Waiting on Wednesday #77

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event,  hosted by breaking the spine, that spotlights upcoming

releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

Series: Throne of Glass #3

Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens

Publication Date: September 11th 2014

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

WE FINALLY HAVE A COVERRRRRRRR! AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH! It's just as beautiful and amazing as the first two covers and I think it might actually be my favourite! Heir of Fire is probably my most anticipated release right now! I can't wait to dive back into this world and finally find out more about Celaena's past! And also, I JUST NEED MORE CHAOL <3 Hurry up September! I need this book so bad!

What are you waiting on this week?

How to Love by Katie Cotugno

How to Love by Katie Cotugno
Series: No
Publisher: Quercus
Publication Date: October 3rd 2013
Source: Bought

This is a love story. But it’s not what you think. This is not a first kiss, or a first date. This is not love at first sight. This is a boy and a girl falling in messy, unpredictable, thrilling love. This is the complicated route to happiness that follows.

This is real. This is life. This is how to love.

BEFORE: Reena has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember. But he’s never noticed her, until one day… he does. They fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town, leaving a devastated – and pregnant – Reena behind.

AFTER: Three years later and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter Hannah. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again.

After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer again?

I buddy read this one with Brittany from This is the Story of My Reading Life. We'd originally planned to read it in March - but we couldn't fit it in - so we bumped it onto our April TBR's because we really wanted to read it. Glad we managed to fit it in in April because I really enjoyed it.

The main thing I loved was that this wasn't a perfect, straight-forward love story and that both characters had major flaws. Reena and Sawyer were together; Sawyer had major problems; Reena got sick of it; Sawyer left; Reena found out she was pregnant; Had her baby and then 3 years later... Sawyer returns.

The story was told in two different timelines: Before & After. Before: The story of how Reena & Sawyer's relationship started. After: 3 years after they got together and all the events after Sawyer's return.

Reen is a socially-awkward character who prefers her own company. She has a major weakness when it comes to Sawyer. She comes from a Catholic family and they looked down on her when she became pregnant. She's kind of a shitty friend, but she has dealt with a lot of shit so sometimes I could excuse her. But I did have a love/hate relationship with Reena.

I had a like/hate relationship with Sawyer. I hated before Sawyer. He was such a dick and I wanted to punch him in the face so many times. I did feel bad because he was going through his own shit, but I hate that he dragged Reena with him. He treated Reena like shit before. After, he wasn't much better to start with. He waltzed back in like nothing had changed and was acting like the same jackass from before. But Sawyer grew a lot when he came back and by the end, I did like him.

Shelby is Reena's BFF. She tells it like it is and she's always trying to talk sense into Reena. She's hilarious and had me laughing out loud quite a lot. She's a great friend to Reena even though Reena doesn't always return the favour.

When it comes to the romance, the blurb tells it like it is: It's a mess. Reena and Sawyer went through a ton of shit before which would make you think they'd never in a million years try it again. But those two had a connection right from the word go. Reena had been hiding her feeling for Sawyer and Sawyer never knew about her feelings, but he liked her. Before Reena and Sawyer were a train-wreck. After Reena and Sawyer had a chance. I loved getting to see the Before relationship and the After relationship and understand why Reena had her hang-ups. It was real, and I think that's why I ended up rooting for the two of them.

Nothing in this story was perfect, and that's why I loved it so much. Neither Reena nor Sawyer are perfect. They both have major flaws and have made a lot of mistakes in the past and in the present. They're still learning and growing. Reena and Sawyer's families weren't perfect either. I hated Reena's dad for the way he was freezing out her and being such a dick, but I also understood his side. Sawyer's parents seemed determined to put on this perfect front and try to make it look like they hadn't been treating Reena like shit. 

By the end I was rooting for Reena and Sawyer and I finished the book with a massive grin on my face. The ending gave me hope that they'll be able to be a proper family and that everything will work out.

Overall, I really loved How to Love. It was messy, heartbreaking, the characters were imperfect, but it just felt real and that's why I loved it. 

Make sure to look out for Brittany's review because she had a few different thoughts about the book from me and I'm excited to read her review!

Showcase Sunday #67

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Bite a biscuits and Tea. This meme allows book bloggers to show off the books they collected over the last week.

Hello everyone! This week has been a pretty quiet week for me. I spent a lot of time reading and catching up on review books this week so I'm pretty happy with that. 

Bookwise, I bought 3 books this week (2 physical and 1 kindle), I got a few review books and I also got a book out of my library.

Bought

• physical

Half Bad (Half Life #1) by Sally Green

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simon

• kindle

Nash (Marked Men #4) by Jay Crownover

Review

Pure (Pure #1) by Julianna Baggott

Fuse (Pure #2) by Julianna Baggott

Thanks Bookbridgr & Headline!

Netgalley

Hexed (Hexed #1) by Michelle Krys

Thanks Delacorte Press

Edelweiss

In a Handful of Dust (Not a Drop to Drink #2) by Mindy McGinnis

Thanks Katherine Tegen Books

Library

How to Fall in Love by Cecelia Ahern

What books did you get this week?

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein
Series: Arclight #1
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Publication Date: August 5th 2013
Source: Bought

The Arclight is the last refuge in a post-apocalyptic world consumed by terrifying monsters called the Fade. No one crosses the wall of light that keeps the last human survivors safe. There's nothing else left and nowhere to go. Or so they thought, until Marina, a lone teenage girl, stumbles out of the Dark.

Marina can’t remember anything about her life before that moment. Where has she come from? How has she survived? And why do the rulers of the Dark seem determined to destroy her? To find out, she will have to venture back into the Dark...

Ever since I heard about Arclight I was extremely curious about it. I saw a lot of positive reviews for it around release time and I couldn't wait to read it. I've had it sitting on my bookcase for quite a while and finally got the push I needed to read it when I got a review copy of Meridian.

Arclight takes place in a world that has been destroyed by monsters called The Fade. I adored finding out more about the world Marina lives in. The Arclight is surrounded by lights to protect the human survivors - and keep The Fade out - but they breach the building in the very first chapter (which it turns out is the first time they've breached the security). The Fade were intriguing and I was dying to find out more about them. I was pretty sure that we weren't being told the whole truth by the leaders in The Arclight, and I really loved discovering more about The Fade.

I really adored Marina's character. She's strong, feisty and doesn't give up. She knows when something isn't right and is determined to find out the truth. There was a lot of mystery surrounding Marina. She was found out in the Grey (area outside The Arclight) and brought back, but she has no memories of what happened to her before she woke up there. There was a lot to discover about her. She was a fantastic main character.

Tobin was alright. I'm actually not a major fan of Tobin, I actually think he's kind of an ass. Sure he has his nice moments, but overall, I'm just not a fan of him. He's kind of mysterious. Also, one moment he seems to hate Marina and the next he's being nice to her. He ran hot and cold and I just didn't like him.

There was a love triangle in Arclight, but it actually didn't bother me. I thought it was pretty well done and I was actually enjoying it, until Marina made her choice and then I wanted to shake her for making the wrong decision. In my opinion, she chose the wrong guy. I'm hoping she'll come to her senses in Meridian (fingers crossed!).

I really loved the plot of Arclight. It was fast-paced, there were so many secrets to uncover and I never felt bored reading it. I was completely sucked into the world of Arclight and I wanted to know more about what was going on with Marina and find out more about The Fade. I loved everything about the storyline.

The ending was fantastic and I'm dying to pick up Meridian and find out what's going to happen next. Also, I'm pretty sure were still being kept in the dark about a few things.

Overall, I really enjoyed Arclight. It was captivating, and I found myself getting lost in the Arclight world. I can't wait to pick up Meridian and continue on in this world.

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hovoer
Series: No
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Publication Date: March 18th 2014
Source: Bought

At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

Maybe, Someday was a book I knew I was going to love before I'd even started reading it. The synopsis sounded fantastic, and it's a Colleen Hoover book - so it was a given that it was going to be amazing. But I didn't expect it to be as amazing as it was, and it's definitely became my favourite of Colleen's books so far.

Twenty-two year old Sydney Blake has a great life. She's at college, she has a wonderful boyfriend and she shares and apartment with her friend Tori. She's also started becoming friends with her mysterious neighbour Ridge. But everything in Sydney's life changes when she finds out that Hunter is cheating on her with Tori. Ridge offers to let Sydney take the spare room in his apartment, and as the days go on, their attraction grows. 

God. This book was just... perfection. Honestly, I'm finding it really hard to write how I felt about this book because I loved it so much. It's hard to put it in words. Maybe, Someday is quite possibly the most emotional book I've ever read. I seriously cried from about half way through this book right until the very end.

I adored Sydney. Her world has basically just fallen apart, but she manages to stay strong. Sydney fits in perfectly with Warren & Ridge, and she joins in with the pranks they pull on each other. Sydney is such a likeable character. She's strong and she was such an easy character to connect to. I just adored her.

Oh, Ridge. I honestly fell for Ridge straight away. He's such a sweet and adorable guy. And then when Sydney moves into Ridge's apartment and we find out more about him, I fell even harder for him. Ridge always tries to do the right thing, and his heart is always in the right place. He looks out for everyone and he's such a fantastic character.

I can honestly say that I never had any inklings about the twist Hoover threw at me only a couple of chapters in, but it was such an amazing addition to the story and I honestly don't think I would have enjoyed it as much without that twist. It just added a whole other level to the story. Hoover hooked me in straight away and I completely lost myself in this story. I adored finding out about more about Ridge and his roommate Warren (who was hilarious and such an amazing character), I loved finding out more about Sydney and I loved the music. Music is a massive part of this book - I mean Griffin Peterson even recorded the songs Hoover had in the book (which I didn't find out about until I'd finished). Ridge writes music for the band that his brother is in, he loses his muse, notices that Sydney has been signing along to his guitar, convinces her to write lyrics for him, and their bond started there. 

Ridge and Sydney's relationship was complicated. Ridge had a long-term girlfriend called Maggie - who wasn't present at the start of the book because she was at university, but Ridge and Sydney had a connection from the very first moment they interacted and it was torture watching them together. I was rooting for Ridge and Syd so hard, but I didn't want Maggie's heart to be broken because I actually really loved her too. It was a complicated, messy and heartbreaking relationship, but I loved every second of it.

The ending left me sobbing and I was so damn happy. Yeah it was kind of sad, but my happiness completely eclipsed the sad part of me because it was such a perfect and amazing ending.

Overall, Maybe Someday has been my favourite Colleen Hoover book to date, and I think it's going to be a hard one to beat. With that fantastic twist, a couple with powerful chemistry and the music, Colleen Hoover did a fantastic job and I adored everything about this book.

Waiting on Wednesday #76

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event,  hosted by breaking the spine, that spotlights upcoming
releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal
Series: No
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Publication Date: June 10th 2014

What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy?

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss--the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died--is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn't a suicide as everyone assumes. She can't remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she's worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend.

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she'll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made--good and bad--that led to her last kiss.

How awesome does this one sound? Cassidy doesn't remember anything leading up to her birthday and she doesn't remember what happened the night she died. I can't wait to get this one and find out what happened!

What are you waiting on this week?

Bout of Books 10: Sign Up

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team.

Yes! It's that time again! I've been taking part in Bout of Books since #7 and it's honestly my favourite read-a-thon! I always look forward to it because I love taking part in it and I'm so excited that it's starting again soon! If you want to sign up for Bout of Books 10 (which I suggest you do), click here to sign up and to find out more about the read-a-thon!

Showcase Sunday #66

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Bite a biscuits and Tea. This meme allows book bloggers to show off the books they collected over the last week.

Hello everyone! So this week has been such a great week! I haven't been working too much, and it's also Easter! So, Happy Easter to anyone who celebrates it :) I'll be spending my day eating chocolate and reading.

Also, this week I got to see McBusted! And I can honestly say it was one of the best nights of my life. I was a massive Busted fan when they were around and I was so gutted that I never got to see them before they broke up. I'm also a huge McFly fan, so a mash up of McFly AND Busted? Of course I was going to love it! But it was such a fantastic night and I could barely speak the next day. And I'll be going again in May to do it all over again!

Bookwise, I never bought any books this week (Yay for saving money!), but I did get a book from Netgalley that I'm super excited for!

Netgalley

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

I seriously can't wait to read this one! Thanks Orion!

What books did you get this week?

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Series: The Winner's Trilogy #1
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
Publication Date: April 10th 2014
Source: Netgalley [Bloomsbury]

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

The Winnner's Curse is one of those books that I heard everyone going on about and I knew I had to pick it up asap. So not long after I got approved for a copy on Netgalley, I started reading it. I completely understood why everyone was raving about it. I was pulled into Kestrel's world straight away and I adored this book.

The Winner's Curse follows Kestrel - the general's daughter & Arin - a slave. Kestrel's father has been trying to get her to join the military for years to help him, so he finally gives her an ultimatum: Join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other ideas. She finds a kindred spirit in a slave at the auction, and Kestrel buys him. But Arin has a secret, one that he's determined to keep hidden.

As soon as I started The Winner's Curse I fell in love with the world that Rutkoski had created. I adored hearing about the war and finding out how Kestrel's family came to be in power. It was fascinating. However, there were parts of the book that I found slow and dragging, so they kind of took away some of my enjoyment. But overall, I adored the book.

Kestrel was a character I was extremely curious about. She seemed interested in her father's war tactics, but she refused to join him and I was curious to find out why. Kestrel has a passion for music - she adores playing the piano and takes every opportunity she can to play it even though her father frowns upon it because only slaves should play music. But Kestrel doesn't care, she loves it. I adored her determination to stand up for what she believes in and to stand up to her father. Even though he gave her an ultimatum, Kestrel is determined to prove herself and find a way out of it.

I was intrigued by Arin straight away. It was obvious he was hiding something and I wanted to know what. And then when Arin went off to his meeting with his "significant other", I finally found out what he was up to and I knew it wasn't going to end well. Arin is a sweet character and he is trying to fight for what he thinks is right. I loved finding out more about Arin and his past.

There was some romance in this book, but not a lot since most of it is focused on the war and character struggles so I was OK with the romance. Arin and Kestrel's feelings for each other gradually grow throughout the book and both of them try to hide their feelings. There are a lot of complications that stop them from being together - especially at the end of the book - but I loved seeing their feelings develop and seeing what happened between them.

The storyline was the main thing I loved about this book (even if I did find the pace slow to start with). It took me a while to figure out what was going on with Arin, but when I did, I realised that things were going to happen and everything was going to change. And it did. The whole feel of the book completely changed towards the end and that was my favourite part of the book. The ending was full of twists and turns that made my jaw drop and that ending was seriously amazing!

Overall, The Winner's Curse was such a fascinating read. It was beautifully written and had such a wonderful storyline that kept me hooked from the start and was full of fantastic twists at the end. I honestly can't wait for book #2 now because I'm pretty sure it's going to be even more amazing than the first one.

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout [REVIEW & GIVEAWAY]

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: No
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Date: April 10th 2014
Source: Bought

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

Don't Look Back is a book I was impatiently anticipating ever since I heard about it because it's a Jennifer L. Armentrout book and I seriously love every single book of hers I've read so far. So, when I heard about Don't Look Back and saw that it was a contemporary thriller, I was super excited because it's so different from everything else she's written. And honestly, I just really wanted to get my hands on it.

Don't Look Back follows 17 year old Samantha who disappeared one night with her best friend, Cassie, and then resurfaces with no memories or recollection of what happened to her. As Sam tries to fit back into her old life, she realises that she doesn't want any part of it. The old Sam was such a horrible person, and Sam doesn't want to be like that anymore. Since Sam has no memories she feels like she's getting a second chance. She's also falling hard for Carson, an old childhood friend, but the old Sam treated him like shit. Although Sam has returned, Cassie is still missing. Someone knows what happened that night and it trying to keep Sam quiet. But Sam is determined to unlock her memories and find out what really happened. But Sam's amnesia might be the only thing keeping her alive.

As soon as I started Don't Look Back I was hooked. We pick up with Sam walking down a road and a police car pulling up in front of her. She has no idea who she is or where she is and that immediately drew me in. I wanted to know why she had no memory of who she was and what had happened to her since she was covered in bruises, scrapes and blood.

Samantha was a character that I really admired. She did her best to stay strong and try to adapt to a life she has no memory of. Sam has basically went through a complete personality change. No one believes her at first and they think she's just recovering, but Sam is no longer the bitch she used to be, she changed into a sweet, caring, thoughtful and friendly character. Not everyone is willing to accept the new Sam and a lot of people in school still treat her like the old Sam. But everyone close to her notices the change and I have to say, I loved the new Sam. We were given glimpses of the old Sam when something triggered a memory, and the old Sam was really horrible. I also admired her determination to not give up on Cassie. No matter how many people told her that Cassie was a horrible person and that not a lot of people would miss her, Sam wouldn't give up on her. She felt she owed it to Cassie.

Carson Oritz is definitely JLA's most swoon-worthy guy yet. Honestly, I didn't think anyone would be able to beat Daemon (Lux), but Car was just perfection right from the start. OK, sure, he may have been a jerk to Sam at the beginning, but he had a valid reason. Samantha had been a complete bitch to him for the past couple of years, so obviously he wasn't going to believe that her whole personality had changed basically overnight. Carson is the son of one of the workers Samantha's dad has hired, so Sam's mother doesn't approve of him being around her children because he's not of their class. But Carson doesn't care. Carson is the sweetest, loveliest, most caring, charming and most adorable guy I've ever read about. I literally fell head over heels for him, just like Sam did.

There were quite a few secondary characters as well. We had Sam's friends e.g. Veronica, Candy, etc. who were all complete bitches. I honestly couldn't believe Sam used to be friends with them and used to basically be their leader. She was so different from them and I couldn't wrap my head around it. There was also Scott - who is Sam's brother. From what I could gather, Sam and Scott hadn't been very close before, but they grew extremely close as the book went on. Scott was always there for Sam, and he always had her back. He was a fantastic brother. We also had Julie - Scott's girlfriend and one of Sam's ex-BFF's. Honestly, we never really found out the real reason of what went down between those two that cause Sam to break off the friendship, but I'm so glad they got a second chance to be friends. Julie is such a lovely character and I loved seeing her and Sam bond again. And then we had Del - Sam's boyfriend. Right from the start I wasn't sold on Del. He was really creeping me out and it was so obvious that he was completely lying to Sam, but she never questioned him. I never warmed up to him. 

So, now on the the storyline. I will say, the whole book was a complete mind-fuck. I honestly had no idea what the hell was going to happen and I was basically suspicious of nearly every single character. There were actually times when I was reading the book with narrowed eyes trying to figure everything out. But straight off the bat the story hooked me in. A girl and her friend going missing and one of the girls showing up with no memory of what happened? Yeah, of course it hooked me in straight away. I loved unravelling everything with Sam and discovering more about it. It was such a great experience getting to learn about Sam along with her since she had no recollection of her life before or what she used to be like. I also really loved seeing the flashes of the Old Sam when her memory was triggered. She wasn't getting anything concrete to begin with, and then she started remembering full conversations or maybe just little things from when she was young, and they all helped me get to know Sam better. Finding out what had happened to Cassie was the main part of the storyline and I was just as desperate as Sam to find out what actually happened the night they both disappeared.

The ending was so freaking crazy. My jaw hit the floor when I worked out a split second before Sam did who had done it. Everyone in the book was a suspect in my eyes, but I was so shocked by who it was that I just kind of stared at my kindle for a bit. There'd been a moment a chapter or two before when I'd suspected someone else and I was so close to tears because I didn't want it to be them (which, thankfully, it wasn't) but I was so damn thrown by who it actually was. Jennifer L. Armentrout sure knows how to throw a curve ball. Honestly, I ended up in tears because of how emotional the ending was because we finally knew who had done it and what had really happened that night. And it was definitely shocking.

The epilogue at the end left me with a massive grin on my face. It was such a great way to end the book and I absolutely loved it. 

Overall, Don't Look Back has definitely been my favourite of Jennifer L. Armentrout's books so far. It was full of mystery and suspense, I had a massive list of suspects and I was kept on my toes until the very end. I completely loved it.

So, because Don't Look Back has became one of my all time favourite books, I've decided to host a giveaway and give one lucky person the chance to win a copy of the book!

Rules

1. The Giveaway is International (as long as the Book Depository ships to your country)

2. You must be 16 years or over to enter (Or have your parents permission if you're younger)

3. If the winner doesn't respond after 48 hours, I will pick another winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday #75

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event,  hosted by breaking the spine, that spotlights upcoming
releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters

Series: No

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: June 10th 2014

When Alix's charismatic girlfriend, Swanee, dies from sudden cardiac arrest, Alix is overcome with despair. As she searches Swanee's room for mementos of their relationship, she finds Swanee's cell phone, pinging with dozens of texts sent from a mysterious contact, L.T. The most recent text reads: "Please tell me what I did. Please, Swan. Te amo. I love you."

Shocked and betrayed, Alix learns that Swanee has been leading a double life--secretly dating a girl named Liana the entire time she's been with Alix. Alix texts Liana from Swanee's phone, pretending to be Swanee in order to gather information before finally meeting face-to-face to break the news.

Brought together by Swanee's lies, Alix and Liana become closer than they'd thought possible. But Alix is still hiding the truth from Liana. Alix knows what it feels like to be lied to--but will coming clean to Liana mean losing her, too?

As soon as I came across this book I knew I had to read it. I'm intrigued to find out why Swanee was leading a double life and what made her ignore Liana. I'm also intrigued to find out if Alix will tell Liana and what the consequences of lying to her will be. I can't wait for this one to come out!

What are you waiting on this week?

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden #3
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 15th 2014
Source: Netgalley [Harlequin Teen]

VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?

With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

MONSTER

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

The Forever Song was one of my most anticipated releases of 2014. I'd been dying to get my hands on it ever since I finished The Eternity Cure a year ago and it left me in tears. So, obviously when I came across copy on Netgalley I had to request it (even though it was the US version) and I honestly started jumping around when I got approved for it and ended up starting it straight away. 

I flew through The Forever Song because I was just so desperate to find out what was going to happen to all of the characters that I'd grown to love. Also, I was dying to know whether I was right about something that had happened at the end of The Eternity Cure. Honestly, I couldn't put this book down. I ended up staying up late and getting half of the book done and as soon as I woke up the next morning I just read until I was finished. In my opinion, The Forever Song has been the best book in the trilogy. I adored book 1, book 2 was fantastic, but book 3 has just blown the other two out of the water because it was so damn amazing.

Ever since I started reading this series back in January last year, I've completely fallen in love with it. Julie Kagawa's writing style is the main thing I love about her books. She always manages to create amazing worlds that I'm able to picture and she completely draws me in. The Blood of Eden trilogy is definitely my favourite of her books. 

The Forever Song picks up with Allie, Jackal and Kanin hunting down Sarren and trying to stop whatever evil, mastermind plan he's trying to put in place. Allie is struggling with the death of Zeke and is embracing her vampire side - much to the delight of Jackal. Allie realises that Sarren's trail is taking them to Eden - the last vampire free zone on Earth and Allie is determined to do whatever she can to protect it. But Sarren isn't done playing games yet. He's still got one more surprise in store for Allie. 

Allie is one of my favourite female characters ever. She's such a strong character. She had a lot of inner battles about her morals and whether they were worth fighting for anymore. She's determined, badass, loyal and she's a genuinely nice person (when you don't get on her bad side). I adored Allie from the very first moment I met her and I've grown to love her even more as the trilogy went on.

Kanin is a character I've loved learning about. He's a master vampire and knows all about the disease that spread and turned humans into rabids when they were bitten. Kanin is kind of like a father figure to Allie. She's always looking to him for support and Kanin is such a compassionate vampire. He always fights the monster and does his best to restrain himself and his "children". 

Jackal is a character I've actually grown to love. Now, in the first book I hated Jackal so much. In the second book, I started to like him but I did still kind of hate him. But, in The Forever Song, Jackal really grew on me and I ended up loving him by the end. He's still his usual jackass self, but he's definitely changed a lot from the Jackal we first met.

So Allie, Kanin and Jackal are trailing Sarren and trying to stop his master plan. I can't really say too much about the story without spoiling it, but it was fantastic. Sarren's little surprise for Allie was heartbreaking and brutal (also, I was right!). Sarren is one of the most disturbing characters I've ever read about. Some of the things he did during this book made my skin crawl. He's a madman.

I honestly couldn't have asked for a more perfect ending. I'm still a little sad over how some of the events went, but overall, it was a great ending. I definitely had a few tears in my eyes when I finished The Forever Song because I just loved this trilogy so much and I'm glad it had such a great ending.

Overall, The Forever Song was a fantastic conclusion to the Blood of Eden trilogy. This is one of those series that I'm honestly going to be recommending to everyone because it's one of my favourites. I am sad that it's over, but I'm glad that the ending was amazing.

Half Bad by Sally Green

Half Bad by Sally Green
Series: Half Life #1
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: March 3rd 2014
Source: Bought

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Easy.

Half Bad by Sally Green was one of those books that I was desperate to get my hands on as soon as I heard about it. The minute I saw the word 'witch' in the synopsis, I was completely sold and was impatiently waiting for it to be released. I ended up picking this one up a lot sooner that I'd intended to because I'd just read and extremely disappointing witch book and I really wanted one that was going to be great - and I'd heard a lot of good things about Half Bad. 

Half Bad follows Nathan who is half white witch, half black witch which means he has the potential to be either a good or bad witch. The government are cracking down on Half Code's and Nathan's rights are restricted. The rules keep getting tighter and tighter, and Nathan knows he has to make his escape soon otherwise he might not come into his powers at 17, and he might die.

First off, I just want to say that the only thing stopping this book from being a 5 star for me is that I felt like quite a lot of it was extremely slow paced. As much as I was enjoying the book, I did feel like it was dragging quite a bit and I found myself wishing things were moving faster or that there was a bit more action because I was getting slightly bored. However, that doesn't mean that I didn't completely love this book, because I did. 

Nathan is actually a pretty strong main character. The amount of abuse and torture this poor boy is put through during the book was horrible, but he always manages to stay strong and bounces back. He's terrified though - and no wonder. He's feared because his mother was a white witch and his father is the most powerful black witch ever. Most of the time, Nathan just comes across as a regular boy with regular problems like bullies, first loves and coming of age. I really loved Nathan.

I think the main thing I loved about Half Bad was that even though it's about witches, there were also a lot of real life problems incorporated too. Nathan's father has abandoned him and he's determined to do whatever he can to prove himself so that his father will come back; His first love is a white witch and Nathan is supposed to hate them and he's picked on and beaten up for being different. And then Nathan is tortured and locked in a cage by white witches because they're scared of him.

Family is extremely important to Nathan and his relationship with his half brother was so sweet. Nathan and Arran had such a strong bond and Arran was always looking out for Nathan. Deborah was also really lovely, but Jennifer was a complete cow and I really, really hated her.

I loved discovering more about the white and black witches and, like Jess from Jess Heart Books said in her review, the line between good and bad was blurred in this book. You'd think that the white witches, because they're good, would be nice, kind and helpful. You'd think that the black witches, because they're bad, would be evil and trying to kill everyone. However, this isn't strictly the case. There were some pretty horrible white witches in Half Bad who were torturing Nathan and torturing other black witches, and there were some really nice black witches who were helpful and kind. So that was definitely an interesting part of the book.

The ending was definitely my favourite part of the book and I loved seeing Nathan interacting with Marcus. I'm super excited for Half Wild now and I can't wait to see how the story is going to continue.

Overall, Half Bad was a great debut from Sally Green. I adored the world-building, the real life issues and the magic. It was a brutal read, but it was a great one.