Waiting on Wednesday #37: RoseBlood

pub. 1/10/17

find this book on:

goodreads | amazon

RoseBlood 
by A.G. Howard
Publisher: Amulet Books
Series: RoseBlood
Genre: YA, Retellings, Fantasy

In this modern day spinoff of Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera.

At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn—an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself, but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul-deep romance blossoms, Thorn’s dark agenda comes to light and he’s forced to make a deadly choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom who has haunted the opera house for a century, and is the only father he’s ever known.

A. G. Howard brings the romantic storytelling that Splintered fans adore to France—and an entirely new world filled with lavish romance and intrigue—in a retelling inspired by a story that has captivated generations. Fans of both the Phantom of the Opera musical and novel, as well as YA retellings such as Marissa Meyer’s Cinder, will devour RoseBlood.

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Expected Publication Date: 

1/10/17

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This genre isn't usually the genre that I usually read, but after I read the synopsis I thought it was really interesting and that I should try something new for once. What caught my eye was the cover of the book and the synopsis where it said The Phantom of the Opera. I look forward to reading this book and to see if I enjoy a new genre of books.

tell me: what are you waiting on this week? 

Review: Supremacy by Christin Lee

pub. 6/03/16

find this book on:

goodreads | amazon

Supremacy 
by Christin Lee
Series: Supremacy #1
Genres: YA, Romance, Paranormal

Rating: 

Kate Parker, is a 17 year old senior living in Texas. She's on the swim team, has two incredible best friends, and a passion for saving animals.

She falls hard when she meets a mysterious and fascinating guy named Lucas. He has a sexy accent and a killer smile. However, she sees unexplained pain and anger in his dark brown eyes.

He claims he’s a foreign exchange student from Spain who is attending the local University—Kate knows there’s more to his story than that. She works hard to discover who he is—what he is.

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*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

"His words, laced with a Spanish accent, fell pleasantly against her ears." (quote)

First of all, I was very excited to read this book!

I love the book cover! I have a tendency to always applaud the author and the artist for their amazing accomplishments on the book covers because I just find them amazing! It always interests me how creative artists are to create such a beautiful book cover because I honestly think that it's just as hard to create a book cover as it is to write a book. Okay okay before you guys say WHAT DID SHE REALLY SAY THAT? know that book covers have to connect to the book in some way for it to work and I honestly feel that that is hard to accomplish. But my point is that this book cover is honestly one of the best ones that I've seen since it looks to me like watercolor and the forest really goes along with book as it does in this book cover.

I had so many emotions while reading this book, such as excitement, thrill, and eagerness, I thought that this book was very interesting and I don't find many books interesting which gives it a big thumbs up! Also the fact on how well thought out this book was, was amazing, I absolutely loved the book.

Blog Tour: Change Places With Me by Lois Metzger (Review + Giveaway!)

Hi Guys! It's Rin here and today it's my tour stop on the Change Places With Me (by Lois Metzler) Blog Tour! I am going to be reviewing her new book Change Places With Me. At the end of this blog tour there will be a giveaway, so don't forget to enter in for a chance to win. This tour was hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. Click here to follow this tour!

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Change Places With Me 
by Lois Metzger
Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
Series: None 
Genres: YA, Science Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary

Rating: 

Rose has changed. She still lives in the same neighborhood and goes to the same high school with the same group of kids, but when she woke up today, something was a little different. Her clothes and hair don’t suit her anymore. The dogs who live upstairs are no longer a terror. She wants to throw a party—this from a girl who hardly ever spoke to her classmates before. There’s no more sadness in her life; she’s bursting with happiness.

But something still feels wrong to Rose. Because until very recently, she was an entirely different person—a person who’s still there inside her, just beneath the thinnest layer of skin.

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"But I know exactly who she is, the girl thought, as the door closed. It was clear as day. She's the girl I could've been, if life was fair." (quote)

Fellow book lovers, don't turn away! There isn't much of a straight giveaway as to what this book is about that's given in the synopsis, but I'll tell you that this is book is about so much more than you might think.

For starters, it was about a young troubled teen, who needed an escape, but was tired of the life that she was living. It's about replacing yourself, losing yourself, and finding a way to regain what you lost and might never back again. It's about two different people...who are the same person.

Change Places With Me is a compelling novel with a plot full of mystery and wonder. I was amazed that there was so much more to this book than what I assumed based on the surface. It was actually a really great read with a somewhat connection to the story of Snow White, but with the author's own twist.

Rose was an interesting character to be reading about. We get introduced to her as Rose from the very beginning and we learn her personality and we meet Evelyn (her stepmother). Overall, I thought that Rose was a mystery. Her movements throughout the book only caused more suspicion and added to mystery of the entire book.

This is a story about self discovery, figuring out how to live life with every stone that gets thrown into it.

I recommend this book and I hope that you choose to read Change Places With Me, I promise that you will not regret it one bit!

Review: The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash

pub. 6/14/16
find this book on:
goodreads | amazon

The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love 

by Sarvenaz Tash

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Series: None 

Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romanace

Rating:

John Hughes meets Comic Con in this hilarious, unabashedly romantic, coming-of-age novel about a teenager who is trying to get his best friend to fall in love with him from the author of Three Day Summer.

Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy...
Archie and Veronica...
Althena and Noth...
...Graham and Roxy?

Graham met his best friend, Roxana, when he moved into her neighborhood eight years ago, and she asked him which Hogwarts house he’d be sorted into. Graham has been in love with her ever since.

But now they’re sixteen, still neighbors, still best friends. And Graham and Roxy share more than ever—moving on from their Harry Potter obsession to a serious love of comic books.

When Graham learns that the creator of their favorite comic, The Chronicles of Althena, is making a rare appearance at this year’s New York Comic Con, he knows he must score tickets. And the event inspires Graham to come up with the perfect plan to tell Roxy how he really feels about her. He’s got three days to woo his best friend at the coolest, kookiest con full of superheroes and supervillains. But no one at a comic book convention is who they appear to be...even Roxy. And Graham is starting to realize fictional love stories are way less complicated than real-life ones.

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I think I felt my interest begin with the whole "comic-con" event. Of course, I've always wanted to go to comic-con, but wasn't fast enough to snatch those tickets.  My initial interest in The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love, began from the blurb to the cover, but did not continue onto the first page until about 25% into the story. 

I thought that the beginning was boring. Quirky, yes, but boring. I wasn't feeling it that well. At that point all the feeling I could understand were that: I liked Graham, but Roxy? Eh, not so much. I'll be honest and say that Roxy isn't one of my favorite lead female roles in stories. In my opinion, Roxy wasn't really entertaining and I wasn't really feeling a connection between Graham and her. But I really liked Graham, his personality, and his hilarious quirks and comments. 

I couldn't help but giggle a little whenever I read through Graham's inner dialogue. Who knew someone could be so cute and funny and also love all the geeky things that make me happy. 

Sunday Street Team: The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn Nguyen (Review + Giveaway!)

Hey guy! It's Rin here and on this Sunday it's my review for The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn Nguyen! Don't forget to enter in the giveaway at the end of this post! The Sunday Street Team is hosted by Nori @ReadWriteLove28!

I hope you enjoy!

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pub. 6/07/16
find this book on:
goodreads / amazon

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame

by Jenn Nguyen

Publisher: Macmillan/Swoon Reads

Series: None
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Rating:

Taylor Simmons is screwed.

Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip.

Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.

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Five words to describe this book: Fun. Heart-stopping. Funny. Happy. Lovely. 

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame has to be one of the most fun and cute books that I've read so far. It was just so funny, it made me smile, laugh, and crinkle my eyes. 

I fell in love with both Taylor and Evan. Both of them are such great characters with a lovely sense of humor and a chemistry that left me oh so happy and full of giddiness. Their relationship was just a work of art. It's not perfect, but it has all the perfect aspects in it. While I don't usually pick up books with a "contracted relationship" I found myself really enjoying this particular one. 

I found myself connecting well with who Taylor is and finding out that I related a lot with who she is, what she does, and how well she plans her future. I loved her small quirks, her stubbornness, and her bossiness, and everything about her. 

Evan is by all mean the complete opposite of Taylor. Evan is a handsome, girl-loving, funny, carefree guy who changes in the best way because of Taylor and her quest to save her "reputation". 

I loved the journey throughout the book. I loved the transition between both of these characters and how well everything blends together. From the first page where they meet to the start of their contract, to the end. 

Of course, with all romance novels, there will always be that splash of drama. Sometimes that drama is annoying, but in this case, there was the perfect balance of drama to romance. This story was mostly rom-com. There was a small itty bitty case of a love triangle. Though, it wasn't a huge deal. 

This book was truly wonderful and it was a very fun read! I recommend this to all romance lovers, because this book is something that belongs on your to-be-read list! 

Blog Tour: Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh (Interview + Giveaway!)

Hello, Lovelies! It's Rin and welcome to my stop on the Ivory and Bone (by Julie Eshbaugh) Blog Tour! Today, the wonderful Julie Eshbaugh is stopping by for an interview.  This is a very exciting post for her new book and I'm very anxious to get my hands on this book *punches air in happiness*. Make sure to enter the giveaway at the end of this post! This blog tour was hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. 

I hope you enjoy!

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pub. 6/7/16
find this book on: 
goodreads | amazon

Ivory and Bone 

by Julie Eshbaugh

Publisher: HarperTeen

Series: Ivory and Bone #1

Genres: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance

A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice.

Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.

As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.

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1. Hi Julie! Welcome to Under Covers, thank you so much for being here with us! Let’s start with introductions: Favorite book? 

I have lots of favorites! Wuthering Heights is one of my all-time favorites. For YA, The Hunger Games is a book I will read again and again. My favorite book from childhood would probably be A Wrinkle in Time. Favorite Ice cream flavor? Coffee! Or banana! (Or even better—a scoop of coffee with a scoop of banana… yum.) What do you like to do when you are not reading? I love to go to the movies, and I’ll go see just about anything (except horror… I’ll have nightmares!) If it’s summer, it’s hard to convince me that anything will beat a trip to the beach.

2. Did you map out the plot of this book or did you “go with the flow”?
I’m definitely an outliner. I knew how the book would end from the very beginning.

3. Did you like writing or editing Ivory and Bone?
I enjoy drafting far more than I enjoy editing and revising. Still, revising with my editor was pretty exciting because I could see the book improving.

4. Without spoilers, what is your favorite part about Ivory and Bone? (i.e. characters, places, etc.)
My favorite part of the book is probably the relationships between the characters. Not just the romance, (though I love that aspect!) but also the family relationships. There are a lot of sibling dynamics, and I hope readers see a little bit of themselves reflected in the relationships in the book.

5. Thank you so much for being here! My final question is: What came to you first about this book- The setting, character, or plot? 

The setting came first! I’m very interested in prehistory, and the original idea for the book came to me while I was at a museum. I also read a lot about the first people to cross the Bering Land Bridge and settle in the Americas. I was fascinated by the challenges they faced—scarcity of food, the elements, the need to stay in touch with other clans to survive—and all of those things influenced the story of IVORY AND BONE.

Thank you!
Thank you so much for having me!