Waiting on Wednesday (168)

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

Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

Release Date: November 6, 2018 

"I'm not saying this is Sawyer's fault," the prim and proper one said delicately. "But."

Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother's "society" might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father's identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn't expect to find is friendship, but as she's drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn't the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother's glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer's search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.

Set in the world of debutante balls, grand estates and rolling green hills, Little White Lies combines a charming setting, a classic fish-out-of-water story, and the sort of layered mystery only author Jennifer Lynn Barnes can pull off.

"Never Trust a Debutante"?! I'm already sold! It's been so long since I've read a book by Jennifer, but I've always loved her past works. Her werewolf series, in particular, was fabulous! I'm excited to see her explore the world of debutantes, and Sawyer sounds like she's going to be a great MC. 

Add to Goodreads! 

Giveaway: Nobody and Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Thanks to the lovely people at Media Masters Publicity and Egmont, I have one hardcover copy of Nobody, which will be released this upcoming January, and one paperback copy of Every Other Day to giveaway! I had the pleasure of reading Every Other Day last year, and let me tell you, it was superb! On the other hand, I haven't had the chance to read Nobody yet, but I've been hearing some incredible things!

Here's some info about the books....

About Nobody:

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That's why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they're young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute's monitoring. But now they've ID'ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can't make the hit. It's as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are--because no one else can really see them.

About Every Other Day:

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . . She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why
she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends.

How to Enter:

~ Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  

Official Giveaway Rules:

~ Must be 13 years or older

~ Must have a US or Canada mailing adress

Other than that, happy entering and good luck! :)

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Review: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

Review:

Prior to reading Every Other Day, I had read only one other book by Jennifer Lynn Barnes entitled Raised by Wolves, which I adored. So to say, I had high hopes for this one would be a serious understatement. Surprisingly enough, however, Every Other Day blew Raised by Wolves right out of the way, because not only was it fantastically written but also it was original and filled with enough suspense and thrill to keep nearly any reader hooked.

Every Other Day has many good things going for it, and two of those things were the plot and premise. All the mystery behind the fact that Kali was a normal girl one day and a supernatural being the next day constantly kept me hooked. Throughout the book, I needed to know why this was. Thankfully, Jennifer Lynn Barnes new how to dole out all the details and secrets perfectly, because not only did it all keep me glued to the book, but it also had me trying to figure things out on my own. Another thing I adored about this one was how Jennifer Lynn Barnes took average supernatural creatures, ones who overrun YA today, and made them completely and uniquely her own. For most of the book, I didn't even realize what Kali, the main character was, which is what I call a well-plotted twist! Moreover, I really enjoyed the fact that Every Other Day had little to no romance, because while I'm as big of fan of romance as the next person, sometimes it's just fun to have a book focus on suspense as well as building the plot and characters up.

Talking about characters, I really enjoyed Kali's character. Kali was someone who immediately grabbed hold of me with her narrative, because of the way she calmly told about events that were so not average. What I liked most about her character, though, was seeing how she began to bloom as a person throughout. At first, Kali was a bit mousy and down on herself and life, but as the book progressed and she began to form her own little "team", she truly came to life as someone who was strong and courageous...even a bit sneaky! I also really enjoyed some of the secondary characters in this one such as Kali's "team" of friends who ended up fully being their own people. In addition, the "bad guys" in this one perfect!

Last but not least, I felt Jennifer Lynn Barnes writing in this was fabulous! As mentioned above, she truly presented a unique and thrilling story within book. Best of all, while this book could definitely have a sequel, it also perfectly stands its own!

Thrilling and suspenseful, Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is one of my favorite books of the year, no doubt about it! I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Grade: A+ 

Every Other Day (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads) will be released December 27, 2011.

Source: Publisher via Netgalley-thanks Egmont!

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's website:

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?

Review:

Team werewolf is one that I'm not usually on, but with the nearly spectacular thing that was Raised by Wolves, I think I'm really close to making the jump. 

To me Raised by Wolves is Vampire Academy meets a government of werewolves.

Since with Bryn's feisty, sarcastic, and fearless personality, she's very close to being a young Rose, which made her be one character that I had no trouble liking from the get-go. I loved the fact that she never gave up no matter what almost insuperable challenge came her way... even though I do admit that I thought she was a bit loco for doing so at times. Also, with her friendships with Devon, the most flamboyant werewolf ever to grace the pages of a book, and Lake, yet another fearless, charming young girl, and her relationship with Chase, the new werewolf who loves Bryn to pieces, you have one unstoppable team of teens that would make any subject, no matter how dry, exciting and page-turning fun. 

Adding that to the plot of Raised by Wolves, you have one great werewolf YA, one that I'm sure most teen readers out there will be gobbling right up come June. To me it's always fascinating to see how an author chooses to structure the world paranormal creators, like vampires and werewolves, live in and the one in this novel was no different. I liked the fact that the werewolves created a democracy of different werewolf groups leaving in territories spread out across the US, and how the bonds between them made the pack leader always in charge (of course, young, human Bryn would change that fact..). Plus, this is one story that constantly had me guessing about what would happen happen next: Would Bryn find the Resilient in time? Would she ever find out what the pack was hiding from her? What about Chase did he only mean good or was there an evil side to him hidden? Only further pages would tell me the answers to these burning questions of mine.

The only complaint I really have about Raised by Wolves is the length. It was a bit wordy and too drawn out for my tastes in the middle, leaving me to become uninterested several times, since I felt that some scenes were unnecessary.

Though, boy, oh boy, did I love the ending! Since it was far from lacking suspense and one that has made me officially have a craveing to reading the sequel that drops either next year or the year after!

In all, if you love werewolves, feisty main characters, and fights to death, this is the novel for you!

Grade: B+

Raised by Wolves will be released June 8, 2010.

Source: Around The World Tour