Lisa’s Looking Forward To #13 – April 30th and May 7th

Back to a Sunday post this week since I have several posts already scheduled for this Wednesday and didn’t do one last Wednesday.  So it will be two weeks’ worth of new books. 

From my ARC list for April 30th:

Love the cover, love the story idea.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Elouise (Lou) Parker is
determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her
life. There are just a few things standing in her way:

* She’s landed a job at Magic Castle Playland . . . as a giant dancing hot dog.
* Her crush, the dreamy Diving Pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend,
who is literally the Princess of the park. But Lou’s never liked anyone,
guy or otherwise, this much before, and now she wants a chance at her
own happily ever after.
* Her best friend, Seeley, the carousel
operator, who’s always been up for anything, suddenly isn’t when it
comes to Lou’s quest to set her up with the perfect girl or Lou’s scheme
to get close to Nick.
* And it turns out that this will be their
last summer at Magic Castle Playland–ever–unless she can find a way to
stop it from closing.

Jennifer Dugan’s sparkling debut
coming-of-age queer romance stars a princess, a pirate, a hot dog, and a
carousel operator who find love–and themselves–in unexpected people
and unforgettable places.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

Normally I don’t pay a lot of attention to the romances on Edelweiss, but this one just sounded really good. I think I might still be able to download it.  Or maybe I’ll just wait to buy it at the store!


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

IT’S TIME TO FLIRT WITH A MAN IN A KILT

Cassie
Crow, a pop-culture reporter for a TV talk show, is focused on becoming
a “serious” journalist. But when she stumbles into a kilted Highlander
with a killer accent, Cassie decides that taking one night off from work
and spending it with a sexy Scot couldn’t hurt. . .

Logan Reid
has built a career on his charm, hosting a series of off-the-wall
hijinks on the Web. But when the Scottish prankster meets the
all-American, equal parts intelligent and irresistible Cassie, Logan
realizes that one night of fun won’t be enough. Could it be that this
career-focused, commitment-phobic couple is finally ready to take a
chance at true and lasting love?

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

Sounds like a great #ownvoices type of story.  Didn’t get time to get to it, but probably will some day!


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

A marvel:
something you find amazing. Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because
they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom
used to make together.

An oddity: whatever gives you
pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like
Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims
are.

But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.

When
she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins
investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in
Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.

Fueled by the
guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a
newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.

Then her path crosses with Adam’s.

Since
he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped
going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things.
Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.

Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.

Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.

Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…

Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

From my ARC list for May 7th:

There’s a ton this week!

I loved the first book by this author, Fawkes, and was so intrigued with the idea behind this one when I heard of it.  I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy to read and my review will be posted a week from today, and I’ll just say right now that I was NOT disappointed!


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia
“Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient
spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her
family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after
them . . . and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances
of survival are to either release the spell, and deal with the
consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t
act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s never dabbled in magic before,
but it doesn’t frighten her as much as her growing attraction for Zash.
She likes him. She thinks he might even like her . . .

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

So I love the cover of course, and I also love a good girl pirate story.  I just wish I’d had time to get to this one!


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

High seas adventure, blackmail, and meddling gods meet in Dark Shores, the first novel in a new YA fantasy series.

In
a world divided by meddlesome gods and treacherous oceans, only the
Maarin possess the knowledge to cross the Endless Seas. But they have
one mandate: East must never meet West.

A PIRATE WITH A WILL OF IRON

Teriana
is the second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate.
Her people are born of the seas and the keepers of its secrets, but
when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, Teriana
breaks her people’s mandate so her friend might escape—a choice with
devastating consequences.

A SOLDIER WITH A SECRET

Marcus
is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has
led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is his
family, but even they don’t know the truth he’s been hiding since
childhood. It’s a secret he’ll do anything to protect, no matter how
much it costs him – and the world.

A DANGEROUS QUEST

When
an Empire senator discovers the existence of the Dark Shores, he
captures Teriana’s crew and threatens to reveal Marcus’s secret unless
they sail in pursuit of conquest, forcing the two into an unlikely—and
unwilling—alliance. They unite for the sake of their families, but both
must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much they are
willing to sacrifice.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

So, I used to have a contact at Disney who got me a lot of great books. And while at one time this wouldn’t have been one I’d have picked, after my contact had me read Little White Lies, now I’d be interested in this one. Alas, my Disney contact is now at Simon Teen, and while that has helped me a bit on that publisher front, it has taken away my in with Disney.  🙁  


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Kira Bennett’s earliest
memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how
long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she
remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue
dogs found her perfectly. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still
struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the
family business: search-and-rescue. Along with Cady’s son, Jude, and
their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world’s
most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to
put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home.

But
when Cady’s estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his
daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child—one of
several visitors who has disappeared in the Sierra Glades National Park
in the past twelve months—the teens find themselves on the frontlines
sooner than they could have ever expected. As the search through 750,000
acres of unbridled wilderness intensifies, Kira becomes obsessed with
finding the missing child. She knows all too well what it’s like to be
lost in the wilderness, fighting for survival, alone.

But this
case isn’t simple. There is more afoot than a single, missing girl, and
Kira’s memories threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. As the danger
mounts and long-held family secrets come to light, Kira is forced to
question everything she thought she knew about her adopted family, her
true nature, and her past.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I haven’t read the other book by this author, but really want to, and this one sounds just as good!


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award longlist title The Poet X
comes a dazzling novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride, and a
drive to feed the soul that keeps her fire burning bright.

Ever
since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been
about making the tough decisions—doing what has to be done for her
daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the
kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she
cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Even though
she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that
it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules
she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only
choice is to let her talent break free.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

Another great #ownvoices story that I wish I’d received a copy of!


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Lights, camera—all
Maeve needs is action. But at eighteen, a rare form of muscular
dystrophy usually stands in the way of romance. She’s got her friends,
her humor, and a passion for filmmaking to keep her focus off consistent
rejection…and the hot older guy starring in her senior film project.

Tall,
bearded, and always swaying, Cole Stone is everything Maeve can’t be.
And she likes it. Between takes, their chemistry is shockingly electric.

Suddenly
Maeve gets a taste of typical teenage dating life, but girls in
wheelchairs don’t get the hot guy—right? Cole’s attention challenges
everything she once believed about her self-image and hopes for love.
But figuring this out, both emotionally and physically, won’t be easy
for either of them. Maeve must choose between what she needs and what
she wants, while Cole has a tendency to avoid decisions altogether. And
her failing lungs might not wait for either.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I enjoy a good story that is told from a little bit different point of view or aspect, and this one sounds exactly like that.


Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Fifteen-year-old Eleanor Fromme just chopped off all of her hair.
How else should she cope after hearing that her bully, James, has taken
his own life? When Eleanor’s English teacher suggests students write a
letter to a person who would never read it to get their feelings out,
Eleanor chooses James.

With each letter she writes, Eleanor
discovers more about herself, even while trying to make sense of his
death. And, with the help of a unique cast of characters, Eleanor not
only learns what it means to be inside a body that does not quite match
what she feels on the inside, but also comes to terms with her own
mother’s mental illness.

Set against a 1993-era backdrop of grunge rock and riot grrrl bands, EVERYTHING GROWS
depicts Eleanor’s extraordinary journey to solve the mystery within her
and feel complete. Along the way, she loses and gains friends, rebuilds
relationships with her family, and develops a system of support to help
figure out the language of her queer identity.

Through author Aimee Herman’s exceptional storytelling, EVERYTHING GROWS
reveals the value of finding community or creating it when it falls
apart, while exploring the importance of forgiveness, acceptance, and
learning how to survive on your own terms.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

 I still need to read one of this author’s books, and this one sounds good!  

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
The New York Times
bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things and What to Say Next delivers
a poignant and hopeful novel about resilience and reinvention, first
love and lifelong friendship, the legacies of loss, and the stories we
tell ourselves in order to survive.

Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future.

Abbi
Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish
exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet
memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into
tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in
the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that fateful
day, she was captured in what became an iconic photograph: in the
picture, Abbi (aka “Baby Hope”) wears a birthday crown and grasps a red
balloon; just behind her, the South Tower of the World Trade Center is
collapsing.

Now, fifteen years later, Abbi is desperate for
anonymity and decides to spend the summer before her seventeenth
birthday incognito as a counselor at Knights Day Camp two towns away.
She’s psyched for eight weeks in the company of four-year-olds, none of
whom have ever heard of Baby Hope.

Too bad Noah Stern, whose own
world was irrevocably shattered on that terrible day, has a similar
summer plan. Noah believes his meeting Baby Hope is fate. Abbi is sure
it’s a disaster. Soon, though, the two team up to ask difficult
questions about the history behind the Baby Hope photo. But is either of
them ready to hear the answers? 

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

This is one that I only recently heard about, and I was lucky enough to get a copy to read.  My review of this will probably be a week from today as well.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

“Edgy and smart with a sweet and sexy core.” —Rachel Harris, New York Times bestselling author of Eyes on Me

I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

But
Wilmont Academy’s been living in the Dark Ages when it comes to sex ed,
and someone had to take matters into her own hands. Well, I’m a
kick-ass coder, so I created a totally anonymous, totally untraceable
blog where teens can come to get real, honest, nothing-is-off-limits sex
advice.

And holy hell, the site went viral—and we’re talking way beyond Wilmont—overnight. Who knew this town was so hard up?

Except
now the school administration is trying to shut me down, and they’ve
forced Dean—my coding crush, aka the hottest guy in school—to try to
uncover who I am. If he discovers my secret, I’ll lose him forever. And
thousands of teens who need real advice won’t have anyone to turn to.

Ask me anything…except how to make things right. 

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

Final Thoughts:
 So, only two that I actually have copies of, although I’m considering going to Edelweiss to download the Hot for the Scot book now that I remember about it.  Have you read any of these yet?  Are they
on your TBR?  And hey, while you’re here, you should go try to win some
of my ARCs from Cleaning Up My TBR Post HERE.  The giveaway is open till next Saturday.