Review >> Lost Girls

Lost Girls by Ann Kelley

Release Date: July 10, 2012

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Format: Hardcover, 319 pages (9780316090629)

Source: ARC from ALA

Goodreads -- Amazon -- Mysterious Galaxy

The Amelia Earhart Cadets, military daughters living on base during the Vietnam War, are gearing up for a camping trip on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand. Bonnie MacDonald has been eagerly awaiting this trip to spend time away from her family to be with her friends and their glamorous chaperone. Their trip takes a turn for the worse when a devastating storm destroys their camp and leaves one girl dead and the others fighting for survival stranded on the "forbidden island." How many days can the girls survive and will they ever be rescued?

Cover Me Fashionable >> Shattered Souls (Souls #1)

Shattered Souls (Souls #1) by Mary Lindsey

Cover Me Fashionable is a weekly meme hosted by The Lost Lola, which features clothing finds by readers which match the outfits worn on the covers of their favorite books. This week's fashionable cover find is this ridiculously stunning rose dress crafted by Joseph Mossie in 2012 and made from 300 roses. When you possess the unusual gift of communicating with and helping out lost souls, like Lenzi in Shattered Souls (Souls #1), you can be sure that your wardrobe is going to be equally unorthodox. Although the red rose has long been used in rituals of love (the Ancient Greeks associated roses with the goddess Aphrodite), the flower has also been used in rituals involving spirits of the deceased, as the color was seen as a reminder of blood and therefore life. Adorning yourself in the petals of this fragrant flower may even aid in choosing between the mortal man who has won your heart and the immortal protector who haunts your dreams.

Joseph Massie Rose Dress

Novel Fashion >> Get the "Jett Gallatin" Look

"Everything about Jett Gallatin told the world the black-clad drifter was either a gambler or a shootist- or both- but no one in their wildest dreams would think Jett Gallatin was a girl." Dead Reckoning

Annie Oakley shooting over her shoulder...cause she can!

In Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill's novel Dead Reckoning, the wild west has become the backdrop for a zombie infestation, and Jett Gallatin and her crew have been dropped smack dab in the middle of undead Alsop, Texas. Jett has disguised herself as a young man in this story in order to create the facade of a rough and tough gunslinger, her endgame being to find her missing brother (a much easier task without the added burden of too-tight corsets and layers of heavy skirts). However, she still longs for the fanciful and elaborate fashion she has been forced to leave behind, although she quickly learns it is much easier to run from a horde of bloodthirsty zombies when your dress isn't weighing you down. The western and steampunk setting creates a great basis and inspiration for designing your own frontier outfit, just as long as you remember to pack your salt for tackling those pesky zombies who just won't seem to drop dead... again.

Waiting on Wednesday >> July 4, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that highlights the books you are most anticipating. This week's exciting soon-to-be-released novel is Origin by Jessica Khoury, due out September 4 from Razorbill.

Origin by Jessica Khoury

Pia is not like other girls- she was created as the first of an immortal race in a secret laboratory in the Amazonian jungle and has spent her entire life behind the gates of this hidden compound. On her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers that part of the fence surrounding the compound has been opened, and she leaves the sequestered life she has always known to discover what lies beyond. There, she meets a young boy from a local village, Eio, and  together they set off to uncover the truth of Pia's mysterious origin and the meaning of immortality. Jessica Khoury brings us Origin, which highlights themes of yearning for agelessness, scientific ethics, and what it means to be human.

New Release Tuesday >> July 3, 2012

New Release Tuesday, July 3, 2012

It's that time of the week again! Yes, my dears, it's NEW RELEASE TUESDAY, a book lover's favorite day of the week in which fresh new copies of literature are made available to us. A few really great sequels out this week, including The White Glove War (Magnolia League #2), Once (Eve #2), and Waking Storms (Lost Voices #2). Also of interest is the historical crime drama The Girl Is Trouble (The Girl Is Murder #2) and the heartbreaking coming-of-age story, Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone. Which titles are you most excited for this week?

Review >> Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill

Release Date: June 5, 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers

Format: Hardcover, 324 pages (9781599906843)

Source: Purchased from Barnes & Noble

Goodreads -- Amazon -- Mysterious Galaxy

The year is 1867, and Jett Gallatin is traveling the western frontier in search of her twin brother. Disguised as a boy and feared as a lawbreaker, her journey has taken her to Alsop, Texas, where a bar fight turns into a fight for survival after the town is overrun with the reanimated corpses of the recently deceased. Barely escaping with her life, Jett teams up with a spirited young inventor and a Native American raised scout in order to uncover who is controlling this undead army, before it wipes out every town in its path. Don't mess with Texas, especially when it's overrun with zombies!

Cover Me Fashionable >> Incarnate (Newsoul #1)

Incarnate (Newsoul #1) by Jodi Meadows

Cover Me Fashionable is a weekly meme hosted by The Lost Lola, which features clothing finds by readers which match the outfits worn on the covers of their favorite books. This week's fashionable cover find is this delicate and lovely purple butterfly mask from designer Silly Little Fairy, available from Etsy for only $23.00. Wearing such a detailed and feminine accessory may allow you to look past your seemingly nosoul existence and find happiness and meaning in a world that chooses to reject you, just like Ana in Jodi Meadows's novel, Incarnate (Newsoul #1). Whether you possess an oldsoul or a newsoul is irrelevant, the meaning behind your life arises from the actions you take from day to day. Besides, we all know the answer to life, the universe, and everything is actually 42.

Purple Butterfly Mask from Silly Little Fairy