And Action!

Here's the Top 10 movies of 2013 that I'm looking forward to watching in no particular order.

A Good Day to Die Hard


Iron Man 3

Fast and Furious 6

The Wolverine

Red 2

Ender's Game

 Catching Fire: Check out the new cast


Jack Ryan - the reboot

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smag

City of Bones

Review: Unremembered

*** This book will be out March 5th ***

In the Pacific Ocean, Freedom Airlines Flight 121 crashes. The world is stunned to find an unharmed 16 year girl among the wreck. She has NO memories -not of boarding the plane, not of her name, and not of her life before the crash.

She's being held in a medical facility undergoing tests while the media waits for more news. Her tale is the hottest news story around the world. She's famous.

No one comes to claim her and because she's under age, she needs a foster family - a temporary home until a more permanent solution can be reached. One family takes her in and she spends a little time getting used to the world.

Then she spies a familiar face and all these questions pop into her head. How far is she willing to go to discover the truth of her identity?

My Thoughts: I adored Jessica Brody's previous novels: Karma Club, My Life Undecided, and 52 Reasons to Hate My Father. She's one of  my must read authors. So I confess, I didn't really look too deeply into her new book because I already knew that I was going to read it. I was unprepared for the genre switch.

It's no surprise that I loved this book, even though it through my for a loop.

At first it reminded me of LOST: the airplane crash and figuring out how to survive without knowledge. UNREMEMBERED is the story of Seraphina attempting to uncover her past while trying to understand her future. She's acclimating to pop culture and having a family watching over her. The more she digs into her past, the more layers we also uncover with her. Science and technology play an important role, changing the boundaries of the world. Science and technology are also responsible for the danger that Seraphina finds herself in. Plus, a romance is at the heart of the story. While there are several plot points, they come together naturally. They also unravel like onions, revealing more questions than answers at times. 

It's the first book of a trilogy and I can't wait to read more!

Cover Thoughts: I Love it - the blurriness of the girl's face matches her thoughts perfectly.
Source: ARC

TBR Reading Challenge 2013

Challenge Hosted at Bookish

Challenge Rules:
Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2012 and earlier! NO 2013 ARCs and 2013 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!

I have a bunch of books waiting to be read - here's a photo of books I'm waiting to read.

Review: This is What Happy Looks Like

*** This books will be available on April 2, 2013 ***

When Ellie receives an email asking her to take a pet for a walk, she never dreams that it will change her life. Ellie responds because the thought of a dog waiting for a walk makes her sad. Graham returns the email, thanking her and explaining that he sent the email to the the wrong address, and oh by the way, he doesn't have a dog, he has a pet pig.

They start to have a relationship over emails. Graham is attempting to be a regular guy, only he doesn't live a normal life. He's a mega-star. Soon, he's off on location. shooting his latest movie. When the small town location falls through, he adamantly suggests a small town in Maine --the town where Ellie lives.

When they come face to face will everything blow up or will it be amazing?

My Thoughts: I LOVED this book. I tore through it in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. I loved the small town of Maine. I could picture myself there eating ice cream and hanging out by the water. I loved the relationship and how it grew between Ellie and Graham. I love the romance, but the whole book was fantastic. I loved the small town charm and how the town changed when a movie production company disturbed the natural flow of life. I liked the layers: Ellie's friendship drama with her best friend, Ellie trying to figure out her family life, Ellie trying to hide her life from the paparazzi. I didn't want this book to end, it was too good to let go of. 

Cover Thoughts: I Love it! It looks similar to her previous book, I love the Happy "smile" and the silhouettes. 
Source: ARC from Little Brown
Website: http://www.jenniferesmith.com/

2013 YA Contemporary Challenge

Hosted by Katie's Book Blog:

Rules:
You can read any contemporary YA novel that is published between January 1, 2013 and December 30, 2013 but you must read them in 2013! (All formats accepted: paperback, ARC, e-book)

I'm choosing: Level 3: 15+ books

Her'es a list of books I'm looking forward to reading!

1. Moon and More
2. Grass is Always Greener
3. Five Summers
4. Our Sing
5. Also Known As
6. Perfect Scoundrels
7. Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood
8. All I Need
9. Trouble with Flirting
10. Return to Me
11. Racing Savannah
12. My Summer Went up in Flames
13. Isla and the Happily Ever After
14. Book of Broken Hearts
15. Falling for You
16. Salvation 

What's on My Holds List (34)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books on hold at the library. I usually have 20-40 items checked out at the library and another 20 items on hold.

Head Over Heels: The next book in the lucky Harbor series - which is sweet, funny, and charming

Buried in a Bog - the start of a new mystery series from Sheila Connolly.

Divide and Conquer - the second book in the Infinity Ring series/

2013 Feminist Reads Challenge

The 2013 Feminist Reads Challenge

I love reading books with strong female characters. I was SO happy to learn about this via twitter. Sara from The Hiding Spot is hosting this challenge - go here for more details.

I'm  going for the HARD challenge level of 10+ books. Here's a few books on my reading list:

1. Prodigy
2. Flicker & Burn
3. Also Known As
4. Wrinkle in Time: Graphic Novel
5. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks 
6. Venom
7. Rogue's Princess
8. Midnight Frost
9. Spies and Prejudice
10. Girl with the Iron Touch
11. Fall of Night
12. Maid of Secrets
13. Dark Triumph