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04 December 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: Jennifer L. Armentrout/J. Lynn Double Feature

Some bloggers regularly feature two WoW picks every week based on genre. I usually don't do that, but today, I'm switching things up and doing a double feature for upcoming books by Jennifer L. Armentrout/J. Lynn, an author whose books have enchanted me for the past month. I need more, and the sooner, the better!


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.


White Hot Kiss
The Dark Elements #1
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Coming February 25, 2014
Harlequin Teen


Summary:
One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

Why I want it:
I just read "Bitter Sweet Love," the prequel novella to White Hot Kiss, and I loved it. More than anyone else, Jennifer's books have been recommended to me over and over this year. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to work with Harlequin on this series. I find it extraordinarily unique but also really, really sexy. I had no idea I would want to read a series about gargoyles until it was right in front of me! Quasimodo's goofy friends from Disney's Hunchback, these are not!

Why I think you should want it:
Gargoyles, guys. Gargoyles. Sexy, cool, mysterious gargoyles with crazy family dynamics and some surely wicked (wicked in the Boston slang sense, not naughty) mythology. Although, yeah, I have a feeling some of these characters are sure to be the wicked ie naughty sort, if "Bitter Sweet Love" is any indication! My first impression is honestly that this series is remniscent of those like The Shadowhunter Chronicles or Amy Plum's Revenants series. If you like superhuman beings standing as the only guardians between mostly-clueless humanity and a demonic apocalypse with some romance thrown in, this is sure to be right up your ally.

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Be With Me
Wait for You #2
by J. Lynn
Coming February 4, 2014
William Morrow/Harper Collins


Summary:
Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year—she’s in love with her big brother’s best friend, but he hasn’t spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, change-your-life kiss. She got out of a terrible relationship. And now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It’s time for Plan B – college. And maybe a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he’s not telling anyone. Especially not his best friend’s incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn’t have time for a relationship. But it doesn’t help that all he can think about kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.

As they’re thrown together more and more, Jase and Tess can’t keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they’re willing to risk to be together, and what they’re willing to lose if they’re not…

Why I want it:
New adult is the new kid on the block, and it's receiving a lot of possibly probably rightfully deserved criticism. I'll admit; it seems like smutty ya or adult romance lite most of the time. However, I read Frigid by JLA under her J. Lynn pen name and then turned to Wait for You & Trust in Me, and that was when I realized just how much real potential the new adult genre has. The characters in this series are realistic and sympathetic, the plot is engaging, the romance is steamy and believable. I was hooked. I found myself caring about even the small characters so I'm thrilled to be able to move from Cam & Avery to Jase & Teresa!

Why I think you should want it:
If you are unsure about NA, I will straight up tell you that this series will either instill in you the same hope it did in me OR it's just not a genre that you're going to enjoy no matter what. That's it. If a series with real characters with real chemistry but also real problems can't entice you to buy into new adult, I'm just not sure you will ever find an NA novel of your liking. I wrote up a full review for Wait for You so if you are sorta-kinda interested but not sold yet, check it out and see all the reasons why I rated it 4 stars and why I need the next book in the series. 


So those are my two picks this Waiting on Wednesday. Have they been on your TBR for months? Did I sway you? Are you a maybe or a solid no? Let me know what you think and please, as always, share your links!

55 comments:

  1. Great choices!! I have A LOT of JLA's book on my TBR list. I purchased the first book in the Lux series and hope to be able to read it soon.

    Here is my WoW: http://jacquesbooknook.blogspot.com/2013/12/waiting-on-wednesday-one-by-kiera-cass.html

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    1. I haven't read any of Lux yet, but I've enjoyed all the others that I've read so far. Thank you for stopping by, Jacque!

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  2. Love both of these picks! I featured White Hot Kiss as well today and I did Be With Me last week or two weeks ago, I cant remember haha. JLA is the best!

    Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives

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  3. I still need to read Wait for You but it is on my kindle waiting for me to get around to it. Great choices, thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Would you say that Wait for You is *shifty eyes* waiting for you? :P sorry, that was terrible. I hope you get to it soon!

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  4. I have yet to start reading the books from this author, but I heard many positive things, so I look forward to it.
    Hope you get these soon!

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    1. I withstood the JLA recs for a long time myself, but I'm so glad that I finally caved to peer pressure. I hope I get them soon too! Thank you for stopping by, Ula!

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  5. Oh it's been a while since I've read any JLA book. I must change that asap. I'm in some contemporary flunk or something. Anyhow both these sound great. Great picks :)

    Tanja @ Ja Ĩitam, a ti?

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    1. Well, I hope you can remedy that soon! Thank you for stopping by, Tanja!

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  6. Great picks! I love JLA books and can´t wait to red them.
    Here is My WOW

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  7. BEST PICKS EVER! I am ANXIOUSLY awaiting both of these! Love JLA!!

    Thanks for stopping by my WoW

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  8. I've been seeing this around, maybe I should start waiting on it too lol Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Ever since I started participating in WoW, I have seen at the very least, one JLA book a week. Usually it's a lot more. One reason is that she publishes a LOT of books every year under several publishers, but also, they're just really fun to read.

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  9. i'm a huge fan of JLA too. sooooo excited for be with me. fantastic picks :)

    my WoW post

    -michelle @ Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks

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  10. I really want to check out White Hot Kiss :) And I've not read Wait for you yet, but I do plan on it. Great pick! Absolutely adore this author's writing. Thanks for stopping by My WW!

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    1. Wait for you is absurdly cute. Lots of squishy feelings involved!

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  11. I just got excepted for Be With Me and I can't wait. Wait for You is one of the only NA books that I actually liked. So Hot! Great pick!

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Aly @ My Heart Hearts Books

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  12. Tempting books! Enjoy...and thanks for visiting my blog.

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  13. Ooh! I keep meaning to put her books on my TBR. (:

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    1. I know. It took me months before I finally listened to all the JLA recs that came my way.

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  14. Jennifer has been all the talk lately. I haven't read any of her books yet, but I'm quickly learning that everyone is loving her work. I can't wait to read her Lux series! I'm hosting a giveaway for her J.Lynn Novels on my blog. Enter here

    Great pick! Thanks for stopping by my WoW

    Xoxo. Alexis @ Lexi Swoons

    Old follower :)

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    1. Oooh, thanks for the heads up, Lexi! And yes, you should totally read her books!

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  15. AHH I can't wait for these!!! Anything by JLA is going to be amazing:) Great picks!

    Thanks for stopping by my TT!
    Katie @ The Quiet Girl Talks

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  16. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of White Hot Kiss :D I am really eager for Be With Me as well!!

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  17. I actually still haven't tried JLA's books, but I'm glad you loved the prequel novella of the series :)

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    1. Me too! I really didn't expect to be so fangirly over gargoyles, but there you have it.

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  18. I am very intrigued by the idea of sexy gargoyles!

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  19. I absolutely love JLA I just finished reading Sentinel. I'm looking forward to these books too and also Don't Look Back which is coming out in April.

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    1. I haven't read any of the other ones yet, like Lux or Covenant so I guess I should jump on those soon!

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  20. I really need to read some of her books. Everyone seems to love them. Thanks for sharing.

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  21. JLA releases so many books, I can't keep up! I'll have to check out some of her NA reads sometime. Thanks for stopping by my WOW!

    Jeann @ Happy Indulgence

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    1. I have no idea how she does it because she really does just crank them out. Like...5(?) books in 2013 alone? Something like that? Insane amounts of work!

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  22. Any book by JLA is must read for me, great picks!

    Thanks for stopping by my WoW

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  23. I haven't actually heard of either of these or the author, but I assume from the other comments I've been leaving under a rock lol!!

    Seems like a steamy read, but I admit NA books can be quite hit and miss for me for this reason. I feel like too much is focused on being steamy and not enough on the characters or the story. Hopefully this isn't the case here!

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    1. Haha, Allie, I don't know how you haven't heard of Jennifer before! I only started reading her books in October, but they'd been on my TBR forever. I hope you give her a shot soon!

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  24. Great picks! I love JLA, though I haven't read Wait For You yet (but you never know what Santa brings :D). Thanks for stopping by my WoW! :)

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    1. My pleasure, Petra! I'll keep my fingers crossed that Santa brings you something extra special this year, like CAM! :D

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  25. Wow, Armentrout seems to be all over the place. This woman probably writes like a robot. And I still haven't read any of her novels. But this Dark Elements series sounds really interesting. I'll definitely check it out!

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    1. I know. I don't think I've ever seen a Wednesday go by without at least one of her books being featured in one (or four or five) posts

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  26. I featured White Hot Kiss a couple of weeks ago. I love JLA's YA books, and I think I'll love this new series too! Great picks!

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  27. OMG YESSS. WHK was my WoW a couple weeks ago and I can't wait to read it! And I've read Be with Me, it's absolutely amazing. Hope you love that as much as I did! Jase is incredible <3
    Thanks for stopping by :)

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    1. I am SO jealous! I was declined for Be With Me, but that's just upping my anticipation. Only a couple more months, luckily!

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