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 November 27th-December 3rd that I have pre-ordered.

THE LUCKY ONES by Anna Godbersen will be released in the U.S. on November 27, 2012 in hardcover and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in both formats at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Published by HarperCollins, the print edition is 384 pages.

THE LUCKY ONES is the third book in the author’s Bright Young Things series.

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I have not yet read the first book in the series and yet I just had to pre-order THE LUCKY ONES. I love the 1920s setting for this series and I’m just dying to finally pick each book up and get lost in the Roaring Twenties.

In this latest installment, the new “it girl” is Cordelia Grey, the daughter of a bootlegger. And according to the description her romance with “celebrity pilot” Max Darby seems to be quite the scandal.

Both Letty Larkspur and Astrid Donal are also major players in this book. But I don’t want to read that part of the description that talks about just what has happened with them since I haven’t read the first two books in this series.

I love this time period in American history and I can’t wait to see what life is like in the author’s version of this era. I can only imagine that life in White Cove will be intriguing, scandalous and decadent. But I’ll have to move all three books to the top of the pile to be sure.

With the upcoming version of the film The Great Gatsby soon-ish to hit the big screen, I am more tempted than ever to dive into these books and see just what life is like for these Bright Young Things.

LULLABY by Amanda Hocking will be released in the U.S. on November 27, 2012 in hardcover, audio and eBook formats. It is currently available to pre-order online in all formats at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Published by St. Martin’s Griffin, the print edition is 304 pages.

LULLABY is the second book in author Amanda Hocking’s Watersong quadrilogy. The third book, TIDAL, is slated for release on April 16, 2013 and the fourth and final book in the series, ELEGY, is also scheduled for release in 2013.

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I am so glad that the release date for LULLABY is finally right around the corner. While the wait hasn’t been as long as it is for some books, I have been dying to find out just what happens to Gemma in this next installment in the series.

As I have already gone on… and on… and on… in my Book Watch post earlier this month, I will try to keep things brief and spoiler-free, but I am so curious as to what is going to happen next. Especially after the way things ended.

When I first sat down to read WAKE I did not expect there to be multiple POVs, but I loved getting to see things from Harper’s perspective. And I’m even more curious about what she’ll have to face in this second book. The description mentions “dangers unlike any she’s ever experienced” which makes me rather anxious for her safety.

Whenever I read anything by author Amanda Hocking I am always prepared for the unexpected. Well, as prepared as I can be, anyway. So I’m excited to see what kind of surprises she has in store for me in this book with its gorgeous cover.

I can’t wait to read more about these “dark powers” that are hinted at, and to be spellbound as the description promises. I hope that things do not end on too much of a cliff since the next book in the series won’t be out until April. But I’m sure I’ll find out in the next couple of weeks when I get this book on top of the pile.

ELIXIR by Jennifer L. Armentrout will be released in the U.S. on November 27, 2012 in paperback format. (The eBook edition was released on November 22, 2012.) The paperback is currently available to pre-order online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and the eBook is available to purchase now.

Published by Spencer Hill Press, the print edition is 80 pages.

ELIXIR is a novella in the Covenant series that  falls between books three and four. The fourth book in the series, APOLLYON, is slated for release on April 9, 2013 and the fifth book, SENTINEL, will be coming in January 2014.

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I am just a wee bit behind on this series. I’m not entirely sure how that happened. But with five books and this new novella, ELIXIR, planned, I have just a little bit of time to catch up.

Of course I bought the eBook of ELIXIR for my Kindle collection, but I’m thinking of purchasing the print edition as I have all its predecessors in print. And I really cannot wait to read this short installment. Especially because it’s told from Aiden St. Delphi’s perspective – one of my favorite heroes in YA fiction.

But it does mean I’ll have to catch up on the rest of the series first… and it might just mean a re-read of HALF-BLOOD and DAIMON, too. Which is totally fine by me. Because I am dying to get back into this world of half-bloods and the gods. And any world with Aiden St. Delphi is an absolutely wonderful world to be in.

Jennifer Armentrout is one of my favorite YA authors and I cannot wait to get the chance to move ELIXIR to the top of the pile.

Touched (Sense Thieves #1) by Corrine Jackson

Pub. Date: November 27, 2012

Publisher: K-Teen

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

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NOT a YA release… but one I have pre-ordered…

Shadow’s Claim (The Dacians #1) by Kresley Cole

Pub. Date: November 27, 2012

Publisher: Pocket Books

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

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Not a YA release… but one I have pre-ordered…

Trapped (Iron Druid Chronicles #5) by Kevin Hearne

Pub. Date: November 27, 2012

Publisher: Del Rey

(AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE)

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It’s another relatively quiet week for YA releases, but I have a few non-YA books on order that I’m dying to read. So my TBR pile is definitely growing this week.

I only just learned of TOUCHED by Corrine Jackson yesterday, but I think that is also a book I’ll be purchasing this week. I did end up buying her previously released YA contemp when Jaime pointed it out to me and I definitely plan on reading that in the next month or two.

I hope some day soon to get caught up with the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne because that series looks wicked awesome. But in the meantime I think I will be reading SHADOW’S CLAIM by Kresley Cole as she’s become my latest addiction in After Dark fiction.

I am trying so very hard to stay away from too many impulse buy books. But with so many amazing books releasing each week, it’s really, really hard to do.

Anyway…

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!

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I am so excited that I was in the right place at the right time so that I could be a part of the amazing trailer reveal for Jennifer L. Armentrout’s OPAL, the third book in her LUX series.

This awesome trailer was created by VLC Photo Productions and I’m so happy to be able to share it here on the blog tonight.

I could go on and on… I’m a huge fan of book trailers… but I’ll just let the trailer speak for itself.

The OPAL Book Trailer

Awesome, right? It makes me that much more anxious to get my copy of OPAL next month. Which is a long, long, long, long, long ways away. I think I’m going through some major Daemon Black withdrawal right about now.

Anyway…

If you haven’t heard about this series, or the upcoming release for OPAL, check out the description below. And if for some reason you haven’t yet “met” the author, Jennifer Armentrout, there’s a pic and a few places where you can find her online.

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OPAL (Lux #3)

{Available in both print and digital editions on December 11, 2012}

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Official Opal Book Trailer

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I didn’t get any books in the mail this week. Well, none by the time I created this post, anyway. While I usually write these on Friday night or Saturday morning I’ve been trying to schedule a few posts in advance so as to lighten the load for next week’s BBAW event and for my impending change of scenery.

And as I’ll be in transit for the next few weeks, I will probably not be checking mail either. So I may have this “no books” photo up for a few of these posts. Although I am expecting something by FedEx next week….

Sadly, though, the one book I was hoping for – Everbound - will likely not be arriving. As it was sent over three weeks ago, I’m going to call that one permanently MIA. But even though I didn’t receive anything in the mail this week, I do still plan on reading.

So….

Here are the books I have in my reading pile this week.

(September 9 – September 15, 2012)

As I am beta reading a book this week, I’m only adding one book to the pile. A book I really, really hope to read because I’m a huge fan of the author and can’t wait to meet her new characters. Oh, I guess I should mention that book is Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

When I first learned of this new book months ago I was desperate to get an early copy. And I was so psyched when it showed up in the mail. I was so very sure there would be begging on hands and knees. Maybe even a few tears involved. Luckily I had to do neither. But I would have for this book.

I can’t wait to meet Ember McWilliams. I love that the description starts right off with the line, “[d]ying sucks….” It totally grabbed my attention and made me want to find out how a girl who was already dead could possibly be cursed. Then the description mentioned she was brought back from the dead and now everything she touches dies, so I had my answer.

But I wanted to know more. How could Ember possibly go through life with a touch that kills? How could she even survive high school with such a curse? And how could she possibly resist touching Hayden Cromwell? Well, I can’t wait to find out if she does. And I can’t wait to find out what happens if she doesn’t.

I am also curious – and a little bit creeped out – to find out more about Hayden’s father. Unless he’s collecting children like the dude in X-Men, I don’t know that he’s someone I want to get to know too well. But I am curious.

I really, really hope I can squeeze in some time to read Cursed this week. But if not, it will be at the top of the pile next week, because I have been dying to read this for ages. It is written by Jennifer L. Armentrout after all, she hasn’t yet penned a story that I haven’t fallen in love with, and I can’t imagine that changing for this new book.

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Wishful Thinking reads:

My wishful thinking read is The Archived by Victoria Schwab. After hearing so many amazing things about it, and discovering that I do own a copy, I am desperate to dive right in. I mean, that description… “Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.” Oh my gosh! How gorgeous is that?

And how creepy? And it gets even better as you read on.

Oh yes I really wish I had a few days to sneak this one in. I want to feel haunted by a book. And this one sounds like it will do just that.

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Those left behind:

I still did not get the chance to add ENSHADOWED or THE BLOOD KEEPER back onto the pile. I did finish reading the SEKRIT book I was reading, which was so freaking amazing I just have no words. And I am now happily tucked into STARLING once again. So last week’s pile wasn’t a “left behind” pile, except for that review….

But I’m desperate to read both those other books – and RIFT – which I carry with me everywhere. I just need to find a few hours in my day. Which doesn’t seem possible for the next few weeks. With work taking up all of my days and nights and sleep taking up just that little bit I have left, I haven’t had much time to disappear into a book.

And now with this move, I hope I don’t have to go on a reading hiatus for the next few weeks. Because then I’ll not only lose the opportunity to escape into some amazing books, but I’ll probably lose what remains of my sanity.

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NetGalley Pile Adds:

Nothing new was added to my Kindle from NetGalley this week. thankfully. Though I did find myself taking a look around when I posted my review for Throne of Glass. Fortunately my wifi went out and I lost connectivity as I’m sure I would have discovered something.

I am super nervous and excited about having a book to beta read this week. While I’ve been reading a few books early over the past year, most of them weren’t official beta reads, so I didn’t have to turn into critical, harsh me. But now I do. And I am deathly afraid of just how my feedback will be taken.

And as I will be reading it on my computer, I won’t be able to connect with it in quite the same way as I might if I were to print it or read it on my eReader, so that is making me super nervous too. Of course it doesn’t help with the fact that my brain is scattered in a million different directions with real life stuff….

Anyway, I am sure all will be well and that it will all go very smoothly. And then I’ll get a chance to dive into Cursed.

Though right now I’m staring at my eReader wishing I could just get lost for the next few weeks in a dark and gritty paranormal series of the non-YA variety.

But what about you? Do you have a pile of books that you are dying to get lost in? Or are there review books demanding your attention? And….

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

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There are so many amazing books out there – released or soon-to-be-released – that have certain passages that just captivate.

Here are just a few of those that caught my attention in the past few months.

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I have so many favorite passages in Unravel Me that if I were to include them all I’d practically be reprinting the book. Which, contrary to popular belief, would not be good. So I had to choose just one favorite, which proved impossible to do.

And so I chose two. Both with just enough to tease, but that are not too revealing – though my very favorites are the most spoiler-y of them all. And both that definitely made me sigh.

And yes, I left off just who was sharing either or both moments with Juliette.

And because one just wasn’t enough….

I am so in love with this sequel to Wildefire. Embers & Echoes is definitely a book I’d call epic. But it’s so much more than that. There are so very many passages that are absolutely gorgeous.

My favorites, of course, are completely spoiler-y. Especially the one about… Oops. Nope. Sorry.

So I chose this one from a scene I absolutely adore that is beautiful and intriguing.

This Is Not a Test is a surprisingly beautiful and heartbreaking story for a book that involves zombies. I never anticipated finding a passage to love let alone the very many that I did.

One of my most favorite is completely spoiler-y and one of them I included with my review. But as there were so many to choose from, I couldn’t help but tease this one. Though I am not going to reveal the two people in the scene.

There is so very much to love about Demon Eyes. Talk about a seriously amazing follow-up to a wickedly awesome book. And with the way this book ends…. Well, that’s the biggest teaser of them all, so I couldn’t possibly reveal that here.

I have a ton of passages that I think are beautifully written that teased me throughout the read. But I think this one is the perfect one to tease with. Especially since I know who is asking the question and I know what happens next.

I have nearly fifty passages marked as favorites in Before I Wake. Most of them are total spoilers for If I Die so I’ve been hesitant about talking about them. But it’s long past release date for IID and Before I Wake has been out for a couple of weeks, so I figure I can be just a tiny bit spoiler-y for If I Die.

Of course choosing a passage to tease with was oh so tough. I already teased one with my review that was intense and beautiful. So I thought I’d go with something just a little bit more fun and a lot more grin-worthy.

I expected Cold Fury to be a story with action-packed sequences and so I did not anticipate finding one, let alone several, passages that I could call favorites. But the way the author talks about Chicago throughout the book is absolutely beautiful and I found so many passages that pulled me in simply from the pictures he painted.

I have one of my favorite passages earmarked for my review that talks of betrayal, but this passage just clings to me.

I am reading Onyx right now and I can say with absolute certainty that there are so many awesome passages in this book. I think I already have at least twenty marked down and I’m not very far along in the read. This bodes very, very well.

Of course the passage I chose just has to include Daemon Black. It wouldn’t be a teaser without him. And I decided to tease this one for just a little bit longer.

Grave Mercy is an absolutely beautifully written book. I found myself lost in the words and the world from the very start. And I knew from the author’s writing that I’d be enchanted by nearly every word that was written. And I was.

I had an absolute favorite passage, which I included with my review, along with another passage I loved. But they were most definitely not the only ones. Passages like this one also held me captive.

And yes, the very next paragraph is even more….

This was my most challenging teasers post yet. All of the eight books I chose to tease from had writing that was just so amazingly awesome that almost every word was a tease. So selecting just a few favorites was impossible.

Add to that the fact that I wanted to tease and not spoil made creating this post almost cruel.

For me that is. I hope the passages I chose aren’t too torturous for you.

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It was both an amazing and heartbreaking week at the mailbox. My most anticipated read showed up and thirteen ARCs were “lost.” Sort of a win/lose situation. I also got a surprise book in the mail.

As I’m not expecting any other books to head my way anytime soon, these may be the last bookish photos you’ll see on the blog for awhile, unless I decide to try and request Ten by Gretchen McNeil – one of the missing ARCs I traded for.

Anyway, first the good news….

I knew that author Rachel Vincent was sending me a couple copies of Before I Wake! What I didn’t realize is just how loudly I’d scream when I got the package in my mailbox earlier this week.

What I attempted to say: “I got it! I got it! It’s here, oh my gosh it’s here! I can’t believe it’s really here!”

What I think I said was: “Eeeeee. Eeeeee. EEEEE! EEEEE! EEEEEEEEEEE!” I’m told I sounded a little like a dolphin before my voice hit glass-shattering octaves.

So, yes. I was very excited. And yes, I picked it up instantly. And yes it was every bit as amazing as I hoped it would be. And so much more. Anyway…

Credit for mailbox sharing goes to TSS

I also received a few other books that I’m super excited about. On the top of the pile is Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford. I received a surprise copy of the book in the mail and it’s signed by the author! It sounds so wickedly delicious and I definitely plan on reading it very soon. Though I think I will buy the eBook so I don’t risk damaging the lovely signed one.

Next up in the pile is Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr. I received the ARC thanks to the seriously amazing and generous Nat, who saw my trailer post for this book on Facebook and offered to send it to me. I had planned on returning the favor with a few of the ARCs I was getting in the mail through a trade, but due to poor postal etiquette all those books are gone. Forever.

The next book on the pile is Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krauss. I love these authors and have read all their co-authored books except the sequel to The Nanny Diaries. I am super excited to get to read this early. But at the same time I am heartbroken.

I had a few trades with a blogger and all ARCs were going to be shipped out together. That was supposed to be fourteen ARCs not just the one. I received the large box. Empty except for the one book. There was a hole in the side, but it wasn’t big enough for all the books to slip out, but it’s very possible someone reached in and pulled them out. Because all that was in the box is this one book.

I’m missing thirteen books I traded for – Ten, The Crown of Embers, Because it is My Blood, Glass Heart, Time Between Us, Erasing Time, Break My Heart 1,000 Times, Beta, A Fractured Light, Lost Girl, Pushing the Limits, Suburban Strange and Don’t Turn Around. Yeah, I’m devastated. Because even if the post office reimburses the blogger I traded with and they give me the monetary equivalent or thirteen new ARCs, they won’t be these books.

[UPDATE: It was Time Between Us and not Such a Rush that was missing.]

Anyway, before I start sobbing again…

Here are the books I have in my reading pile this week.

(June 10 – June 16, 2012)

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First up on the pile is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I fell in love with this book the second I saw the trailer the other week when I was creating my trailer post. I immediately headed over to Amazon to pre-order a copy and noticed three eNovellas, which I bought, too.

Oh and then I decided to check out the book’s description. Because trailer love does not necessarily mean it would be a book I’d actually love. But the trailer didn’t lie. The description makes this book sound so unbelievably wickedly awesome.

I can’t wait to meet Celaena and see how she fares in the competition to become a royal assassin. Working in the salt mines sounds difficult but competing to be a killer in order to earn her freedom sounds absolutely deadly.

And it seems there may be a love triangle between Celaena and the Prince and the Captain of the Guard. I’m very curious to see which “team” I’ll be on – the bad boy, potentially evil Prince or the challenging and “gruff” Captain.

Throne of Glass definitely sounds like an epic start to the series. Between the danger, the battles, the mystery and the love story, I can’t wait to read it. And I’m super glad I discovered it on NetGalley and was approved so that I don’t have to.

Next up on the pile is Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout which is a “back on the pile” read. I had added it to the pile a few weeks ago but had difficulty getting it onto my eReader because the file size was too large and it couldn’t be emailed to the device. And I can’t read books on the computer.

But I have finally been able to get it added to my eReader so I can’t wait to read it this week. I’ve missed Daemon and Katy and I am dying to find out where this story takes them.

As I already rambled about this the first time I added it to the pile, I won’t go on for quite as long, but I will just say that Daemon Black is one of my favorite characters to love to love and love to hate. He is wicked, he is charming, he is sexy and he is absolutely maddeningly frustrating. Yep, he’s kind of perfect.

But I am really worried how things might end in this book. For Katy, but even more so for Daemon. Especially with the Department of Defense hanging around. And especially for the fact that “not everyone will survive the lies,” according to the description.

Wishful Thinking reads:

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr is my wishful thinking read of the week. I am going through Melissa Marr withdrawal since it’s been ages since I last read one of her books. And now that I have this early copy in hand of her next book, I’m dying to read it. She’s a wicked awesome writer and I would love to dive into this book this week. There’s no way I can, but I really wish I could…. But maybe next week.

If I Die by Rachel Vincent is another book I’d love to read again. I re-read it for the challenge, but now that I’ve read Before I Wake, I want to read it again to see which I love more. And then, of course, I’d love to re-read Before I Wake.

Someday I’d love to be able to say I’ve read all my wishful thinking reads… but that’s just wishful thinking.

Those left behind:

My week off was just that. A week off from being responsible, a week off from email, a week off from work and a week mostly off from reading. I barely read a thing this week. Except for when I went off-pile for Before I Wake. Though I started reading another off-pile read yesterday, Drink Deep by Chloe Neill, which I finished today as it was such a super quick read.

And I plan on reading The Golden Lily today. So it technically won’t be left behind as it will be done by the time I’m supposed to start on this week’s reads on Sunday.

I did not get to start Something Strange and Deadly. And I’ll have to wait another week before I can, because I have a few off-pile novellas to read this week for the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge and a non-YA book that’s a must read.

I’m still not doing so well with my reading pile commitments. Though I hope to change it around in the coming weeks. I only have a handful of required reads, so it should be easier to stay on track. Even with the new season of True Blood starting….

NetGalley Pile Adds:

I did not request anything new from NetGalley, though I may end up requesting Pushing the Limits since it is a book I’m dying to read and the ARC I traded for is gone forever.

I really hope to tackle some of those older NetGalley books I requested before I’m lured once again into new requests. Here’s to hoping….

I have been feeling so terribly guilty for not reading all that much this past week. And for not writing my review for Before I Wake the moment I finished it. Armchair BEA posts took a lot longer than I anticipated. Except for the giveaway post, they took a minimum of three hours for each post. I really should have allotted some more time to write those.

I’m back at work next week so my reading time will be that much more limited. But I hope that being at work will give me more reason to want to escape in a book at the end of the work day. I remain optimistic.

I’m looking forward to a productive and happy reading week this week and wish you the same. Happy reading!

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Do you create a reading pile?

If so, what’s in your pile this week?

And feel free to leave a link to your post if you create a reading pile. I’d love to check it out!

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