Books I'm Dying to Read: April edition

So many good books are coming out in April - here are the ones I can't wait to get my hands on!

Cold Burn of Magic: Magic, murder, family feud, monsters, and a library - sounds awesome in a new series from Jennifer Estep!
Ember in the Ashes: Undercover trying to save her brother from death - spies, love, and revolution

Boyfriend Project and Trouble From the Start: 2 companion novels from Rachel Hawthorne who I LOVE! Romance, friendship, bad boys, and makeovers

Mussled Out: 3rd book in this cozy series set in small town Maine with great food and nosy neighbors
Dark Chocolate Demise: Zombie walks, the mob, and murder - all with a side of cupcakes

Drive Me Crazy: Road tripping into friendship
99 Days: 99 days to live in a town where almost everyone hates you - how much longer until you can escape?

Rook: Secrets, games, and a revolution set in the city that once was Paris
Miss Mayhem: LOVED the first book - so looking forward to the next one

Wrong About the Guy: Modernized Emma
Things we Know By Heart: Quinn loses her boyfriend - but someone else gains his organs, especially his heart. Can lightning strike twice?

Sophomore Year is Greek to Me: Travel to Greece - family feuds - and an aspiring journal
City Love: Summer in the city before college begins - 3 friends, 3 POV, 3 romances

Kissing Ted Callahan: A pact made between friends for more - KISSING
Play On: Small town, baseball, and chemistry - sounds like a slow burn romance

Revelation of Louisa May: I LOVE Little Women and I'm excited about this fictional account of the author
Lies I Told: Heist book (enough said)

Still the One: Book 6 in the series - small town, smart women, hot guys, and animals that need help

What books are you waiting for?

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is a rewind, so I'm choosing Books to Have In Your Beach Bag. It's warming up a little here, but quickly going back into the coldness of winter. Right now I'd love to be on a beach reading. I've done this topic before, but there are so many great ones. So check out the previous one for more summer romances.

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

Review: Shadow of the Moon

Hayden is different from the rest of the werewolf shifter pack. She has the ability to sense powerful feelings from her pack around her. She can't see the future or know who experiences the feelings, but her gift torments her.

She's spent most of her childhood away from her home at boarding school where she can blend with humans and be at peace. However, the time of her changing draws near and she must return home to chose a mate. Hayden has no desire to chose a mate, to become so close to one person would make her head explode.

She creeps away in one night after she's threatened by a creature who steals souls. Content working for a coffeehouse on a mountain, she knows the elders will send someone for her. She never expected Daniel and she never expected to care for him...


My thoughts: The 4th book in the Dark Guardian series is still addicting and full of danger, romance, and friendship.

The Cover: Eye-Catching

Source: my Library

Dark of the Moon

Brittany's the only girl to face her transformation alone in centuries since she failed to attract her soul mate. Never mind that she has someone in mind, he's taken. The elders tried to play matchmaker, but that didn't work. She sets off alone preparing for a night of horrible pain...that never quite happens. She doesn't transform. She doesn't know what to do or who to tell. It rocks her world and will change her future. While she's still reeling from the shock, she's captured by the group wanting to prove to the world werewolves exist. They can tell by her blood she's human and Connor isn't. She'll do almost anything to keep Connor alive - but will he hate her for it?


I thought this was the end of the trilogy - that starts with Moonlight and Full Moon and should be read in order - but on the author's website, it says there will a be a fourth book in the series coming March 23, 2010. That's awesome news. They're romantic with a dash of danger and strong bonds of friendship and family. The covers are appealing too. Plus I really love the teen romances of Rachel Hawthorne. They always make me happy.

Full Moon

Lindsey's had her whole life mapped out for her - including her soul mate. Her parent's have chosen him and they've grown up together. Connor's in all her important moments - but lately she's beginning to question if she loves him because she loves him or because they've been pushed together so often that she can't imagine herself with out him. It's not surprise that she's having these thoughts when she can't get Rafe out of her head. His glances leave her breathless - something Connor's never does. She dreams about kissing him. In her society - mates are chosen after one's 17th birthday to help with the change. The transformation into a werewolf for the first time is a painful process and having your mate their lessens the pain and intensifies the experience. Lindsey doesn't know what to trust. Her friends aren't really a big help either because Brittany believes the system is archaic because males go through the transformation without their mates and Kayla's so disgustingly happy with her mate. How will Lindsey decide something so important and in such a short time - with her heart or her head?

This is the 2nd book in the trilogy that left me eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. Each book is written from the perspective of the three girls - and each take a different look at love and werewolves. There's danger lingering over from the first book with scientists looking to capture and run tests on a werewolf and expose their secrets. Danger, paranormal, and romance - the perfect combination!

Moonlight

Kayla thinks she's stumbled onto a great summer job - with people she connected with last summer. Right now, she's the newbie and can't wait to start pulling her weight. She's hoping to figure out some deep dark issues hidden under the surface about her past - the murder of her parents in the very woods she'll be working in this summer.
She can't help but feel Lucas's eyes on her. She knows that he's older, but she can't help crushing over him anyways. What she doesn't realize, but soon begins to unravel, is that Lucas isn't like other boys. In fact, the townspeople are exactly normal. They mate for life at the age of seventeen - Kayla's birthday marks the beginning of a trip. She has no idea what's going on around her, but with a group of scientists heading into the woods in hopes of catching a legendary werewolf, she's about to find out. What she discovers leaves her as breathless as when she discovers she's head over heels for Lucas.

Moonlight is slightly different than Rachel Hawthorne's other novels. While both have romance, this darker series plays with the supernatural. Werewolves seems to be on the verge of becoming the new vampires in YA Lit. This is not a series to miss. Hawthorne expertly weaves romance with supernatural and cloaks them with danger.

This book is the first of three, but each book centrals on a different girl in the pack. The next book, out in June, will star Lindsey:


And the last, out in August, will star Brittany: