Waiting on Wednesday (11)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.

By Suzanne Young
Publication Date: June 26, 2012

Elise is a normal seventeen-year-old girl until the day she wakes up in a desert park, with no idea who she is.

After that episode, her life takes a bizarre turn. She’s experiencing unexpected flashes of insight into people’s lives—people she’s never met before. Strangers frighten her with warnings about the approaching Shadows. And although Elise has never had a boyfriend, she suddenly finds herself torn between two handsome but very different young men: Abe, the charming bad boy whose affect on her both seduces and frightens her, and the mysterious Harlin, who’s new to town but with whom Elise feels an urgent, elemental connection—almost as if they are soul mates.

Now Elise begins to question everything about her life. Why do these guys both want her so desperately? What are the Shadows? Why does the name Charlotte inspire a terrifying familiarity? And who is Elise, really?

Bel's "Top 10 Books I'd Give A Soundtrack To"

I thought I won the lottery when Nat told me about this meme. Take two things I love – music and books – mix and stir and I’m in heaven! So let’s get underway shall we?

Book: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

“Catch and Release” by SilverSun Pickups

Most readers really responded to the chemistry between Adam and Juliette. She experiences a sensory explosion because of Adam’s simple touch.  Not only does the very seductive bass echo their underlying sexual tension between them but the lyrics also describe her awakening.

Book: Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

“Afterglow” by INXS

This song always hits me hard. I can’t listen to it without thinking of Wren and Danny. And every time I hear it (on repeat), I fall in love with the book all over again. Wren desperately holding on to what’s familiar and reluctantly realizing that she has to let go. It really does make me teary-eyed... pass the tissue please …

Book: Matched, Crossed by Ally Condie

“Take The World” by She Wants Revenge

There’s something about the the tone of this song that reminds me of Cassia and Ky. The lines “Is this the life, the one you imagined? Is this the life, the one in your dreams?” sound like a challenge Cassia's grandfather would make to her.

Book: City of Glass

“Ride” by Carey Brothers

I cannot express to you how special this song is to me. I have loved it for so long and it still gives me goosebumps any time I hear it. It’s so simple and yet it’s a potent punch to the gut. “You saw all my pieces broken, this darkness that I could never show…” This is Jace by the end of the book, shattered and vulnerable as he tries to come to terms with the truth about his childhood. And there’s Clary by his side anchoring him.

Book: The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner

“We’re In This Together” by Nine Inch Nails

Yeah, this very disturbing and relentless romp through hell and back needs a gritty song. In fact, if The Maze Runner should ever become a movie, they should have Trent Reznor do the entire musical score. Just sayin' ...

Book: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

“Cough Syrup” by Young The Giant

Many of our readers know how much I love this book being that it was in my Top 10 of 2011. It’s really unnecessary to add another song to a book that already has its own massive soundtrack provided by the author, but I included this one because it’s about pain and healing.  It’s so beautiful, sad and yet hopeful – just like how Harper, Laney and Jake evolve by the end of the book. (Funnily enough, Young The Giant used to be called The Jakes … and there I go sounding like Jake!)

Book: Wither (Book 1: The Chemical Gardens Trilogy) by Lauren DeStefano

“Possession” by Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan first wrote this song about a stalker. The song just like the book hides a very dark and sinister undertone beneath it's beautiful melody and lyrics. It just struck me as fitting for Rhine who is kidnapped, married off and kept against her will, devising her plan for her freedom. 

Book: Where She Went by Gayle Foreman

“Anyone’s Ghost” by The National

This is one of Nat’s favorite books and I hope I don’t disappoint her. I picked it because I think it captures Adam’s emptiness without Mia. And if you listen to the lyrics, "I had a hole in the middle, where the lightening went through it, told my friends not to worry", you can picture him walking around the streets of Manhattan a bit lost, confused, hopeless – and with his headphones on.

Book: The Iron Knight

“Don’t Take Your Love Away” by VAST

A powerful, sweeping story needs an equally powerful song. One of the things I love about VAST is that his songs are lyrically and musically dramatic. This beautiful song is perfectly matched for The Iron Knight ‘s majestic landscape and epic love story. Oh Ash ... *sigh*

Book: Fallen

“I Follow Rivers” by Lykke Li

Out of the series, I like Fallen the best.  I like the mystery of Luce’s inexplicable pull towards Daniel. I think that idea is conveyed in the song’s lyrics. Plus it has such as an ethereal feel that I associate with the book. 

Honorable Mentions:

I had so much fun doing this that I ended up having difficulty narrowing down my choices to just ten. There are also ones we’ve mentioned before but they’re so worth revisiting.  :)

Book: Hush Hush, Crescendo by Becca FitzPatrick

“The Big Bang” by Rock Mafia

Seriously? Do I need to explain this? If you’ve read my love letter to Patch, this should come as no surprise to you. 

Book: Hunger Games Trilogy

“Crossfire” by Brandon Flowers

Taylor who? Puhleese girl … step aside and let the Master (of Nat’s heart) sing this song that so perfectly captures the series.

Book: Silence by Becca FitzPatrick

"Need You Now" by Cut Copy

Okay I'm just looking for reasons to talk about Patch. This song just came to mind at the end of Crescendo and it happens to work for Silence. Plus, he does say "hush" a few times ...

Book: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

“We Found Love” by Rihanna

I picture this during that clandestine rave scene where the kids are reveling in the chaos and their brief freedom. Lena is there, exposed to all this for the first time as Alex encourages her to step out of her comfort zone. There’s no real deep meaning in this song for me. It’s just the rush and vibrancy of the music that connects for this one scene. 

Pinning it with Literary Love

Jamie B. at The Perpetual Page-Turner had the wonderful idea of posting some of her favorite Pinterest finds and encouraged everyone to do the same.  And considering I spend every waking moment on Pinterest I am feeling up to the task.  Okay, okay.  Not EVERY waking moment.  But a good portion of those moments when my kids - in all their cuteness - aren't asking me to play, read, watch tv and/or eat....

....hours later....

So I was going to give a little bit of this and that but then realized that I wanted to show you ALL THE PINS in ALL THE WORLD.  So I had to break it down into categories.  And then some of those categories were too big so I had to break them down to.  And the...well you get the picture.  Needless to say you might be seeing a few of these posts in the future.

But today let's just look at some fun bookish things...



Book Love.  Aww!



Maybe not wearable but definitely adorable!

Someday I will be able to afford to pay someone to refinish my stairs to look just like these..



I think Shel needs this.  And I need the cuff with Captain Wentworth's letter (Persuasion)...



I want to do this.  The problem?  I would want to change the quotes daily.







Aren't these darling?  I will be learning make these ASAP.



And for a little laugh...

Hope you enjoyed viewing this as much as I enjoyed posting it. 

Share with us your favorite Pinterest finds.  And I would love it if you follow me on Pinterest.  I will follow back.  Find me under Natalie P.

YA Paranormal Activity Giveaway Hop

Hello lovely friends!  I am excited for this giveaway!  The YA Paranormal Giveaway Hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not a Writer and vvb32 Reads.  And for this giveaway we have a very special treat for you - BiblioJunkies friend Kristin of MOD Designs has created an awesome bookmark for the giveaway!  So, in addition to a SIGNED copy of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, you will get a one of a kind bookmark from MOD.  As someone who enjoys many of Kristin's beautiful items, trust me - you should check out her stuff.  The link to MOD's etsy site is:

http://www.etsy.com/people/moddesigns3

You know the drill people, fill out the Rafflecopter below and you will have the chance to enjoy these fabulous prizes! 

 

Half-Blood by Jennifer Armentrout

***                                                        

From Spencer Hill Press:            

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi—pure-bloods—have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals—well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:

Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.


Unfortunately, she’s crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Half-Blood is a tremendous new spin on Greek Mythology, the gods and their descendants. 

The Good:

Half-Blood is engaging and entertaining, full of heartbreak and the struggle to find your place in the world.  Alex's plight drew me in and demanded my complete attention.  The characters are fun and look for the great smack talk between Alex and her archnemisis!

The Bad:

Part of the story is that Half-Bloods that do not play by the Pures' rules or are not proficient fighters are made slaves.  This is bad enough, but the way they are made slaves is that they are given a drug that strips them of all free will and then they are given scars or marks on their foreheads to display their status to the world.  I found this deeply disturbing and it was almost enough to turn me off the book.  Not quite, but it really hit me hard - it is one thing to be made a slave, but to take away someone's mind and will - yeah, I did not like that...

Keep an eye out for the second Covenant book, Pure, releasing April 2, 2012!

~Shel

Indeed...

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.

By Ally Carter
Publication Date: March 13, 2012

The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer

Skyship Academy by Nick James (Guest Post by Nat's XO)

***
XO here again. Lucky you! I was between books, and Nat said, “Oh, dear husband, I have just the book, one that I think will suit your tastes and reflects all the qualities that I know you love in a book my darling!” OK, it was more like, “you need a book?” “here….” (My version is so much sweeter, right?)


Sometimes an author goes into the head of a character and writes like that person thinks. Or so that’s the idea. When that person is a 12 year old malcontent, pissed off at the world and his lot in it, it’s sort of hard to follow right off the bat. Skyship Academy : The Pearl Wars starts out in the middle of the action, right in the first round in a new conflict between two kids, who represent the two major powers of 2095 USA (barely recognizable to us silly 2012’ers). Jesse and Cassius are about to find out that neither is what they appear, and their chance encounter is the trigger that releases special powers in each of them. I have to pause here. The back cover of this book had me very excited, it looked right up my alley, with some military sci-fi, a good mystery, some super powers. Come on, that’s got the makings of a great movie, right?! OK, back to the book. I started and stopped, and re-started the first chapter 4 times. And that’s very unusual for me. As stated above, I totally understand what the author was going for, get us in the mind of Jesse, and make us like the stories unlikely hero. Well, sadly, all I found him was annoying, and hard to understand (Much like me after tee many martoonies). Author Nick James (yes, I kept saying “I’m Rick James, B**CH” in my head every time I saw his name) has created a fascinating world, right down to evolved slang and speech. Which is great, provided you explain that up front. Instead I’m re-reading whole paragraphs trying to decipher just what the heck he’s talking about. It was mass irritating. Huh? Mass? Yup, that’s the word in Jesse’s vocabulary that apparently has the same meaning as Smurf, and you can just substitute it in various places. Grrrrr.

Once you get out of Jesse’s perspective, the book does get a lot better, and it’s a fast paced story, like a junior version of a Bourne novel, or maybe a Clive Cussler NUMA adventure. Lots of action, really interesting twists and turns, and an overall fun story. Both kids are unprepared for the world outside their homes, an Academy of sorts for Jesse, floating high in the sky above modern day Northern California, and for Cassius, the city of Rochester New York, which has become one of a few Chosen Cities will all the comforts of a modern technological wonder, without that pesky post apocalyptic feel of the rest of the ol’ USA. The book centers on Jesse’s struggle to get to where he was found by the Skyshippers, in old Seattle, just days after a devastating bio-attack that left every other living thing in Seattle dead, and Cassius’ struggle to catch Jesse to figure out what’s happening to him.

The book is meant to be the first in a series, and after some of the twists and turns, I will most likely read the 2nd, and see if adding a few years to Jesse makes his mind any less annoying, but I’ll probably not have it on the top of my list.

Signing off, before I get a book thrown at me,

The XO

Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

**1/2

From Bloomsbury:

For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won't comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.

The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife, Eloise's aunt, Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, Eloise must place her trust in Lucas, her handsome protector, and Strahan's mysterious son, Eldric, and forge alliances with other Fae in a dangerous attempt to free Antonia for ever.


The Good:
Stolen Away is well-written and fascinating take on the fae.  It is told from the point of view of the quiet Eloise and her boy crazy best friend Jo.  And you guys know how I love stories told from multiple p.o.v! 

The Bad:
The story felt a little disjointed at times.  The ending was abrupt and felt a little unfinished.  I also ended the book never really understanding what was so special about Eloise that allowed her to begin seeing the fae, who remain hidden from humans.

Stolen Away is a decent, quick read.  If you enjoy stories about fae, faeries and mystical worlds you should pick up Stolen Away.

~Shel

Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

* * *

Available March 13, 2012

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.


Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friend” – know to everyone as the Glitterati – without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls. Who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.


The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her – evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s not time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan.


But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person Willa trusts most?


Mean Girls meets Robin Hood in this charming tale of Willa Fox who has been transplanted to a snooty new high school called Valley Prep in Paradise Valley, AZ. Willa has made a career out of being a new girl at every school. This time, thanks to a chance encounter with another student, Cherise, Willa winds up in the world of the Glitterati – the “it” girls of the school.


Willa is very likable; her quirkiness is endearing. She's easily forgiven for initially falling under the Glitterati's spell before realizing just how ruthless they can be. And while the description above gives the impression that the bad boy, Aidan is a huge distraction, it is really Willa's struggle to establish her own ground and create a more tolerant environment at her school that's front and center.  


Eliza Ludwig does a fine job with the story. Even though it touches on the topic of online bullying, she doesn't get preachy.  Instead she adopts plenty of humor and intrigue that takes the story in a different direction where Willa sticks it to the over-privileged brats at school.


Pretty Crooked is very entertaining and everyone will recognize the social hierarchy that's described in it. The book offers a glimpse into what some of the other kids at Valley Prep go through. Cherise, for example, who used to be on the outside before being accepted by the Glitterati, has learned to turn a blind eye because she's terrified of being a social outcast. There's Tre, another transplant like Willa, and son of the Phoenix Suns' head coach, who has constant rumors swirling around him. Then there's Aidan and his endless attempts at getting kicked out of school so that he can send a message to his overbearing father. All of them demonstrate that there's more to people than meets the eye.


In the end, Willa does have to face the consequences of her actions, especially the negative fallout from her otherwise good intentions. Aside from that, there's also the added mystery of the secrets her mom has been keeping from her since they moved to Arizona. All of this provides for plenty of material for the next book which I very much looked forward to!


~ Bel


And now BiblioJunkies is very happy to have Elisa Ludwig share more about Pretty Crooked.  Don’t worry, you won’t be running into any spoilers!

Elisa Ludwig

The kids at Valley Prep where Willa goes are quite diverse.  How much of that setting echoes your own high school experience?

Actually, the school I went to was not terribly diverse at all. It was a private school, not unlike VP. I got a wonderful education but when I was there, the majority of students were white and affluent.

Willa is a confident person. It’s nice to see a teenager who with her quirks and a few missteps along the way still has a handle on things. And then there’s Cherise who’s still a bit unwilling to stick her neck out even if she disagrees with the Gliteratti. How did you shape those two characters?

In the earlier drafts, Willa was a little too tough, a little too confident. Over time she came to be more enthusiastic and slightly more naïve, at least in terms of her social life. I think Cherise has more to protect – she knows what the Gliteratti’s wrath can be like, and so she is more defensive of her social position. Cherise was always more conflicted than Willa but the nuances of characters’ interactions and dynamics always seem to come (for me, anyway) in later drafts.

The overall tone of the book is whimsical even though it brings up online bullying and the perils of rumor mills. Were they something you had wanted to address?

Yes. These being real issues for kids. The stealing part and the fashion and of course the romance are meant to be fun fantasies, but it’s also important to ground stories in the here and now, and have some substance.

How did you research the fine art of pick pocketing and breaking into lockers? And how fun was that?

Mostly on the internet! Everything is out there for the reading (and writing). Some things took longer than others to nail – I remember that figuring out the locker scene was pretty tricky. Sometimes I would try to write one method but then it wouldn’t work as well on paper so I’d scrap it and use another. But it was super fun. I just the FBI isn’t keep a case file on me, given some of my search terms.

So in the next book will we learn more about this mystery surrounding Willa’s mom? Can you drop us any little hints?

Yes, for sure. This book is a cliffhanger and the next one solves most, if not all the questions raised. Hmm..hints. *maniacally steepling fingers together* I will say this: All of the major characters will be back.

Aidan in the story is the big prankster at school. Did you take part in any yourself?

I wish I could say I did. There was one senior prank the whole class did and I recall it has something to do with condoms. But in general, my rebellions (you better believe I had them) were much quieter.

And now is the part of the interview where we get silly. We BiblioJunkies have the mentality of sixteen year olds, so with that being said…which fictional character would you love to go on a date with?

:) If we’re talking teen boys, I think I’d have to choose Tom Henderson from King Dork. He’s smart, quirky and we could geek about music. Now if it had to be someone my age, well, that would be a challenge. I haven’t run into a dreamy thirty something guy in a book in a while! May be you have a recommendation??

When it comes to dessert, what’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

Much like Aidan, I prefer the combination of salty and sweet: Chubby Hubby, salted caramel anything, or Mo’s Bacon Bar would fit the bill.

And finally what kind of reading do you enjoy when you’re not busy writing? (Okay so it’s not a silly question.)

I love contemporary YA, of course. One of my day jobs is writing guides for other people’s novels so I read all kinds of books for that. I also like literary fiction, short stories, the New Yorker, narrative nonfiction, cookbooks, and blogs like The Hairpin. (I’ve been known to waste a minute here or there on cheesy celebrity gossip. Ahem.)

Congratulations on the new book Elisa and thank you for taking the time out of your very busy day to chat with us. We wish you much success!


Readers, we hope you enjoyed it and we hope you add Pretty Crooked, available March 13 to your TBR list!


~ Bel

Hunger Games - Taylor Swift sings Safe and Sound feat. The Civil Wars

So it's no secret that Bel and I are huge THG fans.  When it was announced that Taylor Swift would be singing a song on the soundtrack and that her song would be released this week I was pretty sure Bel was going to turn into a screaming tazmanian devil.  You see, not only is Bel not a Taylor Swift fan but both she and I have a very specific song that we associate with The Hunger Games.  But upon listening to Ms. Swift's contribution, I fell instantly in love.  I don't think Bel fell in love but she begrudingly called the song "not bad" and gave full credit to The Civil Wars - Ha!  Anyways, here it is...

Taylor Swift - Safe & Sound - Music - More Music Videos

And then here is the song that according to me and Bel embodies the entire trilogy....

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

****1/2

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.

Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven's warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell's strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.
She's been warned.


Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian's new plan to destroy Ellie's soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian's schemes, the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.
 She'll be betrayed.

Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be Hell to pay.

You know how when you love the first book in a series, you are apprehensive about the rest?  Don't worry about that with Wings.  Wings continues the struggles of Ellie and her friends.  Ellie is trying desperately to balance her duties as the Preliator and her life as a high school senior, while trying to figure out where she stands with Will and how she feels about Cadan.  But of course, the battle between good and evil doesn't wait for prom...



The Bad:

Wings is long, which is not really a bad thing, because it is also excellent, but be prepared to set aside some time to read it.  I stayed up most the night on a Saturday and woke up early on Sunday to finish.  You are also introduced to many more characters and types of Reapers, but if you read Angelfire, you should have little trouble getting them straight. 

The Good:
The characters.  The story.  The phenomenal writing.  Take your pick.  Wings is a truly fascinating story.  The characters draw you in and won't let go with their snark and fun. 

To call Wings action-packed is an understatement, but to say it is also overflowing with emotion is not.  I finished Wings feeling (well beyond feeling that I wanted to read Book 3 immediately) completely drained and exhausted from the emotional toll the story took on me.  Neither Bel nor I could pick up another book for days it had that much of an impact.  And my literary crush Will is so sweet and really needs a lot of love in this book people! 

If you liked Angelfire, you will love Wings.  If you haven't gotten tired enough of me talking up Angelfire to read it yet - I say what are you waiting for?!  Read it now so you can get to Wings! 

I say again, you should all go check out Courtney's website for her graphic art of the characters and to stay tuned for updated on the third and final book in the series.  Also, Courtney is hosting a giveaway of some fine Angelfire Swag (which looks completely awesome!)  http://courtney-allison.blogspot.com/2012/02/fear-reaper-countdown-to-wings-of_13.html

~Shel




We were lucky enough to participate in the Wings of the Wicked ARC for the ARC Tour hosted by The PageTurners Blog and we thank them for the opportunity.

Top Ten Books That Broke Nat's Heart A Little (or a lot)

This our first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday.  Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish .

It's no secret that I am a total sap when it comes to reading books so I thought it very fitting that I share with you....

Top Ten Books That Broke My Heart A Little (or a lot...)

If I Stay by Gail Forman -  Every page of this book broke my heart.  I am honestly not sure how I am still standing.

Where She Went by Gail Forman - How can the hot rockstar that has continued to love the girl that broke his heart in the most excruciating manner not be heart breaking?

Marley and Me by John Grogan - The only book that has made me cry more than this one is Gayle Forman's If I Stay.  Let's just say that I hugged our dear sweet dog for quite some time.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - Beth March.  Need I say more?  Oh and really Laurie and Jo?  Really?

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - Not sure why but Sam's battle to keep his identity moved me more than I would have imagined. 

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas - Romance novels don't make me cry but this one DID break my heart a little.  The classic tale of a footman falling in love with the aristocrat's daughter was told with enough intensity that I found myself holding my breath more often than not.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green - A story about teens and cancer.  Beautifully told by the great John Green.  Of course it broke my heart.

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn -  Michael is in love with his happily married cousin's wife.  Unrequited love of course causes broken hearts.  Particularly mine.

Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa - Oh Ash.  Your entire quest to become human was heart-wrenching. 

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Oh geez. Reasons this book broke my heart....Katniss, Prim, Rue, Peeta...should I keep going?

There you have it.  Books that broke my heart.   Now I think I need a tissue.....


~Nat