New Releases

Grab these new releases at your nearest bookstore or online.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Chased the Moon welcomes you to her newest locale: Walls of Water, North Carolina, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town’s famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be.
It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.
But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

After a string of foster homes and the death of her heroin-addict mother, Lexi Baill is taken in by a newly discovered great-aunt who lives a spartan life near Seattle. Despite financial problems, the two are glad to have found each other, and though Lexi resolves to stay safely on the periphery at her new high school, she soon meets Mia, unhappy and awkward despite a solid family life, a loving twin brother, Zach, and a closet full of clothes. The friendship flourishes, and Mia's mother, Jude, relieved and pleased for her daughter, draws Lexi into the family circle. But trouble begins in senior year with a slowly growing attraction between Zach and Lexi, who take great pains to make Mia comfortable with the change in the dynamics. This familiar story takes an unfortunate turn deep into after-school-special territory when Lexi, Mia, and Zach collectively make a bad decision that results in a tragedy with extreme repercussions. Even readers who like their melodrama thick will have problems as Hannah pushes credibility to the breaking point, and more than once.


Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy Book 1) by Lauren DeStefano


When scientists engineered genetically perfect children, everyone thought it would ensure the future of the human race. Though the first generation is nearly immortal, a virus causes all successive generations to die early: age 20 for women, 25 for men. Now, girls are kidnapped for brothels or polygamous marriages to breed children. Rhine is taken from her hardscrabble life and sold with two other girls to Linden Ashby. Though they live in a palatial Florida home surrounded by gardens and treated like royalty, the girls are sequestered from the outside world, and Rhine longs to escape. Her growing affection for her sister wives, her pity for Linden, and her fear of Housemaster Vaughn, Linden's manipulative father, keep her uncomfortably docile, until she falls for servant Gabriel. This character-driven dystopia, more thoughtful than thrilling, sets up an arresting premise that succeeds because of Rhine's poignant, conflicted narrative and DeStefano's evocative prose. Many will appreciate the intense character drama; however, the world building is underdeveloped, with holes in internal logic.

The Dark and Hollow Places (Forest of Hands and Teeth Book 3) by Carrie Ryan

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters. Annah's world stopped that day and she's been waiting for him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn't feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again. Except, Catcher has his own secrets, dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah's longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider.

Who is your dream cast for The Hunger Games movie?

Everybody has a voice when it comes to who should be cast in the movie coming out May 2012. There are no shortages of predictions and rumors. With the much anticipated casting for the role of Katniss out of the way, we want to hear who YOU think should round out the movie. Which Hollywood studs will win the part of Peeta and Gale? What young actress will play Prim? Who will play Rue from District 11? Which BIG blockbuster star will play Haymitch? Tell us YOUR dream cast and who knows your dreams just might come true!!!

Kindle vs. Nook

Please let us know your opinion on these two most popular e-reading devices. Don't forget to vote in our poll we posted on the right hand side of your screen.

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

This second book in The Forest of Hands and Teeth series, will answer many questions that you may of had at the end of the first book. We are once again emerged in Mary's world where the Unconsecrated (virus infected) swarm the earth. Gabry, the new protagonist in this 2nd book, is a 16 year old with an interesting tie to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. There are so many twists and turns in this book, that I was dizzy when I finished reading it. The characters have so much depth and you can't help but grow attached to them and will them to survive. Like Mary, Gabry has to deal with decisions that will break your heart. I found myself holding my breath through out the book and when I was done I wanted to read the next book right away!!! Except the third book in the series was not due out for another two months!!! Needless to say a week ago I finished the third in the series, which I will be reviewing soon, and can now move on with my life!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Carrie Ryan really knows how to tug at your heart strings with her gripping tale of a young girl who wants to love and be loved. Don't forget to comment on the book after you've read it, we really want to know what you think!     

The Hunger Games (Trilogy)

This is not a review of the Hunger Games. It's a recommendation to read the books if you haven't already. The trilogy is beautifully written, the story is gripping, intense and thought provoking. You could be the laziest reader in the world and this book will make you excited about reading!! I'm going to include in this post an excerpt from the book to hopefully get you intrigued enough to want to keep reading the rest!!!
"Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the
districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the
thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the
new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder
that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the
Hunger Games.
The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment
for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide
one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The
twentyfour tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor
arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a
frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the
competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute
standing wins.
Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one
another while we watch — this is the Capitol’s way of
reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little
chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion.
Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “Look
how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s
nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every
last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.”
To make it humiliating as well as torturous, the Capitol
requires us to treat the Hunger Games as a festivity, a
sporting event pitting every district against the others. The
last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home, and
their district will be showered with prizes, largely consisting
of food. All year, the Capitol will show the winning district
gifts of grain and oil and even delicacies like sugar while
the rest of us battle starvation.
“It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks,”
intones the mayor.
Then he reads the list of past District 12 victors. In
seventyfour years, we have had exactly two. Only one is still
alive. Haymitch Abernathy, a paunchy, middle-aged man,
who at this moment appears hollering something
unintelligible, staggers onto the stage, and falls into the
third chair. He’s drunk. Very. The crowd responds with its
token applause, but he’s confused and tries to give Effie
Trinket a big hug, which she barely manages to fend off.
The mayor looks distressed. Since all of this is being
televised, right now District 12 is the laughingstock of
Panem, and he knows it. He quickly tries to pull the
attention back to the reaping by introducing Effie Trinket.
Bright and bubbly as ever, Effie Trinket trots to the podium
and gives her signature, “Happy Hunger Games! And may
the odds be ever in your favor!” Her pink hair must be a wig
because her curls have shifted slightly off-center since her
encounter with Haymitch. She goes on a bit about what an
honor it is to be here, although everyone knows she’s just
aching to get bumped up to a better district where they
have proper victors, not drunks who molest you in front of
the entire nation.
Through the crowd, I spot Gale looking back at me with a
ghost of a smile. As reapings go, this one at least has a
slight entertainment factor. But suddenly I am thinking of
Gale and his forty-two names in that big glass ball and how
the odds are not in his favor. Not compared to a lot of the
boys. And maybe he’s thinking the same thing about me
because his face darkens and he turns away. “But there are
still thousands of slips,” I wish I could whisper to him.
It’s time for the drawing. Effie Trinket says as she always
does, “Ladies first!” and crosses to the glass ball with the
girls’ names. She reaches in, digs her hand deep into the
ball, and pulls out a slip of paper. The crowd draws in a
collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop, and I’m
feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it’s not
me, that it’s not me, that it’s not me.
Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium, smoothes the slip
of paper, and reads out the name in a clear voice. And it’s
not me.
It’s......" 

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Dead and gone (book 2 of The Last Survivors series) is the story of seventeen year old Alex and how his world changes the day a meteor strikes the moon, shifting it closer to the earth.
Alex is forced to grow up fast as his parents are missing and he now has the responsibility to care for his two younger sisters. Raised in a deeply religious family the things Alex must do to survive in this new world are not only terrifying but break the readers heart.

This is not a continuation of Book 1 (Life As We Knew It), but rather a whole new story told from our Protagonist Alex's point of view and how he deals with the same devastating event book 1 was based on.
I really liked the book. The Author writes her characters so well that you feel as if you're there living through it all with them. It satisfyingly leads us to Book 3 (This World We Live In), where the stories of Miranda and Alex comes to a riveting conclusion.

Who do you think will get the part of Peeta and Gale in the Hunger Games?

Now that Jennifer Lawrence has been cast as Katniss, who should play Peeta and Gale? Many have auditioned and allot of websites claim there are front runners. Remember when Jennifer's name was not even in the running then all of sudden she was everywhere? How about when there were claims that for sure Hailee Steinfeld had just about snagged the part? Nothing is for sure people and these rumors are preliminary. So share your thoughts on who you think would complement Jennifer for the coveted role of Peeta and Gale.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Mary has lived in the forest her whole life. Her village, protected from the Unconsecrated (people who've returned because of a virus) by a fence designed not only to keep the infected out but keep the the villagers in. Mary hears about stories of the ocean from her mother and dreams that one day she'll see it too. Despite this looking like a zombie book it really is about a girl who is faced with growing up sooner than she should and  it's about her strength and will to survive, love and be loved. There are twists and turns until the end. I loved the characters in this book they have depth, vulnerability and you can easily relate to the complexity of the relationships! There's what I now term as a "LOVE SQUARE" that will make love triangles a thing of the past! There are three books in the series and they are equally as amazing as this first book. If you loved Katniss in the The Hunger Games, you will love Mary as well!!!

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

What happens when a meteor is on a collision course to the moon? Through the eyes of High School senior Miranda in Book 1 of The Last Survivors Series, we are drawn into a new world existence where a slight shift of the moons axis leads to devastating results.

What I love about this book is author Susan Beth Pfeffer doesn't try to take on the whole world and overwhelm her reader. Rather, she brings us into Miranda's small world of family, close friends, and neighbors allowing us to become intimate with the characters and their frightening new circumstances. I was so completely drawn in by the book that at one point I looked into my cupboards at my measly canned goods and toilet paper supply and thought to myself, "I need way more then this to survive!"

The end of the book left me hungry for more of the desperation to survive, the love of those we hold most dear, and ultimately the endurance of the human spirit. Thank goodness for the
Dystopian trilogy! We have, 'The Dead and the Gone' (Book 2) and 'This world We Live in' (Book 3) to immerse us back into Susan Beth Pfeffer's world once again.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

In a not so distant future society, it is thought that love and the emotions that go with it are the reason for the many problems they had in the past. The solution? A cure! On their 18th birthday everyone is mandated to have a procedure to completely remove the disease of Amor Deliria Nervosa. Lena, who is the main protagonist, especially can't wait to have her procedure because the disease runs in her family. I don't want to give anything away but I will say this, at first I was not a believer, it sounded far fetched and strange. Not sure why I gave the book a chance but I'm glad I did! It was an amazing story. It had mystery, action and romance (one of the best romance story). It will not dissapoint! I can't wait for the sequel next year! Please read it and let me know your thoughts on the book or if you've read it already, tell me your favorite part in the book.

Sucker Punch

Went to see the midnight showing of Sucker Punch, The movie was not bad, cinematography was CRAZY but the soundtrack was UNBELIEVABLE!!! Best movie soundtrack in a long time. 

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Birthmarked takes place in a distant future where a few survive in a dystopian society that is separated by a wall. On one side there are the Protectorate who rule both sides but lives in the comfort of the Enclave. On the other are simple village people who under the Protectorate rule are ordered to hand over the first three new born of every month in order to receive life sustaining provisions. Gaia is our young protagonist. She's sixteen and a midwife trained by her mother. Gaia is faced with horrifying truths about the society she serves and becomes an unlikely heroine. There's action, mystery, and romance! It is a book I highly recommend. If you enjoyed Katniss and her strength in THG you will fall in love with Gaia.

After you're done with The Hunger Games then what?

If you are anything like me you're probably hyperventilating as to what to do when you have finished reading THG trilogy! It leaves you hungry and thirsting for more and you feel like you may never see your friends (characters in the book, yes if you're anything like me they are your buddies) therefore, you miss them and wonder if anything can replace them. Have no fear I will help you with some amazing book suggestions and reviews that you will obsess a little less about THG. So look out for weekly postings of dystopian books you will LOVE!!!