Waiting on Wednesday: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

"Waiting on Wednesday" is weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine which spotlights upcoming book releases we're excited for.

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler sounds like a YA version of the currently popular theme to combine chick-lit novels with a splendour of mouthwatering mentions of baked goods (and hopefully recipes), such as Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan and Starting Over One Cake at a Time by Gesine Bullock-Prada, both of which I reviewed on here and absolutely adored (despite the fact that they made me want to eat just cake for the duration of the read). And the chapters in Bittersweet all have cupcake names! That's an instant winner in my eyes.

Details: Expected to be published January 3, 2012 by Simon Pulse.

Description: Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last.

Book review: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

My edition: Hardcover, published in 2011 by Puffin, 521 pages.

Description: Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa tol him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring and bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth.

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem - when the Voice took over he mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for and evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery - although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely - enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

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Book review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

My edition: Hardcover, published in 2011 by Simon & Schuster, 452 pages.

Description: Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

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Waiting on Wednesday: Divergent #2: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

"Waiting on Wednesday" is weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine which spotlights upcoming book releases we're excited for. I always love reading the WoW posts from other bloggers and this is the first week I'm participating myself - please be nice ;)

For this post I've chosen Insurgent by Veronica Roth, the second title in the Divergent series. Divergent (see my review here) is one of my favourite books of 2011; a surprisingly original Dystopian novel that is engaging from start to finish. And so of course I can not wait to read what happens next, even if the release is still well over six months away!

Details: Expected to be published May 28th 2012 by HarperCollins, 496 pages.

Description: One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful.

Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Author event: Maggie Stiefvater at Foyles

Apologies for the lack of updates once more, I have been without my trusted laptop for the past few weeks. I am not entirely sure how I survived the ordeal, though it is possible there may have been ice cream involved. To make up for the lack of posts I made a little write-up of a wonderful author event I attended at Foyles book store last Saturday with Maggie Stiefvater (author of amongst others the Shiver trilogy and the new Scorpio Races) .

Let me start by saying that Foyles without a single doubt hosts the best literary events in London at the moment. I've been to a fair few in the past year and a half and besides having had a chance to listen to some of the most exciting authors currently out there the organisers at the bookshop also always ensure they make the event just that little bit more special. This ranges from dressing up in full zombie gear or, in this case, providing all attendees with proofs of an exciting YA debut called Fracture by Megan Miranda which won't be out until next year (I'm currently reading it, review will be up soon). So make sure to regularly check the Foyles calender of events to read about upcoming events.

Book review: Shades of London #1: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

My edition: Paperback, published in 2011 by Harper Collins, 372 pages.

Description: The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target?

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Book review: Justin Thyme (The Tartan of Thyme #1) by Panama Oxridge

My edition: Paperback, published in 2011 by Inside Pocket Publishing Ltd, 368 pages.

Description: Justin Thyme is a self-made billionaire living in a castle overlooking Loch Ness. The day he turns thirteen, he receives an anonymous gift: a fabulous watch with a puzzling message hidden on it. When he tells his father of his plans to build a time machine, the Laird of Thyme reveals tantalising fragments of past espionage and warns his son of a ruthless enemy keeping him under constant surveillance.

At first, Justin fails to take Sir Willoughby seriously, but when a stranger arrives claiming to be his long-lost grandfather, Justin is wary - especially after his beloved Nanny insists the old man is an impostor. Justin's TV celebrity mother departs on a Congo expedition with her eccentric film crew and Eliza, a computer-literate gorilla. Whilst returning, Lady Henny is abducted, and clues prove that the kidnapper has inside information; someone in Thyme Castle must be a spy - or possibly Sir Willoughby's old enemy in disguise.

Everyone is under suspicion: Justin's nervy tutor; their snooping housekeeper; the theatrical gardener; an ex-royal butler; and Mrs Kof, their freakishly strong cook. Suddenly, the race against time is on. Can Justin convert his vintage motorbike into a time machine, rescue his mum and discover the identity of their resident spy in less than a week... or will the dreaded Thyme Curse claim another life?

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Book review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

My edition: Paperback, published in 2009 by Puffin, 288 pages.

Description: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch.

Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush — who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life.

Clay is one of them.

If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.


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Book review: The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

My edition: Paperback, published in 2010 by Vintage, 180 pages.

Description: He is a brilliant math professor, with a peculiar problem--since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory.

She is an astute young housekeeper with a ten-year-old son who is hired to care for him.

And between them a strange, beautiful relationship blossoms.

Though the professor can hold new memories for only eighty minutes, his mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past; and through him, the numbers, in all of their articulate order, reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the housekeeper and her son.

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Book review: The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

My edition: Paperback, published in 2011 by Mira Books, 432 pages.

Description: Dear Anna,

What I have to tell you is difficult to write, but I know it will be far more difficult for you to hear, and I'm so sorry...

The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind their close friend Noelle's suicide.

Everything they knew about Noelle — her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family — described a woman who embraced life.

Yet there was so much they didn't know.

With the discovery of the letter and its heartbreaking secret, Noelle's friends begin to uncover the truth about this complex woman who touched each of their lives—and the life of a desperate stranger—with love and betrayal, compassion and deceit.

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