Waiting On Wednesday [12]: It's A Wonderful Death By Sarah J. Schmitt

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine - spotlighting books that haven't been released yet!

My Waiting on Wednesday this week is...
It's A Wonderful Death By Sarah J. Schmitt

Expected Release Date: October 6th 2015

Seventeen-year-old RJ always gets what she wants. So when her soul is accidentally collected by a distracted Grim Reaper, somebody in the afterlife better figure out a way to send her back from the dead or heads will roll. But in her quest for mortality, she becomes a pawn in a power struggle between an overzealous archangel and Death Himself. The tribunal presents her with two options: she can remain in the lobby, where souls wait to be processed, until her original lifeline expires, or she can replay three moments in her life in an effort to make choices that will result in a future deemed worthy of being saved. It sounds like a no-brainer. She’ll take a walk down memory lane. How hard can changing her future be?

But with each changing moment, RJ’s life begins to unravel, until this self-proclaimed queen bee is a social pariah. She begins to wonder if walking among the living is worth it if she has to spend the next sixty years as an outcast. Too quickly, RJ finds herself back in limbo, her time on Earth once again up for debate.

RJ is a snarky, unapologetic, almost unredeemable, very real girl. Her story is funny and moving, and teens will easily connect with her plight. Prepare to meet the Grim Reaper, who’s cuter than you’d expect; Hawaiian shirt–wearing Death Himself; Saint Peter (who likes to play Cornhole); and Al, the handler for the three-headed hound that guards the gates of Hell. This cast of characters accompanies RJ through her time in the afterlife and will do their best to gently shove her in the right direction.
(Synopsis Provided By Goodreads)

Okay, so all the characters here seem like they all have very distinct and interesting personalities! I'm super excited for this release in early October! It's a modern twist on a somewhat used idea. Can you really go back and change your past for a better future? Such a cliché of a question but SUCH a good question till this day regardless! The synopsis really hints at a great read! Who else is excited about this one?

Want to talk about the book with me and the lovely blogging community? Hope over to my Tuesday Thoughts&Talks post about It's A Wonderful Death! 
Click on the pic below!

Would you change your life RIGHT NOW for a chance to correct a past mistake? Let me know in the comments below!
Link your own Waiting on Wednesday I'll make sure to stop by!

AS ALWAYS,
HAPPY READING!
-SHERRY

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY HOSTILE TAKEOVER !

Tuesday Thoughts & Talks [11]: It's A Wonderful Death...?

This is a meme hosted HERE that asks us to present something we've learned or thought about after we finished reading a book to anyone out there - sparking a conversation amongst us!

What I Read to Spark the feels:
It's A Wonderful Death By Sarah J. Schmitt

This week's Tuesday Thoughts & Talks is going to be based off of my Waiting On Wednesday pick going up on the blog tomorrow. It had such an interesting synopsis that got me thinking about the mistakes and regrets we might have in life. Without giving too much away, this book presents an ultimatum to a girl who is essentially stuck in a sort of purgatory: either wait for your soul on Earth to expire or relive three months of your life in hopes of making better choices that lead to a different outcome. What drew me into this book was the idea of righting the wrongs we might have made in our lives. Is it something we should do? (This weeks topic is very hypothetical - unless someone has actually created a time machine in which case please let me know ASAP) It would be ideal to write the wrongs we make but I think the more important long-term solution to the 'wrongs' we make is to accept that they are wrong doings and learn/move on from them. Clearly that is easier said than done but what I mean by it is that we shouldn't focus on correcting something in the past because it's in the past already. We should focus on what is happening in the now and the the future. I don't know how this topic is resolved in It's A Wonderful Death but I think it'll be interesting to read from a character's POV where we aren't the ones to make the hard decisions. There is the chance to push the character to extremes and really hit home a great message for readers!

Would you try to correct your wrongs of the past or try to move on from them?
Add a link to your response OR just leave a comment below on this week's Tuesday Thoughts&Talks!

If you want to participate in the Tuesday Thoughts & Talks, just grab the banner, post your own Tues.T&T on your blog & then leave a comment down below with a link to your post!

AS ALWAYS,
HAPPY READING!
-SHERRY

Sunday Musings [12]: New Books & New Drawings!

Two birds one stone - I stumbled upon The Sunday Post Meme hosted by the lovely Caffinated Book Reviewer & the Stacking The Shelves meme hosted by the awesome Tynga's Reviews! It is quite similar to what I'm doing here with my Sunday musings - recapping the week in book blogging universe as well as letting you guys know about what books I bought or received.

I rate this week 3/5 stars - it kind of flew by without me but I did get to do some drawing which makes up for all of it! It definitely was NOT a productive reading week. I've been in a minor reading schlump these last two weeks but I've got some exciting books that I can't wait to share with you guys soon so I hope that propels me back to reading! As I mentioned, I got to squeeze in some time for drawing this week and it was so much fun! It is hard to dedicate anytime during the summer to drawing with work and trying to put out quality content onto the BloggityBLOG. I tried to practice some portrait drawing this week with a variety of charcoal sticks and powders. I referenced the amazing photographer Maarten Schröder's photo Twan. I asked him if I could use the image as reference and all but DIED when he replied back saying I could with a compliment on my artwork. Here is the finished piece:

Male Head Portrait Study
16"x20"
Charcoal on Bond Paper
(Click HERE to see some of my other art)

Review: Playing To Win By Jaci Burton

Title: Playing To Win (Play-by-Play #4)

Author: Jaci Burton

Published Date: September 4th 2012

Someone’s going to have to let down their guard… 

Football star Cole Riley is notorious for doing as he pleases—on the field and off. He parties hard and fights harder, but if he doesn’t clean up his act, his career is over—so Cole reluctantly agrees to work with image makeover consultant Savannah Brooks. He’s not used to being told what to do, especially by some (admittedly hot) Southern belle. As for Savannah, she’s not convinced she can transform this cocky (and aggressively sexy) force of nature. But she’s determined to give it her best shot. 

When the sparks start to fly, Savannah lays down the ground rules: no personal complications. If she can turn off the tingle she feels every time Cole gives her a hot stare with his gorgeous baby blues, he can turn off his desire as well. But for two people determined to have it all, a hands-off policy can only last so long before one of them yields.

(Synopsis Provided By Goodreads)

Again we are faced with a hard hitting sports superstar. This time around though he might be a little too badass for his career. Cole Riley is in major need of an image rebranding. With the entire league aware of his horrible image and bad publicity, he got lucky when he got drafted this football season to any team. The offer is conditional however, clean up your act and do it fast or you can say goodbye to playing football forever. He didn't expect the consultant he was sent to help him re-invent himself would be hot - let alone have such a sassy and blunt attitude.

This series by Jaci Burton is awesome partly because of the characters she brings to life have depth and partly because we know what we're going to get. From book to book in the series, we get some what of the same type of characters (i.e. athlete, hard working woman, hard headed, softy) but they all still make for a simple and easy read. I wouldn't say these are ground breaking contemporary romances; more so casual reads. The story is told from duo-perspectives, Cole Riley's and Savannah Brooks. I noticed that there were points in the book where it wasn't so clear that the narrator perspectives switched - a little confusing but hardly a turn off from reading the book.

Reflect Thursday [10]: Shining Books of Waiting on Wednesday

Do you ever feel after a day like Waiting on Wednesday your list of TBR grows significantly? I wanted to mention a few titles that really caught my eye this week on the blogosphere after browsing the wonderful Waiting on Wednesday lists!

1. The Small Backs of Children By Lidia Yuknavitch

Expected Release: July 7th 2015 (ALREADY RELEASED)
A masterful literary talent explores the treacherous, often violent borders between war and sex, love and art

With the flash of a camera, one girl’s life is shattered, and a host of others altered forever. . . 

In a war-torn village in Eastern Europe, an American photographer captures a heart-stopping image: a young girl flying toward the lens, fleeing a fiery explosion that has engulfed her home and family. The image wins acclaim and prizes, becoming an icon for millions—and a subject of obsession for one writer, the photographer’s best friend, who has suffered a devastating tragedy of her own. 

As the writer plunges into a suicidal depression, her filmmaker husband enlists several friends, including a fearless bisexual poet and an ingenuous performance artist, to save her by rescuing the unknown girl and bringing her to the United States. And yet, as their plot unfolds, everything we know about the story comes into question: What does the writer really want? Who is controlling the action? And what will happen when these two worlds—east and west, real and virtual—collide? 

A fierce, provocative, and deeply affecting novel of both ideas and action that blends the tight construction of Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending with the emotional power of Anthony Marra’s A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Lidia Yuknavitch’s The Small Backs of Children is a major step forward from one of our most avidly watched writers.
(Synopsis Provided By Goodreads)

There seems like there is a lot of healing and self learning that will go on with the characters in this novel and that is what I'm looking forward to with it! I have a feeling it will be a very heavy hearted read!

2. A Thousand Nights By E.K. Johnston

Expected Release: October 6th 2015

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.
(Synopsis Provided By Goodreads)

I'm just putting it out there, this synopsis has the potential to be a really good movie adaptation! There is a very surreal/mysterious aspect to the story presented here that would make for amazing scenes visually on screen! Getting back to the book, the synopsis illustrates with words a very fantastical and magical world with characters to match! I don't read fantasy but this one might have the right combo of love, setting and magic!

What books did you discover after WOW? Create a post and leave a link in your description for me to check out! 
& Much thanks to those who helped bring these books to my attention!

AS ALWAYS,

HAPPY READING!

-SHERRY