Sneak Peak Sunday (18)

What's Left of Me (The Hybrid Chronicles #1)
by Kat Zhang

Hardcover, USA Edition, 356 pages
Expected publication: September 18th 2012 by HarperTeen

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…
For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

This reminds me a lot of The Host, what with the whole two souls in one body sort of thing.  And how could you say now to that cover? It's so pretty, and let's face it, pretty awesome.

Pushing the Limits
by Katie McGarry

Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen (first published July 25th 2012)

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.   
"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter,  New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series  
So wrong for each other...and yet so right.
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty muchimpossible.  Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

I keep seeing the book cover, and although, I'm not a big fan of it, I think I'm going to give this . For some reason, the edgy creep stuff doesn't really appeal to me (I wonder why?). But this one sounds really interesting. Can't wait to get my hands on it. :)

Stacks Upon Stacks of Books (But not really)

I've finally created part of my summer reading stack for the summer. Isn't it pretty? I seriously doubt I'll be able to read all of it what with SAT Boot camp and all that, but I'm definitely going to try.

Plus I went to the dollar book store last week with some friends and bought some books on amazon with my birthday money I saved up. I think I'm an impulsive book buyer but I'm just going to ignore that fact and keep on buying stuff. It makes me happy.
Pshhh... I don't need help.

New books!!!! Gahhhh, they're so prettttyyy...

Review: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1)
by Darynda Jones
Hardcover, 310 pages
Published February 1st 2011 by St. Martin's Press 

Glasses: 4.0 

A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper
Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.

My Thoughts:
I've been waiting for this book to be returned to the library for forever. Like literally, I don't know what was up with this lady, but I'm willing to bet her late fines are going to be huge. Anyway, I finally read it and I'm glad to say that the long wait was well worth it.

Charley Davidson can see ghosts. Charley Davidson is a private detective. Charley Davidson is awesome. She has by far been one of the most confident and likable characters I've read about in a really long time. She's tough, fights for what she wants, and doesn't seem afraid of anything. Throughout the book she tries to unravel the mystery of three lawyer's deaths all the while trying to figure out who the strange man in her dreams is.

Overall, I really liked the book. The mystery was intriguing and clever, the romance was there, and the action was abundant. However, I wouldn't go as far and say that this was either a mystery of a detective novel. If anything, it was both. The one critique I do have, is that although it wasn't a very full on mystery, I don't think there was enough romance to fully make up for it. It wasn't "steamy" as one of the reviews had said, nor do I think that there was enough of anything to make it romantic. If anything when it was romantic, it was slightly on the psychopathic end of the spectrum (not that it was terribly bad mind you, it was that good kind of psychopathic thing going on). Oh, and everything that happens to her? Very unrealistic, but I'm not upset about that, because this is about a women who uses ghosts to solve crimes. I don't judge.

And another thing, what was up with the cover? I mean, where did the rest of her leg go?!?
Other than that, it was a fun read and I'm really hoping that the second one is at the library tomorrow.

Sneak Peak Sunday (16)

Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2)by Deborah Harkness
Hardcover, 592 pages
Expected publication: July 10th 2012 by Viking Adult

"Together we lifted our feet and stepped into the unknown"—the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Discovery of Witches
Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.
Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.
Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

Whenever I hear the names Diana and Matthew now I get a giggly. The first book was smart, complex, and fed my history nerd craving. Abet, the vampires and witches part weren't historically correct, but the technicalities don't matter. There's even a tour of Oxford. *sigh* Some day I'll go there and study. Some day! Stanford and Oxford here I come!