In Honor by Jessi Kirby

Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Age Group: Young Adult

Hours after her brother’s military funeral, Honor opens the last letter Finn ever sent. In her grief, she interprets his note as a final request and spontaneously decides to go to California to fulfill it.

Honor gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen Rusty in ages, but it’s obvious he is as arrogant and stubborn as ever—not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. Despite Honor’s better judgment, the two set off together on a voyage from Texas to California. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn’s memory—but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?


Jessi Kirby made an excellent debut last year with Moonglass, so as soon as I heard about her sophomore novel, I couldn't wait to have my hands on it. In Honor is, without a doubt, the best book I have read this year and very possibly, ever.

Kirby has a real knack for writing characters that you really get invested in. Honor and Rusty are so real and broken, and they are both dealing with their grief in very different ways. Their journey starts with a specific purpose and destination, but as they say, sometimes the journey is the destination. Along the way they begin to discover how to let Finn go. Honor also learns some hard truths about things she always believed or never understood, and in turn has to figure out some things about herself.

I have always been a fan of road trip stories, because it's always fun to get to see glimpses of the country that you might never see otherwise. Honor and Rusty definitely have some unique and crazy experiences and I wonder if Jessi Kirby has actually done or seen some of the things the two of them did. She painted an amazing portrait the country and their stops along the way. Since reading, I have been trying to figure out a way to make a trip to Arizona. I've never been, but I'd love to see some of the places they visit on their trip.

This book is honest, heartbreaking, hopeful and full brilliantly flawed characters. Honor and Rusty are excellent road companions and by the end of the story they will feel like friends. Jessi Kirby has cemented herself as one of my favorite authors and I will gladly read anything she writes in the future. I recommend this book to everyone, it's a road trip you will feel like you were a part of and a story you won't soon forget!

In Honor on Goodreads
Jessi Kirby's Website: http://www.jessikirby.com/

*Cover photo and synopsis from Goodreads*

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Release Date: May 1st, 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Age Group: Young Adult

Everything is in ruins. A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.
So what does Araby Worth have to live for? Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.
But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.
And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.



I've never read the Poe story that was the inspiration for this book, but I don't think that matters, because I was still able to enjoy the story without knowing where the inspiration shone through. The whole book has an air of dark and creepy hanging over it, but considering the world has been decimated by plague and the survivors are hiding in their homes and behind masks, it wouldn't feel right any other way. This book is definitely one for your imagination to run wild with. You've got the steampunk attributes that are always fun to envision, but I think the thing I imagined most vividly and has stayed stuck in my mind, are the masks that people wear to protect themselves from the plague. They are an important part of the story, too, so you can't just forget about them.

I honestly don't really know what I think about Araby. She is so unsure of herself and everything else throughout the book, and it left me pretty unsure of her. She hasn't had an easy life and I can certainly see how she justifies some of the things she does, but her voice is definitely still forming. Near the end we start to get a little hint of what we might get from her in upcoming books and I'm really looking forward to seeing more. In this book all of the people surrounding Araby had distinct personalities and specific purposes, while she is still trying to find out what hers is. I actually think it works for the story. Normally I don't care to continue reading about a main character that doesn't seem to have much conviction about anything, but I think Araby's journey will be about becoming someone who fights for what she wants.

I really didn't care for the love triangle in this book. It felt too fast from both sides and I wanted a little more development than we got. Don't get me wrong, I really liked both of the guys and cared about what happened to them in the story, but the romances just didn't feel genuine to me. That aside, there was so much going on in this book that it did keep me interested. The mystery behind the plague and the building rebellion were definitely enough to keep me turning the pages. The end was quick and leaves a lot of things up in the air, but I am invested in who Araby can become and what their gang will be able to accomplish.

Masque will definitely appeal to people who want something a little dark, but can do without vampires or werewolves. It's not action-packed, but it doesn't need to be and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something a little different.


*Cover photo and synopsis from Goodreads*

Get Creative and Win! CATCHING JORDAN and THE DISENCHANTMENTS

All of you know I love books, since this is a book blog and all, but I also love taking pictures. And being goofy. I have an extra copy of a couple of my favorite contemps and I want to give them away to a couple of you! Except this time I don't want to do the same old comment, follow, like giveaway...

So w/ the input of some other bloggers, I came up with an idea.

The way to enter this giveaway is to take pictures of books doing cool things! You could have The Hunger Games making dinner, Shatter Me sweeping up a broken mirror, Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door having a tea party, or any awesome things you can come up with. Be fun, be creative, the wackier the better!

You will get one entry per photo with a maximum of five entries per person. Photos must be emailed to sarah(at)thebooklife.com. I'll be sharing some of the photos as they roll in, then they'll all be compiled into a video that will be posted along with the winners!

 At the end of the giveaway all of the entries will be tossed into a metaphorical hat and the first winner will be chosen at random. The second winner will be chosen based on creativity, by a non-biased third party (my mom).

Aren't they so pretty and colorful?!? One person will win a finished paperback of CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Keneally and a second person will win a finished hardcover of THE DISENCHANTMENTS by Nina LaCour!

And of course there are a couple chances for extra entries:

- You can earn one additional entry if you take a photo of CATCHING JORDAN or THE DISENCHANTMENTS doing something cool. Limit one additional entry for this.

-You can also earn one additional entry if you tweet about the giveaway! Just be sure to use the hashtag #thebooklife

Thats up to seven entries total!

I know this is a bit unconventional, but these are two seriously awesome books and this is bound to be all kinds of fun. So get your thinking caps on and go to town. Books like to have fun, too!

And...this one is going to be International! The giveaway will end at 11:59PM on June 9th, 2012, so that will give you plenty of time to get creative :0)

Waiting on Wednesday - Time Between Us

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that showcases our most wanted upcoming releases.

TIME BETWEEN US by Tamara Ireland Stone

*Release Date: October 9th, 2012*

Publisher: Hyperion

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett’s unique ability to travel through time and space brings him into Anna’s life, and with him, a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate—and what consequences they can bear in order to stay together.

I love stories that have any type of time travel! I feel like I would be a master with a time machine, but since I haven't been given one, I like to read stories where people do get to bend space and time. I really like that this is a love story between two people whose lives are taking place almost 20 years apart. I can't wait to see how Bennett views the 90's and how different they are to him from his current time. And of course, how is their love going to survive, because changing things in the past is always said to change the future...

This one is at the top of my wishlist and I can't wait!

*Cover photo and synopsis from Goodreads*

"Hemlock" by Kathleen Peacock

Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: eGalley
Age Group: Young Adult

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.
Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.
Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.
Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

I'm such a fan of this book! This is the kind of story that reminds me why I keep reading paranormals, even when some of them feel a little redundant. Hemlock was nowhere close to being redundant. I really like the new take on werewolves and how they are out and known by the whole world. Being "infected" still isn't considered a good thing, but depending on who you are talking to, it's not completely terrible either. Unfortunately, in the town of Hemlock, there have been a string of gruesome werewolf attacks and some of them ended in death. When Mac's best friend Amy is one of the victims, it shatters their group's whole world.

Mac is such an awesome character. She comes from a difficult childhood, so it's definitely made her a little less warm and fuzzy in her teen years, but she has got so much spunk and isn't afraid to do what she has to for those she cares about. Granted, trying to solve the mystery behind a string of werewolf killings, isn't the best idea a teenage girl ever had. Fortunately, she has got some awesome friends in her life. Some more willing to help than others. She had such a great support system in Kyle, Serena, Trey, aunt Tess, and sometimes Jason. The mystery in this one was a doozy and it had so many twists and turns. Some parts were really shocking, others were easier to see coming, but all of them made reading such a fun ride.

And I really like the way Kathleen Peacock handled the love story for Mac. It all felt very genuine, and sometimes heartbreaking, but it moved at the perfect pace. I know that technically it is supposed to be a love triangle, but for now it feels more triangle-ish, which I really didn't mind. The relationships between Mac and the boys vying for her attention felt really authentic, and I am actually looking forward to seeing where it goes in the next two books.

This book has great action, an excellently told story, and compulsive readability. I only had just a couple of chapters left to read and I had to go to work. I spent the hours up until my break obsessing over what might happen. I don't usually read at work, but I had to with this one, because I couldn't wait to find out! I would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a different kind of werewolf, or anyone who is looking for a great action fillled story that will completely draw you in with it's wonderful cast of characters and exciting mystery.


*Cover photo and synopsis from Goodreads*

"The Summer My Life Began" by Shannon Greenland

Release Date: May 10th, 2012
Publisher: Speak
Format: eGalley
Age Group: Young Adult


Elizabeth Margaret—better known as Em—has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time.




When I first started reading this, I was certain I wasn't going to like it at all. It starts out kind of stiff and the main character, Elizabeth Margaret, seems the same. I really didn't feel like I could relate to her character, but I kept going because it was a short read and I was curious to see how her character would change. A lot of things about this book were very predictable to me and some of the secondary plotlines seemed completely unnecessary, but I ended up enjoying it overall and was certainly a fan of Em by the end.

We start out with Elizabeth Margaret (Em, as her sister calls her) receiving a graduation letter from an aunt she didn't know existed. During this first part of the book most of her interactions with her family were so formal and wooden, the only times she really seemed human were when she was talking with her sister, Gwenny. Their relationship was one of the things I liked the whole way through the book. They may have had a very controlled and directed upbringing, but they could be themselves with each other, and were always one hundred percent in each other's corners.

Once Em got to her aunt's bed & breakfast I was hoping to see her explore more of who she was and what she wanted out of life, instead of what she was told to want. And we do get that, but some of it does feel a little rushed. I know she is only staying with her aunt for one month, but the pacing threw me off at first. Once we got a little further and she got more of a routine, everything felt better and more realistic. I loved Domino, the chef at the B&B, and he takes Em under his wing and let's her do her thing in the kitchen. It was cool that her dream was to be a chef, I love reading about characters that love to cook and reading the passion they feel about it. I love to cook, myself, so that aspect always sucks me in a little more.

There are a few little nitpicky things here and there, that bugged me, but I could overlook because I ended up enjoying where things were heading. There is one thing, however, that is still bothering me from the book. The love triangle. I know they are pretty common place these days, and sometimes they are necessary to move a story forward. Unfortunately, this one felt like it was added just because the author thought she had to have one. In my opinion, it served absolutely no purpose. It didn't do anything to drive the story forward, the second guy being in the picture didn't really effect Em's relationship with the first guy at all, and it never felt like the second guy in the triangle was ever really in the competition for Em's heart anyway.

Other than a few little gripes, and the triangle that boggles, overall I enjoyed this book. The second half of the story gets more emotional and invoved, and it felt like a good progression to where the characters ended up. This is a decent contemporary read and if you are looking for a summer read with some real emotion peppered in, you will definitely want to pick this one up!


*Cover photo & synopsis from Goodreads*