Waiting on Wendsday

Hiya everyone!
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and successfully channeled their inner 5-year-old for maximum enjoyment of gift-giving and family time.  I certainly did.  Hope to do so again when my cousins make an appearance and my BFF has made it through her holiday plans.
Still working on Beautiful Creatures and a bit bummed that A) Amazon is out of the hardcover collection & B) that I couldn't afford the collection even IF it was still in stock.  Sad face.  Oh well, I'll probably look into buying them individually here & there, like every series I'm working on filling in.  So, instead of a ton of new releases, I'm waiting on some books I just haven't been able to get my hands on yet:

Only Unravel Me isn't out yet, but that's one of the sequels I'm most eager to get ahold of.  Tahreh Mafi, Ally Condie, and Veronice Roth are some Dystopian authors I've been looking into since I first read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  L.J. Smith is an author I've been following since I first picked up The Vampire Diaries vol 1, and I'm quite excited to see what else is going to happen in The Divide.  City of Lost Souls and Clockwork Prince are the last of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices that I don't have copies of, that I can't track down at my local library.  Jennifer Armentrout is one of my new favorite authors, and I adore Alex, Aidan, Daemon and Katy.  Kristin Cashore and Rachel Vincent are two more, with the Graceling and Soul Screamers worlds.  Tamora Pierce is a longtime favorite, but especially the Beka Cooper trilogy.  Beautiful Creatures is excellent, and I can't wait to get ahold of Beautiful Darkness and check out the movie.
Happy Reading!
Kate

Christmas & Teasers

Merry Christmas, people everywhere!
I know, I know, I'm early.  But tomorrow I fully intend to be channeling my inner 5-year-old and playing with my presents, like anyone in touch with their inner 5-year-old should.  So, I'm doing Teaser Tuesday tonight.  I'm working on Beautiful Creatures today, because I've been putting it off and the movie hype has got me worked up about it...well, that and my cousin Drew, who's way into the series.  I plan to re-read Obsidian next, and then check out Fated, and then I'll have Christmas books to check out.

So, teasers.
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl:
"Can you come up with a better name?"
"There's not one word that describes all the people in my family.  Is there one word that describes everyone in yours?"
I wanted to break the tension, to pretend she was just like any other girl.  To convince myself that this could be okay.
"Yeah.  Lunatics."
"We're Casters.  That's the broadest definition.  We all have powers.  We're gifted, just like some families are smart, and others are rich, or beautiful, or athletic."
I knew what the next question was, but I didn't want to ask it.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout:
His eyes widened suddenly.  "Kitten?"
"Would you stop calling me--?"
"Be quiet," he hissed, gaze fixed over my shoulder.  He placed his hand on my arm.  "Promise me you won't freak out."
"Why would I freak out?" I whispered.
Tugging me toward him, he caught me off guard.  I placed my hands on his chest to stop from tumbling over.  His chest seemed to...hum under my hands.  "Have you ever see a bear?"
Dread pushed through my calm and blossomed.  "What?  There's a bear--?" I pulled out of his grasp and spun around.
Oh, yeah, there was a bear.

Fated by Alyson Noel
"I won't pretend to imagine how you feel right now.  Only you know that.  And whatever feelings you're experiencing, whatever thoughts you may have, I have no doubt they're justified.  What I can say is that the drive to Albuquerque runs around seven  hours.  And then it's another three from there to Enchantment where your grandmother lives.  You and I have a long trip ahead, but we can spend it however you choose.  We can talk if you want, and if you don't, that's fine too.  If you get hungry, we'll stop.  If you need to get out and stretch your legs for a bit, we'll stop for that too.  If you just want to speed on through, aside from filling up on gas when we need it, we can manage that as well.  I have no expectations.  I ask nothing from you.  Whatever it takes to make your trip comfortable, you tell me, and I'll do my best to see that it's done.  Any questions?  Anything you'd like me to know about you?"
I pause, unsure how to respond.  The speech I'd prepared--the one where I make clear that I'm not one to be messed with--is no longer appropriate.

So, there's that.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Reading!
Kate