“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Title: Starters
Author: Lissa Price
Series: Starters
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie’s head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator’s grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations’ plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
Series: The Blood Journals
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Released Date: May 24, 2011
Hardcover: 416 Pages
Rating: 3/5
Buy it on: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound

It starts off simply.

Draw a circle … place a dead leaf in the center … sprinkle some salt … recite a little Latin … add a drop of blood …

Maybe that last part isn’t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents’ horrific deaths. She’s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep … and spill some blood.

The book isn’t the only recent arrival in Silla’s life. There’s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She’s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick’s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can’t deny their attraction. And they can’t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power.

Tessa Gratton’s intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood.

My Thoughts

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton is a witchy and engaging novel! Silla’s parents died in a tragic accident and she became depressed. Nic was abandoned by his birth mother and now lives with his birth father and stepmother. Nic, after meeting Silla, is attracted to her and together they unfold a “magical connection.”

Blood Magic is an okay novel. It was engaging, however, it didn’t wow me to really like it. I did enjoy the relationship between Silla and Nic and how they grew together and unfold the magical connections. I also enjoyed the mystery along with this book and how they had to search deep within their ancestors to know more about their families, themselves, and the bond they have together. What kept me to continue to read Blood Magic were the family history and the mystery it had with it. There is romance between Silla and Nic, however, the love between them is more on the bonding of their magic.

I would give this book another chance to see if I like it or not after reading the second book in the series.

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton is a book recommended to those who enjoy reading about magic and mystery.

Source: Sacramento Book Review.
Originally published by Sacramento Book Review – ©2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started by The Story Siren. The idea of In My Mailbox is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs.

Publisher/SF Book Reviews

• ARC – Torn by Amanda Hocking
• ARC – The Forgetting Curve by Angie Smibert
• Magic of the Moonlight by Ellen Schreiber

Won

• Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Bought

• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green [not pictured]
• Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
• The Future of Us by Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler

Gifted

• Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Thanks Literary Exploration!)

RAK

• ARC – The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting (Thanks Ann!)
• ARC – The Calling by Kelley Armstrong (Thanks Ann!)

What’s in your mailbox?!

Hello! Today we have Amanda Grace, the author of In Too Deep, with us today for a “This or That!” Welcome, Amanda!

Mandy Hubbard, also-known-as Amanda Grace, is the author of Prada & Prejudice, You Wish, But I Love Him, and several other YA novels. She is also a literary agent for D4EO Literary, where she represents authors of middle grade and teen fiction. Her leading clients include Jessica Martinez (Virtuosity, Simon Pulse) Lanie Bross, (Fates, Delacorte) and Imogen Howson (Linked, Simone & Schuster Books For Young Readers). She is currently living happily ever after with her husband and young daughter in Tacoma, Washington.

You can visit her on mandyhubbard.com!

Vampires or werewolves?
Is it really bad if I say neither? Although if I have to choose, it’s vampires. There’s absolutely nothing sexy about man who turns into a dog, IMO.

Spicy or Non-Spicy?
Spicy!

Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy?
Harry

Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate?
Milk

Chocolate-covered strawberries or Chocolate-covered gummy bears?
Oooh, Gummy Bears.

Water or Tea?
I am trying very hard to get into tea. I don’t really think it’s working, but I’ll still say tea.

Apples or Oranges?
Apples! I eat one every day.

Cats or Dogs?
Dog.

Black pens or Blue pens?
Blue!

Dresses or Skirts?
Dresses! So much easier than trying to find a shirt that looks cute with a skirt.

Muffins or Cupcakes?
Mmmmmm cupcakes…..

Sweets or Sour?
Sweets!

eBooks or Physical books?
Physical! I use my kindle for requested fulls (As I am an agent as well as an author) and ebooks remind me too much of work.

Indie bookstores or Amazon?
Pshaw, indie, obviously.

Cookies or Crackers?
Soft, melty cookies!

Thanks for the great answers for “this or that,” Amanda!

I never meant for anyone to get hurt. All I wanted to do that night was make a play for Carter Davis. His heartless rejection was mortifying, but people got the wrong idea when they saw me leaving his bedroom, crying. That’s how rumors of rape started.

Now girls at school are pouring out their sympathy to me. Guys too. But not everyone’s on my side. The school has become a war zone and the threats are getting scary. What began as poetic justice has morphed into something bigger-forcing me to make a terrible choice.

Buy it on: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Book Depository

LANI WOODLAND, MELANIE MARKS, WENDY SWORE, RITA J WEBB, and several other YA writers have put together “Transcendent: Tales of the Paranormal,” a collection of 8 stories. It’s a short, fun read, full of interesting characters and adventures, lots of twists and turns and creepy crawlies, and a touch of romance.

50% of February’s net sales for Transcendent will go to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital to support the care and treatment of children with cancer. For more information, check out this blog post: http://afantasyfiction.blogspot.com/2012/02/50-february-sales-will-be-donated-to-st.html

Discover the secrets of a siren, fly with a hawk girl over the mountains of Montana, and flee supernatural party-crashers as the décor comes to
life in this magical journey through paranormal stories.

Along the way, watch for ghosts in a haunted house, or ride through the moonlight with a stranger. Save a comatose boy who has lost his soul, and don’t forget to bring your garlic and wolfsbane—you never know when the shadows will snag you.

Transcendent includes eight stories of magic, love, death, and choice by some of the newest names in young adult fiction.

Purchase:
Paperback | Kindle | Nook

Follow:
Goodreads | Facebook

Click more for an excerpt!