Lisa's Looking Foward To #26 - August 13th, 2019

Back to joining up with the Waiting on Wednesday Posts, and the Can't Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings.  This week there are four on my list.

From my ARC list for August 13th:

Beautiful cover and sounds really good!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Lottie collects dead creatures and lovingly cares for them, hoping to preserve them, to save them from disintegration. Her father understands—Lottie has a scientific mind, he thinks. Her aunt wants it to stop, and she goes to cruel lengths to make sure it does.

And her mother? Lottie’s mother died long ago. And Lottie is searching for a way to be close to her.

The Art of Taxidermy is a heartbreaking verse novel exploring love and death, grief and beauty, and the ways we try to make sense of it all.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE. 
 

I'm a bit ashamed to say that I got an ARC of this and met the author last summer at ALA in NOLA.  And I have yet to read it.  I'm sure if I had read it,  I'd have needed a copy of this one sooner rather than later.  And just like with the first book, the cover is awesome!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

The witches, beasties, goblins, and Royals return in this spellbinding conclusion to New York Times best-selling author Megan Shepherd’s Grim Lovelies duology. 

Ever since she discovered her affinity for magic, seventeen-year-old Anouk has been desperate to become a witch. It’s the only way to save her friends who, like Anouk, are beasties: animals enchanted into humans. But unlike Anouk, the other beasties didn’t make it out of the battle at Montélimar in one piece.

With her friends now trapped in their animal forms, Anouk is forced into a sinister deal involving a political marriage with her sworn enemy, a wicked plot to overthrow London’s fiercest coven of witches, and a deadly trial of fire to become a witch. The price for power has always been steep in the world of the Haute. Now, it will cost Anouk everything.

Wicked and delightful, this spellbinding sequel and conclusion to Grim Lovelies is perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and The Hazelwood Wood.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

Another deep story, one that I think would be good for my students to read, as well as myself just to know more about this event.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Based on the shocking Beslan school siege in 2004, this is a brave and necessary story about grief, resilience, and finding your voice in the aftermath of tragedy.

On the day she brings her sweet little sister, Nika, to school for the first time, eighteen-year-old Darya has already been taking care of her family for years. But a joyous September morning shifts in an instant when Darya's rural Russian town is attacked by terrorists. While Darya manages to escape, Nika is one of hundreds of children taken hostage in the school in what stretches to a three-day siege and ends in violence. In the confusion and horror that follow, Darya and her family frantically scour hospitals and survivor lists in hopes that Nika has somehow survived. And as journalists and foreign aid workers descend on her small town, Darya is caught in the grip of grief and trauma, trying to recover her life and wondering if there is any hope for her future. From acclaimed author Julie Mayhew comes a difficult but powerful narrative about pain, purpose, and healing in the wake of senseless terror.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE. 

Sounds like a sweet romance.  And I kind of like trying to support Wattpad authors, especially as much as I loved the After series by Anna Todd.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Everything changed the day Drayton Lahey crashed into Dallas’s life…

Dallas Bryan is a no-nonsense cheerleader who has her sights set on a dance scholarship to CalArts. Drayton Lahey is the bad-boy quarterback from football royalty who’s completely wrong for her—at least, that's what she tells herself. The longer Dallas tells herself she doesn't need Dray, the quicker she realizes it might be time to forget what she needs and go after what she wants.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.


Once again, I had one more in my planner, but again, it doesn't seem to be actually coming out, as its lack of cover and any more info on Goodreads seems to say.  It is one of the Entangled Teen books I mentioned last week, so I am hoping this means they are just putting the release off, but not too long.  If I hear more, I'll let you know, but  again it is Sky-Kissed by Pintip Dunn, sequel to  Star-Crossed, which I loved; which looks to have also listed this week as a pub date on Goodreads.
  
Final Thoughts:
Have you read any of these yet?  Are they on your TBR?  And hey, while you're here, you should go try to win some of my ARCs from Cleaning Up My TBR Post HERE. The US only giveaway is open till Friday at midnight, there are even some 2019 ARCs that can be one of your two choices.  I probably won't have a giveaway this coming Saturday because I'll be out of town at Book Bonanza.

L-L-L-Little Reviews - Two Way Overdue ARCs

Both of these ARCs are titles that were published in 2018, one June, one September.  They're different kinds of stories, but I thought I'd go ahead and post my reviews of these two together for a little different post this time.  The first is a YA book, the second is an adult romantic contemporary. 

Rabbit and Robot by Andrew Smith:

Genre:  YA science fiction
Release Date: September 25th, 2018
Source:  ARC received and autographed during ALA Annual Convention 2018 which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  5 stars

I realize I've only actually read one other book by Andrew Smith, something I need to rectify, although I guess I did try to read The Alex Crow, and couldn't get into it.  But I loved the first book I read by him, Grasshopper Jungle, and I would say this book reminds me a lot of that one.  The wacky out there science fiction story of a world where everyone is basically controlled by a corporation combined with the angst of teen boys and girls and those unsure exactly of their sexual orientation or at least undergoing gender reassignment makes for a roller coaster of a read.  And not only that, but Smith gets you laughing out loud at so many things, unless it is just that I have the sense of humor of an adolescent still.  There was one character in particular, Parker, that always had me giggling like a middle school boy.  When I read stories like this, with all the craziness and out there bits, I just wonder how in the world does someone's brain work in those ways.  And then I remember that Andrew Smith, the author, is a teacher, so he sees the kind of things that you really can't make up every day at his job.  Highly recommend this one!

And I have to share my picture of meeting the author this past summer!

  
Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Cager has been transported to the Tennessee, a giant lunar-cruise ship orbiting the moon that his dad owns, by Billy and Rowan to help him shake his Woz addiction. Meanwhile, Earth, in the midst of thirty simultaneous wars, burns to ash beneath them. And as the robots on board become increasingly insane and cannibalistic, and the Earth becomes a toxic wasteland, the boys have to wonder if they’ll be stranded alone in space forever.


The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang:

Genre:  Adult contemporary romance
Series:  The Kiss Quotient #1
Release Date: June 5th, 2018
Source:  ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  4 stars

Everybody loved this book. And the synopsis totally made me think I might enjoy it as well.   While it did start out interesting, but different from what I expected, I got stalled out about 40% of the way through the book.  Partly because I had books to read at the time for tours and other things, but it just wasn't keeping my interest.  So I set it down at the beginning of July last year, and didn't pick it up again till this past February.  What happened to get me to pick it back up had nothing to do really with how much everyone else seemed to love it on every other blog.  I found this past fall that one of the other employees at my bookstore was also a huge romance reader like I am, and when I told her I had a copy of this, she asked about borrowing it.  I knew I wouldn't get to it, so I let her.  Unlike me, she devoured it much quicker.  She did tell me though, that the part I had stalled at was right before it really picked up and took off for her.  So, I made it a goal for this year to pick it back up and finish.  And I'm so glad I did!  I read more things that made so much sense to me.  The more I read about people, adults specifically, with mild autism, the more I wonder if maybe I have a mild case, but in my day, that wasn't really ever diagnosed like it is today.  In the end, this was a good book, and I have the ARC of the sequel that I need to read soon as well!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...
 

ARC Review: The Me I Meant to Be by Sophie Jordan

Book info:

Title:  The Me I Meant to Be
Author:  Sophie Jordan
Genre:  YA Contemporary Romance
Release Date:  January 1st, 2019
Publisher:  HMH Teen
Source:  ARC from ALA Convention, which did not influence my opinion in any way
My rating:  5 stars

Synopsis:
Girl Code: Never date a friend’s ex.

Willa Evans has no intention of breaking the code. So what if she’s always secretly loved her next-door neighbor Zach? As her best friend’s boyfriend, he was always off-limits and it needs to stay that way, even though they just broke up. Even though every time she turns around he’s there, tempting her…
 
No keeping secrets from your bestie.

Flor Hidalgo has a lot on her plate: her breakup with Zach, her dad’s new dating life, and her struggling grades. So why can’t she stop thinking about her hot, know-it-all tutor? At least she’s got Willa, her constant in the chaos.
 
Breaking the code breaks friendships.
 
Two friends find themselves tempted by love that defies the rules in this steamy romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Simone Elkeles.


My Review:
As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it.  I have been a fan of the author, Sophie Jordan, for a long time, ever since I read her book, Uninvited.    I've read several other books by her since then, but this was the first YA from her in awhile it seemed.  While visiting the different publisher booths at ALA last summer, when I saw this one I immediately had to ask if they had a copy I could read.  It was one of my unicorn ARCs that I was very happy to take home with me from New Orleans last June.  I didn't get to it as soon as I'd hoped, before release date last week.  But, I was lucky enough that when I did get to it, January 3rd, I had nothing else I had to do that day, and was able to basically just sit and read almost all day long. Which I did, and I finished it in one day.  I could barely put it down to do anything else. The characters were perfect, so realistic in my opinion.  And so much about the story itself.  There was the usual slut-shaming that you see in real life, but what I liked is that the girls, well, Willa at least - especially, called people out about it.  Something that needs to be done.  But it wasn't all just about the romance.  There were friendships to keep up with, both between the girls, Willa and Flor, and then also between Willa and Zach, Flor's ex, but one of Willa's best friends for longer than that.  And it wasn't like their home lives were perfect. Flor had issues with her dad and his new girlfriend.  Willa was dealing with her older sister who had moved home with a baby and major depression.  Then there was a surprise about Flor's tutor towards the end that I didn't see coming. Some hints about his home life had played out on one of their study sessions, and it totally did not go where I was assuming it would go.  A great, emotional read, highly recommended, and one I'll definitely be purchasing for my school library in the future.
 

Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: OtherEarth (Last Reality #2) by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

Book info:

Title:  OtherEarth
Authors:  Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
Series:  Last Reality #2
Genre:  YA science fiction
Release Date:  October 30th, 2018
Publisher:  Delacorte Press
Source:  ARC received at ALA 2018 which did not influence my opinion
My rating: 5 stars

Synopsis:
Return to the series BuzzFeed compared to Ready Player One in the second book in a new fast-paced trilogy from New York Times bestselling authors Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller that's perfect for fans of HBO's Westworld. 

Simon would have done anything to save his best friend after a mysterious accident almost killed her--including follow her into a virtual world. And what he and Kat discovered there was more terrifying than they could have ever imagined. Unwitting hospital patients are being forced to test a device that lets VR be experienced with all five senses. The technology is so advanced that it's deadly.

Now the world's biggest tech corporation is hunting Simon and Kat while war rages in Otherworld, the virtual world it created. Determined to destroy the Company, Simon and Kat must join forces with a hacker, a gangster, and a digital entity. But as they battle to save two worlds, they uncover an all-new threat to our world: the Company's latest creation, an augmented-reality game called OtherEarth. Not only does OtherEarth kill, it has the power to erase the line between what's real and what's fantasy.

Praise for Otherworld 

A New York Times Bestseller

"A potent commentary on how much we're willing to give up to the lure of technology."--EW.com

"A fantastic journey from start to finish." --Hypable.com

"An engaging VR cautionary tale." --AV Club

"Full of high stakes, thrillers, and fantastic twists and turns, fans of Ready Player One are sure to love this addictive read." --BuzzFeed

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Audible, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, TBD

My Review:

I was definitely not disappointed at all in this sequel to the book OtherWorld.   In fact, I enjoyed it a bit more, giving it a 5 star rating instead of the 4 stars I gave to the first one.  There was so much action in this book.  All the bad guys we knew from the last one were still out there, searching for our heroes, and while some people had been rescued from the first book, others will still out there, waiting to be found.  We had some new allies in this one, both inside Otherworld, and outside in the real world.  Some of these allies were there only out of convenience for themselves, such as the Russian Alexei.  And then there were the Children inside the game, fighting for their lives against the guests in the games that had come in just to kill them.  They were not going to trust Simon or his friends easily.  They'd been betrayed before by others like them.  The world inside the game was slowly changing, almost decaying, as time seemed to speed up inside and more and more of the Children and the other NPCs in the game died or were killed.  

I loved Elvis in this one.  He was a hoot.  But I never quite could trust Busara, and with how things ended, I'm not quite sure if I was right or wrong, mostly sure that I was right not to trust her.  There were so many twists and turns, and with Simon starting to see thing from the game outside in the real world, it was hard to know just what was real. The twist at the end made me doubt so many things I'd read and taken for granted as I read, just as Simon assumed as he raced along in his mission to save his friend and allies, and shut down the Company once and for all, before anyone else could be harmed, including the Children.  

There was a major cliffhanger with this one, and I don't know how I'm going to wait until next fall to read on.  While I'm not so sure I'd want to go into this world as the game changed anymore, there were still things that would be very interesting to at least try.

Another great science fiction story for anyone who enjoys video games, virtual reality, and the like.  I could see this as a great movie series, or TV series even.  Who can get the word out to the SyFy Channel that they should check it out?

About Book 1:

Title: OTHERWORLD (Last Reality #1)          

Authors: Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
Pub. Date: November 7, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 368
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Find it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Audible, TBD, Goodreads 
Synopsis: 

The company says Otherworld is amazing—like nothing you’ve ever seen before. They say it’s addictive—that you’ll want to stay forever. They promise Otherworld will make all your dreams come true.

Simon thought Otherworld was a game. Turns out he knew nothing. Otherworld is the next phase of reality. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted.

And it’s about to change humanity forever.

Welcome to the Otherworld. No one could have seen it coming.

About the Authors:

About Jason:

New York Times bestselling author Jason Segel used to have nightmares just like Charlie, and just like Charlie, he's learned that the things we're most afraid of are the things that can make us strong...if we're brave enough to face them. Jason likes acting, writing, making music, and hanging out with his friends. Sometimes he writes movies. Sometimes he writes songs for movies. Sometimes he stars in those movies and sings those songs. You might know him from The Muppets and Despicable Me. Your parents might know him from other stuff. Nightmares! is his first novel.

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

About Kirsten:

I write books.

Some of my books are what librarians call middle grade. (Kiki Strike, Nightmares!)

Some should be kept away from small children and people with weak stomachs. (How to Lead a Life of Crime, The Eternal Ones, Otherworld)

I write some books with Jason Segel.

I've written quite a few books on my own.

I'm an Aquarius.

My favorite food is cauliflower. (No joke.)

I will eat almost anything. And I'm weirdly proud of it.

I believe New York City is the most magical place on earth.

I love Dolly Parton and David Attenborough. Equally.

I cannot sing or play any musical instruments.

I'm obsessed with sewers and sanitation systems.

I once broke into a Mayan temple with my brother, Spike.

Spike is an alias. It's not his real name.

I also have a sister. She prefers to remain anonymous.

We have the same birthday.

Yes, that sucks.

I think that's all you need to know.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

 

Giveaway:

• 3 winners will receive a finished copy of OTHEREARTH, US Only.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

11/1/2018- A Gingerly Review- Review

11/2/2018- Jena Brown Writes- Review

Week Two:

11/5/2018- Zach's YA Reviews- Review

11/6/2018- Here's to Happy Endings- Review

11/7/2018- YA Books Central- Interview

11/8/2018- The Pages In-Between- Review

11/9/2018- Moonlight Rendezvous- Review

Week Three:

11/12/2018- Mundie Moms- Excerpt

11/13/2018- Bri's Book Nook- Review

11/14/2018- Book-Keeping- Review

11/15/2018- The Book Nut- Review

11/16/2018- Adventures Thru Wonderland- Review

Week Four:

11/19/2018- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

11/20/2018- Smada's Book Smack- Review

11/21/2018- BookHounds YA- Interview

11/22/2018- Lisa Loves Literature- Review

11/23/2018- Savings in Seconds- Review

Week Five:

11/26/2018- Girl plus book- Review

11/27/2018- Book Briefs- Review

11/28/2018- The BookWorm Drinketh- Review

11/29/2018- Nay's Pink Bookshelf- Review

11/30/2018- Christen Krumm, Writer- Review