Cover Reveal: Lonely Souls by Karice Bolton

Today I'm part of the cover reveal for Lonely Souls by Karice Bolton, the first book in the The Witch Avenue series. It's going to be a NEW ADULT series (age group 18-22), which is going to be published in June 2012. This gorgeous cover was created by Phatpuppy Art and the cover reveal organized by AToMR Book Blog Tours.

Summary:

It's two weeks before Triss turns 18, and her world is about to change into the most magical one imaginable as she readies herself to enter The Witch Avenue Order... that is until her mother's disappearance. Instead of celebrating her transformation, she finds herself spreading rose petals into her mother's empty grave.

When Logan, her best friend from junior high, moves back to town for college, he vows to help her find the answers she so desperately seeks surrounding her mother's disappearance. As they begin uncovering clues, it becomes apparent that the life of white magic they both grew up loving, is not what the majority practices, and their lives are in danger.

With a haunting feeling that her mother may still be alive, she begins to hear a call to the wilderness. Triss realizes that in order to find the answers she needs, she must learn the ways of her ancestors and become the hunter, not the hunted before it's too late, and she becomes part of the lonely souls.

Goodreads | Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

First of all, I absolutely love this cover. The typography is beautiful but doesn't distract from the mysterious background. Secondly, I also love the summary and can't wait to read this - it sounds like a very exciting read.

What do you think?
Carina

Waiting on Wednesday #47: Silver by Talia Vance

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Silver by Talia Vance
Publisher: Flux
Expected Publication: September 8th, 2012

Goodreads Summary:
Beauty is pointless when no one's looking.

Brianna Paxton has been invisible to guys since the eighth grade. She’s pretty enough, it’s just that no one bothers to look. There’s almost nothing that can’t be explained with science, and Brianna has a theory: she’s missing the pheromone that attracts people to one another. Brianna’s theory is shot to hell in one frozen, silver moment, when time stops and Blake Williams not only sees her, he recognizes something inside her that she’s been hiding from even herself.

Before Brianna fully understands who and what she is, she accidentally binds her soul to Blake. Forced to find a way to reconcile forbidden love and her bloody heritage, Brianna discovers that there's nothing pointless about her, and Blake may be in the most danger of all.

Do I even need to say anything? Mysterious cover, amazing summary - is it September yet?

What are you waiting for this Wednesday?
Carina

Review: Ditched by Robin Mellom

Ditched, A Love Story by Robin Mellom
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
First published: January 10th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Format: eARC
Pages: 282

Summary:
Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her.
Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat handle first.
Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice.
Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom.
And then ditched her.
Now, she must piece together stain-by-stain on her thrift store dress—exactly how she ended up dateless…with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven. But to get to the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. Can losing out at her prom ultimately lead to finding true love?

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

First thoughts:

This is a very cute and refreshing novel that I could finish reading very fast. It's chaotic, full of misunderstandings and a romance that will make your heart beat faster. As a story that is told in two different time periods - the present and (long) flashbacks to the past, it is easy to follow and no questions are left at the end. Lovers of light-hearted contemporary YA romance will definitely enjoy this. 

More detailed:

When seeing the cover of Ditched, A Love Story, I actually expected it to end up being more Middle Grade, but I loved finding out that it's definitely a Young Adult novel. Justina, who has a very unique name, which I love, is telling the story of her prom. A prom, which should have been the best night of her life but turned out to be a horrible disaster.

The narration is split in two different time periods: the present, in which Justina tells her story to a couple of quite awesome people, and the past, in which we can witness how her prom night turned into an exciting but disappointing event. Justina is a wonderful main character who is slightly paranoid, sarcastic but just wants to be loved.

All of the other character we meet in Ditched, A Love Story are just as amazing. Some of them are the cliché-high-school-students that need to be in almost every light-hearted YA story, others are perfect friends who I just wanted to hug all the time. Characters of the latter category are The Mikes, Serenity, Bliss, Hailey and, of course, Ian.

All in all, Ditched, A Love Story is a cute story about love and a girl's journey to finally find it. I would recommend it for everyone who is looking for a fun novel to distract them from heavier topics. It's a fast read and will definitely not fail to make you smile. Actually I'm sure that it will make you laugh out loud at certain points, as it did with me.

Challenge(s):

Debut Author Challenge 2012

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012

Interesting links (Robin Mellom):

Website | Goodreads | Twitter
First chapter of Ditched

Have you read Ditched? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?
Carina

Fictional Distractions of the Week #18

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

At first I'll finish My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent, which is probably going to be the only one of my "own" books for quite a while now, since March will be dedicated to reading my review books. I really like the Soul Screamers series and I'm happy I've decided to participate in the challenge hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun.

Goodreads Summary:
When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.

So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul.

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can't possibly understand.

Kaylee can't let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk….

Then I'll read Illuminate by Aimee Agresti which sounds like a fabulous title and I'm hoping that it's just as good as it seems. Wile I've heard a few mixed things about it, I think most of the reviews for this are positive, so I can't wait to finally read it.

Goodreads Summary:
Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.

As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?

Illuminate is an exciting saga of a teen’s first taste of independence, her experience in the lap of luxury, and her discovery she may possess strength greater than she ever knew.

And I'm also hoping to read The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis, which I'm really excited for since this is a German title that has been translated into English. Originally I had wanted to compare this translation to the German original, but it would take weeks until I could borrow it from my local library and I don't want the publisher to have to wait too long for their review.

Goodreads Summary:
Anna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own. Fascinated, Anna follows the two and listens as Abel tells little Micha the story of a tiny queen assailed by dark forces. It’s a beautiful fairy tale that Anna comes to see has a basis in reality. Abel is in real danger of losing Micha to their abusive father and to his own inability to make ends meet. Anna gradually falls in love with Abel, but when his “enemies” begin to turn up dead, she fears she has fallen for a murderer. Has she?

Award-winning author Antonia Michaelis moves in a bold new direction with her latest novel: a dark, haunting, contemporary story that is part mystery, part romance, and part melodrama.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

 

Beware the Girl Scout Conspiracy!!

Latest Newspaper Column:

Beware: When you bought those Girl Scout cookies last month, you may have been inadvertently helping to finance the liberal homosexual aborto-fascist agenda.

At least that's what Indiana state Rep. Bob Morris seems to be afraid of.

Morris recently refused to join in a resolution in the Indiana State House to honor 100 years of Girl Scouting. In a letter to his fellow Republicans, he explained why: "After talking to some well-informed constituents, I did a small amount of Web-based research, and what I found is disturbing."

(Note: When someone confidently cites "a small amount of Web-based research" as his basis for an opinion, get ready for big laughs ahead).

The Girl Scouts (and their British cousins the Girl Guides), Morris' "research" revealed, "have entered into a close strategic affiliation with Planned Parenthood," though "you will not find evidence of this on [their] website - in fact, the websites of these two organizations explicitly deny funding Planned Parenthood."

Well, of course. The fact that they deny an association is just more proof that there is one. Anybody who knows enough to make himself a tinfoil hat knows that.

Wait, it gets better.

"Abundant evidence," Morris reports, "proves that the agenda of Planned Parenthood includes sexualizing young girls through the Girl Scouts, which is quickly becoming a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood."

Wow. I didn't know that Planned Parenthood had a "tactical arm." The whole thing raises the specter of fresh-faced, heavily armed, pre-teen girls in sashes fast-roping down from black helicopters to round up our helpless womenfolk and force-feed them RU-486 abortion pills and lesbian porn.

"Tagalong Actual, this is Thin Mint 6. We have secured the perimeter. Operation Baby Bust is under way. Over!"

Morris cites the fact that the "radically pro-abortion" first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, serves as the honorary national president of the GSA. Of course, so has every first lady since 1917, so I guess they were all in on the conspiracy too. I'm so disappointed in Laura Bush, but you know, I always did think Bess Truman was up to something. Now I know she was probably pushing the radical pro-abortion agenda while Harry wasn't looking.

Within a few days after Morris' letter was printed in the The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, it was obvious that he was feeling a little heat, and by "heat," I mean widespread derision, even from his own party. House Speaker Brian Bosma, also a Republican, responded to Morris' lunacy by bringing Girl Scout cookies into the House floor and passing them out.

When finally cornered by reporters, Morris defiantly refused to back down. In fact, in classic wingnut fashion, he doubled down on the crazy. Asked why he thinks the Girl Scouts support abortion, Morris proved that he'd learned from his time on the Internet. He trotted out one of the classic dodges of the dishonest debater when asked for proof of a wild accusation: "Look it up yourself." Also known as, "I'm not your Google monkey."

People, said Morris, should "get on the Internet, do some research, contact the Girl Scouts of America on a national level and ask them that question." When someone pointed out that the stated position of the Girl Scouts is neither pro- nor anti-abortion and that such issues are "best left to the girls to talk with their families about," Morris uttered this jaw-dropper: "They're not against it. If you're not against it, you're for it."

Based on this logic, the U.S. Postal Service, the Army and NASCAR are all pro-abortion, because they haven't taken a clear position against it.

In the end, the resolution to honor the Girl Scouts passed, with only one vote against it, after which Speaker Bosma asked all of the female House members who had been Girl Scouts to stand and make the motion to adjourn. According to USA Today, "nearly every female member stood." Asked about the controversy later, Bosma described his attitude this way: "I've been to the carnival before, and you don't walk into every sideshow tent."

Good for you, Mr. Speaker. It's nice to find at least one corner of the Republican Party where they don't let the clowns run the circus. Someone ought to nominate him for national GOP chairman.

In My Mailbox #42

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers the chance to appreciate the books they got last week and to meet new people.

Last week's reviews:

Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler
First Frost by Jennifer Estep
Ties to the Blood Moon by Robin P. Waldrop

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The books I bought:

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen

Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The books I received for review:

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

Immortal City by Scott Speer

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Huge thanks to Simon & Schuster UK, Scholastic UK and Abrams & Chronicle Books.

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I'm über-excited for these books. Actually I had hoped to get to Shadows last week, but since March will be dedicated to reading review books, I decided to read My Soul to Save first. Maybe I'll squeeze it in next month nonetheless. :D

What did you get in your mailbox?

Carina

Review: Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler

Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Expected Publication: March 6th, 2012
Source: Received from author
Format: eARC
Pages: 369

Goodreads Summary:
Sometimes the end is just the beginning.
Gabby lived under the radar until her makeover. Way under. But when she started her senior year as a blonder, better-dressed version of herself, she struck gold: Billy Nash believed she was the flawless girl she was pretending to be. The next eight months with Billy were bliss...Until the night Gabby woke up on the ground next to the remains of his BMW without a single memory of how she got there. And Billy's nowhere to be found.
All Gabby wants is to make everything perfect again. But getting her life back isn't difficult, it's impossible. Because nothing is the same, and Gabby's beginning to realize she's missed more than a few danger signs along the way.
It's time for Gabby to face the truth, even if it means everything changes.
Especially if it means everything changes.

My Rating: 5.0 / 5

First thoughts:

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2012 and wow, it definitely didn't disappoint. It's one of those books that you expect to be good, but that turn out to be amazing. I fell in love with Ann Redisch Stampler's style of writing, her witty and slightly obsessive main character and the story she created. I think I can already say that Where It Began is one of my favorite books of 2012.

More detailed:

Where It Began is everything I expected to be, and more. Don't let the pretty cover fool you and let me tell you that it's definitely not as light-hearted as it might seem to be. This novel deals with more than just one heavy topic - teen insecurities, alcoholism, crime and betrayal. And while I usually prefer to steer clear of heavy reads, I completely fell in love with this one.

One of the reasons for this is probably the amazing style of writing. The story is told from Gabby's point of view and she has a very unique and refreshing voice: she's witty, humorous and amazingly sarcastic. The mixture of this almost light-hearted narration and the serious subject matter creates a wonderful contrast that made it impossible to stop reading Where It Began.

Gabby has to endure a lot of awful things. Quite soon I was afraid that certain people, who seem to be helpful, are actually having their own agenda, which makes the whole situation even more complicated than it already is. I wanted to slap many characters and, at times, I wanted to shake Gabby and tell her to wake up and see the obvious, which turned Where It Began into a very emotional read for me.

I was told that certain things will be different in the finished version and I can't wait to find out how that will turn out. Even though I would have ordered a finished copy of Where It Began even without any changes, I'm really looking forward to re-read it, hopefully soon, and see what's different. 

All in all, Where It Began is an amazing contemporary debut novel that you should at least add to your to-read lists or even pre-order immediately. Even though I already expected it to be a good novel, I was completely surprised by its awesomeness, which makes it deserve a place on my list of favorite books.

Challenge(s):

Debut Author Challenge 2012

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012

Interesting links:

Ann Redisch Stampler online:
Goodreads | Website | Twitter

Where It Began online:
Goodreads | Amazon | TBD
Read the first chapters

Have you already read Where It Began? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

Carina

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T ASK ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL!

At least night's Republican debate, a viewer-generated question about where the candidates stand on birth control drew boos from the typical GOP debate mob:



Now, since this has been a big topic recently, it would seem a legitimate question to ask. But asking about the GOP frontrunner's radical position on birth control--something a lot of women rely on their health insurance to be able to afford-- interferes with the Republicans'  favorite bait and switch: they get into office convincing independents and moderates they’re for jobs, low taxes and less government, then immediately forget all that the moment they’re sworn in and start trying to limit the reproductive choices of women and restrict the rights of LGBT people (while continuing to spend money on their pet issues  as if nothing had happened). 


Santorum and Gingrich are scaring the hell out of the Party establishment because they won’t keep their mouths shut about it, and they know the whole world is watching, not just the far right. 

Cover Comparisons #42: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Living in Germany gives me the perfect opportunity to compare original covers with the ones German publishers choose. Sometimes they're gorgeous, sometimes they make me cringe, but it's always interesting to see different covers for the same novel.

Cover Comparisons is a weekly feature here at Fictional Distraction.

Last week's winner is the US cover of Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff.

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Across the Universe by Beth Revis

(US Hardback / US Paperback / GER)

I have to start this by saying that I don't like the German cover at all. While I love that they wanted to keep somewhat close to the original cover, it's not nearly as mysterious and intriguing as the US hardback. The latter concentrates more on the typography and the beautifully coloured sky while the German cover focusses on the faces which ruins the "magic" for me.
I like the US paperback though, because the futuristic feeling to it would definitely make me want to pick it up. But in the end, I just love love love the US hardback cover. So gorgeous!

Which version do you like best?

US hardback US paperback GER

pollcode.com free polls

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Carina

I'll Probably Go To Hell For Laughing At This

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Held in French Prostitution Case - NYTimes.com

So Dominique Strauss-Kahn, International Horndog, is being questioned about possible ties to a prostitution ring that allegedly supplied girls to orgies DSK attended. You've got to love his lawyer's defense:

“He could easily not have known, because as you can imagine, at these kinds of parties you’re not always dressed, and I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman,” the lawyer, Henri Leclerc, told a French radio station, Europe 1, in December.

Waiting on Wednesday #46: Renegade by J.A. Souders

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Renegade by J.A. Souders
Publisher: Tor Teen
Expected Publication: Fall 2012

Goodreads Summary:
Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Doesn't this sound awesome? So... different, and for me different is really good. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this - already dying to read it! Is it fall already?

What are you waiting for this Wednesday?
Carina

Short Story Review: First Frost by Jennifer Estep

First Frost by Jennifer Estep
Series: Mythos Academy #0.5
Publisher: Kensington
First published: July 1st, 2011
Source: Bought
Format: .mobi (Kindle)

Goodreads Summary:
I am Gwen Frost, and I have a Gypsy gift. It's called psychometry - that's a fancy way of saying that I see images in my head and get flashes of other people's memories off almost everything I touch, even guys.

My gift makes me kind of nosy. Okay, okay, maybe a lot nosy--to the point of obsession sometimes. I want to know everything about everyone around me. But even I don't want to know the secrets my friend Paige is hiding or the terrible loss that will send me to a new school - Mythos Academy, where the teachers aren't preparing us for the SATs, but to battle Reapers of Chaos. Now I have no friends and no idea how my gift fits in with all these warrior whiz kids. The only thing I do know is that my life is never, ever going to be the same...

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

What I thought about it:

What I love about prequel novellas like First Frost is the fact that they're giving you a glimpse into a new world, which helps you to decide whether this series might be something for you. But I don't like not being able to pick up the first book of a series immediately afterward, when I really enjoyed that novella - and that's exactly the case with First Frost.

We meet Gwen Frost and her extraordinary "Gypsy gift". I loved being explained so much about a main character's gift so soon and while I expect that there are still a few secrets surrounding this, it's refreshing to already somewhat know what kind of supernatural elements you will be confronted with.

Like Gwen, we are also introduced to Mythos Academy, a boarding school she is supposed to go to. I know that for some people the boarding-school-setting is used a bit too much, but I always love it and I'm really looking forward to find out more about this mysterious place. We have also met a few other characters that I can't wait to see again.

All in all, I'm really looking forward to start Touch of Frost, the first book of this series, after reading First Frost. If you're unsure about whether you want to read this series, pick up the prequel novella and you'll probably want to get the other books immediately afterward. I'm really hoping to be able to squeeze Touch of Frost into my reading schedule very soon.

Books in this series:

First Frost (#0.5)
Touch of Frost (#1)
Kiss of Frost (#2)
Dark Frost (#3, May 29th, 2012)
Crimson Frost (#4, January 2013)

Have you read First Frost / this series? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

Carina

Humpty Dumpty: Wingnut

Latest Newspaper Column:

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'

'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master, that's all.”

-Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

It’s hard not to be constantly reminded of that quote when you’re listening to what passes for political discourse these days. Humpty Dumpty, in Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass,” was an absurd, pompous, self-important buffoon who had a fine disdain for the actual meanings of words. These days, he’d be a politician.

Take, for example, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s recent address at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference. At several points during the speech, he referred to conservatism as the “majority view” in the United States and the country as a “majority conservative” country.

The fact-checking website Politifact, which should know better and usually does, rated Rubio’s claim as “mostly true,” while admitting that the 2011 Gallup poll found that only 40 percent of Americans identified themselves as “conservative.” Another 35 percent, according to the poll, identify as “moderate,” while 21 percent consider themselves “liberal.”

Now, I’m just a simple country lawyer, and it’s been (mumblemumble) years since I took high school civics, but I seem to recall that a “majority” meant over 50 percent. Forty percent is what they call a … let me think … a plurality. Calling 40 percent a majority isn’t mostly true; it’s completely false. It’s like examining the statement “two plus two is five” and calling it “mostly true.”

On the other hand, when Ron Paul stated that a majority of Americans favored a return to the gold standard, Politifact pointed to a poll that showed 44 percent support for that plan, and labeled the claim “false.”

So 44 percent is not a majority, but 40 percent is. Through the looking glass indeed.

(Of course, to the American right, everyone not hard-right conservative is not only liberal, but “leftist” — which does not, as it turns out, mean “any political opinion with which I do not agree,” no matter how angry they get when you point that out.)

Another word that no one seems to know the meaning of anymore is “amnesty.”

Recent attempts at immigration reform that include some sort of path to citizenship for people who are here illegally frequently run into a firestorm of hysteria over granting “amnesty to illegals.” As another famous fictional character once said, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Amnesty, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, means “the act of an authority (as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals.” Pardon, in the same dictionary, means “the excusing of an offense without exacting a penalty.”

Not a single immigration reform plan submitted or supported by either party contains anything like amnesty, as it’s defined. The Immigration Reform Act of 2007, for example, allowed those here illegally to apply for U.S. citizenship after paying $5,000 in fines and $2,000 in processing fees and passing a background check. A more recent plan demands the payment of fines and back taxes, as well as community service, for illegals to be able to eventually get citizenship.

Believe me, if you were in court and I told you “Congratulations! You got amnesty! Just pay five grand in fines and two grand in court costs and do a hundred hours of community service and we’re good to go,” you’d most likely fire me on the spot. And rightly so, because I’d clearly have no freakin’ idea what that word means.

And yet the so-called “liberal” media — people who are supposed to be in the word business — let immigration opponents toss the word around without questioning anyone about such a blatant misuse.

Maybe, like Alice in the story, they’re just so puzzled and confused by the looking-glass world of political rhetoric that they can’t think of what to say. Or maybe they’ve just given up.

After all, when you’re dealing with people who can look at a health insurance reform plan that leaves the vast majority of the insurance market in the hands of very large, very wealthy corporations and call that plan “socialist” with a straight face, you’re clearly dealing with people who, like Humpty Dumpty, not only don’t know what words mean, they just don’t care.

Fictional Distractions of the Week #17

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

I'm really hoping to finish Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler today, because a) I'm already in love with this book and b) my eGalley expires today and I need to know how this will end! And if you haven't put this onto your to-read-list yet, you have to do this immediately!

Goodreads Summary:
Sometimes the end is just the beginning.
Gabby lived under the radar until her makeover. Way under. but when she started her senior year as a blonder, better-dressed version of herself, she struck gold: Billy Nash believed she was a the flawless girl she was pretending to be. The next eight months with Billy were bliss...Until the night Gabby woke up on the ground next to the remains of his BMW without a single memory of how she got there.
And Billy's nowhere to be found.
All Gabby wants is to make everything perfect again. But getting her life back isn't difficult, it's impossible. Because nothing is the same, and Gabby's beginning to realize she's missed more than a few danger signs along the way.
It's time for Gabby to face the truth, even if it means everything changes.
Especially if it means everything changes.

I also really want to read Ditched, A Love Story by Robin Mellom, which I got from NetGalley a while ago. Sadly they didn't have a Kindle version, so I have to read this on my laptop, too. I hope I can finish this before the eGalley expires, because it sounds like a really fun and fast read.

Goodreads Summary:
High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her. Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom. And then ditched her.

And I'm also planning to read Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. It's been released last week and it's definitely time for me to finally pick up the eARC I got from NetGalley and review this. And, it sounds absolutely fabulous and so many other bloggers loved it!

Goodreads Summary:
Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

  

In My Mailbox #41

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers the chance to appreciate the books they got last week and to meet new people.

Interesting posts:

Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald
Titan Magic by Jodi Lamm

Giveaway: I ♥ YA GIVEAWAY HOP, International, Ends 2/20

The eBooks I received for review:

Chosen Ones by Tiffany Truitt

Life on the Edge by Jennifer Comeaux

Thanks to Entangled Publishing and Jennifer Comeaux

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Not that many books this week, but I can't wait to start either of them. And I think it might be better for my ever-growing tbr-pile to have a small break. 

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Carina