Book Nerds Across America

Coming this April all 4 Book Nerds will be heading to Chicago, Illinois to attend the RT BookLovers Convention.  We are so excited about this and are counting down the days.  However, I (Mary) got to thinking about all of the authors that are going to be there and wanted to know more about the ones that I have not really heard from and I thought that I would share it with you all too. What I have come up with is the authors name, their books, and I have linked to GoodReads so you can read the description of the book and author. Let me just tell you after doing this my "to-read" list has grown (again) !!


Jus Accardo is the author of the Denazen series.

Ann Aguirre is the author of the Razorland series, Sirantha Jax series, and Corine Solomon series.

Josephine Angelini is the author of the Starcrossed series.  Here at Book Nerds we are big fans of Josephine's and cannot wait to meet her.


Jennifer L Armentrout is the author of the Covenant and Lux series. Book Nerd Mary is very excited about meeting Jennifer due to she is a fellow West Virginian and an amazing author.


Kelley Armstrong is the author of the Darkerst Powers, Darkest Rising, and Women of the Otherworld series.

Brodi Ashton is the author of the Everneath series.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the author of Rasied by Wolves, Tattoo, The Squad, and Golden series.

Charlotte Bennardo is the author of Sirenz series.

Franny Billingsley is the author of Chime, The Folk Keeper, Well Wished, and Big Bad Bunny

Jenna Black (aka Jennifer Barlow) is the suthor of Faeriewalker, Morgan Kingsley, Nikki Glass, and The Guardians of the Night series.

Rachel Caine is the author of The Morganville Vampires, Weather Warden, Outcast Season, Revivalist, and Red Letter Days series.

Ally Carter is the author of Gallagher Girls, Heist Society, and Cheating at Solitaire series.

Kiera Cass is the author of the book The Siren and the Selection series.

Elizabeth Cheryl is the author of The Summerland Novel.

Tera Lynn Childs is the author of Oh.My.Gods., Fins, Medusa Girls and City Chicks series.

Cinda Chima is the author of The Heir Chronicles and Seven Realms series.

Rosemary Clement Moore is the author Maggie Quinn: Girl vs Evil series, Splendor Falls, Texas Gothic, Brimstone and many others.

Kristi Cook is the author of Winterhaven series.

Carey Corp is the author of The Halo Chronicles: The Guardian and The Way Life Was Forever.

Kady Cross is the author of the Steampunk Chronicles series.

Melissa De La Cruz is the author of Blue Bloods, The Au Pairs, The Beauchamp Family, The Ashley, Angles on Sunset Boulevard, and Girl series.

Tracy Deebs (aka Tracy Wolff) is the author of Tempest series.

Shannon Delany is the author of the 13 to Life series.

Kimberly Derting is the author of the Body Finder and The Pledge series.

Bree Despain is the author of The Dark Divine series and other books.

Anne Elizabeth is the author of numerous books.

Jennifer Estep is the author of Elemental Assassin, Mythos Academy, and Bigtime series.

Kami Garcia is the author Caster Chronicles and Legion series.

Cole Gibsen is the author of Katana and Breathless.

David Macinnis Gill is the author of Black Hole Sun series.

Traci Hall is the author of the Boadicea and Rhiannon Godfrey series.

Cynthia Hall is the author of the Unearthly series.

Alyxandra Harvey is the author of Drake Chronicles series.

Jill Hathaway is the author of Slide series.

Leanna Renee Hieber is the author of Strangely Beautiful and Magic Most Foul series.

Nancy Holder is the author of Wicked, Angel, Crusade, Wolf Springs Chronicles, Possessions, Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: The Unseen Trilogy, and Saving Grace series.

Colleen Houck is the author of The Tiger Saga.

Amailie Howard is the author of the Bloodspell series.

Michele Jaffe is the author of Bad Kitty, Arboreeti Family, and Bad Kitty: The Graphic Novel series.

Sophie Jordan is the author of Firelight, The Penwich School for Virtuous Girls, The Derrings, and Forgotten Princesses.

Stacey Kade is the author of The Ghost and The Goth series.

Laura Kreitzer is the author of Timeless and Summer Chronicles series.

Stephanie Kuehnert is the author of I wanna Be Your Joey Ramone and Ballads of Suburbia.

Mary Lindsey is the author of Soul series and Annabel.

Mari Mancusi is the author of Blood Coven and numerous other books.

Melissa Marr is the author of Wicked Lovely and Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales series.

Emily McKay (aka Ivy Adams) is the author of The International Kissing Club.

Richelle Mead is the author of Vampire Academy, Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, Bloodlines, Vampire Academy: The Graphics Novel, Storm Born Comic, and Age of X series.

Dawn Rae Miller is the author of Larkstorm series.

Saundra Mitchell is the author of The Vespertine series.

Alyson Noel is the author of The Immortals, Riley Bloom, and The Soul Seekers series.

Erica O'Rourke is the author of Torn series.

Jana Oliver is the author of The Demon Trappers and Time Rovers series, along with other books.

Stephanie Perkins is the author of Anna and The French Kiss and Lola and The Boy Next Door.  Book Nerds Flo and Jacque love these books.

C. Allyn Pierson is the author of Mr. Darcy's Little Sister and And This Our Life: Chronicles of the Darcy Family: Book 1. Book Nerd Mary is a fan of these books also.

Aprilynne Pike is the author of Wings series.

Amy Plum is the author of Revenants series.  All the Book Nerds are excited to meet Amy, but Book Nerd Mary may burst when she meets Amy!!

Sarah Rees Brennan is the author of The Demon's Lexicon and The Lynburn Legacy, along with numerous other books.

Beth Revis is the author of Across the University series. Book Nerds Flo and Mary have read these books and are excited to meet Beth Revis.

Veronica Roth is the author of Divergent series. All 4 Book Nerds loved Divergent and are counting down the days to Insurgent.

Carrie Ryan is the author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and numerous other books.

Suzanna Selfors is the author of Coffeehouse Angel, Saving Juliet, Mad Love, and numerous others.

Kristen Simmons is the author of Article 5 series.

Jeri Smith-Ready is the author of Shade, WVMP Radio, and Aspect of Crow series.  The Book Nerds are big fans of the Shade books and cannot wait to meet Jeri Smith-Ready.

Margaret Stohl is the author of Icons, Caster Chronicles, and other books.

Rachel Vincent is the author of Shifters, Soul Screamers, and Unbound series.

Veronica Wolff is the author of The Watchers, Highlands, Clan MacAlphin, and Sierra Falls series.

Natalie Zaman is the author of Sirenz series.

Jace, Clary, Simon, and the rest of the Mortal Instrument characters are some of our favorites here on Book Nerds.  We are so excited about the new book City of Lost Souls coming out on May 8th, 2012.

I recently was on one of my favorite site: Mundie Moms when I saw that they were going to host a read-a-long for City of Fallen Angels.  I was able to contact them and they were so kind to let us, Book Nerds, link their read-a-long.

The staff at Mundie Moms are so amazing and kind and I visit their site as often as possible because they always have such honest reviews of books, current information and the up coming movie and great giveaways.

If you go over to Mundie Moms fill out the form and the read-a-long, enjoy the read-a-long and be enter in a give-a-way for City of Lost Souls.

I know a few Book Nerds that will enjoy this read-a-long and I hope that you all can join in too. Remember just head over to Mundie Moms and enjoy!

One of our Book Nerd Lent Challenges was to choose a book for another Book Nerd to read. I used this great opportunity to have Jacque finally read one of my most favorite books ever. In return, she made me read about Fabio in a kilt. No, it's not fair. She clearly got the better end of the deal.

The book Jacque chose for me was Between by Cyndi Tefft. She actually hadn't read it, but Teri has and I believe she gave it 5 stars. Well, this will be another one of those scenarios of Book Nerds division, because at most, it gets 2 stars from me.


Here's the Goodreads summary: "It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent. After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates. Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries."


It was Just. Too. Much. All of it. Let's start with Aiden MacRae. It's one of those scenarios like the chicken vs. the egg. I don't know what came first. Does he remind me of Fabio because I think he's overdone and trying to hard to sexy and perfect? Or is he overdone and trying to hard to sexy and perfect, thus making him a Fabio in my eyes?! And the accent! I understand he's Scottish and he has one, but I've read several books with hot Scottish men and didn't want to groan because every word was over-affected.

Plus, there's the slightly annoying "I've known you appoximately 3 minutes but I already love you soooo much that I want all your babies and would take a bullet for you and you can do no wrong EVER" factor. Call me a cynic. I believe in attraction it first sight. A connection of sorts. But deep, undying, unending, unquestioned love? That takes more than the, what, DAY it took Lindsey & Aiden. (On a side note, perhaps this is another reason I'm Team Jacob?)

Anyway, so Lindsey falls in love with Aiden after .2 seconds and decides "Forget heaven! I wanna hang out with Fabio!" And he tells her about his past (long story short and non-spoilery: he screwed up) and of course Lindsey is all, "That's okay! You're amazing!" and then the two of them start traveling to different periods in time and the book seemingly has no plot for several chapters while they just kinda wander around.*

*I do want to address the traveling, because that IS cool. Basically, they can both go to any place where one of them has been before. So, he takes her to an old school fancy ball and to Paris. She takes him to a nice night she had with her family. But as an outsider, she sees that the way she remembers it is really happier than it actually was. That was interesting.

Anyway, then after knowing each other like a day or two something happens that I won't reveal because it's spoilery, but it relates to my rant up above, and I was done! I gave it more than 100 pages like I try to do with all books, but I couldn't give it more than that.

Jacque came up with this challenge. We all have those books that we put on our TBR pile, and somehow they just keep getting pushed back. It makes you wonder...what book started your TBR pile? What's at the very bottom? If you have a Goodreads account, finding the answer can be as easy as pulling up your "To Read" pile and looking at the first item. In my case, I needed a new audiobook for my morning & nightly commutes, so I grabbed the bottom 3 on CD.


That's how I got to The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. Ever since I started book blogging, and probably even before, I had heard about her stories. She has a lot of books and they are all in the contemporary YA chick lit vein. Perfect! I love it. She has been likened to Elizabeth Scott, whose books I have read a couple of and really enjoyed. Whenever I would find one of Sarah Dessen's books on sale, I would grab it. Thus, I currently own 3 to 4 of her titles, and I have never read one of them. So, of the books I had, I checked out which one seemed to be the most popular, and The Truth About Forever won.

Unfortunately, I found that I did not like this book, and I had to abandon it after almost 130 pages. I was trying to hang on...but I just couldn't. In the 130 pages I read...not much has happened! The story has just barely started. I found descriptions that could be a page, or at most two, dragged on and on and on for no reason. For example, there is a part of the book where Macy, the protagonist, is discussing her Dad's love of those infomercial gadgets that you can order from Home Shopping Network late at night. This could have been stated, then an example or two shared, and we would have gotten the point. But she talked about it for waaaaay longer than she needed to. I didn't feel that we needed detail and explanation of pretty much every single item that her Dad had bought. There were other parts of the story where the same thing happened -- a scene was waaaay longer than it needed to be. I get that cute dialogue really helps you to know the characters in a "show don't tell" kind of way. But the story also needs to move forward and a conversation about nothing really that goes on and on and on feels unnecessary to me.

The other thing that I did not enjoy were the extensive flashbacks. I understand that we need context and background. But if you want to talk about the past so much, set the story in the past. There were so many flashbacks in this book that, as I said before, the story itself was crawling forward. It felt like it didn't go anywhere between the extra long random dialogue, the scenes of unnecessary over description, and the flashbacks interrupting the story all the time. Seriously...how I mentioned I stopped around page 130? Enough of the actual story had happened that it felt like it should be page 27. In all the write ups and descriptions, I kept reading about this great love interest named Wes. I'm sure he's swoon-worthy and all that --but really?! If he is a main character, why haven't he and Macy had ANY real interactions and I'm supposedly 34% through with the book?!

I will say, I bet if I had stuck with it through to the end, it would probably be really neat to see the transition in Macy. Also, the characters do capture your heart: Bert, with the Bertmobile; Delia with "DearGodPleaseI'mBeggingYou"; crazy, bubbly Kristy. I did enjoy all the scenes when Macy was hanging out with the Wish crew.

I am not sure if I will try another Sarah Dessen book. I should, since I own 3 more. But I was talking with a friend on Twitter and she shared a similar reaction to another one of her books. I'm not sure what to do here.

Any Sarah Dessen fans out there? Can you, I don't know, leave me a comment? Any one else? Thoughts?

Goodreads Description:

Laura Cubus was perfectly content with her life. A junior in high school, she felt perfectly normal. She had good friends, a great family, and did well in school. Nothing particularly exciting ever happened where she lived, and everything was stable. 

But that all drastically changes when a new student arrives at Laura's school. Wild rumours swirl about his past, and Laura becomes determined to find out the truth. 

As she gets to know the mysterious student, he shares with her an ancient secret... one that may yet put both of them in grave danger. 

And for the first time in her life, Laura is exposed to a completely unfamiliar world. She is swept away on an exhilarating journey that takes to a place where romance and great destiny may yet await... and where supernatural powers run rampant. 


Mary's Review:


I typically pick a book because I enjoy the description and the cover. I know, I know, you should never judge a book by its cover but sometimes I do.  I just cannot help it.  That is the same thing that I did with this book and the story came up short.


I did finish this book but I should have stopped in the middle of it because it was just bad. It started out with Laura wanted to get the attention of the school most popular guy, then that fell through.  However, Lucas was there to save the day.


The next thing I knew they were in a dream, there were vampires, and then they were being chased.

Goodreads Description:

A powerful demon has been trapped under the city of London for over 300 years. Now, however, malevolent forces are at work in the 17th century, planning to unleash terror and chaos on the world. Two rival secret societies the Liberati and the Praesidum - are caught in a battle that threatens to destroy the city and its unknowing inhabitants. 

When a truant schoolboy, Ben, finds a scroll revealing the location of magical seals that bind the demon, this throws him into the centre of a dangerous plot that leads to the Great Fire of London. Ben must overcome his own problems - fear of failure, desire for revenge, guilt over his parents deaths - if he is to protect the city, and confront the evil demon. 

As the plot unfolds, a little more of the mystery about Ben s own past and his parents deaths is made known. Ultimately, Ben and his friends must combat sorcery, defeat the evil Liberati and destroy the demon if they are to save their city and themselves. 

Mary's Review:


I really enjoyed this book because it has a little bit of history and demons.  I really enjoyed this book and it was a fairly quick read.  Richard Denning does a wonderful job of describing London in 1666 and you could feel like you are really in that time.

Also, I enjoyed the characters Ben, Freya, Tobias and Gabriel.  Their interactions and adventures were really interesting, enjoyable, and (somewhat) believable.  I think the most enjoyable character was Ben.  I like the way Denning puts pieces throughout the plot of Ben and his family.  However, there are a few slow parts but Denning does explain the supernatural plot very well.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history and supernatural.

Goodreads Descriptions:

Marcus Hardy had hoped to enjoy a year away at college while he put the summer he’d rather forget behind him. But instead, he’s jerked right back to the coastal town of Sea Breeze, Alabama due to a family crisis. His dear ol' dad found himself a girlfriend only a few years older than Marcus. So now his sister needs help dealing with their mother who is mentally falling apart. The only bright spot to returning is the fascinating red head who sleeps over several times a week. The problem is she's sleeping in bed with his new roommate, Cage Watson. 

Willow “Low” Foster needs a place to live. Running to Cage’s apartment every time her sister kicks her out isn’t exactly a long term solution. Juggling her courses at the local community college and a part time job doesn’t produce excess income. But Cage has a new roommate and suddenly sleeping over at her best friend’s apartment isn’t such a bad thing. Not when she gets to see those sexy green eyes of Marcus Hardy’s twinkle when he smiles at her like he wants her there. 
Even though Cage seems a little territorial where Low is concerned, Marcus finds time to spend with Low without upsetting his roommate. Cage may use his small college baseball star persona to sleep with every hot female in his path but he’s still under the disillusion that when he’s through sowing his wild oats, he’s going to marry Low. Marcus intends to change that assumption for both Cage and Low. Until his carefully laid plans come crashing down with a revelation he never expected. He’ll have to choose between Low or his family. Because once the truth comes out.... there’s no other choice.

Good reads Summary

College sophomore Bryn Dawson is a self-proclaimed poster child for normal. However, the day William Hayward enters her life, normalcy is the last thing Bryn will be able to count on if she wants to be with him. Too mysterious and appealing to be good for a girl, Bryn feels drawn to him in a way that seems out of her control—as if fate is orchestrating it.

Despite every red flag and warning siren going off in her head telling her not to, Bryn falls hard for William, knowing he’s categorically different from anyone she’s ever met. She never imagined how right she was. When William takes her deeper into the rabbit hole of his world, Bryn must decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice to be with him, knowing no matter what, fate always finds a way to have the last laugh.

Spinning a new twist on star-crossed lovers, Eternal Eden will put Bryn through a gauntlet of turmoil, challenging her to find the power within herself to become the heroine in her own story

Teri's Review


This book was my Lent Challenge book brought forth by Mary. Each of us got to pick a book for the other to read. Mary had been trying to get me to read this book for months now..with this challenge she was able to finally force me to read it LOL!. Not that I am sorry, I liked the book...I just didn't love it as much as she did!


I liked Bryn, she was strong and independent. I liked William. I kind of even thought at the beginning he was super dreamy. I just didn't like them together as much. They, especially William just got a bit mushy for my liking. Don't get me wrong I love a good romance just as much as the next person..but this was a bit to much for me.


The story was predictable . I saw alot of the things happening before I actually read them, but it never stopped me from turning the page. Nicole Williams take on Immortally was a bit different than others I had read and I liked that it was. My biggest problem with this book, other than the spew of sugar from Williams mouth, was the way he found Bryn. Mary and I even had a discussion about this. I had a hard time believing the possibility of it happening. Which by the way is laughable in itself as I was just fine with the fact that William as Immortal and had lived 250 years!


The biggest enjoyment I received from this book, was as Mary predicted...Patrick . She knows my love for a cocky boy! The few times he made his appearance known were always my favorites. I just wish that Williams would have included him more so I could have gotten to know him better. In fact, I looked forward to the fleeting moments I was able to spend with him.


Will I read the next two books in the trilogy? I am not sure yet. I can imagine the ending right now. Its just the road leading to it that may detour me. But of course, if a sexy blond in a Maserati MC-12 were to drive by and lead me down it...I'm sure I would take a spin!


xx Teri

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop

We are so lucky to be part of the Lucky Leprechaun Hop that is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and author Cindy Thomas and do we have an amazing giveaway.

 The BookNerds will be giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Just fill out the form below and on March 23rd we will announce the winners. We will announce the winner on our Twitter account @booknerdsblog

Best of Luck!

Lisa McMann is known for the Wake Series; however this book takes a whole different perspective from that series.  The Book Nerds were very excited about reading this book and each (of course) of us have different opinions about it.

Mary's Review

I finished this book in no time.  It was a quick read.  First, I had to get through the first few chapters, they seems to drag a bit and there was a lot of "fillers", at least that is what I thought.  However, I am so glad that I kept reading this.  It was outstanding. 

At the age 7, Ethan was kidnapped from his home.  His family goes through this whirlwind trying to find him, but they never did. Until he is 16 and he returns.  He goes back to his Mom, Dad, brother Blake, and his baby sister Gracie.  Then his "girl-friend" Cami, whom he becomes close too.  The problem is that he does not remember a lot before the kidnapping.  It almost made me think that his mind was earased. I truly felt so bad for Ethan because everything was being thrown at him at once.  He was trying to take it all in but it was so hard for him. 

This book had so many twist and turns and I loved it!! The ending was nuts though and I was thinking that it was going to be turned into a series.  However, when I finished the book I tweeted Lisa McMann (I was unsure if she would reply because she is so popular) but she did:

I can still say that I an shocked that it is a stand-alone but it is one book that you will not forget anytime soon!

Jacque's Review:

The story is told from Ethan's point of view.  We can hear all of his thoughts, which were typical of any 16 year-old boy.  He is moody, full of hormones, and trying to deal with a very difficult situation.  I thought the interactions between Ethan and his brother were very realistic given the circumstances, so I felt bad for both of them.  I also enjoyed the relationship that developed between Cami (a neighbor girl he was friends with before the abduction) and Ethan.  Cami was a great source of support for Ethan as he tried to integrate himself back into a life he had completely forgotten.

The problem I had with this book likely comes from the fact that I have a son who just turned 7.  I couldn't comprehend how Ethan could not remember his house, his family, or any of his friends.  My son can remember things from past family vacations, friends from pre-school, etc.  Something did not add up, but I couldn't figure out why.  What sort of trauma did this child endure for him to COMPLETELY forget his past? 

Mary alluded to the ending.  I will not spoil it for those who have not read it, but I personally did not care for it.  I would have given this book 4* until the last few pages. I ultimately decided to give it 3*.  One scene brought the book from "I REALLY liked it" to "I liked it" according to my goodreads definitions.  I was in a state of shock.  The ending was so abrupt and I wasn't prepared for it.  Perhaps I should have seen it coming, but I didn't.


Teri's Review:  

 Ugg this book. I mean I really liked it...yet I hated it also. I will say the story is fascinating , it kept me reading all one afternoon and I don't think I put it down once. The tension surrounding Ethan's family when he come's back after being away for so long was felt in this book. The love of his little sister for him, he called her the replacement child and the hate of his brother, who was there the fated day that he disappeared. His brother remembers every detail of Ethan getting into the car and leaving. Ethan however remembers nothing of it, actually he remembers very little of his life before his " new" mother. We read Ethan's struggles at trying to remember details especially about the girl he was so close to as a child. He has now fallen in love with her, but his brother also has somewhat of a crush on her causing alot of tension between the two. The twists in this book keep coming..and they keep you reading, but the ending..oh the ending...it left me sitting there, holding the book and saying WTF....


Flo's Review

I wanted my review to be as unspoiled as possible by other reviews, so I have not read any -- not even the other BookNerds’ -- as I write this. This is one of the most difficult books I’ve ever had to evaluate. Why? Because -- it didn’t take long to read. It was literally a page-turner. I read the majority of it on a plane, where I’d planned to go to sleep, but couldn’t make myself stop reading. Usually, this means at least a 3 star (out of 5) book for me -- if not 4 or 5. But in order to rank a book that highly, I have to feel that I liked it enough to encourage other people to read it…and I don’t know that I did. I don’t know that You, Blog Reader, should go read this book. It’s an interesting study in just how important book endings are. I was SO unsettled by the ending. So so unsettled. I literally re-read it about 8 times to make sure I understood what happened. It left me very distressed. But even with that…I can’t say it was a good ending, or a bad ending. It just disturbed me. And that is about all I can say about this book. My final verdict: I don’t know. I just don’t know what to think.

Goodreads Description:

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending

Mary's Review:

The challenge was that another BookNerd would choose another BookNerd to read any book they chose.  Teri challenge me to read Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma.  I read the Goodreads description I was like "EEWW! No way!" But Teri reassured me that this book was amazing and I would love it.  She was right I should never judge a book or situation EVER!

Maya and Lochan are so mature beyond their years and are the best of friends.  There mother is never around and when she is all there are is excuses and "sickness".  So, there they are raising their 3 siblings, paying bills, cooking, cleaning, and going to school.  Their whole situation is crazy! They should be teenagers having fun, getting grounded, and just be a teenager.  That is not happening.  You can really see their love bloom, even through all the heartache, and I feel so bad for them because they cannot be together at all.

I never saw the ending of the book coming.  I needed a whole box of tissues and I CRIED SO MUCH!  This book made me think a lot and one thing that I did learn was to never judge a situation EVER!

Teri was right this book was amazing and I will never question her judgment again.

The Book Nerds were lucky enough to be asked to host a stop on the blog tour for Loss by Jackie Morse Kessler. For those of you not familiar, Jackie's series is a unique take on the story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I just love this idea -- so creative! -- and was beyond thrilled when I received a copy of Rage from Jackie's publisher. I went back to read the first book -- Hunger -- which I reviewed here. Then I came back around to Rage, the second book. (Here's my review.) Needless to say, I was super excited when the idea of hosting a stop on the blog tour for the third book, Loss, came up. My review will be coming shortly, but for now -- here's a guest post from Jackie herself! (Hint: There's a giveaway at the end.)  ~Flo~



Names are a big deal. Just ask the kid who hates her given name. J
Authors usually get to name their books. (I say “usually” because there’s always a chance that the publisher will change the book title.) This can be migraine-inducing at times—we all want the perfect names for our novels—but other times, names can come easily. When I wrote Hunger, which looked at eating disorders and Famine, well, the name was pretty much a given from the start. Ditto for Rage, which focused on self-injury and War.

LOSS, though, isn’t as straightforward. Its focus is on bullying and Pestilence, with a subfocus on Alzheimer’s. So why did I choose to name the book “Loss”?

The book looks at different types of loss. There’s loss of memory—the protagonist’s grandfather is suffering from Alzheimer’s. There’s loss of sanity—the primary antagonist is flat-out crazy, partially due to dementia.  There’s loss of self-esteem—the protagonist is horribly bullied and doesn’t have the strength at first to stand his ground. “Loss” means the act of losing, and that best describes Billy, the protagonist: he’s constantly losing himself every time he gets beaten down. There’s his loss of control when he finally has the power to strike back against his tormentors. (Not a major spoiler; it’s on the back cover copy. **whistles innocently**)

And loss happens when we say good-bye for a final time, whether we’re walking away from part of ourselves, from people in our lives, or from a situation. From loss comes grief…and, eventually, healing and moving on.

Ultimately, Billy, the protagonist, experiences loss in many forms before he comes of age. And so, LOSS was the perfect name for the book.

And happily, my editor didn’t change it. J
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

LOSS by Jackie Morse Kessler comes out March 20, 2012! 
GIVEAWAY: One lucky commenter below will win a small cover poster of LOSS—and will be entered in the grand prize drawing! The grand prize winner will receive signed copies of HUNGER, RAGE and LOSS—and will get to name a character in BREATH, the fourth book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series. The grand prize winner will be picked on Sunday, April 1, 2012. No foolin’. 

Jacque came up with this awesome challenge.  The rule was simple: step 1 - go to GoodReads and figure out which book was on there the longest.  Step 2 - Read the book! Simple!

Mary's Review of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I had heard so many things about this book and I figured out that either you love it or do not.  I am on the do not side.  I know that this is a classic and stands the test of time but I was not all that into it. 

When Jacque came up with this challenge I was very excited because I knew that this was on my "To-Read" list the longest.  I kept putting it off (& no real reason why), so I picked up and started reading.

I was sucked into the world of West Egg and East Egg.  The lives of Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan was nothing more than a soap opera.  We have affairs, distrust, liars, and parties.  What more do you need?  Well, I don't know but I was not into this book and it took a lot out of me to finish.  I have read other books by Fitzgerald and LOVED them but this was not one of them.

However, I can mark it off my list!

This Challenge was brought forth by Jacque. It's no secret that the Book Nerds all love our series books, and there are plenty out there for us to choose from! But sometimes it just seems like every time I want to add a book to my TBR, I really have to plan to add 3 books, because I am actually starting a new trilogy. There is something to be said for reading a book and know that the you have completed the story. No frustrating cliffhangers with yearlong waits for conclusion. Just a few hundred pages and you know everything you're going to know.

For this Challenge, I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I had read a chapter or two before Lent, but had to set it aside. Now, I had a perfect excuse to come back to it. I wanted to read this book because so many people on my Twitter timeline read it right when it came out and gave it amazing reviews. I heard stories of many tears shed, and for this girl who has likely read and certainly loved almost every single Lurlene McDaniel book, I knew it would be right up my alley. It was. The book contained so many elements that made me love it: it broke my heart until I shed literal tears. I fell in love with the cute and quirky lead guy. The two main characters were clever word nerds. I couldn't make myself go to bed, even though it was way pst my bedtime, because I had to finish it. I admired the writing so much, I now want to go read every single thing John Green has ever written. Most importantly, it made me think about why I believe the way I do. Even though I read the majority of the book in a day, it will stay with me forever. ~Flo~

Jacque's BN4Lent Challenge #2

One of our BN4Lent challenges this month is to read a book assigned to us by a fellow Book Nerd.  Flo and I selected a book for each other.  I can only hope that the book I assigned her, Between by Cindi Tefft, is anywhere close to as enjoyable as this 5* book she gave me. (I haven't read Between yet, but it was recommended to me by Teri...who I will never second guess again since reading Shade).

 Here is a link to Flo's review of Anna and the French Kiss.  She gives a great synopsis of the characters and explains how Paris really comes to life in this book.  I have never been to Paris, but I have been planning a trip to London for as long as I can remember.  After reading this book and Die for Me by Amy Plum, I am 100% sure I will add Paris as a second destination to this future trip.

I am VERY glad that Flo finally talked me into reading Anna.  I absolutely LOVED Étienne...yes, to me he is Étienne and not St. Clair.  If you have read the book you will understand why.  His perfect hair, his accent, his sense of humor, his British slang...*swoons*.  But he was a real teenage boy.  His life isn't perfect and we can feel the pain and struggles that he is going through.

I could read the next to last chapter of this book 100 times and never get tired of it.  It was beautifully written and I am honestly adding several quotes from this book to my reading journal for future reference.  A while back, I could not figure out why Flo wanted one of my B&N coupons to buy a copy of this book when she had already read it.  I TOTALLY understand now.  If I can find a copy with this cover on it...I will absolutely do the same thing.  Since I have been in the mood to borrow quotes from my favorite fictional characters lately...here is one from Étienne.  Anna and the French Kiss is "brilliant".  If you enjoy YA fiction, this is a must read.

We could not decide on just one book for the month of March, so we are having a double feature.  Both of the books are the second to be released in their respective trilogies.  Delirium and Wither were both read alongs on the blog in 2011.  You can click on the links to see our comments about the books and to find out what "Teams" we were on.

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

The second book in The Chemical Garden Trilogy reveals a world as captivating—and as dangerous—as the one Rhine left behind in Wither. Rhine and Gabriel may have escaped the beautiful prison of Wither’s mansion, but they are far from escaping danger. First they’re chased for stealing a getaway boat, and then the fleeing pair ends up in the eerie den of Madame, an old woman who collects girls and sells them to the highest bidders. Worst of all, Vaughn, Rhine’s sinister father-in-law, seems to be on her trail every step of the way. Rhine remains determined to get to her brother in Manhattan—but the road they are on is long and perilous.


Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite. (Barnes and Noble Overview)

Here is the first challenge we are offering you in our Lent Challenge. Its an easy game of What are the Covers? All the covers are from 2012 releases. All of them are YA. Guess all of the correctly and you will win a small swag prize pack. Included in the pack : 1. Near Witch signed Bookmark 1.Forbidden Book Mark 1. Hushed Book Mark 1.Signed Keeley Brothers Sticker ( this is worth winning alone!!!) 1. Signed Pyxis magnet 1. Switched Book Mark

You might not get them all right but that is ok.  Just email your answers to: booknerdsblog@gmail.com Be sure to leave your contact information so that we can get back in touch with you

We will choose the one who has the most right and that will be the winner.  If there is a tie then we will have a random number counter choose for us.

The contest begins NOW and ends March 03rd .... good luck!!

Jacque's Review: (My first BN4Lent Challenge)

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.
Well, sort of.
Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.
It doesn't help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.
As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift. (Barnes and Noble Overview)

To borrow a quote from Logan..."WOW."  This book was AMAZING.  I have to thank Teri for recommending it.  The next time she recommends a book to me...I am on it ASAP.  None of this waiting for a BN4Lent challenge that prevents me from reading all of my existing mystery series.  Clearly, if she gives it 5* and tells me to read it...I should RUN to the bookstore or simply download it to my Nook.  I never should have waited this long to read Shade, but in a way, I'm kind of glad that I did.  I just bought Shift, the second book in the series.  By the time I finish it, I will have less than two months until I can get my hands on Shine (the third and final installment in the series), which is scheduled to be released May 1st.  I don't think I could have endured a year of waiting between each of these books.

Shade was an emotional roller coaster for me.  I have not connected with a book in this way since Twilight.  I absolutely fell in love with Edward and the Twilight Saga, as I'm sure many of you did, and he has been the measure of excellence ever since.  Several books have come close, but nothing has been able to capture me in that way...until now.  (Sorry to my DWTC BookNerds...not even the Hunger Games can compare.  I know I will catch A LOT of flack for that comment, but it is my post and my opinion...so there you have it.)

I am Team Zogan for the time being.  I absolutely loved Aura, Logan, and Zach.  Since Logan is dead, this is not your typical love triangle.  Aura is trying to come to terms with what has happened and Zachary is beyond sweet and supportive.  Any girl would be fortunate to find someone with half of his charm and compassion, so I was immediately drawn to him.  The fact that he has a Scottish accent and uses many British phrases/words just adds to his appeal.  To complicate things...Logan is still around.  He is still the cute, arrogant, immensely talented musician that Aura has known since childhood and loves.  Every time Logan would sing after his death...I was immediately brought to tears.  In fact...it is happening again now just thinking about Logan, so I need to bring this to a close. 

I can't say enough about this book.  Anything I could tell you would not measure up to the feelings I had while reading it and the sheer brilliance behind this story.  Jeri Smith-Ready is an outstanding author and I HIGHLY recommend reading this book.

Mary's Review

Teri made me read this book.  She kept going on and on about it until I finally agree. Well.........I will NEVER doubt her again!!! Talk about amazing!! We have all three BookNerds requirements;

1) Supernatural.  Check!! Logan is dead and is still in love with his girlfriend Aura. Plus there are other spirits walking around.
2) Love Triangle. Check!! We have Logan (dead but still in spirit), Zach (yummy!), and Aura (who likes both)
3) Series book.  Check!! Shift is already out and Jacque and I both cannot wait to read it.

I read this book in just a few days time.  Mainly because I could not put it down.  Not only was I sucked into Aura's world but I am thinking I am Team Zach! I still can see the benefits of Team Logan but I am still leaning towards Zach.  I could really feel the struggles that Aura, Logan and Zach went through.  I felt so bad for Logan and really was hoping that he could be helped (in some way).  Poor Aura, being in love with her boyfriend who died and became a ghost, constantly seeing him but not able to touch him in any form.  However, there was Zach, alive and she is able to feel and touch him.

I am dying to read book 2!!

This is all Flo's fault! The whole Vampire Diaries series is all Flo's fault!

Well, let me start from the beginning.  Flo LOVES the Vampire Diaries (more than anything) and I was seeing her tweets about it, but I never watched the series or read any of the books.  So, one night on Netflix I saw that the first 2 seasons were on there and I thought "Why not?!"  O.M.G I was hooked! I wanted more of Stefan, Damion, and Elena I just could not get enough and all the characters were amazing!

Then I figured I should read the books. (Y'all know how much I love my series).  I was warned that the books were much different than the series but that does not bother me that much.   I WAS WRONG!

The Book series SUCKS! I am not meaning that in a good way either.  They are nothing like the series and I could not wait to the first book was O-V-E-R! The only reason that I kept reading was because I was hoping that it would get better. WRONG AGAIN!  The plot is kind-of the same but the characters (up to include their personalities) are so much different that it was just WRONG!

I am just going to stick to the series on the CW and stay away from the books!

Once again I need to thank the social network known as Twitter that lead me to this book.  My friend @LuvMyHootie was so kind to loan me a copy of this book to read. 

I read it in just one day.  It is not very long but it is GOOD! Although I was unsure about it at first because I thought it was just going to be another love triangle book.  However, you seem to get sucked into the world with Beau, Sawyer, and Ashton. 

First, we have the preacher's daughter, Ashton, Mr. All-American Sawyer, and bad-boy Beau.  Let me say that there are no vampires, werewolves, or any other supernatural beings. (I know that is strange for me but HEY we all have to try something different every now and then.)

Ashton and the Vincent boys (Sawyer and Beau are cousins) grew up together in their small town.  Ashton was not always the "good" girl, her and Beau would get into trouble when they were young.  Flash forward 10 years when they all in high school and you will see a different picture.  Ashton and Sawyer are an item and Beau is the town bad boy.  However, Sawyer leaves for part of the summer and everything changes.  We see the transformation of the good-girl & bad-boy which all leads to a twist that even I did not see.

Abbi Glines really pulls you into the story and even gave this Book Nerd a flash back to some of her old high school days!! I really enjoyed this book and hope that others will too.

--Mary--

Godspeed was once fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It’s been three months. In that time, Amy has learned to hide who she is. Elder is trying to be the leader he’s always wanted to be. But as the ship gets more and more out of control, only one thing is certain: They have to get off the ship. (from Goodreads)

The Lent for Book Nerds Challenge is a great way to enjoy Lent and challenge yourself to a goal.

Each Book Nerd has set a goal for themselves during this Lent season.

Mary's Goal:

I had no clue what I was going to do for Lent this year.  When the Book Nerds and I began discusses this on Twitter I knew that I had to set myself a good goal.  Plus, I have recently had a lot of time on my hands with not a lot to do.  My goal for this Lent is 20 books in 40 days.  I will review each book and I will number them so that everyone (and mainly myself) can keep up! I really hope that more can join us in this challenge.  I think that setting goals (even goals for just 40 days) are a great way to make oneselve feel better! Good Luck to All!

Jacque's Goal:

Selecting a challenge has not been easy give the fact that I have some insider information related to future Lent challenges here on the blog. *hint hint*  After reviewing my lengthy TBR list, I have finally come up with something book related to give up for Lent.  For those of you who follow the blog regularly...I am one of the few BookNerds to read mysteries.  I am currently up to my ears with books from various mystery series that I want to catch up on.  SO...I am going to give up mysteries for Lent and will focus on the considerably smaller selection of books remaining on my TBR list.

Flo's Goal:


I was lying in bed the other night thinking about how often for Lent people give up something they love...making it that much more of a sacrifice. You know now that the BookNerds have been talking about our  Lent For BookNerds Challenge, so I tried to think about how that realization relates to this. And I thought -- pretty much right away -- of something I love in books: a love triangle! It's the heart of our BookNerds in Love Triangles features that we do every so often, and a popular YA story element -- because, really, what girl wouldn't want to have 2 eligible men into her?! Anyway, because it has become so popular and I love it so much...can I do without it? Can I sacrifice it?? So, for the next 40 days I will not be reading any books where the main story line involves a love triangle. This is going to be tough! But I think it will also give me appreciation for a nice, simple love story.

Tee's Goal:

 The other day Jacque and I were talking and she asked me how I was liking the Nook Santa Clause brought me at Christmas  . I told her it was great, I was getting a lot of Words with Friends and Angry Birds played on it, but I had yet to read one book on it. I CAN NOT MAKE MYSELF READ SOMETHING OTHER THAN A PHYSICAL BOOK!!! So for Lent, I have decided that I will read at least one book a week on my Nook. I have plenty on it, I started downloading right away, but they have just been sitting there! I am actually not giving up anything, but this is a challenge after all and I need forced on this!!! In a way I am giving up something...Im giving up my books, the one's I love to hold and smell...So wish me luck..I have a feeling this is going to be as hard as the Lent I gave up my Diet Coke......

It is that time of year again.  It is Ash Wednesday and time for Lent.  One thing that the Book Nerds would like to say is that we would never push our beliefs onto anyone.  This was just a challenge that was discussed on Twitter and gave us an idea. 

For those who do not know, Lent is celebrated by many Christians and (mainly) Catholics.  It is when you sacrifice something or challenge yourself to something.  It can be anything really. Most of the time people give up something for the time of Lent  but the Book Nerds came up with something different.

For 2012, the Book Nerds are going to challenge themselves to read! It is simple, just read and review.  We each have set goals for ourselves to reach before the end of Lent.

We would love for others to join in on this challenge and see how many Book Nerds we can get!  It does not matter the book, just read and review.

Keep watching the posts and looking for the hashtag #Lent4BN on Twitter!

picture cane from jaxorthodox.org

Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash--fast--but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family.

Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water--wanted for murder.

Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight--and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man. (Goodreads Overview)

I have had these books on my to-be-read list for a LONG time.  This is a VERY lengthy series (18 books as of the time of this post) which has been my number one deterrent.  I wasn't sure I wanted to tackle that many books in addition to all of the other series I started last year and still need to catch up on.  When I saw the movie was released last month starring Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum, I decided it was finally time to step up to the challenge.

This was a very fast read and highly entertaining.  I enjoyed watching Stephanie struggle to learn the finer points of becoming a bounty hunter.  There were a few situations that she got herself into that caused me to literally laugh out loud.  There were others that were downright frighting and would have had me running to the nearest unemployment office.  (Unemployment would have looked like a far better alternative to chasing down fugitives.) 

Once Stephanie realizes this is a life and death occupation, she begins to take things more seriously.  She seeks out the assistance of Ranger (another bounty hunter) and Eddie Gazarra (a relative that is a cop) to teach her how to shoot and successfully apprehend an FTA...a suspect that "failed to appear" for their court date.  None of her training goes to waste.  She has taken on a VERY dangerous occupation and does surprisingly well at it...given her limited amount of training and experience.  She manages to be in the right place at the right time and has reasonably good investigative instincts.  She isn't going to be working for the secret service anytime soon, but she manages to put food on the table and oil in her car.  (You will see what I mean by that last comment if you read the book.)

Overall...If you are looking for a fluffy, fun, read that doesn't require much thought...this series is for you.  I really liked the hot and cold relationship between Morelli and Plum and look forward to seeing what is in store for them in Two for the Dough.