Desperately Wanting Wednesday (10)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. Unlike "Waiting On Wednesday" the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, you can talk about books that you want that have already been released, but you haven't had a chance to read.

This week's theme is:

Authors I Have Already Read

Our Released Pick:

Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction Anthology
The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Adults
368 Pages

Richelle Mead, Lisa McMann, Michael Grant, Meg Cabot, Laini Taylor, and nine more of the hottest YA authors to hit the shelves explore the concepts of prophecy and prediction in this story collection edited byNYT bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan. 

Have you ever been tempted to look into the future? To challenge predictions? To question fate? It's human nature to wonder about life's twists and turns. But is the future already written—or do you have the power to alter it?

From fantastical prophecies to predictions of how the future will transpire, Foretold is a collection of stories about our universal fascination with life's unknowns and of what is yet to come as interpreted by 14 of young adult fiction's brightest stars.

This collection includes works from:
Malinda Lo (Ash)
Lisa McMann (Wake)
Kami Garcia (Beautiful Creatures)
Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creatures)
Laini Taylor (The Daughter of Smoke and Bone)
Michael Grant (Gone)
Saundra Mitchell (The Vespertine)
Richelle Mead (the Vampire Academy)
Matt de la Pena (I Will Save You)
Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries)
Heather Brewer (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod)
Diana Peterfreund (Rampant)
Simone Elkeles (Perfect Chemistry)
Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth)

I haven't read all of these authors, but the ones I have, I've loved (with an exception or two). I can't wait to read this one! It's sure to meet my expectations and how awesome is it that we get some more insight into the lives of some of our favorite characters!

Our To-Be-Released Pick:

The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: March 2013

Publisher: Angry Robot

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter is the heartbreaking story of the journey from childhood to adulthood, with an intriguing science fictional twist.

There’s never been anyone - or anything - quite like Finn.

He looks, and acts human, though he has no desire to be. He was programmed to assist his owners, and performs his duties to perfection. A billion-dollar construct, his primary task is to tutor Cat.

When the government grants rights to the ever-increasing robot population, however, Finn struggles to find his place in the world.

So, I'm not one hundred percent sure about this one, but I adored the author's other book, The Assassin's Curse, which is the first book in her ongoing series with the same title. The Mad Scientist's Daughter sounds interesting, and I'm really hoping that Ms. Clarke can pull it off!

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (9)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. Unlike "Waiting On Wednesday" the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, you can talk about books that you want that have already been released, but you haven't had a chance to read.

This week's theme is:

Cover Lust

Our Released Pick:

Seraphina (Seraphina #1) by Rachel Hartman

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: July 10, 2012

Publisher: Random House Book for Young Readers

467 Pages

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

Good gracious, what a beauty. There's nothing else to say really. 

I just need it. Badly. Now.

Our To-Be-Released Pick:

Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: January 29, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

272 Pages

Bonnie and Clyde meets Simone Elkeles in this addictively heart-wrenching story of two desperate teenagers on the run from their pasts.

They’re young. They’re in love. They’re on the run.

Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger....

When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can’t run fast enough.

Nobody But Us, told in alternating perspectives from Will and Zoe, is an unflinching novel, in turns heartbreaking and hopeful, about survival, choices, and love...and how having love doesn’t always mean that you get a happy ending. Described as “beautiful, heartbreaking, and exhilarating” by Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF, Nobody But Us will prove irresistible to fans of Nina Lacour, Jenny Han, and Sara Zarr.

The coloring of the cover is what really draws me in. I can't help up love it because it's so different! Can I have you, pretty book? On an entirely different note, I want to paint my house multiple blues like the lettering on here.

What covers are you lusting over?

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (8)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. Unlike "Waiting On Wednesday" the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, you can talk about books that you want that have already been released, but you haven't had a chance to read.

This week's theme is:

Summer Reading Books I Haven't Read, But I Think I Should

Our Young Adult Pick:

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1) by Jenny Han

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: May 5, 2009

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 

267 Pages

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

I've had this book on my to-read list for quiet a while. It's been sitting on my shelves since I had about it. Many of my friends have enjoyed it and told me to read it. Trust me, I want to! The title alone sounds makes the book sound like a great summer read!

Our Adult Pick:

Ride with Me by Ruthie Knox

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: February 13, 2012

Publisher: Loveswept

216 Pages

In this fun, scorching-hot eBook original romance by Ruthie Knox, a cross-country bike adventure takes a detour into unexplored passion. As readers will discover, Ride with Me is not about the bike! 

When Lexie Marshall places an ad for a cycling companion, she hopes to find someone friendly and fun to cross the TransAmerica Trail with. Instead, she gets Tom Geiger—a lean, sexy loner whose bad attitude threatens to spoil the adventure she’s spent years planning.

Roped into the cycling equivalent of a blind date by his sister, Tom doesn’t want to ride with a chatty, go-by-the-map kind of woman, and he certainly doesn’t want to want her. Too bad the sight of Lexie with a bike between her thighs really turns his crank.

Even Tom’s stubborn determination to keep Lexie at a distance can’t stop a kiss from leading to endless nights of hotter-than-hot sex. But when the wild ride ends, where will they go next?

I need some swoonz. I need them. All of the people I know that have read this novel AND this author have really enjoyed it. Ride with Me sounds like a great contemporary read for the summertime! Now if only I could get a copy!

What on your summer reading list?

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (7)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. Unlike "Waiting On Wednesday" the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, you can talk about books that you want that have already been released, but you haven't had a chance to read.

This week's theme is:

Books That Make Me Want to Start Prepping... That I Haven't Read Yet!

Our Released Pick:

Dust & Decay (Benny Imura #2) by Jonathan Maberry
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Book for Young Readers
519 Pages

Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It's also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny's zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny's best friend Lou Chong are going with them. Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland -where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all...could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

In the great Rot & Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything...and not everyone in Benny's small band of travelers will make it out alive.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and I own the second. It's high on my list to read next! Hopefully, I'll get to it soon!

Our To-Be-Released Pick:

Dearly, Beloved (Gone With the Respiration #1) by Lia Habel

Release Date: September 25, 2012

Publisher: Del Ray

496 Pages

Can the living coexist with the living dead? 

That’s the question that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites.

Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man . . . of the dead variety.

Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and The Murder, a masked squad of urban guerrillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target.

As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the virus—and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.

Lia Habel’s spellbinding, suspenseful sequel to Dearly, Departed takes her imaginative mash-up of period romance, futuristic thriller, and zombie drama to a whole new level of innovative and irresistible storytelling.

I won the first book in this series from Goodreads last year and really really enjoyed it. Such an interesting twist and take to zombies. Love me some zombies. If only they were all that nice in real life...

What books make you want to start prepping?

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (6)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. Unlike "Waiting On Wednesday" the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, you can talk about books that you want that have already been released, but you haven't had a chance to read.

This week's theme is:
Books That Are Sitting On My Shelf But I Can't Get To Yet

Our Released Pick:

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
Release Date: June 18, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
454 Pages

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives--and the way they understand each other so completely--has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

I have been dying to read this since I heard of it. I was lucky enough to get a copy of it from a friend. This needs to bump up on my list! So many books to read, so little time!

Our To-Be-Released Pick:

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Sneak (Swipe #2) by Evan Angler

Release Date: September 4, 2012

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

288 Pages

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care-but without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Now he’s on the run from government agents who will stop at nothing to capture him. But Logan is on a mission to find and save his sister, Lily, who disappeared five years ago on her thirteenth birthday, the day she was supposed to receive her Mark.

Logan and his friends, a group of dissenters called the Dust, discover a vast network of the Unmarked, who help them travel safely to the capital city where Lily is imprisoned. Along the way, the Dust receives some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

When the Dust finally arrives in the capital, it seems that all their careful planning is useless against a government that will do anything to bend its citizens to its will. Can the gentle words Logan has found in a tattered, banned Bible really stand against the most powerful military the world has ever known? Can Logan even sacrifice his own freedom, choosing to act through faith alone?

I adored the first book in this series. Sneak was on Netgalley and with how much I loved book one, Swipe, I knew I had to take advantage and grab a copy of this one, too! I can't wait to read it. This story is so interesting and I can't wait to see where the author takes us next.

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (5)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. Unlike "Waiting On Wednesday" the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, you can talk about books that you want that have already been released, but you haven't had a chance to read.

This week's theme is:
Books I Would Wrestle My Mother For on the Floor Of Walmart

(Ew, dude. Walmart? Can I substitute Barnes & Noble, or at least Target?)

Our Released Pick:

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: February 14, 2012

Publisher: Walker Childrens

292 Pages

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance. 

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

This book sounds so freaking good. I've always been intrigued by the story of Robin Hood and I'm a big fan of retellings. Plenty of people have told me that I should've already read this because it's one of the best books they've read this year. Scarlet needs to be in my hands. Right. Now.

Our To-Be-Released Pick:

Scarlet Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: February 5, 2013

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

464 Pages

This book will feature Cinder and Little Red Riding Hood and will take place in France.

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Right then, let's change the theme because not only would I have a fight with my mother in an unsanitary store for these books, but they have the same name. Whoa...

I want this book so badly that I'm almost brought to tears at the thought of waiting until February to get it. If you could only get one ARC per year, this would be the 2012 ARC of my life. The first book in this series, Cinder, is one of my all-time favorite books. I was amazed at how much I loved it. Now I have to wait F-O-R-E-V-E-R to read this one. Please forgive me as I snot-sob until February 5th. 

...Where are the tissues?

For what books would you wrestle your mother on a Walmart floor?

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (4)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. It is based off of the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, Waiting on Wednesday. Since the "On My Wishlist" meme is no longer active, Ed and I have decided to switch to this meme so we can talk about books (and movies) that we want - both released and to-be-released.

This week's theme is:

Hot Books I Missed

Our Young-Adult Pick:

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo
The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
358 Pages

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. 

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

I've wanted to read this since I heard of it! And now that it's released, I'm only buying my time. If I stopped finding books I want to read on Netgalley, it would be a faster process. Grr!

Our Adult Pick:

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: July 26, 2005

Publisher: Dell

629 Pages

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

*gasp* I know, I know! It's on my list! Very high up there, I swear. I've heard only awesome things, plus the residence hall Ed and I will be living in next year is named for the author. (She attended my school! a;sdjnfal;sdkfna;lsdkfhgfds SO FREAKING AWESOME)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (3)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. It is based off of the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, Waiting on Wednesday. Since the "On My Wishlist" meme is no longer active, Ed and I have decided to switch to this meme so we can talk about books (and movies) that we want - both released and to-be-released.

This week's theme is:
Books I Would Like to Read For The Second Time

Our Released Pick:

The Pledge (The Pledge #1) by Kimberly Derting

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

323 Pages

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was one of the best books I read in 2011. Plus Kimberly Derting is on of my favorite authors. I have to reread this one before book two, The Essence comes out in January.

Our To-Be-Released Pick:

Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1) by Jay Kristoff

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: September 18, 2012 

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books 

336 Pages

A DYING LAND 
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever. 

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST 
The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death. 

A HIDDEN GIFT 
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her. 

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

I just finished this book last night and I already need to reread it. Stormdancer is one of the best books that I've ever read. Ever. It's so freaking good and even though I just spent time with the characters last night, I miss them. Is that weird?

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (2)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. It is based off of the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, Waiting on Wednesday. Since the "On My Wishlist" meme is no longer active, Ed and I have decided to switch to this meme so we can talk about books (and movies) that we want - both released and to-be-released.

This week's theme is:
Second Series Salivation

Our Released Pick:

Flesh and Blood (House of Comarré #2) by Kristen Painter

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: November 1, 2011

Publisher: Orbit

402 Pages

With the ring of sorrows still missing, and the covenant between othernaturals and mortals broken, Chrysabelle and Malkolm's problems are just beginning. Chrysabelle still owes Malkolm for his help, but fulfilling that debt means returning to Corvinestri, the hidden vampire city neither of them is welcome in.

The discovery that Chrysabelle has a brother could mean reneging on her promise to Malkolm, something that might make him angry enough to loose the beast living inside him. And fulfilling her vow could prove devastating for Chrysabelle --- especially when you throw in power hungry witches, dead fringe vampires, and the Kubai Mata.

I read the first book in this series and LOVED IT! I need book two now. NOW. I keep eyeing it and then forgetting about it. *facepalm*

Our To-Be-Released Pick:

Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2) by Kendare Blake

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: August 7, 2012

Publisher: Tor Teen

304 Pages

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live--not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

Now, I'm not very far into the first book, but I KNOW that I'm going to love it and give it a high rating. So Girl of Nightmares is one book I'm definitely going to be buying in August.  Plus the cover? GORGEOUS! I can't wait to read it!

What books do you desperately want this week?

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (1)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. It is based off of the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, Waiting on Wednesday. Since the "On My Wishlist" meme is no longer active, Ed and I have decided to switch to this meme so we can talk about books (and movies) that we want - both released and to-be-released.

This week's theme is:
Cover Lust

Our released pick:

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
398 Pages

Generations ago, a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

THIS COVER IS GORGEOUS! It's so intriguing and the blurb sounds wonderful. I want to read this as soon as possible. I've heard a lot of good things about the book and the author. This beautiful cover would look great on my bookshelf. ;)

Our To-Be-Released Pick

Through To You by Emily Hainsworth
The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: October 2, 2012

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

272

Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the meds wore off. And now, he’d give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn’t Viv.

The apparition’s name is Nina, and she’s not a ghost. She’s a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can’t believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn’t the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day.

As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he’s forced to choose—stay with Viv or let her go—before the window closes between them once and for all.

This one sounds wonderful, too. Endearing and sweet and angsty! My hands itch to hold this book. Seriously. I want it so, so badly. Look, look at the pretty!

What are you wanting desperately this week?