Sunday, March 30, 2014

In My Mailbox (37) & Stacking the Shelves (43)


Welcome to this week's In My Mailbox. In My Mailbox (IMM) is hosted by The Story Siren, who was inspired by a fellow book blogger Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. It features books I have bought or received for review.

Stacking the Shelves by Tynga`s Reviews is about adding books to my shelves I received during the past 2 weeks whether it is physical or virtual.

I am so EXCITED to share the books I got in the past couple of weeks. When I first got them (one in particular) I wanted to scream because I was so happy I got it. Without further ado...

Bought from Amazon:

Black Box by Cassia Leo

Cage (Corps #2) by Harper Sloan

Received for Review:


Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike


You may have guessed it, Sweet Reckoning is the book I was jumping up and down when I saw I was approved for it. I am so excited to start this but I have a few other books I have to read before I can. I also requested Sleep No More because it sounded interesting when I read the description. I am also super excited about The Kiss of Deception. All in all, I got some awesome books this week!

What books did you get???

Raquel
xoxo

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday (41)

The Taking by Kimberly Derting

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

After reading the description, this book sounds so good. I am so excited to get my hands on it!

Expected Publication Date: April 29, 2014

Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads)
A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing. 

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day. 

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men. 

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?


Raquel
xoxo

Monday, March 24, 2014

Excerpt Reveal: Business As Usual by Denise Grover Swank


EXCERPT:
I flip on the light switch just inside the door and my bedside lamp turns on. Alexa pushes past me and shuts the door behind her. As she looks at me, her fingers lift to her coat, unfastening the buttons, top to bottom. I watch in fascination as she tosses the jacket behind her. It lands on the floor, but she doesn’t pay attention as she pulls her thick sweater over her head, leaving her in jeans and a black lacy bra.
My breath catches in my throat as my blood rushes south. My erection strains against my tight jeans and I ache to unfasten zipper, but I’m too hypnotized by the strip-tease in front of me.
She kicks off her shoes and then unfastens her jeans. Hooking her thumbs in the loops, she pulls them down and lets them drop to her feet.
Then she looks at me with a question in her eyes, as though I would find her lacking. As though she might not be beautiful enough for me.
I want to tell her she has nothing to worry about. She’s gorgeous. Her wig frames her face and falls lightly over her shoulders. The black of her lingerie is a sharp contrast to her pale skin. Her face has less makeup on it then the other times I’ve seen her with the wig, but she doesn’t need it. I want to tell her she doesn’t need the wig either. I know who she is and I don’t care. I don’t care that Reed is her brother and that I’m risking my job by getting involved with her. I don’t care about anything but making her mine.
But my tongue lies at the bottom of my mouth, thick and useless as a slug. I can only take in her beauty and thank God she came to me. That I have this shot with her.
She must see the longing in my eyes because she lunges for me, pulling my face down for a kiss.
I kiss her back, my arms reaching around her back and pinning her to my chest. She frees her arms and grabs the bottom of my shirt, tugging it up and over my head before her mouth claims mine again and her hands start to play with the waistband of my pants.
I reach to help her, but she bats my hands away and pushes me back against the door with a thud. I barely have time to hope my roommates don’t wake up before she grabs my hands and presses my palms forcefully against the door.
I’m about to come in my pants.

BUSINESS AS USUAL Synopsis:

Lexi Pendergraft has given up on finding love after a disastrous encounter with her last boyfriend. Instead, she focuses on two things: One, setting up a summer program for underprivileged middle-school aged students. And the second, getting to the bottom of her brother Reed’s recent strange behavior. His secret is destroying his relationship with his fiancée Caroline, and Lexi will do anything to help him save it. Especially after he gave up his dream to give Lexi a chance at a semi-normal college experience, something her parents threatened to steal from her after her rape a year ago.

Ben Masterson is determined to make it through his final semester of his senior year at Southern University. After recently losing his full ride scholarship, he’s suffering from sleep deprivation while trying to keep up with his mechanical engineering courses and working three part time jobs. He thinks he’s lucked out getting a job in the university math lab. The only problem is his boss—Reed Pendergraft.

As part of a role in a community theater play, Lexi wears a black wig and feels a confidence she hasn’t experienced in over a year. When she wears it to a bar close to the theater, she doesn’t think Ben, a bartender there, recognizes her. While Ben’s intrigued about what she’s up to, he’s smart enough to stay far away from his overprotective boss’s sister. Until fate forces him to help her, but why won’t she tell him her real identity?


About Denise Grover Swank:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period.  Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.)  Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks.  She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.

You can find out more about Denise and her other books at: www.denisegroverswank.com.