"Sweet Evil" by Wendy Higgins

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


What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.

Tenderhearted Southern girl, Anna Whitt, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

A cross-country trip to meet her father forces Anna to face the reality that hope and love are not options for her kind. When she confronts her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Wendy Higgins has written a completely unputdownable story with Sweet Evil! I'm a little ashamed to admit that it hadn't really been on my radar, but a couple of blogger friends couldn't stop talking about how amazing it was, so I tracked down a copy and got to reading. I was not disappointed! This book has a really original take on Nephilim and I loved the way that propelled the story. Also, this book is HOT! The sexual tension is so palpable you will be panting. I...just...Wow!

Hmmhmm...so anyway, our main character is a good girl, with a boy best friend, who likes to go see bands play. This is how we, and Anna, first meet Kaidan Rowe. He is, in Anna's words, "Sexy like it was his job or something." While he is definitely super hot and ended up becoming one of my new loves, when he first comes into the picture he's pretty much an arrogant ass. If I'm being honest, though, it's all part of his charm. Kaidan introduces Anna to who she really is and it doesn't take long before the stakes are raised and the adventure begins.

Anna and Kaidan have to hit the road, because there is a Nun with information about who Anna is and what she is supposed to do. Then there is the very angry demon who doesn't think Anna is fulfilling her potential and thinks she needs some "guidance" to get on the right path. While away from home, Anna gets to meet her father, whom she's never actually met. He's nothing like she expected and ends up being an integral part to her story. We also get to meet some more of their kind, old friends of Kaidan's, and they are so much fun. I am especially fond of the twins, even though Ginger was mostly a bitch. I found them completely amusing and I think it will be nice for Anna to have some girls who understand what she goes through.


Sweet Evil is an inventive paranormal with a new twist on demons, angels, and nephilim. It has an amazing cast of characters and I can't wait to find out where Anna's new life takes her. This is a book that you won't want to miss out on!

Make It A Movie Monday: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Make It A Movie Monday is hosted by Jenna @ Making The Grade. It's a place to talk about the books we wish  would be made into a movie and if we were making the movie, how would we do it!

My pick for this week is:

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

This is one epic road trip book! Amy and Roger are fantastic characters and all of the places the see and things they do would make an excellent feature film!

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour  Dream Cast:

Amy - Shelley Hennig - Actress (The Secret Circle )

She is so good at portraying a wide range of emotions, and given all of the ups and downs Amy goes through, I think she would be such a good fit. Plus, she's so darn adorable :0)

Roger - Robbie Amell - Actor (Revenge, True Jackson, VP )

This pick is a little more shallow...haha. I absolutely adore his smile and when I see him I think, College Guy. He always does a great job playing the nice guy, too :0)

Would you take a road trip with this Amy & Roger? Who would you choose?

SWIPE Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway!

Thanks for checking out my stop on the SWIPE blog tour, hosted by YA BOUND!

Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format: Paperback
Age Group: Middle Grade

Everyone gets the Mark. It gives all the benefits of citizenship. Yet if getting the Mark is such a good thing, then why does it feel so wrong?
Set in a future North America that is struggling to recover after famine and global war, Swipe follows the lives of three kids caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t even know existed. United under a charismatic leader, every citizen of the American Union is required to get the Mark on their 13th birthday in order to gain the benefits of citizenship. 
The Mark is a tattoo that must be swiped by special scanners for everything from employment to transportation to shopping. It’s almost Logan Langly’s 13th birthday and he knows he should be excited about getting the Mark, but he hasn’t been able to shake the feeling he’s being watched. Not since his sister went to get her Mark five years ago . . . and never came back.
When Logan and his friends discover the truth behind the Mark, will they ever be able to go back to being normal teenagers?

Logan Langly lives in a constant state of paranoia. He's sure someone is watching him, sneaking into his home, and following him at night. No one believes him, of course, and they just think that Logan is a little crazy. Except Logan is starting to realize he's not as crazy as everyone thinks and he's more determined than ever to find out about The Mark and what happened to his sister.

Evan Angler has created an exceptional dystopian world with Swipe. The idea of becoming an adult when you turn 13 goes a little bit further here. Once you come of age you are able to take a pledge and get your mark. The Mark seems to open up the world to you. Once you have it you gain new freedoms and privileges, and for most of the people alive today, it's exciting and something to look forward to. Logan always looked forward to the day he could take the pledge and get his mark, but after his sister never returned from taking her pledge, Logan starts to wonder about what is really going on.

I really liked Logan. He may have been extremely paranoid and a little awkward, but I think he was a great character and someone younger people would find themselves relating to. Logan wasn't willing to give up and was determined to find out what really happened to his sister. That's an admirable quality in someone so young. He wasn't unafraid, but he wasn't so easy to give up, either.

I don't read a lot of middle grade books, but the story in Swipe sucked me in and had me guessing what was going to happen on the next page. So many new doors are opened at the end of the story and it sets things up nicely for book two, Sneak. Evan Angler has got himself a new fan, in me, and I look forward to reading more of Logan's story.

Check out the SWIPE book trailer below, and after that enter to win your own copy of the book in the Rafflecopter below!
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From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas

Release Date: May 15th, 2012
Publisher: Hyperion
Format: eGalley
Age Group: Young Adult

KYLIE: Tijuana WHAT? I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY, and is this a wedding band on my finger.
MAX: It all started with Kylie's laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics Okay, it was kind of hot, the way she broke us out like some chick in an action movie. But now we're stranded in TIjuana. WIth less than twenty-four hours before graduation. Awesome.
WILL: Saving Kylie Flores from herself is kind of a full-time occupation. Luckily, I, Will Bixby, was born for the job. And when I found out she was stuck in Mexico with dreamy Max Langston, sure, I agreed to bring thier passports across the border--but there's no reason to rush back home right away. This party is just getting started.
LILY: I just walked in on my boyfriend, Max Langston, canoodling with Kylie Flores, freak of the century. Still, I can't completely hold it against him. He NEEDS me. It's even clearer now. And I'm not giving him up without a fight.


This book was one crazy, awesome adventure! It starts with an overachiever and a jock working on a school project, and ends up with an unlikely group of seniors stranded in Mexico.

From What I Remember has a killer prologue and once I read those first few pages, there was no way I wasn't going on this adventure with Kyle, Max, Will and Lily! When we first get to know the characters, Kylie is the typical overachiever, high school valedictorian and basically anti-social. Max is the typical popular jock with good looks and lots of money. Will is a gay kid who does everything he can to make sure everyone knows it and knows that he's not ashamed of it. Lily is popular, catty, rich and dating the most popular guy in school. Of course, no one is ever who they appear to be on the surface and we can thank a crazy, accidental trip to Mexico for us being able to really get to know these characters.

Kylie's computer get's stolen while her and Max are working on an end of the year school assignment. Of course, the computer is where Kylie's valedictorian speech is and she refuses to lose it. Her misguided chase of her computer, leaves her and Max trapped in the back of a moving van and crossing the Mexican border. After some scary and action-packed moments, they find themselves in Ensenada. Kylie's dad is from there and they end up a bar owned by an old friend of his. And that's where the adventure really begins.

This story actually has a lot of layers and loads of character development in the four main characters. We get to see them open up and embrace what they really want in their life. No matter how pompous, bitchy, tightly wound, obnoxious or boring the characters may have seemed in the beginning, by the end I felt connected to all of their stories and I cared about what happened to them.

This book was such a fun and crazy trip. You've got car chases, dolphins, plenty of drinking, mexican weddings, and an amazing cast of secondary characters. This is a story you definitely want to pick up, and I definitely look forward to more from these ladies. Enjoy the ride!

Today is the day! Read The Ash-Born Boy and pick up your copy of The Near Witch!

It's May 15th!

 

The good news is that THE NEAR WITCH by Victoria Schwab comes out in paperback TODAY and you are really going to want to pick it up! The better news is, to celebrate it's release, "The Ash-Born Boy" is finally up over at Disney*Hyperion's website!!

So, what IS "The Ash-Born Boy"?

It's a free story Victoria wrote as a thank-you to her fans, and she wrote it to answer ONE question: "Who was Cole before he came to Near?"

Now, if you've already read THE NEAR WITCH, "The Ash-Born Boy" is guaranteed to change the way you see Cole.

And if you haven't read THE NEAR WITCH yet, don't worry, "The Ash-Born Boy" won't spoil anything!

Trust me on this, you should go read Cole's story, it's amazing and you won't be sorry :0)

If you are thinking you'd rather wait and read THE NEAR WITCH first, don't worry! Cole's story will stay up on Disney*Hyperion's website, and if it ever comes down, Victoria will carve out a space for it on her own site. It will always be available somewhere, and it will always be free.

And!

Cole's story isn't the only goodie to go along with the paperback release. In the back of the paperback itself, you'll find the first chapter of Victoria's new book, THE ARCHIVED, which doesn't come out until January!

So what are you waiting for?

Help Victoria celebrate today by taking a look at "The Ash-Born Boy," and don't forget to buy/order/pick up your own paperback copy of THE NEAR WITCH!

Amazon i Barnes & Noble i IndieBound

Make It A Movie Monday: Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe + Giveaway!

Make It A Movie Monday is hosted by Jenna @ Making The Grade. It's a place to talk about the books we wish would be made into a movie and if we were making the movie, how would we do it!

My pick for this week is:

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

I love the story of Chloe and the KDRS crew! They are fun and spunky and it's exactly the type of story that would make an excellent Teen RomCom :0)

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe Dream Cast:

Chloe - Jillian Rose Reed - Actress (Awkward)

Jillian is so much fun on Awkward! She's spunky and outspoken, which is perfect for Chloe. I would love to watch her host her own KDRS show.

Duncan - Shane Coffey - Actor (Pretty Little Liars)

Duncan makes me want to hug him and Shane has definitely got adorable hugability! Plus he's so good at being the nice guy on Pretty Little Liars, or at least as nice as anyone can be on that show :0)

Clementine - Jane Levy - Actress (Suburgatory)

Jane's character on Suburgatory is crazy, cynical and sarcastic, and she pulls it of so well. Clem has definitely got the snarkiness and I think this would be a perfect fit!

Have you read Chloe? What do you think of my cast picks? Who would you choose?

Now you can enter for your chance to win a finished copy of Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe!

It's open International (as long as The Book Despository ships to you)!

Just fill out the Rafflecopter below:

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*Cover photo and synopsis from Goodreads*