"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists.

Title: Afterparty
Author: Ann Redisch Stampler
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 384 Pages (January 7th 2014)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Indiebound, Amazon UK

Synopsis: A toxic friendship takes a dangerous turn in this riveting novel from the author of Where It Began.

Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother -- whose name her dad won't even say out loud. That's why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her...and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she's everything Emma is not.

And it may be more than Emma can handle.

Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It's more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop...

This explosive, sexy, and harrowing follow-up to Ann Redisch Stampler's spectacular teen debut, Where It Began, reveals how those who know us best can hurt us most.

Title: Mistwalker
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books, 272 Pages (February 4th 2014)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

Synopsis: When Willa Dixon’s brother dies on the family lobster boat, her father forbids Willa from stepping foot on the deck again. With her family suffering, she’ll do anything to help out—even visiting the Grey Man.

Everyone in her small Maine town knows of this legendary spirit who haunts the lighthouse, controlling the fog and the fate of any vessel within his reach. But what Willa finds in the lighthouse isn’t a spirit at all, but a young man trapped inside until he collects one thousand souls.

Desperate to escape his cursed existence, Grey tries to seduce Willa to take his place. With her life on land in shambles, will she sacrifice herself?

Another Wednesday, another two exciting books for this week. First, Afterparty which is one I've talked about recently on my blog. I'm really looking forward to reading this one, sounds like a great contemporary. And then we have Mistwalker... I LOVE the sound of this one. The whole Grey Man thing is very intriguing to me and I can't wait to see what this one is all about. So, what do YOU think of this weeks picks?

*covers are always subject to change.

Welcome to the Crossroads!

The Crossroads Blog Tour for 2013!
Day FIVE!

This year we have 23 authors that I'll be featuring over 7 days and each day you'll have a chance to enter to win! There's also a scavenger/trivia hunt going on, so be sure to check out The Crossroads Tour Post HERE to see what questions will be asked, what blog you'll be able to find the answer on and enter to win!

So, we're on day FIVE in the week long event and I have another set of amazing authors and their characters, another THREE authors to be exact who are dropping by. Take a look, and don't forget to enter to win the giveaway via the Rafflecopter below!

No cover at the time of posting

Title: To Bear An Iron Key
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Publisher: Harcourt/Graphia, (February 2014)
Add to: Goodreads
Order Jackie's Books Online here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

Synopsis: Author of the Riders of the Apocalypse series (Harcourt/Graphia) Jackie Morse Kessler's TO BEAR AN IRON KEY in which a young and powerful witch is trapped by her grandmother's curse, her mother's love and a promise to marry the wrong boy.

Hi Jackie! Welcome back and Happy Halloween! Thanks for visiting with your characters to bring today's highly entertaining post. I've been eager to share this with everyone, so... YAY, here we go!!

Would you ever want to spend the night in a haunted location? If so, why?

DEATH: Eh, that’s fine, but it would just be a night of me playing guitar and singing to while away the time. There’s no such thing as ghosts—at least, not in the sense of spirits of dead people trapped on this plane. I’m better at my job than that. **wink**

3 or more of your characters – please discuss various candies and why they love it. (Kind of like arguing what candy is the best?)

DEATH: Sorry I’m late for the card game. I brought chocolate.

FAMINE: Hershey’s Kisses? Those are 25 calories each!

WAR: But passionately kissing someone burns 26 calories. **slides look at Death, smiles wickedly**

FAMINE: But…for every Kiss I ate, I’d have to kiss—

WAR: Not Death.

DEATH: **shrugs** Sorry, I’m spoken for.

WAR: Ditto.

FAMINE: **glances at Pestilence** So…if I kiss you after every Kiss I eat, I’ll still be down one calorie per Kiss…

WAR: Only if it’s a passionate kiss. A peck on his cheek won’t get you anything. Other than maybe a skin disease.

PESTILENCE: **Blushes** Did you know there can be salmonella in cocoa powder?

FAMINE: **sighs** This is why I don’t eat chocolate.

WAR: You don’t eat chocolate because you don’t eat.

DEATH: **smiles cheerfully** Next time, I’ll bring Twinkies. People invent the most amazing things!

About the Author: 

Jackie Morse Kessler grew up in Brooklyn, NY, with a cranky cat and overflowing shelves filled with dolls and books. Now she’s in Upstate NY with another cranky cat, a loving husband, two sons, and overflowing shelves filled with dragons and books (except when her sons steal her dragons). She has a bachelor’s degree in English and American Literature, and yet she’s never read any Jane Austen (with or without zombies). She also has a master’s degree in media ecology. (The living study of technology and culture. Which is cool, but she still can’t figure out how to use Tweetdeck.)

Jackie spends a lot of time writing, reading, and getting distracted by bright and shiny new ideas. (She just came up with a new idea right now.) She has a weakness for chocolate and a tendency to let her cat take over her office chair.

Find Jackie Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Title: Skin of My Teeth (Skinned #3)
Author: Judith Graves
Publisher: Leap Books, (2013)
Add to: Goodreads
Order Judith's books Online here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

Synopsis: HOW TO PLAY
· draw a card from the deck
· kill or be killed
· and if you’re lucky, repeat…

Hidden agendas, deep, dark secrets, and monsters lurking around every locker. It’s business as usual at Redgrave High for Eryn and her crew of paranorm hunters – they plan to capture and cure Brit’s brother from his tormented existence, Eryn is reunited with her father’s beta, and Redgrave’s origins are revealed.

Although the two guys vying for Eryn’s heart just might have to up their game. Enter hot, wolven guy stage left. Is he the one Alec’s blood magic foretold? He is, if Eryn’s knocking pulse has anything to say about it. The tale-tell sound is driving Wade mad. But it’s Eryn’s move, and everyone is holding their breath.

A little healthy competition soon becomes all-out survival of the fittest as the crew are pitted against a pack of demons trading souls – for keeps. The student population is enamored with a new card game, Boroughs Quest. Kids are desperate to get their hands on gilded cards from a mysterious expansion deck, but when they do…

It’s all fun and games ’til somebody dies.

Judith! Thank you for putting together another amazing year of the Crossroads Blog Tour and for asking me to be part of it all again. I've had so much fun in the past and I was really looking forward to all the fun again. Also, thanks for passing my questions along to your characters.

What are your plans for Halloween?

Caddoc: The last Halloween party I went to, my parents summoned a houseful of vengeful spirits and left me to fight them off. Sort of a rite of passage. So, pardon my French, Lisa, but, are you shitting me? My plans? Staying alive, how’s that for a plan?

Hyde: Damn, Caddoc, socialize much? Ignore him, Lisa, he’s an asshole. But, yeah, ditto on the staying alive.

Kain: I’ll be on zombie bioroid duty that evening. There’s a training mission planned for the new recruits and I’m in charge of…well, never mind….I can’t really say without putting your life at risk.

Hope: *evasive* I’m going out. Have a thing.

Hyde: You are? *frowns* What thing?

Hope: A thing. Out. Anyway, Lisa – what’ve YOU got planned? I suggest carrying some dried blackberries with you.  Wards off the douchebags. Supernatural ones, that is – for the mortals, I recommend a swift knee to the groin.

Can you tell me a bit about the last scary movie you watched? (Were you alone? What snacks you had? What movie you watched? Did it scare you, etc.)

Hope/Caddoc/Hyde/Kain in unison: Every night at Le Manoir is a scary movie.

About the Author: 

Residing in a northern Alberta community, similar to the fictional town of Redgrave, where Under My Skin is set - Judith unhappily endures snow in the winter, and runs away from bees in the summer.

A firm believer that Canadian teen fiction can be sexy, action packed and snarky as hell - Judith writes paranormal stories with attitude.

Find Judith Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Title: Scion of the Sun
Author: Nicola Marsh
Publisher: Month9Books, (November 2013)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK

Synopsis: Book description from Month9Books website: A teenage supernatural misfit enters boarding school for the freakishly gifted, discovers she can teleport to a Druid parallel existence and battles coming of age issues while embarking on a quest to recover an icon that can change the world and her family as she knows it.

Nicola! Welcome to my blog! It's a pleasure to host you and your characters for a post in this years Crossroads!

What are your plans for Halloween?

Hey, it’s Holly here (from Scion of the Sun). This Halloween, I’ll be spending the morning with the Sorority of the Sun gang at Eiros, in particular, hanging with my hot warrior Joss. In the evening, I’ll be back at C.U.L.T. boarding school in New Hampshire, where my BFFs Quinn and Raven are throwing a mega party. I’m so lucky, having the best of both worlds.

Can you tell me a bit about the last scary movie you watched? (Were you alone? What snacks you had? What movie you watched? Did it scare you, etc.)

Quinn coerced me into watching The Conjuring, even though he knows I’ll face something far scarier in my confrontation with Cadifor, the Lord of Darkness, in Eiros. He plied me with red velvet cake and popcorn and orange soda, so I forgave him when he tried to kiss me.  It’s really tough having a sexy warrior boyfriend and a super hot BFF who’d like to be my boyfriend. My conflicted feelings? Far scarier than any horror movie.

About the Author: 

USA TODAY bestselling Aussie author Nicola worked as a physiotherapist for thirteen years before she tired of saying "I'm going to write a book one day" and actually did it. She started writing late 2001 and found once she started she couldn't stop!

Nicola has published 40 books and sold over 4 million copies worldwide with Harlequin Mills & Boon, Entangled Publishing and indie.

Find Nicola Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY!!!

Totally awesome giveaway going throughout the WHOLE WEEK of the tour! Enter to win and be sure to check back again tomorrow for another spooky post!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists.

Title: Texting the Underworld
Author: Ellen Booraem
Publisher: Dial, 320 Pages (August 15th, 2013)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Perpetual scaredy-cat Conor O'Neill has the fright of his life when a banshee girl named Ashling shows up in his bedroom. Ashling is--as all banshees are--a harbinger of death, but she's new at this banshee business, and first she insists on going to middle school. As Conor attempts to hide her identity from his teachers, he realizes he's going to have to pay a visit to the underworld if he wants to keep his family safe.

"Got your cell?"
"Yeah . . . . Don't see what good it'll do me."
"I'll text you if anything happens that you should know."
"Text me? Javier, we'll be in the afterlife."
"You never know. Maybe they get a signal."

Discover why Kirkus has called Booraem's work "utterly original American fantasy . . . frequently hysterical." This totally fresh take on the afterlife combines the kid next door appeal of Percy Jackson with the snark of Artemis Fowl and the heart of a true middle grade classic.

Title: The Shade of the Moon (The Last Survivors #4)
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books, 304 Pages (August 13th, 2013)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: The eagerly awaited addition to the series begun with the New York Times best-seller Life As We Knew It, in which a meteor knocks the moon off its orbit and the world changes forever.

It's been more than two years since Jon Evans and his family left Pennsylvania, hoping to find a safe place to live, yet Jon remains haunted by the deaths of those he loved. His prowess on a soccer field has guaranteed him a home in a well-protected enclave. But Jon is painfully aware that a missed goal, a careless word, even falling in love, can put his life and the lives of his mother, his sister Miranda, and her husband, Alex, in jeopardy. Can Jon risk doing what is right in a world gone so terribly wrong?

Love both covers this week. And love the synopsis for Texting the Underworld. Then the Shade of the Moon is from a series of books that I've read the first couple of and loved! I need to reread because it's been so long. I'm excited to see there's a 4th book in this well written series.

*covers are always subject to change.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists.

Title: Blind Spot
Author: Laura Ellen
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books, 336 Pages (October 23rd, 2012)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: There’s none so blind as they that won’t see.

Seventeen-year-old Tricia Farni’s body floated to the surface of Alaska’s Birch River six months after the night she disappeared. The night Roz Hart had a fight with her. The night Roz can’t remember. Roz, who struggles with macular degeneration, is used to assembling fragments to make sense of the world around her. But this time it’s her memory that needs piecing together—to clear her name . . . to find a murderer.

This unflinchingly emotional novel is written in the powerful first-person voice of a legally blind teen who just wants to be like everyone else.

Title: Beta (Beta, #1)
Author: Rachel Cohn
Publisher: Disney Hyperion, 304 Pages (October 16th, 2012)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: In a world constructed to absolute perfection, imperfection is difficult to understand—and impossible to hide.

Elysia is a clone, created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen year old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of teenaged clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to be created.

Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air there induces a strange, euphoric high that only the island's workers—soulless clones like Elysia—are immune to.

At first, Elysia's new life on this island paradise is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, the most privileged people in the world who should want for nothing, yearn. And, she comes to realize that beneath its flawless exterior, there is an undercurrent of discontent amongst Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care—so why are overpowering sensations clouding Elysia's mind?

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When Elysia's one chance at happiness is ripped away from her with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

Title: A Fractured Light (A Beautiful Dark, #2)
Author: Jocelyn Davies
Publisher: HarperTeen, 352 Pages (September 25th, 2012)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: When she wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, Skye knows something terrible has happened to her. But it's not until she hears Asher, the dark, rebellious angel she fell in love with, that the memories come flooding back. She tries to put the past behind her, but she knows she'll be forever haunted by the ruthless betrayal that almost took her life.

Skye returns home, but with the knowledge of who she really is, nothing can ever be the same. As she tests the limits of her newfound powers, Skye discovers that she's capable of far more than anyone could have imagined. Both the Order and the Rebellion want her for their side as war between the factions looms. She can't forget the terrifying truth she now knows about the Order, but something holds her back from embracing the Rebellion.

Here's another three books that I'm really looking forward to reading. When I was going through my list of books for various up and coming WoW's these three really stuck out to me for many reasons. I can't want to read each of these. Blind Spot looks amazing! So does Beta and then I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in A Fractured Light. We were left off on such a cliffhanger in the first book - A Beautiful Dark - so this was, without a doubt a must read. Keep an eye out for reviews on all three of these sometime down the road. So, what are your opinions of these three titles? Who's with me in the excitement for these books?

*covers are always subject to change.
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this post.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists.

Title: Jessica Rules the Dark Side (Jessica, #2)
Author: Beth Fantaskey, 320 Pages (January 12, 2012)
Publisher: Harcourt Children's
Preorder here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: It’s one thing to find out you’re a vampire princess. It’s a whole other thing to actually rule. Newly married Jessica Packwood is having a hard enough time feeling regal with her husband, Lucius, at her side. But when evidence in the murder of a powerful elder points to Lucius, sending him into solitary confinement, Jessica is suddenly on her own. Determined to clear her husband’s name, Jessica launches into a full-scale investigation, but hallucinations and nightmares of betrayal keep getting in her way. Jessica knows that with no blood to drink, Lucius’s time is running out. Can she figure out who the real killer is—and whom she can trust—before it’s too late?

I'm glad to see that there will be a sequel, because I did enjoy the first book and am looking forward to reading more about Jessica and Lucius. Is anyone else eager to read more in this series?

*covers are always subject to change.
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this post.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists.

Title: Wherever You Go
Author: Heather Davis
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books, 320 Pages (November 14th 20110
Preorder here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob, Wherever You Gois is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

Title: You Against Me
Author: Jenny Downham
Publisher: David Fickling Books, 413 Pages (December 2nd 2010)
Preorder here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another.

Wherever You Go just sounds like a heart wrenching story. Not to mention that it's told from multiple perspectives, which I love, love love! Add all of that together and it makes this a must read! As for You Against Me? I'm lucky that I have this book and by the time this posts I'm sure to have read and a review will be coming soon, so keep an eye out. Who's excited about these with me?

*covers are always subject to change.
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this post.

Title: The Vespertine (The Vespertine, #1)
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books, 293 Pages (March 7th 2011)
From: Amazon Vine Program

Synopsis: It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.


When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

Review: 3 Stars - The Vespertine By Saundra Mitchell is an intriguing tale that takes place during the summer of 1889 in Baltimore. With descriptive writing and some fascinating characters, Mitchell’s intertwining combination of equal parts historical and equal parts supernatural will have many fans of both genres excited and ready to read.

When Amelia van den Broek’s brother sends her off to family in Baltimore to find a suitable husband, she had no idea just how the summer would turn out. Coming from a small village without prospects she’s more than eager to broaden her horizons in the bustling city. She becomes fast friends with her cousin Zora who welcomes her whole heartedly into her life and circle of friends. Amelia has some funny moments and together you can see the two being inseparable.

Soon after Amelia’s arrival she finds she’s able to see visions in the setting sun, visions of people and places around her, just small glimpses into the future of others. I have to say that this was a part of the story that I couldn’t come to terms with. And it’s at this point in the review I must warn of slight spoilers.

I didn’t understand how she just accepted without question that she was having visions… there wasn’t anything weird about it nor did she have any trouble simply believing she could see the future. I just felt it all came so easy. Thinking about that time in the past I would have thought there would have been more questioning and hiding what she could do than just accepting things as they are. Now, I was reading an ARC and as always things change from ARC’s to finished copies, so that could be the case here, so please keep that in mind.

One thing I did love was the interaction between Amelia and Nathaniel, which were few and far between. Nathaniel was hands down my favorite character and was missing from a good part of the story, making him extremely mysterious. It’s the little glimpse we catch of him that intrigued me and made me want to know more about this captivating boy. Sadly, he’s someone she shouldn’t be so drawn to due to his status. I liked the fact that she didn’t let that get to her and still went out of her way to spend time with a boy who could understand her more than she understands herself.

While their relationship is what pushed me to finish this book and in the end gave this book a 3 star review… and the writing and descriptions were vivid, there were questions to things I just didn’t understand. The main question was as mentioned above.

Things go wrong… Amelia’s visions start to show more and more truth and people get hurt. When it gets too close to home she’s sent back to her brother, who was more than shocking with his treatment to his only sister. He had more of a reaction that I’d think was more normal for the date of when this story takes place.

All in all The Vespertine, for me, had some bumps but there were things that made up the difference. From the vivid writing and characters to the budding relationship between Amelia and Nathaniel, Mitchell has written a story that many will fall in love with. Since this is my first time reading anything by Mitchell, I’ll be more than ready to read something from this author again in the future. I will also be on the look out for the next book in this series to see where it might take Amelia and Nathanial next. Enjoy!

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.