If this is your first visit to the blog, I do “Books to Pine For” sporadically, it’s a regular feature but it doesn’t have a set date I post every month or what not.

You can check out all the books to pine for posts, they start chronologically from the most recent. In case you want to check out some earlier ones I’ve done. Okay I’ve rambled enough, on to the goods!

Just a note.. all the links in the titles go to their Goodreads page… easier to add to your wish list!

*ALL SUMMARIES ARE FROM GOODREADS OR AMAZON!

Asylum by Susan Vaught

Release Date: February 18, 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Never, Kentucky is not your average scenic small town. It is a crossways, a place where the dead and the living can find no peace. Not that Forest, an 18-year-old foster kid who works the graveyard shift at Lincoln Hospital, knew this when she applied for the job. Lincoln is a huge state mental institution, a good place for Forest to make some money to pay for college. But along with hundreds of very unstable patients, it also has underground tunnels, bell towers that ring unexpectedly, and a closet that holds more than just donated clothing….When the dead husband of one of Forest’s patients makes an appearance late one night, seemingly accompanied by an agent of the Devil, Forest loses all sense of reality and all sense of time. Terrified, she knows she has a part to play, and when she does so, she finds a heritage that she never expected.

With her deep knowledge of mental illness and mental institutions, Susan Vaught brings readers a fascinating and completely creepy new book intertwining the stories of three young people who find themselves haunted beyond imagining in the depths of Lincoln Hospital.

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Release Date: March 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen

You can’t change your DNA…even when it says you’re a murderer.

When Davy tests positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome, aka “the kill gene,” she loses everything. Once the perfect high school senior, she is uninvited from her prep school and abandoned by her friends and boyfriend. Even her parents are now afraid of her—although she’s never hurt a fly. Davy doesn’t feel any differently, but genes don’t lie. One day she will kill someone.

Without any say in the matter, Davy is thrown into a special class for HTS carriers. She has no doubt the predictions are right about them, especially Sean, who already bears the “H” tattoo as proof of his violence. Yet when the world turns on the carriers, Sean is the only one she can trust. Maybe he’s not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

Waterfell by Amalie Howard

Release Date: October 29, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE QUEEN

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright-the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon-until her father’s betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa’s upcoming birthday-the day she comes of age.

Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa’s mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?

Alienated by Melissa Landers

Release Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Interplanetary relations have never been more exciting! The first in a funny, romantic YA sci-fi series.

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara’s classmates get swept up by anti-L’eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn’t safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara’s locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she’s fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life-not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon

Release Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

“Chemo, radiation, a zillion surgeries, watching my mom age twenty years in twenty months . . . if that’s part of the Big Dude’s plan, then it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Enough said.”

Smart-mouthed and funny, sometimes raunchy, Richard Casey is in most ways a typical seventeen-year-old boy. Except Richie has cancer, and he’s spending his final days in a hospice unit. His mother, his doctors, and the hospice staff are determined to keep Richie alive as long as possible. But in this place where people go to die, Richie has plans to make the most of the life he has left.

Sylvie, the only other hospice inmate under sixty, then tells Richie she has a few plans of her own. What begins as camaraderie quickly blossoms into real love, and this star-crossed pair is determined to live on their own terms, in whatever time they have left.

Making her young adult fiction debut, Hollis Seamon creates one of the most original voices to appear in young adult literature, narrating a story that is unflinching, graphic, heartbreaking, funny, and above all life-affirming in its depiction of what it really means to be a teenager dying of cancer.

Blythewood by Carol Goodman

Release Date: October 8, 2013
Publisher: Viking Children’s

Welcome to Blythewood.

At seventeen, Avaline Hall has already buried her mother, survived a horrific factory fire, and escaped from an insane asylum. Now she’s on her way to Blythewood Academy, the elite boarding school in New York’s mist-shrouded Hudson Valley that her mother attended—and was expelled from. Though she’s afraid her high society classmates won’t accept a factory girl in their midst, Ava is desperate to unravel her family’s murky past, discover the identity of the father she’s never known, and perhaps finally understand her mother’s abrupt suicide. She’s also on the hunt for the identity of the mysterious boy who rescued her from the fire. And she suspects the answers she seeks lie at Blythewood.

But nothing could have prepared her for the dark secret of what Blythewood is, and what its students are being trained to do. Haunted by dreams of a winged boy and pursued by visions of a sinister man who breathes smoke, Ava isn’t sure if she’s losing her mind or getting closer to the truth. And the more rigorously Ava digs into the past, the more dangerous her present becomes.

Vivid and atmospheric, full of mystery and magic, this romantic page-turner by bestselling author Carol Goodman tells the story of a world on the brink of change and the girl who is the catalyst for it all.

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Release Date: November 26, 2013
Publisher: MIRA Ink

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that’s who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers…and she’s just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can’t get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they’ll go to save each other.

Vitro by Jessica Khoury

Release Date: January 14, 2014
Publisher: Razorbill

A death-defying tropical adventure delivers a frightening message about dabbling with creation from the talented author of Origin

On a remote island in the Pacific, Corpus scientists have taken test tube embryos and given them life. These beings—the Vitros—have knowledge and abilities most humans can only dream of. But they also have one enormous flaw.

Sophie Crue is determined to get to Skin Island and find her mother, a scientist who left Sophie behind years ago. She enlists hunky charter pilot Jim Julien to take her there. But once on the island, Sophie and Jim encounter more than they bargained for, including a charming, brilliant Vitro named Nicholas and an innocent, newly awoken one named Lux.

In a race for their lives, Sophie and Jim are about to discover what happens when science stretches too far beyond its reach.

About THE SOUND OF LETTING GO:

For sixteen years, Daisy has been good. A good daughter, helping out with her autistic younger brother uncomplainingly. A good friend, even when her best friend makes her feel like a third wheel. When her parents announce they’re sending her brother to an institution—without consulting her—Daisy’s furious, and decides the best way to be a good sister is to start being bad. She quits jazz band and orchestra, slacks in school, and falls for bad-boy Dave.

But one person won’t let Daisy forget who she used to be: Irish exchange student and brilliant musician Cal. Does she want the bad boy or the prodigy? Should she side with her parents or protect her brother? How do you know when to hold on and when—and how—to let go?

For more info about The Sound of Letting Go and Stasia, stalk her on Twitter, Like her on Facebook, check out her Goodreads page or follow her blog!

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once you know what city in the Association we’re visiting today, GO HERE to fill out the form to enter to win today’s prize (a series swag package), as well as an overall scavenger hunt prize: signed paperbacks of the entire series, as well as digital copies of the two short stories (REGRET and RESIST) that round out the Possession series + a $50 Amazon gift card.

“Emotion pumps through every scene of this thriller. Given all the urgency and action, the novel’s ending may surprise readers as the heroic adventure turns into a tragic love story.” –School Library Journal

“The end is satisfying in a full-circle way and is set up for a third novel in this world. Some recent dystopian novels with a similar them are the Matched series by Ally Condie and the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver.” –VOYA

“A thrilling, fan-pleasing sequel.” –The Deseret News

Available now!

The fight for independent thought becomes a matter of life or death in this sizzling and intense conclusion to the Possession trilogy.

Your clue for the scavenger hunt today: This city is near Northepointe.

And go Bawdy Books where Jennifer has an exclusive interview with Elana — and another clue to discover which city in the Association we’re visiting! Then be sure to ENTER TO WIN the grand prize signed paperback giveaway + Amazon gift card.

To enter the daily swag package giveaway, fill out the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you get lost, you can always go to Elana’s blog to find your place. Happy hunting!

Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother.In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for better part of the last few years…and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to Confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt…and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy on the eyes deacon…only eight months away from becoming a priest. As Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

The Giveaway!

“I trace a finger along the lines of the tattoo over his heart—the kanji symbol for knowledge—as he grasps my thighs and rolls his hips underneath me.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Date:

One of my favorites this year.

I know I won’t be able to do this book justice in this review. Really, you don’t even need to bother reading this review, just go get this book and read it. You won’t be disappointed.

This novel is beautifully written. It’s heart-wrenching and depressing, yet at the same time it’s incredibly uplifting. Millay somehow evokes every emotion possibly from her readers. Witnessing these two damaged teens, and I hate to use the word damaged because it sounds so limiting, but they have both experienced such grief and somehow they come out on the other side and in the end find each other. It’s powerful and incredible.

The Sea of Tranquility isn’t what I would classify as a YA romance. Sure there is a bit of a love story in there, but this story is much more on the character driven side of things.

It’s a tad slow at the beginning. I remember thinking “am I going to like this?” Needless to say it wasn’t what I was expecting, but it ended up being so much more.

Nastya and Josh are truly unforgettable characters and I can’t wait for you to meet them.

Release Date:

One word: Love!

This is such a fun and fabulous series and they both would make wonderful additions to your summer reading piles! So, get on that!

Of Triton picks up right where Of Poseidon left off, and thank goodness because the ending of Of Poseidon was “like woah!” It killed me to wait for the sequel! But it was so worth the wait, Of Triton exceeded my expectations! I was all to ready to be taken back into the world that Banks had created.

I loved the story! There was enough action and drama to keep me engaged the entire time, but not so much that I felt overwhelmed. These books are so fun to read! I don’t want to call them fluff, because they’re not, but they are more on the lighter side. Although now that I say that, there are some deaths in both, so that is kind of serious!

My only complaint is that I wanted more of Emma and Galen time!

If you’re looking for something faced paced and fun this summer, look no further than Of Triton! Just make sure you read Of Poseidon first! I can’t wait for the next one!