Waiting on Wednesday (11): Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Expected Publication Date: July 8th, 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Sci-Fi

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.

Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

My Thoughts

I feel the summary just speaks for itself. Time Travel? Maybe not Doctor Who-esque, but still, I just love Rainbow Rowell. Eleanor & Park was by far an amazing read. I can't wait to read what she has in store for us next!

The Friday 56 (6): These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it!) that grabs you

*Post it

*Comment with your (url) post.

This week: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

I clamp my mouth shut, struggling not to say it aloud. Miss LaRoux notices me biting back a response and her expression darkens. But I can see where the holes punched by her earrings are still oozing, and that her nose is swelling up from the blow she got while hot-wiring the escape pod, and that her lips are chapped and raw. It's a wonder she hasn't completely fallen to pieces -- it's what I would've expected of someone like her. 

Renée  

Review: Opal (Lux #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Review

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the first two books in the series.

Being in love with an alien has some nasty repercussions. For Daemon and Katy, their teenage lives are anything but simple. Surprisingly, I'm still in love with this paranormal series. Usually when the whole Paranormal-Human romance goes awry I get sick of the heroine complaining about her life and think, "If you hadn't been so insistent about being with this guy, your life would be a lot simpler." But this book is different. Katy is a strong, independent MC, who isn't afraid to face her enemies alone. You can't even fathom the thought of her being with anyone except Daemon.

With Dawson home, the Black family is once again hole except for one tiny detail. After being caged and tortured by the DOD, Dawson isn't the same happy teenager he used to be, and he's hell-bent on going back and rescuing Beth too. What's more, the Luxen learn a secret DOD organization has been kidnapping Luxen and forcing them to mutate humans to give them Luxen-like powers. Reluctantly partnering up with Blake, they devise a plan to break in to the DOD compound, but nothing is as it seems in this small town. Meanwhile, Katy has to deal with repairing her broken friendship with Dee after Adam's death, and protecting her mom from what's to come.

Wow. Just wow. Without giving too much away, I though this book was a well-done follow-up to Onyx. We learn more about Daemon and Katy's "connection," and gain more insight into the life of they mysterious Dawson. It was so great to see Daemon, Dawson, and Dee back together again; no alien family could be more adorable. And of course it's chock full of the alien action and romance we've all fallen in love with. And the classic Daemon moments :). The ending is...let's just say you'll be shocked. Still, I loved it and am anxious to see what happens in Origin.
 
Overall Rating: ★★★★ 4 stars

Renée

About the Author

Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Website

#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. 

Review: Onyx (Lux #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I've sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we've got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I've seen someone who shouldn't be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…
________________________________________________________________________

The second installment in the Lux series, this book promises to be amazing and delivers. It picks up where Obsidian left off, where Daemon and Katy are dealing with the aftermath of a recent Arum attack. Katy realizes she shares a "connection" with Daemon after he healed her from a near-death experience with an Arum. Convenient for Katy, a new boy arrives in town: Blake Saunders, and he apparently has the answers to all the weird things that have been happening to Katy. Meanwhile, with the Department of Defense in town, there are rumors that Dawson and Bethany may still be alive, and we get a little closer to uncovering the mysterious "disappearance" of those two.

Katy and Daemon were absolutely brilliant once again. The witty banter and romance between the two was just right. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to swoon every time Daemon's mentioned. It was fun to see them open up to each other after the whole "boy pretends to hate girl" phase was over. This book couple is similar to Will Herondale and Tessa Gray from Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series. Unlike that series, no love triangle here.  

What I like the most about Katy is that she's fiercely independent...but that can have a downside too. Since sometimes that translates into reckless behavior that can hurt those closest to her. But from an overall point of view, she's an awesome kick-butt protagonist that doesn't need to rely on only Daemon to get her out of (most) sticky situations.

The book ended on a cliffhanger that pulls on the heartstrings. It seems happy...for now. It should make for an interesting turn of events in the next book.

An awesome sauce rating of 4.5 starts for this one!

Renée