Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: Oblivion
Author: Sasha Dawn
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Publish Date: May 27, 2014
Genre: YA, Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 400

Two years ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment, scrawling words on the wall: "I KILLED HIM. His blood is on my hands. His heart is in my soul. I KILLED HIM." But she remembers nothing of that night or of the three previous days. All she knows is that her father, the reverend at the Church of the Holy Promise, is missing, as is Hannah, a young girl from the parish.

Their disappearances have to be connected and Callie knows that her father was not a righteous man. But the more she remembers, the closer she comes to the horrifying truth. And when a good looking guy in school helps her to remember what she's buried for so long, she might wish she never dug up the past.

What is it about me and scary books? You guys must think I'm a hero with nerves of steel. I'm really not. I quiver in fear at scary movies, and these books haunt my dreams, but I just. can't. stop. It's like an addiction, or a disease. But I digress. The thing about Oblivion that completely captivates me is the fact that it seems to have all the best parts of a thrilling horror story built-in, but it might just have one hell of a mystery, too. How awesome would that be?! Plus, the cover blends all of my new favourites -- words scrawled across, a haphazard title and a powerful close-up. Sold. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

In My Mailbox is an amazing weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren that features the books we have received during the week. It's so much fun because we get to see what our fellow bloggers stumbled upon this week and add even more to our piles of books! Without further ado, this week I received the following books:

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross (ARC) - Thank you, Egmont USA

Eden's Root by Rachel Fisher - Thank you, Rachel

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (ARC) - Thank you, Henry Holt BYR

Title: You Are My Only
Author: Beth Kephart
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Publish Date: October 25, 2011
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 256
Source: Publisher

Emmy Rane is married at nineteen, a mother by twenty. Trapped in a life with a husband she no longer loves, Baby is her only joy. Then one sunny day in September, Emmy takes a few fateful steps away from her baby and returns to find her missing. All that is left behind is a yellow sock.

Fourteen years later, Sophie, a homeschooled, reclusive teenage girl is forced to move frequently and abruptly from place to place, perpetually running from what her mother calls the "No Good." One afternoon, Sophie breaks the rules, ventures out, and meets Joey and his two aunts. It is this loving family that gives Sophie the courage to look into her past. What she discovers changes her world forever. . . .

Emmy had a difficult life. She was a young bride, a young mother and even younger to lose a child. Emmy didn't just lose her child though. Baby was stolen from her front yard in a single instant when she left her for just a moment. Losing Baby meant losing herself, and in losing herself, she lost it all. Sophie is a young teenager with the world on her shoulders. Her mother is world-weary and rigid in her rules. Sophie knows to listen and to obey, but when she meets Joey, she finds that friendship might be more important than essays on Kepler. But Sophie's mother has a secret that spans Sophie's entire life, and uncovering it will tear their worlds wide open.

When I read the premise for You Are My Only, I was sold in an instant. Dark and moody, the synopsis is haunting and draws the reader in. Veteran author, Beth Kephart, is no stranger to issue-driven books. Written in a fantastic and unique writing style, You Are My Only manages to combine illustrative descriptiveness with sparse and wordless pages. By intertwining the two, the prose is rich and balanced, haunting and riveting; all the while drawing the reader into a world where lies are the very foundation of the characters' worlds. You Are My Only doesn't shy away from pain, but rather sings the story of two lost souls whose pain fuels the fire of self-discovery.

I completely mean what I say when I say the writing of You Are My Only was beautiful. That said however, I struggled a bit with this one. I think the writing style was brilliant, but my main issue was the alternating chapters between Sophie and Emmy. Their voices were almost identical, which I could reconcile with because of the connection between the characters, but I felt a bit of a disconnect between the two because of the different time periods between Emmy and Sophie. It felt like it was happening at the same time, and yet it couldn't have been. I loved that You Are My Only dove right into the action from page one with Emmy losing Baby, but I struggled after that, as the plot sped along at the pace of a runaway train. I had a hard time getting into her head, and when Sophie was thrown into the mix, balancing the two was a bit tedious. I think that the secondary characters in You Are My Only stole the show, too. Arlen, Aunt Cloris, Aunt Helen and even Sophie's mother were more well-defined than they were. The ending was beautiful, haunting and poetic but, yet again, a little too rushed. Honestly, my opinion is that this book could have been perfection had it been fleshed out a bit more because it had all the right elements.

Despite my issues with the book, You Are My Only was a really good read. It was fast, and it had a writing style that will stick with me. I give it a 3 out of 5, and I'd recommend it to all fans of the YA and adult genres, especially to those who enjoy contemporary fiction and issue books.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Title: Tris & Izzie
Author: Mette Ivie Harrison
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Publish Date: October 11, 2011
Genre: YA, PNR
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher

A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well.

Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

Izzie is on top of the world. The only daughter of magical parents, Izzie apparently has inherited absolutely no magical powers, and her life, instead, is one of comfort, luxury and wanting for nothing. She's popular, she's gorgeous, and she has the most athletic guy in school falling all over himself for her. What more could a girl want? But when she and her best friend Branna have a fight, she goes out of her way to set her up with the new boy, Tristan. Unfortunately, Izzie underestimated herself and her place in the world of magic. As her plan backfires and she finds herself falling more in love with Tristan by the day, she must come to terms with her abilities and her new life, or lose it all forever.

Tris and Izzie is touted as the modern retelling of Tristan and Isolde, two ill-fated lovers caught in a deadly and tragic love triangle. So, naturally, my inner sob-story fiend shouted with glee and absolutely had to have this one. Plus, please take note of the stunning cover - haunting, beautiful and breathtakingly romantic, is it not? Mette Ivie Harrison is a renowned author for her ability to spin heartbreakingly lovely romantic tales with ease, all the while captivating the readers with intriguing characters, a great premise and a wonderful follow-through. Tris and Izzie has, by all accounts, all the set-up for a wonderful novel.

Unfortunately, however, I have to be honest and say that Tris and Izzie didn't work for me on many levels. First of all, characterization is key in a remake of a classic. Whether deviating from the original plot or not, should you choose to model the characters after the originals, there should be some semblance of humanity to them. I felt that Izzie, especially, was exceptionally immature. Never once did a get a grasp on any sense of true character from her and, furthermore, she was only hindered further by mere shadows of characters in the supporting cast, including Tris, Mark and Brangane. Honestly, none of them felt real in any way, shape or form. Tris and Izzie also presented a unique challenge with the love story. The classic is a tale of true love which, yes, is a bit of an insta-love scenario. However, Tris and Izzie amps it up yet another notch by adding a love potion that not only created instantaneous true love for Tristan and Izzie, but also obliterated the true love between Mark and Izzie from mere days before. The ultimate and fatal flaw for me with Tris and Izzie was simply that the premise offers us glimmers of magic and the paranormal. However, all facets of those elements felt rushed, thrown about haphazardly and never truly explained. It felt as though Tris and Izzie had elements that could have made for a great book had they been executed better, but they were simply placed in the novel with no true backstory or sense of direction.

I hate giving bad reviews to authors and their books, and I hate to give my readers a review that might leave a sour taste in their mouths, but I have to be honest and say that Tris and Izzie simply did not work for me at all. I give it a 1 out of 5, and I would recommend it to those who enjoy YA and the paranormal who want to make their own decision about this one.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

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In the spirit of giving all readers and bloggers the opportunity to form their own opinions about Tris and Izzie, I am giving away my ARC of the novel. The rules are simple: You do NOT have to be a follower to enter, but it is always appreciated! This giveaway is open internationally and will end promptly at midnight EST on September 16, 2011.

Click HERE to enter.

In My Mailbox is an amazing weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren that features the books we have received during the week. It's so much fun because we get to see what our fellow bloggers stumbled upon this week and add even more to our piles of books! Without further ado, this week I received the following books:

FOR REVIEW:

Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - (ARC) Thank you, EgmontUSA

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake - Thank you, TOR and KBT

The Iron Quill by Shelena Shorts - Thank you, Shelena

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison - (ARC) Thank you, EgmontUSA

And By the Way by Denise Deegan - (ARC) Thank you, Hachette Books Ireland

And For Your Information by Denise Deegan- (ARC) Thank you, Hachette Books Ireland

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Remember, to enter in the two giveaways I'm running!

For a signed copy of Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar, click HERE...For an ARC of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, click HERE!