Waiting on Wednesday: LOVE & GELATO by Jenna Evans Welch

Again, I am slacking on recommending you guys contemporary novels that are coming out this year. I have an ARC of this one, so I figured I'd let you know about it! This week I'm waiting on...

LOVE & GELATO by Jenna Evans Welch

Title: LOVE & GELATO

Author: Jenna Evans Welch

REVIEW: THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig

THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig

Summary:
Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.

Title: THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE

Author: Heidi Heilig

Series: The Girl From Everywhere #1

Source: Purchased from Amazon

Publisher: Greenwillow

Publication Date: February 16, 2016

Rating: 3.5*

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I had a really hard time getting into this one to start. It took me about 25% to be hooked, but then I was and it got better as it went along. I had two main problems with it, but I generally liked it and will for sure be reading the sequel! I think Heilig has a good grasp on her niche genre and the characters are ones I really liked!

8 Most Anticipated April 2016 Releases!

THE RAVEN KING
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #4
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: April 26, 2016

Summary:
All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

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MY KIND OF CRAZY
Author: Robin Reul
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: April 1, 2016

Summary:
Despite the best of intentions, seventeen-year old, wisecracking Hank Kirby can’t quite seem to catch a break. It’s not that he means to screw things up all the time, it just happens. A lot. Case in point: his attempt to ask out the girl he likes literally goes up in flames when he spells “Prom” in sparklers on her lawn…and nearly burns down her house. 


As if that wasn’t bad enough, Peyton Breedlove, a brooding loner and budding pyromaniac, witnesses the whole thing. Much to Hank’s dismay, Peyton takes an interest in him—and his “work.” The two are thrust into an unusual friendship, but their boundaries are tested when Hank learns that Peyton is hiding some dark secrets, secrets that may change everything he thought he knew about Peyton. 

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

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ARC REVIEW: BURN BABY BURN by Meg Medina

Summary:
While violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel.


Nora Lopez is seventeen during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora’s family life isn’t going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn eighteen and be on her own. And while there is a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late? Award-winning author Meg Medina transports us to a time when New York seemed balanced on a knife-edge, with tempers and temperatures running high, to share the story of a young woman who discovers that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit — and the hardest to accept.

Title: BURN BABY BURN

Author: Meg Medina

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: March 8, 2016

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this one a lot but it almost felt like there was too much on the front end and not enough on the latter end to really make the story feel complete for me. I thought that a lot of the narrative of this one was leading up to something more from the Son of Sam or at least from Hector but it didn't feel like the ending gave me enough based on how much tension and build up there was for the rest of it.

Waiting on Wednesday: WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT by April Genevieve Tucholke

I am such a sucker for anything strange and different, so I think this week's waiting on Wednesday come as no surprise to you guys. It's also being compared to THE RAVEN BOYS and we all know how I feel about that. Give a warm welcome to...

WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT by April Genevieve Tucholke

Title: WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke

ARC REVIEW: THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY by Cat Winters

ARC REVIEW: THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY

Summary:
A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten.

1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee’s oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father’s killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee’s father wasn’t killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee’s new stepfather.

The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a “haint” wandering the roads at night.

Title: THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY

Author: Cat Winters

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Amulet Books

Publication Date: March 8, 2016

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I liked that it was built out of the basic premise for Hamlet and that there were references to the play but it was entirely it's own story and one that needed to be told. I think the best part is that it was "accessible" to people because, even if you haven't read Hamlet, you know the general story line so you had a bit of an idea of what was going to happen. However, this story is so much more than just about Hanalee finding her father's killer and I highly recommend this one.

Waiting on Wednesday: ONE SILVER SUMMER by Rachel Hickman

This week I'm waiting on a book that promises me love and royalty so I can never pass that up. Say hello to...

ONE SILVER SUMMER by Rachel Hickman

The thinking girl's summer romance: a gorgeously written story of love and loss with a thrilling royal twist!

After a car accident claims her mother's life, Sass is sent to Cornwall to live with the uncle she's never met. All she wants is to be alone, to come to terms with the new Sass -- the girl who can't forget the screech of tires, the crunch of metal.

The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever blog tour.

The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever blog tour.

Welcome to my stop on Jeff Strand's THE GREATEST ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER blog tour! Zombies, mishaps and madness, books don't get much funnier than this! On my stop, Jeff will be sharing his Top 6 Weapons You Need For The Zombie Apocalypse. And of course, there's a giveaway where you could win one of two copies!

So... Other than the zombies, what is this hilarious book about?

Summary: After producing three horror movies that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it’s time they create something noteworthy, something epic. They’re going to film the Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz—Justin’s crush—as the lead. With only one month to complete their movie, a script that can’t possibly get worse, and the hopes and dreams of Alicia on the line, Justin is feeling the pressure. Add to that a cast of uncooperative extras and incompetent production assistants, and Justin must face the sad, sad truth. He may actually be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever.

Published: March 1st, 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

And now for Jeff's...

Top 6 Weapons You Need For The Zombie Apocalypse

The zombie apocalypse is only a few months away, and no amount of whining will change that. So you're going to need weapons. Because I'm enough of a sweetheart to not want you to die a horrible death when the hordes of the living dead arrive at your door, I present you with six helpful weapons to get you through this unpleasant time.

1. A Tank. You can't go wrong with a tank. Get yourself a tank in the zombie apocalypse (or any other situation) and your chances of survival just got better by a wide margin. For those who wish to relax as society crumbles, this is really your best bet. Are they difficult to acquire? Yes, I suppose. Are they worth it? Definitely.

2. A Baseball Bat With Lots of Spikes On It. Little known fact: since the 1930's, professional baseball players have achieved their level of skill by envisioning that the baseball is a tiny zombie head. Yep, decades before the current zombie craze, baseball players were pretending to whack the undead! (Don't look it up--I wouldn't lie to you.) Sadly, they aren't allowed to have spikes in their bats, but you aren't governed by the rules of Major League Baseball, so spike that baby up!

3. A Thumbtack.  Is it an effective weapon? No. It's really better suited to those uproariously funny pranks where you place one on somebody's chair and they sit on it and let out a yelp and everybody feels merry for the rest of the day. But, if you do successfully kill a zombie with a thumbtack, none of the other human survivors will ever mess with you. High risk, but high yield.

4. A Friend. Shoving your friend into a zombie is not a classy move, but your friend won't have long to resent you.

5. A Cow With Explosives Strapped To Its Back. Basically, you just send the cow out into a great big crowd of zombies, and remotely detonate the explosives. Obviously, this only works once per cow. As with shoving your friend above, there's an element of this where you have to acknowledge that you've lost your humanity. You'll get over it.

6. A Persuasive Argument About Why The Zombie Should Not Eat You. Not recommended.

Win one of two copies of The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. 

(US/CAN only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author: Jeff Strand wrote the script for the short film Gave Up the Ghost, which has zombies in it for a few seconds, and was an associate producer on the short zombie film Chomp. In the event of an actual zombie attack, he would run around crying and screaming, “We’re all doomed!” and contribute very little to everybody’s chances for survival. He’s written a bunch of other books, including I Have A Bad Feeling About This and A Bad Day for Voodoo. Check out this website at jeffstrand.com.  

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Exposed: A Story from the World of Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan

Exposed: A Story from the World of Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan

Earlier this year, an awesome debut book called SWORD AND VERSE came out. I was lucky enough to get a very early ARC, and WOW! I was completely blown away by Kathy's amazing world and characters. Sublime. So I JUMPED at the chance to host this extra! If you have not read this yet, I would not read any further as spoilers ahoy! But if you want to know what the book is about, read on for the summary.

Summary: Raisa was only a child when she was kidnapped and enslaved in Qilara. Forced to serve in the palace of the King, she’s endured hunger, abuse, and the harrowing fear of discovery. Everyone knows that Raisa is Arnath, but not that she is a Learned One, a part of an Arnath group educated in higher order symbols. In Qilara, this language is so fiercely protected that only the King, the Prince, and Tutors are allowed to know it. So when the current Tutor-in-training is executed for sharing the guarded language with slaves and Raisa is chosen to replace her, Raisa knows that, although she may have a privileged position among slaves, any slipup could mean death.

That would be challenging enough, but training alongside Prince Mati could be her real undoing. And when a romance blossoms between them, she’s suddenly filled with a dangerous hope for something she never before thought possible: more. Then she’s approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slaves—to help liberate the Arnath people. Joining the Resistance could mean freeing her people…but she’d also be aiding in the war against her beloved, an honorable man she knows wants to help the slaves.

Working against the one she loves—and a palace full of deadly political renegades—has some heady consequences. As Raisa struggles with what’s right, she unwittingly uncovers a secret that the Qilarites have long since buried…one that, unlocked, could bring the current world order to its knees.

And Raisa is the one holding the key. 

Before we dive into the tortured Mati goodness, a note from Kathy:

When I am working on a book, I always end up writing lots of extra scenes from other characters’ points of view.  Sometimes it’s just for fun, and sometimes it’s a necessary writing exercise; if I am stuck in a scene in the main story, then writing something from a different point of view almost always gets me unstuck.
This is the first of several extras and deleted scenes I will be releasing for Sword and Verse, and I am excited to be unveiling here on Queen of the Bookshelves!  Thank you to Nicola for being such a supporter of Sword and Verse and for agreeing to host this extra!
I’ll be revealing more extras and deleted scenes over the coming months. To make sure you don’t miss any, follow my blog at www.kathymacmillan.com or follow me on Twitter at @kathys_quill.  Want early access to the next extra?  Enter here: https://twitter.com/kathys_quill

And without further ado, here is 

Exposed: A Story from the World of Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan

Raisa had a pretty rotten morning the day after she and Mati broke up.  But Mati’s morning was even worse…

Click here to read Exposed.

SWORD AND VERSE very easily got a five star rating from me. It ticked every box I had when it came to fantasy. The book made me laugh. The book made me cry. And Mati and Raisa are the cutest darn couple ever. I need more of them. Asap. Kathy will be releasing other deleted scenes and extras, this being the first, so definitely don't miss out!

Read my review HERE.

ABOUT KATHY: Kathy MacMillan is a writer, American Sign Language interpreter, consultant, librarian and signing storyteller. She holds National Interpreter Certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.  Her diverse career includes working as a children’s librarian at public libraries, working a school librarian at the Maryland School for the Deaf,  leading the Eldersburg Library Bookcart Drill Team, and performing as Scooby-Doo, Velma, and a host of other characters at a theme park.  Kathy presents American Sign Language storytelling programs through her business, Stories By Hand, and also runs the storytime resource website Storytime Stuff.  She is a volunteer director and board president of Deaf Camps, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides camps for deaf children.  Kathy holds a Master of Library Science from the University of Maryland, a Bachelor of English from the Catholic University of America, and a Certificate of American Sign Language Interpreting from the Community College of Baltimore County. She lives in Owings Mills, MD with her husband, son, and a cat named Pancake.

ARC REVIEW: STILL MINE by Amy Stuart

STILL MINE by Amy Stuart

The Girl on the Train meets The Silent Wife in this taut psychological thriller.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU VANISH FROM YOUR LIFE AND LEAVE NO STORY BEHIND?

SOMEONE WILL MAKE ONE UP FOR YOU.

Clare is on the run.

From her past, from her ex, and from her own secrets. When she turns up alone in the remote mining town of Blackmore asking about Shayna Fowles, the local girl who disappeared, everyone wants to know who Clare really is and what she's hiding. As it turns out, she's hiding a lot, including what ties her to Shayna in the first place. But everyone in this place is hiding something from Jared, Shayna's golden-haired ex-husband, to Charlie, the charming small-town drug pusher, to Derek, Shayna's overly involved family doctor, to Louise and Wilfred, her distraught parents.

Did Shayna flee? Was she killed? Is it possible she's still alive?

As Clare uncovers the mysteries around Shayna's disappearance, she must confront her own demons, moving us deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of lies and making us question what it is she's really running from. Twisting and electrifying, this is a get-under-your-skin thriller that will make you question what it means to lose yourself and find yourself in the most unlikely places.

Title: Still Mine

Author: Amy Stuart

Source: ARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

 Publication Date: March 1, 2016

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD   

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one was good, but it had some problems, in my opinion. I think because it focused so much on Clare and her problems and story more than Shayna and finding her that it took away from the mystery surrounding Shayna's disappearance. As well, the summary makes it seem as though Clare and Shayna have some sort of shared past, but this is not the case. I think it lacked something on the suspense side as well. It was clear to me from about 25% what had happened to Shayna and everything in the story after that just added to my assumptions until they were proved to be correct.

ARC REVIEW: DID I MENTION I NEED YOU? by Estelle Maskame

ARC REVIEW: DID I MENTION I NEED YOU?

 

Summary:
Love has no rules.

It's been a year since Eden Munro last saw Tyler Bruce: her stepbrother...and secret love. Although they swore to ignore their feelings and put their family first, Eden can't help but feel excited when Tyler invites her to join him in New York City for the summer.

But it's not like anything is going to happen. Eden is happy with her boyfriend Dean, and she knows gorgeous, green-eyed Tyler must have moved on as well. But as they spend the long, hot summer in the city that never sleeps, it becomes obvious that those old feelings are still there...simmering beneath the surface. Will Tyler and Eden be able to resist temptation?

Did I Mention I Need You? is book two in Wattpad sensation Estelle Maskame's DIMILY trilogy: three unforgettable summers of secrets, heartbreak and forbidden romance.

Title: DID I MENTION I NEED YOU?

Author: Estelle Maskame

Series: DIMILY #2

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: March 1, 2016

Rating: 4/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Much like the first book, DID I MENTION I LOVE YOU, I highly enjoyed this one. I love Eden and Tyler and I am loving watching their story unravel (quite literally) because it is so different than any other story I've read while still being so similar to the ones that I love at the same time. The DIMILY trilogy is shaping up to be one of my favourites.

Waiting on Wednesday: THE WAY I USED TO BE by Amber Smith

I feel like I don't talk about enough contemporary novels on here even though I devour those like crazy. So this week is all about a new contemporary novel that I am really excited for. It is said to be in the vein of SPEAK so I am excited to be able to read...

THE WAY I USED TO BE by Amber Smith

Title: THE WAY I USED TO BE

Author: Amber Smith