May New Release Giveaway Hop: Win a May New Release of Your Choice

Welcome to my stop on the May New Release Giveaway Hop hosted by Book Twirps and Refracted Light Reviews
Here's what's up for grabs:
Your Choice of:

Enter after the page break! Good luck!

Destined

Destined by Aprilynne Pike
Release Date ~ 5/1/12
Format ~ ARC
Publisher ~ Harper Teen
Source ~ Publisher
Purchase: The Book Depository

Tamani looked at her gravely, and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear.
He hesitated for an instant, then his hands found the sides of her face, pulling her to him. He didn't kiss her, just held her face close to his, their foreheads resting together, their noses almost touching.
She hated how much it felt like good-bye.
Laurel now knows the truth: Yuki is a rare Winter faerie, the most powerful—and deadly—of all, and Klea plans to use her to help conquer and destroy Avalon. But Klea's reach extends far beyond one wild Winter faerie. With Tamani, David, and Chelsea by her side, Laurel prepares to face what may be Avalon's final days, in the stunning conclusion to the Wings series.

   Though I only started the Wings series a month or so ago, I have come to fall and love with the characters and call Avalon my fictional home. And for me, Destined was the most amazing yet bittersweet ending book I have ever read. Though some authors' series ending books are criticized for not living up to their earlier novels (such as Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay or Maggie Stiefvater's Forever), Aprilynne Pike has only gotten better in Destined.

  I had the gift of reading all of these books in a one month radius, but if you read Illusions when it first came out a year ago, you'll be a bit confused as Destined starts off right when Illusions ended with little to no back story. So for those of you who haven't been in Avalon for while I am going to direct you the Happily Ever Endings page for Illusions at Down the Rabbit Hole which will get you all caught up and ready to dive into Destined!

  Aprilynne Pike has developed the kind of villain that you love to hate. Klea, a rogue fall faerie, is terrifyingly   evil and just one plan scary faerie! Not the kind of person I would like to have as an enemy!

This book feels exactly how a series-ender should be! From page one it is complete and nonstop action! There were no throw away scenes in this book!

(SPOILER ALERT - DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ DESTINED YET)

I was Team David all the way, and though it was a bittersweet way to end the series for us Team David fans, Pike did it in a way that made everyone happy. It brought me to tears - partially because of the ending of such a great series, and partially out of happiness for all the characters! Though it bothers me that David had all his memories of the faeries erased, I was happy we actually had an ending where we knew everything that was happening to the group. I also thought that David was incredibly badass with Excalibur! Kicking some troll butt!

(END SPOILERS)

Destined is the best kind of finish to this great series I could imagine. If I could give it six stars I would! Most likely my favorite read of 2012 so far!

Cover Comments: This cover is the best of the series, but I thought that the cover could of been more glamorous, as it is a Harper book!

Timepiece

Timepiece by Myra McEntire
Release Date ~ 6/12/12
Format ~ ARC
Publisher ~ Egmont USA
Source ~ Gifted
Purchase: The Book Depository

 A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...
Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?
Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.
Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...
The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

    Hourglass was really enjoyable and a awesome, fresh spin on time travel! Timepiece too was amazing...

   Before I go to the gush frenzy part of this review, I need to get one thing off my chest: Kaleb, is pretty much the main character, as he is the narrator and the story is centered around him. McEntire can do a wonderful job writing in a male, that's not the problem. The problem was that I loved Em's voice and I really missed it in Timepiece. If I could have one wish to fix this is have it switch between Em's and Kaleb's perspective. That would be awesome and very interesting!

    I loved the rich details in Timepiece. Everything was so lush and colorful! It was so vivid it felt like you were right in the Timepiece world and I loved it!

   McEntire's style of writing is really enjoyable! Like I said earlier, she totally nailed the perspective of a guy (this review coming from one), and it's very fast-paced without becoming overwhelming which happens to me a ton in the action parts of books!

Timepiece was a really enjoyable sequel with my favorite male narrator I've read in a long time! Fully deserving 5 stars!

Cover Comments: I really like the blue wallpaper, and look, she's trying to hold on! Much better then the Hourglass cover!

Book Haul (1)

Book Haul is a weekly feature that showcases all the awesome books I got this week!

For Review:

Glitch  by Heather Anastasiu

This looks like such an amazing dystopian!

Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

I love books about mysterious boarding schools so this looks great! 

Gifted:

The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

I AM SO FLIPPING EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK! Steampunk meets angels = win.

 

Welcome Caller, This is Chloe by Shelly Coriell

I need to read more contemporaries, and this looks like it will be very funny and light!

What books did you get this week? Link me up to your related posts below!

LDS Author Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my stop on the LDS Authors Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Book Bug

Here's what's up for grabs:

Your Choice of any of The Wings books by Aprilynne Pike

Enter after the page break!

Monument 14

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne 

Release Date ~ 6/5/12
Format ~ ARC
Publisher ~ Feiwel and Friends
Source ~ Around the World ARC Tours
Purchase: The Book Depository

Summary: Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.
A huge store isn’t the worst place to be stranded. There’s food and water, bedding and books. But what if it’s not safe to leave? Emmy Laybourne had us from the get-go with her utterly fresh and fast-paced debut.
Six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids are trapped together in a chain superstore. Together they build a refuge for themselves inside, while outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapon spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

    The best way to describe Monument 14 is... different. It's not like the other books I normally read. It was enjoyable but out of my comfort zone for a novel... I keep trailing off for some reason... so let's just get to the review...

The main character, Dean, was always in the background. Even in a group of 14, 7 of them being little kids, he still keeps to himself and doesn't go out of his way to be noticed. Even though his major crush, Astrid, is getting noticed by the jocks. And that sorta ticked me off. But he did have an interesting background and a very engrossing point of view!

    The setting in this book played a huge part. In a apocalypse a Walmart-type  super-store would be the best place to be. With food to last a long while and endless hours of entertainment. The store became another character, because at every moment in the book, they were at it's mercy.  I made a lot of connections to it and the infamous arenas of The Hunger Games.

  This book was overall a very entertaining read, with suspenseful scenes, a wide cast of characters, and a pretty awesome plot, I demand more.

Cover Comments: I really love the massive tornado going up in with the kids below it!

This book counts in the following reading challenges:
Dystopian Reading Challenge: 8
Debut Author Reading Challenge: 8
ARC Reading Challenge: 12

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Release Date ~ 7/24/12

Publisher ~ Harper Teen

Add it on Goodreads

The years is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…
Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—
The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.
And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Something Strange and Deadly sounds amazing! I love historical fantasies, and ones about zombies are the best! Plus anything set in the Victorian time period is always a win! PLUS, Look at this cover! I know every paranormal books seems to have a dress on the cover, but this one just look awesome! Is she tied to the tree? I do not know but hope to find out!