The Reading Hideaway

Waiting on Wednesday is a daily meme hosted by Jill at  Breaking the Spine.   It highlights what newly released books us bloggers are most excited to read. Title: The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions) Author: Amy Spalding Synopsis (via Goodreads):  A ridiculously cute, formerly famous, new guy dropping into your life? It’s practically every girl’s dream. But not Jules McCallister-Morgan’s. I realize that on paper I look like your standard type-A, neurotic, overachiever. And maybe I am. But I didn’t get to be the editor of my school’s long-revered newspaper by just showing up*. I have one main goal for my senior year — early acceptance into my first choice Ivy League college — and I will not be deterred by best friends, moms who think I could stand to “live a little,” or boys. At least, that was the plan before I knew about Alex Powell**. And before Alex Powell betrayed me***. I know what you’re thinking: Calm down, Jules. But you don’t understand. This...

Title: Countdown Author: Michelle Rowen Publisher: Harlequin Teen Rating: 2 Synopsis (via Goodreads) : 3 seconds left to live. Once the countdown starts, it cannot be stopped. 2 pawns thrown into a brutal underground reality game. Kira Jordan survived her family's murder and months on plague-devastated city streets with hard-won savvy and a low-level psi ability. She figures she can handle anything. Until she wakes up in a barren room, chained next to the notorious Rogan Ellis. 1 reason Kira will never, ever trust Rogan. Even though both their lives depend on it. Their every move is controlled and televised for a vicious exclusive audience. And as Kira's psi skill unexpectedly grows and Rogan's secrets prove evermore deadly, Kira's only chance of survival is to risk trusting him as much as her instincts. Even if that means running head-on into the one trap she can't escape. GAME OVER. Review: *I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest re...

I will admit it... I live in a Marvel family.  Captain America, Iron Man, the whole Avengers shebang; however, over spring break I wanted to do something with the broski and we both love trips to the movie theater to check out the latest blockbuster.  So, on the premiere day of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we planned to attend a matinee show.  We weren't expecting much - like I said, we're a Marvel family - but it's impossible to pass up the opportunity to see Ben Affleck as Batman!   Hello . Anywho, some D.C. fans will be happy to hear that we were pleasantly surprised with the film in the end.  The acting was fantastic all around the board (Jesse Eisenberg gave me chills!), the stunts were thrilling, and the action was nonstop.  The final question is: Team Batman or Team Superman?  I'm Team Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, had a minor role in the film but she easily stole the show.  Her character played a part of hi...

Waiting on Wednesday is a daily meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine .  It highlights what newly released books us bloggers are most excited to read.  Title: The Unexpected Everything Author: Morgan Matson Synopsis (via Goodreads):  Andie had it all planned out. When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future. Important internship? Check. Amazing friends? Check. Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks). But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life. Because here’s the thing - if everything's planned out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that? My Thoughts: First of all, this cover is A-DOR-A-BLE.  I wish I was the model at this photo shoot - it would've...

Title: Red Author: Alison Cherry Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers Rating: 1 Synopsis (via Goodreads):  Felicity St. John has it all—loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair. Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:  I know your secret.  Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say "strawberry blond." Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to ar...

Title: The Martian Author: Andy Weir Publisher: Crown Rating: DNF Synopsis (via Goodreads):  Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills — and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength – he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany experti...

Waiting on Wednesday is a daily meme hosted by Jill at  Breaking the Spine .  It highlights what newly released books us bloggers are most excited to read.  Title: Girl Against the Universe Author: Paula Stokes Synopsis (via Goodreads):  Maguire is bad luck.  No matter how many charms she buys off the internet or good luck rituals she performs each morning, horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time the rollercoaster jumped off its tracks. Or the time the house next door caught on fire. Or that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash—and Maguire walked away with barely a scratch.  It’s safest for Maguire to hide out in her room, where she can cause less damage and avoid meeting new people who she could hurt. But then she meets Jordy, an aspiring tennis star. Jordy is confident, talented, and lucky, and he’s convinced he can help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows that the best thing she can...

Thanks to  YA Bound Book Tours , I am able to reveal the cover of Cookie O'Gorman's novel, Adorkable , available March 31st, 2016! Synopsis (via Goodreads):  Adorkable (ah-dor-kuh-bul): Descriptive term meaning to be equal parts dorky and adorable. For reference, see Sally Spitz.  Seventeen-year-old Sally Spitz is done with dating. Or at least, she's done with the horrible blind dates/hookups/sneak attacks her matchmaking bestie, Hooker, sets her up on. There's only so much one geek girl and Gryffindor supporter can take.  Her solution: she needs a fake boyfriend. And fast.  Enter Becks, soccer phenom, all-around-hottie, and Sally's best friend practically since birth. When Sally asks Becks to be her F.B.F. (fake boyfriend), Becks is only too happy to be used. He'd do anything for Sal--even if that means giving her PDA lessons in his bedroom, saying she's "more than pretty," and expertly kissing her at parties.  The problem: Sally's been i...

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at  A Daily Rhythm. ""Wave to Daddy!" Marissa said, waving David's hand at the camera.  "Wave to Daddy!" "He's too young to know what's going on," Martinez said.  "Just think of the playground cred he'll have later in life," she said.  "'My dad went to Mars.  What's your dad do?'"" (pg. 249)

Waiting on Wednesday is a daily meme hosted by Jill at  Breaking the Spine .  It highlights what newly released books us bloggers are most excited to read.  Title: The Star-Touched Queen Author: Roshani Chokshi Synopsis (via Goodreads):  Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.  But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect ...

I am honored to have been nominated for the Liebster Award for a second time (first in 2013 and now in 2016).  This award is given to bloggers by bloggers to recognize awesome blogs, get to know others in the blogger community, and follow new blogs!  A huge thank you to  Bookish Beauty  for the nomination. The rules are super easy and fun!  Check them out: - Thank the blog who nominated you and link back to them. - Nominate up to 11 other bloggers to receive the award.  To be eligible, they need to have 200 followers or less. - Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you. - Tell your readers 11 random facts about yourself. - Give your nominees 11 questions to answer on their blog when they post their nomination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {In no particular order} the Liebster Award goes to...  1.  Booknerd Babes 2.  Swissbookworm 3.  Tabitha Reads Boo...

Title: Out of the Easy Author: Ruth Sepetys  Publisher: Philomel Books  Rating: 4 Synopsis (via Goodreads):  It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer.     She devises a plan to get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.   With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray , Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a ...

Waiting on Wednesday is a daily meme hosted by Jill at  Breaking the Spine .  It highlights what newly released books us bloggers are most excited to read.  Title: There Once Were Stars Author: Melanie McFarlane Synopsis (via Goodreads): P eace. Love. Order. Dome. That’s the motto that the Order has given the residents of Dome 1618 to live by. Natalia Greyes is a resident of Dome 1618, a covered city protected from the deadly radiation that has poisoned the world outside for four generations. Nat never questioned the Order, until one day she sees a stranger on the outside of the dome. Now Nat wants answers. Is there life outside the dome and if so, what has the Order been hiding from everyone? My Thoughts: I need a cover ASAP.  The first thing that gets my attention when it comes to books is the cover, then I have to read the little blurb.  Obviously this time was a little different... This synopsis gives sets the expectation bar pretty high, so I hop...

Title: How It Went Down Author: Kekla Magoon Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. Rating: 3 Synopsis (via Goodreads): W hen sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white.   In the aftermath of Tariq's death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth.   Tariq's friends, family, and community struggle to make sense of the tragedy, and to cope with the hole left behind when a life is cut short. In their own words, they grapple for a way to say with certainty: This is how it went down. Review: All I could think about while reading How It Went Down  was the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case.  Now, I don't know if this book was inspired by that event, or just crimes similar to Trayvon's case, but that's all I could think about.  After leaving the gas station to pick up a c...

Title: We Were Liars Author: E. Lockhart Publisher: Delacorte Press Rating: 3 Synopsis (via Goodreads): A  beautiful and distinguished family.   A private island.   A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.   A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.   A revolution.  An accident.  A secret.   Lies upon lies.   True love.   The truth.   We Were Liars  is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.   Read it.   And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.   Review:  HOLY.  BALLS.  There are literally no words to describe how I felt after finishing this book.  It made me sick to my stomach; it made me want to chuck the book across the room, and I remembered that I screamed.  The reviews that claim this story is "haunting" are 100% correct.   We Were Liars  is a h...

Title: All The Light We Cannot See Author: Anthony Doerr Publisher: Scribner Rating:  5 Synopsis (via Goodreads):   From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.  Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.  In a mining tow...

Waiting on Wednesday is a daily meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine .  It highlights what newly released books us bloggers are most excited to read.  Title: The Siren   Author: Kiera Cass Synopsis (via Goodreads):   A girl with a secret. The boy of her dreams.  An Ocean between them.  Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.  Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude...until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of.  Falling in love with a human breaks the Ocean’s rules. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the ru...

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. "In the town house, Frederick pulls on pajamas made of jelly-green silk and folds his glasses on the nightstand and climbs barefoot into his brass childhood bed.  Werner gets into a trundle bed that Frederick's mother has apologized for three separate times, although its mattress is more comfortable than any he has slept on in his life." (pg. 223)