They’re back! For those times when you just need a short break from reading.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, are a few amazing book trailers for just some of the books that released – or are releasing – in May, a peek at a few of those coming out in June and beyond, a look back at those we may have missed, and a glimpse at a few authors talking about their books.

***

Reboot by Amy Tintera

Release date: May 7, 2013

(harperteen)

***

If I Should Die by Amy Plum

Release date: May 7, 2013

(harperteen)

***

Icons by Margaret Stohl

Release date: May 7, 2013

(LittleBrownBooks)

***

Mystic by Alyson Noël

Release date: May 7, 2013

(Alyson Noel)

***

The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher

Release date: May 7, 2013

(SimonSchusterVideos)

***

Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield

Release date: May 7, 2013

(SimonSchusterVideos)

***

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Release date: May 7, 2013

(PenguinYoungReaders)

***

The End Games by T. Michael Martin

Release date: May 7, 2013

(T. Michael Martin)

***

Parallel by Lauren Miller

Release date: May 14, 2013

(Lauren Miller)

***

Five Summers by Una LaMarche

Release date: May 14, 2013

(fivesummersbook)

***

The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison

Release date: May 14, 2013

(Mette Harrison)

***

All I Need by Susan Colasanti

Release date: May 21, 2013

(PenguinYoungReaders)

***

Night School by C.J. Daugherty

Release date: May 21, 2013

(nightschoolbook)

***

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Release date: May 28, 2013

(Mirainkbooks) – UK Trailer

***

For just a peek at what’s coming in June and beyond….

Elegy by Tara Hudson

Release date: June 4, 2013

(harperteen)

***

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Release date: June 4, 2013

(Fierce Reads)

***

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Release date: June 4, 2013

(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

***

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Release date: June 4, 2013

(PenguinYoungReaders)

***

The Academy: Game On by Monica Seles

Release date: June 4, 2013

(bloomsburykids)

***

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

Release date: June 11, 2013

(RandomBooks)

***

Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell

Release date: July 23, 2013

(harperteen)

***

The Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier

Release date for Emerald Green: October 8, 2013

(Fierce Reads)

***

And for a look back at a few we may have missed….

Wasteland by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan

Release date: March 26, 2013

(harperteen)

***

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Release date: April 2, 2013

(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

***

Stung by Bethany Wiggins

Release date: April 2, 2013

(bloomsburykids)

***

Light by Michael Grant

Release date: April 2, 2013

(harperteen) – Trailer 1 of 3

***

Light by Michael Grant

Release date: April 2, 2013

(harperteen) – Trailer 2 of 3

***

Light by Michael Grant

Release date: April 2, 2013

(harperteen) – Trailer 3 of 3

***

Taken by Erin Bowman

Release date: April 16, 2013

(harperteen)

***

Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

Release date: April 16, 2013

(harperteen)

***

The Symptoms of My Insanity by Mindy Raf

Release date: April 18, 2013

(PenguinYoungReaders)

***

Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter

Release date: April 23, 2013

(Christie Craig)

***

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Release date: April 30, 2013

(harlequinbooks)

***

The Program by Suzanne Young

Release date: April 30, 2013

(SimonSchusterVideos)

***

Here’s what the authors are saying…

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Release date: May 7, 2013

(PenguinYoungReaders) – the authors talk about their recently released book

***

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

Release date: May 14, 2013

(RandomBooks) – the author talks about her desert island books

***

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Release date: June 4, 2013

(PenguinYoungReaders) – the author talks about her soon to be released book

***

We hope you enjoyed the lovely distractions. Stay tuned…we’ll be back with our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.

As a blogger some days it’s hard to remember that it’s about the books.

Some days are spent creating and formatting posts for blog tours and weekly features. Some days are spent trying to write those reviews that still don’t come easy. Some days are spent thinking up new things to do on the blog… some new idea that hasn’t been done over and over across the book blogosphere.

Some days are spent trying to maintain a social presence, be responsive to emails, visit other blogs, keep up with the latest news.

Some days those books just don’t get any attention. And sometimes those days turn into a week… or more.

Trying to keep up with blog maintenance, trying not to be left out of the loop, trying not to be forgotten as a member of the community takes time away from reading.

In fact, it is very possible to be a book blogger without actually reading or reviewing any books. The reality of which blows the mind.

Because it is possible to spend time promoting books you want to read without actually reading them. You can even promote those you aren’t in the least bit interested in reading. It’s more than possible to be able to create book release posts without actually reading those releases. To participate in a book blast or book tour you do not have to actually read the book. And there is no reading required for putting together discussion posts.

Even most memes don’t require you to actually have read the books you’re talking about. Selective meme-ing will allow you to participate without reading a single word. While those teaser memes require you to actually crack open the book to find a teaser, they don’t require more than that if you don’t want to, or don’t have the time to, do more.

And while some will say reviews are a must, they aren’t. Not really. For most bloggers book reviews are the least trafficked posts. They’re the posts that get the least comment love. They’re the posts that often require the most effort and get the smallest reward. Perhaps to be taken seriously as a book blogger you have to review books. But it’s not a requirement. You can be just as effective a promotional vehicle with or without a review.

But if you feel reviews are required on the blog, you can always take on guest reviewers.

Yes, there are many, many ways to be a book blogger without actually being a reader. With enough skill and dedication it is possible to even be successful at it.

But… WAIT…. Why?

Why would anyone want to blog about books without actually reading them? Why would anyone want to be a part of a community that’s purportedly filled with book lovers if they rarely get the opportunity to read those books? And why would anyone promote books if they were looking for reasons not to read?

Yet being a blogger sometimes requires each of these things. Sometimes it requires all of them. So, why exactly do we do it?

As a book lover my heart breaks a little when I find myself too tired to read. When perusing my unread books on my shelves or on my eReaders I am terribly saddened by the fact that they await my attention.

As much as I do love blogging, I miss the days when I was just a reader. I miss being able to read a book that I loved and just let it sit for awhile before cracking open the next one. I miss being able to re-read books as often as I used to. I miss just being able to read.

And I often wonder if blogging and all that comes with it is worth the sacrifice of not being able to read as much as I’d like to.

With all the tours and promotional events I’m involved with, I often feel guilty because it means less time for reading and writing those reviews. And on those rare days when reading feels like work rather than pleasure I have to fight the urge to give it all up. Because, for me, being a blogger is not worth losing my passion for reading.

But, just as in life, it’s so very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day. It’s easy to forget about the books amidst the deadlines, deluge of email and other demands that come with being a blogger. It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy to be a part of the latest and greatest book tour or bookish event.

And, of course, it’s so easy to be distracted by the drama.

I see more posts, tweets, comments relating to drama than those just gushing about books. I don’t remember the last time I had a lengthy conversation about a book I loved, but I can pinpoint the exact time I talked with someone about bookish drama.

Yes, this also breaks my heart.

With everything that goes on in the blogosphere it’s way too easy to just be a blogger and forget that there’s supposed to be the word “book” in front of it. So it’s something that I try to remind myself on a daily basis when faced with opportunities to be part of tours, blasts, cover reveals, events and other distractions from reading that this community provides.

And while I realize that there is a tradeoff – there are only 24 hours in a day, after all – I ask myself just how fair, exactly, is the trade? Is the blog winning or are the books? How many hours are spent reading versus those spent composing posts, writing reviews, being social?

And when the balance shifts a little too heavily in favor of blogging I try with all my might to shift things back to books. After all, it’s supposed to be all about the books, isn’t it?

DANCE OF THE RED DEATH by Bethany Griffin will be released in the U.S. on June 11, 2013 in hardcover and eBook formats.

It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.

Published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, the print edition is 336 pages.

DANCE OF THE RED DEATH is the second, and final, full-length book in author Bethany Griffin’s Masque of the Red Death series.

There are a ton of amazing books releasing the week of June 11th that I’d love to spotlight. But as I have to choose just one book, DANCE OF THE RED DEATH by Bethany Griffin is it.

Without a doubt, it’s my most anticipated book releasing that week. It’s the book I’ve been dying to read ever since I finished MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH. And it is absolutely amazing. Yes, I’m reading it right now and it’s even better than I hoped it would be.

Of course I wish this series was a trilogy as I’d first thought it would be. Just knowing that when I reach the story’s end it will all be over, makes me want to read this sequel really, really slowly. But it’s proving to be a bit of a challenge.

Because, as I may have already mentioned, it’s amazing. And I want to know how Araby exacts her revenge. I want to know which boy she chooses, if any. And I want to know how it all ends.

There’s just something so hypnotic/beautiful/wonderful about author Bethany Griffin’s writing. I am immediately transported into the story whenever I pick it up and the rest of the world just disappears and is replaced by the one she created.

I love the characters – Araby, Will, Elliott and even Prospero – the fact that this series is inspired by Poe’s story, and that the author has not only made it her own but did so in such a way that, while reading, I often forget it was inspired by anything other than her own creativity.

Even though I will have read DANCE OF THE RED DEATH before its release date, it is still the book I am most excited for releasing on that date. And it’s not because I am awaiting the print edition with its gorgeous cover and deckle edge to add to my collection along with the eBook. It’s because this series is one of the ones that I think is unforgettable and plan on reading again and again.

So, as excited as I am about several of the other books releasing the week of June 11th, there is no other book I’m anticipating quite as much as Bethany Griffin’s amazing sequel, DANCE OF THE RED DEATH. Which is why, for me, it is the book to watch this week.

Places to Watch

The author on TWITTER

The author on FACEBOOK

The author’s WEBSITE

The author’s BLOG

The author on GOODREADS

About the Book

Goodreads description:

Bethany Griffin continues the journey of Araby Worth in Dance of the Red Death—the sequel to her teen novel Masque of the Red Death.

In Dance of the Red Death, Araby’s world is in shambles—betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.

Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero.

With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.

Other Amazing Books to Watch

Here is just a fraction of the many other awesome books releasing the week of June 11th:

ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE by Kate Karyus Quinn

BORN OF ILLUSION by Teri Brown

SPIES AND PREJUDICE by Talia Vance

RUSH (The Game #1) by Eve Silver

BURNING by Elana K. Arnold

THE GIRL WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE by April Henry

INFAMOUS (Fame Game #3) by Lauren Conrad

LINKED (Linked #1) by Imogen Howson

A MATTER OF DAYS by Amber Kizer

MORTAL FIRE by Elizabeth Knox

THE SECRET INGREDIENT by Stewart Lewis

I don’t think I could be any more excited than I am right now because I get to share Lucas Delos’ interview with Author Josephine Angelini for the GODDESS Blog Tour. And, as you might imagine, it is awesome.

Lucas is not afraid to ask the good questions. Those questions that every reader wants to know. Questions about happy endings, love triangles, fight scenes, kissing scenes. And, of course, my favorite – whether the author really does enjoy torturing her characters.

I don’t think I could be that brave an interviewer.

The Starcrossed Trilogy is one of my favorite YA series. I made an immediate connection to the story and to Helen and Lucas. I remember being so blown away by the scene in STARCROSSED where both characters fall from the sky and are broken and tangled up in one another. And I remember turning to the last page and then immediately going back to the first for a re-read.

It wasn’t my only re-read.

I love the mythology in this series and I adore its characters. Some more than others. Yes, I have been and always will be Team Lucas. But I’m also Team Helen.  Even though…. Must. Not. Reveal. Series. Spoilers.

And I love the author’s writing. Which makes me so incredibly sad that this series had to end after just the three books. Though, thanks to this tour, I found out about STARCROSSED CITY, a short story posted on the author’s website. Which means I don’t have to say goodbye quite yet. And with the author’s response to Lucas’ final interview question, it makes me wonder.

So….

I am just so unbelievably thrilled to be a part of this tour and to have Lucas Delos on the blog to share his interview with Josie. Which I opted to post immediately below.

But if you’d like to know more about GODDESS, about Josephine Angelini and about the other books in this gorgeous series, their details and places to find them online follow the interview.

There are also two awesome giveaways on the tour. So be sure to check out those details too.

Now, though, without any further ado, let me turn my blog over to Lucas.

The Interview

Lucas Delos Interviews Author Josephine Angelini

LUCAS: Hi Josie.

JOSIE: What up, dawg?

LUCAS: Same old. So I guess we’ll get right to it…do you enjoy torturing your characters?

JOSIE: Every single one of them. Look, if you’re going to go Greek, you might as well get ready for some pretty horrific stuff. At least I didn’t kill all of you at the end, like I should have if I was going to make this really Greek. I just killed some of you.

LUCAS: You couldn’t have given Helen and me a perfectly happy ending? You had to complicate it?

JOSIE: I did give you a happy ending—just not a perfect one. Perfect is boring. And untrustworthy. I don’t trust perfect.

LUCAS: Okay, I can live with that. So, about not trusting perfect…where’d the fascination with Helen of Troy come from? She was the perfect beauty…

JOSIE: Yeah. And look at all the trouble it caused. It wasn’t really Helen of Troy I was interested in, not as she was written. I was interested in finding a way to make her, and Paris, sympathetic. I saw it as a huge challenge, considering they are two of the most hated characters in history. I wanted to write about their love story in a way that modern readers could relate to, and maybe understand.

LUCAS: Why the love triangle?

JOSIE: (laughs) I thought that might bother you. Actually, love triangles bother a lot of people. What I wanted to do with Orion (apart from the fact that I needed him to bring all the Houses together for plot reasons) was to offer up a few things that really bother me about love-triangles, and maybe try to work against the grain on them.

LUCAS: The things that bother you?

JOSIE: Yeah. One of the things that I don’t like in some love-triangles is that the spare guy—the one who everyone knows the girl isn’t going to choose—is never the one to say, “If you can’t make up your mind, then you’re not enough for me, Fancy Face.” Usually, the odd man out is some great guy who’d wait until the end of time or whatever. Heck no. I wanted Orion to recognize his own worth and demand better.

LUCAS: He is a good guy. Not my favorite guy right now, but whatever. Why are you so interested in my kind, anyway? Instead of Scions, why not write about normal people living in a normal town?

JOSIE: Snore. (laughs) Okay, I should be more diplomatic. I have nothing against straight stories, they just don’t speak to me the way fantasy and science fiction do. It’s probably because I read too much Shakespeare in my formative years.

LUCAS: Shakespeare?

JOSIE: Sure. Try to find a play he wrote that doesn’t have a ghost, a sorcerer, three witches, or a fairy in it. You’re down to Henry IV and V, and I didn’t read those when I was a kid. Most classical works have gods and monsters in them, and even when they don’t, they are about kings and queens, larger-than-life people, who changed the world. I think fantasy and science fiction keep the classical tradition alive.

LUCAS: What’s with all the fight scenes? I’m still a little beat up from it.

JOSIE: Sorry ‘bout that. I love to write action. It’s the kissing scenes I have a problem with.

LUCAS: Don’t get me wrong. I like a nice brawl, but I could have used a few more kissing scenes.

JOSIE: But what if I wrote them about Helen and Orion?

LUCAS: Scratch that. I think you wrote plenty of kissing scenes.

JOSIE: Smart lad. Anything else?

LUCAS: Last question. I would like to know, and my family would like to know, if you’re done harassing us?

JOSIE: Possibly. I plead the fifth.

LUCAS: (grinning) You really suck.

JOSIE: (grinning back) I really do.

About the Book

GODDESS releases May 28, 2013 from HarperTeen

After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.

To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.

In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

About the Author

Josephine Angelini is a Massachusetts native and the youngest of eight siblings. A real-live farmer’s daughter, Josie graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Other Books in the Series

About STARCROSSED

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

About DREAMLESS

Can true love be forgotten?

As the only scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.

Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out–a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies’ cry for blood is growing louder.

As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen’s sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

 About STARCROSSED CITY

A spin-off from Josephine Angelini’s irresistible Starcrossed series. Mysterious demi-goddess Daphne meets the totally hot Ajax for the first time in sultry NYC. This is where it all begins.

GOODREADS | JOSEPHINE ANGELINI’S WEBSITE

The Giveaways

There are a couple amazing giveaways on this tour. One that I really, really, really want to enter myself….

Enter in the Rafflecopter below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Tour

Be sure to check out all the stops on the tour to learn more about GODDESS, Author Josephine Angelini and some things about her amazing Starcrossed Trilogy that you just might not know.

Week One

May 20th – The Starry-Eyed Revue
May 21st – Fiktshun
May 22nd – The Irish Banana
May 23rd – YA Bibliophile
May 24th – Supernatural Snark

Week Two

May 27th – Birth of a New Witch
May 28th – Refracted Light Reviews
May 29th – Tales of a Ravenous Reader
May 30th – Hobbitsies
May 31st – Reading Teen

Week Three

June 3rd – Parajunkee
June 4th – Buried in Books
June 5th – Candace’s Book Blog
June 6th – Alison Can Read
June 7th – Book Twirps

To learn more about the tour, visit the GODDESS Blog Tour page on Kismet Book Touring’s website, HERE.

There are just so many amazing novellas that have been released that never seem to make it onto the reading pile. With review books or highly anticipated full-length novels, those super quick but awesome short stories get put on the back burner.

Without making a commitment to read them, stories like DESTROY ME by Tahereh Mafi, DIE FOR HER by Amy Plum, RADIANT by Cynthia Hand, A DANCE WITH DARKNESS by Courtney Allison Moulton or GLITTER & DOOM by Bethany Griffin don’t stand a chance when up against their full-length counterparts.

So that’s what Mindy of Magical Urban Fantasy Reads and I decided to do. Commit to reading as many novellas as we can for one week, setting aside our review books and finally diving into those short stories we’ve been dying to check out for ages.

And we thought that maybe there were one or two readers who might like to join us.

The Details

DATES: Novella Reading Week will take place from JUNE 10th to JUNE 16th.

GOAL: To read as many novellas as possible.

OPTIONAL: Write reviews and/or share thoughts on Goodreads, Blogs, Facebook, etc.

GIVEAWAYS: Those who sign up to participate in the challenge can enter the giveaway in the Rafflecopter below for two eNovellas from Amazon for the Kindle. There will be three winners.

During the week of the challenge there will be a giveaway for a Book of Your Choice up to $25 USD to two winners. Details on that giveaway will be included in the Novella Reading Week Begins post on June 10th.

TO PARTICIPATE: Leave a link in the Linky form at the bottom of this post with any of the places you hang out online – Blog, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Goodreads. Reviews will not be required to participate, but to be eligible for the BoYC giveaway, you’ll have to prove you’ve read the novella(s) by at least sharing your non-spoiler-y thoughts in the comments.

That’s it!

So, if you’d like to participate, sign-up in the Linky below. And if you can accept Kindle eBook gifts, be sure to enter the giveaway.

If you have a blog and would like to grab a Novella Reading Week badge, the code is in the sidebar.

Possible Reading Week Novellas

If you haven’t a clue about what novellas are out there, here are just a few of those worth checking out.

UNDONE (Unraveling #1.5) by Elizabeth Norris

DESTROY ME (Shatter Me #1.5) by Tahereh Mafi

RADIANT (Unearthly #2.5) by Cynthia Hand

GLITTER & DOOM (Masque of the Red Death #1.5) by Bethany Griffin

BREATHLESS (Firelight #3.5) by Sophie Jordan

FLIRTING WITH MAYBE by Wendy Higgins

THE SHATTERED MOUNTAIN (Fire and Thorns #0.6) by Rae Carson

BRIDGE (Shade #2.5) by Jeri Smith-Ready

A DANCE WITH DARKNESS (Angelfire #0.5) by Courtney Allison Moulton

THE PRINCE (The Selection #0.5) by Kiera Cass

VALKYRIE SYMPTOMS (Valkyrie #0.5) by Ingrid Paulson

DIE FOR HER (Die for Me #2.5) by Amy Plum

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN PERU (The Bane Chronicles #1) by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

The Giveaway

What’s Up for Grabs

TWO Kindle eBook Novellas to THREE winners

The Deets

***Giveaway is open to those who sign up to participate in the Novella Reading Week only***

• Must be 13 or older to enter.
• One entry per person.
• Must be able to accept Amazon Kindle eBook gifts.
• Winners will be chosen by Random via Rafflecopter.
• Winners will be announced in the Rafflecopter and contacted by email.

Enter in the Rafflecopter below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway
To participate in the challenge, which begins on June 10th, sign-up in the Linky list below…

Below are the YA books releasing this week that I am spotlighting for my “Book Watch: Releasing This Week” post.

These are books for the week of May 21st-May 27th that I have pre-ordered.

NIGHT SCHOOL by C.J. Daugherty will be released in the U.S. on May 21, 2013 in hardcover and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.

Published by Katherine Tegen Books, the print edition is 432 pages.

NIGHT SCHOOL is the first book in C.J. Daugherty’s series of the same name. No publication date has been set for second and third books in the series, LEGACY and FRACTURE.

The first two books in the series were previously released in paperback format by Atom Books and the third book is slated for release this year.

I haven’t heard much about NIGHT SCHOOL, but between the cover and the description I was intrigued and decided to pre-order it. And I’m excited to finally be able to find out what it’s all about when it downloads on Monday Midnight.

There’s just something I love about stories set in boarding schools. Especially ones that are dark and full of secrets. So of course I can’t help but wonder just what secrets are being kept from Allie at Cimmeria Academy.

As I haven’t looked at the descriptions for the other books in the series and I haven’t listened to any of the buzz about this book I’m completely in the dark about it. Which is so much fun.

And while I may not be able to read NIGHT SCHOOL this week, I’m hoping to be able to add it to the pile next week so I can find out just what goes on at Cimmeria Academy.

TRANSPARENT by Natalie Whipple will be released in the U.S. on May 21, 2013 in paperback, audio and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in all formats at AMAZON and in paperback and eBook formats at BARNES & NOBLE.

Published by HarperTeen, the print edition is 368 pages.

I really need to check my book towers more often. I cannot believe that Jaime of Two Chicks on Books had sent me a copy of TRANSPARENT and I could have read it  ages ago. Long before its release.

Well, with release date almost here, I suppose I can wait to read it on my Kindle. And I probably should wait… especially since there are a couple other books I should be reading this week. But I am so very tempted to check it out now.

Because I can’t wait to meet Fiona and see what life is like for someone who can make themselves invisible. And I can’t wait to find out how she manages to keep from doing her father’s “dirty work.”

TRANSPARENT was the book I spotlighted in my book watch post and I am super excited for its release. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to sneak it on the pile when it releases this week. That is, if I don’t end up sneaking a peek at it before then.

PRAEFATIO by Georgia McBride will be released in the U.S. on May 21, 2013 in eBook format only. The print edition will be available on June 18, 3013. It is currently available to pre-order in both formats at AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE.

Published by Month9Books, the print edition is 342 pages.

PRAEFATIO is the first book in author Georgia McBride’s series of the same name. No information is yet available about the sequel.

I’d seen PRAEFATIO on one of the blogs I visit a few weeks back and decided to pre-order it for my Kindle as it looked really interesting. And when I actually got the chance to read the description I was glad I did, because it sounds awesome. And not because of the author blurb.

I love stories about prophecies and angel and demon mythology. I love stories that are dark. And I love, love, love stories that are battles between good and evil. And PRAEFATIO sounds like it has all of that and more.

The description mentions this book is an account of what happened to the main character, Grace. Which makes me curious about how the author handles the narrative.

As the eBook is releasing this week, I hope to get a peek so that I can find out just how. And I hope to be able to add it to the pile before its release in paperback in June.

THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS by Sarah Ockler

Pub. Date: May 21, 2013

Publisher: Simon Pulse

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

***

THOUSAND WORDS by Jennifer Brown

Pub. Date: May 21, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

***

ALL I NEED by Susane Colasanti

Pub. Date: May 21, 2013

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

***

SEPTEMBER GIRLS by Bennett Madison

Pub. Date: May 21, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

***

THE DARK SHORE (The Atlanteans #2) by Kevin Emerson

Pub. Date: May 21, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

***

THE ETERNAL WAR (Time Riders #4) by Alex Scarrow

Pub. Date: May 21, 2013

Publisher: Walker Childrens

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

***

I am so very glad that this week is a fairly quiet week for new releases. I have way too many books clamoring to be read that have released the past couple of weeks. And while I am likely going to buy a few of the contemporary books releasing this week, at least I won’t have a deluge of downloads on Monday Midnight as has been the case for the past few weeks.

Of course it’s very likely that I am missing an amazing YA book or two and will be surprised – happily, I think – if one should download that I haven’t listed here. But I suppose I won’t know until Tuesday if that is the case.

As the weeks of May 28th, June 4th and June 11th have a ton of new books I’m super excited for, it is a bit of a relief to be able to possibly get the chance to read one or two of the new releases when it releases versus having it sink further down into the pile because there are just too many titles to choose from.

Anyway….

Hopefully I didn’t miss out on an amazing book that should be added to my collection this week. But if I did, feel free to let me know of my epic fail in the comments. And if you are excited for any of the books releasing this week I’d love to hear which one you’re most excited about.

As ever, happy book buying and reading!

As always, I would love to hear what you’re hoping to add to your collection this week!

And if you have any great suggestions of “must read” books to buy that are releasing this week, please let me know!

I don’t believe I received any hard copy books in the mail this week. I wasn’t expecting any. And as I hadn’t gotten around to checking the mailbox before creating this post, I can’t say whether or not I did receive any or if the mailbox was empty. I’m leaning toward empty, though.

I also didn’t request any new books on Edelweiss. Though I can’t say the same is true of NetGalley. I did end up clicking to “read now” a copy of SPIES AND PREJUDICE by Talia Vance as I’ll be on the book tour next month. And I did request and get approved for TUMBLE & FALL by Alexandra Coutts.

And as much as I may want to read them both, I have a few “must read” books whose release date is looming and two books that I’ve been dying to read for awhile. And so…

Here are the books I have in my reading pile this week.
(May 19, 2013 – May 25, 2013)

First up on the pile is PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry. I’ve wanted to read this book for ages and ages and I am so happy to finally get to add it to the pile this week. I have heard nothing but amazing things and I cannot wait to meet Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins and find out just what happens in this book.

I love a love story in which opposites attract and where the couple faces impossible odds to be together. I love that in this book each of the characters has secrets. And I am so curious about what limits the two will have to push and what risks Echo will have to take.

I have been so intrigued about this book for so long and my expectations are super high. But I have a feeling that I will not be disappointed in the least given the chatter I have heard about it.

Next up on the pile is DARE YOU TO by Katie McGarry. I was approved for the eARC on NetGalley and I’ve been just dying to read it ever since. But I had to read the first book in the series first. Even though this second book in the Pushing the Limits series is about different characters – Beth and Ryan.

So I’m super excited to be able to read both books back to back this week. In the order they were released. Which is something I always prefer to do.

I haven’t heard any chatter about DARE YOU TO. I wouldn’t have even known this book was about different characters if I didn’t take a peek at the description when creating this post. But now that I have, I’m even more excited to meet these characters and read this book.

I love that, like the first book, this is a story of opposites. And I love that in this book it’s the girl that is the edgy character, the “bad girl.” Beth’s life sounds horrible and tragic and I’m very curious to see what Ryan will have to risk to be with her.

It’s been ages since I’ve read a contemporary YA or any contemporary romance for that matter. So I’m thrilled to be able to add these two books to the pile this week by an author who I’ve heard is a fantastic writer.

Wishful Thinking Reads:

My dark reading mood took a sudden shift this week and I’ve been just dying to read something light and fun. Which makes me really want to read either one of the Vampire Kisses books by Ellen Schreiber or one of the Morganville Vampires books by Rachel Caine.

Though I would also love to read the Intertwined series by Gena Showalter… maybe my “dark” reading mood hasn’t quite gone away.

Those Left Behind:

I didn’t read any books last week. Not a one. I’d set DANCE OF THE RED DEATH aside so that I wouldn’t intentionally unintentionally torment Jaime until she got her eCopy. But I will be reading and finishing it this weekend since she did receive it. Yay!

And I didn’t get the chance to dive into THE 5TH WAVE. Between a really hectic work week and season finales on television I just wasn’t up for getting lost in a book. But hopefully I’ll have more time this coming week.

While I haven’t had much of a chance to read lately, I still am seriously behind on reviews…. Not quite sure how that’s possible, but with five reviews still to write, it somehow is. Though I did manage to finish my UNTIL I DIE review. Finally.

But I hope that I’ll be able to catch up on at least one or two reviews this weekend as trying to write reviews during the week has proved impossible. I’m just way too drained at the end of the work day to try and organize my thoughts into something remotely coherent.

And I hope that I’ll be able to finish my current read and the two books on the pile this week. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

NetGalley Pile Adds & Finds:

I couldn’t resist requesting a few books on NetGalley this week…

SPIES AND PREJUDICE by Talia Vance (EgmontUSA, Jun 11 2013) **A “read now” title**

TUMBLE & FALL by Alexandra Coutts (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Sep 17 2013)

I’d noticed SPIES AND PREJUDICE the other week when browsing NetGalley, but decided to click the “read now” option this week as I’ll be on the tour next month and I’d like to check it out before then.

And I couldn’t resist requesting TUMBLE & FALL which sounds amazing. As my request was approved I definitely plan on taking a peek in the next couple of weeks.

I also requested ALL OUR YESTERDAYS, which doesn’t yet have a cover and which I’m still hoping to be approved for. But it sounds awesome and will definitely be added to my collection whether I’m approved or not.

ALL OUR YESTERDAYS by Cristin Terrill (Disney Book Group, Sept 3 2013)

There didn’t seem to be many other new YA books added to NetGalley this past week, aside from the two books I requested. But I did notice one other title that looked interesting….

JACK STRONG TAKES A STAND by Tommy Greenwald (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Sep 24 2013)

While I’m not in the least bit tired of blogging, I have been tired. Between work and other life stuffs it has been hard to focus long enough to get caught up in a book. Especially when escaping in a book means that a review will be required and I’ll have to read it with more attention to detail than I might if I were reading just to read.

So I’m thinking of taking a “guilty pleasure” reading week next week, just so that I can read a few books for fun. So next week’s pile might just be a little bit eclectic. Or maybe I’ll add zero books to the pile and go completely off-pile for a week. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Anyway…

This week I have two awesome books to read. One I’ve wanted to be able to read since before it was released last year. So, I’m very much looking forward to this week’s pile.

But what about you? Are there any interesting books on your pile this week? Did you get anything new this past week that you’d love to read now instead of waiting until closer to its release date? I’d love to know!

***

Do you create a reading pile?
If so, what’s in your pile this week?