- dance naked under the full moon
              – swim in a coral reef
                                                                      – breathe in the air of a rain forest
                      – meander along the streets of Paris
                                          – drive through a redwood tree
                                                                                                                – ROADTRIP! from Portland, OR to Portland, ME
              – camp in Vancouver, Canada
                        – wear a designer gown
                                                        – stay in Venice during Carnevale di Venezia
- “earn” Mardi Gras beads
                                                                                                                              – fall in love with The Mister every day of forever
- sleep under a meteor shower
                                                                      – stay happy.
              – see one of the world’s Seven Wonders
- stand in the middle of Stonehenge
                                                                      – get real fish & chips in London
                                                    – oh! eat our way through Italy
                                                                                                                – get lost at the Louvre
                            – be dwarfed by the Great Pyramids of Giza
                                                        – write a book
- stay in a Vegas suite
                                          – learn to belly dance. and surf. and hula.
                                                                      – find a career centered around books
                                                                                                                                            – be amazed and inspired

i hear the swish of the blankets, the sheets rubbing against each other.

i feel the shift in the mattress, the bed now half empty.

open a drawer. rummage quietly. close it gently.

there’s the flick of a switch, then the sound of running water, and curtains being drawn.

hot. steamy. wake up.

i can smell you before i feel you; the scent of home, of all my safe places, filling my senses.

i turn over, “is it time to go?” almost, you whisper.

your moves are relaxed, methodical, as you pack. my nerves are frantic, flayed, as i worry over your travels.

i hate this. this being apart. whether it is a few days or a few months, i have never gotten used to you being away.

i turn off all the lights, “ready when you are.” okay. i’ve got everything.

i wish that everything included us, too.

The chicklette is still up, two hours past bedtime.

Reading.

A part of me says I should reprimand her and send her to bed, but the part of me that knows how it is to be held captive by a story has decided she can stay up since it’s a Friday anyway.

I mean, at least she didn’t bother to pretend she was sleeping when she was really reading.

Not that, you know, I ever did that at her age.

Linger, a YA novel by Maggie Stiefvater.

The Goodreads synopsis:

In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love — the light and the dark, the warm and the cold — in a way you will never forget.

I have been waiting months, months I tell you!, for this novel’s release date. Shiver is by far one of my all-time favorite books ever, and Sam totally eclipses (get it? hehe) Edward in so many ways. If you want to read my Shiver review, go here.

Ms. Barnes, Raised by Wolves was, in two words, utterly engaging.

I felt angry and scared along with Ali, and betrayed and alone along with Bryn. I felt connected to Chase (and Lake and Devon), and outraged and hurt by Callum. Any book that can make me experience the whole gamut of emotions is not only one worth reading, but one worth reading over and over again while telling others they must read it, too. Also? Ali made me cry several times. Her character is one of my favorites, so I hope we see her again in the series as more than just a visiting character.

Ms. Barnes, I picked up your book with high expectations due to Melissa Marr’s blurb, and recommendation of the book on her blog, and I must tell you that every expectation was met and exceeded. The action was intense, the love stories were allowed to develop realistically (Marks and all), and every single scene felt real.

Raised by Wolves is definitely one of my favorite novels that is YA and features werewolves, and I am eager to get my hands on a copy of Trial By Fire. Thank you, Ms. Barnes, for writing such a wonderful story.

5/5 stars

Raised by Wolves, a YA novel by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

The Goodreads synopsis:

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn’t mean that she’s averse to breaking a rule or two.

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian’s basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents’ murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she’s shaped?