Emily's Reading Room

There are still so many 2011 and 2012 Netgalley titles on my review list that I thought I'd feature three of them in today's Mini Reviews post. NEW GIRL by Paige Harbison, ALL THESE LIVES by Sarah Wylie and DANCERGIRL by Carol M. Tanzman are on the darker and more thrilling and mysterious side of YA contemporary reads. New Girl by Paige Harbison This year a new girl is attending Manderley Academy. And she took Becca's place. Becca who was friends with everybody. Becca who was perfect. Becca who is gone now. There are chapters alternating between our new girl and Becca’s point of view. Set at boarding school, I was looking forward to a lively setting with a bunch of fun and individual characters. But the characters weren’t as I imagined them to be. Our protagonist who is known as the new girl at Manderley is welcomed by prejudiced and withdrawn people who have to constantly compare her to Becca. And I found myself growing irritated by the permanent references to the perfec...

I haven't done a New Books On My Shelf post in ages, since my Frankfurt Book Fair haul to be exact. I'm sure I left out one or two books that I didn't showcase before my book fair post, but are no less loved than the others. The books you see below are the books I got over the past six weeks. The Taking by Kimberly Derting (Edelweiss/Read) Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally (Netgalley/Read) Captive by A.D. Robertson (Netgalley/Read) A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young (Bought - Kindle) The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd (Bought - Kindle) Let It Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green, Lauren Myracle (Bought - Kindle/Read) This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales (Bought - Kindle) The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas (Bought - Kindle) Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Bought - Kindle/Read) Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Bought/Read)  Winter's Kiss by Catherine Hapka, Jennifer Echols (Bought)  Winter Town by Stephen Emond (Bought) Jessica Darling's IT List ...

So many books have been piling up on my book shelves and I decided to do a weekly giveaway. You can enter my giveaway every Saturday and it'll run till Friday. See the list below the rafflecopter widget to see which books are available. The giveaway is open internationally. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway Relic by Heather Terrell (ARC) Wild Born by Brandon Mull (ARC) Thirteen by Tom Hoyle (ARC) Dreamless by Josephine Angelini (UK ARC) Haunted by William Hussey  (UK ARC)   What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Pérez Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda Paranormalcy by Kiersten White Raising Demons - Rachel Hawkins Spellbound - Rachel Hawkins Vanish by Sopie Jordan Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas The Distance Between Us by Kasie West Legend by Marie Lu (signed to Sarah) Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt Killer Heels by Rebecca Chance Slide by J...

  Title: A Gift To Remember Author: Melissa Hill Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Publishing Date: October 24th 2013 Length: 406 pages Keywords: Chick lit, romance, contemporary, New York, Christmas Source: Publisher Discover the magic of Melissa Hill this Christmas... Darcy Archer works in a small bookstore on Manhattan's Upper West Side. A dreamer who secretly wishes for true love similar to that in her beloved novels, Darcy refuses to settle for anything less than being swept off her feet by the perfect man. One day, when cycling to work, Darcy accidentally crashes into a sharply dressed man walking his dog. He is knocked unconscious and rushed to the hospital, but his dog gets left behind. Wracked with guilt over the accident, Darcy resolves to care for the dog and reunite him with his owner. But the dog is not the only thing that's been left behind and when she finds a small beautifully wrapped package - suspiciously shaped like a book - she becomes curio...

Title: She's So Dead To Us, He's So Not Worth It, This Is So Not Happening Author: Kieran Scott Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Publishing Date: May 25 th 2010, June 7 th 2011, May 1 st 2012 Length: 288 pages, 360 pages, 320 pages Keywords: YA, contemporary, romance, friendship, intrigue Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab/ Bought Ally Ryan would rather be in Maryland. She would rather be anywhere, in fact, than Orchard Hill, site of her downfall. Well, not hers exactly—but when your father’s hedge fund goes south and all your friends lose their trust funds, things don’t look so sunny for you. Her mother moved her to Maryland to flee the shame, but now they’re moving back. Back to the country-club, new-car-every-year, my-family-came-over-on-the-Mayflower lifestyle that Ally has outgrown. One bright spot, however, is gorgeous, intense Jake Graydon. But it won’t be easy for the two of them to be together—not if his friends (her former fr...

My three new mini reviews are dedicated to YA contemporary titles I read in early 2013 and which I loved very much. THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS by Sarah Ockler, THINGS I CAN'T FORGET by Miranda Kenneally and GOLDEN by Jessi Kirby are books by some of my favourite authors I'd always recommend. The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler Stay away from the Vargas boys, they only break your heart! That's what Jude has been told by her three older sisters since she's been a little kid and she even swore an oath to never ever get involved with a Vargas. Pretty inconvenient that fatefully a Vargas, Emilio is his name, is now helping Jude and her father restore his old bike in an attempt to make him happy and bring back memories he could lose forever. This constellation and their motorcycle repair dates ensures a lot of alone time for Jude and Emilio and so getting to know the other is inevitable. What I could've done without were the sisterly drama and endless discussions e...

So many books have been piling up on my book shelves and I decided to do a weekly giveaway. You can enter my giveaway every Saturday and it'll run till Friday. See the list below the rafflecopter widget to see which books are available. The giveaway is open internationally. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway Relic by Heather Terrell (ARC) Wild Born by Brandon Mull (ARC) Thirteen by Tom Hoyle (ARC) Dreamless by Josephine Angelini (UK ARC) From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer, Valerie Thomas Haunted by William Hussey  (UK ARC)   What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Pérez Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda Paranormalcy by Kiersten White Raising Demons - Rachel Hawkins Spellbound - Rachel Hawkins Vanish by Sopie Jordan Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas The Distance Between Us by Kasie West Legend by Marie Lu (s...

Break You by Jennifer Snyder Publication date: November 8th 2013 Blaire Hayes enjoys a quiet life, spending her days as a CNA at the local nursing home and nights studying for exams. She prefers things to be as uncomplicated as possible — but when her friends drag her to a party and she bumps into her high school crush, the path of Blaire’s life veers in an entirely different direction than what she had planned for herself. Jason Bryant created a nice life away from his hometown, putting distance between himself and the suffocating sadness of his father’s death. But when he finds out his grandfather’s health is deteriorating, he decides he must return home. Partying was not on his agenda while in town, but it’s how he bumps into Blaire Hayes—the girl he’d always thought of in high school as an unobtainable pass. Together the two learn there are moments in life that hold within them all the power to break you… a Rafflecopter giveaway

Essenced by Connie L. Smith Publication date: July 29th 2013 Years ago, demons were forced out of the earth’s realm by a band of supernatural fighters, banished from the place and its people in the aftermath of a horrific war. It should’ve ended there – would’ve – if not for the final demon’s claw snagging on the open portal. What felt like victory became only a reprieve, the winning warriors understanding that the tear would spread, and the demons eventually would escape exile. It was only a matter of time, and a need for future defense – a question of genetics and essences, magic and power. Now, centuries later, a new army must bind together – one of teenagers with inhuman potentials and abilities… AJ went to bed Sunday night an average teenage girl, clumsy and athletically lacking. So when she wakes up Monday morning with super-strength, she does what any rational person would do: She goes into denial. When a smoking hot guy in a suit shows up, rambling about the end of the...

Title: Captive: The Forbidden Side of Nightshade Author: A. D. Robertson Publisher: Dutton Adult Publishing Date: October 22nd Length: 320 pages Keywords: Adult, fiction, shapeshifter, romance Source: Publisher  Twenty-five-year-old Tristan Doran enjoys a life of incredible power and privilege. As a direct descendant of the Keepers—witches who have embraced dark magic—he defers to no one but his overlord, Lord Bosque Mar. For most of his life, Tristan has been kept out of the centuries-old Witches War, his bloodline too valuable to risk in battle. But when a beautiful, young human Searcher named Sarah is captured and made a prisoner in his Irish castle, Tristan’s infatuation with her flings him headlong into the fray. Captive and captor, unable to contain their longing, embark on a passionate, forbidden romance together—only to learn that their love is at the heart of a prophecy predicting the downfall of the Keepers’ ages-old reign. Captive explores the darker si...

Title: Unbreakable (The Legion #1) Author: Kami Garcia Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK Publishing Date: October 10 th 2013 Length: 320 pages Keywords: YA, fiction, spirits, ghost hunters, romance Source: Publisher Kennedy Waters didn't believe in ghosts, until one tried to kill her. When Kennedy finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn't know that evil forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into her house and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon - a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night. Now Kennedy has to take her mother's place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to de...