Confessions of a Bibliovore

Today we have Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz here for a guest post and a giveaway! This post is part of the blog tour for Sanctuary Bay. Sanctuary Bay was released on January 19th. Here's what it's all about: Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz Add to Goodreads  |  Purchase from Amazon When Sarah Merson receives the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the most elite prep school in the country-Sanctuary Bay Academy-it seems almost too good to be true. But, after years of bouncing from foster home to foster home, escaping to its tranquil setting, nestled deep in Swans Island, couldn't sound more appealing. Swiftly thrown into a world of privilege and secrets, Sarah quickly realizes finding herself noticed by class charmer, Nate, as well as her roommate's dangerously attentive boyfriend, Ethan, are the least of her worries. When her roommate suddenly goes missing, she finds herself in a race against time, not only to find her, but to save herself and disco...

Title: Instructions for the End of the World Author: Jamie Kain Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Release date: December 8th 2015 Pages: 224 Genre: Young Adult contemporary Source: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks! Add to Goodreads  |  Puchase from Amazon When Nicole Reed’s father forces her family to move to a remote area of the Sierra Foothills, one without any modern conveniences, her life is completely turned upside down. It’s not that Nicole isn’t tough. She’s learned how to hunt, and she knows how to build things—she’s been preparing for the worst-case scenario for what seems like forever. But when she and her sister, Izzy, are left alone in this remote landscape to fend for themselves, her skills are put to the ultimate test. She’s fine for a while, but then food begins to run out, the pipes begin to crack, and forest fires start to inch closer every day. When Wolf, a handsome boy from the neighboring communit...

Title: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr Series: Untamed City #1 Genre: Young Adult - Fantasy/Paranormal Publication: September 4th 2012 by HarperCollin Format: ARC Source: Publisher for review Rating: ★★★★☆ Synopsis: In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the carnival, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live. All Mallory knows of The City is that her father—and every other witch there—fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. Sh...

Title: Breakaway Author: Kat Spears Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Release date: September 15th 2015 Pages: 290 Genre: Young Adult contemporary Source: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks! Add to Goodreads  |  Puchase from Amazon When Jason Marshall’s younger sister passes away, he knows he can count on his three best friends and soccer teammates—Mario, Jordie, and Chick—to be there for him. With a grief-crippled mother and a father who’s not in the picture, he needs them more than ever. But when Mario starts hanging out with a rough group of friends and Jordie finally lands the girl of his dreams, Jason is left to fend for himself while maintaining a strained relationship with troubled and quiet Chick. Then Jason meets Raine, a girl he thinks is out of his league but who sees him for everything he wants to be, and he finds himself pulled between building a healthy and stable relationship with a girl he might be fall...

Title: The Rules by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié Series: N/A Genre: YA - Horror/Thriller Publication: June 23rd 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers Format: Audiobook Source: Library Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Synopsis: Junior Robin Brisset has no idea what she's in for when she accepts an invitation to one of Callabrese High's most exclusive parties. And when the trademark scavenger hunt begins, Robin must go against every rule she's lived by to survive. Thoughts: The main problem I had with The Rules , was how dull I found it. While the story starts off pretty interesting, I didn't like the characters (there are so many to keep track of too,) couldn't understand how they were being killed off so easily or why they kept thinking splitting up was a good idea. Luckily, I had the audiobook version of this book, so it was easy to get through and not feel like I wasted too much of my reading time. Also, the killer in the end? What the hell was that. I sort of predic...

Today we have Laurie Elizabeth Flynn here for an author interview! This interview is part of the blog tour for Firsts. 1. Without spoiling anything, could you tell us what was your favorite scene to write in Firsts? That’s a great question! The first chapter was seriously fun to write. But there’s a particular scene later in the book that has my heart. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say it involves a reference to a certain type of pasta. 2. If you had to pair up your main character Alma from Firsts  with any other character from any other YA book (either romantically or as a friend), who would it be and why? I’d love to put Mercedes in a room with Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl. Their combined sarcasm would be deafening, and so entertaining. I think sparks might fly. 3.  I absolutely love the idea for Firsts , and I’m always really excited about sex-positive YA books. Could you talk a little bit about what made you want to write about this? I was working on an entirely d...

Title: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach Series: N/A Genre: YA - Contemporary/Science Fiction Publication: March 24th 2015 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Format: Audiobook Source: Library Rating: ★★★☆☆ Synopsis: Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels: The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever. But then we all looked up and everything changed. They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end. Two months to really live. Thoughts: I was able to really enjoy  We All Looked Up,  which was sort of a mixture of contemporary/science-fiction. I felt like I connected with all the characters well, and liked them all. At some points I felt that the book dragged on a little much, but it made sense since there was a lot to go through for the end of the world. I had seen in a review tha...

Title: Don't Ever Change Author: M. Beth Bloom Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: July 7th 2015 Pages: 368 Genre: Young Adult contemporary Source: I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks! Add to Goodreads  |  Puchase from Amazon Eva has always wanted to write a modern classic—one that actually appeals to her generation. The only problem is that she’s starting to realize she can’t “write what she knows” because she hasn’t really lived. So the summer before heading off to college, Eva is determined to live a life worth writing about. But soon Eva’s story starts to go in unexpected directions, like growing apart from her best friends, working at a job she is completely unqualified for, and even falling for the last person she would have ever imagined. Like anyone, though, it will be up to Eva to figure out how she wants this particular chapter in her story to end. My rating: 3 out of 5 stars I hadn't heard much abou...

Title: Hello, I Love You Author: Katie M. Stout Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Release date: June 9th 2015 Pages: 304 Genre: Young Adult contemporary romance Source: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks! Add to Goodreads  |  Puchase from Amazon Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start. She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her fri...

This past year was a good one. While there were a few things that were hard to just deal with, overall this year was amazing. I laughed a lot, read more than I did the year before, and just enjoyed a lot of little moments. I also remained pretty active on the blog, for the most part. Earlier in the year, I decided to finally stop reading books I didn't want to finish and I also started reviewing my old way. As I've done the last few years, I wanted to share my new years resolutions and goals which are again, simple. They worked out well for the last two years which is what I like best. Read books:  I've set my goal low for the last two years but it makes me a little sad that I don't get to read more. I don't want to set an unrealistic goal, but this year I am aiming for 52 books since I was able to accomplish my goal last year. Re-read Harry Potter:  I set this goal for myself last year and unfortunately wasn't able to get around to reading the books but maybe...