Title: Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, #1)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Publisher: Harper, 374 Pages (January 3rd, 2012)
From: the Publisher
Format: ARC
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis: Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Review: 5 Stars - Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi is a thrilling, brilliantly written story with characters I became engrossed and invested in.

This is hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year! Once I started reading, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to keep up with the pace of Rossi’s writing. I loved the landscape, I loved the characters and I loved how easily it was to get lost in the story. When it happens while reading, it’s one of the best feelings ever.

Inside the dome the city of Reverie life is simple in the fact that no one does anything exciting or worthwhile. They do everything that would be considered to be fun or living… virtually. Want to go hunting in a forest, simply create the world virtually and using an implanted eye piece you’re there. Think it, imagine it and  you can do it. 

I loved the twists, big and small, the harsh world that forced our main female character Aria to grow and change to survive in the wild. I loved her strength she found as she helped Perry search for what was taken.

Aria had what she thought was the perfect life. Inside, away from the deadly Aether storms and away from the cruel and deadly savages that live in the dangerous world outside. In a society that lives most of their lives in a virtual world, being exiled is one of the worst things that could happen to a girl. Sadly, Aria finds herself in some trouble and finds herself alone and scared in the last place she’d ever want to end up. Outside, in the place they call “The Death Shop”. 

Perry has a mind of his own and his brother, the ruler of their clan has other ideas in mind for Perry and his people. Perry knows it’s just a matter of time before things have to change, and when news of his betrayal reach his brother and their clan he’s forced to leave and do anything it takes to get back the one thing that was taken.

Aria and Perry are two totally different people from one another. When the two meet, they must learn to help each other survive if they are going to help Aria find her mother and Perry find what was taken from him.

The two are fantastically written characters and the budding romance isn’t instant. Their rocky relationship is built over time, learning and trust that must t be fought for and earned rather than given. They both come from two totally different worlds, with only the bias from each clan to teach them of the other. This leads to a great prejudice between them that is great to see eventually broken down.

I seriously loved both of these characters! The writing is so amazing that you can’t help but be absorbed into the pages and immersed into the world. The story and the characters stick with you and once you start reading, you won’t be able to put the book down. I found hours lost when reading, and those hours felt like the blink of an eye, it’s just THAT good.

All in all, I can’t say enough praise for the author and all she’s created in this first installment in this new series. I’ll be waiting what’ll feel like forever until the next book comes out. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time to come and I think you will to. If you haven’t read this one, the only thing you’ll be sorry for is asking yourself why you waited so long to pick this one up.

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.

"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: So Close to You
Author: Rachel Carter
Publisher: HarperTeen, 320 Pages (July 10th, 2012)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Lydia Bentley has heard stories about the Montauk Project all her life: stories about the experiments that took place at the abandoned military base near her home and the people who’ve disappeared over the years. When she stumbles into a vessel that transports her to a dangerous and strange new reality, Lydia realizes that all the stories she’s ever heard about the Montauk Project are true—and that she’s in the middle of one of the most dangerous experiments in history. Alongside Wes, a darkly mysterious boy whom she is wary to trust, Lydia begins to unravel the secrets surrounding the project. But the truths behind these secrets force her to question all her choices. And if Lydia chooses wrong, she might not save her family but destroy them...and herself.

Title: Crazy
Author: Amy Reed
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 384 Pages (June 12th, 2012)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: He’s falling in love—and she’s falling over the edge of sanity. From the author of Beautiful and Clean, a heartwrenching exploration of a romance marred by mental illness.

Connor knows that Izzy will never fall in love with him the way he’s fallen for her. But somehow he’s been let into her crazy, exhilarating world and become her closest confidante. But the closer they get, the more Connor realizes that Izzy’s highs are too high and her lows are too low. And the frenetic energy that makes her shine is starting to push her into a much darker place.

As Izzy’s behavior gets increasingly erratic and self-destructive, Connor gets increasingly desperate to stop her from plummeting. He knows he can’t save her from her pain...but what if no one else can.

Happy Wednesday all! It's time for another WoW and this week I have two books picked out that I can't wait for. Both couldn't be more different from one another, but both are MUST reads on my book. I love the synopsis for both books and these are both pretty high up on my list of read asap. What do you guys think of both titles I've picked for this week?

*covers are always subject to change.

Title: Starters (Starters, #1)
Author: Lissa Price
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 368 Pages (March 13th, 2012)
From: the Publisher, via Amazon Vine
Format: ARC
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis: HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Review: 4 Stars - Starters By: Lissa Price was a book that you can’t seem to turn the pages fast enough. With a evil mastermind behind an evil company and one teen girl trapped in more ways than one, Price takes her readers on one harrowing journey.

Callie, her younger brother Tyler and their friend Michael have all lost their parents after a war/illness took everyone away from them. Life is different now and the younger generation is living a strained life on the streets. Squatting in abandoned buildings, scavenging for food and fighting to survive is what these three; among a huge part of the population know as day to day life. He brother Tyler is sick and she knows he needs more than she can provide for him in if they are all going to make it.

The younger generations in Prince’s story are called Starters and the older generations, who now are able to live well past the age of 100, are called Enders. With laws and rules vastly altered after the Spore War happened, Enders have every right to keep their jobs while the Starters are forced to live a pretty horrible life. For Callie, Tyler and Michael it’s all about staying out of the Institutions where the non claimed minors are housed under lock and key if they are caught.

With the stress of her brothers well being on her mind and an understanding of them needing more, Callie takes a visit to Prime Destinations. See, this is where the story gets pretty creepy and gets even creepier the more you read. Prime takes teens, cleans them up… as in makes them flawless and lets Enders rent out their bodies. Ew, right? Basically, they are implanted with a chip in their brain, hooked up to a machine that puts the Enders personality, mind, thoughts, actions and memories into the Starter they’ve rented and the Starters just go to sleep. In case you’re thinking what I was, there are rules that each party must abide by, but how is it possible to prove none of those rules have been violated?

I was more than creeped out by this book. Just the thoughts alone that ran through my mind over all the possibilities that could go wrong… and then even more when things did go wrong… wow, Prince has an imagination that took me places I never thought I’d imagine!

With a creepy idea, creepy company there was bound to be a creepy master mind behind this craziness and there was. He goes by the name of the Old Man and let me tell you, just when you think that Prince couldn’t find another way to make your skin crawl… she nailed it with this character. I had a nightmare about this guy and let me tell you, he wasn’t any nicer in my dream than he was in the pages of this book.

I loved the characters. I did wonder why Callie did some of the things she did, but when it comes to family and those you love it changes a person and everyone will always go above and beyond when it comes right down to it. She did what she had to do and then even more in order to survive.

I thoroughly enjoyed the mysterious side of things as well. You never knew who was in who’s body and who might be dangerous and what Callie might be forced to do next. She’s one tough teen girl with some smarts that’s for sure.

By the end of the book I was still cringing because of how high Prince took us on the creep factor scale. I couldn’t believe all that had happened and how things were left for poor Callie. I have a feeling that Prince has more of the creepiness up her sleeve in the next installment that I am looking forward to… nightmares and all.

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.

Hey everyone. I’m really happy to be visiting Lisa’s blog today. When I was trying to think of a post idea I just kept thinking of how some of us book lover’s have crazy book habits. I’m sure you all have some too. Here are a few of mine. 

Crazy Book Habits

1.  One book at a time.

I hate reading more than one book at a time. It bugs me and I’m not sure why. Right now I have 4 books that I’m “currently reading” on Goodreads and it drives me nuts! Odd, right? But I think it’s because I just like to focus on that one story, get it finished, and move on. I know a lot of people who read way more than one book and they don’t get twitchy every time they see their Goodreads page. -- Not me! It may have to do with my insane ideas of organization and if there isn’t just one book being read, my life is chaos. Do you see the connection? ;)

2.  Do NOT bend the pages *gasp*

I see old books that have dog eared pages and I know it shows their character, but...I can’t do it. I always try to be so very careful with my books and flipping down the corner of a page would make me break out in hives. Again, maybe it’s linked to some of my organizational/perfectionist tendencies. It’s not like I’m a neat freak (trust me! You should see my house), but I am when it comes to my books. This also goes along with the idea of not bending the spine of the book. I have in the past. Those darn tiny romance novels are hard to read without it bending some, but for my YA books, they are kept in mint condition! My house can look like a tornado touched down in the living room, but darn it, those books will be spotless!

3.  Bookshelf Organization (and the lack of...)

Yes, it’s true. I like my bookshelf to be organized. Too bad that I have way too many books for the bookshelf. Right now books are piled on the main top of my shelf; siting in front, on top, and sideways. My goal is to one day have a huge built-in bookshelf but for now, I’m dealing with 2 tiny bookshelves for my “to read” pile, and another for my “read” pile. But, when I do have the ability to keep things more organized, hardback books are kept together, paperback together, signed copies together. Books in a series are together and everything is organized by height. I used to have a few shelves strictly dedicated to ARCs and the books that I had to read soon. Now, not so much. My happiest day will be when my build-in shelf is ready to go and I am standing there waiting to add my books to the shelf. I’m sure I will spend hours sorting and organizing and I feel feel like a kid who just got a lifetime pass to Disney World.

4.  Must..STOP...reading....series. BUT I CAN’T!

I know a lot of people have to break up with a series. You just can’t get along, you have loved and hated each other for a while and it’s just time to go your separate ways. I just .... CAN’T! Okay, in some cases I have stopped reading a series a few books into it but I would never count it out. I just don’t go out of my way to get the new books. In my mind the series is still a little blip on my radar and someday I may get back to it. I just feel loyalty to the series and it’s hard to break. For example, the House of Night series. That series was one of the first ones I picked up over 2 years ago. I adored the first few books. I hadn’t read a lot of paranormal YA but it really grabbed me. Then...it kinda lost me somewhere around the middle. But, I just couldn’t let it go! So I read 2 more books in the series last year and liked them. Now I have the most recent book and hope to read it soon. I know that I’m too far gone to stop now. It would drive me nuts to not know what happens to these characters. I’ll just keep chugging along. Even when I’d like to scream and throw my book across the room, don’t worry..I hate bending pages, remember? So the book is safe. :)

Do you all think I’m crazy yet? Maybe just a little? I know it’s okay because true book lovers do have some slightly crazy habits. I feel like I am good company with my obsessive tendencies towards my book collection.

Go ahead, spill the beans! What are your crazy book habits?

Find Jessica Online:

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Together, we co-host - Haunted Halloween, Top 10 Week and Blogger Talk, Novel Exposed.

Jessica, thanks so much for taking over my blog today! I'm excited to have you here. My BFF, partner in crime. Feel free to take over my blog ANYTIME! <3

"Just Picked" is a feature here at A Life Bound By Books. This is a place where I'll be spotlighting new (and old) children's book or picture books for parents and new readers. It's a place to talk about books for a younger group and to try to help create a new generation of readers.

Title: Z is for Moose
Author: Kelly Bingham
Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky
Publisher: HarperCollins, 32 Pages (February 28th, 2012)
Age Range: Age 4 and up
From: the Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis: Caldecott Medalist Zelinsky illustrates an outrageously funny and boundary-breaking story for fans of Jon Scieszka and David Weisner. Zebra wants to put on a show as simple as A-B-C, but Zebra's friend Moose has other (unexpected and hilarious) ideas. Full color.

Review: 4 Stars - Z is for Moose By Kelly Bingham is a cute and fun alphabet book that even adults will enjoy while reading it to younger kids.

Like a kid in a candy store, or waiting for Christmas, Moose can’t wait to be in Zebra’s play about the alphabet. It’s cute, funny and could be a bit interactive for kids as they read along and take notice to all that’s going on throughout the page. It’s a very entertaining picture book with such a fun way to help kids learn their alphabet.  It also tells the story of friendship between Zebra and Moose.

The art is lovely. I think the story and illustrations fit together amazingly well. I know that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one without the kids, now it’s time to share it with them. I recommend this book to readers of all ages, especially those who are just learning their alphabet.

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.