish in myself stays on in you," - Ann Brashares, Sisterhood Everlasting

I totally sobbed while reading Sisterhood Everlasting. Have a good week everyone!

descriptionAbout the Blogger
Jenn is a 23 years old, avid reader and who decided to try her luck on blogging. She enjoys reading Young Adults novels with swoony boys and with a twist. When she is not reading, she can be found watching The Big Bang Theory or watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls and Friends. Books and Swoons is her baby.
Follow Jenn on Twitter and Goodreads


Books and Swoons

Review: Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Confessions of an Angry Girl (Confessions, #1)
(source)
Confessions of an Angry Girl (Confessions #1) by Louise Rozett
Release date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Harlequin Teen through NetGalley

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from author's website): "Freshman Rose Zarelli has rage issues.

First of all, her father lost his job, took work as a contractor in Iraq...and never came home.

Second, she likes the wrong guy and his super-intense, scary cheerleader girlfriend is now her nemesis.

Third, her fashionista  best friend, Tracy, is suddenly infinitely cooler than she is - is talking about losing her virginity. (What?!)

Rose is ahead when it comes to studying for the PSAT, but she's so far behind socially that she might as well be moving backward. She needs Tracy's help choosing the right clothes, she likes all the wrong extracurricular activities, and she can't even make a decision about which photo of her father to put on the memorial website she's making (and hiding from her adolescent-shrink mother).

With her brother away at college and her mother always locked in her office with her messed-up teen patients, Rose struggles to get through each day without inflicting bodily harm on anyone."

Love. I just loved this book. It has been a while since I truly enjoyed myself in reading a novel. I experienced so many emotions while reading this book; I laughed, I cried, I giggled, I got mad. I lived and experienced Rose's tumultuous freshman year.

At first, I was a little weirded out when I read that Rose was only 14 year-old since I haven't read a main character that young in a couple of years. However, that was completely forgotten as I continued reading. Rose is dealing with the death of father, her oldest brother is off to college and she is just starting high school. She's dealing with a lot of changes at the same time: at home, in school, and even with her friends. She doesn't know how to react to these changes and I remember being that age and just stumbling around, trying to find my footing in life.

The author, Louise Rozett, created a main character who is sarcastic, smart, loyal to a fault, and naive but you can't help but just be in her corner and cheer her on. There were so many time when I just wanted to hug her, giver her a push to say what needed to be said, to let out some of her anger. There were times when Rose was a whining brat, a party pooper, and melodramatic and I rolled my eyes at her. But she's 14 year-old girl and she's supposed to be acting that way.

With so much pressure to date, get a boyfriend and have sex, I was very proud about how Rose handle everything. She knows that she's not making the "popular" decisions by going against her classmates and instead just stand by her personal beliefs. At a stage where conforming to the norm is typical, it just makes me love Rose's character even more. Ms. Rozett did a wonderful job in realistically portraying the struggles and peer pressure that teenagers have to deal with.

I can't wait to read more of Ms. Rozett's works and I'm looking forward for the next book of the series and finding out how Rose's sophomore year will turn out.

descriptionAbout the Blogger
Jenn is a 23 years old, avid reader and who decided to try her luck on blogging. She enjoys reading Young Adults novels with swoony boys and with a twist. When she is not reading, she can be found watching The Big Bang Theory or watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls and Friends. Books and Swoons is her baby.
Follow Jenn on Twitter and Goodreads


Books and Swoons

Stacking the Shelves (#14)

Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga's Reviewsis all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This mean you can include books you buy in a physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks.

Hello lovelies,

For this week haul I have some freebies and giveaway prize, some that I have bought, and a review copy. Here they are...

The freebie:
Cold Kiss (Cold Kiss, #1)
(source)

The one that I bought:
Inbetween (Kissed by Death #1) by Tara A. Fuller 
Inbetween (Kissed by Death, #1)
(source)

I got this one from NetGalley:
The Future We Left Behind (Point 4, #2)
(source)


I won this from Epic Reads:

That's it for me, what did you add to your shelves?

descriptionAbout the Blogger
Jenn is a 23 years old, avid reader and who decided to try her luck on blogging. She enjoys reading Young Adults novels with swoony boys and with a twist. When she is not reading, she can be found watching The Big Bang Theory or watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls and Friends. Books and Swoons is her baby.
Follow Jenn on Twitter and Goodreads


Books and Swoons


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