Looking Forward: July

Sometimes it's really hard for me to keep track of what comes out what month, especially while juggling early reviews and publisher catalogues and all the other confusing bookish things bloggers deal with. It's just a LOT OF BOOKS ALL THE TIME. How do you ever keep them straight?! So on the last day of the month, I post a guide to what books I'm most looking forward to in the following month and that you should keep an eye on. So, since it's the last day in June, here are the July releases most tempting me:

Featured book of the month:



Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard
The final book in the Something Strange and Deadly series is coming out on July 22nd! I've read it already, and spoiler: it's the best yet. And it will crush your soul into tiny little pieces, and I love it.

Book Haul, or the One with the Missing Package

This week has been a rough one for me. I suffered through the most tragic of first world book blogger problems: a lost package. With a BOOK inside it. A book that is now floating somewhere in UPS limbo, trying to find its way home to me. *sniff*

With any luck the package--which was mistakenly mis-addressed by one tiny number, meaning UPS had no idea who I was any longer--will appear. In the meantime, here are this week's other goodies:

Review: The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Review: The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Goodreads 
Release date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: No
Source: e-ARC via Edelweiss
Length: 256 pages
Rating: It's not you; it's me. (But maybe a little bit you.)



Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both. All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

This review gives me all the sads, since I was expecting so much to love this for many reasons. 1) Anderson is positively revered in the blogging world for her novel Tiger Lily, which I have not read 2) my dear friend Ellis loved this book (and has a super positive review of it posted here) and 3) THAT SYNOPSIS. It called to me. But sadly, number 3 was the thing that came back to bite me, since that mystical, haunting, mysterious synopsis is completely misleading. What The Vanishing Season actually is is a small, quiet coming of age story, which could be a tremendous thing. But it's not the thing I wanted.

The YA Prom

Welcome to the YA Prom, hosted by Gaby from Queen Ella Bee Reads and Alexa from Alexa Loves Books! They had the fabulous idea to throw a YA prom today. To learn more about it, check out either this post or this one!

Now, onto the important questions. 1) What am I wearing to the YA prom? and 2) Who is my date?

The outfit:



I wanted to dress like spring personified, and in my fantasy YA prom-land (let's pretend I'm being styled by Alice Cullen, okay?) I have the budget for an Elie Saab gown and a Kate Spade clutch.

The boys:

Okay, now THIS is where it gets really tough. I have so many book boyfriends. How could I possible choose which one to take as my date? (Because let's pretend I'm being styled by Alice Cullen which means I am Bella Swan which means all the boys want to eat me date me.) Chaol? Nikolai? Ryan? Warner? Cricket? Levi? Hector? Etienne? Thorne? Gansey? Wesley? Percy? Roar? Peeta? Should I date my childhood loves, Michael Moscovitz or Numair Salmalin? Should I go highbrow and link my arm with Mr. Darcy, Mr. Knightley, or Mr. Thornton?

Well, you know what? In fantasy-Cullen-I-am-Bella-Swan-land, I DONT'S GOTTA CHOOSE.

Catch ya at the prom, lovelies. My harem is here to pick me up.



Don't forget to check out the original post, to link up to either Gaby's post here or Alexa's post here, and to join in the hashtag #YAProm at 8:30!

My Favorite Covers of 2014 (So Far)

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I limited myself only to books published in the first half of 2014. (I cheated once). Every book on this list (but one, because I'm a cheater) is already out. Basically, I have to set myself parameters or I will dump thirty thousand pretty covers on you.

Reasons to Read: Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard

Review: Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard
Goodreads 
Release date: July 22nd, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Yes, #3 in the Strange and Ever After series
Source: ARC borrowed from Gaby/e-ARC via Edelweiss
Length: 304 pages
Rating: Heart? What heart? Sure. Take it, Susan Dennard. I'm not using it much. Also, WHY AREN'T YOU READING THIS SERIES??



In the conclusion to the trilogy that Publishers Weekly called “a roaring—and addictive—gothic world,” Eleanor Fitt must control her growing power, face her feelings for Daniel, and confront the evil necromancer Marcus...all before it’s too late.

He took her brother, he took her mother, and now, Marcus has taken her good friend Jie. With more determination than ever to bring this sinister man to justice, Eleanor heads to the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt in hopes of ending this nightmare. But in addition to her increasingly tense relationships with Daniel, Joseph, and her demon, Oliver, Eleanor must also deal with her former friend, Allison, who has curiously entangled herself in Eleanor’s mission.

With the rising dead chomping at her every move and Jie’s life hanging in the balance, Eleanor is convinced that her black magic will see her through to the bitter end. But there will be a price. Though she and the Spirit Hunters have weathered every battle thus far, there will be consequences to suffer this time—the effects of which will be irreversible. And when it’s over, only some will be able to live a strange and ever after.

Susan Dennard will leave readers breathless and forever changed in the concluding pages of this riveting ride.

I'm going to do this review a bit differently. I will talk about my feelings for Strange and Ever After (!!!!???NOOO!!!OMG!!YESS!SWOOON!NOOOOOOOOOO!!!ARRRGH), but it's always so hard to review series enders without spoilers, and I SUPER DO NOT want to spoil you for this book, because there are sucker punches and huge emotional reveals and all kinds of good stuff that you want to discover on your own.

Reasons you should be reading this series:

Review: Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson

Review: Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson
Goodreads 
Release date: April 29, 2014
Publisher: Point (Scholastic)
Series: No
Source: Purchased
Length: 304 pages
Rating: I loved this! What a lovely, entertaining summer read. Plus, FAKE DATING.



A deliciously charming novel about finding true love . . . and yourself.

Nothing ever happens in Little, CA. Which is just the way Carter Moon likes it. But when Hollywood arrives to film a movie starring former child star turned PR mess Adam Jakes, everything changes. Carter's town becomes a giant glittery set and, much to her annoyance, everyone is starry-eyed for Adam. Carter seems to be the only girl not falling all over herself to get a glimpse of him. Which apparently makes her perfect for the secret offer of a lifetime: playing the role of Adam's girlfriend while he's in town, to improve his public image, in exchange for a hefty paycheck. 

Her family really needs the money and so Carters agrees. But it turns out Adam isn't at all who she thought he was. As they grow closer, their relationship walks a blurry line between what's real and what's fake, and Carter must open her eyes to the scariest of unexplored worlds - her future. Can Carter figure out what she wants out of life AND get the guy? Or are there no Hollywood endings in real life?

I bought this book partially on a whim and partially because I just love this kind of fluffy, modern-Cinderella story. Blame Notting Hill. Blame Teen Idol. Hell, blame Camp Rock, if you want to. I love them all. I could read/watch these types of stories for... well...



And while this book is definitely that, it's got quite a bit more heart than I was expecting, and was actually way funnier. I am so glad I listened to that whim, because I really enjoyed Catch a Falling Star in a way I was not expecting, and here's why:

Review: 17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen

Review: 17 First Kisses by Rachel Allen
Goodreads 
Release date: June 17, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: No
Source: ARC via Edelweiss
Length: 352 pages
Rating: Surprisingly delightful, though flawed



No matter how many boys Claire kisses, she can’t seem to find a decent boyfriend. Someone who wouldn’t rather date her gorgeous best friend, Megan. Someone who won’t freak out when he learns about the tragedy her family still hasn’t recovered from. Someone whose kisses can carry her away from her backwoods town for one fleeting moment.

Until Claire meets Luke.

But Megan is falling for Luke, too, and if there’s one thing Claire knows for sure, it’s that Megan’s pretty much irresistible.

With true love and best friendship on the line, Claire suddenly has everything to lose. And what she learns—about her crush, her friends, and most of all herself—makes the choices even harder.

In her moving debut, Rachael Allen brilliantly captures the complexities of friendship, the struggles of self-discovery, and the difficulties of trying to find love in high school. Fans of Sarah Ockler, Susane Colasanti, and Stephanie Perkins will fall head over heels for this addictive, heartfelt, and often hilarious modern love story.

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. Contemporary, for me, is very hit or miss, but the common denominator in all my favorite contemps is definitely voice. And that was the element in 17 First Kisses that really, truly earned my love: the fact that Claire's voice is funny and touching as all hell. While this was by no means a perfect read for me,  the likes definitely outweighed the dislikes, and I ultimately really enjoyed myself.