Book Love: A Touch Morbid Summary

A while ago I WOW'd A Touch Morbid by Leah Clifford. I freaking loved the first one, A Touch Mortal, and am dying to get my hands on an ARC of the second one. However, it didn't dawn on me until Leah released the summary that I actually didn't have an idea what A Touch Morbid was about. But I was excited before, and now, I'm like one hundred times more excited. 


Eden won the battle-she saved her true love from the darkest evil. But the war has only just begun. With secrets swirling around her, powerful allies unraveling, and life-and death-as she knows it eroding, Eden and those she loves tread dangerous ground. Can she trust anyone? Will her unearthly powers be her salvation or her downfall? A sweeping, dark, and sexy paranormal romance that will haunt readers with an inventive mythology and a cinematic New York City filled with shadows and longing.


Doesn't that summary just FIT the cover so well? Or the cover fits the summary so well? I think so. I love the covers for them. Ahh. Dying to read A Touch Morbid. 


Here's the longer, flap summary: 

Eden saved Az.

She fought and sacrificed and won him back

from the most evil of evils. Now is the time for

happily-ever-afters, right?

Not so fast.

A boy—even an angel—is hardly the solution

to Eden’s problems. She’s still caught between

life and death, still cursed to spread poison

with her touch.

She’s lost one best friend and another is

quickly unraveling. And now, something is

happening to the mortals. Something very,

very bad.

What happens in the dark spaces? The ones

between life and death,

betrayal and redemption, sanity and delusion.

Or good and evil.

Eden is about to find out.

The riveting sequel to A Touch Mortal.

Somebody get me an ARC of this right now because I need to know what happens in the second book. Don't you? And if you want to be entered to win a signed ARC or a paperback A Touch Mortal, go here.

Review: AMPLIFIED--Tara Kelly

Amplified by Tara Kelly
October 25, 2011
Henry Holt and Co BFYR (Macmillan) 
Young Adult | Contemporary
Standalone
Pages: 304
Source/Format: ARC from publisher
Author's Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . .

In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified.

Amplified is Tara Kelly’s sophomore novel, and the first one I’ve read of hers, and let me tell you: it’s brilliant and wonderful and now I’m going to be her fan forever and ever. And I’m already looking for money in the couches to buy her debut novel, Harmonic Feedback!

From what I knew about Amplified, there was a girl with stage fright, but plays a killer guitar, and she’s a little bit rich, and she’s also kicked out. What I didn’t know is said girl is just like me, and by that I mean, same attitudes. Hiiiii, rudeness…

I loved Jasmine. I loved her snarky attitude, her quick remarks, and how she wouldn’t put up with Sean and Bryn. (If you’ve read the book, you know the scene I’m talking about with Bryn. When she defends her position. I was cheering for her the entire time! And with Sean, it’s well, every time he’s being a jerk and she says something back to him.)

And guys? Said boy Sean? Oh, he’s so hot. So, SO hot. And I wants him. For starters, he’s the bassist. And when they have a gig, he wears a fedora and a button down shirt.

!!!!!!

Now you understand why I wants him. Mwahaha. All mine. I call dibs.

There is so much more to this book than what the summary says. I mean, obviously, right? But what it doesn’t tell you is all the emotions in this book. It’s not as intense as VIRTUOSITY by Jessica Martinez, but there is anxiety and I was nervous when Jasmine was. I was angry as she was at her father at times, and ahh, so many emotions. 

It is a brilliant, gorgeous, wonderful book with a dash of romance and a whole lot of music and snappiness. If this book sounds like one you'd read, definitely get it. :)

I do! I recommend it to those who’ve read VIRTUOSITY or IF ISTAY/WHERE SHE WENT and want more music books in their life. Actually, I recommend it to all contemporary lovers. Pick this book up now! 

Reading Pile: 10/31-11/6

So, since I'm really unorganized at the moment regarding my to-read list, I've also decided to do what fiktshun does and post a weekly reading pile on the blog. Here's to hoping this keeps me more organized and on top of my reading pile!


Reading This Week:

So, so excited to get to these two books! I've had Wherever You Go since this spring, and since I read them in order of release dates, it went to the bottom of the pile. But now I get to read it, along with The Pledge! The Pledge is my first Kimberly Derting book, and I've heard mixed things about it. I hope I find it good!


Thoughts From Last Week:
I'm still reading Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts but that's because on Monday I received a package from Macmillan with an ARC of Amplified by Tara Kelly. Since that released Oct. 25, I started to read it while finishing up Dark Eden. I loooooved Amplified so, so much. My review goes up tomorrow! I also hope to have finished Dark Inside today.


So. What are you reading this week?

Best of the Bunch: October

Best of the Bunch is a monthly meme hosted by Lyrical Reviews about our favorite book of the month.

I have read some AMAZING books this month. I once again read around thirteen books, and I'll be finishing up some this weekend so October has been a good reading month for me! I think this is the most books I've read for the year. And I'm so close to my Goodreads goal -- I've actually updated it once in September, I think? My original goal was 100, so I bumped it up to 125 when I hit 100. Now I'm only five books away! Yay! I'm going to try to read 150, but I don't know if I can. We'll see! 

For October, one book stands out, and it was one I read the first week of October. This book is so amazing and I can't wait for its release because it'll be THE BOOK to get. 

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Tempest by Julie Cross releases January 17, 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin

It is the first in trilogy I am dying to read the rest of!

What are your favorite reads of October?

Review: YOU ARE MY ONLY--Beth Kephart

You Are My Only by Beth Kephart
October 25, 2011
Egmont USA
Young Adult | Contemporary
Standalone
Pages: 256
Source/Format: NetGalley/eGalley
Author's Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Emmy Rane is married at nineteen, a mother by twenty. Trapped in a life with a husband she no longer loves, Baby is her only joy. Then one sunny day in September, Emmy takes a few fateful steps away from her baby and returns to find her missing. All that is left behind is a yellow sock.

Fourteen years later, Sophie, a homeschooled, reclusive teenage girl is forced to move frequently and abruptly from place to place, perpetually running from what her mother calls the "No Good." One afternoon, Sophie breaks the rules, ventures out, and meets Joey and his two aunts. It is this loving family that gives Sophie the courage to look into her past. What she discovers changes her world forever. . . .

The riveting stories of Emmy and Sophie—alternating narratives of loss, imprisonment, and freedom regained—escalate with breathless suspense toward an unforgettable climax.

You Are My Only is a unique contemporary. Emmy’s scenes are written in the past, and I guessed around the 1970s. Sophie’s is in “present”-time of the novel, and I guessed probably early 1990s. So I’m reading, trying to get into this book (I loved the prose; everything else was very, very confusing) and I stumble.

Because Sophie says it’s 2004 and she’s fourteen.

Blink blink.

Say what now?

Argh. I think that was the most annoying part of this story. It does not read like it was set in 2004; I honestly thought it was set in the 70s/90s because of the way they speak. Sophie. Oh dear god, Sophie is fourteen and I swear to you she speaks like it’s 1975. And it’s not; it’s 2004!

0_o

Another annoying point is you can tell what the ending is from the summary. It’s still a good read if you get past the inconsistences, but holy wow, it disappointed me in a big way. I just wish it was easier to understand, the setting actually … less confusing, and for it to not be so predictable. I have no doubt people will like this one, though; it just wasn’t for me. And that makes me a sad Ashy. 

It wasn't for me, but if you think this sounds like a good book, go ahead and read it! You may like it.

Waiting On Wednesday (10)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium #2)
March 6, 2012 by HarperTeen


I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.


I'm so, so excited for Pandemonium! I read Delirium October last year and fell in love with it (haha!) I'm dying for the sequel after that horrible cliffhanger!

Crossed by Ally Condie (Matched #2)
November 1, 2011 by Dutton


In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.


Another dystopian sequel I am dying to get my hands on (this week needs to get by quickly and I hope, hope, hope I get some money to buy this book when it comes out!)  because of the darn cliffhanger ending! I liked Matched a lot when I read it, although I know some people didn't. I like that it reminded me of The Giver. 

A Million Suns by Beth Revis (Across The Universe #2)
January 10, 2012 by Razorbill


Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

Did you notice the theme? ;) Across The Universe was fantastic and I loved it -- and I'm dying to know what happens next! 

So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
October 18, 2011 
Scholastic
Young Adult | Fantasy
Standalone
Pages: 404
Source/Format: Bought/Hardcover
Rating: ★★★★★
Author's Website
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound


It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

REVIEW:

The Scorpio Races is something else. All I expected when I started reading this book was killer water horses and a race. I didn’t expect it to be about courage and loyalty with a dash of romance. It made me CRY at the end—not because it was over, but because the ending was so, so happy and heartbreaking and oh my god, such a brilliant ending chapter. <3

Sean and Puck are so unlike any other characters I’ve read from Stiefvater. They’re both so abrasive, but I think that’s because they’re orphans and have to take care of themselves (and for Puck, her brothers.) The motives they have for winning the races are so real that you want to root for both of them to win, but unlike The Hunger Games where they change the rules halfway in, the rules stay the same throughout the book: there can only be one winner.

The race itself takes place the last 30-some pages the book, and it’s so, so thrilling. When I read it, I could hear hundreds of hooves pounding, horses crying and clucking and screaming, the ocean and the sand. I was terrified and wanting to know who won. It was deadly, but in a way, beautiful.

The island, Thisby, is also beautiful. I loved how Stiefvater described it and made it so real; there are November Cakes that I so want to eat. I want to go to Palsson’s and listen to housewives chatter. I want to stand on the cliffs and look out into the ocean to see if I can glimpse a capall uisce. Most of all, I want to know what happens after to Puck and Sean. Yeah, this is a standalone and there’s a tied-up ending, it’s an ambiguous ending, though.

I loved it. It took me a while to read it, but each time I set it down, I thought about it. This book scared me, too, because of the water horses. I’d been reading all day when I had set it down to go feed my horses (normal ones, thank you very much!) and it was kinda scary because I had read when one of the water horses kills a friend, and it was so sad and terrifying because I’d get caught up in the beauty of the capaill uisce and forget they were deadly.

(Note: capall uisce = singular; capaill uisce = plural.) 

This is a gorgeous, deadly book. I recommend this book to everybody—but mostly to Shiver/Maggie Stiefvater fans. It has the lyrical, slow aching pace of The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, but the dangerousness of it and her Faerie series. What a brilliant standalone fantasy. I can’t wait to read her next one. 

Deadly Cool Winner

Thank you everybody who entered to win Deadly Cool! 

Random.org picked number six and that was... 

Aeicha!

Congratulations! You have 72 hours to respond to the email I've sent or I'll pick a new winner.

If you didn't win this giveaway, stick around! The holidays are coming up and I love giving away gifts! :)

Review: BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY--Jaclyn Dolamore

Between The Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore
October 25, 2011
Bloomsbury USA Children's
Young Adult | Fantasy
Standalone
Pages: 240
Source/Format: NetGalley; eGalley
Author's Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.

I was expecting Between the Sea and Sky to be something romantic and mesmerizing, and sadly, for it me it wasn’t any of those things. Just look at the cover—doesn’t that SCREAM mesmerizing?

Between the Sea and Sky fell flat for me because I thought the story and Esmerine were boring.  The really only interesting part of the story for me was the world. Holy wow, I loved the world. It’s a world were mermaids, humans, and winged-people live together in knowledge of each other. The mermaids have the sea while the humans have the land and the winged-people live in the air and their… city. I don’t remember the name, but I freaking loved the worldbuilding.

But that was the only good part for me. The characters, Esmerine and Alander weren’t interesting at all. I didn’t care if Esmerine found her sister or not, and the “romance” between Esmerine and Alander was non-existence. I didn’t even realize there was supposed to be romance until I reread the summary 160 pages in. (halfway! Over halfway and no love connection!)

I don’t know. This book was a huge disappointment for me. It wasn’t mesmerizing at all, the eventual romance between the two felt so weird, and it took me forever to get through it. I thought it’d be fast read, but most of the time Esmerine and Alander are sitting in the bookstore Alander works in.

Also, the way it ended made me really doubt this one was young adult. Through the book, Esmerine constantly refers to herself as an adult (she’s sixteen, but the world Dolamore has built it’s like in the 1800s.) and without getting way spoilery, the ending really ties the knot on this being a weird hybrid book that probably appeals to young adults. I don’t know. It just felt odd to me how it ended.

 Eh... this is weird for me because I didn't like it, but most of the time, I do know who to recommend books I didn't like. With this one I don't. Maybe to fantasy/mermaid lovers? To those who love a touch of historical/1800s setting in their fantasy books? I guess, mostly, if you think this book sounds really, really good and still want to read it after my review, go ahead and read it. 

Reading Pile: 10/24-10/29

So, since I'm really unorganized at the moment regarding my to-read list, I've also decided to do what fiktshun does and post a weekly reading pile on the blog. Here's to hoping this keeps me more organized and on top of my reading pile!


Reading This Week:

I just noticed both of these have "dark" in their title. I so didn't plan for that.


Dark Inside and Dark Eden are both November 1, 2011 releases, and both sound creepy as hell. However, I'm dying to read both! Love the covers for them. 


Thoughts From Last Week:
I finally deleted Crave from my goodreads. I told myself I should try to read to page 50, but after updating my status around page 33 and going to read another book, I never opened Crave again. It felt... too cliched and I couldn't bear reading all 400 pages of it. It was a scary thought to me. 


I'm still reading You Are My Only, but slowly. It hasn't really hooked me yet, but after reading the summary, I finally understand why Sophie is narrating! I couldn't figure that out last night at all. Now it makes sense. (This feels like a blond moment!)


So, what are you reading this week?

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. You can learn more about it here.

HAHAHAHA. You can see my eye drops in the background!

Also, all those books? Those are vacation books waiting to be read!

My second copy of Original Sin is on the far right.

Bought:
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: Ahh, I so, so loved this book. It's gorgeous and dangerous. <3 My review is posting on Tuesday. 


Gift/Trade/Win:
Original Sin by Lisa Dez: I won this book from Lisa when she was doing her Twitter giveaways. And it's signed! Yay. :) I now have two copies of OS, but I'm already planning a contest for when it's closer to Last Rite's release date. She also sent Original Sin and Last Rite bookmarks--and since I have a Personal Demons bookmark, I have the full set! That made me happy. 


eGalleys for Review:
On A Dark Wing by Jordan Dane
Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook
The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges (SO, SO excited to have received this one! I requested it a few weeks ago and nearly jumped out of my chair when I received the email saying I was confirmed to read and review this one.)
Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale
The Prince Who Fell From The Sky by John Claude Bemis

So... what did you get in your mailbox this week?

Review: A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford
February 22, 2011 
Greenwillow 
Young Adult | Paranormal
A Touch Mortal #1
Pages: 432
Source/Format: Bought; Hardcover
Rating: ALL THE STARS
Author's Website | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Eden didn't expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick-up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long, happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own.

And that's only the beginning of the end.

REVIEW:

It's no lie that I love this book. I love how dark the place Eden is in at the beginning; I love the instalove (dude, in this case, it freaking works. Eden is thinking suicide then Az strolls up and there's chemistry and connection and it WORKS.) And it's so freaking addicting! Whenever I had to do something, I tucked this book under my arm and carried it around with me. I swear to god Leah used crack on these pages because I couldn't stop thinking about it. This book gets five stars because it so deserves it, and it made me think. It made me almost cry at the end because it was over. I fucking loved this book. 

It reminds me of Incarceron a little bit, because it makes the reader learn the world, not the narrator telling the reader about the world. I really like this because it makes my brain actually work and untwist the story as it folds out. There's Upstairs, Basement, Touch, Siders, etc. This isn't just another angel book, it's a kickass angel book with plot twists and a fucking AWESOME author. (I totally fangirl Leah. She. Is. Awesome.)

The twists weren't something I saw coming. I was shocked as they unraveled. I know when I learned about her mysterious death I was left sputtering (and looking like this: O_O).

Although told in third person, it focuses mainly on Eden and I feel like I know her after reading this book. The other characters don't lag either. I feel like I know each of them, which is marvelous. Fantastic characters.

The story is also fantastic. I especially love the worldbuilding. It's such a fresh take on a paranormal world (and in NYC! <3) Eden, after learning she has a special kind of Touch, a power all Siders have, becomes the leader of Manhattan, one of the five territories (five boroughs = five territories.) She keeps her group small, but realizes she needs it to grow in order to defeat the Fallen, whose leader is Luke.

Luke wants Az to fall, and by doing so, he destroys those he loves. Az loves Eden. Yeah, connect the dots.

This book is a heart-breaking adventure. There's a two week gap in the beginning, then a two month gap, but I feel as if I didn't miss anything during those gaps. Clifford shows us what has happened during those gaps, and all it did was speed up the pacing (awesome pacing.)

I do have to say there was a part that jarred me out of the story. Eden is going to a club and it says something about a stamp for underage club goers. This shocked me because it didn't exactly feel like the young adult novels I've been reading lately. It took me a moment to realize that yeah, Eden is a young adult and this book classifies as one. It just shocked me. I was THAT immersed in the story.

And saying that, Eden acts very, very tough. I love her for that. She acts like a leader and I can't wait to see where the sequel goes and how Eden is in that book. And the last book! AHH. Dying to read the rest of the trilogy! 

This book is recommended to those who love dark reads, not afraid of cussing (oh, so refreshing!), and just love amazing books. I don't know if I can gush anymore about it because I honestly think this is a fantastic book and I'll keep saying it's amazing. Because it IS amazing. 

(p.s. I wrote this review in March 2011, after I read the book. I revised it a tad and decided to post it on the blog because I didn't have a Friday post scheduled! Now I do! :))