Mysterious Saturday Review: Truly Madly

Lucy's father has a talent that's shared by blood relatives - except for Lucy since she had an accident. Instead of seeing love matches through auras, she can find lost objects. When her father's caught having an affair, things heat up for the family business. Mr. and Mrs. Valentine head off for a tropical vacation, leaving Lucy in charge of the business. Lucy's never wanted to run the business, especially since she doesn't have the same gifts. In meeting with a client, she discovers a missing item of his is on a dead women buried in the park. With the help of the young private investigator who works upstairs, she uncovers the body and uncovers a whole web of lies to untangle. Can she find the murderer before the police go after her or her client?

My Thoughts: An excellent start to a new series filled with paranormal elements, romance, and mystery. I loved Lucy - she's quirky, fun, and wildly entertaining. I can't wait to read more about her.

The Cover: I like the open door, it's extremely inviting and the heart vines are adorable.

Source: contest on Goodreads (I'm Jennifer Rummel there, so come friend me!)

Author's Website: where you can read the first chapter
Book 2 - coming in August

*also if you're a mystery fan, check out the post below for a chance to win a great Teen mystery*

Contest: Wherever Nina Lies giveaway

Out now in Paperback:
Wild child Nina went missing two years ago and Ellie can't let her go. In one random moment, she finds a drawing of Amanda's at a second hand store. Immediately, she knows it's a clue. She takes off on a whirlwind adventure looking for her sister with a boy she just met. Instantly she feels a connection to him because he knows her pain - his brother died. Each clue they find brings Ellie hope that she'll find her long lost sister but could she be on another wild and dangerous goose chase?

There are twists in this amazingly book that I never saw coming and they blew me away. A wonderful tale for a debut author. I can't wait to see what she cooks up next. I loved the sisterly moments of flashbacks between Nina and Ellie. I loved watching the relationships unfold and the danger escalate.

Debut Author:
Lynn Weingarten spends a lot of time writing in coffee shops while occasionally reading strangers’ laptops over their shoulders. In the past she has been a book editor, a barista, a counter girl at a bakery in Ireland, a waitress at a bar, and a seller of tiny homemade clay animals. She lives in New York City. Wherever Nina Lies was her first novel. Please visit her online at www.lynnweingarten.com.

Photo by: Jena Cumbo.

Check out her interview with Kristi at the Story Siren

Sneak Peek

"The guy walking toward me is good-looking in an obnoxious way, like he’d play the hot jerk in a TV movie about why drunk driving is bad or how it doesn’t pay to cheat on the SATs. He’s got these big wrap-around sunglasses on and a shiny black short-sleeved button-up shirt filled out with the kind of insanely sculpted arm muscles a person only gets when they spend most of their time lifting weights in the mirror and grunting at themselves."

If you'd like to be entered to win one of three copies:

• leave a comment telling me a an awesome mystery you read
  
• plus your email address.

* the contest will end at midnight on Friday March 12th and winners will be announce Monday the 15th. *

Good Luck!

Spotted: Wickedly Awesome video

BethReads tweeted about this awesome video that would make your librarian heart smile.
Boy was she ever RIGHT!

Ocoee Middle School Gotta Keep Reading from Michael Cardwell on Vimeo.

Review from www.teensreadtoo.com: Fade Out

The battle for Morganville is over and life is relatively normal. Claire is back in classes and working in Myrnin’s lab. She notices something evil and unnatural about Ada, as if the computer brain that protects Morganville is jealous of Claire.

Quickly, life changes back to crazy when Eve discovers a new friend also involved in the town play. Suddenly, she’s too busy to hang out with Claire. Plus, this new girl used to date Shane and it’s clear that her feelings for him haven’t disappeared. Claire’s consumed with jealously even after they learn about Kimberly’s disappearance and her shocking hobby.

Amelie’s struggling with her mental health and her stability while a new rogue vampire, Morley, gains a certain amount of power.

Everything combined could threaten Claire’s world and that of her friends in a deadly dangerous way. Will they be forced to make a perilous choice?

Life is never dull in Morganville, where drama and vampires rarely sleep. Rachel Caine keeps the action fast-paced and throws in twists and turns you’ll never see coming.

Review for www.teensreadtoo.com: Maggie Bean In Love

It’s the start of eighth grade, and Maggie has more drama than ever. She finds out that her beloved swim team might be cut due to funding. Immediately, she’s elected to save the team. Maggie has no idea how to beat the Water Wings, the most popular girls in school and her arch nemeses.

Her best friend comes to her house one day armed with ideas on how to make the swim team stand out. Maggie and Aimee come up with a plan, but Maggie’s worried about Aimee and something she read that could change her friend’s life. Why isn’t Aimee saying anything?

Pound Patrol is still going strong, with more kids enrolled than ever before.

Plus, Maggie has her first boyfriend – her friend, Arnie. Now that they’ve confessed their feelings, it’s time to take their relationship to the next level. Maggie and Arnie are comfortable talking about almost anything, until this newfound status makes them shy around each other. Maggie wonders why Arnie isn’t kissing her and what she’s doing wrong.

Normally, Maggie schedules out her entire day but little things keep throwing off her schedule, leaving her frustrated, busy, and unable to enjoy life as it comes. Will Maggie collapse under all this stress? How can she enjoy her first boyfriend with all the craziness in her life?

The third book in this delightful series is a sweet tale about a first boyfriend and the awkwardness and joys of dating your best friend.

Cover thoughts: Very cute and enticing

Perfect for the 10 in '10 Chick Lit Challenge

Review: Gone

Janie's finally taking a vacation to rest primarily, but also she's trying to figure out her future. A phone call from her BFF brings her rushing back home as she discovers her mother's in the hospital visiting a man who turns out to be her father. Janie's never met her father. She had no idea he lived near them. Right now, he's in coma, just waiting to leave this world. Janie doesn't want to know him, but she can't help her curiosity once she realizes that he too is a dream catcher. Right now, he's having terrible dreams and needs her help to escape. With the stress of her vacation cut short, finding about her father, and struggling to make the most important decision of her life, Janie's exhausted. What will the future bring her?


My Thoughts: While this book was different from the rest of the trilogy with not a central mystery to uncover, I enjoyed seeing the inner struggle of Janie. Overall this trilogy was outstanding, intriguing, and scary. I'm interested to see what come next from this amazing author.

The Cover: I like this cover, it flows nicely with the others in the trilogy and adds a little mystery to the book.

Source: My library

Review: Chasing Brooklyn

Brooklyn's still getting over the death of her first love. It's been a year but she can't stop thinking about him or writing him letters. She lives in pain, but it's nothing compared to the pain she feels when his best friend dies of an overdose. They made a pact to be there for each other, to help each other through the tough days. She didn't hold up her end of the bargain. Now she sees him in her dreams. He haunts her - chasing her down hallways and forest paths. There are night when she doesn't want to sleep because of the nightmares.

Nico's also having haunting dreams - but it's his brother telling him to help Brooklyn. At first, he barely tries after Brooklyn shuts him out. But his brother's ghosts won't rest and Nico's forced to try harder. Soon Nico and Brooklyn are working out together and slowly becoming friends.

Brooklyn's not reading to share her inner most thoughts with Nico - including the ghost, but she's trying. Can Nico break through Brooklyn's barriers?


My Thoughts: I really loved this book - it's a beautiful amazingly emotional story. I loved the different points of view and hearing Nico's side and his haunting. I liked how Ava makes a brief, but important appearance.

Similar Read: Twenty Boy Summer


The Cover: I really like this cover, I feel a sense of lost (as in the character doesn't know what to feel or what to think) and emotional barriers - staring out the window in the rain. It really fits the food of the book.

Source: My library - I placed the book on hold as soon as I could (perk of being a librarian)

Review: Diva Paints the Town

Sophie's in the middle of organizing decorating show when her elderly next door neighbor dies. He's a recluse that no one seems to know much about except that he was once an amazing teacher and his home is a decorator's dream. When Natasha, Sophie's frenemy, becomes involved, she steamrolls her way into turning the mansion into a show home. While several decorators use their talents in various rooms, tempers flare over both styles and colors used. Plus a mysterious will from the mansion's owner sets tongues wagging. Did the professor cover up a huge crime?
When Sophie's neighbor confesses to killing an old flame, Sophie calls in the police, only to discover the body has simply disappeared. They think she's crazy but Sophie knows what she saw. Now Nina's getting phone calls from the deceased's phone and she's scared someone saw her. She's not about to become the next victim so she asks Sophie to help, but how exactly does one investigate without a body?


My Reading Habits: Confession - I ADORE adult cozy mysteries. I read several a month, but rarely do I post about them. Clearly, I'm changing and will be posting more of these reviews even thought they're adult. I do think that mysteries can absolutely cross over with teen appeal, but I simply love reading them. For me a good mystery has a romantic tension plus have an interesting job (as that usually gets the mystery going). Plus, I hate it when I know the killer - which can sometimes happen when you read a lot of them, but it does spoil the mystery for me. That doesn't happen too often for me.

My Thoughts: This book is third in a series of adult cozy mysteries. I enjoy this series and this book is no different. It's cute, sassy, funny, and I never see what's coming next. I admit to loving Natasha on paper because she's so crazy and her relationship with Sophie makes the book.

Cover Thoughts: I love the covers for this series, very detailed and eye catching.

Review: Rival Revenge (WITH spoilers)

Sasha's still reeling from the incident at her birthday party and the whole campus is buzzing about it. It's hard for her to be around Paige because Paige wants the truth. So instead, Sasha's riding me than ever and concentrating on her form - which is great because a video of practice will be going to the YENT board. Plus she's working hard on her academics, trying to study extra hard. She has no time for thinking things worked out differently with Eric, avoiding Jacob even though they have a school project together, and trying not to throw up every time she sees Callie. It hurts Sasha to know they can never be friends again. With all her activities and fights and avoiding people, Sasha doesn't really have any friends. When Heather steps up and acts friendly, Sasha knows her life looks really bad. Will things ever get better?

My Thoughts: The 7th book in this adorable addictive tween series still rocks out the drama, the friendships, the boys, and now revenge. If you haven't read this series yet, start off with Home Sweet Home and be happy that these books come out roughly every three months because it would be extremely hard to wait longer for the next installment.

Covers: All the covers in this series are amazing.

Review: Waiting for You

Marisa and her BFF Sterling always attempt to reinvent themselves over the summer before starting school again. As they start up their sophomore year, Marisa hopes that finally her crush will notice her - except that he has a girlfriend. When the couple breaks up, Derek begins to pay attention to Marisa. Soon, they're a couple but her dream come true starts wrecking havoc on her relationship with Sterling. Plus, Derek's not entirely When Marisa gets paired up with her once friend Nash for science, she begins to blossom. She shares with him her secret troubles from last year, her fights with her best friend, and the family trouble happening at home. She loves hanging out with Nash, because he's safe. Is there something deeper between them that Marisa's not seeing and if so, will it ruin their friendship?


Book Thoughts: This is the first Susane Colasanti book I've read - after hearing her compared to Sarah Dessen. It was really cute and sweet and yes, it did remind me a Dessen book. I liked the friendship struggles - where a girl finds a boy and perhaps isn't always there for her friend - from the girl with the boy's point of view. I LOVED Nash from geek to potential hottie.

Cover thoughts: Cute scene from the book - Like it a lot!

A perfect book choice for:
Book Source: Public Library

Ally Carter's READ poster

Check out the READ poster I made from a photo taken at the signing event I attended over the weekend (See below)

I think it came out cute!

Author Signing: Ally Carter

On Saturday, I had an amazing time at RJ Juila's where I got to see two awesome authors.

When I got there, they started up a raffle for these wicked cool Heist Society glasses. I would have LOVED them, sadly they were not available for anyone not a teen girl. One librarian did "win" but they refused to give a pair to her, which I thought was wrong. Then Ally came on:

Here she is talking. She mentions:

She knew she wanted to be a write very early on.
She found inspiration in S.E. Hinton - who lived roughly an hour from her
She wrote two adult novels before changing to YA
She felt like she was coming home (best description ever!)
She talked about her daily routine and staying in her PJs
She mentioned how she finds a nugget and then creates a story
She did talk about the movie and how she's glad the characters will be older because that might mean they can snag a movie star instead of an unknown.

In truth, she was sweet, funny, and adorable.

Plus she embarrassed Jennifer Lynn Barnes who was there with her, who has a new book coming out June 8th! And it looks awesome :)

Sadly, there were no spoilers for GG4, nor for the next Heist Society book.

Here we are the two of us together!

I LOVE LOVE LOVED this book. Check out my review here if you missed it.

Movie Review: Percy Jackson

First I want to say that I'm a HUGE fan of the books and I think Rick Riordan rocks. That being said, movies are usually different from the books for various reasons - time constraints or to add more drama. Sometimes it's for the better or it works and sometimes it just doesn't.

I thought the movie was good, not great, but good.

Things I wish had made it into the movie:

• finding out about his father - while at Camp Half Blood
• Ares
• more time with the gods
• Chariot Races
  

Things I LOVED

• Medusa
• Grover
  Nashville and the Partheon - Yes, this was extraordinarily different, but awesomely so although the real statue of Athena looks like this:

Things I didn't like

• Luke - I didn't feel he was evil enough - seemed a little cheesy to me
• Capture the flag
• Mrs. Dodds not as a Math teacher
• The Gods' height, not in human form - felt really strange to me.
  

Things I didn't mind

• aging of the characters

Overall I do hope they continue with Sea of Monster

Contest Winners

Winners have been emailed!
thanks for entering
If you didn't win, check back near the end of the month for our next contest!

Spotted: Hunger Games 3

Looks awesome right?

Coming to you August 24th.

The day can't come soon even for me. I LOVE this series

Displays for the month

Just in time for the Percy Jackson movie - a mythology display.

The focal point of the display - Percy Jackson and Oh My Gods

I bought Percy Jackson bookmarks that say
The Greatest Heroes are Readers
and the back, there's a booklist of our fictional mythology books:

Avalon High

Book of Three

Nobody’s Princess

Oh My Gods

Percy Jackson series

Radiant Darkness

Runemarks

Sea Trolls

Secrets of Nicholas Flamel

Sirena

Sisters of Isis series

Sword of the Rightful King

Tattoo

Water Mirror

Why I Ley My Hair Grow Out

The other bookmarks are from Tera Lynn Childs for her second book, Goddess Boot Camp
they have: Are you Goddess enough? as a tagline. (charming!)
plus, Tera sent me these awesome buttons.
I confess that I swiped some for myself and the teens are gobbling up the rest of them.

plus, I was really lucky as Oh My Gods was just returned that day for the picture. It's hard to keep this series on the shelf :)

A small display for the the awesome Great Scavenger Hunt contest hosted by Kay Cassidy.

I should have take this picture a few weeks ago as there as a large display before the mythology one. By the time I thought of it, most of the books were all checked out.

a wall display of the Great Scavenger Hunt

a blurry picture of my wall valentine display - the hearts say funny library things like Books Rock and Love your Library.

Spotted: Rick Riordan

Here he is with his son Haley - the inspiration for Percy Jackson

His son,15, is now writing a book :)

Check out an article about them

Plus, you can read the first chapter of his new book!

Review: Bad Blood

Sunny's having boyfriend issues or vampire issues or really both since her boyfriend is the leader of the vampire coven. While she's his human girlfriend, the council feels he needs a blood mate to help him with the political side of his life. Enter Jane: a recent graduate from Oxford, political science of course, and a Rhodes scholar. Sunny can't complete with her brains, but why does she dress so trashy? Sunny questions her legitimacy and starts snooping. When Jane can't answer the simplest questions, Sunny knows that something's not right. When she takes her thoughts to Magnus, he dismisses her ideas as jealously. With the blood ritual only days away and in Los Vegas, Sunny's determined to uncover proof and stop the union. Will she uncover the proof she needs without loosing her life or her boyfriend?

A great addition to the series and talk about cliff hanger endings. OMG. When is the next book coming out? I enjoyed reading more about the family and look forward to see that storyline develop. I really enjoyed Stormy. Also I like how Sunny stood up to her boyfriend. If you haven't read this series, go back to BOYS THAT BITE first, check out the trailer here

Random: First I'm so happy that we're treated to more in this series

Cover: I do like the edgy new covers, I think they are very eye catching.

Review: Grimm Legacy

Elizabeth, the new girl in school, doesn't have any friends. When her social studies teacher Mr. Mauskopf recommends her for a job at a special library, things start looking up. During the job interview, she's given a box of buttons and asked to sort them. Elizabeth doesn't know quite what to make it of, but apparently she passes with flying colors. Then she discovers that the library doesn't hold many books, but it circulates a variety of items including hot chocolate pots. At first, she's confused, but soon learns that the library circulates old items, valuable items, and some magic items. The magic items are from the Grimm Collection - as in objects from the fairy tales. However the items from the Grimm collection seems to be losing their magic. Could someone be stealing it and with all the security, could it actually be an inside job?

Cover: It's hard to see because there aren't many pictures of this yet, but the tagline reads: Borrow the Magic...if you Dare. I love it. Plus the cover is very interesting and eye catching.

Thoughts: OMG, this library sounds amazing, I'd LOVE to work in it, although I would miss all the books. I love the idea of fairy tale items being available for circulation. While the fantastical elements made the story surprising and enjoyable, the mystery behind the magic moves the story. I simply devoured this book. I dearly hope this is the start of a new series.

*Out May 13th *
Read Chapter One

Copy provided by publisher at ALA Midwinter.

Review: Magic Under Glass

Ever since Nimira's mother died and her father gambled away their fortune, she's been singing and dancing for tiny wages. One night, her fortune changes when a gentleman watches her performance. While he offers her a job, she looks upon it as a chance for escape. Without hesitation, she takes him up on it. They travel to his estate where he informs her of his situation. He recently purchases an automaton and wishes her to sing with it. He briefly mentions that the automaton might be haunted as other girls have fled the house. Nimira's not sure what to think. The master of the house treats her as an almost equal. Nimira's not sure if he's flirting with her or not. When she hears rumors swirling about his wife, she's more confused than ever. While practice alone with the automaton, she discovers that the machine is holding a man trapped inside - thus creating the haunting effect. She quickly finds out a way to communicate with him. With each passing day, they grow closer, but danger sparks when some very powerful comes to visit and he also has a theory of about the automaton. Could Nimira lose everything she holds dear?

A wonderful debut novel that to me reads half regency (although it's not, but it does remind me of Jane Eyre) and half fantasy. Just a beautiful story, which continues in a sequel! There's been so much talk surrounding this cover, but I do want to say, however misguided, it's a beautifully eye-catching cover.


Read an interview with Jaclyn Dolamore

Copy *from Otis Library*

Read for 10 in '10 Teen Chick Lit Challenge:

Review: Up Over Down Under

Eliza's dad works for the EPA in Washington D.C.. He's a highly respected position, which means Eliza's behavior plays a factor in his profile. As a result, she's been the perfect daughter, but when an opportunity arises for an exchange program, she's thrilled to be on her own down under. Billie, on the other hand, can't wait to become involved with the political aspect of saving the environment. She's taken a hands-on approach in the past, but now she can actually make a difference. Both girls couldn't be happier about the exchange, but things don't turn out as planned. Eliza gets herself into hot water break the rules for a boy while Billie grows frustrated with the time it takes to make anything happen in the political world. Before she knows it, she's headed for trouble. Will the time in different countries change the girls' outlook on life and jeopardize their place in the hosting home?

Up Over Down Under is part of the S.A.S.S. series (which I Love), but this is even better as it's a bonus book - two stories in one and it doesn't disappoint. I love the exploring new countries, new friendships, new families, and new boys. I loved how the stories intertwined because it deepened the story.

*book provided by authors at the ALA Midwinter Tweet up*

Where I got it signed and met Noah Harland who was really nice. Then we chatted a bit on twitter after the event where he mentioned that this is his first book and that he mostly wrote Eliza's adventure while Micol Ostow (author of the first S.A.S.S. book Westminster Abby and Crush Du Jour - awesome books btw) wrote Billie's story.

Spotted: Raised By Wolves cover

Isn't it beautiful?
I really can't wait to read it for a number of reasons

1. The Cover
2. Werewolves
3. The author, she's wicked cool and her books are clever and fun plus she likes monkeys

how can you not read her books?

Review: Stupid Cupid

Felicity scored a job - as a teen cupid. She has the power to create love matches by sending blank emails to the couple with potential. There are rule involved: each potential couple must have at least three points of common interests, don't hook up more than one person together, and above all learn from the matches that don't make it after the two week trial period. Felicity can't wait to test out her new powers. Soon she's juggling a green couple, juggling her best friend with three potential boyfriends, her arch rival with a creep, and a smart girl with a wise cracking guy. Will any of her matches survive?

A charming new trilogy filled with humor, disasters, friendship, and love that can't help but adore.

Read Chapter One

* Book Two Flirting with Disaster comes out in March *

Review: Heist Society

Kat used to lead a life of danger before she pulled her biggest con ever and walked away from a life of thievery to attend boarding school. Her enrollment last a few months before her old life comes crashing over her plans. She's framed for a prank, she didn't commit, but will nonetheless result in her expulsion from school. Quickly she realizes this dismissal is the work of an old family friend. He's here to tell her that her master thief father needs her help. Turns out her father's been set up too. Only the consequences are no where near as soft as being kicked out off boarding school. Kat secretly meets his deadly enemy and works out a deal. She has two weeks to find the paintings and steal them back. If successful, it will be the biggest job she'll ever pull off and also the most dangerous. Can she do it?

Gorgeous Cover! I fully admit that I LOVE Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series, but this new series may be even better . It's my new favorite book. The combination of finding the art, the major art heist, saving a family member, and going against the family makes for a thrilling edge of your seat read.

The Downside: finding a new series you ADORE and then waiting for the next book to come out = painful.

Plus Ally Carter's coming to RJ Julia's in two weekends, totally going to meet her.

*copy provided by publisher at ALA Midwinter*

Also read this for 10 in '10 Challenge
because, how can you not love Hale and Kat?

HarperTeen's 28 Days of Winter

February may be the coldest month,
but Harperteen's giving away hot books all month long
Check out the calendar of goodies available

Contest: Win My Soul to Save

Rachel Vincent:

Check out her blog:

About the series:
Read the prequel My Soul to Lose

My Soul to Take: my review

My Soul to Save:
(my review)

Six weeks after Kaylee discovers her true identity, she and her boyfriend, Nash, attend a rock concert of a mega-star. Thanks to Tod, they're able to score backstage passes. While watching the performance from the wings, they view the lead singer collapse on stage. When Kaylee doesn't start singing, she believes the singer will survive. She is wrong. The singer dies without a soul. When Kaylee, Nash, and Tod talk with the oldest reaper in history, they learn she's coming back to take the opening act, Addison's, soul. Addison and Tod used to date. He convinces Kaylee and Nash to help save Addy's soul. When someone signs away their soul, there's a loophole - you can attempt to bargain with the hellions. Kaylee can't willingly let someone suffer for all eternity. Soon she's lying to her father, tricking Harmony into teaching her tricks to use in the Netherworld, and sneaking out to uncover answers. Before long, Addy's sister signs a contract. Now the problem deepens and it's a race against time to save two souls.

I adore these covers, they're flirty and soft, but show a strong female presence. My Soul to Save is the second book in the series and it's filled with danger, adventure, and romance. It's a perfect paranormal romance series.

Check out the book trailer:

Also check out the official Soul Screamer Page

* My Soul to Keep will be on the shelf June 1, 2010.*

Contest Rules:
*open to US residents Only*

contest ends Monday February 15th at Midnight
Three winners will win My Soul to Save

Leave a comment about your favorite type of paranormal books to read (witch, vampire, fairy/faerie, werewolf, or zombie)
and your email address

This contest is brought to you by Big Honcho Media