UK Cover Alerts: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff, Hidden by Marianne Curley, Beautiful Creatures Movie Tie-In Edition & Much More!

A quick cover/trailer post today to keep you up with all the latest happenings in the world of YA!   I've included the US cover counterparts where available, so let me know your favourites! If you've already read any of the books featured, I'd love to know what you thought of them! I'm especially interested in hearing from any Beautiful Creatures fans out there -- I've never read the books, but now that there's all this movie buzz around the series, I'm thinking about it.  Is Beautiful Creatures worth checking out?

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Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Release date: January 2013

Ages:  12+

The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor's peaceful suburban community is killing girls.

For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian's ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah's just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn't there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.

With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realises that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life - and it's up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.

 US Cover Art:

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 Hidden by Marianne Curley

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release date:  March 2013

Ages: 12+

Ebony has always known that she is different. Her violet eyes mark her out, and her protective parents have kept her in a gorgeous valley, home-schooled, safe from everything—almost as if she’s being hidden. But she’s changing: glowing, getting more and more beautiful, and stronger than anyone knows. Ebony can’t stay hidden for ever, and when she meets complicated, intense Jordan, something explodes inside her—something that can be seen from the heavens; something that changes everything. Ebony is a stolen angel, concealed on Earth. Now the heavens have found her, they want her back.

Fans of Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush Saga and L.A. Weatherly’s Angel series will adore Hidden. Full of irresistible romance and breath-taking suspense, this is a sensational start to a brilliant new series. Get ready to be swept away by this spellbinding story of eternal love.

Kindle Edition Cover: 

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Beautiful Creatures (movie tie-ie edition) by Kami Garci & Margaret Stohl

Publisher: Penguin

Release date: November 20th 2012

Ages:  12+

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Beautiful Creatures Movie Trailer:

Kami Garcia signs Two-Book deal with Simon & Schuster UK

Simon and Schuster Children's Books today announced the acquisition of Beautiful Creatures co-author Kami Garcia's first solo YA novels. 

Kami Garcia has shot to fame for her bestselling Beautiful Creatures series, co-written with Margaret Stohl. The movie adaptation will be released in February 2013, starring Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, Emmy Rossum and Alice Englert, and the publishing programme for the series is ongoing.

Venetia Gosling, Editorial Director at Simon & Schuster UK, has bought UK & Commonwealth rights, including ebook and audio, from Angharad Kowal at Writer's House in two books in Garcia's Legion series, her first solo novels. A film adaptation of the series is already in development with Mark Morgan, the producer of The Twilight saga and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. 

In the first book, Unbreakable, seventeen-year-old Kennedy Waters' whole life changes the night she comes home to find her mother dead, and two mysterious twins breaking into her house, saying they are trying to save her from a murderous vengeful spirit. Kennedy learns that she is the fifth member of a secret society, The Legion of the Black Dove, formed 200 years ago to protect the world from a powerful demon determined to find a way out of his dimension and into ours. Kennedy and the twins, Lukas and Jared, are joined by Priest, a teenage engineer who designs ghost-hunting weapons, and Alara, a girl trained in voodoo arts, and the five teens race to find the pieces of the shift, a device they believe will help them destroy the demon. But each piece of the shift is located in a place more terrifying than the last, and the teens must battle their own personal demons to find them, even as Kennedy fights her feelings for two very different boys, who look exactly alike. Suspense, romance and dark paranormal forces meet in this frightening and thrilling urban fantasy. 

The Legion series has already sold in Italy, Germany, France and Brazil, with Little, Brown as the US publisher. Unbreakable will publish as a paperback original in Autumn 2013, with the second title in the series following in Autumn 2014. 

Gosling says: "I loved Unbreakable - it's page-turning and frightening and absolutely gripping and I'm desperate to know what happens in the second book! It's also incredibly visual, and I can absolutely see why it has been optioned for film. With this new series launch, as well as the film of Beautiful Creatures hitting cinemas in February, Kami is guaranteed a big year in 2013, and we're delighted to be part of it as we launch the Legion series on the S&S list."

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Undone by Cat Clarke

Publisher: Quercus

Release date: January 2013

Ages:  14+

A video appears online. And a boy jumps off a bridge.

Jem is determined to avenge the death of Kai - her beloved best friend who was driven to desperation after being 'outed' by the popular crew at school. Transforming herself from introverted emo to in-crowd acceptable, Jem becomes part of the clique. She's going to take down those responsible, one by one.

But what if Kai was keeping secrets from Jem? Could her quest for revenge be directed at the wrong people? And can Jem find out what really happened before someone else gets hurt?

Book Trailer for Undone by Cat Clarke:

* Please note: These covers may not be final and may be subject to change. Images sourced from publishers websites, booktrade.info, Goodreads & Amazon.

Book Review: Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick.

Product details:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.
Hardcover, 454 pages.
Release date: October 23rd 2012.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Series: Hush, Hush #4.
Other Books in Series: Hush, Hush, Crescendo, Silence.
Overall Series Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Source: Received from publisher for review.

Will love conquer all?

Nora and Patch thought their troubles were behind them. Hank is gone and they should be able to put his ugly vendetta to rest. But in Hank's absence, Nora has become the unwitting head of the Nephilim and must finish what Hank began. Which ultimately means destroying the fallen angels - destroying Patch.

Nora will never let that happen, so she and Patch make a plan: lead everyone to believe they have broken up, and work the system from the inside. Nora will convince the Nephilim that they are making a mistake in fighting the fallen angels, and Patch will find out everything he can from the opposing side. They will end this war before it can even begin.

But the best-laid plans often go awry. Nora is put through the paces in her new role and finds herself drawn to an addictive power she never anticipated.

As the battle lines are drawn, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for.

Please note: This book is part of a series. There may be spoilers for previous book in the series in this review.

The concluding installment in Becca Fitzpatrick’s popular Hush, Hushsaga, Finale pits true love against darkest evil as relationships are tested, lives are lost, and some, but not all will make it to a happy ever after…

Hush, Hush introduced us to their rollercoaster love, Crescendo left us breathless for more, Silence was, um, frustrating, and, now, in Finale, Patch and Nora’s love is tested to the limit as they stand on opposite sides of an impending battle.  Will true love prevail or will Nora have to leave Patch behind in her quest for a peaceful life on earth for the Nephilim?

Of course Nora’s not going to turn her back on Patch – as if there was any doubt.  Say what you will about Nora Grey, and I know the girl can be annoying, but she is also loyal to a fault.  And she may be the leader of the Nephilim army, but she’ll do anything to avoid war.  Patch and Nora want to make love, not war, and so their goal is to stop the war before it even begins. To do that Nora needs a fake boyfriend (uh huh), a ton of hardcore training and a lot of luck as dark forces conspire to defeat her at every turn.  Well, it was never going to be easy, was it?

Finale is an enjoyable conclusion to Patch and Nora’s story, but apart from the last fifty pages or so, it’s not the pulse-pounding ending to this series that I was hoping for.  A proposed trilogy, I’m sure that the extension of this series did all kinds of wonderful things sales wise, but I can’t help but feel that in Silence, (the book where Nora had a complete memory wipe and spent a while lot of time catching up on everything that readers already knew), momentum was lost, and I’m not sure it was ever fully recovered here. That’s not to say that Finale is a letdown.  It’s not at all.  It’s a definite step up from Silence, but for me it was missing that extra special something that the first two books had.

Still, while the plot of this book isn’t the most original or exciting, the characters do have their charms.  Not Nora, who I have never really warmed to, but Patch, who I can’t help but crush on despite his faults.  He’s still as hot as ever here, and he still has all the best lines.  And, Patch fans, I guarantee you will smile when you read the last line of this book - it is just so Patch and these are the words that you’ll remember him by.  As for Nora, okay, okay, I’m not her biggest fan, but I admit that she’s grown on me a little as the series has progressed, and here, apart from a couple jealous wobbles whenever Patch’s ex, Dabria is around, she has matured as a character.  She’s also pretty kick ass in this book and she doesn’t back down whenever she’s up against a fight.

Finale is not just about Nora and Patch, though. Over the course of the series we’ve come to know a whole host of characters, and Fitzpatrick does a stellar job of concluding all their stories here.  Not everybody will get a happy ending, but you will get to see what becomes of Nora’s always-foe Marcie, her best friend, Vee, and nice guy Scott, who Vee is crushing on big time in this book.  Another romance in the making?  Detective Basso makes an appearance in Finale too (and, guess what, I didn’t’ just say that for fun!)

In Finale, you’ll find out that everybody has their secrets, some you might guess, but others will surprise you and there are plenty of twists and some sad shocks along the way. And that last line from Patch? So killer. So Patch. I loved it!

 

Cover Reveal: From Ashes by Molly McAdams.

If you've jumped aboard the good ship 'New Adult' are are looking for something great to read, then you need to check out Taking Chances and the upcoming From Ashes by Molly McAdams.  Taking Chances is an exhilarating roller-coaster ride of a read, and I expect more of the same from From Ashes when it releases next month. 

So excited to read this!

Let me know what you think of the cover!

From Ashes by Molly McAdams

Publisher: William Morrow

Release date: December 11th 2012

Ages: 17+ || New Adult

When Cassidy Jameson's best friend Tyler took her to Texas with him when he left for college, she was expecting his cousin, their new roommate, to be a Stetson-wearing cowboy since his family owned a ranch; not this incredibly gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl that seemed to make the world stop whenever she looked at him. Because of her past, she's only ever trusted two men in her life, Tyler and her dad whom passed away when she was six. But there's something about Gage that draws her to him in a way she can't explain, only problem? He's always telling Tyler that he doesn't want Cassidy living there and sees her as nothing more than his little sister.


Gage Carson was excited his cousin Tyler was coming to live with, and go to college with him. When he'd called to ask if he could bring his friend Cassi with him, Gage didn't care. Gage had heard about this mysterious friend since they were kids and felt like he already knew her. Nothing would prepare him for watching her jump out of Ty's Jeep though. Not only was Cassi the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, but there was something about her that within seconds of meeting her, made Gage want to protect her, and make her his. Too bad Tyler made it a point to remind Gage on a daily basis that he was dating her and she was completely off limits.


For a year and a half, Gage and Cassidy dance around their feelings for each other as Tyler continues to keep them apart; until one day Tyler unknowingly pushes her right into Gage's arms. With Tyler unable to keep lying to them, they finally start a relationship both have been craving since their first meeting. But when an accident and disaster sends her back to Tyler and California, will Cassidy be able to come face to face with the demons from her past to live a life she and Gage deserve; or will the fact that she once again ran to Tyler be the final push that ends Cassidy and Gage for good?

Reviewed by Emily: Crewel by Gennifer Albin.

Product details:
Publisher: Faber & Faber.
Release date:  October 4th 2012.
Paperback, 360 pages.
Rating: 4½ out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by:  Emily.

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

Crewel surprised me. It’s not often I read sci-fi – mostly because I don’t know what I’m looking for. I know the contemporary genre inside out, and I find my way around the fantasy section fairly well, but sci-fi is a whole new ball game for me. But every time Crewel popped up on my Goodreads feed, I felt a spark of curiosity. Maybe it was the unusual name, the vivid cover or the unique (okay, weird) premise. Probably all three. So when I was offered Crewel for review, I jumped at the chance.

That’s not to say it was all smooth sailing. For the first 70 pages, I read with a look of bafflement and struggled to wrap my head around the concept of a world built by spinsters who weave time. In fact, I can see how this would turn some readers off. Arras is an intricate and bizarre world that requires suspension of disbelief. But as the story unfolds, we discover more and more about how this complex world works and, thankfully, by page 70 I was completely comfortable in Arras. I absolutely needed to know what happened next.

Not only has Albin nailed the world-building aspect, she’s got the kickass heroine covered, too. Quite simply, Adelice is awesome. She’s smart, she’s sassy and she keeps it real. She suffers great loss early in the book – and later, too – but her reactions never felt over the top or melodramatic. She’s just a girl who’s doing the best she can in the situation she’s found herself in. If I ever found myself trapped in a society like Arras… well, let’s just say I’d like her around. For her brain AND her humour.

So far we have a great world, an intriguing premise and a loveable heroine – what else could I possibly gush about? LOTS. But especially the romance. Oh, the romance *fans self*. Although the much-dreaded love triangle is present, it’s not as annoying as I expected it to be. It’s love triangle lite. Never fear, it is somewhat resolved by the end of the book. Both boys are wonderfully compelling, but my favourite is Jost Bell. It’s not often I see a love interest who’s as multi-layered as the main character, but this is definitely the case with Jost. We learn things about his past, things that are vital to the main story, that make him much more than just a cute valet.

Enora, Adelice’s mentor, is another character I particularly loved. I don’t want to give too much away, so I won’t go into a lot of detail here. But, you should know, I cried. Her story is tragic and it also opens up discussion for issues we face here in our own world. This thought-provoking layer of the story made me fall in love with Crewel even more.

No character is left underdeveloped. Albin’s villains are painted in shades of grey. You hate them, but you can kind of understand why they act so atrociously. Kind of. Cormac Patton, the Guild Ambassador, is particularly scary because he absolutely thinks he’s doing the right thing for Arras, even when it means killing innocent people. And I feel Maela’s jealousy may play an important role in the rest of the series.

The last chapter of Crewel is crazy. You’ve been warned. Even I, who happily went along with whatever wild thing that happened along the way, was shocked by the turn of events. But I was cheering, too. It opens up such an exciting direction for the next book and I can’t wait to meet up with Adelice again for another thrilling adventure.

Extra

Gennifer Albin has created a stunning Pinterest board for Crewel and its sequel. There you can find lovely visuals for many of the characters and concepts in the story – definitely worth checking out! http://pinterest.com/gennalbin/crewel/

Book Reviews: Losing It by Cora Carmack and Charade by Nyrae Dawn.

Product details:
Publisher: Self-Published
Release date: October 15th 2012
eBook, 204 pages
Rating:  3½ out of 5.
Ages: 17+ || New Adult
Source: Purchased.

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

 Bliss Edwards has a secret that nobody knows.  An almost-college graduate, Bliss is still a virgin – the only one among her friends.  For Bliss, this is a shameful little secret.  She’s desperate to lose her V Card, and if she can’t find Mr. Right, then Mr. Right Now will just have to do.  Bliss wants the deed over and done with, so that she can move on with her life.

Enter Garrick.  A seriously sexy stranger with a British accent that makes Bliss go weak at the knees, Garrick is just the kind of guy that Bliss has been waiting for, and so what if he insists on referring to her as ‘love’ all of five minutes after meeting her.  Side note: I found this really, really irritating, because nobody does that, and nobody gets away with it, not unless they are Klaus from TVD, but, its not something that seemed to bother Bliss, so, moving right on.  Bliss and Garrick get down to action, before Bliss’s nerves get the better of her and she bails just as things are getting hot and heavy.  No big deal, right? After all, Bliss knows that she’ll probably never see her hook up again, and she doesn’t, not until the next day when, on walking into her Theatre Studies class, Bliss is introduced to her new professor – you guessed it –Garrick.

After some initial awkwardness, the sexual tension amps up tenfold as Bliss and Garrick strive to fight their obvious attraction to each other.  But forbidden fruit is sweetest, and now that Bliss and Garrick have had a little taster of each other, they both want to take another bite.  Find out if Bliss and Garrick succumb to their desires, in Losing It, a fun and flirty read from Cora Carmack.

Product details:
Publisher: Self-Published
Release date: October 22nd 2012
eBook, 245 pages
Rating:  2½ out of 5.
Ages: 17+ || New Adult
Source: Purchased.

Nineteen-year-old Cheyenne tries to portray the perfect life to mask the memories of her past. Walking in on her boyfriend with another woman her freshman year in college threatens that picture of perfection.

Twenty-one-year-old Colt never wanted college and never expected to amount to anything, but when his mom's dying wish is for him to get his degree, he has no choice but to pretend it's what he wants too.

Cheyenne needs a fake boyfriend to get back at her ex and Colt needs cash to take care of his mom, so they strike a deal that helps them both. But what if Cheyenne’s past isn’t what she thought? Soon they’re trading one charade for another—losing themselves in each other to forget about their pain. The more they play their game, the more it becomes the only thing they have that feels real.

Both Cheyenne and Colt know life is never easy, but neither of them expect the tragedy that threatens to end their charade and rip them apart forever.

Nineteen year old Cheyenne lives her life behind a wall of secrets.  This carefully constructed wall keeps Cheyenne safe; it protects her from harm and ensures that everything in her seemingly perfect life goes to plan.  Finding her boyfriend of two years in bed with another woman was never part of the plan.  Devastated, but determined not to let her wall come crumbling down around her, Cheyenne constructs a plan to save face and get her own back.

Bad boy Colt can’t stand stuck up girls like Cheyenne. He doesn’t have time to play her silly games.   Colt’s got bigger worries on his mind, namely caring for his gravely ill mother. But Cheyenne’s offer is too good to turn down.  All he has to do is play at being her boyfriend for a while in order to piss off her douche ex.  It’s easy money.  Also, Colt can’t deny that Cheyenne is smokin’ hot.

Nyrae Dawn’s Charade has been on my radar for a couple months, and I couldn’t wait to read it.  I loved the premise of this one, but while I was expecting a light, fun, sexy read, that’s not what I got.   First of all, the ‘fun’ aspect of Charade never really happened, but that wouldn’t have been a problem if I had connected with the characters.  Unfortunately, I didn’t warm to these two. Cheyenne and Colt are two characters with some very big problems.  They’ve both got a lot of baggage.  It drags them down as characters, and I never could figure out why they were attracted to each other apart from the obvious fact that they are both hot.  For me, these two didn’t have any notable chemistry.  I didn’t like them together, nor did I like them apart.  Cheyenne is a difficult character to figure out, and even more difficult to warm to.  As for Colt, his male ‘voice’ didn’t work for me, nor did the fact that he chose to call Cheyenne his ‘Tiny Dancer.’  Maybe I’m missing the ‘cute and fuzzy’ chip that makes this sort of thing palatable, or maybe I just don’t do pet names.  I had high hopes for Charade, and while it was an okay read with some touching moments, overall this book just wasn’t for me.

 *****

Facade, the second book in Nyrae Dawn's Games series releases in Spring 2013.  This book will follow the adventures of Adrian, Colt's all-knowing stoner friend from Charade.  Here's the cover, as revealed by Nyrae Dawn on her blog a little while back: 

It's All About 'NA' : The Rise and Rise of 'New Adult' Fiction.

So. New Adult Fiction. You've heard of it, right?  If not, where have you been?  New Adult Fiction has set the Self-Publishing world ablaze over the last year or so, and now that traditional publishers are starting to take notice, it looks like NA is here to stay. 

It's important to note that New Adult fiction (a.k.a Mature YA, a.k.a Crossover fiction) isn't a new phenomenon, but it is a catchy 'buzz' term, making it a marketers dream. Also, the numbers don't lie.  People are reading New Adult fiction and they are reading it in droves.  

What is New Adult Fiction?

New Adult fiction often, but not always, takes place in a college setting and deals with characters who are in their late teens (18+) or early twenties.

 NA  focus on the learning curve that occurs in your late teens and early twenties after you've moved out of home and are free of parental rules and regulations.  New Adult fiction is all about characters who are finding their feet in a new world, making up their own rules, breaking those rules, and learning from their mistakes.

These books fiction are generally heavy on romance and typically steamier than YA - sex scenes do not fade to black -  but not as steamy as Adult romance where you get to read all the gory details!

I've read a couple of New Adult books over the last few months, and while I've enjoyed the majority of them, I have noticed that many of them focus on a similar theme: good girl meets bad boy - drama ensues - girl finds out that boy is not such a bad guy after all - he's changed, she's changed and they've both found out a whole lot about life in the process.

That said, I love bad boys, so this isn't a huge complaint, just an observation!


Want some NA reading recommendations?

So, we all know Beautiful Disaster by Jennifer McGuire, Slammed by Colleen Hoover, The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines,  and Easy by Tammara Webber, (a.k.a The NA big hitters!) but here are some other NA titles for you to consider:

Eighteen year old Harper has grown up under her career Marine of a father's thumb. Ready to live life her own way and experience things she's only ever heard of from the jarheads in her father's unit; she's on her way to college at San Diego State University.

Thanks to her new roommate, Harper is introduced to a world of parties, gorgeous guys, family and emotions. Some she wasn't expecting yet, and others she never knew she was missing.

She finds herself being torn in two as she quickly falls in love with her boyfriend Brandon, and her roommate's brother Chase. Covered in tattoos, known for fighting in the Underground and ridiculously muscled...they're exactly what she was always warned to stay away from, but just what she needs. Despite their dangerous looks and histories, both adore and would do anything for Harper, including stepping back if it means she's happy.

Her first year away is turning out to be near perfect, but one weekend of giving in to heated passion will change everything.

-----

Taking Chances by Molly McAdams is a wild roller-coaster of a ride and a huge favourite of mine.  Originally Self-Published, Molly has now signed to Harper Collins.  Her next book From Ashes is set for release in December. Can't wait! 

Read my review of: Taking Chances. 

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

-----  

A quick, fun, and sexy read, Cora Carmack's Losing It has also been snapped up by Harper Collins.  You can read my review on Thursday!

 

Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.

Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.

Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.

Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.  

-----  

Grand Central Publishing has just acquired the rights to the Ella and Micha trilogy by Jessica Sorensen.  I'll be reading this one soon.    Can't wait to get started on it!

Nineteen-year-old Cheyenne tries to portray the perfect life to mask the memories of her past. Walking in on her boyfriend with another woman her freshman year in college threatens that picture of perfection.

Twenty-one-year-old Colt never wanted college and never expected to amount to anything, but when his mom's dying wish is for him to get his degree, he has no choice but to pretend it's what he wants too.

Cheyenne needs a fake boyfriend to get back at her ex and Colt needs cash to take care of his mom, so they strike a deal that helps them both. But what if Cheyenne’s past isn’t what she thought? Soon they’re trading one charade for another—losing themselves in each other to forget about their pain. The more they play their game, the more it becomes the only thing they have that feels real.

Both Cheyenne and Colt know life is never easy, but neither of them expect the tragedy that threatens to end their charade and rip them apart forever. 

-----  

Nyrae Dawn's Charade has a great premise and a ton of potential, but unfortunately, even with these positives, it didn't turn out to be a great read for me.  You'll see why when I review it on Thursday.  Maybe I'm getting a little tired of all this NA already!   I'm sure t his one will be loved by many, though - it's got great ratings on Goodreads and is storming up the Self-Pubbed Best-Seller's charts!

 And There's More!

If that not enough to whet your NA appetite, here are some more New Adult resources where you can find many more NA books to read!

 New Adult Fiction on Goodreads

My New Adult Shelf on Goodreads 

NA Alley - A blog dedicated to all things New Adult 

New Adult Monday's at Bewitched Bookworms  

Galley Cat - Self Published Bestsellers - Keep up to date with what's hot in Self-Publishing & NA.

If you are a blogger who has a feature dedicated to New Adult link it in comments, and I'll add it to this post!

What's next for NA?

All of the books I've mentioned above were originally Self-Published, but the majority have now been snapped up by major publishers, hungry to capitalize on the success of these Self-Published best sellers.  Self-Publishing might be responsible for bringing the New Adult college years to the masses, but that looks set to change. 

Next year sees the release of Beginner's Luck, the first in the Union Street (a.k.a. Brooklyn Girls as per Goodreads) series from Gemma Burgess.  Beginner's Luck follows five girls sharing a house in Brooklyn after graduation.  Sounds like a lot of fun and is sure to appeal to fans of Lena Dunham's Girls. Releasing from St. Martin's Griffin in July 2013.

Fantastically funny, fresh and utterly relatable,Beginner’s Luck by Gemma Burgess is the first novel in her brand new series UNION STREET about five twenty-something friends – Pia, Angie, Julia, Coco and Madeleine – sharing a brownstone in hip downtown Brooklyn, and discovering the ups, downs, ins and outs of adult life.

The first book is Pia’s story. She’s sophisticated, spoilt, and stylish… and unemployed, unemployable, and broke. So what is a recent grad with an art history degree and an unfortunate history of Facebook topless photos to do? Start a food truck business, of course! Pia takes on the surprisingly cutthroat Brooklyn world of hybrid lettuce growers and starts SkinnyWheels - all while dealing with hipster bees, one-night-stands, heartbreak, parental fury, wild parties, revenge, jail, loan sharks, playboys, karaoke, true love, and one adorable pink food truck. And that’s without counting her roommates’ problems, too…

Gemma Burgess has captured the confusion, hilarity and excitement of the post-graduate years against a backdrop of the pressures and chaos of New York City life, with heartfelt empathy, fast humor and sharp honesty.Union Street is your next favourite book series.

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If contemporary romance is not your thing, then you might be thinking New Adult is not for you - and er, you're probably not reading this post! So far NA's primary focus has been on romance, but Shannon Stoker's The Registry indicates that NA might just be about to spread its wings:

Shannon Stoker's "new adult" debut THE REGISTRY, set in a United States in which girls are breeders and the prettiest girls go to the highest bidders -- telling the story of the one young woman who refuses to play by those rules, to Amanda Bergeron for William Morrow, in a six-figure deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in 2013, with books two and three to follow in 2014, by Paula Munier in her first deal as an agent, at Talcott Notch Literary Services.

What About New Adult Fiction set in the UK? A little UKNA? 

Er, that doesn't have quite the same ring to it as UKYA, but yes, UK publishers have picked up on the popularity of the 'New Adult' genre with Simon & Schuster (Beautiful Disaster by Jennifer McGuire, The Sea Breeze series by Abbi Glines) Penguin (Easy by Tammara Webber) and Hot Key Books (The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines) all getting in on the act, but that's not UKNA you say! I know! I'm getting to that!

Piccadilly Press has acquired Irresistible by Liz Bankes, pitched as a passionate 'steamy' - Irresistible is described as a 'Fifty Shades...' for the younger reader. 

I've read the first chapter of Irresistible and I'm hooked already! You can check it out: here. 

Irresistible by Liz Bankes will release in eBook in December 2012 and Paperback in April 2013. 

Some games go too far.

When Mia gets a job in a posh health/country club during her gap year, she is strikes up a friendship with the laconic and funny Dan. Dan is also working in the club and keeps Mia amused. However, she soon finds herself drawn to the wealthy bad boy, Jamie. Jamie is the beautiful and privileged Cleo’s boyfriend. Mia knows that her relationship with Jamie is wrong, but there’s something so dangerously exciting about Jamie that she just can’t stop.

Irresistible heralds a new genre of passionate romance that is setting adolescent hearts racing. ‘Steamies’: it’s not about what they do, but how it makes her feel!

You might also like to check out the Girl Heart Boy series by Ali Cronin.  This has been published in the UK as YA, but it really fits the New Adult Genre. 

 That's my New Adult round-up guys! If you have any 'New Adult' titles you'd like to recommend or any thoughts to share on the article, then tell me all in comments!

Note: You might wonder why I omitted  On Dublin Street  by Samantha Young from my list.  It is an amazing read, after all! Yes it is, but it's not New Adult! I've seen On Dublin Street mentioned in New Adult discussions quite a lot, but ODS is most definitely Adult Fiction, and not NA, as the author herself has pointed out: here.

Sources:  Publishers Weekly, The Bookseller, Press Releases, Goodreads, Galley Cat. Note: Covers may not be final and may be subject to change.

Reviewed by Liz: Zombies Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer.

Product details:
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Release date: October 1st 2012.
Paperback, 337 pages.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 13+
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Liz from Planet Print.

Maddy Swift is just an ordinary girl, until the fateful night when she is struck by lightning and wakes up face down in a puddle. Then it's goodbye to all things Normal – such as breathing and having a heartbeat – and hello to yellow vision and a whole new Afterlife.

Turns out there’s a lot more to being a zombie than shuffling and groaning, but surviving school as one of the living dead requires a totally different set of skills. And things don’t get any easier when Maddy realises that she’s not the reanimated student at Barracuda Bay High . . 

Maddy is pretty much a normal high schooler until on the way to a party, she gets struck by lightning. Not only does Maddy miss her date with the new guy who asked her out, she dies and is reanimated as a zombie. On top of managing her junior year and her rather demanding best friend, Maddy now has to handle being undead and the craving for brains that comes with it. Luckily, she’s not alone, and manages to find some zombie friends to help her with the transition. But as it turns out, not all zombies are good ones like Maddy and her friends, who only feed on animal brains. Students have been attacked and killed, and it seems like those responsible are after Maddy next. Will Maddy survive being dead? It turns out being a zombie is far more difficult that it seems.

I haven’t read a lot of zombie books before, but I think after reading Zombies Don’t Cry, I’m a little more intrigued by them. The take on zombies was quite unique and I liked the way electricity was used as an explanation for how zombies were created and why they craved brains. I was a bit sceptical about the romance and a few of the characters, but overall, I enjoyed Zombies Don’t Cry and I’ll probably be reading more zombie books in the future!

Maddy was a likeable character and had a great sense of humour throughout the book, even after her life was completely altered when she was struck by lightning. I think she accepted her imminent zombification a little too easily though, in my opinion – the first thing she did when she found out she had no pulse and was no longer breathing was look up vampires on the internet. The first thing I’d do in that situation wouldn’t be to try and find out what kind of supernatural creature I am – I’d go to the bloody hospital! But of course, hospitals and zombies just don’t mix, so I guess it was lucky that Maddie managed to find out she was a zombie online, because it meant she now knew she needed brains to survive. Maddy’s first trip to buy brains was probably one of my favourite parts, because I can just imagine being a shopkeeper and wondering why the hell a teenage girl would be ordering animal brains in the middle of the night! It was just such a funny situation, and the way Maddy got dragged off by Chloe and Dane after, with no explanation, really made me laugh. Poor Maddy, she was just thrown into this situation and had no idea what was going on!

Dane and Chloe were probably my favourite two characters after Maddy and they were sort of her keepers, and made sure she was managing okay with her new zombie status. Chloe was the oldest of them all and had a rather sad backstory. She also knew the most about zombies, however, and was the one who helped Maddy blend in with the crowd to avoid attracting too much attention. Dane was one of Maddy’s love interests, and I’m definitely Team Dane. Though I think the romance was rather lacking (to be fair, they were all more concerned with staying alive...or undead), I preferred Dane because he was actually very sweet and seemed to genuinely care about Maddy. Stamp, the other love interest, was...ugh. I did not like him at all. He was arrogant and kind of pushy and petty and meh! I don’t know what Maddy saw in him at all. What happened at the end definitely complicated the love triangle and to be honest, I wouldn’t have wanted to have been Maddy in that situation! It seems in the next book, her life only stands to get even more complex.

Plot-wise, I think the villains were a bit weak but enjoyed the obstacles Maddy and the others face overall. My only real problem with the book, besides the lacking romance, was Maddy’s best friend, Hazel. They had been best friends for eleven years and Maddy always put Hazel first, even though she knew that Hazel was quite bossy and selfish, yet suddenly when all the drama started happening, their whole past didn’t seem to matter anymore! They seemed to quite easily turn on each other when it suited them and didn’t seem very upset that all those years of friendship had gone down the drain. I know the author was trying to make out they were never really true friends...but it WAS eleven years. I don’t know if something like that would be so easy to throw away. Another thing that bothered me was the text speak. Oh, the text speak. It hurt me. Just look. Even if you are writing about a YA character for a (mainly) YA audience, just write texts in normal language. Some abbreviations, like “2” and “u” are just about acceptable, but please no “wuz” and “da”...just no. No. Honestly, we won’t get offended that you’re not trying to get “down with the kidz”. If anything, this attempt at text speak makes the teenagers seem more unrealistic than believable. Barely anyone bothers typing “wuz” when it has the exact same letters as “was”. And with smartphones having a QWERTY keyboard these days, it’s so easy to type that shortening words is kind of unnecessary now. I know this is kind of a small issue, but it is one that really, really bothers me. I see this happen in so many books, and ahh. It’s unnecessary. It really is.

Overall, I really liked Zombies Don’t Cry and I’m now definitely more tempted to try out other zombie books. Recommended to zombie fans and those who want to ease themselves into the zombie genre (I think hardcore zombie fans who love blood and gore may be a little disappointed with this, but newcomers should find it a nice starter  book!).

Reviewed by Emily: The Truth About Faking by Leigh Talbert Moore.

Product details:

 Publisher: Self-Published.

 Release date: September 1st 2012.

 eBook, 328 pages. 

Rating:2½ out of 5 

Ages: 14+ 

Source: Received from author for review. 

Reviewed by: Emily. 

Jason just wants a date with Harley.
Harley just wants a date with Trent.
Trent's still getting over Stephanie.

When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

When we first meet Harley, she’s determined to bag a date with Trent – AKA her future husband and Mr Right. She's got it all figured out. But her carefully laid plan starts to go awry when Jason James crashes into her with his car. He’s nothing like Trent and, worse, he's completely ruining Harley's plan. As she gets to know Jason and Trent more, she starts to wonder what she really wants… Should she stick to her guns? Or should she be brave and try something new? On top of her awkward romantic life, things are complicated for Harley at home. Her mother’s suspicious relationship with one of her students is attracting attention and Harley has no idea why her mother doesn’t just put an end to all the rumours.

The Truth About Faking is a sweet contemporary YA novel with an admirable message about forgiveness and acceptance at its heart. I loved the romance between Harley and Jason – it was heart-warming but not toothache-inducing sweet. Talbert Moore writes deliciously funny dialogue à la Meg Cabot and this made the banter between Harley and Jason really fun to read. As a well-developed and interesting character, Jason was definitely the star of this novel. But unfortunately these things weren’t enough to make up for parts of the novel that didn’t work for me.

Harley makes the worst decisions. She decides to do things based on big assumptions and little logic. Most of the time I kind of wanted to reach through the screen and shake her. She’s the sort of main character that makes you want to yell, “Are you freakin’ kidding me?” I might've been able to forgive Harley's terrible decision-making skills – who hasn't done something silly over a guy before? – but she’s also pretty selfish and harsh on her parents, which made it hard to sympathise with her. I love it when characters have realistic flaws, but Harley’s redeeming qualities were few and far between.

Talbert Moore says this was one of the first novels she ever wrote, and this is reflected in the quality of the writing. Clumsy sentences made this a difficult read. This one stands out most in my memory: “Somehow, someway, something must’ve gone wrong for our special moment to have gone so wrong.” Um…what? Something went wrong because something went wrong? I can’t help but think these issues would’ve been fixed with another round or two of close editing. However, Talbert Moore definitely has a grasp on good story-telling techniques and I look forward to seeing her prose develop.

Perhaps the biggest qualm I had with TTAF was its predictability. There's a huge twist revealed towards the end, which I figured out pretty early in the book. It was so obvious to me and I thought Harley was catching on a little too slowly. This made me feel as though the story was dragging and made the whole experience quite frustrating. I really liked the concept of the twist, but I wish it had been executed better.

The interesting themes and cute romance compelled me to keep reading until the end, but bigger problems were too hard to overlook when considering my overall feelings about the novel. I'd only recommend this one for die-hard contemporary romance fans looking for a light-hearted (but not life-changing) read.

Self-Pubbed Hub #4 - Leigh Talbert Moore & The Truth About Faking!

The Truth About Faking by Leigh Talbert Moore || Published: September 2012.

Jason just wants a date with Harley.
Harley just wants a date with Trent.
Trent's still getting over Stephanie.When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

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Q&A with Leigh Talbert Moore author of The Truth About Faking:

 Describe The Truth About Faking in a tweet (140 characters or less):

Jason wants Harley; Harley wants Trent; Trent’s completely oblivious. People & things aren’t always what they seem. And Jason’s totally hot. :)

Can you tell me five things that inspired the characters, storylines and settings of The Truth About Faking?

Harley – my high school BFF mixed with my adult BFF’s 16 year-old little sister (love those guys)

Jason – Hmm… I guess all the great things about guys I’ve known and liked (or loved!)

Harley’s mom – Pocahontas (the Disney cartoon), except she can’t sing

Stephanie – A girl I knew who always seemed to do the exact right thing. (How did she do that?)

Shadow Falls – A real neighborhood that is also not shadowy (and no waterfalls)

The story was sort of inspired by the movie Signs, because I wanted to explore “losing one’s religion” through Harley’s dad and bad things happening to their family. For whatever reason, the story took a total 180-degree turn and came out all happy and funny. But that’s okay. I like this version.

Self-publishing is becoming increasingly popular and there are some great success stories out there.  What made you decide to self-publish?

I have to confess, I was really on the fence.  I had TTAF that was shopped to editors but wasn’t picked up. My agent thought self-publishing would be a good fit for it. Then two of my good writer-friends really pushed me into the indie pool—LOL! They were very, “What are you waiting for?” about it. And now, I really don’t know why I waited! 

What has been your best self-publishing experience so far?

Oh, man, hearing from readers! It has been so great that at last, after so many years of writing for my family or close friends, I’m connecting with a larger audience. And they seem to really like and “get” my book! It’s amazing and awesome, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy. 

What advice would you give to any aspiring authors out there? Do you have any top tips to share?

Anne Rice has this video out where she says, “Writers write. And the more you write, the better you get.” I’d add get good critique partners who are also writers—preferably ones who are better writers than you are.

Those two things are the best way to improve one’s skill I know. Then, after critique, go back, look at what’s working/what’s not and revise. Once you’ve got your best possible book all polished and shiny, send it out into the world in the way that suits you best—whether it’s traditional or indie. And GOOD LUCK! Be strong. This is a tough business.

 Name three other books that you think readers of your book would also enjoy.

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

Anything by Sarah Dessen (seriously—she is the model)

Anything by Jolene Perry (a great writer-friend)

Finally, what are you working on next?

I have an adult series starting in December. The first book Rouge is done and will be out Nov/Dec 2012. But the next book in that series is set to come out in spring 2013, so I’m working on it now (it’s due to the publisher in January). After that, I hope to polish up some of my finished YA books and get them out for readers!

Thanks to Leigh for the great Q&A! 


Find out more about Leigh and her Books:   Blog ||  Twitter

Buy The Truth About Faking:  Amazon || Barnes & Noble || Smashwords || Kobo ||

If you are a self-published author and would like to take part in Self-Pubbed Hub send an email to daisychainbookreviews@gmail.com and I will get back to you if your book is a good fit! Please include book cover and synopsis in your email.