Waiting on Wednesday: Perfected

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

So for those of you who know me, you know that I absolutely adore a good dystopian.  Now couple that with a GORGEOUS cover (yeah, yeah, I totally judge my books by their covers) and well, you had me at hello!  So today, let me introduce you to one that looks to be Ah-Maz-Ing...Perfected by Kate Jarvik that releases July 1st!

Just look at this cover...*drools* I absolutely love the idea behind this plot!  Future society where people are pets...I know we've read so many about clones, and these strong girls who are taught to believe they're one thing when they really have the potential to be so much more!  This one sounds almost Sci-Fi meets dystopian, meshed with fancy dresses!  Eeee, right up my alley! I cannot wait to dive into this one! 

Summary courtesy of Goodreads:

I was bred to be the perfect pet. I was bred for my beauty and grace, to be a showpiece, an ornament to sit upon the couch, to sing, to dance, to play the piano and paint. I was bred to willingly put my owner's happiness before my own.

Until Penn. The handsome and rebellious son of the congressman who owns me, he's the only person who's seen past my perfect exterior to the girl underneath. Falling for him is forbidden. Falling for him is freeing.

But there's a dark underworld lurking beneath my pampered life. The only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn's family is escaping it, because if I fail, I face a fate far worse than death...

For fans of Kiera Cass's Selection series and Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, as well as a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.

The Fear Trials (The Murder Complex novella)

It's finally the realease of THE FEAR TRIALS, the prequel novella to the much anticipated, THE MURDER COMPLEX!

Seems like we've been waiting FOR-EVER for this but now is the time!  I can't tell you how excited I am for The Murder Complex and now we have a little teaser taste of before the June 10th release!

THE FEAR TRIALS is only 1.99, and is available as an ebook only.

Summary courtesy of Goodreads:

Meadow Woodson has been trained to survive. This is a prequel to The Murder Complex, by Lindsay Cummings, and it is set in a blood-soaked world where the murder rate is higher than the birth rate. For fans of Moira Young's Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson's father calls it The Fear Trials, and it is a rite of passage in their family. Meadow is up against her brother Koi. The Fear Trials will both harden her and make her brave. If Meadow wins, she will get a weapon of her own and the right to leave the Woodsons' houseboat without her father or mother at her side. Set in the violent, complex, and mysterious world of The Murder Complex, and introducing Meadow Woodson—a teenage girl trained to survive no matter what the cost—and her family, who are together for the last time on their houseboat in the Florida Everglades.

http://www.lindsaycummingsbooks.com

Through To You

If you knew something was a bad idea, would you still do it?  That's exactly the story behind Lauren Barnholdt's Through to You.  This fast-paced read is action-packed with a variety of teenage drama, confusion and angst that will take you back.

Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:

Opposites attract—and then complicate—in this romantic, relatable novel from the author of Two-way Street and Sometimes It Happens.

It starts with a scribbled note in class: I like your sparkle. Harper had casually threaded a piece of blue and silver tinsel through her ponytail in honor of school spirit day. And that carefree, corny gesture is what grabs Penn Mattingly’s eye. Penn—resident heartbreaker of the senior class. Reliably unreliable. Trouble with a capital “T.” And okay, smolderingly sexy.

Harper’s surprised by Penn’s attention—and so is Penn. The last thing he needs is a girlfriend. Or even a friend-with-benefits. The note is not supposed to lead to anything.
Oh, but it does. They hang out. They have fun. They talk. They make out. And after a while, it seems like they just click. But Penn and Harper have very different ideas about what relationships look like, in no small part because of their very different family backgrounds. Of course they could talk about these differences—if Penn knew how to talk about feelings.

Harper and Penn understand their attraction is illogical, yet something keeps pulling them together. It’s like a crazy roller coaster—exhilarating, terrifying, and amazing all at once. And neither knows how to stop the ride…

I have to be honest and say that I had a love/hate relationship with Through to You.  One on hand I really loved the dual point of view between Harper and Penn.  It was so dynamic and really helped the pacing of the novel (even if the relationship seemed to move quite fast IMHO).  I always love getting both POV esp when it's the male/female viewpoint.  

On the other hand the plot seemed fairly predictable.  Good naive girl is enamored with resident bad boy and falls hard.  He of course, has a reputation and a past and needs to get over himself.  They build up and things start to go well but then they fight blow up and need to come to terms with their life and get their act together to hopefully have a happily ever after... beyond that the biggest thing I seemed to have an issue with was throughout the last half of the book I kept wondering, what is Harper doing?  Why is she putting up with this?  And wow, talk about anger issues...Penn needs some serious concealing.  Yikes!  I get his story is filled with bad lemons and his deck is stacked against him (he could have a whole novel himself), but seriously...talk about a bad boy with some serious issues! 

All in all though, I did enjoy the read.  Through to You was fast paced and and I believe, really captured the frantic teen emotions in this coming of age story.  

Waiting on Wednesday: The Glass Sentence (The Mapmakers Trilogy #1)

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Okay, so technically I'm on vacation, so I will make this WoW pick pretty short and sweet.  In honor of traveling to new lands I have selected The Glass Sentence (The Mapmakers Trilogy #1) by S.E. Grove as this week's selection!  I had not heard of this book until a few days ago, but wow, when I heard what it was all about I got so excited and then of course sad because it's not available yet...the best things, I suppose, are worth waiting for! 

Summary courtesy of Goodreads:

Boston, 1891. Sophia Tims comes from a family of explorers and cartologers who, for generations, have been traveling and mapping the New World—a world changed by the Great Disruption of 1799, when all the continents were flung into different time periods. Eight years ago, her parents left her with her uncle Shadrack, the foremost cartologer in Boston, and went on an urgent mission. They never returned. Life with her brilliant, absent-minded, adored uncle has taught Sophia to take care of herself.

Then Shadrack is kidnapped. And Sophia, who has rarely been outside of Boston, is the only one who can search for him. Together with Theo, a refugee from the West, she travels over rough terrain and uncharted ocean, encounters pirates and traders, and relies on a combination of Shadrack’s maps, common sense, and her own slantwise powers of observation. But even as Sophia and Theo try to save Shadrack’s life, they are in danger of losing their own.

The Glass Sentence plunges readers into a time and place they will not want to leave, and introduces them to a heroine and hero they will take to their hearts. It is a remarkable debut.Doesn't this just sound amazing?!  A completely new world to immerse yourself into and lose yourself with these amazing characters.  I personally cannot wait because it sounds like this one is action packed with rapid fire event sequences that are sure to leave readers breathless!  Also, this one appears to have some serious attention to the little details - "a gorgeous package--deckle-edge pages, roomy white space and elegant maps" (according to Shelf Awareness writer, Jennifer Brown).  I, for one, CANNOT wait! Eeeee!

The Anatomy of the Perfect YA Boyfriend

So we've all swooned over the myriad of YA Book Boyfriends and this summer will be no exception! So here is a brief look at The Anatomy of the Perfect YA Boyfriend:

Image courtesy of EpicReads.com

1. He's sensitive and so intelligent.  In fact, he often knows all of our needs in advance.  So tuned into what we need, even before maybe even we realize...and did we talk about brains?  This one opens doors (in our minds, not physical) we didn't know exists and shows us things about ourselves we didn't even know about!

2. He's got skills.  And by skills we're meaning like fighting, magic and/or supernatural skills!

3. He makes you laugh.  Oh the humor!  Where did that come from? How did he sneak his way into our hearts, oh that's right, he brought that smile to our face in a warm and soft kitten kind of way!

4. He's so patient we could die! We can seriously banish him and he'll likely come right back to us.  It's horrible really, but they're always waiting for us to come around and they always come back...they're good like that.  They can overlook our faults in a major way and see the very best within!

5. He's near unattainable.  Of course, he's wanted by EVERYONE and he picks us! The others, they ALL swoon over him, but he only has eyes for YOU (as it should be right?)

6. He has a papered often tragic history.  Parents somehow killed tragically?  Most often overcoming circumstances that would typically render him incapable of love, but for you...

7. Did we mention the CHEMISTRY!  Yes, that's right, the Feels.  There's just something about him that makes us tingle in our toes!  Sometimes we'll even find that that at first we feel passionately against him (He's so evil) and everything he is (pig)...or that you think he is.  Which leads us to...

8. There is ALWAYS more to him than you think! He is like an onion...lots of layers.  Often he will build up a facade to push people away or to keep them at arms length, but he has let us in and now we see him for what he is...PERFECT YA BOYFRIEND MATERIAL!

On the Fence

Kasie West, you steal my heart! On the Fence is such a heartfelt read and definitely one not to miss! For those of you who fell for the boy next door or always dreamed of having a worthy boy next door this story will warm your heart to the very core! I won't lie, I secretly always wished I had those "over protective" older brothers. This story really has it all: wit, humor, heartbreak, jealousy, coming of age, tragedy, family, friendship and of course LOVE! Lots of LOVE for West's On The Fence!

Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:

She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.  

Call me a cheeseball, but I seriously am addicted to these coming of age stories where characters really come into their own and begin to stop being the people they've been told to be or always thought they were and really blossom into the people they are from their core out. West does not disappoint in this case and On the Fence really scores! 

One of my favorite aspects of On the Fence are the characters. They are all so well developed that the reader actually feels a part of the family. Each character, no matter how minor is well described and given a personality so their own that they shine. West is so detailed that I can hear the rowdy boys goofing off around the house and on the field and I can smell the incense from the little shop that Charlie works in. All of the details are so vivid and contribute to West's beautifully matriculate world building. It's almost like you all right into the pages and end up on the streets of Old Town.

If FEELS is what you're after, then let me tell you, West does not let readers down on that front! Wow. It's a slow build, which honestly is my favorite kind of build, filled with a growing friendship, inclusive of those jealous tingles and then it's just downright romantic in a way that will melt even the coldest of hearts! Braden is so worthy of the FEELS and he is absolutely perfect! Noble, patient, kind, funny, romantic and HOT! Did we already cover that front? Oh well... Counter that with tomboy Charlotte i.e. Charlie who is raised by wolves (alright, alright three brothers and a dad) and who suddenly is thrust into a girly world that changes the way others see her and also changes the way she starts to see herself and others who surround her! She's a strong willed girl which I love and like so many of us, she is trying to find out where she fits in. 

We all try on different skins throughout life but the key is learning to be true to yourself...but who is that? Do not miss out on this wonderfully perfect read. Seriously! Get ready to fall in love this summer!

Prom Impossible

First of all, HUGE thanks to Giselle at Xpresso Book Tours and of course to Laura Pauling for this wonderful opportunity to review Prom Impossible! What a FUN ride...I mean read! I haven't wanted to get my hands on something that sounded this comedically tragic in a while and it was exactly what I was hoping it would be! Prom Impossible by Laura Pauling is perfect for summer! Such a delightful read that will leave you feeling hopeful, in love, in HATE, desperate and wonderful all at the same time! How does Pauling do that?! Let me just say, from the first page I was hooked and could not put this down until the end.

Summary courtesy of Goodreads:

1 girl + 1 prom + 3 guys = Prom Impossible!
Cassidy decides her senior year, including prom, will be about Michael Greenwood, the boy destined to be her soul mate. One problem. He hasn’t figured that out yet.

But certain events meant as innocent pranks—that weren’t completely her fault—introduce her to Zeke, the reformed bad boy. And cutting deals in the boys’ bathroom with Jasper, the hottest guy in school, lands her in a complicated web of half-truths that spirals out of control.

At the end of the year, she’s dateless the day before the big night but risks a lot more than her pride if she can’t find a way to fix her mistakes.

PROM IMPOSSIBLE is a modern-day Shakespearean romantic comedy in the world of teens, true love, and life.

While this novel is nothing ground-breaking, it is one heck of a crazy ride that will have you cursing and rooting for Cassidy all at the same time.  Her situation is sometimes a bit dramatic and she always seems to get herself into tricky situations but her journey throughout this read has so many emotions that it will keep you engaged and intrigued till the very end.  Will she end up with guy #1, guy #2 or guy #3?  You'll have to pick up this read to find out!