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Monday, December 31, 2012

December Review Wrap-Up

This was a fun month with some great reads. There are a few more books that I read but haven't had time to post my reviews yet (since I was out of town for the end of the busy holidays), so you can look forward to those reviews on the New Year. To see my review for each book below, just click on the book's title.

3 Stars:
Unresisting by Shane Morgan

Unresisting

4 Stars:
Waking Up Married by Mira Lyn Kelly
Embers in a Dark Frost by Kelly Keaton

Waking Up Married   Embers in a Dark Frost

4-1/2 Stars:
Finding Chase by Lacey Weatherford

Finding Chase (Chasing Nikki, #2)

5 Stars:
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Light of the Moon by David James
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Scorpio Races   Light of the Moon (Legend of the Dreamer, #1)   The Sea of Tranquility

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!

 
Merry Christmas!
Wishing you comfort and joy,
from my family to yours.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Stacking the Shelves (10)

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Stacking The Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

 The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Won from Little Library Muse:
Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy, #1)

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
 
Won from Author Helen Boswell:
Mythology
 
Mythology by Helen Boswell (signed)
 
For My Kindle:
Relatively Famous   Love Evolution (Black Cat Records, #1)   Tidal

Independence (Significance, #4)   Hopeless   Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths, #1)

Drip Drop Teardrop (Drip Drop Teardrop, #1)   The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence, #1)   Exiled (The Protector, #1)
 
Relatively Famous by Jessica Park
Love Evolution by Michelle Mankin
Tidal by Emily Snow
Independence by Shelly Crane - 5 Stars, my review will be posted soon
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover - 5 Stars, my review will be posted soon
Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker
Drip Drop Teardrop by Samantha Young
The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen
Exiled by M.R. Merrick
 

Friday, December 21, 2012

Feature & Follow (7): Publishing

FF 2012 Feature & Follow #120

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by both Alison Can Read and Parakunkee’s View. This is a great way to gain blog followers for book bloggers, follow other blogs, and get to know each other. Each week a different question is posted by our hosts and we get to answer. You can find more info about this meme here.
 
Q: What have you learned from book blogging that you didn't know before about the publishing industry?

I feel like I've learned lots, but am still learning since I'm new to the whole book blogging thing. I didn't realize what a huge impact social media had on book marketing. I love how accessible some authors and publishers are, and how it is such an integrative community. I personally love attending book signings. I've also fallen in love with the Indie world. I love that anyone can publish their own book if they really want to.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Book Review: Unresisting

Unresisting
Unresisting by Shane Morgan
November 21, 2012
274 pages
Source: copy from author
Goodreads Summary:
Seventeen year old Natasha Johnson is having a rough year. Her twin brother, Sean, died last summer after a car crash, and her parents decided to pack up and leave the only home she’d known all her life. It's a lot to take in, and Nat has decidedly given up on the world, until moving to Stetson Valley and meeting high school ‘outcast’, Chace Owens.

Chace's dark and mysterious aura is not exactly seen as 'normal', but Nat already knows that not a lot of things are of the norm when it comes to her life. She soon finds herself unable to resist Chace's strange pull on her heart, unleashing a sudden attraction to the unnatural forces that have always been burning within her. But with uncovering her true self brings forth great danger, as Nat learns that her brother's death had a lot more to do with the side she's unable to resist.

Can Natasha calm the blazing flames and withstand the threat of danger, or will this new found power destroy her?

My Review:

This review is based off a copy sent to me from the author for a blog tour of which I posted an excerpt. I decided I wanted to continue reading the story because I was intrigued by the excerpt. I want to preface my review by stating the author may or may not have revised the book since then, but I can only review what I received.

Pros:

I actually enjoyed this story and found that the storyline captivated me right away. I was confused at times with certain plot elements, but found all the twists and turns of the plot still engaging. The whole fire-starter and soul-mate elements were interesting, plus the fact that there was another connecting world was also intriguing. I liked the little ways we started to get to know the characters.

Cons:

It felt like a first draft, which I know it wasn't. I felt like there was so much more potential in the story if it would have been developed further, scenes flushed out with more detail, and characters developed to a deeper level. Although I liked the story, I wanted more, and felt like there was something missing. It could also use a good editing job to clean up the grammar and sentence structure.

Overall:

It is an enjoyable, engaging story, but with room for improvement. I am interested in where the sequel will go, as we were left on a cliff-hanger. Hopefully the author's story development and writing will improve with the sequel, because she has a lot of potential and I'd like to see where this story goes. I know, I used the dredded "p" word, but it feels appropriate.


December Update: The author sent me an updated, more edited version. I just haven't had the time to re-read it yet.

3 STARS

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Wishlist Wednesday (7): The Farm


Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop, hosted by Pen to Paper, where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves. For more info on this meme, go here.

The Farm (The Farm, #1)

The Farm by Emily McKay
Published December 4, 2012

This book really appeals to me for some reason. I'm very curious about this take on vampires, with the whole quarantining, human blood holding pens, escape plans, and twin girls, one with autism, thing going on. I really hope it's good because the synopsis has already grabbed me. I'm hoping to get a copy for Christmas :)

Goodreads Summary:
Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...

Waiting on Wednesday (9): The Symptoms of My Insanity


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Symptoms of My Insanity
by Mindy Raf
Expected Publication Date: April 18, 2013

I'm looking forward to this because it's written by a comedian and it's about a hypochondriac teenager. I remember feeling a bit insane as a teenager myself. There's a lot of good potential going for this book. The bittersweet part makes me nervous, but I'm hoping for more sweet than bitter.

The Symptoms of My Insanity

From Goodreads:
A laugh-out-loud, bittersweet debut full of wit, wisdom, heart, and a hilarious, unforgettable heroine.

When you’re a hypochondriac, there are a million different things that could be wrong with you, but for Izzy, focusing on what could be wrong might be keeping her from dealing with what’s really wrong.

I almost raised my hand, but what would I say? “Mr. Bayer, may I please be excused? I’m not totally positive, but I think I might have cancer.” No way. Then everyone at school would know, and they would treat me differently, and I would be known as “Izzy, that poor girl who diagnosed herself with breast cancer during biology.”

But Izzy’s sense of humor can only get her so far when suddenly her best friend appears to have undergone a personality transplant, her mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, and her beautiful maybe-boyfriend is going all hot and cold. Izzy thinks she’s preparing for the worst-case scenario, but when the worst-case scenario actually hits, it’s a different story altogether—and there’s no tidy list of symptoms to help her through the insanity.
 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Something Darker Release Party!

SOMETHING DARKER by S.A. Price Release Party! (Giveaway)
Welcome!

Today we have a special guest post by authors S.A. Price! They are here to share an epic giveaway with everyone that you will not want to miss out on!

And now over to S.A. Price!




Happy release day to us!

So Audra and I have a new book out today called SOMETHING DARKER, and we are really excited about starting this new, sexy series!

The one thing Syrus Alcot, the God of Death Osiris in the Egyptian Pantheon, wants in all the worlds is the woman he loved and lost returned to him. When he gave up his powers, and freedom for a life of service he was promised her return. That was over one thousand years ago. A member of a team of dark gods charged with keeping humanity safe, he leads a loveless existence in New York City, searching for the one thing that could bring his wife back to him, a lapis scarab that was lost to him ages before.

Gwen Stapleton, a mild mannered librarian, is unaware that she holds the key to not only Syrus’ happiness, but her own. Seemingly stuck in a hopeless relationship with a man she doesn’t love, she has no idea that a chance meeting in Alphabet City will start a landslide to her heart’s content. Because Gwen is the keeper of the scarab, and is everything Syrus has ever wanted… and he’s not the only one.

An Ancient evil is waking, and its servants will stop at nothing to see it seize its rightful place as the new pantheon of earth. And in order for Syrus and his team to save the world, Gwen is going to have to accept him, and show that love does make all the difference.

Sexy right? What’s not to like about strong gods and sassy librarians? Exactly!

So to celebrate this momentous occasion, we are having a HUGE contest, as we want YOU to enter!

$2.99 really CAN change a person’s life, and kick a career into high gear…

Want to win something awesome? What’s awesome? How about this: Registration to AAD (2013 or 2014 if you are already registered for 2013), a VIP package including VIP early seating and entry badge, and welcome goodies from the hotel, a gift basket fulla goodies and our backlist books and Breakfast with us on Tuesday morning.  Awesome right? We thought so.

So how do you win? Simple.

We have a new book available called Something Darker, the first in our Inferi Dii series. You can pick it up at Amazon on kindle and in print. Simply buy the book, and send us the receipt from Amazon. That will get you entered for the big prize.

What’s that you say? You want more entries? 

We have other ways of adding to your entries…
  • Going to Authorgraph.com and requesting we digitally sign your book will get you 3 extra entries.
  • Tweeting the contest will get you 2 more entries
  • Facebooking the contest will get you 2 more entries
  • Liking the Book on Amazon will get you 3 more entries
  • Liking our other books on Amazon will get you 2 more entries per BOOK (and yes we are counting both print and e book likes!)
  • Posting a review before the end of the contest (a real review) will get you 5 entries per place you post (max of 10 entries for posting on Goodreads and Amazon.com)
  • Buying other books in our backlist will get you 10 entries PER BOOK you send a receipt for (sorry guys, has to be bought between December 18 and the end of the event and MUST NOT be returned! We will know if it has been!)

Now here is the kicker…. We have to hit a minimum of 200 sales before the big contest prize goes into play. Why? Because it’s a VERY expensive prize, and we cannot offer it and make it worth our while without a minimum of 200 receipts!

And if we get this book in the top 100 at Amazon, I will throw in the coup de grace, your hotel room for AAD from Tuesday-Sunday FREE OF CHARGE! This prize is already worth $1000! Add in the room and its worth almost $2000! Isn’t that worth paying for a $2.99 book?

So you ready to win baby? Send your receipts to: everversestella@gmail.com with “SOMETHING DARKER CONTEST ENTRY” in the subject. (For other books put: SOMETHING DARKER CONTEST ENTRY---(NAME OF THE BOOK). Contest runs from December 18 to January 15th. Winner will be announced on January 18rd 2013!

Wanna join in on the release day fun? Join the Release day group at Facebook and hangout!
Print Link: https://www.createspace.com/4084874
Kindle Link:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AOT77GW

Book Blurb:


The one thing Syrus Alcot, the God of Death Osiris in the Egyptian Pantheon, wants in all the worlds is the woman he loved and lost returned to him. When he gave up his powers, and freedom for a life of service he was promised her return. That was over one thousand years ago. A member of a team of dark gods charged with keeping humanity safe, he leads a loveless existence in New York City, searching for the one thing that could bring his wife back to him, a lapis scarab that was lost to him ages before.

Gwen Stapleton, a mild mannered librarian, is unaware that she holds the key to not only Syrus’ happiness, but her own. Seemingly stuck in a hopeless relationship with a man she doesn’t love, she has no idea that a chance meeting in Alphabet City will start a landslide to her heart’s content. Because Gwen is the keeper of the scarab, and is everything Syrus has ever wanted… and hes not the only one.

An Ancient evil is waking, and its servants will stop at nothing to see it seize its rightful place as the new pantheon of earth. And in order for Syrus and his team to save the world, Gwen is going to have to accept him, and show that love does make all the difference.

*** Please note that borrowing the book from the kindle lending library will not be accepted as a “Buy Receipt”. In order to be entered to win the grand prize, you must purchase the book.***

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Top Ten Tuesday (7): Top Ten of 2012


Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
For more information and a list of past and future topics, go here.
 

Yet again, another difficult list to put together considering I read (or reread) nearly 200 books this year. I had more books on my top list, but managed to narrow it down to my top ten...I mean twelve. These are in order of when I read them this year, not necessarily preference.
 
Top Ten (or Twelve) Books I Read In 2012

1. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
A beautifully written and illustrated story

   
2. Shatter Me/Unravel Me/Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
Her writing completely entraces me
 
3. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Worth all the praise and then some

A Monster Calls   Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)   The Fault in Our Stars

4. Significance series by Shelly Crane
I absolutely adore this series and all things Shelly Crane
 
5. Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan
Amazing, moving series...cannot wait for book #3
 
6. Slammed/Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover
Love, love, love

Significance (Significance, #1)   Barely Breathing (Breathing, #2)   Slammed (Slammed, #1)

7. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Melina is a genius in all her books
 
8. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Seriously so good
 
9. The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Another incredible series...I need the next one NOW

On the Jellicoe Road   Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1)   The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #2)

10. Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Can't have a list without JLA on it
 
11. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
One of my surprise favorites of the year
 
12. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Favorite of Maggie's so far

Deity (Covenant, #3)   Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy, #1)   The Scorpio Races

Teaser Tuesday (9): Significance


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Significance by Shelly Crane

Independence, the fourth and last book of the Significance series by Shelly Crane, came out early this weekend. I'm so excited to read it, but wanted to re-read the previous books beforehand, because I just love this series. So my teaser this week is from the first book, Significance.

Significance (Significance, #1)
 

“I saw something in you that I couldn't live without. I chose you, inside of me, and you chose me. It's not one sided, it only works when both people choose the other. You are perfect for me in every way.” 
 
Goodreads Summary:
Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track, but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating - barely - and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has. 
Then she saves the life of Caleb and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.
They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.
 
Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.

Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?

Monday, December 17, 2012

Book Review: The Sea of Tranquility

 The Sea of Tranquility: A Novel
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
September 5, 2012
352 pages
Atria Books
Source: Personal Purchase (ebook)
Genre: Mature Young Adult/New Adult/Adult
due to mature themes and situations
From Goodreads:
I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Full of rage and without a purpose, former pianist Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone discovering her past and to make the boy who took everything from her pay.

All 17 year-old Josh Bennett wants is to build furniture and be left alone, and everyone allows it because it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t exist. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, a hot mess of a girl who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. The more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he may ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a slow-building, character-driven romance about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Please Note: This book contains mature content including profanity, drug/alcohol use, and sexual situations/language.
My Review:

After finishing The Sea of Tranquility, I found myself hours and days later, still dwelling on the amazing and complex characters Kayja Millay introduced me to. This is one of those books that won't leave you quickly. The rave reviews made me want to read this book, but the incredible writing and multi-dimentional characters kept me glued to the pages.

The synopsis of The Sea of Tranquility describes it as "a slow-building, character-driven romance about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances," and that statement sums it up perfectly. Without giving away the main plot-points or revealing spoilers, I will simply say that Millay transitions us through the thoughts and lives of Josh and Nastya (Sunshine) with alternating POVs. They are both broken people, who have erected walls around themselves, one of them running away, one of them hiding away. Millay slowly displays what has separated these two from the world, what draws them to each others and what, if anything, will help them break down those walls.

There were many beautiful moments in this story, great spoken and unspoken banter between characters, and touching situations. The storyline was not comfortable for me at all times either. Some things done to the characters, around the characters, and by the characters would range from unpleasant to frustrating to anger-inducing. They are flawed people, and despite the mistakes done against them, still make their own mistakes against others and each other, hence the frustrating parts for me. But that also makes them real characters, despite how I felt about some of their choices.

I loved watching Josh and Sunshine unfold, slowly, oh so slowly. But slowly in a good way. I loved watching them learn about each other, and in the process, learn about themselves as well. I also liked the progression of some of the secondary characters as well. I liked how my perception of them changed as the story played out and their characters were tested. Millay was able to reveal the depths of her characters along the way, allowing us to learn alongside them. I also loved how Millay ended it all.

Bottomline: This is a touching, moving story with multi-dimentional characters and a beautiful summation of second chances. This is a worthy read, that may make you uncomfortable at times, but will ultimately leave you hopeful.

5 STARS
 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Stacking the Shelves (9)

 
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Stacking The Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

I have a thing for signed books, and also completing book collections, so when I found out about Book Closeouts I got very excited that I could get a few signed books for half off, but also finally complete my Iron Fey series at a discounted rate. Yep, it's the little things in life that make me happy :)

Purchased (from Bookcloseouts.com): 
Everneath (Everneath, #1)   The Dark and Hollow Places (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #3)   Die for Me (Revenants, #1)

Until I Die (Revenants, #2)   The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey, #2)   The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey, #3)
 
Everneath by Brodi Ashton (signed)
The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (signed)
Die For Me by Amy Plum (signed)
Until I Die by Amy Plum
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
 
Won from The Bucket List:
Eternally Yours (Immortal Beloved, #3)

Eternally Yours by Cate Tiernan (ARC)
 
For My Kindle:
Carnival of Souls 
 
Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr