Friday Five Day: Five Favorite Angel Books

It's Friday!  This weeks topic is my five favorite angel books.  Technically, I'm only providing three because I have high standards to get into my favorite category.  These are books I would run to grab before leaving a house if it were on fire. Anyways, I have been in this "must read angel books" phase for a couple months now.  I don't know if it is because of the fluffy wings or because of the story line most of the books carry. Either way I can not get enough angels!

Fallen by Lauren Kate
This is the first book I read about angels.  I loved Passion and could read it over and over again.  (I've read each of these books 3 or 4 times a piece.)

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
I read both of the books currently available in this series back in January and fell in love.  I can't wait to see what book 3 has in store for us.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
I think Patch is what keeps me coming back to this book.  I would love to have my own brooding Patch.  : )

What are your favorite angel books?
Leave me a comment so I can find new angel books!!
(P.S.  Yes, Embrace is on my list of TBR.)

Friday Five Day: Five 2012 Books I Would Buy Based on the Cover Alone

It's Friday!  This weeks topic is 2012 books I would buy because of their covers (out of those currently available for our viewing pleasure of course).  These are cover I saw and went "OH!!  Must Have Now!  So Pretty!".  No reading the summary, no reading reviews, books I would just buy and dive right in no questions asked.   I will not be including books from a series I have been reading such as Until I Die by Amy Plum because I already know what the book is about.  So, in no particular order....

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
When I first saw this cover, I was in love.  I had to have it.  The title itself drew me in.  Not only does the title feel slightly ominous, the girl is laying their just staring at you, making me think she may or may not be innocent.

Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne
Honestly, I just want to know why this chick is standing there in what looks to be a black ball gown with her eyes covered.  Well, that and this is just a really pretty cover and it belongs in my library of books.

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
For some reason I'm drawn to covers that are black and red.  I don't know why, but I am.  Also, I really want that umbrella.

Revived by Cat Patrick
Last year I read Cat Patrick's book Forgotten.  It was amazing.  Her name being on this book alone is pushing me to buy it.  That being said, just by looking at the cover, it is going to be good.  The main character is going to have some sort of breakthrough and I'm excited to learn what it may be.

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
Finally, this is just a really pretty cover and Jennifer Echols is stamped across the bottom.  I'm sold.

Are there any 2012 books you would buy based on the cover alone?  If so, leave me a comment and let me know so I can take a look as well!!

Friday Five Day: Most Anticipated Books of March 2012

It's Friday!  This weeks topic is books I am most looking forward to in March 2012.  In no particular order.....

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter
March 13, 2012
All of us Gallagher Girls fans have been waiting for this book for TWO years!  It is about time we get a new installment.

Summary:
The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

Fair Coin by E. C. Myers
March 6, 2012
I just found out about this book and I am super excited...

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more disturbing: she thought she’d identified Ephraim’s body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin—a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he’s liked since second grade. But the coin doesn’t always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people’s lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he’s ever wanted—if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.

Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler
March 6, 2012
This looks like it will be an amazing read!  I'm looking forward to reviewing it soon.

Summary:
Gabby lived under the radar until her makeover. Way under. But when she started her senior year as a blonder, better-dressed version of herself, she struck gold: Billy Nash believed she was a the flawless girl she was pretending to be. The next eight months with Billy were bliss...Until the night Gabby woke up on the ground next to the remains of his BMW without a single memory of how she got there.

And Billy's nowhere to be found.

All Gabby wants is to make everything perfect again. But getting her life back isn't difficult, it's impossible. Because nothing is the same, and Gabby's beginning to realize she's missed more than a few danger signs along the way.

It's time for Gabby to face the truth, even if it means everything changes.

Especially if it means everything changes.

Defiance by Shelly Crane
March 13, 2012
This is one of my favorite series and I only had to wait three months for the third book!


Summary:
In the third installment of the Significance series, we begin with Maggie and Caleb in the clutches of a new enemy; the Virtuoso council. Not only do they have to deal with the consequences of taking the lives of the Watsons and the council attempting to take Maggie away to keep their precious Visionary safe, but they must deal with Marla as well. All are determined to undermine, control and use Caleb and Maggie's rare gifts for their own uses, some wish to destroy them entirely. Then Maggie's father and Bish are threatened but the council forbids the presense of humans. Peter and the family fight and stand beside them every step of the way to save Maggie's father, to keep Caleb and Maggie together when the corrupted council is so set on keeping them apart and to stop Marla and whatever she has up her sleeve. Then Maggie has the shock of her life when she discovers something about her real father. It may change everything for everyone. Stay tuned as the story continues.

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
March 6, 2012
Don't you just love books about angels??  I do.


Summary:
It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.

Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.

A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden… 

Friday Five Day: Books For Non-Readers

It's Friday!  This weeks topic is books I recommend to people who either don't like reading or don't read often.  The books included in this list are ones that I enjoyed reading so much, I didn't want to put them down. 

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski
This book was funny and kept me entertained.  If I had to pick one book to turn into a movie, this would be it.  To see my review click here.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
When this book became a huge success, everyone was recommending it to me.  I kinda pushed it off to the side because I don't like following the crowd.  I wish I would have listened to everyone.  This book has action, an awesome plot, and great characters.

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
This is the perfect book for spring break or summer vacation.  Twenty Boy Summer is a quick, well-written read.

Forgotten by Cat Patrick
This book was well written and was intriguing from page one.  How would you feel if you woke up every day not knowing what happened the day before and only knowing what was going to happen?

The Pact by Jodi Picoult
This is one of the few books I read when I was in my "I hate reading" phase.  Jodi Picoult kept my attention and in no way gave away how it would end. 

Friday Five Day: My Five Favorite Book Series

It's Friday!  This weeks post is my five favorite book series and why I love them.  I read so many series that it is really hard for me to choose, but I have decided to only uses a series if it has more than two books currently out.  Why you ask.  Because it isn't really a series if there is only one book available.  Also, trilogies are not included in this list. 

In no specific order....

Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter
I fell in love with this series after reading the first book.  At times, I wish I was a spy and in a super awesome school being taught advanced calculus and special ops tactics.  It just sounds like it would be a blast.

Currently there are four books available with the fifth due out March 13, 2012.
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover
Only The Good Spy Young
Out of Sight, Out of Time (To be released 3.13.12)

House of Night by P.C. and Kristin Cast
When I began this series last year I was in love with vampires.  Zoey began to grow on me and when Stark came along you couldn't ask me to put the book down without getting yelled at or me saying "Let me finish this chapter first." 

Currently there are nine books available with the tenth due out October 6, 2012.
Marked
Betrayed
Chosen
Untamed
Hunted
Tempted
Burned
Awakened
Destined
Hidden (To be released 10.6.12)

Significance by Shelly Crane
This is a book I series I found after visiting another author's blog.  I read the summary and thought "I might really enjoy this book."  After finishing the first book I immediately got online with Barnes & Noble and purchased Accordance and stayed up until four in the morning reading.  That is how hooked I got on this series.  Then, I found out Defiance wasn't set to release until May!  I was utterly bummed.  Then this past week Shelly Crane posted on her facebook about the release date moving up to March.


Currently there are two books available with the third due out March 13, 2012.
Significance
Accordance
Defiance (To be realeased 3.13.12)

Fallen by Lauren Kate
I have always loved a book about starcrossed lovers.  This series really gives a new meaning to starcrossed lovers especially in Passion where we learn a lot about Luce and Daniels past.

Currently three of the four books in this series are available.
Fallen
Torment
Passion
Fallen In Love - This is a book of short stories about each of the characters we grow to know and love throughout the series.
Rapture (To be released 6.12.12)

Wings by Aprilynne Pike
This book made me love faeries.  With most good paranormal YA books there is a love triangle, suspense, and mythical creatures for readers to enjoy.  I am still on the fence of which of the two boys I would pick if I were Laurel.

Currently three of four books in this series are available.
Wings
Spells
Illusions
Destined (To be released 4.28.12)

Friday Five Day: Books I Wish My Friends Would Read ASAP

This weeks topic of Friday Five Day is books I wish my friends would read ASAP.  There are a number of books I have recommended to my friends just because I enjoyed reading them soooo much and need to gush to someone about them.  Listed below are five books, in no particular order, that I have enjoyed so much I tend to go into way too much detail when telling friends about the book.  Also, if the book is part of a series I tend to give even more information away.


Fallen by Lauren Kate
This book captured me from the beginning and I couldn't put it or the books that follow down upon reading the first chapter of this book.

Summary:
There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.



Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Time traveling, I wish I could.  I would love to ask my friends what they think of Emerson and Michael and the decisions Emerson makes throughout the book.

Summary:
One hour to rewrite the past . . .
 
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.




Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast
The House of Night series is so long with so many characters that I have so many feelings that have changed throughout the nine books released so far.  This series is one of my many must reads.


Summary:
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed.  In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire -- that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.  She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers.  When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.




Significance by Shelly Crane 
I fell in love with this book, its characters, and the story line.  There are some days I wish I were Maggie.  



Summary:
Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating, barely, and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has. Then she meets Caleb. She saves his life and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing but she is supposed to be on her way to a date with his cousin. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally. They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive. Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him. Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?




Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
I love stories about myth, legend, and age old tales.  This one takes the cake.  Yay starcrossed lovers!  All I have to say is Swoon!

Summary:

How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is--no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together--and trying to tear them apart.
 

Friday Five Day: Books I'm Most Looking Forward To - February 2012

This weeks topic of Friday Five Day is books I'm most looking forward to in February 2012.  All the books I am listing today are books that fit into one of three categories:  part of a series that I'm reading, have been recommended through other blogs, or I found on my own.







Just One Drop by Quinn Loftis
Release Date: 2/5/12

Summary:
Jennifer Adams, best friend to Jacque Pierce and Sally Morgan, spicy, out spoken, a little crazy and human...or so she thought. Jen has just found out that human DNA is not the only thing that resides in her veins, she happens to share that little pesky werewolf gene, although it isn't more than just a drop. Now that she and her friends are living in Romania with Fane's pack, she is also oh so conveniently stuck with the object of her affection, the fur ball Decebel.

Drawn to each other by something they don't understand Jen finds herself frustrated by the lack of mating signs between her and said fur ball. Not only is she dealing with that not so un-frustrating problem, she now has been informed that because of that little drop of werewolf blood in her she is now required to attended a multi-pack gathering for un-mated wolves. This type of gathering hasn't taken place in over a century but with a shortage of females among the werewolf population the males are getting worried they won't ever find their true mates.

Meanwhile Decebel struggles with the emotions he is feeling towards Jen. He tries to keep his distance but there is just something about the mouthy blonde that keeps him coming back for more of her verbal abuse that he just can't seem to get enough of...go figure.

Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan
Release Date: 2/8/12

Summary:
I’m dying, I thought. This was unexpected and not at all how I envisioned my death. I was supposed to die gardening in a flowerbed as a hundred-year-old woman, not as a seventeen-year-old trapped in a lake beneath inches of ice.

Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. She can’t take any chances. But when she starts to make friends for the first time in her life, she gets careless and lets her guard down. Big mistake.

As an Aura, Llona can manipulate light and harness its energy. But if she wants to survive, Llona will have to defy the Auran Council and learn to use her power as a weapon against the Vyken whose sole desire is to take her light. Now she’s caught in something even bigger than she can understand, with a power she can’t wield, and no one she can trust, except, just maybe, a mysterious stranger.

In this breathtaking and romantic adventure, Rachel McClellan delivers a truly mesmerizing story that will keep you guessing to the very end.

In Too Deep by Amanda Grace
Release Date: 2/8/12

Summary:
I never meant for anyone to get hurt. All I wanted to do that night was make a play for Carter Wellesley. His heartless rejection was mortifying, but people got the wrong idea when they saw me leaving his bedroom, crying. That's how rumors of rape started.


Now girls at school are pouring out their sympathy to me. Guys too. But not everyone's on my side. The school has become a war zone and the threats are getting scary. What began as poetic justice has morphed into something bigger--forcing me to make a terrible choice.





Falling In Between by Devon Ashley
Release Date: 2/14/12

Summary:
Finally! A private conversation. And all I had to do was throw myself off a cliff, drown in a pond in my undies and let him put his hands on my breasts to bring me back to life. Yay me! (yeah, that’s sarcasm)

Yep, that pretty much sums up the most craptastic night of Jenna Baker’s life. She drowns after jumping off a cliff, meets a hotty named Chance in the pearlescent in-between and is brought back to life by her soon-to-be boyfriend Robert.

Just when things start to move forward with Robert, the guy she'd been crushing on for a year now, in walks the man of her dreams – literally. Chance suddenly appears in her dream every time she closes her eyes. So it's Robert by day and Chance by night. One in the real world and one in the dream world. What could possibly go wrong?

Absolutely nothing – until she comes face to face with the guy she met in the in-between, and realizes her romantic rendezvous with Chance may be more than just her imagination.

Mature YA. Recommended for older teenagers.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Release Date: 2/14/12

Summary:
Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.

Friday Five Day: Books I Always Recommend

This weeks topic of Friday Five Day is books I always recommend to friends.  All the books I am listing today are recommend because they have had an impact on me in some way, be it mentally, emotionally or socially. 








Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Jay Asher couldn't have set this novel up any better.  He chose a tricky topic and wrote it from the viewpoint of two characters who couldn't find each other when they needed to the most.  He was too late and she broke his heart.  She was beyond repair and he wanted to save her.  He blames himself and she blames other people.  I cried my heart out for both of them and was left with a sense of relief and closure for Clay.  He did what he could but in the end Hannah was determined to follow through with her plan.

Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt
At first, I didn't think I would like this book based on its concept: boy cheats on girlfriend with her best friend.  I am not a fan of cheating, you might as well just break up with the person if you are going to go that far.  However, sometimes it happens.  Before this book, I never would have thought about how horrible the best friend might feel or how hard she fought against the attraction.  This book has allowed me to step into the other persons shoes and I believe that is something that most girls don't think about when it happens to them.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult
Out of all the books on this list, this book has affected me the most.  I know many readers do not enjoy flashbacks, however, Jodi Picoult did a wonderful job balancing between the past and the present.  The impact this books has had on my life is immense.  I never thought about how a single person can cause such turmoil between two families or turn an entire community against a seventeen year old boy who only loved her.  This book made me realize that you can't make other people happy, they have to want to be happy.  And most importantly, don't make promises you may not want to keep.

October Breezes by Maria Rachel Hooley
When beginning this book, I could have never imagined what story would unfold.  Skye is a 16 year old girl with major trust issues.  Her dad walked out when she was young and her moms new boyfriend is trying to convince her that he isn't like the other men who have been in and out of her moms life.  The star quarterback is looking in her direction, and so is his best friend.  And then it happens.  She gets raped and now she has to deal with the repercussions of one boys actions.  This book taught me a lot about trust, it can not be given freely, it must be earned.  Assuming that everyone is trustworthy will, at times, result in an uncomfortable situation that may be difficult to get out of easily.

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley
If I had to sum this book up in one word it would be charming.  Corrinne is forced to move to Texas and live with her grandparents when her father loses his job.  She would do anything to get back to her life of shopping sprees and boarding school until she lives life a little in a small hick town.  Corrinne grows from a spoiled rich girl with shallow tendencies to a girl who is down-to-earth with just enough spunk.  This book taught me that sometimes you just have to make the best of a situation, learn and grow from the hand you are given and maybe one day you will find happiness where it's least expected.





I hope I have inspired you to pick up one of these books and maybe learn something new.