Book Trailer! - Dare You To by Katie McGarry

The book trailer for Katie McGarry's Dare You To, the much anticipated companion novel to Pushing the Limits, was revealed on Harlequin Teen's facebook page yesterday!

Ever since we first got a glimpse of Dare You To after finishing reading Pushing the Limits, I've been so excited to read Beth's story! I'm definitely ready for another emotional contemporary read with teen angst and swooning romance...

Enjoy the book trailer!

Release Date: May 28, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
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Summary (from Goodreads):

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Waiting on Wednesday (150) - Premeditated by Josin L. McQuein

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine spotlighting upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

 Release Date: October 8, 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

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Summary (from Goodreads): 

A week ago, Dinah’s cousin Claire cut her wrists.

Five days ago, Dinah found Claire’s diary and discovered why.

Three days ago, Dinah stopped crying and came up with a plan.

Two days ago, she ditched her piercings and bleached the black dye from her hair.

Yesterday, knee socks and uniform plaid became a predator’s camouflage.

Today, she’ll find the boy who broke Claire.

By tomorrow, he’ll wish he were dead.

I always love a good revenge plot, and as soon as I heard about Josin L. McQuein's Premeditated, I was already dying to to read it! My sister and I immediately gushed together that we needed to read it and find out what happens because there is something just so satisfying about seeking vengeance and making others pay for their horrible actions. With just a few lines, I already want to comfort Claire and help Dinah serve her own form of justice against the boy who hurt her cousin so badly... Premeditated definitely sounds like a book you won't want to miss reading!

Devine Intervention by Martha Brockenbrough

Title: Devine Intervention
Author: Martha Brockenbrough
Release Date: June 1, 2012 (hardcover)
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pages: 304
Source: ARC provided by publisher

Overall: 3 Stars

Summary:

There is a great legend of the guardian angel who traveled across time and space for the human girl he loved, slaying those who would threaten her with a gleaming sword made of heavenly light.

This is not that story.

Jerome Hancock is Heidi Devine's guardian angel. Sort of. He's more of an angel trainee, in heaven's soul-rehabilitation program for wayward teens. And he's just about to get kicked out for having too many absences and for violating too many of the Ten Commandments for the Dead.

Heidi, meanwhile, is a high school junior who dreams of being an artist, but has been drafted onto her basketball team because she's taller than many a grown man. For as long as she can remember, she's heard a voice in her head - one that sings Lynyrd Skynyrd, offers up bad advice, and yet is company during those hours she feels most alone.

When the unthinkable happens, these two lost souls must figure out where they went wrong and whether they can make things right before Heidi's time is up and her soul is lost forever.

Martha Brockenbrough's debut novel is hilarious, heartbreaking, and hopeful, with a sense of humor that's wicked as hell, and writing that's just heavenly.

My Thoughts:
When I first read the hilarious book summary for Devine Intervention, my interest was captured and I was eager to learn more about Martha Brockenbrough's debut YA novel. It's a book featuring angels, but definitely not the paranormal kind who usually set your heart aflutter and swooning. I would describe Devine Intervention as more of a contemporary novel with a touch of the divine.

Heidi and Jerome are exact opposites, yet they manage to have a strange friendship that goes beyond Jerome being her terrible guardian angel. He's not supposed to interfere or talk to her, but he long ago broke those rules. In fact, Jerome lost his guardian angel handbook, not that he would actually admit what he had done to his superiors. When Jerome makes a foolish mistake and Heidi pays the price, he has to make things rights before it's too late— for both of them.

For as long as Heidi can remember, she has always heard Jerome's voice in her head, giving her crazy suggestions and comforting her in his own way when she needed it most. She has always played things safe, whereas Jerome has never been able to fit the mold. Even though Jerome is technically dead and all the while Heidi is the one who's living, they both still have so many life lessons to learn from each other.

Everyone in the novel, including the guardian angels, had their own quirks in personality, which I found absolutely endearing... but also kind of annoying after awhile, too? Sometimes, the jokes would run around in circles and I just wanted to get straight to the point. Devine Intervention is definitely a satirical take on the afterlife, one aiming to bring out the laughs.

Martha Brockenbrough's Devine Intervention is a surprisingly thoughtful and heartwarming tale which explores the moments we regret in life and the possibility of second chances. I had no idea what to expect for the ending, so I held my breath in anticipation as the final pages drew nearer, hoping for the best for both Heidi and Jerome. 

Thanks so much to Scholastic Canada for providing this review copy!

The Elite by Kiera Cass

Title: The Elite (The Selection #2)
Author: Kiera Cass
Release Date: April 23, 2013 (paperback international edition)
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 336
Source: Bought

Overall: 3.5 Stars

Summary:

The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending. 

My Thoughts:
I have an odd fascination with The Selection series. There are times when I love it, and other times when I just want to throw the book at a wall and rant about it. Yet, I still can't look away. There's always a burning curiosity within me to know what happens next! Now that I knew what to sort of expect quality-wise, I enjoyed The Elite so much more than The Selection. And, seriously, I would buy this book just for its absolutely gorgeous cover alone!

In The Elite, America could be such a hypocrite sometimes. Now that only six girls remain in the Selection, the pressure is on and while some of the girls may act like friends, no one can forget they're in the middle of a fierce competition. America is irked and jealous that Maxon keeps company with the other girls, but isn't she betraying him when she's with Aspen? Maxon has a monarchy to consider and a lot of responsibility rests on his shoulders. It's not exactly fair of America to make him wait when there's so much at stake, yet Maxon is still very much devoted to her, even when she doesn't always see it.

America's stolen moments with Aspen left me holding my breath in anxiousness, worried someone in the palace would catch them together. They share a history together that no one else can ever know, and while America's feelings continue to grow for the charming Prince Maxon, she's never forgotten the dreams of the future she once imagined with Aspen.

Romantic drama aside, I did think America grew as an individual in this novel. In The Selection, she doubted herself because she came from a higher caste level than the other girls, but in The Elite, America finally gains more confidence to believe that she's worthy to be crowned princess of Illéa. Her family may not have powerful connections, but America's compassion and strength in the face of adversity are just as important. 

The world-building in this series is relatively light compared to other dystopian novels, but we do learn more about Illéa's origins in The Elite. Rebels also continue to periodically attack the palace, but it's still unclear what sort of objectives or end game they have in mind. And after a tumultuous conclusion, America is definitely walking on thin ice now and she'll have to be more careful than ever, showing caution in her actions instead of making rash decisions without considering the consequences.

The Elite is an irresistible sequel with enough romance and hints of danger to tide you over until readers can get their hands on The One. I can't wait to see how Kiera Cass will conclude the trilogy!

Waiting on Wednesday (149) - Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine spotlighting upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

 Release Date: September 24, 2013

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

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Summary (from Goodreads): 

Free from bonds, but not each other

It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

One of my absolute favourite books last year was Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken, and the wait for the second novel in The Lynburn Legacy series has seemed so long! After the stunning conclusion for Unspoken, I'm eager to see where Untold picks up the pieces and what sort of evil plans Rob and his followers have in store for Sorry-in-the-Vale. And now that the magical bond has been broken between Kami and Jared, what will this mean for my TEAM JAMI? If the monthly torture teasers are any indication, Sarah Rees Brennan is definitely going to be playing with our hearts...