Baking By the Book: Cinnamon Bookbinder Bread from Stray

Hi y'all! I am so excited to be posting my very first Baking By the Book feature! It's been in the back of my mind for so long, and so many people expressed interest in it when I mentioned doing it, so here we are! :D

For my very first feature, I baked the Cinnamon Bookbinder Bread from Elissa Sussman's Stray, which I read and enjoyed late last year. Aislynn bakes the bread several times in the course of the book and it plays a big part in how she deals with her problems. And because I love to bake, of course I wanted to know the recipe. Imagine my delight when I turned to the back of the book and there it was! I'd never baked bread from scratch before, so I was a little scared going in, but I think my recipe turned out pretty good--though my pan for the bread definitely needed to be bigger.

Surprisingly, this wasn't difficult at all for someone who can follow directions. (I like good directions.) It's intimidating because it has to rise and there are some relatively strict guidelines, but I managed. :)

I'm someone who gathers ingredients first, since I hate to scramble for things if I need them quickly.

Wet and dry ingredients for the dough, just before I mixed them. Also, I copied the recipe into a notebook so I didn't have to keep my copy of Stray with me in the kitchen, both so it wouldn't flop around and be hard to read and so I didn't get any food on it. (I'm a messy cook.)

The finished product! I needed a larger pan, but it certainly didn't affect the taste. This bread is seriously delicious. Between the three of us in my house, it was gone in two or three hours. The top is nice and crispy, but the insides are so soft. It's very sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and it gets to a gorgeous golden color. I know this is something I'll be baking a lot more--because it will be demanded.

It was also so fun seeing a recipe from a book come to life by my own hands. Of course I've seen other people bake things from books all the time, but I really liked going through all the motions I'd read Aislynn going through and knowing just how good this bread is. It's gotten me even more excited to try out more recipes from books! I'll also be checking out Elissa's other recipes featured on the Epic Reads blog, since this one was so good.

And, in case you want to try Cinnamon Bookbinder Bread as well--which you absolutely should--here's the recipe, taken from the Epic Reads blog:

Happy baking, y'all! And, since this my first post, I'd love some feedback! More pictures? Fewer pictures? A little more step-by-step? Mostly, what do y'all want to see here? I aim to please! After all, all you're getting are the pictures. I get to eat it! :D

Waiting on Wednesday: Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder {78}

Title: Shadow Study
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Release date: February 24, 2015

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder wowed readers with Poison Study, the unforgettable story of poison taster Yelena. Now she's back with a new tale of intrigue.

Once, only her own life hung in the balance.

Oddly enough, when Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. But she'd survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia. Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands and protect her relationship with Valek.

Suddenly, though, they are beset on all sides by those vying for power through politics and intrigue. Valek's job - and his life - are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover the scope of these plots, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. She must keep that a secret - or her enemies will discover just how vulnerable she really is - while searching for who or what is responsible for neutralizing her powers.

Yes, the days of tasting poisons were much simpler. And certainly not as dangerous,

I loved Maria Snyder's Poison Study books, so of course I was so pumped to see she was writing another series with Yelena. I'll have to refresh my memory on the series, but that's not such a burden. :)

 So what are you guys waiting on this week? :)

{Release Day Blitz + Giveaway} A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

I am so excited that A COLD LEGACY by Megan Shepherd releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an excerpt from the book!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Megan Shepherd, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blast also includes a giveaway for a signed copy of the book and swag courtesy of Megan and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Title: A COLD LEGACY

Author: Megan Shepherd

Pub. Date: January 27, 2015

Publisher: Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins

Pages: 400

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls.

Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own.

With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.

 

A COLD LEGACY excerpt

p.21-24

Montgomery stopped the horses outside a tavern. He came to the carriage door, opening it just a crack to keep the rain from drenching us. “I’m going to ask directions. We can’t be far now.”

We watched him saunter over the muddy street as though he didn’t even feel the bite of freezing rain. A face appeared in the tavern window. The door opened and he spoke to a woman in a wool dress for a few moments, then stomped back through the mud. “This village is called Quick,” he told us. “The manor’s only five miles from here.”

“Did you hear that?” Lucy murmured to Edward, still stroking his hair. “We’re almost there. Just hold on. Everything will be all right once we arrive.”

Montgomery’s eyes shifted to me. Neither of us wanted to remind Lucy that the prospect of Edward’s fever breaking—and the Beast’s reappearance—was almost more frightening than the fever itself. Delirious, he was less of a threat.

“Let’s go then,” I whispered to Montgomery. “And quickly.”

He closed the door and in another moment we were moving again, passing through the rest of Quick. Then all too soon the village was nothing but fading lights. The storm grew and the road became rougher, and all the while Edward’s eyes rolled back and forth beneath shuttered lids.

Thunder struck close by, and Lucy shrieked. Montgomery whipped the horses harder, pulling us along the uneven road impossibly fast, trying to outrun the storm. I twisted in the seat to look out the back window at the pelting rain. A stone fence ran alongside us.

“We must be getting close,” I said.

“Not soon enough,” Lucy breathed. “We’re going to crash if he keeps driving like this!”

The road widened, straightening, letting us travel even faster. Lightning struck close by, blinding me. The horses bolted. Lucy screamed and covered her eyes, but I couldn’t tear mine away. The lightning had struck an enormous oak tree, twisted from centuries of wind. The oak took flame, blazing despite the rain. A smoking gash ran down the trunk—the lightning’s death mark. I watched until the rain put out most of the flames, but it still smoldered, billowing hot ash into the night.

The horses pawed the earth, and I grabbed the window to steady myself. At this wild speed, just hitting a single rock at the wrong angle would send the carriage shattering to the ground. It was madness to go so fast. Couldn’t Montgomery calm the horses?

Just when I feared the carriage would careen out of control, it stopped short, throwing me against the opposite wall. I tangled in Lucy’s limbs as the chains around Edward’s body clinked. Balthazar grunted, jerking awake at last. We scrambled in the bottom of the carriage until the door flew open.

Montgomery stood in the pelting rain. I feared he’d say we’d broken another strut or the horses had gone lame or we’d have to spend the night in the harsh storm.

But then I saw the lights behind him, and the night took shape into a turreted stone manor with bright lamps blazing and gargoyles on the roof vomiting rain into a stone courtyard.

Montgomery’s eyes met mine beneath the low brim of his hat.

“We’ve arrived,” he said.

About Megan:

Hello!

I’ve been many things, like a professional exchange student, park ranger in Montana, and LOST enthusiast, but what I am now is a writer.

I think it’s fair to say I was born into it. I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, raised behind the counter of my parents’ independent bookstore,Highland Books in Brevard. Ah, so many free books. But I never thought being a writer could be a real career. After college I thought I’d end up as a foreign service officer somewhere dashing and exotic, like Canada. I studied French, Spanish, German, and Russian and still speak a few of those. Then I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Senegal, where I learned a few more languages I’ll never speak again and lived in a mud hut with no electricity or running water. You can probably imagine how that experience went, but if you’re curious, here are the dirty details.

It wasn't until a chance aquaintance read something I wrote and said, "Have you ever considered being a writer?" that something clicked and I realized it was possible. My husband encouraged me, and I quickly fell head-over-heels in love with writing and children's literature in particular. I started out writing articles, which have appeared in Faces, Appleseeds, and Calliope magazines, and stories for younger children. I soon realized I wasn’t sweet enough to write fiction for that age and found myself writing young adult literature instead, which doesn’t require nearly as many tender moments and includes a lot more cursing.

When I'm not writing, I can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. I love to hear from readers, so please drop me a line!

I am represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a signed copy of A COLD LEGACY and swag! US Only.

Ends on February 6^th at Midnight EST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaser Tuesday: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski {104}

Title: The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Curse #2)
Author: Marie Rutkoski

Release date: March 3, 2015

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

My teaser, from 8% in the egalley:

"Do you think that an empire can survive without a few dirty methods? Do you think that an empress will keep herself clean of them?"

"No."

He slid the drawer shut. Its slide and click were as loud as a bang. "Then what have we left to address but my disappointment? My grievous disappointment? I had thought better of you."

Oh my word, I think is more of a tease for myself than y'all. I'm writing and scheduling this post way in advance, so it's killing me that I'm opening the book without reading the whole thing... I WANT TO.

I'll be visiting around and visiting back, so leave me links to your teasers! :) Happy Tuesday!

Review: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Release date: February 3, 2015
Author info: Website | Facebook
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pages: 208
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher provided for review
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

Sarah has always been on the move. Her mother hates the cold, so every few months her parents pack their bags and drag her off after the sun. She’s grown up lonely and longing for magic. She doesn’t know that it’s magic her parents are running from.

When Sarah’s mother walks out on their family, all the strange old magic they have tried to hide from comes rising into their mundane world. Her father begins to change into something wild and beastly, but before his transformation is complete, he takes Sarah to her grandparents—people she has never met, didn’t even know were still alive.

Deep in the forest, in a crumbling ruin of a castle, Sarah begins to untangle the layers of curses affecting her family bloodlines, until she discovers that the curse has carried over to her, too. The day she falls in love for the first time, Sarah will transform into a beast . . . unless she can figure out a way to break the curse forever.

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast where the girl turns into the beast? I mean, how could you resist? Between that and the perfect cover, Beastkeeper was at the top of my list. It had a lot to live up to, and it definitely didn't disappoint.

Cat Hellisen's Beastkeeper is, first and foremost, gorgeously written. It's so atmospheric and just oozes mystery, enticing you to read more and more. Her words aren't flowery, but they evoke so much with simple, careful word choice. It's the kind of writing I forget I crave until I'm reading it and it smacks me over the head with how gorgeous it is.

For how short the book is, the story is marvelously slow. It creeps forward, savoring the moments and how Sarah feels, giving you time to digest and to process. I know many people aren't fans of slow-moving stories, but there's so much to enjoy as you go that I don't think it'll be a problem for many people. Beastkeeper is the kind of book that needs that time.

This is absolutely the kind of book that would have completely captured my heart when I was younger. So much of it reminded me of Robin McKinley's books, or at least how her books made me feel when I first read them--and that's a special thing. My only problem is, as an older reader, I have more questions than I would have had when I was younger. The world is sparse on details, which allows the book to be slim, but I, of course, could have used a little more. I was still completely caught up in the story, but when I finished, I couldn't say I had a terribly good grasp on things. My final thoughts are all more feelings than articulated ideas.

Beastkeeper is a middle grade novel that deals with complex ideas. The traditional curse required in the Beauty and the Beast story is changed into one that's triggered when love is unrequited, and it takes the happily ever after of most fairy tales and throws it out. Go in with an open mind and I don't see you being disappointed.

About the author:

Cat Hellisen is an author of fantasy for adults and children. Born in 1977 in Cape Town, South Africa, she has also lived in Johannesburg, Knysna, and Nottingham.

She sold her first full-length novel, When the Sea is Rising Red in 2010. Her children’s book Beastkeeper, a play on the old tale of Beauty and the Beast, is due out February 3rd 2015 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR).

Stacking the Shelves {102}

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we get to share the books we've bought, been gifted, or received for review!

How was everybody's week? Mine's been good! Since the holidays are over, I'm working a lot less, which is giving me more time at home. So far, that's meaning more reading time, which is wonderful! Hopefully that continues. :) 

For review: 
The Novice by Taran Mathau
Sweet by Emmy Laybourne
Joyride by Anna Banks

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

Gifted:
This Shattered World (Starbound Trilogy #2) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner (plus THE POSTERRR and signed!)
I got it!! I squealed when I saw the package sitting on the couch, waiting for me, when I got home. Every year for Christmas my parents get me a book, and this was their gift this past year, so happy belated Christmas to meee!

Plus some awesome swag from M.G. Buehrlen! :)

A recap of the week here on Paper Cuts:
Monday - Review: The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick
Tuesday - Teaser Tuesday: When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill
Wednesday - Waiting on Wednesday: Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson

Books I read this week:
Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen
Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg
I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

I'm currently reading:
Clariel by Garth Nix

So that's been my week! Not much blogging, but a lot of reading! And it was all really good stuff, which is just the best. I know I'll love Clariel, so I'll happily continue on a good book streak. :) Ooh, and I did the baking for my first Baking By the Book post, so that'll be up this week! (Spoiler: It was delicious!) Have a lovely Sunday and a fabulous week!

Waiting on Wednesday: Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson {77}

Title: Rebel Mechanics
Author: Shanna Swendson
Release date: July 14, 2015

A sixteen-year-old governess becomes a spy in this alternative U.S. history where the British control with magic and the colonists rebel by inventing.

It’s 1888, and sixteen-year-old Verity Newton lands a job in New York as a governess to a wealthy leading family—but she quickly learns that the family has big secrets. Magisters have always ruled the colonies, but now an underground society of mechanics and engineers are developing non-magical sources of power via steam engines that they hope will help them gain freedom from British rule. The family Verity works for is magister—but it seems like the children's young guardian uncle is sympathetic to the rebel cause. As Verity falls for a charming rebel inventor and agrees to become a spy, she also becomes more and more enmeshed in the magister family’s life. She soon realizes she’s uniquely positioned to advance the cause—but to do so, she’ll have to reveal her own dangerous secret.

This just sounds so good! I can't get enough of this kind of stuff. Nothing hooks me more than the mention of an alternate history. :D :D

 So what are you guys waiting on this week? :)

Teaser Tuesday: When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill {103}

Title: When Joss Met Matt
Author: Ellie Cahill

Release date: February 24, 2015

Dating can be fun, but it can leave a nasty taste in your mouth. For Joss, ever since her longtime boyfriend cheated on her, she doesn’t want her last memory of a guy to be that jerk. Enter her college friend, Matt. They come up with a theory: after a bad break-up, a person needs to cleanse the palate with a little sorbet sex. Lovers for a night, but always back to being friends in the morning. The two can handle it because they have a contract: rules they wrote, rules they follow and rules they can sometimes bend. The arrangement works: everyone needs a little sorbet now and again … until it starts to be the only thing you want. And then Joss breaks the one rule they never wrote down: don’t fall in love. 

My teaser, from 9% in the egalley:

I slumped forward and covered my head with my arms. "I tried to get a frat guy named Jeff to sleep with me," I said to my lap.

Matt's hand landed on my back and he drummed his fingers in thought. "I'm not sure if it's more pathetic that you thought that was a good idea or that you actually failed to get a frat guy to sleep with you."

I looove Liz Czukas' books, so I'm very excited to try out a new adult book from her as Ellie Cahill! I'm sure it'll be just as funny. :)

I'll be visiting around and visiting back, so leave me links to your teasers! :) Happy Tuesday!

Review: The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick

Release date: January 6, 2015
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher provided for review
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

A bold, genre-bending epic that chronicles madness, obsession, and creation, from the Paleolithic era through the Witch Hunts and into the space-bound future.

Four linked stories boldly chronicle madness, obsession, and creation through the ages. Beginning with the cave-drawings of a young girl on the brink of creating the earliest form of writing, Sedgwick traverses history, plunging into the seventeenth century witch hunts and a 1920s insane asylum where a mad poet's obsession with spirals seems to be about to unhinge the world of the doctor trying to save him. Sedgwick moves beyond the boundaries of historical fiction and into the future in the book's final section, set upon a spaceship voyaging to settle another world for the first time. Merging Sedgwick's gift for suspense with science- and historical-fiction, Ghosts of Heaven is a tale is worthy of intense obsession.

The Ghosts of Heaven is a remarkable book. It's so unlike any other young adult book I've read and one that will remain prominent in my memory for a long time. Using four very different, yet somehow connected, stories, Sedgwick weaves universal threads into a narrative that tells so much more than it says.

Each story is vastly different from the next, and at first it's terribly difficult to see how they are connected, aside from the characters' interest in spirals. But as the stories go on, for me, overarching ideas come through very clearly. At the same time, each reader will certainly draw their own conclusions. 

Though at times difficult to read, each story stands out in its own light. I'm not a big verse reader, but the opening story was striking in the simplicity of its writing and I can't say any other style would suit it better. The rest are straightforwardly written, but call attention to certain things in their own way. Marcus Sedwick has a wonderful style.

While I'm afraid many who read solely young adult won't take to The Ghosts of Heaven the way they could, it's a book I wholeheartedly recommend for its complexities and its ability truly to make you think, such a rarity.

About the author:

MARCUS SEDGWICK was born and raised in East Kent in the South-east of England. He now divides his time between a small village near Cambridge, England, and a remote house in the French Alps.

Alongside a 16 year career in publishing he established himself as a widely-admired writer of YA fiction; he is the winner of many prizes, most notably the Michael L. Printz Award for 2014, for his novel Midwinterblood.

His books have been shortlisted for over thirty other awards, including the Carnegie Medal (five times), the Edgar Allan Poe Award (twice) and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize (four times). In 2011 Revolver was awarded a Printz Honor.

Stacking the Shelves {101}

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we get to share the books we've bought, been gifted, or received for review!

How was everybody's week? Mine's been good! Very slow and unexciting, but I kind of like that. I'm kind of in a reading slump, I think. I keep starting and stopping in books, like the two I listed that I'm reading now. They're not just calling my name. I need something absolutely fantastic, I think, because I haven't read anything wonderful so far this year. Eh.

For review: 

Tuck Everlasting, 40th Anniversary Edition by Natalie Babbitt

Dead to Me by Mary McCoy

A recap of the week here on Paper Cuts:
Tuesday - Teaser Tuesday: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Wednesday - Waiting on Wednesday: The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson
Thursday - Review: The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

Books I read this week:
The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick
Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame

I'm currently reading:
City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
Hellhole by Gina Damico

So that's been my week! I was awful about posting this week, awful. I think there's something about not being all that busy that just makes me lazier, if that makes sense. Gotta get busy and get productive! :) :) Have a lovely Sunday and a fabulous week!

Review: The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

Release date: January 6, 2015
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher provided for review
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

Maddy Spier has been in love with the boy next door forever. As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she’s also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls. 

Gabe can't imagine skating with anyone but Maddy, and together they have a real chance at winning some serious gold medals. So, he’s determined to keep thinking of her like a sister. After all, he’s never had a romantic relationship that lasted for more than two weeks. 

But when their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy’s been hoping for or the big breakup that Gabe has always feared?

The Boy Next Door is the kind of book that I get excited and happy to read. I mean, how could you resist a friends to lovers romance that involves ice skating?? I'm glued to the TV every time I find any kind of skating competition, so of course a book involving just that is going to just call my name. And The Boy Next Door delivers exactly what I was hoping for: lots of skating, a sweet romance, and a satisfying ending.

When it comes to the romance, I was happy to find that it had a larger dynamic than just the friend-to-lover thing. Instead, Maddy and Gabe have been best friends and skating partners for, basically, their entire lives. They're a fantastic duo on the ice, and moving their relationship forward doesn't just jeopardize their friendship, but also their future in skating. They have the worst example in their practice partners, who have dated almost as long as they've skated together, and whose careers aren't going far, largely because their performances depend on how they feel towards one another. Maddy and Gabe struggle with the idea of ruining the two most important things in their lives: skating and one another.

The drama is also frustrating, though, because some of it feels unnecessary. If Maddy and Gabe just talked, things would be easier, but instead they flit back and forth, which is just annoying to read at times. Even so, you know they're meant to be together (and how books like this end), so it doesn't ruin the book. The other drama in the book, mostly dealing with Maddy's family, is something I quite liked. Both sets of parents are present in the story and they're largely very engaged in their children's lives. It's nice that there's not solely romance drama.

Though at times I felt the romance was overly dramatic and complicated, I still very much enjoyed The Boy Next Door. There's so much skating jargon that even the biggest nerd for skating (aka me) will be satisfied. Maddy and Gabe are so sweet together, and of course you get the happy ending I know you'll be dying for.

About the author:

Growing up less than a block from the public library, Katie has always loved books and admits to crossing the street while reading. She learned to skate as an adult and to write after that and is a firm believer that it's never too late to follow your dreams. A former teacher, she now writes full-time and still skates weekends with her synchronized skating team. She lives in Michigan with two daughters, two cats, and one very patient husband (her high school sweetheart). She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and of Romance Writers of America. The Boy Next Door is her first novel.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson {76}

Title: The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles #2)
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Release date: July 7, 2015

Intrigue abounds in this hotly anticipated sequel to The Kiss of Deception!

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar's interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.

Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: there's Rafe, who lied to Lia, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be barbarians. Now that she lives amongst them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country... and her own destiny.

Squiggledy-squeeeee! I loved The Kiss of Deception, so I'm kind of dyinggg for more. :) :D

 So what are you guys waiting on this week? :)

Teaser Tuesday: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard {102}

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard

Release date: February 1, 2015

Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play 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 everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

My teaser, from 23% in the egalley:

"I want my brothers brought home from the war." For once, I feel like I've said something right. "And my friend, Kilorn Warren. Don't let the legions take him either."

Tiberias responds in half a heartbeat. A few Red soldiers mean nothing to him. "Done."

It sounds less like a pardon and more like a death sentence.

I am seriously so excited for this one, as is just about everyone else, right? The cover is awesome and it sounds so gooood. :D

I'll be visiting around and visiting back, so leave me links to your teasers! :) Happy Tuesday!

Stacking the Shelves {100}

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we get to share the books we've bought, been gifted, or received for review!

How was everybody's week? Mine's been great! Oh gosh y'all, this is gonna be a big one. I didn't realize, either, till I started the post. I got my Boxing Day Book Outlet order in, plus I went to my favorite bookstore and racked up on ARCs. Oh my. Just you see! Also, I bought an iPad Mini! I'm seriously in love with it already. My tablet had just been getting really (REALLY) slow and crashing all the time, which is something I read that happens with that model, so I waited till I found a good price and got the iPad. :D It's my baby. Anyways...

For review: 

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
!!!! I did my first happy dance when it showed up on Netgalley, and an even bigger one when they accepted me! Can't wait!!

Purchased:

Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan
Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame
Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski
The Essence (The Pledge #2) by Kimberly Derting
Outpost (Razorland #2) by Ann Aguirre
Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

The Princess in the Opal Mask by Jenny Lundquist

Gifted:

To Hold the Bridge by Garth Nix
The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt
I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore

We celebrated Christmas late with my mom's side of the family in Fairhope, which always means a trip to my favorite bookstore, Page & Palette. They're the best, for obvious reasons. ;)

A recap of the week here on Paper Cuts:
Monday - Review: Come Back to Texas by K.K. Hendin
Tuesday - Teaser Tuesday: Hellhole by Gina Damico
Wednesday - Waiting on Wednesday: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Thursday - Blog Tour: The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark {Guest Post + Giveaway}
Friday - Blog Tour: Perfect Couple (Superlatives #2) by Jennifer Echols {Review + Excerpt + Giveaway}

Books I read this week:
Come Back to Texas by K.K. Hendin
Perfect Couple by Jennifer Echols

I'm currently reading:
City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick


So that's been my week! Did I lie about it being a ton of books?? I've got some serious reading to do. But ohhhh, I can't wait! :) Have a lovely Sunday and a fabulous week!

Blog Tour: Perfect Couple (Superlatives #2) by Jennifer Echols {Review + Excerpt + Giveaway}

Release date: January 13, 2015
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 336
Format: Egalley
Source: Publisher provided for review through Edelweiss
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

In this second book in The Superlatives trilogy from Endless Summer author Jennifer Echols, Harper and Brody think they're an unlikely match, but the senior class says they belong together.

As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents' bitter divorce left her wondering what a loving relationship looks like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody 'Perfect Couple That Never Was', her friends have been pushing her to ask Brody out.

Brody doesn't lack female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He's confused about the match too. Yet they find themselves drawn together; first by curiosity about why the class paired them, then by an undeniable bond.

The trouble is, though they're attracted to each other, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating well. If they're the perfect couple, this shouldn't be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But they feel so changed from making the effort, they can't forget each other. What if this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?

I was pretty much dying to read Biggest Flirts, the first book in this series. Yet, for whatever stupid reason, I haven't picked it up yet. But, after reading this second installment, I'm absolutely making that a priority. Sure, I've probably spoiled a bit of the book for myself, but that won't change my enthusiasm now. Perfect Couple is such a quick, enjoyable read, and I can imagine all too many of us are going to see ourselves in Harper.

Harper is the good girl. She's quiet and studious, always the girl behind the camera, rather than in front of it. She dresses just a little quirkily, just to make herself stand out in some way. Harper is easy to relate to. She's rather passive and speaks when she needs to, doing as she's told. But it's very freeing to see Harper realize how she's limited herself, just because she thought it was what was expected of her, and to take control of things in her life. One little realization--that she likes Brody, the guy who should be completely wrong for her, and really can't stand Kennedy, her current boyfriend and the guy who should be completely right for her--changes how she views everything. And it's understandable, because Brody is the quarterback of the football team, the guy who goes through girls like they're disposable. The good girl who never takes a risk and the fearless daredevil don't go together. But as soon as they consider it, by way of the Senior Superlatives vote, they can see just how compatible they are.

I liked Harper--yes, because I see elements of myself in her, sure, but also because she's driven and works for what she wants. She's got sense. And I liked Brody, too, because he manages to undermine a lot of the stereotypes for what his "kind" of character should be.

There certainly were bits that I didn't find so appealing. There's cheating involved here, since both Harper and Brody are in relationships of a kind--but it still counts as cheating. There are also moments that feel a little forced and out of place at times. Not a ton, but noticeable all the same.

Perfect Couple is just the kind of book you expect when you pick it up--fun, flirty, and satisfying. It's definitely made me a fan of Jennifer Echols.

About the author:

Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son.

His words set my heart beating rapidly, but I threw back my head and laughed like nothing was wrong. "You've known me since kindergarten."

He shook his head. "Not really. You look completely different today."

"You mean I look like everybody else," I said ruefully.

"No, ma'am," he said firmly, "you do not."

Speechless, I stared at him. His eyes flicked ever so briefly to my bikini top, then back up to my face. My chest and upper arms burned in a delicious way, a feeling I wasn't ready to give up just because I hadn't brought a tripod.

Now that Kennedy had made motions to forgive me, he would miss me. He would look around the beach for me. He would give me the third degree when I eventually returned to our home base on the towels. But I didn't care about that while Brody was gazing at me.

I was alone with him. Neither of us was going anywhere for a while if we could help it, but I couldn't think of a thing to say to him--which underscored why we were a terrible match in the first place. I wondered if he felt the same wy about the title we'd been elected to. I said, "I've been racking my brain about this. Why do you think the class chose us for this?"

"Well, our study hall also chose Sawyer as our representative on the student council, so a good portion of our school is obviously on crack." When he saw my face fall, he said, "The good kind of crack."

"Crack--you know, the nutritional kind."

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Blog Tour: The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark {Guest Post + Giveaway}

Hellooo y'all! I am so, so excited to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for The Boy Next Door today! The book is so much fun and just the kind of book to snuggle up with during this cold weather we're having. :) And today I've got a guest post featuring a bit of advice from Katie and a chance to win a finished copy of the book! YAY!

About the book:

Maddy Spier has been in love with the boy next door forever. As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she’s also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls.

Gabe can't imagine skating with anyone but Maddy, and together they have a real chance at winning some serious gold medals. So, he’s determined to keep thinking of her like a sister. After all, he’s never had a romantic relationship that lasted for more than two weeks.

But when their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy’s been hoping for or the big breakup that Gabe has always feared?

Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

 Romance Advice

Most romance novels are just about how a couple first meets but real-life love is more like writing a romance novel. Sure you work out all the details so you finally get together but that's only where the work begins. You have to keep polishing that relationship. Like in The Boy Next Door, it's not really about falling, it's about what you do after the fall. So this advice comes not from my romance novel experience but from my real life romance experience, where I'm still living happily-ever-after with my high school sweetheart.

Dating a friend might be scary but you should be best friends with your significant other. Be with someone that you can trust with anything, that you want to hang out with all the time, that you can be yourself with. Not just someone you can live with, but someone you can't live without.

Have a couples bucket list of things you dream of doing together. You don't have to be pair skaters to be a team working together to accomplish a goal. Hike every trail in your local state or national park, take dance lessons, find a band you can fan-couple together.

Praise in public, chide in private. And remember that social media is public. Don't post about fights on Facebook or Twitter, even if that's where your friends you want to rant to are. All couples fight sometimes but broadcasting it or leaving digital reminders isn't respectful.

Most importantly? Make out like you're still in high school. :-)

About the author:

Growing up less than a block from the public library, Katie has always loved books and admits to crossing the street while reading. She learned to skate as an adult and to write after that and is a firm believer that it's never too late to follow your dreams. A former teacher, she now writes full-time and still skates weekends with her synchronized skating team. She lives in Michigan with two daughters, two cats, and one very patient husband (her high school sweetheart). She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and of Romance Writers of America. The Boy Next Door is her first novel.

Find Katie online: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Big, big thanks to Katie for taking the time to stop by today, and thanks to Macmillan Teen for letting me be a part of the tour! :D

Learn more about The Boy Next Door.
Learn more about Swoon Reads.
Join in on social media with #BoyNextDoor (bonus points if you also tag @SwoonReads!)
Add The Boy Next Door to your to-read list on Goodreads.

And now, thanks to Macmillan, I have a copy of The Boy Next Door to give away to one lucky reader (US/CAN only)! Enter, enter, enter!

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Waiting on Wednesday: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh {75}

Title: The Wrath and the Dawn
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Release date: May 12, 2015

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights.

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

Yessssssssssss. I wants it. I wants it bad.

 So what are you guys waiting on this week? :)