Novella Reviews: Spartan Frost + Flirting With Maybe

SPARTAN FROST
Mythos Academy 4.5
Jennifer Estep
Paranormal Young Adult
60 pages
Kensington Teen
Available now
Source: from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
I'm Logan Quinn, the deadliest Spartan warrior at Mythos Academy. At least I was--until the day I almost killed Gwen Frost.

Professor Metis and Nickamedes say that I'm fine, that Loki and the Reapers don't have a hold on me anymore, but I can't risk it. I can't risk hurting Gwen again. So I'm leaving Mythos and going somewhere far, far away.

I know Gwen wonders what's happening to me, whether I'm safe. I can't tell her, but this is my story. . .

MY THOUGHTS
Spartan Frost is a treat for longtime fans of the Mythos Academy series, a peek into the inner workings of the mind of Logan Quinn at his most vulnerable in the aftermath of the events of Crimson Frost. Not only do we get access to a new and beautifully tragic character landscape–a light suddenly aimed at the dark corners of Logan's we’ve previously danced around–but we also get it at a time when we have the most to learn.

He’s closed off completely to us and Gwen at the end of Crimson Frost, more inaccessible than he’s ever been before as he runs mind, body, and soul from what happened, but with this little novella the door he slammed brutally shut in our faces creaks open ever so slightly, and we surge through with all the enthusiasm and love we have for this series in tow.

While nothing hugely significant happens plot-wise, obviously, we can’t help but feel utterly content with what we're given, simply all around thankful for our few brief moments with him. His pain, guilt, and shame are there for us to see, helping us to further understand why he chooses to hurt Gwen further by leaving her. Though we disagree wholeheartedly with the way he sees himself now, we’re unable to deny the strength of his fear, and can only look to Midnight Frost with a great deal of anticipation upon finishing, longing for the moment when Gwen will inevitably beat that fear of his into submission.

Rating: 4/5

Find Jennifer:
 
Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Amazon • Goodreads

 

FLIRTING WITH MAYBE
Wendy Higgins
Contemporary Young Adult
92 pages
HarperTeen Impulse
Available now
Source: from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
When sophomore Ryan "The Kid" McPhearson makes the Varsity baseball team, he finds himself submersed into the life of upperclassmen, and falling in love with senior Brooke Bennet. To Ryan she's his dream girl, perfect. Maybe to the outside world a two-year age difference doesn't matter, but this is high school. Everything matters.

Ryan soon realizes Brooke's life is not so perfect. He becomes her closest friend, her safe place to fall when she needs to escape. Ryan seems to be benched in the friend zone with no chance to bat.

Time is both a curse and a blessing. It ushers Brooke away to college, and Ryan into the arms of his first girlfriend. It alters Ryan from a kid to a high school graduate, ready to venture to college himself. But when Ryan sees Brooke again he realizes there are some things even time can't touch.

Though much has changed, one question still remains. Will the things that mattered in high school always stand between them?

MY THOUGHTS
Flirting With Maybe is a beautiful novella from Wendy Higgins, packing an emotional punch in a very short amount of time and giving us two impressively developed characters who ensure we’re invested in the outcome of their relationship from the very first page. The brightly colored cover and cute title suggest a story lighter in tone, but the reality of Brooke and Ryan’s friendship and romance is a bit darker than expected, the pain of a love unrequited for a time chipping away at us until we’re a gloriously lopsided, unstable mass that threatens to teeter over at the slightest touch.

Brooke is someone we want desperately to like from the beginning, Ryan’s feelings for her crystal clear and intensely genuine for someone as young as he is, but each page seems to slowly pull back the sheath on our claws, preparing them to cause serious damage if she keeps on the path she’s started down. She’s for all intents and purposes an addict in this story–her drug of choice being affection–and she constantly siphons it away from Ryan as their friendship hovers on the edge of something more for months and months, never giving anything back to replenish what she’s taken until she reaches the point where he nearly runs out of anything to give. Just before she lunges toward the final fix that will kill any lingering feelings between them, Ms. Higgins grants her a chance at redemption, and Ryan’s happiness proves to be infectious and impossible to ignore even if we still hold a small grudge against her.

While things do reach a satisfying conclusion in this novella, Ms. Higgins grants her readers an added gift in the form of an epilogue available on her blog, providing a more concrete future for this pair than is found in the story itself, and finally bringing the smile to our faces we’ve been dying for all along.

Rating: 4/5

Find Wendy:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

Things of Awesome: May Edition

Okay. I think I just need to admit defeat with this feature and demote it to a every-once-in-a-while-when-I'm-not-too-lazy-on-the-weekends-to-do-it post, because the sporadic nature of it really prevents it from deserving the title of "feature". There are handful of fun things I want to share with you this month though, complete with a new conversational snippet between me and Kevin. I hope it makes you guys smile, and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

1. LOSING IT EXTRA SCENES

I read Losing It by Cora Carmack a little while back and loved it to pieces, so I'm thrilled to share the news that Cora is going to be releasing several scenes from Garrick's point of view! *flails* Please excuse me while I die of excitement. She's planning on releasing the below four scenes periodically as pre-orders for her new release Faking It (which is also completely amazing, I highly recommend - comes out June 4th) reach certain numbers.

Scenes:
•       The One Where They Meet
•       The One Where They Meet…Again
•       The One Where He Changes His Mind
•       The One Where Bliss Gets Her Way

Um. Yes please! I need inside Garrick's head as soon as possible. The below widget will keep you all updated as to where the pre-orders stand and which of the above scenes will be released next. I hope you guys add Faking It to your lists!

2. HARPER IMPULSE

HarperTeen's new Impulse imprint might be one of my favorite things ever. Novellas don't always interest me, but I love that Harper and their various authors are releasing these little shorts that give us a look at a familiar world through a different character's eyes. Some of the novellas and short stories, of course, are new and completely unrelated to any full-length series, but I've found I've even enjoyed those as well. Below are the newest Impulse titles for May!

Allies: An Insignia Novella

In S. J. Kincaid’s fast-paced and humorous sci-fi Insignia trilogy, the earth is in the middle of World War III when teen gamer Tom Raines is recruited to train with other young cadets as a pivotal member of the elite combat corps, the Intrasolar Forces. At the Pentagonal Spire’s training academy, he makes the best friends of his life—fellow government weapons-in-training Wyatt Enslow, Vik Ashwan, and Yuri Sysevich.

In this 47-page prequel novella to the series, budding genius Wyatt Enslow—intensely loyal and hyperintelligent if occasionally, hilariously, socially awkward—takes center stage as S. J. Kincaid reveals Wyatt’s life before she found her place, and her own inner strength, among her devoted band of friends at the Spire.

Playing Keira

From a breakthrough voice in YA fiction comes a captivating digital-original 50-page short story starring a supporting character from the novel You Look Different in Real Life.

The premise was simple: Five kids living their real lives, with a new movie about them every five years. But that was before Keira's mother walked out and the cameras captured every heartbreaking detail for the world to see. Now Keira doesn't even know what "real life" means—she only knows how to pretend to be herself.

Then she meets Garrett on a bus to New York City. At first, Keira creates a fictional identity and enjoys the freedom of being someone totally different. But as their brief connection turns into something more, Keira starts to see what life could be like if she just stopped pretending and accepted the person she really is.

Jennifer Castle's pitch-perfect teen voices and sharp insights—together with a teaser to You Look Different in Real Life—make this story a must-read, especially for fans of Sarah Dessen.

You fan find the full list of available Impulse titles HERE.

3. THE QUILL AWARDS

Fashioned after The Oscars, The Quill Awards is an awards show for young adult books put together by a couple bloggers, with various categories and nominees as well as a coterie of twenty-one bloggers acting as The Academy and voting for the winners.

From the website:

A new type of award show exclusively to celebrate the last year in Young Adult fiction. It will boast all aspects of a traditional award show: awkward banter, fancy clothes, signature statuettes, and all other attributes we both love and mock. What makes this "new" is that this award show will not take place at some fancy venue, but rather it will be filmed at multiple dates in multiple locations, and then edited to form one cohesive show.

You can expect appearances from many of your favorite bloggers and authors, as well as industry professionals and maybe even some special guest entertainers. It will truly be a time to honor all aspects of the YA community. It will be quirky and homey, but hopefully also interesting and well done. The show will air late June/ early July at a date to be determined. The final list of nominees will be posted on April 26th. 
 
You fan find the full list of nominees and place your vote for the Countdown Award here.

Website • Twitter • YouTube

4. BEA

In a couple weeks I will be in NYC attending BookExpo America for the third time. I will be there with a ridiculous smile plastered on my face and my mom and mother-in-law in tow to help me master the BEA monster with our now finely-tuned divide and conquer technique. I cannot wait.

Danny and Pushy of Bewitched Bookworms and Hannah of The Irish Banana have put together some fantastic posts about what to expect if you're attending for the first time, so instead of a long rambling post of my own, I'm just going to link to their sites because they've got everything covered.

I hope to see many of you there!

5. LIFE WITH KEVIN

For the full story behind these little conversational snippets go HERE.

Kevin: I know what's going on.

Me: What, now?

Kevin: I know what's going on with the movies.

Me: I haven't the slightest inkling what you could be referring to.

Kevin: You think I haven't figured out that all three of the movies we've watched in the past couple days have had Jeremy Renner in them?

Me: Coincidence.

Kevin: Really. That's what you're going with?

Me: Yes. Maybe I just had an intense desire to watch movies about a SWAT team, a genetically enhanced badass specializing in badassery, and a sexy, leather-clad superhero who rocks a bow and arrow. You ever think of that?

Kevin: No. Want to know what I think?

Me: I'm not sure I do. I don't think I like where this is headed.

Kevin: What I think is that you've chosen Jeremy Renner as a real life version of one of your fictional men and now you're obsessing.

Me: LIES!

Kevin: We both know I'm right.

Me: Huh. I'm not sure if I love that you know me so well or if I find it irritating that there's absolutely no mystery left in our relationship.

Kevin: It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out. Nearly ninety percent of the time you don't have a clue what we're watching because you're reading, and then all of a sudden you want to watch three very specific movies all in one weekend. Kind of a tip-off.

Me: I think you're mistaken. Subtlety is one of my strong suits. I excel at it. EXCEL.

Kevin: Clearly. You've probably already gone to IMDB to cyber-stalk him and are currently considering going and buying any of his movies we don't already own.

Me: Dammit Kevin! That's it. I want a divorce. I need to be with someone less observant who doesn't call me out on my romantic fixations. I'm going to go and make a profile on Match.com immediately.

Kevin: Sounds good. Let me know what kind of interest you get.

Me: I suffer you to live.

Waiting on Wednesday: Novella Boyfriend Edition

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

Typically I choose just one book to focus on each week, but there are so many novellas coming out in the near future that feature some of my very favorite book boys that I couldn't possibly choose between them. I love them all equally you see, and I wouldn't want any of them to feel left out. I know how they all crave my undying affection ;-)

Novellas aren't always my thing–their brevity preventing me from getting to know the characters as well as I want to–but ones written in the POV of beloved characters from already existing series (whose POVs we don't get in the full length books) are a completely different story. Bring them on.

UNDONE

Unraveling #1.5

Elizabeth Norris

Young Adult SciFi

Available Now

HarperTeen Impulse

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Before the accident. Before their universes collided. Before they fell in love.

Riveting and romantic, Undone: An Unraveling Novella contains three short stories set in the world of Unraveling, the first book in the gripping sci-fi duology by Elizabeth Norris.

Before Ben Michaels saved Janelle Tenner’s life, Janelle saved Ben when he stumbled through an interuniverse portal into a completely new world. That day, he fell in love with the girl of his dreams. And he never forgot her.

Through three stories told from Ben’s point of view, learn how Ben and his friends discovered their ability to travel between worlds, how Ben first met Janelle, and how he pined for her for years before he actually got the chance to meet her, save her life, and capture her heart. And find out what happens to Ben between the cliff-hanger conclusion to Unraveling and the beginning of its heart-stopping sequel, Unbreakable.

This one is already out, so technically no waiting involved. WIN! I fell madly in love with Ben last year in Unraveling, so any extra time I get to spend with him is a good thing.

SPARTAN FROST

Mythos Academy #4.5

Jennifer Estep

Paranormal Young Adult

June 25th

Kensington Teen

*Warning: blurb contains spoilers from book 4, Crimson Frost

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
I’m Logan Quinn, the deadliest Spartan warrior at Mythos Academy. At least I was — until the day I almost killed Gwen Frost.

Professor Metis and Nickamedes say that I’m fine, that Loki and the Reapers don’t have a hold on me anymore, but I can’t risk it. I can’t risk hurting Gwen again. So I’m leaving Mythos and going somewhere far, far away.

I know Gwen wonders what’s happening to me, whether I’m safe. I can’t tell her, but this is my story …

Logan. Quinn. I want in his head. That is all.

 

DIE FOR HER

Revenants #2.5

Amy Plum

Paranormal Young Adult

April 2nd

HarperTeen Impulse

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Set in the romantic and death-defying world of the international bestselling Die for Me trilogy, this digital original novella follows Jules, a brooding, immortal French artist who has fallen in love with his best friend’s girlfriend.

Jules Marchenoir is a revenant-an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save human lives. He’s spent the better part of the last century flirting his way through Paris, but when he met Kate Mercier, the heroine from Amy Plum’s Die for Me trilogy, he knew his afterlife had changed forever and he had found the love of his life. Until Kate fell for his best friend, Vincent. Now Jules is faced with an impossible decision: choosing between his loyal friend and a love truly worth dying for.

Jules is one of my favorite characters from this series, and I always got the sense that he loves Kate, though he covers it up with jokes and witty remarks. I'm definitely looking forward to him being center stage in this novella!

Shadows in the Silence: Teaser + Giveaway

Today I'm thrilled to be a part of the promotional tour for the final book in Courtney Allison Moulton's paranormal young adult trilogy, Shadows in the Silence. As a special treat, I have a short and super sexy teaser to share with you all, and I'd just like to thank Courtney for writing a character as delicious as Will. When you're done drooling (it's possible I've read this teaser an embarrassing number of times), be sure and check out the bottom of the post for all the tour and giveaway details!

He was so close now that I could taste his breath and when he kissed me, it sent a rush of electricity to my toes. It only took seconds for the heat between us to set ablaze, his body scorching against mine, pushing me into the bed. I wiggled toward the pillows and away from the edge of the mattress, and he followed me, molding his body to my shape. Kissing him now, feeling his lips against mine and his tongue against mine, reminded me of how long it had been since we were alone together and truly happy. The kisses we’d shared in his dreams felt tangible at the time, but now I knew that nothing could substitute the feel of Will’s body in the real world. I’d missed him so much, missed the smell of his skin and the warmth and roughness of it brushing my own. I wondered what he felt when he kissed me back, if there was anything better than this to him.

Um. Who else is running to the bookstore immediately to buy this? *raises hand* More information on Courtney and the Angelfire trilogy can be found here:

Website
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Amazon Buy Link
Barnes and Noble Buy Link
IndieBound Buy Link

SHADOWS IN THE SILENCE

Your strength in heart and hand will fall. . . .
 
Ellie knows that the darkest moments are still to come, and she has everything to fight for:

She must fight for Will.
 
The demonic have resorted to their cruelest weapons to put Will in mortal danger, and Ellie makes an unlikely alliance to save him and to stop Lilith and Sammael, who seek to drown the world in blood and tear a hole into Heaven.

She must fight for humanity.
 
As the armies of Hell rise and gather for the looming End of Days, Ellie and her band of allies travel to the world’s darkest and most ancient regions in her quest to come into her full glory as the archangel Gabriel.

And Ellie must save herself.
 
Her humanity withers beneath the weight of her cold archangel power, but Ellie must hold tight to who she is and who she loves as she prepares for the ultimate battle for Heaven and Earth.

In this final installment in the Angelfire trilogy, Courtney Allison Moulton brings her dark world of epic battles and blistering romance to a blazing bright conclusion.

A DANCE WITH DARKNESS (An Angelfire Novella)

There were shadows in this alley that no light touched, and where there was no light, anything could hide.

At the end of the fourteenth century, angelic reapers struggle to defend London against a legion of the demonic who have their sights set on claiming human souls and ancient relics for a dark purpose. Madeleine, a young but powerful warrior, is duty-bound to fight the demonic, and she lives for this pursuit above all else. Then, on a routine night of tracking, she is ambushed by a cadre of reapers and, though she defeats them all, she is left wounded and at the mercy of their lord, the notorious Bastian.

Madeleine is astonished when Bastian lets her live. She goes deeper into the world of the demonic and is shocked to meet him again-this powerful reaper whose touch makes her restless and gives her a thrill unlike anything else. When they fall into a dangerous clandestine affair, her head and her heart must wage their war: can their love overcome his demonic nature? Will her dance with darkness burn her or bring Bastian into the light?

With scorching romance and fantastic action, this original novella is a prequel to Courtney Allison Moulton's gripping and epic Angelfire series. 

This Angelfire novella has recently released from HarperTeen's new Impulse line, you can buy it here:

Amazon Buy Link
Barnes and Noble Buy Link

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Courtney, there are 3 sets of the Angelfire series up for grabs as part of this tour. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below and click on Terms and Conditions for all the giveaway rules. Don't forget to check out the previous and remaining stops on this tour for more teasers, behind the scenes tidbits and cover shoot pictures!

1/30 - Once Upon a Twilight
2/1 - thebookcellarx

2/4 - supernaturalsnark
2/6 - MundieMoms
2/8 - Fiktshun

2/12 - PageTurnersBlog
2/13 - Once Upon A Twilight
2/15 - thebookcellarx

2/18 - supernaturalsnark
2/20 - Fiktshun
2/22 - MundieMom

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mini Reviews: HarperTeen Impulse Titles

BREATHLESS
Firelight #3.5
Sophie Jordan
Paranormal Young Adult
Novella (ebook only)
HarperTeen Impulse
Available now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
For Az, it's supposed to be a fun summer vacation with her family. Nothing complicated. Just a quick trip to test the waters as she prepares for a year on her own. That all changes when she rescues a drowning girl and meets Tate—the most gorgeous human boy she's ever seen. Tate throws her heart, her plans, and her life into upheaval, but the closer she gets to him, the harder it is to hide the secret of what she is. With no hope for a future together, the last thing that can ever happen . . . is love.

MY THOUGHTS
Breathless is a quick jaunt into the Firelight world, Jacinda’s friend Az taking center stage as Ms. Jordan delights with a sweet and sexy forbidden romance. Though the setup–a female draki and a human boy–is essentially the same as what we're given in Firelight, Ms. Jordan does a really nice job of creating a distinctly different feel to Az’s story in just a hundred short pages. The same threat of discovery is present, but Az is far more skittish and fearful than Jacinda ever was, the recklessness replaced with an understandable caution that’s suddenly called into question as she develops feelings for Tate.

The romance of course moves forward quickly given the shorter page length, however the relationship still has a nice complexity, and there’s a palpable tension between Az and Tate thanks to the heavy weight of the secrets that lie between them. Breathless concludes perfectly, things left neither up in the air nor wrapped up neatly as we’re left looking forward to a future bright with possibility.

Rating: 4/5

CRUISIN'
Sarah Mlynowski
Paranormal Young Adult
Short Story (ebook only)
HarperTeen Impulse
Available now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Kristin is ready to take the next step. . . . The only problem is she hasn't found the right guy to take it with her. That's why she agreed to go on the ominously named Cruise to Nowhere with her best friend, Liz. There are plenty of cute guys on the ship to choose from if only Kristin can work up the nerve—and stop worrying about the reports in the tabloids that passengers on cruises have been mysteriously disappearing and that someone suspects it has to do with . . . vampires.

MY THOUGHTS
Cruisin’ is a fun little short story by Ms. Mylanowski that delivers a touch of unpredictability we can’t help but appreciate. Kristin’s search for the perfect guy to assist her in putting her first time behind her in spectacularly anonymous fashion is superficially entertaining (if a touch irritating at times given her and best friend Liz’s utter fixation on the task at hand), but the final few pages bring a huge smile to our faces and force us to look back through the story with very different eyes than the ones with which we started.

Rating: 3.5/5
 

STUPID PERFECT WORLD
Scott Westerfeld
Young Adult
Novella (ebook only)
HarperTeen Impulse
Available now
Received from publisher for review 

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
In this future-set novella by bestselling author Scott Westerfeld, Kieran Black lives in a "perfect" world. Disease and starvation have been eradicated, sleep is unnecessary, and it takes no time at all to go from the Bahamas to the moon. But now Kieran has to take Scarcity, a class about how people lived in the bad old days. And as if sitting through an hour of Scarcity every day wasn't depressing enough, it's final projects time. Each student must choose some form of ancient hardship to experience for two whole weeks. Kieran chooses having to sleep eight hours a night, which doesn't seem too annoying.

Maria Borsotti has never thought much of Kieran, but she decides to take pity on him and help him out with his project. Soon, Kieran is sleeping and having vivid dreams, while Maria, whose Scarcity project is to give up all teenage hormone regulation, is experiencing emotions she never knew she had. As their assignments draw them closer together, they begin to wonder if the olden days weren't so bad. Maybe something has been missing from their perfect lives after all?

MY THOUGHTS
Stupid Perfect World gives us an intriguing look at a far-distant future, one where the world is not torn apart or ravaged with humanity on the brink of extinction, but rather one where life is thriving thanks to numerous genetic and technological advancements. In one particular high school class all the advancements are rendered useless however, and students must experience what life was like in the world we know today, complete with illnesses, hormones, and an inability to teleport anywhere we need to go. We can't help but laugh as the students bemoan the class as a whole, our smile growing larger as we follow two students in particular, Maria and Kieran, as they experience hormones (Maria) and sleep (Kieran) for the very first time. Stupid Perfect World is an extraordinarily cute and quick read with the barest touch of romance that leaves a pleasant flush on our skin by the time we reach the final page.

Rating: 4/5
 

RADIANT
Unearthly #2.5
Cynthia Hand
Paranormal Young Adult
Novella (ebook only)
HarperTeen Impulse
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn't ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .

For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met a mysterious guy in Italy two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about. 

MY THOUGHTS
Radiant is a spectacular teaser for Boundless, reminding us of a few key events from Hallowed as we catch up with Clara and Angela in Rome, while at the same time filling in a few of the blanks in Angela's history that have lingered as Clara's many and varied problems have taken precedence in the series. We get the perfect quick glimpse at Angela both through first person narration and through Clara's eyes as the point of view alternates between them, privy to intimate heartbreak as Angela relives a painful episode from her past as well as a prominent sense of foreboding thanks to our time with Clara, the two combining to have our hearts pounding with anticipation for whatever is in store for our two soon-to-be college freshman.

The story ends with a final parting line that defines the word foreshadowing, leaving us jittery with nerves and breathless with want to know what exactly Clara means with her concluding words, and we stare longingly at our calendars upon finishing, willing the countdown to Boundless to pass just a little bit faster.

Rating: 4.5/5  

Things of Awesome: December Edition

Hey everyone!

I've done a couple posts here and there pulling together the few bits of bookish news that have either been sent to me or that I've stumbled upon, and I've decided I'm going to try and turn it into a mini-feature here on the blog. I'm going to attempt to do a post the first Sunday of each month, but sometimes I make plans like this and then manage to catch a rather brutal strain of laziness, something that results in the death of any sort of follow through. I love me. You'll know this has happened if you see this feature once more in January and then never again ;-) For now though, I've got some fun things to share with you, some of which you may already be aware because I'm often late to the party, but some you may not so I'm going to post all I know anyway!

1. HARPERTEEN IMPULSE

From their press release:

HarperCollins Publishers announced today (November 26th) the launch of HarperTeen Impulse, a digital imprint focusing on Young Adult short stories and novellas. The new imprint will publish short-form works from new and established authors, providing original and exciting new teen ebooks across a wide variety of genres.

HarperTeen Impulse will publish between one and four titles a month, all of which will go on sale the first Tuesday of that month, branded “Impulse Tuesday.” Impulse titles will benefit from dedicated program marketing, including extensive social media outreach, monthly newsletters, cross-promotion in HarperTeen print books, and strategic sales promotions.

Who else is excited about this? HarperTeen never fails to have an absolutely amazing lineup of books throughout the year, and the fact that we're going to be getting even more from them each month with this new imprint is enough to have me embarrassing myself by doing a happy dance in my living room despite the threat of neighbors seeing me through our curtain-less windows. I don't even care if they do though because I'm going to get to read books like the below starting this Tuesday, December 4th:

BREATHLESS by Sophie Jordan

Sophie Jordan's breathtaking digital original novella set in the world of Firelight.

For Az, it's supposed to be a fun summer vacation with her family. Nothing complicated. Just a quick trip to test the waters as she prepares for a year on her own. That all changes when she rescues a drowning girl and meets Tate—the most gorgeous human boy she's ever seen. Tate throws her heart, her plans, and her life into upheaval, but the closer she gets to him, the harder it is to hide the secret of what she is. With no hope for a future together, the last thing that can ever happen . . . is love.

This stand-alone digital original is perfect for those new to the Firelight series as well as veteran fans.

RADIANT by Cynthia Hand

From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand comes a riveting original novella (available only as an ebook) set in the world of the Unearthly series.

Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn't ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .

For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met a mysterious guy in Italy two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about.

Alternating between Angela and Clara's perspectives, Radiant chronicles the unforgettable summer that will test the bounds of their friendship and change their lives forever.

Also releasing December 4th:
STUPID PERFECT WORLD by Scott Westerfeld
CRUISIN' by Sarah Mlynowski

Upcoming Impulse titles include:
THE PRINCE by Kiera Cass
TAGS by Walter Dean Myers
ONE DAY MORE by Aprilynne Pike.

More information on what you can expect from HarperTeen's new imprint can be found here.

2. SIMON TEEN'S 31 DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS

Thank you SimonTEEN! *commences finger crossing for every day of December*

3.  READ EVERY DAY

The awesome people over at Scholastic have launched a holiday campaign called Read Every Day. For every Storia ebook purchased, Scholastic will donate a book to a child in need, with special attention paid to those kids who lost their home libraries in Hurricane Sandy. You can find all the details HERE.

4. SOURCEBOOKS 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

From Sourcebooks:

Get daily eBook deals delivered straight to your inbox and be entered for a chance to win eBooks, candy, print books, and an eReader for you—and one for a friend or family member!

Sourcebooks is feeling the spirit of the holiday season and we want to share it with you! We’re running our biggest promotion yet—daily discounts on our most popular eBooks—throughout the month of December. If you sign up to receive our daily email notifications, you’ll automatically be entered to win two eReaders: one for you, and one for a friend or family member. In addition, we’ll also be giving away more fun prizes every single week, from candy to gift baskets to books. Sign up today!

5. SCARLET TRILOGY

One of my favorite reads this year was SCARLET by A.C. Gaughen (if you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend picking it up). It was another one of those unexpectedly amazing stories where I immediately fell in love with the characters upon meeting them. As per usual, when I finished I ran to the internet to find any information I could with regards to a sequel given events were left fairly open-ended, though not frustratingly so. Imagine my anxiety when I discovered there was no information to be had. No mention of a sequel anywhere. *sobs in remembrance*

Well, friends, Friday was my lucky day. On Friday, A.C. announced on her blog some very, very exciting news. As you may have guessed from the above #5 title, SCARLET is not simply going to have one sequel, but two. YES! You can read all the details on A.C.'s blog here, and she is running a couple of giveaways to celebrate as well, so be sure and check them out.