BLOG TOUR: CRASH INTO YOU by KATIE MCGARRY

 

 

Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the Crash Into You Blog Tour!

This tour is being hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. My stop includes a review and giveaway. Follow all the tour stops at the home page.

Series: Pushing the Limits #3

Category/Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 11/26/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 474
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 3.5 stars

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

 

Like so many readers, I loved Pushing the Limits and Dare You To. Noah, Beth, and Isaiah are three of the most heart-wrenching characters I've read, and I want them to have happy, safe endings. We got there with Noah Hutchins (always my favorite), and Beth. But after the way he was left at the end of Dare You To, I really needed this for Isaiah; for him to be better than surviving. Happy.

To that point, before I go further in my review, with what I may have liked, loved, or felt "meh" about, I have to say one thing. Katie McGarry can write. She owns her words and uses each one to create stories that make readers fall in love with her characters. From my own experience, I can say that I have hurt -badly- for Noah, Beth and Isaiah. I become fully invested in their lives, and want their happy ending. So for that, I cannot say enough good things about McGarry's writing.

Overall, I liked Crash Into You - quite a lot - but that's not to say I didn't have a couple issues. In the first two books in the series, Isaiah was portrayed as a darker character. He smokes pot and drinks, is a very tough guy who's pretty much closed off to everyone but Isaiah and Beth. In Crash Into You, I didn't really see that darkness. It seems that Isaiah isn't quite who he's portrayed himself to be, it's a cover for protection. I guess I can see that, but still, I felt a bit thrown. It's not that I don't think it's possible for Isaiah to have put up that façade for Noah, but since they are brothers by bond, I don't see why. Other than that, I liked the characterization of Isaiah, and was very invested in his story, particularly his bonds with Noah and Beth. But I also enjoyed seeing this tough and closed-off boy fall in love.

Rachel, she was a bit of a challenge for me. I did like that she was a car freak. I had a friend who was so into cars in school, she even drove an old Mustang (until we wrecked it).  I know my friend would have been thrilled to find a girl like Rachel in books as a teen. I also liked that Rachel was non-judgmental about Isaiah's background and tough looks. That she accepted Isaiah just as he was. What kept me from being completely Team Rachel was mostly her family. What a self-absorbed, enabling group of people they were. I'm still a bit boggled at one family that wrapped up in the past like that. And this is not to say that I don't understand why they may have been so self-absorbed and way too protective of Rachel. I do get it. I just don't get it, and that's where I struggled, because it was a bit much for me to take. I don't want to judge the story based on the dysfunctional Young family, but maybe if I didn't have to understand their motivations, Rachel's motivation to please them to the point of illness, and her constant panic attacks, it would have been a bit easier. The bright side to this dilemma? Character growth. Rachel grew immensely as a character, and I do truly appreciate that.

Crash Into You may not have been quite the story I expected, but I did enjoy it quite a lot. I loved the racing, the bond between Noah, Beth, and Isaiah, and the joy of seeing Isaiah experience true happiness. I didn't love everything about it, but I did feel so much, and at the end, that counts for a lot.


Favorite Quote:


  Maybe this is what happens when you fall in love. On the outside a lighter is nothing amazing, but it holds all the ingredients that can create something wonderful. With a few pushes in the right direction, you can inspire something so brilliant that it pushes back the darkness.  ~eARC, 68%


  "This is who I am, Rachel. Accept it or not. The tattoos won't wash off. The earrings will never change. I am who I am and nothing more. I'm loyal to a chosen few, I always keep my word and I'll protect you with my life. I scare the hell out of most people, but you will never have anything to fear from me. Choose. Love me or don't. But tell me now."   ~eARC, 74%

Pushing the Limits Series

 

      

 

(click on cover for GoodReads page)

 

 

 

Purchase Crash Into You

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository  |  Kobo  |  Audible

 

***GIVEAWAY***

10 finished copies of Crash Into You (US and Canada only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

 

 

About the author:

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, follow her on Twitter , or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.

 

 

TEASER TUESDAY ~ CRASH INTO YOU

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

·Grab your current read
·Open to a random page
·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.



Series: Pushing the Limits #3

Category/Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 11/26/13

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

 

My Teaser ~

  "Rachel," he says with a long drawl. I glance over at him when he says nothing else. His eyes flicker between me and the road. "I'm Isaiah, and I swear I'll take care of you and your car."   ~eARC, 11%

What do you think? Be sure to check out my stop on the blog tour, coming next week! 

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY ~ CRASH INTO YOU

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

This week's WoW selection is...

Series: Pushing the Limits #2

Category/Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance/Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 11/26/13

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

 

Why I'm Waiting ~  ISAIAH. Y'all, I have been dying for this guy to get his own story, and happy ending. I will be devouring Crash Into You the moment I get it.

On a side note: I hate feet, especially guy feet. I tell my husband every day how much I don't like his feet and that I married him in spite of them. But, I gotta say, Isaiah's feet are kind of nice. Thank goodness.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT AND GIVEAWAY: INK (PAPER GODS #1) by AMANDA SUN

 

Sometimes I receive books that I just don't connect with. It's sad but true. Ink just didn't work out for me as a reader, but I know many others have loved it. So I want to pass this highly anticipated book on to another read, and I hope that it rocks your world!

Here are a few links to two positive reviews of Ink on Goodreads.

Leah's Review, and Books and Sensibilities Review

Series: Paper Gods #1
Category/Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: 6/25/13
Format: ARC
Pages: 377

I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

 

Pre-order Ink at:
(I receive no monetary compensation for sales)

 

       

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TEASER TUESDAY ~ DARE YOU TO by KATIE McGARRY

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

·Grab your current read

·Open to a random page

·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

Series: Pushing the Limits #2

Category/Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date:5/28/13

Format: ARC

Pages: 462

Source: Received from publicist for review

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

 

My Teaser~

   Noah--his hair hiding his eyes, keeping the world from seeing his soul.
  Isaiah--a sleeve of beautiful tattoos that frightens the normal and entices the free.
  Me--the poet in my mind when I'm high.
  I came to this house for safety. They came because the foster care system ran out of homes. We stayed because we were stray pieces of other puzzles, tired of never fitting.  ~pg. 20

Fabulous writing, yeah? Dare You To releases today! You can see my review  here.

Pushing the Limits Series

(click on cover for GoodReads page)

Purchase Dare You To at:

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository 

REVIEW: DARE YOU TO (PUSHING THE LIMITS #2) by KATIE McGARRY

Series: Pushing the Limits #2
Category/Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date:5/28/13
Format: ARC
Pages: 462
Source: Received from publicist for review

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

 

A connection that begins with a careless dare but becomes so much more, Dare You To is a story of taking risks, learning to trust, the transformative power of love, and letting go of the chains that hold you down.

I want so badly to compare Dare You To to Pushing the Limits. To compare Beth to Echo, and Noah to Ryan.  It's inevitable, but truly not necessary, and doesn't give both books their justice. The characters in each story will forever be connected, but just like Beth, I need to let go of that story (for now) and focus on this one.

Beth Risk is a challenging character, one that will probably drive some readers crazy with her harsh words, attitude, extreme stubbornness and inability to see that she must leave her old life if she ever wants to survive. She's frustrating, yes. But I think that if Beth had simply gone along with the people who wanted her to change her life and didn't fight until it nearly broke her, that would not have given her character true authenticity. It wouldn't have given justice to how truly messed up Beth's life was.

I'll admit, I really wanted Beth with Isaiah, I thought they were perfect for each other because they were so alike. But, it's that very reason that Beth and Isaiah need to let go of one another. To break away, and make better lives. To each find someone to see them for the person they can and should be, instead of the person the are right now. This realization was heartbreaking for Beth, and impossible to grasp for Isaiah. I would say for me, that seeing Beth slowly let go of Noah and Isaiah was the hardest part of Dare You To. I trust that McGarry will take good care of Isaiah in Crash Into You.

Ryan Stone is the boy who met Beth on a dare. A boy who leads a charmed life, but on the inside, he has some serious struggles of his own. His seemingly perfect family has imploded. His father's control, his mother's need for a perfect façade, and a brother's secret has driven the Stones apart. Ryan is destined to be a professional baseball player, but also has the heart of a writer. He lives his life to please others until he meets Beth Risk. And as much as Ryan challenges her, she gives it right back, pushing him to live the life he wants, with the people he wants in it. I wondered if I could love Ryan as much as Noah Hutchins because Noah goes through so many horrible things in his life, and is such a remarkable character (so much for not comparing). But the thing is, just because one person's issues in life aren't as "terrible" as another's, doesn't make them any less valid to that person.

What truly made me love Ryan was his love for Beth. He could have only taken Beth at her harsh exterior, but pushed her to open up, to trust, love, and see that she could have a better life. She does the same for him in many respects. A lot of times, books and characters are unfairly (in my opinion) criticized for the "love saves" story. That everyone, girls in particular, should be able to save themselves and "why does a guy always have to swoop in and save the day?". And that could be true for a character who is raised with a strong sense of self and a healthy upbringing. But not all characters -or people- have that advantage. The love and faith of another person may not necessarily save you, but can cause you to begin to see yourself as they do, as someone worthy of love and happiness. And that's why I love stories like Dare You To: they show the beautifully transformative power of love. *cue Celine Dion*

Dare You To is an amazing story. I was completely taken over by the story and characters, barely eating and forgoing sleep until the very last page. I was blown away by the characters, their stories and emotions. Katie McGarry is an incredibly talented and thoughtful author, and I will eagerly read anything she writes. I cannot recommend the Pushing the Limits Series highly enough.

Favorite Quotes:


   "Trust me."
  "I can't," I whisper. I trusted Scott, my mother, and my father. I trusted Luke, my aunt, and Isaiah. All people who left me. All people who faded into darkness. My heart has been ripped multiple times and each time I repaired it on my own. I know my limits and if someone rips me apart again, I'll never find the strength to pick up the pieces.
  An intensity warms his brown eyes and he gently hugs my body to his. "You can."
  I suck in a breath. Ryan's doing it. He's giving me the same look Chris gives Lacy. The same look Noah gives Echo. Maybe I can. My heart thunders as I reach up and grab the hair curling near the base of Ryan's neck. "Don't drop me."  ~ARC, pg. 339


  "It's our rain, Beth."
  Her head barely shakes to show her confusion while I rub the back of my neck and search for my courage. "I told you I loved you in this rain and when you doubt my words, I want you to look at this bottle."  ~ARC, pg. 348


    There are times when you stand on the cusp of moments so huge, you know you'll remember them forever. This is that moment for me and for Ryan. I'm not seducing him. He's not seducing me. Instead, we're choosing to be together.  ~ARC, pg. 376

 

Pushing the Limits Series

 

(click on cover for GoodReads page)

 

Purchase Dare You To at:

 

 

 

 

About the author:

KATIE MCGARRY was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, and reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website, follow her on Twitter , or become a fan on Facebook and Goodreads.

{BLOG TOUR} UNDEADLY (THE REAPER DIARIES #1) by MICHELLE VAIL

Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the Undeadly Blog Tour. The tour is being hosted by Shane at Itching For Books. My stop includes my review and a tour-wide giveaway.


Series: The Reaper Diaries #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: 11/20/12
Format: eARC
Pages: 272
Source: Received from publisher for review.

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper-and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she’s shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. Who seems to hate her guts.

Rath will be watching closely to be sure she completes her first assignment-reaping Rick, the boy who should have died. The boy she still wants to be with. To make matters worse, students at the academy start turning up catatonic, and accusations fly-against Molly. The only way out of this mess? To go through hell. Literally.

 

With a spirited, snarky main character and a fun take on zombies and reapers, Undeadly is a fast and fun ride.

Undeadly is a book that I've been looking forward to for a long time. I loved the cover, loved the synopsis and was excited to dive into the story.  I found the story to be really fun, unique and a bit quirky. The thing is, I'm not a big zombie fan. But in this book, the zombies, and all of the supernatural beings were given a lighter spin. So I enjoyed the story for the very reason hardcore zombie lovers might have not. Also, I loved the world of necromancers and Egyptian history that Vail created. It was in-depth and creative, without feeling like a huge amount of info to work through.

Another reason that Undeadly worked for me was the dialogue. Molly talked like a true teen. Now that I really think about it, she sounded a lot like my friends and I did in the 90s. I found the fact that she dealt with the upheavals in her life with sarcasm instead of despair to be sort of refreshing.

My review would be lacking if I didn't mention the two men of Undeadly, Rick and Rath. Rick was a sweetie, but I would have liked a bit more to his and Molly's relationship to form a better connection with him. Rath was great, sexy and mysterious. Again, I would have liked to have had waaayy more of Rath in Undeadly, but am hoping to get that in book two.

Overall, I liked Undeadly. Like I've said (probably too many times!), it was a fun journey. Molly was left at the edge of a big discovery and I'm interested to find out what happens next.


Favorite Quote:

  "We were thigh to thigh, chest to chest, and breathing hard.
  'Pretty good, Molly,' he said. His breath ghosted over my cheek. 'But not good enough.'
  'Just you wait,' I said. I struggled, trying to wiggle out of his grip, but he was strong and in a primo position.
  'Stop,' he said softly.
  I did.
  Something in his eyes had changed --going from glittering fury to...well, I wasn't sure. It was still a dark emotion, tormented almost. The tensioin thrumming between us shifted. It was still physical, just more intense. And confusing.
 'You really are beautiful,' he murmured."   (eARC, 56%)


You can purchase Undeadly at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Michele Vail writes young adult paranormal fiction about zombies and reapers.

She likes reading, dogs, cats, board games, ghost-hunting shows, and Halloween. She believes in magic, in the impossible, and in the restorative powers of chocolate.

Michele lives happily-ever-after with her Viking and their family.

Official link: http://www.michelevail.com/

twitter: https://twitter.com/michelevail

GIVEAWAY

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

IT'S FEY DAY! MINI-REVIEWS: THE LOST PRINCE and IRONSKIN

Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: 10/23/12
Format: eARC
Pages: 379
Source: Received from publisher, via NetGalley.

Don't look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.That is Ethan Chase's unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he'd dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister's world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

Why I  Read The Lost Prince:
I am a huge fan of the Iron Fey series. When I learned that Julie Kagawa had revisited the Nevernever with Ethan as the lead character, I was so stoked.


Engaging and enchanting, The Lost Prince is a much-welcomed revisit to the Nevernever.

As someone who is a giddy fangirl for the Iron Fey series, I had high expectations for The Lost Prince. And I've promised myself over and again that I wouldn't read and compare this book to that fantastic series. It's not fair to the story and it's not fair to Ethan, because, really, NO ONE can compare to Ash. But I did. I compared Ethan's reluctant journey to Nevernever to Meghan's and I spent most of the opening chapters anticipating a reappearance of the beloved characters. When those characters actually did show up, I was beyond thrilled, which is awesome, but also not so awesome because I did miss them when they were gone. I wanted more of them, less of Ethan and his journey.

But once I got over myself, I really enjoyed The Lost Prince! Ethan is not the sweet, lovable little boy we knew. He's almost grown now, and a life spent tormented by the fey has made him irritable, sullen, and aloof. Ethan is resentful of his sister, who left the family behind to become the Iron Queen, his parents just don't understand what he's going through. He doesn't want friends, or to be anyone's hero, but helping a bullied, half-fey schoolmate land Ethan exactly where he doesn't want to be: in the Fey's sights. Along with Kenzie, a beautiful, sweet girl who won't let Ethan push her away, Ethan travels through the one place he swore he'd never return to, reuniting with family and old acquaintances, and becomes the hero he never expected to be.

Julie Kagawa's Fey world is by far my favorite. Her descriptive story-telling is highly visual, but not so heavy handed that it becomes boring or overwhelming. The action sequences are exhilarating, the dialogue is light and intense all at the same time. Her characters, whether you love them (Ash and Puck) or love to hate them (Leanansidhe) are always engaging. Wherever her next story leads, I will surely follow.


Favorite Quote:

  "Kenzie held up her hand, and several more tiny lights hovered around her, landing on her fingers and making them glow.
  For a second, I couldn't look away. My heartbeat picked up, and my mouth was suddenly dry, watching the girl in the center of the winking cloud, smiling as the tiny lights landed in her hair or perched on her arm.
  She was beautiful."   (eARC, 36%)


  " 'You do not know as much as you think you do. Besides...' He blinked, raising his head imperiously. 'I am a cat.'
  And that was the end of it."  (eARC, 37%)


  "As the eerie music swirled around us, I knew that if I remembered anything about this night, it would be this moment, right now. With Kenzie less than a breath away, the moonlight spilling down on her as she danced, graceful as any faery."  (eARC, 68%)


You can purchase at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository


Series: Ironskin #1
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: 10/2/12
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Source: Received from publisher.

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

 

Why I Read Ironskin:
I noticed this book on a lot of Waiting on Wednesday posts, but wasn't sure it was the book for me. When I received a surprise copy from the publisher, I decided to give Ironskin a try.


Back before I became obsessed with YA and hot rock stars, I was in love with broody English men. Seriously, I could not get enough of men like Maxim de Winter, the Mr. Darcy and Heathcliff. I loved that these men seemed cold and indifferent, until a pivotal moment would loosen their control and each declared his mad love to the sweet, young woman (Not Catherine, she was awful.) who stole his heart. Something about a repressed English man really gets to me, I guess. Then you have the heroine, a girl who is convinced that this sophisticated, aloof man could never love her. She believes that he is still in love with the ghost of a woman long gone. And lastly, you have the setting. Dark and broody English moors, the homes that seem to be alive with memories, secrets in the dark corners. All of these elements made me a young lover of Gothic Romance (I know P&P is not Gothic, but I'm still including it.), and they made me so completely happy that Ironskin landed in my hands.

Author Tina Connolly took inspiration from a classic story, and gave it a magnificent spin by adding a world in which the fey exist, and have terrorized humans for years. Jane is a casualty of the Great War. She is scarred and cursed by the fey, with a rage that can only be contained by her ironskin mask. When she becomes the Governess to a young girl, mysteriously afflicted by the fey, she unexpectedly falls in love with the child's father, Edward Rochart.

Humans, though still frightened believe the Great War is over, but the fey will not stay in the woods forever. As Jane slowly pieces together the horrible truth about the cursed, and her own boss, she uncovers the fey's horrific plan to retake the land.

I was stunned and captivated by the beauty of Connnelly's writing. From the moment the story began, I began, I was enthralled and happy to be in this frightening, haunting, and beautiful world. I was hooked until the shocking end and will be desperately waiting for the next installment.



Favorite Quote:

  "Jane emerged into the round blue-lit foyer, half-thinking he was going to ask her to leave and not return. Despite her desperation - perhaps it would be for the best. To be stranded here in this house that reeked of fey, with this man who ripped down her barriers, who loomed over her with unreadable eyes...perhaps it would be easier if he dismissed her now."  (pg. 16)


  " I don't understand why you need a reminder of how evil people can be,' she said. 'It's something I try to forget.'
   He moved closer, the formality fizzling off and away, as if by coming to the studio Jane had given him the necessary permission to indulge in speaking with her, watching her. His lean frame was so near her own. 'Sometimes we have to remind ourselves we are capable of.' "  (pg.64)

You can purchase Ironskin at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

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

This week's WoW selection is...

 

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked. "An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series So wrong for each other...and yet so right. No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again. ~ From GoodReads

Why I'm Waiting ~ I thing the synopsis pretty much says it all. :-)


Expected publication: July 31st 2012 by Harlequin Teen

You can pre-order PUSHING THE LIMITS at:

Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository  |  Amazon