BEA 2013 Recap!

I remember when BEA 2012 came and went without my going I was regretting it the moment these recap posts started going up, so I hope I can get some of you to go next year because it was the experience of a lifetime that any and all bookworms have to experience at least once! It was seriously one of the best times of my entire life, and I will be back at BEA 2014 to see you all there! :D

I apologize in advance for not taking very many pictures of BEA itself. It was very hectic and I was oh so giddy of all the books and the people that I was just starstruck most of the time, too dazed to even think of getting my phone out.

So we left on Tuesday morning since we drove over. It's about a 12 hours drive and I was super excited so it was a fun road trip. We stopped 3/4 through to sleep in Massachussets where I texted Amy at Book Loving Mom to say I was only an hour from her house! (Crazy, right?). we arrived in NYC on Wednesday - and oh my god they made ME drive to our hotel!! With 5 to 6 lanes in crazyballs NYC traffic (I'm from like the smallest of small towns ok this was epic!)! Thank goodness my cousin Micheline from Lunar Rainbows was the GPS queen because I may still be there trying to find my way!

Ok sorry, time for actual BEA:

Source: BEA Press Room

First we had the Harlequin Teen Breakfast where we met 4 fantastic authors: Julie Kagawa, Amada Sun, Katie McGarry, and Elizabeth Scott.

I loved this! What was even greater was that for 5 minutes, each author and a few editors at Harlequin took their turn to go to each table so we got to personally chat with everyone and get some books signed. It was great. We also met a few bloggers and had great food!

Waiting with Kara (Great Imaginations), Chrsitina (Reader of Fictions), and Steph (Cuddlebuggery) for the breakfast! My very first taste of BEA (I was behind the camera, d'oh)!

After the breakfast we got on the floor and that's where shit got real! I loved it! I met bloggers, I met authors, I got some books. It was all a great flurry of imaginable bookish activity that I could not get enough of.  You can get books a lot of ways at BEA. There are tons of signings which you get in line for and meet bloggers/chat while you're waiting:

Micheline at Lunar Rainbows in line with me!

 

There are also book drops where publishers just pile up tons of the same book for people to grab, some are scheduled like so:

Other drops are random so you get lucky by being at the right place at the right time, and some are just on the floor right when the doors open which is where you can get shoved and trampled and all those good times O.O (we missed it on day 1 but on day 2 & 3 it got pretty crazy, but I did not get any bruises! Win!).

Then I got to meet one of my favorite authors ever, Holly Black, during which I was uber giddy and likely making a fool out of myself:

Meeting Holly Black!

I also met another fave, Gennifer Albin, which was super awesome, giraffe balls and all!

I met tons more authors during signings but no pics from those! :(

But I saw Grumpy Cat:

Grumpy Cat

I also met some bloggers and more authors (pretty much the best part ever!) whom I've been talking to for ever online so it was awesome to see they weren't just figments of my imagination! - For captions on each picture check out my Facebook album here:

Hannah from Girl in a Cafe, me, and author Juliana Haygert.

Alexa of Alexa Loves Books and me                          Nori (Noris's Closet), me, and Mimi

Asher (Paranormal Indulgence), Me,                                      Kara, Michelle Madow, and me
Mandee (Vegan YA Nerds), Tara (Hobbitsies)

Eileen and me                                      Me and Katrina (Kindred Dreamheart)

Picking up Kara at the airport!

Since it was my first time and we decided for some dumb reason to get a hotel in NJ (do NOT do this!), I was too pooped to attend any evening events. It was impossible to get to the hotel and back in any reasonable amount of time and money. However, I plan to make some of those events next year for sureness!

I had the time of my LIFE at BEA and I really encourage everyone to go. It's an event you'll never forget. I met authors who recognized me from Twitter and even one who remembered my review of her past book which was all kinds of awesome. This was my very first bookish event, my very first signing, my very first time meeting bloggers at all (aside from my cousin), so I was out of my mind happy! I'm already missing the excitement of the event and I can't wait to get back next year! This time I feel more prepared knowing how it all works. It's honestly not as violent and intense as I was told it would be so don't worry about being bit and stampeded at all! Ha! And tune in this weekend for my filled to the brim book haul post!

But first, I gotta share it because it's awesome! We went to the How I Met Your Mother pub! It's the pub that inspired the set in the show, and while it's not identical it's very similar with the same vibe and the food is amazing! The cast also goes every year for a huge party!

Me and Mimi (Lunar Rainbows) at McGee's pub

Time to go home:

Will I see you there next year? :D

Because:

The Sea of Tranquility Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway!

I'm very excited to have the Sea of Tranquility blog tour drop by the blog today. I loved this book - find my review here - and today I'm honored to have Katja over for an interview and you can enter to win your very own copy!

The Sea of Tranquility
Katja Millay

Publication date: June 4th 2013 (pbk)
by Atria Books

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Two and a half years after an unspeakable tragedy left her a shadow of the girl she once was, Nastya Kashnikov moves to a new town determined to keep her dark past hidden and hold everyone at a distance. But her plans only last so long before she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the one person as isolated as herself: Josh Bennett.

Josh’s story is no secret. Every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space. Everyone except Nastya who won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But as the undeniable pull between them intensifies, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the mira­cle of second chances.

Interview with Katja Millay

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Hi Katja,

I absolutely loved your book so I'm excited to have you visit my little place on the world wide web! :)

Thank you!  I love your blog. I appreciate you having me on today.

Q.- Let's start with something that a friend and I have been discussing lately about genres. I've seen some list your book as a New Adult, others as a Young Adult; how do you define New Adult? For instance, does it require that the character be over 18? Does it need to have sexual content? I'd like to know your take! :)

I’ve seen so many different explanations of what NA is believed to be lately.  At the moment, it seems to be widely associated with college-age romance.  However, in my mind, the term NA says more about the age of the characters and the period of life they’re experiencing than it does about the genre of the book. The characters are often making the transition from the shelter of their teenage years into the early stages of adulthood and dealing with all of the changes and growth that come at that point in life.  I think that’s one of the reasons why TSoT, although the characters are still in high school, is often considered New Adult.  Due to their unique situations, Nastya and Josh are facing some of the changes and much of the growing up that often comes later.  

It may make more sense to think of NA in much the same way we think of YA. If we consider what the term YA - or young adult - calls to mind, there isn’t the automatic assumption of a high school-based romance.  The overall conclusion is that teenagers will be present and that it is intended for that same general audience, but beyond that it can take any form.   The subject matter itself can vary widely – romance, paranormal, mystery, coming-of-age, etc.  I think of new adult the same way – as a categorization - a more mature version of young adult that doesn’t, by definition, imply sex and romance.

I don’t believe a new adult novel necessarily has to have sexual content in it.  I think the main reason many of the books being categorized as NA often do involve sex is because sex is a significant part of life at the age that the characters are so it tends to naturally play a role.  In any case, I think that the inclusion of sex should be dictated by the characters themselves and whether or not the sex is organic and is there to support the story, not vice-versa.

Q.- How difficult was it for you to write from a boy's perspective (so flawlessly, too!)?

Thank you! I appreciate that.  It was different.  I had to stay cognizant of the fact that there weren’t expressions he was using that a teenage boy wouldn’t use and that sort of thing. When I first started writing in his perspective, it was more difficult.  Once I had spent more time with him in my head, it became easier because I knew his character well enough that I was able to think in his voice.

Q.- Which perspective was the most fun for you to write?

Nastya was the most interesting character for me to write because she was snarkier and her thoughts were more unfiltered.  She was also more psychologically damaged so as a writer it was wonderful to be able to get lost in that mind and the way she viewed the world and the unique logic she employed.  I loved to delve behind the curtain there and show how the things that didn’t make sense to people on the outside made perfect sense to her.  Her mind was fascinating to me.  Also, although I wasn’t writing in his perspective, Drew was fun for me because he didn’t censor himself.

Q.- Do you have actors/pictures you used as inspiration for your characters' profile? If not, who would you love to see play them in a movie?

I actually did have a picture that I kept in mind when I was writing Nastya.  It was ripped out of an old magazine from a layout on hairstyles or something like that.  It wasn’t someone famous so I have no idea of her name but her face was haunting to me.  Eventually, once the character was more fully developed, she evolved in my mind and the image changed somewhat so she didn’t end up looking exactly like that picture but that’s where she started for me.  As for Josh, he lives in my head.  I see him in such detail and so fully formed that it’s impossible for me to fathom ever actually “finding” him.  I’ve never found a picture that even remotely fits the image I created of him.  I’m beginning to be convinced that I never will.  It’s difficult because there isn’t a plethora of well-known seventeen year old actors out there and I see Josh very much as the teenager he is.  He isn’t ultra-perfect and gorgeous in a model-type way.  He’s very real and down to earth.

Q. Can we expect a new book from you soon? *puppy eyes*

I’m writing right now but I don’t have an ETA at the moment.  I promise when I do I will shout it from the rooftops!  It’s going to be coming a little later than I originally planned.  We’re in the process of a long distance move which came unexpectedly, so unfortunately the book is on hold until we get the family settled.  It’s difficult because all I really want to be doing right now is finishing that story but when I write I need to get lost in the characters and that’s impossible with my mind in so many other places right now.  Sometimes life gets in the way.

Thanks so much!  I have been recommending Sea of Tranquility to everybody with death glares and all! :)

Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Giselle!  And I appreciate the peer pressure by death glare!  That’s awesome!

About the Author

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Katja's Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Katja Millay grew up in Florida and graduated with a degree in film & television production from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She has worked as a television producer, and a film studies and screenwriting teacher. Currently she resides in Florida with her family. The Sea of Tranquility is her first book.

This post is part of the Sea of Tranquility blog tour:

Review: If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones

If I Were You
Lisa Renee Jones

Series: Inside Out Trilogy #1
Genre: Adult Romance
Publication date: March 12th 2013
by Simon & Schuster

When Sara McMillan finds a stack of journals in a storage unit, she’s shocked and enthralled by the life the writer led. Unable to stop reading, she vicariously lives out dark fantasies through Rebecca, the writer—until the terrifying final entry. Certain something sinister has happened, Sara sets out to discover the facts, immersing herself in Rebecca’s life. Soon she’s working at the art gallery Rebecca worked at and meeting Rebecca’s friends. Finding herself drawn to two dangerously sexy men, the manager of the gallery and a famed artist, Sara realizes she’s going down the same path Rebecca took. But with the promise of her dark needs being met by a man with confident good looks and a desire for control, she’s not sure anything else matters. Just the burn for more.

-An audiobook was provided by Simon & Schuster Audio for review-

As my first Adult Romance novel on audiobook I was a little unsure of what to expect. In the end I'm glad I tried it; it was a pretty good book and the narrator was fantastic. Being an audiobook had me especially concerned, I mean, there were ways this could have been a complete disaster with a lot of giggling on my part and embarrassment for the narrator's sake, but there was none of that. She didn't reenact the sexy scenes with awkward moaning or anything of the sort. It was no different than reading the words off the pages, really. She was great at bringing the character's voice to life, though.

This was a romance through and through, and thus a little out of my comfort zone as adult romances are not something I read very often at all. But I can't say I disliked much of it. I did find the plot was slow moving, concentrating more on Sara's flourishing relationship with Chris. So, as a romance alone it was great. Chemistry between these two is insurmountable. Although I both liked and disliked their relationship, which is odd, I know. On one hand they were everything each other needed, but on the other hand it was all a big control competition. Chris could be a little intense, making it hard to see the good in him, but he wasn't a complete asshole either. I guess I'm saying he's a hard character to decipher. I think it's what makes it hard for Sara to fully lend her trust to him, making her a little testy at times. Chris is not the only man in her life (no worries--no love triangle!). There's also Mark, her boss, who is equally mysterious. He gives off this dangerous vibe but he seems to want what's best for Sara so it's mixed signals all over the place. Intriguing though: he absolutely is! I was also especially curious by Sara's best friend who suddenly runs off to elope some random dude. That whole thing seems bizarre to me so I think something ominous is brewing which could be kind of awesome.

The plot is there in between the romance somewhere. After Sara finds some journals left in a storage units, she becomes privy to a very hot and… dark relationship by its writer, Rebecca--a mysterious woman who has since disappeared. Sara is set to find her; little does she know that her life is about to intertwine with Rebecca's own. This was very interesting from the get-go--probably my favorite part of the book. What we encounter in these journals is pretty sinister, leading the way for what could be an exciting mystery. However, we barely get anywhere in this particular storyline at all which is disappointing. We do get bits and pieces, but it's barely grazing the surface. When something big does happen, of course it's the cliffhanger! GAH! Being an audiobook I had no notion of how long there was left in the novel, catching me especially off guard; when the ending music started I wanted to cry! I think I even gasped out loud. It was a great cliffhanger for sure, and I secretly love them (when they're well done) so I will, without a doubt, be thinking about it until I can get my hands on the sequel!

If I Were You is scorching hot, dark and mysterious but plot wise it didn't progress enough for the anticipation it built up. Like I said though, this was my first steamy adult novel, so… maybe they're not really supposed to have that much plot progression? Dunno. If I rated it purely on the steamy side it would get a 4 (and ok the cliffhanger, too), but as a whole I felt like it wasn't enough.

3 Hot Espressos

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To
Katie McGarry

Series: Pushing the Limits #2
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publication date: May 28th 2013
by Harlequin Teen

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...

-A copy was provided by Harlequin Teen for review-

After Pushing the Limits became one of my favorite reads of last year, I went into this one with a lot of enthusiasm and high expectations. I'm sad that I didn't en up loving it as much, but I still quite enjoyed it and am happy that I read it. I also can see why so many are enamored by it, if I had read it at another time I might have enjoyed it much more as well. As it stands I've been reading a string of similarly plotted books lately so my patience for certain elements of the book has been worn thin.

Unlike with Pushing the Limits, I had a difficult time with the characters and romance in this sequel. I liked the characters okay, and the chemistry is definitely not missing between them, but the back and forth, hot and cold romance they develop went on a little too long for me until I became utterly exhausted with it. Beth is dealing with a drunk mother who has an abusive boyfriend, making her somewhat of a bitter person who blocks everyone out. She has a hard time opening up to anybody, let alone letting anyone get close enough for her to fall in love. Consequently, she's not an easy character to like, but she's meant to be that way. We're meant to sympathize with her situation, which I did, and like how she grows out of it through the story (like expected), but this did not happen until after she had me wanting to rip my hair out. The problem was more with how she dealt with Ryan than anything else. Athletic superstar, popular, rich, and with a bright future ahead of him, Ryan is Beth's polar opposite. It's, at the same time, the allure and the downfall of the romance. Beth being so cautious makes it extremely difficult for Ryan to get her to let him in. At first this was a great kind of frustration. The kind where you yearn for them to finally open up to each other and become rocks to lean on, however this fails to happen for what felt like an extremely long time, I began to lose my eagerness and gain some irritation. My patience for Beth to finally get a clue that the whole world wasn't out to get her ran out and I simply wanted to slap her silly for trying to ruin every good thing she had. I get that she's had a very very hard life, her crappy attitude was just making it worse for herself which made it hard for me to connect with her more than on the surface. Perhaps her keeping everyone at arm's length worked TOO well :) I also can't fail to mention the constant referral to Ryan's looks. She must have described his gorgeous godliness over a dozen times in the book. We get it, he's sculpted perfection, let's move on, shall we?

No matter my complaints, the characters are still carved into real human beings. The character development doesn't miss its mark as Katie, again, creates realistic characters with hearts you can feel beating and breaking. Even though I was a little irritated, I still couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards both of them. Beth for her screwed up upbringing, and Ryan for the pressure he was brought up under. Another part of these books that I enjoy is how it's not JUST about the romance. Beth has to acclimate to a whole new life where she feels anything but welcome, while Ryan is looking at his family crumbling after his brother announced he was gay to a father who thinks the most important thing is perfect outward appearance.

As with any companion novel it's always fun to see old characters again. While I loved hearing from Echo and Noah in their brief cameos in this book, Isaiah stole my heart away. I love his character and my heart broke for him in more ways than one. His character has just as much soul and presence, getting his story line ready for the next book. The 3rd installment of this series will be his story, and I absolutely cannot wait for it as I have a very big feeling it will be my absolute favorite. I just hope he gets his happy ending or I may be found in a puddle of my own tears.

Dare You To may not have been as good to me as I had hoped, but I still found myself flipping the pages eagerly, waiting and hoping these two will finally give in to each other completely. The love and chemistry they share make all the hurt and frustration worth it.

3 Hot Espressos

Find my review of Pushing the Limits, here!

Fresh Batch (June 2nd - 8th)

Exclusively titled for Xpresso Reads, Fresh Batch features the hottest releases of this upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

Gameboard of the Gods
Richelle Mead

Series: Age of X #1
Publication date: June 4th
by Dutton Adult

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Richelle's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Scorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy.

A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.