Hooked On YA Books

Blog Tour: Siren by Tricia Rayburn

2010-08-02T12:16:00.001-04:00

I'm happy to be a part of the Siren Blog Tour and I was given the chance to get Tricia to answer a few of my questions about herself and her new novel Siren. Here's what it's about.....

Seventeen-year-old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything--the dark, heights, the ocean--but her fearless older sister, Justine, has always been there to coach her through every challenge. That is until Justine goes cliff diving one night near the family's vacation house in Winter Harbor, Maine, and her lifeless body washes up on shore the next day.
Vanessa's parents want to work through the tragedy by returning to their everyday lives back in Boston, but Vanessa can't help feeling that her sister's death was more than an accident. After discovering that Justine never applied to colleges, and that she was secretly in a relationship with longtime family friend Caleb Carmichael, Vanessa returns to Winter Harbor to seek some answers.
But when Vanessa learns that Caleb has been missing since Justine's death, she and Caleb's older brother, Simon, join forces to try to find him, and in the process, their childhood friendship blossoms into something more.
Soon it's not just Vanessa who is afraid. All of Winter Harbor is abuzz with anxiety when another body washes ashore, and panic sets in when the small town becomes home to a string of fatal, water-related accidents . . . in which all the victims are found grinning from ear to ear.
As Vanessa and Simon probe further into the connections between Justine's death and the sudden rash of creepy drownings, Vanessa uncovers a secret that threatens her new romance, and that will change her life forever.

1. Do you have a favorite character in Siren?
Besides Vanessa, the main character, I really enjoyed writing Zara. She needed to be cold, mysterious, and likable at the same time, which was a fun challenge.

2. Since I haven't had to the opportunity to personally read Siren yet (though I hope to get my hands on a copy soon), I'm guessing-based on the title-the book involves Sirens. Did you have to do a lot of research about these creatures or did you make it up along the way?
I read up on the mythological sirens that lured sailors in from the sea, but everything else came about along the way. Because I wanted my sirens to be contemporary and their world completely unique, I didn’t rely too heavily on other sources.

3. In Siren, Vanessa has a fear of practically everything, do you share any of the same fears?
Vanessa and I do share some of the same fears. Neither of us is a fan of the dark, heights, or flying!

4. If you weren't a writer, what other job would you want to have?
It’s really hard to imagine being anything else, but believe it or not, back in the day I wanted to be a marine biologist. I’m still as fascinated by creatures of the deep as I am afraid of them, so I might give that a go!

Thank you Tricia for taking the time to answer my questions and I can't wait to read Siren!

Contests end tonight!

2010-07-17T01:48:00.002-04:00

As the tittle explains, my super huge mega crazy birthday bash contest ends tonight at 11:59 PM EST and the june comment contest, where you can win a $5 Amazon gift card ends at the same time, so if you haven't entered yet and you still want to, make sure you get your entry in today!

*commenting on a post will get you +5 for the super huge contest and at least 1 entry into the comment contest (refer to post for rules)

Cover Compare Friday (14)

2010-07-16T12:59:00.000-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

Braced to Bite by Serena Robar

vs.

Fangs for Freaks

vs.

Dating for Demons

vs.

The old cover for Braced2Bite is cute, but i think the new cover appeals to me more. The old cover for Fangs4Freaks doesn't do anything for me, but I think the new one looks really cool. I don't really like either cover for Dating for Demons. The old one has a stake through her bellybutton which kinda gives me the chills and I don't really have an opinion for the new one, it's just .....

So which ones do you like the best?

Review: Audrey, Wait!

2010-07-14T16:27:00.004-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

Author: Robin Benway

Title: Audrey, Wait!

Pages :320

Original Release Date: April 10, 2008

Synopsis:

Audrey Cuttler's life hasn't been the same since that song, "Audrey, Wait!" hit the air waves. All she wants to do is go to concerts, hang out with her friends, and maybe score a date with the cute boy who works with her at the Scooper Dooper.

But now, her ex-boyfriend's song about their breakup is at the top of the charts and she's suddenly famous! The paparazzi won't leave her alone, the tabloids are trying to make her into some kind of rock goddess, and the internet is documenting her every move!

Will Audrey ever be able to have a normal life again? Get ready to find out, because it's time for Audrey to tell her side of the story.

First Sentence:

"The Day I broke up with my boyfriend Evan was the day he wrote the song."

Review:

First of all, thank you guys for suggesting this book because it was exactly what I wanted! I laughed so many times that my mom kept giving me weird looks.

The Plot:

Audrey, Wait! is a book about a normal 16 year old girl who breaks up with her boyfriend Evan and takes you on her journey to being famous because of the song her wrote about her.This book captures the teenage life perfectly and gave me a good impression of what it's like to be famous. I remember when I was little and I wanted to be a famous singer, now I realize that it's sooooo overrated. I don't think I could ever handle all the constant attention plus I wouldn't want to deal with all of the ~~stalkers~~ crazed fans. This book is the perfect read if you're looking for something to grab your attention from the first sentence and make you crack up. Seriously, this book is pure gold, a complete masterpiece. I loved every single thing and I couldn't help but fall for all the characters. A nice and cool touch was who the author incorporated songs (in the titles of the chapters and in general) into the book. I even knew some of them and one of my favorite songs was in it. It was so funny and realistic and I'm dying to get my hands on her next book. I know the plot is a tiny bit far-fetched, but I loved the unique story line, the witty conversations, and the glimpse into the life of a normal music-loving, fat-cat-having girl turned famous by a break-up song. Audrey, Wait! was hilarious and if you haven't read it already, what the hell are you waiting for?! go, now, read. thank me later!

Character:

It's safe to say that Audrey is probably one of my favorite characters ever. She was relatable (minus the fame part) and I could easily feel sorry for her about all of the problems she had to deal with. She handled her situation well and I grew to love her attitude. Audrey came off as being a cool normal girl and almost too realisitc. I wish she was real cause I'd love to be her friend. She stayed to true to herself throughout the book and I loved the scene at the end (trust me when you read it, if you haven't already, you'll know what I mean) and she was just so easy to connect to.

Victoria was laugh-out-loud hilarious. Her amusing comments, pit bull attitude and sick pink Mohawk thing made me crack up so hard, if i had been drinking milk, it would have come out my nose (just wondering, does that actually happen?). She was tough and an awesome friend who didn't let anyone walk all over Audrey. She was a fun-loving awesome character who added the necessary spark to make this book so freakin good!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Rating:

Cover:

Vacation

2010-07-11T08:08:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you know I'm going on vacation today and coming back on the 21st. I'm pretty sure there's internet in the house I'm staying at, but if not, I already have a few post pre-set the post.

EDIT: I do have internet =D!

Interview with ReaganStar

2010-07-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

ReaganStar of Star Shadow was kind enough to donate an ARC of Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett, so to show my appreciation, I offered to interview her:

1. Can you tell us something about you and your blog?
My Blog is run by myself and my wonderful other half Matt, as well as occasional reviews from our lil monster Kaden. Hes 4 so I just put his opinion in review form, and Mekaya (6) :-) We are beyond book lovers, as our home is filled with tons and tons of books.. we have a huge love for them as well as the kiddos. We have a wide array of favorites ranging from YA and Chick lit, to Science Fiction to Post Apocolyptic and even cook books LOL. Yes like I Said... huge variety.

2. Why did you start blogging?
I actually started blogging back in October or 2009 as I had a back surgery that was going to have me bed ridden for quite a nice recovery period. I am still recovering actually... It started as a creative blog.. doing my work with PSP and Gimp... then turned into a book blog, I never imagined it to turn into what it is now, and I am so thankful for so many of the amazing Book bloggers out there for there support and inspiration.

3. What's your favorite part of the blogging experience?
It would have to be the opportunity to talk and see other book bloggers sharing a wonderful passion for books as well as meeting some amazing Authors... such as Jennifer Murgia, and Jennifer Laurens... HAHAH I think I have a favorite for Jennifers LOL

4. Tell us one really random/strange fact about you.
I am not a huge chocolate fan... I prefer the fruity types of candies and flavors.

5. Name your top 5 favorite books.
Ok this is so not fair as there are so many fabulous books out there.. but Here they are in no particular order
       1. Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia
       2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
       3. Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens (penitence as well Im sure its my next read)
       4. Meg Cabots' Heather Wells Series Size 12 Is not fat, size 14 is not fat either and big boned and her runaway series... well everything she writes lol
       5.The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

6. Do you have a favorite author?
Again another hard choice... I cant choose just one.. I love Jennifer Murgia, I love Jennifer Laurens, I love Meg Cabot, I love Chloe Neill and I love Melissa Walker.. plus so so many more amazing writers out there.

7. What's one (or more) book that you can't wait to read?
HAHHA good thing you said or more..
Insatiable by Meg Cabot
The Next in Jennifer Murgia's series
Penitence and Absolution in Jennifer Laurens Series
Hex Hall and Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill
Lost Saint? I believe thats the name sorry if I am wrong... next in Bree Despains series
ohhh and so many more lol

8. Do you have any advice for new bloggers?
The best thing I can say is play around with your blog.. till you find YOUR style, don't work of others as each person is different if you find it comfortable then keep doing it.. If you get great response.. then keep doing it... Accept other bloggers assistance they have great advice and are so much nicer than you expect them to be I am sure.. Feel free to message some of your favorite bloggers, as them questions or check out the FAQ pages they have. Last but certainly not least have fun... read, chat, enjoy thats what this is all about.

Thank you ReaganStar for doing this interview and for your kind donation.

Make sure to visit her blog because it's one I really enjoy

Books on the beach

2010-07-03T13:12:00.000-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

A week from today I'm leaving to go on vacation! I'm really excited, but I need your help finding books to read. I want something like a cute light hearted romance book (like Drive Me Crazy by Erin Downing) or a funny one that would make me randomly burst out laughing causing everyone in the room to give we weird looks (like Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot). If you have any suggestions, let me know or if you have a book that you absolutely love that doesn't fall under those categories, let me know because there's still the rest of the summer!

Remodeling

2010-07-01T19:44:00.000-04:00

I just read through some of the responses to my survey on how to make my blog better and majority would like to see a new design for this blog, so I'm going to start playing around it and changing some things over the next few days. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up so don't worry if it looks all messed up and weird.

Eclipse premiere!

2010-06-30T20:34:00.000-04:00

I was going to go see eclipse today, but it was sold out, though there is a later showing, but I probably will wait until tomorrow. So, did anyone go to the midnight premiere of eclipse last night? Did anyone see it today? How was it? Should I just drop everything and run to the nearest movie theater? I'm dying to see it since it looks AMAZING, but I need the opinion of someone who has read the book to actually know if it was good or not. Oh, and most importantly, did Taylor Lautner take off his shirt???

Cover Guess Contest

2010-06-29T21:00:00.002-04:00

This is the last contest of my big birthday bash celebration! I was going to do something else, but I looked back to see what you wanted and majority said a cover guess contest so........

Rules:

~ Email me[violeteyes8(at)gmail(dot)com] the title of the book you think each part comes from- you don't have to include the author

~Ends on July 21st

~There will be one winner (this might change)-who ever gets the most right will win
~ Winner gets any book from the Book Depository under $15 (make sure they ship to you, if not-tell me in the email)
~Please don't publicly ask others for answers

you can click on the picture to make it bigger

here's a hint to help you out: I've mentioned all of these book and shown a cover of almost all of them anytime from my first post to the previous one

GOOD LUCK!

Voting: Round 3

2010-06-29T18:00:00.000-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

There were a lot of amazing covers entered into this contest, but these are the two that had the most votes:

1. 2.

This is the last round of voting, so who ever has the most votes will win, so make sure you vote for the cover that you think deserves to win!

~voting will end on next Tuesday, July 6th

Some important updates

2010-06-29T16:37:00.001-04:00

I'm back! This past week was crazy. My mom banned me from computer use until finals were over and then my friend took me down to her beach house for a long weekend so I couldn't blog-sorry! Anyways, concerning my contests and stuff.......
1. I'm extending all of my contests (the huge main one and the comment one) for two weeks since I haven't been around to make any posts so you could get more entries
2. I'll announce the winner of the May comment contest sometime this week
3. the last round of voting will be up sometime today
4. my other contest will be up also later today
5.since i now have 550 followers, there are going to be 10 WINNERS
6. i think that's it, but if i forgot anything, let me know!

again sorry for lathe lack of blogging!

Cover Remake Voting: Round 2

2010-06-13T12:32:00.001-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

Everyone of the covers in this contest are amazing, but these are the 5 that got the most votes and are heading to round 2:

~Top 2 will go on to the next round

~ type the number of the one you like the best
~ You CAN vote for your own cover
~ Voting will end on Sunday, June 20th

* I was going to post another contest today, but I'm changing it a little so it will be up tomorrow*

School and blogging are not friend

2010-06-12T21:00:00.002-04:00

Hey guys, I know I've been MIA lately, but I haven't had the time to blog with school ending in less than two weeks (yes!) since my teachers are piling on the work. I'll be back as soon as I can and I'll be posting another contest and the 2nd round of the cover remake contest tomorrow (promise). I also just wanted to mention that I hit the 500 follower mark, so THANK YOU everyone for following this blog and I never imagined it to EVER have this many followers.

p.s. If you didn't notice, there are now 9 winners in my huge contest.
p.s.s. now I'm using my brother's laptop for blogging stuff (blogger doesn't work on my computer for some reason) and I realized how weird it looks--there isn't a background for the sidebars and the header isn't centered (does it look like this to you?) --so I'm going to be changing the layout a little soon.

Interview: Ellen Hopkins

2010-06-12T20:04:00.002-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

Why she is one of my favorite authors: I don't think I can begin to describe how much Ellen Hopkins inspired and affected me. Her writing always reduces me to tears and leaves me enlightened and changed. I love how she dares to write about serious topics (drug abuse, suicide, teen prostitution) and doesn't sugar-coat any of it. Ellen Hopkins is a truly extraordinary writer and I can't get enough of her books.

1. Describe yourself in 10 words of less

Multifaceted, accomplished, socially and environmentally conscious, adventurous, subtly funny woman.

2. Did you always want to be a writer?

It was always in the back of my mind, yes. And even when I wasn't writing for money, I was writing. Always.

3. Tell us one random/strange fact about you.

I have had a couple of out-of-body experiences. Not drug induced, either!

4. If you were stuck on an island and you could only have one book, what would it be?

A journal.

5. Do you have any plans for future novels?

Of course. I have several sizzling on a back burner in my brain. And ideas come to me all the time, from many different places. But I am only comfortable writing one book at a time.

6. Since Crank is based on your daughter's experience, was it very emotional for you to write it?

CRANK actually pretty much poured out on the page. Everything was still very fresh and the writing was a catharsis. The sequel, GLASS, was much more difficult, as it deals with the deeper stages of her addiction, and our lives at that time were permeated by pain.

7. You have a very unique (and brilliant) style of writing. How come you decided to write your novels in verse?

Liking the "brilliant" here. :-) I started CRANK in prose, but the voice was wrong. Too angry. Mine, not Kristina's. Put the book away and happened to hear Sonya Sones (who also writes in verse) speak at a conference. I've been growing my poetry for a number of years, so it struck me that verse could tell the story better. It did, and I discovered a talent for storytelling through narrative verse. The unusual formatting is something I developed to make my verse novels stand out from the rest.

8. I read a review on Amazon about one of your books: "I stopped reading it for personal reasons. Plus I am very uncomfortable with the subject." As an author who writes about serious issues, how do you feel when people can't read of finish your books because of the subject matter?

You notice the reasons here are personal, so the book hit a nerve. The same book will offer comfort to someone who might have experienced whatever it is that person couldn't yet read about. My guess is the damage to that person was fresh. No book is for everyone. But I don't shy away from tough subject matter because people who have experienced things like abuse or molestation or addiction need to know they're not alone. That there is a way out. I don't sugarcoat because honesty is key to understanding these issues and developing empathy for those whose lives they touch. For every person who can't finish one of my books, there are thousands who need them.

Thank you Ellen for taking the time to answer my questions!

Don't forget to enter my contest to win a copy of Crank and other great books

Cover Remake Voting

2010-06-01T19:09:00.000-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

Below are the AMAZING covers that people remade for the Cover Remake Contest. Please help me determine a winner by choosing the one that you like the most.

Rules:

~There will be three rounds

Round 1: Top 5 with the most votes will advance to nest round
Round 2: Top 2 will advance to next round
Round 3: The cover with the most votes will win

~ ONLY type the number of the one you like the best (if you liked Torment the most, all you have to do is type 7)
~ You CAN vote for your own cover
~ Voting will end on Saturday, June 5th

10.

11.

June Comment Contest

2010-06-01T18:21:00.005-04:00

I decided to have another comment contest exactly like the one I just had for the month of May. Again, this is a win-win situation for you guys because I'm already giving you +5 extra entries into my Super Huge Mega Crazy Birthday Bash Contest for each comment, but now you will also get you an entry into this contest. The winner will again contest a $5 Amazon Gift Card.

Rules:

~ Open to everyone

~ There will be one winner

~ Only commenting on posts posted from June 1st - July 17th count for this contest

~ Commenting on the day a post was posted will get you +2 entries

~ Commenting anytime after the day it was posted will get you +1 entry

~ Either leave your email address on one of your comments (or here) or come back when I post the winners and email me

About: random non-book related things

2010-05-29T10:41:00.003-04:00

Every blogger has a life outside of blogging and books. Here are some random non-book related facts about me:

~ favorite color: blue
~ favorite food: definitely fries
~ favorite music: Alternative (Paramore <3)
~ I have an unhealthy obsession with Supernatural (aka greatest show ever invented)
~ Family Guy and That 70's Show make me laugh--even though I've seen every episode a least 5 times.
~ I'm a VERY messyperson
~ I have a pet turtle and 3 giant ~~whales~~ fish
~ I love soccer
~ If I don't become a writer, I want to be a psychologist
~ I spent majority of last summer watching every episode of Buffy
~ I love watching the sun set
~ I'm afraid of heights--I can't go near the railing in the mall when I'm on the second floor
~ I can't kill any living thing-not even spiders (I just get my dad to throw them out the window)
~ I love laughing so hard that I can't breathe
~ I'm a shy and sometimes awkward person

~ I'm a procrastinator(which is the reason why I end up not posting when I say I will)

And sorry for the delay, but voting for the cover remake contest will start Monday (May 31st)

Cover Compare Friday (13)

2010-05-28T20:03:00.000-04:00

Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart & Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

I love the cover of Bad Girls Don't die, it creepy and harmless looking at the same time.

Possessed by Kate Cann & Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

Based on a creep-factor, I like Possessed better, though Wish You Were Dead is freaky too.

I really like all the covers, but Bad Girls and Possessed win for me, what about you?

Review: Impulse

2010-05-25T19:11:00.002-04:00

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Title: Impulse

Pages : 688

Release Date: May 20th, 2008

Synopsis:

Three teens who have attempted suicide meet in a psychiatric hospital, battle their demons, and begin to heal.
The handsome son of wealthy parents, Connor has everything anyone could want—except his family’s love and affection. Jailed for years after killing his mother’s child-molesting boyfriend, Tony is confused about his sexuality. Manic-depressive Vanessa cuts herself. All three stories intertwine in a brutally honest story about pain and resilience.

First Sentence:

"Without warning

Sometimes
   you're traveling
   a highway, the only road
   you've ever known,
   and wham! A semi
   comes from nowhere
   and rolls right over you."

Review:

This was one of the first books that I read when I first started my reading obsession. Even the second time around, Impulse still took my breath away.

The Plot:

I've become addicted to verse writing because of how blown away I always am of Ellen Hopkins and her books. Impulse is one of my favorites. The story is something of a mixture of beauty and devastation. Impulse takes place in Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital where three teens are staying, each with their own terrible problems. Impulse presents a stunning story of the lives of Vanessa, Conner, and Tony, who tried to commit suicide, and gives you a front row seat to their ups and downs, their mental breakdowns, and their finally coming to terms with their lives and futures. The weaving of the three teens is smooth and amazing. The plot flowed effortlessly and I kept wondering how Ellen Hopkins was able to create this heart squeezing novel. The end was perfect and really sunk the novel into my mind and heart--but it also made me drop the book and stare blankly at the wall because I was so shocked that about what happened.

Character:

Vanessa was a too real character who both broke my heart and healed it up again through the course of the book. Her issues that landed her in Aspen Springs would be enough to break me, but Vanessa found a way to stay strong and tried to take hold of her life again.
Tony was a golden character. I loved reading how he changed throughout the book. He had been through hell and back, but Tony had a true caring heart even though his whole childhood should have turned him into the opposite.
Connor........was a terrifying character because he was the one that I could relate to the most. I probably could even know a "Conner" in real life and to read about him tackling his struggles made me cry to no end.
I loved all the characters, even the minor ones, but I guess that's what's supposed to happen when you love a book!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Rating:

+
Cover:

About: favorite books and reading habits

2010-05-22T21:40:00.003-04:00

Favorite Books

I have so many favorite books, I don't think I could list them all. Here are the ones that I absolutely couldn't live without:

~ Perfect Chemistry

~ Tricks
~ Before I Fall
~ Among the Hidden
~ Thirteen Reasons Why
~ Uglies
~ Twilight (don't shoot me)
~ Vampire Academy
~ Blue is for Nightmares
~ Living Dead Girl
~ Night World
~ What Happened to Cass McBride
~ The Body of Christopher Creed
~ Shadowland (by Meg Cabot)
~ Leftovers

~The Hunger Games

My Weird Reading Habits

When I read a book, I can never sit still. Most of the time I get comfy on my bed and jump right into a book, then about 10 minutes later, I have to switch positions. Whether I'm completely in love with or bored with a book, I always end up moving a billion times.
Also, I can never read in complete silence. 9 out of 10 times I'll have the tv on while I read. I don't know why but if there's no sound, I can't concentrate.
hmmmm.....Oh, I always read the last sentence first. Don't ask me why or when I started doing this because I honestly didn't even know why, but I do.
If I'm reading a hardcover book, I always have to take the dust jacket off because I HATE bending or messing it up at all.
If I'm really addicted to a book, I won't put it down to sleep (or do homework) until I finish it. I stayed up until I think it was 5 am during the summer because I couldn't stop reading.
When I read, I never imagine the character's face. They're not headless bodies running around in my mind, just blurry faced because I can never create a detailed enough picture of them.(unless they're shown on the cover)

Do we have any favorites in common? If you want, tell me some of your weird reading habits so I feel less strange.

Next saturday I'll post some random non-book related stuff

The cover remake contest ends TONIGHT so if you can make a cover in the next few hours, DO IT. There are about 10 people entered so far, so your chances of winning are pretty good.

Also, now there are 8 WINNERS for my contest.

Contest extended

2010-05-18T22:21:00.001-04:00

Since only 5 people entered, I decided to extend my cover remake contest for another week, so now it ends on May 22nd! If you still want to enter, there's still time! Go here.

Interview: Laura Wiess

2010-05-16T20:08:00.003-04:00

Why she is one of my favorite authors: I have read all of Laura Wiess' books and each one was beautifully heartbreaking. Each of her characters were painfully real and the plots were perfectly paced. Her books are powerful and memorable and always exceed my expectations.

1. Describe yourself in 10 words or less.

Author, reader, feeder of strays. Love, laugh, learn.

2. Did you always want to be a writer?

Well, I was always an avid reader and wrote stories to amuse myself from about first grade on but until I was in my 20s it never occurred to me that perhaps I could learn to write well enough to actually be published. Then I got busy learning everything I could about writing fiction, and found I loved it even more, enough to keep writing and learning through plenty of rejections and, along the way, my first acceptances, too. The first time I had a short story accepted for publication -- and they paid me for it! -- was pure gold.

3. Tell us one random/strange fact about you.(Laura gave me three =D)

On two completely separate occasions, wild field mice have run up my arm and hidden in my hair. Bizarre. Happily, I'm not the panicky type so I just gently pulled them out again and let them go.

My old best friend and I once chased burglars down the street in the wee hours of the night. We were hollering and waving shish-ke-bob skewers, and I have no idea what we thought we were going to do with them once we caught them.

I kept all my old high school journals and so I have a list of every single guy I ever went out with. (With little asterisks next to the ones who dumped me.) It's a great memory-prompt.

4. If you were stuck on an island and you could only have one book, what would it be?

Oh, this is hard. I am horrible at picking just one of anything. (See question 3!) I can't do it. How about if I was on an island and could only have one segment of a library? Then I'd pick fiction. But I can't even narrow it down to a genre because I read all over the place. I do love Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, though. And that's a nonfiction book about writing. *sigh*

5. Do you have any plans for future novels?

Yes, right now I'm working on my next novel tentatively scheduled for release in June 2011, and mulling over ideas for the one after that. I'm also having a blast working on a romantic comedy, so we'll see.

6. Why did you choose to write about such serious topics in your books?

I never planned to, I just found myself getting passionate about teens caught in bad situations, either in spite of the adults in their lives, or because of them. For example Meredith, in Such a Pretty Girl, becomes the prey of an adult through no fault of her own, and the whole situation just infuriated me. How It Ends has several stories woven together, and one of them is about young girl who wakes up next to her deceased mother, and how that mind-blowing loss leaves her at the mercy of people who care a little, but no where near enough to do right by her.

7. Where did you get the idea for Leftovers?

I was thinking about the rash of school shootings and why it seemed to always be boys who did it, who hit critical mass and exploded, and then I started wondering what it would take to break girls instead, and how they would break when they did. Ardith and Blair showed up in my mind, both speaking, telling me their stories, and once again I got passionate about how no one seemed to listen to them or care about what they wanted, and so I just started writing.

8. Is there a character in any of your books that is most like you?

Hmm, I think there might be pieces of me in each of the characters, since they're all filtered through my mind and probably don't make it to the page untainted. Character trait-wise, I've been told I have sort of a pitbull-chomped-down-on-your-leg determination and nothing short of an act of God can make me let go of an idea if I don't want to, so maybe the characters who get knocked down and just get up again and again, and keep trying till they make it through, have something in common with me.

My mantra? Never say die. There's always a way. I just have to find it.

Thank you Laura for taking the time to answer my questions and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!(how cool is it that her birthday is one week after mine?!)
Make sure you enter my contest for a chance to win a copy of Leftovers

About

2010-05-15T17:17:00.001-04:00

I asked everyone a week ago if I should post something about me, so here it goes:

The Basic Stuff About Me

Ok, let's see......well for starters (which most of you should know), my name is Alexa and I'm a pretty simple 16 year old girl who has a passion (some say obsession) for books. I used to hate, no, DESPISE reading for most of my life, but then I found my love for books in 8th grade when my teacher told me to pick up this one HUGE (anything over 75 pages was huge to me then) book with a red apple and pale arms on the front. Can you guess what book it was? Yup, I was swept away in the Twilight reading craze. From then, I was obsessed with vampires (still am) and I eventually made my way through majority of the YA genre. So, yup, that's basically me, oh, and because I fell in love with books, my goal in life is to be an author (I know it's ambitious and extremely hard, but I'm determined).

Check back next saturday to see what my favorite books and reading habits are.

Interview: Rachel Caine

2010-05-11T20:31:00.000-04:00

Why she is one of my favorite authors: Normally I get bored with a series that is over 6 books, but Rachel Caine brings something new and exciting in every book in the Morganville Vampire Series. She's able to draw me into a story and keep me entertained with everything that's going on. Her stories are the perfect mix of action and romance and I can't get enough of her writing!

1. Describe yourself in 10 words or less.

A happy, tired, busy, peaceful, blessed writer of weird stuff.

2. Did you always want to be a writer?

Oh no. I intended to be a professional musician (and was one, for a while). I wrote as a hobby, but I never thought I'd be good enough to be a professional writer. It happened in stages, and it took me almost 15 years of publishing before I finally quit my day job.

3. Tell us one random/strange fact about you.

I was born at White Sands Missile Range. No, really. My dad did missile countdowns, and my mom was an assistant to the rocket scientists. It all sounds very old-school science fiction, eh?

4. If you were stuck on an island and you could only have one book, what would it be?

The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Because I can read those stories over and over and over.

5. Do you have any plans for future novels?

Always! I have a new series starting next year (first book is called DEAD SEXY) and a new YA series in the works as well.

6. How many more books are going to be in The Morganville Vampire Series?

Right now I'm planning for a total of 12 books.

7. How did you get the idea of humans living in a town run by vampires?

I used to live in West Texas, and I always thought those isolated little towns had secrets ... of course, having vampire secrets is probably a leap most people wouldn't make, but there you go.

8. Do you have a favorite character from any of the books you’ve written?
I think I like Shane the best -- but Lewis Orwell (from the Weather Warden series) comes close, too. And Myrnin. I love to write Myrnin.

Thank you Rachel for taking the time to answer my questions!
Make sure you enter my contest for a chance to win the 8th book in the Morganville Vampire Series, Kiss of Death

A Very Special Day

2010-05-09T22:20:00.001-04:00

Do you know what today is?
Yes, it is Mother's Day, so...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

but.......................

it's also my birthday! I'm finally 16 years old (even though I don't feel any different than I did yesterday)!! I'm going to start driving this week, so wish me luck.

Also, check back tomorrow for another interview with one of my favorite authors and an "about me" post.

Winners + Random

2010-05-06T15:00:00.002-04:00

you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win a $5 Amazon GC

Ok, I'm sooo sooo sorry for not posting the winners of The Dark Divine Nail Polish sooner. Here they are:

Taylor (The Library Lurker)

Briana (The Book Pixie)

and

InABox

CoNgRaTs!

If you didn't win, don't worry became I'm currently running 3 contests and there are more to come in June!

On another note:
June 19th will mark my first full year of blogging and I want to make my 2nd year of blogging even better, and I need your help to do that. I'd really appreciate it if you could fill out THIS FORM and tell me what you like and what you don't like about my blog. Plus, if you fill out the whole thing, you'll get +15 entries into my contest.

Also, I realized I never made an "About me" post, and since it's the month of my birthday, I was thinking of making a few post about myself. So do you guys want to know more about me, or do you not care at all? Let me know so I don't post something you don't care to read about.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and congrats to the winners!

I think my TBR Pile growled at me

2010-05-05T17:55:00.001-04:00

remember, you get +5 for commenting on this post and an entry to win $5 Amazon GC

I think I pissed my TBR Pile off because I haven't made a dent in it for a while. I've had some free time lately to read, but every time I go to grab a book off my bookshelf, I can't choose which one to read. Can you guys help me pick?

So which one should I read first?

*The one on top of City of Bones and Vampire Diaries is Kiss of Death (Morganville Vampires Series) and the one on top of Bleeding Violet and Going Bovine is Taken by Storm

Interview: Elizabeth Scott

2010-05-04T17:37:00.000-04:00

For my Birthday Bash celebration, I was lucky enough to get an interview with a bunch of my favorite authors. So first up is Elizabeth Scott!!

1. Describe yourself in 10 words or less.

Lucky. Very, very lucky.

2. Did you always want to be a writer?

Nope! Hated "creative writing" assignments when I was in school, and went out of my way to avoid all English classes with a fiction writing component in them in college. I didn't start writing until I was 27, and bored out of my mind in a meeting--I wrote a short story instead of taking notes :-)

3. Tell us one random/strange fact about you.

I'm left-handed--and no one else in my whole family is!

4. If you were stuck on an island and you could only have one book, what would it be?

Only one? Sorry, I can't pick. I couldn't even pick just 100!

5. Do you have any plans for future novels?

My next novel, Grace, will be out on September 16th. It's about a girl who has been raised to be a suicide bomber, and what happens when she decides she doesn't want to die.

6. What was your favorite book to write?

I actually find reading my own writing very difficult, so I don't have one book that was my favorite to write because I've never read them once I'm done with them.

7. How did you get the idea for Grace?

From a dream, actually!

Why she is one of my favorite authors: Her style of writing and the way she brings characters to life makes her a great author, but she's one of my favorite authors because Elizabeth Scott was able to change my world with just one book. Her words have carried with me since I read her book (Living Dead Girl) and the impact of her words will stay with me forever.

Make sure you enter my contest because I'm giving away a copy of Living Dead Girl (my review )!

Review: Living Dead Girl

2010-05-03T20:49:00.001-04:00

Author: Elizabeth Scott

Title: Living Dead Girl

Pages :352

Original Release Date: September 2nd, 2008

Synopsis:

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.
Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time, I didn’t know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends – her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.
Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.
This is Alice’s story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

Review:

I think I read this book over a year ago, but i still find it popping up in my head once in a while. Living Dead Girl is one of the most disturbing stories I've ever read, and at times, I wanted to throw the book out the window, hide under my blankets and cover my ears because I didn't want to think that someone out there could be in this very situation. Of course, I didn't though, I coudn't even put it down, and at the end I felt happy, sad, terrified, proud, broken, and changed.
The characters were almost too realistic for me because I could practically feel every emotion Alice went through, and that scared me a little.
This book isn't for everyone, but if you can handle the type of subjects this book deals with, you won't be complete without reading it.

Final Words: Living Dead Girl is a heart-shattering story that left me stunned and tearful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Rating:
+
Cover:

Comment Contest

2010-05-01T23:59:00.007-04:00

THIS CONTEST HAD NOW ENDED, WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY

I wanted to have another contest, so I decided on a comment contest. This is a win-win situation for you guys because I'm already giving you +5 extra entries into my Super Huge Mega Crazy Birthday Bash Contest, but now each comment will also get you an entry into this contest. The prize you ask? It's not much, but the winner will get a $5 Amazon Gift Card.

Rules:

~ Open to everyone

~ There will be one winner

~ Only commenting on posts posted in May (2nd-31st) count for this contest

~ Commenting on the day a post was posted will get you +2 entries

~ Commenting anytime after the day it was posted will get you +1 entry

~ Either leave your email address on one of your comments (or here) or come back when I post the winners and email me

Cover Remake Contest

2010-05-01T23:59:00.006-04:00

From my survey that I asked you guys to fill out, I saw that a lot of you wanted a header/button remake contest. Well, I kinda sorta might have already made a new header for my blog (I'll show you soon, and if everyone doesn't like it maybe I'll have one of those too), and I saw how popular Princess Bookie's cover remake contest was, so I thought that I could have one of those since they are similar. I hope that's ok with everyone.

Rules:

~ Remake the cover of any book I'm giving away (find the books are here )

~ Open to Everyone

~ One entry per person

~ Put the link to your cover in Mr. Linky (a blog post, photobucket, etc...)

~ Winner will get to choose one book from what everyone remakes (so if everyone only remakes Before I Fall and The Body Finder, then that is what the winner can choose from)

~ Ends on May 22th

~ Like Princess Bookie's contest, the cover with the most votes will win

THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED AND VOTING WILL BEGIN ON MONDAY, MAY 31st!

SUPER HUGE MEGA CRAZY Birthday Bash Contest!

2010-05-01T23:48:00.010-04:00

I was thinking a lot about what I wanted to do to celebrate my 16th birthday and my blog's anniversary. I was going to have two smaller contests, but I thought about it some more and came to the conclusion of "What the hell, I should just have a gigantic, break-the-bank super contest!" and the result is:

Hooked on YA Books' SUPER HUGE MEGA CRAZY Birthday Bash Contest!

Here's what I'm giving away:
The following books are only available to US and Canada residents since I can't afford to send these overseas-sorry!

(An ARC of Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett was donated by ReaganStar of Star Shadow)

and this is what I'll order from the BD, so this is for everyone:

Winners:

Winner 1 gets 2 books from the list above & any book from the Book Depository (donated by ReaganStar of Star Shadow , so make sure you check out her blog!)

Winner 2 gets 2 books from the list above

Winner 3 gets a $10 Amazon Gift Card

Winner 4 gets 1 book from the list above

Winner 5 gets 1 book from list above

Winner 6 gets 1 book from the list above
Winner 7 gets 1 book from the list above
Winner 8 gets a $5 Amazon GC
Winner 9 gets a $5 Amazon GC
Winner 10 gets $5 Amazon GC

~~If I reach 400 followers, I'll add another winner, If I get 450, I'll add another,~~ ~~500, 550,~~ 600and so on.

Rules:

~To enter, FILL OUT THIS FORM

~This contest is international as long as The Book Depository ships to where you live (if they don't, you can still enter, but we'll have to work something else out)
~Ends on ~~June 30th~~ July 17, 11:59 pm EST

Extra Entries:

+6 Old followers

+3 New followers

+2 Follow me on Twitter (link is on my sidebar -->)

+2 Subscribe via email (on right sidebar------>)

+3 Grab my button (also on sidebar---->)

+2 Tweet about this contest

+3 Add the link to your sidebar or grab my Birthday Bash Contest button

+16 Make an actual post
And for every post you comment on from now until June 30th, you'll get +5 entries into this contest!

Also, if you fill out this survey form, you'll get +5 (+15 if you fill out the whole thing)

And again, to enter, FILL OUT THIS FORM !!

Hooked on YA Books' Birthday Bash

2010-05-01T23:47:00.012-04:00

Here's where I'm going to post all of the upcoming events and contests.

Events this week:
Interview with Ellen Hopkins

Contests:
~ SUPER HUGE MEGA CRAZY Birthday Bash Contest (May 1st to July 17th)
~ ~~Comment Contest (May 1st to May 31st)~~
~ ~~Cover Remake Contest (May 1st to May 22nd)~~

~ Comment Contest (June 1st to July 17th)
~ Cover Guess Contest (June 29th to July 21st)

Here are some button I made for the contest, so feel free to grab the one you like(+ you'll get extra entries)

Cover Compare Friday (12)

2010-04-30T22:40:00.000-04:00

Exposed by Susan Vaught

I like the paperback better, it has more to do with the story and it looks a lot more interesting.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

The butterfly on the hardcover is beautiful, but I really like the puzzle piece design on the paperback.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The cover of the paperback was one of the main reasons I bought the book. It's pretty creepy and I love everything about it!

so, paperback or hardcover?

My 2 month long birthday bash starts........TOMORROW!!

2010-04-30T19:34:00.003-04:00

Before I get into all of the things I want to tell you about the next two months, I want to say sorry for being such a crappy blogger for the past few weeks and I hope that the overload of posts this next month (and contests) will make up for it.

Now that I got that guilt off my shoulders, Holy sh**, it's almost May........
which means the start of my 2 month long birthday bash.
And why is that good news you ask?
Because of the interviews with a bunch of my favorite authors.*cue applause* And the contests. *more applause* And me being around more *single clap*. Did I mention the contests? *roaring applause*

My Super Huge Mega Crazy Birthday Bash Contest will be posted tomorrow. (and yes, the extra adjective ARE necessary).
I'm also having two OTHER contests, but you'll just have to stop by tomorrow to find out what they are.

And lastly, If you still want to donate something for my contest, just let me know. (click on the link above this post to fill out the form--(and choose one of the possible perks for helping me out =D )

Waiting on Wednesday(4)

2010-04-21T21:01:00.000-04:00

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

May 18th, 2010

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's—and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere.
She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him . . . forever.

Hello birthday present (hopefully)!!!

What are you waiting on?

Cover Compare Friday (11)

2010-04-16T22:21:00.000-04:00

This type of CCF might only be a one time thing, but I really wanted to show you guys these scary/ amazing covers I found.

For me, the scariest is The Evil Within and The Replacement. Just looking at them makes me shiver. Rot & Ruin and Time of the Witches has their own scary quality also. Some of you are probably looking at Reality Check and going "that's not scary, they're just dolls." That's true I guess, and maybe it's just me, but if I look at them for too long , they start to really creep me out.

Which one do you think is the scariest cover?
If you know of any other scary/creepy covers, let me know!

Planning gives me a headache....

2010-04-16T20:29:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Like I've mentioned before, I'm going to have a big birthday bash thing in honor of my 16th birthday and my blogs first birthday(omg!). I'm really behind on schedule since I should have done this a month ago, but unfortunately I'm a procrastinator. I've pretty much worked out majority of it, but there's still a few things I need to get done-but I should get it done by tomorrow.

So far only about 20 people have filled out my form telling me what they want to win, which I've taken and made a list of books that I'm giving away. Want a sneak peek???

Here's some (no all) of whats going to be in the contest(this isn't the final list, I might add some or I might take some away):

These are 20 out of the (about) 50 that I want to give away--if you have any suggestion on some books to add or some books I shouldn't even bother giving away...LET ME KNOW (and PLEASE tell your friends) thanks!

Either leave a comment on this post, or fill out the form here if you have any suggestions.

Also, so far, only one person has decided to donate something (thank you), so if you still want to, fill out this form. I'll be your best friend!(plus if you do decide to donate something I'll give you +10(or maybe more) entries into any contest or something else-options on form)

Thank you!!

Top 6 books that blew me away so far

2010-04-10T23:09:00.005-04:00

Eleni at La Femme Readers is hosting the 6th activity for The Clean Away the Clutter Read-A-Thon. The activity is to list my top 6 books that blew me away in 2010 so far. Here they are:

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles & Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting & Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins & Fire by Kristin Cashore

What are your favorite books you've read in 2010 so far?

Contest Alert!

2010-04-10T22:44:00.001-04:00

There's an amazing contest going on over at Princess Bookie ! There will be two winners:

Winner 1 gets 8 ARCs!!!!

and

Winner 2 gets 2 ARCs!

To enter all you have to do is promote the contest by making a blog post or tweeting.
The promotion must be made today, so hurry up and make sure you enter!

I need to get my eyes checked......

2010-04-08T23:04:00.000-04:00

......because I could have sworn that I saw that I have 350 followers, but obviously I can't see because that isn't possible.
*gets new glasses*
Wait, it really says that-really?!?! OMG. I love you guys! When I first started my blog (almost a year ago) I never in a million years thought that I would ever have this many followers. Thank you so much for reading my blog and liking it enough to follow it =D. I really want to have a contest for this achievement, but I'm trying to save up for my giant birthday bash thingy in May and June.

Thank you everyone!

2010 Debut Author Challenge

2010-04-05T22:14:00.003-04:00

After seeing this challenge around a lot lately, I've decided to join the 2010 Debut Author Challenge . It's hosted by The Story Siren and the purpose is to read (at least 12) books released by new authors in 2010. I love finding new authors and books, so this challenge is going to be really awesome!

Here's a list of what I'm planning to read:

1. Before I Fall
2. The Body Finder
3. Hearts at Stake
4. The Iron King
5. Bleeding Violet
6. Dirty Little Secrets
7. Firespell
8. The Tension of Opposites
9. The Mark
10. The Naughty List
11. The Sky is Everywhere
12. The Ghost and The Goth
13. The Line
14. Free Fall

I might change some, and will probably be adding more, but I'll cross out the ones that I've read once I review them.

Review: Before I Fall

2010-04-05T20:58:00.003-04:00

Author: Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall

Pages :480

Genre: YA

Release Date: March 2, 2010

Synopsis:

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: the world’s most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High, from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12 should be just another day in her charmed life.
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
Fortunately, she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

First Sentence:

"They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how it happened for me".

Review:

........................................................................................................

I'm speechless. The story was wow, the characters were wow, the writing was wow,and when I see Before I Fall, I think Brilliant. There was something so poetic, so pure, so true about this book that I'll still be thinking about it for the next month. It was amazing and strong and too good for words. The message behind this book is so deep and realistic and it made a real impact on me. I'll never forget this book, even when I'm 90( and I have a terrible memory)

The Plot:

When I first started reading this book, I thought the concept was really cool, but I was skeptical because I kept thinking "I really hope reading about the same day seven times doesn't get boring and predictable." Looking back now, I didn't have anything to worry about.
Sam is a girl who's popular, has a great boyfriend any other girl would want, and she's months away from heading off to college. Cupid Day, February 12th, used to be one of her favorites--that is until she dies. Sam was the kind of girl who got a lot of roses and the most important thing to her was to get as many as she could. After dying, Sam realizes that there are more important things in life that getting more roses than the person next to you and being popular. Even though she had to live the same day over and over again, she made each on different and better than the last and I was captivated until the last word. I wish the book was a million pages longer because I don't think I would've ever been tired of it. Each day had it's own uniqueness and I couldn't put the book down. The little twist and the growth of the characters in each day completely amazed me. I thought the ending was perfect, even though I still crave more.

Characters:

Sam was a bitch and the kind of girl that I would hate in real life, at the beginning. She was mean and only cared about herself. To read about her growth from the popular bitch to a selfless girl stole my breath away. Sam changed so much and everything she did was so realistic and life-like. Sam was a beautifully constructed character that I would have loved to have known in real life(at the end anyways). Sam made mistakes and corrected them and she developed into a character that I will never forget.
Juliet was such a powerful and amazing character. She made me cry and made my heart ache because I wanted to jump in the book and take her suffering away. Juliet was a perfect addition to the complexity of the book and made it complete.
I also fell in love with Kent. He was such a great addition to the story. He was kind and didn't care about what other people thought of him. He looked at the good in Sam and I loved his brutal honestly and caring nature.
Ever single character in the book was perfectly constructed and I still can't help but feel like they're alive in some way.

This was a breathtaking story that made me cry and reflect and rethink my life and I loved every minute of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Rating:

+
Cover:

I Need Your Help!

2010-04-04T15:31:00.006-04:00

In a month, I'm planning on having a HUGE birthday bash contest type of thing, but I need your help. If you could take the time to fill out this survey , I'd really appreciate it!

Also, I was wondering--since this is going to be a huge contest, I don't know if I can afford it all, and if you have any spare books, or swag, or anything else book-related that you might want to possibly donate to help me out, I'd be your best friend =D.

p.s. do you think it would be fair to give +10 entries into a contest of their choice or maybe something else (other choices on form) for those who donate something? (As of now, I'm planning on giving them something, but I don't want those who don't donate to think it's unfair-let me know!)

Fill out this form if you're interested in donating-thanks!!!!!

Email me at violeteyes8(at)gmail(dot)com if you have any questions, or if the form doesn't work for you for some reason.

Thanks again everyone!

Also: HAPPY EASTER!

Blog Tour: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain + Contest

2010-04-03T12:58:00.003-04:00

Today is my stop for the blog tour of Bree Despain's debut (and fantastic) novel, The Dark Divine. I'm extremely excited to welcome Bree here today!

1. Can you tell us about yourself in 10 words or less?

Mom, Author, Chocoholic, Shoe-oholic, book-aholic, bad-boy-oholic, all-around-crazy-person. (Was that more than 10?)

2. What was the first thing you did when you found out your book was going to be published?

Called my husband and squealed A LOT over the phone. I do believe there was also a large consumption of chocolate soon thereafter.

3. If you had never been involved in that car accident, do you think you would have ever become an author?

Good question. I think it’s possible that I may not have become an author. Or it probably would have taken me another 20 years. Surviving that accident really was what gave me the courage to follow my dreams.

4. Do you have a favorite scene from The Dark Divine?

My favorite scene to write was when Daniel took Grace to the Garden of Angels. My favorite scene to read is when Daniel tells Grace his secret when they are in his apartment.

5. Is The Lost Saint going to be the last book about Grace or are you planning on making it a trilogy?

There is definitely a possibility for a third book. The way Book 2 ends at the moment makes me really want to write a third one—and I imagine most readers will want a third book after reading the ending.

6. If you were stuck on an island and you could only bring one book with you, what would it be?

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

Lots to read, with a variety of comedy and tragedy depending on my mood. Plus, I’m pretty sure you could kill small animals with it.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and stopping by Bree!
You can find my review of The Dark Divine here .

Make sure you head over to The Book Shopaholic on April 5^th to see the last stop on The Dark Divine Blog Tour.

Now for the contest:

Thanks to Nisa at Goodman Media, I have 3 bottles of The Dark Divine nail polish to giveaway. The lovely violet color matches the one on the cover of TDD-how awesome is that?!

To enter, fill out the form below

Rules:

~this contest is for US residents only (sorry!-but I will be having an international contest soon)

~must be 13 years of age or older

~fill out the form!

~there will be three winners

~ends on April 17th 11:59 pm EST

You can find my full contest policy here

Review: The Dark Divine

2010-04-02T23:51:00.000-04:00

Author: Bree Despain

Title: The Dark Divine
Pages :384
Genre: YA
Release Date: December 22, 2009

Synopsis:

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood—but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

First Sentences:

"Blood fills my mouth. Fire sears my veins. I choke back a howl. The silver knife slips---the choice is mine."

Review:

TDD was a book that took me completely by surprise. The secrets and mysteries in the book had me craving to find out the the answers to them and I could barely put the book down to even sleep. Everything flowed smoothly and I really enjoyed the creative take on the paranormal element it in. The characters were all amazing and the story--the flashbacks, the journal entries, and the book in a whole--was a perfect debut novel for Bree Despain. She is a really talented author and I can't wait to read more of her work.

The Plot:

The short synopsis of TDD only tells you so much. When I first picked it up, I really had no idea what was going to happen, just that there was a hot guy, good girl, a growing attraction, and a dark mystery--which is enough to catch my attention.
Grace is the daughter of a pastor and has had a pretty perfect and normal life--except for the night her brother came home broken and bloody and her crush and practically-brother Daniel left town. Now after three years, Daniel has come back, and Grace can't help but still feel connected to him. Her family never talked about the night everything changed, but with Daniel back, Grace is curious more than ever to know what happened and why her brother hates his former best friend so much. TDD is a jumble of twists, turns and creative use of paranormal ideas that will drive you crazy with questions.
When the secret is finally reveled to you, all of the bits and pieces of the story will fall into place, but even then, Bree Despain still keeps you interested with her realistic characters, suspenseful decisions, and shocking ending. TDD is a book that takes you on a crazy mysterious ride and leaves you satisfied, but but still wanting more.

Character:

I was afraid Grace was going to be too perfect and hard to relate to--being the pastor's daughter and all--but all of my fears were put to rest after reading the first few chapters. Grace is so different from me, but I was drawn to her instantly and she easily becomes my favorite character. Grace had to be "the perfect daughter", but she also followed her heart and did what she thought was the right thing. The choices she made and her reaction to everything that happened showed what an amazing and selfless character she was.
Daniel definitely tied for my favorite character. He had so much depth and I loved everything about him--from his amazing artistic ability to his dark secret. At first, I though he was going to be your typical-brooding-bad-boy-with-a-terrible-secret, but he was so much more. Daniel was such an easy character to connect to and his past and everything he went through made it so easy to fall for him. Even though he made some stupid mistakes, Daniel grew into a caring and lovable character.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Rating:

Cover:

Make sure you stop by tomorrow to read my interview with Bree Despain(and win maybe win something?)!!

Cover Compare Firday (10)

2010-03-27T22:35:00.001-04:00

(Sorry for not posting this yesterday. My computer was all spazzy, but I think I fixed it)

Chosen by P.C. and Kristin Cast & Becoming by Chance Valentine

Chosen definitely! I love the light pattern that it has and Becoming looks plain and not as interesting.

Boys that Bite by Mari Mancusi & Diary of a Vampire by Maggie Berkley

I normally don't like plain covers, but I think that Boys that Bite looks better-it's simple and for me, the pattern on Diary of a Vampire takes away from it.

Swoon by Nina Malkin & Somewhere in Blue by Gillian Cummings

I think they're both cool, but Swoon draws me in more and the smoke and the tree make it look mysterious and very appealing.

Which covers do you like the best?

Computers were only made to piss me off

2010-03-26T19:59:00.000-04:00

*screams in frustration* My computer has been just really annoying and problematic lately. I just tried to write the CCF for today and for some reason blogger just wouldn't load. I'm on my mom's laptop right now and it's even worse than mine(it's frozen like 3 times in the time it took me to write those 3 sentences!!). It would probably take me a few hours just to write the short post with the way its going, so for the sake of my sanity, I'm going to postpone CCF until tomorrow (I'm going to spend tonight trying to fix the stupid thing-if by some miracle I get it working pretty fast, I'll post it tonight)
Wish me luck *crosses fingers it won't come to this:*

Another Remake a Book Cover Contest

2010-03-23T02:53:00.001-04:00

Princess Bookie is having another Remake a Book Cover Contest!! I decided to remake Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles. I love to death the original cover so obviously mines not as good, but I decided to go for it anyway.

Original:

Mine:

I'm not entering this, but I also made one for Forgive My Fins and I might as well share it:

Here are the Rules if you plan on entering:
-One Entry Per Person
-First 25 People To Enter
-First Come First Serve- First 25 in linky will be entered!
-You can not reuse your cover from any of my previous remake cover contests!!! No re-entries!
-You will vote, in voting rounds!
-This is for fun! You do not have to participate!

Signups Open UNTIL March 30th or UNTIL we hit 25 entries.

Prize: You will win 1 of The leftover mystery ARCs from the pick 3 contest PLUS 2 Mystery ARCS from me PLUS a bunch of bookmarks!

Winner

2010-03-23T00:03:00.000-04:00

Sorry for posting this so late, but the winner of my 100th Post Swag Contest is......................

Lindsay

CONGRATS!

If you didn't win, don't worry becuase I'm going to be having a HUGE birthday giveaway soon.

In My Mailbox(7)

2010-03-22T23:51:00.001-04:00

I LOVE USED BOOK SALES! Ok, so last weekend, I went to a used book sale at a local library and I bought soooooo much-around 30 books- all for under $10, which is insane since I just bought a new book for more than that. This is what I got:

Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle

Suzanna's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

The Love Secret by Louise Fitzbugh

Ecstacia by Francesca Lia Block

Sudoku =D

The Day My Butt Went Psycho! by Andy Griffiths

Where I'd Like to be by Frances Dowell

The sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Fix by Leslie Margolis

Fall by Jeff Mariotte

Mates, Dates, and Cosmic Kisses by Cathy Hopkins

Six Months to Live by Lurlene McDaniel

Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen

Honk if you hate me by Deborah Halverson

The things about Georgie by Lisa Graff

Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler

Tangerine by Edward Bloor

and about 14 more that I'm too lazy to type up.

and Yes, you did read that correctly, I did buy The Day My Butt Went Psycho!

Come on, just look at it and it's based on a true story- I couldn't resist getting it

What did you get in your mailbox?

p.s.- if you want to find out if there are any book sales going on near you, you can look at http://www.booksalefinder.com/

This is what I read when I was a kid?!

2010-03-21T22:30:00.001-04:00

I was going to add this to my last post, but it would have made it to long. When I was cleaning my bookshelf to make more room, I removed everything that was on my bottom shelf-which was all of the books that I loved as a kid (please ignore stuffed animals)

I don't even remember the last time that I actually looked at the books on this shelf, but I found your basic child books:

You probably can't really read the titles, but some of them are Yurtle the Turtle, The Giving Tree, The Velveteen Rabbit (I had two copies for some reason), The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Captain Underpants (I honestly don't know how that got there), I'm a Little Teapot, Stellaluna(I was obsessed with this book) and others........

It seems like I was a pretty typical kid right? well, I thought so too then I came a cross this:

Yes, Kat Kong.

What to know what it's about? Here's a little review of it:

So these mice explores found an island where the native mice sacrifice tuna cans to Kat Kong, but Kat Kong is a spaz and trips over the can and knocks itself out. Being the greedy bastard he is, the captain takes the cat back to the city. There, they chain him up and show it off to the other mice. Then, Kat Kong breaks loose and goes on a rampage. It takes a mouse to the top of a building where a mouse flying a plane taunts it with a present. Kat Kong swipes for it because it wants to know what's in it, then losses it's balance and falls head first into the ground. Thus, curiosity killed the cat.

If you like cheesy cat puns, then you'll love this book! and I'm thinking Life Alert stole a line from this book: "He's Fallen, and he can't get up." (I'm serious, it actually says that in here lmao)

Rating:

(this is actually in the book!)

What were your favorite books you read when you were young and did you have any weird books like I did?

Spring Book Cleaning

2010-03-21T22:18:00.003-04:00

I'm back and with a new bookshelf! I'm finally done with my horrible research paper (it took a few days longer than I thought it would since I didn't have power for half the week!!) and now I can focus on blogging again =D.

Happy Spring everyone! As a treat to myself and in honor of the start of spring, I finally ~~stole~~ borrowed my brother's bookshelf which he doesn't use that much and moved it into my room. My room was a complete disaster, I could barely walk since my books covered the floor.

It took all of yesterday, to move my books from one shelf to the other, but it was completely worth it. Here's a fast recap for you.

After ~~my dad~~ I put the bookshelf in my room, I put all of the books I needed to shelf in a giant group.

Once my bookshelf was more organized, I started re-shelving everything by author. Then I moved onto my new bookshelf,

It was all perfect, when I finished, but then I noticed I had another stack of books that I still had to find a place for:

It sucks, but I had to double stake my two bottom shelves (My TBR Pile)

but I'm soooo happy with my room now!!

Anyone else planning on doing some spring cleaning?

On a side note: I'll announce the winner of my 100th post swag contest tomorrow.

Some Things You Should Know About

2010-03-12T22:49:00.005-05:00

~Princess Bookie has started her Contest Craze 2010! From now until April 11th, She's going to be holding a HUGE amount of contests on her blog, so if you want to win some great books, make sure you head over and enter!

As you saw from my previous post, I entered the Recreate a Book Cover Contest and the voting has started. Make sure you head over and vote for your favorite.(Mine's number 42, so if you liked it, it would be awesome if you voted for it!)

~Penultimate Page is having a Referral Contest where you can win some great swag! Head over and enter and it would be great if you said I referred you!

~Story Wings is having an amazing contest! Currently, there are 7 winners and she's giving away some great books!

1st: Choice four books from the list

2nd: Choice of three books from the remaining list
3rd: Choice of two books from the remaining list
4th: Choice of one book from the remaining list
5th: Choice of one book from the remaining list
6th: Choice of one book from the remaining list
7th: Choice of one book from the remaining list

It ends on March 19th and is an INTERNATIONAL contest!

~Sara at Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog is giving away 3 hardcover copies of Num8ers! The giveaway ends on March 24th at Midnight EST.

~The cover for Torment by Lauren Kate is out and it's amazing!

~ You can read the first 7 chapters of The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong online!

~ Also, I was blog surfing today and I found a great version of Rue's Lullaby (the one Katniss sings in The Hunger Games) that Kirthi at Pages found.

~Lastly, I most likely won't be posting until next friday since my research paper is due on monday(and I haven't started yet) and I think I just want to relax and read a little next week because I'm feeling a little book deprived since I couldn't read anything this week.

Princess Bookie's Recreate a Cover Contest

2010-03-09T02:40:00.001-05:00

Princess Bookie's Contest Craze has officially started! For the first contest, you have to recreate a 2010 book cover and I picked Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and here's the cover I made for it:

I haven't read it yet (though I'm dying to) so I don't know if this has anything to do with the plot, but the original cover has the girl lying on the grass so I just went with that too.

If you also want to enter, you better hurry becuase only the first 50 people who submit their covers can enter.

Ridiculously Awesome Contest!

2010-03-08T20:01:00.002-05:00

Taschima at Bloody Bookaholics is having another amazing contest! As of now there are 7 winners!

Winner number 7 gets 1 book.

Winner number 6 gets 2 books.

Winner number 5 gets 3 books.

Winner number 4 gets 4 books.

Winner number 3 gets 5 books.

Winner number 2 gets 6 books.

Winner number 1 gets 7 book.

Head over to her blog to see the full list of books and rules and enter this AWESOME contest, which ends on April 18th.

Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland

2010-03-07T17:52:00.002-05:00

Remember the Alice in Wonderland you loved as a kid? Sweet Little 7-year old Alice falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a magical world called Wonderland........

........but Introduced to Tim Burton, this is what you get:

(I know it's a little blurry, just click on it to see a bigger picture)

A rebellious 19-year old Alice who doesn't want to marry Hamish Ascot and finds herself following a rabbit and falling down a hole. The Wonderland she ends up in is............wickedly amazing!

Plot:

Once arriving in Wonderland(after drinking a shrinking potion and eating a cake that made her big) Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska, is told that she is the one who's going to end the tyrannical reign of the Red Queen(Helena Bonham Carter) by killing the Jabberwocky, ~~the dance crew from ABDC~~ a dragon-like monster. Soon after, Alice makes a run for it when the red queen's soldiers arrive and eventually finds herself in the company of the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) with the help of the Cheshire Cat. The Mad Hatter wants to bring Alice to the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), but when they try to escape, he's captured, but he's able to keep Alice from beging captured too. Knowing that it's her fault the Mad Hatter was taken, she travels to the Red Queen's castle to save him. From here the story really takes off, but I'm not going to say anything more so you can experience it for yourself (if you do see it).

Visuals and Characters:

The visuals were completely and utterly incredible. I was completely amazed at how stunning it all was and more than once had I asked myself "how the hell did they do this?!" Mia Wasikowska did an excellent job of playing Alice in the movie. She was perfect and I found myself drawn into the story even more. Johnny Depp totally creeped me out with his crazy orange hair and eyebrows, white face and big lime-colored eyes, but in a good way. He was made for the part of the Mad Hatter and I really enjoyed his acting. Helena Bonham Carter was a good Red Queen, but I mainly liked her because of how funny her huge head looked. I normally really like Anne Hathaway, but I thought her "graceful" acting was a little forced. (Also, I didn't like the contrast of her dark eyebrows and her white hair). Two of my favorite characters were Twiddledee and Twiddledum. There's just something about usually chubby and short twin boys that I can't help but love. Some of the acting was only decent, but it was a pretty good movie overall.

To sum it up, the whole movie was really visually appealing and the makeup and costumes were perfect. Thought the acting could have been better, it's definitely something you want to see in the theaters.

One last thing, Avril Lavigne is back(really, where has she been these last few years?) and with an awesome song:

Are you going to see Alice in Wonderland? If you did, what did you think?

Also, since I'm on the topic of movies, I really want to see Shutter Island, but should I read the book first, or just go ahead and see it,then read the book?

In My Mailbox(6)

2010-03-07T15:06:00.000-05:00

I didn't get that much this week, which is ok because I don't need more books to tempt me to read instead of do homework.

I received Hearts at Stake which I won at Fantastic Book Reviews.

And I went to borders yesterday and picked up The Daughters of the Moon (including the first 3 books)

What did you get this week?

Review: Perfect Chemistry

2010-03-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

Author: Simone Elkeles

Title: Perfect Chemistry
Pages : 368
Genre: YA
Original Release Date: December 23, 2008

Synopsis:

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

First Sentences:

"Everyone knows I'm perfect. My life is perfect. My clothes are perfect. Even my family is perfect. And although it's a complete lie, I've worked my butt off to keep up the appearance that I have it all."

Review:
I finally bought this book because I had read a lot of positive reviews on it and ...............I LOVED IT. I don't know what it was, but the writing reached my heart and soul and I could barely put it down to eat. This book was beyond amazing and I can't believe a person could write something so ........PERFECT! I'm definitely going to re-read this in the future and I can't wait to read Rules of Attraction! Even though this is the first book I've read by Simone, I think that she's going to be one of my favorite authors.

The Plot:

Brittnay and Alex are more than opposites. She seems to have perfect friends, family, and life in general. Alex is in a gang and has the reputation of being a bad ass who would kill you if you looked at him wrong. The only thing they seem to have in common is that the hate each other........a first. Alex can't back down from a challenge, so when his friend Paco tells him he could never get with Brittnay, he makes a bet of it. The thing he didn't count on was falling for her...HARD. Brittnay just wants to get an A on her chemistry project with him, but her resolve to not fall for him doesn't stand a chance against Alex's charm and other amazing qualities(yes.....including his amazing body) They are both willing to risk everything to be together, but when Brittnay wants Alex to get out of his gang, he doesn't know if he can. The story flowed and I loved reading from both of their perspectives. The ending was simply poetry and I couldn't stop smiling after I put it down. There's nothing original about the main concept of this story-two people who aren't supposed to be together can't help but fall for each other-(ex. Romeo and Juliet, Twilight, Evernight, Blue Bloods, Hearts at Stake.....), but I also found it different from the other love stories I've read. Evey line read smoothly and from the start, I couldn't stop. I really can't place my finger on the thing that made me fall for Perfect Chemistry, but it was just wow. No, more than wow. It was FANFREAKINGTASTIC! This book is definitely in the running for the book I'd take if I was stranded on an island and I could only have one.

Character:

I had read a lot of other books where the girl in it 'seems perfect, but isn't', but Brittnay stands out the most in my mind now. I loved her to the bone because of her hard family life and the sacrifices she's made to help her sister and try to be what her mom wanted her to be. Brittnay emotions ~~lept~~sprinted off the page and sank into my skin, leaving a mark. I admire the hard choices she made to be happy and to try to keep the ones she loved happy also.
Alex......YUM does a really good job of explaining how I feel about him. If he and Brittany weren't so perfect together, I would definitely attempt to jump in the book and steal him for myself. I love the bad boy part of him, but what really got me was his caring nature and the way he loved Brittany so much I could practically feel it. He was selfless(most of the time) and he protected everyone as much as have could.
All of the characters were just amazing!

So yea. READ IT. NOW. I'M SERIOUS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Rating:

Cover:

Might not be around as much...... and random news

2010-03-02T22:45:00.000-05:00

I have a few things coming up soon that's going to take up a lot of my time, so I just wanted to warn you that I might not be around that much over the next month. I'm going to try my hardest to keep on schedule with the things I wanted to post, but I can't promise to not disappear for a little bit. Playing a spring and getting my research papers done don't leave a lot of time for homework, let alone reading or blogging, so I'm just going to apologize in advance.

This is completely not book related what so ever, but I have an obsession with this show so I just thought I'd share this news with you. For anyone who watches Supernatural and wants to marry Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester), you can't because he sadly married Genevieve Cortesen (Ruby!) on Saturday.

*sigh* ~~O well, there's still Jensen Ackles (Dean), who turned 32 yesteday and still looks really yummy~~ O crap! *bursts into tears* He's engaged?! NOOOO!

Ok, well this sucks, but at least the show is going to have a 6th season and I can still dream can't I?

Contest Policy

2010-02-27T21:44:00.001-05:00

Since I'm going to be holding more contests on this blog, I thought it would be a good idea if I told you my contest policies:

You must be 13 years of age or older. If you are under 13 and wish to enter, have a parent enter for you or contact me.
I will announce on this blog as well as email the winner(s) who will have 72 hours to respond with the needed information, or I'll choose a new winner
I have the right to end(as well as extend) a contest before it's deadline without notice.
I am not responsible for lost/damaged items in the mail
Winners will be chosen using Random.org

If anyone wants to donate books, swag, or anything book related for a contest on this blog, email me at violeteyes8(at)gmail(dot)com

Review Policy

2010-02-27T21:44:00.000-05:00

Thank you taking the time to read my book review policy. I will gladly accept finished copies and well as ARCs from authors and publishers.

What I accept/don't accept:

Since this is a YA book blog, I will most likely accept any YA book.
Other genres I might accept include Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery/Thrillers, and also books that address social issues.
I don't particularly tend to enjoy Non-Fiction or Historical Fiction. I do sometimes enjoy Memoirs though.
More often than not, I won't accept e-books or audiobooks.
If your novel falls under the genres that I don't normally read, you can still contact me because it never hurts to ask, just know that there is a lesser chance I will review it.

If I accept your novel to review:

I will guarantee that I will review it.
I owe it to my followers to post an honest review.
At this moment, I can't guarantee a time frame in which I will read and review your book. It could take anywhere from 1 week to a few months, so if you have a specific time you want it posted by, please let me know
Regarding ARCs, I will most likely post the review close to its release date.

Contest, Interviews......:

I'd me happy to host a giveaway for your book or any book related items on this blog.
If you are interested in being interviewed, just mention that in the email.
I will also happily accept any swag/bookmarks sent to me

Other Information:

Please contact me at violeteyes8(at)gmail(dot)com first before you send the book becuase I may not accept it.
If you would like me to also post my review on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, etc. just let me know.

Cover Compare Friday (9)

2010-02-26T17:54:00.000-05:00

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

I like the harcover, but I love the paperback because I love the imagery of eating a bowl full of broken glass. The paperback just seems more unique and really catches my attention.

Paper Towns by John Green

These aren't my favorite covers, but I'd also choose the paperback for this one because the hardcover is just sort of boring to me.

Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison

I love both of these covers. They each have really pretty covers and you can get a good idea of the story just by looking at them. If forced to choose,............I'd get both =D.

So, Hardcover or Paperback?

Interview with Meridi Meyers

2010-02-24T20:52:00.001-05:00

Meridi Meyers has graciously offered to do an interview for this blog. She's the debut author of Titus and Atreus which was released in December 2009.

1. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always loved writing fantasy, but it wasn’t until high school that I considered doing it as a profession. When I was younger I wanted to be a veterinarian or a marine biologist, and even during high school and college I wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to do. I went to college to study biology, and it wasn’t until my fourth year that I decided to pursue writing as a career.

2. Who was an author that inspired you?

Megan Whalen Turner, author of The Queen’s Thief series, had the biggest influence on me. As soon as I read The Thief, I knew I had to become a writer. I loved her books so much that she inspired me to write one of my own.

3. Where did the idea for Titus and Atreus come from?

Much of the story’s core is really taken from my childhood. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of other worlds, and used to wish that Peter Pan were real so that I could visit Neverland with him and fight pirates. I also wanted to fly, and had a pair of homemade wings that I would wear around the house. Because I was an only child until I was seven, I used to wish I had a twin—someone who was like me, who liked the same things that I did. I think I combined all of those things to make the basis for Titus and Atreus.

4. Titus and Atreus takes place in another world, was it hard to create all of those new places?

Because Typhon, Atreus’s world, is behind Earth technologically, it was a challenge to make sure that the setting was accurate for the time. In particular, I spent a lot of time researching the galleons that Belaglesha and Althapek use, since I had no idea how a square-rigged warship was armed or sailed.

5. I love the idea of twin souls, did you have to research this or did you just make it up as you wrote?

I mostly made it up as I wrote. I tried to imagine what it would be like if I had a twin on a parallel world: How would we impact one another’s lives? Would she be just like me, or would she have a different personality? Titus and Atreus look alike, talk alike, and have similar personalities, but they both have qualities that make them unique.

6. I heard that Titus and Atreus is going to have a sequel, does it end there or are you planning on writing a third book about them?

I am writing the sequel now, and I plan to have at least one more book in the series. It’s likely that there will be a fourth (and possibly a fifth). It all depends on how much room I need to finish the story.

7. Who's your favorite character in Titus and Atreus?

Hmm . . . this is a tough question! From the beginning, I’ve felt a very close connection with Titus (our personalities are very similar), so I would have to say that he is my favorite. Lily (one of Rizpah’s angels) comes in close second, though. She is a lot of fun to write for, because she likes to be the center of attention, and has a tendency to be overly dramatic.

8. What's the best part of being an author?

The part that I enjoy the most is being able to immerse myself in the story. I try to imagine myself in the character’s shoes, so it’s like I’m experiencing what they are going through. I suppose it is kind of like acting . . . only I have to be the actress and the director at the same time.

9. What's the best book you've read this month?

Eldest, by Christopher Paolini!

10. What's the most interesting comment you've received about Titus and Atreus?

That the two boys on the cover look like lovers! It made me laugh so hard, because that was definitely not my intention when I was doing the illustration!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Meridi!

Waiting on Wednesday(3)

2010-02-24T17:30:00.001-05:00

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins (September 14, 2010)

Hunter, Autumn, and Summer—three of Kristina Snow's five children—live in different homes, with different guardians and different last names. They share only a predisposition for addiction and a host of troubled feelings toward the mother who barely knows them, a mother who has been riding with the monster, crank, for twenty years.

Hunter is nineteen, angry, getting by in college with a job at a radio station, a girlfriend he loves in the only way he knows how, and the occasional party. He's struggling to understand why his mother left him, when he unexpectedly meets his rapist father, and things get even more complicated. Autumn lives with her single aunt and alcoholic grandfather. When her aunt gets married, and the only family she's ever known crumbles, Autumn's compulsive habits lead her to drink. And the consequences of her decisions suggest that there's more of Kristina in her than she'd like to believe. Summer doesn't know about Hunter, Autumn, or their two youngest brothers, Donald and David. To her, family is only abuse at the hands of her father's girlfriends and a slew of foster parents. Doubt and loneliness overwhelm her, and she, too, teeters on the edge of her mother's notorious legacy. As each searches for real love and true family, they find themselves pulled toward the one person who links them together—Kristina, Bree, mother, addict. But it is in each other, and in themselves, that they find the trust, the courage, the hope to break the cycle.

Told in three voices and punctuated by news articles chronicling the family's story, FALLOUT is the stunning conclusion to the trilogy begun by CRANK and GLASS, and a testament to the harsh reality that addiction is never just one person's problem.

Anyone else dying to read this?

What are you waiting on?

Waiting on Wedneday is a weekly meme created by Jill at Breking the Spine

Review: Titus and Atreus

2010-02-23T22:36:00.001-05:00

Author: Meridi Myers

Title: Titus and Atreus
Pages : 336
Genre: YA
Original Release Date: December 1st, 2009

Synopsis:

Two worlds,
Two boys . . .
. . . One prophecy.

Grief-stricken by the loss of his parents, Titus Attwater is convinced his life will never improve. His older sister ignores his calls, his grades in school have plummeted, and his house, once a place of warmth and security, is now lonely, cold, and alien.

But when a young man appears one night in Titus's house, claiming he came in upstairs through the full-length mirror, Titus's life gets turned upside-down. For, as Titus soon discovers, this intruder is not from Earth. Against his will, Titus is kidnapped and taken to another world, a place like Earth but markedly different. It is here where he will befriend angels, face assassins, and help a young prince unravel a prophecy that proves much darker and more twisted than any of them had imagined.

First Sentence:

"Despite his drowsiness, despite the late hour, Titus Attwater could not sleep."

Review:

Since this is Meridi Myers' debut novel, I didn't know what to expect when I first picked up this book. From the first page though, I was captured.

The Plot:

Titus and Atreus had a very unique plot that I really enjoyed. The first chapter started off at a nice pace, introducing a little about Titus and raising a lot of questions about what happened in his past, but after that, the novel took off when Juno, Atreus' friend and bodyguard, took Titus thought the mirror, to Typhon. As the secrets about why Titus was brought there began to unravel, the story got even more intriguing. I had no idea how it would end and with each page, it got better and better. The final battle scene was epic and my heart was racing through the whole thing.
I don't think I've ever read a book about twin souls, but I personally really enjoyed that concept and how they traveled between the worlds. Meridi's writing flowed effortlessly and it was really easy to picture in my mind.The book was exciting and unpredictable and a breath of fresh air.
This book left me with an unsettled feeling because I really want to know what's going to happen to Titus. I'm very eager to read Meridi's next book! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an original book with action, mystery, a few romance scene and basically any ~~fantasy lover~~ book lover.

Character:

All of the characters in this book were very well developed and I really liked the alternating perspectives. I found all of them really believable and their emotions just radiated off the page. Titus was a great character and I'm really glad that he was selfless instead of an arrogant jerk. Atreus was also a great character, but I felt bad for him because his life on earth was ripped away from him and he didn't really have a choice in the matter. The rest of the characters were expressed beautifully and were enjoyable to read about.

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Overall Rating:

Cover:

In My Mailbox(5) + 100th post & Swag Contest!!

2010-02-22T19:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've been over my slump for a few days, but I couldn't get myself to the computer because my devilish little mind made me read non-stop for the past week. I kept promising myself I would stop for a day or two to write a review, but some how another book landed in my hand and before I knew it another day passed by. This was the huge stack that kept me from blogging:

I bought (wayyy too much):

Jump the Scratch by Sarah Weeks
The Throwaway Piece by Jo Ann Hernandez
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
The Uncensored Confessions by Nina Malkin
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag
Betrayals by Lili St. Crow
Would You by Marthe Jocelyn
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
Gone by Lisa Mcmann
Eleventh Grade Burns by heather Brewer

From the Library:

Soulless by Gail Carriger
Intertwined by Gena Showalter
Swoon by Nina Malkin
The Hollow by Jessica Verday
Ghost Girl by Torey L. Hayden

I won:

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

So, What did you get this week?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, this is my 100th post!!!!!!! This is a huge accomplishment for me and I want to celebrate it by giving away some stuff. I'm broke from my last two contests, but I do have some nice swag to giveaway.

~A Titus and Atreus Poster, Bookmark, and Card

~The Heretic Queen Bookmark

~Cleopatra's Daughter Bookmark

~ Two Prophecy of the Sisters Bookmarks

~ Two Give Up the Ghost Bookmarks

~ Two The Hollow Tattoos

~A Bookplate signed by Michelle Moran

Rules:

* Just leave a comment on this post and you're entered

*Open to US residents only (Sorry)

* Contest Ends on March 8th, 11:59 pm EST

*I'll announce winners the following day

P.S.- I'm posting my first author interview on Wed. with Meridi Meyers, the author of Titus and Atreus.

Happy Valentine's Day + Winner

2010-02-14T20:33:00.000-05:00

First...........

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!

Second.......

I've finally chosen a winner (using Random.org) for my New Years Contest....

#433 out of 973 entries....

MELISSA S. (http://bounteeysbabble.blogspot.com)

p.s. If you didn't win, don't worry becuase I'll definitely be holding more contests, and my next post is my 100th post, so I might be giving something away.

Cover Compare Friday (8)

2010-02-12T23:33:00.003-05:00

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Although I like the color of the original, the movie version looks a lot more interesting. (I also think I liked the movie better than the book)

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Movie version 100%. The original looks like something I'd be forced to read for English and the movie one has Channing Tatum on it, so it's no contest. (Anyone see the movie yet? I haven't read the book but it looks amazing!)

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I like both of them, but my vote goes to the movie version for this one too. The original looks more kid-ish and the movie version looks actiony and I love the color!

So, what do you think is better, Original or Movie?

Blogging Slump

2010-02-11T23:53:00.000-05:00

Yup, as you've noticed, I haven't been bloggin a lot lately (Sorry!) becuase I've kind of been in a slump. I don't know why, but hopefully I'll get out of it soon. I have break all of next week so hopefully all I need is stress-free weekend and I'll be back to blogging. Thank you for being patient with me everyone(I feel like I've said this a lot)!

Also, have you seen the cover for The third book in The Hunger Games Series? eeeeep!!

Winners!

2010-02-07T19:30:00.007-05:00

Sorry for the delay on posting the winners of my 150 Followers contest. My method is to print them out then add up all the entries by hand so it takes a while, but I messed up...twice.....while counting so I had to start over and I'm thinking I need to find an easier way to add up the entries.

I still have to sort the entries for my New Years contest...so anyone have any suggestions? How do you do it?

Anyway.....now for the winners.......................

*DRUM ROLL*

1st place: ~*Ruby*~

2nd: Sassy CC

3rd: Jenny N.

4th: Kari (Flamingo1325)

5th: Gaby

6th: Vanessa(email me within 72 hours please because you didn't leave your email address)

Mini-Review: Never Bite a Boy on the First Date

2010-01-31T18:18:00.004-05:00

Author: Tamara Summers
Title: Never Bite a Boy on the First Date
Pages:288
Genre: YA
Release Date: September 29th, 2009

Synopsis:

I've got a few issues:
I'm a vampire now.
One of my classmates was found dead, with telltale fang marks.
I didn't do it! (really!)
Nobody believes me, so . . .
I'm going to have to find the real killer. I've already got three suspects. (three very cute suspects.)
One more problem: I am seriously falling for one of them . . . but what if he's the killer?

Review:

When Kira and her family see a dead body in front of the high school with fang marks on his neck, they all turn to her. She swears she didn't do it, but her family doesn't believe her. So now Kira has to find the real killer and prove her innocence or she's looking at a padded coffin for the next few hundred years. When looking for possible suspects, Kira finds her self the love interest of three pretty cute guys (lucky her!), but none of them are what they seem. Never Bite a Boy on the First Date is a fun, light read that any vampire lover will like. With all of those hot guys pining for Kira, it's a little far fetched, but makes for an interesting story. I really enjoyed it even though it was predictable and I figured out who the killer was from the beginning. The only part that made me mad was the ending where one guy who was in love with her just gave her up with out a fight, but it may leave room for a sequel, so who knows.

Final Words: Funny, Predictable, Cute

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Overall Rating:

Cover:

Contest ends TOMORROW!

2010-01-30T22:17:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to remind everyone that my 150 followers contest ends TOMORROW and my New Years Contest ends on Monday! Make sure you enter if you haven't!! Links are on my left sidebar.

Cover Compare Friday(7)

2010-01-29T23:36:00.000-05:00

CCF is back!

As of now, I think I'm only going to post this once a month, but I might change it to 2 per month-let me know what you prefer.

Now for this week:

The Eternal Kiss by Various Authors vs. My Wicked Vampire by Nina Bangs

These two have the same person on the front, but I think it's used better in The Eternal Kiss.

The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz vs. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

These two have similar covers where there's the head of a girl looking away. I have no idea which one I like better.

So, what's your opinion?

Awards, yay!

2010-01-27T19:47:00.001-05:00

Both Pamela at From Barbies to Words and Ash. Elizabeth have awarded me with the One Lovely Blog Award! Thank you so much, I'm absolutely honored to receive this!

I have also been given the Honest Scrap Award by Kristi at R.A.W. Random Acts of Writing! Thank you Kristi, this just made my day!

Even though I've won these in the past, it still makes me really happy to know people like my blog enough to give me awards.
Make sure you check out these other bloggers' sites because they're awesome!!

Melissa at I Swim for Oceans awarded me with the Happy 101 Award! Thank you!!

The rules:
List 10 things that make you happy.
Try and do at least one of them today.
Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
Link back to the person that tagged you.

Things that make me happy:

1) The first snow of winter

2) writing

3) books

4) a stupid joke

5) shopping

6) chocolate

7) painting

8) my pets

9) black raspberry ice cream

10) sunsets

I giving this lovely award to:

1. Kristi, Valerie, and Lacey at Sisters in Scribe

2. Angel at Reading Angel

3. Apachesprincess at Garden of Books for Teens

4. Lisette at T.V. and Book Addict

5. Jenny at Jenny Loves to Read

6. Aimee at A Book Dork

7. Megan at Simply Books

8. Alley of Books

9.Christine at Books are Life

10. Ashley at Ashley's Library

301!?

2010-01-25T17:55:00.000-05:00

After a brain-breaking week of non-stop studying, I come back to see that I've reached 301 followers *faints* Did I ever think this was possible? Not at all. All of you make my day and thank you so so much for reading my blog. Oh, and thank you for being patient with me when I don't post exactly on time.

Now there will be 6 Winners for my 150 Followers Giveaway and I've also added Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers to the pile! It endson Sunday so hurry up and enter if you haven't already!
And don't forget about my New Year Giveaway which ends one week from today!

Be back soon

2010-01-17T14:54:00.001-05:00

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but I've been EXTREMELY busy with school since all of my teacher have been mercilessly cramming tests in before the end of the marking period. This week is midterm week so the only thing I'm going to be doing in studying, no reading, blogging, or tv* sadly. I'll be back on friday and thanks for being patient with me!
* Of course my midterms fall on the same week that Supernatural and the Vampire Diaries comes back on!

Review: Liar

2010-01-10T01:37:00.003-05:00

Author: Justine Larbalestier

Title: Liar
Pages: 384
Genre: YA
Release Date: September 29th, 2009

Synopsis:

Micah will freely admit she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s fooled everyone: her classmates, her teachers, even her parents. And she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as easily as breathing?

First Sentence:

"I was born with a light covering of fur."

Review:

I have mixed feeling about this book. I loved it, but I didn't like it at the same time. In summary: it hurt my brain, A LOT.

The Plot:

Where do I start with this book?
Micah is a black girl who attends a private school for privileged white kids. From her first day freshman year, she was already weaving lies when she was mistaken for a boy, and kept up the charade. Now in her senior year, her boyfriend, Zach is found dead. No wait, Zach already has a girlfriend, Sarah, Micah's more of an after-hours girlfriend. When news gets out, the not-so-quiet-whispers all say that Micah was the one who killed him. She swears she had nothing to do with it, but who's going to believe a liar? For some crazy reason, I did.
For the first part of the book, I got the impression that the rest would be about Micah slowly learning to tell the truth and grieve openly about how she misses Zach. I thought that the killer would be found and everyone would cry happily and Micah would have friends and all would end decently. yeah, NOT AT ALL.
Part 2 started with a shocker and relieved a giant secret that no one would see coming. My first reaction: HUH?!, But she..., that's not...., wait, WHAT!? SERIOUSLY?! I had believed every word in the story so far, but I started doubting if Micah had been telling the truth at that point. The big secret explained a lot, including why Micah was a liar to begin with, but I couldn't really get myself to believe it completely.

"I wanted to see if you would buy it. And you did. You buy everything don't you? You make it too easy."(253)

I really badly wanted to trust what Micah said, and if you asked me to choose, I'd say I did believe her, but there's still apart of me thinking that if Justine Larbalestier added one more line it would have been "HAHAHA, you actually believed me this whole time?! What part of compulsive liar don't you get, idiot!" Even now, I'm still skeptical if anything she told me was the truth, but I could spend the next 5 years thinking about it and I would never find the real answer.
I couldn't predict what would happen next, let alone the ending, so it was a really good book in that sense, but because I can't trust Micah, I found the book a little...........annoying? No, annoying isn't the right word, but I can't think of one that exactly explains how I felt about it. Frustrating maybe?

If you like an unpredictable story with fantastic writing, then you should read Liar, but if you don't like a world where 2+2=5, then this book might drive you crazy.

Character:

Micah was probably one of the most interesting character's I've ever read about. Knowing she was a liar from the start had me skeptical about how much to believe her story. The way she felt about losing Zach and all of her other problems she had to deal with made her easy to sympathize with and made her seem really realistic. I barely ever tell lies, so it was hard to really relate to Micah because her life is a web of lies, but I was captivated by her voice. I truly believed everything Micah said until I hit Part 2, and even after that I still somewhat believed her. She made what ever she said convincing even though she gave me reason to doubt her. She is just one of those characters that is truly memorable and you can't help but like, even with all of the lies.

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Overall Rating:
Cover:

Similar Book(s): Identical by Ellen Hopkins
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Do you think you could read a book where you can't trust the MC?
If you've read the book, did you believe Micah? Hate it or Love it?
I have to write a 6 paragraph review on my choice of a book, and I chose this one, for an english project, and I couldn't have asked for a better assignment! I haven't started it yet, I might include a lot of this post in it, so, was my review A+ worthy =D?

Books Read in 2010

2010-01-06T20:53:00.006-05:00

My goal is to read at least 150 books this year, and this is the post where I'm going to keep track of that. I normally don't re-read books, but if by some chance I do, I'll mark it with **

EDIT: I just found out that there is a 100+ Reading Challenge at J. Kaye's Book Blog and since I'm already shooting for 150, I might as well participate. Check out the details here.

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

2. Liar by Justine Larbalestier
3. Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
4. Don't Bite a Boy on the First Date by Tamara Summers
5. Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Only 146 more to go!

Does a name make the character?

2010-01-04T16:00:00.003-05:00

As a personal resolution, I've decided to stop being lazy and start seriously writing. I was trying to choose names and I was wondering if other readers think the name of a character is important.

Would you love Edward Cullen less if his name was John Smith?

If Katniss had to choose between Gale and Joe, who would you want her to be with?

Is it easier to get a attached to Rose and Dimiri or Bob and Bobette?

Also, I think that if I read a book with unique names (for example The Hunger Games and Graceling) it sticks out more in my mind. Is that the same for you?

Does it make a difference to you if the main character's name is Mary Finkleberg or Katsa (who's last name I don't know)

Would you remember Adam Johnson or Tally Youngblood more?

Or do you just find weird names annoying because you can't pronounce them or they just look wrong and just prefer regular names?

Let me know what you think, and thanks in advance because this will help me a lot!

p.s. If you hadn't noticed, since I reached 200 followers(OMG), I added another winner to my 150 Followers contest! If you haven't entered yet, there's stil plenty of time.

p.s.s If I mentioned your name, in no way do I mean to affend you, but if you are, let me know and I'll change it.

Mini-Review: Living Dead Girl

2010-01-02T12:17:00.001-05:00

Author: Elizabeth Scott
Title: Living Dead Girl
Pages: 176
Genre: YA
Release Date: September 8, 2009

Synopsis:

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.

Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was.
When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends — her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

Review:

Living Dead Girl is another one of those books that affects you tremendously while reading it. It's very emotional and at some point disturbing, but the connection that's formed with Alice will keep you reading. The characters have such emotion behind them and Elizabeth Scott was able to beautifully construct this story in so few words. When it comes to this book, I'm kind of speechless because no amount of words can describe how powerful and impactful (I made up my own word, that's how awesome it was =D) it is.

Final Words: READ IT, WOW, READ IT

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Overall Rating:

Cover:

Happy New Year Contest!

2010-01-01T12:15:00.002-05:00

[CONTEST CLOSED]

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

2009 is officially over and 2010 has just begun. This year is going to be awesome and there are so many great new books being released. That's the exact reason why I want to give you guys the opportunity to win ANY BOOK released in 2010! Yup, that's right, ANY BOOK (Under $20 please).

Rules:

Fill out THIS FORM to enter, comments don't count [but you can still leave them if you want =D]

MUST be a follower (If you're not, just hit the follow button on my right sidebar)

Ends on Feb 1st, 11:59 pm EST
Open Internationally (as long as the Book Depository ships to where you live)
+8 for each of my Top 8 Commentators

(NOTE: If you win and you want a book that's released in December, you'll have to wait until then to receive it)

Need some ideas? Here are some of the books I can't wait to read in 2010:

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (July 20th)

The Hunger Games 3 by Suzanne Collins (Aug 24th)

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (May 18th)

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong (April 27th)

Gone by Lisa McMann (Feb 9th)

Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine (May 4th)

Hourglass by Claudia Gray (March 9th)

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey (May 3rd)

Heartless by Sara Shepard (Jan 19th)

Bad Blood by Mari Mancusi (Jan 5th)

Strange Fate by L.J. Smith (July 6th)

The Return: Shadow Souls by L.J. Smith (March 16th)

Passing Strange by Daniel Waters (Jun 1st)

Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer (Feb 9th)

These don't have covers yet, sadly, but that doesn't make me want them less:

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Fall)

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins (Sept 14th)

Still Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley (May 11th)

Beautiful Creatures 2 by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (2010)

My Blog Resolutions

2009-12-31T16:47:00.001-05:00

I always make New Year Resolutions, but never really follow through, but this year, I'm going to (hopefully) accomplish all of the things on my list.

This is what I'm planning on accomplishing for 2010 blog/reading wise:

~ Post at least 4 times a week

~ Review every book I read

~ Work up the courage to ask authors for an interview

~ Read at least 150 books this year

~ Read all of the books in my TBR Pile

~ Participate in at least 2 more challenges

~ Make my reviews consistent and thoughtful

~ Post Cover Compare Friday when scheduled

~ Be an overall better blogger

I'm going to try my hardest to not be lazy and complete all of these things this year.

What are your New Year Resolutions?

Best of 2009

2009-12-31T00:08:00.000-05:00

With the New Year less than 24 hours away, I though I'd post the best books I've read this year:

Best Paranormal Books

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl & Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer
These books had the best characters and right amount of suspense to hold my attention and leave me wanting A LOT more. Beautiful Creatures and Tenth Grade Bleeds are both unforgettable and must-read books.

Best Realistic Books

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins & Hate List by Jennifer Brown
These books made me cry utill my eyes fell out and left me breathless. Tricks is just another fantastic book by Ellen Hopkins that punched me in the heart and Jennifer Brown's debut novel left me feeling helpless and touched me.

Best YA Books

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins & Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Both of these books grabbed me by the eyes and wouldn't let go. The Hunger Games was all I expected and more and Graceling honestly blew me away. The fighting scenes, building romance, and lovable characters lead to my favorite YA books for this year. ( I just finished The Hunger Games literally ten minutes ago and I was just wondering, is Catching Fire just as good?)

Best Series

Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead & The Morganville Vampire Series by Rachel Caine
Both of these vampire series deliver everything: action, romance, tears, and laughs. Vampire Academy has everything you could want in an awesome series and The Morganville Vampire books made me smile and cry at the same time.

So those are the books I fell in love with this year, what were your favorite books of 2009 and what are you looking forward to reading in 2010?

Review: Perfect (Pretty Little Liars #3)

2009-12-28T21:35:00.002-05:00

Author: Sara Shepard

Title: Perfect (Pretty Little Liars #3)
Pages :336
Genre: YA
Original Release Date: May 27th, 2008

Synopsis:

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four perfect-looking girls aren't nearly as perfect as they seem.
Aria can't resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can't keep her hands off anything that belongs to her sister.
Lucky me. I know these pretty little liars better than they know themselves. But it's hard keeping all of their secrets to myself. They better do as I say . . . or else!

First Sentence:

"Have you ever had a friend turn on you? Just Totally transform from someone you thought you knew into someone . . . else?"

Review:

If you've read up to the second one, don't worry, doesn't give away anything big, but if you've only read the first or haven't started the series at all (gasp) DO NOT read this review because it will give away A LOT!!!
This was the most suspenseful book yet. The more of this series I read, the more I get sucked into it. This one left me with my mouth hanging open becuase the end was a shocker. The identity of A is so close to being revealed, but then suddenly ripped away. I'm getting ahead of myself though, let's start at the beginning:

The Plot:

I'll assume that you've at least read until the second book in this series if you're reading this review, so as you know, Tobi was the suspect for A, but Tobi can't be A because well he's dead, and A is back. So now who does that leave......just about anyone.
I didn't think it was possible, but the mysterious A gets even crueler in this book. Since A told Aria's mom that she knew about the affair all along, her mom kicked her out, and now Aria is living with Sean, but uh-oh, she still has feeling for her teacher, with A in the mix, that situation could turn into a disaster. Spencer got her own self in a sticky situation. She stole her sister's essay and now her teacher nominated it for a Golden Orchid. Crap, A's not gonna let that one slide. Oh yeah, and guess what, seems Spencer has a tendency to black out and forget horrific events in the past, so maybe she was the one who killed Ali. So now you know that Emily is gay, well so does everyone else because pictures never lie, which sucks for Emily. Hanna life officially sucks and her best friend is a wicked bitch. With Hanna hanging with her old friends, Mona doesn't like it and decides to give her the cold shoulder. In swoops A to make everything worse. Now cue the ending of the book where one of the girls figures out the identity of A, but shit, who knew A would take it as far as to run someone over to keep her identity a secret.

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Overall Rating:
Cover:

Similar Books: The Part Room Series

Other Books in this Series: Pretty Little Liars(#1), Flawless(#2), Unbelievable(#4), Wicked(#5), Killer(#6)

Feeling a lot better =D

2009-12-27T20:52:00.003-05:00

Finally, after staying in bed for the past couple of days, I feel sooooo much better. Not quite 100% healthy, but enough to write reviews and think without getting a headache. I just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays!! and I'll be back to blogging tomorrow.

Here's some funny holiday pictures I found that I though you'd enjoy:

I also found another really funny one but it's a little..............inappropriate, so I'll just leave the link if you want to see it.