Waiting on Wednesday (31)

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Me, Him, Them, and It

Author: Caela Carter

Pub Date: 2.7.13

From goodreads.com: When Evelyn decided to piss off her parents with a bad reputation, she wasn't planning to ruin her valedictorian status. She also wasn't planning to fall for Todd-the guy she was just using for sex. And she definitely wasn't planning on getting pregnant. When Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn's not sure where to go. Can a distant mother, a cheating father, an angry best friend, and a (thankfully) loving aunt with adopted daughters of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow?

Top Ten Tuesday (32)

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week is a freebie week!  Because it's Christmas, I'm going to go with: 

Top Winter/Holiday books

Get ready to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and get reading!

1. Decked with Holly - Marni Bates

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not even done with this one yet, but I love it already.  It's set on a cruise, takes place over Christmas, and involves the super hot drummer of a really popular band.  What's not to like?

2. Love Happens - Elizabeth Chandler

I read this book every year at Christmas.  It's really cheesy and embarrassing to read in public, but I don't care.  It's kind of an updated Prince and the Pauper story where the two guys are roommates at a prestigious boarding school.  Quinn (the rich one) would rather go skiing than go visit family friends over the holidays.  He sends his scholarship fund roommate, Jeff, in his place.  Of course Jeff falls for the family's daughter, wacky hijinks ensue, and all is righted in the end.

3. Bittersweet - Sarah Ockler

Cupcakes and ice skating, is there anything better?  Every time I started a new chapter the cupcake description made me want to stop and make cupcakes.  The minute I picked this one up I knew I would love it.

4. The Long Winter - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Pa goes to town for supplies during a giant blizzard AND IT TAKES ALMOST THE WHOLE BOOK TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM.  Clearly I was traumatized by this book as a child, but it's my favorite of all the Little House books.

5. Let It Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

One snowstorm, three interconnecting stories.  Done by some of the best in YA, Let It Snow should be on everyone's winter reading list.

Bonus mentions: 

6. Ex-Mas - Kate Brian

7. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

All of these books are sure to help get you into the holiday spirit.

Merry Christmas everyone!

In My Mailbox (28)

Hosted by The Story Siren

From Publishers:

The Tragedy Paper - Elizabeth Laban

Thanks Random House!

On my nook:

Snowed Over - Angie Stanton

Girl Meets Boy - Kelly Milner Halls

I'm Not Her - Janet Gurtler

From Notting Hill with Love...Actually - Ali McNamara

Decked With Holly - Marni Bates

I went a little nook crazy this week, but I got some good reads for not a lot of money.

Hope everyone's having a great holiday so far and hopefully we'll have a lot of new books to share with each other next week!

Waiting on Wednesday (30)

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Also Known As

Author: Robin Benway

Pub Date: 2.26.13

From goodreads.com: Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

Top Ten Tuesday (31)

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is

Top Ten Books I Read in 2012

Now, I'm going to be a big old cheater this week because I've read SO MANY good books this year that I want to share.  I've managed to cut my list down to 12.  Top 12 in 2012 sounds pretty good to me.  These are in no particular order.

1. The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken  

2. Black Heart - Holly Black

3. Divergent - Veronica Roth

4. My Life Next Door - Huntley Fitzpatrick

5. The Fault in our Stars - John Green

6. Throne of Glass - Sarah Maas

7. Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

8. The Evolution of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin

9. Girl of Nightmares - Kendare Blake

10. The Piper's Son - Melina Marchetta

11. Second Chance Summer - Morgan Matson

12. Everneath - Brodi Ashton

I can't wait to see what everyone else has picked so I can add them to my reading list for 2013!

In My Mailbox (27)

Hosted by the Story Siren

Bought:

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith

When I saw that this was 50% off on Green Monday at Barnes and Noble, I knew I had to own it.  I love everything about this book, but especially its cover.

From Publishers:

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake - Anna Quindlen

I was lucky enough to go to the RH Open House this week and came away with this awesome book from Anna Quindlen.  The panels were fantastic and it was great to be surrounded by fellow book lovers for a day of discussion.  Thanks Random House!

Waiting on Wednesday (29)

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Perfect Scoundrels

Author: Ally Carter

Pub Date: 2.5.13

From goodreads.com: Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it's that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting--or stealing--whatever they want. No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale's family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there's no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won't let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother's will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company's fortune. So instead of being the heir--this time, Hale might be the mark. Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she's willing to save her boyfriend's company if it means losing the boy.

Top Ten Tuesday (30)

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is

Top Ten New To Me Authors I Read in 2012

1. Veronica Roth

2. Jennifer E. Smith

3. Brodi Ashton

4. Melissa Jensen

5. Huntley Fitzpatrick

6. Sarah J. Maas

7. Melina Marchetta

8. Alexandra Bracken

9. Kendare Blake

10. Cassandra Clare

11. Sarah Rees Brennan

Okay, I'm a cheater, but I couldn't bring myself to leave Sarah Rees Brennan off this list, she's hilarious and I love her.  There's a couple big names on my list this year, I'm kind of proud that I've finally read stuff by these guys.  What this really is is a list of authors whose books I'll read no questions asked.  Put it in my hands and I'll fly through it.  I can't wait to see who is on everyone else's list!

In My Mailbox (26)

Hosted by the Story Siren

Purchased:

The Diviners - Libba Bray

Zombies vs. Unicorns

Falling for You - Lisa Schroeder (not really a purchase, but I forgot to take a separate picture)

Blackwood - Gwenda Bond

I went to another Oblong Books signing and came home with way too many books, as usual.  Libba Bray and Gwenda Bond were fantastic and so, so funny.  And I came home with a bonus ARC of Falling for You.

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare - Melissa Jensen

Title: The Fine Art of Truth or Dare
Author: Melissa Jensen
Pages: 380
Publisher: Speak

From goodreads.com: Ella is nearly invisible at the Willing School, and that's just fine by her. She's got her friends - the fabulous Frankie and their sweet cohort Sadie. She's got her art - and her idol, the unappreciated 19th-century painter Edward Willing. Still, it's hard being a nobody and having a crush on the biggest somebody in the school: Alex Bainbridge. Especially when he is your French tutor, and lessons have started becoming, well, certainly more interesting than French ever has been before. But can the invisible girl actually end up with a happily ever after with the golden boy, when no one even knows they're dating? And is Ella going to dare to be that girl?

This was a really solid contemporary read.  I was in a bit of a reading slump when I read this and it was exactly what I needed to get back on track.

It's the story of Ella - Ella who comes from a close knit Italian family and is on scholarship to her school - and how she falls for someone "out of her league."  But it's also so much more than that.  It's the story of a girl who has to fight to overcome her insecurities in order to take a chance on something that she wants.  It's about a girl who talks to a long dead painter in her head because that's less scary than actually talking to boys her own age.  She's a girl who spends her free time with her friends at a karaoke lounge playing truth or dare.  There was just the right amount of quirkiness at play here.  I really enjoyed this book and it made me pick up Melissa Jensen's other book, Falling in Love With English Boys (which I just ADORED with everything in me).

Waiting on Wednesday (28)

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Hysteria

Author: Megan Miranda

Pub Date: 2.5.13

From meganmiranda.com: Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian. She can’t remember the details of that night but everyone knows it was self-defense, so she isn’t charged. But Mallory still feels Brian’s presence in her life. Is it all in her head? Or is it something more? In desperate need of a fresh start, Mallory is sent to Monroe, a fancy prep school where no one knows her... or anything about her past. But the feeling follows her, as do her secrets. Then, one of her new classmates turns up dead. As suspicion falls on Mallory, she must find a way to remember the details of both deadly nights so she can prove her innocence -- to herself and others.

Top Ten Tuesday (29)

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is

Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

1. Happy Days - Olly Murs

2. Honest - Tulisa Contostavlos

I've been in a British pop star place recently and these two bios are actually on my Christmas list.  We'll see if they actually make it under my tree though.

3. Divergent - Veronica Roth

4. Insurgent - Veronica Roth

I am the worst at reading the big books, so this pair is one that I've put off reading for a long time.  I picked up Divergent last week because it's my book club's December pick and flew through it.  I'm almost done with Insurgent now and I'm officially obsessed.  I know these are books that I'm going to reread many times in the future.  Plus, they're so pretty!

5.  The John Green boxed set

It's just so pretty.  I love whoever designed the outer box to this set, it's perfect.  And I just googled the poster that's inside and I MUST HAVE IT.

6. Meant to Be - Lauren Morrill

I've been wanting to read this one for what feels like forever.  It finally came out and I still haven't read it.  If it was in my possession it would be easier to rectify this.

7. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith

I love this book and its cover so much, I just want to have it.

8. Delirium - Lauren Oliver

9. Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

10. Requiem - Lauren Oliver

Love love love this series.  I have ARCs of the first two, but would love hardcover copies.  Plus if Santa wouldn't mind preordering Requiem I wouldn't hate it.