Teaser Tuesday (84) and Release Day: Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller

TRIANGLES
By: Kimberly Ann Miller
Release Date: June 18, 2013
Published By: Spencer Hill Press

Goodreads Summary: A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?

In the Bermuda Triangle—a lot.

Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life--her father's death years ago, her mother's medical problems, and the loser who’s practically stalking her--seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears she's gone nuts for more than one reason: that loser’s suddenly claiming they're a happy couple... a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying "Happy Anniversary"... and suddenly, she’s full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ship's doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, she's warned that these "alternate realities" could become permanent.

She just has to ask herself one question—how the hell is she going to get out of this mess?



Today is the release day for TRIANGLES! Book releases are always exciting, but this book has something most don't - you can enter to win a cruise! Go here for more information.

And if the synopsis wasn't enough to make you read this book, here's a teaser:

"The Bermuda Triangle should top your list of things to worry about on this vacation.”

I laughed. “Hardly. I’m not exactly worried about swirling down some massive toilet bowl in the middle of the ocean.”

She pulled her fingers through her long black hair. “You joke, but planes and boats go missing, and people think aliens abduct them or they get sucked into a time warp or the military is doing experiments. I’ve even heard theories about alternate realities, black holes, giant gas bubbles...” She took a deep breath and sighed. “The Bermuda Triangle has been sucking people in for hundreds of years. You might be next.”

Excited for the book? Find it on Amazon and find the author, Kimberly Ann Miller, on her website or on Twitter. Happy release day to TRIANGLES!

Pre-Order Promo and Chapter Reveal: Frigid by J. Lynn (Jennifer L. Armentrout)

FRIGID
By: J. Lynn (Jennifer L. Armentrout)
Release Date: July 30
Published By: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Goodreads Summary: For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn't anything new. They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the 'man' in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feelings he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.



Today is an exciting day with four huge surprises! Jennifer L. Armentrout's FRIGID is set to release as an e-book at the end of July. FRIGID has already been given the honor of being named a Romantic Times Top Pick. This is definitely one book where the wait seems too long. And now, here are the four surprises:

1. Due to all the excitement surrounding FRIGID, Spencer Hill Contemporary is running a special e-book pre-order promotion. If the e-book pre-order goal is met, then FRIGID will be released two weeks early. You know you want to read the book early, so go - pre-order it!
   
   Barnes & Noble | Amazon
   
   
2. Need something to hold you over until FRIGID releases? Starting right now, you can read the first three chapters of FRIGID for free! Just read below!
   
   FRIGID SNEAK PEAK
   
   
   
   
3. Can’t get enough of the hot FRIGID cover? Want to see some behind the scenes photos that are sure to make you swoon? You’re in luck! Below you can watch a slideshow of all the behind the scenes photos from the photo shoot! Go on and watch it. We’ll wait, because there is still one more great surprise!
   
   
   
   
   
4. And last but not least, if you live near Philadelphia, PA, you're in for a very special treat - Jennifer will be in Philly in November signing not only FRIGID but also the last book in her immensely popular COVENANT series, SENTINEL! But that's not all. Adam, the super hot cover model from FRIGID will be there as well! So, you'll get to meet both Jennifer and Adam! Plus there will be other great prizes that you seriously won't want to miss out on (dinner with the author and model, perhaps?)! Stay tuned for more details to come!

If you aren't excited for FRIGID yet, go watch the slideshow and read the chapters again! And then, go pre-order!

Opening Lines (25)

Opening Lines is a new feature here on Portrait of a Book that showcases the first lines of recent and/or upcoming releases. If you're looking for your next read, let these first lines help you decide!



DARE YOU TO
By: Katie McGarry
Published By: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

"I'm not interested in second place."


WILD AWAKE
By: Hilary T. Smith
Published By: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:

1. You will remember to water the azaleas.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate Lukas will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.

Things that actually happen:

1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won’t be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can’t he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*
*also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.

Both exhilarating and wrenching, Hilary T. Smith’s debut novel captures the messy glory of being alive, as seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd discovers love, loss, chaos, and murder woven into a summer of music, madness, piercing heartbreak, and intoxicating joy.

"It's the first day of summer, and I know three things: One, I am happy. Two, I am stoned. Three, if Lukas Malcywyk's T-shirt was any redder I would lean over and bite it like an apple."


REBEL SPIRITS
By: Lois Ruby
Published By: Point
Release Date: June 1, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Infused with history and mystery, this tale of ghosts, love, and murder takes place in present-day Gettysburg, where the Civil War still looms large.

Lori Chase doesn't know what to think about ghosts. She may have seen a few in the past, but those were just childish imaginings...right? Only now that she is living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, spirits seem to be on everyone's mind. The town is obsessed with its bloody Civil War history, and the old inn that Lori's parents run is supposedly haunted by the souls of dead soldiers.

Then Lori meets one such soldier--the devastatingly handsome Nathaniel Pierce. Nathaniel's soul cannot rest, and he desperately needs Lori's help. Because Nathaniel was not killed in the famous battle. He was murdered. Lori begins to investigate the age-old mystery, stumbling upon shocking clues and secrets.

At the same time, she can't help falling for Nathaniel, just as he is falling for her....

"'I cannot believe we're moving into that creaky old bed-and-breakfast,' I mutter for about the hundredth time."


IMPOSTOR
By: Susanne Winnacker
Published By: Razorbill
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late?

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

"The straightjacket corseted my body so tightly my arms tingled and my fingers turned numb."



Do any of these opening lines grab your attention? What are your favorite first lines that you've read lately?

"Waiting on" Wednesday

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



This week's selection is:

CROWN OF MIDNIGHT
By: Sarah J. Maas
Published By: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: Aug. 27, 2013
Preorder the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?



Why it's wanted:
I loved Throne of Glass, and I can't wait to be back in the world and see more of these characters!

Teaser Tuesday (83)

I'm very excited to be one of the many blogs participating in Teaser Tuesdays! TT is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To participate:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Long, dark fingers are enclosing me. Velvet-gloved hands, soft and perfumed, are wrapping around my throat, and Lena is whispering from somewhere far away - What did you do? - and then, mercifully, the fingers release, the hands drop from around my throat, and I am falling, falling, into a deep and dreamless sleep."


p. 57 (ARC) from REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver
Please share your teasers - post them or link to your blog!

Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

EASY
By: Tammara Webber
Published By: Berkley Trade
Release Date: Nov. 6, 2012
Series: None
Pages: 310
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reading Level: New Adult
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night - but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.

When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.



After there was so much buzz about Easy last year, I decided that I had to get a copy for myself. It took me too long to read it, but I'm so glad I finally picked it up. Easy is more than just a romance, or a book dealing with a serious issue. Both of these things together combined into a book that I fell in love with.

Jacqueline thought she knew what course her life was going to take. She followed her boyfriend to college and would have been happy to be with him forever. But shortly into her sophomore year, she finds herself dumped, outside of her formal social circle, and struggling to keep up her grades in her economics class. One night she leaves a Halloween party early and alone, never expecting what one of her ex's frat brothers tried to do, but a savior materializes seemingly out of nowhere. Jacqueline doesn't think she'll see the savior again, but as it turns out, he's in her economics class. At her roommate's advice, Jacqueline begins playing a game of cat-and-mouse with Lucas. But she's also been emailing Landon, the tutor for her economics class. She has a connection with both, but Lucas is definitely rebound material. Only there's something he's hiding, something Jacqueline thinks she needs to know. What will Jacqueline be willing to risk for the chance of love?

In some ways, Easy in several stories combined into one. Jacqueline deals with her heartache after being dumped, she deals with the aftereffects of the attempted rape, and Lucas comes to terms with his own past. I loved how these three different things ended up overlapping and it became a book in which the romance was something both characters needed, not just wanted. And all of the characters really made this book. I especially enjoyed how many different types of people this story brought together. Jacqueline isn't perfect, but she is relatable, and over the course of the book she grows into someone strong who follows what she wants in life. Both Lucas and Landon are capable of stealing your heart. I loved reading Jacqueline's emails with Landon, but Lucas was always intriguing and, as the one who saved Jacqueline in the beginning, was definitely easy to fall for. Jacqueline's roommate Erin was just the kind of friend she needed, and the kind you would want to have. Even one of Erin's sorority sisters had me cheering for her at one point.

This book definitely has its sexytimes, but for the most part, they're fueled by a genuine connection, which made everything better. Easy also deals with the tough subject of rape. I think it was handled well - there are aftereffects even from the attempt, and that event does help shape Jacqueline in the book rather than it being brushed off. With everything that happens in this book, it is nothing short of intense. Even though I wanted to enjoy the book, in some ways I couldn't read it fast enough. I just wanted to know that all of the characters would end up being okay, but then I didn't want to let them go when I was done.

When I started Easy, I expected an enjoyable romance, but this book is so much more, and so much better, than that. I can't wait to read more from Tammara Webber!

Opening Lines (24)

Opening Lines is a new feature here on Portrait of a Book that showcases the first lines of recent and/or upcoming releases. If you're looking for your next read, let these first lines help you decide!



THOUSAND WORDS
By: Jennifer Brown
Published By: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send."

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone -- until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo -- and didn't look.

Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words . . . it doesn't always tell the whole story.

"The community service I'd been court ordered to complete was held in one of the downstairs classrooms at the Chesterton Public Schools central office."


TRANSPARENT
By: Natalie Whipple
Published By: Harper Teen
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

"I nearly died the second I was born."


SEPTEMBER GIRLS
By: Bennett Madison
Published By: Harper Teen
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

When Sam's dad whisks him and his brother off to a remote beach town for the summer, he's all for it-- at first. Sam soon realizes, though, that this place is anything but ordinary. Time seems to slow down around here, and everywhere he looks, there are beautiful blond girls. Girls who seem inexplicably drawn to him.

Then Sam meets DeeDee, one of the Girls, and she's different from the others. Just as he starts to fall for her, she pulls away, leaving him more confused than ever. He knows that if he's going to get her back, he'll have to uncover the secret of this beach and the girls who live here.

"The summer following the winter that my mother took off into something called Women's Land for what I could only guess would be all eternity, my father decided that there was no choice but for him to quit his despised job and take me and my brother to the beach for at least the entire summer and possibly longer."


THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS
By: Sarah Ockler
Published By: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

When all signs point to heartbreak, can love still be a rule of the road? A poignant and romantic novel from the author of Bittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer.

Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one.

Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas?

Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong?

Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.

"The law of probability dictates that with three older sisters, a girl shall inherit at least one pair of cute shorts that actually fit."



Do any of these opening lines grab your attention? What are your favorite first lines that you've read lately?

Book Trailer Reveal: Rush by Eve Silver

RUSH
BY: Eve Silver
Published By: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: June 11, 2013

Goodreads Summary: So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.



I'm very excited to be one of the blogs featuring this new book trailer! This book sounds like it will be great. But don't take my word for it - enjoy an excerpt from Rush below!

There’s a flash of light, blindingly bright. Colored haloes obscure my vision. They dance and flicker and then disappear, leaving only a rectangle of light boxed in by the dark doorframe.

I see then that the door’s gone and in front of me are people. No…they aren’t people. They have limbs, hair, faces, but they aren’t human. After the first glance, they don’t look even remotely human. They’re pure, painful white, so bright they throw off a glare. They look like they’ve been dipped in glass, smooth and polished, but fluid. And their eyes…they’re a silvery color, like the mercury in the antique thermometer that my mom used to have at the side of the front porch.

When I was ten, I knocked that thermometer off with my wooden kendo sword, shattering the glass. The little blobs of mercury went all over the porch. I was a kid. I didn’t know better. I touched them, prodding the little balls until they joined the bigger blob. My mom swooped down on me and snatched me away, telling me it was poison. It could kill me.

I stare at the things in front of me: the Drau. I can’t look away.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember Jackson talking about Medusa. Don’t look at their eyes.

Their mercury eyes.

They’re poison.

They will kill me.



And now the moment you have been waiting for: the book trailer!





~ GIVEAWAY ~

If you're excited to read Rush by now, then don't miss this giveaway! Enter below for a chance to win a signed finished copy of Rush!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

THE LUCY VARIATIONS
By: Sara Zarr
Published By: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Series: None
Pages: 320
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: ALA Midwinter
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain.

That was all before she turned fourteen.

Now, at sixteen, it's over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. That leaves her talented ten-year-old brother, Gus, to shoulder the full weight of the Beck-Moreau family expectations. Then Gus gets a new piano teacher who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy rekindle her love of piano -- on her own terms. But when you're used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself?

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr takes readers inside the exclusive world of privileged San Francisco families, top junior music competitions, and intense mentorships. The Lucy Variations is a story of one girl's struggle to reclaim her love of music and herself. It's about finding joy again, even when things don't go according to plan. Because life isn't a performance, and everyone deserves the chance to make a few mistakes along the way.



As a musician, almost any book that involves music, and especially one with a piano on the cover, is a must-read for me. Even though this book is about more than just music, the way music factored into Lucy's story has stuck with me and left me thinking about my own career even after finishing it.

From an early age, Lucy had a promising career as a concert pianist - then she walked away from everything. But she still can't escape a musical family. Now, her younger brother Gus is the promising musician in the family, subject to their grandfather's management. When her brother gets a new piano teacher, Will, he poses a question to Lucy - does she want to play again? Lucy knows it can't be that simple. But the more time Lucy spends with Will, the more she wonders if it might be just that simple after all. However, even if she wants to play again, would her grandfather ever allow it? More importantly, what is it that would actually make her happy?

"You couldn't to be be that kind of happy all the time. She knew that.

But sometimes, you could. Sometimes, you should be allowed a tiny bit of joy that would stay with you for more than five minutes. That wasn't too much to ask. To have a moment like this, and be able to hold on to it."

The Lucy Variations cane be read on two different levels. From a musician standpoint, it was about finding your musical niche, whether that is performing, teaching, or another related area. It was a reminder to draw inspiration from the world around you, to bring your heart to the music, and always remember why you have the passion for it. For me, this reminder came at a very good time. Like Lucy experiences, with all of the pressure in the musical world, it's easy to lose sight of love for music, but when your heart is gone, the music suffers. However, from a non-musician standpoint, it's about finding your own way, finding your own passions, and not letting your family or others control your life. Lucy's journey is an emotional one as she tries to figure out what she truly wants.

There were a few other issues in this book in addition to music. Zarr explores family relationships: parent/child (and grandparent/grandchild - and there were a few times I wanted to strangle her grandfather) and sister/brother, as well as a different side to student/teacher relationships. Lucy walks a fine line with Mr. Charles and also with Will. Still, Will helped to give Lucy the kind of coaching and also the friendship that she needed, and it was hard not to swoon over him. In addition, this book mirrors life in the way that a lot of things are left unresolved at the ending. I want to know more about these characters, and how things worked out for Lucy, but this book was also a great snapshot of a pivotal part of Lucy's life.

"Music, her grandfather always told her, was language. A special language, a gift from the Muses, something all people are born understanding but few people can thoroughly translate.

She could, he'd told her.

Listening and playing were two different things; each involved its own kind of translation. She listend now, and translated.

The leaves. Their naked feet. Her grandmother's freed hair. Her grandfather's almost-touch.

Yes, the world was beautiful.

But music made that beauty personal.

Nothing else could do that. Nothing."

The Lucy Variations is a story that continues to make me think, and it offers something for anyone who reads it. Even though this was my first Sara Zarr book, it definitely won't be my last.

"Waiting on" Wednesday

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



This week's selection is:

ALL OUR PRETTY SONGS
By: Sarah McCarry
Published By: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Preorder the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: The first book in an exciting YA trilogy, this is the story of two best friends on the verge of a terrifying divide when they begin to encounter a cast of strange and mythical characters.

Set against the lush, magical backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, two inseparable best friends who have grown up like sisters—the charismatic, mercurial, and beautiful Aurora and the devoted, soulful, watchful narrator—find their bond challenged for the first time ever when a mysterious and gifted musician named Jack comes between them. Suddenly, each girl must decide what matters most: friendship, or love. What both girls don’t know is that the stakes are even higher than either of them could have imagined. They’re not the only ones who have noticed Jack’s gift; his music has awakened an ancient evil—and a world both above and below which may not be mythical at all. The real and the mystical; the romantic and the heartbreaking all begin to swirl together, carrying the two on journey that is both enthralling and terrifying.

And it’s up to the narrator to protect the people she loves—if she can.



Why it's wanted:
Almost every book involving musicians or even hinting at anything musical end up on my TBR list. This one sounds really interesting, and I'm curious to see how this plays out.