Sexy Beach Reads Week

I wanted to spice up my reading, and so next week will be a bit of a special one on the blog. It's going to focus on some sexy reads for you to take to the beach (or pool)

I'll be reviewing three different books and there will be a fun give away as well. I am excited to share a few other titles (outside the ones I am reviewing) for you to check out as well.

Here is the schedule (which is subject to change)

Tuesday - review of Fifty Shades of You (A 50 Shades Parody) by BooksByYou
Wednesday - review of Idol by Kristen Callihan
Thursday - other NA books to check out
Friday - review of Surf and Surrender by Riley Edgewood

I hope you'll stop by next week and check out what I thought of some books that helped heat up this already hot summer.

Paper Princess by Erin Watt

Paper Princess by Erin Watt
Release Date - April 4, 2016

Publisher Website - Everafter Romance
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 370 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**purchased**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself.

These Royals will ruin you…

Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone.

Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from.

Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals.

He might be right.

Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.

I'am always in search of books that remind me of Gossip Girl. I want something that is just as sexy, just as debaucherous, just as fun as that television show was (at least in its early seasons). Plenty of books seem like they might have that combination of sexy chemistry, and delicious drama. Plenty of them also fail to deliver. Paper Princess, however, hits all the right notes.

Erin Watt, the pen name of Elle Kennedy and Jen Frederick, crafts a read that is, in one word, addictive. It is the type of story that would be right at home on the CW (or Freeform) network - a group of insanely beautifully teens behaving badly. This co-written book blends together seamlessly. I couldn't tell it was written by two different authors, which is always a sign of a successful co-write. Each of them used their strengths to create an highly entertaining, and tightly paced read.

This is a world of wealth, privilege, private schools, and personal drivers. This backdrop and setting fits perfectly with the story Erin Watt is weaving, and with the characters. It added texture to the story and gives it a heightened sense of drama. This story needs to be set in this particular world, because the environment has helped shaped who these characters are, for better and for worse. When an author nails the setting, the rest of the story often falls into place, and that is the case here.

The Reed brothers are all varying degrees of broken. They are all hot messes that make Chuck Bass look angelic. There is a reason that people say the Royals will ruin you, and each of the brothers should come with their own warning sign. There is something so captivating, and compelling about these broken characters, especially when an author allows them to walk that line between being able to be redeemed, and not. You may not like these characters sometimes, but you understand them and their choices. You see what made them who they are, and that is vastly more important than them being likeable.

Ella is a contradiction of sorts. She is shown as strong, yet fragile. She's street smart, and had to grow up much quicker than other people her age once she had to take care of herself. The authors have turned the typical 'fish out of water' story into something more. Ella is capable of holding her own in her new surroundings, but they allow her to be flawed in a way most characters like her are not. She's not innocent, and certainly isn't a damsel in distress.

A perfect poolside page turner whose ending all but demands you read the upcoming sequel. I, personally, am glad I don't have that long to wait to continue the story of the infamous Royal brothers and the women who dare to love them. If you miss Gossip Girl, or are looking for something fun to read at the beach this summer I highly recommend picking this one up. Just be warned ... it'll ruin you.

Waiting On Wednesday .... Broken Prince

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

My pick this week is Broken Prince by Erin Watt

**SPOILERS FOR PAPER PRINCESS**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

These Royals will ruin you…

From wharf fights and school brawls to crumbling lives inside glittery mansions, one guy tries to save himself.

Reed Royal has it all—looks, status, money. The girls at his elite prep school line up to date him, the guys want to be him, but Reed never gave a damn about anyone but his family until Ella Harper walked into his life.

What started off as burning resentment and the need to make his father’s new ward suffer turned into something else entirely—keep Ella close. Keep Ella safe. But when one foolish mistake drives her out of Reed’s arms and brings chaos to the Royal household, Reed’s entire world begins to fall apart around him.

Ella doesn’t want him anymore. She says they’ll only destroy each other.

She might be right.

Secrets. Betrayal. Enemies. It’s like nothing Reed has ever dealt with before, and if he’s going to win back his princess, he’ll need to prove himself Royally worthy.

I devoured Paper Princess recently and cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel. My review for Paper Princess goes up soon so I won't say too much here, but it was very addictive. It's as fun, as twisty, and outrageous as you expect it to be, and I hope the sequel is just as entertaining.

Expected release date - July 25, 2016

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
Release Date - July 5, 2016

Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
Pages - 304 pages
My Rating - 5/5
**received from publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives

This Savage Song is about monsters, and humans. What makes someone a monster, and what makes someone human? This novel dissects that exact question, and discovers that it is sometimes a thin line that separates one from the other. This is Victoria Schwab's return to writing young adult novels after releasing a few adult ones, and it is a triumphant return. She's written an achingly beautiful story of how light and dark can coexist in anyone.

Music is the heartbeat of this story. It's a driving force, particularly for August's part of it. The is a melodic, lyrical quality to the writing that beautifully highlights the use of music and the characters themselves. It's the nuanced, pitch perfect writing that fans of Victoria Schwab have come to expect, and the story overtakes you like a song. It entrances, and sweeps you along while pulling emotions out of you with the subtlest ease.

There is a duality to the characters. Kate is a human who wants to be a monster, and August is a monster who would give anything to be human. These are characters that are so beautifully flawed, and vivid. There is a natural chemistry to them, and the way the balance each other lends itself to hopes of romance. However, this novel has not one hint of romance, and is all the better for it. Victoria Schwab allows her characters to develop and grow as individuals. They compliment and contrast one another along their joint journey but it is very much one of self discovery for both. There is something tantalizing about the hope for a deeper connection in the sequel, but this installment of Kate and August's story is made all the stronger without it.

There are instantly recognizable motivations and desires within these characters. Kate's desperation for her father to see her as worthy. August's need to be who he wishes he could be. These are things that are very human at their centre. Victoria Schwab masterfully takes these very human emotions and twists them with fantasy/supernatural elements in way that blends them together seamlessly. It adds emotional resonance to all her novels, and her characters.

This is a commentary about the echo the violent acts in our world leave behind. In this case they are literal echoes that have to be faced. An actual walking reminder of the pain humans can inflict. In reality they are metaphorical echoes that haunt us long after. They way these horrific acts twist, and shape not just our world, but ourselves is something that lingers on every single page of this novel. There is a shadow that these events leave behind, and Victoria Schwab examines what it would mean for them to have a voice. It's poetic, and darkly captivating and begs to be discussed. This isn't the kind of book you forget easily after finishing, because it leaves it's own imprint on you.

Those who have fallen in love with Victoria Schwab's previous novels will be delighted to discover another brilliantly written story within these pages. A thoughtful look at what it means to be human, and the darkness that exists within us all.

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews)

I came back from ALA to a fantastic package from my #otspsecretsister, Tink. It was filled with wine accessory goodies that I cannot wait to use.

It also had a book that is Taylor Swift inspired, which is totally perfect for me (and I've read this one and thought it was super cute). She also included some AMAZING ACOTAR bookmarks!

Sing by Vivi Greene (goodreads)

Thanks, Tink, for this lovely package. It was perfect and I love everything!

If you're curious about what I picked up at ALA, be sure to check out my recap.

What bookish items made their way into your mailbox this week?

Happy Weekend and Happy Reading!

Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

BOOK

Cover of King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard (goodreads)

This covers are stunning and I love the darkening of each as the series progresses. The crown made of bones, and that fierce tagline have me very excited to get my hands on this!

The title better be referring to Maven and a cage for him rather than a cage he has. He is honestly the worst. #TeamCal

When It's Real by Erin Watt (goodreads)

I just finished Paper Princess by Erin Watt and it has made me even more excited about this upcoming release. I was sold with the inclusion of  a bad boy pop star, and the potential for a cute (and sexy) romance. It is high on my 2017 wishlist and I cannot wait to hear more about it in the coming months.

TV/MOVIE

Nerve trailer

I stumbled across this trailer accidentally thanks to my Twitter feed. I immediately thought it sounded familiar and ran to Goodreads to verify that there is a book called Nerve that has a similar premise as this movie that is coming out this month.

Turns out is based on the book by Jeanne Ryan and the trailer has made me curious to pick up the book. I love that the trailer starts out kind of light and funny but grows quite dark towards the end. I am not even sure what it is about the trailer, but it has piqued my interest enough to go grab a copy of the book and check out the movie when it releases. If you've read Nerve, let me know what you thought in the comments.

What are you obsessed with this week?

ALA 2016 and Disney World

You may recall I mentioned I would be going this past week to ALA in Orlando. I left on the 22nd of June and got back on the 29th. I am (almost) recovered from a fantastic vacation but before I get to business as usual on the blog I thought I would offer up a recap of what I got up to while in Orlando.

First up, and obviously most important, is ALA itself. I loved that ALA is very low key compared to BEA. It may have been that there is simply less people, but ALA is way more relaxing. This allowed me more time to take part in buzz panels where the publishers discussed their upcoming fall titles. I also had more time to chat with the publishers about the books they were promoting. This allowed me to discover new titles that I would have perhaps not discovered otherwise.

Do I prefer ALA to BEA? That depends. I think I need to experience ALA again. BEA, for me, is an incredible rush. That rush comes with the excitement from other bookish fans. I didn't feel that same feeling at ALA. I did, however, like the opportunities ALA provided to really dig into the titles and learn more about them. I think I will do BEA for the foreseeable future but will attend ALA whenever it happens to be in a city I want to visit anyway.

I came back with a few titles that I am really excited about.

For Day 1 I really wanted to meet Emery Lord and that was my only real must do of the conference. I was successful and Emery is so kind. She is exactly what you expect her to be, and I immediately wanted to drink wine with her and have her give me life advice.

I also got to meet Jay Asher and get a copy of What Light (which was another one of my most anticipated titles of the conference). He was also really kind, and we joked about the length of his line as it was one of the biggest of the conference.

I snagged Die For You after the Penguin Random House representative told me a little bit about it. I didn't know much about it before Kelly mentioned I should look into it, but I was sold when I heard how passionately the publisher was about it.

Die For You by Amy Fellner Dominy (goodreads)

What Light by Jay Asher (goodreads)

When We Collided by Emery Lord (goodreads)

My second day was filled with pretty exciting discoveries. First up, I managed to get a copy of Glitter by Aprilynne Pike which is a book I've been REALLY excited about. It's been described as Marie Antoinette meets Breaking Bad which is basically like cat nip for me. 

Kelly sold me on the Graces because one of the characters is described as the school's version of Peter Pan. Immediately sold. I will be reading it as soon as I can sneak it into the reading schedule.

This Adventure Ends was a impulse pick up after I read the back of the copy Kelly snagged and I immediately wanted to read it. I hadn't heard much about it, but I am excited to find out if it is as good as it sounds. 

Lastly, for day two, I picked up a copy of Vassa In The Night after asking the Tor person to tell me a little about their fall titles. This one really stood out and the Tor representative seemed very passionate about it. 

Vassa In The Night by Sarah Porter (goodreads)

This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills (goodreads)

 The Graces by Laure Eve (goodreads)
Glitter by Aprilynne Pike (goodreads)

The last day was also the most frenzied. It seemed that the publishers wanted to make sure that their titles got into the hands of librarians and reviewers. It was also when they were putting out anything they had left, rather than you inquiring about a title.

I read the back of The Girl In The Picture and immediately became obsessed. A picture of a girl is found by the body of the high school heartthrob. This murder mystery has the potential to heat up my summer reading if I can fit it in.

I've had my eye on Cherry for a while (basically since I heard it was a female American Pie) and was thrilled when I discovered it at ALA. It was hidden so I didn't noticed they had copies until I noticed it while inquiring about something else.

I am a sucker for Hollywood set mysteries and obviously Pasadena was a must get for me. I was happy to discover copies there and I am so excited to read it.

The Girl In The Picture by Alexandra Monir (goodreads)
Cherry by Lindsey Rosin (goodreads)
Pasadena by Sherri L Smith (goodreads)
Jess, Chunk, And The Road Trip To Infinity by Kristin Elizabeth Clark (goodreads)
Everything You Want Me To Be by Mindy Mejia (goodreads)
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han (goodreads)

A huge thank you to the publishers and all the bloggers I chatted with who made this event so much fun. There were moments where I felt unwelcome as a blogger so I am so thankful to those who took the time to talk to me and were kind.

The rest of my time in Orlando was sent relaxing, and visiting Disney World. I am a huge Disney fan (which surprises nobody) and will take any chance to visit a truly magical theme park.

There was a lot that was new at Disney. First up was the Tangled area with Rapunzel's tower and the town square. This is a themed restroom area, but I can easily see it expanding to include a restaurant (The Snuggly Duckling, of course) or other attractions.

One of my favourite rides is Peter Pan's Flight

It is a must ride for me every time I go and I was thrilled to discover they had made some serious modifications to this attraction. The biggest update was to the waiting area which is now a lovely walk through the Darling house. I was fangirling all over the place but especially loved the bedrooms for Wendy, John and Michael and how they incorporated Tinkerbell into the new waiting area.

I loved the pictures on the walls, and especially the little details (like the blocks on Michael's bed spelling out Peter Pan). It made the experience all the more vivid. 

We ate lunch at Be Our Guest which is, obviously, a Beauty and the Beast themed restaurant. We selected the West Wing to eat in and it was perfection.

We got to see the (incredibly well done) rose that is the centre piece of the movie.

We also saw the portrait that Beast destroys after he is cursed. They had thunder and lightning that would flash at various intervals and transform the picture into the beast.

We got to try the grey stuff, and it was indeed delicious.

And this incredible artwork was the perfect way to leave this stunning attraction.

Outside the restaurant is Gaston's Tavern and in front of that is a Gaston's gift to the village.

A fountain of himself, naturally. It is so perfect that I just cannot. The plaque in front makes it even more priceless and it's little things like this that Disney gets just right.

One of my favourite parts of Magic Kingdom is getting to see Cinderella's Castle. It looks particularly pretty at night during the fireworks, but it is honestly so iconic that I could take pictures of it all day.

I also managed to try Dole Whip for the first time, and it was life changing. I now need to have it every single time I visit Disney. If you have never tried Dole Whip be sure to next time you visit.

Pineapple drinks are delicious and frozen pineapple drinks are even better, just saying. 

The two biggest additions since I last visited though were The Seven Dwarfs Mine ride, and Frozen Ever After. I managed to ride both. The Seven Dwarfs Mine ride is similar to Big Thunder Mountain (I feel it is the less intense of the two) but it has a lot of charm, particularly when you go into the mine and visit the dwarfs while they are busy working. Adorable. Sadly, the ride is a little too quick to get photos, but the attention to detail (especially the inside parts) is typical Disney.

I jumped over to Epcot to visit Norway's pavilion and the new Frozen Ever After Ride. I arrived first thing in the morning and this is what I was greeted with... 

Some people left the line, and it did speed up which shortened my wait time to just about 2 hours and I happily waited. The ride itself? Totally worth it. It was magical. So magical in fact that I decided to get in line and ride it again. This ride has minor thrills as you go down a few 'waterfalls' (one of which is done backwards) but if you rode Maelstrom you'll be well prepared for the (small) drops.

The attention to detail is, once again, perfection and I was especially impressed with Olaf who is a dancing, moving, bundle of cute. Seriously. 

I had the best time at Disney. It truly is one of the most magical places and I am so excited to go back.

Did you attend ALA? If so let me know what you were most excited about. If not, what book would you want to read first that was at ALA?