Waiting on Wednesday: Ingenue

Title: Ingenue
Author: Jillian Larkin
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 351
Release Date: August 9, 2011

Bobbed hair. Short skirts. Cool jazz. Dark speakeasy. Anything goes. Meet the flappers, Gloria, Clara, Lorraine . . . and the rich young boys who love and loathe them.—Goodreads


The first book in The Flappers series, Vixen, was one of the first books I reviewed on this here bloggy blog, so it sort of holds a special place for me. But other than that, I actually found myself thinking about Gloria, Clara, and Lorraine the other day and suddenly desperately wanted to know what was happening with them! 


Lucky for me, Ingenue, comes out next month! (I'm so glad it's not next year like everything else seems to be!) I'm so so excited to go back into their oh-so glitzy and not-always-so-glamorous 1920s world. And to spend a little more time with one Marcus Eastwood. *grins*


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

Review: Texas Gothic

Title: Texas Gothic
Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 406
Release Date: July 12, 2011

Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.—Goodreads


I'm not sure about y'all, but when I think of Texas, the first thing I think about (other than the Longhorns and the fact that the people of the state don't want you to mess with it) is the heat. The oppressive, sticky, strangling heat that you can't shake no matter what you do. This book radiates that sort of heat—and I'm not referring to how Ms. Clement-Moore describes the weather. 


What the Goodreads summary up there doesn't tell you is that the bodies that are discovered are found when a construction team goes to build a bridge, and uncovers skeletons that are hundreds of years old on the property belonging to the McCullochs, who live next to the Goodnight ranch. When Amy (Amaryllis) and her sister, Phin (Delphinium), find out about the excavation, and are invited to the site by the excavation team from UT, they find themselves involved in not only an anthropological study, but in the midst of a small town ghost story as well. 


But that's not all. There's also the hot neighbor cowboy. (I know better than to think he escaped your notice in the description.)


The chemistry between Amy and the hot (guitar playing!) neighbor cowboy, Ben, is electric. It's the kind of connection that's so intense it constantly borders between being charmed and being annoyed, and trying to decide if you're in love or in hate. It's definitely not instalove, but is a slowly evolving spark that ignites and races toward the end of the fuse—and when that fuse starts to run out, lemme just tell you, it is four pages of juicy goodness. 

But Amy and Ben aren't the only ones with chemistry. There's also the relationship between Amy and her sister Phin, who is basically Temperance Brennan, if Temperance Brennan believed in magic. Amy and Phin are the kind of sisters who seemingly don't get along, but are actually best friends. As much as they annoy one another, they are always there for each other and will never waiver on that. I guess because I have such a good relationship with my sister, I really like when siblings in books aren't rivals. (Although that can be fun, too.) But I really loved Amy and Phin, and really wanted to kind of hang out with them in their kooky world full of magic and ghosts. 


Clement-Moore does a great job capturing the feeling of a Southern small town full of superstition, generations-old rivalries, greed, prejudice, and a good ghost story. Her characters are the kind you wish you could pull out of the book and befriend, even if it means that they come with a bit of red dirt and limestone caked in the soles of their shoes and bring a ghost or two along with 'em. 


Overall, Texas Gothic is a lotta bit Nancy Drew with a dash of Veronica Mars (if she were Southern) thrown in for good, cynical measure. It's a fun, engrossing story, with a narrator who is laugh-out-loud funny and entirely lovable. And I'm not lying about the four pages of juiciness. Hell, this book is worth reading for just THAT. ;)


P.S.: I really, really, REALLY would love to see some sort of crazy short story or something where Emerson from Hourglass and Amy somehow hang out and/or work together. I'm not sure exactly how that would work, but I think it would work WELL. 

TGIF: The Put-Downables

Oh, Fridays. How I like you. *pets Fridays*

This week the lovely Ginger over at GReads! has asked:

What was the last book you couldn't finish 

(or had a hard time finishing)?

Now, I tend to be one of those people who finishes things—I hate quitting and once I start a book, I normally finish it. HOWEVER, there have been a couple notable exceptions to this.

Please note that I'm not saying that these books are bad or that they shouldn't be read—that is absolutely NOT what I a saying. I would, in fact, encourage you to go out and read these and tell me how silly I am to have put them down.


Most recently:

The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson

I actually really LIKED this book, but every time I picked it up I just couldn't bring myself to read it. It was WEIRD. Perhaps I should give it another try.

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird

I just couldn't focus on this one. I really, really wanted to read it, but it just wasn't happening. However, this was one of the first books I tried to read on my Kobo, so maybe that had something to do with it? Who knows.

Most famously:

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein

I have tried to read this book on MANY occassions, and just can't get through it. Tolkein's writing is so long and detailed and circuitous that by the time I reach the end of a sentence, I don't even freaking remember what the beginning said! Which is really just too bad since this is supposed to be awesome. But. For some reason Tolkein and I just don't jive. Sorry Tolkein.


So there you have it. The books I just couldn't get myself through. Now, I'd really be interested in hearing from those of you who HAVE read. Please tell me all the reasons why I should give them another shot in comments. :)

Review: Sometimes It Happens

Title: Sometimes It Happens
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 320
Release Date: July 12, 2011
Format: Electronic galley via S&S Galley Grab (Thank you!)

On the last day of her junior year, Hannah's boyfriend Sebastian dumped her. Facing a summer of loneliness, Hannah turns to her best friend Ava for comfort. Ava does what BFFs do: she stays by Hannah's side...until it's time for Ava to head up to Maine for the summer. Also left behind is Ava's boyfriend, Noah, who's such a great guy he gets Hannah a job at the diner he waits tables at. Slowly, Hannah comes out of her funk thanks to Noah's good conversation and their fun times at the diner. But things get complicated when their friendship turns into attraction--and one night, into a passionate kiss. The novel opens on the first day of senior year; the day Hannah is going to see Ava, Sebastian, and Noah all in one place. Over the course of the day secrets and betrayals are revealed, and alliances are broken and reformed. In the end, everyone is paired up once again, but not the way you might think.--Goodreads


Sometimes It Happens is perhaps the most real seeming YA novel I've ever read. 


Let me qualify that. 


The main character, Hannah, is super normal. There's nothing inherently "special" about her that makes her different from any other teenage girl. She isn't gorgeous, she isn't mysterious, and she definitely doesn't have super powers. She's just a typical high school girl who is insecure, unsure of herself, boy crazy, a little bit dramatic, and a little bit silly. Even her story is pretty typical—at the beginning of the summer before her senior year, she catches her boyfriend cheating on her, her best friend, Ava, leaves for the summer, and Hannah subsequently falls in love with Ava's boyfriend. 


Because, you know, sometimes it happens. 


The book alternates between "present day"—the first day of senior year—and the summer, which allows the story unfolds in a sort of emotionally manic order. Hannah is either freaking out because she's trying to determine how to navigate her first day of senior year, which is the first day all of the characters  have been in the same place at the same time since the beginning of the summer, or she's having an unexpectedly great, if not emotionally complicated, summer. The juxtaposition of her two experiences is actually a really fun storytelling device, as there is a nice  cliffhanger type set-up between chapters. Luckily, all you have to do is turn the page to get to the next pieces of information, instead of waiting for the sequel. ;)


Although Hannah ends up in a bit of a pickle because of how she handles a variety of situations, she learns that damage isn't necessarily irreparable. Sure, choices have consequences, and sometimes those consequences change relationships, but sometimes those relationships need to be changed. What Hannah ends up learning is that, ultimately, sometimes the bad choices people make don't always have a good explanation. Sometimes the choices aren't even really choices. Sometimes, it just happens. 


Overall, this book is a fun, quick read about a group of high school students and their motives. It's not life changing and it probably won't be your new favorite book, but if you're looking for something to breeze through to fill a day or two, Sometimes It Happens can do the trick and will even make you smile a time or two. 

Waiting on Wednesday: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Poppy
Release Date: January 2, 2012

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18B. Hadley's in 18A. 

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.--Goodreads


Let us count the reasons why I am excited to read this: 


1) I like long titles. I don't really like statistics or probabilities, as they both relate to math, but the statistical probability of love at first sight sounds like something that would be good to know for, like, pub trivia. Anyway. I think this title is nerdily, frumpily adorable and holds PROMISE as to what is inside the book. 


2) I like the name Hadley. 


3) I like British boys. 


4) I like the name Oliver. 


5) I especially like the name Oliver if it belongs to a British boy. 

6) I like the cover. It sort of reminds me of the movie poster (I feel like you should all know that when I first tried to type movie poster, I actually wrote "moster." Should we make that a new word? Moster? NO? Okay then.) for the film Waiting for Forever, which wasn't particularly good, but had a movie poster (you sure about nixing "moster"? You are? Okay.) I did like. 

Yeah, so now that I'm looking at the Waiting for Forever poster, it really looks NOTHING like the (better designed) cover for this book. But for some reason, when I saw the book cover, this movie poster is what I thought of. I'm obviously cracked. 

ANYWAY. With the exception of the crazy that was point number six, this all bodes very well. You know what does not bode well? 


This book doesn't come out until freaking January. Harumph. *sulks*


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

Tune In Tuesday: Freelance Whales

I kind of have a thing for bands that have quirky, nerdy songs.

Enter, Freelance Whales.

They're adorable and have a banjo and one of their songs is called "Kilojoules." I couldn't find a good quality video of it, so it's not included in this post. But the song is super cute and highly nerdy. I suggest it for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

Anyway. I like them MUCHO, and I hope you do too!

Tune In Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads!

TGIF: Perfect Pairs

 OMG it's July. We are officially half way through 2011. Is anyone else weirded out by that?

ANYWAY. It's July. It's summer. And what could possibly be better than sunshine and weekends at the beach and cute open toed shoes? Why, a little summer romance!

This week the fabulous Ginger at GReads! has asked:

Who are your favorite book couples?*

Alright, in no particular order, heeeeere we go.


Adam & Mia (If I Stay/Where She Went)
Yes. Yes. Yes.

Magnus & Alec (The Mortal Instruments)
They're just so adorable.

Anna & Etienne St. Clair (Anna and the French Kiss)
They met in Paris. At a boarding school. That's basically my fantasy life. 

Georgia & Dave the Laugh (Georgia Nicholson series)
Dave the Laugh might be the perfect YA boy. I know that's a really big, hyperbolic-sounding thing to say, but I mean it. He's British. He's funny. He's sexy. He's adorable. He's confusing. He's perfect. :)

Elizabeth & Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)
Duh.

So there you have my very, very abridged list of my favorite book couples. Let me know your faves in comments, and have an explosively wonderful Fourth of July weekend! (Yay America!)

*This is a very short list. If I listed them all, we'd be here forever. And I assume you have OTHER things to do than listen to me prattle on about literary couples I love, so I made the executive decision to keep this short and sweet.