Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn’t leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own.

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

To be released on September 24th, 2013

Published by Katherine Tegen Books

Hi Everybody! Welcome back!

Nikki over at Fiction Freak has stopped by today to share her review of Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn. I just received this book recently, and I”M SO excited to read it! Take a look!

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Charm and Strange. It honestly didn’t sound like my kind of book, but I was curious despite that. But this book ended up being a lot more Strange than Charming.

And, yet, I couldn’t get into this book. I would start it, then set it aside, start it again, and set it aside once more. It was just a little…dull. I really couldn’t get into it. Not to mention that once I did really start reading it, I couldn’t really understand what the hell was happening.

And you guys. SORT OF SPOILER: This isn’t really a werewolf book. I honestly don’t see why people are labeling it that. THERE ARE NO WEREWOLVES. Although that may be confusing once you start reading. And actually, I was confused a lot. Maybe it had something to do with the writing. Which, by the way, was absolutely gorgeous. It really was! Beautiful prose and vivid imagery-but instead of becoming alluring (okay, it was a bit alluring), it was just…sort of awkward for me, although that may only be me.

Charm and Strange definitely had a gritty feel to it that I enjoyed, but I felt like a lot of it could’ve been cut out and it wouldn’t have mattered to the story. In fact, I didn’t really understand the role of Jordan, one of the secondary characters. She didn’t really add anything to the story besides standing by and sort of supporting him? But honestly, Lex, our other secondary character, could’ve done that on his own.

The resolution was brilliant though and the revelation, though sort of obvious, still somehow shocked me. This really wasn’t a book to me, but it seems I’m one of the odd ones out! I’d still definitely give it a go if you think it sounds your style!

Pages: 213

Publication Date: June 11, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Rating: :

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she’s never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He’s searching for someone too. He’s also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other’s best hope for finding answers.

My experience with Under the Never Sky was sort of funny, because I knew nothing about the book when I bought it at Barnes and Nobles. I’ve heard about that book, and I knew that people LOVED it (and Perry!), but I really just had no clue what it was about. When I was in B&N, I decided that I was not in a dystopian kind of mood. The thought brought me down. I just wanted something paranormal. When I was browsing through the new YA section, I ran across the second book in the series, Through the Evernight. Again, I knew nothing about this series. Honestly, the second book looks like a paranormal book. I didn’t even consider reading the back of it, because I’d heard such great things and it was OBVIOUSLY a paranormal book cover. Uhm. No. I was wrong. It ended up being a dystopian book!

I wish that I could join the crowd and say how much I loved Under the Never Sky. I want to be one of those girls who gushes over how awesome and hot and spectacular Perry is! I wish that I was gaga over Aria and Perry and craving the next book. Now, I didn’t DISlike Under the Never Sky. There really was nothing THAT wrong with it. Here comes the but…..I found it boring. I didn’t care for any of the characters. I wasn’t fascinated with the world that Rossi created. I wasn’t even blown away by a single scene. I was just bored. I don’t know if this happened because I was in such a dystopian funk. I really didn’t want to read a dystopian book. It actually got to the point that I set Under the Never Sky down around halfway through it and picked up Burn Bright by Bethany Frenette. I just wanted something paranormal. When I eventually went back to Under the Never Sky, it didn’t get any better for me. I stayed bored throughout the entire thing. It got to the point that I just skimmed probably the last 25% of the book. I had read it consistently up till then, but by that point, I just didn’t care what happened anymore.

The thing that bugged me most about this book was how unrealistic everything was. Now, I know that dystopian is supposed to be unrealistic, but that’s not what I’m talking about. First complaint: some things made absolutely no sense! How did Perry get into Aria’s world in the beginning of the book? They unlocked a door to let themselves out. How did that let Perry in? And how did Perry miraculously run across Aria when she was dumped off in the desert? Because he’s really just going to stumble on her and know who she is RIGHT. AWAY. Not. No. Also, Aria and Perry HATED each other. I mean…they didn’t have a single cell in their bodies that liked each other. Normally that’s fine, because there’s a progression of feelings over time. Not in this book. It literally went from them hating each other all throughout the book. And then BAM! A page turned and all of a sudden Perry had feelings for Aria. A few chapters later, Aria had feelings for Perry. WHAT?! No. That just doesn’t work for me.

Veronica Rossi’s writing is very beautiful and smooth. There was a lot of detail….probably too much for my personal taste. She’s obviously a great writer. Unfortunately, this book just didn’t rock my boat. It was okay. It wasn’t bad by any means. But….I don’t think I’ll be reading the second one. I barely even know how the first one ended, because I just didn’t care. I think that a lot of dystopian lovers are going to enjoy Under the Never Sky, and I would encourage everyone to read it based on how popular it is right now. It sucks that it wasn’t for me, but I gave it a shot!

Kiona previously reviewed Under the Never Sky and gave it 5 stars! Check out what she had to say here.

If you liked Under the Never Sky, you should check out:

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Gravity by Melissa West

The Ward by Jordana Frankel

Pages: 374

Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

Rating: :

Teaser Quote “She looked up. “A world of nevers under a never sky.”
She fit in well then, he thought. A girl who never shut up.”

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don’t Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

What exactly are your feelings for Daemon, Ash?
She shrugs one shoulder. “Of course I care about him, but I don’t have feelings that run deep. I just don’t like him with a human.” She
smiles. “Just being honest.”

You and Daemon were previously in a relationship. What ended that?
“He couldn’t handle me, but he’ll tell you that we didn’t get along. Whatever.”

It must be pretty awful seeing Daemon with Katy. Do you think you could ever grow to like her?
Her eyes roll. “It’s pretty disgusting seeing them together and why would I like her? She’s a problem child.”

I have to say, if some chic dumped food over MY head, that would have been the end of her. Can we expect any retaliation?
“I’ve decided to be the bigger alien and not knock her into outer space.”

I’m really sorry about your brother, Adam. How are you coping?
“I’m dealing,” she said quietly. “As best as I can.”

I’ve noticed that Dee and Andrew are getting closer now. Do you think we might see a romance from them in the future?
Ash laughs. “What? Ew. No.”

And what about you? Is there a romance waiting for you?
“There are several lucky guys waiting for me. Does that count?”

Last question: Regardless of your feelings toward Katy, Daemon obviously loves her. If it came down to it, would you help keep her
safe?
She doesn’t answer immediately. “Depends on my mood, I guess.”

Hey guys!

So, I finished reading Burn Bright by Bethany Frenette not that long ago. I KNOW that I shouldn’t have done it. It’s one of my favorite series of all time, and Burn Bright doesn’t even release until February, 2014. I don’t even want to think about how long I’m going to have to wait until the third book ]= AND THEN…the third book will probably be the last one! Because all these authors just want to make 3 book series to make my life a living hell /=

Burn Bright got me to thinking…..WHERE are all the SUPERHERO books?! I’m not talking about comics. I don’t read those. I’m talking about awesome YA superhero books. Dark Star and Burn Bright by Bethany Frenette are the only two superhero books that I’m aware of. And they are amazing…so where are the rest? Maybe it’s a relevantly new thing? Maybe superheroes are going to be the big topic in the next year or two? I don’t know…but I really want to see more of them!

I feel that we’re constantly thrown in worlds with vampires, werewolves, creepy vampire/human babies, zombies, aliens…repeatedly. And, yes, I love a lot of books that focus on those topics…but isn’t that getting a little old? We read the same topics over and over and over again with only slight changes in plots. I guess that I just want to see something different. With the superhero books, that’s what I’m getting. I’m seeing heroes save the world and fight these evil doers. It’s cool. At least, I think so.

I know this isn’t my typical post. This is really just me rambling on and on and complaining about how miserable I am that there’s no more superhero books for me to read. This is what happens when I read my book 8 months before it even comes out!

So, tell me. Do you know of any amazing superhero books? Not something that you would rate 3 stars or under…something AMAZING. Let me know in the comments section!