Waiting on Wednesday (134)

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

Here are my picks for the week....

V is for Virgin by Kelly Oram

When Val Jensen gets dumped for her decision to stay a virgin until marriage, the nasty breakup goes viral on YouTube, making her the latest internet sensation.

After days of ridicule from her peers, Val starts a school-wide campaign to rally support for her cause. She meant to make a statement, but she never dreamed the entire nation would get caught up in the controversy.

As if becoming nationally recognized as “Virgin Val” isn’t enough, Val’s already hectic life starts to spin wildly out of control when bad boy Kyle Hamilton, lead singer for the hit rock band Tralse, decides to take her abstinence as a personal challenge.

How can a girl stay true to herself when this year’s Sexiest Man Alive is doing everything in his power to win her over?

If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll probably know, I love Kelly Oram's books. There always interesting and well written. So when I found out Kelly had another one coming out in addition to Serial Hottie this year, I was beyond excited! Especially when I saw the cover and summary for it! Basically, I need this book now. :)

V is for Virgin will be released December 2012.

The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble

“I found out two things today. One, I think I’m dying. And two, my brother is a perv.”
So begins the diary of 14-year-old Jenna SamuelsPrius and crashes instead.

Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that Casey didn’t survive the accident at all. He’s an “A-word.” (She can’t bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they discover that Jenna isn’t just dying: she’s being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother’s mysterious depression and father’s disappearance.

This is one of the titles being released by the new teen line by Soho Press. It sounds like so much fun, and even though, the MC is on the younger side, I still really want to read it.

The Sweet Dead Life will be released May 2013!

What books are you "waiting on" this Wednesday? Any of the ones I featured above? Let me know below, and feel free to link to your WOWs.

Dreaming Anastasia / Haunted News + Prom & Prejudice Twitter Party!

To celebrate the release of Joy Preble’s Haunted (which is now out!) Sourcebooks is making the ebook additon of prequel (Dreaming Anastasia) available for free from Feb. 1st to Feb. 7th.

To cash in on this deal and get your own copy, be sure to visit Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or whever you most like to get your ebooks!

And for those of you who don't know what Dreaming Anastasia is about, here's the summary:

What really happened to Anastasia Romanov?

Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.

In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college—until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams…

And here's the link to my review.

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Also, remember how I reviewed Elizabeth Eulberg's Prom & Prejudice last month? Remember how much I loved it? Well, here's your chance to win a copy (possibly) as well as some other fabulous prizes. How, you may ask? Well, at the official Prom & Prejudice Twitter Party.

Here's are the details you need to know:

• Join Prom & Prejudice author Elizabeth Eulberg and Tirzah of The Compulsive Reader for a Twitter party Thursday, February 3, between 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST!
• Be sure to follow Elizabeth @ElizEulberg and Tirzah @compelledtoread before the party! Join the fun! No one expects you or your tweets to be perfect; we’re just happy you made it to the party!
• Watch for giveaways from @compelledtoread and win fun prizes!
• To join the party, you can use a free service like TweetChat or TweetGrid or just search #PromAndPrejudice on Twitter. Ask Elizabeth questions or chat with other partygoers—just use the tag #PromAndPrejudice in all of your party tweets!
• Please don’t post any spoilers and don’t forget to pay attention to the time zones, the party starts at 8:00pm EST.

Hope you are able to be there and enjoy all the fun that is sure to ensue!

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Summary:

Sixteen year old Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary – until she smacks into handsome, mysterious, and okay, annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class. Now Anne has powers she doesn’t understand, a history altering mission she may not want, and a growing attraction to this blue-eyed stranger. And Ethan- who at eighteen made some choices he’s starting to regret – realizes that Anne is the girl for whom he’s been searching – for a very, very long time. Stir in doomed Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia – who is definitely not quite as dead as the history books say – and Baba Yaga, the legendary witch from Russian folklore, and you’ve got DREAMING ANASTASIA, a contemporary YA fantasy that alternates between the voices of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia as Anne and Ethan join forces to battle the bad guys and save Anastasia. Only problem is – no one’s quite sure who’s really bad and who’s good. And everyone has some secrets.

Review:

In school one of my favorite subjects is History ( well, besides America's because it's just a bit boring. lol). So, when I found out there was going to be a book featuring Anastasia Romanov, I was ecstatic. Luckily, Dreaming Anastasia was a pretty good book, but sometimes falled short of my exceptions.

First off, the premise of this novel was very interesting. I loved the idea of having Anastasia still be alive because of a spell that bound her to the care of Baba Yaga. It was exciting to see the process Anne and Ethan went through to save her and how Anastasia was originally captured by Baba.

Sadly, the start of the novel was poorly done. Since, I felt that it was hard to get into Dreaming Anastasia. Though, after about the first 100 or so pages, I became immersed in the story, leaving the rest of the pages to go by in a rapid speed.

The characters were another one of my favorite parts. Anne was someone who was easy to relate to. Since, even though she had this extraordinary ability, she was still dealing from normal things a teen goes through. Plus, her best friend Tess was hilarious. Ethan was also a great add. Though, I would have loved to seen Anastasia have a bigger part in the narrative section of the story.

Overall, Dreaming Anastasia is a decent debut my Ms. Preble.

Grade: B

Dreaming Anastasia is now out! And also to see previous and future tour stops for DA Tour head on over to Joy's blog.

* Much thanks to Joy and PS for sending me a copy of this book! :)