Waiting on Wednesday (42)

What's Left of Me - Kat Zhang

*September 18th, 2012 HarperCollins

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything. 

Doesn't this sound like an enticing read? There's something really striking about the cover image (really digging the double face effect as well), and the synopsis sounds fascinating! Definitely really interested to delve into this one.

What's your pick this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

Writers: Mac or PC?

From Goodreads

So I was on Goodreads just now, when I spotted this photo of J.K. Rowling with the caption "J.K. Rowling at her laptop", holding what is clearly a white Sony VAIO (aka a PC). I mentioned this to a friend, and he immediately commented that "that is rare; nearly every writer uses a Mac these days." 

Now, I'm wondering how valid of a claim this is. So let's have a poll. Chime in, writers, aspiring writers, agents, publishers, bloggers - anyone in the book industry - what do you use, Mac or PC?

Waiting on Wednesday (41)

Alice in Zombieland - Gena Showalter

*September 25th, 2012 Harlequin Teen

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

There's something very haunting about that cover, don't you think? The contrast between the dark grays and the light blues carries a certain air of allure. And the whole play-on with the title has me interested! Sounds like an interesting paranormal story.

Your turn now - what're you waiting on this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

Shift Review

Shift (Shade #2) - Jeri Smith-Ready

*May 3rd, 2011 Simon Pulse

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.

Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

Shift is a worthy follow-up to Shade (review here). The sequel hits just the right tone of continuing the story without too much rehashing of events. A lot of the positive comments I made regarding Shade still apply here - the originality, the charisma, the likeable characters.

Smith-Ready's characters aren't always prim and proper - Aura, Zachary, Logan and the crew get mad. They show emotion. They say harsh things, lash out and act less than perfect at times. And that's what makes them so much more real.

The mystery surrounding the Shift is explored further in this installment, and explored well! Shift has great pacing, an intriguing plot, action, romance... Like Shade, it has a little bit of something for everyone. A great progression for a great YA trilogy.

Goodreads | IndieBound | Jeri Smith-Ready 

Waiting on Wednesday (40)

Breathe - Sarah Crossan

*October 2nd, 2012 Greenwillow

Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe . . .

The world is dead. 

The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air. 

ALINA 

has been stealing for a long time. She’s a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she’s never been caught before. If she’s careful, it’ll be easy. If she’s careful.

QUINN 

should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it’s also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn’t every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her. 

BEA 

wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they’d planned a trip together, the two of them, and she’d hoped he’d discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days’ worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?

Really digging the synopsis for this! The structure of the teaser is very enticing - the opening sentence has a beautiful rhythm, and the context of the built world sounds fascinating and the three characters are introduced nicely. 

A fan of dystopian fiction, that's already +1 right there. Also really like the name 'Quinn.' This one has certainly piqued my interest!

What about you, what're you waiting on this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

The Vampire Diaries Season 4 Promo

A little over two years ago, I first blogged about The Vampire Diaries shortly after the first season finale. (I totally called that Tyler/werewolf thing, by the way :P)Well, two seasons later, I'm still watching the show. (It's actually really good, okay?) 

So anyway - the fourth season is set to premiere on Thursday, October 11th. A promo was recently released at Comic Con (see video above). By the looks of it, it's definitely going to be an action-packed season. Who else is excited for it?! Any predictions on what's going to happen?

Waiting on Wednesday (39)

Nerve - Jeanne Ryan

*September 13th, 2012 Dial

A high-stakes online game of dares turns deadly  

When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game "knows" her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy, sizzling-hot Ian. At first it's exhilarating--Vee and Ian's fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn when they're directed to a secret location with five other players for the Grand Prize round. Suddenly they're playing all or nothing, with their lives on the line. Just how far will Vee go before she loses NERVE?  

Debut author Jeanne Ryan delivers an un-putdownable suspense thriller.

This sounds like all sorts of eerie and awesome. Eerie because the whole thing about the game "knowing" her? That's pretty applicable to optimized search engines and social media and the whole internet shabang these days. Awesome because the premise sounds really cool - an anonymous game of dares? Suspense and thrills? Intrigued to check this one out!

What're you waiting on this Wednesday?!

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine