Review: Summer Constellations by Alisha Sevigny

 

Summer Constellations

by Alisha Sevigny

May 1, 2018
264 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Julia Ducharme is ready for a fresh start. Her little brother has finally recovered from a serious illness, and now she just wants to enjoy peak season at the campground her family owns. Maybe this will be the year her annual summer fling with Dan Schaeffer becomes something more?

But her summer dreams are quickly shattered. First, Dan arrives for vacation with a new girlfriend in tow, and then Julia discovers this may be her last summer in the only home she's ever known.

Crushing medical bills have brought her single mom to the brink of bankruptcy, and a wealthy developer is sniffing around the campground. He sees what Julia sees: lush woods, a pristine lake, miles of trails for adventure. Unlike Julia, he thinks this is the perfect spot for a casino resort.

Heartbroken and afraid, Julia looks to the stars for some perspective. Taking her telescope down to the dock one night, she has a chance encounter with a guitar-playing boy who offers some helpful advice. Too bad this handsome stranger is the developer's son, Nick Constantine.

As plans for a resort move forward, Julia is desperate to find a solution that doesn't mean leaving the lake. Nick, in turn, is desperate to separate himself from his father's aggressive business tactics. He promises that, together, they can thwart the sale.

But can Julia trust him to conspire against his own father? And could she ever she trust him with her heart?

Stacking the Shelves #191

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that lets us share what we've added to our shelves.

I got some goodies from Raincoast Books. I've been waiting forever for Legendary so I can't believe it's in my hands!! Also received a few graphic novels to try out, thank you so much!

 

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: Royals (Royals #1) by Rachel Hawkins

Royals
(Royals #1)
by Rachel Hawkins

May 1, 2018

256 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair; a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.

While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.

WoW #198: Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Black

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Breaking the Spine which lets us showcase an upcoming release we are excited about! 

Girl at the Grave

by Teri Bailey Black

August 7, 2018
336 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
Valentine has spent years trying to outrun her mother's legacy. But small towns have long memories, and when a new string of murders occurs, all signs point to the daughter of a murderer.

Only one person believes Valentine is innocent—Rowan Blackshaw, the son of the man her mother killed all those years ago. Valentine vows to find the real killer, but when she finally uncovers the horrifying truth, she must choose to face her own dark secrets, even if it means losing Rowan in the end.
 

I first saw this book from Becky @ Stories & Sweeties and it's got me curious. That title and cover gives me the chills but good ones!

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Review: Anything You Can Do by R.S. Grey

Anything You Can Do
by R.S. Grey

February 2, 2017

247 pages

Goodreads     Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

Lucas Thatcher has always been my enemy.

It’s been a decade since I’ve seen him, but our years on opposite coasts were less of a lasting peace and more of a temporary cease-fire. Now that we’re both back in our small town, I know Lucas expects the same old war, but I’ve changed since high school—and from the looks of it, so has he.

The arrogant boy who was my teenage rival is now a chiseled doctor armed with intimidating good looks. He is Lucas Thatcher 2.0, the new and improved version I’ll be competing with in the workplace instead of the schoolyard.

I’m not worried; I’m a doctor now too, board-certified and sexy in a white coat. It almost feels like winning will be too easy—until Lucas unveils a tactic neither of us has ever used before: sexual warfare.

The day he pushes me up against the wall and presses his lips to mine, I can’t help but wonder if he’s filling me with passion or poison. Every fleeting touch is perfect torture. With every stolen kiss, my walls crumble a little more. After all this time, Lucas knows exactly how to strip me of my defenses, but I’m in no hurry to surrender.

Knowing thy enemy has never felt so good.
 

Stacking the Shelves #190

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that lets us share what we've added to our shelves.

My one book purchase when I went to the Book Outlet retail store: Sword and Verse! It's an older book but I recall my friend Alyssa from The Eater of Books! loving it. It was a pleasant surprise to open this copy up and see it was signed! I knew then I had to get it ;) I believe there's a sequel coming later this year too. Perfect timing~

 

I got some lovely surprises from PRHCanada and Thomas Allen & Son, thank you so much! I've already devoured Royals and it was so much fun~

 

 

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Alex, Approximately
by Jenn Bennett

April 4, 2017

391 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.

Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is a whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter. And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

WoW #197: The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Breaking the Spine which lets us showcase an upcoming release we are excited about! 

The Cheerleaders

by Kara Thomas

July 31, 2018
384 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.
 

I'm hesitant when it comes to mystery/thriller reads but Kara's last book, Little Monsters, really impressed me (with all the chills) so I'm looking forward to seeing what she gives us next!

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

 

Sky in the Deep

by Adrienne Young

April 24, 2018
352 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Eelyn’s world is war. Raised to fight alongside her Aska clansmen in a generations-old blood feud against the Riki, her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki if she wants to make it back to the fjord after the thaw. But when she begins to see herself in the people she's been taught to hate, the world Eelyn once knew begins to crumble. And after the village is raided by a ruthless clan many believe to be a myth, Eelyn is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend who has tried more than once to kill her. Together, they must end the blood feud between their clans or watch their people be slaughtered.

A lush, Viking-age inspired fantasy about loyalty, forgiveness, and the definition of family.
 

Stacking the Shelves #189

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that lets us share what we've added to our shelves.

Some recent bookmail I received from PRHCanada and HBGCanada. Thank you so much!! When I opened up The Price Guide to the Occult I noticed the book was bound backwards and upside down. Pretty sure that's not intentional but still kind of cool! I loved The Tethered Mage so I'm so excited for The Defiant Heir~~~

 

I actually went on vacation for a week recently but I didn't mention it on the blog since I had posts scheduled. I got to meet some blogger friends and it was the best!! I was pretty awkward and shy but they were the nicest~ So thankful I know these amazing people!! <3 I also showed a lot of restraint book shopping since I only bought one book and it was at a steal! I'll share it next week :)

 

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: Circle of Ashes (Wish Quartet #2) by Elise Kova & Lynn Larsh

Circle of Ashes

(Wish Quartet #2)

by Elise Kova & Lynn Larsh

April 9, 2018

 

Goodreads     Amazon

Goodreads Summary:
EVERY WISH HAS A COST BUT WILL THE SOCIETY BE WILLING TO PAY IT?

Once a hacker-for-hire living in the shadows, Josephina “Jo” Espinosa is the newest member of a magical Society. Their mandate? To grant the wishes of mortals. A simple enough task until Jo is faced with an impossible wish – and her inability to grant it might spell disaster for her entire team, if not the Society itself.

Jo is used to high-pressure situations, but after a string of disasters, the last thing she needs is stakes of this magnitude. Especially given that neither she nor the Society know quite what the consequences of failing to grant a wish might be.

The only person with answers is the Society’s aloof and cryptic leader, Snow. Yet while Jo is enigmatically drawn to the man, all their clandestine encounters leave her with only more questions about the true nature of the Society, her magic, and her own history.

Time is running out for the Society, and an executioner will rise from among them to exact the price of failure.
 

WoW #196: Arrowheart by Rebecca Sky

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Breaking the Spine which lets us showcase an upcoming release we are excited about! 

Arrowheart

by Rebecca Sky

June 14, 2018
384 pages

Goodreads      The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary:
The gods are gone.
The people have forgotten them.
But sixteen-year-old Rachel Patel can't forget - the gods control her life, or more specifically, her love life.

Being a Hedoness, one of a strong group of women descended from Greek God Eros, makes true love impossible for Rachel. She wields the power of that magical golden arrow, and with it, the promise to take the will of any boy she kisses. But the last thing Rachel wants is to force someone to love her . . .

When seventeen-year-old Benjamin Blake's disappearance links back to the Hedonesses, Rachel's world collides with his, and her biggest fear becomes a terrifying reality. She's falling for him - a messy, magnetic, arrow-over-feet type of fall.

Rachel distances herself, struggling to resist the growing attraction, but when he gives up his dream to help her evade arrest, distance becomes an insurmountable task. With the police hot on their trail, Rachel soon realizes there are darker forces hunting them - a group of mortals recruited by the gods who will stop at nothing to preserve the power of the Hedonesses - not to mention Eros himself, who is desperate to reverse the curse . . .

Rachel must learn to do what no Hedoness has done before - to resist her gift - or she'll turn the Ben she's grown to love into a shadow of himself ... for ever.
 

I heard about this one from Jamie @ Books and Ladders and I think it sounds really interesting. Bonus she's a Canadian author!

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Review: Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody

 

Ace of Shades

(The Shadow Game #1)

by Amanda Foody

April 10, 2018
400 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…
and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.

Stacking the Shelves #188

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews that lets us share what we've added to our shelves.

I got more surprise mail! I believe Unconditionally is from the blog tour I participated in back in January. Thank you Macmillan/Minotaur Books/Forge!!

 

Thank you HCCFrenzy for sending us this review copy!

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Review: My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel by Kitty Curran & Larissa Zageris

My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel
by Kitty Curran & Larissa Zageris

April 3, 2018

352 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
This scandalous chooseable-path romance novel demands you determine your own romantic adventure-and satisfy all your earthly desires along the way!

Endless scenarios of high romance, deep desire, and quivering...comedy await your tender caress in this chooseable path romance novel. You are the plucky but penniless heroine in the center of 19th-century society, the courtship season has begun, and your future is at hand...

  *  Will you flip forward fetchingly to find love with the bantering baronet, Sir Benedict Granville?
  *  Or turn the page to true love with the hardworking, handsome, horse-loving highlander, Captain Angus McTaggart?
  *  Or perhaps you will chase through the chapters a good man gone mad, bad, and scandalous to know, in the arousing form of Lord Garraway Craven?
  *  Or read recklessly on to take to the continent as the "traveling companion" of the spirited and adventuresome Lady Evangeline?
  *  ...or yet another intriguing fate?

Whether it's forlorn orphans and fearsome werewolves, mistaken identities and swashbuckling swordfights, or long-lost lovers and pilfered Egyptian artifacts, every delightful twist and turn of the romance genre unfolds at your behest! Prepare to open your heart, open your mind, and open-this book.

WoW #195: Heart of Thorns (Heart of Thorns #1) by Bree Barton

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted every week by Breaking the Spine which lets us showcase an upcoming release we are excited about! 

Heart of Thorns

(Heart of Thorns #1)

by Bree Barton

July 31, 2018
320 pages

Goodreads      Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
Inventive and heart-racing, this fiercely feminist teen fantasy trilogy from debut author Bree Barton examines a dark kingdom in which only women can possess magic—and every woman is suspected of having it.

Mia Rose wants only one thing: revenge against the Gwyrach—feared, reviled, and magical women—who killed her mother. After years training under her father’s infamous Hunters, Mia is ready. She will scour the four kingdoms, find her mother’s murderer, and enact the Hunters’ Creed: heart for a heart, life for a life.

But when Mia is thrust into the last role she ever wanted—promised wife to the future king—she plots a daring escape. On her wedding night, Mia discovers something she never imagined: She may be a Huntress, but she’s also a Gwyrach. As the truth comes to light, Mia must untangle the secrets of her own past. Now if she wants to survive, Mia must learn to trust her heart . . . even if it kills her.
 

The conflict! Must get my hands on this one!!

What are you guys waiting on this week?

Review: Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein

Shuffle, Repeat
by Jen Klein

May 3, 2016

327 pages

Goodreads     Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

When Harry Met Sally for YA romance readers. This opposites-attract love story is perfect for fans of Huntley Fitzpatrick, Stephanie Perkins, and Jenny Han.

June wants high school to end and real life to begin. Oliver is soaking up senior year’s glory days. They could have coasted through high school, knowing about—but not really knowing—each other.

Except that their moms have arranged for Oliver to drive June to school. Every. Single. Day.

Suddenly these two opposites are fighting about music, life . . . pretty much everything. But love is unpredictable. When promises—and hearts—get broken, Oliver and June must figure out what really matters. And then fight for it.