Waiting on Wednesday: Compulsion by Martina Boone + Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine.

Hi guys! For Waiting on Wednesday today, I'm featuring Compulsion by Martina Boone + Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. Aside from the gorgeous cover, the summaries are catchy.

Book Description:

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Beautiful Creatures meets The Body Finder in this spellbinding new trilogy.

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

All her life, Barrie Watson had been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lived with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

Why I Chose This: This is the best "fusion-y" book ever. I love The Beautiful Creatures and am deeply intrigued by The Body Finder. I can't wait to actually read detailed reviews of this book. It sounds really, really, really, really promising. *grabby hands*

Book Description:

Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: March 26, 2015

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn't know she had. Except . . . her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.

Why I Chose this Book: Ever since reading The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski, I've been on the lookout for promising (oh yes, promising is the word of the day for me) fantasy reads. I like the color themes and of course, the amount of danger that the synopsis presents. In line with The Winner's Curse, there is also a master-slave hierarchy, which is bound to be interesting.

If you happen to drop by, kindly leave your Waiting on Wednesday links below so I could visit you, too!

Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway of Proxy by Alex London

Hi guys! As part of the Proxy Blog Tour, I would be posting a tidbit of Proxy on Fragments of Life. This is actually a "running excerpt." Check out Jesselle Loves Books for the previous excerpt.

Mr. Kumar never had any idea his image had been hacked. He just talked away from his wood paneled office at EduCorp. He couldn’t figure out why the kids always laughed so hard at his lectures. Not that he could do anything about it. They were all paying customers and could laugh all they wanted. That was a perk of going to a top-tier Patron school. The customer was always right.
Knox had a knack for hacking datastreams, but school wasn’t really his thing. He could do the work when he wanted, when he had the right motivation, but grades weren’t it. A girl, any girl really, now that was good motivation.

Curvy, skinny, smart, dumb, Retroprep or NeoBuddhist, Causegirl or Partygirl, it didn’t matter to him. They all had something beautiful in them. He loved finding out what it was. And they loved letting him.

Knox knew his assets. With a few little hacks of a holo projection or two, a green-eyed wink and a lop-sided smirk, he could get most girls to do anything.

Well, almost anything. Absolutely anything would take this drive in the borrowed silver CX-30 and an after-hours tour of the Patron’s Zoo on the edge of the city. Girls loved extinct animals, didn’t they?

To find out what comes next, go to The Escapist!

Book Description:

Hardcover, 384 pages
Published June 18th 2013 by Philomel

Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

Giveaway Alert: Signed Copies of Proxy

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Wicked Games by Sean Olin

Book Description:

Hardcover, 343 pages
Published June 10th 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books

Wicked Games is the first book in a sexy thriller series where passion, lies, and revenge collide-perfect for fans of Simone Elkeles and Sara Shepard.

To all the locals in the small beach town of Dream Point, Carter and Lilah seem like the perfect It Couple-but their relationship is about to brutally unravel before everyone's eyes.

Carter has always been a good guy, and while Lilah has a troubled past, she's been a loyal girlfriend for the last four years. When smart, sexy Jules enters the picture at a senior-year bash, Carter succumbs to temptation. And when Lilah catches wind of his betrayal, she decides that Jules needs to pay.

By the end of the summer, the line between right and wrong will be blurred beyond recognition. Blood will be shed. Nothing in Dream Point will ever be the same.

This juicy summer read will keep readers turning pages until the shocking, nail-biting finale.

Reviewer's Copy: ARC

Source: Harper Collins (Thank you!)

My Thoughts:

I admit: Wicked Games was addicting. It was hard to put down and at the times when I did, I felt that the intrigue, the dirty bits and the steam were pulling me back, sucking me back to the story. Though it was enjoyable, it was not the "ideal" read for me.

Dream Point was every bit as dreamy as I thought it would be when it came down to the ambiance, the sweet and hot rush of romance, the fun memories and all the sugary stuff. But it also has a darker side: jealousy, betrayal amidst shadows and waves and dirty secrets. I liked that the story revolved around the unraveling and solidifying of two separate relationships. It was the rise and fall of connection, emotional ties and romance as we know it.

Lilah and Carter's relationship was in shambles. There were down sides for the couple: Lilah was a bit paranoid and out of control while Carter had too little control. It was an emotional roller coaster for me. Seeing Lilah's heart get broken, her tears and eventually plotting and retaliating, was emotionally exhausting. I could feel her pain. On Carter's side, I could see how he tired he was and how the relationship he had with Lilah was damaging him. It was no longer healthy for both parties. He did not plan to get tangled up with Jules but in the presence of luscious, sexy Jules, his weakness got to him. This was the second contemporary book that I read with cheating in it. It was and always will be an uncomfortable topic for me. In Wicked Games, it was even more highlighted as it became the spark to the entire disaster. What I did not like about this was how Carter seemed so insensitive about what he did. Though with the whirlwind romance that he was experiencing with Jules, I couldn't blame him if his focus went to an entirely different way.

Individually and separately, I liked reading about Jules, Carter and Lilah. It reminded me of my youth, raging feelings and how the present felt like the most important thing in the world. Each one of them had their ups and downs. They were perfectly imperfect: the justified representation of a true human being. They made mistakes, they made special moments and they were 100% real.

Overall Wicked Games was an intense, steamy edge-of-your-seat read. This is perfect for people who enjoy reads (and TV shows) with drama, betrayal and evil plotting. It was a fast read for me. I felt like I was watching a show on TV, getting into the heads of the characters but not getting too emotionally attached.

Rating:

3 Cupids = Unrequited book love. Had certain expectations for the book. The book was flawed but I still enjoyed it.

Cover Reveal: Day Zero by Summer Lane

Hi guys! I'm happy to be a part of this cover reveal for DAY ZERO. The author is really nice. :) So if you're up for a post-apocalyptic read, check out the description below.

Book Description:

Title: Day Zero
Author: Summer Lane, author of the bestselling Collapse Series
Release Date: Fall 2014
Cover Artist: Arkadiusz Ostrycharz
Official Website: http://summerlaneauthor.com

Synopsis:

Elle is a survivor.
Ever since the collapse of modern society, she’s been living in the remains of downtown Hollywood, California, foraging for food and fighting for her life.
And then everything changes.
After Elle is forced out of her home, she heads north. What she finds are the remains of a juvenile delinquent camp, a group of unlikely comrades and the hope of a safe haven. Together, they journey toward the remains of civilization, facing starvation, imprisonment and death.
They are alone, but they are ready.
The end begins today. On Day Zero.

Day Zero is a Young Adult post-apocalyptic survival/adventure novel.

Add to your shelf on Goodreads!

About the Author

Summer Lane is the author of the national bestselling YA/NA Romantic Adventure novels of The Collapse Series. She is an experienced publicist, creative writing teacher and lover of all things feline. Summer owns WB Publishing, a digital publishing company devoted to releasing exciting survival and adventure stories. Summer is also the creator of the online magazine/blog, Writing Belle, and the developer of an upcoming children's creative writing program, The Art of Storytelling. She works as a journalist for Traffic Magazine, as well.

Summer lives in the Central Valley of California, where she spends her time writing, teaching, and writing some more. When she is not writing, she enjoys leisurely visits with friends at coffee shops, watching movies, reading, and visiting the beach or the mountains.

Follow Summer: Twitter | Website

So, what do you think of the cover or the book in general? :)