Waiting on Wednesday: How to Love by Katie Cotungo

****"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.****

My pick this week is:

How to Love by Katie Cotungo
Expected publication: October 1st 2013 by Balzer + Bray
Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he’s never seemed to notice that Reena even exists…until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.
After: Almost three years have passed, and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena’s gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she’s finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn’t want anything to do with him, though she’d be lying if she said Sawyer’s being back wasn’t stirring something in her. After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?
In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love—twice.
 
 
I've seen a lot of hype about this book. The cover even though its very simple it really had me curious. This seems like a very unique story and I cannot wait to read!
 
What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know in the comments!
 

Top Ten Tuesday (29)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

  

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of us will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All that's asked is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

 

This weeks topic is Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters. Instead I'm going to do last weeks topic which was Top Ten Things That Make Blogging Easier. Hopefully I can manage to get all 10.

 

1. My review journal. I swear I would die without this journal. I would have no way of keeping track.
2. Goodreads. Goodreads is seriously the best tool ever. I don't know what I would do without it!
3. My Laptop. I would have no way of blogging without a computer.
4. Twitter. Twitter is a social media but its really very helpful with blogging.
5. Other Bloggers. Having blogger friends really makes blogging easier and more fun.
6. Libraries. I don't use my library very often but some people do. Libraries are important even if we don't use them!

 

I tried for ten but I couldn't think of anything else. If you guys think of something let me know in the comments!

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Green Willow
Source: Conference
Third and final book in the Girl of Fire and Thorns series
The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.
Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

Review
Man what an ending. The second book in this series left me dying. I wanted more so terribly. This was an amazing ending. It wrapped up perfectly. 

This concludes Elisa's story. Her love has been kidnapped and she must get him back. She fled undercover in her own country. Traveling far and wide she not only discovers some well kept secrets, she must find a way to save not only her country but the rest of the world as well. 

Elisa is such a fantastic character. She has grown so much. I love how strong she is. She has this sense of hope and its one of the reasons I love her so much. She never gives up. Hector why must you be so amazing? I loved that he ages such a huge role in this story. He treats Elisa with the respect she deserves but doesn't let himself be walked over. Another thing I really liked about this story was we had such a wide variety of characters. Some of the side characters were fabulous! I'm gonna miss everyone. 

I think this might have to be my favorite out of the series. It had such an amazing storyline. It was very fast paced. There was tons of action. There was tension between characters. I had no idea where the story was going. It made such a good addition to the story. I'm so sad to say goodbye. I'm gonna miss this story with all of my heart. If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend checking it out.

Books to Movie Giveaway Hop

Welcome to Beneath the Moon and Stars' stop on the 2013 Books to Movie Giveaway Hop! This is hosted by the lovelies over at BookHounds and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

There's so many book to movie adaptations this year. Most of the ones that I have seen I loved. There's also been some amazing press and tours because of it. Earlier this year I went to a stop on the Beautiful Creatures movie tour and got for one lucky duck...a copy of Beautiful Creatures signed by both of the authors and a movie poster!




Link to the edition on B&N

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Enter away!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Signings Wrap Up

There have been some amazing bookish events this summer that we have been so lucky to have been able to go to. In the past month or so there's 3 signings went to that we haven't written a post about. So here's our thoughts on them!



The first one we went to was at the Irving Public library. First of let's just take a moment to appreciate how amazing the Irving library's events are. They go all out. There's even cupcakes. I love it. Anyways the event was a stop on the Beneath the Surface Tour. The huge group of authors consisted of Aimee Carter, Rae Carson, Tahereh Rafi, Ransom Riggs, Tessa Gratton, and Nova Ren Suma.

The panel was so great. It was moderated by the lovely Jenny Martin. Jenny's debut novel Tracked comes out next year and you should definitely go add it to your to read shelf on Goodreads. We had amazing seating sitting in the row in front of Julie Kagawa and Katie McGarry. They didn't expect to be recognized but we outted them :). We spent lots of time chatting with them. They were incredibly nice to spend so much time talking to us.  We haven't read every author on this panel. It was great getting to know more about their books. Now of course we want to read all of them!

P. S. We knew that Ransom Riggs and Tahereh Mafi were engaged before they announced it. Kari from A Good Addiction (who is in the know about all the things) told us and then of course we spent the entire time watching them to see if they acted like it. They totally did.


Jasmine with Rae Carson

Marissa with Ransom Riggs.

The crowd before the event!

The next day we attended the Yeah YA! panel hosted by the lovely Harlequin Teen. Harlequin isn't a publisher we get to see a lot so we were very excited for this event. The five authors were Aimee Carter, Julie Kagawa, Katie McGarry, Gena Showalter, and Rachel Vincent. This was a pretty big event. The publisher even provided some goodies for the audience. This panel was actually moderated by Katie McGarry and Katie from Mundie Moms was there as press.

From left to right: Amiee Carter, Gena Showalter, Rachel Vincet, Jasmine, Marissa, Katie McGarry, and Julie Kagawa.

Finally, we attended another event at the Irving Public Library. This one was a stop on the SWEAT Tour. This was a Texas only tour featuring some So Cal authors. This your featured Debra Driza, Shannon Messenger, Amy Tintera, and Kasie West. This event was so much fun. It was a little smaller but lacked nothing!  The authors played a game of two truths and a lie while pelting the audience with candy. They had a awesome Q and A. They even had a raffle which Jasmine was lucky enough to be one of the winners. She got an ARC of Shannon Messengers Let The Storms Break. After she reads and passes it onto a few blogger friends she plans to give it away! Keep an eye out for that!

From left to right: Debra Driza, Shannon Messenger, Marissa, Jasmine, Amie Tintera, and Kasie West.

 

All these events were amazing and many thanks to the authors for coming out! We hope you guys enjoyed.

Saving the Planet and Stuff by Gail Guathier Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Source: Author
Stand Alone
*This was gifted to me by author for review*
Michael Racine lives in a world of highly successful and accomplished teenagers. Unfortunately, he isn't one of them. He knows it, and he's afraid everyone else does too. So when he gets the chance to intern at a magazine run by friends of his grandparents, he jumps at it.
The Earth's Wife, founded in the 1960s, is a famous environmental magazine, and Walt and Nora live what they preach. Tofu, solar energy, composting toilets. . . . By the end of the car ride with Walt and Nora to Vermont, Michael is having serious second thoughts. Too bad it's too late.
Gauthier explores what can happen when a typical, self-absorbed teenage boy is influenced by radical, environmentally-concerned senior citizens in her fifth novel. The possibilities for humor are endless.

Review
I had no idea what to expect from this. The concept was very surprising. The characters didn't impress me but I enjoyed the storyline. 

This tells the story of Michael. His life is somewhat at a standstill. He decides to try something new and goes to work at a magazine. 

This had good characters but I wasn't wowed. Michael was a good main character. He had an interesting way of thinking. He was kinda nerdy but in a cute way. He was very smart. He did have some pervert moments when it came to Nora that I really didn't like. Nora and Walt made  great secondary characters. I loved the family aspect they brought. 

What I liked most about this story was I got to learn a lot. Not only about the environment but also about running a newspaper. It was pretty cool. The story was a little slow at times. It was also difficult to keep up with. What the characters lacked the story made up for. Overall this was quite an interesting read. If you enjoy learning new things and the environment, this one is for you! 

Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Source: Conference
Second book in the Cahill Witch Chronicles
With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.
Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.
In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.


Review
I wasn't sure what to expect with this. I'd seen a lot of hype and had high expectations. This met my expectations with ease. It was a great sequel! 

This continues Cats, Tess, and Maura's story. The whole world is waiting for Cate's powers to come. But what they don't realize is it may not be Cate. When her sisters arrive at The Sisterhood, Cate is determined to protect them. All the whole Maura is determined to make everything harder. 

Cate surprised me. She was very strong. She grew a lot in this. I loved how caring and protective she was. I also liked how determined she was. No matter what she was going to make it work. I loved that she fought back and stood up for herself without being rude. I literally wanted to grab Maura out of the book and throw her at a wall. She is so fabulously evil. I admire her evilness but at times I could just slap her.  Tess has my heart. She is the cutest thing ever and I can't wait to see more of her. 

What I enjoyed the most about this story was the world. We got to see a lot of different things we didn't get to see in the first book. The Sisterhood was insanely cool. I liked getting to see some of Harwood and The Brotherhood. This had a pretty fast storyline. It was very mysterious. I couldn't put it down to save my life. Let me just say that ending was not nice. The wait for the third book shall be absolute torturous. If you guys haven't read this one, I highly recommend.