Apr 30, 2012

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.


Last Week I Read:

ARC: Underworld by Meg Cabot (5 stars)
ARC: Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock (5 stars)
ARC: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen--Review to come in 2 weeks



Currently Reading:
ARC: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini


What I Plan to Read this Week:

Hereafter by Tara Hudson



Other Posts of Interest:

Apr 29, 2012

Top 5 Sundays

Top 5 Sundays is a weekly blog meme created by Larissa at Larissa's Bookish Life.

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.
Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Fell free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)



This week's topic is: FAVORITE PARANORMAL THEMES IN BOOKS!



*in no particular order


KICKASS HEROINES

Not to get into cliches of Urban Fantasy or the top elements, but what I love about my paranormal books are the kick ass heroines! Not only do they kick ass in varying degrees, they are (usually) totally likable too! Snarky attitudes, caring...what's not to love about them?



SNARKY SIDEKICKS


I loooove the sidekicks as well!! Thinking particularly of Giguhl and Beezle!! They really do lighten up the seriousness of the situations and add the needed humor!




SAVING THE WORLD


So this goes with Larissa's Good vs Evil, the world usually needs saving, even if it's just the heroine's city or hometown. The villain is always up to something devious!




PARANORMAL GOODNESS


So this might be an oxy-moron given that it is themes found in paranormal books, but I still can't help but love the paranormal creatures or attributes or whatever that makes the book a paranormal read! From vamps to weres to ghosts to necromancers to demons...I could go on and on, but I think you get the point! I looove see the classics and some of the lesser known paranormal beings and seeing what the author does with the lore!




FAMILY ISSUES


This one might seem odd, but I like that the characters tend to, not always, have some sort of family issue. My family is kinda liked that too. My grandma wasn't hellbent on killing us or taking over the world and my father surely never killed someone to get back at me, but I love the fact that family issues in these books are always so extreme! Makes my family look normal! Plus I do like seeing the heroine deal with it all!






Stacking the Shelves

This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!


I was all excited about the new Sunday meme Tynga created so we can still show off the books and stuff we got this week! Love the icon that she created too!

Unfortunately, this week I didn't get anything. Not a single book. :(

Very very sad! I mean it helps my TBR mountain not to grow this week, but it was still sad. I ordered some books, they just didn't make it to me before the week's end. My member express shipping didn't even help any!

So while this week was empty, I am definitely hoping that next week there will be a great new haul as I get books from this week that released and ones that will release next week as well!



 

Apr 26, 2012

Friday Hops

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:
1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If your new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!
This week's question is: Have you had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then "broke up" with later on in either the series or a stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her. 



MY ANSWER: OOh tough one! Hmm...trying to think of a character I started out liking but then got disappointed with. Harder than it sounds!

I think a character that I started out liking and wanted to keep liking, but couldn't was Cassie Palmer from the Cassandra Palmer series. I was really intrigued by the first cover and decided to dive into the series once it started. The first book was okay, but then as the series went on, I found myself bored. It might have been a number of things, but I was growing apart from Cassie and didn't necessarily hate her, I just couldn't connect with her anymore. 

So I had to discontinued myself from the series.




TGIF is a weekly feature created and hosted by GReads! that re-caps the week’s posts and has different question each week.


This week's question is: Reading Blues: We all get them from time to time. What helps you overcome those reading slumps when nothing seems to grab your attention?


MY ANSWER: Oh uh...I don't think I've had any of those! At least not lately and I cannot remember the last time I had them. With such an overwhelming TBR pile I always have plenty to read and if by crazy chance I'm not in the mood usually because I'm just exhausted, I'll watch TV or work on my novel.

But reading slumps? No, I don't really get those. I know what I like to read, so I pretty much always find a page turner for myself!




ARC Review--Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

I received this ARC at the RT Booklover's Convention via the Goody Room!

I didn't really know what to expect from Kathleen Peacock's Hemlock, the cover description did interest me. Mentioning being haunted by her dead best friend who was murdered, werewolves, and a dark mystery to solve were enough to intrigue me, but I was still totally blown away by the book! 

So werewolves exist, and people fear them, they know about them. There's also this group called the Trackers that track werewolves down and put them into these "camps" that are basically their prison for life. Many werewolves are in hiding because of this. They're not all bloodthirsty monsters, but some are. Like the one who killed Amy, Mac's best friend.

It's been five months since Amy died, and the werewolf attacks have halted for the time, but appearances are still being made in the little town called Hemlock. But it's not the same wolf that killed Amy, since hers was white. Mac suddenly gets sucked into the battle and secrets when she starts looking into Amy's death. The nightmares she's been having provoke her to look into it and what she finds is a tangle of secrets and lies.

That's really the best way to describe it without giving away spoilers! Hemlock is the ultimate pageturner, I could barely put it down because the mystery element kept growing thicker and juicier!! Oh it was delightful!

Amy's two friends, Jason--Amy's boyfriend--and Kyle are both adjusting in their own ways as well. Jason a little more dangerously--turning to drinking and looking at the Trackers with awe, while Kyle remains closed off and quiet. No one really wants to get involve with Mac in her solving Amy's death. No one wants to think about it really. But Mac is determined, mostly because her dreams are so haunting.

Secrets soon get revealed along the course of Mac's path, coming from the left, right, forward and behind! The girl is just bombarded, but she does a heck of a job at getting through them.

I really loved the characters, Mac has her own troubled past that I think is remarkable. It's not totally uncommon, but it was just written really well! And Jason and Kyle with their secrets were also total shockers!

The mystery at the end does get solved--somewhat, the who-done-it part at least. But there's still quite a bit left unresolved! It's going to make waiting for the next book in this trilogy a killer! There's really not much I can add without getting too close to spoiler territory! Only know that this was one heart pounding read! I mean literally, I did not want to put it down!!

Hemlock was a tragically beautiful thrilling read! And this is a must read for anyone looking for a good werewolf book!

Overall rating 5/5 stars


Hemlock releases May 8, 2012







Cover Art--Iron Fey Chronicles!

OMG! Julie has now posted the cover for The Iron Legends!! I like it! It wasn't was I was expecting, but then, I didn't know what to expect! But it's pretty awesome considering the stories we get. Only right to see everyone on the cover!

The Iron Legends releases August 28, 2012


And in case you still haven't seen it, here's the cover for The Lost Prince! Starring Ethan, Meghan's little bro all grown up!!

The Lost Prince releases October 23, 2012


I soooooooooo cannot wait for either of these!




Random Thursday

So I had a topic for today, then changed it to this one! Upcoming movies! Since it's almost summer time that means all the epic movies are about to release!

One even comes out next week that I want to see and that is The Avengers! I really like the comic book movies, although I've never read any of the comics. 

My main reason for this one is that I want to see RDJ! I loooove his Iron Man character! Even excited to hear that Iron Man 3 is in the works!! The Avengers releases May 4!


Another movie I want to see shouldn't surprise anyone and that is Dark Shadows!

Tim Burton + Johnny Depp + VAMPIRES! = a helluva great movie! I love the movies Tim and Johnny do together! They're always so intriguing, dark and intriguing! Even though this will likely be nothing like the soap opera from the 60s or 70s, it still looks like a great movie! This one releases May 11!


I really like the new Batman movies too! And when I heard Cat Woman was going to be in the next one I was already eager to know more!

And now it's almost here! I am hoping Anne does a good job of Cat Woman! I really liked Michelle's role in it back in the early 90s with Michael Keaton as Batman! I think this is the last Batman movie, but I am not 100% on that! 


More comic book movies this year! The Spider Man prequel comes out as well. Even though Toby isn't in it, I am still curious to see how they will do this one! I thought the first Spider Man movie was the first movie in telling Peter's story. Guess not!

Still think this one will be pretty epic! Spider-Man releases July 3, 2012


And that will be it for today! I know there's more movies I want to see, but I can't remember them all!

What movies are you looking forward to this summer?



Apr 25, 2012

Winners!

I have some winners to announce!! Rafflecopter is a bit different from what I am used to and it seems to be a pain for me all over this week--entering contests and trying to manage my own. But I will still give it another chance next time!

So I have the winners, but don't know which prize belongs to who! So if you're seeing this post and see your name be sure to check your email! I need addresses and titles!

Onto the announcing!



US winners are...

First name drawn who will get her choice of an ARC of Rift or Until I Die is.....


Holly Hewett!

Congrats Holly!


The second name drawn and will get whichever book Holly doesn't choose is...


Scarlette McGeeney!

Congrats Scarlette!


The international winner who will get their choice of 1 book up to $10(US) OR a preorder of Rift or Until I Die is...


Carol!

Congrats Carol!


Congrats winners! I will be sending the email before posting this, so be sure to check them! The winners will have 48 hours to respond or new winners will be chosen.

Thanks again to everyone who entered! I hope to have more contests in the future so please do stick around!



Cover Art--The Lost Prince

OMG! I love it! Soooo cannot wait to get back into the Iron Fey world!!




Waiting on Wednesday

I hate waiting...
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.



The second thrilling installment in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff series. 

Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought. 

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.


I soooo cannot wait for this one! I actually SAW it at RT! I didn't get a copy unfortunately, I did get a September release ARC though, so that made up for it since this comes out in June! Looking forward to more of Sydney and the Vampire Academy world!!

TITLE: The Golden Lily
AUTHOR: Richelle Mead
PUBLISHER:
Razorbill
GENRE:
YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE:
June 12, 2012



A rival wolf pack puts more pressure on the Rusakova family by making a bold move against Jessie in hopes of pushing Pietr beyond the cure. Realizing the impact of Pietr’s change, Alexi rushes to find a permanent solution to the life sentence lycanthropy brings in hopes of also remedying an unexpected side-effect that may finally destroy the relationship between Pietr and Jessie. Unsatisfied with his role in the pack, Gabriel is determined to be rid of Pietr permanently. Meanwhile, at Junction High, the company’s meddling with the school food may have stopped but it doesn’t mean things have gotten easier--it is still high school. With the enrollment of the rest of the pack’s pups, new bonds are made and tested. But Dmitri’s influence is far-reaching and even pacifist Gareth must make a dark decision or risk the destruction of everything he holds dear.


Do I even need to say that I am desperately waiting for this one? The conclusion to the 13 to Life series! Ahh! And with the cliffhanger of the last one I really really really wanna read this one asap!! August is so far off! Luckily, a blogger friend whom I will be praising for the rest of my days, is going to loan me her ARC! And I cannot wait for the day the mailman brings it to me!


TITLE: Rivals and Retribution
AUTHOR: Shannon Delany
PUBLISHER:
St. Martin's Griffin
GENRE:
YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE:
August 8, 2012




Apr 24, 2012

ARC Review--Underworld by Meg Cabot

ESCAPE FROM THE REALM OF THE DEAD IS IMPOSSIBLE WHEN SOMEONE THERE WANTS YOU BACK.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn’t dead.

Not this time.

But she is being held against her will in the dim, twilit world between heaven and hell, where the spirits of the deceased wait before embarking upon their final journey.

Her captor, John Hayden, claims it’s for her own safety. Because not all the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after leaving the Underworld, they’ve come back as Furies, intent on vengeance…on the one who sent them there and on the one whom he loves.

But while Pierce might be safe from the Furies in the Underworld, far worse dangers could be lurking for her there…and they might have more to do with its ruler than with his enemies.

And unless Pierce is careful, this time there’ll be no escape.

I received this ARC at the RT Booklover's Convention via my Welcome Bag!

I was ecstatic to find an ARC of Meg Cabot's Underworld in my RT welcome bag when I went! I did a little happy dance even! And it was awesome! First, the cover! I have to say that I LOOOOOVE this cover! I think it really represents the Persephone myth extraordinarily well! When Hades kidnaps Persephone (although from what I can remember it was because Eros [Cupid] was mad at him for something and struck him with one of his love arrows, Hades then saw Persephone and fell in love, so he kidnaps her)!

But yeah, I just love it! And seeing Pierce in her white dress that's mentioned at the end is another awesome trait on the cover designer's part!

Moving on, we pick up where we left off, so while it's been too long for me, for Pierce it's just the next day. So it was nice to have that sort of recap going on to remind me of what went down towards the end of Abandon. Pierce is basically in hiding for her own good. Since her Fury possessed grandmother still wants to kill her to torment John. Nothing like a little family love, huh?

Pierce is still trying to adjust to things, she knows she loves John, but having to give up everything she ever knew and loved to be with him takes time to accept. There's just little bits and things that she can't quite get used to yet, and I think that really speaks for her character. That she still yearns to be in the world she knew just to see her family--not necessarily granny dearest--and few friends, like Kayla.

John is adamant that she just try to forget about that world, it's too dangerous for her to go there now with the Furies looking for her. But when she gets a bizarre message/video on her phone of her cousin Alex, she is worried. Alex is in danger, or will be and she wants to prevent the worst from happening to him, so she convinces John to let her go with him to rescue him.

Along the way we get to see more of John and Pierce develop their relationship, they learn more about one another. We get a good look at John's past and it was quite intriguing! We also learn more about Pierce's family and how it connected to her uncle going to jail and it even connects back to John! So yeah, there's a lot of pieces of the puzzle being put together. And the ending was quite astounding as well!

One thing I kinda wanted to see more of was the grandmother, after the shocking revelation of what she is, I was hoping she would be the devious villain. But alas, it wasn't in the cards this time for she made only one appearance. I have no doubts though that she will have a more pivotal role in the conclusion!

The pacing was pretty good I thought, we basically just follow Pierce and John along on their mission which isn't as easy as it sounds. Back in the living world, everyone's looking for Pierce, her father even has a million dollar reward for any information that will result into her safe return home, so that presents a problem for Pierce when she needs to find her cousin.

It was an incredible read! Underworld is definitely a page-turner! I never wanted to put it down! I cannot wait to see how the trilogy ends next year.


Overall rating 5/5 stars


Underworld releases May 8, 2012






Cover Art--Scent of Magic!!

OMG! Maria released this on her blog! I soooooooo sooooooo cannot wait to read it!! I love Maria's books and I just can't even begin to explain why I love them so much! They're fantastical! 

I believe this is the US/Canada version as well, when I went to see it on her blog, the front cover wasn't showing up for me, but goodreads did picture this one and from Maria's description, it sounds like the right one! 

Also if you haven't read Touch of Power yet, and you really SHOULD! Then please don't read the back of the cover description below the cover art. There are SPOILERS!


Scent of Magic doesn't have a firm release date, but I believe it will be at the beginning of 2013, possibly with appearances at the end of the year. Which is sooooo far away! I want this one yesterday! ;)




Teaser Tuesday

Here are the rules:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

Yeah, so I came across two great teases that made me laugh and I couldn't decide which to go with, so I chose both! Naturally they're over two lines! ;) 

"Local Girl Missing. Feared Dead.

"Beneath is was a photo of me--my most recent school photo.

"'Oh, no.' My heart filling with dread, I took the paper from Mr. Smith's hands. 'Couldn't they have found a better picture?'" p 102-103*



"'Have you forgotten the part about the reward your father is offering for information leading to your safe return, Ms. Oliviera?'

"'One million dollars?' My dad's company, one of the largest providers in the world of products and services to the oil, gas, and military industries, was valued at several hundred times that. 'That cheapskate.'" p 103*


*Quotes come from my ARC copy, therefore they and their page number are not final.


TITLE: Underworld
AUTHOR: Meg Cabot
PUBLISHER:
Point (an imprint of Scholastic)
GENRE:
YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE:
May 8, 2012




***ALSO: Don't forget today is the LAST day to enter my contest! Click on one of the two icons at the top of the sidebar on the right! 

 

Apr 23, 2012

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.


This Week I Read:

ARC: Rift by Andrea Cremer--Review to come on July 30th
ARC: The Temptation by Alisa Valdes (4.5 stars)


Review That was Posted:

 ARC: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

 

Currently Reading:

 ARC: Underworld by Meg Cabot



What I Plan to Read this Week:

ARC: Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock



Other Posts of Interest: