Waiting on Wednesday

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week:

As if staying focused in trigonometry wasn't hard enough....Eerie visions are plaguing Theia's mind, driving her insane. Someone or something is reaching out to her, dragging her into a dark underwater world. And, to add to her metal delirium, she has no control over her newly awakened Siren senses. She thinks she can hear her cat's thoughts, she wants to pummel Sarah Collins, and she's trying to keep it together so she doesn't lose her scholarship. She needs someone who understands—someone bound to the ocean water she craves—she needs Luc. But contacting him is risky, and returning to the water a death sentence. She must find a way to harness her Siren senses even though the waves are calling to her. Denying her intended destiny may be the only way to stay alive.

Published: August 1, 2013

What are you waiting on?

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover {Review}

ebook
327 pages

Published December 19th 2012

Summary

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Everybody in this book has such horrible pasts it makes me want to cry. But I didn't. Sky is both blessed and cursed with a past she can't remember. But someone does remember it. And it's not a pretty past, it's one that was full of horrible things and messed up people.

 “Its real, Six. You can't get mad at a real ending. Some of them are ugly. Its the fake happily ever afters that should piss you off.”

She has lived a sheltered life until her senior year. Always having been home schooled, Sky and her best friend somehow convinced her mother to let her go to (gasp) public school. A few days before the first day of school, Sky runs into Holder.

*sigh* Holder.

A boy with a past almost as messed up as hers. A boy with secrets as dark as night and guilt that's been weighing him down for such a long time, he's nearly crumbling from under it. But when he runs into Sky, his world is changed. Everyone thinks he's the schools 'bad boy' but that's not true. I mean sure beating up some kid is not exactly the brightest thing to do. But it was justified. Sort of.

I love Sky and Holder's conversations. They're filled with snark and bluntness and jokingly said insults. Lol. I love it.

 “I live you, Sky," he says against my lips. "I live you so much.”

Sky was going through some the worst kind of discovering yourself ever. And Holder was there. He was kind and understanding and honest and supportive and it was amazing. He respected her, he never used her. When he thought things were getting to be too much, he backed off. Their love was undeniable and it was that once in a lifetime thing that everyone talks about. And it worked. It didn't feel forced and it was totally believable. Scary believable. 

The plot was totally New Adult. It was intense in the finding yourself scene. Hopeless was full of dark twisting turns through every page. The more you found out the more you wanted to read and Dear God, you hoped everything was going to be okay, because if it wasn't.... I might have thrown my kindle across the room and through the window.

 “Sometimes you have to choose between a bunch of wrong choices and no right ones. You just have to choose which wrong choices feels the least wrong.”

In the end, they both discovered truths they did not want to believe. But they found each other, and they wouldn't trade that for the world.

Oh. And Breckin? He is freaking awesome.

“Breckin, this is Holder. Holder is not my boyfriend, but if I catch him trying to break the record for best first kiss with another girl, then he'll soon be my not breathing non-boyfriend.” 

 See that cover? After reading this book, it gives me chills.

Jackie  

Fearless {cover reveal}

Fearless by Eve Carter
Series: Jesse, #2
Publication Date: August 28th 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Goodreads

Summary:
 
I am strong, because I’ve been weak. I’m fearless, because I’ve been afraid. I’m wise, because I’ve been foolish.

Life is looking up for Jesse. With expert help from Chase, his injuries are healing and he makes preparations to enter the Pro motocross circuit again. A decision that could force Niki to make a difficult choice.

Kenny starts chemotherapy treatments but his bar, Rookies, is hurting from the lack of attention and lack of customers. As Jesse and Niki work to find a way to keep the bar from going under, life throws other obstacles in their way. From a manipulative dad and flirtatious step mom, to news from home about Jesse’s mother, that lands them in New York state in search of answers from the past. Dark secrets that were never meant to be revealed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 About the Author

 Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

I am a true romantic at heart and with a modern contemporary erotic twist to my romance novels, you had better fasten your seat belt, as the ride is always fun, exciting and fiery.
Living in Southern California, but a mid-westerner at heart, I find plenty of inspiration for my books in my own exciting life. I have always loved the arts and as a young girl, I took dance classes and spent the summers reading books from the local library. Fascinated with the written word and its power to guide the imagination, I started writing short stories and later took Creative Writing classes in college. I graduated from The University of Iowa with a B.A. in Journalism and an M.A. in Higher Education. I also have a Teaching Credential from Chapman University in Southern California.

 -Jackie 

Waiting for the Storm Blog Tour (7.29-8.3)

 

Waiting for the Storm Marie Landry

Ebook

Published April 9th 2013

Edition Language: English 

Genre: YA Contemporary

Summary:  

Seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved.

After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…

Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?

 Down- Blink 182

I'll be completely honest with you, I had my doubts. I thought this book would be cheesy with a cute romance that I could rant about. But it wasn't- cheesy I mean. It was heavy and deep and oh-so sweet. Erza and Charlotte are definetly one of my favorite fictional couples to date.

Charlotte was the Queen of Jumping to Conclusions. I honestly wanted to slap myself a few times and pretend it was her. Drug dealer? Are you kidding me? She is a glass half full kind of girl except when it comes to things that actually matter. Yes her life has been very hard....how could losing your mom, especially at such a young age, not have such heart breaking effects? As soon as she sees Ezra (well almost as soon) it's like she has something to look forward to. She is just so open, and when he isn't, she thinks of it as an act of betrayal. It isn't.

Charlottes's sister. *shudders* I just don't like her. She's mean and takes advantage of people. I know she thinks that everything is just soo easy for her sister, but nothing is as dramatic as she makes it out to be. Goodness. He annoying acts of...I don't even know what to call it....crappy attitude-ness. I did mark this as a 'discovering-yourself' so, the question for her is ' to change for not to change?'

Ezra. Where to start with him? He's crazy and amazing. He is by no means perfect. He's had a crappy life and when Charlotte came into his life..it was like everything was new. He has secrets. Lot and bunches and heaps and gold mines of secrets. Charlotte is uncovering them one at a time and he is losing his shield to hide behind.

Everyone mourns in different ways. Some keep and air tight grasp on every part of that person that they once knew. Some let go of everything and block that person from their memories. Some recreate themselves into a different human entirely, not even recognizable to themselves, much less to the world around them. Some keep secrets and hide everything they used to know.

This is a story of, if not overcoming grief, then finding yourself and accepting what happened. It about falling in love and learning to not be afraid when something doesn't go as planned. This is a novel where love isn't perfect. Its scary because it real and perfect because it isn't. 

Oh, and the way the title was within the book-perfect.

 Quote Worthy: 

 “I have another label for us,” I told him a bit breathlessly.
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Happy.”

________________________________________

 

 website/ twitter

Marie has always been a daydreamer; since early childhood, she's had a passion for words and a desire to create imaginary worlds, so it only seemed natural for her to become a writer. She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, or having grand adventures with her two precious nephews. 

(goodreads) 

-Jackie 

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves, hosted by Tynga’s Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks...I kinda collect those in bulk. Hello! Freebies!!




This Week:

 For Tour:
By Blood by Tracy E. Banghart
Moon Child  by Tracy E. Banghart ARC
Witchling by Ari Harper
Gargoyle Addiction by Livia Olteano

Bought:
Raksha by Frankie Rose
Eternal Hope by Frankie Rose
Sovereign Hope by Frankie Rose
Slide by Jill Hathaway
Sleepless by Megg Jensen
Lost by Nadia Simonenko

I've had a breakthrough......I have finally figured out how to load a mobi. document onto my Kindle. Praise the Lord. My life will be SO much easier now!

Jackie  

Courtney Cole {Interview}

ebook, 220 pages

Published February 5th 2013 by Lakehouse Press

ISBN13: 2940016249308 

 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

 

Summary:

 

24-year old Pax Tate is an asshole.
Seriously.

He’s a tattooed, rock-hard bad-boy with a bad attitude to match.

But he’s got his reasons.

His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with guilt although he doesn’t understand why. What he does know is that he and his dad are left alone and with more issues than they can count.

As Pax grew up, he tried to be the kid his father always wanted; the perfect golden boy, but it didn’t work. His dad couldn’t overcome his grief long enough to notice and Pax couldn’t keep up the impossible perfect façade.
So he slipped far, far from it.

Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the ugliness, the black void that he doesn’t want to deal with. If he pretends that the emptiness isn’t there, then it isn’t, right?
Wrong.

And it’s never more apparent than when he meets Mila.
Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air to his hardened frown, the beauty to his ugly heart. He doesn’t know how to not hurt her, but he quickly realizes that he’s got to figure it out because he needs her to breathe.

When memories of his mother’s death resurface from where he’s repressed them for so long, Mila is there to catch him when the guilt starts making sense. Mila is the one…the one who can save him from his broken troubled heart; from his issues, from the emptiness.

But only if he can stop being an asshole long enough to allow it.

He knows that. And he’s working on it.

But is that enough to make her stay?

 

Let’s meet the author!

 

Courtney Cole and I sat down after browsing an amazing bookstore, Barter Books.

 

 
1.     What's your favorite band/ song?  
Hmm. I don't have any one favorite. I have eclectic taste, and I go from one thing to the other.  Right now, I'm listening to Franz Ferdinand a lot.
 
2.     How did the idea for If You Stay come about?  
I wrote If You Stay because someone close to me used drugs as a coping mechanism.  As I was pondering what might make a person do that, I remembered a news story I'd heard years ago about a mother, a son and an intruder.  In real life, the mother and son got away, but I started to wonder what would've become of the son if his mother had died in front of him.  I decided that he would want to live in oblivion.  And this is how Pax's story was born.
 
3.     What is your favorite character you have brought to life?  
Luca Minaldi from my series the Minaldi Legacy.  I love him.  Dark, tortured, complex and sexy as hell.   Although, I have to say--- Dominic Kinkaide, the main character from my work-in-progress (Before We Fall) is pretty awesome.  I'm sure I'll be in love with him before this book is done.  My heart is a fickle thing....
 
4.     Would you rather eat chocolate or caramel for the rest of your life?  
Chocolate. Hand's down!  Was that a real question?  Lol.  
 
5.     If you were stuck on a deserted island, which of these things would you want to have with you and why?:  A strawberry scented candle, a book, fish food, a pineapple rind or a spoon?   Hmm.  Interesting question. 

 I would say fish food-- so that I could feed the fish and get them to come close enough to me so that I could spear one with a sharpened stick.  Which I would have to sharpen with my teeth, because I wouldn't have a knife.  Then I'd have to eat the fish with my hands, caveman style.  I'm gonna hope I don't get shipwrecked.  Unless it was with Alex Pettyfer.  (Hells to the yes. Alex Pettyfer.)
 
~Ebook or paperback?  I love them both.  I love the ease of reading on an ereader-- but I love paperbacks when I'm soaking in the tub.  :) 
~Cats or dogs?  I have both, but I have to say that I'm probably more partial to cats, especially my cat Cleocatra. We call her Ninja because she has ninja skills.  
~Fried or grilled chicken?  Fried.  I prefer everything fried.  Hehe.  

_______________________

Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.

Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

 Jackie