It's Monday! What are you reading?

Weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. 

Here's where you share what you've recently read, are currently reading, and what you're about to read.

Read:

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Currently Reading:

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephenie Perkins

Going to Read:

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory

I've got an awesome week of reading ahead of me with a lot of titles that i am drooling over. EXCITED! What you are you reading?

GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Release Date:April 3, 2012

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf? 


Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. 


Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

For more info on the author and to read her blog, visit:
http://www.robinlafevers.com/

Raise your hand if you have ants in your pants awaiting the arrival of this new historical fiction by LaFevers. I DO! I DO! What an incredibly different concept for a story-makes me wish that i would have come up with it! Looks like a fantastic action packed thrill ride that i am more than ready to sink my teeth into.

REVIEW:Girls In Dresses

Girls In Dresses by Jennifer ClosePages: 294-US Hardback
Publisher: Knopf
Released: August 9, 2011
My Rating: 3/5
Book Summary: Isabella, Mary, and Lauren feel like everyone they know is getting married. On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, collect ribbons and wrapping paper, eat minuscule sandwiches and doll-sized cakes. They wear pastel dresses and drink champagne by the case, but amid the celebration these women have their own lives to contend with: Isabella is working at a mailing-list company, dizzy with the mixed signals of a boss who claims she’s on a diet but has Isabella file all morning if she forgets to bring her a chocolate muffin. Mary thinks she might cry with happiness when she finally meets a nice guy who loves his mother, only to realize he’ll never love Mary quite as much. And Lauren, a waitress at a Midtown bar, swears up and down she won’t fall for the sleazy bartender—a promise that his dirty blond curls and perfect vodka sodas make hard to keep. 


My Thoughts:

Jennifer Close absolutely has carved a unique title for herself in this debut novel about a group of ladies growing up in New York and the triumphs, heartbreaks, and sloppy nights that come with. I was pleasantly surprised by her writing style and enjoyed it just enough, although it's a bit jumpy and at times hard to keep up with the slew of new characters that are constantly introduced. 

If only each girl had some depth to her, some development and growing. They all just stayed the same-even through to their thirties.  It was all booze and boys, with some weddings and babies thrown in for good measure. Didn't these ladies do any maturing? I think they'll stay caught up in their 20's-forever. 

A pleasant chick-lit read, but nothing i would read again nor think twice about. 

Waiting On Wednesday-The Unnaturalists

Weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

Showcase which books you're going crazy over to be released!

The Unnaturalists

by Tiffany Trent

Release Date: August 14, 2012

In an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in a museum, two teens find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger. 


Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her father’s museum, but as she gets older, the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals. 

As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.


I'm seriously looking forward to this read. It just sounds so... original. The kind of story line that hasn't been done up a hundred times. Plus it's set in London, and well who doesn't love a story that takes place overseas? I'm always drawn to those books that take place in a different country or a different time period-it's an escape to a completely new world. One you only wish you could be in.

In My Mailbox (9)

This weekly meme is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

IMM is where you can showcase all your goods. This week...

Library:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Girls In White Dresses by Jennifer Close

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

So it has been quite some time since there has been any action on Love Life and Reading and for i apologize! Let's just say some rather big things have been happening in the life of this blogger, which you will hear all about in the coming up weeks. EXCITING, HOLY CRAP, CHANGE YOUR LIFE things. I look forward to seeing what's in your mailbox!

Enthralled Giveaway Winner!

First of all, we'd like to thank all of you for entering our FIRST giveaway! It was a great turn out and we wish we could give every single one of you a prize... but we can't. So here's the day you've been waiting for.. the day where we pick the winner! We used random.org to choose our lucky follower.

DUN DUN DUNNNNN.... And the winner is!

Briana Danielle!

Congrats!

She'll be winning a signed copy of Enthralled by numerous authors from the Smart Chick Kick It Tour. Keep your eyes peeled for future giveaways. We've got some great things in the works!

Elise's List of 100 YA Books

Hey y'all I know I suck, I haven't posted in forever but it's because my internet hasn't been hooked up and I finally took the initiative to Google my problem and all I had to do was reset the router...like I know stuff about routers. Any WhoozleBeez, I got super jealous of Heather's post so I needed to do my own. (Also, if you haven't noticed Heather and myself have some of the worst cases of only-child syndrome). So here is my version of the list that is on the tip of every one's blog!  This abfab list was found over on Kelsey at The Lost Book Reports.

Top 100 YA Books

Bold  = I've read it
Italic = I own it, but haven't read it

1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)
18. Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse, Crank Series, Tricks, Identical, Burned
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
38. John Green – Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44. Lemony Snicket - Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) 
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – This Lullaby
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld - Uglies (1, 2, 3, 4)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephanie Meyer – The Host
93. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped




So I haven't read much on this list. I have read a bazillion books though! How is this possible? Ridiculous. I have a lot of reading to do that's for sure.