Review: My True Love Gave To Me

Rating: 5 stars

Release Date: October 14, 2014

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Genre: young adult romance short stories
(mostly contemp, but some magical realism & fantasy)

Format/Source: eARC, from the publisher
HC & audio, purchased from B&N and Audible respectively

Status: short story anthology, standalone
one story has a sequel in Summer Days & Summer Nights

Summary:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...This beautiful collection features twelve gorgeously romantic stories set during the festive period, by some of the most talented and exciting YA authors writing today. The stories are filled with the magic of first love and the magic of the holidays.

Faking Normal Launch

This is the first post of my Event Recap Month, and I thought I'd start it off with one of my most recent events: Courtney C. Stevens's Faking Normal launch! I didn't know orginally that Courtney lived in Nashville, which is where I lived during my college years. I had planned to be in Tennessee for the Dark Days tour, but when Courtney invited me to the Faking Normal launch, which was scheduled a mere five days later, I knew I had to add it to my trip! (By the way, I did actually meet Courtney for the first time at the Dark Days tour, and that recap is coming soon!)

So on Tuesday, February 25th, I rolled up to Parnassus Books plenty early to get my books and (to be honest) charge my phone for my drive to Memphis directly after the party. Parnassus opened just before I left Nashville so I never had the opportunity to attend events there when I lived in Tennessee. Let me tell you, it's a really, REALLY cool store. Those star lights are the coolest thing ever, and on the other side of the bookshelf on the right is this super awesome book tunnel that is designed to look like Nashville's Parthenon. (If you're curious to see other Parnassus pics [not of the party, just the store], there are some really good ones here.)

Courtney kicked things off with a little speech, and she had some truly amazing words to share with all of us attending the launch. My favorite quotes: "On the other side of pain...is hope." "There is always the possibility of things getting better, and it depends on the people we surround ourselves with. My life is infinitely better because you are all on it." "Writing is a team sport, and my team is here!"

 

 Finally, she invited anyone with dreams to become published to look around the store and imagine themselves on the shelves and to make it happen. So, so inspiring!! Everybody was so happy to be there, and a lot of people had these awesome Faking Normal shirts on, even Victoria Schwab!

 The place was PACKED. It seemed like all of Nashville turned out for Courtney's awesome party!

 There was some amazing & uplifting background music going on while everyone was chatting and snacking and getting their books signed.

 Speaking of snacking, Courtney approved the concession stand herself! Yum!

 While waiting to get my books signed, I ran into some familiar faces!

 I met Myra back during the YA Advanture tour!

It was a big day for her too because she had two

shortstories published that day in the Fifty First 

Times and Grim anthologies!

And I met Ruta Sepetys at TLA last year & I have

an upcoming recap of the panel she was on with John

Corey Whaley, Jennifer Echols & Sherri L. Smith.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Jessamyn Gray (@jessamyngray) and Angela Frederick (@angelina41), two awesome Nashville librarians and Brad of Book YA Review. I was like, "Oh, another blogger! I'll have to follow you!" and then I realized the two of us already follow each other. *facepalm* Loved meeting you guys!!

Finally, it was time to hang out with Courtney for a few minutes before I hit the road for the next-to-last leg of my awesome bookish road trip.  Courtney happily signed my copy of Faking Normal as well as another for this giveaway AND gave me some really cool Faking Normal swag to pass on as well!

Giveaway!

Two winners: First place (US & Canada) wins a signed book and some swag. Second place (US only) is a Faking Normal swag pack. Ends 12 AM March 11. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS If you don't want to chance the Rafflecopter, you CAN order a signed copy of Faking Normal directly from Parnassus. You can do that here. They have quite the stock of signed books to chose from AND they have a special club called their Young Adult First Editions Club which gets you six signed ya books every year.

Cover Love 6: An update

I have only two new(ish) covers to share this week, and an update to a previous cover love post.

First off, I want to share the cover of Grim, which is an anthology I discovered A LONG FREAKING TIME ago. I've had it on my TBR for ages so I'm really glad to finally have a creepy cover and a release date to go along with it. If you haven't heard of Grim yet, go ahead and add it because, seriously, look at the list of authors contributing. Kagawa. Pearce. Hopkins. McEntire. Gray. Derting. Gensler. Gratton. Rees Brennan. Smith-Ready. Hopkins. Hocking. Oh, yeah. It's gonna be good.

Grim

Christine

February 25, 2014

Harlequin Teen

Summary:

CLAIRE DE LUNE and NOCTURNE author Christine Johnson, ed.’s GRIM, an anthology of dark fairy tale retellings, featuring stories by New York Times bestselling authors Ellen Hopkins, Amanda Hocking, Claudia Gray, Rachel Hawkins, Julie Kagawa, and others, to Natashya Wilson at HarlequinTeen, in a nice deal, for publication in Winter 2014, by Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World).

----------

I admit, I'm pretty disappointed with this. With "Unite Me," Harper had the opportunity to do one last lovely cover for the Shatter Me series. Instead, I think they took the lazy route by reusing the covers of "Destroy Me" and "Fracture Me" (which will be on the back cover). There is added material as well, for the record, which is my extra reason for wanting another cover. Recycling is all well and good, but not for book covers.

"Unite Me"
Shatter Me 1.5/2.5

Tahereh Mafi
Harper Collins

February 4, 2014

Summary:

Perfect for fans of Tahereh Mafi’s New York Times bestselling Shatter Me trilogy, this book collects her two companion novellas, Fracture Me and Destroy Me, in print for the first time ever. It also features an exclusive look into Juliette’s journal and a preview of Ignite Me, the hotly anticipated final novel of the series.

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A few weeks ago, I shared the cover to The Treatment, Suzanne Young's hotly anticipated sequel to The Program. PPersonally, I loved it. However, response was so positive for the case cover (the special, secret image to be printed directly on the book) that they SWITCHED images. The old jacket cover with the pill is now the case cover, and the case cover is now the jacket cover. Not gonna lie, I'm a little disappointed with this move because I preferred the pill as the cover (I thought it fit well with the original better) and the new cover as the case cover, but I won't split hairs. It's going to be an amazing book regardless.

The Treatment
The Program #2

Suzanne Young
Simon Pulse

April 29, 2014

Summary:

Can Sloane and James survive the lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end? Find out in this sequel to The Program, which Publishers Weekly called “chilling and suspenseful.”

How do you stop an epidemic?

Sloane and James are on the run after barely surviving the suicide epidemic and The Program. But they’re not out of danger. Huge pieces of their memories are still missing, and although Sloane and James have found their way back to each other, The Program isn’t ready to let them go.

Escaping with a group of troubled rebels, Sloane and James will have to figure out who they can trust, and how to take down The Program. But for as far as they’ve come, there’s still a lot Sloane and James can’t remember. The key to unlocking their past lies with the Treatment—a pill that can bring back forgotten memories, but at a high cost. And there’s only one dose.

Ultimately when the stakes are at their highest, can Sloane and James survive the many lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end?

 So, to recap a bit, here is the JACKET cover of The Program:

And the full jacket cover: 

 And this is the case cover, the secret image underneath the jacket 

that is printed directly on the book.

Here is the full jacket cover for The Treatment:

And this is the case cover, the image that will be printed on the book itself:

Top Ten Tuesday #15: Fall 2013 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR 

This week's list was pretty easy to write. Why can't they all be this simple and straight-forward?

1. The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead. After Indigo Spell, if you think I'm leaving the next installment of Richelle's superb Bloodlines series off my fall TBR, you are sadly f-ing mistaken (1:50 for that reference, but watch the whole thing, dang it!). Quite frankly, I needed a whole series of cold showers after reading TIS, and if the buzz I'm hearing about Fiery Heart is indicative of simliar action, I will be spending most of November submerging myself in buckets of ice. Also, it's a great story. Lots of action, mystery, and really, really good relationships. Not just the hot stuff. Richelle writes good friendships and good non-steamy parts of romantic relationships as well.

2. Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Duh. Like all of you don't have this on your list. 'Nuff said.

3. Just One Year by Gayle Forman. Yes, yes, yes. This is sitting on my shelf right now taunting me. 

4. Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. After the hurt of finishing the Chemical Garden series, I am in in serious need of some DeStefano. Also sitting on my shelf taunting me.

5. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. This was the bonus book on my summer TBR list (of which I completed 7 out of 11). Now that it's closer to the pub date, I think it's time to actually read it. My brother in law RAVES about it and constantly peppers me. "Hey, Mary, have you read Steelheart yet?" "Mary, you need to read Steelheart." "Blah blah words blah Brandon Sanderson blah more words blah Steelheart." I read you loud and clear, bro!

6. In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin. Oh, this series. It's phenomenal. It's cool and original. It's about love and family and chocolate for heaven's sake! Also, cute boys. Read my Waiting on Wednesday post on it for more info.

7. Timepiece by Myra McEntire. Hourglass was really cool, and I've heard that although it's way different (hello, different pov!), Timepiece is even better. I mean, Caleb. That is all.

9. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke. I've heard absolutely wonderful things about this from people whose bookish opinions I fully trust. Not just wonderful things. Raving. Consider me sold. Plus, it seems really different. I think a little gothic lit could do me some good. I've been playing between contemporary and contemporary paranormal for a while now, and I want to delve into something deeper. See what I did there? :P

10. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Did you even read Eleanor & Park?! Of course you did. It was spectacular. SOLD. I think Fangirl is one of those novels, like Gayle Forman's Just One Day, that is true new adult lit. Sure, the smutty NA stuff can be entertaining, but smut is not the only reason NA should exist. I have a feeling this is going to hit me hard, and I'll love every moment.

Bonus books aka the I-have-to-read-these-in-the-next-couple-months-or-I'll-hate-myself-for-being-a-total-failure-of-a-fangirl-slash-blogger-slash-reviewer: The Elite by Kiera Cass. School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. White Cat by Holly Black. Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike. nantucket Blue by Leila Howland.

YA AdVANture Tour Recap

Thursday night, I went to another local event, this time at the Stonebriar B&N in Frisco, TX, which is actually about 10 minutes away from my work. Too bad I wasn't working that day! This event was part of the YA AdVANture tour featuring Sonia Gensler, Tessa Gratton, Tara Hudson, & Myra McEntire. This tour is basically these women in a van, which I imagine looks like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. I was really excited about this one because Tara's Elegy was one of the first ARCs I ever received (as part of the young adult scavenger hunt aka YASH) so I really looked forward to finally meeting her in person AND because there was a dinner beforehand with all four authors and any interested parties. Lucky me, I was at a table at dinner with Sonia and local authors Krissi Dallas (Phantom Island series), Heather Reid (Pretty Dark Nothing), and Julie Murphy (Side Effects May Vary). Which one of these is not like the others? The blogger aka ME! But it was a lot of fun. Lots of laughter and booktalk and "Veronica Mars is awesome" and that sort of thing. After dinner, we headed over to B&N to get the real show on the road.

Top Ten Tuesday #2: Summer TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top of my summer TBR list

1. Awaken by Meg Cabot. MC has been one of my favorite authors since forever. I kind of gave up on the Princess Diaries when I got a little too old for them, but I've never outgrown my love of all things Cabot. The Abandon trilogy is no different. Not my favorite, but still exciting enough for me to be freaking out over book #3. ESPECIALLY after hearing some crazypants spoilers. After my required reading for a few upcoming blog tours, Awaken is #1 TBR.

Release date: July 2nd

2. Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols. Jennifer is another absolute favorite of mine. After meeting her at TLA, I'm just beside myself with fangirly joy. Some of it may have splashed all over Jen, for which I'm deeply ashamed and yet...not. Anyway, DLS is set in Nashville, which is hometown #2 for me, so I can't wait to visit in Jen's latest surely awesome romantic drama. Blog tour on July 8th and maybe, just maybe, you'll find a giveaway sometime around then too...Stay tuned!

Release date: July 16th

3. Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code: The Graphic Novel by Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, Giovanni Rigano & Paolo Lamanna. If you pay attention to my Weekly and/or Monthly Wrap-Up posts, you may have noticed a ridiculous amount of graphic novel adataptions in my read and tbr lists. I'm really drawn to them right now. The art in the Artemis Fowl gns isn't my absolute favorite, but the cartoony drawings do fit better with the story than the realistic or manga-ish art I usually prefer. The Eternity Code is my favorite out of the AF series so I'm pretty stoked about seeing this adaptation in particular. Team Butler!

Release date: July 9th

4. The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa. Keeping with the eternal theme, I've been looking forward to this since The Immortal Rules. It must be tough to do a vampire novel on the downward spiral of the vampire wave, and tough to do a dystopian novel in the crest of the dystopian wave, but Kagawa has made a real winner with the Blood of Eden series. I like it so much better than The Iron Fey, even (blasphemy to Kagawa's fans, I know). Took my library a while to get this in, which is why I haven't read it yet. This one and Til the World Ends are tbr-asap, but I'm afraid I might not get to it before I have to take it back to the library. :(

5. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. Really liked Cinder and people say Scarlet's even better so bring it on! This whole slightly steampunk/futuristic/fairy tale twist thing Marissa's got going on is fantastic. You wouldn't think all these genres would fit, but they do fit oh so well. Probably will be read toward the latter half of summer, or a couple days before I have to return it to the library, whichever comes first.

6. Hourglass by Myra McEntire. I need to read this AND Timepiece quickly because I've heard such lovely things about them so I'd like to be able to get to them before/around Infinityglass's release. 

7. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Talk about talked about. I hear Leigh Bardugo's name and The Grisha all over EVERYTHING. I snagged a copy of Siege and Storm at TLA so I really need to be a good reader/blogger/person and read the series already.

8. Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike. Another author whose reputation precedes her, but I haven't yet read any of her novels. So many friends, bloggers, and blogger friends swear by Aprilynne Pike's novels that I need to jump on this one quickly as well!

9. Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland. This title was raved about and nabbed very quickly at TLA. Color me convinced. I listen to recommendations, especially when they come as in-force as the books on this list. Nantucket is no exception.

10. Defy the Dark edited by Saundra Mitchell. The other non-novel format you can find most often on my read/tbr lists is the anthology. I lovelovelove anthologies right now. I think it's freaking fantastic that my favorite authors are writing more stories more often. Especially Beth Revis, who keeps popping out Across the Universe novellas like they're freaking candy. Well, I WANT CANDY HAPPYTHANKYOUMORE PLEASE. Ahem. Anywho, can't wait for this one. Hopefully my library will order it in a timely fashion.

Release date: TODAY!

Bonus book: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. My brother is a DIE-HARD Sanderson fan so I grabbed this for him at TLA. He hasn't had much time to read it, but my brother-in-law (just like my brother in all ways) flew through it and pronounced it the Best Thing Ever. Another end-of-the-summer read, but I still want to get to it before fall.

Release date: September 24th