Waiting on Wednesday #40

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

This is a perfect way to highlight books that we are waiting patiently to be released... it is also a sure-fire way to watch your TBR pile grow!

When the world ends, can love survive?

For Scarlet, raising her two daughters alone makes fighting for tomorrow an everyday battle. Nathan has a wife, but can’t remember what it’s like to be in love; only his young daughter Zoe makes coming home worthwhile. Miranda’s biggest concern is whether her new VW Bug is big enough to carry her sister and their boyfriends on a weekend escape from college finals.

When reports of a widespread, deadly “outbreak” begin to surface, these ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances and suddenly their fates are intertwined. Recognizing they can’t outrun the danger, Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda desperately seek shelter at the same secluded ranch, Red Hill. Emotions run high while old and new relationships are tested in the face of a terrifying enemy—an enemy who no longer remembers what it’s like to be human.

Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you’d die for becomes the one who could destroy you?

Expected Publication: October 01 2013
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads

Why am I so eagerly awaiting this release you ask?

Jamie McGuire proved she can write an amazing story with Beautiful Disaster.  And what is there not to be excited about with Red Hill?  A romance set to the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse?  Heck yeah.  I'll be right there to read it on release.

I am also digging that cover.


What is your Waiting on Wednesday?

Feel free to leave your links below so that I can check them out and if you are a new follower be sure to let me know!

Top Ten Tuesday

Hosted by Broke and The Bookish

This Week's Topic is:

Top Ten Favorite Books With a College Setting

MY REVIEW

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

MY REVIEW

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.

When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

MY REVIEW

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

MY REVIEW

Some things are worth waiting for…

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for…

MY REVIEW

For almost two years now, Kiera's boyfriend, Denny, has been everything she's ever wanted: loving, tender and endlessly devoted to her. When they head off to a new city to start their lives together, Denny at his dream job and Kiera at a top-notch university, everything seems perfect. Then an unforeseen obligation forces the happy couple apart.

Feeling lonely, confused, and in need of comfort, Kiera turns to an unexpected source – a local rock star named Kellan Kyle. At first, he's purely a friend that she can lean on, but as her loneliness grows, so does their relationship. And then one night everything changes...and none of them will ever be the same.

MY REVIEW

Love. Romance. Sex. There’s a first time for everything...

As far as Bliss Edwards can tell, she’s the last virgin standing, certainly amongst her friends. And she’s determined to deal with the ‘problem’ as quickly and simply as possible.

But her plan for a no-strings one night stand turns out to be anything but simple. Especially when she arrives for her first class and recognises her hot new British professor.

She'd left him naked in her bed just 8 hours earlier...

MY REVIEW

He was tall, at least six feet, with dirty blond hair that hung over his eyes. His T-shirt read Nietzsche Is My Homeboy.

So, that was Matt. Who Julie Seagle likes. A lot. But there is also Finn. Who she flat out loves.

Complicated? Awkward? Completely.

But really, how was this freshly-minted Boston transplant and newbie college freshman supposed to know that she would end up living with the family of an old friend of her mother's? This was all supposed to be temporary. Julie wasn't supposed to be important to the Watkins family, or to fall in love with one of the brothers. Especially the one she's never quite met. But what does that really matter? Finn gets her, like no one ever has before. They have connection.

But here's the thing about love, in all its twisty, bumpy permutations—it always throws you a few curves. And no one ever escapes unscathed.

MY REVIEW

Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.

Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?

As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows.

MY REVIEW

What does it take to rise from life’s depths, swim against the current, and breathe?

Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own.

As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.

MY REVIEW

What happens when you create rules to keep others out?

One thing Emerson Moore has come to terms with is that she is the school slut. She knows her way around a frat house and how to get what she wants. She doesn’t make any excuses for her actions and she doesn’t pretend to be anything different. She is who she is and with that she knows how to have a good time. She’s made rules to keep relationships at bay and avoid the demons of her past.

When her best friend, Cole has his two friends from back home move in with him she begins to think she has met her match with Jaxon Riley. Jax is the perfect mixture of tattooed muscle and a sweet-talking mouth. With “hand” written notes, a voice that exudes sex and knowing just how to get under her skin, Jaxon learns how to break all the rules. But will he just end up breaking her heart anyway?

So there you go... this weeks Top Ten! What is yours?

Feel free to leave your links below so that I can check them out and if you are a new follower be sure to let me know so that I can come and check out your blog in return!

Review: Shooting Scars

Sometimes the right choice can be the deadliest.

When Ellie Watt made the ultimate sacrifice for Camden McQueen, she never thought it would be easy. But walking away with her ex-lover, Javier Bernal, in order to ensure Camden’s safety has brought a whole new set of dangers. With Javier’s plans for Ellie growing more secretive by the moment, Ellie must find a way to stay ahead of the game before her past swallows her whole.

Meanwhile, Camden’s new life is short-lived. Fueled by revenge and pursued by authorities, he teams up with an unlikely partner in order to save Ellie. But as Camden toes the line between love and retribution, he realizes that in order to get back the woman he loves, he may have to lose himself in the process. He might just turn into the very man he’s hunting.

Title: Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy ~ Book 2)
Author: Karina Halle | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: August 20 2013
Publisher: Grand Cen­tral Publishing
Length: 265 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Source: ARC Provided by Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Cover Love: It matches the series, however I liked the original cover a lot more.
Point of View: Alternating 1st person between both Ellie and Camden

My Rating: 4 Stars

What a ride.  The end of Sins & Needles ensured that you were left gasping for more.  In fact, I am sure there wasn't a person who finished reading it that didn't end with their mouth hanging open, followed by a scream of "NooooOOOOoooo....."  So finally, here we have it.  The second book in The Artists Trilogy, Shooting Scars.  And this time we get to be not only in Ellie's head but also in Camden's...

“I had to watch her leave again, but this wasn’t high school and this wasn’t a hallway.  She left me in a cloud of dust, a swirl of crushed cherry blossoms that choked my heart.”

I want to start off by saying that I did not love Shooting Scars as much as I loved Sins & Needles.  This isn't to say I didn't enjoy it, because I very much did.  But I just felt that the dynamic was off.  I found it difficult with Ellie and Camden being apart for most of the book.  I loved them together in book one, they kept me page turning as fast as I could the first time around.  Now with them apart, it just didn't feel the same.  That chemistry and spark was missing, and I found myself just wanting to get forward as fast as possible, hoping that they would be reunited sooner rather than later.

“You’re trembling,” he said, voice low and smooth and far too familiar to my liking.  “Are you afraid, Ellie?”

I could pretend I wasn’t But Javier liked to make people feel the emotions he thought they should be feeling.   In layman’s terms, if I lied, he’d make me afraid.”

Javier fans however, will love this book.  I am not a part of the Javier fan club.  In fact, I despise him.  In On Every Street, I thought at one point that I could at least start to like him, but I was always a Camden fan girl.  This has not changed.  I will be honest, I also lost a lot of respect for Ellie.  There were a couple of times when I had to physically lay my Kindle down and take a break.  I just do not get the attraction to Javier, at all.  And going forward, Ellie has a lot of grovelling to do in order for me to really like her again.  She best redeem herself.

“After I first felt Ellie’s lips on mine, the warmth, sweetness, I was never the same.  She took a piece of me that I was unable to get back until I was inside her, feeling her heart and her sins in my hands.”

Camden McQueen.  *sigh*  I love him.  He is such an amazing character.  He is so unique and multiple layered.  Being in his head really surprised me.  Seeing what lengths he is able to go to in order to try to find Ellie... there are some pretty shocking moments with him.  And those moments only helped to add to his many layers.  Even though some of what he does seems out of character, being in his head you can see the emotions he is struggling with while doing them.  It all comes down to his love for Ellie, he will stop at nothing to find her.

I am also happy to report that there are still some pretty hot and steamy moments between Camden and Ellie.  As if distance would keep them from dreaming about each other.  And I must say, there is one scene... Camden's dream... holy wow.  Hot. As. Hell.

“Even at her very worst, she made me want to be a better man.  To be good enough for the both of us.”

So, since we know that book one ended on such a huge cliffhanger, I am sure you are wondering if this book does the same?  Your heart is definitely in your throat, and you are on a pretty high adrenaline rush at the end... but I wouldn't say it is as big a drop from the cliff this time around.  That is not to say you are not left wanting more, but what good series book ends with you not wanting more?  I am really excited about Bold Tricks, and thankfully if the date holds we will not have that long a wait.  At the time of this review, it is scheduled to be released October 15 2013.  Hopefully there will be no delays, I am dying to find out how this story ends.

Review: From Notting Hill to New York... Actually

Scarlett O’Brien, utterly addicted to romantic films, has found her leading man. She’s convinced Sean is Mr Right, but the day-to-day reality of a relationship isn’t quite like the movies. With Sean constantly away on business, Scarlett and her new best friend Oscar decide to head to New York for the holiday of a lifetime. From one famous landmark to the next, Scarlett and Oscar make many new friends during their adventure - including sailors in town for Fleet Week, a famous film star, and Jamie & Max, a TV reporter and cameraman. Scarlett finds herself strangely drawn to Jamie, they appear to have much in common: a love of films and Jamie’s search for a parent he never knew. But Scarlett has to ask herself why she is reacting like this to another man when she’s so in love with Sean …

Title: From Notting Hill to New York... Actually (Actually ~ Book 2)
Author: Ali McNamara | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: November 22 2012
Publisher: Hachette Digital
Length: Paperback 449 pages / Audiobook 9 hours
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Source: Purchased (Audiobook via Audible)
Narrated by:: Finty Williams
Cover Love: Fits with the series.
Point of View: 1st person, following Scarlett

My Rating: 4 Stars

I fell in love with Scarlett O'Brien in From Notting Hill with Love... Actually.  She so easily made me laugh, and I adored her love of all things movie related.  I was excited to see that there was going to be a sequel, even though we had to wait quite a long time between book one and two.

This story picks up shortly after book one.  We find Scarlett and Sean settled into the routine of normal life.  You get the impression that things are just that, normal.  When a book ends and the characters get their happily ever after, you don't think about how their life is going to now carry on the same way your life does.  Work, cooking dinner, taking out the garbage, etc... I wouldn't say Scarlett and Sean are tired of each other or want to move on, it's nothing like that.  It's just that you get the idea that Scarlett is a bit.. bored.  So Sean suggests that she go to New York to visit her father.

I will be honest to say that at first, I was nervous when Scarlett meets Jamie in New York.  I did NOT want this to turn into a love triangle.  I couldn't stand the thought of Scarlett being confused over her feelings for Sean, he is so sweet and lovely, I just wanted them happy.  However, I was thrilled that it took me no time at all to realize that Scarlett just didn't have those types of feelings for Jamie.  Thankfully.

The plot is pretty easy to figure out, but this in no way diminished my enjoyment of the story.  I pretty much had everything figured out early on, but McNamara's writing is one that keeps you drawn into the story so knowing what was going to happen didn't bother me.

Oscar, Scarlett's best friend, is along for the trip to New York.  He is as outrageous and as funny as ever.  We get to meet a lot of new characters this time around, of course there is Jamie... but also there is Max, Peter and a very swoonworthy Bradley Cooper.  Yes, you read that correctly, THE Bradley Cooper.

As I listened to the audiobook, I would like to add a little about the narrator, Flinty Williams.  I adore her voice, and I've become quite a fan of hers.  She does an excellent job with the narration, and I couldn't have picked a better voice for Scarlett.

Now the ending... it was of course as sweet as could be.  I loved the build up to the big moment, but I have to say I was a little disappointed as it seemed to be a bit abrupt after the build up.  If this is going to be the final chapter for Scarlett and Sean, I would have loved to have an epilogue.  Something that gave us a peek into their future.  However, with that said, I could easily see there being more story to tell here.  I haven't seen any talk of there being a third book, but I for one would love to have more. 

Review: What I Didn't Say

Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat.

His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He's been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it's too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.

When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he'll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn't limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she'll help him learn that not being able to talk isn't the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she'll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn't say before, even if he can't actually say it.

Title: What I Didn't Say
Author: Keary Taylor | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: April 30 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 336 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Cover Love: Love it, so cute and perfect for the story.
Point of View: 1st person, following Jake

My Rating: 5 Stars

The first thing that drew me to What I didn't say was the cover, then the synopsis... I was hooked after that.  I knew that there was no way that I would not be reading this book.  It sounded unique, intriguing, it was a male point of view (which I love) and I couldn't wait to start.

“It felt like this was never going to end.  The world wasn't going to stop crashing down until there was nothing left of me but dust.”

Jake.  I simply adored him.  He was believable and very much real.  I was curious to see how Jake would handle the life altering change that he has been forced upon him.  It would be easy to curl into a ball and let life pass you by.  What makes Jake so believable are his actions.  I not only understood, but I felt every emotion as he was feeling it.  Nothing felt forced, or out of place, and I never felt like it was made over the top dramatic for creative purposes.  So yeah, he just felt real.

And swoonworthy is not even starting to cover it.  He is so very sweet, and it would be impossible not to fall for him.  I have always said that the male point of view is my favorite, and this is yet another prime example as to why that is the case.  The writing draws you in, and it was a joy to be inside Jake's head.

“Once you start down the slippery slope of depression, it's hard to climb off of it.  And sometimes you don't want to climb off of it.”

Samantha/Sam.  Loved her.  She handled Jake's situation perfectly.  She never let him dwell on what happened, and she always pushed him further than what he thought should be allowed in his type of situation.  She challenged him and that is exactly what he needed.  She also made him realize that there are worse things than never being able to speak again.

“But I had become a different person.  One who looked at things in a new way.  I appreciated life a whole lot more than I had last year.”

Jake's family was perfect.  I loved that he had so many brothers and sisters, and his parents were kind and affectionate.  So many Young Adult novels now a days have the dysfunctional family unit.  It is almost as if that is a prerequisite for the genre.  It was a breath of fresh air to read this story and to see a loving and caring family that stuck together through everything.

“Reality hasn't really sunk in yet, I knew that.  I didn't want to know what life was going to feel like when it finally did.”

Another thing that made me love What I Didn't Say, is that it is not only about Jake and his accident.  Sam is going through something herself, and I loved that.  It brought a further depth to the story, and one that I wasn't expecting.  The setting of the story is also a huge positive.  They live on Orcas Island, which is in the Pacific Northwest.  Before my husband and I moved to England, we had been wanting to relocate to the Seattle area.  As I was reading, I kept pulling up photos of the island, and it truly made me jealous.  Keary Taylor made me want to pack up and move there tomorrow.  It looks and sounds a magnificent place.

So, if you haven't guessed by now, I would strongly recommend What I Didn't Say.  There is a real story to be told here, and it would be a shame for you to miss it.  You come away really thinking about your actions, and questioning the importance placed on certain aspects of your life.  I also recommend that you read the notes from the author at the end of the book.  You can see what difficulties she herself has had to live through, I found it very touching.

“It was perfect moments like that that made all the bad ones worth living through.”

MORE QUOTES FROM WHAT I DIDN'T SAY