the Blacksheep Project: August 2014

[Waiting on Wednesday] Winterkill

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming can't wait to read.

Series: N/A
Author: Kate A. Boorman
Genre: young adult, dystopia, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, historical fiction
Expected Publication: September 9, 2014

Emmeline knows she’s not supposed to explore the woods outside her settlement. The enemy that wiped out half her people lurks there, attacking at night and keeping them isolated in an unfamiliar land with merciless winters. Living with the shame of her grandmother’s insubordination, Emmeline has learned to keep her head down and her quick tongue silent.

When the settlement leader asks for her hand in marriage, it’s an opportunity for Emmeline to wash the family slate clean—even if she has eyes for another. But before she’s forced into an impossible decision, her dreams urge her into the woods, where she uncovers a path she can’t help but follow. The trail leads to a secret that someone in the village will kill to protect. Her grandmother followed the same path and paid the price. If Emmeline isn’t careful, she will be next.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and The Bookish.

This Week’s Topic: Books I Really Want to Read But Don’t Own Yet.

It’s a really huge list for me. Every time I’d drop by the bookstore, it seems that I just want to grab half of the books displayed there (but of course I can’t do that). Book buying bans don’t work for me anymore because I want to buy books every single week. It’s like I always want to see something new in my shelf even though I know that I still have a fair amount of books to read. ~~ohgodthebookbuyingaddiction!~~

Series: Proxy #1
Author: Alex London
Genre: young adult, dystopia, science fiction, LGBT, fantasy, adventure, thriller, survival
Published: May 1, 2014 (first published June 18, 2013)
Publisher: Speak

What would you give up to change the world?

Syd’s life is not his own. As a proxy he must pay for someone else’s crimes. When his patron, Knox, crashes a car and kills someone, Syd is branded and sentenced to death. Syd and Know realize the only way to beat the system is to save each other, so they flee. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test the boys’ resolve, and shine a glaring light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay.

This fast-paced thrill ride of a novel is full of breakneck action, shocking twists, and heart-hammering suspense that will have readers gasping until the very last page.

full blitz schedule can be found at Itching for Books

Series: Royal Reaper #1
Author: Ruth Silver
Genre: you adult, fantasy, paranormal, romance, supernatural
Published: April 25, 2014
Publisher: Patchwork Press
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Princess Ophelia Dacre sneaks out of the castle to visit her boyfriend in secret. A perfect night cut short when she’s brutally murdered.

Ophelia is given the rare chance to become a grim reaper. She must become Leila Bele, cut ties with her old life, and follow the rules of the reapers. Her greatest adventure begins with death.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted at Tynga’s Reviews.

Like that’s a big deal.

Today, I finally received my friend’s copy of the Hunger Games. Why I just borrowed the Hunger Games is because I’m afraid that I might not entirely like it as much as I want to. I mean yes, I like dystopian novels… but what makes me hesitant in actually buying it is because I slept around 25% of the movie. If I ended up really liking the book, I just might buy a book set. If not, then I’ll just borrow the rest of the books :)

Flashback Friday is a weekly post where I talk about a book, manga, or anime series I’ve finished. This is more like me reminiscing on stuff I come across back then.

English Title: Chihayafull
Studio: Madhouse
Genre: josei, game, sports, drama, slice of life, romance
Episodes: 25 (S1); 25 (S2)
Anime Director: Asaka Morio (Card Captor Sakura, Nana)

Chihaya is a lighthearted tomboy, who's not especially good at anything in particular. Her dream has always been for her sister (an aspiring model) to become the number one beauty of Japan, or perhaps of the world. But then one day she meets someone who tells her that a dream is something that should concern only herself—and something she has to work hard for as well.

At the same time, Chihaya discovers a passion for the old Japanese game hyakunin isshu, also called "karuta".

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming can't wait to read.

Series: Red Queen #1 (??? goodreads doesn’t indicate the name of the series but the blurb said it is a series
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: young adult, dystopia, fantasy, science fiction, romance
Expected Publication: March 26, 2015

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn't know she had. Except . . . her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.

Series: N/A
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Genre: young adult, historical fiction, war
Published: April 3, 2012 (first published March 22, 2011)
Publisher: Speak

Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.

Lithuania, June 1941: Fifteen-year-old Lina was preparing for art school and looking forward to summer. In the dark of night here is a knock at the door and life is forever changed. Soviet secret police arrest Lina, her mother, and her younger brother, tearing their family apart. The three are hauled from their home and thrown into cattle cars, where they soon discover their destination: Siberia. Separated from her father, Lina embeds clues in her drawings and secretly passes them along, hoping they will reach her father’s prison camp. In this dramatic and moving story, Lina desperately fights for her life and the lives of those around her. But will love be enough to keep her alive?

full tour schedule can be found at Itching for Books

Series: N/A
Author: Kristi Strong
Genre: young adult, contemporary, realistic fiction
Published: July 30, 2014
Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BookDepository

Starting a new life is never easy, but Alyssa Doe has turned it into an art form. Abandoned by her parents at age ten, six years in foster care has taught Alyssa how to get through life the hard way.

Now sixteen and growing desperate for a stable life, Alyssa finds herself puzzled by her newest keeper, twenty-five year old Jessica Sona. A feisty woman who won't accept no for an answer, Jessica’s insistence on safety, family, and unconditional love begin to break down Alyssa’s walls and bring her hope, a dangerous emotion.

Can such a thing as family and love exist for a girl whose birth name is Doe, or will Alyssa be forever left finding keepers?

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted at Tynga’s Reviews.

So this is the part where I just put my hands up and surrender to my suckish book buying ban. I’ve already put it down two times, I think… and this time, I think that there’s just no stopping it. I’m eyeing a few more books and I really, really want to stop myself from buying them.

full tour schedule can be found at CBB Book Promotions

Series: N/A
Author: Kristen Kehoe
Genre: young adult, new adult, romance, realistic fiction, drama
Published: January 30, 2014
Buy Links: Amazon

Rachel Reynolds isn't running from her past, but she wouldn't mind if it stopped chasing her, either. A senior in high school getting ready to graduate, Rachel is trying to look ahead toward her future, while forgetting the one night two years ago that set events in motion which altered the course of her entire life. Part of the future she's looking for includes falling out of love with her best friend, an act she seems incapable of, especially when it appears he might just love her, too. As Rachel tries to find her footing in a relationship that has baggage before it starts, a nightmare from her past reappears, upsetting the tenuous balance of Rachel's life and threatening the one person she loves most.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming can't wait to read.

Series: N/A
Author: Holly Schindler
Genre: young adult, contemporary, mystery, thriller, horror, fantasy, supernatural, suspense
Expected Publication: August 26, 2014

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted at Tynga’s Reviews.

I’m kind of eyeing on a few books from the bookstore when I last dropped by. I really, really don’t want to break my book buying ban but I’m really thinking of buying them this coming week. I suck. I’m giving in to my desires @__@

This week, I decided to borrow a book from the library just because I want to see something new in my shelf orr something different. ORR maybe I just really want to get my hands on a new book even though it’s not so new since it’s from the school library.

Series: Pretenders #2 | REVIEW of #1
Author: Lisi Harrison
Genre: young adult, contemporary, realistic fiction, romance, drama
Published: June 24, 2014
Publisher: Poppy

Five Noble High freshmen fell to the bottom of the high school food chain and decided to claw their way to the top. They wrote in their journals the secrets to their success

Now one of their own is exposing the private entries as if granted a license to spill.

There’s no Delete button on the Internet. What kind of future do we have if we can’t escape our embarrassing pasts? I must come off as quite the hypocrite, complaining about our overexposed lives in a book of secret journals I’ve leaked. But these pages hold proof of how this pressure affects the “best” of us… So until the heat’s turned down, keep reading. –X

full tour schedule can be found at Itching for Books.

Series: the Elements Series #1
Author: Stephanie Beerden
Genre: young adult, fantasy, magic, supernatural
Published: April 28, 2014 (first published December 1, 2012)
Publisher:

The Lost Kingdom (The Elements Series, #1)

A Prophecy made long ago, announced the arrival of the new Ladies of Elements.

And now almost a millennia later, it finally came true …

All her life Arima thought she knew who and what she was. That is until the day of her sixteenth birthday came and her world is turned upside down, when she’s told she’s not a White Witch but Lady Spirit. And that she is the one that has been foretold, will unite the Five Ladies of Elements once again and save Ilendia and the Other Lands from Ahriman, the Demon King.

At first Arima refuses to accept her new fate, but when Shanums come and destroy her village and kill her loved ones, she has no choice but to flee and fall right into the destiny she never wanted.

As she grudgingly starts her journey into the unknown, she is accompanied by her unicorn familiar Sirrim, Blythe, a Vampire with a dark past and Myrddin, a mysterious Ljosalfar.

And the longer her journey lasts, the more Arima begins to realise that she can’t escape her own destiny and she must learn to control her powers and learn to be a Lady for the sake of the Sisters she doesn’t know and the people of Ilendia and the Other Lands.

However, things get more complicated when Arima comes into the possession of a key. Her instincts compel her to go towards danger when she discovers that the key she holds, can unlock the legendary kingdom of Eléssima, the home of the Ladies of Elements.

She will have to make the choice to follow her instincts …

…or stay on the path that has been laid out for her.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming can't wait to read.

Series: N/A

Author: Sandy Hall
Genre: young adult, adult, contemporary, realistic fiction, romance, chick-lit, college
Expected Publication: August 26, 2014

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

AND I’m totally just being random today. Since I just turned 22 (and I don’t have any better posts in mind), I decided to work on a random fave and firsts list… Generally this is just me sharing random stuff about me in relation with my current interests – anime, manga, and books :)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted at Tynga’s Reviews.

I’ll just spill it out.

It’s my birthday today, August 4th!

I’m now 22yrs but I decided to go ahead and get these middlegrade Lisi Harrison books just because I love her so much (~ ・ω・)~ now I only have the last two books of ALPHAS to buy to complete all her series (well at least those completed series)! I’m kind of looking back to the last week’s Top Ten Tuesday. I have 23 Lisi books back then. Now I have 28! :D Gotta admit that Lisi’s an insta-buy author for me~~ on a sidenote, these are gifts to me from my dad because I’m still on a book buying ban~

While I continue to balance everything in my life, I end up letting things be – like I’ll have to do this but I don’t have so much time anymore (because of too much reading or too much procrastinating in general) so I’ll go: ah forget it, I won’t review/write/watch/do this or that. I’ll do things in my own pace (the really sloooooow pace).

-Book Reviews-