Hightly Anticipated Books of 2012 ~ Branching Out

For the months of October through December, I've been sharing with you some my most highly anticipated YA novels for 2012; but because there are so many, I'm breaking them down into categories.

Today, we're looking at a top ten list for some exciting books coming out in 2012 from authors we're already familiar with who have new books coming out, that are not part of an already established series, although companion novels are included in this list (and yes, these ones are in order from least anticipated to the #1 pick):

10.          Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer TBR: June 26, 2012

9.            A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger TBR: June 2012

8.            The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen TBR: February 16, 2012

7.            Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald TBR: January 24, 2012

6.            Revived by Cat Patrick TBR: May 8, 2012

5.            A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink TBR: March 20, 2012

4.            Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith TBR: January 2, 2012

3.            The Diviners (Diviners #1) by Libba Bray TBR: November 1, 2012

2.             Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins TBR: 2012
 1.            Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa TBR: April 24, 2012

Comment and tell me your thoughts on my list! Have you read the books in these series already? Do you think you will? Did I miss any books? What sequels are you most looking forward to in 2012?

Review: On a Dark Wing

On a Dark Wing by Jordan Dane
Release Date ~ December 27, 2011
Harlequin Teen
ISBN13: 9780373210411

Goodreads Synopsis:
"The choices I had made led to the moment when fate took over. I would learn a lesson I wasn’t prepared for.
And Death would be my willing teacher."

Five years ago Abbey Chandler cheated Death. She survived a horrific car accident, but her lucky break came at the expense of her mother’s life and changed everything. After she crossed paths with Death—by taking the hand of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky—she would never be normal again.
Now she’s the target of Death’s Ravens and an innocent boy’s life is on the line. When Nate Holden—Abbey’s secret crush—starts to climb Alaska’s Denali, the Angel of Death is with him because of her.
Abbey finds out the hard way that Death never forgets.

This ended up being a complete surprise of a book for me; but such a neat YA read! I think people are really going to appreciate the unique plot this one has, and the fact that it's a stand alone novel as well!

1. Unpredictable twists:
   
   While I was reading, I was so curious about what was going to happen and I was having a hard time trying to predict what I thought would happen- well, I was wrong. There aren't very many books out there that I can say this about, so Jordan Dane earns points for being able to do this successfully. And I was really pleased with how nicely Jordan tied things up in the end.
2. Admirable characters:
   
   There were so many different characters I liked in this book; especially that the teens all had parents who were involved and active in their lives in one way or another. I especially liked reading about Nate's parents, who I thought were so wonderful! I'd kind of like them to adopt me. Nate and Tanner ended up being two of my favourite characters, because they were such real, all-around great guys. Abbey is a lucky girl to know these two, just putting it out there.

Abbey, on the other hand, was a different story. I had a hard time getting past how annoying she was; she was hyper-obsessed over her crush, and not in a typical YA way. In a creepy, stalker kind of way. It just isn't normal, and I was so fed up with her.

And I wasn't thrilled by the way she narrated; perhaps it was just the way it was written, but it was noticeable during the first few chapters that there seemed to be too many bad jokes and puns. Once or twice, they would have been cute or clever but they overwhelmed the text.

There also wasn't as much explanation regarding the background and reasons for what happened, which would have been nice towards the end. It wasn't mythology I was familiar with and it was so interesting to read about, but it felt like it was lacking some of that extra information to really pull it all together.



Guest Post: Book Characters during the Holidays

Guest Post by Zahida from Musings of a YA Reader

Considering the year is soon going to end (which means it’s time to start making lists about your favourites of 2011) and with Christmas coming up, I thought I’d help Brenna celebrate with a guest post asking some characters from books I’ve read and enjoyed this year a little about their holiday experience. Here today are Carmen from Jessica Martinez’s Virtuosity [my review], Gabi from Lisa T. Bergren’s River of Time series [my review] and Jordan from Miranda Kenneally’s Catching Jordan [my review].

Zahida: Hi, guys! Thanks so much for taking some time off to drop by and answer some questions for me. Let’s get started! Gabi, what’s Christmas like in medieval Italy?

Gabi: This will be our first Christmas in medieval Italy, so I'm about to find out. Marcello tells me there is much feasting, but primarily after Christmas Day, celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas, or Christmastide, as they call it. The biggie will be Twelfth Night, I hear. We starve all day (fasting is a religious thing), and then at 12:01, it's party-time, baby. Marcello wants it to be the biggest feast the castello has ever had, so we're busy planning.

Zahida: Oh, that sounds interesting. I wish I could come see it! Okay, the next question is for you, Jordan. What kind of Christmas or holiday traditions does the Woods family engage in?

Jordan: My dad is usually playing football or watching football on Christmas day, but if he doesn't have a game, Mom makes a turkey and we gorge ourselves on mashed potatoes and pie and mulled cider. Then our church usually does a dinner for the underprivileged and my family will go help serve food.

Zahida: That seems like a really comfortable way to spend Christmas Day. Speaking of relaxing; Carmen, I know how busy your life is so I wondered whether you get a chance to chill over the holidays as well. What do you do during Christmas?

Carmen: On Christmas Eve we go to midnight Mass just so that when we call my grandmother in Italy the next morning we can say we went. Then on Christmas Day we open gifts, and listen to music, and at some point during the day Diana and I end up performing our favorite parts of the Messiah for Clark. I’m not sure whether he actually listens, but he does make us the most amazing Christmas dinner, which is good enough.

Zahida: Fun, and you and Diana get to spend some time with Clark. Alright, the next few questions are for everybody so we’ll start with Jordan, move onto Gabi and finish off with Carmen. What is your favourite thing about Christmas or the holidays in general?

Jordan: I love the smells of apple cider and pine trees, and gaudy ornaments.

Gabi: I'm actually into quiet things – time with my family, good food, games – just us. And candles – I love lots of candles. It's so magical! It'll be hard to be without a tree this year. They don't celebrate that tradition, and Dad is paranoid about introducing anything that isn't historically accurate. We've already messed with the time-space continuum enough, he says. I might have to go for a walk in the woods and cut a branch of pine, just to smell that amazing smell again, you know?


Carmen: Having the day off from practicing!

Zahida: Getting a chance to relax is my favourite part of the holidays too, Carmen. Okay, let’s begin this next question with you. What was the best Christmas present you ever received?

Carmen: One year Clark gave me tickets to a comedy club – totally un-music-related and I loved it.


Jordan: When I was 12, my family gave me a football autographed by Joe Montana.


Gabi: My gramma's locket, with a picture of her grandparents inside. I'm still sad I don't have it here with me. Mom says I just have to remember them in my mind, but it's not the same thing as having something tangible, you know? I used to wear it every day. But I was running late, getting out the door to the airport when we came to Italy the last time, and forgot to put it on. It's still sitting on top of my dresser. Can someone grab it and post it to medieval Toscana, please?

Zahida: Gabi, I’d totally mail you your locket if I lived in Colorado. Since I can’t, tell me what you’re hoping to find under your Christmas tree this year. We’ll start with you, Gabi.

Gabi: I already have it. My family, here with me. And now Marcello...Something I thought it was impossible, improbable ... I get to have everyone I love best, with me every day. I still haven't gotten over the gift of that. Buon natale!


Jordan: Keys to a Harley – I've always wanted a motorcycle but my parents always say no way.


Carmen: New running shoes and an iTunes gift card.

Zahida: Well, there you have it! Now that you know a little more about how some characters spend their holidays, how do you celebrate yours?

A big thanks to Lisa, Jessica and Miranda for participating, and to Brenna for letting me guest post.

DON'T FORGET- you can enter to win one of FOUR big prizes for my Christmas event here.

Wrapping Up 2011 Readathon Contest

For all of you who are participants in the WU2011 Readathon, I hope you're enjoying it! I know it's a busy time of year, but hopefully you're challenging yourself and fitting in any reading at all that you fit in :)

As part of this event, I offered to host a small contest with a prize donated by me for one participant to win!

It's pretty straightforward. Below I'm including some small previews of book covers taken from books I'm hoping to read during the readathon. You can find my total list of books here on my kick off post.

See if you can figure out the TITLE and AUTHOR which matches to each book cover, and then fill out the form. That's it! Those participants with the highest number of correct entries will be entered into a random draw to win a prize. At the end of the readathon, I'll be in contact to let them know the selection of 2012 ARCs I have available for them to choose one book from (I'm not 100% definite on the list yet because it is determined by the books I read during the readathon, but I can say they will include Catastrophic History of You and Me, Cinder, and definitely some others).

FILL OUT THE FORM HERE WITH YOUR ANSWERS TO ENTER.

Rules: Must be 13 years of age or older.

You must have signed up for the WU2011 Readathon AND must have updated your reading/TBR list at least once.

Open to US and Canadian addresses only.

I am not responsinble for items lost in mail.

I reserve the right to delete entries as I see fit.

Winner must respond within 48 hours of my e-mail announcing their win, or a new winner will be chosen

And good luck! Happy reading :)

Review: The Anti-Social Network

The Anti-Social Network (The Start-Up #2) by Sadie Hayes
Release Date ~ October 22, 2011
Backlit Fiction

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Dory twins grew up with nothing. Now on the verge of having everything, their fledgling company—built on Amelia’s intellect and Adam’s ambition—threatens to be torn apart by new, powerful enemies and old, malicious ones.
The Anti-Social Network is the second episode in The Start-Up series, a fast-paced and exciting serial story.

The day after finishing The Start-Up, I dove into The Anti-Social Network dying to know what was going to happen. Sadie and Backlit Fiction have clearly found a formula that works for them- and as much as I enjoyed this one, I'm starting to wonder how long this formula is going to continue to work.

1. Secrets Revealed:
   We get to know a lot more about Adam and Amelia's past, and the kinds of secrets which were only mysteriously mentioned in The Start Up, and this definitely provides some necessary backstory to keep the excitement going and makes it a bit easier to relate to the characters. It's nice getting some answers, even if they do only lead to more questions.
2. Lots and lots of curveballs:
   I honestly have a hard time trying to pin down what's going to happen; I'm the kind of reader who can't help but try to predict what will happen in the book. Every time I do that with this series, I end up being wrong. There is just so much going on, and these characters aren't predictable or boring in ANY way. But that makes for a very exciting plot!

You definitely get great build up, and a good storyline filled with questions, suspicion, and mounting tension. But I have to admit, I'm not overly impressed with books that continually end with a big revelation and semi-cliffhanger. Yes, it grabs my attention. But those tricks only last for so long before I lose interest. So while I enjoyed this one, I have to wonder how long I'm going to keep enjoying them if it does end up in this set pattern, becaues what I love is the unpredictability and twists, and I don't want it to lose that.

That being said I'm even MORE excited for the third installment, The Beauiful Code, and I am just giddy with anticipation waiting to figure out where this goes!

I'm hoping that some more of the sub-plots introduced in the first one will be better fleshed out soon, because there are quite a few characters and conflicts between them that were established but weren't dealt with much in this book. Fingers crossed for more of them later (I'm looking at you, Patty)!

Review copy received from author and publisher in exchange for my honest review; no other compensation was received.

Guest Post: Book Blogger Exchange Q&A

As part of the Book Blogger Exchange hosted by Rants~N~Scribbles, I signed up to do a Q&A with my partner who is the lovely Michele from Just a Lil Lost! We put together 10 questions and are now featuring those answers on our blogs. I hope you get to know a little bit more about these bloggers! And thanks to Gwen for organizing all of this <3

I also received a package with a gorgeous finished copy of Legend by Marie Lu (a book I LOVED and desperately needed the finished copy!) and a super pretty Smashbox lipgloss from Michele! It was a PERFECT surprise and loved it so much <3

If you'd like to see my answers to the questions, make sure you stop by Michele's blog for the post!

FEATURING MICHELE FROM...

1. If you could be any character from any book, who would you want to be and why?
I would have to say Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. She's smart, brave and brilliant with magic - even tho I'm a Slytherin gal at heart ;)

2. What book are you most looking forward to reading over the holidays?
There are so many books on my TBR list that I want to read right away.. and I don't often pick out what I want to read next. Usually once I'm done a book, I look at all the ones I have and see which I'm in the mood for. Since I'll be in NYC for part of the holidays, it'll have to be something on my eReader!

3. Do you do anything or participate in anything that is really special to you over the holidays? Some sort of tradition or something like that.
Christmas Eve is at my boyfriend's parents' place, and then Christmas Day is with my family. But this year, my mom & a few relatives are away on vacation so it's just my sister and her fiance coming over!

4. What was the last book that made you cry?
Books (and TV and movies) don't often make me cry. I guess the one that came closest was The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

5. Which 2012 release is a must read for you?
Definitely Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

6. What was your favourite book that you read in 2011?
The Help and Shatter Me

7. If you weren't a book blogger, what other topic would you blog about?
I'd probably be blogging about TV shows. I'm a TV junkie and can be a bit nerdy in dissecting shows.. usually just with friends, but I'm sure if I had the time and patience to (and wasn't a book blogger), I'd be analyzing & reviewing TV shows :P

8. What's the #1 book on your wishlist this Christmas?
Well, it was Wither - but thank you to Brenna here who gifted me this one.. I'd have to say Daughter of Smoke & Bone now.

9. What is your favourite holiday treat? (food-wise)
I love apple cider w/brandy! Yummy holiday drink that the BF's family always makes!

10. What is the story behind your blog name?
"Just a Lil Lost" was what I named my silly web comic that I drew.. Just some cute simple cartoons (http://just-a-lil-lost.livejournal.com/) that poke fun (lovingly) at my favourite show, Lost - with "lil" versions of the characters. I have a bunch more that I drew in my sketchbook but never put up.. haven't touched it in ages but I liked the name of it because aren't we all just a lil' lost sometimes?

Thank you so much for being a wonderful partner for this exchange, Michele!

Review: The Start-Up

The Start-Up (The Start-Up #1) by Sadie Hayes
Release Date ~ October 17, 2011
Backlit Fiction
ISBN13: 2940013286269

Goodreads Synopsis:
When a college freshman's breakthrough software program catapults her into the limelight, she and her twin brother must navigate a treacherous world of money, power, and envy: Silicon Valley.
In a world of tweets, apps, and mobile games, The Start-Up is a fast-paced and exciting serial story with a new episode released each month.

This is hands down one of the most unexpected books I have read this year; it was such a pleasant surprise to pick up a book when I wasn't expecting much and to end up absolutely enthralled with its story and characters. The Start-Up introduces a variety of characters, each with their own problems and motives and it will be interesting to see how it all comes together...

1. "New Adult":
   
   I'm still unsure of how I feel about the "New Adult" label, BUT I have to say that I love reading about characters that are slightly older than the typical YA protaganist. Amelia and Adam are both in university students, which makes it slightly refreshing to read about people in that life stage.
2. Complex, developed characters:
   
   Every single character is well-developed. None of them are perfect, they all have their own flaws and motives, and best of all they all have secrets. Some of which we know about, and others we don't (yet). But it's fairly difficult to hate any one character, because there isn't anyone who's just plain evil- if they are an antagonist, there are reasons why they're acting in such a way. That's something you don't find too often in a book, and I significantly appreciated it in The Start-Up.
3. Dirty little secret mystery:
   
   There's definitely a mystery aspect to The Start-Up, but not in a murder mystery kind of a way... more like everyone has something to hide and the question is, who will uncover those secrets first? I can definitely see why people would compare it to Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl, except I think I preferred this one because there seems to be more at stake here.

I actually decided to read this one, because I had been offered a review copy from the author and was impressed with how put together Backlit and Sadie had organized The Start-Up. It was only after accepting another book from Backlit that I decided to read this one, because initially it hadn't caught my interest. But I can officially say that I'm HOOKED on this series and really excited by where it's going to go. It's such a quick, intriguing story that you have to pick this one up to give it a chance, and I have a feeling that Backlit is something we should be keeping an eye on from now on.

As stated earlier, a review copy of the e-book was provided from the author and Backlit Fiction in exchange for my honest review; no other compensation was received!