TGIF: Giving Bookish Thanks

Believe it or not, today is the Friday before Thanksgiving. I would reflect on where the time has gone, but that sounds depressing so I will SKIP it. Instead, I will write far too much about the question the lovely, fabulous, wonderful Ginger at GReadsBooks has posed this week:

Giving Thanks: Which books are you most thankful for receiving from other bloggers, friends, family members, or publishers?

Where She Went is the first ARC I received from a publisher. It surprised me in the mail, about six weeks after I'd started this blog. I was FLOORED that I'd received it because I didn't request it (Hell, I didn't even know how to request an ARC at that point) and because there'd been SO MUCH buzz surrounding it. I'm still just shocked that I got this and thoroughly confused as to how it came to me. But I loooooooved it and am so so so glad and honored that I received an ARC. 

I was the first of my friends to jump on the Harry Potter train, but not without a lot of prodding and a good bit of boredom. I received this book from my grandmother the week that it was first released in the U.S. I was eleven and in that period where I did not want to read anything with a cartoon of a boy on the cover. I don't even think I read the jacket copy. I just put it aside and continued to read my Magic Attic Club and Saddle Club and every other girly series that ended in "Club" books. But my grandma kept calling my mom and asking if I'd read the book yet. So, finally, after several conversations where my mom was like, "Bethany, just read the book so she'll stop asking." I sat down and read it. And I couldn't stop. When I finished it, I immediately re-read it. So, yay for my grandma and her book-picking skillz! :)

So, this one is sort of abstract in that my introduction to John Green didn't come in book-form. My super-awesome sister sent me an email one day that included this video with the message "OMG YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS." So I watched and was like, "HOLY SHIZZBALLS THIS IS THE BEST." So I started watching the Vlogbrothers videos from the beginning forward. I developed a huge huge huge crush on John Green and when I realized he writes books that are, you know, buyable I immediately sought out everything by him. And then I read the two books I could get my hands on at the time—Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines—in order of publication, so my first John Green book was LfA. And I fell in love. [I have a feeling I'll tell more of this story during John Green Week, so I'll go ahead and stop here.] But without my sister sending me that inaugural video, I probably would have never read these books. 

I got Hourglass via my very first ARC tour, hosted by Heather at Fire and Ice (whom I am also thankful for for sending me The Name of the Star). From the first time I saw the stinkin' cover for Hourglass, I KNEW this was a book for me. I was SO excited to get in on the ARC tour, and couldn't wait until it showed up on my doorstep. Fittingly, it arrived while I was watching a Doctor Who marathon on BBC America. And it was literally love at first word for me. I was super sad that I had to send it to the next person because I wanted to keep the book and love it and pet it and kiss it and read it again. But! I couldn't do that and I wanted others to have the opportunity to read it as well. 

And these days I have TWO copies of Hourglass. *ponders what to do with the extra copy*

Alright, so that is my very long-winded post. I could go on and on about this. And I should probably take a moment to give a HUMUNGOUS thank you to Miss Ginger for sending me not only her ARC of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, but for also buying me a copy of Sloppy Firsts (which I have yet to read. I KNOW, I'm on it.) and for just being an all-around awesome blogger and friend and person. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a fabulous Thanksgiving!

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReadsBooks.

Waiting on Wednesday: Timepiece

Title: Timepiece
Author: Myra effing McEntire, y'all!
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release Date: June 12, 2012 (ROAR!!!!)

THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO HOURGLASS. IT IS GOING TO BE AWESOME. THERE IS NO OTHER POSSIBILITY.

Also, let's chat about this ARC cover. The photography is by Lissy Laricchia. If you ever find yourself bored and wanting to look at something pretty and whimsy and gorgeous, check out her website and her Flickr. It makes me wish that I was good at photography. And, you know, art. My super-incredible sister got those skillz instead of me.

ANYWAY. Timepiece is going to be magnificent. You should probably just go ahead and pre-order the book now. And if you haven't read Hourglass yet, GET ON THAT. And buy copies of it for everyone you know as presents for Christmas. Which is less than six weeks away. (Let that sink in for a second.)

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

TGIF: Character Envy

It is a cool, rainy Friday here in good ol' NY. Which is awesome. Super awesome, because 1) I love rainy days and 2) It's 71 degrees right now. YEP! *dances*

But on the question at hand! This week, the loverly Ginger at GReadsBooks wants to know:

If you could be a character from one book, who would you be and why?

WELL! That's quite the question, right? And while the obvious answer for probably every girl EVER EVER EVER is Elizabeth Bennett (Helloooooo Darcy!) I'm going to avoid that answer and go with: 

Cammie Morgan from Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series. 

Y'all. Girl is a SPY. Ok, technically she's a spy-in-training, but still! She's smart and speaks a bajillion languages and has a really awesome group of also super smart spy friends and she cares about others and loves her family and I just like everything about that girl. Also: she's a spy.

Wanna know my runner up? Yeah? GOOD. (It's not surprising, but heeeeere we go.)

Emerson Cole from Hourglass: I don't necessarily want to have lost my parents, but this girl is so dang awesome, that I can't help but want to be her. Also: Michael and Kaleb. Word up.

So that's my pick! I hope that y'all all have fabulous weekend plans and that you don't have them rained out. Or maybe I do. Because then you can stay inside and read! ;)

Review: Hourglass

Title: Hourglass
Author: Myra McEntire
Publisher: Egmont USA
Pub Date: June 14, 2011
Pages: 397
Format: Fire & Ice ARC Tour (Thank you SO MUCH!!)

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?--Goodreads

With Hourglass, debut author extraordinaire Myra McEntire balances science fiction, romance, and a coming-of-age story in one seamless, effortless package. McEntire's prose are conversational, funny, and completely packed with Southern colloquialisms—something that makes my little Southern expat heart go pitter-patter—and she crafts and develops characters so fully that they seem to transcend the page.

The fabulously named main character, Emerson, is quite possibly one of my favorite female protagonists, oh, ya know, ever. (Really, she's right on up there with Elizabeth Bennett, Anne Shirley, and Georgia Nicholson.) She's sure of herself despite not knowing what she's capable of, she's full of a soft Southern toughness that proves she can take care of herself, but also draws people to her, and she is sarcastic and witty in a way that is endearing and not alienating. The mystery surrounding her ability to see things from the past just makes her all that more intriguing, even if it does mess with her head and make her go a tidbit bonkers from time to time.

But Hourglass isn't just about Emerson—in addition to some very Doctor Who-esque sci-fi stuff, there's also a boy. Michael Weaver, the Hourglass consultant that Em's loving and attentive brother, Thomas, hires to help his sister work out her visions of things from the past, is a little, well, disarming. He's young, handsome, mysterious, and has a more-than-professional interest in our (awesome) main character. AND he's a man who knows how to apologize. Ladies, take a lesson from this book—a man should always bring flowers, preferably pink peonies, when apologizing.

But the great thing about Emerson is that, though she admits to her only friend, Lily, that she and Michael have an instant chemistry and that he is very attractive, Em doesn't even think about her romantic feelings for him until the book is almost over. In fact, Em kind of avoids him for a good bit of the book because she's a little freaked out by him. Because of the intensely traumatic things she has been through—and often sees—Em finds it hard to trust people, and refuses to let herself succumb to Michael's charms despite the fact that she wants to. She's a smart girl, that Emerson.

Now that's not to say that there aren't any steamy, sexual tension laden passages—there definitely are. Michael will have you all swoony and on his side, and then BAM. McEntire introduces you to Kaleb, another member of the intriguing Hourglass organization.

Oh Kaleb.

Where Michael is level-headed, careful, and self-less, Kaleb is. Mmm. He's the bad boy. Me likey the bad boys. He's everything a girl shouldn't want in a guy—the exact combination of troubled, reckless, charming, and physically intimidating that just makes a girl lose her head, let down her guard, and get her heart trampled on. But Emerson seems to be just the girl Kaleb needs to get him out of his downward spiral, which makes for some delicious sexual tension between the pair.

When we realize exactly what it is Emerson can do—and how she fits in with the Hourglass organization—we also realize that Michael has a secret agenda that involves our lovely Miss Emerson. A secret agenda that involves some very large, very severe risks, and that requires a lot of sacrifice on one person's part.

By the end of Hourglass, not only will you be BLOWN AWAY by the intricately plotted story, but you'll be so in love with the characters that you'll miss them. McEntire leaves Emerson in a place where she has both learned more about herself and is more confused about herself than ever. You'll be satisfied with the story, but yearning for the next book in the series . . . which doesn't come out until next year.

It's going to be a loooong year.

Y'all. I've really refrained from writing this entire review in all caps and exclamation points and random characters to convey my excitement. So now I'm going to allow myself to freak out a little.

I REALLY FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK WITH A DEEP, DEEP, BURNING PASSION!!!!!!

*dances around the room, with book*

I want to kiss it. In fact, I have kissed my finished copy of it. Several times. Perhaps I should marry it.

So now I will re-read Hourglass until I have it memorized, and will pimp this book until you have ALL read it. Because it is THAT good.

Seriously.

In fact. I love it so much that I'm going to guy buy a second copy and do a giveaway!

If you want to WIN A COPY of Hourglass (and you do), fill out the form below!

[Giveaway is now closed. But if you want a copy (and you do), you can purchase Hourglass here.]

Book Trailer: Hourglass!!

So. I'm kind of obsessed with Hourglass. 

I've read the dang book, and this trailer STILL gives me chills!

Love it.

TGIF w/ GReads: Author Love

Y'all. This is an exceptionally great Friday. I'm gonna get out of work at 3:00 today! And then I have friends coming in town tonight! AND THEN I get to go home to Arkansas for the first time since Christmas for a three day weekend!! So what could possibly make this Friday even better? Why talking about my new favorite authors, of course. This week, Ginger (GReads!) has asked: 

In 2011, which new/old authors have you discovered and loved?

WELL! After being in grad school for a year and not having a ton of time to just read whatever I wanted, late 2010/all of 2011 have been quite the re-introduction to reading for me. As such, I've discovered a good amount of authors that I'd never read before and with whom I am now OBSESSED. 

1) Myra McEntire. Myra McEntire. Myra McEntire.

Omg y'all. This woman can effing WRITE. I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of her debut novel Hourglass for a blog tour (my review will be up in June!) and it is just.....whoa. Like. WHOA. I was all kinds of swooning over this book. And still am, really. Bonus: she's really fun to follow on Twitter. Double bonus: She's Southern. xD

2) E. Lockhart


I'll be honest, I've only read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by her. But it is just so damn good. I read it, like, a couple months ago and I'm already wanting to read it AGAIN. I'm definitely going to pick up her other books, which I've heard super great things about, and I'm going to continue pimping The Disreputable History. Because it is THAT GOOD.

3) Gayle Forman

Oh Gayle. You break my heart. You make me cry. But I love it. It's so good. And so worth it.
For reals, y'all. If you've never read If I Stay and Where She Went, get thee to the nearest bookstore/library post-haste!! And don't read it in public. You will regret that decision. But you will not regret reading it.

4) Paul F. Tompkins


Alright, so I'm gonna mix it up a little bit. Mr. Tompkins is technically a comedian, but he wrote all of the American Idol recaps for Vulture, New York Magazine's culture blog. You guys. They are hilarious. He is seriously one of the funniest writers I have ever, ever, ever read. Every single recap he wrote had me crying I was laughing so hard. He's just the best. Love it. Love him. If you've never read his recaps, go! Go now!! 

So those are my fave thus far this year! I'd love to know all of the fantastic authors you've fallen in love with in comments, and have a FREAKING FABULOUS Memorial Day Weekend!!