AHHH! Cover Reveals!

*drools* WANT. NOWW. 

First is A MILLION SUNS by Beth Revis, the sequel to ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, who'se cover was flipping amazing, but AHHHH. I always loved the stars, and OMG, I feel like I'm IN them when I look at this cover! I cannot wait to have this book in my hands so I can drool over it and pet it all creepy-like. 

And, again, EEP. I loved Wither, and it's cover is ahh-mazing. So I cannot wait to see what FEVER'S cover turns out like! You can follow up on the cover reveals on Lauren's facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LaurenDeStefanoFan?sk=app_176217385757369

Book of The Week #1

Book of the week is a weekly post about a particular book coming out sometime during the current week. This was inspired by YA Reads Cover of the Week, a super cool meme that shows of some gorgeous covers. You can check it out here. If you feel that I in anyway copied you, then I am sorry. It was not intentional.

 This weeks book is The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller- the paperback edition. Honesty, I adore the cover, and it sounds amazing. Because I still haven't managed to get my hands on the book. *headdesk* 

Released July 5, 2011. 

"Haven Moore can’t control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother’s house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.

In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves¸ before all is lost and the cycle begins again."

Review: Unearthly

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Cover Rating: 4/5 Stars

Reading level: Young Adult

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (January 4, 2011)

 In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

INTRO & SETTING: I normally keep my reviews pretty spoiler free, but I really cant do that here. There is a lot to be included that is really important and I really can't just cut it out. So if you haven't read this book, GO AWAY. NOW. Anyways. The only way I can think to describe this book is sweet. I feel like a really got to know Clara and her world. After she moves from Cali to Wyoming, her life really picks up, or so it seems. Her happiest days were spent outside in the wonderful natural-ness of Wyoming. It's also where the forest fire occurs- which is, of course, pretty important.


CHARACTERS: Like I said, you really feel like you know Clara. She seems really real. Most of the other characters are the same way, although I feel like the could have been developed just a little better. It felt like Clara's friendship with Wendy was a bit too quick too be real. The whole, "Yay, you were nice to me while everybody else laughed," thing is a bit overdone, I think. Her friendship with Angela is much better, though, seeing how they're both Angel- Bloods (Clara a Quartarius, Angela a Dimidus) and they can both be real with each other. Clara's Mom is sort of mysterious, keeping all kinds of things from Clara. It definitely gets you thinking. Jeffery, her brother, is sport of moody and I'm not really sure what his purpose in the story is yet, but I'm almost positive it's important. And finally.... Christian (aka dream boy) and Tucker (aka Wandy's twin brother and totally hot cowboy guy). I have to say, I was Team Tucker from the start. I never saw a spark between Clara and Christian, even though she thought she was totally in love with him. But then she starts hanging out with Tucker....and things change. Tucker is everything I would love in a guy: funny, smart, completely gorgeous, and outdoorsy. I simply love, love, loved him. 


PLOT: The plot in this book pretty dang awesome. Visions? Evil, baddie Angels that can make you cry just by being near you? A mother that's keeping lots of secrets? *evil cackling laughter* This book has it all. The only problem I had with the plot was that it sort of fell out in the middle of the book- when suspense was supposed to be stacked on, you found yourself relaxing, and then BAM climax. I did really, really enjoy this book, though. The writing style is beautiful, and some of the scenes have become embedded in my brain. It's a really great read, especially on a breezy summer day on a park bench (this is how I read it.) I really hope you'll read and enjoy this book, because it's totally worth you're time. 


FIRST SENTENCE: "In the begining, there's a boy standing in the trees."


LAST SENTENCE: "He doesn't know what's expected of him anymore." 

WOW (8)

Yeah, Okay, I'm aware it isn't Wednesday, but I was camping. I still feel like I need to post one, so here it is.

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (January 24, 2012)

" For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning. "

 *screeeeeeeeeeeeech* I want this book SOOO bad. I honestly don't think I can wait until February. Not to mention the cover is total gorgeousness. There is a version where the blue is toned down a bit, but I like this one much better. 

IMM (7)

In My Mailbox is a post where, basically, book bloggers get to make other bookish people drool over their newly acquired awesome stuff. And this awesome little meme is hosted by Kristi, over at her epic blog, The Story Siren.

 This week, I got:
BOUGHT:
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Hereafter by Tara Hudson


BORROWED:
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Bumped by Meghan McCafferty

 I don't have any pictures, but thanks to Brielle, who let me borrow both!

Review: Hereafter

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

 Book Rating: 5/5 Stars
 Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (June 7, 2011)

 Cover Review: I LOVE this cover! Blue and green are my favorite colors, and the lettering is really pretty. The only thing that I would change is that her hair looks kind of fake.

  Can there truly be love after death?
Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.
Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

 INTRO & SETTING:  This book was one of the best I've read in 2011. And for a debut author, it was completely amazing. I've always loved ghost stories, and I'm a total hopeless romantic, so when you meshed the two, well, I'm in heaven. The setting really revolves around a place called High Bridge, the place where Amelia died, along with countless other people. It's pretty much an evil, nasty hole of evil and nastiness. There's also the Netherworld, which is sort of a flip side of our own, only it's gray, cold, eerily beautiful, and baddies watch you from the trees. Yeah. Creeeepppy. But... also perfect. It brings in just the right amount of dread and eeriness.

 CHARACTERS: The characters were wonderful. Amelia, the MC, is perfect for the story. She's sort of sweet, but sad and angry at the same time. But, hey, you would be too if you had drowned and had no memory of your past life. Joshua is my dream boy. He's cute, he's funny, smart, and he reads a ton, not to mention his back yard is practically Wonderland, thanks to his Mom being a landscaper. The romance in this book was exceptional: heartbreakingly sweet and totally flawless. That's pretty hard to find in books. Another thing I loved about this book? The enemies weren't someone you could easily take down, and Amelia's got some on either side of her world. Eli, another ghost like Amelia, is desprate to have her for himself, and Ruth, A Seer (and also Joshua's Grandmother... dun dun dun...), is trying to exorcise Amelia to the Netherworld, or wherever it is Amelia belongs.

 PLOT: Like I said, I love ghost stories and the mystery behind them. There was certainly mystery in this book, what with Amelia not even knowing who she is, let alone why she is dead and who is in charge, or even if anybody is in charge. Then she saves Joshua, and things start to fall in place. Slowly she figures out who she is, and what she left behind when she died. The climax occurs when she finally finds out how she died and tries to stop her fate from becoming another girls, and in turn meets Eli's bosses. And people who boss Eli around? Well, they can't be very nice, now can they? Anyways, I cannot wait for more, and I highly recommend this book, especially on a stormy afternoon.

  FIRST SENTENCE:  "It was the same as always, but different from the first time."

  LAST SENTENCE: "I would always choose the hereafter, when it was a hereafter spent with him."

WOW (7)

This week, I'm waiting on (droooling after, starving for, nearly dying because I can't have it yet... whatever you prefer) THE IRON KNIGHT by Julie Kagawa. (Hey.. look... I went all Iron Horse! People who haven't read these books are now confused.) Anyways, after reading all the previous books, I'm dying to get my hands on this. And, honestly, anyone else who read the ending of TIQ? They are dying for it also.

 There isn't a synopsis for it yet, which depresses me greatly, but the publication is set for October 25th, which is now marked on my calender with a huge smiley face and balloon. Anyways, if you haven't read the Iron Fey books, you're SO missing out. And.... TEAM PUCK.