Waiting on Crossing the Line

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Crossing the Line (Pushing the Limits, # 1.5)

By: Katie McGarry

Expected Publication: April 1st 2013 by Harlequin TEEN

67 pages

( Goodreads)

Goodreads description--Katie McGarry captivated readers with her “riveting, emotional”* Young Adult debut, Pushing the Limits. In this gripping novella, she tells the story of Lila and Lincoln, who discover that sometimes it’s worth crossing the line for love…

Lila McCormick, Echo's best friend from Pushing the Limits, first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives. But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters—or that she’d fall for the boy she’s only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he’s never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila’s forgiveness—and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Top 10 Books I'd Recommend



Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week's topic is: Top 10 Books I'd Recommend. 
 
Apparently a lot of people are nervous about recommending books to other people. Me, not so much. I like what I like. I realize that others might not. It is what it is. Obviously, I hope they enjoy whatever book I recommend, but it's no big deal if they don't. It happens. Because of that, I had a hard time narrowing down my top recommendations. However, I only ended up getting it down to about 15ish. I broke them down into three categories.
 

Here are my top paranormal fiction books that I've recommended...

 

1) Harry Potter - One of the best series ever!

2) Twilight - Because I love it. Hate if you want.

3) The Mortal Instruments & The Infernal Devices - You have to recommend these together and that they are read in order of publication, even though that means criss-crossing the series.

4) Vampire Academy & Bloodlines - Again, these two series must be recommended together. Love Richelle Mead. Love Rose. Love Dimitri. Love Sydney...Ok must stop because I could keep going.

 

My top contemporary or emotional fiction...don't need to add anything to these...

 

5) Pushing the Limits

6) Slammed & Point of Retreat

7) Hopeless

8) The Sea of Tranquility

9) Back to You

10) The Fault in Our Stars

My top self-help recommendations....

 

11) The Power of a Praying Woman - Single-handedly changed my prayer life.

12) The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage - Who doesn't want a better marriage?

13) Made to Crave - Changed the way I think about food in relationship to God.

14) Crazy Love - Challenging

15) Boundaries - Changed the way I think about relationships with other people.

16) 48 Days to the Work You Love - Helped me get a job that fit more in line with what I want out of work.

That's the top 16 books I recommend to others. What are you top recommendations? Let me know!

The Indigo Spell - Review

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, # 3)

By: Richelle Mead

Published: February 12th 2013 by Razorbill

432 pages

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

Richelle Mead really knows how to write a book, I tell you. She's got this way of just making every detail important, fit into the exact location in the story that it should, and she doesn't fall into the traps that many authors today fall into. For one, I love her main characters. Rose from Vampire Academy is extremely strong and impulsive. Sydney is very intellectual, calculating, and the very opposite of impulsive. Rose's way works for her and Sydney's way works for her. There is no getting the two confused. They each have very distinct voices along with distinct problems. As a specific example, Sydney, because she's so thoughtful in every aspect, when she comes to putting pieces in the puzzle together, I never find myself screaming at her to open her eyes and see this trap or not to forget this piece of information. She's on top of it. That's not to say she can't be caught by surprise, but Sydney most definitely will not be caught by surprise when it comes to the obvious.

Of course, I'm not speaking of emotions--Sydney's heart. I've been speaking of her brain. Sydney definitely has a lot more trouble interpreting her feelings than she does clues or some sort of mental problem that needs solving. Without going into too much detail, I was afraid that Sydney was going to find herself in a particular emotional situation that we find quite prevalent in the YA genre and I was cringing my teeth waiting for it to happen. Yet Richelle Mead avoids that situation with such a wide berth that I can only applaud her.

Speaking of, Adrian. Oh Adrian. If you thought he pursued Rose, then well, just prepare yourself for how confident and determined he is about pursuing Sydney. *sigh* Loyal and always willing to be by her side, Adrian puts himself out there in a way that can only be admired considering how recently his heart was broken by Rose. Kudos for seeing what he wants and going after it.

The other characters we've come to love advance in story, but truthfully not too far. The majority of this book was focused on Sydney herself and her struggles coming to terms with what the Alchemist truly are and where she stands in the mix. We do see some of Jill, Eddie, Angeline, and Trey, and I can't wait to see how these stories play out through the remaining books in the series. As well as, the introduction of new characters, Marcus Finch and his band of "Merry Men." What will become of them? I can't wait to find out.

Of course, Richelle Mead had to leave us with one piece of information at the very end that changes the game for the next book, and considering how many references were made to "the fiery heart" in The Indigo Spell, I can't wait to get my hands on that book already.

The Indigo Spell gets 4.5 Stars from me. Have you read The Indigo Spell? If so, what did you think? Let me know!

Sunday Post - 38 & Stacking the Shelves - 11

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

This has been a big week for me. Meetings at work. My mother-in-law's birthday was Thursday, and then she retired on Friday. Busy, busy busy...

THIS PAST WEEK:

Monday: Review of The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage by Stormie Omartian (4.5 Stars)

Tuesday: Top 10 Books I Just Had to Buy But Are Still Unread

Wednesday: Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop (Ends March 25th)

Thursday: Review of No Mercy (Cambion, # 2.5) by Shannon Dermott (4 Stars)

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, # 3) by Richelle Mead and the Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop Ends

Tuesday: Top 10 Tuesday: Top 10 Books I Recommend Most

Wednesday: Waiting on Wednesday

Thursday: Review of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Friday: Review of The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, # 1) by Julie Kagawa

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, # 3)

By: Cassandra Clare

Published: March 19th 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

568 pages

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?

Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

I'm still trying to keep my book acquiring to a minimum until the end of the month. Also since I'm participating in this challenge, I figured I'd give a recap of how I'm doing so far.

I've read 7 books from my TBR pile since the beginning of March. They are:

1. Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, # 1) - Robin LaFevers

2. The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, # 1) - Julie Kagawa

3. The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, # 1) - James Dashner

4. The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret, # 1) - Jessica Sorensen

5. Jenny Pox (The Paranormals, # 1) - JL Bryan

6. Rule (Marked Men, # 1) - Jay Crownover

7. The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence, # 1) - Jessica Sorensen

I finished Walking Disaster (Beautiful, # 2) by Jamie McGuire and Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, # 3) by Cassandra Clare this past week as well, but since neither have a publication date before this month they don't count toward this challenge.

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

No Mercy - Review

No Mercy (Cambion, # 2.5)

By: Shannon Dermott

Published: July 24th 2012

76 pages

Source: Borrowed from my SNL, Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--This is a novella in the Cambions series. Even though is set before Beg for Mercy it should be read after Waiting for Mercy.

Warning - this book is intended for mature audience. Excessive language and sexual situations may not be suitable for younger teens.

Best Friends until the end huh?

Flynn McAllister, bad to the bone, at least that’s what the girls say about him, is heading out of town for the weekend. He’s meeting up with a girl he met last summer. She and her sister will keep him and his best friend busy for the weekend. At least that’s what he thought, until a girl and other things get out of hand.

Luke Bishop isn’t an angel like everyone thinks. Okay, technically, maybe. But when it comes down to it, actions speak louder than words. And his shout that he’s more than what meets the eye. Getting out of town is a welcome idea. He just didn’t plan on meeting her and all the hell came with her

So I've been getting kind of frustrated with this series. Mercy bounces back and forth between like 4 main guys but there are several additional guys. This novella takes place before Beg for Mercy (book 1) and does not really include Mercy at all, though it does mention her.

Told from alternating POVs between Flynn and Luke, we delve deeper into their friendship and the crazy situations they get themselves into. I think this novella really helped me with this series. I feel like I understand Flynn much more having read it. Although, I'm not sure the novella did anything to improve my opinion of Luke and possibly just the opposite.

The fact that Flynn "saw Mercy first" is mentioned more than once throughout Beg for Mercy and Waiting for Mercy, and the reader is left to believe that Flynn first spots Mercy at the senior party they attend during the first scene of Beg for Mercy and this is where he lays claim to seeing her first. However, we find in No Mercy that Flynn spotted Mercy much sooner than the party--like at least a year before that party--but also he and Luke have discussed her in length before that party which makes the argument they have about driving her home make more sense.

All in all, I enjoyed the additional information included in this novella and thought it helped round out some of the characters, specifically Flynn. No Mercy gets 4 stars. Have you read No Mercy? What did you think? Let me know!

My review of Beg for Mercy (Cambion, # 1) and my review of Waiting for Mercy (Cambion, # 2).