Waiting on Wednesday #8: One Past Midnight + Dissonance

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are just waiting to have our hands on!

Title: One Past Midnight
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Publication: Walker Childrens/Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Expected Release Date: July 22nd 2014
Pre-order or buy on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:

Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.

Until now, that is... 

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.

With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking?

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Jessica Shirvington is the author of THE VIOLET EDEN CHAPTERS also known as THE EMBRACE SERIES, stand alone novel, BETWEEN THE LIVES and has an exciting new duology called DISRUPTION on the way in 2014.

An entrepreneur, author, and mother living in Sydney, Australia, Jessica is also a 2011 & 2012 finalist for Cosmopolitan’s annual Fun, Fearless Female Award. She’s also one of the lucky few who met the love of her life at age seventeen: Matt Shirvington, a former Olympian and current sports broadcaster for Foxtel and Fox Sports. Married for twleve years with two beautiful daughters, Sienna and Winter, Jessica knows her early age romance and its longevity has definitely contributed to how she tackles relationships in her YA novels.

Title: Dissonance

Author: Erica O'Rourke

Publication: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Expected Release Date: July 22nd 2014

Pre-order it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks

SYNOPSIS:
Delancy Sullivan has always known there’s more to reality than what people see. Every time someone makes a choice, a new, parallel world branches off from the existing one. Eating breakfast or skipping it, turning left instead of right, sneaking out instead of staying in bed ~ all of these choices create an alternate universe in which an echo self takes the road not travelled and makes the opposite decision. As a Walker, someone who can navigate between these worlds, Del’s job is to keep all of the dimensions in harmony.

Normally, Del can hear the dissonant frequency that each world emits as clear as a bell. But when a training session in an off-key world goes horribly wrong, she is forbidden from Walking by the Council. But Del’s not big on following the rules and she secretly starts to investigate these other worlds. Something strange is connecting them and it’s not just her random encounters with echo versions of the guy she likes, Simon Lane.

But Del’s decisions have unimaginable consequences and, as she begins to fall for the Echo Simons in each world, she draws closer to a truth that the Council of Walkers is trying to hide ~ a secret that threatens the fate of the entire multiverse.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

I write books about girls who make their own fate and fall for boys they shouldn't.

I live outside Chicago. I like to travel but I'll never really leave this city. 

I prefer cookies to cake (even cupcakes), television to movies, and autumn to all the other seasons.

I like sushi, naps, coffee, and driving stick shift. 

I hate fish, emoticons, bridges, and talking about myself.

Look at those beautiful covers too! Ack! Check out more books to look forward to next week! Thanks Misfit Booknerds!

{Blog Tour}: ARC Review: Fan Art by Sarah Tregay + Giveaway

Title: Fan Art

Author: Sarah Tregay
Publication: June 17th 2014, Katherine Tegen Books
Format: ARC,
Source: From the author! Thank you Sarah!
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | Kobo | iBooks | National Book Store / FullyBooked (PH)

SYNOPSIS:

Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.

As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?

This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.

Misfit Review: 
* I was given an ARC by the author in exchange for an honest review.

There are new possibilities whenever I read stories about guy on guy relationships. Jamie is gay, who has just come out  to his family but can never do so in his school or community. Being gay as many would know, is subject to taunts and threats. Jamie would rather not go through that.

At night I dream we live in a David Levithan novel
a world set to music and lit like Broadway---
each moment deep, magical, and underscored by
the simple and profound, like a Beatle's
song.

I was never one to get away from a story such as Fan Art since I am a huge fan of David Levithan. Fan Art captures the struggles of bout and the joys of coming out in the simplest of ways. Jamie is not really an intriguing character to begin with for he laid it out in the first place for the readers to know who he was. He's sweet, caring and scared that changes to how he interacts with everyone will jeopardize his humanity and his friendship with Mason, whom he fell in love with.

I did not just check out my besfriend, did I?

Oh Mason, Darren Criss inspired Mason. He's adorable. You really can't tell much about him except that he's an amazingly kind friend. He has his flaws which grabbed me but I felt that Mason was not much of a character to grasp fully and cuddle forever.

Eden squeezes my hand back and says, "Sometimes I wish things weren't so complex."
"Like, so I wouldn't have to come out? Yeah."
"Like,if people didn't care if love was love."
"Love is love."

The real relationship I really had a connection to was Eden's and Jamie's. Having two people talk about their gender preference and their hesitation to fully let go of their walls, struck me. It was easy to just read everything. I felt like I was part of their conversations. It was humorous and sad at the same time. Eden with her bluntness and Jamie with his reservations made me think at times while reading that they were perfect for each other. "I WANT THEM TOGETHER SO BAD", was the thought that ran through my head as I read their parts. I laughed so hard too. Their relationship in the book brought a sunshine I wanted to be under in.

While there is the lightness in the theme, there was also the apparent negativity towards one of the major themes of the books which is "being openly gay". I wanted to smack the characters so badly but in the corner of my mind, I understood that the topic at hand was still so fragile even in a place like USA, which, as many believe is a liberated country. Queer people are subject to bullying and some of the characters like Lia and Nick are either disgusted or humored by the idea of someone being gay.

Sarah Tregay has touched a theme that is both intriguing and in so many ways, so familiar to others. The story is a lighter take on the theme since I've noticed that some protagonists either feel defeated and suicidal or just too desperate to be noticed. I enjoyed how it was not plot-twisty. It was plain and simple, straight to the point and I appreciated it. It wasn't boring at all and it didn't leave me hanging. There are times though that I had to pause every 10 pages to keep myself sane.

Tregay's writing style is pure and sweet and the incorporation of poems were absolutely raw and honest that every teenager who may stumble upon this novel will relate to it.

Fan Art is fluffy, honest and a small force that can uplift anyone's spirits. It is for everyone. Grab it. You will not regret it.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Raised without television, Sarah started writing her own middle grade novels after she had read all of the ones in the library. She later discovered YA books, but never did make it to the adult section. When she's not jotting down poems at stoplights, she can be found hanging out with her "little sister" from Big Brothers Big Sisters or stressing over performance classes at a model horse show.

She has both a Bachelors and Masters of Fine Art in graphic design, and her obsession with typography and layout naturally translates into formatting poetry on the page.

She lives in Eagle, Idaho with her husband, two Boston Terriers, and an appaloosa named Mr. Pots.

Waiting on Wednesday #7: Midnight Thief + FOUR: A Divergent Story Collection

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are just waiting to have our hands on!

Title: Midnight Thief (Midnight Thief #1)
Author: Livia Blackburne
Publication: Disney-Hyperion
Expected Release Date: July 8th 2014
Pre-order it on: Amazon | Barnes And Noble | Indie Bound | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS: 

Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.

But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.

When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

1. I write fantasy. Most often YA fantasy, but sometimes I branch out.

2. I was born in Taiwan, raised in Albuqurque, and spent my twenties in Boston, where I studied biochemistry at Harvard and neuroscience at MIT.

3. I started my debut novel Midnight Thief in high school, because writing a novel was the only way I could get out of the mandatory camping requirement. I finished about 60 pages. They were 60 awful, awful pages.

4. I finished Midnight Thief 12 years later, because writing a novel was the only way I could keep my sanity while conducting my doctoral research. This time, I got to 370 pages, and they were much less awful than the initial 60.

5. I write a blog about psychology and neuroscience for writers. You can check it out here.

6. Like every good Asian kid, I played the piano as a child. I don’t do that as much anymore, but I still love to sing and dance.

7. I’m horrible at any sports that involve fast moving projectiles, and I dislike most sports that involve highly repetitive movements (running, swimming, biking, etc.). This leaves basically dancing and martial arts.

8. When I wanted sweets as a child, my mother would give me one M&M. I thought that was normal, and to this day, have very low tolerance for sweets. One bite of chocolate bar, half a scoop of ice cream is about all I can take.

9. If I had to choose one author with the biggest influence on my reading and writing development, it would be Tamora Pierce.

10. Some of my favorite books: Graceling by Kristen Cashore, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Plain Kate by Erin Bow, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

Title: Four: A Divergent Story Collection

Author: Veronica Roth

Publication: Katherine Tegen Books

Expected Release Date: July 8th 2014

Pre-order it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | iBooks | The Book Depository

SYNOPSIS:  

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling divergent series, told from the per-spective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here—The Transfer, The Initiate, The Son, and The Traitor—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the Divergent trilogy.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Veronica Roth is from a Chicago suburb. She studied creative writing at Northwestern University, and wrote DIVERGENT (Katherine Tegen Books, May 2011) and INSURGENT (May 2012). The third and final book in The Divergent Trilogy, ALLEGIANT, will come out on October 22, 2013. In the meantime she will spend endless hours browsing Wikipedia in her pajamas as she eats corn flakes. (Or some other kind of bland breakfast cereal.)

Keep tuned in for more amazing reads to wait for! Check out posts every Wednesday! Thank you Misfit Booknerds!

Waiting on Wednesday #6: Conversion + The Vanishing Season

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are just waiting to have our hands on!

Title: Conversion
Author: Katherine Howe
Publication: Putnam Juvenile
Expected Release Date: July 1st 2014
Pre-order on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.

First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .

Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Katherine Howe is the author of THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE, which debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, was named one of USA Today's top ten books of 2009, and which has been translated into over twenty languages. In 2012 she hosted the Expedition Week special "Salem: Unmasking the Devil" on the National Geographic Channel.

Her second novel, a historical thriller set in Boston in the aftermath of the Titanic sinking entitled THE HOUSE OF VELVET AND GLASS, was released in the US in April 2012, and was a USA Today and New York Times e-book bestseller.

Her third novel, a young adult historical thriller called CONVERSION, follows a group of teenage girls who must uncover the real reason behind a mysterious outbreak at their high school. Praised as "Prep meets The Crucible," CONVERSION releases in the US on July 1, 2014.

Katherine edited of THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES, a collection of primary sources about witchcraft in English North America which appears with Penguin Classics for Halloween 2014.

A graduate of Columbia and Boston University, she lives in Massachusetts and upstate New York with her family, where she teaches at Cornell. She enjoys roaming the woods, reading, and sailing, and she looks very fetching in a pointy hat. In spring 2015 she will be the visiting writer in residence at Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. She is at work on her next novel.

Title: The Vanishing Season

Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson

Publication: HarperTeen

Expected Release Date: July 1st 2014

Pre-order on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:

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

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

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

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

About The Author:

Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Jodi Lynn Anderson write books about vaguely magical peach orchards, resorts in the afterlife, enigmatic island princesses beloved by Tinkerbell, and...civics! She was an awkward and strange child who kept lots of secrets. Now she lives with a sweet Basenji dog named Peanut who loves to eat shoes, and a sweet husband who is good at all the things she's bad at, like being organized and thinking things through. She's loved writing and reading about mythical and strange things since she can remember.

{Cover Reveal} Time Shifters by Laura N. Anile

Title:Time Shifters

Author: Laura N. Anile (Beyond Time #1)
Publication Date: June 2014
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult
Trailer: Available here

Read the first chapter to Time Shifters

Synopsis:

‘My blood runs cold, and I see the horror etched in the boy’s reflection. Anxiety seeps into my chest, making my heart hammer. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know how I got here. But what worries me most is: I don't know who the hell is looking back at me in the mirror."

When you wake up in the wrong body within a futuristic world, being yourself can get you killed.

17-year-old Ryder is on his way to school when he experiences a pain like he has never felt before. He awakes in a mysterious lab to discover that, as a victim of an unauthorized transfer, he has been pulled into the year 2127.

Now Ryder’s life depends on him succeeding in making everyone believe that he is Ziron, the boy that swapped places with him in 2015. If he fails, he will be captured, imprisoned, or worse. Ryder only has to survive two weeks in this futuristic world he doesn’t understand. But two weeks is a long time when you don’t know who to trust, and when you have to keep away from a girl you have sworn to protect.

Kira refuses to stay away, so how can he prevent her from discovering his secret? And how can he be with her when she thinks he’s someone else?

Time is running out for Ryder to unravel the conspiracy and uncover the answer to the biggest question of all: Just why did Ziron risk everything to change places with him? And what exactly has Ryder been pulled into?

In a desperate quest to find his way home, Ryder will stop at nothing to protect the girl of his dreams, and the secret that could destroy everything.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Laura has had a lifelong love of writing, which she explored in a successful marketing career before penning her first novel. She is fascinated by the ideas of fate and interconnectedness, central themes in her story. She loves all things humorous, laughs too loudly and finds her own jokes amusing. She has a passion for traveling and exploring the world but has a phobia of suspect hotel rooms with questionable hygiene. And, oh yeah, she isn't clairvoyant and doesn't own any crystal balls.

In addition to 'Visions', she has also written a collection of short stories, entitled 'Unmasked Secrets'.

Waiting on Wednesday #4: 17 First Kisses & Fan Art

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are just waiting to have our hands on!

Title: 17 First Kisses

Author: Rachael Allen

Publication: HarperTeen
Pages: 352 

Expected Release Date: June 17th 2014
Pre-order it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | iBooks | Kobo

Synopsis:

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

Until Claire meets Luke.

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

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

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

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Rachael Allen lives in Atlanta, GA where she's working furiously on her PhD in neuroscience. When she's not doing science or writing YA, you can find her chasing after her toddler and her two sled dogs. Her debut YA novel 17 FIRST KISSES, is forthcoming from Harper Teen. Rachael may or may not have had 17 first kisses...luckily she doesn't kiss and tell.

Title: Fan Art

Author: Sarah Tregay

Publication: Katherine Tegen Books

Pages: 368

Expected Release Date: June 17th 2014
Pre-order it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indie Bound | iBooks | National Book Store (PH) |

Synopsis:
When the picture tells the story…

Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.

As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?

This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Raised without television, Sarah started writing her own middle grade novels after she had read all of the ones in the library. She later discovered YA books, but never did make it to the adult section. When she's not jotting down poems at stoplights, she can be found hanging out with her "little sister" from Big Brothers Big Sisters or stressing over performance classes at a model horse show.

She has both a Bachelors and Masters of Fine Art in graphic design, and her obsession with typography and layout naturally translates into formatting poetry on the page.

She lives in Eagle, Idaho with her husband, two Boston Terriers, and an appaloosa named Mr. Pots.

Look forward to more books to wait for! There are definitely plenty left! See you next Wednesday!